Meeting The Blaid Pt 2

Adaceus sat himself on a seat, situated across from where Hainan and Ingridt were sitting on in the spacious long couch they placed themselves in. 

Adaceus glanced toward the woman, Ingridt, with a mix of tension and suspense, awaiting what was to come as she did nothing but cross her arms and her eyes closed, leaving him in unease. Hainan had the same emotion of anxiety in him too, almost even more as droplets of sweat appeared on his forehead as he stole quick glances at his wife beside him.

Seeing this now in front of him, Adaceus could only think how ridiculous this was. A very average statured man, who was weary in the way he carried himself, next to a woman who outsized and out-statured him in everyway, he stood there questioning this very unlikely union. 

Enid suddenly came in, carrying a tray in her arms with cups steaming liquid on them.

She placed it down.

"I've prepared some tea."

"Thank you, Enid," Ingridt suddenly said, causing ripples of surprise across the room.

Enid bowed then stepped out, but not without exchanging a worried look directed toward Hainan, and he did the same to her.

The woman uncrossed her arms and took a cup of the hot drink in her hand, smelling it first and blowing on it to remove the vapor it emitted, before taking an audible sip.

"First of all," she said abruptly, causing Adaceus to flinch, "I thank you very much for rescuing my husband from that attack, If not for the very stupid mistake my dear husband made, he would have faced a very dire fate if not for your intervening."

She then took another audible sip.

"Yes," Hainan timidly said, "I'm very sorry about that de-"

She glanced at him a ferocious stare, causing him to recoil back like a scared puppy. 

Ingridt closed her eyes again, and took another sip.

"Anyways, your name is Adaceus, correct?"

He nodded.

"Good, how about your age, how old are you?"

"I am six, I suppose," the last part was said in a whisper. This was just pure estimation on his part as he really didn't know what age his body was. He was young, that was clear, so by saying that he felt it was a safe answer he could tell.

Ingridt then tightened her eyes, almost in curiosity or with very focused interest, scanning him up and down that sent a cold feeling to rise up in him. Her eyes left him eventually, and then latched on to the sword placed beside his leg, leaning on the couch.

"That's quite the blade," she said, gazing on the golden shining blade.

Adaceus turned to face it also, "Yes, it is."

"Tell me, how did one such as you have that.'

"I-its," Adaceus stuttered, "An heirloom I have, something that has been with me for a long time now."

"Hnn, strange, a six year old, having that blade, and having the combat ability to fell three cristlebacks, all on your own."

"Well, technically I had help with one."

"Mhm, with all that, it makes me wonder," she looked toward him, her eyes tensed and with focus, and Adaceus locked gazes with her, "What exactly are you?"

"Pardon?"

"What are you? Its a simple thing to ask considering you are foreign to me. Think about it, why are children out there in the woods in the first place? Could you tell me?"

Adaceus looked at her with apprehension, this to him was an interrogation, where he was walking on a tight rope over a vast chasm, where if he fell he would be stuck down in an instant. All the answers he could provide were all just fabrication in his part, and the challenge of this was to make it believable as possible. 

"We are runaways, me and the girls, I mean," he said, breaking away from their locked gaze and looking down at his lap. 

"Runaways," she hummed, "What did you, 'run away from'?"

"Umm," Adaces struggled, finding it difficult to forge an explanation. 

"A town, o-our town, we ran away from it, we were driven out."

That raised an eyebrow in her, "Elaborate."

Adaceus paused, and stood still for a few moments.

"Is everything all right?" She asked, after a couple of seconds went by, and he was quite all the while.

Adaceus then grabbed his right gauntlet, the plated and cloth glove, and slowly pulled it off, showing under it the charred and burned arm. It was colored an ashy black, and resembled a tree's trunk after a wildfire, with his skin cracked like fissure of earth. The fingers that were attached to it were stripped of flesh, with only a few strips of skin still clinging on it, and the exposed bone was blacker than coal. 

As expected, their faces became stunned. Hainan's expression contained terror upon seeing it, his mouth wide and mouth agape, while Ingridt also had an expression of surprise or shock, where only her eyes widened at the sight. 

"The reason is because of this."

Ingridt immediately became enshrouded in energy, though not as ferocious as the one before. It was in a form of a steam like substance that lingered, rising out of her body like the tea before, and her face became furious.

"What, is, that," she asked, her hostility apparent in her voice. 

"This is the reason we were driven out," Adaceus took a deep breath before continuing.

"I... am cursed."

"Cursed?" Hainan said. 

"Expand," added Ingridt.

"I... am ailed by a curse, p-placed upon me by a wicked magus, and I have had it... since birth." Adacues said this, desperately steadying his words, trying to make this as real as possible. This was just made on the top of his head, and he hoped this could pass for the truth.

"The curse resulted in me having my flesh charred and leathered, and also why I hide my visage beneath this mask."

He looked toward them and analyzed their expression. Hainan was still with a look of worry, but has lessened as he explained his case, even having a moment of realization that Adaceus guessed, pertained to last time, while the animosity harbored by Indridt hadn't flinched one bit, and he felt like something would rupture out of her, more powerful than the smoke she emitted. 

He continued, "My town considered me a beast, a monster, so I made a choice to leave and brought with me all I could. Thus, I am here. I came upon Adaceus on chance and provided my help."

He then placed the gauntlet back on his hand, covering the wretched arm. After he bowed, both his arms spread to each side and placed to his lap, and lowered his head toward his head. 

"Please, if this proves I am a danger to you, you can send me out of here if that is what you wish, but please, for the girls, let them stay here, let them be taken care for, that is all I ask."

The both of them stared at each other, ruminating upon themselves what to do in this situation. Minutes passed, and Hainan could only look at his wife with his brows tense, sighing a grin. Ingridt looked to her husbands face, and closed her eyes.

"We won't be sending you out, Adaceus."

Adaceus, still kneeling, rose quickly up.

"Bu-"

He was interrupted, by the hand that was raised by Ingridt.

"We will still have you here, we will need a proper explanation, but for now I can still trust you can stay, plus, we have a debt to pay for saving my dears life, from that you are at least trustworthy."

Adaceus only bowed, "Thank you."

"Well," Hainan said, clapping his hand once and rising from his seat, "It's starting to get late, I think we should hit the hay and continue in the morning, what say you all."

Ingridt nodded, and Adaceus rose as well. 

# # # * # 

The day passed to morning, and Adaceus rose from his seat to the beams of the sun penetrating through the window. He was sluggish as he awakened, his eyes heavy, and his vision blurry as he stayed all night awake, and only had little time to rest because of the hectic things happening last night-the helmet he had on also didn't prove comfortable for him too. 

He jumped, trying to rejuvenate his body with quick stretch.

He twisted and turned, feeling somewhat good at doing this, until after turning another round, something on the table caught his attention.

A small piece of paper was placed there.

He picked it up, observing it all around in surprise to how it got there.

He saw there was something written in it, and he focused on what it said.

"Come to the grounds," it was written in it, with a name signed on it, a name, Ingridt.