The sun was glaring down on the land, piercing through the overhead foliage and Uther found himself sweating profusely in his gambeson.
The thick cloth does very little to shelter from the sun’s radiant heat, and neither does his steel armor, which is nearly searing to the touch.
Uther has long since discarded his helmet, gauntlets, and nearly every other non-essential piece of armor he was wearing at the onset of the day, and still sweat is nearly dripping from his chin. Yet he is unwilling to remove the final pieces of his armor, still clearly remembering the encounter with the demon and its’ hounds while they were traveling the opposite direction.
Looking back at the rest of the long caravan, he can see that none of the others are in any better state than himself, with the humans and the hired dwarven help all panting in the heat.
More so the drow, Lyssia, has nearly collapsed and was needed to be tucked in the shade beneath a piece of tarp to prevent her state from deteriorating.
But looking at the horizon, Uther can tell that their travel through the scorching-hot and wind-deprived summer day is worth it.
The old, recently burnt trees of the city of Ashenvale lay in the horizon, and they are nearly home.
The only one that doesn’t seem to be bothered by the heat is Eyla, who is keeping an even pace with Uther, riding in silence.
“We’re getting close now.”
Uther breaks the somewhat awkward silence.
“Y-yes. I guess we’ll be there in a few hours.”
Eyla blushes slightly, and Uther can’t help but smile slightly to himself.
He might not have expected the rose she gave to him, but it was hardly difficult to figure out that she’s the one.
After all, she had been enormously awkward around him ever since he had been gifted the flower, and had been blushing more often and for much smaller things than he had thought possible, outside of teenage romance.
Though he figures that she’ll calm down eventually.
If she doesn’t, well, he honestly doesn’t know.
What would be a good way to respond? She was a very attractive young (for an elf) woman, and he would lie if he would deny interest in her, but he couldn’t say he was experienced with romance.
It had never really been a part of his life. Growing up, there had been no time and no place for such things, and most of his adult life had been spent working towards the freedom they now enjoyed.
And he considered himself married to his duties, and how would-
Uther sighs.
It was a flower, no need to go jump to conclusions.
He tightens his grip on the reins, and spurs his steed onwards.
“We take a rest at the small lake up ahead! Out horses need water and shade, and I believe we could all do well with the same!”
He could hear a few voicing their agreement wearily.
He honestly wasn’t sure that they would be able to go on much further, no matter if he ordered the rest or not. It didn’t really matter that the city wasn’t too far off, and that the rest of the road ran purely through the shaded woods.
As the caravan enters the forest and begins to approach lake, they begin seeing citizens of Ashenvale traveling along the wide dirt road, some in the same direction as themselves, others in the opposite.
Most seem to have been wise enough to seek out the shadows of the trees as the hottest hours of the day approached, and thus only a couple of people are met on the road itself.
As they approach the lake that was their current goal, Uther can clearly hear the laughter and splashing of people lounging in and around the lake already, and as they finally reach it he can see that a group of youths are enjoying themselves in the waters.
Compared to the oppressive heat on the road, the conditions around the small forest lake were nearly heavenly. The small lake was surrounded by overgrown cliffs, and the road they were traveling upon ran just past one of the finer cliffs, which softly jutted out into the water.
The water in the lake was crystal clear and cold, providing great relief to the weary travelers and their horses, and as the horses drank from the clear water, Uther had seated himself on a low, steep cliff, resting his feet in the water.
Removing the heavy leather boots had been a truly exquisite experience, and letting them into the cold lake was even more so.
Uther leans back, placing his palms on the soft moss that covers much of the cliff, and gazes up onto the heavens.
The great sun had just moved past the apex of its’ path, and has now started to ever so slowly make its’ way downwards.
As his gaze descends back to his surroundings, he lets it fall onto the youths playing on the other side of the lake.
They are an interesting combination of elves and humans, boys and girls, all playing together as equals. As of now, they’re climbing up one of the larger cliffs just to leap back down into the water, making large splashes and laughing merrily as they go.
Uther smiles slightly, and sighs peacefully.
It was moments like this that made everything worthwhile.
Right now, it was as if there were no troubles in the world. All he had to do was sit here and enjoy himself, feet in the water during the hottest summer day he could remember.
There was no one out to harm him, no whips, nothing.
He closes his eyes, lowering himself onto his back.
He was at peace, and he was free.
A cool shadow falls over him, and as he opens his eyes to a squint he can see that Lyssia has moved up next to him, and is currently standing on the edge of the cliff.
Though what catches his attention is rather that she has peeled her normal bodysuit off, and is now standing in mere undergarments next to him.
Her body is lithe and athletic, with a slight sheen of sweat making her dark skin look as if it has been oiled up.
Uther can’t help but feel his face flush slightly as she turns to look down at him, a mischievous smile on her lips.
“Don’t worry, I don’t mind you looking.”
Her voice is low, nearly a whisper, but still clearly heard by Uther.
