36

Aegar sighed once the nymph had left the room. He already felt like a fish in the desert here, or like a demon in the sunlight. If he was to stay here, sooner or later he would have to integrate with the others, which frankly seemed like a recipe for disaster. It’d been a long time since he’d cooperated with anyone on anything; he simply never needed the help. Allies were nothing but a liability to him most of the time, but now he had no choice. The nymph already held something against him it seemed and he had little doubt the human would too; such was the nature of most humans. The Jade Fist might end up being a troublesome ally to cooperate with depending on which of the stories about him were actually true. The other two didn’t seem troublesome at first sight, but he recalled Dunkelheit mentioning similarities between all six sages, which served only to worry him further.

He frowned at the thought of it all while he got up and made his way to the entrance of his own bedroom, closed off by a door of gnarly black wood. The inside of his room was dimly lit, as he liked it, with walls of grey marble and furniture of the same dark wood, probably made of the native shadow birch. Near the large and luxurious bed was a wooden wardrobe, full of leather armor and cotton clothing in various shades of black, grey and brown. Most were plain and simple, but some of the armor was trimmed with a dark grey metal and studded with what appeared to be small chunks of onyx. It was as if they’d known his preferences up front and did their best to try to please him.

He sat down on the thick fluffy mattress and sank into thought for a bit. Being treated in this almost royal manner was… interesting. While becoming a Sage may have been many a man’s dream, it also felt strange and suspicious to him, as if it was all still some huge prank. He pulled his right hand sword out of its sheath and stared at the black diamond at the center of the cross guard. The half-skull was an ominous sight as it absorbed the dim lighting of the room like some kind of bottomless pit. “This better be worth it.” he said, as if speaking to Dunkelheit. “Every moment I spend here, the Brotherhood is slipping further away from me.” Though he was just thinking out loud, somehow he thought Dunkelheit might be able to hear him. The black gem remained quiet and motionless, simply staring back at him with its single empty eye socket.
 
The voice of the vampire calling from downstairs pulled him back into reality. Aegar took a deep breath and hoped he could manage to act at least somewhat sociable, before getting up and making his way down the stairs. Downstairs at the entrance to the towers, Evelynn was waiting for them, enjoying a glass of unambiguous red liquid. “Spoiling your appetite for demon blood already, I see. Or was that not the part of me you wanted to taste?” he commented with a sly smile, equaling the suggestive tone she gave him earlier.