Whether by a stroke of luck or a divine blessing, Jessa and Deventh followed a peaceful night with a final stretch of their journey that was uneventful. The storm had long passed, and the light of a sunny clear sky reflected off the vast, white landscape. Bound westward along the path off the Raven Gate road, they had made their way to a hamlet just beyond a stone quarry thrice its size.
By contrast, most homes in the small village were constructed of pine logs rather than stone, their old roofs blanketed with smooth moss. People liked to live simple lives within this hidden gem, choosing the betterment of their own population over aesthetics. They left the latter to the cities, which provided them with enormous profits for their toils. While mostly inhabited by orcs, the village was also rich with the culture and spirit of the Mezthrin, which resonated in the music from the tavern and glimmered in the luxurious patterned clothing they'd adapted to the cold.
Jessa stuck close to Deventh as they traveled down the road. She kept her eyes on an orc walking along the path in front of them as he stopped to pat his pockets. A loud crunch–one of neither ice nor snow–sounded from beneath her boot. She stopped dead in her tracks, and the orc turned around and locked his eyes on her. His face scrunched with ire, and as he furrowed his brow he moved his gaze to the object she'd crushed with her foot.
"Oi! Nelthrin bitch!" he called out as he started in her direction. Deventh watched him with caution, moving a hand to the hilt of his dagger. Jessa flinched as the towering orc hovered over her.
"Couldn't be bothered to watch where you're steppin', huh?" Droplets of spit flew at her face. "Stompin' around and wreckin' other people's things with no bloody remorse, just like the rest of your kind, huh?"
Jessa bit her lip and shut her eyes tighter, holding back tears.
“What, ya going to cry, Nelthrin girl?” he asked with a laugh. "Sniveling Nelthrins have no place in Grimros. Now," He outstretched his hand and looked down the bridge of his nose. "Pay up for the damaged goods or I'll take it out of your hide. I ain’t above hittin’ a lady, ‘specially not one of yous."
Deventh sighed and stepped forward, gently guiding off to the side with one hand on her shoulder. He reached down and scooped up the object that had caused such a bluster: a red and blue marbled glass ring cracked into tiny, sharp pieces. He felt a twinge in his glove where he cupped the fragments, but any enchanted energy that had been stored in them was quickly evanescing.
“Aye, get a good look at it,” said the orc. "Maybe you can teach your little pet some respect."
Deventh nodded to himself as he studied the ring. "That’s quite a powerful enchantment. Easy to see why you wouldn’t want to lose this. ”
"No," the orc growled. "Ain't nothin' I wear got any enchantments on it, elf. I won't ask again. Pay up, or you can both enjoy paintin' the snow red."
“Very well,” Deventh said. “Lucky for you, I’d have no proof left if I were to bring this to any authorities.” He returned the broken ring, then reached into his pocket and withdrew a small handful of coins—enough, he assumed, to compensate for the loss. Jessa attempted to raise her hand to stop him, but found herself frozen in place under the orc’s gaze as he counted his payment.
“Learn from your friend, girl, because next time you’ll be spitting your teeth out.” With a nod to Deventh, he sauntered down the road before disappearing behind the corner of a nearby building.
“Why did you do that?” Jessa asked. Preoccupied by her frustration, she didn’t notice Deventh already beginning to walk away. She quickened her pace to catch up with him. “You should have let me pay him.”
“You can pay me back later,” Deventh said. “How much do you suppose a handful of pebbles is worth?”
“I–What?” Jessa asked, perplexed by the question.
“Never mind, let’s get you out of here.” The Dronvar led the way, starting at a slow pace to ensure that she kept up. Jessa nodded, wrapping herself in her own embrace to keep from shivering as she struggled to focus. Adrenaline still coursed through her body, the tension still wringing her chest, but she found the willpower to walk alongside him.
Despite keeping her head low and the hood of her cloak over it, whispers and curses and spit flung from every direction as they moved on. Instinct led her to reach out a trembling hand and cling to Deventh’s cloak, and in an instant, she felt safer.
The byways they traveled led into a bustling market circle. Along the circumference and around each of the intersections, merchants peddled their goods from stalls and tents. The two weaved through throngs of people, sticking together well while maintaining a comfortable pace. Soon, however, Jessa’s arm was torn away from Deventh as a line of merchants hauling carts barreled through the space between them.
Deventh turned around, the tug on his cloak having raised his concern. He locked his gaze on Jessa, and as he was about to step forward to close the gap between them, a sudden shout burst through the monotonous hum. A raucous group of orcs approached, howling and plowing through everything in their way. The height and breadth of the mob separated the two further, and as Deventh tried his best to push through and reach Jessa, the rough voice of a female orc bellowed from the middle.
