The elven state at least didn’t appear to be beset by that of anything in the name of demonic influence. Granted, most of its existence seemed to be generally calm. Nothing too wild or obviously out of whack that would have warranted a stronger reaction of uncertainty or preemptive need to protect and watch!
A calm before the storm as it were. With the only seemingly larger problems being creatures at night that called this place home. Though to a veteran fighter and one who understood fae did still call this place home in such ways, they could evade such problems. Using wits to be wisely ahead of the game rather than subjected to the ebb and flow of chaos.
The capitol itself was a week’s travel by that of cart as Tarron said originally, longer by mere foot. With dappling of places similar to Emerson Groove that would be speckled along the seemingly main artery of dirt road that swiveled its way through the towering crown of red wood.
Over the next few days Calia discovered a great many things. Obvious things. Unexpected things. Things she wished she didn’t feel, and things that were a blessing to feel again.
This place of the elves stirred up something in her that she’d never felt before in Caeldalmor, at least not since the time she’d wandered too far into the faerie wood. A sense that tickled just outside of her awareness, tugging at strings that she couldn’t grasp, because her heart and magic was so far away from her and whatever senses that were trying to awaken were just too far away for her to understand. It was almost like a kinship with this ancient place and it’s towering redwood trees.
The creatures within the forests too weren’t always the familiar woodland wildlife. Once or twice when she’d stop for the night to rest, off the dusty road to take shelter within the forest itself, she’d spotted those sweet little adorable creatures that Amaris warned her of. Calia had expected to see one and not have much care about it – cute was cute, she wasn’t the sort to get silly about it. Their lure was a magic thing, however, and more than that it pulled even harder at those strings of her awareness.
Everything here felt so familiar, so close to a feeling of home that it set her a bit off kilter. Home was Caeldalmor, in a giant castle of stone in the side of a mountain. It was big flat meadows of farmland and massive dark forests of thick firs. Why did this place she’d never seen before in her life, not even in paintings or pictures in books, feel closer to a sense of home? Was it because of the magic that seemed to permeate into the very lands?
Finally in her solitude, without danger right on her heels and a constant barrage of just trying to come out of something alive, Calia was forced to sit with her own thoughts. No outsiders to tell her how to think and feel. No one trying to kill her or criticizing her every choice. No one there to give her advice, or chatter away about nothing. Hell, even her inner voice had gone completely silent. All she had was her over active mind and a limitless amount of time to think.
She missed her family. At the end of the day it was the hardest thing to accept, because they were gone and there was just Calia here alone. After all of her snapping and snarling, her avoiding of making any sort of connection with the people she ran into… at the end of the day, Archimedes had been right all along. Maybe she didn’t need someone to rescue her from her problems, or to help her fight demons, or anything like that. But when he’d given her Mercy, that was a tether that kept her grounded and something to lean on.
Time and hindsight had a way of making one feel real stupid.
The conclusion Calia came to was that it was time for her to find someone to help her with her quest, if at the very least to help keep her grounded to the world. The trouble was that… well. How could she possibly trust anyone? How did one even go about making friends and finding a new bond to someone? It’s not like she could walk into a tavern and shout out Hey, who wants to fight demons and chase down an evil sorcerer to reclaim my magic. Her reality was a curse and it seemed so unfair to ask anyone to potentially give up their life for what was surely going to be a suicidal endeavor.
And for what? Because she was lonely?
By the fourth day of walking, Calia found another small hole in wall forest village. Not unlike Emerson Groove, it surrounded the main road with a smattering of little businesses and homes. Another waystop for travelers that needed rest and refreshments. While she looked around, examining the signs, she was trying to think about what sort of companion would make realistic sense. Someone temporary to guide her to the city? Did she give the full story and find a warrior adventuring type to go the full distance of revenge? All she really knew was that she’d not be picking up any bright eyed young men that hadn’t seen a real fight in their life. In fact, pretty men were absolutely out of the question.
She’d have to find the most hideous, grumpiest, monster of a man. A mercenary, maybe. One that’d likely want to be paid. That seemed like a safe option.
The place was somewhat similar to the inn that Daverne owned. Minus that it seemed to be considerably busier but that may have been the time of day. Where there was a whirling of bodies milling through the tables and chairs, to hand out meals and drinks requested. A faint attempt at someone trying their hand at making music on a lute but they seemed to have been either very new to the craft or potentially three sheets already to the wind. Providing nothing magical or salvageable in the way of song.
With the place being as busy as it was, another addition was hardly much to gawk at. Well, typically.
It wasn’t often that around here they got that of a round ear. Which of course, always pulled attention. And whispers.
Paired with the seeming lead of this very place being a woman that was of moonlight skin silver. Hair seemingly to favour the same as she wore less clothing on her long lithe frame, as fingers seemed to push out the way of hair from her face. “In or out, we don’t have time for those just lollygagging around,” She called and turned to look at another, “I heard you! Your drink will come when it comes, by the damn forest mother’s green tits, do I look like I have five other arms out my ass?”
She slapped a hand to the bar top that seemed to shoo away the elven man that dared to harp at clearly, a drow elf. Once more turning gaze upwards to the newcomer, “Round ear, eating. Drinking? Sleeping, or gawking?”
Gawking might have actually been the correct one in the selections, because Calia found herself staring at the very first drow she’d ever met in her life. It sure wasn’t polite to gawk, and surely she had plenty of royal etiquette lessons with a very nasty tutor that liked swinging books to smack you when you made a politesse faux pas. And she cursed about as much as Calia did when she wasn’t around genteel company. Which was quite a bit different from the elven folk Calia had met so far – save for Amaris, which didn’t exactly curse but certainly knew how to cut someone with words.
“A meal and a good strong drink or two,” she immediately said, jumping at the chance to slide into a stool the moment one was vacated. Even daring to shoot a cherry cordial sweet smile of oh so sorry if anyone dared to shoot her a glare.
With that said her attention went immediately to surveying the sorts that were in the place, falling mostly on the one attempting to be a bard… cringing when a foul note was struck on an ill-tuned lute. Even Calia who had skipped as many music lessons as she could get away with could play that blasted thing better! It was a miracle no one was throwing stale bread loafs at him!
Unlike most of these souls in this full house, she had seen round ears plenty. And wasn’t a fan or not about them. Akin to anyone else, they all had sorted personalities. It was the ones that attempted to try and play some sort of knowing farce like they knew the entire world inside and out that drove her particularly batty. Finding herself less than willing to talk to them and more of a withering glower because just because she had a long life, didn’t mean she wanted to listen to blow hards.
Once this dark haired one finally managed to close her mouth long enough to migrate over to a seat that was promptly left from its former dweller, a rag was ran over the spot.
Washing it quick and then giving this one a narrowing judgmental stare. Sizing her up right quick alongside that grin that was probably better suited to being plastered to the back end of someone who wanted it. “Well sure, but lets see if you have the coin for such things. No offense but clearly you’re in a foreign land and I’ve met my share of humans that conveniently leave their coin purses at home when the tab pulls up. So,” she tapped a finger onto the wet spot of the bar, “Put up first. A strong drink will cost you four silvers, so eight if you want two. And a meal will be ten silvers.”
Someone was nattering at her side and pulling line of sight to consider one of the servers that was attempting to put plates on the bar, “Last time I checked, you’ve got two hands, two legs and a damn heartbeat. Take that to the kitchen and don’t be giving me more crap to deal with!” The sunny blond elven girl blanched promptly. Grabbing her items and scurrying away like she was worried that there might be something thrown at her no sooner.
Evidently she didn’t favour anyone and gave each person the equal sort of lip she felt deserving. Turning back to stare at the human girl. “So pumpkin, what’s it going to be?”
Calia caught on pretty quick that this was a woman not to be fucked around with. From the way patrons were withering under her stares to the staff of the tavern itself, she was sharp and liable to come out from behind that bar and beat the hell out of anyone that needed it. There was an immediate respect for that, so Calia wasn’t about to be the problem patron in this establishment. No mischievous comments, not attempts at posturing to show she was a tough girl too.
She knew from personal experience, that kind of nonsense was never appreciated.
The price, though, had her frowning a bit. Digging for that pouch of coin the demon had given her to see just how much was left. Hmn. Not enough to get herself good and smashed for the night. Not if she wanted a bed to sleep in, or additional supplies for the rest of the journey.
So only ten silvers hit the bartop.
“Let’s stick with just the meal then. Are you going to charge me an arm an a leg for a room too, or do I need to roll up my sleeves after dinner and start washing dishes?” Despite the potentially sarcastic tone of the sentence, Calia actually asked with genuine sincerity.
“Or…!” She held up a finger turning her head to squint at the murderer of music off strumming away. “…is it worth my time to knock that guy out, steal his lute and play for tips?”
