Blasphemy and Lust (closed)

(Closed to Fae)

Leoric shivered as he walked through the snow covered streets of the small port town he was in. he was sent on a rather boring fetch quest to locate and purchase four magic stones, two that would appear as Rubies, one that would look like an Emerald, and one that was black like polished Obsidian. He only was told what the black stone would do, and that if tapped two times in rapid succession, whoever was holding it would become frozen in place for ten minutes, unable to move or speak. He wasn’t sure why Bernholdt wanted these stones. But he was told that she could create some very interesting items out of them.

Leoric sighed and bundled up under his thick, heavy, fur cloak. He could handle the cold, after all Corone had its share of cold and snow, But nothing like Salvar. The biting and piercing wind gnawed away at any exposed skin and made your bones rattle. After only an hour going from shop to shop and asking probing questions he felt like he could never get warm again. The cold just clung to him like a clingy newlywed couple.

Thankfully a few years back he was out this way and he knew roughly where a hidden natural hot water spring was. It was great for working out and then letting his sore muscles relax in the warm naturally heated water. It even had some interesting rock formations that let him pirch on top of like a bird and get his other muscle groups worked out. So he knew where he could go to hide if the Church of the Ethereal sway ever came looking for him.

The frigid brawler resigned himself for the evening as most shops quickly turned away his patronage at the mention of ‘magic’ even before he could speak about ‘magic stones’. So he found a nearby Tavern called the ‘Evening Nip’ and ducked inside to get himself a few drinks.

“Ev’ning sir, she be a chilly one aint she?” The man behind the bar asked as leoric shivered and shook all the snow off of his fur before taking a few steps inside.

“Aye, she is a cold one for sure. A little too cold then what i am used to, got anything to warm the soul? Going to need two bottles at least.” Leoric asked as he sat down and rested his arms on the smooth dark oak bar top. Before letting out a heavy sigh and straightening out his back.

“Well you clearly aren’t from around here, we typically don’t wear so little around these months. You have a long day out in the cold? Or just a disappointing one?”

“That easy to tell huh? And technically both, I have been sent to locate and bring back some items that are apparently taboo around here, so i can’t get any information on them.” Leoric lowered his voice to a whisper as he spoke about the taboo items. The bar tender nodded as if he understood and slid two bottles towards the frozen patron and handed him a note.

Spectacular Shanna’s Sundries
First right after ‘Warm lights Glow Inn’
Second door on the left.

Leoric nodded and slid the note into his jacket pocket before upending a bottle of whiskey and stopping half way through and looking at the bartender in amazement.

“This is absolutely delicious! What is this? And the warmth it provides, I think I just fell in love with whatever this is!”

“Ha ha! That my fine patron is called ‘The Amber Glow’ we use natural spring water from a nearby mountain spring, mix it with amberized Honey and add some Juniper berries and some proprietary herbs and spices, then we let it sit in the cellar for a month before we finally sieve all the bits out and serve chilled to customers. Its 5 gold a bottle”

“Say no more!” Leoric says as he slides twenty gold pieces across the counter and continues sipping on his bottle, this time now savoring every drop he can in enjoyment. It wasn't long before a bottle was empty and he placed it back down on the bar and walked out with his second one ready to continue his search. The note hadn’t specified any opening or closing times, so he was hoping he could just walk right on in. if not, he would probably do the hike to his hot spring and spend the night in some familiar terrain.

Salvar was unforgiving even during the warmer months.

But it was all but uninhabitable in the midst of the winter chill. Leather back at my hip, cloak on my shoulders, I had temporarily found respite inside a store occupying a humble wooden building. Even inside, the cold seemed to cling to the wool and fur on my shoulders like some kind of sickness. Still, the relief from the wind and snow was palpable as I had purchased the last few things I needed for the month. It was all too soon when I had once more faced the bitter cold. Although now with the supplies I needed, the journey back home felt--

"There she is!"

Yanked from my thoughts, I glanced up to see a figure hurrying through the snow towards me. I gasped, my heart racing in my chest as I pulled my hood up and turned around, hoping to find anoth--

A squeal of surprise erupted from my lips as I just about ran into another figure, wearing a similar tunic and cloak to the first, who'd come up behind me. Stumbling back, I whimpered, desperately scrambling back to my feet as the cold was temporarily forgotten in place of pure, unadulterated panic. Instinct drove me as I turned from the two and ran into the first opening I saw - a small alley between a few of the wooden buildings.

