#Oh sweet bald summer child what have I cursed you with | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

officialleehadan · 5 years

Text

Old Friends

This one is for Kateland, one of my AMAZING subscriber-drive patrons! Here it is, darling. I hope you like it!

+++

“I like your daughters.”

Eskyl turned a little too fast for his healing side and muttered a curse. Zain only watched him, unbothered by both pain and cursing.

Not unusual, for what was arguably the most powerful necromancer on the continent.

“They’re not-“ he started, and glared when Zain only raised a judgmental brow at him expectantly. “My daughter was murdered, Skull-cap. You know this.”

“She was,” Zain relented ever so slightly and joined Eskyl at the railing. The balcony was one of the highest in the tower and overlooked the immense forest beyond. Surrounding the foot of the tower were deep, knife-like crags that rose up, impossible to climb and worse to march through. “You traveled with Bald-Face and I for quite a while, before and after.”

“So why the comment?”

“A man can have more than one daughter, you moronic swordsman.”

“Rude.”

“Idiot.”

“I’ve killed men for less.”

“I’ve never been killed, but do try. It sounds interesting.”

Eskyl glared harder. Zain continued to ignore him. Unfortunately, killing him really wouldn’t do much. Eskyl was no fool, no matter what Zain thought to the contrary. Zain was well-prepared for whatever came after life, and would probably get right back up if Eskyl ran him through.

Ah, the perils of a life-long friend.

“They’ve stolen whatever heart I had left,” he confessed after a while, and turned to look inside the shadowy tower. His girls, and his young godson, where playing together. Little Kia was armed with a soft-padded sword and was facing off with the Terrible Dragon. Trevor had a sheet over his shoulders to make wings, and was playing the part to the hilt, chasing the toddler this way and that, growling terribly.

Adelaide presided over the whole thing with a serenity she much have learned from her mother, although she couldn’t hide her giggles, even as Zain’s dark-elf lover braided her hair up into a complicated nest of perfect braids.

Elves. No elf would ever risk a child. They were too rare and too precious, and so even a dark-elf, one who bore the silvery tattoos of a blooded assassin across his black-skinned cheeks, turned into a doting nursemaid. Give him a strong young woman, her admirer, and a happy toddler, and he immediately melted.

Eskyl was more relieved than he wanted to admit that his brood now had more than one pair of eyes watching over them. His alone were not enough.

“Nahalis will watch them,” Zain said quietly, and prodded Eskyl in is bad side remorselessly. “Come speak with me, old friend. Nothing within this tower will harm them.”

“Even the mostly-dead ogres in the basement?”

“Oh, I sent them to Bald-Face a while back. He’s giving them a bit of his special touch.”

“Druids are scary.”

“Oh, very. Now,” Zain kept prodding until Eskyl left the sprawling living area and followed the stairs down into Zain’s workshop. It was, as always, somewhat horrific. That was alright though. Eskyl was long-since used to his ghoulish friend’s ways. “Tell me what stabbed you. It takes a good bit to get through your armor. I know. I helped you make it.”

“It didn’t go through,” Eskyl muttered bitterly and accepted the mug Zain handed him. A single sip sent warmth through his blood and left the taste of joyful summer on his tongue. Rich forest berries cut the cloying sweetness of honey that came from flowers few mortals ever saw. “I was stupid and wasn’t wearing it. One of Bald-Face’s brews?”

“He trades me for spices and dead flesh for his ladies,” Zain raised his own much in cheers to their absent friend. Eskyl clunked the heavy mug against his and drank again, more cautiously. He had a few of Bald-Face’s bottles tucked away in his lair. It was delicious, and ridiculously potent. “What in the world possessed you to go off not wearing your armor?”

“It’s heavy, and it’s hot,” Eskyl said, somewhat defensive, although not terribly bothered. “And I wasn’t expecting combat. You’ve heard about the young upstart claiming to be the Master of All Evil, off east of here?”

“Ah, yes. We had a conversation, he and I.”

“His name is Coil.”

“I know. The poor darling. His birth-name must have been something properly awful to pick that for himself.”

Eskyl snickered into his mead at the frankly unimpressed expression on his old friend’s face. “Kia is a princess.”

“Is she?” Zain tilted his head, attention captured by the new information. “I thought Adelaide was the elder sister.”

“She’s bastard-born.”

“Ah. And so the young princess seeks…”

“At the moment, a dragon to slay,” Eskyl could hear the children’s laughter echoing down the stairs. “Her sister tracked me down. The upstart murdered their parents.”

“How impolite. Overthrowing bad rulers is one thing, but murdering good ones always makes trouble,” Zain commented wryly, fingers tracing over his vast collection of gemstones carved in the shape of skulls. Eskyl recognized several as gifts he had sent, and was oddly touched that Zain kept them. “So you’re going to have a word with him?”

“Several on their behalf, and several more on my own. He stabbed me.” Eskyl was still mad about the stabbing, even without the persistent twinge in his side. Zain was a master healer, and could have erased the damage completely, but it was always better to heal slowly. Magical healing took its own price after a while. It was enough to have the curses and the infection and the poison handled. “Do you know how long it’s been since I was stabbed?”

“A good while,” Zain considered. “Does your arm count? If not, it was that incident with the manticore.”

He had done a good deal of the spellwork on Eskyl’s metal arm, but the crafting of it took a great deal in the way of rare components. Eskyl spent the better part of a year tracking everything down. It was worth it to have his sword-arm back, even if it wasn’t the flesh it once was.

“You have a long memory,” he tilted his mug to Zain. “I need a favor.”

“You have several stored up.”

“I need a big favor.”

Zain was silent for a while as he thought, drank, and fiddled with his skill collection some more.

“There are two people in this world to whom I owe my life, and who owe me theirs in return,” he said at last, and refilled his mug and Eskyl’s. “Who have never questioned my talents, and who have given me the trust of home and family even when I drew too close to the edge of madness. Tell me what you need.”

Eskyl smiled a smile that would have made his children cower if they saw it, and raised his mug to Zain, who raised his in return.

“I need an army.”

+++

Unforged, Unforgiven:

Fourteen years ago, Eskyl’s wife and child were murdered. Fourteen years ago, Eskyl’s rage leveled half the country, and left thousands running in terror. Fourteen years ago, Eskyl vanished.

But now the heroes are dead, and the only one who can challenge a terrible new evil is one Old Monster.

Old Monster

Into the Lair

Taking out the Trash

When the Ice-Wind Blows

Under Tree, Over Blade

Flower Crowns and Dancers

Under Cover of Darkness (Subscriber Only)

Age-Old Promise

Curse-Blade (Subscriber Only)

+++