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Day 59 of Winter 514AV
Winter had finally settled in, striking Lhavit with the occasional hailstorms, blizzards and gusts of wind Zulrav would be proud of. Morwen had chosen to hug the crystal city tightly and Syna had -while not averting her gaze entirely- lost interest in the city perched upon five peaks, her warmth having decreased and her rays touching the skyglass for shorter periods a day. Well, at least Winter did not hold the whole of Lhavit in a choke hold, freezing its ears off and cutting of its breath with windy gusts. Still, it was cold enough already, it was a good thing the second half of the season had already begun.
For so many days of the season having passed, Brandon could not believe this was one of the few times Kriegsfelt had summoned him, the times he'd been called could be count on one hand. Each and every time he'd met the man this winter though, he had seemed lost in thought, bolder than usual and grim even. What was up with that, the bat did not know, and he had no desire to guess, nor ask. Who knew it would trigger some sort of overdrive mode and the merchant would demand even more from him, just when he was enjoying the calm. No, he would avoid a situation like that as the plague.
Still, he could not help but wonder why Kriegsfelt had told him to come to his mansion -or rather, the messenger that was leading the way had. It was a strange thing indeed, for Kriegsfelt had never given Brandon a hint in regards to the location of his house and had insisted they'd meet at his stand at the Azure instead. Not that he minded, really, it was getting too cold to stand around in the falling snowflakes and freezing winds. On a whim he refocused his gaze on the messenger girl who had come to fetch him. He'd seen her a couple times before, each and every time she'd been standing in front of his house to state that Solomon Kriegsfelt demanded his presence. Of course, it hadn't always been this young woman, there had been around five or six different faces he'd had the pleasure -or displeasure given the underlying message in the words- of meeting when Mr. Black had summoned him.
“Oi,” Brandon called out, not knowing the messenger's name and not caring enough to ask, “Are we there yet?” She shot a hasty glance in his general direction, annoyed for he had been asking that question every five chimes since they'd started this hike. ”Not quite.” The answer was as cool as the mountain air and as vague as a scene cloaked in fog, it annoyed Brandon. That was obviously the aim of that reply, the tone of voice and the glance she gave him each and every time he repeated his query. It was almost like a show being preformed every five chimes, rehearsed and practiced to perfection, exactly the same no matter the how many-th time it was done. But what annoyed Bran the most was the way the young woman just stayed calm and allowed him no glimpse of her own irritation. He sighed.
The duo paced through the streets, turning corners and dodging people going about their business. Once more Brandon's eyes drifted towards the messenger, sucking up all details with his dark orbs. She seemed about the same age as he was, though human and thus probably a lot older, even if she didn't look like it. Warm clothes hid every possible inch of skin, except for her face, which still had her nose and forehead exposed, as well as the skin around her eyes. Her mouth was concealed by a bright purple scarf, which also hid part of her hair, the brown locks seeming to start at her shoulders and going down to her waist. The top of her head was covered by an equally purple hat and her hands were stuffed in warm woolen mittens. Add a coat lined with fur and a pants of wool and it seemed as if she had determined Lhavit would resemble Avanthal any time soon.
”Stop staring at me,” she snapped, having glanced over her shoulder to confirm whether the thief was still following her, a thing she never was sure of. There were multiple reasons for that; the first being that it was early morning and Leth still dominated the sky, the second that Brandon's steps were barely detectable for human ears as he had done his utmost best to diminish the noise he made ever since his early childhood, and the third that his habit of matching the other's pace and rhythm had taken control, which made detecting him even harder. The woman shuddered under her warm layers of clothing, wondering what Mr. Kriegsfelt needed such a shady figure for. There was no way he actually had connections to the underworld, Solomon Kriegsfelt was a respected and well known figure. She shook her head briefly, clearing her mind. She was just imagining things no doubt, appearances could be deceiving. True, this guy did not really look all that clean and he moved like a shadow, but there was no mistake he was an honest person; Mr. Kriegsfelt couldn't possibly have use for criminals. A naive thought, she admitted, but not everyone had to be a carefully built shell to deceive the rest of the world, right?
Soon, her boots trudged onto a path and through a huge iron gate, into the domain enclosed by high walls. A majestic manor stood in the middle, the path leading right up to the front doors. A couple of steps had to be ascended and she led the bat up there, onto a grey, stone platform underneath an overhang, right in front of the double doors. ”We're here,” spoke the girl, stating the obvious, ”Just pull the cord and wait for someone to open the doors.” That was all she had been instructed to do, without speaking another word she turned around and descended the three steps, passing the thief without a second glance. When she was halfway the path though, two words made her look behind her. “Thank you.”
”No problem,” she nodded coolly and continued her way, leaving the domain.