Behind me came shouting, accompanied by the stamping of boots in snow.

Oh no,

Before me, the alley came to an abrupt halt, a wooden wall reaching up 10ft high. Desperate, I spun on my heel, turning as I pressed myself back against the wood.

"Why you runnin, little lamb?" The first of the figures sneered, as three others closed in behind him.

Another of them spoke up,

"Almost like you're guilty, eh?"

"Guilty of what?!" I cried, my heart racing as my throat burned, the freezing air pushed out of my lungs in ragged puffs of steam.

"Witchcraft," the first answered, "you think we ain't noticed?"

My jaw clenched, my heart sinking as my cheeks grew hot and my mind raced. But... I'd been so careful, how could they possibly know?

"Y-you're making a mistake..." I stammered, my words undercut by trembling fear.

"Is that so?" The first closed the distance between us, his lackeys following suit, "so, you're not a filthy little whore-witch, then? So you wouldn't mind us taking you to the church to get them to confirm that, eh? Is that so?"

I swallowed, pushing myself back further against the wall,

"P-please," I winced, "just let me go, I'm not a witch!"

The figure, close enough now for me to smell the mead on his breath, leaned over me, placing a hand on the wall behind me, effectively pinning me in place.

"Sounds like something a witch would say," he turned his face to the others, "right boys?"

As Leoric took a few steps outside he looked around and noticed a few snowflakes drift lazily to the ground as the biting wind from earlier seemed to have taken its rest for the evening. The ever consuming chill that still permeated the air was still enough to make Leoric regret not buying some heavier clothing, after all he was just in some trousers, a shirt, and a leather jacket with a Fur lined cloak draped over his shoulders. It wasn’t the warmest thing he could have worn. But he was a stickler, he wasn’t going to be here in salvar for much longer then he needed to, so wasting money on warmer clothes seemed like a waste to him. He can soldier through whatever was thrown his way.

“They found her! Over this way!” a rather loud and boisterous man shouted as he gestured for others to follow him and ran down a nearby street. Leoric tried to see if the street had a name and only found the name of the Inn he had to turn at.

“What are the chances they are going to be where i have to go?” he asked out loud as he took a step off of the Tavern’s veranda and into the freshly fallen snow. With a satisfying crunch under his foot he took off towards the Inn.

As he got closer he could hear the commotion as a small group of men seemed to have found and chased someone down an alley. Based on the previous shout he had heard he knew he now had to intervene. The men ran down an alleyway as several mischievous laughs could be heard. Leoric looked around and saw a man clearing snow off of his rooftop, ladder still pressed against the roof. Leoric gripped his bottle of Amber glow tightly and ran towards the ladder, climbing it quickly and watching the scene play out beneath him in the Alleyway next to the house.

“Actually, that sounds like what someone terrified for their life would say. Not a witch, a witch would just use their magic and turn you into frogs or something. And in this weather? A frog would freeze solid in what? Five minutes? Yeah i think about five minutes.” Leoric quipped as the man closest to the terrified human took a few steps back and looked up at Leoric. “Now as to who has magic, you were targeting the wrong person.”

Leoric jumped off the roof and landed between the man and woman, his cloak billowing behind him. As he landed a large amount of snow and mud were scattered into the air, but instead of splashing on any one or anything, they began to circle around the muscle bound man.

“I am the one with Magic, so if you want to take me to the Church, you are going to have to drag me there.”

“Your kind is a sin! It's blasphemy against the natural order of things! You are damn right we are going to drag you to the church. Men, let's take him home.” The leader spat as he, and most of those loyal to him charged forward. Leoric shrugged his shoulders and let his cloak fall to the ground behind him. Showing him hold an unopened bottle of booze in one hand, a sword strapped to his right hip, and several small satchels all around his belt. The leader let out a roar as he connected with a large monstrous punch to the abdominal region of Leoric. Immediately the once full of himself ‘leader’ recoiled in pain a few steps as he had just broken his fist. But all this seemed to do was infuriate the rest of his troop. The revealed brawler sighed an exasperated sigh before he lunged into the fray. He didn’t even need to use his magic to fight this group of neanderthals, but he kept it flashy and the wind blowing around him in a double helix pattern up to the sky. After a few moments the majority of the troop was on the ground or trying to get up.

