Jex and Ray stared silently at their guide in shock. Nimer continued to cling tightly to his black shirt. He appeared to be in pain from the grimace on his face
"Nimer, how do you know? Can you sense the gods awakening?" Ray asked, finally breaking the silence in the room. "Jex, go fetch him some water," she asked her love gently. He nodded and shuffled around in their things for a canteen. Ray looked worried at Nimer. "Answer me, please."
Nimer nodded his head, taking the canteen of cool water from Jex's grasp. "I can sense each god when they awaken," Nimer informed. "Please, do not ask me how I know. I still can't tell you why."
Jex rubbed his chin, lost in thought. "Don't the gods guard the kingdoms as guardians? You aren't Albranis are you?"
Ray's eyes widened at Jex and she turned quickly to Nimer. "Don't tell me you're a god too!"
Nimer remained quiet for a few moments, studying the veins on the wooden, oak floor. "No one chooses their destiny," he said quietly. "You can only accept when a god chooses you. That's all I can say."
Ray's stare turned into a glowering glare. "Nimer, we just want your honesty. If you're a god-"
"Ray, enough," Jex said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "He'll tell us when he's ready. No need to push him."
"Make your assumptions," Nimer said. "I promise to tell you in time."
"That's not good enough," Ray mumbled stubbornly. "To think this whole time we were traveling with a god. I swear…" She pinched the bridge of her nose. "You've been lying to us."
"Only to protect you," Nimer stated defensively. "I don't keep my secrets because I want to. It is because I must. We can't dwell on this right now. We have to find Rin and we have to kill him. We were too late. Ravathor walks Celestara again and it is up to us to stop him. End of discussion!"
"Then let's find Rin and Canin and do just that," Jex insisted.
Ray ran her fingers through her hair. "I don't want to kill anyone…but if we have to…"
"What is there is a way to reverse the awakening," Jex jumped at the idea. "If we had control of fate-"
"I wouldn't think like that," Nimer interrupted. "That will taint your soul with a necrosis curse."
Jex tilted his head in confusion. "A necrosis curse?"
"Yes, a necrosis curse," Nimer warned, looking both of them in the eyes. "I'd know because I tried."
"Nimer…" Ray gasped quietly.
He waved off any form of comfort from the two. "I tried to stay human and pass my awakening onto another; it killed the better half of me. You don't want to taint your soul with this curse. It drains the power of your soul." Nimer simply stood. "The reality is that there are things out of our control. Now I suggest that you two get some rest. We have a full day of searching for our horses tomorrow."
Jex and Ray were at a loss for words. The only thing they could do was quietly climb into the bed together and drift off to sleep leaving their guide awake to reflect on what he had told them.
It was nearly an hour of staring out the window at the vast darkness that lay beyond before Nimer crossed to the other side of the room and blew out the candles emitting light and returned to his chair. He kicked up his feet on the nearby table. He fished into his pocket and withdrew the small red bell collar, taking one look at it then grasping it tightly. Holding it close to his chest, he closed his eyes and soon felt relaxed enough to drift away to sleep.
The next morning, Ray awoke from her slumber to find Jex fast asleep next to her and Nimer passed out in his chair. She took the opportunity with both of them being asleep to clean herself up in the large, wooden water basin in the corner of the room.
Removing her shirt and pants, she took hold of a cotton rag, feeling the fabric between her fingertips. Dunking it into lukewarm water from the tap, she glided the rag against her skin and let the trails of water slide off the lean muscles of her arms.
After washing her hair and braiding it, she pulled on her clothes and ventured alone downstairs. The Dwarven Chicken was far less busy in the morning. She had found a few people passed out at tables from a night worth of drinking and only a few early risers awake for breakfast. Sliding into a bar stool at the oak wood bar, she waved down the tender with her left hand. "Excuse me, can I get some tea?" she asked.
"Certainly," the tender answered flatly, then pulled water off the boiler and poured it into a mug. He placed tea leaves in a small, metal steeper and placed the small steeper into the cup.
Ray watched the process with a fond gaze and thanked him when he placed the mug in her hands. The warmth of the mug felt good against her palms and she smiled, taking a long draft of the sweet tea. It did not smell like home, but it brought back fond memories of sharing tea with her two small cousins.
While taking a drink, she heard the front door open and tender greet customers as they filed inside from the winter cold. Ray lowered her mug and peered behind her. Her eyes widened at the two who stepped inside.
