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After having asked the servant for directions she could almost feel his eyes devouring her as she went to take a bath. The warm water welcomed her body and after several minutes of scrubbing she finally felt that the dirt and grime of the last few weeks, and indeed months, was finally washed off.
She did not linger long in the Mehlingard manor, for if she wanted to see the magic user whom she had been recommended. There had been a knowing look in the servant's eye, when he had spoken the name, but Esaha had been unable to decipher the meaning behind that look. She considered telling Lord Gerald where she was going, but decided against it when the guard in front of his chambers told her that Lord Gerald was having a private audience.
The streets outside were still soaked from the storm and not walking in puddles of rainwater muddled by blood was almost impossible, yet somehow, Esaha managed to keep her shoes relatively clean. Unwounded soldiers and townsfolk were cleaning up the mess from the night's attack, pileing up the carcasses of the dead beasts in front of the temple. Esaha guessed that there would be a bonfire to burn the bodies later that night.
The small home she reached, following the servant's instructions did not look like what she had imagined a mage's home to be like. When she was still young and her father had taken her to visit other magic-users, their homes were always richly decorated and much bigger than the one she was standing in front of. Those men she had seen in her early years had used their magical powers to gain public recognition and through their exploits were able to afford the homes and lifestyle they kept.
A simple exterior was not going to discourage her, and determined, Esaha went up to the door, and knocked firmly, two times.
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