Quill didn't know why he was so angry.

  If he could circle back on when the feeling first flared up inside him, it was when he saw the burn on Yereth’s leg, but that alone shouldn't have triggered anything inside him. It wasn't as if he wasn’t used to blood or gore, having thousands of people by now.

  It was a strange feeling, something he hadn't experienced before, even back when he was a human. He didn't understand why he hated the golden elf. It was almost as if something was messing with the logic in his head, the only reason being that he was now inside this elf's body.

  Maybe something inside him had changed when he had taken possession of Fenith's body. In the darkness of his thoughts, Quill then stumbled over the road.

  “Sorry.” Quill turned to Yereth behind. He was carrying her through the shadows of buildings and trees.

  It was hard for this frail body to carry Yereth. She was by no means heavy, but the pain of the wound seething on his back was nothing to scoff at either. Still, there was no other choice, taking the severity of the burn on her leg into account. No one could walk with those injuries.

  Quill turned a corner before running down a street. They had been on the run for a while now, and it was hard shaking off the pursuit of the guards, forcing them to take complete detours. It was a long time spent running around in circles, evading the patrolling guards around every street nook and cranny, but at the end of it, they finally reached the stout walls of Haref's townhouse.

  Quill stopped. It wasn't a humble house by any means. It spanned half a block, a lush garden by the yard barred with overarching walls too small to even keep a dwarf out. It was more ornamental than functional. There was a gate, but Quill wasn't stupid enough to show himself on the main road. Instead, he crept along the walls, taking advantage of the shadows before he then pushed Yereth up over the fencing.

  Once Yereth landed on the other side, Quill then threw the bags over before he scaled the wall and followed. His fingers bit into the bricks, almost slipping from the downpour still hammering from the sky, before he then pushed up and vaulted over, landing with a to the grass on the other side.

  “I can see you.” A voice called from the front porch. It was hard to make out anything in the rain, but there was someone there. Quill cursed under his breath: it must've been the , the one that was always there whenever Quill returned Haref's keys.

  “It’s me.” Quill raised his hand, nodding to Yereth before they ruffled past the patches of plants and out into the open. The light from the porch was blinding after all this time spent in the darkness.

  “You’re the gray elf.” The woman stood up. “Why are you here?”

  “I have something important to discuss with Haref,” Quill said. “Please call him.”

  The dark elf was sitting under the light of the porch. Her dark skin shimmered with violet through the rain, almost alluring in a way that complemented her dark hair, flowing down as wolf hide over her shoulders. She was wearing the bare essentials of a night robe.

  She then stared at Quill before sighing, pushing off her seat before starting to the door, closing it behind her with a . Within footfalls, the door opened again to reveal the old man Haref right behind it. He was wearing his usual night gown with a hand out, holding a glass of fine wine in his hand.

  “I remember saying that the exams weren't due for another month,” Haref said before his eyes then drifted to Yereth right behind Quill. He furrowed his eyebrows in understanding. “Though I suppose you're not here for that.”

  Quill stepped forward, his blood bleeding all over the wooden boards on the porch from his wound. “We were set up. The City Watch is awake in the city, looking for us.”

  “I heard all about it from Rhena.” Haref turned to the dark elf. “A gray mage killed five men in Gren.”

  “Help me,” Quill said. “I am an outstanding asset to have.”

  The sound of rain overtook the silence. Raindrops showered the orchids by the porch, droplets scattering over the petals. Quill was about to say something, but he stopped himself short when his eyes drifted to Yereth. He couldn't reveal his true nature yet.

  Haref only followed his gaze to Yereth before turning back to him again. He then hummed and stroked his beard with fully closed eyes, almost as if contemplating the situation for a brief second. Every second in silence, the cold wind bit at Quill's skin, and it took a long minute before Haref finally opened his eyes with a decision.

  “Come inside, young mage.” Haref stepped back through the door. “And mind your steps. I don't want to have to clean after your blood all over my porch.”

  Quill turned to Yereth with a smile before he breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

  “Yes, yes.”

  Through the doors, an air of warmth coddled Quill's wet clothes. A fireplace crackled on the other side of the main hall, drawing in the cold almost as if sucking away the fatigue and exhaustion from his body. It granted every part of his body bliss.

  His wooden sandals cackled against the stone floor before a carpet muted his steps. On the walls were curtains covering windows, along with lines of bookshelves filled with books and scrolls, taking up a third of the rest. A candelabra hung over the ceiling, and together with the lanterns dotting the walls, the light showered the hanging plants around in warm, fuzzy orange.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Quill didn't know what to make of this place. It was truly a noble's house, but the books and scrolls piled on any and every counter and tabletop told him stories of a man who just wanted to read books.

  It almost reminded him of his past home in a way–removing the fancy decorations and expensive ornaments while also adding a touch of undead servants lined up to his bid and call. That was because although skeletons and ghouls were useful in combat, they were also useful in following orders like cleaning and tidying his basement.

  “Make yourselves comfortable.” Haref started at one end of the main hall. A kitchen was there waiting, complete with everything from counter space and ovens to a rack of the finest wines and alcohol that Quill couldn't even pronounce the names of.

