Heirs of Hyarch

Sitting at his table, Hamond brooded.

The Lady Hallowscroft had gone to lay down. Edeline had looked less and less there as the meeting with Morgivel had continued, and she was definitely too exhausted to do anything but sleep at this point.

Alone now, he kept going over the pieces in his head. Taking over the town watch made a certain sort of sense, but he could not see how the matter of the Elefae women disappearing was part of this as well. Unless...what if it wasn't just Elefae women? Morgivel would probably not know about it if that was the case.

That logic hardly explained why it was happening though, nor did it really give any additional clues. Hallowscroft was apparently now leaderless, the Elefae falling apart...who could benefit from all this, he didn't know. The town, while decently large, was hardly strategically important enough for the Spellking to focus on. There had to be some other motive to this, a reason for the focus on this town of all towns.

Underneath it all was the growing realization that the skills of a healer were likely not enough. As much as Hamond hated to do it, he knew he'd likely have to call on his full knowledge of thaumaturgy. After all, it was a safe bet that their enemy would do the same. An actual battle of magic, something he'd never really engaged in before.

Hamond could remember when he was a child, dreaming fanciful dreams of being in such a fight. He'd thought it glorious then, believing he could surpass his father. If only he'd known then what he knew now.

Well, this was accomplishing nothing. Hamond stood up, turning towards the fire to put it out. Sleep would do him good as well, and he and Edeline could discuss what came next in the morning. He let out a sigh, preparing to cast his usual water spell.

Someone knocked sharply at the door.

Of course he would get a late night visitor now, of all times. No sleep for him, and there was a chance it would wake Edeline as well. He'd have to try and keep this quick and quiet, for her sake. Giving up on the fire for now, Hamond made his way over to the door, and gently opened it.

Standing there in the dim light was a young Elefae woman. She looked familiar...wait, it was that one from Morgivel's. His granddaughter, the apprentice healer, the one who interrupted their meeting earlier. What was her name again?

"You going make me stand here all night?"

"Oh, yes. Sorry." Hamond let her by, still thinking. They'd called her Neredyla, that much he could recall, but she'd immediately given a different name. For some reason, he thought of the word vertical, but that couldn't possibly be right.

He was honestly too tired for this right now.

The Elefae almost seemed to bounce up and down as she strode over to a chair and sat. Hamond took a seat opposite Nela...that was it, that was the name. With her rucksack hanging off of one shoulder, and tattered padded vest over a tunic, Hamond would have thought her a vagabond just from that. Perhaps she actually was one.

"Not a bad house you have," Nela commented, lowering her sack to the floor.

"My thanks," Hamond said, "But I don't think you are here for small talk. What do you want from me?"

"A bed."

"A bed?" Hamond rubbed his head. What in Aether's name was that supposed to mean?

"A bed. You know, to sleep in?" Nela raised an eyebrow. "Don't exactly have room for me at the old man's house."

That made some sense, but even so...there was another issue. "You do know it will cost you."

"Seriously?" She scowled at him. "I just told you...fine. Look, I've got information for your guest. I'm guessing she's sleeping?"

His guest...so, Edeline then. "You'd have to wait until morning." He paused, realizing the implications. "Wait, so you know who she is?"

"If I didn't, why would I want to speak to her?" Nela retorted.

Hamond closed his eyes. Morgivel...this had to be his doing. Hamond knew the elderly Elefae was better at keeping secrets than this. No, Nela being told about it had to be fully intentional on Morgivel's part. As for why...that part he didn't understand.

"Look, I know you probably don't like it," Nela said, "Trust me, you're definitely not number one on the list of people I'd want to share a roof with."

"You keep a list?" Hamond raised an eyebrow.

Nela let out a heavy sigh. "You get the point. I'm just sick of sleeping outdoors with nothing but a blanket between me and the ground."

Hamond wasn't about to argue. He'd spent more than a few nights himself sleeping out in the open along the roads to Hallowscroft, and it hadn't been all that comfortable.

"Fine," he said, "But be warned, it may not be all that safe here for much longer."

