The village is an eerie place. As soon as we cross the bridge, I notice that there are no people on the streets. My gaze shifts to run-down houses as I sense the flutter of a curtain behind a closed window. We are being watched. My instincts are screaming at me to stay alert. The place has a death-like silence and I don't like it. I look at Axel. He looks calm but his emotions are hard to read. He is making sure not to move his injured shoulder much. I don't understand why it still hasn't healed, considering his otherwise insanely-rapid regeneration ability. My thoughts swiftly shift to how his regeneration works. Does it heal only minor injuries? Wait! He clearly healed himself back there. So this regeneration is not limited to minor injuries. Then, what about amputation? Will he grow another limb if it gets separated from his body?
I snap out of my brooding when Mr. Grinverr speaks up, "Oh! Don't mind the people. After all that we've been through, we tend to get very much cautious of new people entering our village. Not to forget that the Gemlock might be around here".
"Are you not afraid, Mr. Grinverr?" I ask.
"To be honest, I am very much scared right now. I am this close to wetting my pants", confesses Mr. Grinverr with a dry laugh. I chuckle at his comment and I hear Axel snort. Axel composes himself and asks, "So where are we going now, Mr. Grinverr?"
"Right now, we are heading to my place", Mr. Grinverr says and we find ourselves at the outskirts of the village, near the canyon. The cart stops in front of a small cottage with a decent-sized garden. We see a woman outside, standing beside the cabbage patch; her hands glowing as I see the cabbages grow rapidly. I nudge Axel and whisper, "Remind me to tell Sophie about this. She can start an independent business using her magic", and I earn a chuckle from him. That was actually very polite of him to laugh at my lame excuse of a joke! As soon as the woman notices our presence, she comes towards us with a quick pace, and says, "Honey! Are they the mages we hired? What are their abilities? Which guild are they from? Did you tell them about our situation? Did you run into any danger? Why do they look so battered up?..." and before she can continue asking any more questions, Mr. Grinverr takes hold of her shoulders and nearly shouts, "Barbara! Wait! Calm down a second!" The woman calms down immediately. I observe that she sports greyish-white shoulder-length hair, which makes it difficult for me to judge whether it's her natural hair colour or not. She is short, stout and has brown eyes just like her husband. Once completely calm, Mrs. Grinverr says, "I am sorry for my outburst".
"No problem, Mrs. Grinverr", says Axel with a small smile. Mr Grinverr introduces us to his wife, saying, "His name is Axel Duncan and he is a Fire-Dark mage and the missy standing next to him is Cassie Morgan and she is a wind-light mage. And as for the guild, they are from Dragon-Heart". Mrs. Grinverr bows down and says, "My name is Barbara Grinverr and it is a pleasure to make acquaintances. I use plant magic, if you are wondering what I was doing back there". The couple lead us into the cottage and unfortunately, Axel and I have to share a room. Axel offers to sleep in the living room but I convince him that it is fine. I walked out of the cottage to admire the garden Mrs. Grinverr had built by herself. Soon, she informs me that the bath is ready and I head back to the room to ask Axel for my baggage.
As I enter the room, I see Axel sitting on the floor, shirtless! Blush creeps up on my face as I see him reach out to the wound on his shoulder, to be exact- in his shoulder blade, with a pair of surgical scissors. He has his back towards me but I know that he is aware of my presence. What shocks me is his body. I am trying not to sound like a pervert *cough* Well, he does have a good body *cough* But his back is riddled with scars and I see one scar running from the base of his neck to his wounded shoulder. There is also a claw scar on his left side below the armpits. Suddenly, he hisses and says, "Dasii!". Wait a minute! I know he spoke Dragon-Tongue now but did he just swear out loud!?
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Romulus : The Rise Of The Demon
Fantasy' I have never seen such a sight before. It was as if the flames were dancing in his presence. It was as if they were overjoyed by him being near them...... Who is he? Is he a warrior who never backs down from a fight? Is he a saviour who would ri...
