Alliances
7th of Spring, 516 A.V.
7th of Spring, 516 A.V.
Despite Hallan’s protest, Verena insisted to carry a bag full of bandages and a small box full of syringes. It was just foolish that he wanted to carry the whole lot of them when she was carrying nothing at all. Besides, he would become slowed by the weight and Verena preferred that they reached the clinic as soon as possible.
It was a quite night in early spring. The streets were mostly empty when usually slaves would be sent across the city on errands – even the Midnight Market wasn’t bustling as usual. No one had forgotten what happened last season just yet. It was enough to make people decide to lay low. It did not affect Verena so much, though, not when she needed to make sure that her clinic was well-stocked.
They were taking the long way back to the clinic – passing through the Gamboling Bridge instead of heading straight back to the Fountain Plaza – when shouts suddenly caught her attention. Verena turned her head toward the other end of the island, only to see a figure running at full speed to her general direction. Ticks later, she realized that he was not alone and instead was followed by a group of men dressed in fancy clothes. They were the ones who were shouting.
Even from a brief glance, the healer could see that the two men were already injured, limping and stumbling. It was to no one’s surprise when the group of Dynasts caught up to them, not ten feet from the Lorak was standing. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but her eyes widened when the Dynasts surrounded the pair and started to beat them.
The cry of pain was more than enough to snap the healer into action. Even after more than twenty years, Verena had never learned to control her reflex to assist the injured. It was a kind gesture, but in Kenash, it mostly led to unwanted conflict. Still, the Lorak’s main concern was ending another’s pain and everything else did not matter.
“Lady Verena!” Had Hallan been empty-handed, he would have reached out for his mistress’s arms, knowing that words would not be able to deter the healer’s instincts.
With no one to stop her, the Lorak walked directly toward the ring of people. One of the man, blue-skinned and tall-statured noticed her presence. He was ready to bark an order at what he expected was a Freeborn woman, but when his eyes took in her fine clothes, his face changed. “My lady, this is not a place a woman should be. You should go.”
“You should stop hurting them,” she said simply. Of course, Verena was not foolish enough to think that her words would be enough, but what else could she do?
“Are you defending these criminals, my lady? They had hurt one of my friends. Surely we have the right to hurt them too.”
“None of your friends seemed more hurt than those two,” Verena observed, her voice plain. “I doubt you have any right to inflict pain on someone else.”
Anger flared in the Akalak’s eyes, even if the Lorak did not notice. On the other hand, her slave spotted the threat and dropped all the bags he was carrying, ready to protect his mistress if it comes down to it.
Before things could get worse, the clopping of horseshoes made them turn their heads. Verena immediately recognized the man walking beside the handsome strider. “What is going on?” Caedmon Paille looked calm and collected as usual, being the protector of Kenash that he was. Their eyes met briefly before he dived straight between the Dynasts, pushing her back behind him gently.
She could not deny the slight thrumming in her chest.
“Break it up, gentlemen,” he said as he pushed through the crowd, shoving people away firmly. He wasn’t the most intimidating in size, but the way he carried himself was enough to make most people back down. Still, it took a few ticks later for the men to turn the attention to him.
“Go away, boy! This is none of your business!” one of them called out.
The young man merely smiled politely. “I am not a boy, sir. My job is to keep the peace in Kenash and your little scuffle is disrupting it. So, I suggest you let it go. These men will be punished accordingly.”
For the first time, the men took in the thick markings that wrapped around both of Caedmon’s arms, marking him as a Drykas. Everyone knew that the Pailles were in charge of the security of Kenash, patrolling the city constantly with their striders. Some would be more than happy to look away from Dynasts’ crimes, but Verena knew Caedmon was not one of them. After all, there was a reason why he was divinely marked by the god of integrity.
They seemed to consider taking him on, looking at the Paille up and down. Verena was not the only one who noticed for Caedmon straightened, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. The tension was growing between them and without thinking, Verena stepped forward to grab a hold of the back of Caedmon’s shirt. She wasn’t interested in the least to see him fight.
Eyeing them both, the group of Dynasts finally decided to step away from the men they were hitting. The Akalak bowed mockingly. “It is bad manners to start a fight in from a beautiful lady.” It took nearly a chime for the group to reluctantly leave, looking back at them with something like anger the whole time.
Convinced that the threat was gone, Verena released her grip, suddenly remembering that someone might recognize them and gossip about the way she stood close to him. Fortunately, Caedmon was not in the mood to lecture her about that. He had another topic in mind.
“Really, Rena? After everything that happened, you still walk in the middle of the night with no protection?” the Paille said in a tone that would sound exhausted to most people, though a small smile played on his lips. He squatted down next to the two men. “And do not tell me that you have Hallan because I highly doubt he can defend you from any sort of attacker. Not only that, you rashly decide to run into the middle of a fight. Aren’t you supposed to be smart?”
“I can–”
He held up his hand, stopping her words. “Stop, on second thought, I do not need to hear your intelligent, rational explanation. You are lucky I happen to be near.” He turned to the Benshiran slave behind her. “You should have stopped her.”
Despite their familiarity with each other, Hallan bowed respectfully. “My apologies, sir. It will not happen again.”
