Adrian spent the majority of his time with Melissa and Mason upon his return to Ashvale. He visited Veleria, of course, but she was consistently busy with either Caed or Wren the shopkeeper. They talked. She gave him too few details as to what transpired between her and her captor. Veleria mumbled something about him apologizing and that was that.
Sometime after their arrival Cromwell had dispelled his familiar, met with her in Wren’s storage room, and given her instructions on how to navigate to Mt. Yelugh once she was ready. He would have liked to accompany her himself, but Adrian was beginning to understand his role in all of this.
Did she even need him anymore?
“Look, Adrian, I don’t think it’s gonna happen.”
He snapped out of his reverie to find Melissa getting off of him. With a sigh, Adrian pulled the nearest hide over himself and turned on his side. It was cold in Ashvale, which naturally made him think of Veleria and her bottomless warmth. He would have liked to hold her in this moment.
On her way out, Melissa looked back towards Adrian with a guilty look on her face. She had never seen him so downtrodden. Nothing she did worked. He seemed entirely uninterested in her body, despite Adrian having initiated the entire ordeal between them.
Elsewhere in Ashvale, Veleria gladly took Wren’s offer of tea despite not necessarily needing or wanting it. When her palms closed around the teacup, she felt a sudden desire, and drank it steaming hot, warranting a stare from Wren just as he sat opposite her.
“You are tr-truly incredible, miss Garris. That would have burnt any normal p-person.” Wren stuttered.
“Was that too weird?” Veleria asked, sudden clarity hitting her like a brick. She looked down into the remaining liquid only to see her golden eyes staring back at her.
“Not at all.” The man pushed his long hair aside onto one shoulder, leaning over to the nearby end table where he had stacked a number of books and writing instruments. “Lord Cromwell was c-curious if you felt any more confident in your literacy since I took over your studies?”
Veleria looked up thoughtfully. The room they were in was well furnished with a calming, dim lighting fixture situated above them. Bookshelves surrounded them along with plush seating arrangements and soft carpets that she wanted to feel between her toes. It was a better learning environment, surely, far better than the inns that she and Adrian had frequently visited.
She looked back to Wren with a smile, “I think so.”
“Wonderful! We can f-finish this set tonight, then I think we should go out t-tomorrow and really test your knowledge. You said that you wanted to shop for s-something?”
“Yes, that’s right. I just hope we can find it.”
They were able to find what Veleria was looking for the next afternoon. While they were out, Wren quizzed Veleria on a number of signs that hung on different buildings. He also checked her ability to count, though he had to do this with his own money, not that Wren minded. The shopkeeper enjoyed the time he spent with her.
“Do they need to have sight adjustments?” Wren asked, peering over Veleria’s shoulder while she studied a pair of dark spectacles between her fingers. The lenses were slightly small and round. There were few options in town, though Veleria felt she gravitated towards these ones in particular. Not one to one, no, but near perfect nonetheless.
“No, he can see. He just wears them to cover his eyes.” She said, holding them out towards Wren.
He took them gingerly, “ahhh, these are for that Caed fellow. Yes, even I would f-find it pertinent to hide such obvious magics. Are these the ones you want?”
“Yes,” Veleria replied with another smile. She found that she and this man got along rather well. He was polite. Kind, too, and rather caring, all things considered. The company that a lich kept continued to surprise her. “I hope it isn’t too expensive.”
“Never you mind all that.”
Wren paid for the glasses. Given a nice case for them, he handed that to Veleria following a minor hand gesture. A glowing sigil appeared on the case then vanished.
“Oh…Are you a sorcerer?” She blinked, turning the glasses case around in her hands before looking back to a grinning Wren.
“Wizard, although I only know a few housekeeping spells. The quartz can get damaged even in the c-case, so I figured I’d give it a little extra p-padding.”
“Thank you, Wren.”
* * *
The clinic was a small affair. Nice thought it was, the inside only fit a few rooms, and the doctor that oversaw Caed was an imposing woman that was rather short with her words.
“Here for Caed again?” She asked as Veleria entered. The glasses case was safely tucked into her pack. With a nod, Veleria smiled in her direction before making her way towards the designated room. Their many interactions led her to believe that the doctor preferred this sort of interaction.
She slipped into the room, closing the door behind her. At the edge of the only bed in the room sat a shirtless Caed, a fresh bandage wrapped around his back where Raker had wounded him. His arm was in a sling though it looked less rigid today.
Upon her entrance, he gave Veleria his full attention. A half-burned cigarette was held in his other hand, though it lacked the smell that Spiritcaller had. With a wanting smile, Caed ashed the roll against a tray on the nightstand.
“Good’ta see ya again, Vel.” He said, though she noted that when he looked at her Istvar’s eye appeared to morph. It naturally fixated on her. “Have ya learned anything new from that Wren guy?”
“Oh, so much, actually.” Her smile fixed into a grin. She sidled up beside Caed on his bed and dug through her pack for the case. Watching with a brow raised, he questioned Veleria once the item came into the light.
“What’s that you got there?”
“Something for you,” Veleria said. “Since, you know, Raker kind of broke them.” She popped the case open, eliciting a sound from Caed akin to surprise.
“Hey now, these things are expensive…How’d ya get ‘em? Genuine quartz, too, whew.” His smile widened to include his teeth as Veleria fit them over the bridge of his nose. They fell a little once he looked down at her. “How do I look?”
“Like when you first bugged me, creep.” She replied, both of them chuckling at the response. “Wren bought them for me.”
“Who knew Cromwell’s main power was currency.” Caed removed the spectacles and placed them gently on the nightstand. He turned back to her, leveling his gaze. He said, “are you ready to talk now?”
With a sigh, Veleria nodded.
“Why did you come back for me? Hell, you could have left at any time after I told you Raker was coming. I wouldn’t have stopped you.”
The more serious demeanor of his speech forced Veleria to consider his words carefully. She turned from him to focus on her hands in her lap.
“Honestly, Caed, I don’t know. I just saw him break your arm and I knew I had to intervene. I mean, why would you even fight him? No one wins against Raker except for the sorceress herself.” She closed her eyes. Both her hands trembled slightly. “He can’t hurt me. If he tried he would have done worse to himself, so I thought that maybe I had a chance.”
Caed let the words hang. He reached around her waist and pulled her into him.
“Do you remember what you saw under the temple?” He asked through a whisper.
Veleria felt her chest heat up, “…I do.”
“That thing cannot know about you or your passenger. Had I gone back, then Alk’Hath would have learned everything I knew about you. Istvar would rather I die than allow for that possibility.”
Her eyes wide, Veleria met Caed’s softened gaze.
“I made my choice,” he told her. “You made yours. We are both here in Ashvale, alive, and under Cromwell’s watchful eye.” Kissing her forehead, he released Veleria and returned his one arm to his side. “Even so, I am grateful that you came back for me.”
At that, Veleria propped her head against his shoulder.