Offilo dropped into his bed exhausted and almost fell immediately asleep. Despite Duodecum’s unspoken promise of rest, he hadn’t received any until now, just a few hours before dawn. While he had spent some time unconscious during his short captivity he could hardly call it a rest. Veduca’s healing spell had given him some energy back, but her mind-altering one had taken some away again.

In retrospect, it seemed like a miracle he had managed the sword training with Primus. But his time in the library had been cut short by the Dark Priest who had been assigned to teach him. After all, Offilo had nearly fallen asleep thrice during the first ten minutes of his lecture.

Right between wakefulness and deep sleep, Offilo suddenly remembered what he needed to do since the morning. Wide awake and panicked, he pulled Veduca’s ring from his finger and breathed on the head of the snake. Immediately, the ring unfurled itself. The snake, much to his surprise, grew in size and looked up at him with big, much too sentient eyes. Suddenly, it flicked its silver tongue out and opened its mouth as if it wanted to bite him.

“Offilo! How are you, dearie?”, said the snake with Veduca’s voice. “Did the Divine Lord harm you?”

“N-no”, he replied in a low whisper right above the snake’s head. “He didn’t. And I’m so glad you’re alright!”

“Huh? Did something happen?”

“No but I’m so sorry! I should’ve contacted you much, much earlier! I need to warn you! Duodecum… The Divine Lord’s appointed lord of Eldebourg… He knows you’re still within the city walls!”

“How sweet of you to worry about us, but you needn’t be afraid”, she replied with an audible amicable smile. “We’re safe outside the city. While I don’t doubt that the Knight of Eldebourg will find our hiding spot, he’ll probably need a while to get to us.”

“I wish I could share your optimism”, he replied, uncertain. “There’s also something I need to tell you.”

“Yes, dear, do go on”, she encouraged him gently.

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After taking a deep breath, Offilo started to tell her everything that had happened between him waking up in Eldebourg and arriving in his bed in Gabáuan. Veduca listened intently, while asking every so often a question about what he just told her.

Despite his growing exhaustion, he forced himself to continue. It felt good to finally have someone with whom he could share his thoughts, but Offilo couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more going on. That the Divine Lord wasn’t as bad as he had expected, and that there was more going on than appeared on first or even second glance. He began to feel conflicted.

“So, the angel attacked again and was overwhelmed by Rosomil transforming into a monster?”, asked Veduca, concerned. “He can do such a feat?”

“He certainly did”, replied Offilo tense, the memory alone enough to keep him awake for now. “I saw it. It… it was strange. Unnatural… I can’t really describe it.”

“You mustn’t. I understand that it’s difficult to warp your head around it. I, too, need to think about what you told me. Not only that, but I never heard about a human transforming into another being without at least becoming inflicted with partial madness. He’s still himself, isn’t he?”

“I think so. He just looked kind of embarrassed afterwards.”

“You told me the Ravendemon helped him turn back. How did it do it?”

“I don’t know. I think she whispered a spell or something to him. I’m sorry, but I didn’t dare to get close until she had transformed him back.”

“No need to apologise, dear. Staying save is paramount to a long life after all”, said Veduca with an audible smile, which made Offilo smile in return. “Besides, you told me a lot already and don’t you worry about our safety. We’ll manage like we always do. Once we’re somewhere safe, I’ll contact you again. Just keep your gloves on, so the ring can unfurl from your finger without dropping. Until then, please take good care of yourself and stay clear of any trouble.”

“I will”, he replied unable to stifle his yawn. “Good night.”

“Good night to you too, dearie”, she replied.

A moment later, the snake turned itself back into a ring, biting its tail. He looked at it wistful for a moment before putting it back on his finger. Since it had begun to snow, it wasn’t difficult to hide the ring by wearing a glove, but Offilo didn’t felt as relieved as he should. The Ravendemon could still feel the ring’s magic should he get to close too her. But keeping his distance wasn’t feasible either. He didn’t even know how far she could feel other magic. Perhaps she had noticed already and keeping silent. This was within her usual demeanour and no help at all.

“I can’t mull about such things”, he told himself, slurring his words. “She either knows or doesn’t know. And for now, she doesn’t seem like she… like she has reason to use this knowledge… against me. I hope…”

Exhaustion made it difficult for him to even panic. Giving in, Offilo closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.