Winter had finally settled in, striking Lhavit with the occasional hailstorms, blizzards and gusts of wind Zulrav would be proud of. Morwen had chosen to hug the crystal city tightly and Syna had -while not averting her gaze entirely- lost interest in the city perched upon five peaks, her warmth having decreased and her rays touching the skyglass for shorter periods a day. Well, at least Winter did not hold the whole of Lhavit in a choke hold, freezing its ears off and cutting of its breath with windy gusts. Still, it was cold enough already, it was a good thing the second half of the season had already begun.
For so many days of the season having passed, Brandon could not believe this was one of the few times Kriegsfelt had summoned him, the times he'd been called could be count on one hand. Each and every time he'd met the man this winter though, he had seemed lost in thought, bolder than usual and grim even. What was up with that, the bat did not know, and he had no desire to guess, nor ask. Who knew it would trigger some sort of overdrive mode and the merchant would demand even more from him, just when he was enjoying the calm. No, he would avoid a situation like that as the plague.
Still, he could not help but wonder why Kriegsfelt had told him to come to his mansion -or rather, the messenger that was leading the way had. It was a strange thing indeed, for Kriegsfelt had never given Brandon a hint in regards to the location of his house and had insisted they'd meet at his stand at the Azure instead. Not that he minded, really, it was getting too cold to stand around in the falling snowflakes and freezing winds. On a whim he refocused his gaze on the messenger girl who had come to fetch him. He'd seen her a couple times before, each and every time she'd been standing in front of his house to state that Solomon Kriegsfelt demanded his presence. Of course, it hadn't always been this young woman, there had been around five or six different faces he'd had the pleasure -or displeasure given the underlying message in the words- of meeting when Mr. Black had summoned him.
“Oi,” Brandon called out, not knowing the messenger's name and not caring enough to ask, “Are we there yet?” She shot a hasty glance in his general direction, annoyed for he had been asking that question every five chimes since they'd started this hike. ”Not quite.” The answer was as cool as the mountain air and as vague as a scene cloaked in fog, it annoyed Brandon. That was obviously the aim of that reply, the tone of voice and the glance she gave him each and every time he repeated his query. It was almost like a show being preformed every five chimes, rehearsed and practiced to perfection, exactly the same no matter the how many-th time it was done. But what annoyed Bran the most was the way the young woman just stayed calm and allowed him no glimpse of her own irritation. He sighed.
The duo paced through the streets, turning corners and dodging people going about their business. Once more Brandon's eyes drifted towards the messenger, sucking up all details with his dark orbs. She seemed about the same age as he was, though human and thus probably a lot older, even if she didn't look like it. Warm clothes hid every possible inch of skin, except for her face, which still had her nose and forehead exposed, as well as the skin around her eyes. Her mouth was concealed by a bright purple scarf, which also hid part of her hair, the brown locks seeming to start at her shoulders and going down to her waist. The top of her head was covered by an equally purple hat and her hands were stuffed in warm woolen mittens. Add a coat lined with fur and a pants of wool and it seemed as if she had determined Lhavit would resemble Avanthal any time soon.
”Stop staring at me,” she snapped, having glanced over her shoulder to confirm whether the thief was still following her, a thing she never was sure of. There were multiple reasons for that; the first being that it was early morning and Leth still dominated the sky, the second that Brandon's steps were barely detectable for human ears as he had done his utmost best to diminish the noise he made ever since his early childhood, and the third that his habit of matching the other's pace and rhythm had taken control, which made detecting him even harder. The woman shuddered under her warm layers of clothing, wondering what Mr. Kriegsfelt needed such a shady figure for. There was no way he actually had connections to the underworld, Solomon Kriegsfelt was a respected and well known figure. She shook her head briefly, clearing her mind. She was just imagining things no doubt, appearances could be deceiving. True, this guy did not really look all that clean and he moved like a shadow, but there was no mistake he was an honest person; Mr. Kriegsfelt couldn't possibly have use for criminals. A naive thought, she admitted, but not everyone had to be a carefully built shell to deceive the rest of the world, right?
Soon, her boots trudged onto a path and through a huge iron gate, into the domain enclosed by high walls. A majestic manor stood in the middle, the path leading right up to the front doors. A couple of steps had to be ascended and she led the bat up there, onto a grey, stone platform underneath an overhang, right in front of the double doors. ”We're here,” spoke the girl, stating the obvious, ”Just pull the cord and wait for someone to open the doors.” That was all she had been instructed to do, without speaking another word she turned around and descended the three steps, passing the thief without a second glance. When she was halfway the path though, two words made her look behind her. “Thank you.”
”No problem,” she nodded coolly and continued her way, leaving the domain.
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credit goes to Euthisa
