2nd break
26th of Vhalar, Arc 719
Continued from here.
26th of Vhalar, Arc 719
Continued from here.
So maybe it wouldn’t work between them…
…but maybe it would.
Llyr gave Emelia little show of it when he guided her through Emea. Not like others and not like his initiates. He didn’t explain anything. He didn’t try to teach her how to replicate his maneuvers, nor warn about the dangers. He’d already told her that it was dangerous, that much would suffice. It took longer, due to the physical nature of their bodies and that Em wasn’t experienced in the abstract world between worlds.
Eventually, though, he found one of the branded lights that brought him back to his home in Etzos: Wren.
Dressed in a simple black tunic, leggings, and boots, Llyr appeared next to the boy. The biqaj held tight to Em’s hand. Given the late break, the boy was fast asleep in his bed. In the small bedroom, on the other side of them, was the slave girl Oceta who seemed fast asleep though Llyr caught a slight lift of her head before she drew the blanket over her eyes. A bit of lantern light beamed in from a singular window next to the children’s beds. The frames were beds obviously meant specifically for the children, and not too luxurious but not shabby either. Two blankets each, clean sheets, and a comfortable pillow. Wren even had a little stuffed dragon he clung onto.
Llyr placed a finger to his lips in gesture to be quiet. He winked at Em, then continued to lead her – out of the room and into the upper floor hall of his home. The young mage closed the kids’ door quietly behind him.
Next to the door, a redhead bearded man adorned in crimson-stained armor perked up. He stood and proved himself just a tad taller than Llyr. The man placed a hand to the hilt of his sword, then eased when he saw who it was.
“Didn’t expect you, Mister L,” whispered the man. His gaze slid over to Em. “Everything… oh… o-okay?”
“Everything’s fine, Gerolf. Did you need anything? Water or bread?” offered Llyr.
The man shook his head and patted at a water pouch at his belt. “No, sir. I got my skin.”
“This is Em,” he introduced and then said, “Em, this is Gerolf Vymont, better known as The Crimson. He guards the children for me and… Gerolf, Em will be joining the house so please treat her with as much respect and protection as you would Wren or Oceta.”
Gerolf nodded and bowed slightly to Em. “Sorry if I startled you, Miss Em. Happy to have a lady around.”
Llyr muffled an involuntary choked laugh behind his fist. He didn’t say anything about it, though. Instead, he wrapped an arm around Em’s shoulders and said, “I’ll introduce her to everyone else later. If you could keep this between us for the time being…”
“As you say,” agreed Gerolf. The bulky man settled in his seat next to the door to the children’s bedroom. He leaned back and took out some yarn, returned to his knitting.
Across the upstairs hall, Llyr led to the only other door. He carefully opened it, the excitement from before turning into nervousness. His halo pulsed bright and then dimmed, as it was dark in his bedroom. Once he guided Em inside, he closed the door behind them.
His halo brightened enough to illuminate the room. It wasn’t particularly grand, though the ceiling was taller than in the children’s room or the hall. A four-poster large bed stood to one side, covered in plush red velvet blankets. Bookshelves of different heights lined the walls around it, and stacks of papers, scrolls, trunks of items, and otherwise cluttered the area. A small cabinet housed different trinkets inside, beside a low table that had what looked to be a modelled three-dimensional map of the city, in tiers that rose high up and had little figurines of people set in different spots.
Along the walls, on the ceiling, were tons of pinned parchment and vellum covered in drawn symbols from charcoal sketches. Some of the symbols were mere shapes, especially cubes. Many, many cubes. But there were also spheres, and pyramids, and triangles, and different obscure overlaps of different geometric figures. Some of it was smudged while others had crisp lines.
Llyr blushed and cleared his throat. “Pardon the mess. I… I wasn’t sure if you’d actually agree and…”
“…I’ve been living in here alone for a short while now.” He walked over and started to clean up the table. Llyr stacked various items together, then placed them in an open crate nearby. “I always thought myself a tidy sort, but there isn’t so much need to keep clean when there’s no one to share a space with. Not when the breaks are better spent with other things. I haven’t trusted anyone else in here, to clean it.”
Llyr paused, with a few books hugged tight, and he looked at Em, “Actually, I think you’re the first person I’ve allowed in here… so, I’ll go through everything tomorrow. I promise and I’ll scrub the walls.”
“Downstairs, there’s a kitchen and my study. While I take care of her, Oceta insists she is a servant and she cooks breakfast, lunch, and supper on most trials. Usually more food than we ever need… but she enjoys cooking so I let her. There’s also an attic that you don’t want to go in, and the basement’s ruined. It’s off-limits because of that.”
He set the books neatly to the side, then went over to gather Em in his arms instead.
“Okay, so, when the sun rises, we’ll head to the clothier and get you a dress. Or maybe…” he kissed the curve of her neck. He trailed the kisses up to her ear, then said, “…I’ll keep you naked as a dog in this room of mine.”
just like all your PCs. Also, I gave you 9 lores because you're due for that many. Let me know if you'd like the extra five differently allocated...