Quest

Chapter 2 - Unlikely Friendships

Aven watched Llmalda carefully. She had to be the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen, but then again, all vampires were supposed to start out like that. He'd met a few, but they'd always been old, or at least old looking, with nails like claws and fangs down to their chins. They'd had a tendency to be completely mad as well. Llmalda was about as far away from what he thought a vampire to be as you could get. She was, or at least looked, about the same age as he was. Her fur was a pale bluish grey; except for around her head where longer jet-black curls framed her face. Her skin was very pale, but more like milk than the almost transparent, drained kind of way he’d come to expect from vampires. She wore a close fitting silver-edged black dress, and short, velvet lined travelling cloak to match. A jewelled dagger hung at her waist alongside a small money-pouch. Quite frankly, she had a perfect figure, and a face to match. In normal situations, he would highly enjoy spending time with such an attractive female. It was the fact that she was a bloodsucker that unnerved him so much. If you weren’t looking, Llmalda’s fangs were quite hard to spot, but when she smiled or talked the pearly tips could be seen hanging slightly over her lips. He tried to pull himself upright, but with little success. He was exhausted, and his eyelids kept trying to slide closed of their own accord. He wanted to sleep, but wasn’t sure that he really dared to, not with a vampire in the cave. Llmalda looked up from the book and Aven switched his gaze away. He risked a glance back, and found that she was still watching him. Llmalda smiled a bit.
"Seen many vampires?"
Aven hesitated, then decided that truth was probably his best option here.
"A few."
"Killed any?"
The frankness of the question surprised Aven. He wondered quite how to put the answer.
"Um, not personally."
"You’re easily equipped to."
Aven shrugged.
"Like I said, it’s protection."
"It didn’t help much with the pack," Llmalda pointed out. Aven looked at the floor.
"Yeah, well, there were a lot of them."
"Fifteen at the last count. Including the one you shot. Kezal is not going to be a happy puppy."
Aven frowned.
"Kezal?"
"The pack leader. Large brown one, shaggy mane, two broken front fangs."
Aven grinned slightly.
"I was more concentrating on not ending up as lunch than what they looked like. I thought werewolf teeth were extremely strong anyway."
Llmalda smiled.
"So is my fist. Kezal and I have an understanding, a kind of hate-hate relationship. He’s only dangerous in the wolf form, his Norn self is rather pathetic. Imagine a broom with arms."
Aven grinned, then blinked as his vision began to spin. The cave blurred in and out of focus and his head throbbed madly. He struggled to stay conscious, but the world rapidly shrunk into a pinpoint of light. After a few seconds it vanished, and he passed out.

Llmalda sighed as Aven’s eyes slid closed. He’d lost a lot of blood, naturally Llmalda was a good judge of this, and some of his other injuries looked in serious need of treatment. The easiest thing to do would be to leave him there. She glanced up at the strip of sky. There were still a few hours of darkness left, she could easily get back before she’d even have to worry about dawn. She stared at Aven’s prone form, then at the wall of fire, and finally at the sky. She came to a decision.

