Rhaya's Squirrel
When I opened my eyes I saw the familiar ceiling of my guest room in The Roost. Late afternoon sunlight filtered through the windows and I could hear the muffled sounds of everyday life from outside. The room itself was quiet and blissfully warm. Why was I back here already? And what happened to Foulques? What about Kweh? I sat up and felt a pounding headache assaulting me, making me dizzy. When I carefully squeezed my eyes shut I heard the door open.
„You're up! I thought you'd go on sleeping forever!“
Instantly recognizing the energetic voice of my sister I didn't bother opening my eyes again. She crossed the room and set something on the desk in front of the window. Probably water or tea for me. I concentrated on sitting very still on the mattress, so the dizziness could pass.
„You're still pale as chalk, 'Zi. Lay down and get some more rest.“
„What happened? I can't even remember leaving Coerthas.“
My voice sounded weak and rather raspy. Qiah huffed a little, and I could hear her set her arms akimbo.
„How many times did you ask me that already? You really don't remember anything? Wow. You've been pretty incoherent the last few suns, though. You've had the worst cold I've ever seen. Whatever did you do in Coerthas? That creepy Duskwight guy that brought you in didn't tell me anything.“
Creepy Duskwight guy? This could only be Foulques, couldn't it? The uneasiness at the memory was plain in her voice. So even my sister was uncomfortable around him... was I really the only one that saw more in him than the hatred he wore like an armor? But more importantly, he had actually brought me to my room? All the way from Coerthas? I had a hard time imagining this. I slightly opened an eye, looking at Qiah through this narrow slit. Thankfully it didn't worsen the headache any more.
„Where is he now?“
„How should I know? He just left after he carried you upstairs, and like I said, he didn't tell me anything. And I did ask him, you know.“
I could imagine that vividly. I gave her a long, suspicious look, and she averted her eyes, blushing.
„Well, yeah... there was a little commotion.“
„Qiah...“
Would she ever learn to keep her temperament in check? I shook my head with a small sigh. Immediately she got defensive, crossing her arms. Her eyes were angrily glued to the wall before they came back to meet mine.
„Of course I misunderstood! I mean, the way he came up that path with you carelessly flung over his shoulder didn't exactly look like he didn't mean any harm! And well, you know how there's a lot of Duskwight bandits, and his kinda dangerous appearance didn't help either.“
Well, that was true. And Foulques was indeed far from harmless. Still, just imagining Qiah confronting him made my stomach twist.
„So you yelled at him and he just ignored you?“
He had to have, since there was no sign of any harm done to her, at least as far as I could tell. Even if I honestly liked him, if he had done anything to her... I swallowed an involuntary growl.
Qiah shrugged, not noticing my distress. She looked more sullen than hurt in any way.
„Yeah, pretty much. He did get angry, but he just yelled back at me to shut up and tell him where your room was. Not the kind of company I'd enjoy, so I was relieved he left right away.“
Then she turned her bewildered eyes to me again, concern knitting her brows.
„Just what is it that you like about him, 'Zi? I mean, he's the one you went to save, right? The one you told me about?“
My eyes fell to my blanket and I indicated a shrug.
„I know he seems rough, and well, he is. Certainly. But that's not the real him. Under all that bitterness and hatred is an actually really nice person, and I think it can be unburied again with some encouragement.“
Qiah met my eyes with a doubtful look. I shrugged again.
„At least, I think it's an indication that he brought me back instead of just leaving me there to die in the snow.“
Qiah wasn't convinced.
„That's just common sense.“
„For some people, yes. But certainly not everyone.“
And I wasn't at all sure if it was common sense for Foulques to save people from dying or if he had just done it out of a certain attachment. The look she gave made me realize that my words were indeed not a compliment to Foulques, and I didn't elaborate further. Qiah should've gotten my point already anyway.
“By the way, what happened to Kweh? Is she alright?“
„Oh, yeah, she's at Cingur's. Apparently she had followed you back on her own, at least I didn't see that guy touching her reins or anything.“
„Foulques.“
„Yeah, Foulques. Kweh was pretty flustered, though, and you know how Cingur is. When he heard her calls and our yells he came running and took her in as soon as he was convinced that that-- that Foulques hadn't done anything to you. Well, we all needed a bit conviction.“
'We all'? I didn't like the sound of that. Also, Cingur would probably give me a long lecture about that. I knew it was because how much he cared for the birds, but I didn't lok forward to it very much. I just hoped Kweh hadn't gotten sick as well. Since Qiah didn't mention anything she was probably fine, though. Those birds were amazingly weatherproof. However, this left another concern.
„Who else was there?“
Qiah blushed a little again, but her voice didn't show any embarrassment. It sounded a little too easygoing to my ears.
„Well... Mother Miounne was there, pretty alarmed when she recognized you, and a couple of bystanders that I didn't know. It was already past morning, you know. Very lively around here this time usually.“
The image made me groan. So many people had witnessed me being carried around like some dumb carrot sack. And Mother Miounne of all people. She'd be all over me for a while still, even if I'd be completely back in shape.
„Well, you should lie back down, I'll get you something to eat later. Oh, and drink something! It's peppermint tea. I'm going to be out for a while and keep people updated about you.“
I could hear the wickedly anticipating smile in her last sentence and only narrowly refrained from rolling my eyes in favor of my aching head. That girl liked talking way too much, and I didn't even want to think about whom she meant by “people”. Then again, I didn't have to bother to do all that talking myself, so I should probably be relived. I just hoped she didn't add anything too far off the truth to her stories. Brushing off that thought I gave her a small smile.