“You may want to learn to mind your own damn business, next time it won't just be your fist i break. Now get out of here before i change my mind on letting you live.” Leoric boasted as the men fumbled to their feet and ran away. The leader vows to get the church and come back for both of them. As he holds his hand and limps out of the alley.

“May want to ice that!” Leoric chuckled to himself as he let his wind magic fade away and all the snow and mud that was in the air fell to the ground. “Look, i don’t know you, and you don’t know me. But if you are what they thought you were, you are going to need a place to stay for a night or two. I know of a place. The name is Leoric Blackwell, pleasure to beat some people up for ya.”

I could feel my very core churn and clench with panic.

Instinctively, the magic coursed through my veins, begging me to sheathe myself in it, to use it to flee, to protect myself from these men. But what fragments remained of myself fought against that urge. That would only serve to prove them right, to reveal that I was everything they accused, and only spur their lust to drag me before the church.

A voice from above interrupted the man before me, and the ground suddenly exploded as a figure leapt from the roof and put himself between me and them.

The shock and explosion of snow and wind made me shriek as I cowered against the wall, my hands flying up to cover my head as this newcomer spoke. I fought to hear him over the sound of my own pounding heart and ragged breaths, turning with wide, disbelieving eyes as he so blatantly outed himself as a mage right in front of them.

... And then he showed them.

I stared in awe as this stranger threw back his cloak and allowed magic to swirl around him, proceeding to make short work of the attackers. A part of me burned with envy; to feel so at ease with himself, to be able to display his power with such reckless abandon. What would that even feel like? I felt my own hands begin to warm as my magic flowed sympathetically, and I tucked them under my cloak with a grimace.

Finally, with a cheeky remark to the now-fleeing men, the stranger turned to me. I glanced from him to the others and back again, pulling myself up out of the snow.

"I... owe you my life... Mr. Blackwell." I replied sheepishly, keeping my eyes downwards.

A sigh escaped my chest before I could suppress it.

"You're right, I am, aren't I." My eyes were drawn back up to the street for a moment. This couldn't keep on, one day... there would not be some handsome stranger to come to my aid. I turned to face him directly, "I would hate to impose... but... if you know somewhere, I would be further in your debt. It's a pleasure, Mr. Blackwell, I am Fae, Fae Valeaux."

I curtsied, a little clumsily given my legs were still shaking, but passable.

"... And it seems I owe you my life."

“Well, you don’t owe me your life, but a debt would be acceptable.” Leoric leaned down and picked up his cloak and gave it a flourish before resting it back on his shoulders. He shivered momentarily before looking around to get his bearings. “I did have something I needed to do, but that can wait till tomorrow. It’s about to get real cold out here, let’s head to some place secluded, safe, and warm.”

Leoric took a few steps and turned back to make sure she was coming with him. He silently cursed himself, not only was there now a target on his back, but he may have made a larger target on hers. He thought they were just going to have their way with her and as much as he would have loved to enjoy her himself, consent is sexy. They didn't seem like the kind of men to worry about that. Its why he moved as quickly as he could to get the drop on them. Who knows what they may have done with her before the church was brought into the picture. Now he needed to make sure she was safe, and he got what he came for before promptly leaving for back home. At least he had a ship waiting in town until he was done, and then when he arrived they would quickly leave for home.

Every few moments Leoric would turn from his hunched walk to make sure he was still being followed, Granted they were mostly on one of the main routes out of town, but soon they would begin heading off the beaten path into untouched snow, through a forest of dense winter trees and home to a host of small forest creatures.

“I am sure you are quite smart, so here is a question for you, where do you think these tree’s get all their nutrients from when you would think they would normally freeze and die?” Leoric asked as he walked to a snow covered edge and tested his footing before every step he took. “Well, you don’t really need to answer, as i am about to show you. But keep that question fresh in your mind would yo..”

The snow covered brawler was cut off suddenly as he seemed to slip down and out of view, his cry of surprise heard for a few seconds, quickly gaining distance before laughter could be heard.

“... I found it!” there was a few more seconds before Leoric got up and dusted himself off before looking up at where he fell. “Where I slipped, turn straight right and walk down! I can see the edge of the rock face from here, that's the old trail I always used. Please do be extremely careful!”

