28 Julian was trying to teach

Julian was trying to teach the girl some spells.

They were close to Fauster, only half a day's journey left, even with Julian slowing them down on with his lame leg.

Illysa was too antsy and impatient to focus on what Julian was trying to tell her. He sighed and rolled his eyes in mirroring irritation, "A latent power such as your own will only go to waste without practice and knowledge! Do you not understand how pitiful that is?"

"I never wanted this power in the first place…" Illysa grumbled. Who would? People were dead because of it.

"We can't expect everything that we want for to appear freely in our lives!"Julian continued to scold, throwing his free arm up as they walked along the narrow forest road. "Work with what you have and do not scorn divine-given gifts no matter how small. Lest, you be regretting your decisions one day."

"Yes," Leonel cut in, adding to the conversation for the first time in while now, "I still regret the time I didn't leave you back there in the lake."

The Doctor took the long stick he was using as cane and jabbed at the back of the Inquisitor's heel, "Silence, you ungrateful fool of a man! If you want something to regret, I will really make you something to regret."

Leonel's reaction was too fast for Julian's playful jabs and instead twirled around on his heel and grabbed the Doctor by the arm, before throwing him over a broad shoulder.

Julian squealed like a pig being readied for butcher. "I know you're obsessed with me, but there's no reason to abuse me so much! I'm already old so if you keep doing things like this to me I'll get a heart attack."

"Okay," Leonel replied easily, feeling a sense of relief and triumph now that Julian was being carried over his shoulder again. "If you're going to get a heart attack and die, go ahead." He turned to the girl and said, "We can go faster like this."

She gave him a shy nod, feeling bad for her own impatience and irritability. After all, they were the ones helping her. However, she knew that her stepmother did not have the luxury of time. If they were too slow in their rescue than Anderina's head would surely soon be rolling.

No! She couldn't think like that. Biting her lips, Illysa held back the tears and clung desperately to the small flicker of hope in her chest. She tried to take her mind off the dark thoughts by focusing on the light-hearted bickering between the two men.

One step, two steps, three. They inched their way closer and closer to Fauster.

The sky was obsidian black by the time the arrived, stars and moon obscured with thick heavy clouds. There weren't many lanterns set out by the outskirts of the city and it was hard to make out where the roads even began. Julian made Illysa to wear a scarf to obscure her features and muttered a spell to obscure the flickering golden hues that dotted her pupils.

He quickly taught her the spell and reminded her that it was imperative she renew it exactly every three hours.

"Use it too soon, and it will not take effect over the previous spell. And use it too late, the illusion will shatter and not hold again for time to come." He warned her carefully, making the young teenager nod with a stiff jaw.

They couldn't use the handy Blueiron lantern Julian had brought for their journey through the caverns and instead relied on Leonel's superior night vision to lead the way.

The first inn the came upon was close to the outskirts of town, lying near the slums and smelled of piss and vomit even from outside.

Leonel didn't think twice before leading them there, entering uncaring for the sound of a heated argument coming from inside.

Illysa startled a little when she saw two men spitting at each other in the middle of the tavern, seconds away from throwing punches. There were several bystanders laughing and cheering for the two to have a go at it and tumble. The stale musky smells made her feel dizzy and cough, and she could feel sharp eyes on them despite the scarf she was wearing over her visage. Cold sweat broke out on her skin, her eyes veered toward the ground.

A hand patted her back. Julian's voice was subtle, "Don't worry too much now, lassie, just leave it to us."

She hated the feeling of helpless and was forced to obediently nod.

Leonel strode up to counter, and leaned against it heavily. The barkeep's eyes were on the Witch Slayer strapped to his back, his expression cold and unwelcoming. "A pint of your best." The Inquisitor tapped at the counter on his side.

"..." The barkeeper said nothing, still sizing him up.

Leonel had to hold back a growl. He knew that there were a lot of parts that didn't particularly welcome Inquisitors, especially parts further away from the middle of the city. But in light of their current situation, it was probably the safest. Even in a dingy little inn like this one, Leonel spotted wanted posters of the innate mage that hid behind him.

Leonel was almost surprised not to find pictures of himself. Nathaire must have felt extremely forgiving on that day. Strange. He tried not to dwell on the thought and turned his attention back at the bar tended, "I'm not looking for trouble."

He purposely glazed his eyes over sever Blueiron tools that were sitting around behind the counter, as if it wasn't already extremely obvious in the first place. Leonel hated these dense idiots. Most of the Divine Light didn't even care that much about Blueiron unless it was a very dangerous tool.

The bartender wasn't wholly convinced. He didn't relent his suspicions entirely but finally released Leonel from intense scrutiny and looked over at the girl that hid behind him.

"Your wife?"

Leonel could no longer hold back his expression, "Absolutely not."

He then looked over at Julian who was standing behind Illysa and snarled at them both, "We don't serve gays here." He spat at them, slamming down his hands at the counter. Leonel's patience wavered but Julian stepped up and curled an arm around the teenager's waist.

"She's my wife." He flawlessly lied. "And this guy here is my brother-in-law. He's keeping us safe during our travels. We're headed toward the capital and need a place to stay for the night. Wolves chased us off the main roads and we somehow found ourselves here."

Julian looked older and was more than double her age. But somehow this made the bartender's expression ease into one of understanding. Though his wariness toward the Inquisitor had yet to fully abide. "You bed a girl related to an Inquisitor?"

Julian shrugged easily, knowing exactly the right words to say to appease such a character. "Better than bedding the sister of a mage." All the while he held Illysa close to him, rubbing comforting circles into her back, praying that she won't freak out too much and give them away.

The bartender laughed, "You have a sound head on that shoulder of yours."

Julian grinned in response, "How else do you think I've survived long enough to land myself such a cute and pretty wife. Now if you can provide us with a few rooms then I will be out of your face to tend to my business." He gave the man a suggestive wink, inciting him to give Illysa a wide and dirty grin. She had chills traveling all the way down her spin and it made her feel sick.

Of course, they were given two rooms instead of three, in accordance with the lie that they spun.

Upstairs, the noise from below was still loud and piercing. Leonel kept his voice low when they reached the top of the creaking stairs. "Why did you say those disgusting things? Seriously?"

Julian sighed with exasperation, "What? I simply didn't want to cause any trouble. Men of that ilk like others that share similar thoughts and opinions. They're not a big fan of those who are different."

"So you're saying you're no different from that sleazy piece of trash."

"Were you even listening? I was lying, you idiot!" Julian nudged the Inquisitor on the ribs which earned him a scowl. "We have two rooms even so it's not too bad at all. Illysa even gets one to her self."

"Um," she blinked, eyes wide and still frightened about being in a place as such.

The Doctor smiled at her and pat her on the shoulder, "You'll be fine. Try to relax okay? We won't be able to do anything until dawn breaks and we can find out what's going on in the city."

She gave a tense nod. "Thank you…" From the bottom of her heart, she was grateful for their help. But she also had no idea how to express the extent of her sincerity and was left in the end alone in a filthy little room. The only reason why she held back the tears was because of how thin the walls were. She could hear everything that was happening, both below and next door.

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