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Lord Ariks Eshteross finished writing the last letter. He folded it into an envelope and added the legal document he prepared before. It was addressed to the Bell's Hells. Ashton, Laudna, Orym… He traced the second name with his finger. Yes, he was going to leave it there. They proved very capable when they set their mind on a goal. They were determined to bring their friend back, and he had trust in them. He just hoped the cookies he baked for her wouldn’t be too stale by then.
He spent a moment longer trying to remember the old gnome's name, and then wondering if he should also add Dorian. At the end, he let both matters go, letting the Bell's Hells sort it out themselves. He reached for a stick of sealing wax. Then he thought of something and put the wax aside again. Instead, he took another piece of paper and dipped his quill in ink.
"A bit of cinnamon, grated ginger and maple syrup…" he muttered under his breath while writing. "Sift the flour together with sugar…"
He added the recipe into the envelope and then finally sealed it with his signet ring. He put the envelope into a box with the other ones, locked it and carefully placed it on the pressure plate under his bed, then activated the trap.
There was nothing else left to do. All the letters were written, all the traps activated. He was ready. He could only wait now, but he knew he wouldn't be waiting for long. The time of hiding, of precautions and paranoia was over. Before he dies, he will live once more.
A slight smile was playing on his lips as he readied his blade.
The fight was over. He could feel what strength he had left in his body leaving together with the blood pouring from his wounds. Bell's Hells were right, she was damn fast, and those echoes could just set off his traps and then melt away with no harm to her. Still he hadn’t made it easy for her. He fought like a true warrior, both with the strength of his arms and experience of his age.
The fight led them all over the house, all of his carefully prepared traps finally coming to use. Just the healing potions he stashed in the most improbable places were useless. There was some poison on her blade that prevented their effect. He could feel the poison coursing through his veins even now, with the last beats of his heart. Otohan Thull left him for dead, but there was still a spark of life in him - not enough to last for more than a few moments, but enough to crawl for a few steps.
He crawled slowly, leaving a trail of blood behind. Then he reached for the box with letters, trying to make sure that whoever finds his body would find them as well. Hopefully they notice the trap.
He could feel the world fading into darkness, the coldness spreading over his body. He knew this was it. He was dying, but he couldn't help it but feel some satisfaction in it. He'd been afraid that he would spend the rest of his days trapped inside this house, borrowing more and more time to do some good until old age claimed him, weak and pathetic. Instead, he was granted one last glorious fight and a warrior's death.
His heart made a last, shaky effort and then gave up. A sense of peace washed over him and covered him like a blanket of black wings. His last thought belonged to her.
She was sitting on a bench under a tree. She was younger than he remembered her, with a firmness in her posture and no white in her hair, but he knew her deep in his soul. Mistress Ellia Prudaj, his benefactor and dearest friend, the one who turned his life around and made him see the good in himself and others, and to fight for it.
"Ellia?" he whispered.
She turned her head and smiled. "Ariks! I've been waiting for you… Come, join me and tell me everything." She extended her hand to him. "Did you have a good life?"
He took it, hiding her delicate hand in his big one. He pressed it just slightly and sat down next to her.
"I missed you. I tried to live so that I would make you proud. I couldn’t undo the sins of my past, but I tried to do the most good with what time I had left. I don’t know how well I did, but…"
"And I am proud of you, Ariks."
He smiled, feeling as if light spread all over his soul. "Thank you."
She smiled in return, and it was kind but a little sad. "Was it very lonely, at the end?"
He looked at her in surprise. "How did you know?"
"It was for me… before you came. What I was trying to do made me a lot of enemies and almost no friends."
"Well… I kept all of your enemies and made a lot of new ones. In the last few years, I couldn't even leave the house safely. I stayed inside, surrounded by traps, and acted as well as I could through people I hired."
"I'm sorry, my dear. I didn’t think it would get that bad."
"It's alright. I had Evelyn, and lately I'd also met a group of quite remarkable adventures. It made me feel much less lonely. And I learnt to bake. I mean really bake, not like the pineapple cake I attempted to make for you."
"But it was good."
"You don't need to lie to me here, I know it was terrible. But I kept trying with the cookbook you left me."
"Alright, it was terrible, but the thought was lovely. I'm glad you found something you enjoyed doing."
"I enjoyed it much more when I could bake for someone, and this band liked it so much… It was nice. I left them my favorite recipe. And a sky ship. One of those two might have been a mistake, but I don’t care. You left me a house and a cookbook, too."
Ellia laughed. "That I did. I'm sorry if it caused you trouble."
"A lot of people thought I killed you to get that heirloom. I just hope I made it clear enough in my will that the Bell's Hells didn’t kill me."
"People will always talk, no matter what. It's not important what they say, as long as you know the truth in your heart."
"The truth…" Eshteross looked away for a moment. "I wanted to tell you before the end, but you were sick and I didn’t want to burden you. But now I can. Please forgive me I didn't do it sooner. I was hired to kill you, the first time we met. But then… as I came pretending to be interested in the job you offered, you started talking about your vision, and asking me about mine, and… I couldn’t do it anymore. I had no dreams of my own, but I wanted to share yours. I'm sorry I wasn't honest to you. I've been trying to make up for it, but I don’t know if it was enough…"
"Oh my dear… I knew it. I knew all the time what you were hired to do. Do you think I didn’t have a trap ready to be sprung as soon as you made a wrong move? But I wanted to give you a chance. You didn’t seem like a bad person to me. I saw the potential in you, with just a bit of guidance… And I was so right."
"Oh."
"Don't worry about it," she smiled and wrapped her hand around his shoulders. "Actually, there's something I wanted to tell you, too, but had no time for it. You see… you've been my best friend in my last years, but I saw more than just a friend in you. You've been like a son to me, a son that I've never had."
His eyes got a bit teary. "I didn't dare to think…"
"I know, my dear, and I'm sorry for that. I regretted that I didn’t make that clear enough. But now, we have all the time." She stood up to give him a kiss on the forehead.
Ariks embraced her. "All the time…"
"Do you have any regrets?" she asked after a moment, when she sat down again.
He shook his head. "I don't regret the years spent in isolation, nor my death. It was a good death and a good fight. I thought I would regret setting the Bell's Hells on such a dangerous path, against such a strong foe. But I don't. Someone has to stand up against evil, like you once did."
"And you."
"And me. The only regret I have is… that I won't get to see them kick Otohan's ass."
"Language, Ariks!"
"Sorry, mother," he said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
Ellia chuckled, but then looked at him more seriously. "Say, this Otohan, is it the one who killed you?"
"Yes."
"Then I too wish I could see them kick her ass."
He laughed. "Maybe we'll figure out how to get a look. But for now, do you have a kitchen here? I really want you to taste my maple ginger cookies."
"Of course, my dear. There's anything you want here. Let's go make cookies together."
They stood up and left the bench under the tree. A raven was watching from its branches, nodding its head.