“I wasn’t- I didn’t intend to-”
She giggles slightly, and lets herself slip into the water.
“But you were doing it.”
Her head is still above the water, and her arms move just beneath the surface, keeping herself afloat.
“You should come in the water too. It feels so good”
The way she weighed the last two words nearly made Uther skip a breath, as he seated himself back out.
Seeing his face, Lyssia swims back a bit while laughing softly.
“Come on! The water is great.”
Uther looks down at the reflective water in which his feet are resting, and as tempting as cooling himself off in it is, he shakes his head.
“No, I can’t…”
Lyssia raises an eyebrow.
“Why not? I don’t think anyone would mind you relaxing for once. You can’t always be all vigilant and stoic.”
Uther raises an eyebrow
“What? No, I mean I can’t. I can’t swim. I was born in a mine and raised in a quarry, remember?”
Lyssia laughs slightly, in a mildly embarrassed tone.
“Oh yeah…
“Don’t worry, it isn’t that deep right here. I can almost touch the bottom. You should be able to stand without a problem.”
Uther inspects the water wearily. Although it’s incredibly clear, it is very hard to judge exactly how deep it is with the ever shifting surface, reflecting the rays of the sun like a mirror.
“Are you sure?”
Lyssia nods.
“Yes, now come in.”
Uther draws a deep breath, finally deciding to give in to the temptation.
He pulls the already unbuttoned gambeson jacket off, and removes his pants. When all garments beyond his underwear are lying discarded on the ground, he turns to see Lyssia looking at him with a odd hunger in her eyes.
“What?”
She smiles at him.
“You are very… Exquisite. Now, come on. We don’t have all day.”
She chuckles slightly at him, and splashes him with a little water while still wearing that playful smile.
Uther can’t help but smile slightly in return, even though her response was somewhat odd, and he chuckles slightly as he tries to block the splashes with uplift arms.
“Okay, fine, I’ll do it. Relax.”
Uther sighs slightly, and casts another look down into the water, clearly seeing Lyssia’s scantly clad body through the transparent water.
He swallows slightly, and slides quickly into the water before his body can respond to the direction of his attention.
The water is cold, and for a moment he has trouble keeping himself up in the water.
The stones that form the bottom of the lake are overgrown with some sort of underwater vegetation that renders them slimy and slippery to the touch, but after a couple of seconds his feet find purchase in the treacherous underwater landscape, and his head explodes through the surface.
He gasps, shaking his head to fling his wet hair out of his eyes.
He can hear Lyssia laughing while covering her eyes with her hands.
“I guess you’ve gotten your revenge for my earlier splashes now,” she says, still smiling towards him.
“And see? I told you the water was great.”
She slowly swims towards him.
“Yeah, it’s a bit cold, though.”
“You’ll get used to it. Trust me.”
When at first the soft skin of her leg brushes against him, Uther believes it to be an accident of swimming, but she keeps drawing closer and closer until he can feel her body heat through the otherwise cool waters,
Her arms stop swaying to keep her up at the surface, instead wrapping around his shoulders.
She smiles, and Uther believes there to be a hint of wickedness in her now husky voice
“Besides, you can’t tell me you don’t enjoy it.”
Uther draws a deep breath, which is now laced with her scent.
“No, I can’t.”
She leans in even closer.
“Good.”
Their lips meet.
Eyla feels her heart drop like a stone.
She had finally mustered the courage to approach Uther about the rose, and she had arrived just in time to see him kissing the drow.
She lifts her hand to her face, pressing it over her mouth to prevent any sounds from escaping.
As the drow breaks the kiss with a smile, she can see Uther putting his arm around her, and she can feel her eyes sting and water.
She turns around, and runs back towards the horses, stifling her sobs.
As she gets back to the main road, she nearly bumps into Uther’s lieutenant, Freidrich.
He puts a hand on her shoulder as she staggers back, as if to help her keep balance.
“Hey, what’s the matter? You look devastated.”
He looks genuinely concerned, but Eyla has no intention of talking about it.
“I-I… It’s n-nothing”
She sniffles.
“I d-don’t want to talk about it, okay?”
He wipes her tear away, his brow furrowed.
“Well, if you’re sure about that. Why aren’t you at the lake with the others?”
Eyla shakes her head.
“Someone needs to ride ahead to the city. Tell the regent that the food is coming.”
She tears herself from Freidrich’s gentle yet firm grip, walking up to her horse and swinging up into the saddle.
She spurs the horse on, entering into a gallop towards the city, leaving Freidrich standing by the horses, scratching his head.
As Lyssia pulls out of the kiss Uther’s body is no longer denying his attraction to the odd drow.
“That… was nice.”
She smiles in response, running dextrous fingers over his face.
“I know.”
Her voice is low and sensual now.
“I can see you’re excite-”
A shrill scream bounds over the water, cutting off Lyssia’s sentence and distracting Uther wholly from his previous engagement.
As his eyes search for the source, he can barely make out a bundle of dark shapes on the top of the tall cliff on the other side of the lake.
