Chapter 50

We drove in near silence for the entire trip to the boat. Jesse eventually told me I had every right to keep the un-bounds secrets. He finished by saying he trusted me to do the right thing.

We turned off the main road, then a narrow two-lane stretch, onto a rough dirt path that twisted through trees and grassy mounds. After a bumpy ride, we finally stopped at a turnaround just big enough for the three vehicles to maneuver back. “We need to walk from here; the ground won’t support the weight of the cars, let alone the truck,” Jasper informed us.

The two shepherds transformed into dingoes as they walked beside me. “If you’re dingoes, you’re both too big,” Charlie remarked. They shrank to half their size. “Better. Now you look like proper dingoes.”

Ahead of me, Ursus appeared; Jesse was behind me and Stone appeared behind him. Both Ursus and Stone seemed larger in their human forms than usual. ‘That’s because they feel offended by us being here, Master,’ Rin said.

I paused, knowing that speaking to him would trigger that suspended time effect. ‘You are only meant to be in the cave system and occasionally above ground in the Oasis. That was the original plan,’ I told him. ‘Is there some grim history between you and them?’

‘No, but they never helped our kind unless they needed us for the beings they found. They thought of us as merely unborn, even though they knew we were alive and sentient,’ Rin replied, a hint of bitterness in his voice.

‘We don’t know if your spirits can be trusted with our secrets. Even if they are trustworthy, other spirits from our relem might find out as well. It’s hard to say what would happen to us if they realized we’re more like them than they think,’ Lassie added.

‘So, as we talk, is the whole world frozen in time?’ I asked.

‘No, they’re not frozen—you’re just sped up,’ Rin reminded me. ‘Remember to walk again before slipping back into normal time.’

I wasn’t quick enough; Jesse nearly collided with me. “You okay? Did you trip?” he asked.

“Yeah, just a misstep. I’m fine.”

As we walked onward, the sound of water slapping nearby told me we were close to the boat. Ursus stopped and waited for me to catch up. “They’re almost done,” he said.

I could see a portion of the boat, though Ursus mostly blocked my view. He’d stopped because we’d have to wade into the water to reach it. “Is there a way around?” I asked.

“No, the tide has risen. It’s not too deep, as you can see,” Charlie replied, already waist-deep in the water now, moving toward the boat. Jasper, already aboard, dropped a platform that emerged briefly with each receding wave.

“I can carry you if you want,” Ursus offered.

“No, that’s okay. I’ll end up wet eventually,” Ursus moved ahead, getting closer to the boat. As I waded in, the murky water deepened, and my foot sank into the mud. Both dingoes had now shifted into gators, one on each side of me.

‘You can hold on to us if you lose your balance,’ Lassie said.

I glanced back to see Jesse doing just that, gripping Rin’s back as he pulled himself out of the mud he’d sunk into.

“Lucky for me, these two can change so fast. I was stuck, and suddenly there’s Rin, a full-sized croc, helping me up, when just a second ago he was a dingo trying to keep up with you,” Jesse remarked.

Once on board, Ursus removed the mud from me, and Jesse did the same for himself. I looked back and saw both bounds had shifted back into dingoes dry like they had never entered the murky water. ‘I assume you can become fish and water mammals, too?’ I asked.

‘Yes, we’ve studied every animal that might be useful to you. We’ve also shared that knowledge with all our offspring, and the ones who were trapped as spirits.’ Rin replied.

‘Is that through communication, or are you all linked? When the spirits are in their omega form, they have the knowledge of the five who they are made from, but normally they have to communicate with each other. Your kind seems different in this way, if I understand right,’ I said.

‘Yes, but it’s a complex answer, and we’ll need to discuss it at another time,’ Lassie replied.

Just then, Jasper came over. “It’s more than perfect. This boat will be something other tour operators will talk about. Thank you, sir, for making this happen.”

“We helped you and your brother, but we also did it for ourselves. I’m glad you like it. Kenzo offered to design it when he heard it was for a family member of one of our own. Your situation highlighted something I hadn’t considered when recruiting for the Oasis, and it could affect others there as well. I’ll bring it up to the inner circle when we return,” I explained.

“This goes far beyond helping my brother and me; it’ll be life-changing for him,” Jasper replied.

Jasper then offered a guided tour, describing each area’s original state. He praised both the design and materials, highlighting the luxurious yet functional style, again stating how it was better than he could ever imagine. The small stern extension especially impressed him, storing the underwater scooters and dive equipment. He showed how the wall could drop, down as a ramp, staying just above the waterline for divers and able to lower further to accommodate inflatables, though he skipped that part of the demonstration, the boat being in the shallow water currently.

