Darkness and Hellfire

Chapter 27 Just A Warning.

Lenna awoke a while before Isaac. She didn’t want to leave the room however because she knew that every moment he was alone was a moment where she couldn’t protect him. As she sat in her chair she looked around the dark room.

Their packs were tossed to the side. Isaac, for all his complaints about Lenna’s preferred sleeping arrangement, had also slept in full armor. He hadn’t had the energy to dof his gear before passing out. Lenna was surprised he had managed to stay conscious for as long as he had. Honestly, she was also surprised he was still alive at all.

She stared at him while he slept. His hair surprisingly still brushed back. It was strange. She hadn’t seen it messy in the slightest, well, except for dirt and stone dust. Something about him just didn’t feel natural. He had told her that he had been reincarnated but his reincarnation was unlike any other she had ever heard about.

His silver eyes, that looked all too similar to hers, were hidden behind his eyelids as he slept. ‘At least he sleeps normally.’ She thought. His jawline was quite sharp too. Maybe too sharp. It was hard for her to believe him and his story. He really did look half drow. ‘He is kind of good-looking.’

As if noticing her gaze Isaac stirred. With a groan he rolled onto his back. His eyes opened and he slowly pushed himself up onto his elbows. His unfocused eyes scanned the room before they settled on Lenna. His mind seemed to clear a bit and he looked down at his side. There were still blood stains and some dried blood on him.

“Lenna?” Isaac said to her. She nodded in response and waited. Isaac pulled his lantern out of his inventory and bathed the room in its soft light. Isaac hadn’t even realized that his darkvision ability was active until the light hadn’t let him see in color. He dispelled it.

He could see what was left of her violet paint that used to cover her armor. The multitude of claw marks and blood stains that covered her entire form. There were even some blackened parts that looked to have been burned.

She raised her hand to cover her one exposed eye for a moment before slowly lowering it as her vision adjusted. “Can you do me a favor?” Isaac asked her. She nodded without hesitation. “Can you take off your helmet?” He asked.

She just stared at him for a moment and then went to undo the strap and remove her helm. As she did so he turned and sat up on the bed with his feet on the floor. As her helmet was removed Isaac couldn’t help but stare. He was transfixed by her dark gray skin with its violet hue. She just looked at him quizzically.

Isaac shook his head to clear it. “Sorry. You can put it back on now.” She waited a moment more, staring at his every microexpression, trying to figure out what was going on in his head. Isaac tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling. “I wasn’t sure if yesterday was a dream or not. And… I wanted to see what you look like in color.” He said the last part with a satisfied grin.

Lenna shook her head as she buckled her helmet back on. “I’ll go get breakfast.” She told him and stood up. He stored his lantern and activated his vision ability. She walked to the door and paused. Turning back she said, half to herself and half to him; “You are a strange man Lord Wexler.” With that she left to get breakfast for the two of them.

Isaac just smiled in response and then slowly stood up. He was starving and his mouth was dry but otherwise he felt a lot better than the day before. He brushed some dried blood off the bed and then started sorting through his backpack. He took out his bedroll and brushed as much of the blood off as he could. “I need to wash this.” He sniffed himself. “And myself.”

Lenna soon arrived and they had an uneventful breakfast in their room. Once they were finished Lenna returned their utensils. When she returned Isaac had his backpack on. “Wash up and then to the smithy. I hope the water isn’t ice cold like it was in outpost Charles.” Isaac told her.

The two of them got directions from Abe before they left to find a place to clean up. Abe told them that there was a bathhouse a street down and that they had hot water. Apparently Lord Benjamin had brought a magical heating device with him when he had led his expedition down into the Innerworld and had graciously left it here.

Excited for hot water and actually getting clean the two of them had hurried off to find this fabled bathhouse. Lenna was worried about someone seeing her but Isaac assured her that there was no harm in at least going to see it.

As they entered they were hit with a wave of heat. Standing behind the counter, at the far end of a small entry room, was a short and round woman with braided brown hair and stone gray eyes. Next to her was a sign that read:

Laundry - 6 silvers a basket

Bath - 6 silvers an hour

Bath and Laundry - 1 gold

“Bath or Laundry?” The woman asked in a voice even deeper than Lenna’s.

“Both for both.” Isaac replied and walked up to the counter.

“Two gold for public. Another five silvers each for private rooms.” The woman countered.

“We’ll take the private rooms.” Isaac replied and turned to look at Lenna. “The Lady likes her privacy and I could use a quiet soak.” Lenna reached into one of her backpack pockets and pulled out a sack with some coins. She approached the woman and handed her three gold.

“One o’ these is bent to hell.” The woman complained.

“Sorry. The fireball wasn’t gentle.” Lenna responded. The woman just stared at her for a moment and then seemed to notice the burn marks.

“Well, can’t be helped.” She replied. “Boy!” She yelled to the back. Soon a boy that looked to be no older than twelve ran out from a back room. “Take these two to private rooms.” She instructed him. The boy nodded and led Isaac and Lenna down a side corridor.

“There’s a basket inside. Just put ya clothes in the basket and put the basket in the hatch. I’ll get it from tha outside.” He told them as he stopped in front of two doors. One on each side. Next to each door was a smaller hatch door that slid to the side so the hatch’s contents could be reached from both the inside and out.

Isaac nodded and opened the door to his room. The room was empty save for a brass tub that Isaac could barely fit in. His first thought was that there was no way that Claus could use one of these but his second thought was a question. “Where’s the water?” He asked the boy.

“I gotta carry it in. I’ll just be a moment.” He responded and hurried off. Inside the hatches were the baskets and Lenna and Isaac went about dumping everything and anything that could be washed into them. The boy soon returned and glanced at each of them.

“Hers first.” Isaac told him. The boy nodded and slowly but surely filled her tub one bucket at a time. Once he was done she nodded to him and he left. She closed the door behind him and then placed her handkerchief over the only light in the room to make it pitch black.

The boy watched her close the door and then moved on to filling Isaac’s tub. By the time he was done Isaac was in his underwear sitting on the side of the tub. “Hey kid.” He said to the boy after he had dumped the last bucket in.

“Yeah mister?” The boy responded.

“I wouldn’t go peaking on her.” Isaac told him and gestured across the hall. “She really, REALLY, likes her privacy.” He gestured towards his bloodied clothes. “Just a warning.”

The boy gulped and nodded. He headed out quickly and didn’t even look at Lenna’s door. Isaac just smiled and shook his head. ‘I hope that works.’ He thought to himself before settling into the hot bath.

As Isaac soaked he fried his mana pathways again. Then he just rested for a bit. After a few moments he noticed something strange. His mana pathways were healing faster than they usually did. Thinking back, the water had smelled weird but Isaac had just chocked it up to whatever magic heated it.

“Does this water have healing properties?” Isaac asked aloud. He focused the rest of his allotted time to making the most of this boon. He still only had just started modifying his mana pathways in the grand scheme of things. His wrists and heart area being changed was nice but it was barely a drop in the bucket.

Across the hall Lenna was having a slightly different experience.