The second thing he notices is that the merriment and laughter of the youths has died, leaving the lake silent for the first time since they arrived here.
He can see that the other members of the caravan have also stopped what they were doing, their attention also directed towards the shapes on the cliff.
Uther turns, pulling free of Lyssia’s grip and exploding out of the water as he climbs the low cliff they had used for their bath.
Pulling his pants on quickly, Uther barely pulls on his boots before beginning to sprint around the lake, leaving his jacket and the drow behind.
There had been a great amount of fright, and sheer desperation in the scream, and Uther knew that someone had to be in great peril.
He bursts past dwarves and humans alike as he passes the other members of the caravan, and he is slightly winded as he reaches the cliff, where he finds that the shapes are those of the youths, who have gathered around a shape lying listlessly on the ground.
“Move! Out of the way!”
Uther forces his way through the youths to find a young man, still wet from the lake and wearing naught more than underwear to preserve his modesty.
He can also see that his brown hair is tainted with deep crimson, and that a crying girl is sitting next to him, her desperate eyes now aimed towards Uther.
“What happened?!”
Uther crouches down beside the youth.
“he- he slipped, sir. He hit his head, and now he won’t wake up! Please do something, I don’t- I-I don’t…”
Uther gently places his hand beneath the youth’s head, even his pointy ears having grown sticky with blood.
Uther finds a rock among the moss beneath him, and from the jagged wound and slight depression of the kid’s skull, he can tell that the boy fell on the rock.
He had seen similar injuries in the quarry, although then it had been from loose rocks falling down, and he knew the child’s situation was dire.
He felt a chill roll up his spine.
He didn’t know how to treat the jagged wound on the child’s head, but he knew the kid was bleeding too much, too fast. He needed to stop the blood flow.
“Someone get me some bandages!”
He felt his hands tingle oddly, and he quietly prayed that the child wouldn’t die.
He still had his whole life ahead of him, and Uther could bear to see him die here.
Uther couldn’t bear to see a child’s life snuffed away like this, because of Uther’s inability to save him.
Not anymore.
He could feel the tingle spread up his arm, and he felt as if there was a pull from above, and he could see light emanating from his own hand, bright and pure.
He couldn’t help but stare in amazement as the light spread from his hand into the child’s injury, and then watch as the wound closed and the indent in his head disappearing, his skull returning to normal.
The kid coughs back to life, drawing deep breath and looking around in bewilderment.
Uther sits there, slack-jawed with his eyes wide.
Everyone there is doing the same, all eyes on Uther, the previously so traumatic event all but forgotten.
“I… didn’t know I could do that.”
Uther walks back towards the other members of the caravan slowly, his left hand still stained with the now-healed youth’s blood.
He was still slightly shocked with the discovery that he had just performed magic.
As he approaches the place where the caravan is now assembling to continue their trip, Uther can see Freidrich approaching from the horses.
“Uh, my- err, Uther, do you know what was up with Eyla? She looked as if someone had just killed her puppy- what happened?! Your hand is all bloody!”
“I, uh, I don’t know, and I… I think I just used magic.”
Freidrich looks at Uther as if he had just grown a second head.
“Wait what? Are you serious?”
“Yes, but what about Eyla? What did she do?”
“Hey, don’t you fuckin’ dare to change the topic. You did magic?! Are you sure you didn’t imagine it? Or someone else did it but made it look like you did it? I mean, you are human, right?”
Uther nods.
“Yes, I’m sure, no, no one else did it. I healed a kid. And I think so, my parents were humans, and I’m sure I’ve got neither orc, elf or dwarven blood. And last time I checked, I wasn’t a goblin, so I assume I’m human.
“But you know how I told you about my dream when I was poisoned?”
“Yeah, but that was just a fever dream, right? I mean, you saw goddesses and stuff.”
Uther nods.
“I was sure of it, too, but… it was amazingly vivid, and now… I think it was real.”
Freidrich stares at him slack-jawed.
“you mean you actually, and I mean actually, met a goddess?”
Uther nods.
“I can’t think of another explanation.”
The two stare at each other in silence.
Freidrich is the one to break the silence.
“That is fucking awesome.”
Uther frowns.
“Now, what did Eyla do?”
Freidrich shrugs.
“I don’t know why, but she came running to the horses, crying, grabbed hers and rode off towards the city.”
“When was this?”
“Just a minute ago. I just came from there. As I said, I don’t know what she was upset about, but it has to be something pretty damn big.”
Lyssia exits from among the trees up ahead, fully dressed, carrying Uther’s jacket slung over her shoulder.
As she reaches them, she hands Uther the jacket with a smile before continuing past, delivering a playful slap to Uther’s rear as she continues past.
“Let’s continue our talk later, okay?”
Her words are sweet like honey, but her mischievous grin reveal her intention as anything but innocent.
Freidrich purses his lips slightly.
“Suddenly, it all makes sense.”