Boyafed whispered.
Once finished, Boyafed left his armor and most of his underclothes in a pile. He put on just enough to cover his privates and then went inside. “I’m sorry for the way I’m dressed, old friend!” he shouted as he ascended the steps toward the room filled with light. The stairs were stacked with ancient tomes and littered with junk, leaving only a narrow path. “Perhaps I should teleport home and return once I’ve changed!”
Balecut’s voice echoed off the home’s petrified walls. “Since when did you become so modest, Boyafed? I don’t remember you being so bashful when we were children! Stay a while! I’m sure your undergarments will suffice!”
Seeing Boyafed crest the final step, Balecut added, “How about an ale?”
“That would be nice,” Boyafed responded. The Order leader studied his surroundings.
Balecut lived like a trudgeboar. Clothes, trash, scrolls, ten season old parchments, jars of reagents, unclean dishes covered with rot, and half-full mugs were scattered all about, but Boyafed said nothing as he stepped over the many piles to get to a table that sat beneath the window.
As the withered wizard poured Boyafed a drink, he thought back to their childhood. “Do you remember when you, Dayden and I went swimming bare skinned in Farmer Perryman’s pond? You weren’t so bashful then.” Balecut laughed and then continued. “Do you remember that Dayden screamed when he thought a fish bit his manhood?”
Boyafed chuckled. “I do remember that. He thought it had been bitten off.”
Balecut lowered two ales onto the table. “I never did have the heart to tell Dayden that I had used my magic to make him feel like he had been bitten. I’ve enjoyed that memory for more seasons than I can remember.”
Boyafed took a seat on a rickety chair that was heavily padded and positioned near the table. It wobbled beneath his weight as he leaned back. “Then it was you who did that. I can’t tell you on how many occasions I’ve laughed about that Peak. It was a fine deception.”
From his spot, Boyafed could see out the window. The tricksters were still scattered throughout the darkness. “Damn beasts!” He lifted his right foot up. “It still hurts. At least the wounds are gone.”
Balecut nodded. “You’ll live.”
The taste of the tricksters’ urine still lingered in the dark warrior’s mouth, despite using the water from his bath to try to wash it out. He took a large swig of his ale, swashed it around, opened the window and then spit it to the ground. “Damn them!”
The Order leader shut the window. “Perhaps you could freeze a few so that I can have a little vengeance before I go.”
The wizard lowered his mug. “If only I could. Without my goswig, I have continued to deteriorate.”
Boyafed leaned forward. “I’m sure you don’t want to hear this, but you look worse than the backside of a krape lord taking a garesh.”
Balecut frowned. “I do have feelings, you know?”
The dark warrior lifted his mug. “You’re right. I should be more sensitive. The backside of a corgan would have been less harsh.”
The wizard smirked. “The same old Boyafed. You and I are nearly the same age, and yet I look as if I’m ready to pass. Since the Peak my goswig abandoned me, I’ve slowly lost most of my power. The tricksters only flee from the man I once was.”
Boyafed put his elbows on the table. “The consequences that come with a goswig abandoning its master is the reason why I don’t allow my men to bond with one. Even Lord Dowd sees logic in that.”
The wizard placed his mug on the table. “Perhaps I should’ve joined the army as you requested.”
The dark paladin shook his head. “You don’t have the patience to lead men.” After taking another swig of his ale, he continued. “I suppose you could consider yourself fortunate. Gallrum could’ve abandoned you before you established your prominence in the forest. If he had, you would’ve been at the mercy of the tricksters.”
“If he had, I would not have moved to this forest,” Balecut argued.
The dark paladin chuckled and then changed the direction of the conversation. “I came seeking your help, but it appears my visit is pointless now, considering your current state.”
Balecut stroked his beard. “But the moment of your arrival is intriguing. The Head Master plans to visit me tonight. He said something about a new god he serves and that the moments were right for a visit. I was going to turn him away, but now