The smell of burning. Roasted meat. Barbeque. The snot bubble coming out of Vur’s nose deflated and popped upon touching the ground. Vur’s eyes creaked open, and he let out a massive yawn. He shifted his eyes from side to side, too lazy to lift his massive head off the ground to get a look around. The burnt ground in front of him caught his attention, and he twisted his neck to point his head towards the elf sitting in a rocking chair. Vur swallowed down his saliva. “Did someone cook something?”
“Nope,” Lindyss said. “I’m sorry I have to be the one to break this to you, but you were just dreaming about food.”
Vur blinked and stared at the ground. It was blackened with dried and burnt blood along with the ashes of several plants. Vur raised his claw and pointed at the empty space. “It looks like someone cooked a really big bear.”
Lindyss lowered her knitting needles and looked at the patch of ground she had devastated during the battle with the lords. “I don’t know what kind of cooking you’ve seen, but no,” the cursed elf said. “Those are traces of battle. You really can’t tell?”
Vur squinted at the blackened patch before shifting his gaze back onto the cursed elf. “A cooking battle?”
“Ever so optimistic, aren’t you?” Lindyss asked before shaking her head. She lowered her knitting needles and propped her face up with her arm, resting her elbow on the chair’s armrest. “Is something the matter? You’ve only been sleeping for a few hours now, and you woke up all on your own.”
Vur’s body shrank as his scales receded back into his skin. When he finished his polymorph, he looked around. “Is Tafel still training?”
“She finished training a long time ago,” the cursed elf said.
Vur nodded. “Where is she?”
Lindyss shrugged. “Let me check.” She closed her eyes, and after a few seconds went by, she opened them again. “It looks like she’s hanging out with Mary. They’re fighting people over a dungeon or something.” The cursed elf smiled at Vur. “Are you feeling lonely since they went off to have fun without you?”
Vur shook his head. “As long as Tafel’s happy, I’m happy.”
Lindyss clicked her tongue. “How sappy,” the cursed elf said. “So, what are you going to do now? Go back to sleep?”
Vur placed his hands on his hips and arched his back, looking up at the sky as he stretched out his body. He tilted his head from side to side, cracking his neck. He stared up at the clouds for a bit before straightening his posture. “No,” he said. “I’m hungry. I’m going to find Sir Selddup and ask him for some food.”
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“The dog?” Lindyss asked and nodded to herself. “Alright. Bring back something nice for dinner. Tafel’s chaperone told me she’s planning on coming back before the day’s over.”
Vur grunted and looked down at the brown runes on his forearm. “You heard that, right, Deedee?”
A deep sigh rang out of the runes as they flashed. “Yes, I’ll make sure you bring back food.”
Vur looked around before crouching down. He leapt forward like a cat, soaring over the patch of blackened ground with ease. Using his hands to brace himself, he landed on all fours before leaping once more, sending him flying towards the wooden tablet. He landed on top of it with a thud, shaking the structure, not caring about grace in the slightest.
Lindyss raised an eyebrow. “So, he still moves like that, huh?” she asked and shook her head before focusing on her knitting needles. A furrow appeared on her brow, and she reached into her pocket. She took out a bat skeleton, and threw it towards the sky in Vur’s direction. The skeleton unfurled and flapped its wing bones, gliding down onto Vur’s head.
Vur glanced up at the bat skeleton. “How do I find Sir Selddup’s residence?”
The bat skeleton shrugged its bony shoulders in reply, making Vur furrow his brow in return. He glared at the wooden tablet and crossed his arms over his chest. “Take me to Sir Selddup.”
The wooden tablet glowed with an amber light. A second later, Vur’s root bracelet flashed repeatedly until he looked at it. A furrow appeared on his brow. “Don’t lie to me,” he said. “You know where everyone wearing a bracelet is. Sir Selddup’s wearing one. Take me to him.”
***
Ashley exhaled and stared up at the ceiling. She was sitting on a couch with her body slouched, her legs stretched out and resting on a fluffy white dog’s stomach. There weren’t any traces of injuries on her body thanks to the elf’s surprisingly strong healing magic despite being a necromancer, and she had washed away the dried blood on her skin and clothes, yet she still felt unclean. The shadows that smothered her body and robbed her of her breath left a foul, lingering sensation like a curse. Perhaps that was it; she and all the other lords had been cursed after being defeated.
“Bad owner,” Sir Selddup said. “Take a look at your root bracelet.”
Ashley raised her left arm, and her eyes widened upon seeing the flashing amber lights. They reminded her of sirens with how they flickered rapidly. A furrow appeared on the Light Lord’s brow as she read the message the tower had sent her. Without warning, a bright light flooded the room, blinding everyone within. Ashley climbed to her feet, sinking her feet into Sir Selddup’s side further than she had intended as she pushed off, causing the poor dog to yelp.
The light cleared, and Ashley’s vision returned to normal. Standing in the middle of her personal residence, there was Vur. He scanned the area, making eye contact with Ashley but looking away without saying a word, before his gaze eventually stopped on Sir Selddup. Vur squatted to be eye level with the dog. “Hey,” he said. “Let’s get some food.”
Sir Selddup blinked as Vur picked him up by the scruff of his neck. The dog turned his furry face towards Ashley and stared at her with a blank expression. Ashley raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything as Vur left the room and closed the door behind himself.