Cassian was a strange sort of person. At least, that was the conclusion Elias had come to after spending more than a day with him without either of them being put in mortal peril. 

He supposed he’d always known as much. After all, Cassian’s appearance alone was enough to set him apart. That was probably why the necromancer had pulled up the hood of his cloak once they’d begun to run into more people on the road. He kept his head down, giving a nod every now and then when they were greeted. Elias was very close to pointing out that he was only making them look more suspicious than they already were. 

“I think I see the town,” he said after a while with much relief coloring his voice. It was still a ways away, but it was nice to have a goal within sight. It made what remained of their walk much more bearable. 

When Elias looked over at Cassian, he’d expected to see some relief on his face. Instead, there was only apprehension and something like disdain as the necromancer looked ahead. Somehow, Elias knew he shouldn’t be surprised. 

“Great, now I won’t have to watch you jump at every sound the forest makes,” Cassian said, tone flat in spite of the mocking gleam in his eyes. Elias glared, not appreciating the dig at his very reasonable anxiety. “Go on then. If you hurry you won’t have to brave the evils of night out here.” 

Elias might have complained about the amount of amusement Cassian was getting from making fun of him, but something in the necromancer’s words caught his attention. He eyed Cassian with suspicion, eyes narrowed as he peered at the pale face hidden beneath the hood of a dark cloak. 

“You say that like you’re not glad to get to sleep in an actual bed,” he pointed out. Granted, Cassian hadn’t complained about their night out in the woods. 

The only thing Cassian ever complained about was Elias’ existence. 

“That’s because I won’t be,” Cassian said matter-of-factly.

Elias stopped in his tracks, leveling a look that was equal parts confused and irritated—mostly at Cassian continuing to throw him off with every single thing he did. It was starting to become very exhausting. 

“Why not? There’s a town there. You know, with food and beds and no murderous beasts and necromancers.” Well, he supposed there would be one necromancer if Cassian followed Elias, though he wasn’t sure how murderous Cassian was. 

“And there’s also people, noise, and you,” Cassian countered. Elias managed to look only half as offended as he felt. 

“We’re only spending the night, not making new friends.” Especially not with Cassian’s attitude. 

“I don’t really care what you do, I’m not going,” Cassian insisted. He sounded much like a child bent on getting his way. It reminded Elias of why he’d chosen years earlier to never father any children. 

And now here I am, looking after an overgrown one, he couldn’t help but think.

Maybe it was just that Elias was tired enough that all he wanted to do was find a nice, soft bed to rest on. Or maybe he was just done bending to Cassian’s whims and insults. Whatever the case, he figured the fastest way to deal with it—and perhaps, the only way—was to literally drag the necromancer into town. 

Before he could really think about it too much, Elias reached out and took a hold of Cassian’s cloak—uncertain whether he should be cautious of any injuries hidden by the bandages covering the necromancer’s arms. There was a startled and amusingly indignant sort of sound from Cassian before they were both moving down the path again. Elias credited the shock of his actions for making Cassian more-or-less go along with him. Sadly, that didn’t last.

“Ow!” Elias was quick to release Cassian at the sharp and sudden burst of pain. He rubbed at his hand while turning an incredulous look onto Cassian. “Did you just use magic against me?” 

“And I’d do it again,” Cassian said without a shred of remorse. 

Elias didn’t know why he was surprised. It was very much the sort of thing Cassian would do, vicious as he was beneath that impassive expression he kept on his face. 

“You know what, fine, stay here and freeze to death because I won’t be around to start a fire and make sure you don’t get murdered.” 

“I recall you being the one who was almost murdered,” Cassian countered, a smug twist on his lips. Elias wanted to throttle him. 

Instead, he turned and began to make his way towards the town—not quite storming away, but it was a close thing. He was seriously starting to reconsider trying to convince Cassian to travel with him in search of Ethelred. At the thought, Elias stopped and turned back to look at Cassian, pointing an accusing finger at him. 

“You’d better still be here tomorrow,” he said with the best glare he could muster up. He hoped it was enough to convince the necromancer to stick around. Those hopes were dashed when Cassian scoffed and turned without a word, heading off into the woods. Elias briefly considered throwing his dagger at him. 

It’s what I get for getting involved with necromancers, Elias thought, wishing he could tell his past self not to so much as look at Ethelred. At least, that’s what he told himself he’d like to do. Deep down, Elias knew there was little that could have convinced him not to at least hear the necromancer out—desperation drove people to make questionable choices, after all. 

In spite of his foul mood, Elias was glad to make it into town. It was a small place, quiet—though he thought that might have been thanks to the weather—and the people he did see were all hurrying along as if anxious to get home. There was a sort of nervous energy hanging in the air that put him on guard. 

He relaxed a bit upon entering the town’s inn, a worn looking building from which light and lively chatter spilled out once Elias opened the door. It was a relief to be inside, and especially so to be in a pleasant place where the scent of food wafted from the kitchen and the chill of the early evening was kept at bay. It wasn’t long before he was sitting at a table, waiting for his meal and taking in the place. It was nice enough, especially for such a small place, but Elias supposed it had to do with it being so close to the main road. 

“Passing through?” 

The question jolted Elias out of his distracted state. When he looked up, he was met with an older woman—round faced and dark eyed, with strands of graying blonde hair slipping out of the braid she’d twisted it into. She set down his meal and waited for an answer with an empty tray beneath her arm.

“Oh, yes. Made it just in time too or I would have had to spend the night out in the woods.” Elias was very glad he didn’t have to. He was even starting to feel glad to get a break from Cassian’s company. He only hoped the necromancer would still be around when morning came. 

“It’s a good thing you did or you mightn’t have made it through the night.”

“Is it that dangerous around these parts?” Elias asked, brow raised. Maybe there was a deeper meaning to the general anxiety hanging over the town after all. 

“Used to be safe enough, but these days there’s been something lurking around the woods,” the woman said with a frown. 

“Some wild animal, most likely,” he said, all too familiar with such occurrences. The woman shook her head. 

“We all thought so too. Then no one who went into the woods to settle the matter came back.”

Elias listened and felt his lips tilt down into a frown at the tale. The woman wasn’t lying when she said it wasn’t some wild beast, not if it could put everyone in town on guard. After all, it wasn’t uncommon for some particularly vicious animal to cause trouble for small settlements. That in itself wouldn’t cause such a commotion. 

“Do you have any idea what it might be?” Elias asked, his mind conjuring images of beasts made of shadows and a mask of bone hiding the morbid puppet beneath. 

“None so far, but some of the more superstitious folk think it’s some sort of curse. There’s even been talk of calling for a mage to deal with it.” She sighed, and Elias could see she was stressed by the whole situation—everyone in town likely was. “Best stay out of the woods for the time being, especially at night.” 

She left him to his meal soon after, having others she needed to tend to. Elias watched her go, his gaze distant as he processed the short conversation. Again, he had to wonder whether Ethelred had anything to do with the whole thing, but thought it unlikely. There was little to be gained from targeting such a small town. And then, Cassian’s impassive face swam to the forefront of his mind. 

Cassian, who was in the woods—on his own. Elias might have cursed the necromancer’s stubbornness if he’d not been in such a rush.