Instead of watching if she got down alright or now he turned to the next hurdle they had to overcome, the entrance was iced over, which wasn’t surprising as it was very hot humid air that would have been coming out of the cave, melting any snow above and having it drip down. But how did it fully close off the entrance? Leoric sighed and felt around for a decent sized rock and hucked it at the ice. It impacted, but also bounced off and directly back at the surprised brawler. He ducked just in time as it passed his head and down an even deeper trench just behind him.

“Well time to put in some of that good ole fashioned maximum effort.” Leoric dropped his cloak and walked up to the ice wall and felt where the rock had impacted, giving it a few more test hits with his fist and then entering his common ‘first stance’. He threw punch after punch into the ice wall, using more strength with every thrust forward, each strike sending shockwaves of pain through his body. “Come on Leoric, just like master always told you, take the pain and push it into your strikes. Take what you are being hit with and send it back twice as hard!”

Saying his masters words out loud seemed to do the trick as leoric kept striking harder and faster, eventually he heard foot falls behind him as his fist finally flew through the ice in front of him. Pinning him in place for a second before a small crack propagated on the surface that began to spider web out and then collapse, revealing a hole small enough for them to crawl through.

A gust of warm air and what looked like steam began to billow out from the opening before quickly dissipating in the frigid air around them.

“Ladies first, we will be warm and safe inside of here, at least until i can get what i came for and get out of here.”

Secluded, safe, and warm.

Even before what had just transpired, I would not have been able to acquies to such a suggestion. But now, that I was shaken, afraid, and confused, it was positively lifegiving. The stranger - Leoric - turned and began to move away, and I watched for just a moment in stunned awe before struggling after him.

At first, my knees buckled, as I struggled to hurry after Leoric. But a few steps in the cold snow and I was on his heels, following the cloak that billowed behind him. He didn't speak, in fact, he didn't acknowledge me at all beyond occasionally checking to ensure I was still following. Each glance, I met with an awkward smile. Every few steps of his I skipped one of mine, hopping to stay close.

Eventually, he came to a spot amongst the dense, snow-bidden trees, turning to speak.

I opened my mouth to answer him, but instead suddenly gasped as Leoric disappeared from view with a gasp.

For a few moments, I waited in the silence, unsure of what to do. But just as I began to look around nervously, I heard laughter. Sighing in relief, I followed his instructions, and in a few moments, I'd joined him in front of some kind of wall of ice. As Leoric picked up a rock, I approached it, gently placing my fingertips against the frozen surface.

My eyes closed. I drifted away, feeling the gentle hum of the ice.

CRASH!

I squealed and jumped as the stranger hurled a rock at the ice, ducking as it was promptly hurled right back at him.

Undeterred, he seemed to be preparing to go shoulder-to-shoulder with the thing, and I stepped back, reaching out a hand,

"Uh.. Leoric, w--"

Before I could finish, he threw a punch at the wall. I gasped, my own hands flying to cover my mouth.

"Agh!"

I dropped to my knees, eyes squeezed shut, as a sudden jolt of pain wracked me. At first, I had no idea what was going on, but each punch the man threw at the ice wall sent a renewed pang through me. Each time I tried to draw a breath to ask him to stop, it was stolen by another punch, another wave.

Finally, with a sigh of warm, humid air, he broke through, and we were both given relief from the jolts of agony.

Ladies first

Gritting my teeth, I winced, pulling myself up to my feet and cradling my arm; the same side he'd used to punch through the wall. Well, if I'd hoped to hide my magic from him, that was probably long gone, now. Crawling through the hole, I gazed around at the cavern within.

It was a cozy, hidden sanctuary, complete with furs and primative stone furniture.

"This is... nice." I murmured, limping towards the furs to lower myself down onto them. With a grimace, I shrugged off my cloak, feeling the empathetic pain finally subside with a sigh. Shaking my head, I turned to him,

"So... about that debt I owe you."

“About that debt I owe you” her words were like ringing the dinner bell for all of Leoric’s depraved thoughts, his eyes looked her up and down, imagining what she would look like without her clothing. His ‘imagination’ began to grow as he shook his head and walked into the middle of the chamber and grabbed his own cloak before tossing it towards his new companion.

“We can figure that out later, for now you should get undressed and sink into these waters, they are amazing, especially after being out in the cold for so long.” Leoric began to undo his leather jacket and shirt and let them fall lazily to the ground as he turned to face his old home for three or so years. A few of the stalagmites had grown, but most were still what he remembered. The ever present naturally occurring sun stone in the roof kept the chamber well lit. He weighed what he wanted to do, his balance training or a soak in the temptation that was the water.

