Private Tales Upriver

[Eislyn Gray]

“Well, since we decided against the Paragon and that crew of revelry,” there was a twinkling jest in her mossy eyes. “Perhaps a wide beach somewhere? I don’t really care as long as we make it official enough. Should we involve the clergy?”

An innocent question or perhaps another tease, eased by a soft kiss on his lips. And as much as she was loath to move away from being nestled against him and those blankets. And his warmth, she began shifting to a stand.
“Maybe the dwarves at the gate can marry us?” He’d asked the question but she wondered if he would actually be ready so soon.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"Official..." he mused as he stood up. His joints ached. They might have been pressed together and shielded from the storm but that kind of cold sank in deep.

He recalled the deep panic he had felt in the midst of the blizzard. That last flare had made the different. They had almost lost one another out there.

"Perhaps not at the gate, but there will be clerics inside Belgrath..." he offered. It was soon but for once they had some coin in their pockets. They were never going to be able to arrange an offial to wed them on a beach anywhere close by.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

“Oh, not getting cold feet?” A waggle of golden brows at her own pun. Poor Rayth would have the rest of his life to enjoy this type of humor from the princess. The horse nuzzled her shoulder. She pulled herself into the saddle.

They’d have to ride two to the gates.

keen gaze looked around them, wondering if her horse survived the night. Animals were usually more resilient than humans. So there was a chance. And truly, Eislyn didn’t need a beach to marry Rayth. She just needed him.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"That was terrible," he agreed. His joints were stiff as he drew himself out of their hollow. His clothes were damp and he couldn't wait to be beside a fire.

"If we could find a cleric, would you really go through with it?" he whispered against her ear. "Now you've said yes, I can barely keep this excitement down," he admitted.

"And look," he added, holding one arm over her shoulder to point ahead. "Luck might be swinging out way."

A dark shape beneath a tree. Eislyn's horse had sought shelter too from the storm. Rayth's horse softly wickered as they approached.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Eislyn was not complaining about the warmth Rayth provided at her back. The rush of warm air tickling her ear as he whispered. Head turned away from her horse as it stood and trotted over to them. She made no move to leave. Her joints were too stiff and tired.

Her horse would follow behind them to the gates.

Waist hitched as she looked to Rayth to answer his question.

"I would," she said quietly. She meant it when she said she was ready to be fully his. Just like she wanted him to be fully hers. Bound together with a promise.

They rode a lot further than she thought they'd have left on the road until she could see the mountain closer, closing in on them in the distance. And just in front, a wide and towering set of ornately carved doors.

"We made it," she breathed, verdants scanning the area in caution.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"Wow," he softly murmured.

Rayth had still be letting Eislyn's admission sink in when the gates rose up above them. Approaching them drew the scale into sharp contrast. They were much further away than he had thought.

"It isn't even the gate they use, look," he hissed. The huge gates, under the watchful gazes of dwarven Lords long passed remained shut. Far below was a small dark square with a short queue of wagons waiting to be admitted into the city itself.

When they reached there the dwarven guards cast their eyes across them and then took the reigns. Rayth thought they were about to be arrested.

"Aye, storm caught you two out yeah? Let's get you to Bragman's Inn. Foss will take yer horses to the stables and we'll get you by a hot fire. I'm Trilfi," the dwarf introduced himself.

"Thank you," Rayth said, letting the dwarf lead them into the city. The initial corridor stayed the width of the gates. If they were breached it was a choke point to defend. Then the ceiling suddenly opened up high above them.

The dwarf was mostly motivated out of compassion. Dwarven guards took their duties seriously and cared for passers by. However, they did take a few coins and ales on the side to direct people to certain inns. Coming in person to drop off some struggling travellers ensured at least one free beer from the owner.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

The biting wind and raw cold was immensely lessened as they entered the smaller gates. Eislyn's legs wobbled as she slid down from the shared horse. She must've looked fairly spent because Foss tutted at her with a genuine look of concern. She watched as Rayth slipped the dwarf some coin before he wandered away with their horses to the stables.

The inn was nothing like she'd ever seen before. Like most of the buildings around them, they were cut right out of the stone. And though they were underground, a warm light flickered high above them from crystal-like structures from the ceilings. "The light," she murmured, head tilted back. "I wonder if they're using some kind of magic or...perhaps the rocks glow of their own accord."

It was fascinating, perhaps in part, due to her magic being so light-based. They were lead to a room, passing down a narrow corridor lit by flickering sconces and a low caved ceiling. But she found she didn't feel claustrophobic. A wooden door was crafted into the stone wall, which opened without a creak into their room.

"Wow," she breathed, fingers running along the stone walls. "Rayth. It looks like water comes from the wall itself from this handle!" Eislyn was motioned to the carved out shower area. She, of course, had never seen or heard of a shower. At least, to bathe in.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

Rayth was finding it hard to imagine how much rock was over their heads right now. The mountains of the spine had seemed endless and now they were undernesth those peaks.

