I was hesitant to walk in there and stir him awake, afraid of what I might see. But after I washed up, got dressed, and waited an extra half hour, enough was enough. It was time for him to wake his ass up, and I marched up to his bedroom and pounded on the door. “Hey, Goldilocks! It’s time to hit the road. We got business to take care of!”
No answer. I pounded harder, Rufian sleeping like a goddamn hibernating bear. If anything his snoring got louder, until I heard one of the girls whispering to him. Finally, movement. However when the door opened, I expected one head not two…
“Shit, Rufian! God, man!” I winced, shielding my eyes from the jewels hanging between his open robe. “Cover yourself up!”
Rufian chuckled, his eyes barely open as he rubbed the sleep from them. “What's the matter, hero? You never seen a man in his natural state before?” He teased, his voice thick with sleep.
“I've seen plenty, thanks.”
“Relax, Silas. It's just a body. Besides, it's not every day you get to see a work of art like this,” he said, gesturing to himself with a smirk.
“Well put the Crayola box away and toss something on. We got work to do.”
Rufian grinned, stepping back to let me into the room. “All right, all right. I'll get dressed. Care to come in?”
“The hell for?”
He chuckled. “Nevermind. The ladies were up and it seemed like you needed some attitude adjusting.”
I deadpanned him. “I’m giving you ten minutes, Rufian.”
He coughed abruptly as he turned back into his room, like he was hacking up a lung. Before he shut the door I saw a tinge of red in his palm, the sight of blood making me raise an eyebrow. First the nose-bleed then this? Was he coming down with something serious?
Well, from the looks of it, he didn’t seem too bothered by it. Even though I was a little bit concerned, I shook my head as I watched the eccentric arcane mage disappear into his room. Rufian was a wild card, that was for sure. A damn good assist, but still...sometimes I wondered if he was worth all the trouble.
“That pain in my ass…”
By the time I saw him again outside of the cabin, he was fully dressed and looking more alive than he had just a few moments ago. He tossed me a small bag, then winked. “A small token of appreciation.”
“From who?”
“Sevii.”
I opened the mesh-bag up, noticing a copper coin inside. It was four times the size of a penny, less shiny and pliable. “My item scanner is calling it a Doonie Coin, used to multiply the damage reduction of any tiered armor by 200%.”
Rufian grinned. “Brilliant, isn’t it?”
“It’s a nice rare item. And she’s giving it to me?”
“Why of course, after all, you did save her life. I already got my reward.”
“Man slut,” I teased.
“And one happy man slut!” he tweeted.
“This is great. Where is she? I want to thank her.”
“She left with Meleenia and Dathitor to Central Records.”
“Who?”
“That’s Dathy’s real name.”
“Yikes. I could see why it was shortened. Well, I’m glad they are adjusting.”
“And we should be too, in the bosom of Thaddii, Mavriel.”
“For our next ingredient?”
“Indeed,” Rufian said in an odd tone. There was a short pause, I was expecting him to tell me what that ingredient was.
“Well? What the heck is it?”
“Oh! Right, Em, yes, well, it is a prism.”
“A prism? I’m assuming it’s not just any prism.”
“No, an amethyst prism.”
“Where are we going to find that in Thaddii?”
“Your burly girlfriend had one. Didn’t you notice?” I raised an eyebrow at him. “Pixie.”
My eyes grew. “That brawlic rock fae?!”
He gave me a sly look. “And here I thought you were itching to fight her again. After all, it looked like you did some bulking up. Level 42? Boy, you sure drained those amulets, didn’t you?”
I scoffed. “The Deo Guild is a distraction, Rufian.”
