The Encounter

It was dark in the quarters of the castle. The dim flicker of magical candle light cast soft shadows on the adventuring parties faces as they trudged into their respective rooms, exhausted from the events of the day.

Galena exhaled a sigh of relief, the weight of the day settling deeper into her aching muscles. Setting her bag by the door, she slowly made her way down to sit on the floor, her muscles starting to lock up now that she was done walking. The day wasn’t out of the ordinary for the group, at least not physically, yet the day had left Galena in particular very worn out.

Stretching up with a groan, Galena huffed and flopped back onto the cold stone of her room. Closing her eyes, she took a quiet moment for herself. She could hear the soft shuffling of fur as her roommate, the bear, slightly awoke at her arrival. She paid no mind to him, dragging her arms up to undo the clasp of her cape. A soft click was heard before the sound of metal hitting the floor echoed off the walls, earning a grunt from her sleeping companion.

Clasping her bruised hands on her chest, she peeked over to where her god symbol lay on the floor next to her. A cold chill shot down her spine as she noticed how vulnerable to the world she was. The dull ache of her body faded into the background as the throbbing of her wrist seemed to grow stronger. Sitting up, she grabbed her cloak off the ground and clasped it back on, resting her hand over the symbol, feeling the edges press into her skin ever so slightly.

Galena had tried her best to ignore the new edition throughout the day, being extra cautious about how far her sleeves rolled up when spell casting. But now it was just her and her thoughts, nothing to distract her from the overwhelming sight that was just a layer of fabric away.

Cautiously, Galena reached over and fiddled with the button on her cuff, undoing it with slight difficulty, the tremor in her hand not making it any easier. Her fingers paused, hovering over the edge of the fabric, half praying it was all just a bad dream, that she had made the whole thing up in her head and was freaking out over nothing. Pulling down the loose fabric of her sleeve, she felt the now familiar sting behind her eyes as she stared at the fresh ink invading the surface of her skin. It still hurt, the skin red and irritated, a stark contrast to the rest of her arm.

Galena brushed her fingers gently over the raised symbols, flinching back as a sharp pain traveled up her arm, sending sparks throughout her chest under her god symbol. Galena didn’t know if tattoos were supposed to hurt this bad. Every brush of her sleeve or turn of the wrist would send a painful reminder of her haunted past.

Tugging her sleeve back into place, Galena stood up, brushing herself off and walking out the cave. She was too upset to rest, the feeling of impending doom having crawled through her mind and down into her chest, where it now lay, gripping her heart, making it hard to breath. She kept her head low, she made her way out of the castle. Her steps echoing off the stone walls, alerting anyone nearby of her departure.

Stepping outside, Galena looked up, taking note of the overcast sky of blueish grey. Stepping out onto the rougher path in front of the castle, now exposed to the biting chill of the night. Shivering, she pulled her cloke closer, rubbing her arms in a poor attempt to keep what little heat her body may have.

Taking a glance around the well kept grassy area around her, she turned to head off towards the town. It was usually empty this time of night, perfect if you want to be alone with your thoughts. She was only able to get a few feet forward before the soft sound of rustling came from her left. Turning her head, she froze, gripping her sleeves as slight fear started to form in her gut.

Trying to be as quiet as possible, she crept towards the source of the noise, dropping her hands into a more defensive pose, ready to strike if needed. It was silly, she thought, that she didn’t think to take a weapon with her while going on a late night walk. Out of spell slots and sore, she’s the easiest prey you could possibly get.

Galena nearly jumped out of her skin as a blur darted behind the trees, making its way towards the back of the castle.

“Baby? Is that you?”

No answer. Following the creature cautiously, she was led further and further away from the entrance where she left.

“Baby, this isn’t funny. You need to get back inside with Maxi and the others, mom’s just going for a walk.”

The sound of dampened footsteps and the wrestling of trees was the only thing accompanying her as she followed what she assumed to be the small demon. Galena knew they could be clingy at times, but she never had many issues with them following her on her late night walks, especially not like this.

The mystery shadow moved faster, darting around until finally ducking out into the open field that lay behind the castle. Galena jogged slightly to try and keep up, rounding the corner before halting dead in her tracks. She blinked, not really believing the sight in front of her.

“Statera…? What are you doing here?”

Adjusting her shirt collar a bit, she stepped forward towards her god, her posture fixing a bit to appear more presentable despite looking like a wreck.

“I didn’t call or anything, is something wrong?”

Statera swiftly turned to face Galena, reaching out and grabbing the poor girls aching wrist. Galena cried out, her knees nearly giving out on her due to the pain.

“Statera,” Galena reached up to grab the god’s wrist, “I can explain, it wasn’t my fault-”

A scowl came over the neutral faced god, The sky turning darker as tears began to form in Galena’s eyes. Statera threw down Galena’s wrist, scoffing as she fell to the ground, gripping just below the tattoo.

