With his back against his bed, Auriel was lost in thought.
Drops of water trickled slowly down his arm, while his short, wet hair slightly obscured his face.
[This continent, called Kaelthar by the natives of this world, is close to the fracture.]
[At the beginning of the previous century, this continent was at peace and covered in life. At that time, there existed only one great people, descended from two different origins. Then, suddenly, creatures appeared. They were called Demons.]
[From the Ashen Wild, a forest that covered the entire eastern surface of the continent, emerged millions of demons, all very different, who massacred the peoples of the West.]
[After several decades, the peoples of the West, nearing extinction, rallied into a single alliance: the Empire. Together, they drove the demons back to the great forest. And by the end of that century, they had largely reclaimed the western continent and protected its borders.]
Auriel chuckled softly. "What a lovely story. Well, if it weren't for what came next, I imagine."
He straightened his back and stood up. Pushing his short black hair back, he walked to the window and closed it now that he was almost dry.
[Following the barricade on the continent's left flank, the Empire sent several suicide expeditions into the forest to discover the source of this evil. The logical next step would have been to find millions of human remains, some decades old, and ancient cities completely destroyed, right?]
Turning back to his bed, he put on his still slightly damp clothes.
[Imagine the Empire's surprise when they realized that the peoples of the East were actually doing perfectly well and that their cities had never been attacked even once. While for a century they had all waged a war in the West, risking their lives to survive, all these ancient peoples who had lived in the forest where these cruel demons emerged were perfectly fine!]
[From this came a hatred. A hatred of profound intensity. A hatred without equal. Confident in his theory, the Empire burned their cities, captured parents and children, and then exposed them to demons. In each case, the demons avoided all contact with them; worse, forcing the demons to harm them, and the same demons that had exterminated several generations in the West now preferred to kill themselves rather than hurting them.]
"Thus were born the witch's people... The official culprits, monsters who had brought demons into our world. Infamous beings who, until this day, are exterminated on sight if they appear."
pfft
[bunch of idiots.]
With a smiling face, Auriel opened the door and was instantly enveloped in a strong smell of alcohol, which was itself covered by an incessant hubbub.
"Damn, they never stopped talking..."
Going down the steps, he quickly reached the tables below.
Leaning against the stairwell wall, he let his gaze wander over the mercenaries seated around each large circular table.
"Auriel! We are here!"
[Malconte? At least I won't have to search any longer.]
Weaving between the drunks who were waving their steins around wildly and dodging a young waitress along the way, he joined their table.
"How are you, Auriel? How is our most popular lone mercenary?"
"You're exaggerating, I'm nobody in Ravenspire compared to you. How are you and your group?"
"It's all good, we just made a ton of money with the last quest, so we're enjoying ourselves a bit. Want to sit with us? It's my treat, haha."
Auriel turned his head to look at the five people at the table.
[Malconte.] Tall and muscular, a joker, but serious when necessary. A bastard sword was close at hand.
[Lyra.] A mature woman, sweet and kind, but quick-witted.
[Aldric.] Massive, loyal, simple-minded.
[Kael.] Steep, distant, and withdrawn.
Then his gaze stopped on a figure he didn't recognize.
[And a young woman… in her twenties.]
He frowned slightly, puzzled. She seemed to be observing the building rather than participating in the conversation with the others.
[She seems to be keeping to herself; perhaps she's shy or antisocial?]
Noticing Auriel's lingering gaze, she turned her head and looked into his eyes, slightly flustered.
Noticing this, Malconte deftly initiated the introductions while Auriel sat down.
"It's true that you don't know her yet. Her name is Sirine. She joined us only three months ago."
Auriel turned his gaze back to her. She was quite beautiful and impassive, with long black hair and dark blue eyes. Without wasting any more time, he smiled kindly at her.
"Hi, nice to meet you Sirine. I'm Auriel."
Hmm
With a slight nod, she turned her gaze elsewhere again, observing the commotion around her.
For about ten seconds, there was a brief silence between Malconte and Auriel. Fortunately, it was masked by Aldric and Lyra's conversation.
"Haha, I hope you're not mad at her, she's always been shy. She doesn't talk much, even with us."
Auriel nodded, masking his strained smile and responding to him with the same energy.
"No problem, I'm not petty enough to hold a grudge against someone for something so small. Tell me, you seemed to be waiting for me. Jade?"
"Yes, she told me earlier that you wanted to join us for tomorrow's operation. The employer offers one royal crown for the quest. A bonus is possible in case of an incident. Is one crown okay with you?"
[100 deniers? It's not really incredible.]
Without wasting any time so as not to appear impolite, Auriel smiled at him and replied, "It's far more than I expected. If it's good enough for you, then I'll be there."
He immediately raised his mug and shouted, "Let's welcome Auriel to the group!"
The massive Aldric raised his thick arm and followed suit.
"Welcomeee!"
Lyra smiled at Auriel before nudging Malconte with her elbow.
"That's the third one tonight, darling. Don't get completely drunk in front of the client tomorrow, and I don't want to marry a drunk!"
After that, Auriel continued chatting with Malconte, Lyra, and Aldric.
As evening approached, Malconte, though slightly drunk, made the decisive move to cut short the small group gathering, given that they had to get up early.
Lyra turned to Auriel and spoke to him, "Do you want us to put you up for the night? Sirine and Aldric are coming with us too."
[It's true they decided to take the plunge and buy a plot of land last year. They must still have at least ten good years of their career left. Who knows why they're in such a hurry?]
Auriel shook his head.
"Thank you very much, that's kind. I already paid for the room earlier, it would be a shame not to spend the night. Otherwise, I would be happy to."
Lyra seemed a little disappointed. "Next time then, boy."
Auriel chuckled, then waved goodbye to the others who were all leaving together.
Once everyone had gone, he quickly went to the bedroom.
Undressing, he didn't waste any time thinking but collapsed directly onto the bed.
Sleep quickly overtook him.