All chatter stopped once the front door of the inn swung open. It wasn't unusual for patrons to come and go as the evening turned into night. And usually, it would warrant only those sitting alone or waiting for someone to bother to look up. But this late evening was different.
The man entering Osdas' inn seemed to carry an exceptional aura with himself that choked all conversation even before he'd fully entered the inn. Osdas, the owner of the inn, had to admit that he was impressed, but not in a manner he wanted to be. The silence also didn't help to ease the tension in his muscles as the stranger stopped in the door. The man was tall with board shoulders, either used to hard work or at least the use of heavy tools. The way he carried himself spoke of great strength and a power neither Osdas nor one of his sturdier patrons wanted to challenge. There was also the fear this could be one of the Divine Lord’s dreadful knights, who kept their faces hidden underneath cowls infused with dark magic.
The man suddenly pulled the hood of his teal, expensive looking cloak down and revealing a youthful face framed by long silklike coppery hair. Beyond a few freckles and bitter looking eyes of nearly the same hue as his cloak, there was little to be seen. Still, Osdas noted some black lines on the forehead covered by a few strains of hair. It was most likely some dirt, although this didn’t fit in with his expensive and, most importantly, clean garb.
It was then that Osdas noticed the sword at the hip of the stranger. Judging from a mere glance, it was the most expensive thing he had. Especially the large ruby on the pommel and the gilded parts spoke of the weapon's worth. Yet, Osdas didn’t felt like haggling for it nor taking it by force or wit.
„Will you move on already?” a woman asked behind the stranger and pushed against him unsuccessfully.
The man narrowed his eyes for a moment, then he obliged her and stepped aside. Osdas, on the other hand, had to fight to keep his composure and judging by the shift of atmosphere a lot of his patrons felt the same way.
The woman was gorgeous and seemed too pretty to frequent inns like Osdas' or to be traveling with a man like her companion. Her flaxen hair was braided into a simple yet elegant pattern, adorned with blue flowers and a few silver pieces. Her eyes were pale blue and her clothes consisted of whites, dark blues and silvers. Even her cloak was adorned with silver treat forming a pretty mesmerising pattern of flowers, vines and leaves. Despite the dark of the night settling in, she seemed like a ray of divine light, almost too bright to look upon. Osdas could see various of his patrons try their luck, but considering the sinister looking man accompanying her, only a fool would dare.
„Are you the owner of this place?” the girl asked once she and her companion had reached the bar.
„Yes, Milady”, Osdas answered and grew smaller underneath the dark calculating gaze of her companion.
„Very well!” she exclaimed and tilted her head, so the jewellery in her hair jingled slightly. „We would like to take a room for the night.”
„One bed or two?“ he asked, still side-eyeing her companion.
„The cheapest,“ she replied with a defeated smile. „We’re on a tight budget.“
„I see,“ he said and handed her a random key since all his rooms were cheap.
She thanked him with a bright smile, while her companion kept silent. Osdas had seen plenty of silent people. Some had nothing to say, others had been too shy or were too tired to do so. But this man… There was something off, but the old innkeeper couldn’t fathom what, and he didn’t want to know either. After all, most secrets aren’t worth dying for.The room was as cheap as they come. Veduca had stayed in worse places, after all, so she was mildly surprised to not only find the furniture in one piece but also the bed free of bugs. Not that she needed the bed per se. But Lodwin needed to rest. Especially after the latest encounter with the so-called priests the Divine Lord was employing.
„Please be so kind and undress,“ she asked of Lodwin, who had entered the room after her and hadn’t moved away from the door once he had closed it.
He gave her a look of contempt.
„I’m not going to seduce you if you don’t want me to“, she replied sullen. „I told you so multiple times, remember?“
At this, his expression shifted, and he turned away. There was a certain gleam in his eyes that made her heart sink. It was a rejection but not because of what she suggested but because of what she was. It had been worse at the beginning. Lodwin had almost walked off alone when her father had told him she was to accompany him.
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„Please, Lod, is it so difficult for you to accept that I’m only half human, but still prefer to show kindness rather than seduce, enslave or murder?“ she asked, saddened by his rejection.
At this, Lodwin looked at her with slight embarrassment before looking away again. Veduca smiled and moved towards him. He didn’t move away, but she knew that he didn’t like to be touched.
