When Odin tipped the skin back, moisture sweeter and warmer than he had ever tasted in his entire life slid down his throat and into his stomach. He didn’t care about its temperature—he’d had enough of the cold. “Where is my master, sir?”
“He’s speaking with the mayor at his home. I’m sorry to say that I can’t let you out of bed.”
I don’t want to get out of bed.
Pain bore no mercy, especially when the throbbing sensation reemerged in his hip.
“I think,” Odin began, carefully settling himself against the headrest, “that the Kerma hit me with the blunt side of its pickaxe.”
“You fought with the Kerma?”
“I fought the tribe’s leader. It had magic, otherwise I would’ve been able to kill him before it could do this.”
“It’s a good thing we’re protected here,” Joseph said, letting out a nervous laugh. “If the Kerma are revolting, I don’t want to be in the middle of it.”
“I don’t blame you.”
Though Joseph offered no reply, he smiled, instantaneously easing Odin’s worry of being a burdensome patient.
“How long will I be in bed?” Odin asked.
“At least until your hip starts feeling better. Your leg’s not as bad. I was able to stitch that up right away.”
“Will I be able to walk?”
“Your muscle wasn’t damaged and your hip is only bruised, though the bruising is deep enough to make me concerned. You’ll be fine, though—in the long run, you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“Thank you, sir. I’m going to rest now.”
“That would be for the best.” The assistant stood. “If you need something, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’m more than willing to bring you something to eat or drink.”
“I will,” he said. “Thank you.”
Just as the man turned and walked back to his desk, Odin drifted back to sleep.
This time, there seemed to be no storms.
“Odin…
Odin.
Hey, buddy. Wake up and say hey.”
Nova’s smiling, if somewhat-windburnt face appeared as soon as Odin opened his eyes. He couldn’t help but smile when he reached up to grip his friend’s hand. “Hey,” he said. “I’m glad you’re awake.”
“Me too. I had a dream about you that woke me up.”
“You did?”
“Uh huh. I dreamed we were back in Ornala sparring with the staves.”
“And you won,” Odin chuckled.
“Yeah,” Nova smiled. “I did.”
Pushing himself into a sitting position, Odin scooted back against the headrest and propped a few pillows behind his back. Nova sat down and nearly patted his leg, but stopped before he could do so.
“Almost forgot,” Nova murmured.
“Did you get hurt?”
“Oh, no—I didn’t. You don’t have to worry about that.”
“What about Miko? If he all right?”
“You should’ve seen him kill those Kerma. It took hardly any effort at all. And the way he blew the side of the hill up—”
“He
blew
the hill apart?”
“Yeah. He shot a huge beam of magic at the area and everything just
exploded.
Thankfully we didn’t get hurt.”
Odin nodded and slid his hands behind his head. He almost pushed the blanket off until he realized he’d been stripped of his clothing, likely in some sort of pre-examination of his body.
“Yeah,” Nova chuckled, “I got a big surprise when I crawled out of bed.”
“How long have you been up?”
“Not too long. I only just got up.”
“Do you know where Miko is?”
“I asked that Joseph guy if he knew. He said he’s visiting with the mayor.”
“
Again?”
“Again?” Nova frowned. “You were awake earlier?”
“I’m… not so sure. I don’t know if it was earlier today, yesterday, or—”
“Well, all I know is that we’ve
both
been out of commission for a while. Doesn’t surprise me much though, considering what all we went through.”
“Yeah.”
Nearby, a door opened. Joseph, garbed in a thin coat, stepped into the building. “Excuse me,” the man smiled. “I had to step out for a moment.”
“That’s fine,” Odin said. Nova nodded his approval. “How long have we been asleep?”
“Days. I started to get worried, but your knight master assured me that you were both all right.”
“He knows us pretty good,” Nova grinned, sliding an arm around Odin’s shoulder. “Huh, bud?”
“Yeah, he does.”
“I trusted his decision even though he wouldn’t take his cloak off,” Joseph said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Is something wrong with him?”
“No,” Odin said. “He… just prefers not to be seen.”
“Which is why I asked—”
“His skin,” Nova said, “it’s sensitive. He’s very pale. You can see the veins under his skin, so he tries to keep himself covered so others don’t have to see him.”
“Oh.” Joseph nodded, seemingly-pleased with this answer. “All right. It’s none of my business. I’m just trying to be helpful. You three have come a long way.”
“Yes sir,” Odin smiled. “Thank you.”
Joseph turned and walked back to his desk.
In the short lapse of silence, Nova reached up and scratched his beard, then turned and looked out the nearby window. “I wonder what it’s like out there,” he muttered.
“You haven’t been out there?”
“I only just got up, remember? The first thing I did when I got out of bed was wake you up.”
“All right,” Odin said. “Just wondering.”
“No worries,” Nova grinned. “Besides—I’ll be more than ready to tour the area once you get to feeling better.”
Later that evening, just as the sky began to darken and the people wandering the streets began to return to their homes, Miko returned, hunching his back and tilting forward his left shoulder to fit through the door.
“Hello sir,” Odin said. “I hope your day was good.”
“I’m glad to see the two of you are awake. I was getting worried.”
“Joseph said so.”
The cloaked Elf turned, scouring the room. He reached for his hood, but stopped before he could loosen the strings.
“Probably not the best idea,” Nova muttered.
“Which was why I stopped.”
“You know,” Odin started, “if you want to get out of your cloak, you could go get a room at an inn or something. I know I’d want to get out of it if I were you.”
