[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/7Sb1Zm8.png[/img][hr][hr][/center] [center][color=lightgray][h3]* * *[/h3][/color][/center] [color=lightgray]The absence of the expedition party had done little to change the daily flow of the tavern. Beverages still flowed like water, the music was constant and the patrons ever present. Sure there had been a few changes in the regulars, and some of the guards he’d come to know had been replaced by less familiar faces, but ultimately it was the same Eye. And in other good news, the bastard of a pirate seemed to have fucked off. At least for now. Today he’d found himself in the company of a particularly bored looking guardswoman, the new recruit if his memory still served him well. She certainly looked the part; Her armor was shinier than most others’, her shield lay mostly untarnished, and she was definitely young. She’d come in not half an hour prior for a cup of tea and had been sitting in otherwise silence by the fire, slowly waking up by the looks of it. [color=6A0891]“May I?”[/color] Aldrick gestured to the chair next to the recruit as he paced over, leaning his guitar up against the wall in the process. Charlotte looked up from the steam wafting from her cup, meeting the blightborn’s golden eyes with her own in slight shock, before nodding her head once and returning her [color=A54343]“Knock yourself out.”[/color] A moment of silence stretched between the two, before she looked back towards Aldrick. [color=A54343]“You’re that bard, aren’t you?”[/color] Her eyes ran down his features, putting the pieces together slowly. It was tricky at first, given the new color to his complexion and clean shaven face, but the recognition dawned on her quickly. [color=A54343]“It [i]is[/i] you. You played in our tavern back home, [i]The Last Drop[/i], quite frequently if I recall.[/color] Aldrick smiled and let out a quiet laugh, nodding gently. [color=6A0891]“The one and only. I remember that tavern well, you must’ve been the lass behind the counter then.”[/color] He looked up to the fire in thought, the memories flowing back into his mind. [color=6A0891]“You were much smaller back then.”[/color] [color=A54343]“And you didn’t have horns. Or red skin… or those eyes.”[/color] [color=6A0891]“Still smart as a whip I see.[/color] Aldrick shot her a playful grin, a low chuckle following from behind closed lips. The fire crackled through the silence between them that stretched for a few short minutes. The Eye was still quite empty at this hour of the morning, not terribly unusual as people went about their days. [color=A54343]“Would you play me something?”[/color] Charlotte asked, her voice quivering a bit as her nerves got the best of her. [color=6A0891]“What did you have in mind, lass? Somethin’ happy? Sad?”[/color] [color=A54343]“No no. Nothing like that. It's too early for happy, and I don’t need sad right now”[/color] She paused in silent contemplation, her eyes wandering over Aldrick’s blighted features again, [color=A54343]“How about something about the Blight? If that’s not offensive?”[/color] Aldrick didn’t reply for a moment, his eyes fixed on Charlotte’s face as if it would hold an answer. He’d only written one new song since succumbing to the blight, and while it had been shockingly on topic for Charlotte’s request, it wasn’t one he’d ever played for anyone before. It was oddly personal, and perhaps a view on his… condition, that perhaps a few wouldn’t appreciate. Eventually, he wordlessly nodded to the recruit before leaning to the side and grabbing his guitar from where he’d rested it. [color=6A0891]“This is a song of the temptation… and borderline seduction that this plague can bring upon you.”[/color] [url=https://youtu.be/qdaw6vOLluw?si=i8hMc2h9Qgew7dS7]Song Link[/url] [hider=Lyrics] [center][color=6A0891][i]Honey, you should let me in Shining lights and pretty sins You hear that song beneath your skin Darling, you should let 'em go A seat of gold and petty souls I'll be here, just let me know You'd look so good in indigo Are you afraid of letting go? You'll come to find they'll say you're perfect as you are But what's a little more? Just a little more Oh Just a little more Maybe you should hear me out Let 'em sow their seeds of doubt But don't you wait for them to sprout A hollow king, imprisoned minds You'd be safe if you were mine I just wanna see you shine Can you hear the music now? Stay with me, just settle down You know, I think that you're just perfect as you are What's a little more? Just a little more Oh Just a little more You know, there's so much more to you They don't know you like I do They'd only try to keep you down I know you could be so much more Just a little more You could be so much more Just a little more[/i][/color][/center] [/hider] Aldrick’s foot tapped a gentle beat on the wooden floor in time as his fingers strummed and plucked at the strings of his guitar. But there was something different in the tone of his voice. The expected deep tone with a coarse rasp was ever-present, but it was a different energy to his usual, happy and upbeat performances that normally filled these walls. Something about it was more raw, more personal than usual. [sup][color=6A0891][i]What’s a little more?[/i][/color][/sup] Everything about it was more personal. This was the very sentiment that played in his mind every day before the very people he performed for. A sickly sweet feeling, knowing that he was feeding from their very emotions but being twisted to believing it was a good thing. A feeling he loved and loathed in the same instant. [sup][color=6A0891][i]Just a little more…[/i][/color][/sup] He realized it in an instant. He was feeding on the recruit, the very same woman he’d seen behind the bar all those years ago. And yet he couldn’t help himself. The emotions he was feeling from her were [i]infectious[/i]. She’d felt every word he’d sung with shocking accuracy, and yet her mind was completely at peace as she listened. As he ripped every bit of emotion from it. [color=6A0891][i]Enough.[/i][/color] Aldrick played the last few notes of the song as he forced his mind away from Charlotte’s, the sugary taste of it fading from the tip of his tongue. He hated how much he loved how it felt. Charlotte didn’t know what exactly, but something felt wrong. Everything felt wrong. A wave of fatigue had hit her halfway through the song and had been building since then. She’d been enjoying the song and then just… stopped. Now there was just emptiness, a void where there had previously been… she couldn’t place the word. [color=A54343]“I’m s-sorry.[/color] She clutched her head gently and stood from her chair, walking slowly towards the door, her skin paling a bit with every step. [color=A54343]“The song was lovely, I’m just feeling unwell. Not sure what’s come over me.”[/color] Aldrick watched her leave the building as a pit grew in his stomach. Normally he would have fed off of a crowd all at once, taking just a little bit from each person. But there had been no crowd, no other person to focus on. Just the recruit who’d once idolized him.[/color]