Everyone was walking around so casually he couldn't it kept him from feeling any great sense of panic.

Rayth's cold fingers didn't want to move at his command, but he managed to remove his boots, pack and sword belt.

He moved up beside Eislyn and held his hand into the water stream.

"It's warm!" he declared, grinning. There was a certain kind of pain that returned with feeling into his finger, but it was welcome.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

She reached out her own hand. The warm water felt like a thousand tiny needles driving into her skin. More prickly than painful. And after a few seconds in the warmth, any uncomfortable sensation disappeared entirely.

Her response to Rayth was only a smile as she withdrew her fingers.

"Perhaps we should wash up and change. Get some warmth back in our bones. Then maybe we can find someone to...marry us."

The last part was shy. Tentative.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

Rayth gave a very sharp nod about warming up. The rest of her question took his brain a few seconds to catch up with.

"Today?" he asked, giving himself a few seconds to genuinely appreciate the question.

He suspected that Eislyn had been waiting for him to ask for weeks and weeks now. They could not host a party with their families. No plan for an occasion stood out as being what they wanted. It was just about them.

"Let's do it. Let's go and find someone," he replied. Smile spreading across his face. "Want me to go and find a corner to turn and face?" he asked, looking around the fairly open plan room.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

"Absolutely Rayth Kerin." The princess affixed the swashbuckler with a mock-stern stare. Finger wagged in his direction. "We are not married yet. Please face that wall," she pointed to the one opposite the grotto-bathing area.

Hands fell to her hips, back straight, as if she'd just given a very important regal decree.

"And no peaking!"

Turning away from him before he'd see the smile, she began undoing the multitude of layers.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

Rayth did, obediently, go and place his nose against the wall. He laughed and shook his head. She might have promised him something special, but she possibly didn't realise how much pent up desire he carried around with him now.

"Not even a small peak?" he mused into the rock face. "If we are getting married..."

It was a fine line, but he felt she knew his feelings. He had underestimated that before. Rayth didn't want her to think his focus was so on what came after that event. Standing with his nose to the wall felt like torture. They should have shared the shower to avoid wasting water.

"I'm sorry I asked you so suddenly," he said almost conversationally. "I'm not even sure now why out there felt like the perfect moment and I just asked."

 

[Eislyn Gray]

She laughed as the warm water cascaded down her skin and hair, making things feel painful and good at once. Finally. Warmth in her bones. Couldn’t stop the sigh from escaping her lips.
Was this contentment? Happiness?

“I’m glad you asked. For the first time in my life, I’m not duty-bound. The question will always be and was enough, Rayth.”

she still felt guilty about running away from her father. Her people. What others expected of her. Even if choosing again, she’d make the same choices.
“I almost wish we could just get married in this washing room,” fingers scrubbed at her now warm skin. Smile hidden beneath flesh and water.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"Does it matter what anyone else days or does?" he asked.

"And I know I'm saying this motivated by the absolute torture of keeping my nose to this wall, so my words probably don't carry so much weight right now...but if we decide that's it we are in this for life then..."

Rayth shrugged, still facing the wall. He knew that it was more than that, to stand before someone else as witness and make some vows.

It really was hard keeping his nose to the stone.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Water turned off and she quickly wrapped a towel around her form.

“I will remember what torture you endured for me, fiancé.” Lips twitched as she dug through her pack, pulling out a fresh set of travel clothes. A long woolen skirt, blouse, and vest.
“It’s safe to turn around now.”

“And your turn.”

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"I don't think you do understand how much," Rayth laughed as he turned around. He padded across the floor, shedding layers as he went.

Rayth stood beneath the warm water, facing away from the wall. His breath hitched as it fell across him. The heat causing more sharp prickles as his flesh was warmed through.

"Have you ever tried leather armour?" he asked, turning to look at her. "After the wendigo and the storm... Maybe e should take a little more care?"

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Her back was to him as she quickly changed, towel dropping to the floor. Call it a pre-wedding-night gift. Fingers finished buttoning up her blouse as she turned, keeping her eyes level with Rayth’s.
“I’m not sure it would've mattered with the Wendigo,” she said quietly.

“But considering the trouble we find ourselves in, it’s not a bad idea. I bet we can find a tradesman here.” She blushed slightly.
“I’ve never been around more dwarves in my life and it only makes me wonder more why my father was so against all the other races.”

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"Mmm?" he went, absent-mindedly. The small gift had rather sent his mind tracing curves instead of thinking about what he had said.

"And no, but it might make all the difference with other dsngers." He scribbled himself down, truly appreciating the self control she maintained.

"It's control. You make your people think everyone else is dangerous or just...very different...and it keeps them from blaming those in charge for the troubles."

Rayth closed his eyes and turned his head to the shower, letting it wash the suds away. Running water in a room. Dwarven ingenuity.

"Shall we ask the innkeeper where too and look?" he asked, stepping out of the water and taking up a towel.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Fingers ran through her wet hair, quickly braiding it back. “We should. And find a dwarven temple willing to marry two humans.” Verdants flickered away and to the door. Sittting on the edge of the circular bed, she began tugging on her boots.

