The Seawatch Inn
a collaboration with @Elle Joyner
"Our magic is..." His voice trailed off. "I feel it. And it feels like it's going to take me over. I've tried not using it, but then I get to a point where I can't control it if I do."
He shook his head and leaned back in his seat and stared over at Cordelia. "It'll eat us both from the inside out," he said. "I learned it all too late. But that's what Shadow Magic does. Worst part is there's a place where it doesn't. That's why all the crazies are crazy."
"...My mother..." Shaking her head, Cordelia rose and knelt before him again, reaching out to take his hands in hers, "But that isn't what I meant. The Magic. It... it won't need to be your end if you keep up the way you have been. And Sothal, you... you know what that would do to me, if I lost you."
His hand was loose in her coiled fingers, but he gave them as good of a squeeze as he could muster. "This isn't the first time I've gotten a scrape or two on the job," Sothal said. "You knew this work was risky, even for you. We've all got our parts to play. I can't just abandon it all out of fear of death."
"I'm not talking about that, either." Straightening, she moved closer to the fire, hugging her arms across her chest to rub warmth into them, "...It's getting worse, Sothal. You... you never used to drink on a job. Not like this. And port? Even I know how much you hate port. I can't make you stop, but I want you to know I'm concerned for you. I'm starting to think maybe you don't fear it enough... death."
"I got a little sloshed because of the..." His voice trailed off as he struggled to find the words, and he lazily motioned with his hand towards his back before letting it fall heavily back into his lap. "...back thingie. Are we done here?"
He grunted as he pushed himself up, but the quick motion easily agitated his equilibrium to the point where he immediately stumbled to the floor. It wasn't a graceful sight, nor did it present him at the higher caliber he once was. And so he struggled to regain his bearings on the flat of his stomach, room spinning and arms struggling to push up a man that was now just as picturesque as the common drunkards of Windfeld.
Frowning, Cordelia moved to his side and slipping her hands under his arm, helped him upright, moving him to the edge of the mattress, "You're in no condition to be going anywhere. You'll stay here, tonight. I'll need to dress your wounds, anyway."
Looking at him, she shook her head, dropping down beside him, "It wasn't because your injuries, Sothal. It was because of the tainted. The longer you stay in denial, the worse it will get. And I will never forgive you if you get yourself killed because of it. Now lie down..."
Easing himself up onto the bed, even with the woman's aid, felt like he was hauling up an incredible amount of weight. Sothal fell onto the mattress heavily and groaned as he lay on his side. "I'm not in denial," he said. "It won't kill me. I would have to drink a lot before it can kill me. But I don't drink a lot. And I don't drink that often. You just happen to see me like this because I'm sober elsewhere. Do you have any bread?"
As he lay on his side, Cordelia moved to collect the linens, kneels by the bed. For a second time, she brushed the hair from his face, knuckles kissing his jaw as she sank back, shaking her head, "...That sounds an awful like something someone in denial might say. You're not as good at hiding it as you may think... and the others, they're bound to notice. They won't stay quiet about it forever."
He looked up at her with a furrowed brow. There were fractions of time already lost from a memory blank due to the heavy drinking, and so he came to with slight confusion. But he was able to put the pieces together quickly. "What a sorry sight this must be," he muttered. "The future king of Faledrin piss drunk and unable to stand on his own two feet. This land deserves better."
"Then give them better, Sothal." Thumb brushing across the stretch of his forehead, she sighed, "Give them a king they deserve. Can't do that though, if you're dead." Shifting closer, she leaned her chin on the edge of the bed and tapped the tip of his nose with her finger, "Stay put. I'll get you some bread."
His head nodded somewhat, and he gripped the edge of the bed frame. "I'll need to leave soon," he reminded as he pushed himself up slowly. "Tam's closet."
"You and I have very different definitions, apparently, of what the words 'stay put' mean." Straightening up, she sank down beside him, smoothing the hair back from his forehead, "You need to trust that they can handle this, Sothal. You're no use to them until you've sobered up. Besides... you ordered me to rest, and I'll get none with you running around out there as you are. Just give it a few hours, at least..."
