Archives: Cian’s Quest
Chapter 4: Morning in Roid
Kylia woke up in her room after a good rest. She was still aching from her attack, but nonetheless had used a few of her recipes to keep herself up to shape and sleep right too. Packing up what she had made in carrying pouches she stretched. Once she was finished she changed out of the clothes she worked in before she crashed.
Once she was in the common room after a bath, she quietly ate breakfast and watched the room. She was more comfortable in her adventuring gear than any kind of other clothing.
I hope that knight shows up soon, I have to get to the port soon and setup shop, she thought to herself as she finished and then stood up, heading back to her room she started finishing preparations for the day.
* * *
The night had been relatively uneventful for the priestess. She had met with the High Priest of her temple at the last possible moment to discuss her early sabbatical and Life Experience Training. She was allowed to go on short notice, despite her classes and works. Cari had been training others to follow her footsteps; they were getting good at it, so she had confidence that they could cover for her.
Cari didn’t get much sleep. She was busy preparing herself for leaving. It was such short notice that she had to write class plans and the like. Cian and Ciprian didn’t really know how much work she had to do before she could leave. As a result, morning came far too soon. She had no more than two hours of sleep to her name.
* * *
Cian awoke as the first shafts of morning sunlight hit him, the young thief felt a bit stiff, but it was far better than sleeping on hard ground. There weren’t many times in his short life that the young thief had a chance to sleep in a bed. Emir made sure to keep such luxuries to a minimum for his charges, that way it kept them hungry and motivated to do their job. It also made for a hard life.
The boy glanced around and noticed Cip asleep on the floor as he stretched and yawned. After touching his side to test it, Cian nodded slightly as he felt fine. Not even the slightest scar was left from the stab wound he’d taken, Carianna’s friend, the High Priest had done his job well. The wound was gone as if it had never been. Standing up, the boy made two deft movements, as if striking with a dagger then stretched to get the blood flowing. After the short exercise, he stretched again and sat on the bed, he’d wait for Cip to awaken and go from that point onto the day.
The hearth had burnt itself out sometime that night, so the apartment had chilled, but Ciprian slept fine wrapped in a blanket. It was made for colder weather after all. The knight woke as he heard Cian moving about, causing floor boards to creak. With a stretch and yawn, Ciprian sat up and groaned. Sleeping on the floor was no good for his back. He twisted around until his back made a satisfying pop.
“Ah,” he sighed and stood. “Mornin’ kid. I’d ask if you slept well, but that much is obvious. You slept like a ton of bricks.” The knight rubbed his chin, feeling the stubble that had grown in overnight. “I’m afraid there’s no food in the place. I took it all with me when I left for Lesmoa, but we’ll go down to the tavern and get some breakfast in a bit.”
There was no fresh water either, but he’d get a bath and a shave in the barracks. Ciprian went to his dresser that was beside the bed and pulled out some fresh clothes. He had nothing small enough for Cian, but the boy needed new clothes. Walking around with a blood stained jerkin wasn’t any good though. Ciprian took a white tunic out of his dresser and tossed it to Cian. “You can have that. I’ll get you some new clothes today as well.”
Cian was almost shocked, “new clothes” the thought almost made the boy’s head spin. He’d only the few cloths and almost rags, Emir had given him or what he’d stolen. Cip was a great guy, the boy caught the tunic and immediately took off his jerkin, taking the time and making sure to fold it and place it out of the way first. Cian wouldn’t be able to make use of hidden pockets and recesses in Cip’s tunic, because there were none. Still, he could always do something with his own clothes later, but for now he was more than happy to wear a fresh shirt. The boy took a quick whiff of his arm, he needed a bath too, he smelt of blood, sweat and dirt from the trail. Looking over at Cip once he’d dressed he smiled and spoke, as hungry as ever, “Thanks Cip. New clothes?! You’re great! And yep I’m hungry alight. Hey...as a knight’s assistant, what am I supposed to do in the mornings? I mean do I polish armor and get packs ready an’ stuff? I wanna repay you for all the help you’ve been giving me.”
