Acceptance
Luffa eyed the cafe from across the street. Carved into the base of a massive and ancient redwood tree, the cafe sported a rustic decor style. A small sign hung from an iron post, with painted letters. “Eve’s Eatery” was the name in fancy font. The store front was built with brick and glass, and she could see guests enjoying coffee and sweet buns inside. This was the location Ominek had chosen for her to meet him to discuss accepting his offer.
She’d lost much sleep over the decision, but ultimately settled on accepting the offer to get her people away from Eryn. The mental debate on the merits of Ominek’s proposal spanned far and wide, but ultimately, she settled on the choice to fight for freedom of her people. The Primals had served Eryn as war slaves for far too long. Ominek had teased her with the prospect of taking her people home and rediscovering their roots. Eryn had been the only life she’d known. But that didn’t mean it had to be the only life she knew. There was a whole sector of space out there, just waiting for her to venture out into it. She didn’t have to stay shackled to the sinking ship that was Eryn, it’s selfish nobility who chose esteem and preening over sensible measures.
But there was no denying this wouldn’t go well with anyone. Erlaut most of all. He’d come to be a father figure of sorts to her. Teaching her magic and its fundamentals. The ins and outs of Eryn society and culture, and he’d never treated her poorly, per se. That said, she was never mistaken about her social station thanks to the snobbery of the Eryn nobility. All she had to do was step out of the weaver college and step five feet before someone made a snide comment about being off her leash. Sure she’d won herself a degree of slack by performing her tasks well and being the dutiful mage, but she’d never be able to freely choose her own path.
Ominek was offering her exactly that. She wasn’t stupid though. She knew there was a catch. It just hadn’t come up yet.
She continued to study the cafe from across the street, doing her best to ignore the scent of the sweet buns waft free of the chimney stack. The gentle warm breeze carried with it the scents of breakfast treats and coffee, causing Luffa’s mouth to water and her stomach to ache. She sighed, rolling her eyes at her body’s weakness against the signals. She tightened her grip on her triceps. She had to focus.
So far she’d not seen Ominek enter. She wanted to watch him step inside to see if he’d brought muscle with him or not. There was a big chance she could just rat him out to Erlaut. It would ruin any chance she had at freedom. But all of the Federation would view it as “the right thing to do.” But right for who? What moral compass was being used to determine that math? She didn’t know herself, but she did know that any math that tallied her and people up as lesser than anyone else, she wanted no party to.
The wind picked up, and through its force she saw movement behind the glass storefront window, a blur darting back and forth between the interior and exterior. Luffa drew closer, pressing her hand to the glass in order to get a better look into the cafe without alerting any patrons inside. In time, she found the source of the movement. A small woman, barely more than a child. She wore white robes that trailed down to the floor, covered with dust. Her dark hair fluttered around her face like leaves on the wind.
A magical barrier flickered into existence before her, cutting off sight of the young mage outside. Then came a flash of green light from within the shop.
“Luffa!” Ominek called out from across the street. His voice sounded hollow and metallic coming over the wind whistling past her ears. “I’m glad you decided to come.”
She quickly checked herself and moved away from the door, not wanting anyone inside to notice anything odd about their patroness’ behavior. “Sorry,” she muttered under her breath as she stepped back to join him on the sidewalk. She watched as he pulled himself up to standing height using his powerful legs, then wrapped his arms around his torso in a gesture she assumed was meant as a casual posture but that seemed incongruent with him in a well-tailored suit coat that probably cost more than most people earned in a lifetime. Luffa knew a lot of things could be bought with money.
Ominek flashed her an amicable smile when he saw her approaching. The effect it had on her heart wasn’t lost on her though, and she tried hard not to think too deeply about the meaning behind the emotion it inspired. She reached down, touching the handle of the bag slung over her shoulder. It contained enough provisions for two days and some extra clothes, all taken from the storerooms at the college. There would also be several gold coins tucked into its interior that should allow her to get by for a week or so if need be.
“Are you ready?” Ominek asked after taking another long draw on his pipe.
Luffa nodded curtly. “Yes.”
“Good,” Ominek said before turning his attention towards the cafe. “Let us go.”
They walked in silence across the street toward the entrance to the cafe, keeping their pace slow while appearing as casual as possible. When they’d crossed half way, a gust of wind whipped through, knocking Luffa from her stride and stumbling her forward, bringing her right up against Ominek’s arm as he stopped short of making contact with her. Luffa regained her balance quickly enough, but she couldn’t stop herself from glancing up at Ominek and catching him staring at her with narrowed eyes. The sudden expression made him seem much younger than she remembered seeing during their previous meeting, almost like a child who had caught someone else cheating at hide and seek. It was unsettling, but it didn’t last long, replaced by a polite smile when he turned his gaze away to study their surroundings once more.
