Safira Aeris awoke from what felt like an age of sleep. Looking around, she was in a cave of some sort. The ruffians of the Renfay were assaulting her the last she recalled. Safira was not oblivious. She had been a walking target. The wealth displayed something rarely seen in Darf and never in that part of Pravwell. Then she had blacked out, and when she woke up here. Where is here?
Abruptly, she remembered the creature she had seen stalking the rooftops and leaping down at her. With a start, she realised that the figure happened to be sitting just a short away between her and the cave entrance. They were humanoid, wearing a black mask and suit that hid their features. The light in the cave was dim enough that she likely would not have been able to see anything of note even if there was no disguise.
“Hello,” her voice came out as a croak, and she tried to clear it and try again.
“You saved me?” This time was a little better, but the dryness cut through her throat and caused her to cough and splutter.
“Water in the skin by your side.” The self-possession in that feminine voice was noteworthy. Just the sound relaxed Safira a little. Even though she knew she should remain on guard, it was hard not to relax at the sound of assurance in the woman’s voice. And it is a woman, Safira thought.
Reaching over to where she thought the container likely to be in the dim light, she gasped the first thing that came to hand. Lifting it to her lips, she uncapped and first smelled it before tentatively tilting it back and taking a sip. The water was lukewarm and tasted like leather, but it was wet, and her throat soaked it up like the Kashvian Desert.
Her saviour did not miss the motion. A grin crossed her lips. “If I were going to kill you, I would not do it with poison, and I could have just left you there.”
She tried once more to speak but ended in a coughing fit. After a minute or two and another sip of water, she finally managed to get it under control before asking. “Where are we?”
The instinctual “we” surprised her. She didn’t know this person, so why include her? She didn’t know if this woman was her saviour or kidnapper. It had still felt right, though, and she went with it.
“Rest, the damage done was severe. Managed to get to the worst of it but not all. What were you doing in the Renfay quarter? And with the valuables you had? You hoping for that outcome? I intervene unnecessarily?” the words she said seemed sarcastic. But, something in her tone said that she was genuinely curious about the answer.
“No, no. You rescued me, and I needed it. My order forbids the use of magic to kill, so I can only use it to protect myself.” Her stomach clenched in disappointment, quickly masked. She lost all the valuables she wore. It should not have come as a surprise, so there should have been no disappointment. But then, it had been a large amount of wealth. She whispered, “Ambula Sacrificii.”
She would not explain it or share it with others; the order forbade that as well. They would not understand the benevolent nature of the Roc. Even if this woman had not saved her, something else would have. The Roc was all-knowing, and being saved was his work. She would not waste the opportunity. “The Roc provides.” That mantra reverberated in her from the moment she stepped past the threshold of the city. This rescue only served to reaffirm her faith. Upon her return, she would pray to the Roc and ascend so she could help this saviour.
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She finally understood why the Walk of Sacrifice was necessary. She had not before, thinking that the faithful had been dooming her to death. Her resolve would never waiver again. This woman would also receive a boon from her. Though she did not have the means now, she would make it once she ascended and gained further influence.
“Right, well, I can take you back to the city if that is where you want to go. Or somewhere else?” The last was a question. So she did not know what the robe Safira wore meant. Only then did Safira realise that she was not wearing her white robe. It was a cotton shirt and pants. With a squirm, she realised that she did not have any underwear.
“My clothes?” Safira asked.
“Torn up, unsalvageable. Pay me back for those later.” The answer was curt and to the point, with no wasted words. This woman’s way of speaking was very like that, clipped and short sentences with as few words as possible, and it was as if each cost her something.
“O-okay, thanks for saving me and my modesty.” That brought a laugh from the serious woman. Then she waved her hand and stood, motioning for Safira to follow her.
Standing, Safira swayed a little, feeling light-headed. The garb didn’t help her discomfort with its scratchy and uncomfortable fibres, chaffing her with each step. Better than being naked, though. Stepping out of the cave and into the light, she blinked at the sudden sunshine. “How long was I out?”
“Few days, hard to tell in a cave.” Safira sighed, a very talkative woman.
“Right, thanks for everything. I’ll be off. Which way -“ Words died on her lips as she looked out over what she now realised was a ledge dropping into a gorge. The cliff seemed to start no more than three feet from the cave's entrance, and it was a horrifying drop to a river flowing in the bottom of a gorge below. She had never been afraid of heights, but the suddenness of it took her breath away a little. “We can just fly out?” she asked. The other gestured to her as if to say, go ahead.
Safira gestured to the other woman to join her. With a wry shake of her head, she bounded up the stairs Safira overlooked in her admiration of the gorge. She smiled at the chance at flight. Safira activated Skill: Angelic Wings and Air Magic Spell: Gale Force Wind sprouting pure white wings from her back taller than she was. They tore holes in the shirt she had borrowed, and she frowned at the damage. Her robes had gaps at the shoulders to avoid that happening—nothing I can do about it now.
Then with a mighty flap, she launched herself skyward, the winds she generated carrying her up and out of the gorge. A few seconds later, she alighted at the edge and deactivated both Skill and Spell, sighing at a loss. The feeling of power that the combination gave her was intoxicating. Still, she could not keep it active long without running out of Stamina and Mana. In any case, she had done what she needed to do. Looking out over the land in front of her, it was flat for as far as she could see. The other woman made it up just as Safira looked back towards the gorge, a scant few seconds after she had landed. Safira was impressed; few could match the speeds she could achieve with Flight, even over such a short distance.
“Thank you again. However, you have still not given me your name or said anything of who you are.” Safira attempted to ask again.
“I am-call me Night Paladin, I have heard others in the city use that name, and I quite like it.” She gave a toothy grin at that. “Do you need me to escort you back to the city? I am happy to if you will feel safer. Also, I need not say this, I think, but do not tell anyone of this place; it would not do to have people know where I live. You understand?” Safira gaped. That was more words than the woman had ever used that Safira could tell. Safira felt Night Paladin’s presence grow and shift with every word until the final question was significantly more potent than when she first woke. Not in an unpleasant way, but it was power, raw and straightforward, and a tool to be wielded, it seemed.
“Ummm, I think I will be fine. Thank you for last night. If there is ever any way I can repay you, please do not hesitate. I am at-“
“The Temple of Air, right?” again the toothy grin, a little more predatory with the last words but not directed at Safira, more the grin of a wolf trying to be friendly. It was, quite honestly, terrifying.
Safira nodded and then stepped, planning to fly again. “Which way is it?” she blushed a little at having forgotten such a simple thing as direction. The woman showed surprise for the first time.
“You don’t have a map?” pointing to her head. “In here?” the power grew further, was there no limit to that aura she exuded?
“No….” Safira shifted uncomfortably. She had never Managed to acquire the essential Skill but planned to rectify that as soon as possible. “I plan to visit the shop when I get back, and I am new to Pravwell.”
“Not to worry, to the North, that way. About an hour’s walk, or ten minutes flight.” She winked at Safira. Then without another word, she turned and ran out in a different direction along the gorge. She was notably faster than she had been climbing up the canyon, maybe because she was on flat ground now? It seemed more than that, but Safira didn’t have time to speculate. She needed to get back. Her ascension ceremony awaited.