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The night air was chilly, a slight wind blowing through their camp making the small fire in the centre flutter. Orym was grateful that his life in the mountains had made him resilient to the cold, but he still scooted closer to the fire. As he wrapped his arms around himself, he scanned the forest line for any danger. His keen eyes were unable to find anything, the only sign of life the cooing of owls in the treetops above and the soft breathing of his compatriots. With a sigh, he looked down to the sword and shield that lay at his feet. By now he considered them to be an extension of himself, unable to part from them. Like so many nights before, his eyes traced the delicate floral pattern that adorned them, slightly worn from their years of use but still vibrant and beautiful. He still remembered the day he received them, one of his many treasured memories. Running a finger along the hilt of the sword, he thought back to that day with a warm smile.
…….
‘Orym, you’re finally home!’.
Orym jumped as Riegel’s voice bellowed out and his husband ran to him excitedly. Riegel stooped down and planted a kiss on him, his elven frame almost bending in half in his hurry to do so. Before Orym could catch up Riegel had released him with a laugh.
‘I thought you were meant to be trained to handle any surprise, yet you started like one of the ravens’.
Orym flushed as he protested, ‘My training isn’t finished you know? Derrig says I have a lot left to learn. Besides, I didn’t think my own husband would accost me in our home’.
‘Well, I can’t argue you with that’, Riegel winked before walking over to their sitting room, ‘I made some tea, so why don’t you tell me all about it’.
Orym rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he joined Riegel on the sofa. As he jumped up, he lay down and rested his head on Riegel’s lap, the elf slowly running his hand through his hair. For the next hour he and Riegel talked about their day. Orym detailing all the training regimes he was being put through, while Riegel talked about his day in the fields. It was one of Orym’s favourite times of the day, just being able to relax with his husband. Eventually, he got to the piece of news he’d been dying to tell Riegel all day.
‘Honey, you’ll never guess what Derrig told me today’.
Riegel raised an eyebrow with amusement, ‘Hmm, I don’t know about that, I’m a pretty good guesser’.
Orym chuckled, ‘I don’t think even your powers of deduction can figure out what my news is’.
‘You dare challenge me’, Riegel put a hand to his chest dramatically, ‘I’m hurt Orym’.
‘Uh-huh, sure you are. How about this?’, Orym raised three fingers in the air, ‘I’ll give you three chances to guess my news and whoever loses has to cook tea tonight’.
Riegel nodded his head, ‘I accept these terms, and I would like to order my chicken curry in advance’.
Orym grinned, ‘Shame, because we’ll be having fish tonight. Let’s hear your first guess’.
Riegel cocked his head to the side as he pondered, ‘Did he tell you that you had the cleanest armour of anyone?’.
‘No, try again’.
‘Um..’, Riegel drummed his fingers on the armchair, ‘You’re top in training?’.
‘Bit warmer’, Orym held up one finger, ‘One more try’.
‘Well, it wouldn’t be that you’ve been selected to be a personal guard for the Chief?’.
Orym bolted upright and stared at Riegel incredulously, ‘How did you know?’.
Riegel shrugged as he gave a smug smile, ‘I have my ways’.
Leaning forward, Orym got right into his face with a glare, ‘No really, tell me’.
Riegel chuckled and took Orym’s hand, ‘If you must know I was talking with Lady Keyleth the other day and she may have let slip that she was thinking of choosing you as her guard’.
Orym flopped back in disbelief, ‘You’ve known, and you never told me?’.
‘I wanted you to find out yourself, besides it wasn’t a done deal’.
Orym groaned, ‘Well damn, that means I’m the one cooking tonight. Well played’.
‘Why thank you darling’, Riegel gave a small bow, ‘Before you go off though I have a present to congratulate you’.
‘Really?’.
‘Yep, wait here’.
He ran off and left Orym on his own, wondering what this gift was. Maybe some new boots? His current ones were pretty old, and they did need replacing. As he inspected his feet, he heard the soft footsteps of his husband and he looked up. As he registered what was in the elf’s hands he gasped. In one hand he wielded a sword, beautiful in its design. White blossoms were etched into the blade, reminiscent of the flowers that bloomed in their garden every spring. As for the shield, its green covering looked like twisted vines, strong and sturdy.
‘What, how did you…’, Orym stuttered as he tried to take it all in.
Riegel beamed, ‘When Keyleth told me the news, I knew I needed to get you something special. I went to Kerry and commissioned these. If you’re serving the Voice of the Tempest you need equipment worthy of her’.
‘But how did you afford this?’.
Riegel scoffed, ‘Never mind that, we had the gold to spare. Anyway I’m proud of you, you deserve this after all your hard work’.
‘Thank you’, Orym shifted embarrassed, ‘They’re beautiful, Kerry did an amazing job’.
‘She did didn’t she?’, Riegel held the pieces out to him, ‘Now let’s see how you like them in practice’.
Orym smiled softly and took the sword and shield in hand. As soon as he brandished them, he could tell they were well crafted. The sword was well-balanced and cut through the air beautifully. Giving it a test twist he found the grip to be strong and perfect for his size. As for the shield, its weight was just right and covered everything it needed to. As he looked to Riegel, he saw the elf beaming with pride.
‘You look good, very attractive’, he teased.
Orym shook his head amused, ‘That’s not the point but thank you. Really, this equipment is amazing it will serve me well’.
‘Excellent, that’s great news’.
‘Orym laughed, ‘I love you, thank you so much’.
Riegel looked down at him fondly, ‘Love you too’, his expression quickly turned mischievous, ‘Now I think I remember I ordered some chicken curry earlier and I’m getting a bit peckish’.
Orym sighed but he was smiling slightly, ‘Very well, a deal is a deal’.
‘Exactly, and I’ve never known you to break one’.
‘There’s time yet’, Orym grumbled to himself as Riegel gave him an affectionate kiss on the cheek.
Setting down his new sword and shield he went to the kitchen to start preparing their meal as Riegel talked animatedly behind him. Despite the loss, it was still one of the best days of his life.
…….
As Orym came out of the memory, he realised a tear was tracking down his cheek. Wiping it away he looked up at the stars. Riegel had loved the night sky, they’d spent many evenings stargazing over the years. He could still hear his voice as he pointed out all the constellations. Orym had never had the heart to tell him he already knew their names, and it was adorable how excited he got about it. Grazing the sword again a lump formed in his throat. It had been two years since Riegel had passed on, but his heart still ached for him. Still, he wouldn’t have traded their time together for anything in the world.
A light touch on his shoulder made him whip around sharply, only to see Opal standing there.
‘Oh Opal, is it your watch already?’, he said surprised.
‘Yep’, Opal squinted down at him, ‘Are you alright Orym, you looked a bit out of it?’.
‘I’m fine, just tired I think’, he stood up hastily and picked up his equipment, ‘Anyway nothing to report on my end, so I’m going to go crash’.
‘Ok, well good night’, Opal looked at him with a face that clearly said she wasn’t buying it but didn’t want to push it, which Orym was grateful for.
He made his way to his bedroll, lying down with his sword and shield close at hand. Closing his eyes he breathed deeply, taking in the sounds of the forest around him. Eventually he drifted off and dreamed of a sunset in Zephra, where a halfling and elf sat and watched, hand in hand.