Fantasy Farewell to Kings: Temple of Hyxia

[alwaystheOptimist]

Enius let out a low whistle as the rest of the crew began to mount their own horses. "The man's loved someone before. No wonder he's so cold," he shook his head as he climbed onto his mount. "How do you know?" Rhi asked, surprised. Enius studied her, before kicking the flank of his horse, "Takes one to no one," he growled, following Lautrec's path.

 

[Jodyguru]

Lautrec rode hard down the winding dirt path. He wanted nobody to see him or the tears forming in his eyes. He fought hard but he couldn't stop the memories from rising to mind. A girl in a garden with beaming eyes, showing her kindness to a serf of the church. She handed him a rose, and he humbly accepted. There was a warmth in his face he never felt before.
"Shut up, shut up! You're only torturing yourself!" He told himself, but the heartache only tore at him more.

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

"Slow down there dhampir," Enius yelled, "you'll tire your horse out far before you'll get where you want to go." Enius pushed his horse forward to match Lautrec's stride.

 

[Jodyguru]

Lautrec knew what his horse could handle. It was an elven gray. A horse with nearly endless stamina, and speed like a torrential wind. He sped up and diverted from the main road, riding through brush and past trees. He saw her face again. They were in her father's cottage on the riverbank.
"We don't control the matters of our creation, Lauttie dear. The light that burns within you is stronger than the darkness outside. You'll never falter if you listen to your heart."
"I want to believe that, but your father still makes me feel so rejected."
"Oh, he'll learn to accept you in time, just as long as you can accept yourself."
"Sometimes I find it hard to, but when I look in your eyes nothing else matters. I only feel your love."
"Hehe, you romantic. Will you still love me when I'm old and grey?"
"I don't see why not. Every day I love you more."
"Oh Lautrec..."

A bright purple glow came around him, and a white mask took shape over his face . His sword changed, growing longer and more like a horse mounted weapon.
Einus heard a strange cackle shrieking from the woods.

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

Enius frowned at the sound, slowing his mount down. The man set him on edge, looking pale and dead. Having him ripped with sorrow had probably made him go mad. Delilah, Winston, Tobias, and Rheitz had managed to catch up with him. "Enius, where's the dhampir?" called Delilah. The grizzled man let out a small huff, throwing his head back to feel the sun. "Gone out to do 'is business," he said, basking in the sun. The golden light played on the planes of his face revealing an angular tanned face with a heavy dusting of stubble. He was a handsome blue-eyed man, though his dark looks and a scar that passed through one of his eyes. "What does that mean? He didn't go and try to find the thing by himself Enius?" Winston muttered, glaring at him. "I said he's a'doin' 'is business," Enius spat back, "A man don't want people pryin' into 'is personal affairs." Rheitz frowned, "Personal? Was that why he was acting so strange?" Enius didn't answer, he just simply nodded.

 

[Jodyguru]

The rider struggled for control. He fought hard not to lose himself to the Eldritch Knight within. A power he obtained to make up for his unwillingness to drink the blood of man for his strength. He stood in the woods for awhile, watching Rhietz through a magical fog. Red eyes shined through the mask bright like a pair of beacons.

“Rhietz...” the spectre hissed.

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

The afternoon gave way to dusk and the sun was dethroned from its high position in the sky. The group, still missing the pale rider that had rode away earlier that day, decided to make camp in a small clearing near the road. It was hidden from view, thick oak trees protecting the space with a curtain of leaves, the ground peppered with flowers. The men began to set up the tents and Winston and Enius had begun to squabble again, Tobias nervously following behind them as he tried to calm their sudden dispute. Delilah had perched herself on a tree stump, a flask of whiskey in her hand.

