The awkward events of their previous night, surprisingly, didn’t affect the mood of the next day. Maybe it was because their relationship had suffered worse tension — in hindsight, this was hardly a good thing — but the light atmosphere was nonetheless appreciated.
Unfortunately, it seemed as though their streak of bad accommodation luck hadn’t ended quite as quickly.
They had veered towards a large wooden building in hopes of a warm place to stay, but upon approaching the structure swiftly dashed their hopes. While the building had a large sign that confirmed it was, in fact, an inn, the rest of the exterior wasn’t nearly as welcoming.
Raine frowned. “Is it closed? The windows and doors are all shut. And the chains on the door…”
“It’s possible,” Nikolay squinted at the map. “This path is out of the way, since we came from the Shrine of Resurrection. They might’ve closed down due to a lack of foot traffic.”
“Darn. We have to camp out again? It’s nice the first few times, but the bugs and dirt get annoying soon enough.”
“Seems like it.”
Nikolay turned his attention back to the map, looking for a decent place to set up camp.
Not long after, the sound of foreign footsteps interrupted Nikolay’s musings. Both jerked their head towards the intrusion, tense and cautious.
“Hey! You two,” a voice called out. “Here for the inn?”
Assuming that they were also a fellow traveller, Raine replied, “Yeah. It’s a shame that it’s closed, though.”
An amused grin flashed across the stranger’s face. “It hasn’t closed just yet, boy. This rundown inn still has a couple more days left in her.”
Realisation hit both Nikolay and Raine like a bullet.
“You’re the innkeeper, then?” Nikolay asked.
“That’s me. I’m Ascrythis. And you?”
“Nikolay,” came the curt response. “And beside me is Raine.”
“Is there a room vacant?” Raine quickly followed up, softening the blow of Nikolay’s bluntness. “No problem if there isn’t.”
“You can have the entire inn to yourselves,” Ascrythis laughed. “The only problem right now is that she’s mostly an empty shell. Most of her innards are either already sold off or packed into boxes, leaving just the bare minimum. If you two had gotten here any later, there wouldn’t even be a bed to sleep on.”
“But there is still a bed, right?” Raine anxiously asked, unwilling to repeat the awkwardness of their previous night in the motel’s single bedroom.
Ascrythis merely shot him a questioning gaze. “Of course, that’s what I just said, isn’t it?”
“A- Ah, I guess so…”
“Come, I’ll show you the belly of the beast. You can leave your mount in the stables over there.”
After directing Rascal towards her dedicated, spacious housing for the night, Nikolay and Raine trailed after Ascrythis.
Inside, the inn was completely bare, save for a few cardboard boxes that hadn’t been pawned off yet. The entire establishment had a hollow feel to it, like any traces of being lived in were long erased. Even the bar counter, which was usually covered in scratches and scuffs from patrons, was partially dismantled so that it bore no resemblance to others of its kind.
Nikolay frowned at the surrounding sight, which wasn’t an unfamiliar look on his face. What did surprise Raine, however, was the tinge of sadness that accompanied Nikolay’s gaze.
“You’re the only one here to witness the inn’s last days,” Nikolay quietly noted. “Might I ask why you decided to shut it down?”
“Ah, you know,” the innkeeper waved his hand dismissively. “Business isn’t too good here. Not many pass by this road, which makes it hard to attract customers.”
Raine heard a sceptical sound from Nikolay beside him, but it was too quiet to be heard by Ascrythis.
“Do you have plans for where you’ll go after you’re finished with the inn?” Nikolay asked.
“What comes next, huh…” the thought darkened Ascrythis’ face. “I’ll probably move to Marque in the west. Or maybe the folks in Aurelinne Village take in strays. Can’t fish to save my life, though. I’d be better off drowning in Lake Litchmere; at least then, I can feed the fish there for the folks to eat.”
“A drowned man isn’t ‘good’ for anything,” Nikolay humourlessly replied. “I’d rather not see a floating corpse once we reach Aurelinne Village.”
Instead of being hurt at being taken too seriously, the innkeeper raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You’re also heading over to Lake Litchmere? Is it tourist season or something?”
“We have business there,” Raine interjected. “We’re planning to stay in Aurelinne Village while we… take care of something relating to Lake Litchmere.”
“Oh, ‘business’, is it? Didn’t take you men for the type to be the fellas in trench coats and suitcases filled with classified information,” he replied in mirth.
“It’s not like that,” Nikolay rebutted. “A corporation hasn’t sent us. We’re just unsure whether our visit will even be worth it.”