Jace Nael was jerked out of his sleep by a heavy knocking at the door. He froze for a second. Who would be calling at this hour? The inn was closed for the night. The knocking continued and he sighed, climbing out of bed slowly so as not to disturb his wife and pulling on his dressing gown.
"Can’t a Norn get a decent night’s sleep around here?" He muttered as he felt around in the darkness for a candle and matches. Finding them, he lit the wick and made his way down the stairs to the thick oak door. He hesitated for a moment, after all, they weren’t far from the forest and it was full moon tonight…
"Open up!"
The voice jerked him out of his thoughts, and he quickly slid the bolts back. It was still dark outside, but the candle provided enough light for him to see a figure with something heavy slung over its back standing in the doorway.
"Do you have any rooms?" The figure asked sharply. The voice was had an almost silken edge to it, so the speaker was probably female. Jace tried to see the face beneath the thick hood of its cloak.
"I don’t think…" He began, then stopped as the figure sighed and held out a handful of large silver coins. He licked his lips; eyes fastened on the money. It was more than he’d earn in a year.
"…That it should be a problem," he finished, and stepped aside. The figure hesitated, seeming reluctant to enter. The hand with the money withdrew. Jace smiled nervously, whoever this was; he’d better try to keep them happy.
"Shall I take your luggage to your room?" He inquired as politely as he could. The figure shook its head.
"The room is for him," it bent down and deposited its load on the ground. Jace stared in horror at the wounded shape of a male elf, then back up at the figure. It nodded to him then produced the coins again.
"See he is taken care of. For the room," it pressed six pieces into his hand, "And any other expenses."
Jace stared at the money in his hand, then at the elf, then at the figure. Or, where it had been. It had gone. He looked up into the slightly paler sky, shivered slightly, then carefully pulled the elf indoors. After a few seconds, there was the sound of bolts being drawn very fast.

Gradually, consciousness flooded back into Aven’s mind. He groaned slightly, trying to remember where he was before he risked opening his eyes. The memories of the previous night floated up in his mind, and his eyes snapped open. When he focused, instead of the damp ceiling of a cave he’d been expecting he found himself staring at a thick beamed oak roof. He looked down, and was surprised to find that he was lying in a proper bed, in a comfortable looking room. Gingerly, he ran his fingers over the wounds on his arms. They’d been cleaned, bandaged and probably treated with something. Carefully he sat up, trying to make sense of it all. The last thing he remembered was lying in a cave, surrounded by a pack of werewolves. No, there was something else… Llmalda DeFang! He sat bolt upright at the memory. She’d… Rescued him? He’d been in a cave… Now he was in what was probably an inn of some kind. How on…? No, no she was a vampire, surely she wouldn’t have… The again, she had seemed friendly enough last night. Still… He was cut off from his thoughts as the door opened. He didn’t quite know who he had been expecting to see, but a middle-aged, slightly plump Norn with an apron certainly wasn’t it. She smiled at him, and placed a bundle on a chair.
"Glad to see you’re awake. Those were some nasty injuries you had there. I’ve cleaned your clothes for you."
Aven stared at her, blinking away sleep.
"Yeah… Thanks. Er, where am I exactly?"
"The Silver Candle, only inn for miles around here. Your friend was lucky to find us."
"Friend?"
"She brought you here, in the middle of the night. Lucky she did too, you needed attention. Good thing doctor Thelus was staying with us. Not that anyone would want to be traveling at night now, not with the full moon and everything."
The Norn bustled around as she talked, then turned and smiled at him again.
"I’ll leave you to it. Lunch is at one, you’ve slept right through breakfast though." She bustled out. Aven was left alone, only slightly less bewildered than before. So, he was in an inn, and was in what looked to be quite an expensive room. What puzzled him was that he’d never have been able to afford this place in a year. As for how he got there… He shook his head. The woman had said that someone, a she, had brought him here in the middle of the night. It must have been Llmalda, he couldn’t think of anyone else who would be able to carry a fully-grown elf through werewolf stalked forest at midnight. She must have paid for the room as well, the question was why? Vampires were not known for their generosity. He sighed, and pushed the thought to the back of his mind. Well, he might as well make the most of it.
He clambered out of bed, wincing every time the movements caused a twinge of pain from his aching muscles, and got dressed. His clothes were in better shape than they’d been for a long time. He found a basin on a dresser near the door and washed quickly in the water. It was warm, which was quite a novelty for him. For the past year he’d only slept in a proper bed four times, and only had something other than a stream to wash in about once. It was odd not having to pick frogs out of the water first. He rubbed his head dry with a nearby towel, resisting a temptation to shove the soft material into his bag. There was a small, slightly spotted mirror above the basin, and he made an attempt to straighten out the tangles of his hair. He fished around in his bag until he located the golden shape of his torc. He slipped it around his neck, then secured the smaller one just above his boot and slid on his rings. He fastened his quiver across his back, belted his tunic and slid the small dagger into his boot. He straightened up and grinned. Now he felt properly dressed. His nostrils twitched as the smell of some sort of meat reached his nose. His stomach rumbled loudly, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten for about two days now. If he was making the most of this stay, he might as well see what the food was like.