The sound of coin hitting the bar top, barely lasted a moment. Swept away into palm and dumped into a little one way bottle that the very means of getting into it would mean breaking the whole thing. Or so it seemed, turning her head, “Beef on a rooftile, don’t skimp the moss.” She called back with whatever the hell it was that she was ordering for the woman, just that she considered the worse falling out.
Testing them for any sort of hidden sass that would be just enough to earn another getting a whole ear pulling. “Girl, we run a place out in the middle of the boondocks. If you want somewhere cheaper to eat, catch your own food. Or sleep, same deal. Sleep outside in the great wilderness. You ought to be counting your blessings that we even had anything left that might be considered edible rather than rat food.”
Slender shoulders shrugged as she leaned back. Standing there a moment as if she knew there was more to be asked only to find her stare moving along the way to where the terrible music was being played.
“Aw hell, leave him be. When you work long and hard, sometimes you just gotta do what you love. Even if you suck so horrible at it that it threatens to awake the earth father from his eternal slumber. He ain’t hurting no one besides his own damn fingers. But since you wanna do some hard labour, a room may just cost you some labour. From how it looks, you don’t seem the sort that is so dainty and delicate that washing dishes could be the only thing your half decent at.”
Her eyes peered and made a vague motion to the sword, “If you know how to swing that, then you likely know how to swing an axe. So if you feel like putting some effort into earning a keep, then that’s the offer. And you can tell the owner that Rhelic sent you, he’ll be as pleased as a pig in shit to have someone chopping up some wood.”
“Noted,” she answered to the spiel of catching her own food or sleeping out in the woods – which Calia was more than capable of doing, and had already been doing. She wasn’t about to argue with the woman when she seemed so fed up with a busy night already. From the sounds of it, plenty travelers already came through here expecting more than they actually deserved. Thus, she made a small mental note that if she wanted an easier and cheaper time when staying at places, she might start catching small prey to offer up in trade. Rabbits and quails were easy enough, and the fur and feathers might even out the costs.
The defense of the terrible bard was a bit of a surprise. He might love what he was doing, but the torture he was inflicting wasn’t all that great! But then, there might just be things Calia had a sensitive and spoiled royal palette for. Good food and good drink was always a must. Music too was meant to be easy on the ears. Surely all of these long eared elves had to under duress.
Alas, not Calia’s tavern, not Calia’s business to be tossing out bad musicians.
“I can swing an axe,” she did agree with an affirming nod. Calia wasn’t so spoiled that she couldn’t do hard labor, and to be honest she did need to make sure to keep her strength up in some fashion or another. There were no longer knights to do practice training with. No brothers to spar with. Chopping wood was a good way to keep herself limber.
“After the meal, where do I go?” she asked.
There it was again. The squint after all this yammering and in the end, the pretty little human didn’t put up a fuss. Having expected her to get a bit uppity because well, usually when a girl came in with her looks, they usually had three feet of stick up their ass to accompany that sort of thou are holier attitude. This was a surprise that had not been expected.
Enough that arms dropped and momentarily the drow was chuckling easily enough. Shoulders ceased somewhat their clench. Tongue gave a click, “Right here, my old man hasn’t worked a solid day in the past twenty years, so I doubt he’d even know which way was up if you went over and started telling him that I told you to go harass him.” It might have explained a lot of her own attitude to why she seemingly got away with being a angry boar ready to gore everyone and anyone.
“Been some time since I seen a human willing to work, let alone a human girl. Most the time they’re too busy asking what lace goes with their hair to be fussed about doing any menial labour.” A soft murmur approached just behind her and without really considering the sound, she turned. Taking a hold of the plate that had been prepared to set it nicely down before the girl.
A hot slab of beef that had some red sauce over it, and a thick chunk of slice bread. Fresh from the oven from the way it smelt, but not so carb heavy that the little frilly greens and red tomato’s beside. Looking like a meal that was meant to help people stay fed, not fat! “Rhelic, by the way. If you didn’t catch that previously. What’s a human doing in this neck of the woods and it can’t be looking for dumb pretty elves cause you could throw a shoe and hit five of them.”
Thank the gods that this was a meal that looked worth eating, for the blasted price of it! Pleased that she wasn’t being cheated with some hodgepodge of mystery stew filled with gristle and bread with suspicious green spots on it. With the way the drow woman changed her posture and her tone, Calia had seemingly managed to prove that she wasn’t about to be a pain in the ass here, in turn allowing herself to ease into a more comfortable stature too.
Laughing in immediate succession.
“I’m Calia. And I’m surely spoiled for choices if all I was after was a pretty face,” she agreed merrily. “Three were liable to join me on this journey and I am not so sure they were out from underneath their mother’s skirts yet.”
Taking a moment to slice up a bit of the beef and load up her fork, Calia was rewarded with a taste that matched the appetizing vision and smells. Humming her her approval before tapping knuckles to mouth while she chewed and swallowed, then to continue to actually answer the question.
“I’m actually on my way to the capitol to seek audience with Queen Ashera,” she revealed with concern about how it would sound. So used to common folk coming to the Caeldalmor castle for one reason or another to seek royal audience, and it was often freely given no matter how small the matter, that such a thing didn’t even occur to her that it might be unusual, especially in a much larger kingdom.
“I’m actually curious how I might find someone to hire for going with me. Not so much as an escort or protection, although it’s definitely preferred that they know how to handle themselves should things get ugly. I’ve not… ever had a need for such a thing before. I’m not sure how to go about it.”
Brows lifted some then sank so deep to threaten blotting out entire eyes. Shortly sighing, while making an oval gesture at her own face in a sort of circling to suggest she was referencing Calia’s face. “That’s the price you get for both being different and actually having two eyes pointing in the same direction. The male folk get a look and suddenly all wits fly out the window. Ready to sell their own grandmother just to prove how manly they are. Protect the maiden from the big bad world without realizing that said maiden probably has had to deal with chucking men over her shoulder because of said reason.” Repeating the circle, it seemed Rhelic understood well enough.
Drow weren’t that common here anymore so she had her fair share of stupid eyeballs in her direction. Save they didn’t last long because she was willing to take pretty eyes out of their heads since they seemed to all they were good for.
With a motion, she shooed off someone else as now this seemed to have become a private bar. Nearly ready to snarl and spit like a dog with rabies, ensuring the bar stools beside Calia were promptly emptied. Rewarding with less of a crowd around the bar, she offered a first real smile. Flashing the pearly whites that grew into a cynical disbelief to hear that this one was going to trot on over to the Queen herself for an audience. “No short dreams for you. Lucky she’s a good queen that likes to entertain all sorts.” Seemed to be a familiar statement that Ashera was in fact, a gentle and gracious being.
Picking up a glass so she might start wiping down its bottom, the question about hiring anyone had Rhelic pausing. Staring.
Then pointing, “Good luck with that. Not to be cruel but the most likely source of help you’ll be getting from here to the capitol is those who want to get a good look at your behind. Hiring sorts is a human thing, elves like to hunt.” She made a floating motion, “Sing and dance and be all pretty boy elegant. Things like hiring to help out in the ways of getting ugly, well… that would be closer to the tide side. Sel elves are pretty dainty things. A good gust of foul air and they be keeling over retching. And the only one I would ever suggestion you could use is not in town for another four months. So you might not find anything here, unless you want to use someone for fodder.”
She seemed thoughtful a moment, “Or you could hire me. I mean, you might have a nice ass but I think mine is just as good. No offense. And you weren’t looking for a boy, were yah?”
With the wry smile Calia gave, it was clear she’d had plenty enough trouble even before she’d reached the elven lands when it came to having a pretty face. Easily commiserating with the drow woman on the woes of being both lovely and of short enough temper not to take bullshit from any cocky man.
“It’s a shame menfolk are such a pain in the ass, because they are ever so fun to fool about with. Of course, then you have to weight the risk of having all kinds of regrets come the morning when you find out your evening tryst turns out to be a complete moron.”
Find someone that likes them pretty and dumb, that’s what she’d said to that asshole Derrick years ago. Even little teenage Calia knew how stupid men could be!
It sounded like Rhelic didn’t have much faith in the elven men around here to do the sort of dirty murdering work that Calia was after. Too pretty boy elegant! She couldn’t help but laugh at that comment too, even if it was a little disheartening. Only she seemed to offer a bit of further advice of potentially heading to the sea where a different countenance could be found. What had Roy called them? The Qualn?
Detouring herself all the way to the ocean would be a long trip just to hire herself a mercenary, when there were important things that needed to be warned about and arranged sooner rather than later. Although… it could be a good idea after she’d made those arrangements with Queen Ashera to then head out to the seaside and see if she could find someone with the gumption to fight demons.
She’d never seen the ocean before. It might be worth it just for that alone.
Of course the lady then made an interesting offer, all due surprise blooming on Calia’s face along with another quick laugh.