“Odin’s right,” Nova said. “You should go get a room, get that damn thing off you. When was the last time you bathed anyway?”
“Not in a good many days,” Miko sighed. “I’m all right though. I’m concerned about the two of you more than I am about myself.”
“It’s not good to worry about someone other than yourself for too long. A man’s gotta look out for himself too.”
“I assure you, I’m fine.”
While Miko crossed the room, toward an armchair that seemed large and heavy enough to support his frame, Odin pushed himself up a little more, grimacing at the throb in his hip. He ignored it, instead pulling a blanket around his body. “Why’d it get so cold all of a sudden?” he frowned.
“The village runs off a magical heating system made up of stones that float in the sky on the four sides of the village. The mages that live here share the burden of keeping the barrier up, though that in itself requires little actual magic. The heating aspect, however… it requires much more work. You realize how much energy it takes just to heat yourself, Odin.”
“Right, sir.”
“But imagine heating a
whole village
for
an entire day.
It would kill a dozen mages to do it, let alone a handful. So, like they share the task of keeping the barrier up, they share the work of imbuing the stones to provide warmth. They don’t channel the warming magic at night because it would be too big a task.”
“That makes sense,” Odin said. Nova nodded, but didn’t seem too interested, even though he had given Miko his full attention. “It’s best to just stay inside and under the covers at night then.”
“Yes,” Miko nodded. “You’ll be fine. You have nothing to worry about. The wood is thick and the cracks are filled with plaster. Even if it does get cold in here—which, obviously, it has—the blankets alone will keep you warm.”
Nova rose from his chair and settled down onto his bed. Though he didn’t get under the covers, he grabbed the spare blanket at the foot of the bed and wrapped it around his shoulders.
“This is where I leave the two of you for the night,” Miko said, standing to his full height. “I’m going to take your suggestion and get a full night’s rest without my cloak. A bath would also do me some good.”
“All right,” Odin said.
“See you in the morning,” Nova added.
Raising a hand, Miko bade the two of them goodbye before he headed out the door.
Odin’s leg recovered quickly. His hip, however, showed slow signs of healing, and the first time he’d seen the actual scar on his leg was when Joseph stitches some two or three weeks after they were inserted. About the length of his palm from middle finger to wrist, the gash stood out on his upper thigh in the quick between his pelvic bone and upper leg, but seemed to have little bearing on his overall mobility. Joseph said that, because of his age, it would most likely heal and disappear altogether—not that it particular mattered, as Odin could care less whether or not he had scars of battle and because he’d fought nobly, but it gave him peace of mind to know that his leg wouldn’t be a particular hindrance for the rest of his life.
It’s good to fight your battles when you’re young,
the doctor’s assistant had laughed, his stitching tongs and scissors carefully in hand as he’d removed the stitches.
I sure wish I’d fought some of mine when I was your age.
About a month after they’d entered Neline and taken refuge within the Globe Village, he walked the streets with Nova in a slow but otherwise-natural gait. He limped a little—preferring his left, uninjured side to the leg that still felt stiff and a bit sensitive—but it didn’t slow him down much. Considering how bad off his hip was, it was a miracle he could even stand, much less move.
At least the ground is flat,
he mused.
What surprised him most about the material beneath them was that it was not snow or any kind of ice. If anything, the white material felt like dirt upon a normal road or path—blessed, one could say, in appearance, and resembling something of miniature globules of rock that had hardened over time. Already the Globe Village had turned out to be a strange place. If their surroundings were not key enough, then surely they would encounter more sinister opportunities along the road.
“You see the barrier?” Nova asked, speaking up for the first time since they’d disembarked.
Odin nodded. Though not clearly visible, if one stared long and hard enough, they could make out the pattern of snow and sleet sliding around the globe—embracing, it seemed, the village, but failing to do so entirely. The stones, though far in the distance and some dozens of feet in the air, were much easier to see, as upon their surface runes winked and sparkled with varying rainbows of magic.
“Yeah,” Odin said, blinking, tearing his eyes from one of the floating structures in order to look at the barrier in front of them. “I’ve seen it.”
“Kinda weird, being in a place with so much magic.”
“I guess.”
“You don’t feel strange?”
“No. Why? Do you?”
“Not really. I just feel more alert, that’s all.”
Maybe that’s how magic affects him.
Not wanting to dwell on the specifics, Odin gripped his friend’s arm and pulled himself forward a few steps. “Sorry,” he said, taking a long, deep breath. “I can’t walk as fast as you.”
“Is your hip feeling all right?”
“It’s fine.”
“We can stop whenever you want.”
“I know. You’ve said that ten times already.” Nova grinned and slid his hands into his pockets. His attention fell to a large tavern that lay on the side of the road, complete with a sign that hung over the porch that read ‘bar’ in bold red letters.
“We’re not going in there,” Odin asked. “Are we?”
“Maybe for lunch, not beer.”
I didn’t think so,
he thought, nodding and smiling at his friend.
“What?” Nova laughed. “You thinkin’ about a little while ago, back when I was dog-ass drunk?”
“You were more than
dog-ass
drunk,” Odin chuckled. “Miko had to
drag
you up the stairs. I think you were more horse-ass drunk than anything.”
“Pretty much.”
The bigger man slid his arm around Odin’s neck and messed with his hair. In response, Odin pushed him away, a ball of laughter rolling through his chest. “Oh God,” he smiled, leaning against a nearby wall. “It’s good to finally be somewhere where we can just fool around and be ourselves, don’t you think?”