"More stew, Mr Marus?"
Aven nodded, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Admittedly he’d already had three bowls, plus about half a loaf of bread, but he was pretty sure he had some room left. Ada Nael, the Norn he’d met earlier, who’d turned out to be the innkeeper’s wife, ladled another helping of the delicious stew into his bowl and smiled as he started eating again.
"You certainly have a healthily appetite," she remarked. Aven grinned at her.
"So I’ve been told. Sorry for imposing so much, but this really is good."
"Not at all, I’m glad to find someone who enjoys my cooking so much."
Aven watched her go, then grinned to Jace, the innkeeper, who was sitting opposite him. He returned the smile, then frowned slightly.
"What I don’t understand Mr Marus…"
"Aven."
"Aven… Is why you were so far into the Western Forest at this time anyway. What were you doing out here anyway, if you don’t mind me asking?"
Aven hesitated for a second.
"I got lost. Pretty badly."
"You were in a bad way when your friend brought you here anyway," Jace said as he sipped from a mug of some sort of ale. Aven shrugged.
"I was attacked by wolves, it was to be expected."
There was a clatter of cutlery as every head in the room turned towards him. Aven suddenly found himself the centre of attention. Jace stared at him, eyes wide with fear.
"Werewolves?" He choked. Aven shuffled.
"Um, maybe. You don’t really stop to ask them for their credentials."
"How did you manage to escape?" Someone called out. Aven bit his lips, could he really…?
"That would be due to me," a familiar silken voice called out.
Everyone in the inn, Aven included, turned to face the door. Framed in the doorway was a dark figure, face hidden by the hood of a black travelling cloak. Llmalda, it had to be. Possibilities ran through Aven’s mind, he could… Could quite frankly show a bit of gratitude. He grinned, mind racing.
"Yeah. This is, um…"
"Llmalda Remali, Arch-Huntress of Melarac."
Jace’s grin was still frozen on his face, and he stood up a bit too quickly, sending his mug crashing to the floor.
"Oh, yes, um, do… Do come in, you’re most welcome."
"Thank you," Llmalda swept through the door, cloak flowing out behind her as she strode over to Aven’s table. He stared up into her grey eyes, peering out from behind a scarf wrapped round her face.
"May I join you?"
"Um, sure."
Llmalda pulled up a chair, with her back to the window. She pulled down her hood, letting her hair flow down her back again. She unwrapped the scarf from around her face and deposited it on the table. She glanced towards Jace and snapped her fingers.
"I trust everything is in good order?"
"Y… Yes."
"Excellent. You may leave us."
As Jace hurried off, Llmalda turned back to Aven and smiled. Aven returned the grin, and raised an eyebrow.
"Melarac? Where’s that?"
"No idea, I just made it up. If you tell people things with enough confidence they tend to believe you."
Aven grinned. Llmalda looked at him for a second.
"Well you look better than last night. How’d you feel?"
Aven nodded.
"Fine." He frowned as he looked at her pale skin, "Are you really supposed to be here in, well, daylight? I kinda thought it was fatal."
Llmalda shrugged.
"Not to me. I just have to keep well covered, or I end up badly burnt. I can take much more than most."
Aven looked at her, the question that had been bothering him all day rising in his mind.
"Why’d you bring me here Llmalda? You could easily have left me in that cave."
Llmalda nodded, then grinned at him.
"True, but I didn’t. I don’t have many friends."
Aven winked at her.
"I guess you’ve got one more now."

Chapter 1

Chapter 3