Vuroth's Tear: Even the Gods Cry

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The sun slowly sank behind the tallest buildings, darkness began to creep through the streets. The men and women began gathering their children and heading inside, lanterns were lit to offer light to those who traveled at night. Analda had already lit the lantern outside the door of her inn and now she paced around looking for something to do. Before Aven had come to rent a room, she hadn't seen a single customer for weeks and she feared he may have been the last customer she would ever have. Not only was she worried that she would lose her inn, the inn that her father had owned and left to her when he died, but she was lonely as well.

In the brief time that Aven had been there, the inn seemed almost alive again. They only ever exchanged small talk or the most basic of pleasantries but there was something about the man that she missed. Just his presence or the anticipation of his return added excitement to her days and she found him undeniably attractive. She found herself thinking about his smile, it seemed so genuine every time she had seen it. His dark blue eyes glimmering when he would look at her, thinking she didn't notice. What was it about that man that had her so flustered, even the thought of his eyes on her made her blush. She barely knew him, knew next to nothing about him but still she felt an emptiness that he was gone.

"Excuse me, miss, would you, by chance, have any rooms available?" She broke from her thoughts and turned to see a man in a solid black outfit, a hood over his head cast a shadow over his face, all she could see was the pale flesh of his mouth and chin. He had a politeness to him, a gentleness to his voice that was cool and soothing, making her smile.

"You came to the right place," She said in excitement before going behind the old wooden desk and grabbing her sign in-book from the shelf on the wall, "It's one gold coin a night or three for a week but it needs to be paid up front, is that alright?"

He nodded, "That is very reasonable. My name is Verik, what is your name, dear?"

"Analda, Analda Pilus," She responded with a grin, she hadn't been called 'dear' since her father and it brought a flash of pleasant memories when the stranger said it.

She tensed slightly when he grabbed the hand holding the sign in book, his grip was gentle, his hands were ice cold, his nails were long and fingertips were pale blue, "Miss Pilus, forgive me, I'm a man of great discretion and require a level of privacy. I came here because your establishment seems like the type of place that could respect that. Would it be at all possible if we went about this transaction without any records... or mention of my presence?" He placed five gold coins in a row on the desk.

The young woman stared at the coins glittering in the candle light, she didn't understand, "If I may ask, why do you need such privacy?"

He let go of her hand and pushed his hood from his head. The flames light glistened against the frost covering his short hair. His cold, pale skin looked yellow in the light and his eyes seemed to glow with a gentle, pale blue light that took her breath away. He looked like a frost covered angel standing before her with his soothing smile, "It would be safer for you and would prevent distractions for me while I do what I must in your town."

Analda wasn't frightened by him, he was far too polite and genuine to inspire fear. She replaced the book on the shelf, "There's a room under the stairs. It's kept as a spare room in case we have a shortage of space... I haven't had that problem in quite some time so, the room is yours for as long as you need," She pushed the coins towards him, "no charge. And please, just call me Analda."

Verik picked up the coins one by one and walked around the old desk, he took her hand and placed them in her palm before closing her fingers around them, "Thank you, Analda."

His icy touch sent a shiver down her back, or maybe, she thought, it was the excitement of having such a person finding sanctuary in her inn. She led him to the small room, the door almost hidden by the stairs. He thanked her again and kissed the back of her hand, she could feel a cold tingle where his lips touched.

After he closed the door, she walked back to the desk and sat in the creaky wooden chair and looked with curiosity at the gold coins, still icy to the touch, "What is an Elemental doing in Ravdian?" She whispered to herself. There was a wave of excitement that rushed over her. She had heard stories, legends, really, about Elementals. Powerful Mages whose magic was aligned to a single element and manifested in their physical appearance, from the look of Verik, it was no mystery what he was. He was a Frost Mage.