Chapter 65 : 65 : paying the Lord a visit
"I'm sorry, I should have knocked!" Imaya exclaimed as she covered her face with her hands, cheekily leaving gaps through her finger to get a glance at Elias
Elias sharply stood up from where he sat and pulled up his pants without rushing, but before he was done, Imaya had disappeared already. He sighed.
"Open up, It's me, Elias," Elias said as he knocked on her door repeatedly.
"I'm sorry, I should have knocked," Imaya replied from the other side of the door
"Don't worry, I'm not angry. It's my fault for not locking the door,"
"But still, I barged in,"
Elias sighed, "Remember when I entered your room even when you locked it? It was wrong too, so let's just say that time and this time cancel each other out,"
"I guess that makes sense," Imaya admitted
"So open the door?"
A clicking sound of keys turning followed by the knob twist, and the door swung open, revealing a red as-tomato Imaya. She averted Elias' gaze, Elias smiled as he noticed :
'Her innocence is cute,' He thought to himself
"I'm taking a walk around the second district, do you want to come with me?" Elias suggested
"The second district? Isn't it off-limits to civilians?" She asked
Elias smirked, "Neither you nor me are civilians. Come on let's go, I'll buy us lamb bites for the road," he said.
At the mention of lamb bites, Imaya was already sold, "I'm in, when do we leave?" She said with all seriousness
Elias smiled and patted her head, "Let's go now," He said
Each District itself was big enough to be its own kingdom, so it took a while of walking before Elias and Imaya arrived at the massive Iron gates of District Two.
"State your business here?" One of the guards demanded
"I am Elias Ashdown, the child of light. I have come here to see Lord Varric," He replied
The guard scoffed after sizing Elias up, "Yeah right, and I'm the Lord of the North," He chuckled
The other guard poked the first guard with his elbow, "That's really the child of light, I saw him that day, that white hair and the way he carries himself, it's unmistakable," He said
The first guard raised a brow, "You're telling me this kid is the same person who fought three expert-level mages consecutively and still slayed a dragon, that's not possible. There are a lot of people with white hair," He said
The second guard furrows his brows, "He is the one, I can never forget the face of someone who saved my life. Let him through," He said, he turned to Elias and Imaya, "Sorry for the delay Sir Elias, you can pass through. If you want, I'll direct you to Lord Varric's mansion myself"
Elias waved his hand, "There's no need, I know where it is," He said, as he walked through the gate.
"It's your head I'll offer when Lord Varric complains about this," The first guard sneered
He stopped beside the first guard and placed his hand on his shoulder, "What are you doing? Better hurry along before I change my mind, boy," The first guard said
"Do you want to die, I'm sorry Sir Elias. His ignorance is blinding him," The second guard said
"What's he going to do? I could probably snap him in ha—" The first guard could not finish his sentence before Elias squeezed his shoulder.
The sound of his armor squeezing along with the cracking sound of his bones were drowned out by his screams, and in a moment, the guard found himself on his knees.
Elias looked upon him and said, "Learn to be nice to people, okay?"
He let go of his shoulder and continued walking, "Come on, let's go Imaya" He urged her
Imaya who was shocked at Elias' strength snapped out of her shock and hurriedly walked to Elias's side.
As they entered the second district, it was as if they were in another city entirely, one where everyone was an instrument of war; a warrior.
The sound of hammers banging against red-hot steel, giving birth to new weapons that had yet to claim blood reverberated through the air, along with the shouts of soldiers marching around and soldiers cheering each other on as they engaged in friendly fights.
From where Elias stood, he could see Lord Varric's mansion standing out apart from the other buildings, it was a mansion but could easily be called a castle and no one would argue.
Elias held Imaya's hand, gently pulling her along as he headed for Lord Varric's mansion. Elias could feel the eyes of the people around boring into him and Elias, but he didn't mind. It was to be expected, that two civilians were granted entry into the second District and the fact that both of them were so young made them stand out even more.
Elias' ear suddenly twitched, he pushed Imaya to the said and took a step back, "Stand over there," He ordered
Imaya was puzzled at his sudden command but she complied anyway.
Boom!
A hulking mass suddenly landed where Elias and Imaya stood before, raising dust and debris. As the dust cleared, Lord Varric's figure came into sight, his smooth bald head reflected in the sunlight
"When I heard someone was causing commotion at my doorstep, I didn't expect it to be you, Elias Ashdown," Lord Varric said
"Causing commotion is a bit of an overstatement, don't you think?" Elias smirked
"You broke my soldier's shoulder," Lord Varric deadpanned
Elias feigned surprise, "Oh did I? I just gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder, I didn't know he was so fragile that he could be easily snapped in half," he said, faking an exaggerated gasp and Imaya shot him a judging look. Find your favorite tales at m v l e mp yr
Lord Varric sighed, "Whatever he did to make you react that way, he probably deserved it, since the other soldier that was present is unscathed," He said
Elias nodded his head, "I like you Lord Varric, you are very reasonable," He said
"So tell me Elias Ashdown, what brings you to my domain?" Lord Varric queried
"I came here to talk," Elias replied with a straight face