“Well, no, it doesn’t have to be a man! I was plotting getting myself someone ugly and foul tempered so I wouldn’t have to deal with nonsense. It never really occurred to me to look for a woman, they are – as you said – usually more interested in other pursuits!”
Having this unexpected turn, Calia leaned on her elbows, now eyeing the woman carefully trying to sus out just how helpful or how worried Calia would need to be.
“You have a lot of business here, are you even available? My journey through the elven lands has been secure so far, but I am… there is a chance traveling with me is a deadly pursuit. I would only need you as far as the capitol. But I do think I’ll take your advice and head to the sea afterwards for a more permanent companion, regardless. Seems like a sound idea.”
“Please, the dumb ones are the best ones. You just pull out a shiny trinket come the morning and throw it. They go running after it like a dog to a bone. Helps when you baby talk them, then they get all excited and want to do everything you want. It’s the smart ones that are no fun.” Fingers kneaded into her temple, “Was it good for you! Did I rock your world, oh yeah.” Vibrant eyes rolled hard within her skull before threatening to get stuck deep within. “I’ll take the dumb ones, they don’t need their confidence bolstered religiously.”
Certainly no short of having flings on either side of said behaviours, she would always take the stupid ones. Because they could be told whatever in the world, from how she had to leave come the morning for some great mysterious adventure and then stay in town. While they got all confused and she played stupid like she never met them. It was the smart ones, the ones that needed a bit of encouragement and then they were like a sticky wart on ones ass. Hard to get rid of.
Of course it seemed that Calia was searching for something that wasn’t really available in town currently. Had her brother been around, sure. She’d throw him at her and be like, go. Play. Don’t die and bring back some supplies from the capitol. Alas, Zen was elsewhere and that may have been a good thing. Didn’t need his ugly mug around here.
But it was still curious that this girl was sitting here gulping bitefuls of her dinner looking and then the offer of being hired herself, well, that look was worth it.
Crossing arms under bosom with a flat and clear what, wanna try me? Sort of gaze. Waiting and sure that she might be prompt to debate which way this could go. “Well I got the foul temper part down pat. Might even be able to make it my own scripture with how cankerous I can be. Though maybe you ought to have been looking for a woman anyways, at least we can multitask that isn’t, where’s my penis and where’s my head.” Leveling a look that was clearly not joking entirely about that.
Tossing rag soon enough onto the counter to plant her hands in turn there. Leaning forward and meeting her eye to eye. Listening to the spiel of it all. “The old boot could use some time on his feet rather than making his precious daughter slave all day like a hooker without any good pay. And maybe it would suit him better to have me threatening to throw whatever these deadly pursuits over their tea kettles instead of loyal customers.” Brows lifted as cheeks moved to show a willing and impish grin. “Plus, I come with perks Calia. Not just a killer face and a terrible attitude, but a horse. Or horses. Since travel to the capitol isn’t uncommon. Unless you like walking, then by all means. I’ll ride. You walk like a peasant. And call you all sorts of names till your feelers are swelled up to burst, sounds like fun, don’t it?”
Meeting a kindred spirit was not what Calia thought she’d find during this humble village stop. She hadn’t even really believed she’d find a travel companion her either, so what a surprise to find out that she might have just been the opportunity Rhelic was looking for herself. A chance to get out of the mundane for awhile and maybe teach a little lesson to her family alongside it.
“Good that I love horses, then,” she said first, matching the woman’s grin with ease, only to follow it with sitting a little straighter in her chair to take this more seriously. A look of thought, real examining thought coming across her features as she tried to predict the consequences of agreeing.
Calia was so, so afraid of consequences now. To allow someone near her, to trust someone, hoping that she wasn’t about to get someone else killed or herself stabbed in the back and abandoned all over again. No one ever told you that trust was the hardest thing in the world to give, and you needed it for everything!
“..I accept this auspicious proposal,” she decided. “Only you ought to know what you might be getting into before you decide yourself. The journey to the capitol seems simple enough, but I’m cursed. Not drama or exaggeration, a legit curse. I came from a plague of demons in Caeldalmor and my escape is bound to be noticed eventually. There is a chance of deadly trouble.”
“…and if you want to be paid well, you might have to twiddle your thumbs while I take on a job,” she added, returning to that cheeky grin. “Unless you like getting paid in land.”
She never really needed a reason to do much of anything, but if there was a chance to throw the means of the business back into its rightful hands and say, good luck? Well she would be foolish not to try her luck. Of course father wouldn’t overly bat an eye when he needed too, knowing that if he wanted to attempt to sway her decision in generally anything it often resulted in him backing down quickly with facts, frustration and declaration of points!
So to hear Calia agree that she liked horses instead of walking, it seemed their unlikely arrangement was coming to fruition faster and faster. Only that there was something in the girls face that promptly seemed to be dark and concerning. Earning a narrowing look and a almost prompt reach over after the girl spoke up about being curses and something about demons.
“Grab your plate.” Rhelic stated bluntly. Patting Calia’s hand to insist that she was getting up to talk a impromptu walk with her, which would be towards the back of the inn. Leaving the servers to handle the front because that was partly their job too. They could manage for a few minutes, while Rhelic insisted that Calia follow her to a little office in the back corner that would house them both at least comfortably within. No more than that.
Making an open gesture that she could sit down in the seat provided and Rhelic would perch herself on the corner of the desk. “I don’t really care about being paid truthfully, that’s nothing to me. A reason to escape for a while is good enough but you might want to develop a sense not to blither on about demons so openly.” Rhelic shook her head, pressing fingers into it. “That type of shit is highly taboo and is liable to get you into trouble if you say it to the wrong person! And then you’d be lucky to even look at Queen Ashera’s shoes from a dungeon cell, so maybe not be so flippant in stating that. True or not, think about your surroundings, these are fearing folk here, girl.”
Interesting. this sudden instruction for her to grab her plate and follow along meant there were things Rhelic wished to discuss outside of snooping ears. So when she did follow and plop into the offered, still taking a bite here and there as she wasn’t about to let the meal cool to a chill, she found herself being told that her carless mentioning of demons everywhere was liable to get her in trouble!
Dubious at first, as no one had given her fair warning yet… then again, her interactions with the elven people so far had been a very mixed experience. The only ones offering any real insight to the history and culture of the place being Tarron who told her fighting demons was something they’d been well practiced with in the past. And Roy whose lack of experience didn’t really help fill in the gaps.
“..alright I get that,” she responded with an affirming nod. Don’t mention demons around locals or they were liable to get into a fit. “Hard not to mention the demon part, though, when I’m looking for help. It’s of the problem, and I hate to have someone tag along with me that doesn’t understand the dangers.”
There was a sort of judgmental up and down this girl that looked like she used her sword as a toothpick between battles. A compliment in her eyes but clearly as Calia stated, she didn’t know how it went about hiring people for sort of a mixed bag of nuts that included various dangers that were in this case, demonic related. If that were true. One could just call a crazed man or woman, demonic and they never had been.
Still, it seemed she needed a bit of a education if she was going to get closer to the capitol. Liable to have herself in chains and throw deep into the dungeon for being a heretic. Knowing damn well that the closer you got to the glorious middle of this fair land, the better your mouth had to be about saying what sort of problems one had.
“Yeah, and theres always a way of saying that you have particular things that need to be dealt with. Rather than nattering about it in polite company. You might as well carry around a soapbox and stand on it next time.” Rhelic shook her head, “You said you were new to this, and gods be damned, you clearly are. The thing about getting people to be hired, is tact. You don’t wanna just tell them out the gate what they could be dealing with. You take them aside,” she pointed to the room they were in. “Making sure its just you and them. No extra eyes. Ears. Noses, whatever. And then you tell them with a gentle added pleasant threat that if they go squealing about it, you’ll make sure to be their next problem.”
The drow chuckled, “Come on girl, you don’t give up the goods without making them work for it. Surely you know that.” Fingers raised to smooth through the off white hair, “Demons are very much a no-no topic. Especially as you get closer to the capitol. It’s akin to telling them ghost stories, just these stories will get you grabbed. Thrown into chains and then interrogated till you tell them how many wooden nickels you swallowed as a toddler. It’s dangerous work, so tact. State things are guna be dangerous, feel them out. Then if you think they are the one, pop the ugly reality. Lucky for you, demon’s don’t scare me. So now that you learnt a little something, cursed huh?”
Calia polished off what was on her plate, minus the left over piece of bread she was currently using to sop up the remains of that red sauce. Looking very much like a woman who’d just been told something she’d ought to have known, and was very irritated with finding it out only now. Eventually tilting her head back with a resigned sort of sigh.
Her entire life she’d feared absolutely nothing. With the security of being a Princess of Caeldalmor, with her lessons on how to physically defend herself, the magic that had flowed through her bones and made any obstacle go away with a wriggle of her fingers. How spoiled she’d been not actually knowing what it was like being a simple everyday human. No status, no power, just having to figure shit out. For all the things she was educated on, there was so much more she didn’t know. It was humbling in the worst sort of moments.