Ciprian dressed where he stood, changing from his sleeping pants to his breeches and a crisp white shirt. “Don’t worry about it Cian,” Ciprian said after pulling his shirt over his head. “First off, let’s go get breakfast and quick bath, eh? I have someone to meet at an inn. Today will be busy.” Ciprian sat down on the bed and pulled on some regular boots.
Cian smiled and spoke as he was all ready to go. The boy’s exuberance and chipper attitude couldn’t help but gush from him. This was the best he’d been treated in a long time. “Fine by me. I hope your friend doesn’t mind me tagging along eh? Gods a bath will be good, from all the blood and dirt I smell like a pack horse.”
* * *
After a hearty breakfast at a tavern near Ciprian’s apartment, he and Cian bathed at a nearby bath house. During their soak at the bath, Ciprian told Cian all about meeting Kylia the night before, as well as his plans for the day. After checking on Kylia, they would go to the Knight’s barracks and Ciprian would do what he could to see if Cian would be allowed to become a squire. They also needed to get a warrant for Emir that would allow Ciprian to investigate outside of Valis.
Clean, refreshed, full and presentable, Ciprian and Cian went to The Mindful Eye. The knight strode inside, clad in his full armor. Looking around the common room, he couldn’t see the elven woman, so he turned to the innkeeper.
“Pardon me, I’m looking for a woman named Kylia,” Ciprian said, leaning on the counter.
The innkeeper looked at him suspiciously; after all, he was a knight and he was looking for a half-dark elf. “If you don’t mind my asking, what do you want with her? I’ll have you know that Kylia is a respectable woman, she’s done no crime.”
Ciprian’s eyes widened incredulously for a moment, he didn’t expect to be accused of trying to arrest her. “Oh no, I’m just here to check on her. I met her last night when she was having trouble with a pair of thugs. I mean her no ill-will. Besides, do you think I’d bring a child along with me on an arrest?”
The innkeeper didn’t seem too convinced, but he nodded in agreement to Ciprian, then called to the closest barmaid. “Mya, go tell our guest in room nine she has a visitor, eh?” With an obedient nod, the maid headed upstairs. The innkeeper turned back to Ciprian. “Well, have a seat, why don’tcha?”
“Thank you, sir,” Ciprian said with a respectful nod to innkeeper and took a seat at a table near the door.
* * *
Kylia was just finishing up gathering her wares into the pouches that would fill her saddlebags when the maid showed up, she head the knock and answered. Hearing she had visitors she smirked, she knew what was going on here and she was going to laugh. Heading downstairs with the two large pouches she looked to Ciprian and then the bartender, she spoke to Cip and Cian as she yawned once again, “Good morning to the both of you, I see you had a decent rest after last nights little incident. I am Kylia, I don’t believe I have seen you before. I wanted to give you something to thank you, now where is it?”
She then sat down at the table they were sitting at and she pulled out a few small vials, all of them some kind of herbal remedy. Each one was different, one was a mild sleep aid, the other to restore fatigue, and the other one was labeled simply ‘last resort’. This day she was dressed differently, and armed with her full equipment. “These are for you, for last night. Perhaps you’ll find them useful one day, that last one is something very different. Use only if you have no other choice, and cannot escape from a battle.”
She seemed more relaxed, but still a little stiff from the events of the night. From her style of dress as compared to last night, she did not seem like an average merchant.
Cian sat thinking intently, trying to assimilate everything Cip had told him about Kylia. The raven haired boy scratched through the curls atop his head as his eyes widened in thought. Gods! An elf? I’ve seen one, maybe one, elf before. The boy looked at Cip and spoke, Cian wasn’t really frightened but he was wary as he spoke, he’d seen maybe one elf in his entire life. At least he thought it was an elf, but a dark elf? There were only stories about them, it was said they had dark magics and weren’t to be trifled with. There was always the old story about them stealing peoples souls, but on the streets one would hear anything. Cian wasn’t sure what to believe, but despite his fear, he wanted to meet her. Even if she was only half-dark elf. The boy was caught in a mixture of awe, curiosity and fear.