“Get outta’ Quarryside, ya Nelthrin slag!”
Before Jessa could pick her face out from the crowd, a round object hurtled towards her. With a frightened gasp, she hopped to the side to dodge it, squeezing her eyes shut as it grazed her shoulder. Laughter erupted among the crowd when it landed with a moist, airy splatter. When she looked behind her, her eyes fell upon a partially flattened ball of snow, tinged with yellow.
She stood frozen, her mind blank and her thoughts drowning in the laughter around her. Long, excruciating seconds passed, yet she still couldn’t think to do anything else but run.
After a firm first step, she let her legs carry her to wherever she could hide.
A row of hedges offered its cover, shaded under the needled branches of conifers. She sat down and hugged her knees, burying her head between them. A short while later, the crunching of footsteps startled her, but she was relieved to see a familiar face.
“I’m sorry I ran off.” Staring straight forward, her eyes traced the lines of a knot in the trunk of a tree. Deventh followed her gaze and nodded.
“It’s not your fault.”
“This is terrible, Deventh.” Her throat tightened around her words. Silence lingered in the air as Deventh gave thought to his response, and he sat down beside her.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“I’m sorry. I can promise I wouldn’t have brought you here to suffer through any of this had I known how much I’d understated their prejudice.”
“Oh.” Still hugging her knees. Jessa nodded. His words quieted her inner turmoil, but she found herself at a loss for how to respond; A few seconds passed before she decided. “Thank you — I mean, is that what people say when they receive an apology?”
“It works all the same.” Deventh smiled as a more lighthearted air fell upon them. “So, first time being somewhere no one likes your kind?”
“Y-yes.” Jessa’s face drooped. “Is this ‘part of the job’ too?”
“Depends on where you go. A little more often for some of us, but we all get our fair share.” Deventh gave a slight shrug as he spoke, and Jessa found herself eager to change the subject.
“Is it okay if I pay you back for the ring now?” she asked.
Deventh shook his head, and without any explanation, he reached out to find a pebble on the ground. Holding it out in his hand, he asked,
“How much do you think this is worth?”
“This again?” Jessa examined the small rock in vain. “I don’t know, I’m not very good at appraising—Oh.”
As she spoke, the pebble transformed, taking the shape and appearance of a gold coin. He handed it to her to let her observe every aspect of it. To her surprise, it had the same rigidity, shine, and–when she removed her glove to check–the same cold, metallic smoothness as an ordinary coin. She cupped it in her palm, and its frigid sting dulled as it absorbed her body heat.
“Wow,” she half-whispered, watching the coin turn back into a pebble before her eyes. “I’ve seen some pretty decent illusions before, but… I have a lot of questions.”
“I’d be happy to indulge them,” Deventh said, “When we have more time. The cart’s arrived. Conveniently, you ran yourself all the way to the stables.”
"I did?” In her flight, Jessa didn’t realize where her legs had taken her. She poked her head over the hedges, and surely enough, the canopied cart stood not far from her temporary refuge. “Let’s go then. I think I’m okay.”
Deventh stood first and offered a hand to help her up. The two soon approached the cart, which had already unloaded all of its inbound passengers. Few were waiting in line to leave Quarryside, and Jessa found herself glad for what she hoped would be a quiet trip from here on.
“I suppose it’s time to go." She turned to Deventh. A long hesitation followed, weighing on her next words. “Thank you for bringing me out here and keeping me safe. I’ll try to be back as quickly as I can.”
“I’m sure you’ll handle things as appropriate,” Deventh said as he reached into his coin pouch and took out a heaping handful of coins, offering them to her. “This should be enough to reconcile any delinquency in our rent payments, as well as the month ahead of us. I promise these are not pebbles.”
Jessa gawked in disbelief at first, but she shook the fog from her head and accepted his payment. Opening a pouch on her hip, which appeared too small to hold such an amount, she placed the coins inside before tying it shut.
“You’ve just been carrying that with you this whole time?” she asked Deventh in a hushed tone as a small group of people passed close by.
Deventh shrugged.
“I was waiting for the right moment.”
Before Jessa could comment, a Mezthrin man dressed in colorful merchant’s clothing called out that the last checks were being made for departure. As an affirmation to herself, she closed her eyes and nodded.
“Right, looks like I really have to go now.”
“Safe travels. Enjoy your time at home.”
“Of course. I’ll see you and Anna and everyone else soon.” She turned around and scampered away, stopping one last time before boarding to wave to Deventh. Though unsurprised to find him already starting on his way back, she let her smile grow no less, and welcomed a contented fluttering in her stomach.