A very tall, muscle built woman along with a very short, stout, stocky bearded man both walked into the tavern together. Ray admired the woman and her long blonde hair done up in braids and into a ponytail that swayed behind her. Her face, though large, was heart shaped and her almond brown eyes were bright and illuminated, bringing an heir of childish curiosity to her face. It contrasted her hulking form of perhaps nine feet tall and her hide and plated armor, lined in furs. A hood clutched to her shoulders with antlers attached to them. Ray marveled at the sight of a large hammer strapped to her back. At closer look, she could see familiar runes carved into its steel surface.
Ray wasn't caught staring for long and quickly turned away, gawking. "That woman is gorgeous," she thought to herself.
The man beside her looked almost obviously like a dwarf; large hooked nose, dark reddish beard done up in braids, and aged green eyes that told his story more than he was giving off, for one of his eyes was covered with an eyepatch. What looked to be deep scars feathered out from under it. He too was dressed in similar armor though his chest piece could almost pass for a mirror. Despite the few dents, it was well taken care of and made his body look like a child's top. Large leather gloves used to handle raptor birds clung to his beefy arms and were slightly worn with talon marks.
She could feel the color filling her cheeks. Almost like distant thunder closing in, she listened to the footsteps of the woman and the small dwarf approach the counter. Ray tried to sip her tea but her ears picked up their conversation.
The large woman shifted her weapon off her shoulders and she let it hit the ground with a loud thump. The head of it nearly cracked the floorboards. She smiled brightly, her brown eyes kind and dazzling.
"Good morning, Baron. How are you this morning?" she said, her voice sounding much younger than her appearance.
The tender looked up from the plate he scrubbed with a holey rag. "Aye, good morning. If it isn't my favorite two adventurers. What can I do for you? Kugruth keeping you out of trouble, I hope?" he said, winking to the dwarf.
The dwarf huffed a laugh. "She's always into some sort of trouble."
"I'm not in any trouble this time, I swear," the woman pouted a little but she kept a smile on her face. "Just need some information…again."
Baron raised a brow at her. "Did you forget, again, what I told you yesterday?"
The woman scratched her cheek and chuckled a little uneasy. "Maybe?"
The tender leaned on the counter, slight impatience in his voice. "This is the fourth time I've had to tell you the information. I'll only tell you one more time, and then you're on your own, you hear?"
The woman looked a bit defeated, her gaze dropping toward the ground. "I understand. My memory isn't the greatest. I hope you understand."
Kugruth huffed and patted her leg then tapped on the bar with a stubby sausage of a finger. "Look here, Baron. The girl deals with amnesia and generally can't remember nothin'. Give 'er a break," he insisted. "She be doin the best she can."
Baron gave an unfriendly frown, but when he looked up at the tall woman and saw tears soiling her eyes, he rubbed a hand over his face. "Alright, alright! I'll give you the information again, whatever it takes. Just no crying on my watch, ya hear?"
The woman, being portrayed as a mere girl, used her sleeve to wipe her eyes and smiled brightly again. "Thank you! I'll try hard to remember, I promise."
"Alright, the best place to get boar feed is five blocks down to the right, and six blocks from there. You'll talk to a woman there who should get you the supplies ya need for your boar," Baron said. "Anything else and if you forget again, come see me."
"Oh thank you!" the tall girl answered. She felt around and started fishing in her pockets. "Here, I'll pay you for the information."
The tender waved a hand at her, dismissing her act of kindness. "I've already told you, you don't need to pay me anything. Just get what you need from the animal trader."
"Right," the girl answered, biting her lip. "I'll be off then. I have to feed my boar before we head off toward the next town." With that, she swung her hammer back over her shoulder and paraded around the tables toward the door, humming a small song to herself and a zesty bounce in her step.
Baron and Kugruth watched her go and when she was out of earshot continued talking, muttering about the woman in her absence.
"How do you put up with her total absentmindedness, Kugruth?" Baron asked the dwarf, leaning on one hand.
"Very carefully," Kugruth answered. "Nimer did a number on 'er leavin' her in my care and I'll never forget what he did, Baron. She didn' deserve tha at all. She will never be the same after losin' 'er lover, I tell ya. Even I can't break the memory spell he put on 'er. We are jus gonna have to wait till the Kingdom of Zaniah comes back to power." He turned with a sigh, looking at the door and the window outside where the woman paced trying to remember what she was just told. "Poor Katalena. She's jus' not the same anymore."