𝙍𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙙 𝙁𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝.
A war commander feared by his allies much as his enemies. Eber Soldat is a man of age and experience who can swing his long sword and behead the most opposing warriors with...
With the night as a thick ebony haze, they easily tread through the Romani camp. Glowing lanterns hang from the gypsy wagons and sway in the cool breeze. Still burning fires entice gatherings of fellow gypsies to the warmth. They trade stories and jokes as Lorelei and the soldiers pass through the outskirts of the camp, but still close enough to hear every word and roaring laugh that escapes the heavy bellies of some of the elders.
They reach her wagon and tent through the woods, beyond the mild clearing that resides the rest of her tribe. Entering her bender tent, she strikes a match to a dim lamp. Looking over the tent, Koza pans her room of knick knacks, seeing a life of magic in the colorful potions in bottles, hanging and setting on tables.
Gradually, each man finds a spot he makes his own. Thayer drops by the fire at the center of the tent, while Ermanno flops to one of the rugs. Koza strides casually by the random items of the Gypsy, looking over everything, from furs and books, to bones that rest in sorted arrangement on a table.
With comfort seeming to be on his mind, Eber aims for the woman's bed in the back of the tent, curtained by heavily embroidered drapes with golden tassels tied back. It is a nest of sorted pillows strewn about with the covers tossed to the side. Watching Eber, Koza notes his familiarity with this place and with the woman. All of it is odd to Koza. Much as he has learned of the Commander over time, he would never have assumed he had such allies as this woman, if ally is what he calls her, and not more.
The Gypsy grabs a thin bottle from a shelf and plunks it on a table. "This is a liquid that will help your muscles relax. It will make you feel better."
Ermanno grabs for it needing no more encouragement to want it and begins to drain the bottle. Thayer pulls it from his hand and consumes his own portion. Thayer lowers the bottle from his lips and a panicked look streaks across his face as in a flash he runs from the tent, when he reaches outside, he can hold back no longer and a violent spew comes burning up his throat from his stomach.
"Poor child." Ermanno throws a thumb over his shoulder musing about the lad's Hell. Just that moment, Ermanno's lips purse and his cheeks bloat, and in a single leap, he overtakes Thayer's poison at the entrance hurling his own wicked concoction.
"That is my front door," she grumbles.
"I will insure they clean it up." Koza turns to her.
"Your self-control will always be an asset to you. Always remember that, Captain." She hands him the bottle. "This was not meant to be swallowed. Instead, it is a combination of rubbing oils and minerals. It is meant for living men, but muscles are muscles." He takes a single drop from the vile and in a moment of dreading anticipation, he begins to rub the clear oil onto his forearm.
A wave of relief washes over him as the ointment does not hurt, but help. "It is remarkable." He gives an appeased smile. "It is already working." He sets down the bottle and begins to unbutton his crisp white shirt, but then he hesitates and looks to the woman. "May I remove my shirt in your presence?"
She grins and leans her chin into her palms, setting her elbows to the table. "Please do." She bites on a finger.
Blinking, he gives a subtle nod and begins to unclothe his lengthy torso, pulling his shirt tails from the waist of his slender black uniform breeches. He finishes unbuttoning the shirt and slides it off his round shoulders. Lorelei's gaze follows the descent of the shirt but stays on his body as he tosses it to a nearby chair. Her lips part and her eyes roam. His skin is tan in shade, still the color of a healthy living man.
Just as he is about to put another lending of the lotion to himself, she springs from her place at the table and comes to his aid. "Let me help you!" She stands before him eager to have at it. "I am the one who made the lotion, therefore, I am the one who best knows how to... rub it on." She bats her dark long lashes.
"Uh, I suppose."
She dumps a gob in her hand and starts to spread it over his chest matting the light furring of it to his skin. "Yeees, this will help those muscles... Those very large muscles." She beams in her own world of delight.
Without opening an eye, Eber asks while lying comfortably on the bed, "Have care Koza, else she will steal your innocence." He looks back to Lorelei.
"Go back to sleep," she hisses.
Back to her work, Lorelei massages the oil over Koza and rubs it across his arm. Taking the odd chance this moment presents to him, he glances to Eber to see the man's reaction. Eber toys with her, but does the Commander truly care about this woman touching another man? The Gypsy plays that she could be more to him than an ally, yet perhaps play is all it is. Eber lies undisturbed by her actions. He does not act a jealous man if this woman were his.
Suddenly, Eber opens his eyes with a hint of a scowl and rises from the bed. Koza and the woman look on at him in wonder of the shift in demeanor. "I don't hear Ermanno and Thayer anymore." Koza perks, now aware of the same. Grabbing his shirt, Koza moves outside to find them indeed, gone.
Eber and Lorelei move to the door, and at that moment, the high pitched cry of a young child sounds in the distance, near the tribe of gypsies. In the vibration of air that is becoming nearly routine for him, Eber is gone, becoming but a memory beside Lorelei.
