Plague of divinity

Chapter 26

As Enrick left the last house he breathed a sigh of relief, he was finally done. After hours of work now he could get back and complete the next step. He was tired but glad he had eventually gotten through all the houses he planned to. He hadn't even needed to go to as many as he thought he would need to, although there didn't seem to be as many people home as expected those willing to offer were very generous with how much blood they gave. As he began to make his way home he knew it was time to finish this. A familiar face came in to view as he proceeded on his way. Luckily for him though, it was finally someone he didn't dread bumping into.

Louisa appeared to be loading some stuff onto a cart when he approached. He thought he might as well say hello as he was on his way back anyways, he was sure the ritual could wait a few minutes. She seemed to be too distracted to notice him at first so when she finally realized he was standing nearby, waiting for her to recognise him she jumped slightly, before letting out a small chuckle at her surprise upon seeing him.

"Oh, Enrick is that you?"

"Unless you know someone else with a mask like this,"

She snorted before shaking her head.

"Not around here, also you made me jump then!"

"My bad,"

Enrick tilted his head towards the cart she was attending.

"So uh, what's up with the cart?"

"Well, I was just moving some stuff around..."

She lifted onto the cart a small box of strange tools he hadn't seen before.

"You aren't... moving are you?"

"...I don't know. Depends on how things go around here..."

"You mean... the plague?"

She nodded.

"Truth be told, the reason I was sent here in the first place was to offer assistance when my father heard they needed help. I don't know when this plague will end... there's just been so much going on recently I don't know what to think but... if something does change, if things improve over here which I have a strange feeling they will very soon... then I'll have to leave. Hence the reason I thought I'd move some stuff around just in case, in preparation."

Enrick wore a sympathetic expression.

"That's a shame, I know for sure Mag's would miss you,"

Louisa looked to the side slightly, a remorseful expression on her face.

"The feeling would be mutual."

Her expression turned sheepish.

"I uh, know it's been a while since we were kids but since I've been back we seem to still get along really well... I was actually wondering if I should ask her if she'd like to join me on my travels..."

Enrick blinked, raising an eyebrow. She wanted Mags to go with her?

"Um... you want to take Mags with you?... For how long?"

Louisa shrugged.

"For as long as she likes. I used to travel with my father but we stopped when he... got busy with other things. It would be nice for me to have a travelling companion and she'd mentioned how she hasn't seen much outside of the village, apart from maybe the occasional trip to a nearby area. Who knows, maybe she'll want to explore a bit further, it's a big world out there after all."

Enrick nibbled on the inside of his cheek, the thought of Mags leaving the village and exploring on her own- well, nearly on her own felt weird to him. Although he himself had ventured out on his own, it had always reassured him to know his family was always safe at home. He knew she was a perfectly capable adult... most of the time, but he could feel deep down his protectiveness as a sibling was kicking in. She could do what she wanted, and he wouldn't try and stop her of course... he just hoped she would be ok, which she probably would with Louisa as it sounded like she knew what she was doing and they were very close but...