Lucky for her, Rhelic seemed to be someone who could speak plainly, honest information without being condescending about it. After a deep breath, it seemed worth it to take the risk, at least with this woman who seemed to understand the value of being frank, as well when something needed to be kept quiet.
“You are looking at Princess Calia Aryn Dalgaard of Caeldalmor, very likely to be the only last living heir after the entire capitol city was stripped of life by a hoard of demons summoned up with my own stolen magic by a man that used to be a friend. I am literally heartless and potentially demon marked. It’s… a problem.”
The understatement of the year.
“I just want to meet the Queen here and see if she’ll take care of the refugees that come through the pass. Then it’s off to fight my way through a hoard to kill a man, I guess. There was more fire in me before, now I’m just tired.”
She was young. And not even in the means of simply that she was human, just that Calia was expressively the sort of woman that seemed like she was used to being able to know what she needed, do as she wanted and suddenly things had fallen apart. Personally, she seen the sort before. Where the wind in their sails seemed like they were never going to falter, only they did and suddenly the realization that not everything was easily rallied with a snap of fingers or a show of mettle.
The difference here was, would she be a spoiled little tart that stamped her feet because the world did not bend to her or would she pull up her panties and realize that work would need to be put in to make things functional again.
The latter appeared to be the choice. Good, if it was the former, she was liable to take the little round ear by her said ear and throw her out.
Announcing shortly just whom she was, what had happened, and apparently that the mountain kingdom cradled in that of the earth father’s craggy claws and become a bowl of demon fowl. “I’m not guna bow if you’re thinking I ought too.” Rhelic squinted playfully then at her. “Plus I don’t care if you were the queen of the cuckoos’, my knees don’t fall to the floor for any one.” the limber drow stretched arms out in front of her then, humming a bit at the statement of what this girl was planning on doing.
Seeking succre for that of her living people. And then to be some dumb idiot that went to battle, “Well half of your plan seems smart and the other half just sounds like you’re a young dumb girl barely old enough to scratch her ass.” Shoulders rolled and neck was popped momentarily. “You might want to think about how you’re going to fight your way through a hoard to one single man. If he can do as you said and took magic and your heart, you’re fucked. Tactical advancement is clearly not your strong suit.”
Stroking a finger down the black marks on her cheeks, she hummed. “Well, I mean if you can convince the queen to help you with the refugees is one thing, but you clearly need a better plan. Sounds like you trusted the wrong person and they seen sucker written on your forehead.” Sighing some, “No sense crying over spilled milk. Now its just being smarter, rather than just trying to bullhorn your way through. Unless you want to be just a causality.” Then she leaned forward some, “You’re naivety is showing and I get a terrible sense you may be a lone wolf, though those are usually very sickly animals.” Once more she was getting a eye full, “Have you thought about what you are going to say to Queen Ashera? The woman already doesn’t like demons and those who could be vaguely associated.”
“I’m not so sure I could take you seriously if you did bow,” answered Calia with a scoff. She might’ve had her moments of being a royal brat, but she wasn’t interested in having people treat her like… well… someone up on a pedestal of importance. It was never something she wanted and all the more reason why she always went out and about to explore the land and visit villages as a ghost amongst her own people.
And she wasn’t too keen on being told her plan to chase after Derrick wasn’t much of a plan at all. Foolish and stupid to think she could single-handedly power her way through it. Calia didn’t need to be told that it was dumb. Boy oh boy, she knew how much of a sucker she’d been. More and more every day.
The part that actually humbled her, though, was asking how exactly she thought to approach Queen Ashera. Finding in the wake of all this knew knowledge that, no… no Calia had no fucking idea how to do any of this!
“You could say I wasn’t exactly a good student when it came to learning Diplomacy,” she huffed with a grimace and an awkward shift. “The direct and honest approach made the most sense? If it’s not the right method, then I honestly don’t know. I need my own fucking Royal Advisor at this point. I feel like a damn sow with a tiara trying to masquerade as a Queen.”
At least they seemed to have a similar taste in modesty and that Calia knew she wasn’t about to get any sort of courtly behaviour from yours truly. In similar taste, the girl expressed that if there was any sort of bowing or curtsying, the means of seriousness would be limited to gawks, fits of giggles and likely mortifying embarrassment. Better to keep on hand if they were in public and there was a need to wheel her in somehow.
However, and this was a large thing, the girl was also expressively showing that she didn’t know what the hell she was doing. What sort of idiot just explained all this and went, yup, imma go hunt the man down and stuff. One human was nothing compared to a hoard of demons and surely she knew that. Had too. The way she looked, likely spoke volumes about that. Unless she wanted to be suicidal but then there were other ways to do that. While also not frying up everyone else in the way!
Pair on the glaring question of just how did Calia expect to talk to the queen at all about any of this. “Hmm, seems like you were hoping of stomping in there and just bellowing it out like some dramatic theatrical play.” Tongue clicked noisily upon teeth, “While I would say yes the direct and honest approach is probably the best, maybe not in such the same way you did with me. I have tolerance, the Queen. Not so much. Especially if you’re a princess, then surely you would know how well this would have all gone hard the shoes been reversed. Would dear ol pops appreciate some random elf, or orc or whatever have you stomping into his court with a proclamation that demons had been unleashed? I might be on a ledge here and say that your father may have claimed that said person was crazed and needed to be thrown into the dungeon just to get their head back on straight. So you might want to put more effort into this.”
Hopping off the desk so she could stretch further, Rhelic scratched her neck and looked momentarily thoughtful. “You need to be able to approach the Queen in a manner that is both urgent, courtly and favourable. Which I don’t suggest coming in with, demons have been released as a starter point. It sounds to me that you have some learning to do as one travels.” Pink eyes widened, “You’ve hunted before right. Track your down your prey. Know their footprints from another’s. What they eat, where they sleep. Well, apply that here. Learn about the queen. Rather than just hearing it from stories. Ashera is a good woman but everyone has a past, Calia. Some good, some bad. But all of it makes up a person and makes them relatable. If you want to talk to her and convay you need help without making her decide your neck may be better being severed from your body, then put such things to work. Also, don’t tell her you don’t have a heart. Something about that just seems like you might be a puppet. That’s old magic right there and very dangerous stuff.”
“I can safely say I am not nor will I ever be a puppet…” came her only answer, shortly falling into a thoughtful silence.
Having it all laid out to Calia like this was eye opening, to say the least. To consider what her father would’ve done if someone came blustering in screaming of demons and stolen magic – knowing full well how he felt about magic in general? Yeah, not good. It wasn’t to say that’d he’d not eventually listen and do the right thing in the end, as he’d always been a man of the people and did what was best. Only, she couldn’t ignore the fact she’d always been afraid to tell him the truth of what she was. Calia couldn’t just storm in and blurt this all out to a Queen she knew nothing about.
This was all so much more complicated than she ever could have thought! Easier when she was so full of rage and bitter anger that she just kept stomping forward, because it was all she could do in the moment. Now she actually had to think to accomplish these goals… somehow to become something more than she was in that moment. More than what she was even before when she was still whole.
Did she even have it within her to try? There was nothing stopping her from forgetting it all and running off into the forests never to be heard of again.
Another crossroads, another choice to make.
“…I suppose I am going to have to learn as much as I can about court politics in the next few days,” she muttered with a frown. “Would you like an upgrade from escort to advisor, Rhelic? You’ll get paid in hangovers with all the booze I’m going to have to drink just to deal with court manners.”
“Sounds like something a puppet would say.” Brows lifted and wiggled in a sort of way that implied that her affirmation wasn’t by any means, comforting. To her, she didn’t care. To a woman that had history with the very things in her court and a strong distaste for them, well… it might not be very convincing. Unless they opened Calia up to see if it was real or not.
Something entirely macabre about all of that, so better to not have it happen. Decidedly offering her own insight to hopefully get this young little trampled upon tulip to understand that no amount of bluster and good intentions was going to help her in the matters of gracious tactical thought.
Perhaps if she were younger and hadn’t yet been the past the age of adult in human terms, someone might have considered her lack of decree, forgivable. But even that sounded incredibly poor taste and entirely unconvincing.
Once her feet were back underneath and she was likely ready to go start throwing people around verbally yet again, eyes fell upon this human. “You’re going to have to learn a lot, think your head can handle it?” She asked smirking before breaking out into a melodious laugh. Deep as the hollows before shaking her head. “I don’t think your hangovers are enough to warrant me changing from someone who can just smack things, to someone that has to guide.” A thumb pointed to herself. “I just say what I want already, and I can help educate you but that advisor gig sounds terrible. You need someone else for that. Someone who can be charismatic to a disgusting degree. Would help if they were good to look at because maybe then their pretty face could be distracting.”
