Nateaser: Reborn As My Love Interest

Dio - Ch. 83

"Captain Dioneras."

Exagus was sure surprised to see us. He forced a smile onto his wrinkled old kobold face, but it could not fool anyone. Especially once he noticed Hakim. He wrung his hands, taking a while before inviting us inside his cozy little tower. But he was quick to offer us drinks.

"What happened to your eye?" The old warlock asked once the cups were filled. He had a lavishly decorated retreat on the fringes, the walls lined with exotic and expensive items, from animal skulls to heraldic shields, and even some small statues. Probably everything, he was able to loot, and couldn't immediately sell during his adventures.

"It got gauged out by a hellhound in Baran," I explained quickly, pointing at the eyepatch made of its skin. "I take it you still haven't delved into healing magic since you retired, former Captain of the Twelve."

"Wh-what are you saying, Dio? Hahah." Just like his smile, his laugh sounded fake too. He glanced at the bard for a moment, and I was sure, he recognised him. Talk about awkward, I enjoyed every second of his embarrassment. "That post was never mine, you know that."

"Oh, I do, but I heard about a book that claims otherwise. "I told him, curious about the face he would make. I wasn't disappointed, the blood rushing to his cheeks made that pale, peach-colored skin bright red. But I didn't finish. "I wondered if this fort had some sort of a library. Always up for an interesting tale, or something nostalgic read."

"Hah, sadly nothing of value." Exagus shook his wrinkled head. His long ears were almost transparent, but quickly gaining some color too, trembling with every movement he made. It has been some time since I saw someone shorter than myself, maybe I got too enthusiastic in teasing him. "I'm afraid regrowing a missing eye is beyond my capabilities. Best I can do is clean up the wound for you if it's still fresh."

"It has been a few days, but I bet it could look better." I nodded, removing my eyepatch. His face changed colors again, but at least he didn't throw up. He looked at it for a few seconds, squinting his eyes. "Is it that bad? It did hurt a lot, as we didn't have potions."

"If you managed to survive this, you are tougher than I thought." He noted, reaching out his hand towards me. I couldn't miss this opportunity.

"This is exactly what Omerta said when we met up. After she left me to die in the hell's mountains." I claimed, and the old man recoiled. "I wonder where that witch got her ambitions from. I met her brother, and that wasn't from them. You were the one vouching for her, right?"

"You can't seriously blame me for her behavior!" He yelled, shaking in his boots. It felt great finally messing with the old bone. He liked to compensate for his short stature with both big ambitions, and inflating his past merits wildly. While he retired as a warlock, I suspected that was in name only. However, giving accurate estimates of a spellcaster's abilities was still not my forte. The same was true about abyssal monsters.

"Don't blame you for anything of course, but I thought I'd let you know, I had to remove her from the Twelve." I shrugged it off, letting him do his magic in peace. I wanted his opinion anyway, it proved to be difficult to find the right replacements. "In case you have a recommendation, I'm looking to fill in some of the gaps with spellcasters, preferably ones, that are good at healing. I'm tired of getting hurt all the time lately."

"You would need to look around the old tribes then, a shaman is what you want," Exagus claimed once he finally started his ritual. I could immediately feel the warmth emanating from his hands. It felt great. "Not many of us have access to accurate books on anatomy, especially not for the Lesser Races. But the spirit users don't have to bother with such."

"I have feared that much." I laid back, relaxing while his spell lasted. I felt my pain slowly fade away. Even after all these days, it still hasn't subsided completely. We could have bought a healing potion to help with this in the previous cities, had we brought any coins. "But the problem with shamas, they're slow, and can't use telepathy."