Fantasy Farewell to Kings: Temple of Hyxia

[Jodyguru]

Lautrec shrugged. “How do you know I’m not a changeling, and I left the real Lautrec dead in the bath house? You didn’t even see the corpse.”

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

"I wouldn't be standing here right now," she walked past him, walking up the stairs.

 

[Jodyguru]

He followed and stood outside the door to watch for anything suspicious. Her casual reaction to his point made him wonder if she truly did trust him, even after her harangue of insults. He slipped his cuirass on and tugged the belts tight. He wasn’t sure how they could keep moving in this rain. Her pathetic donkey only complicated it further.

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

She had surprised herself when she hadn't insulted him right then and there. Maybe it was because the journey had tired her, or her confrontation with Hemmick, or maybe it was the fact that Lautrec kept wounding her pride over and over again. Overall, she wasn't in much of a mood to talk and honestly wanted to snuggle into a warm blanket in front of a roaring fire drinking hot milk. Lautrec's cloak was serving as that blanket as she sat on the bed, basking in the pale moonlight. She studied the objects in the room, her eyes closing drowsily until she had fallen asleep.

 

[Jodyguru]

After she didn’t return for awhile, Lautrec creaked the door open to see her sleeping snuggly on the bed. Well, that’s one way to solve a problem. He decided to leave her be and keep watch on the door. He sat on the floor a long time until his eyes started to close as well. He fought sleep, but eventually sleep won.

————

The darkness snapped at his feet like little serpents. He was running scared through a forest. Ghosts with faces of those he’d killed were screaming at him from all directions. A pool of blood stood before him. All the voices told him to drink. Savor the essence of a hundred souls. Do them justice and imbibe. His tongue got closer to the pool of red.

Then, a sword fell on him and he was shocked to wake.

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

Rhi had slept peacefully, the darkness snug and warm, hugging her. She had woken up an hour ago, and thought the sunlight shone brightly, she kept her eyes closed savoring the peacefulness of the room. Boredom finally took her though and she opened her eyes only to find that Lautrec wasn't in the room. She huffed, discarding the cloak on the bed and pulling on a top. She had finished packing and opened the door only to find Lautrec.

 

[Jodyguru]

Lautrec looked like hell. His eyes had dark circles under them, and he wore a tired grimace. He nodded towards her and pulled himself to his feet. He didn't know how she managed to sleep soundly when there could've been an assassin lying in wait for either of them.

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

She didn't really look at him and simply moved past him, "You're stuff's in the room," she said motioning to space behind her. His cloak was in her hand as she walked down the stairs, calling for a meal as she sat down at one of the tables. A bowl of stew and some bread was brought by one of the maids and she began to eat, watching to see when Lautrec would walk down the stairs. A group of men sat at the table behind her, talking softly amongst themselves. One held a long hunting knife and was waving it in the air as he spoke while another, who looked a bit like an old hermit, was scolding the man. "How could you lose the map Enius? " the old man growled, taking a bite of his bread, "We need it to find the temple. The only map in all of Paladina and you lost it." The man, who was apparently named Enius, pointed his knife at the other man, "If you hadn't gotten' us into that fight with them merchants over a bottle 'o wine I wouldn't have lost the damn thing." The third man of their company glanced between the two, appearing nervous as he sipped his stew, "I-I don't think it's wise my friends to fight in such a place right-," his voice stopped as the hand of a woman came to rest on his shoulder. Thin and fluid, a gorgeous woman cloaked in red stood next to the jittery man, studying the other two as they squabbled. Her voice was smooth and sultry as she spoke, "I sometimes wonder why I chose fools as my traveling companions." She sat down, her movements as those of a viper, and studied her red nails. Her hair was dark and long and her skin was beautifully pale. "I think I need to teach you both a lesson, hm?" She flexed her fingers, looking to the two men.

 

[Jodyguru]

Lautrec arrived downstairs shortly after the exchange took place. He scanned the room and sat next to Rhietz. He asked for a meal and ate in silence. He had a headache, and was still not entirely convinced there were no more changelings.
“I’ve given it some consideration. I believe you may need a new horse to continue the journey.” He took a sip of milk. “I understand you may object. I have no intention of trying to separate you from your mule. I simply think it won’t serve you well in battle or strenuous journey.”

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

Rhietz was ignorant of his statement as she stared wide-eyed at the woman at the next table. How could someone look so...good? Not only that, her personality and way of speaking made her seem regal as if she were a queen. She smacked Lautrec's thigh to get his attention. "Look!," she whispered hurriedly, "Who is that?! She's so cool!"

 

[Jodyguru]

Lautrec turned his head and looked. He observed her for a moment before her appearance triggered a memory of her. They crossed swords on a muddy stretch of road as they were after the same quarry. The battle ended in a draw, since their fighting caused the target to flee.

“That’s the Red Queen, Delilah Waters. Her and I are in the same business, you could say.” He spoke low because he didn’t want her to hear him say her name.

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

"Delilah Waters..." Rheitz murmured to herself. Suddenly she stood up, her stool dragging across the floor. She marched over to the woman and tapped her on the shoulder. As Delilah turned, the nervous man next to her stared at the small mithi looking confused. "Can I help you?" she said as her hand went to her waist. Rheitz smiled, sticking her hand out, "Rhietz Tocash, at your service! How do you do?". Delilah stared at Rhi's hand for a moment before her red lips curled into a smile, "Ah, hello. What brings a small lamb from the deserts to the open road?" Rheitz blushed, "We're going to find the temple too!". Delilah raised her brow, "We?". She looked up to see Lautrec hunched over at the next table. "Ah, the dhampir. Why would a small thing like you travel with someone as dangerous as him?". Rheitz frowned, "Dangerous? We were assigned to the mission together, so we ended up as partners."