He sighed and quickly dropped his trousers, leaving him in nothing but a loin cloth as he ran towards the hot bath, just as he was about to enter he leapt to his right and with a single footfall kicked off one of the stalagmites, he jumped to a second and then finally perched himself on the centermost pillar and kept balance on the ball of his right foot. After a few seconds of deep breathing he lowered himself to a squat and brought his left leg up to rest on his right knee.

Normally the muscle bound brawler would have been able to clear his mind of everything and anything during this type of training, after all it took quite a lot of mental and physical focus to hold this form for extended periods of time. However, there was something nagging at his mind, the image of his new companion completely naked and servicing him while he enjoyed the view of her head bobbing up and down.

Leoric began to feel his desire over take his mind, it wasn’t long before his body told him it wasn’t ready for his training and his leg began to quiver. He tried to push himself up to a standing position to change legs when it gave out from underneath him. He slipped down the tall stalagmite and crashed into the mid thigh high water as his loincloth effortlessly fluttered down and landed on a nearby stalagmite just out of Leoric’s view. The now disrobed brawler quickly got to his feet.

“Yeah, meant to do that. After the leg gets exhausted you let yourself fall down into the water to let the natural healing properties of this water get stamina back in that limb.” he looked away for a second to re gather himself when he noticed his loincloth was on a rock nearby and not on him. He quickly put his hand down to cover himself when he realized it wouldn’t be quite that easy to hide his pride at the moment.

I smothered a grimace at Leoric's answer.

Work it out later? Strip down to nothing in front of a relative stranger? Jaw clenched, my eyes danced from the man, to the secret sanctuary, to the jagged maw of ice through which we'd come. Had the hole in the ice always looked like a gaping mouth full of teeth?

Chewing on my bottom lip, I turned back to look at Leoric, whom had himself stripped down to a loincloth and perched upon one of the stalagmites in a balancing pose. Lowering myself to sit on my knees on the furs, I watched him curiously, studying the pattern of his breathing, where he held his hands, the subtle twitches in the muscles of his foot and calf as he balanced on the tiny perch.

A blush came to my cheeks, a tingle racing down my spine. I felt warmer, softer, more...

Oh

The realisation hit me just as my strange host lost his footing and tumbled into the water. I had gasped, covering my face with my hands, as he emerged from the pool. As he spoke, I glanced back, but upon realising that he'd lost the last shred of clothing, hastily looked away again, a hand over my eyes.

"Oh... oh my goodness. I'm... sorry." I stammered nervously, "I didn't... see anything, I promise."

The pleasant blush had become a burning cringe of shame scrawled across my cheeks as my heart raced in my chest.

"M-maybe I should just go... I have a little gold back home... to compensate you for today..."

Leoric quickly ran over to the stalagmite holding his loincloth and quickly put it on. Normally he wouldn't care, anyone was welcome to a peak, but it clearly made her uncomfortable and after the encounter earlier he felt like he should behave while he could.

“Money is of no consequence for me, I make a decent enough living with my usual jobs. You keep your gold for yourself.” Leoric sighed as he turned around to face her and walked out of the pool in her direction, stopping only to reach down and grab a bottle of something out of his clothing bundle on the ground. “I must insist, a hot bath will feel quite heavenly after a long day in the cold, and as for my apology for .. well flashing you, i will share my last drink with you.”

The confident brawler walked back to the pool and slowly lowered himself in and sat against the edge, his back to her.

“I would advise stripping down to at least your undergarments, in this cave it takes forever for things to dry. Wouldn't want to head out in that blistering cold with wet clothing now would we? But, if you feel too shy about that, why not come and at least dip your feet in and relax next to me?”

“You said your name was Fae, correct? I am afraid I may have made the situation a lot worse for the both of us. If those men do go to the church we won’t have much time to get out before they find us… being a quiet hermit to yourself is one thing, but openly using magic to attack? Those men are going to lump us together and that makes it a huge problem.” Leoric popped the top off his bottle and took a swig before placing it softly down next to him. “Seeing as our fates are entwined now, mind telling me a bit about yourself?”

I felt the blood finally drain from my cheeks a little, and the churning in my stomach subside as Leoric retrieved is loincloth.