Deventh continued through the market circle. At the intersection to one of the branching roads, he spotted a high elf with red, wavy hair and a well-kept goatee tending to a small wagon beneath a tent. The cloth covering trapped and wafted the mingling scents of herbs and flowers as the wind blew by. He slowed down as he approached, and when the Gildvar turned around, their gazes met.
“Deventh? I thought that was you, you old devil!”
“Ardmy,” Deventh said. “Good to see you.”
Ardmy set down his mortar and pestle, a smile beaming at the sight of an old familiar friend. He brushed a dried flower petal off the shoulder of his powder blue tunic.
“What brings you here?”
“I should ask you the same. This is the last place I’d have expected to see you."
“Yes, well, I was on my way back to the city when I heard some rather frightening rumors." He waved his arms in front of his face, mimicking the cries of warning. "‘Don’t travel on the Raven Gate road! People are being kidnapped!’ and such as that. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
“For as much as we’ve been through trying to investigate it, not particularly,” Deventh said. “I’d be here for hours explaining everything.”
"I thought you might have your nose in that sort of business. Do let me know if you figure anything out. If I'm lucky I might get to head out in that direction before the hellebores wither away."
"About that…" Deventh reached for the alchemy pouch at his belt. Vials clinked together as he searched for the right one. With a smile, he pulled out the container once found and offered it to Ardmy. The Gildvar held it up to the light to examine the petals. Admiring the deep purple and white borders of the flower, a grin broke from ear to ear.
“Lovely coloration, this should prove quite potent. Thank you, Deventh, I have great need of these,” Ardmy said to his compatriot with a chipper and lively tone. He bounced back and forth on his feet as he tucked the glass vial into a chest inside his covered wagon. From the same chest he pulled out a trio of vials and presented them to Deventh.
“Nightshade, russula, and wolfsbane. I know how much you like your poisons, so I made sure to have these in stock next time I stopped by the area.”
Deventh took the vials and studied them, noting the vibrant purple petals of the beautiful yet deadly flowers, and feeling satisfied with the size of the russula’s caps.
“Exceptional quality.” His liveliness matched Ardmy’s, though only in his voice. He pocketed the vials in his alchemy belt before reaching into his coin pouch and withdrawing a handful of gold.
“How much?” He asked Ardmy.
The Gildvar shook his head and extended his hand to halt Deventh’s, closing his fingers around the coins.
“You don’t owe anything. Those hellebore petals will fetch me a fair sum of gold, so consider it a fair trade.”
“You’ll still be out quite a bit. As always, you’re too generous.”
“For you, no generosity is great enough,” Ardmy said as Deventh returned the gold to his pouch. “Now, let’s get to more important matters. Did I see you with a girl earlier?”
“Likely. I was seeing off a new guild member who’s returning home for a time.”
“That’s awfully nice of you.” A smirk tucked itself in Ardmy’s cheek.
“I wouldn’t send her to her death where I can help it, especially when her father owns our property.” Deventh paused as he earned a curious glance. “I have other business in town as well.”
“Zéah?”
Deventh nodded, and Ardmy’s expression brimmed with interest as he exhaled with a puff of his cheeks.
“Well. I’d love to sate my curiosity, but I should probably get back to tending the merchandise,” Ardmy said, though he was reluctant to return to his work. “As you might imagine, it’s rather difficult to sell alchemy components in a village that’s banned magic. I’ve tried sticking to traditional medicine ingredients, but they seem just as clueless about those. I’ve had one customer today, and I overheard him gushing about how much his wife is going to love the beautiful flowers I sold him. They were dandelions.” Deventh chuckled as Ardmy shook his head.
“Well, then, best of luck. We should catch up again soon. Perhaps before I leave, if you have time.”
“Actually,” Ardmy said, “I’ve a favor to ask of you, if you’re willing to hear it.”
“Ask away.”
“I was planning on spending some time in Ravengarde to see if my business might fare better there as opposed to Kho’gul. Had you not come by, I would have waited things out until the road was safe, but since you’re here, I might ask you to escort me to the gate. I understand if you need to get back to your guild, so by all means you don’t have to—”
“Done,” said Deventh, cutting him off before his speech became so fast he’d forget how to breathe. “As long as you don’t mind making a stop at our hall.”
“Not at all!” Ardmy assured. “I’ve been hoping for an opportunity to see the place.”
“Not that there's much to see. But sure, let’s discuss our plans over some drinks this evening.”
“I knew I could count on you.” Ardmy eased into a relieved sigh. Never had Deventh seen such unabashed gratitude reflected in a smile. “Perhaps we can discuss your recent endeavors after all.”
“Absolutely. As well as yours.”