She grinned. Wide and beaming and, “Alright you mopstick, let’s get you settled into a room. If you can chop the wood, then I’ll give you a sniffer of my good shit I keep to myself later. Hmm?”
“Not sure if my head can handle it, but I am willing to try nonetheless,” Calia admitted with another long sigh and a shrug of her shoulders. That’s all she could do, wasn’t it? Take it one step at a time, learn when she needed to learn, and maybe, maaaaybe she would actually get somewhere. The only way she could fail is if she quit trying altogether, and right now that was not the option she wanted to take.
That annoying spark of hope still lived inside her, along with all the other messed up stuff.
At least she was a great deal of amused at Rhelic completely refusing the role of advisor, despite the fact the woman was the first to actually have a conversation with her about where she was fucking up, instead of just shouting her failures. For now this was enough, this was far more than Calia thought she could find.
“I did have someone that fit the description of charismatic and handsome, only we got along like warring bobcats. We’ll have to keep a lookout then for amiable sorts that’ll aim he stabbing in the right direction.”
Taking Rhelic’s advice, Calia left out that said companion was the very demon scourge all were worried about.
Standing with her empty plate, she returned the drow woman’s beaming smile with one of her own.
“Alright, work now, drink later, and in the morning off we go. The Curse of Calia continues, for I am certain your father is going to think he’s been cursed with you gone.”
“Isn’t that the way of things. We are never ready for it but it comes regardless.” A comment that was likely very personally felt. The world certainly didn’t care if someone was ready to do something or not, it simply did. And one had to hope they weren’t squished beneath the unwelcomed overloaded behind that sat down without a single thought!
Although she gave the woman a look when she expressed about how she had met someone that fit the description and how they got along. “Sounds like you two liked each other the same way little boys and girls do. Just missing the hair pulling and name calling.” Rhelic rolled her eyes, “Finding someone that charismatic is guna be interesting, that much is for certain. Cause they are either old and charming, or young and stupid.”
Not much they could do about that right now. Not with her opening the door to indicate they could leave and of course, Calia was in agreement about how their new adventure was to begin in the morning. Leaving her to huff a airy laugh at the idea of how her father was going to feel like he was cursed instead. “It’ll keep his heart ticking and his blood running. Rather than keeling over in his chair. And I’m sure he could use the exercise anyways. Not that this would stop me mind you, but the means are there.”
She motioned for the plate that Calia had, “The wood is just around back. Axe in the stump and you can just go to town. How well you do and I might even up the ante that you get a drink and a slice of dessert!”
There was a comment that pulled and immediate face from Calia. Maybe if the man hadn’t been a complete and total ass to poke and prod at her during her lowest moments! He might have had the tiniest sliver of a chance to at least be a good evening. It wasn’t as if there weren’t some small moments where it almost seemed like they could at the very least be friends. Then, well… it’d fall apart all over again.
Too late now to even attempt at making repairs there. They were both on different paths, in different directions. A closed chapter.
That petulant, disgusted look was gone in an instant though, back to laughing and being amused.
“For a drink and dessert, there won’t be a log left,” she mused with a grin, handing over the plate without further complaint.
So gathering up her things and heading into the back was exactly what she did. Picking up axe and log and going to town with one good hard chop at a time. Now that her wound were healing up nicely and she was actually getting enough food and rest, she had the stamina to match. Sleeves rolled up to the shoulders and hair braided out of her way. Finding that the physical work fulfilled a need for her. Getting out energy… expelling aggressive. She couldn’t be out killing demons and making Derrick writhe in a thousand different kinds of pain. But she could focus on chopping the hell out of that wood until she was well out of breath and out of logs.
Rhelic seen that look and found it absolutely comical. Have been one to see it before. Where the little feuding was done because both sides didn’t know how to express themselves outside of being just a pair of stubborn mules. Refusing to give in and being upset that the other may have gotten too close hurting feelings. But the thing was, while she found it amusing, she wasn’t going to comment on it either.
Not her circus, not her monkeys.
“Bonus for me then. Come find me inside when you are finished, tulip.” Offering her a grin as plate was taken and shortly returning to the front of house. Immediately bellowing out about someone doing something stupid and she was about to make their ears look like a bow after she finished tying them up on their god damn head!
Surprisingly, Calia actually enjoyed laborious work. Though the idea of doing something like running a farm didn’t appeal to her – too stationary, too rooted – she’d always been a person of high energy that needed to put that energy somewhere. In her life before that came about from her weapons training, her exploration of the kingdom, dancing in taverns and clandestine romps with handsome individuals. The way she’d practice with her magic in places where they were no eyes to watch her.
Things weren’t that much different now, she mused while she chopped away at the logs into reasonable easy to burn sections. All of that training was being applied into actually fighting monsters. Here now in actually being able to do a useful task where she could see the progress, instead of feeling like this lost soul without a purpose.
While she worked away with a steady repeat and rhythm of chopping, she could finally think in broader terms. Allowing her mind to wander outwards to consider more than just the end goals, but how she can actually take steps to get there. A plan as it were. The thing everyone kept telling her she needed. The one thing she felt she was eternally bad at, for Calia had never before needed to think beyond the moment she was living.
In the beginning her revenge felt more important than anything else. To make Derrick suffer the way that she suffered. To put an end to him so he wouldn’t continue to use her magic to harm others. It was singular. Selfish. Sure, it would have solved one issue, but it was such a small part of a larger problem. After traveling with the refugee villagers, Calia was now aware of just how many people were upended from their homes. That was only a single village – there were many more in Caeldalmor. Escaping the valley to find refuge was all well and good as long as the other mountain kingdom allowed it, but these people needed to have a home to return to. How do you clear an entire kingdom free of demons, when the few soldiers and knights you had were killed at the very start!
Calia didn’t want this title or the responsibility… but who else was there. Was she going to expect some random villager to rise up as a might hero, and somehow figure it all out? To fix a broken kingdom that had fallen in part because of her? This couldn’t be passed to someone else, she needed to be a damn Queen.
Another chop and an angry, frustrated sound. A queen alone was nothing. Calia needed to push her fears and awkwardness aside to surround herself with people that could protect her, advise her, and work towards the best interests of Caeldalmor. Meeting Queen Ashera would be a start, as she could negotiate refuge for her people. …but maybe she could also learn what was required to create a royal cabinet. Calia would need advisors, stewards, knights, those stupid nobles she’d always thought were so useless before but actually had a job to do in overseeing land and towns!
Calia would have to rise a kingdom out of the ashes. Starting with nothing more than her own word and ambition.
They were so fucked.
…yet, if things with the elven queen went well, there was a vague idea inspired by her very ancestor. The kingdoms of the mountains had been cut off from each other for so long… she didn’t understand why. If someone she could visit those kingdoms, make connections. Would an alliance of the kingdoms not make them all stronger? That asshole couldn’t summon enough demons to take on the entirety of the mountain clans.
By the time she was done with the pile of logs and finished up stacking the chopped wood neatly, Calia was a sweaty messed but tired in all of the best ways. Not really sure if her ideas were even feasible or the right direction to take, but it was something. Wiping the back of her hand on her brow and trying to wash up a bit from a rain water barrel in the back, before she made her way inside the tavern again. Where it seemed the boisterous sounds of a busy day were finally starting to quiet.
There were always a few stragglers once the night began to wind down. Just with the production of a broom, their feet suddenly found new life. Promptly nodding, apologizing with muddled attempts of saying a good eve when they managed to make their way to the door rather than re-parking rears into that of seats. While outwardly she wouldn’t show a smile, internally was a whole other story. Finding terrible amusement that these people were so scared of a girl.
A girl with an attitude and a desire to share it with everyone if the mood was good.
Yet it worked in her favour, as being one of the very few drow women present in pale skin company. They didn’t attempt to try anything with her, afraid of her cutting tongue most of the time and leaving her blissfully at peace. Usually.
With the broom handed over to the few girls that were tasked with clean up, it was ears that betrayed her to become alert to the other feet that approached. Laying visual claim upon the dark haired and sweaty dame with a gentle beckon of hand so Calia would follow her right into that of the kitchen. Offering a vague nod to a behemoth looking man that wore an apron that barely covered his bellowing gut. Though he was giving her a piss yellow stare, he said nothing. Busying with the means of cleaning his area for another night, “Tell my father come the morrow that he will need to be working for the foreseeable future,” The man simply grunted. The most she was going to get in the way of verbal agreement or acknowledgement.
Only for her to point at him, “That’s Tiny Moe, he’s my favourite.” It was evident that Tiny Moe was an elf mixed with something else. Unsure of what but his protruding brow may have suggested something with lack of intelligence. But he rumbled in such a way that was affection to being called the favourite while she helped herself in opening the door to a witch’s tit cold box that had her promptly pulling out a few prepared treats. In particular this odd looking cake that was perfectly square. And bright purple.