"You aren't cold?" Rhietz asked, shuffling over to the woman dragging the ends of the blanket around her shoulders on the ground. Delilah gave her a half-hearted grin, "the whiskey keeps me cozy." She looked up at the sky, studying the stars. "What I wouldn't give to be on the sea right now," she murmured, taking another draught of her drink. Rheitz frowned, "the sea? Aren't you a mercenary or something? At least, I think that's what Lautrec told me." Delilah snorted picking up a stone from the ground, "that ignorant ass? He only knows me by what I've told him. The idiot's too busy with himself to look at others." She stared at Rheitz thoughtfully, "I used to sail. A long time back, when I was your age. I was a good sailor." Her voice had become thick and low, probably an effect of the alcohol. She studied the stone in her hand. "When I was little, my grandfather told me that wishing rocks existed. If you found one, they would grant anything you wanted if you were pure of heart and spirit," she held out the rock to Rheitz, "I think this is a wishing rock. I don't think it'll grant any of my wishes, but it may grant some of yours." It wasn't anything special, just a common gray rock peppered with silver dots, cut into a jagged cube. Rheitz held it close to her chest, studying the woman before her. In the inn she had looked powerful and elegant, a woman who could bend the will of men to do her bidding. But sitting on this stump, a flask of whisky in her hand, she looked like a dying soul wishing for freedom from the labors of life. Rheitz smiled, sitting next to her, "I think I'll sit here too, if you don't mind."

 

[Jodyguru]

“May... I join as well?” A voice spoke from the woods. There was a joyful giggle that rang out against the rocks and trees.
The image of a masked man flickered like it was a piece of paper caught in a breeze.
There was a feeling on Delilah’s neck. It was cold as ice, and poked into her skin oh so gently.

“Ah, there it goes. Nice and easy. Wouldn’t want to turn you into a succubus. It turns out that only virgins can become vampires. Did you know that?”

A silvered weapon, long and angled, was sticking at her artery. A masked man was ready to kill her.

Then, just as fast as he appeared, his body was skewered by a long silver spear. Lautrec’s gray horse rode up to the campsite, with rider in tow and a burning vampire stuck on his pike. He rode off a little bit and came around, coming off the horse mid trot.

“I’m sorry I disappeared.” Lautrec said. “Please forgive me, Rhietz.”

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

"And here I thought the man had left. Welcome to camp old boy," Delilah studied Lautrec before standing up. She patted Rheitz's head, walking in the general direction of the campfire. Winston sent Lautrec daggers with his eyes, but was quickly stopped by Enius who slapped his arm. "Ow! What do you think you're doing, disrespecting your elders," he mused following Enius. Tobias sat silently, his mouth agape.

Rheitz smiled, "I knew you'd come back. Delilah said so too, though I think Winston would rather have you thrown off a cliff." She clutched the rock in her hand, glancing back to camp. "Hungry?"

 

[Jodyguru]

“Yes. Thank you.” Lautrec said and sat down. He was handed a bowl of stew, which he ate with great appetite. There was a different look in his eyes and mannerisms. He was less stiff then before. Perhaps wherever he went was to blow off some steam.

He looked up at the people surrounding him. He faintly recognized Einus from before.

“Rhietz... I believe I have not been truthful with you.” He said softly. “In many regards, I have lied or omitted info from you because,” he got much quieter, “at my core, I am a coward.”

What he never spoke of, was the source of his magical powers. The thing that made his life as a bloodless somewhat easier, but more complicated in other ways.
“But, I am undeserving of pity, so please excuse me while I sort myself out.”

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

"Ha. I knew it," Winston threw a judgmental finger in Lautrec's direction, "the man shouldn't be riding with us Delilah. Let him go alone. Only those who are brave can come." Tobias nervously glanced at Winston, "but aren't you afraid of like...everything?" Enius snorted, giving Winston a sidelong glance, "the old man couldn't even sleep in his own tent. Said that the "bears" might get him" Winston flared his nostrils, "H-how dare you! All of you disrespecting your elders like you're two." In a huff, he stumbled into one of the tents, his pride wounded. Rheitz opened her mouth in shock, "A-are you apologizing? To me?! Y-you, one minute you act like I'm some idiot and now you think I'm worthy of your respect?!" She shook her head, bewildered and a bit angry, "I-I'm going to bed. I can't believe you think you can throw me around like that." She stomped to her tent, opening the flat, "-and don't bother coming in and apologizing. I've had enough of your toxic behavior."

"I-I'll just leave now...," Tobias muttered. He hurriedly dropped his bowl and scurried over to his tent, causing Enius to stand and retreat as well. Delilah frowned at Lautrec. "There's more stew in the pot if you want some," she said after a pause, sitting across from him, the light of the fire playing on the planes of her face. "Whiskey? It helps numb the pain," she said simply, holding out the flask.

 

[Jodyguru]

Lautrec set his bowl down and huddled his knees up into his body. He gazed into the fire and his eyes watered a bit. He just wanted to apologize. He didn’t want respect, he just didn’t want to be hated or feared so much.

