Another uneventful week lulled me into what was probably a false sense of security. 'Exercise, Learn, Sleep' was turning into my mantra, and I would put it up on a plaque on my front door if I could. Maybe start drinking coffee, wear a sweater, get an inverted bob haircut... Oh dear.
Moving on from that horrifying mental image—the fact I actually had forewarning of an upcoming event was a new thing. I'd half gotten used to being lugged around randomly and finding out what was going on at the last minute. Thankfully, I now knew we were having the so-called blessing ceremony tomorrow, so I was spending today mentally preparing myself and asking Siobhan questions.
"Sib! 'hug!"
She chuckled, "Alright, come here, silly."
Now, some might argue that me having my face plopped into the nun and wrapping my chubby little arms around her wasn't considering preparing. I would argue that it's important to know when to relax. And I was very relaxed right now.
After I turned into a puddle of warm butter atop Siobhan's lap, she continued to read the Scripture to me while rustling my hair. Truthfully, I wasn't extremely interested in the holy book, but Siobhan seemed to enjoy it and I certainly wouldn't pass up free learning material. Most of it seemed to boil down to parables and life instructions. There were a few nuggets regardless, but I would've rather read a history or geography book if I'm being honest.
I'd come a pretty long way in the short time I'd been here and had a lot of time for introspection. I was more than a bit curious about the culture of this world and the people around me. This led me to wondering why the people in this church decided to become nuns and monks. Was it a well-respected profession or something? Asking seemed a bit rude, plus attempting would be bothersome and likely strange, so I didn't even try.
Then again, I suppose when magic and Gods were an actual, tangible force in the world, it would certainly lead to religious institutions.
Well, whatever had brought these people here, I was thankful. Religious folk in general had sort of weirded me out in a preachy, judgmental sense before, but so far I'd been given nothing less than a warm welcome—doubly so considering the odd circumstances.
Or perhaps, maybe, that whole "false sense of security" bit was in full swing and I was going to be shipped off eventually and sold into slavery. Or dissected. That'd be rather awful, so I tried to categorize that as a paranoid thought and nothing more. I had better things to do than worry about uncontrollable hypotheticals. And thankfully, being here so far had done a lot to calm my nerves.
For now, I was amusing myself by playing with Dinah. Siobhan had propped the spud up on the couch with a blanket, while I was sitting adjacent to the little tyke. Dinah hadn't even been crying when she looked at me anymore. I'm so proud.
Then again, after the revelation of how cute I was, I think I'd be a bit offended if she did cry when looking at me. I'd reconfirmed the other day after I expertly convinced Siobhan to let me use the hand mirror again. I was adorable. Just had to overlook the red. If anything, the contrast of black hair on red skin simply enhanced that cuteness. And not a single blemish!
Siobhan had taken the mirror back after ten minutes and given me a weird look. Not really sure what the issue was. Maybe I could get my own mirror somehow? Hopefully they weren't rare or expensive around here.
Thoughts for later. Bigger issues loomed.
Namely, Dinah playing patty cake with my face. She seemed content to keep palming my cheeks, as if checking I were real or something. I had to keep closing my eyes so she wouldn't poke them. Siobhan seemed concerned for me, but it was fine.
Kids are fun, no sarcasm implied. Part of me sort of wanted kids before, but uh ... issues. And I don't like half-assing things. Plus about fifty other reasons and/or excuses. Dinah was a little cutie in her own right, so if getting my face smooshed made her giggle, then I guess I was gettin' smooshed.
As the evening rolled by, a touch of nervousness crept in when I realized I'd be surrounded by people tomorrow. Sure, I'd have some familiar faces, but it still felt like going to a big party where you only knew one person. Siobhan had more or less given me an explanation of the event when I'd clumsily asked her for more information. It seemed like a baptism ceremony, basically. Not that I really knew much about those.
Still not sure how the whole 'blessing' thing works and if they're being literal. It feels like I'm missing something, especially considering their talk about 'holy water' and the like. Was it actually holy? It sounded like that was the case, so I'm glad they weren't planning on dunking me in the stuff. Context tells me it wouldn't end well for myself.
After Siobhan helped me brush my teeth, I soon found myself drifting off and having weird dreams. Nothing too awful, at least. By the time I'd woken up, I was left with little more than a "what the hell" impression rather than a "scream my lungs out or silently cry myself to sleep" feeling. A marked improvement.