“Taro,” If Calia needed to know as she grabbed that of forks in passing, “We’ll be toddling off. Take some of that meat that’s due to rot and give it to your piglets,” Another grunt, and Rhelic made a motion to a neatly tucked away and very narrow set of stairs in the kitchen. Hard to see if you weren’t aware to look for as it sort of blended into the wall shrouded with pots and pans. “Suck your tits in if you need too,” Rhelic dryly commented as she led the way up the tiny stairwell. Finding it turned halfway up to go the other direction and barely opened up into a space that was large enough to be deemed a place at all.
With two beds, one nightstand to separate them and a dresser shoved into a corner with a variety of clothing piled around it rather than in it, the drow woman set down the dessert onto the nightstand.
Only to rummage around beneath one of the beds to produce a dark fat bottle that had its cork pulled. And set down beside the strange dessert. “Ain’t classy here, so if you need to be fancy put your pinkie out when you drink from the mouth.” She shrugged and plopped her ass onto a bed. “I’d offer you a wash but that would have to wait till the staff is gone and the rooms are available after their cleaning. So for now, you get to stink and drink and eat. Delightful no?”
“I’ve been covered in a lot worse,” answered Calia with her usual frankness. Taking in the view of this humble room with a soft appreciation for what it was. A functional and secluded place, and by the narrow little crawl space disguise as a hall, somewhere that was deliberately meant to be difficult for most to get into. Of course Calia would love a secret hiding room!
Having covered distance in her traveling, miraculously meeting someone that could help her for a time, working through pent up energy and storm of thoughts in her brain… Calia was now contentedly exhausted. A good place to be in, so naturally when she moved over to the second bed to set her things aside and lowered herself down to sit, that guilt ever present in the back of her mind wanted to rear up and itch. Usually she would stomp it down in the coffin where the bulk of her feelings still resided, but tonight she let to hang out there. Testing it, challenging it. Allowing it to witness that she was trying, despite it.
“How did you end up here in this village?” she got curious enough to ask. Reaching out to take the bottle and with all the deliberate sass of a mountain wildling, did deliberately pop that pinky out before she took a long drink. Offering the bottle back to Rhelic.
“Hmm, I’m sure you have,” There was mockery in that tone. Not quite believing that she had been and also at the same time, entirely believing it. Lending eyes to peer up and down the tall human girl that clearly rivaled many a men in the very state. Liable to have pissed off more than a few because women were supposed to be demure, tiny, whimpering and fragile things. To plead for their strength instead of being said strength. So yes, she could toy with Calia but at the same time she truly did that this very mountain claimed princess wore shit and gore and everything else merely to prove herself.
If there was anything they had similarities too, Rhelic guessed it might be that.
The challenge and the I do what I want.
It was too bad that such a mentality often meant you made yourself seem so high and mighty and so prideful that when you fell, there was no one there to catch you because you didn’t need anyone to do it. Even if, there were times you simply just wanted to be… seen as a little girl.
Rhelic watched her step over and sit her butt down. And asking a question that spurred lips to part with a bemused fanged smile. Lids cinching making the black marks from eyes stretch further and, “End up here? You assume I wasn’t born here. Just because my flesh is the colour of lilac gray and my hair is white, one has to be a pale skinned elf to be in a village from day one?” The drow shook her head at the drink, picking up a fork instead to stab at the cake. Taking a chunk and waggling it about slightly. Showing off its pillow white softness within and a bleed of something orange and sunny, the apricot delight that made it all so much better. “My long deceased mother stopped here in one of her migrations from what I heard. My father followed somewhere behind, they found each other. Started getting into the bed of another and viola!”
Fork went into mouth to be held by teeth and hands waved like some magic was about to come forth.
Just as quick, the utensil devoid of the dessert was gone. “Zen was born after their naughty behaviours. They weren’t ever married either. That got a lot of frowns from the more pious of sorts but drows believe in the Earth Father rather than the Green Mother. And don’t really care about such customs.” Slender shoulders shrugged and helped herself to a second stabbing, “Been here since. Not without travel mind you. I’ve been probably around more places than you can count on all your fingers without toes associated.”
Rhelic lifted the fork up and grinned, “Is this really what you want to talk about, Calia? My history?”
Well! Color her assumptions corrected, giving that chagrined chided look when Rhelic explained the simple… and fun state of her origins! Which was thankfully more aligned to her own feelings and beliefs than some of the stuffy old world nonsense when it came to relationships and marriage. Which was all well and fine if someone wanted to be a happy wife, popping out kids and whatnot. It just wasn’t the life for Calia.
…good gods, if she were queen now, did that mean she would have to produce a heir at some point? The thought of having to find someone even worth having children with was bad enough on it’s own, let alone somehow being mature enough to be called someone’s mother! It nearly sent her reaching for that bottle again!
There was a quick laugh and a rolling shrug of her shoulders. Those dark fir green eyes going a little wide but there was no need to be embarrassed her or pretend she had everything all figured out.
“It’s honestly just nice to forget the weight on my shoulders, as it’s exhausting to think about it every minute of the day,” she admitted easily. “You’re not that interesting,” she teased, obvious at that with the way she smiled and crinkled up her nose. “But it is something I enjoyed before. Just meeting people and talking about everything and nothing. I’ve never been out of Caeldalmor, and I think this is the first time it’s hitting me that there’s so many incredible things I could learn and see.”
“Fair,” Rhelic understood the need to sometimes have mindless meanderings about the weather, the way the geese flew that day. What colour was that leaf. Stupid nonsense stuff that mattered so little in the grander scheme of things but could make a mind feel perfectly at ease.
Hell, some of the stuff she knew was so inconsequential and trivial that knowing it at all was one hundred absolutely useless. Didn’t mean she didn’t know it any less.
And if this little wayward mountain troll needed a bit of monotony, then who was she to poo-poo all over it? “Truly, I am about as interesting as dried dirt on the floor.” She admitted with a noncommittal shrug. Entirely unbothered even if they were both probably fair more fascinating than they had any right to be.
“Well, when you live in a fancy mountain circled box, that sort of lack of knowledge would do it. Though you ought to try expanding your sights for the future. You know after you deal with demons, men who steal hearts literally and magic. Go out into the world, see it. You might it interesting or absolutely worth trash.” Rhelic huffed, “I seen a man somewhere in the Imperial Lands before they were the Imperial Lands, shoving flaming swords down his throat as a parlour trick. All I could think of was, how terrible his heartburn must be. And equally agreed that humans, are a very special breed of absolutely useless creatures while being entirely fascinating at the same time.”
Calia laughed again, finally shifting to reach out and claim one of those forks to try the oddly purpose frosted dessert. No food should ever be such a color, yet it smelled sweet and the added apricot was a familiar smell. Glad to find that it actually tasted like a treat and she’d hadn’t been tricked into some sort of elven delicacy that was meant to torture a human palette.
“I’m surely going to do a bit of traveling now, whether I was ready or not. It may not be all for the joy of it, but there’s no reason not to take advantage of the sights, I suppose? That seaside city sounds too good of an opportunity to pass up, I think I’m actually looking forward to going.”
With the statement said out loud, a bold admittance that she wanted to do something purely for the joy of it, Calia waited for her guilt to twist and churn, to tell her she didn’t deserve it and shouldn’t be allowed. With relief she found that it wasn’t a churn or stab – still there, lingering – but it just sort of grumbled reluctantly.
“The Imperial Lands is the home of an evil queen, so I’ve heard,” she mentioned with some interest. If she remembered her maps right, the lands just outside the western pass were likely connected to this kingdom beyond. Had her two siblings managed to make it through the tunnels and across the bridge before the collapse, that is where they would be now. “Is she really such a formidable thing? It seems like an evil rule couldn’t last for long when there’s always someone willing to do a murder in the name of heroism.”
Lips quirked and the fork was used as a sort of instrument to be a thoughtful flourish in the air. Contemplating a bit at the idea of travel with a sort of accepting allowance. “The seaside city is rather nice this time of year. Busy depending too on where the large ships that come in are going to be heading off too. But hey, if you are in that neck of the woods, might as well take a good look around. Plus, you can find some pretty good items at a reduced cost cause they haven’t come in mainland yet. Also a good idea to browse around if you have the coin.” Rhelic smirked, “Which you still need that job for such things.”
There was a gentle motion of thought while she happily plucked a forkful of two more bites before giving Calia a look that was probably nearly on par if she had grown a second head from her shoulder. And it was telling some terrible jokes in a vain attempt not to look too obvious.