His next words brought mixed emotions as I caught myself nervously tugging at my tunic. On the one hand, he seemed to remain tight-lipped about how I could settle our debt, gold would have been the easiest way, even if I only had a little. On the other, he seemed to be genuinely trying to make things right. My eyes drifted closed, and a long sigh uncoiled from my chest as my brow unknitted and my shoulders relaxed.

"Thank you, Leoric," I murmured, waiting until his back was turned.

When it was, I peeled off my clothes down to my undergarments, and after pinning up my hair, wrapped my arms around myself,

"I don't drink," I replied, moving to slide into the pool across from him, "but the offer is appreci--oh... oh this... this is really nice."

The water was warm, deliciously so. It seemed to embrace my cold, aching bones, unclenching every knotted muscle and melting every worry and care. My words faltered, dissolving into a soft moan as I could do naught but surrender to the water. Leoric spoke again, and I lazily opened my eyes and turned my head to look at him. This time, I grimaced,

"Y-yes," I replied, "you... kind of did."

My jaw clenched, and I let out my breath in a sigh. However, I avoided his question,

"Do you have a plan? Or an idea? ... What were you doing there, anyway? I've never seen you there before."

Leoric chuckled to himself as he looked up at the magic stone on the roof as the light ebbed and flowed cascading across the entire room. Did he have a plan? Of course he never has those, he just wings it as things change, but maybe he should really have a plan this time. After all, it wasn’t just his life he was endangering this time.

“I have a ship that is waiting at the dock for me to finish my business here. Which is of course I came to find some highly illegal and dangerous magic stones. Not unlike the one up there.i was given a set list and was told that they knew for a fact i could find all of these in the same place here in Salvar, but they couldn't give me any more information then that.” The Brawler took another large swig from his bottle before he popped the cork back on it and tossed it so it would splash just in front of his companion, offering her a drink. “As to what i was doing there. I had just come out of the Tavern after asking about the said stones and saw some men chase a beautiful and slender woman down an alley. I wouldn't be much of a man if I looked the other way. Although I did just think they were going to have their way with you, which isn't a bad idea, but I prefer a bit of consent from my partners for the evening. Anyways, I didn't expect this whole church nonsense. I kind of lept before I had time to think, and now I am just as screwed as you are.”

He took a few handfuls of water and splashed it on his face and let it run down his thick and luscious locks as he sighed and let the warm glow of the booze he had drunk and the warm water mingle together as his thoughts again began to drift to his bathing partner. He quickly shook his head before sitting up right again.

“Seeing as I have endangered your way of living here, when I conclude my business, which will hopefully be within two days, you are more than welcome to come with me on my ship back to corone. I help run a small little fishing village there and can get you lodgings while you get on your feet. And you wouldn't be persecuted for any magic use.”

Leoric was starting to feel very warm as the booze was seemingly taking effect, but then again he had drank a whole bottle and then some of this Amber glow stuff. It tasted great, it was sweet and fruity, with the small bite of booze as it slid down his throat. But once it was in his stomach oh man did it ever hit hard. He turned to face his bundle of clothing as he did some finger movements and the wind began to make his satchel dance a little before it opened and out came some jerky, just as it was about to touch the ground it stopped moving and began floating up and over towards Leoric. The Drunken Brawler grabbed it out of the air and put a few pieces in his mouth and closed it, letting his saliva wrap around the Jerky and release a lot of the flavor as he melted a little lower into the pool.

The warmth of the pool seemed to totally envelop me, gently coaxing away my aches and pains, my fears and worries. As I reclined in the water, Leoric spoke, and my attention was pulled gently but insistently towards him. For a brief moment, the foolhardy bravado about him seemed to fall away, and for the first time, I felt as though I was speaking to the man underneath it. I found myself leaning a little closer, eyebrows raised slightly.

Politely turning down the drink, I watched as he continued, casually using his magick to drunkenly call over his jerky.

With a soft sigh, I shook my head,

"Salvar is my home," I replied. However, I paused.

After a moment, I spoke again,

"What if... I helped you seek out these stones? Would you consider us even? Not only do I know Salvar well..." I trailed off, my jaw clenching as I fought the reluctance to vocalise what came next. Eventually, however, with a sigh, I forced it out, "... but being a witch, I know how to stay undetected."

My grimace twisted into a subtle smirk,

"Something I guess you're still learning."