Several days later, it was morning when the Market bell rang nine times and Exill pulled himself out of bed. Soft susurrations caused him to step out into the living room to investigate.
“Good morning! Tea is ready, and you just need to bring a cup.” Iris brightly called out from the table.
Exill stared at the three women seated around the table, then shaking his head, went to the kitchen to wash his face and fetch a clean mug. Sweeping back his damp hair, he plunked down on the seat while drying his face with Envy’s clean red towel.
“It feels like you’re coming here earlier each morning…” He grumbled, then had the towel promptly snatched away by Envy.
The genial clerk played with her braids in embarrassment, wondering if she was somehow intruding. Her colleague Marco was always on her case about boundaries, that it sent the wrong message at times.
“I was teaching Envy how to braid bracelets, and Tsarra joined in.” She took a lighter teasing tone, “Are you jealous I’m stealing all your women? Don’t you have any friends to play with instead?”
“He doesn’t have any friends.” Envy replied, her fingers deftly weaving the threads. Her annoyance had nothing to do with his continued use of her clean towels.
“Even though he’s always telling me to socialise more.” Tsarra added meekly, annoyed by her assignment to Bola’s stall near the Labyrinth Tower.
“That is not true! I have…” He was about to say ‘Luna’, but quickly held himself back. The women around the table glanced at him with a mixture of emotions, ranging from pity to smugness.
‘I guess the only other person is Verill.’ He thought, reminded of the wraith encountered in the Infested Edifice. It was a sobering thought, and it must have shown on his face because Iris reached out to hold his hand.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you… You have me, Envy and Tsarra as friends, right?” Iris turned to the Vampire for affirmation, but the Murderess only snorted in response.
“I’m his slave, and Tsarra is his apprentice. They don’t count.”
Exill ignored the heated discussion breaking out in front of him, enraptured by the memory of his spear plunging into Verill’s chest. He felt something squeeze his hand, and he was brought back down to earth by Iris’s earnest question.
“Are you alright?” Her kind eyes flickered with warmth.
“Yeah… I was just thinking of things to do.” He took a deep breath, “Let me join you on the way to work today, I need to talk to your colleague Marco about something.” And with that, he poured himself tea, and went to sit alone in the treatment room.
The hours passed filled with busywork, and Iris came down to knock on the partition door soon after the Market bell rang eleven.
“I’m going to work; do you still want to come with me and Envy?” Her voice was subdued, lamenting the fact she had teased him about having no friends.
“Yeah, let’s go.” He rose to his feet, and called out in a louder voice, “I’ll be back soon, so look after the clinic for me Tsarra.”
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The three left the Clinic to a bright sunny day, and quickly passed through the East Gate, flashing their resident tokens in sequence.
“Although it takes longer to get to work, I like this route through the East Gate. It’s less congested and it passes by the best baker in all of Ark.” Iris tried to lift the sullen atmosphere by pointing to a nearby shop while hugging Envy’s arm.
They stood in line for a brief time and thanks to Iris’s recommendation, he chose two cheese loafs to bring back home for Tsarra. However the Baker’s scuttlebutt eyes gleamed when she recognised the three of them gathered together.
“What is this Iris dear? You’ve never dropped by my store with a man before…”
The Guild clerk swore inwardly, if only the bread wasn’t so delightful she wouldn’t have to put up with the Baker’s rumours. Throwing Exill into the mix would only complicate matters.
“Run!” Iris grabbed Exill’s arm and dragged him away with her.
They ran a short distance, and eventually slowed to brisk walk. Envy was just behind them, and the Vampire looked amused at the sight of Iris breathing heavily from exertion.
“Was that really worth running from?” He asked, confused by what had happened.
“Mercs shop there a lot, and the Baker likes to gossip what mood Iris is in, or what she is wearing that day.” Envy explained languidly, having heard it all.
“She even tells them what I’m wearing?” Iris was flabbergasted by the revelation and resolved never to frequent there again.
“She told me the last time you wore that ‘cute blue dress’, and that it looked very good on you.” Envy added in response, curious to know how the fashion conscious woman would respond.
“Oh.”
The three of them entered the Guild hall together, with Iris silently wondering if she should give the Baker another chance. She agreed with the rumouring scuttlebutt that the blue dress was simply adorable. Meanwhile, Exill made a beeline for the queue leading to Marco, the clerk responsible for handling requests.
“To what do I owe this pleasure Witchdoctor? I’m afraid I haven’t received information on the whereabouts of your friend.” Marco kindly asked when he stepped to the front of the line.
“I know. I came to cancel the request.” Exill plainly replied.
Marco paused, knowing full well the Witchdoctor complained vehemently behind the scenes on the slow progressing search.
As it had been reported before, the battles around the south-eastern front were especially fierce, with whole battalions and their records wiped out. It was proving difficult to exchange information with the Afrye counterparts on who exactly had been taken slaves due to their federated tribal system.
Requests were cancelled all the time with a minor penalty attached. However it was rare for those seeking information on loved ones and close friends to withdraw the search.
“Are you sure? If you cancel now I can only return 300 out of the 500 Denars in your bounty.”
“I’m sure.”
Marco hesitantly glanced to his side to check if Iris had begun her shift yet, but she had yet to change to her work clothes. After a few seconds of searching for records the Clerk eventually nullified the search entry and refunded three silver coins to Exill.
“I apologise that the Guild was unable to fulfil your request, and hope it won’t deter you from coming to us in the future.” Marco politely replied, and watched Exill nod and walk away.
Envy observed the entire exchange from the back of the hall, and she pushed the fawning wolfman Feroy to one side to intercept the Witchdoctor. In some ways, she understood him better than anyone else, and knew he shouldn’t be left alone at this time.
“Where are you going?” She lightly tugged his sleeve as he was about to step out into the street.
“I… was going to take a walk.”
“Come delve with us then.” She gently persuaded.
“But I don’t have my spear, or my gear.” Exill was growing confused by her offer. She had never demonstrated such mild insistence before.
“Then use magic. Attack from the rear like the cowardly master you are.” She flicked him on the forehead, causing him to flinch back.
‘Is she for real?’ He was suddenly reminded of the times before the duel. However underneath that façade of mild annoyance, he spotted genuine concern in her features, and felt his fists slowly unclench.
‘Of course, what would Envy be without the occasional teasing.’ He suppressed a sigh and joined the assembled team of Grundle, Feroy and Envy.