Raine added, “And to be completely honest, we have no idea what kind of business we’ll be doing. So we couldn’t tell you even if we could.”
“You’re going to Lake Litchmere… and you don’t even know why?” Ascrythis asked in disbelief. “Ah, forget it. I feel like it’ll become more complicated if I pry too much.”
“We appreciate it,” Nikolay graciously replied. “Especially considering that we’re in your debt for sheltering us.”
“Just doing my job. Or clinging to the last scraps I have of it, anyway.”
Raine and Nikolay shot each other an unreadable look, then Raine turned to Ascrythis. “We can help you pack up whatever’s left. It’s the least we can do to repay your kindness.”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“I wouldn’t dare ask for your help,” Ascrythis said. “I won’t even collect payment for your night here. God knows filing it with the tax department will be a nightmare. It’s already an honour to receive guests one last time.”
“You already know that we won’t take no for an answer,” Raine parried. “At the very least, helping with moving out won’t cause more work for you to do with the government.”
“The Veritas government…” Ascrythis trailed off, a pained expression crossing his face.
After receiving a concerned look from Raine and Nikolay, Ascrythis sighed and stood up from his seat. “Well, we’d better start moving. Unless you like working in pitch black, that is.”
The next few hours passed in a flash. While it initially seemed like there weren’t many boxes left, Ascrythis revealed a closet full of them shortly after they got to work.
About a few minutes in, Nikolay attempted to pick up one of the heavier boxes, but flinched and quickly withdrew his bandaged left arm. Quietly nursing the still-injured arm, he darted his eyes around to check whether anybody had noticed — only to meet eyes with Raine, who was staring directly at him with a raised eyebrow.
“Don’t push yourself,” was all Raine said.
“I’m fine,” Nikolay lied.
Raine sighed. “Leave the larger boxes to me. I’ve had enough of you taking care of me without caring about yourself.”
To Raine, it was strange that Nikolay hadn’t used his magic to aid him in lieu of his arm, but perhaps it was a matter of principle. In any case, it wasn’t worth the effort of asking: Nikolay would probably say something like, ‘Magic should only be used when necessary’, or an equally absurd yet rational thing. Personally, if Raine had magic blue strands that he could manipulate, he would be using them all the damn time. But of course, it was already a stretch to imagine that he could use magic.
And just like that, they had already moved all the remaining boxes into the cart outside.
“Phew, that was a lot quicker with three people,” Ascrythis conceded. “Thank you two for the help. It wasn’t necessary at all, so I really appreciate it.”
Nikolay shook his head. “No need.”
“This is a bit straightforward, but can I ask you about your arm? I noticed it when you were lifting the boxes.”
“A… run-in with a knife,” Nikolay replied vaguely. “On our way to Veritas.”
It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t exactly the truth, either. After all, the long scar down Nikolay’s arm had been his own doing.
Thinking back on it, they were pretty stupid to fall for a trap like that.
Ascrythis looked thoughtful. “So you’ve been targeted too, huh? It’s nice to have fellow victims as the last patrons of this inn. Really ties everything up in a neat bow.”
Nikolay had clearly avoided stating the truth to protect their own secrets, but it sounded like they’d unintentionally stumbled upon somebody else’s secret.
“You know, I wouldn’t leave this inn by choice,” Ascrythis continued. “I’ve lived in this inn since I was a young lad, taking over the business once my father passed away. But the dogs of the government in Veritas gave me no choice. They took away my permit, claiming that I didn’t have the means to protect patrons from outside dangers. It was a dirty ploy to get rid of non-sorcerer businesses. Even though I argued my way to court, the judge immediately asked me, ‘Can you wield magic?’ and I said ‘No, your honour, but I can still defend my establishment in other ways’. But as soon as I said no, the verdict had already been decided. They confiscated my permit permanently, and I took a huge blow to my reputation as well. Not that I give a shit about what those government dogs in Veritas think of me.”
Raine nodded. “I received similar treatment in Veritas, too. They really don’t like non-sorcerers there.”
“Exactly. They act like they’re automatically better just because of how they were born. Even if I could beat more than half of them in a fair fight. Sorcerers? Bah, it’s just a fancy title bestowed on some lucky people, by some unfair gods.”
Next to him, Raine felt Nikolay shift uncomfortably in his seat. No wonder why he’d avoided using magic to move the boxes.
Ascrythis placed his hands on his knees and stood up. “But that’s enough of talk that’ll land us in jail. I’ll whip up something for dinner. You two head up and sort out your bags in the room upstairs.”