Siobhan and Eleanor would still be sleeping for a while. Dinah only cried once last night, which was better than the average of twice. All in all, I was well-rested and ready for today! Probably.
While I waited for them, I rolled over and started my attempts at crawling around. Mostly, I was putting my butt up in the air and wiggling around like an inelegant fish. Still, every day I built up a tad more strength and control. That gradual increase in agency was comforting, if slow-going. I was hoping within a few months I'd be able to actually stand and eventually wander around.
Now if only exercise could do something about this gnawing anxiety. Woo boy.
The minutes ticked by slowly. After exhausting myself, I laid there for a while before repeating the process several times. Eventually, Eleanor arrived to check on both of us. Siobhan followed shortly thereafter.
Completing the normal morning activities, I soon found myself scooped up.
"Alright, little one. Are you ready for today?" Siobhan smiled at me.
"Yus," I lisped and lied.
At least faking confidence was easy enough. Not like a baby was expected to do much, so there wasn't really much to 'mess up'.
Perhaps Siobhan noticed my nervousness anyways, because she spent the next few minutes comforting and reassuring me. I thought I'd at least spared her from worrying about me. Maybe I'm a worse liar than I thought? Ugh.
Feeling a bit dejected from being seen through so easily, it was with some resignation that I allowed myself to be carried out into the main church, where the worst thing possible happened.
I was forced to socialize.
Joking aside, Elias came over and met Siobhan and Eleanor. I gave him a small hello and they fussed over me a smidge before resuming chatting. I was periodically introduced to a few familiar, but mostly new faces. My head was swimming in short order.
For the women especially, it was difficult to memorize names and match them to a face when they literally had everything else covered. The men were a bit easier since I had some hairstyles to go off of, but there was no way I was going to remember all these. Several hadn't really been introduced properly, so that further impeded my efforts. I kept mentally repeating the names in my head, trying to get those at least, even if I might not match them to the right face.
Really, all of this was just a fancy way to distract myself. Because I had no idea what they were doing fiddling with a table and stuff. That seemed to all come to a head as people began to sort of file into the pews, except standing up and facing toward us in the back. Elias cleared his throat and began to address the crowd.
"We are gathered here today to formally welcome the newest member of our flock. I'm sure more than a few of you are aware of the ... unusual circumstances regarding her arrival. Little Diadora is a bit far away from her place of origin."
He paused to chuckle for a moment, which seemed to be weakly mirrored by most of the room. I felt my face heating up a bit. You have no idea, mister.
"As such, I hope you'll forgive the unorthodox ceremony we've arranged today for her. It isn't often our church has newborns arrive, especially ones from the Infernal Sphere. Regardless of the unlikely situation, we've been entrusted with Diadora and it is my sincere hope that we all are able to show her Benevitas' hospitality, and that it be returned in kind."
"As I'm sure most of you are aware, the Archangel Hokhmah recently graced us with a brief visit to welcome Diadora. An announcement was—"
I found myself nodding along and half paying attention. Mostly, Elias was informing everyone of what had happened previously and what to expect moving forward, while asking for patience and guidance for me as I grew up. All of that was awfully nice of him, though I didn't plan on causing any trouble whatsoever. I certainly hoped I'd be far more reasonable than any 'real' demon that came or grew up here.
That still left the far-off question of what I wanted to do when and as I grew up. I didn't expect to stay at the church forever. It was just a bit too hard to imagine becoming a monk. ... Er, nun? Huh. Yeah. Very hard to imagine.
"—so for today's Blessing Ceremony, we've had to take a few liberties while attempting to keep with the spirit of the ceremony. While perhaps a bit further from the sacred altar, there is no distance Benevitas' grace cannot reach."
He let out a small chuckle again, which just reminded me how thankful I was they hadn't put me near that altar. I'm pretty sure it was what had given me that horrible burning sensation, though I hadn't been able or all that willing to test that theory.
Unfortunately, I then realized he'd motioned towards us, "Siobhan, if you would."
Small panic gripped my chest as I was now front and center. Please don't let the water be poisonous to me or something.
Siobhan, the loveable traitor that she was, brought me up to the altar before matter-of-factly stripping me quite naked and setting me in the lukewarm bowl of water. Siobhan then stood to the side of it, while Elias maintained a slightly more off-center position. I looked around the room at all the eyes on me while trying not to pout or panic. For someone like me who was so used to actively trying not to garner more attention that necessary, I very much disliked such situations.
