As was becoming the norm of the weather in the area, it was raining. Not torrentially so, but heavy enough that sight was limited for the cart I was riding in, the light near the driver and peppered along the path in front of and behind me.
Luckily, due to the produce the cart owner was also taking to the city of Lamplight, I had managed to form a dark haven for myself.
I think this is far enough away. No one should know me here, and the influence of my former “friends” and whoever had massacred them shouldn’t reach this far.
I sighed, not bothering to draw my cloak closer to conserve my body heat from the heat-leeching rain.
Ever since my meeting with Her, the cold had long since stopped bothering me, so long as the cold was not bad enough to cause permanent issues.
Atleast for the foreseeable future, I was still human, and until She shared Her Knowledge, I had to keep myself alive and functional.
I mean, I was Hers. Who am I to damage what She is owed?
A tingle on my ring finger roused me from my thoughts.
Short of the magical cold, you will be fine. You know enough to stave off the typical problems of the cold.
In an ink so green it was borderline black in colour, words were written on my feminine ring fingers, the O’s shaped like hearts, with the I’s dotted with hearts as well.
My ring fingers contrasted with the rest of the fingers on my hands. They were literally the fingers of a seemingly young woman, finely looked after, even despite what wear and tear I put myself through, and my other fingers were the ones you’d expected of a failed mage who had been forced to do manual labour, thick and full of wear.
My ring fingers were a sign of my Pact, to show she had sole claim on me.
It was also the only way She and I could communicate outside of my dreams, atleast when not near the Well Room.
I pulled out the small fountain pen that had initiated our Pact, and started to write a response.
I know. You are the only source of warmth I need <3.
Warmth flushed through his forearms, where the rings of green and black ink that separated the damaged forearms from my wrists and elbows.
The damage done by my “friends” was the worst there, and She had said it would take her a while to untie and fix all the muscle and tendon damage, to re-open the scar tissue and replace it with healthier tissue.
Then a Cold but loving weight settled on my shoulders, as a shade of Her hugged my cold from behind.
We can stop running soon. The town you are heading to will do, and you can start spreading my Influence safely here until you are ready.
I sighed in relief. While I didn’t exactly have a home to go back to, and the town where I had started to build a life was still an infected wound on my psyche, this was the longest non-stop travelling I had been put through, and I was nearing my limits.
What’s the plan? I wrote, wanting a vague idea of where I should start. While a competent mage and alchemist in theory, my only experience was as a Scribe.
Head to the Adventurer’s Guild, the one owned by Diem’s faith. You’ll find what you need there, and the rest is TBA. she replied cryptically, as we entered the city gates, and an garish Golden tower loomed over the city.