We managed to get back to Kolyug in the early evening, just as dusk was settling in. During the day, I had given a rough explanation of my weakness but I didn’t go into detail. Adra was still sceptical about my actions, but seemed to have decided that I was simply cautious, which was a good trait, if you wanted to survive. Rai on the other hand seemed a lot less conflicted, to him, he had obeyed his teacher and that was simply what a disciple had to do. Personally, I think that his dislike of Kelgorn helped a great deal but it didn’t matter. We had escaped the ambush and were now approaching the gates of Kolyug, so bandits were no longer a problem.

We entered the city together, even as I had to endure the discomfort I got from being too close to the Eternal Ember in Adra’s pack when I felt another problem. Previously, I had noticed the strongly Earth-aligned forces in Kolyug, remnants of its creation, but now, it felt oppressive, as if there was a mountain, pressing down on me. Not painful, like the fiery aura of the Eternal Ember, but unpleasant nonetheless.

Lenore and I discussed it while walking towards the guild and came to the conclusion that the problem was with my own power or lack there off. Generally, There was power within me, allowing me to resist external pressure, even if it was just an unconcious effect. But now, I was empty, literally draining myself as fast as I regenerated power, robbing me of that resistance. With a little experimentation, I noticed that my senses seemed to be a little sharper when it came to the detection of magical anomalies but I doubted that it was a discovery I would ever willingly use. Fully draining myself of magic, to get a barely perceivable boost to my sensory capabilities seemed to be a bad idea. But it would be worthwhile to research if I might be able to simulate my current state, compressing my power into my core to allow better sensing outwards, or something along those lines.

At the guild, we quickly got to talk to Lagor and I let Adra do the talking, once again. I had to suppress a smirk when she started with the smaller tasks, hunting game and such, turning in wolf-fangs, the tusks of a few wild boars and even the long, sharp claws of a wolverine, completing the quests we had been given. When the EXP from the quests were enough to bring me another level-up, I truly started smiling.

But when she pulled out the bear’s head and the Eternal Ember, roughly explaining what had happened, I was serious again. Laughing while Lagor’s complexion went from slate-grey to chalk-white would be a little inappropriate.

Quest Completed! You completed the Quest: Ursine Troubles You gained: 50 000 EXP

You gained: 10 Gold Coins

Seeing the reward, I really had to fight to keep my expression under control, the other quests hadn’t given more than fifty silver, all together. But then, finding and fighting the bear had been a lot more trouble.

“You carry omnious news. Would you be willing to join me, telling the captain of the guard about your experience?” he asked, looking rather spooked. Part of me wanted to refuse, fearing that we would be roped into the events and I had absolutely no desire to go against the magician who had created the enchantment on the Eternal Ember. Adra gave me a short look, to which I nodded, pushing down my objections. We would leave the next day, no matter if they tried to force us into going after the magician, It might damage our standing with the guild, but I doubted it, the guild wouldn’t work if every local power could use it to force adventurers into suicide missions. No, the worst that could happen on rejection would be trouble with the local forces, so we would have to play it by ear.

She agreed to talk with the guards the next morning, which gave us a follow-up quest.

Quest Alert! Bringer of Grim News - Kolyug Quest Difficulty Chain-Hard Landor wants you to relate your experiences to the Captain of the Guard Quest Reward Increased Reputation with Kolyug

“We will take residence in your wife’s inn again. Do you want to meet us here or there?” Adra asked.

“I will ask her to wake you early, so we can visit the captain first thing in the morning. I will send him a message today but I doubt that he feels we have to have our talk tonight. Go, rest up.” Landor told us.

“Are there any quests that would send us further south?” I asked, making my intention to leave as early as possible clear. Sadly, he just shook his head, explaining that the only quests he had were important courier-quests, which we weren’t eligible for, as they were guild-bonded. We had gained some trust, but not enough to trust us with important quests, it seemed.

I just shrugged and left, stepping into the depressing greyness. Maybe that was why the other magician was working in the area, trying to colour Kolyug. A worthwhile goal, if there ever was one.

The way over to the inn was short as ever and I used it to softly tell the others not to mention Kelgorn, just in case there were others working for the bandits in town. Or, something I didn’t say, just in case I had been wrong and ordered an innocent man killed. But, when it came to our survival, I was willing to slay ten innocent men, in order to catch one traitor. I didn’t presume innocence or require evidence. I knew internally that it might make me a bad person, but if it did, it also made me something else. A surviving person.

As we entered into Drega’s inn, I shook off those thoughts, letting the soothing atmosphere envelop me. Drega looked happy to have us back but frowned a little when looking at me. I had no doubt that a former Adventurer of her power and prowess was feeling that something was wrong with me, maybe even be able to pinpoint what the problem was.

“Greetings, do you have rooms for us?” Adra asked, acting as the face of our party, as usual. She would have to do so the next day as well, not just because of the fact that I could hardly touch the Eternal Ember but also because I dreaded what would happen if my Outsider-Trait chose to act up. I had no idea if there was a trigger to it or if some cultures were especially susceptible to it but getting blamed for the bandit-problem would be bad.

“Yes, of course. Two rooms again?” Drega asked, giving Adra a smile.

“Yes, please. Morgana, Sigmir, you enjoyed the bath last time, want to go again?” Adra asked with a smirk. Luckily, most of my face was hidden by my hood, so my blush was mostly invisible, while Sigmir gave a happy nod.

Soon after, Sigmir and I were in the bath, and, due to my condition, Sigmir was using her power to warm the water. When it started to steam, I had a moment of dilemma, either I spoke up and spoil Sigmir’s hot bath, or I would boil. Gritting my teeth, I gave a careful test with a single finger and the problem solved itself when I was unable to suppress the pained squeak which Sigmir noticed.

Her reaction surprised me quite a bit, she instantly saw the problem and my reddening finger and the water-flow instantly changed, with her power actually working on cooling the water down. But when she grabbed my finger and started to gently sucking on it, all thoughts of hot water fled and I could only think of the warm wetness around my finger.

It turned out, the water-temperature was not crucial for a hot bath, we managed to have that, all in water most people would call frigid. Luckily, Sigmir had gotten quite the bonus to Frost-Resistance when Ylva crossed the first divide, making her only slightly less hardy than myself. Maybe, we would find a nice stream on our continued travels, it seemed that, as long as the water was actually flowing, we could have a comfortable bath.

In an almost perfect reenactment of our last visit, we came out of the bath and were promptly teased by Adra, only that there was no new guy sitting at her table. Hopefully, nobody outside the party noticed so we wouldn’t have to lie about Kelgorn. I didn’t want to draw attention to us, or our findings, at least not before we had left Kolyug behind us. Once that had happened, I hardly cared what they knew.