“Are you certain?” Nikolay asked. “I can help with cooking to lessen the workload.”
“No, no, as the innkeeper, it’s my job to provide for you.”
They were all but ushered up the stairs and into their room by Ascrythis, who left as soon as he was certain that they would stay there.
Once they were alone in the room, Raine turned to Nikolay with a stern gaze. “Let me check your arm again. You really shouldn’t have helped if it was going to hurt you.”
“I didn’t get hurt,” Nikolay retorted. “It just took me by surprise, that was all.”
“Well, it’s time to change the bandage, isn’t it? Let me help you. I’ve been doing it for the past few weeks for us, anyway.”
“I…” Nikolay bit his lip and looked away. “If it’ll ease your worry, fine.”
He tentatively offered the injured arm to Raine, who propped it up on his leg. Grabbing the bandages from the bag nearby, he set to removing the current strip on Nikolay’s arm.
Unaccustomed to changing bandages on another body, Raine accidentally pulled too sharply with the bandage. It snagged the edge of the wound, almost tearing apart the newly formed skin.
Shit.
Nikolay didn’t react outwardly to the sharp tug, but his jaw tensed ever so slightly. Which made it even worse, knowing that Nikolay was purposefully hiding his pain to make Raine feel better.
Raine winced. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
The rest of the procedure passed without further incident, thankfully. Raine wrapped up his handiwork with a clip — taking care to be more gentle this time — and cheerfully patted the freshly bandaged arm.
Now that he was finished, Raine could let out a held breath. His body relaxed significantly now that it wasn’t under tension.
“You’re a perfect patient: still as a rock. I can hardly tell whether you’re breathing at times.”
Nikolay merely crossed his arms, apparently unimpressed.
“Aw, come on,” Raine whined playfully. “Do you want me to compliment you more? I thought I was already being pretty liberal with the praise.”
“You’re mistaken.”
“Oh, so I was wrong about being generous? You want me to gush even more?”
“That’s not what I was…” Nikolay sighed. “I meant you were mistaken about my desire for more compliments.”
Raine acted as if he hadn’t heard Nikolay, leaning closer towards him. “Well, if you want me to praise you so badly, I can hardly refuse… You’re such a good companion, after all.”
At last, Nikolay reacted by lightly pushing Raine away with pink-tinged cheeks. “Shut up.”
“Is that a blush on your face?” Raine teased, leaning forward to invade Nikolay’s personal space once again. “Is Kolya is blushing at compliments?”
“You need to get your eyes checked out.”
Just as Raine was about to continue in his unrelenting crusade towards baiting a reaction out of Nikolay, a voice called out from downstairs.
“Come down, you two! Eat while it’s still warm!”
Dinner was a simple meal consisting of imported potatoes and meat of unknown origin. It was most likely wild prey such as deer, given that they had passed no cow or sheep farms during their trek.
Regardless of its simplicity, both Raine and Nikolay scarfed it down within minutes. Warm food was a delicacy by itself on the road, especially when lighting a fire became impossible in the wind or rain.
“Thank you for the meal. It was delicious,” Raine demurely said.
“No problem,” Ascrythis replied benevolently. “It wasn’t too much extra effort to make a couple more portions.”
“Regardless, we still appreciate your good intentions. I’ll be heading up to sleep now, if it’s fine by you,” Nikolay said, getting up from his seat.
Ascrythis nodded. “Of course it’s fine. Who am I to tell you to stay awake?”
Raine leaned back in his chair and looked at Nikolay. “Tired already? I guess you have to wake up at the ass crack of dawn somehow.”
“I rarely sleep this early if you recall,” Nikolay denied. “I’m just feeling a bit… lightheaded. But it’s nothing that sleep won’t resolve.”
As Nikolay turned to retire for the night, Raine suddenly grabbed his wrist. The familiar sense of connection ran through them. Nikolay whipped back around to shoot an inquiring expression towards Raine.
Goodnight, Raine transmitted with a faint smile.
Nikolay rolled his eyes, but a matching smile graced his features. Goodnight.
He wearily climbed his way up the stairs, being careful not to slip and hit his head. Which wouldn’t be a problem usually, but it simultaneously felt like his head was made of lead and air at the same time.
Even though Nikolay was nestled within the comfort of their own room, he made sure to leave the door ajar. Blinding light streamed from the small crack in their doorway, creating a jarringly bright disturbance in the otherwise pitch-black room. But the sounds of Raine’s voice and laughter downstairs made it more than worth the sacrifice.