  “I’ll get you some towels and clothes. I’ll fix you up then.” The dark elf Rhena patted Yereth's shoulder, making sure to take care of her before she disappeared into one door.

  “What happened?” Haref pulled out a bottle of wine before pouring a glass. “Tell me everything.”

  “Alright.” Quill spent the better half of Haref's glass recounting the events before. By the end of it, Haref had already poured another glass. He was really letting himself go.

  “We have a problem in our hands, then.” Haref poured another glass before turning it to his mouth. “We'll continue this tomorrow. For now, Rhena will see to you both.”

  “There’s one more thing you should know.” Quill mentioned the noble elf from before, the golden mage with the Red Aspect of Fire.

  Haref’s eyes narrowed. “Is she dead?”

  “No,” Quill said.

  “Good.”

  Rhena then returned from the door with a pair of towels and a change of clothes. She offered them to Quill and Yereth before she then gestured upstairs. Quill followed behind her as they started to the other side of the main hall, climbing up the stairs before reaching the second floor.

  A small lounge greeted them above. It was curt compared to the main hall, but it was still larger than their old house. More of Haref's bookshelves lined the walls, decorated with vines bearing glowing, yellow fruits.

  Rhena stopped them there before walking to the edge of the lounge, fishing out a kit from one of the small closets. She then called Yereth to the couch and patched up her burn, wrapping it in bandages before applying an advanced form of over it.

  She was a mage. Quill hadn't expected it, but more than that, she was a Black Aspect mage, the same as him.

  “What are you standing there for?” Rhena called over to Quill, having just finished on Yereth's burn. “I need to patch you up before Haref starts his drunken ramblings downstairs. He gets irritated when he's drinking alone.”

  “I can manage on my own,” Quill said, brushing over his wound behind his back. His Black Mana had already started to replenish, and he was more than fine tending to himself with Black Reversal.

  Rhena then stood up and crossed his arms, frowning before she then clicked her tongue.

  A Black Script flashed over her mouth. She then disappeared into smoke, leaving only a black cloud in the air before it drifted and wrapped around Quill. She then appeared right behind him, half-physical and ethereal, before she pushed him to the couch.

  “Just relax, why don't you?” The smoke formed together to form her figure before she then wrapped around his back. “Haref will kill me if I don't tend to your wounds, especially when you're going to be representing his name in the academy.”

  Quill turned to Yereth before he surrendered. “Alright.”

  Rhena pulled his shirt and unwrapped the old bandage. She muttered something along the lines of clear disgust before she then poured alcohol and herbs all over his back, prompting a wince from Quill. When she finally finished, she then waved the two of them goodbye before she left for downstairs.

  Quill found himself watching Yereth beside him. She was unusually quiet, the events from before lingering in her head. He was about to say something, but then decided they should sleep for the night. They were both tired from the escape, and they could always talk the next day.

  “Goodnight then.” Yereth waved from her door.

  “Yes.” Quill closed it behind him.

  Quill then started to his room, being only a few paces off following the corridor. When he opened the door and stepped inside, the scent of incense filled his nose immediately.

  The lanterns on the side and windows flickered to life. It was a large room, almost twice the size of his room in Gren. As Quill made his way through, there was barely any furniture aside from the bed right at the far edge, big enough to fill half of the space.

  He dropped the two bags behind him before jumping to the comfort of silk and cotton. He snuggled in the warmth, the comfort it afforded him entire leagues behind the haystack he had been sleeping on. Soon enough, his eyes started drifting off to sleep.

  But he couldn't sleep, after all. His body was tired, and his stamina was all but burnt now, but he could never get past the last hurdle of rest. He was only thinking about the series of events that happened in the past few hours, replaying the scene of the guards and the golden elf, and now. What was going to happen from now on?

  The golden elf was still alive. Quill didn't have enough Black mana to finish her off. If she served as a witness to the City Watch, then it was going to be increasingly harder for him to continue living in this city.

  There was also the matter of the guards. It was out of self-defense, but five members of the City Watch were dead because of him. The city already had information on him, and they wouldn't mistake his face if he ever walked their streets.

  And then there was Yereth.

  Quill sighed in utter defeat. For a lich who had lived for hundreds of years, he was lost on what to do now.

  He sighed before pushing off the bed. He’d never had these problems before when he was still a lich, the reason being that he was strong then. With a whisk of his bony hand, he could just order his skeletons to remove the source of all his problems by the root, whether it was a person or anything.

  But that wasn't possible now. He could hardly say that he had dealt with any of the problems. What Quill needed was power, an overwhelming strength that could topple all of his problems with a nod of his head.

  Quill pushed off the bed before making his way out the door, climbing down the stairs before greeting Haref and Rhena in the main hall. Haref was drowning in a pile of books on the table, having already finished a bottle of wine when he came. He wasn't going to stop now.

  Quill pulled himself a chair before he got to work practicing magic. “Do you mind pouring me some of that?”

  Thank you for reading!