The cafe itself appeared completely normal, aside from the fact it seemed oddly quiet compared to its size. They stepped inside to find the interior full of tables filled to the brim with people eating breakfasts of sweet buns or sipping on coffee. Some glanced their way for only an instant, then returned to their conversations without further incident. Ominek led Luffa past a counter staffed with two men wearing white aprons and wide grins on their faces as if welcoming a new guest into the shop was something they did every day. At the end of the room a woman stood behind a serving table, dressed in the same white robe and tattered cloth tied around her head as the young mage outside. She was slightly taller than Luffa, though not much. Her black hair lay flat across her shoulders like the robes draping over her frame, obscuring her features. She took no notice of them walking by until they were within five feet of her position before turning to face them both directly.
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Ominek waved a hand before him. “Hello, I’d like a full platter please, and a privacy ward if you would.”
The girl nodded curtly, then flashed out of sight again. Luffa thought she heard Ominek mutter something under his breath about having another “child.” It didn’t take long for the small mage to return holding what looked to be an ornate plate. The contents of which sent Ominek’s jaw dropping open after it had been placed upon the table between the two of them. It contained three large stacks of sweet buns and several slices of fruit piled atop one another. They each took one of the buns and began eating immediately while studying one another with unbridled curiosity.
Luffa swallowed down a bite, feeling almost giddy at finally getting to taste food other than whatever could be prepared with magic or raw ingredients harvested straight off a tree or bush. After all, her own body needed to consume nutrients too, and so far, this world provided her little more than that. Her mouth filled with juices as her body instinctually reacted to the flavors coming back into her bloodstream, making her feel like someone was filling a part of herself that hadn’t been touched in years. Luffa’s eyes shot wide as the shock of the taste set in. She couldn’t help the soft pleased moan that rippled out of her, and she blocked her mouth with a hand embarrased.
Ominek smiled, waving dismissively. “Don’t be embarassed. Have you not eaten here before?”
“No. Erlaut never had a reason to send me here.” She said.
“Pity.” Ominek said.
The dreadlord finished his fill, leaving the rest to her. Wiping his hands clean on a white cloth napkin. “So. You’ve reached a decision. Based on your bag, I’m guessing you’ve decided to take me up on my offer?”
Luffa cleaned her own hands, mirroring Ominek and disengaging from the food. “I have. Yes. But I have a condition.”
“Oh?” Ominek replied questioningly. He leaned forward with genuine curiosity. “What would that be?”
“I want you to help me free my cousins here.”
Ominek’s expression lit up with glee. She reflexively pressed back into her seat. Ominek’s expression took on an interested and distant look. It was a dangerous thing to see.
“My dear girl,” he began in a voice far calmer than Luffa had expected it would be given the circumstances, “I am happy to oblige. But there will be risk. Both to myself and your sisters. The Inquisition is drawing closer, and soon I will be forced to withdraw from this world completely. You have a day. Gather as many of your kin willing to go as possible and meet me here.”
Ominek reached into his suit and drew a data crystal. It was a faint red crystal. Infused with fire magic, one of the base aspects of divination. He gestured for her to tuck it out of sight. She slipped it into her bag and already her heart thundered within her chest. Until this point she’d done nothing truly wrong. She could have explained it away and in all likelyhood would have been forgiven by Erlaut. But this was a tipping point. The line in the sand that was she was now barreling past with reckless abandon.
“Fear not, cousin. I’ll have you and your sisters free of this insipid world and its tree hugging fools. Soon, I will show you your true home. Your true purpose.”
Suspicion blasted through Luffa, and she knew, she just knew without a doubt that he was up to something. Unfortunately, she was at the disadvantage of not being able to anticipate what it was he wanted. It didn’t help that she needed his involvement to free herself and her people. She supposed that this must be what Amara and her friends referred to as a devil’s bargain. Allowing oneself to be enslaved so they may gain freedom from a more powerful foe. In this case though, Ominek wasn’t exactly like a devil himself. He had never given any indication of wanting to harm her except perhaps his enemies who stood between him and power.
The sound of approaching footsteps broke her train of thought. “Are we ready?” Ominek asked, looking back to the serving girl before turning to face the entrance once again.
Luffa stared daggers into the dreadlord, her mind made up. “Yes.” She replied shortly after hearing Ominek turn away. If there was anything she learned during her time with Erlaut was that the dreadlords were a proud people above all else. They took great pride in their skills and in themselves for standing among their kind in strength and skill. Ominek was a cunning mage and dragon. Ominek offered her a polite bow.
“Now then, I’ll be off to take care of some final arrangements. You go see to your kin. Bring all who are willing to the location I provided you in a day’s time. Then we’ll both be rid of this world and its people. And you can finally return to your proper home.”
Luffa simply nodded, watching Ominek disappear around a corner. She opened her void portal and slid her bag into it. She’d warded it to protect it within. The inner core of the city was facing her. Luffa had a lot of work to do and little time to do it. She just hoped the others would listen.