 

[Jodyguru]

The stool beneath Lautrec slid against the hard floor. He had his hat in his hand and approached the two of them.
“We should get moving Rhietz. Long day of riding ahead of us.” His gaze fell on Delilah, whom he offered a nod.
”Good day, Red Queen.” He greeted her with a neutral look on his face.

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

"Oh don't leave yet dhampir! You're companion has been so kind, so I'll introduce you to my team," her hand gripped Lautrec's forearm, pulling him toward the table. Running her hand up his arm to his shoulder, she pulled his hat off and placed it on the table. Enius and the hermit had stopped arguing at this point and were looking at Lautrec. "Aye, it's that dhampir that tried to fight ye' Delilah," Enius growled, stabbing his knife into the table's wooden surface. Delilah glared at Enius, who meekly apologized and hung his head. The Red Queen introduced the three men; the hermit was named Winston, the nervous one Tobias and of course, the one that growled was Enius. Rhietz smiled at each and shook their hands. "Seems to me we're going to the same place," Delilah said, sucking a grape into her mouth, "might as well go together, hm?"

 

[Jodyguru]

“Might as well not, as I don’t plan on sharing the reward.” Lautrec said and pulled his arm free from the bounty hunter’s grasp.
“And if I remember that day correctly, you hurled a knife at me as a greeting, and said I was better off sucking beggars dry. Forgive me for not wanting such company on this journey.”

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

Delilah laughed, her hand beginning to fondle a strand of his hair, "Did you take my advice? I saw you going into the bathhouse with a peasant. Too bad she was a changeling, hm? The only action in your life turns out to be a monster trying to kill you". Her lips were at the cusp of his ear, her breath warming the tip. Her hand was gripping his chin as her other moved down to his waist. "What a waste. Such a nice body. Only someone as innocent as you wouldn't know how to use it," her voice had turned soft and sultry, her hand stroking circles into his waist. Rheitz covered her eyes as the other men gawked at the scene. "So why don't you come with me? We'd make a very good pair," her lips were dangerously close to his mouth, on the verge of touching his cold lips.

 

[Jodyguru]

Lautrec had enough. He swatted her hand away and turned himself towards her, body square like he’d throw a punch.
“In one room a changeling, and a harpy in another. I have my orders, and I shall carry them out to the letter. Lay another hand on me and you won’t get it back.”
His hand was hovering over his sword handle and he backed away from her. His blood was boiling, as he hated to be touched without permission. He was more cagey and defensive, Rhietz would notice. Something about this encounter had definitely shaken him.

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

Delilah smirked, "Shy as always Lautrec? You always react the way I think you will. So predictable." Delilah downed the glass of wine sitting on the table, wiping a drop and sucking it off of her finger. She pulled a knife out of her belt and gave it to Rheitz. "Here you are little lamb. It's a good blade forged in the dwarven smitheries up north. I hope this will protect you," she mussed Rhi's hair and laid a few coins on the table. "Shall we head out?" she asked her group, her hand resting on Rhi's head. The others murmured a reply, packing up their things. Rhi had noticed Lautrec's strangley cagier behavior but she thought nothing of it. Delilah had managed to make him burn with emotion. Rheitz had never been able to do that and this older woman seemed to be able to bend the will of men. She grinned, nodding at the woman. Grabbing his hat, she walked to Lautrec and held it out to him, "Come on, let's go!" Grabbing his hand, she pulled the reluctant man behind her, following the Red Queen and her crew.

 

[Jodyguru]

Lautrec pouted and followed her out. How was he meant to react? She was all over him for no reason, and the wine on her breath reminded him too much of someone he carried close to his heart. He pushed his anger down. "This whole conversation was fruitless."

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

Rheitz ignored his statement. "Why were you so flustered by her? Wait. Do you like her?" she grinned cheekily as they followed the group to the stables.

 

[Jodyguru]

He seemed reviled by her statement. "Certainly not. What if her mate started feeling you up and whispering in your ear? You'd probably gut him, and I wouldn't put blame on you for it. I just don't like being touched without my permission. That's all." He folded his arms and looked towards the stables. It didn't seem like that was the whole of his anger.

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

"All right, so maybe you don't like her. But why get so flustered? Normally you act like a statue and would have probably pinned her and put a knife to her throat, so what happened?"

 

[Jodyguru]

He shrugged. "I'm not wantonly murderous, and you seem to like her. Acting that way would jeopardize the mission. We were outnumbered, so I let her feel like she was the victor." It was pretty obvious he was making excuses.

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

They had reached the stables and Rheitz quickly opened the stable door, tugging on her donkey's halter. Delilah, having overheard his last statement, snorted. "Lautrec, you really aren't good at lying. Never have been. Tell her the truth." Rheitz glanced back over her shoulder at Lautrec, "Yeah. What really happened?"

 

[Jodyguru]

Lautrec ignored both of them and mounted his horse. He didn't owe either of them an explanation. Neither of them would understand the pain he carried, nor would it be useful to speak. He was retreating into his mind, trying to banish thoughts of a young woman with locks of brown hair with flowers tied in it, and her contagious laugh that was like a perfect song. He rode off in a hurry.