By nightfall, the boat was ready to leave the hidden cove, stocked with all our necessary suits and gear. Jesse and I return to the hotel with Charlie, while Jasper, Cetus, and Gor took the boat to the harbor. Since it had been out of service for so long, it had no berth; Jasper would tie it to an open buoy tonight and arrange for a berth tomorrow if one was available.

Charlie took the large truck, Jesse, one car with Stone, while I followed in back in the last car with Ursus and the two shepherds. I wanted Ursus to go with Charlie but he refused, told me if the bound were with me he would be as well.

As we were getting on the road again, I asked “What is with you guys and the unbound. Something had to have happened that you’re not telling me. If there is bad blood between your two species, why did you tell me to make a bond with them?”

“For one, they are not a different species. Our history tells us we came from them. It just happens so rarely that their history is not common knowledge. There is no bad blood, as you call it. The unbound have always been a mystery to us. What is happening to you and them are something no one in our realm can remember.”

“And that causes you to become so defensive. They brought us to our cave and later brought us back.”

“We had not contacted with you for hours. You know we are always in contact with you. Losing that could cause our world to come to earth. You know how important you are to my kind, to Us! I assume you and Jesse had fun in your room that night.” Ursus said.

“You must know that when Jesse and I have time together, we spend the time wisely. We get so little of it since the Oasis has grown so large.”

“We felt nothing from you two. That made it even worse for us. If we had those emotions from you two, we might have written it off. You two fell off the face of the earth.” Ursus stated.

I could not ask Rin or Lassie because I was driving. It would cause us to crash. Just another thing to put on my long list to bring up.

“Say, they are becoming like you. Is that a bad thing?” I asked.

“They were bound to you as the unbound, not as a spirit. While there are no memories of that ever happening, the memories that we have are that they are just the animal they are bound with. Yes, they can change and take other forms, but always only animal forms. There are no memories of them speaking to the Master. Granted, there have been very few of them having a Master. You are unlike any Master before you. The other masters have used their position to please themselves. We were there only for the emotional ride, so to speak. There is no memory of a master telling any spirit that his bound animal talked to him.” Ursus told me.

“So, you and the others are afraid that they will change the dynamics between you and me. Won’t happen. Let’s say they are like you. I’m bound to them as tightly as I am to you and the others. We need to find a middle ground that satisfies your kind and theirs. I will talk to them tomorrow; and no, you can’t come. Yes, it will most likely cause me to fall from your senses. I promise I will not leave the study. It will be a long meeting because I have a lot of questions.” I filled Ursus in on my plan for the meeting.

“We will seal you in the study just in case.” Ursus stated.

“Fine.”

*****

Late that night, I found myself awake. ‘Rin, are you awake?’ I asked.

‘Like the spirits, we need no sleep.’ Was his reply.

‘Is it okay if I ask my questions now? I can’t seem to stay asleep.’ I asked.

‘Yes, Master, we know that you have many unanswered questions.’ Lassie answered.

‘Is there a way for us to talk without slowing time?’

‘If we take a form of an animal that can speak, yes. The Yeti and Minotaur can speak, the voice may be ruff, but we can correct that, given enough time. Or could if we take the form of a bird that can speak,’ Lassie told me.

‘The Spirits will hear our conversation if we speak to you allowed, and if we were to seal your cave, they would again fear that we have taken you away,’ Rin told me.

‘I prefer you both in the Minitour and Yeti, even if we have to speak in our heads,’ I said.

‘We thought you would, Master. Clothed or bare?’ Rin asked.

‘Clothed, I don’t want to get too distracted. We’ll do that tomorrow after we seal ourselves in the study. Ursus said that the other night when you were posing and Jesse and I were mating, that they could not sense our feelings. Did you do that on purpose or will it always happen?’

_ _

‘We did it so they could not feel our emotions. We know the spirits crave emotions, but we don’t know if they will accept ours. In the past, with the Other Masters, we always shielded our emotions. Those Masters wanted time only with our kind,’ Lassie stated.

_ _

‘So, they may or may not accept emotions from the unbound. Are you willing to have one of the spirts join us in our fun? In his mind only, of course. This will tell me whether that they will accept. You can block the emotions from the outside but let the one I chose feel them.’ I asked.

_ _

‘What if they do not accept our emotions?’ Rin questioned.

_ _

‘First I will order him not to remember this night. If that does not work I will order him not to ever speak about what he has felt this night. Then we do what the other Masters have done, block all communications and have our own fun. Though I want you to be accepted. It will not keep me from including you in Our personal time. Of course, the intervals will be far longer between our time together, since I still will ask the spirits to join with Jesse and me.’

