In no way was Veleria ready to talk with the lich. While she had certainly been in a difficult position, she had seen the blue circles in the sky above Lindow during her encounter. It was later that she learned Marrow had negated his attempt on the entirety of the town.
She would never be able to repay Marrow to the extent she believed necessary. The mysterious woman had saved Adrian and everyone in Lindow all at her own expense.
“You nearly killed all of those people,” Veleria told the avian familiar perched in front of her. “Do you really think so little of me?”
You are still not ready.
“I made it out with Adrian!”
Judgment was cast upon the sorcerer.
Veleria felt heated. She already knew this.
“So what?” Her nails threatened to cut into her palms. “Why does it matter if Alk’Hath knows that I’m alive? Raker already saw me.”
We cannot know what Alk’Hath pulled from Corvus in the end. What she knows, whether it was objective truth or muddied by their pain. You do not understand what the Judgment of Phos is meant to do.
The bird preened a feather, of which Veleria had half the mind to pull out of it.
“Then enlighten me,” she straightened. “Tell me what it does.”
It is used to absorb the memory of the leylines. Losing one’s magic is only an effect, not the purpose. Our names are engraved on the branches by Phosryn, binding us to his will, unless another prunes the branch, such as Istvar with Caed. Or they take it for themselves.
“Did you prune your own?”
Yes.
Veleria pursed her lips.
We can only hope that what Corvus saw cannot be translated into something palpable for the sorceress.
At these words, she felt herself slip—a sudden, but quick loss of consciousness as Caellach stepped into the conversation.
“We should move forward under the presumption that this Alk’Hath is aware of my presence.” He said through her. “Does your initial plan still hold weight under these circumstances?”
Nothing has changed. The bird stopped cleaning itself. Moving on, due to his unique alliance, I dispatched Caed to retrieve you. Return to me at your earliest convenience. There is much to learn still, and I have commissioned a weapon prepared for our next lesson. Seek out this familiar when you have sufficiently prepared.
A weapon? She wondered what he had in store for her, although Veleria still felt bruised from the conversation and her lingering disdain. Other than that, she was glad to hear that Caed was in town. For the past few days Adrian had been somewhat aloof, if not entirely cold. He would get close on occasion only to pull away, and then mumble a swath of curses directed at himself.
With a sigh, she left Cromwell’s familiar and continued into Almor proper. She mostly wanted to look around, maybe shop for a few things with coin Adrian gave her.
* * *
Veleria lost several hours to intricate daggers, fur-lined cloaks, and foodstuffs that Caellach dragged her towards following a single whiff. She ended up with a gray-green cloak expertly lined with the aforementioned fur, of which the tailor sung praises of once it was neatly clasped about her shoulders. The lady even did her hair for her. Now, just as the sun began to set on the horizon and all of the silver-lined signs glinted wondrously in its light, she heard a familiar country drawl.
“Well-hel, if it isn’t my favorite fire-starter.”
That one was new. Still, Veleria beamed towards Caed upon his approach. He was dressed in all black, complete with his hat and the dark quartz glasses she had gifted him.
“Hi there, Caed.” She patted the space beside her. He took it gratefully, kicking his long legs out. The back of his head pressed into the building behind him, pushing his hat further down his face. Before long he palmed a cigarette before thinking better of it and stashing it back in his pockets.
“Ya know, I haven’t been to Almor in some twenty years. Hasn’t changed much…It’s kinda like stepping into an ol’ reliable pair of pants.” Caed chuckled. “Guess the kid does alright.”
“It’s a good place,” said Veleria. “It feels comfortable and safe…Not quite as much as Ashvale does, but I know the people here have my back.”
Caed glanced towards her from the side of his eye, a gesture Veleria caught with a smile. He grinned back at her, then straightened up, set his hat again, and gently placed a hand on her thigh. His touch, however light, excited her.
“Ya know, Vel, I get that Cromwell is none too happy that ya got caught. Personally, I think ya did damn well. Took a lot of courage to face that sumbitch.” As he slid his palm down her thigh, he caught her hand and maneuvered her fingers between his. “The fact that Vos’iin and Corvus are dead may seem like a scary concept, but I assure ya that the realm is better for it. Corvus…Well, they were like any regular sorcerer. Killed their parents, their peers, I mean…I saw them do some wild experimentation on kids.”
Veleria leveled her brow as she considered his words.
“Don’t gotta tell ya why Vos is better off in the ground. I know what he tried to do to ya, and what he succeeded in doing to numerous other ladies.”
Sighing, however lightly, Veleria turned towards Caed with a half-hearted smile.
“Thanks, Caed.” She said. “Although I have to ask since you mentioned it…You said Corvus was like any regular sorcerer. What about you?”
He didn’t hesitate.
“I’ve killed a lot of people, Veleria. Not my parents though, and I don’t think I would have. Personally, I thought they were good people. So were most of my peers. Even the snot-nosed brats that pushed me around an’ tried to get me into trouble.” The sorcerer shrugged. “I admit I don’t feel much when I take a life. That said, I don’t get an itch for it either. Just a fact of life, ya know?”
It wasn’t the best answer she could have gotten. The two men closest to her in life were both killers of different sorts, and she doubted Cromwell was any different.
“Enough of that. I’m sure you know why I’m here, instead of in Ashvale waiting for you like I said I would be.”
“Yeah,” Veleria said under her breath. “Cromwell wants me back.”
Caed squeezed her hand.
“We don’t gotta go unless you want to.”
“Few more days,” she mumbled.
“Of course,” Caed kissed the back of her hand. “But, uh…It’s been a couple months. Would you be willing to hole up with me tonight? I can splurge on a nice room, since I know ya probably got it good over at the boss’s house.”
Veleria simply stared at him up until the both of them began giggling in unison.