Chapter Seventeen

Something hot being shoved in Ludwig's open mouth jolts the spy awake. He sits up and spits out whatever is in his mouth, to which it falls with a splat onto a blanket the young man has over his body.

A Keiju with pale white skin and glowing green eyes takes a step back and looks dejectedly down at the platter of cookies that is in their hands. Ludwig catches the Keiju's expression, and shakes his head, cleaning his lips with his cloak's sleeve before apologizing,

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't know that you were giving me cookies; it was just so sudden, and they were so warm that my first reaction was, unfortunately, to spit them out. But, can I have another one? I promise you I won't spit it out this time," Ludwig glances hopefully at the platter of cookies and grabs one when it is held out to him.

He takes a bite of the cooled-down treat and smiles. It tastes just like the cookies she used to bake for him whenever he found himself in Mykel's office for a prolonged period of time. How he wished he could see her smile and hear her voice again.

"I baked your favorite Hikiko cookies again, Ludwig!"

The Keiju's voice from beside him brings the spy from his thoughts.

"So you like them?"

Her voice is soft, and her eyes watch Ludwig carefully as he finishes the last half of the cookie with a nod.

"Delicious! Are they, if I may ask, Hikiko?"

He receives a nod in response and hums in pleasure. He never knew Keiju were so good at baking cookies, much less baking in general. Anything culinary-related, actually. He thought they just lived like the hunter and gatherers of old, eating berries and meat. He was thankful to be proved wrong.

Ludwig brushes off the cookie that disgracefully exited his mouth from the blanket before looking around at the room he finds himself in. He is in a small hut made from black wood, the light illuminating his surroundings coming from a small lamp that hangs in the middle of the ceiling. Around him on shelves and counters made of carved wood are medical herbs and tools, all nicely organized.

The Keiju that stands by him is dressed in a white dress with a golden Caduceus etched on the fabric over the female's heart, a symbol signifying a healer or one skilled in medicine in many of the kingdoms Ludwig has visited. Even the Keiju of Aegia wore them in a similar fashion as well.

"So am I in the Kuu bloodline camp?"

Ludwig knew it was a bit of a stupid question to ask, considering the Keiju standing in front of him has the general appearance of a Keiju from the bloodline, but he never remembered being brought to the camp. Passing out from the pain in his abdomen, triggered by the odd red light that was summoned was the last thing he could recall.

"Yes. You wish to see Rye, correct? Are you well enough to walk now?"

Ludwig swings his legs over the edge of the elevated surface he was lying on, and stands up, taking a moment to see how his body responded before taking a few steps towards the black door marking the exit from the hut to the rest of the camp.

"Yeah, I feel pretty good! Whatever you did worked wonders for me. Thanks for that, by the way," Ludwig expresses as he is led out of the black structure and across the dark camp.

He assumes large trees with black wood surround the camp instead of the stone he saw in the Wyrnrett camp and the brambles he scratched himself countless times on in the Moreen camp. Branches span far over the spy's head and intertwine to create a canopy that no sunlight can penetrate. Lanterns appear to float about the camp, but upon passing one and almost running into it head first, Ludwig sees the items are actually spheres of white light in prisons of branches stylized to look like a classic lantern. It was some neat magic, that was for sure.

The Keiju stops at the base of a large black tree in the center of camp and gestures down to a large hole between two of the tree's black roots, blocked by a door of the same color, something Ludwig would have missed if not pointed out to him.

"Rye is down there. He is expecting you, so there is no worry about interrupting him. And I am just doing my job, Mister Casimir. Though when the pain returns, I can not guarantee I will be there to help you, so please take care of yourself. Please stop by my hut when you are finished speaking with Rye so I can examine you one more time. I will be waiting."

The Keiju leaves Ludwig alone with the daunting tree, and the spy takes a break before walking down through the two roots of the tree and pulling open the rather heavy door that bars his way into Rye's room.

Ludwig walks through a small hallway lit with the same white balls of light which are now in more prison-looking structures made with wood embedded into the walls. He can barely see what is in front of him even with the light and wonder how far he will have to walk until he is wherever the leader of the Kuu bloodline is.

The spy soon emerges into a large space lit by countless candles. Around him are various items of furniture one would find in a living room: a sofa, loveseat, chairs, a coffee table, end tables, lamps, and even a rug that brings a bit of color with its golden design against the black interior.

Sitting in a chair facing a fire burning with a dark purple flame, a vermillion spear resting against the arm of the chair is who Ludwig assumes to be Rye. A teacup atop an end table emits a calming smell that Ludwig recognizes as Yooli tea, believed to calm the nerves and soothe the mind. Another empty chair is beside the other side of the end table, and Ludwig forces himself to approach the chair slowly.

He glances in Rye's direction and freezes. The leader looks relatively young, only a few years younger than Ludwig- probably eighteen or nineteen. His glowing purple eyes are still trained on the flickering flames, and his white hands are neatly folded in his lap. His black hair reminds Ludwig of Mykel, and he wonders if the two have ever met.

"Mister Casimir."

Rye's voice is quiet, but not at all like that of a young man his age. He gestures with his left hand to the chair beside him. and Ludwig hurriedly sits down. He does not know why he is nervous, nor why he now fidgets with the hem of his black cloak and keeps his own eyes focused on the flames that dance before him, contained in the black marble of the fireplace.

The atmosphere of the room is eerie and unsettling to him. It was most likely due to the absence of natural light and the dark color of the interior of the room, as almost every piece of furniture, inch of the walls, and foot of the floor is black or close to it.

After a minute of silence, Rye speaks again.

"Did my appearance scare you?"

Ludwig forces himself to stop looking at the flames and look into Rye's eyes, which are conveniently the same color.

"N-no, not at all. I was just...stunned?"

A small smile crosses Rye's face for just a moment before it vanishes.

"You know I am much older than I look, don't you?"

"Of course. Aren't all Keiju that way?"

"Not necessarily. Keiju only stop physically aging when they have sustained a fatal injury. Keiju must, therefore, sustain two separate fatal injuries in order to die. All of the leaders but Frederick and I will keep aging like you and other Draceceans."

Dammit! Ludwig's favorite Keiju leader technically had one life left? That made it all the more important for Ludwig to visit him and enjoy how much of a difference his Fielnon camp would be to this scary camp. Scary Black Spear Guy would absolutely love it here, Ludwig had no doubt about that.

"What- or who- were you injured by?"

Rye's eyes harden and his voice is a threatening whisper as if all of his hate and anger towards the person was still deep in his heart.

"Rowan and Avivia's eldest son, Edgar."