“They came into my room last night, at-least I think they did, and there- there was this orb and then,” Statera held up her hand, silencing the shaking mortal in front of her.

Statera turned, back now facing Galena, and started to walk off. Galena let go of her wrist, lurching forward and grabbing the ankle of the saola. The god whipped around, a mixture of shock and disgust at the kid below her. Galena couldn’t help it, the tears started to escape, rolling down her cheeks and onto the ground below as she weakly held on to her only comfort.

“Please,” She hiccuped, her voice quiet and desperate, “You have to help me… he’s close, Zalveth is still here, and he’s coming after me, I know he is.”

Statera stayed silent, taking in the sight before her. The sky above twisted, the wind becoming colder, making Galena’s nose run. The leaves rustled at the new disturbance, the sound of the first few drops of water heard not too far away. Galena looked up through her lashes, flinching slightly as the cold raindrops started to sprinkle her face, mixing with her tears.

Statera jerked her ankle out of Galena’s grip, adjusting her jacket sharply, standing menacingly over the girl. Galena let out another sob, letting her head drop down, ashamed to appear so broken in front of her god. The rain hit her neck and travelled down under her shirt, sending shivers all over her body.

“You said you’d protect me… that I wouldn’t have to worry about him anymore… Was all of that just a lie? Do you even care that he’s still alive?”

Galena could feel her heart ache at the thought of her god lying to her. The silence was strong, she could feel Statera’s eyes on her, waiting silently. She could feel the anger and frustration start to make its way up her body. Clenching her fists at her sides, her sight blurry from the tears, she stood. Her legs were shaking, but she kept her gaze low as she got chest to chest with the god. Statera went to move back, but Galena reached up, gripping the god’s shirt tightly.

“He works for Caedes,” The name was spoken like venom, making the pair flinch at the name, “He works for your enemy, who’s after me, and you don’t even bat an eye.”

Statera stood frozen, not expecting this kind of reaction. She looked off to the side, lazily bringing a hand up to brush Galena’s hands off. Galena’s anger only grew stronger along with her grip.

“You promised, Statera. You told me all those years ago that you’d protect me. Look at me! Look me in the eyes and promise you’ll protect me!”

Galena’s voice was strained, her hair becoming more damp by the second as she stood toe to toe with the one she worships. The coward before her that won’t even look at her, a mortal, in the eyes. Galena smiled to herself sadly, of course her god didn’t care, why would she?

Deep within the castle walls, the silence of the night brought a rare calm throughout the building. In one dark room in particular lay a copper dragonborn, sound asleep after a long day of work. His chest rose and fell in a gentle rhythm as he slept. A loud crack of thunder had the man awake and sat up in a heartbeat, looking around for any threats nearby. Realizing the cause of the fright, he sighed, dragging his clawed hands down his face.

Standing up with a groan, he stretched, giving a passing glance to the window. The outline of the blinds lighting up as lightning struck once more, the low rumble coming only seconds later. Balthasar squinted as he opened the blinds, looking at the dark gloomy sky above. He followed a raindrop sliding down the window with his eyes, noticing a strange sight in the field below. There stood Galena, gripping the chest of a shadow demon, alone. Balthasar felt a chill go down his spine as he watched the foul creature make eye-contact, carefully reaching up and using its clawed hand to pull Galena into his chest, grinning.

“Holy hell, what the fuck are you doing down there, Galena?”

Balthasar took off out of his room, his heavy footsteps echoing off the stone walls as he expertly navigated the castle’s hallways.

Out in the field, Galena wrapped her arms around her god, nails digging into the gods back. All she could seem to sob out was “You promised…” over and over. She felt like collapsing, her body barely upright anymore as she depended on the strength of her savior to keep her upright.

Jumping down flights of stairs, Balthasar finally saw the door leading out the back, feeling the familiar adrenaline pump through his veins.

Galena opened her eyes as Statera leaned down, her chilling breath freezing on Galena’s heated face.

A low elegant voice gently whispered in her ear,

“You’ll always have us, dear.”

Galena jolted back as Statera, or whoever that was, disappeared. Balthasar bust through the door, seeing Galena fall to the ground, propped up on her elbows, staring at the now empty space in front of her.

Balthasar scanned the area before walking forwards, placing a gentle hand on Galena’s shoulder.

“We need to go inside, come on.”

“What… Balthasar? When did you…”

“Not now, come on, you’re okay.”

With a little help, Galena was able to stand, leaning on Balthasar for support as she dragged her body along, her brain trying to understand everything that just happened. As they got to the doorway, Balthasar looked back into the field. There, in the distance, a tall shadow demon grinned at him before silently slinking off into the dense forest.