“You and I both know it will still happen a lot more times, unfortunately.” With a shake of his head, the Paille turned his attention back to the injured men while Verena noticed a shadowed figure in the corner of her eyes.
It was a quite night in early spring. The streets were mostly empty when usually slaves would be sent across the city on errands – even the Midnight Market wasn’t bustling as usual. No one had forgotten what happened last season just yet. It was enough to make people decide to lay low. It did not affect Verena so much, though, not when she needed to make sure that her clinic was well-stocked.
They were taking the long way back to the clinic – passing through the Gamboling Bridge instead of heading straight back to the Fountain Plaza – when shouts suddenly caught her attention. Verena turned her head toward the other end of the island, only to see a figure running at full speed to her general direction. Ticks later, she realized that he was not alone and instead was followed by a group of men dressed in fancy clothes. They were the ones who were shouting.
Even from a brief glance, the healer could see that the two men were already injured, limping and stumbling. It was to no one’s surprise when the group of Dynasts caught up to them, not ten feet from the Lorak was standing. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but her eyes widened when the Dynasts surrounded the pair and started to beat them.
The cry of pain was more than enough to snap the healer into action. Even after more than twenty years, Verena had never learned to control her reflex to assist the injured. It was a kind gesture, but in Kenash, it mostly led to unwanted conflict. Still, the Lorak’s main concern was ending another’s pain and everything else did not matter.
“Lady Verena!” Had Hallan been empty-handed, he would have reached out for his mistress’s arms, knowing that words would not be able to deter the healer’s instincts.
With no one to stop her, the Lorak walked directly toward the ring of people. One of the man, blue-skinned and tall-statured noticed her presence. He was ready to bark an order at what he expected was a Freeborn woman, but when his eyes took in her fine clothes, his face changed. “My lady, this is not a place a woman should be. You should go.”
“You should stop hurting them,” she said simply. Of course, Verena was not foolish enough to think that her words would be enough, but what else could she do?
“Are you defending these criminals, my lady? They had hurt one of my friends. Surely we have the right to hurt them too.”
“None of your friends seemed more hurt than those two,” Verena observed, her voice plain. “I doubt you have any right to inflict pain on someone else.”
Anger flared in the Akalak’s eyes, even if the Lorak did not notice. On the other hand, her slave spotted the threat and dropped all the bags he was carrying, ready to protect his mistress if it comes down to it.
Before things could get worse, the clopping of horseshoes made them turn their heads. Verena immediately recognized the man walking beside the handsome strider. “What is going on?” Caedmon Paille looked calm and collected as usual, being the protector of Kenash that he was. Their eyes met briefly before he dived straight between the Dynasts, pushing her back behind him gently.
She could not deny the slight thrumming in her chest.
“Break it up, gentlemen,” he said as he pushed through the crowd, shoving people away firmly. He wasn’t the most intimidating in size, but the way he carried himself was enough to make most people back down. Still, it took a few ticks later for the men to turn the attention to him.
“Go away, boy! This is none of your business!” one of them called out.
The young man merely smiled politely. “I am not a boy, sir. My job is to keep the peace in Kenash and your little scuffle is disrupting it. So, I suggest you let it go. These men will be punished accordingly.”
For the first time, the men took in the thick markings that wrapped around both of Caedmon’s arms, marking him as a Drykas. Everyone knew that the Pailles were in charge of the security of Kenash, patrolling the city constantly with their striders. Some would be more than happy to look away from Dynasts’ crimes, but Verena knew Caedmon was not one of them. After all, there was a reason why he was divinely marked by the god of integrity.
They seemed to consider taking him on, looking at the Paille up and down. Verena was not the only one who noticed for Caedmon straightened, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. The tension was growing between them and without thinking, Verena stepped forward to grab a hold of the back of Caedmon’s shirt. She wasn’t interested in the least to see him fight.
Eyeing them both, the group of Dynasts finally decided to step away from the men they were hitting. The Akalak bowed mockingly. “It is bad manners to start a fight in from a beautiful lady.” It took nearly a chime for the group to reluctantly leave, looking back at them with something like anger the whole time.
Convinced that the threat was gone, Verena released her grip, suddenly remembering that someone might recognize them and gossip about the way she stood close to him. Fortunately, Caedmon was not in the mood to lecture her about that. He had another topic in mind.
“Really, Rena? After everything that happened, you still walk in the middle of the night with no protection?” the Paille said in a tone that would sound exhausted to most people, though a small smile played on his lips. He squatted down next to the two men. “And do not tell me that you have Hallan because I highly doubt he can defend you from any sort of attacker. Not only that, you rashly decide to run into the middle of a fight. Aren’t you supposed to be smart?”
“I can–”
He held up his hand, stopping her words. “Stop, on second thought, I do not need to hear your intelligent, rational explanation. You are lucky I happen to be near.” He turned to the Benshiran slave behind her. “You should have stopped her.”
Despite their familiarity with each other, Hallan bowed respectfully. “My apologies, sir. It will not happen again.”
“You and I both know it will still happen a lot more times, unfortunately.” With a shake of his head, the Paille turned his attention back to the injured men while Verena noticed a shadowed figure in the corner of her eyes.
And I will be prioritizing the quest I am currently involved in! So, sorry everyone!