Random thoughts did their best to distract my squirrel brain, so that I wouldn't focus on the more blaring concerns.
Hey, at least I didn't burst into flames or anything. Sweet.
I just sort of vibed in my little basin puddle while Elias did his thing, schmoozing the crowd.
He had grabbed a small cup, which oddly enough gave me weird vibes. Kind of like static electricity. Or maybe blueberries.
Those two seemingly unrelated forewarnings conflicted in my mind. Why would blueberries give me weird vibes? That made no sense. I liked blueberries!
"It is with this oil that we anoint you as a child of Benevitas, may its mark forever guide you."
Elias dipped his finger in the cup, leaving a small drop on his thumb, before gently pressing it to my forehead. No horrid burning, but now I had a wet smudge on my head that tingled a bit. I didn't want to be rude and scratch it. My nose wrinkled up, making me want to sneeze. The feeling gradually began to recede. By then, I noticed he'd grabbed some sort of ladle.
"Though this water may not be holy, I ask that it wash away and keep you clean from sin all the same. Under Benevitas' grace, I pray that He continue to protect and guide you on the path to righteousness."
Three scoops of water rinsed over each of my shoulders and back, which actually felt quite nice. Shame the water wasn't warmer though, it'd been a while since I had a hot bath.
"And above all, we ask that Benevitas give a suitable blessing to Diadora—that she might remain strong in the face of adversity and be able to carry on His will and spread His glory. It is on His behalf that I, Frederick Elias, bless Diadora on this day."
Elias made a fancy hand motion and I swear his hand glowed white ever so slightly. I tensed up a bit as he brought it to my forehead and gently touched me.
Warmth spread through my body. It wasn't the burning, awful sensation I'd half-expected, but a gentle glow slowly radiated outward. A small shiver went up my back as my eyes fluttered shut.
When I'd finally opened them again, Elias was looking down kindly at me. His face seemed to be one of relief. I wondered if he'd been nervous as well?
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
"Praise be."
" "Praise be." "
Hearing Elias' conclusion and the crowd mirroring it, I felt a weight off my shoulders. I'd been half-expecting something to go poorly due to my unique constitution or for me to make a fool out of myself somehow. I looked over to Siobhan, who seemed similarly relieved, and perhaps a touch ecstatic.
I found her happiness infectious and began to feel a bit giddy myself. As I was processing that emotion, I began to look back over at Elias, only to notice a faint glow all the way directly down the main aisle.
Huh? Is it just catching the light all of a sudden, or am I seeing things?
I blinked. Still there. I blinked again.
The light flared up, catching more than just my attention. Murmurs turned into constrained shouts. Elias turned backwards to look at the commotion.
Light shot out from the altar, spearing directly between my eyes. Oh, motherfuc—
Instantly, I felt an immense burning sensation that was more than physical. For that split second, pain was all I knew—
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Elias' eyes bulged in their sockets. As the narrow beam of light shot forth from the holy altar, his head snapped back towards Diadora.
The girl had smacked the back of her head off the basin and was currently seizing, tremors running through her body. Siobhan yelled. Elias' mind whirled.
What had gone wrong?
He'd carefully scrutinized the entire ceremony. They'd made sure to relocate from the holy altar so that its sacred mana wouldn't harm Diadora. They'd substituted the holy water and used a heavily diluted blend for the anointing oil. They'd restructured the blessing speech and made sure to only ask for suitable protection. So why had the altar reacted so spectacularly? This wasn't normal, even for a regular child's ceremony.
Yet the signature of sacred mana was unmistakable. Elias had felt it rush past him. There was clamor in the church nave, and he briefly had no idea what to do.
A look at Siobhan's panic fueled and grief stricken face had quickly smothered that thought. Action was needed.
"Father! Father, what do we do?"
That was an excellent question. What should he do?
Elias was distraught. Impotent. In most situations he would apply healing, a ward, a blessing or protection magic—something. Yet, in this moment, for Diadora, that would only worsen the situation. Healing magic was anathema to demons.
He grabbed the child as gently as he could, tossing the bowl aside and laying her on the table. To say she was in an awful state was downplaying the situation. Diadora had begun to bleed from her mouth, ears, nose and eyes. Dark, ichorous blood seeped from the orifices.