Standing, she sighed, "I've got something I need to talk to you about, as it is. But first, you need to get some food in you."
"It's not that I don't trust them," he clarified, and then shrugged his shoulders as he sat back against the headboard. His dismissals while drunk were a bit more animated and melodious in tone. Sothal's hand swiped through the air. "I said I would be there is all. Man of my word. I'm fine, anyway. Just need some food and I'll be right as rain. What do you want to talk about?"
"Then we'll both go." She remarked with fixed determination, matching each willful stride with her own stubbornness, "Just... Wait a moment. Let me get you something to eat."
For a moment, as she left the room, she considered he might disappear but above all his faults and vices, Sothal was a good, decent man... And he would not cause her undue worry.
Still, she was quick, finding bread and apples and a jug of water. Returning to her room, she set the tray beside him, settling down on the edge of the mattress, "Lady North, as it turns out, is throwing a masque. Word is the crown prince himself is attending..."
Cordelia had left the room, and it was an opportunity any sly, sober man could take to slip away. Sothal could even succumb to his magic and disappear in an instant just outside the Seawatch Inn. But he refrained, hands gripped as tightly as he could manage around the crude wooden bed frame as he fought the urge. It was almost involuntary in his state. That's what the nagging sensation was that he felt on his soul; a tug to spell cast the only Shadow spell he knew. And it wasn't even a traditional sort of spell with a wave of his hand through the air. It was an inexplicable connection.
L̓͐̓ͬͭ̃̈́̂̾̈́̌͐̇͐̐̾͝͏̢̲͔̳̭̹̞͍̙̣͞e̴͆͛̇̾͛̊ͯ̀̐̑ͩ͡͏̡̘̘̗̮̰̜ṭ̶̛̥͎̫̼̙̟̬̣͙̓̍̎̌́͌́̂̃ͪ͌ͯͯͫ̚ ̴͖̬̼̠̯̝͎̗̪̭̯̣̥̗̤͇̒̉̅̋ͩ̋̽̂̊̈̑ͤ̓́͑̋ͣͮ͢͝ͅg̅̏̑ͩ̉ͮ̽͒̉͛ͫ̒͏͖̰̙̼̬͔̙̲̝̪̼́ͅͅo̙̩̦͔͈̲̠ͥ̃̔͋͘ͅ.̧͐́͂͊ͭ́̌̍҉͉̯͈̯̦̫́͢͝ͅ
Sothal's head shot up as Cordelia reentered the seedy room. "They all say that," he said reaching for the loaf of bread. He tore it in half and held out one end to her. "What of it?"
"Well... Maybe he shouldn't disappoint this time..." breaking off a piece of the bread she held it out to him, a brow lifted in thought, "It would be a prime distraction, afterall. And might attract the attention of certain... Noblemen. Preferably those with emerald rings?"
He nodded towards her as he popped a piece of bread in his mouth and chewed. It was exactly what he wanted, and suddenly it became the best bread he ever had. "Are you building a collection, then?" he asked. A wide grin graced his lips. "And here I thought we had something special. Emeralds are fancier than onyx I suppose."
A brow lifted at his comments before recognition struck and with a coy smile, she pulled the length of string from around her neck, holding the ring put at a length, looking at it then peering up at Sothal through thick lashes, "Maybe I am, Your Majesty. Would that bother you?"
"Nah," he said with another wave of his hand. "But don't discredit the onyx. It may not look like much but it was mined in Tavun. It's the only onyx in the world with similar properties to the crystals used by the Vuaturi. Or so they say. So supposedly I could have some runes etched in it and it'll work. Can't really commission an elf these days, but, you know, one day surely."
"That's quite handy. But I didn't keep it for the value. Not that value anyway." Shifting back, she let it fall to nestle in the crook of her neck again, offering a shrug, "Belonged to a prince, you know."
"A long time ago, it seems," he said thoughtfully. His body swayed a little less, but he was still far from sober. Sothal zoned out for a moment, eyes glazed as either his mind went completely blank or he became lost in too many thoughts. But eventually he moved for the jug of water and drank from it.
"I'll leave soon. Then you can have your bath."
