A tall man with broad shoulders was leaning against the yellowish windowsill. His light chestnut hair was tied up in a pitiful single braid. He was watching the street beneath the window. His black eyes peered through the windows of the tall, age-yellowed buildings around him, searching for any movement.
The fresh air was caressing his hairless face, replacing the strong smell of blood inside that large apartment.
Behind him, a tall girl was waiting for a large piece of meat to be cooked on the Warmstone, while the two, one way younger than the other, were cutting up the body.
The wooden amber floor was replaced by a wide, dried-blood carpet.
Under a white table with grey veins, a small child was devouring a cooked piece of solid muscle. Over the table, ancient glasses and cups were placed on each side of the table. In the center, a large bowl with dark figures all around it held small green fruits devoured by time.
The broad man was fighting with all his will not to turn around. He could have eaten once they had finished.
As he breathed through his aquiline nose, he caught a scent so ancient that he didn't recognize at first. It had the same blood scent of the corpse behind him, but there was something more.
He put his head out of the window, not caring if he might be seen, and kept sniffing, knowing well that he wouldn't catch that scent with his nose, but with his Blessing.
Just by thinking about it, he felt as if a giant hand was squashing him. He couldn't do anything except bear the pain of that existence.
That ancient scent was slowly driving him crazy. The invisible hand tightened even more. Rage and fury rose inside him. His hunger was nothing more than a distraction at that point.
He turned around. His eyes stopped on the mutilated corpse in front of him. That little fish wasn't going to satisfy him compared to the giant fish out there somewhere.
***
The river wasn't as cold as Roi imagined. At first, it was a punch in the stomach, but he got used to it pretty quickly.
The water chilled him, but his Blessing warmed him at the same time. The river's calm flow washed away much of the sweat and dirt on his body, and the most persistent of it was washed away by the soap.
It produced a little brown foam that flowed away with the water before disappearing.
His body and hair now smelled like tree bark.
"I should have asked her where the Iron District is." He thought, looking at the dirty pants on the edge of the river.
"She's taking too long. I should hurry up to meet Greth. Maybe I shouldn't even let her see me naked." Roi hurried to wash them with soap, which was gradually running out.
Luckily, she was nowhere to be seen. Or maybe unluckily. What if the Leader were just like Dolor and would have gone crazy if he showed up with dirty feet?
"There isn't even a reason to go to him. That girl can get me the house back." He looked at the huge tree above the temple.
"I could ask Derlom to give me a Heart for those kids. They hit me, but I feel too bad for them. Maybe that way, I can show them I'm not that bad. That I didn't steal anything."
He remained in the water, soap and pants in his hands.
"I should have asked her name."
***
The Savior was sitting on the edge of the river, wondering how to apologise for the soap, which had been eaten away by the water without him realising, when Lish appeared.
He carried with him green clothes, a pair of leather shoes, and a large piece of brown cloth.
<
Roi raised his gaze; he was expecting the girl. Lish wore the classic white armour he had seen on Jest, with thick leather protecting his belly.
Lish was like a shadow towering over him. His gentle eyes looked at him with those faint rivers of gold in them.
Only the bright shades of yellow managed to penetrate the thick mist, enlightening the world below. In that dark, those eyes seemed to glow like two beacons.
Roi took the piece and dried himself off.
<
"Oh. She's called Saphine." He also noticed that Lish was one of the few who matched his height.
Apparently, he too noticed something, Roi's surprised expression. His eyes narrowed a little.
<
Roi couldn't help but grin as he put on his wide shirt.
Lish caressed his faint beard, hiding a faint smile.
<
***
"Too many steps."
Roi was leaning on the parapet of the wooden watch tower. The sky was covered by a pointed roof held by four thick corner posts.
He was catching his breath while giving his burning legs well-deserved rest.
The view up there was something worth the effort. The night brought silence in the Regulursteum.
The only people visible were guards, some of whom were leaning on the wall next to the gates, chatting to each other. Two others were on the second watchtower, on the other side of the warehouse. The rest were lighting tall, wooden stakes near the dark houses on the other side of the temple.
Roi was amazed that, even up there, he wasn't even halfway up the enormous tree over the temple, and the most amazing thing was that not even the tallest leaves, nearly invisible, were touching the black mist.
Thanks to the moving yellow shades, the night wasn't so dark. He could see the guards walking on the other side, far away from him. They were nothing more than dots, but at least he could see them moving.
But there was a place that not even the yellow shades could enlighten, the narrow streets between the tall, dark houses. Only the fire of the stakes could enlighten them.
Roi couldn't understand what material the houses were built from, even though the choice was between stone and wood.
He heard steady steps climbing the steps. He turned around. Inside the watchtower, there was nothing more except a large chest with a horn made of white metal and a creaking chair.
Lish appeared with a leather cuirass.
<
Roi almost fell over because of how heavy it was.
Lish walked past him and threw himself into the chair. A relieved sigh filled the silence of the night. His gaze was set on the city outside the walls.
<> He said with distant eyes. It seemed to Roi that he was waiting for a question, and so he gave him one.
<
<