"Siobhan! Her clothes!" he looked around, "Geoffrey, a towel!"
His mind raced as he watched Diadora shake and spasm atop the makeshift altar. A stray thought appeared, and with each time his mind circled around, it stopped just a little longer on that one idea.
Elias' face grew grim, both at the scene before him and the resignation of the act he was about to commit. A brief glance over at Siobhan's panicked face and another at the alarmed congregation behind him seal his decision.
With a self-derisive chuckle, he thought grimly to himself, "The me of 30 years ago wouldn't even recognize myself at present."
He grit his teeth and put his hands on Diadora. One sliver, then another, another. Elias closed his eyes as he focused and grabbed strand after strand of his soul and peeled his very life essence way, forcing it into the small girl's abdomen. It was hungrily devoured, vanishing before his very senses. He slowly discharged his Mana, forcing it to remain neutral and inert, then fed that to the girl too.
Diadora's seizures slowed, lessening to mere periodic twitches. Whether that was a good or bad sign, he still wasn't certain. She remained breathing, at least.
As the minutes blurred by, Elias felt faint. He'd emptied well over three-quarters of his mana. As for his soul, comparing the regular portion given to the child as a thimble, this was more akin to an entire finger. He would likely recover without issue, but the entire ordeal left him woozy nonetheless.
Demons were known to be able to regenerate horrific wounds. It was one of the reasons they were so feared. Normal swords and spells did little to stall them, and the minute they closed the distance you'd be nothing more than a snack that only fueled their regenerative process.
So it was that very thought of letting something consume *you* that make any sane person's skin crawl. And as a devout follower of Benevitas, the act was akin to sacrilege. Elias had tolerated the idea previously, but feeling so much of him simply disappear into a hungry void made the man's very being protest in alarm. Judging by the strands, this had been nearly three times as much as the first time Diadora had been injured.
He hoped it was enough. A primordial terror had griped him, and he dared not offer up any more.
Siobhan stood beside him. She'd been toweling Diadora off. Elias vaguely registered an arm supporting him, only to notice Anita was guiding him to sit on one of the nearby pews. He exhaled deeply as he sat down, the air escaping him. In that moment, he felt his age.
Several of his brothers and sisters surrounded him, worry clearly evident on their faces. He held up a palm.
"I'm—" No, that wasn't quite right. "I'll be fine."
Questions abounded, many of them his own. He threw a weary stare over at Siobhan, who was surrounded by several other women. They'd managed to dry off Diadora and bundle her up, but that still begged the question of if the girl would be fine.
Elias grew weary. He asked Anita to tend to her juniors while he recovered. Unfortunately, Elias knew that she knew what he'd done. Anita was both capable and experienced like that. Simple mana exhaustion wouldn't hamstring him nearly so much. Hopefully Diadora suffering holy-related accidents didn't become a trend, for he feared either she or he wouldn't survive the constant strain.
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A good afternoon's rest had done wonders for the abbot. Elias had woken up later that afternoon feeling partially refreshed. That didn't last long as he exited his room and was brought up to speed.
Diadora was still unconscious, though no longer bleeding, and was breathing just fine. It had only been a few hours and Siobhan had clearly been affected. The children had caught wind of what happened and he was told they'd been worried as well. Not even mentioning the more senior members, as they were varying degrees of curious, concerned, and incredulous.
All in all, it was a disaster.
After spending some time calming Siobhan and assessing the situation, Elias promptly decided to pay a visit to town. Since healing was out of the question, the next best thing was to gather information. And despite his many talents, divination and assessment weren't among that repertoire. It was unfortunate that none in the abbey were deeply versed in the arcane either. That would have made things much ... simpler.
No, it was with great resignation that Elias found himself standing in front of the doors of Wintershire's local Mages' Guild.
To call it a 'Guild' was giving it more renown than it was due. Compared to the ever prevalent Fixers' or Mechants' Guilds, it was little more than a hovel. Part of that was simply due to the number of those with magic talent versus those without. The other was that a solid axe or keen blade tended to solve most problems this far out in The Reach.
Seeing as having dual or even triple membership in the three main Guilds was commonplace, most of those with magical aptitude tended to gravitate towards spending their time in one of the latter. There was simply more work and coin there, most of the time.