„I need to treat your injuries“, she explained tentatively and left her hand hovering a few inches above his chest. „They won’t kill you, but they’ll incapacitate you. How will you get to this so-called Divine Lord and kill him with just a fraction of your strength present?“
Lodwin grimaced and went past Veduca towards the bed. On his way, he unclasped his cloak and removed the chest-plate and metal gauntlets. He threw everything on the bed once he was close and continued to remove the teal doublet and his undergarments.
Veduca waited beside the door for him to finish. Despite the less than ideal situation, she found herself again admiring him. While she had been with plenty of handsome and smart men in her life, there was something about him that drew her closer than all the others combined.
Lodwin was a handsome man. At least, as handsome as someone can be who went through the torture he had endured and was still enduring. His body, albeit muscular, was riddled with deep scars forming certain patters only the most unusual, most cruel of unnaturally acquired wounds can leave behind.
The most prominent were the long claw-marks on his chest and large splotches on his arms, reminiscent of the large nails that were driven through his palms, elbow and shoulder. Their twins marring his legs in the feet, knees and hips. Veduca remembered them clearly and again found herself wondering how they didn’t impede his movements.
Less obvious but much more sinister were the fine scars of an ancient scripture carved into the remainder of his skin on his back. They were so fine that more often then not they appeared like a silvery sheen, if at all.
The last major scar, he had, was the mark of a rough rope around his neck. While he had been hanged before being tortured and sacrificed, according to Veduca’s father, Lodwin hadn’t lost his voice due to it. It were his screams that costed him the ability to speak. Damage so thorough that neither Veduca nor her father had managed to reverse it.
She still felt bad about it.
But she felt even worse about the new wounds. While she hadn't caused them. Neither actively nor passively, she felt bad. After all, they've had only enough time to get away. Only enough time to seal the gashes and cuts rudimentarily. It was the kind of spellwork even she despised.
The spellwork kept Lodwin from loosing too much blood, but like glass it turned his body into an anatomical study. Especially through the large gash on his right side, she could see his intestines move. Veduca didn't know what was worse. The grotesque spellwork or the fact that Lodwin didn't felt the pain nor that he would die of those wounds.
-
Once Lodwin had undressed his upper body, the slender sorceress approached him. He watched her wearily as she stopped before him and smiled. Her illusion spell was already fading and revealing her hair to be silvery white and her eyes of two different colours. The right eye pale blue, left eye light grey.
Veduca looked into his eyes and asked a with a single gaze for permission. Reluctant, Lodwin lowered his head to signal that she could go ahead. She nodded in return and touched him ever so gently. He in turn closed his eyes to keep his thoughts occupied.
Lodwin was conflicted. About his situation, the relationship with Veduca, her nonhuman nature, her spells, and the strange future ahead of him, if he could even call it a future. There was just one way to go about. One step after the other until he stood in front of his former best friend and brother in arms. Best not to think more than necessary.
The whispers of Veduca's incantations creeped into his ears. Her voice was firm, yet it reminded him of mist floating around and through him. With it, his memories resurfaced from the night he had been killed. The pain… The needles torture… The betrayal…
Lodwin bit down until his teeth hurt.
„You need to relax”, Veduca suddenly said and patted his arm. „Growing all tense and stiff doesn't help you remain in top form. You need to loosen up your muscles and joints in order to fight properly.”
Frowning, he looked into her mismatched eyes.
„Oh my, you needn't look so glum”, she chuckled. „It was just an innocent suggestion. How about you get back into your shirt and sleep?”
At this, he looked from her towards the head of the bed. It wasn't a large bed and the pillow and covers looked like they had both one too many and not enough cleanings. Still, it was better than to sleep underneath the sky, considering temperatures close to the freezing point despite the season.
Slowy, he looked back to Veduca. She looked quite expectant yet reluctant to him.
„You know?” she asked and titled her head slightly, accompanied by the jingle of her jewellery. „I do wonder how your voice once sounded, but at the same time I think you wouldn't have talked that much either.”
He scowled, grabbed his shirt and put it back on. The only reminder of the wounds she just healed was a minor tickling sensation. And the ghost of Veduca's touch.
Kicking off his boots, he pulled the cover aside and laid down. Huddling into the thin blanket, he watched Veduca as she removed the majority of her jewellery in front of the small mirror. Once this was done, she pulled her hair open and produced a brush out of thin air. Like a cat she started to groom herself. Her movements smooth and relaxed. It was oddly soothing to watch her do such mundane things. So soothing, in fact, that Lodwin fell asleep soon after.