Arwin woke the next morning to find that only a single side of his body was warm. The rest of it was swallowed by the frosty fingers of a strong chill that seemed to have gripped the entire room. A shiver ran down his spine.
Holy shit, it’s freezing. Why is it so cold?
Lillia shifted beside him. She yawned but cut herself off halfway through it with a curse, attaching herself back to Arwin’s arm. “Godspit. It’s freezing in here.” She hesitated for a second and he felt her wince. “I didn’t wake you up, did I?”
“I think it was other way around,” Arwin said. He was still trying to debate on if he was displeased with the cold or not. On one hand, it felt like his entire left half was about one degree from freezing solid. On the other, it was keeping Lillia beside him.
A moment after the thought struck him did a grimace pass over Arwin’s lips.
My priorities are seriously wrong here. I can’t let this go on any longer. There are only days left before we deal with the Wyrms. If I’m distracted the whole time, I could seriously slip up and get someone injured.
I’d be stupid to do anything now, but I need to give myself a deadline so I know when it’ll be over. If I don’t, I’m going to keep kicking this rock down the road and remain distracted by it the entire time.
Lillia was, as she had been finding herself feeling more frequently, grateful for the dark. It kept Arwin from seeing the embarrassment on her expression perfectly. If the Lillia of just a few months ago had known that she’d be using a mild chill to cling to the Hero’s arm like a lost child, she would have put herself out of her misery on the spot.
“I’ve discovered the next thing I’m adding to my inn,” Lillia declared. “Some damn braziers so we don’t all freeze to death overnight.”
“We should go check on the Wyrms.” Rodrick heaved a sigh. “Changes can herald stuff. I don’t know what, but we can’t leave anything to chance. Also, I want to put Reya’s theory about running to the test.”
“Hold on,” Arwin said. He took a step toward the stairs toward his room, where Rodrick’s greaves were currently waiting for him. Everyone moved with him to stay near the [Soul Flame]. He glanced at Lillia. “Could you…”
“Yeah. Give them a second.”
A moment later, an imp headed out of Lillia’s room with a leather-wrapped bundle balanced on top of its head. A second one headed down the stairs bearing the bundled greaves. Olive nearly jumped out of her shoes and hurriedly started unraveling herself from her self-made prison.
“Imps! In the tavern!”
“It’s fine,” Reya said, grabbing Olive before she could finish unrolling. “They’re not real imps.”
Olive paused. She squinted at the imps as they deposited the two bundles and scurried back into the shadows.
“Those are imps. In maid outfits.”
“They’re mine,” Lillia said. “Just a part of my class. I can form shadows into objects, and that’s the peak of what I can handle right now.”
Olive didn’t say anything for a moment. Then she started twisting in the other direction, re-rolling herself in her blankets. Evidently, between the potential of real monsters in the inn and having to face the cold, Olive chose staying warm over answers.
“What are these?” Anna asked.
Wait. How am I supposed to send Olive away? It would be incredibly rude.
“Gifts for Rodrick.” Arwin said jerked his chin toward the bathroom. “They’re what I’ve been working on recently. Go try them on.”
Anna glared at Arwin as Rodrick shifted her off him and hopped to the ground. He bundled her up in the blanket and plopped her back on the chair.
“You stole my warmth,” Anna accused.
“But I got something shiny. Warmth is temporary. Fancy metal is forever. Be back in a second, hon,” Rodrick said, waggling his fingers as he grabbed both bundles and darted into the bathroom.
“I’ll get you for this,” Anna said.
“Sorry,” Arwin said with a chuckle. “You could have always followed him, you know.”
“No. I’m not leaving my sheets, and I’m not going to waddle after him. I’d trip and fall on my face.”
“What did you make–” Olive started, but she didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence.
“Holy fuck!” Rodrick exclaimed. His voice carried through the walls as if there was nothing there and he let out a disbelieving laugh. “No goddamn way.”
There were several muted thumps from the bathroom, followed by a muffled curse and more delighted laughter.
“No damn way,” Rodrick said. “No bloody way. I can’t believe it. Holy shit.”
Olive raised an eyebrow. “Now I really want to know what you gave him. Why does it sound like he’s just found out he has a child?”
“Another one!” Rodrick exclaimed, his voice raising in pitch before he froze. A second passed in silence before his muted whisper came – somehow still audible through the walls. “Wait. You’re kidding me.”
“Were those walls always that thin?” Arwin asked.
“Yeah. You can hear everything in there. Might want to make those thicker,” Reya said. “Might be weird if someone’s taking a bath and they’ve got people listening in.”
Lillia coughed into a fist. “Yeah. I’ll look into that at some point.”
“Whoa. My ass looks great in this!”
They all looked back over to the bathroom. Rodrick’s words had definitely been nothing more than a hushed whisper, but they’d somehow carried all the way through the common room.
“Arwin?” Anna asked, her eyes narrowing. “Did you make Rodrick lingerie?”
“No. He’s just weird.”
“Fair enough,” Anna said. “What did you make him?”
Before Arwin could answer, Rodrick stepped out of the bathroom. He wore the entire Ripple set. Its attributes had hidden themselves from view, but that did nothing to stop the beautiful armor from shimmering in the dim light.
“Well?” Arwin asked, trying not to laugh. “What do you think?”
“It’s okay, I guess.” Rodrick adjusted the breastplate and scratched at the side of his neck. “I’m cool about it, though. I get gifts from admirers all the time.”