Pushing aside his concerns and the beginnings of a cobweb on the door, Elias tapped on the it thrice, before allowing himself entry.
Despite the homely exterior and underwhelming size, the interior lobby was well maintained. Various knick-knacks, scrolls, and paintings adorned the walls and shelves. Two men were having a conversation in the lobby, the one giving Elias a small nod before returning to his companion. This left Elias free to march up to the front desk, where a very bored looking Sorceress was thumbing through a book while half-paying attention.
As he arrived, the woman pulled her attention away from the tome long enough to regard him. She quickly judged the man twice her age, running her eyes up his garb before settling on his face.
"Oh. Father Elias, a pleasure to see you. What brings you to our humble halls?" she asked, straightening her posture.
With a wry grin, he began to explain his request and the discretion he was looking for this evening.
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Two meetings and some negotiation later, Elias returned to the abbey with a companion in tow. Said companion happened to be the foremost expert in Divination magic in Wintershire, Madam Janessia Fizzlesprocket.
Elias eyed the elder gnome with some hesitation. It was said only the most eccentric of gnomes mingled with the races of men, especially this far north. There may have been some...
—"She ain't gonna eat me or nothin', is she? I swear, last time I wound up getting gobbled up by an Ent, my hair smelled like sap for weeks! Damn thing thought I was a bush or something!"
...validity to that statement. Janessia was well known in town for being a caring, if not excitable individual. And when she got interested in something, it became rather obvious.
Elias certainly didn't mind conversation. But even he had trouble matching her energy.
He cleared his throat, "I sincerely doubt she has the capacity to eat you, Janessia. Even were she conscious, I'm half-convinced she wouldn't even know how."
The much shorter woman eyed him for a minute, contemplating, "Mm, well if you say so. Still, best not to underestimate demons. Why, when I was much younger I nearly had my head taken off by an imp! Cunning lil' bastards, the lot of them. Can't be too careful dealing with demons and their ilk. A well-placed Lightning Bolt right up their 'chute really does a number on 'em though!"
"Please do not electrify a newborn under the protection of our abbey, Madam. Assuming Sibohan didn't strangle you then and there, I myself would become rather cross with you. I don't want to be at odds with the Mages' Guild."
He let out a long sigh, rubbing his temple. Today was not a good day. Janessia eyed him and tilted her head in surprise.
"Ye'd really get mad at me over that? Huh. I heard rumors that the abbey took in a lil' baby demon, just didn't pay no mind. Seemed kinda silly. So, has Siobhan been adjusting? Poor thing."
Elias' felt his shoulders tense up a bit.
"She's improved much since coming to stay with us. Dinah seemed to lift her spirits, and now she's become quite attached to Diadora as well."
More words got stuck in his throat, but he simply pushed them down. Elias was extremely worried about what would happen to Siobhan's mental state should something happen to either child. She'd been doing so much better compared to when she arrived a year prior.
The two arrived back at the abbey in short order and quickly made way to the nursery, where Siobhan was sitting beside Diadora's crib. Dinah appeared to have just been put to sleep, while Eleanor worked at her desk. The two nuns rose to greet them.
Janessia fluttered over to Siobhan, who herself was rather surprised to see the gnome.
"Ohhh, c'mere you. How have you been? You look thinner. Are you eating enough?"
Siobhan threw Elias a questioning glance. As amusing as it was to watch Siobhan get fussed over by a woman who only came up to her navel, larger concerns loomed.
"I've asked Janessia to help Inspect Diadora and see if we can learn anything about her condition or what may have occurred during the blessing ceremony."
Realization struck Siobhan, "Is that true, Madam Janessia?"
"Sure thing, my dear! And please, just call me Nessy. No need fer you to be all formal and distant now. I'll be seein' what we can figure out, yeah?"
With a pat on the forearm, Janessia turned towards Diadora's crib.
"So, erm. This the girl? Yeah, she really is kinda red, innit she? Siobhan, could you be a dear and set the lass on the furniture? Bit hard to reach over the side."
Siobhan gingerly picked up Diadora, extra careful to not jostle her too much, before depositing her upon the nearby couch. Elias watched Janessia's face screw up in concern and confusion, before shaking her head and muttering.
"Right, well let's see what we can figure out. Elias, I'll be starting with an Inspect Status, then branch off to a Detect Disease or Curse depending on how that goes. Sound good, yeah?"
