The noises of loud chatter filled the air inside the small inn, mixing with the distant sound of thunder. As a new day had just begun, both travelers and locals shared the space around the cramped dining hall, struggling to find a place closer to the humble fireplace.
“Here you go!” - said the young looking innkeeper, reaching the table with a heavy looking tray - “I must apologize, as we’re all out of honey.”
A few loaves of dark bread, a small block of cheese and two small mugs of watered down ale. For such a simple place, to even offer a meal like this meant that many merchants and travelers must stop by as they passed through the area.
“There’s no problem.” - quickly cutting himself a piece of cheese, Soreq barely looked at the young woman.
“Thank you,” - embarrassed by his companion’s rude behavior, Noa slipped her an extra copper coin for the food - “we’ll call If we need anything else.”
Bowing slightly before leaving, the woman began talking to the other guests who were still waiting for their food. Despite the simple food and cramped space, the inn seemed well liked by the people of the city.
“You noticed already, didn’t you?” - asked Noa, still following the woman with his eyes.
“My power might be sealed, but my senses are still sharp.” - his mouth almost full, Soreq still managed to speak despite the bread hanging from his mouth - “I’ve felt it the moment we arrived last night, she smells like death.”
“You think she’s the one we’re looking for?”
“No, the smell’s too weak.” - taking a big sip of his drink, Soreq seemed to struggle swallowing the bread - “Must be one of the people staying here.”
“Guess we’ll wait until the locals have gone away,” - trying not to laugh at his companion’s childish behavior, Noa grabbed one of the rolls - “then question the girl.”
“Just remember, time is of the essence. We must be on our way as soon as possible!”
The urgency in Soreq’s voice was entirely unnecessary, as Noa himself could feel that there was something amiss, despite being unable to point out what exactly. The local spirits he called for a few days prior were restless and on alert, just like wild animals sensing the incoming danger surrounding them.
As the priest’s mind wandered, two men walked in side by side chatting loudly, wearing what Noa recognized as the city’s guard’s armor. Seemingly relieved of their duty, the men took a seat beside the small fireplace, their clothes dripping wet from the night’s mist and rain.
“I’m telling you, that was no accident!”
“You’re being paranoid again, the whole place seems ready to fall apart at any moment!”
“Hey boys, what’s this about?” - asked an white haired man, his attention moving away from his bowl of soup.
“A rider passed by the gate last night, heading east,” - appearing eager to tell someone of his adventure, the younger guard quickly turned his attention to the old man - “he said that the Lord’s manor went up in flames at the next village to the south.”
Pretending to be interested in his drink, Noa glanced at the men talking, feeling lucky to be able to put his mind at ease. Despite being confident that the old butler would follow his instructions, it was beyond dangerous to leave so many traces behind.
“By the Gods, is anyone hurt?” - turning his attention away completely from his food, the old man seemed honestly concerned upon hearing the guards story.
“There’s a few people missing apparently, including the Lord himself.” - the guard continued to blabber, enjoying the attention, while his companion grabbed a mug of warm ale from the innkeeper - “But they were still trying to put out the fire.”
“Poor man…” - shaking his head, the old man turned back to stare into his bowl - “I remember he was always taking in those orphans from the nearby villages, such a good Lord…”
“It seems that it's quite easy to be perceived as good in places like this,” - stuffing his mouth with bread and cheese, Soreq still found a way to speak quite clearly, quietly enough not to be heard by others - “human nature really never changes.”
“Evil’s like that Lord are praised, despite their transgressions,” - stabbing the block of cheese instead of cutting it, Noa tried to ignore the men’s conversation - “while we are persecuted by getting rid of people like him… Doesn’t seem fair”
“If you seek fairness, my child, you’ve taken the wrong oath…” - with his hunger seemingly sated, Soreq kept listening to the guards, hoping to gather any other useful information.
“Perhaps I did.”
“Nevertheless, I must praise you!” - turning to look directly at the young priest, Soreq changed his posture to appear less childish - “I had my doubts whether your puppet would handle the mission, but it seems my concerns weren’t needed.”
“If you doubted my method so much, why did you let me handle it?”
“It’s the duty of the old to teach and nurture the youth.” - speaking slowly and in a magnanimous tone, Soreq acted and sounded exactly like a cheap street Bard - “Whether you succeeded or failed, there was a lesson to be learnt.”
“So what’s the lesson this time, my dear teacher?”
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“If you’re capable of so much despite still being trapped in your mortal shell,” - the boy pressed his index finger against Noa’s chest, pushing him slightly - “there’s no telling the heights you’ll achieve once you finish your baptism.”
“I’ve already made up my mind!” - remembering his late night talk with Domnus, the priest started to feel anxious about the future.
“Oh, and what have you decided?” - placing both elbows on the table, Soreq’s childish body leaned over to be closer to the priest.
“I’ll take the baptism…”
“Finally!“ - moving his body back suddenly, the child slammed his fist against the table, startling the people still left around them.
“Sorry!” - while pushing Soreq back to his chair, Noa bowed his head to the other guests, trying not to attract too much attention - “Can’t you be more discreet?”
“I apologise, my boy.” - staring down in shame, the child’s voice sounded loaded with guilt - “It just makes me so happy to see that you finally made up your mind!”