“Thanks, Qiah.”
She returned it happily and nodded, then turned for the door. Once she had left I slowly got up and poured myself some tea. The sweet minty aroma instantly made me relax and I inhaled deeply. I loved it.
Sitting back on the bed I watched the steam rise from the cup and tried to remember the last days. How many suns did that even mean? Ah well, I'd just ask Qiah later. So I must have passed out on the way at some point, but for the life of me I couldn't remember feeling that bad. Sure, I'd been tired and cold and miserable and I had been still a little wet from all the snow. I could remember falling into kind of an automated walking after a while, since none of us had talked and it was snowing the entire time, so it probably had happened some time after that.
I sipped my tea and decided it didn't matter much. Maybe I could ask Foulques about it when I met him again. However, the first thing I had to do now was getting rid of the remnants of the cold, and after that there was another thing that I decided to do no matter what.
When I was back on my feet, which didn't take long due to the devoted efforts of my sister, I left the inn and, after checking on Kweh and getting my lecture from a pretty disappointed Cingur, I went to Old Gridania. On foot. After all that lying around using an aetheryte seemed wasteful, and I wanted to take my time and enjoy the nice and sunny day. Not a cloud was to be seen in the deep blue sky and the sunlight tingled comfortably on my skin.
My goal was the Conjurer's Guild. I figured that if I was able to use healing spells even a little I could save myself and others a lot of trouble. Especially if Foulques kept up that almost-getting-killed thing. Provided I did find him again... I hadn't seen him since Coerthas once. But no, I needed to keep my thoughts straight now if I wanted to learn something completely new. I needed to shut him out of my thoughts for a bit.
I stepped into the long tunnel that led to the Conjurer's Guild, not seeing much for a moment due to it's darkness compared to the blazing sun outside. There was someone leaving the guild, but I couldn't make out any more than that. And I didn't try to, I just walked on deeper inside.
„Ah! You're the adventurer from a while ago, if I'm not mistaken?“
The female voice seemed kind of familiar, but I couldn't place it right away. I stopped and looked at her, my eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. Oh! It was the beautiful Keeper Mage that I'd met in Coerthas.
„Oh yes, I am. I didn't think we'd meet again here, and so soon at that. I hope you've been well.“
I smiled at her, and she returned the gesture. She really was pretty.
„I've been, thank you. So what are you doing in a place like this? Going to learn about the manipulation of the elements, by any chance?“
She laughed a bit at her half-joke, seeming a little bit nervous. Her tail tip slightly swished from side to side. Did she actually blush...?
„Indeed I hope to, yes. It would be much more convenient to not have to depend on other people all the time. Ah, I mean...“
I quickly held up my hands in defense and grinned at her, even though she didn't seem to be offended at all.
„Of course I'm incredibly thankful for your help, and I'd be happy to receive it again any time!“
Again she laughed, the clear sound of tiny silver bells. She curled a stray strand of her white hair around a finger and looked up at me. She wasn't all that much smaller than me, though, not even half a head. But it was nice not having to strain my neck to look up at someone for a change.
„Oh, I understand, don't worry! I'd be happy to help anytime! Actually, do you still have a bit of time right now? I know I promised there would be no payment for my help, but there's something urgent I'd like to ask of you, if I may...?“
I blinked at her in surprise, but nodded without a second thought. As much as I wanted to join the guild, I wasn't in so much hurry that I'd pass such a chance at returning the enormous favor.
„If I can I'll be happy to help! By the way, can I ask your name? We never introduced each other. I'm Khuma'zi.“
She definitely blushed this time, a rather cute expression of embarrassment on her face. She was still smiling, though, much as myself.
„Oh, uh, I'm sorry, just where are my manners? I'm Rhaya. Nice to meet you, Khuma'zi.“
She hesitated for a moment, before looking at me slightly unbelieving, still blushing. She had caught up with the suffix on my name.
“Forgive my bluntness, but are you really the ninth son in your family or was your mother just a little... liberal about naming you? I've heard a rumor about such a thing occuring in the Black Shroud, but nobody ever knew if it was true.“
Obviously Rhaya hadn't met Qiah yet, or anybody who knew her, or she would've known it was true. So I nodded, and her eyes widened quite a bit, lips slightly ajar.
„Yes, I am indeed the ninth son. My mother gave birth almost only to boys instead of girls. You can imagine how desperately she needed a daughter, though, so...“
„So this is actually true? Incredible...“
Rhaya shook her head in bafflement, still regarding me with surprise. Then we smiled at each other for a moment, and she continued.
„So about this favor... a good friend of mine has lost a pet a while ago and he said his little daughter cries every night because she misses it so much. And while he did set another adventurer on the task, that one still wasn't able to locate it. I was actually about to pass to him a hint I'd just gotten, but I can't find him. It's like he's completely vanished. Would you do me the favor and go after the pet instead? I beg you! “
She laid her hand on my arm and looked at me pleadingly.
A lost pet? That wouldn't be the first time I'd undertake such a task. I nodded. I guessed my visit to the Conjurer's Guild could to wait just a little bit longer.
„I'll do what I can to find it.“