He replied with a wave of his hands, "I trust your judgment on the matter, Madam."
"Oh and uh, if anything ... unearthly happens, that ain't on me. Never Inspected a demon before, dunno how this'll go."
"Of course."
Can't be worse than my blessing ceremony, Elias chided himself with a grimace.
Without further ado, Janessia turned toward Diadora and began to weave her magic. The gnome's eyelids shut in concentration as she began to mutter the spell. There was little fanfare and panache in Divination magic, and as such those present simply stood there while varying facial expressions flitted across Janessia's face. Mostly, her brow was furrowed in concentration.
After several minutes, Janessia opened her eyes with a deep frown present. She turned toward Elias, brows still firmly knitted.
"I need something to write with," she spoke.
Elias turned toward Eleanor, who had been watching with some interest. She quickly provided the necessary tools and parchment. The three adults watched Janessia as she moved to Eleanor's desk and began scribbling on the paper, before handing it to Elias.
"Here. Not really sure what to make of all that. Ye Church people sure attract some characters, I s'ppose."
Elias looked at the parchment, scanning his eyes down the handwriting.
Diadora — Lesser Pride Demon
Status — Injured (Minor), Recovering, Asleep
Affinities — Fire (Major), Sacred (Mote), Infernal (Lesser), Order (Mote), Chaos (Greater)
Resistances — Physical (Moderate), Fire (Faint), Infernal (Moderate), Chaos (Lesser)
Weaknesses — Sacred (Major), Order (Moderate)
Janessia grumbled under her breath, "Status seems to point that she's mostly fine, but what 'n the Hells is with those affinities. Did I read 'em wrong? Can't be right."
While Elias barely caught Janessia's words, he was in a similar state of disbelief. His attention was snared by three points.
Pride Demon. Not Lust.
No, that didn't make sense. How would—? He paled. He didn't believe a Pride Demon would leave their offspring on the abbey's doorstep. Even if the possibility existed, it'd long been discarded. For one to lower itself to begging a favor from human— No. Unless, it wasn't perceived as a favor. Hence the payment. Or was there still something he was missing? With that signature?
Damn it!
Elias' thoughts swam. They only became more befuddled as he tried to address the remaining two issues.
Diadora had both Sacred and Order affinities. And something told him that was precisely what the blessing had been today. It might even explain why she'd suffered so severely afterwards.
'Mote' was the lowest Affinity—far below even Faint and Minor—and was considered useless or inconsequential. Parlor tricks and cantrips at best, with practice. But the simple fact that a demon had even a speck of either the two? He couldn't believe it. What was the point, when even channeling Sacred mana would likely cripple her mana veins or outright kill her? How was this a suitable blessing? He failed to understand Benevitas' intentions.
Children would often receive an affinity or resistance during their blessing ceremony. It was common for the church to witness a child gaining Sacred or Order affinities. Getting even one Moderate affinity was considered lucky for a human. If there was a desired result for the child, small modifications to the ceremony might take place. For example, many often wished for things like hardiness, strength of will, or a keen mind. While there were no guarantees, sometimes you could nudge the result just a tad.
Ultimately, it was up to Benevitas to decide, for he knew best.
This led to the next issue. Diadora had a Greater Chaos affinity.
Elias wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry, for he sensed some irony there. A demon having Infernal and Chaos affinities was practically a given. But for a newborn to have one of the highest grade? The repercussions and implications were—
The poor abbot shuddered. Siobhan and Eleanor continued to look at him with varying levels of concern and curiosity. He was unsure if he should reveal this or not. Deliberation was due.
"Welp, my job's done. Ya should prolly burn that, by the way," Janessia interrupted his thoughts, "Don' really like Inspectin' sapients without permission, even if it's a demon. Kinda rude. But anywho, her status says she's recovering. Ain't afflicted, cursed, ill or nothin' bad, so she'll be fine methinks. Maybe give it a day or so?"
Janessia turned to Siobhan and patted her on the arm, telling her not to worry and offering reassurances. Eleanor looked at Elias with a raised eyebrow, as if questioning him.
As he folded that paper and tucked it into his breast pocket for later disposal, he simply shot her a troubled smile back. After all, what was he supposed to say to this? Elias could already feel the letters he'd be writing and the hours he'd have to spend pouring over borrowed tomes. His shoulders suddenly felt stiff.
It would appear my workload has increased yet again.