Dread Mage

Sonder awoke to the unwelcome presence of a pounding headache. The room spun around her, and thirst gripped her senses.

Lying sprawled on her bed, Sonder felt utterly drained, too exhausted to muster the strength to move.

Her curtains were flung open to burn her with daylight and a booming voice reverberated in her head as it said, “Get up.”

She mumbled, “Five more minutes.” Unable to open her eyes.

“It’s almost noon, and you know what today is.”

“How did I get here?” She said as she struggled to sit up. The last thing she remembers was hanging out with the other apprentices.

“Your new friends delivered you here.”

She opened her eyes fully and Hiraeth on her pillow.

He seemed much livelier than she did.

“How much did you drink?” He asked, jumping to her night table.

Of course, he would know.

“I don’t know how you do it,” She said, rubbing her temples, “We shared one bottle and then we stole another one from the cellar.”

She remembered when their first bottle ran empty, they decided to get another one.

Arby knew where the wine cellar was, but it was locked and none of them knew any spells or magic to forego something even that simple, and they wouldn’t smash in a door just to get some wine.

They weren’t that drunk, yet.

Though it luckily turned out that when Arm put his arm through the cellar door, he would open it from the other side, as he could manifest it enough to rattle on the lock enough to unlock it.

She didn’t quite remember how many bottles they took though.

Enough to leave her in such a state.

“Where is Vell?” She asked, groggily.

“Outside. I’m not sure what he is doing. His popularity seems to have dipped since last night.”

The sprite was searching for something in his own bag, and then pulled out a bushel of herbs.

“Here,” he said and handed them to Sonder, “Usually I only eat one for a hangover but seeing as you are a big girl.”

She took them and chewed. They had no flavour, or none that she could taste but, immediately, she felt more alert.

“Thanks,” she said and finally gathered the strength to stand up.

After washing up, she searched for Vell.

Sonder stumbled out of her room. As she made her way through the corridors of the flying fortress of the lodge, she could hear the distant chatter of voices and the faint sound of music playing. It seemed like everyone was already up and about, while she had slept well into the afternoon.

The sun was blinding as Sonder stepped outside, shielding her eyes with her hand. The courtyard was bustling with activity, filled with many mages, still enjoy the gathering the lodge had hosted.

She scanned the area, searching for Vell amongst the crowd. It didn't take long for her to spot him, standing in front of a group of very decorated looking wizards and witches.

Vell seemed engrossed in a conversation, his sublet gestured and gentle voice capturing the attention of those around him. Sonder walked over; her steps still slightly unsteady from the lingering effects of the hangover. As she approached, Vell's gaze shifted towards her, a look of relief washing over his face.

“There you are," he exclaimed, his voice filled with a mix of concern and amusement. "I was starting to think you'd sleep the entire day away."

Sonder managed a weak smile, her headache persisting. "I’m sorry. I guess I needed some extra rest."

He chuckled. "Seems that way after the night you. Everyone could hear the laughter and singing from miles away."

Sonder's cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she remembered the raucous celebration, she and the other apprentices had the night before.

“I hope I didn't cause too much trouble," Sonder muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.

Vell placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Oh, don't worry about it. We all had a great time. It's not every day we get to let loose and enjoy ourselves. Besides, a little chaos never hurt anyone."

Sonder nodded, grateful for Vell's reassurance though she would still fear the coming day’s events.