Exill took down the poster ‘My Vampire Master’ from the wall and scanned the room one last time. In a single day his triumph in the Arena had been crushed to a pyrrhic victory. He had won… but at what cost? Nodding at his companion who was waiting by the doorway, he climbed down the stairs one last time to find Luna fidgeting behind the counter.
“Go ahead, I’ll see you at the Inn.” He gestured to Envy.
Exill fiddled with the play tickets in his pocket as Envy closed the door behind her. He opened his mouth, but Luna spoke first, refusing to look him in the eyes.
“You owe me nothing. Not for your treatment or the wages I advanced.” She held up her hand to stave off objections as she continued, “I hope you will return when you put… all this behind you.” She gestured at the front door, through which Envy had exited earlier.
“I like you, I really do, but not when I’m hurting every single day. Especially not when I’m having nightmares over you bleeding helplessly in the Tower! Unless you are ready to settle down, please don’t even think of returning if you have any respect for me.”
> "... I see a bad influence looming over you as it chips you away piece by piece. You must learn to let go at times, even if it means abandoning a part of yourself."
Exill remembered the Diviner’s prophecy, and realised that here, now, events had come full circle. If Luna had laid down such an ultimatum a month ago, before all this ever happened – he wondered if he might have gone along with it.
However it had all come crashing down after the encounter with the accumulator, the tool used to detect Aberrations by Navigators. When its accusing needle imperceptibly slowed down as it pointed towards him, an intense feeling of alienation had overcome him. Perhaps… he had already let go, long before she had made up her mind.
He painfully gripped the play tokens as the distance between them grew to an untenable pause. He broke it with a bittersweet smile and reached for the door.
“I like you too Luna.”
Then he left.
Savta’s granddaughter had expected him to come crawling back when faced with the ultimatum. A cruel part of her knew he would suffer in the outside world, with no safe haven to anchor in. However, with his parting admission, it felt like her whole world had come crashing down when he walked away.
Her weak knees gave way under the strain, and she collapsed on the floor, sobbing when she discovered another gaping hole in her heart. The tears streamed down as the maiden found herself alone again.
Exill dragged his feet with a heavy heart towards the Sundry Inn. After a dozen minutes of meandering through the alleyways, his eyes came to rest on the decrepit Inn with a cynical grin. It was a fitting sight for his aching heart.
The whitewashed walls were peeling in places and the windows were caked with dirt. A lazy tendril of smoke rose from the pipe of the Innkeeper as he stood leaning by the entryway, eyes focused as usual on something only he could see. The wizened man lowered his pipe as he recognised the Witchdoctor approaching the Inn.
“Welcome back. It’s four Denars if you don’t mind sleeping on the floor once we close the bar. Seven Dee’s for a shared room, and twelve for a small one. Three extra per meal. All upfront.” He said in a slow mellow voice.
“It’s good to be back.” Exill lied again, “I’ll take the small room for one night.”
The Innkeeper received twelve Denars and handed him a key with a sympathetic, yet welcoming look. The genial man understood what had happened from the few words spared by his former waitress. Exill entered the main hall to find Envy, sitting at the table with gear still attached to her back.
“Let’s go, it’s the same room.” he cocked his head towards the stairs.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Dumping his equipment in a corner of the room, he collapsed on the double bed, looking up at the peeling ceilings once more. Envy lowered her gear carefully and sat at the edge of the bed, waiting for him to speak first.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?” he eventually asked, expecting a spiteful ‘I told you so’ at the very least.
“Do you think you made the right decision?”
Exill paused, taken aback by her question. He thought back to how Luna had changed - undoubtedly from his bad influence. It was better to think that the two of them wanted different things, instead of being saddled with thoughts on what could have been.
“Lately, I feel every decision I’ve made has been a bad one…” he smiled ruefully at the ceiling before continuing, “Let’s look for a new place tomorrow. It will be a fresh start. I think it will have to be in the outer city to fit our budget.”
She responded by lowering her head into his outstretched arms and rolled back the sleeve of his tunic. As long as there was hope, she didn’t care where she slept.
***
Early next morning, the two ventured to the Southern Market in the outer city district. It was Exill’s second time here and he had to search around for the notice board that normally advertised vacant properties.
“What about this one?” Envy pointed to a listing that advertised a two-bedroom property for 250 Denars a month. Exill shook his head, pointing to the address.
“You see this? That’s the old refugee camp. I heard slumlords moved in once it was dismantled and the quality of the housing would be really poor.”
The general rule of thumb was that properties were of better quality the closer they were to the Inner Wall. Of course the rent was also more expensive but there was a sweet spot somewhere in between. Unfortunately, there weren’t many residentials in the Southern district as it was better known for its industrial sector.
“Let’s try the Eastern Market.”
The two travelled by alleyways as the morning wore on, the main streets slowly becoming congested. Exill shoved his way to the front of the noticeboard, grinning at the empty property list that was several times the size of Southern Market.
Rentals Denars per month Three bedroom 450 Two bedroom 300 One bedroom 200 Store 600 Store + Two bedroom 800
He picked out three two-bedroom properties to investigate and was about to turn around when something made him stop. The address of the store with two-bedrooms looked strangely familiar.
“Follow me, I need to check this.”
The two moved to a less frequented corner of the market where Exill spotted the familiar green storefront of the small smithy owned by Ham. The anvil sign remained hanging above the doorway. It was still early morning, so he asked the Tailor next door about the property.
“Ah Ham, he was a grouchy one. Heard some investments turned sour and he fled to Port Osvig to start anew. Smithy’s been empty for a few weeks now.”
“Thank you so much, I hope to be a good neighbour!”
Leaving the surprised Tailor behind, Exill tracked down the owner of the property, who happened to run a wagon repair business nearby. He was about to enter when Envy gripped his arm, confusion in her eyes.
“I thought we were looking for a house. Why are we renting a smithy?”
“It is going to be our house, and we’re going to run our business out of it as well.”
This was an exciting moment for him, and all his plans had flown out the window the moment he recognised Ham’s Smithy. Sure, the rent was twice that of renting a residence, but the benefits of running his own clinic was invaluable. No longer would he have to standby on call, or share commissions with other clinics. He could create his own brand.
Exill entered the front yard where numerous coaches and wagons sat in various states of repair. A bald man with an eyepatch was sweating and cursing as he tore the rotting sideboards off a cart.
“Excuse me, would you be Caman the Wainwright?”
“Aye, what’s it to you boy?”
Exill examined the gruff Wainwright who appeared to be in his fifties. In a world where even lost limbs could be restored with enough time and money, the worn eyepatch over the man’s eye made a statement of its own.
“I would like to rent the Smithy in the Eastern Market.”
“Hmph. What you going to sell lad?”
“Ointments and healing salves, I’ll be operating a clinic.”
Caman stopped tearing at the boards to examine the young man. He looked too poor to be a healer, but he couldn’t be normal, not when he was accompanied by a vampire. Even in Ark, vampires were rare creatures, but Caman had met a few in his caravanning days and knew how to recognise them.
“Show me your Card boy.”
A hint of recognition passed as the gruff man scanned Exill’s Card. Stroking his greying beard, the man continued, “I’ve heard of you… heard how you were supposedly blessed by the Will. I thought you were working in the Inner City... besides, there’s already a clinic in Eastern Market you know.”
“I know about Milo’s clinic and I’m a more capable healer than him. So, are you going to rent the store to me or not?”
“Hmph... rent is 800 Denars up front.”