After three or four settlements Veleria began to understand why Adrian felt the way he did. Settlements between the elven lands and Mt. Yelugh were particularly stressful. More than once she had been accosted for her gender. Thankfully, Adrian had not needed to intervene yet, and no more blood was spilled on Veleria’s behalf.
The two of them dodged a few towns following a refilling of their horses’ feed, but after a while Adrian wanted to drink and fuck. So, they eventually found themselves in a less shady town, and Veleria found a reputable tavern to kill time in while Adrian fulfilled his needs.
She was nursing some local mead when someone sidled up beside her.
Oh, come on, She thought dryly. You could sit anywhere else.
“How’s the brew here?” The person beside her asked, chipper.
She wasn’t going to be able to ignore her way out of this one. With a forced, awkward smile, Veleria looked to the individual beside her. It was a man dressed in black. He wore a wide-brimmed hat and dark, round spectacles that hid his eyes. He was, however, grinning. His teeth were impossibly white. A few gold molars glinted in the lamplight.
“It’s, uhm, fine, I guess.” She mumbled the last part.
“Oh? Well, then!” The man flagged down the bartender. “I’ll have what she’s having.”
While waiting for his drink the stranger turned back to her. Except, this time he turned his whole body so he was facing her. The grin on his face was beginning to unnerve her.
“I’m sure you get this all the time, but you really do have some crazy beautiful eyes.” He said, pausing briefly to thank the bartender when a tankard was passed to him. Veleria just stared at him. The man’s grin thinned into a smirk after a quick swig. “Ah, do forgive me. I had to save this somehow, you know? I may have thought you were someone else.”
Veleria blanched. Her eyes. They weren’t green anymore. But who the hell was this person? She had never met them before. She couldn’t place him at all. Still, the fear was real in her now. She had to play into this. Get the scent off her. That is, assuming he was actually referring to her and not someone who did, in fact, look like her.
The stranger waved a gloved hand nonchalantly.
“Never mind all that. Let’s enjoy our drink regardless of prior relationships, hum? I really must learn your name.” He said, leaning towards her with his chin pressed against the back of his other hand.
Veleria did her best to appear unfazed by his advances.
“It’s…Anaya.” Adrian had picked it out for her. “And you are?”
“Hoo boy! I like that. Anaya…Yeah, that fits like a glove.” His grin returned in full force. “You can just call me Caed. Do ya hang out in backwaters like this often, Anaya?”
The name wasn’t useful. Most of Alk’Hath’s people kept even their code names hidden, however. It didn’t rule him out. Veleria glanced around the tavern, almost hopeful Adrian would walk in and save her. She wasn’t going to be rescued this time. There was hardly anyone present, and she didn’t expect the lone drunk in the corner to do anything worthwhile.
“Not really,” Veleria shrugged. “I was traveling and needed somewhere to rest, is all.”
“Funny! Same here.” She could see his fingers creeping closer. If she let him, he was bound to touch her face. “You know, I don’t usually approach random women, and I really only bothered because of a mistake, but I can’t lie. You are…otherworldly. I must admit I am captivated.”
She needed to get out of here. Before he could touch a single hair, she was up, though Caed swiftly grabbed her by the arm. The heat in her chest reached a peak she had never known before, and when she turned to look at Caed she saw something that terrified her.
His glasses had slipped down the bridge of his nose, revealing that one of his blue eyes was obscured with an intricate, animated circle. It appeared to glow a violent red. Caed, however, had sweat beading at the sides of his face. He was staring at her incredulously.
“I…I need to leave, I’m sorry—“
He tightened his grip and she yelped in response.
“No way in hell. You’re a source!” He actually laughed. “Here I am, egg on my face, trying to bag a fucking magic source. This is…Incredible…”
Veleria snapped her arm away and ran like hell.
She ran through names and faces while she booked it down dark lifeless streets, trying to place Caed’s features on any one of Alk’Hath’s servants. Could he really just be some mage she had never met? The circle in his eye was a dead giveaway that he was well out of her league. And the things he said…
Veleria burst into her and Adrian’s shared room. She immediately went to her bags and began stuffing her clothes into them, actively ignoring that Adrian was currently bent over some woman she didn’t know.
“We have to leave. Now.” She stated between labored breaths. When she buckled her pack, she looked over to Adrian who had thrown his pants on and was doing the same as her. The only thing she found surprising was how well the lady was taking her sudden intrusion. She calmly redressed and thanked Adrian when he handed her a bag of coin. Then she was out the door, and Adrian threw his pack over his shoulder. He didn’t bother with a shirt.
“Is it one of them?” He asked her, helping her to her feet.
“I don’t know, but he’s definitely some kind of sorcerer. He thought I was someone else and he grabbed me, and—“
“Tell me later. Let’s go.”
With his hand in hers, Adrian led her through side streets until they were back to their horses.
She didn’t see Caed.