"What, is the Spellking himself going to knock tomorrow, looking for us?" The look Nela was giving him all but shouted doubt. "Come on, I already had to face down his army. I doubt anyone here is half as much a threat."

"What about the town watch?" Hamond asked, studying her closely. If it had been up to him, he'd rather not have involved anyone, but Edeline was already in it too. And now, thanks to Morgivel, so was Nela.

"The town watch?" Nela's eyes narrowed. "What in Aether's name did your little lady do to get them after her arse?"

"Quiet down," Hamond said softly, glancing over at the door to the other room. "It's complicated, but the short version is that an agent of the Spellking is loose in Hallowscroft and has taken control of the town watch."

"Taken control? Would that be with some weird spell or something?"

Hamond blinked, realizing that Nela was definitely sharper than he'd originally thought. Not that there was any reason to hide the truth. "Yes," he stated plainly.

"Shit." Nela clenched a fist, taking a shaky breath. "Well then...could a spell like that be removed?"

"Of course." Even tired, Hamond could put the pieces together. Someone Nela knew had also been put under that enchantment, someone who...

"Word is that the lord's son is back in town..." Kalvarel's words echoed back to him.

The son of Lord Hallowscroft, Edeline's brother, would have also been a target as well. That had to be what Nela had information on, what had happened on that side of things. Hamond wanted to kick himself for not having thought to look into that sooner.

He supposed it didn't matter, now that the answer was here. He had to admit Morgivel had made the right call after all, sending Nela to meet him. Tomorrow, once they had rested properly, they should be able to get to work.

"Alright then," Nela said, "Teach me how to do that then."

"Excuse me?" Hamond blinked.

"Are you deaf? I said, teach me how to remove that spell." Nela leaned forward, fixing her gaze on him.

"Can this wait until morning?" Hamond asked, just wanting to go to bed more than anything.

Nela studied him for a moment. "Fine," she finally said, "But you better be ready at first light tomorrow."

What happened tomorrow depended entirely on Edeline, but Hamond wasn't keen on teaching Nela, or anyone, any spells. Spells such as that one were the legacy of his father, and that legacy had to be stopped.

There was no way he could explain this to Nela though. "We'll see about it tomorrow then," Hamond told her.

Nela nodded, then bent over, beginning to rummage through her bag. Curious, he watched as she pulled out a dried piece of bread and began to munch on it. "What?" she said, voice muffled with her mouth full. A few crumbs fell out. "I'm allowed to eat, you know."

If it hadn't been so late, Hamond would have offered to cook something for Nela. Still, he wasn't without anything to offer. "Do you want a drink?"

"Yes." Nela continued to stuff her mouth with bread.

Hamond nodded and went searching for a bottle of beer. He didn't normally keep a lot, since he could just conjure clean water when he was thirsty. However, he did have a few stashed away, and for a situation like this, he felt it was called for.

Fishing one out, he poured some into a cup, and handed it to Nela. In one smooth motion, with no hesitation, she emptied the cup right into her mouth. "Ah, that's better. My thanks." She then finished the last of the bread with a single large bite.

"Uh, no problem." Hamond sighed and poured the remaining beer into another cup for himself. He could always go buy some more later.

Nela meanwhile finished her drink in a couple more gulps. "There's the good stuff," she said, before letting out a small belch. "Well, the night's long and the bed's calling. It's in there, right?" She pointed in the rough direction of Hamond's room.

"Other door," Hamond told her.

"Oh, right. And don't worry. I'll try not to wake her ladyship up." Nela picked up her sack and slipped into the other room, surprisingly stealthy. Hamond shook his head and finished off his own beer.

Setting the cup down on the table next to Nela, he turned and murmured the incantation. "Hydropidax." The spray of water flew out, causing the dimming fire in the hearth to sputter out with a puff of steam and leaving the house in near total darkness.

Hamond didn't need sight to make his way into his own room, and into bed. Even as he lay himself down, he could feel himself slipping away into slumber. A good night's rest, a brief respite from what was to come...it was all he could ask for.