She looked down at herself.

“I have no more fine clothes, left.” Fingers smoothers out her skirt, brushing over the leather belt at her waist. “Do you think they’ll still marry us in these clothes?” She wasn’t sure what the customs here for marriage were. And she wasn’t sad about her clothes. She much preferred the more practical, now. But she could look the part if she had to.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"I'm sure the clothes won't matter," he said. "They won't matter to me. I will remember it for what it means to me."

"Besides," he continued. "It's easy to forget that marriage is much easier for commoners. I've been to a few. One on the ship, another in a pub. One in the grounds of a church. I'm sure it can't be so complicated."

---

"You see, it is complicated," said the cleric Harram. He was an elderly dwarf with a plaited beard that brushed his knees.

The innkeeper had directed them to one of the smaller temples in the city. By Rayth's estimation it was still a grand chamber. A ceiling high enough for a giant, grand tapestries of white and gold. They had been directed to Harram as one of the most friendly and forward thinking clerics in the city.

"You see our job is record keeping. Every family in the city keeps books and family trees and so do all the churches. Look..." he said, pointing to one wall.

Behind golden chains were books nearly as tall as a man and the width of a hand thick.

Rayth and Eislyn were sat on the front bench of the temple, listening to his explanation. Harram had seemed very excited about the idea at first.

"Family trees back five thousand years and more."

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Blonde brows nearly disappeared into her hairline.

“We have to give you our family history going back five thousand...years?” She felt the lava warm her cheeks.The Iron Fortress wasn’t completely unknown.Which made things worse.

“Would you settle for our family’s last names? And a promise to a round of drinks at our Inn?”

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"What?" went Harram, looking thoroughly offended. "No lass that's not how it works."

Rayth opened his mouth to speak, even knowing that Eislyn was a diplomat far more likely to talk him around. He didn't get a chance.

"I give you a drink each. Pint of strong ale. That's how it works. Can't have a church where you give beer to the cleric. But I tell ye what. Full names in my books and I'll observe the wedding. Tonight in the small Chapel," he agreed.

He jabbed over his shoulder with one thumb. Visible from the main chamber was a small side room over a platform. A wooden set of arches kept it have covered from the main chamber.

"Oh," went Rayth, turning to beam at Eislyn. He had been certain that their zany plan had just come crumbling down. To have all those pieces thrown back together in an instant made his heart soar.

"Maybe just one pint between us?"

Harram looked at them as if they were quite mad, but offered a shrug.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

A grateful look was sent Rayth. He knew she didn’t drink much. And she didn’t want to end up giggling on the floor before the ‘I do’s.’

As Harram prepared for the ceremony, she and Rayth were brought one of the golden encased books from the wall. It was set before them on a half-filled in page. A pen filled with ink lay before them. Eislyn took it up first and wrote her name in a script befitting a well-educated noble, lettering neat and precise.

Even though she’d been looking forward to this moment for so long, she found herself...nervous. Eyes caught the inner part of the small chapel where they were to stand. She could even see the pint waiting on a small table where Harram was lighting candles.
“Here we go,” the princess whispered to the man she’d fallen in love with.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

He looked down at her neat writing. He felt as if his nerves would stop him from etching even a simple line into the page without shaking ink all over it. He had never felt quite such a terrifying sense of elation before.

Rayth's hand stayed quite still a he wrote, despite the nerves. Long years on the Paragon had taught him the need for a steady hand in the strangest of times.

Rayth pulled himself to his feet and offered Eislyn his hand. The cleric's assistant blew on the words, keen to get the heavy book back where it belonged.

He let the moment settle, known how keen he was to get the two of them where they belonged. Together. It all felt like a rush, but he knew deep down that he had been ready for this far longer. It had been a case of admitting it to himself first.

He led her into the quiet chamber. It seemed to have been carved to keep out the hubbub of the city itself. The atmosphere changed very suddenly, becoming far more intimate.

"Your ale," Harram said. "And if you wouldn't mind saying a word for old Geltosh. Might'nt be your god, but it's his stone you shelter in now."

Rayth picked up the mug and drained two thirds of the pint before passing it to Eislyn.

"Thank you Geltosh."

 

[Eislyn Gray]

She took the ale and eyed Rayth over the rim before she finished it off, keeping her face smooth as a diplomat as she put the not-choice liquid down her throat. The corners of her eyes watered slightly as her only tell.

“Thank you Geltosh,” she repeated. Empty mug was set down delicately on the table.
Harram cleared her throat, head bobbing at their chest level. He instructed them to face each other and take hands, going over the commitment with them and how their kind didn’t take lightly to undo what was signed in the book.

The words seemed to blur together for Eislyn. She couldn’t stop smiling or letting her eyes look at his face more closely. The scar over his eyes. That beard. The quirk of his lips. The green of his eyes.
She’d never get tired of looking at that face.

“....and it’s done,” Harram finished saying something.

She blinked.