_ _

‘We accept you offer.’ Both said to me.

‘This time moving thing, you said up to eight hours with four or less being easy. Why can’t the spirits do that also?’

‘We can go as long as twelve hours, not eight, Master.’ Rin corrected me.

‘Sorry, I must have remembered wrong. Why can’t the spirits do the same?’

‘We are uncertain. It may have to do with the connection we have with all of our kind,’ Lassie said.

‘You two can talk when transformed into an animal that can talk. The Yeti and Minitour both looked very human like other than the head. Why can’t you just change the head some?’ I asked.

‘We have always only changed into animals. It has never entered our thoughts that we should change only the head. All our information is about the different animals we have encountered.’ Rin answered.

‘You can become a Griffin, it’s part lion and eagle. Your mixing two species. You also said that you can become any mythical creature. A Werewolf is mythical. Stories state they can still speak, as they are humans that change into wolf human hybrids.’ I stated.

‘We will try tomorrow when the study is sealed.’ Rin said.

‘I think I’m feeling sleepy. We’ll finish this tomorrow.’

_ _

****

_ _

I woke up late. Jesse left a note telling me he would check on the boat, since I was going to be at the Oasis for most of the day.

Rin and Lassie came in as I was coming out of the shower. ‘We can take you to your cave,’ Rin asked.

“No, we better let the spirits take us. That way, they can’t complain.” I said.

Shortly Ursus and Stone appeared. “We have prepared the study. Because we don’t know how long this will take, we have stocked food and drinks for you. Are you ready to leave?” Ursus asked.

“Yes, let’s get this over with.” I said.

Ursus made a portal into our room. “After you, Master.” Stone offered.

_ _

I stepped thru with stone following, the shepherds were right behind him, Ursus followed. We did not enter our cave from this portal, as the spirits could not move us around the world in one jump. After entering many portals, we stepped thru and entered our cave. All the other Spirits were there waiting. “We will all perform the sealing.” Ursus told me.

“You think they can take me out from the study if only one of you does it?” I asked.

“It’s not that. It’s just that no one wants to be left out. We all feel that this is too important a task,” Stone told me.

I was not sure that statement was the whole truth. Ursus followed us into the study. “Is the amount of food and drink sufficient for this meeting?” He asked me.

I looked around and there was more food than ten men could eat and drink. “You guys went overboard again. It’s just me and these two, there no way I can eat all of this. But yes, thank you.”

“Just think that you’re done and we will remove the seal.” Ursus said. And then he left.

‘We will wait till we feel the seal closing.’ I sat at my desk and waited. After about five minutes, Rin said, ‘They have sealed the study. We can still sense them.’ Both Rin and Lassie sealed the study so the spirits could not hear us, then changed into their male muscled forms. Sitting on the floor. They were so tall if they sat on a chair, I would have to look up at them. This way we were all at eye level, me the only one sitting in a chair.

“We Had discussed a lot last night, but we did not get to the question of how your communication differs from the spirits. Let’s start there and then you can tell me anything you think I need to know.”

They told me so much information I was sure I would not remember it all. Basically, the unbound remain connected as one vast repository of knowledge. When one gathers information, every unbound knows it. The bound who lost their animal forms and became spirits forever don’t share that connection. Because they were made spirits after having bodies, they became disconnected from the repository. Even now, since I had given them new bodies, they had less of a connection to the repository. They continued on feeding me more and more information about their abilities, differences between the two groups, and thoughts on why the spirits are weary of them. It was late afternoon when they finally stopped.

Rin spoke to me. His voice was deep and sometimes hard to understand, so Lassie did more talking than him. I ate some of the food for lunch. The two with me said that they did not need food and offered to give me a show while I ate. I accepted as long as they did not do lewd motions that would make me cough up my food. Their show was like two bodybuilders who were finalist trying to outdo the other. When I finished I asked, “Try to make your heads human like. You’ve both seen many men now. Try to picture two men that you’ve seen and meld their faces into a new one.”

Their first try was unsuccessful, but Lassie could lose his horns and snout. Rin only needed to change his face and make his skull a little smaller. I kept critiquing the changes, and they kept at it. Finally, after a few hours of this, Lassie looked almost like a man.

“So, speak to me like a man.” I said.

The voice that came out was the same as the Minotaur, way too deep for any man. “Where are you making the sounds from? Is it from you throat or your chest? It sounds like it your chest. You need to make it with your throat.”

She kept at it while Rin worked on his facial structure. I kept giving them suggestions. At six thirty, I told them, “We will continue at another time. I think you can succeed, but it will take more work. Change back into shepherds and let’s get back to the hotel.”