“People call her Bloody Queen Heirra for a reason. And that witch is rumoured to have been alive a lot longer than any human has the right to. I don’t know the entire scope but the imperial lands were once upon a time, not the imperial lands. She’s swept through, taken over kingdom’s by force. It’s said she had two particular lackeys that work well on getting what she wants. One is a man that is apparently the worst sort of monster dog you’d ever think of. He has a whole place made for torture in one of the old ruins that once had been a place of I assume, a castle. And the other is her last remaining child. Goes around and kills whatever mommy dearest points at. Plus,” Rhelic hummed, “She runs these twelve trials that are some of the most impossible tasks. Add on that she’s one of the strongest mages known to history, and yeah, she is truly formidable.”
Eyes considered the girl, “That boy that you said stole your heart, apparently I’ve heard people say she does the same. And has leagues with demons, so—” Rhelic didn’t add much more to that, “Of course its just hearsay but when a lot of people are hearsaying, you got to wonder how close to the truth it is. Let’s just say, even I wouldn’t be eager to find out the truth in that regard. Whatever it is she has up her sleeves, the Imperial Queen gets. And she takes no prisoners. You either obey, or you die. There’s no in-between. So who knows, maybe that twisted bitch that calls himself a man, has alliance to her. Hell, maybe he was the mad dog or the child of hers that came to Caeldalmor.”
Calia didn’t need to be reminded that she was currently devoid of enough coin to barely make it to the elven capitol, let alone the expenses for travel and this entire campaign of hers. Thank the gods she knew how to hunt as that was likely going to be funding the majority of these endeavors! At least she was willing to put in the work and was good natured about it, even when it still felt like so much more than she could actually handle.
This tale of a Bloody Queen Heirra had finally piqued her interest in ways that were… well, hard to explain. Archimedes had mentioned her once and at the time Calia didn’t much care. It was beyond the borders of Caeldalmor and honestly not her problem. She did say at the time if the woman became her problem, then she’d be apt to do something about her. Derrick had grown up in Caeldalmor, that she knew for certain, so he was not likely to be some foreign queen’s mad dog or murderous son.
…yet when she last saw him, wearing those ridiculous robes and looking as if something was eating his soul from the inside out, he’d certainly changed. The book of magic he’d found and the strange swirling mirror could not have given him the idea to take her heart and power. He was not smart enough to come up with such an ambitious plan on his own… left alone successfully pull it off! If this evil Queen outside of the mountains had a long torrid history of conquest and stolen hearts had decided to push her borders even farther, Caeldalmor might’ve been the perfect place to begin her expansion. And Derrick was an unsatisfied, ambitious fool with the perfect information for how to take out the royal family through it’s one stupid weakest link.
Calia reached for the bottle to take another long swig, for if she didn’t she was liable to get all riled up and pissed off again. A Queen that powerful was not someone to trifle with. At least with Derrick, Calia knew she had a chance of success if she could only get to him. This Bloody Heirra being the most powerful mage known and in league with demons? Only someone insane would dare try to go against that!
Still… that did mean her idea of uniting the mountain kingdoms was the right course of action to take. At least as a chance to protect each other.
“You know what, one problem at a time. We’ll see if I even make it through getting my magic back and returning people to Caeldalmor before I start getting cocky and taking on evil queens. I might not even survive Queen Ashera’s court etiquette. Especially if I can’t pick up some Evlish words quick.”
She ate, watching Calia after the informative overload. To see if the girl showed anything of particular interest or weakness. Or stupidity.
It took a certain level of cockamamie cotton candy dreams to think one could handle that mad cow on the Imperial Throne. And the elven court had no love for her. Which was all fine and dandy. Well aware that Queen Ashera would gladly fight tooth and nail to keep that wicked turd storm at bay. Elves may not be as faeish as they once were, but faylines still moved under the earth. In their realm. And was ample by all means by comparison to other places.
Thankfully and wisely Calia swallowed back her drink and declared that it was best to do this one thing at a time. Which spurred a easy grin to features, “Agreed. And as long as you don’t utter about demons right at the start, I think you could make it at least to dinner if she offers. It’s just about controlling your tongue while not being a meek flower or meathead dumbarse.” Rhelic hummed like she knew all about this when in actuality she didn’t.
Shuffling back further on the bed after fork was deposited onto the plate to deem she was temporarily forfeiting the means of eating further. Lounging to brace upon elbow and head into wall. Looking at this girl from a kingdom that had sequestered itself away at some point and they had not come a-knocking either. “I’m a bit surprised you made it this far honestly. If you and I share similar personalities just mine is perfected with age and your still wet behind the ears, maybe you got a better shot at all this than you think. It takes a certain level of fuck you effort to come this far.”
Calia pulled a face at the mention of not bringing up demons straight away, reluctantly accepting she’d have to watch her words but hating that she even had to do so. Court etiquette and politics had always been a difficult subject for her – what was the purpose of beating around the bush or all of these round about tasks before you could even have a conversation! What was wrong with just stating the truth of what you needed and wanted? It was surely faster and more effective to get to the point.
Yet, it was how it would have to be done if she were going to walk into someone else’s court. Already dreading that she’d likely have to dress the part too – or at the very least look believable as a Princess. Almost absent-mindedly reaching upwards to pat at the signet ring that lay safely under her shirt, still dangling unseen on it’s thin silver chain. With the royal seal of Caeldalmor, it was the only physical proof she had that said she was who she claimed to be!
“I find myself motivated out of spite at this point,” admitted Calia. With Rhelic displaying her doneness with the sweet purple cake, Calia was happy to polish the rest off. Claiming the plate for herself to chew through another melting mouthful while softly humming a thoughtful sound. “I might be without magic, but I can still menace my way into success.”
“As long as you are motivated, I don’t think it particularly matters by what. So long as its in a good direction rather than stumbling around being an idiot.” Rhelic sighed as if she knew exactly the type. Eyes of deep hues fluttered momentarily shut. Pressing fingers to the bridge of nose with a low snort that was likely replying all sort of dramatic dumbs that made her wonder how the hell they even walked let alone did anything else. Shortening the display before leveling sights back on the wild mountain princess with probably more of a chip on her shoulder than most arrogant men that stumbled into the inn.
“A smart menace hopefully. You aren’t exactly juggling simple balls at this time but rather loaded sticks of dynamite. Just unclear which one is going to pop off first unless you know how to time it just right to throw a stick to save yourself but explode perfectly in the next pair of hands. Shit would be easier if you weren’t having to run to the royal skirt here to explain everything. But alas, you chose a kingdom with a history with demons and a strong hatred for them. So being smart menace will get you further than just being a drunk crier bellowing out, the demon’s are coming.”
Be a smart menace. Be clever. Use wisdom. All sounded well and good, but Calia was not so confident she could be those things. It wasn’t as if she thought herself completely stupid! She paid enough attention during lessons, she learned quickly and with full enthusiasm for it! …when she was interested. The problem was that she was so used to solving her real problems through simple magical ways, that now that she was trapped within the confines of a normal everyday person, she- well. Trapped was the right word. By boundaries and rules, that didn’t seem so oppressive when she had her magic and knew there was always an escape if she wanted. Now there was no escape – not if she wanted to do the right thing.
Doing the wrong thing was starting to have a certain appeal.
Calia almost missed Arc’s spicy demon magic.
Which reminded her of some curious thoughts…
“I’m going to have to learn and learn fast about these lands, then,” she agreed first, polishing off the last of the cake before leaning to set the plate and her fork aside. “An elder had mentioned some old history about a former Mage Advisor, Atticus Silverstone and a Bloodworth family? If I have to meet with a current advisor it’d do me well to know as much background as possible. …and how I can learn it without pissing everyone off!”
If she could see into the woman’s head, it may be quite the storm of thoughts. Ones that Rhelic likely couldn’t entirely help with or wouldn’t know how too. But she wasn’t sitting here trying to either. Just offering her unsolicited advice when it suited her and having quite the difference in the way of life that only functioned on she’d been alive longer than Calia. They shared similar personalities but one was tempered and knew when and where to get zesty, and Calia was still learning such things from the way she spoke, indicated.
“Wouldn’t hurt.” Rhelic confirmed dropping hands down to lay haphazardly across lap. At first looking bored as she could possibly be with the whole topic but in reality she was trying to think of things to say that could be the nitty gritty details that Calia could use.
So when there was a casual drop of the late Mage Advisor with the Bloodworth family, Rhelic had to stop her eyebrows from popping off her face at all.
“Wow, going right for the throat on that one. At least its with me and not some pearl clutcher.” Sure that if Calia asked the wrong person they’d gasp their tongue down to their stomach. Pressing hands to any innocent’s ears and mutter a slurry of religious nonsense that would do little to protect their chaste lives. The very thought alone made her chuckle.
“The current advisor is a gentleman by the name of Omias Talonspark. Crotchey and looks like was born gnarled old man. He’s technically just a temporary replacement due to the fact that well, his magic isn’t that strong but well, the whole Silverstone family were some of the strongest mages we had back in the day.” Rhelic glanced to the ceiling only for dramatic effect.