But when they did meet the young woman Cian’s mouth nearly fell to the floor as he noted her attitude and demeanor were nothing like the stories he’d been told. The young man sat at the table as the young elf woman fished for Cip’s gift in unbelieving awe and a bit of fear. The boy could only stare, she was as beautiful as she was a curiosity, Cian caught himself staring. They really do have long ears...
Ciprian took the vials hesitantly. He didn’t fully trust the contents. Kylia seemed trustworthy enough, but he had deep rooted seeds of distrust for dark elves. Maybe he should trust her, he did help her, but then, he only spoke to her for a few minutes. “Thank you,” he said, slipping the vials into his belt pouch.
The knight placed his hand on Cian’s shoulder to introduce him. “This is my...ah, aide, Cian. He might become my squire, but that’s not fully up to me. So, I take it you had no more troubles last night?”
“You’re welcome. I had no more troubles after those two were dealt with. After last night I think they’ll be thinking about their actions, their injuries were minor compared to what I could have done,”she replied after he finished speaking, looking to Cian she spoke to him. He looked like he was a sturdy lad, somebody who could quite possibly become a great knight. The way he looked was almost as if he had not even seen a half-elf before, let alone a half-dark elf. “I wish you the best of luck Cian, the path of knighthood is truly a respectable life to live. Though I have heard also a difficult one, though you should do well.”
Once she was done speaking she looked to the pair again and then the window, the morning was still young and there was much work to be done. She could tell he was still a bit wary, like many people were with her but then all most people did was exchange money for her goods and then move on. “I’m going back on the road tomorrow, I have some deliveries to make to the outlying towns and villages. Thank you again, I wish you both the best. If you ever hear any rumors of demon sightings please inform me, I will leave it at that for now.”
“I’m glad to hear you’re doing well. Wait...Demons?” Ciprian asked, surprised. He thought she was just an Apothecary, what was so important about demons to her?She saw his reaction and realize he had no idea who she really was, perhaps she should tell him so he understood. But then she might not want to, because it might stir too much attention, though the risk was not so great. “It’s something that is hard to explain, I’ll leave it at this though. Though they may be virtually nonexistent today, don’t even think for once they do not rear their ugly faces here. Perhaps I’ll run into you again down the road, sometimes demons can harvest rare ingredients that can enhance the performance of some of my mixtures.”
She then looked between them again and moved to stand up, she was obviously in a bit of a rush to get started on her day. Of course she did not mean to be, it was just the earlier you start the more you make. “I thank you for your concern, it was an honor meeting the both of you. Unfortunately I must get to the port now, before all of the good spots are taken.” She then nodded to the two of them and stood up, making sure her bags were secured and everything in place.
Kylia’s response was guarded and vague, but Ciprian was content to leave it at that. He only came to make sure those thugs hadn’t tried to finish what they started, her career wasn’t his concern, and from what she said, it sounded as if she hunted demons. If so, she was doing a great service to Valis, and all of Lodoss.
“Well then, I’ll leave you to your business, Miss Kylia,” Ciprian said as he rose from his seat, giving her a courteous bow. “Falis’ blessings to you,” the knight offered, then looked down at Cian. “Ready to go?”
Kylia was a mystery to Cian, the boy had remained silent throughout the entire affair. He merely watched the half-dark elf and finally when Cip decided to move out the young boy spoke, a bit of fear in his voice as he did so. “Um...Miss Kylia...uh good luck to you.”
He meant no harm, it was just old fears died hard and he’d heard so many rumors of elves. Who knew what to believe, especially what was said about the dark elves; it was always something bad or frightening or both. Turning towards Ciprian, Cian spoke with a bit of anxious nervousness as he was ready to go. “I’m ready, when you are. Where to first?”
Ciprian nodded in response to Cian, “To the barracks,” Ciprian told the boy, then turned to Kylia. “Milady,” he said with another bow as he turned to make his exit. The knight led Cian out of the inn and back onto the street.
“Thank you for what you did, have a good day to you both. Cian you’ll do fine, just don’t ever give up. Good day to you both,” she said before they left with a polite bow, after they left she headed out to the port market. This would be as usual a long day, at least she was close to the guild so she could drop off her fees for the day before going back to the inn.