“I’m just barely holding myself together.” Tears fell from his eyes, and he took the whiskey from Delilah and chugged down a couple big gulps before setting it down.

“She hates me when I’m cold, she hates me more when I’m vulnerable. I feel like I’m going crazy.”

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

Delilah studied him for a bit, prodding the fire with a nearby stick. "Why do you care so much? I've never known you to be deeply affected by your business partners," Delilah asked finally, throwing the stick into the flames. She watched as the fire consumed it, eating away at the bark, charring the soft inner flesh of the branch.

 

[Jodyguru]

He let out a sigh and wiped his wet eyes. He didn’t know why he was telling Delilah this, maybe because she didn’t mean much to him.
“She reminds me of my late wife. So much passion and sweetness. It’s hard to describe the feeling I get. A mix of attraction and sorrow. I fought hard to keep Amelia out of my mind. Work usually does the job for me, but this job... I can’t be near her without seeing Amelia.”

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

"Hm...Amelia really did love you, though her father wasn't too happy with it," Delilah glanced back up at the pale rider's face, watching as he curled himself up into a ball, "-it's hard to find someone like that nowadays, a girl who was willing to give her life for the world if it meant saving people." She studied her fingers, unable to look at the shivering shell of a man in front of her. "Rheitz is young and proud. A bit reckless too," Delilah paused to take a bit of stew into a bowl, "-something tells me she's lost quite a bit in her life. She's a bit like you, if you remove the cute bubbly girl around it."

 

[Jodyguru]

Lautrec lifted his head and looked at her.
“How did you know... that happened fifty years ago.” He asked, astonished. “She saved me from a life totally alone, at least for half my lifespan.

He remembered the last day they had together. He and Amelia laying in bed together. She was old and gray, and he the same as he sat in front of Delilah now. They were cuddled in bed together, until sunset. When he opened his eyes and went to wake her, she did not wake.

“I had the power to kill death for her, but she wouldn’t let me. She refused immortality. I pleaded, but she said a flower loses its beauty if it never wilts. I still don’t understand why she didn’t want to stay with me forever.”

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

Delilah didn't look at him as she shifted on the log she was sitting on. "It wouldn't be interesting if I told you all my secrets, would it? Even though she seemed happy on the outside, she was in a lot of pain. She lived for you, but her death was for herself. She's happier as a soul than she would have been as an immortal."

 

[Jodyguru]

He clenched a fist. “N-nobody knows that for sure! I don’t get eternal peace when I die. I’ll be ravaged by the ghosts of a thousand slain souls In the Abyss. She could have stayed. We’d be happy for eternity together! We-“ he lowered his head into his knees. His body heaved, like he was crying in silence.
“Gods, I’m pathetic.”

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

Delilah laughed, her hand slapping her thigh. "By the gods, for someone who's lived as long as you, I thought you would understand these things." She sidled over to Lautrec, pinching his cheek, "You're just a small child aren't you hiding behind the facade of a grown man, aren't you?"

 

[Jodyguru]

He forced out a laugh. Anything to pull himself out of this clasping pit he was falling into.
“Maybe I am. Maybe people don’t grow up, no matter how long they live. She hasn’t been alive about a decade now. I still haven’t learned how to live without her.”
He looked up at Delilah. A small smirk appeared on his face mixed with the tears.
“Have you... lost ones you loved?”

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

Her face froze, her hand falling from his face. "Why are you suddenly interested?"

 

[Jodyguru]

He looked away, towards the fire. “No reason in particular. You’re a good listener. If you don’t wish to share, it’s okay. It’s been a long time since any soul cared to hear the sorrows of an undead.”

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

She turned away from him, suddenly rigid. Pulling her knife from her booth she began to wipe it, rubbing away the dirt. "I have. Though I didn't think it would interest the likes of you." Her voice had become distant, lacking in the flirtatious undertones that were normally present.

 

[Jodyguru]

Lautrec had another sip of the whiskey. “I’ve consoled grieving widows before. Much to everyone’s surprise, I do feel empathy. It’s what has kept me from drinking blood these long, painful years. Rhietz thinks I’m unfeeling, like a golem. I can put on appearances or wear a smile, but I’m often too tired to bother. It’s something about my physiology that makes expressions so difficult.”

 

[alwaystheOptimist]

"Do I look like a widow to you?" Delilah cracked a small smile, playing with her knife.