Halo (Etrian Odyssey Fanfiction)

Chapter 49

Eliath couldn't tell if this was a dream or a memory, but he did remember it, the sun shining high in the sky, heating the ground and making it a little difficult to work. He'd left his brother at the inn room they'd rented with Na'axri, and went out into the little Etrian town to see if he couldn't get hired for the day. He remembered that one of the only work he could get was relocating heavy boxes from an inventory warehouse to the trading point in the middle of town.

It was hard work, and the hair that fell from its binding at the back of his head was glued against his forehead with sweat. The box he was carrying was the sixth, and there was still a lot left, but luckily it was effortless to concentrate on what he was doing. He'd been working since dawn, but he was pretty certain if he continued on the way he was, then he'd be able to finish everything by the time the sun set.

That had been his plan in the beginning of course, until he passed by the fountain in the center of the village. The trading point was just a few yards away, but he stopped in his tracks, turning his attention over to the fountain and frowning heavily at the group he saw loitering there. He'd seen those explorers before since coming to this village, and they'd definitely acted rather shady, enough that Eliath didn't want Sage anywhere near them, but... well, he never actually expected them to corner someone.

The five men were in a half circle around a much smaller looking man, Eliath assumed he was male at least, but it was hard to tell. A hexer by appearance, with black robes that pooled onto the ground at his feet and sleeves that were so long they hid the young man's hands entirely from view. The hood of the robes was pulled up and low over his face, holding pale red hair in place over his eyes. All Eliath could see was the slight frown on his lips, and the red hair in front of his eyes.

He wasn't fighting against the men who'd cornered him, but he definitely looked like he needed help of some kind. Still... Eliath had work. He could always drop this box off and come back, and he was going to do just that, until he actually heard what the men were saying, blatantly harassing the hexer.

"I don't understand your kind. What's with the cloak? It's hot as hell!"

"Yea, and why're you hiding your eyes, huh? Got something you don't want us to see?"

One man reached out to grab the hexer's arm, "If we pick on you enough will you curse us, huh? I heard hexers were born of the depths of hell."

"I heard they died to gain their powers," another explorer piped in, "Did you die for your powers, huh? How'd it happen?"

"Maybe someone killed him," the explorer holding his arm teased, pushing the hexer away with a laugh, "Were you killed, huh?"

"What does your face look like?" the hexer tensed up when someone grabbed the hood of his cloak, trying to pull it off his head, and reached up to push the man away, his lips pressing tighter together as his shoulders hunched, "Come on, kid, I wanna see if you're cute!"

The hexer managed to shove the explorer away, stumbling back and tripping over the corner of the fountain, falling into the water with a loud splash that had the five men roaring in laughter. Laughter that ended when the explorers noticed the hexer's hood had fallen off his head, his we hair curling just enough to show intense silver eyes that looked almost white.

He had a youthful face, if a little pale, but he was definitely incredibly pretty, and Eliath knew from Sage that young men with pretty faces could be harassed badly if they didn't have someone looking after them.

"Ey, he's actually hella cute!" one explorer exclaimed in surprise, and his companions agreed with hums and nods as the hexer shifted onto his knees, his eyes cast down in blatant anxiety as he tried to hide behind the long sleeves that fell over his hands, ducking his head.