“I decided to take it, but not until I’ve found the right person to become my vessel!” - feeling the weight of his decision, Noa’s voice was barely audible.
“Of course. It’s not a decision to be taken lightly.” - feeling reinvigorated, Soreq’s mind raced as he began to make plans for the future - “I can help you to search for suitable candidates, once we get back.”
“There’s no need,” - raising his hand, Noa could see in the boy’s face that he was about to get ahead of himself - “I must do this myself!”
In his many years of life, Soreq had learned to be patient in order to achieve the results he desired. His young pupil might be dismissing his help at the moment, but there would be many opportunities on their journey together to convince him otherwise.
To a Vay’sinir such as them, the baptism ceremony was one of the most sacred rites. The moment where they would abandon their mortal bodies, transcending into a more powerful form of themselves, and choose their first vessel, was a rather important one. The choice of one’s first vessel was a matter of utmost seriousness, and could affect how they would be seen by their peers and the general population of the Citadel.
“Are you boys fine?” - stopping by the table while carrying a few dirty dishes, the innkeeper lowered herself to be closer in height with Soreq- “I can bring you some more bread if you’re still hungry.”
“Yes, we’re full.” - turning back into his best impersonation of a young child, Soreq looked at the woman with his eyes gleaming - “You smell nice miss, is that perfume?”
Being caught off guard, the innkeeper’s expression turned serious for a moment, before her usual gracious smile returned as she stood back up.
“Oh, I used some herbs to wash my hair, that’s all…” - the woman said, quickly turning back and going to the kitchen, the room now almost empty.
“Nice try, the childish act almost worked…” - getting up from his seat, Noa finished his drink as he motioned for Soreq to follow him.
“We got a reaction, didn’t we?” - jumping up quickly, the boy joined the priest as they both reached the door leading to the kitchen.
“Are you sure she’s our contact?” - the priest asked as he stopped by the door, with only the old man from before left at the hall, sleeping in his chair.
“She either is, or knows who is.”
Pushing the door open, the smell of fresh bread mixed with a strange herbal scent filled the air, the same herbal smell Soreq had noticed on the innkeeper’s hair. Despite the lit oven fire and a large cauldron bubbling loudly, there seemed to be no cook there to care for it.
“I guess we’re missing more than one person.” - checking his surroundings, Noa walked ahead of the boy, looking for another way out of the kitchen.
“Over there!” - pointing to a small trap door barely hidden under a carpet, the boy approached it carefully.
“There’s no time, what if they came here to kill you?” - the innkeeper's voice could be heard coming from the other side of the trap door, speaking quickly with someone.
“I’m telling you child, you’re overthinking things!” - a male voice replied, sounding a lot more composed than the woman - “We have kept our heads down for the past two years, and we got no trouble.”
“It’s different this time, I can feel it!”
“You should listen to her, you know?” - lifting open the door suddenly, Soreq caught the young woman together with a strong middle aged man, both shocked at having been found - “Although, you’re not wrong yourself.”
“Who are you? What are you doing here?” - the woman placed herself in front of the man, trying to protect him despite being smaller and weaker.
“We have been sent here,” - relaxing his body as he squatted, Noa tried not to alarm the two any further - “I was told there would be someone to help us on our journey.”
“So it’s you two!” - placing both hands on the woman’s shoulders, the man began making his way to the wooden stair leading back to the kitchen - “I wasn’t sure if someone was actually gonna come.”
“We had to make sure we had the right people.”
“How did you know it was me?” - the man asked as he began the climb
“The smell!” - Soreq pointed to his own nose, as Noa offered a hand to the man - “You’re masking it well enough for the people around here, but it’s easy for us to sense it!”
“Father, who are these people?” - the young woman inquired, still scared to leave the basement.
“They’re friends,” - offering his hand to the woman, the man smiled to ease her fear - “the same people who helped me get back to you, asked me to help these two.”
Still uneasy about the men, the woman climbed up the stairs, leaving all four of them crammed in the small kitchen. Noa noticed that the man seemed not much older than the female innkeeper, despite the woman calling him ‘father’.
“I’m Rolyn,” - the man hugged the still alarmed woman tightly, hoping to help her relax - “and this is my daughter Leah.”
“For your own safety it’s better if you don’t know our names,” - speaking softly as he moved back, trying to relieve the tension, Noa leaned against the wall - “I believe you understand.”
“Of course!” - nodding in agreement, Rolyn seemed to understand the position he was in, even with so few words - “I’ve prepared some supplies and extra clothes, It should be enough to last the entire journey.”
“We appreciate the help!” - coming closer to the man, Soreq circled him slowly, seemingly interested in his body - “How long has it been since you turned?”
“Some ten years or so,” - the cook answered, letting the boy grab his arm and start poking him in the stomach - “it’s hard to tell the passage of time when you don’t change yourself.”
“I see…” - letting go of Rolyn's body, Soreq looked at the man with wise, kind eyes, unbefitting of his appearance - “You could take your child to the Citadel with you if you want, you wouldn’t have to worry about your safety there!”
“I appreciate your concern,” - the man looked at his daughter, who stared at him with worry - “but I don’t want to deprive my child of a normal life.”
“Rolyn, you’re dead!” - Noa spoke with a serious expression on his face - “Your normal life is over!”