“What you need to know is this I suppose. Atticus Silverstone and Eleanor Bloodworth were two people that were in a second marriage. Atticus had a son, Eleanor had a son. Just that Atticus’ son was as I said, a mage. A very adept one who surpassed his father even from a young age while the son from Eleanor was more just your regular sort. Eventually after the two people got together, they had a daughter. Aelyra Bloodworth whom was the first female mage of her caliber. The Silverstone family was known for arcane. Aelyra was a Ice and Holy magic user, so she was quite a talented lady.”
She paused to think and then skimmed off the unnecessary fat. “I guess no one is here but be careful with the name drops in polite company.” A fair warning.
“Archimedes and Aelyra were known to be very close siblings. With Archimedes slated to be the next Mage Advisor to the eventual elven king when Queen Ashera steps down. The thing is, children born out of wedlock isn’t shamed in our culture but its not looked upon nicely either. Aelyra had a daughter that was born as such and well, Archimedes was said to have helped a lot. At some point shit got nasty from what I heard that the little daughter had been part of a plague that touched Edelguard at some point. With the progeny future mage trying to find a way to cure the plague. Blah blah, don’t know what happened. Just that apparently he made a deal and it opened a door to the demons to come into Edelguard. And he just,” She snapped her fingers to indicate a sense of vanishing.
The Bloodworth and Silverstone family was the first to be wiped out. As it started in their estate and spread. The crown prince was killed as well in the calamity alongside many, many others. So that’s the general gist of it all.”
Rhelic looked at her, “Of course details are somewhat obscure, it happened well over sixty some years ago.”
Calia was grateful to have finally met someone that was on her level of temperament. A woman who was not fussed about being overly sensitive and polite. Who had a wicked and zesty sense of humor, and an understanding that Calia was someone that still had a lot to learn and was actually giving her the grace to fumble her way through those mistakes. People had such a terrible habit of getting pissed off at you if you acted like you knew everything, and then equally as pissed at you when you flat out admitted you didn’t! There was no room for mistakes, only being perfect and making the right choices every single time.
Thus, when her question about those elven families seemed to be exactly the sort of thing she shouldn’t be blurting out, didn’t come with a condescending lecture and just a simple note that it was one of those topics Calia needed to be careful about, she was so glad for Rhelic. Figuring these things out now with a safe person was going to prevent Calia a lot of grief once she’d reach the elven capitol.
She listened with all due interest to take note about the current advisor to know what she could expect. Finding the story of two blended families a classic situation, more interested in the mage aspect herself simply because it was something that piqued her interests. Reaching for the bottle of elven drink to have a long swing– only to nearly choke on that drink!
Archimedes!
Calia held up her hand quick to gesture that she was fine and Rhelic could continue on with this story. As if she’d only taken a swallow too fast and it went down the wrong pipe. Coughing a bit quietly with a few taps to her chest, where her missing heart was now giving a thunderous beat.
It couldn’t be the very same Archimedes, could it…? Yet, what were the chances to have that Elder reveal the strangeness of seeing violet eyes for the first time in so long! If it were true and the demon that’d been her personal pain in the ass since she’d woken up in her own dungeon was once meant to be the advisor to the elven queen… He’d made a deal to save his family, only to have it backfire in his face.
She had a hard time imagining that ass to have enough compassion to make such a desperate choice. Then again, Calia knew that feeling of desperation well, down deep in her soul.
…and he did not remember any of this. Calia knew that too.
“It feels similar to what happened in Caeldalmor, with a few exceptions,” Calia admitted. Learning quick too in figuring out what information to keep to herself, because outing that Archimedes was well and alive, and now a demon himself might not be something to start spreading around!
Not that she had any desire to protect that asshole. It just… she didn’t know why she was keeping it to herself.
“Of course the difference being that I didn’t willingly help unleash demons. Nor do I know the plans or hows and whys…” she grimaced with that. “I guess that is going on my list right behind trying to charm a Queen into helping me.”
Chuckling at how Calia seemingly took hearty of a swig from the bottle only to choke on it, she hardly skipped a beat. Skimming down the story because there was no sense in detailing it to such lengths. Add on that it happened in the human terms, of so long ago, there was naturally things different to the truth, the story and the reality. It likely had been altered by word of mouth. Things changed by the Queen or what not.
She was hardly about to start believing that the story was perfectly intact from what she knew and decided that only the most important parts ought to be said.
Silverstone and Bloodworth families were gone.
The crown prince was dead.
A former progeny had made a deal to save people and disappeared.
The last one most believed that the elf that brought about such calamity had likely suffered his hubris. Just a catalyst to open a doorway of hell into their lands and forced a bleak era where it took a grieving queen to pull up by her bootstraps to find a way to cull the invasion. “As it ought too. Not every story is the same even with similar points.” Rhelic scooted her butt forward to the edge of the bed. Stretching idly, “I mean from what I gather, I don’t think this sort of invasion was willing either. Demons from my knowledge use someone’s weakest moments to slip in. Offer something someone else needs and I guess use it. Sort of like a monkey’s paw. You think you are getting a wish but it has so much gray area that it is progressively just plain evil in all ways.”
She shrugged. She was no historian, just a guesser.
“Well as long as you come clean about needing to fight demons at the right time, I think Queen Ashera will help you. I mean, I think she hates demons more than anyone else in the world. Losing two powerful houses, a son, a friend, countless people and her entire domain being beset by the wicked things, yeah I think she might be a warrior for slaughtering the demons.”
Rhelic grinned then, “Besides that, well… I think you’ll do find. Omias could use a chance to get all flustered and annoyed with someone backsassing him anyways.”
Calia was still reeling, trying to decide how this new information was going to affect things. The irony of needing a personal advisor just to even navigate all of this, and the very demon that’d given her a taste of hell had once been exactly that! A future advisor for a queen!
If Calia had suspected there was a strange sense of fate and destiny to all of this before, well fuck… she for certain did now. A coincidence was Archimedes tumbling back out of hell into Caeldalmor to offer some new idiot a too-good-to-be-true contract. But to find himself right back into the lands of his ancestry because of it? That was old magic pulling at the strings of the universe. Fascinating in it’s scope, from the very history of it to the magic itself she so very much wanted to study.
So curious that her want to know more was almost stronger than her need for revenge. Almost. Unfortunately, Calia had her own curse to bear and Archimedes had likely found his way to the other side of the world. For the best, as the lands that were once his home might just be the worst possibly place for him to stay. A queen that’d lost much and a pure hatred for demons, he was basically a dead man walking.
Still, now new thoughts were in the back of her mind, percolating for the time being.
“Lets hope I get all my stupid out with you before we get there,” Calia agreed, casting a sudden cheeky grin. “We’ll leave at first light, then?”
“Well if we gotta take you around to bully some idiot men, then so be it. As if I couldn’t do with some wild forms of entertainment.” Rhelic chuckled unbothered in the bit to offer a chance for Calia to be an idiot by harassing someone who in her mind, may need it. Not that she wouldn’t assist in making the situation arise itself.
But she did want Calia to succeed with her need to see the queen. Which meant having some finesse and a chance to get out said stupid before getting to the capitol to announce such a fate. Even to her, it sounded like Calia needed some successful adventures rather than a steady stream of misery that kept making sure she had a hard time crawling out of a hole that the demon’s carved.
“Sure, if you can pull yourself out of a bed at that time.” Rhelic motioned to said bed, “I bet you’ve been sleeping in the wilds, so the horror of a mattress may claim you as its willing bitch for a bit. But if you can wake up, then damn straight.”
“Sleeping in the wilds is comfortable,” Calia defended with good humor. As good as a mattressed bed could be, the mountain princess was just as comfortable spread out sleeping in the mossy grass of the forest. Other than in the peak of winter where it was too wet and cold to be curled up on the ground, Calia had always much preferred sleeping under the stars out in the open forests. There was a peace there, brought from the fresh breezes and the earthy smells. The chirps and whispers of animals bedding down for the night.
Beds did feel better on aching bones, she wouldn’t deny that!
Besides leaning to pull her boots off, nothing else was removed before Calia fell back into the single bed. Quick to fall asleep even in the presence of a stranger, thanks to a long day of walking, a good meal and moderate drink. Plagued again by dreams that didn’t seem so much like nightmares but… truths? Warnings? Her mountain home no longer being a land of snow and ice, but of rivers of hot magma and roiling lava. Castles of onyx glass and carpets stained red with blood. That throne of bone had become gilded with gold and it’s black garbed queen allowing a shadowy smoke wyvern to weave through her fingers. No mad queen from beyond the borders, but Calia herself where the space that once held her beating heart was pouring out blood as black as the gown she wore.
When morning came, the princess merely accepted it for what it was. Fears rising to the surface when she was unable to control them.