Chapter 22 What You Cannot Feel

Clare brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear as she tried to not stare at Lenna. “We will not be here for very long. Maybe next time.” Lenna answered the younger woman’s previous inquiry into the possibility of painting Lenna’s portrait.

Clare tried not to let the disappointment show on her face as she nodded with a forced smile. “I see, next time then.” She replied. “Your helmet should be ready shortly.” She said to change topics.

“We live in Safeharbor.” Isaac offered Clare which got a questioning look from Lenna. “I would like a portrait of my lovely wife in my study, so, ‘next time’, very well might not be your hopes being brushed aside.” He offered her. “Our honeymoon could take weeks or even years though, so don’t imagine it will be any time soon.”

Clare nodded at Isaac as she processed his words. “Well, I would love to give it a try, if you’ll have me. You know where to find me.” She stated. “I’ll go check on the Lady’s helmet.” She followed up with a slight bow before she returned to the back to do just that.

“Are you sure?” Lenna asked Isaac. “I know how you are.”

“Oh? How am I?” Isaac questioned her teasingly.

“Possessive, jealous, greedy.” Lenna replied flatly.

Isaac stopped dead as he realized that she wasn’t joking but being serious. His demeanor shifted slightly to match hers. “Yes, well, I am curious about the process. If it looks doable then I may make an attempt at painting your portrait as well.”

Lenna raised an eyebrow. “Piano, organ, two styles of combat, magic, magic theory, a business, and now painting?” She questioned him. “All of that combined will take at least a century to master. Humans usually devote their entire lives to a craft or skill and find a way to make it make them money, do they not?”

“The only thing that I am trying to be the best at is being the Lord of Darkness. The rest of those things either help or are simply hobbies.” Isaac replied. “And I am not sure about painting yet, maybe in the future. We still have the rest of our honeymoon to enjoy before we return here.”

Lenna shrugged. “Fair enough.” Lenna’s ear then shifted slightly as she heard footsteps. It was not enough to be noticeable by most, but Isaac was looking right at her when it happened.

“Did your ear just twitch like a cat’s?” Isaac asked her as Clare returned with Lenna’s helmet in her hands.

“No, you imagined it.” Lenna told him casually and rose to her feet to accept her helmet.

“It is done.” Clare told her and handed her the helmet. “Though, I would wait at least until the morning before you try to play kickball with it or something. The cement is set enough to be moved but it is still a little weak.”

“Thank you.” Lenna told her. “How much do we owe you?”

“Oh, that’s fine, we-” Clare was cut off by the same man from before.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Like hells we will!” He yelled at her. “Five gold for the cement and a gold for my time!”

Clare winced. “You heard him.” She said apologetically. “Six gold, please.”

Lenna reached into her Bottomless Bag and withdrew a platinum coin. She handed it to the clerk with a slight smile. “Keep the rest, for staying late with us.” She told the younger woman.

“No, I…” Clare’s voice trailed off as Lenna turned to leave and slid her helmet back on over her head.

“How is it?” Isaac asked his mate as they started towards the door.

“Fine, I’ll let you know in the morning.” She told him and then they were off to find a place to stay for the night.

It didn’t take the duo long to find an inn. In fact, all they had to do was go to the Adventurers’ Guild and then look across the street. It was common for inns, magic shops, and smiths to try and take all of the real estate around an Adventurers’ Guild for rather obvious reasons. The inn was well built, well kept, and large enough to house a hundred adventurers at a time without forcing any of them to share a bed. The building stood as tall as the Adventurers’ Guild and just as wide.

When the duo entered the inn, they were noticed by a few dozen adventurers and patrons that had packed the dining hall almost completely. Most immediately went back to their food but a few of them stopped, pointed, and started whispering to each other. Some of the whispers were picked up by Isaac and Lenna. Some were speculating about their double platinum tags and others asked their party members if the duo were the famous pair from Safeharbor. Regardless of what everyone around them was saying, the pair made their way to an open table just out of the way but still entirely lacking in privacy.

“This will have to do.” Isaac told Lenna.

“Can’t be helped.” She agreed.

“It's kind of bright in here, how are the lenses?” Isaac asked.

“They seem to be working well enough. The light has a harder time getting through but that also means that it is harder to see, though not as bad as if I were squinting.” She replied.

“That’s good.” Isaac said and was about to move on to another topic when a young woman in a slightly frilly brown dress wove through the other tables to reach them.

“We get celebrities like you regularly but it surprises me every time.” The waitress told the pair. “Would you mind enlightening me on who I’ll be serving tonight? I’m Nemma.”

As Isaac and Lenna were served and ate their food, the conversations around them continued. Once Isaac had informed Nemma of their identities there was even an exchange of coins between two people at a nearby table. Apparently they were still close enough to Safeharbor for the adventurers to know who they were, even if the merchants didn’t.

Lenna had opened her faceplate to begin eating which left the top of her face covered and her eyes sheltered by her lenses, even so, it was clear from her nose, mouth, and chin that she was a dark elf just like the rumors had said. Eventually, around the time when Isaac and Lenna were about to finish the last of their food, one of the younger adventurers finally worked up the courage to approach them. He looked barely eighteen but Isaac would never forget his features. The boy’s hair was a soft blue-green and his pupils were dandelion yellow. The very first thought that came into Isaac’s head was: ‘It’s like the mana in his body is trying to show the world that he belongs to it.’

“Uh, um, excuse me, mister, Lord of Darkness, sir.” He began, which got some laughs from the table nearby. He swallowed hard and took a breath to continue but it was Isaac who spoke next.

“Just Lord Darkness is fine, no mister or sir needed, though, if you must, then my Lord would be the proper term of address.” Isaac told the boy. “What can I do for you, adventurer?”

The acknowledgement of his status as an adventurer from someone so high above him seemed to inflate the boy a bit as his shoulders squared. “I, I was just wondering if the stories are true, about you, I mean.” He stammered out. It was a much better showing than his original greeting but it was clear that he was still nervous as all hells.

“You will have to narrow it down.” Isaac told him and then gestured to one of the two open seats at their table.

The boy swallowed again and then hesitantly took the seat. “I heard that a punch from you is enough to disintegrate a man and that you can fight for weeks without getting tired. Someone even said that you fought Fable the Glinting Blade to a standstill.” The boy went on.

“Sorcerer, what do you feel from me?” Isaac asked him and leaned in slightly.

The boy inhaled sharply. “I, uh, what do you mean?” He questioned in return.

Isaac had to hold back a chuckle at the boy forgetting the decorum entirely after being so nervous to even speak with them. “With your mana senses, what do you feel from me, the most powerful mage you have ever met?” Isaac expanded on his earlier question.

“Um…” The young sorcerer began and closed his eyes to try and feel the world around him better. After a moment, which was as long as Isaac needed to finish his food, the young man opened his eyes. “Uh, nothing, at all. It’s like you aren’t even there.”

Isaac smiled slyly at him. “Then allow me to enlighten you on three things before we go.” He said and placed a gold coin on the table for the waitress. “The first, is that you should be more afraid of what you cannot feel than what you can.” He spoke and the pair rose from their seats in tandem. “The second, is that I never tire. And the third, is that I won that fight against Fable. The Glinting Blade is not as young as he used to be. Though he did manage to take my arm off before he was forced to concede.”