D&D Way to Sword Coast

Chapter 7: Rest

Alidorim's return from unconsciousness was slow. More than once the sheer weight of his fatigue dragged him back down into the void. Awareness dawned as twinkles of faraway starlight. That distant glimmer spread into a brilliant horizon. Soon his vision was filled with the brilliance of the waking world.

Groaning, the Dragonborn sat up. He was on the floor next to the fireplace. Someone had placed a pillow under his head and quilt across his body. They'd made no attempt to remove his armor or weapons. The bright shaft of midday sunlight pierced the living room casting a soft golden haze on the couch. Beneath a white sheet laid Yulia. She was still with her red hair fanned out around her head. Mercifully her chest rose with the steady rhythm of one in a deep sleep.

A relieved sigh escaped Oklith's mouth.

"Ah, you're finally awake," a female voice called out. The woman from the night before walked in carrying a tray of food. She was dressed in modest workwear as befitting a woman of the house. "If you slept any longer, I'd consider tossing a bucket of water on ya."

Ignoring that last comment Alidorim refocused on the girl. "Yulia?"

The woman smiled and replied as she placed the tray upon the nearby table. "Aye, your daughter's recovering nicely."

Alidorim relief was only surpassed by surprise. Had the woman really assumed that he, a Dragonborn, had sired a Tiefling? "She's not my-" he started to state but was cut off.

"Father Sebas cast a sleeping spell so that she could rest properly," Maddy kept on talking as if the warrior hadn't even spoken. "Poor thing was suffering fever dreams." Walking over she gave the girl a quick once over, pausing at her feet. Suddenly her head snapped in his direction. Alidorim was taken aback by the fire in her eyes. "I have half a mind to box your ear over the state of her feet." Her gaze narrowed dangerously. "What kind of father lets his girl walk barefoot?"

Once again, his sheepishness was outweighed by his annoyance at her presumption. "I'm not her-" he once again tried to correct her but never got the words out.

"I cleaned and bandaged them. Father Sebas purged the infection without much effort, thank the Gods." She stood straight and placed her hands on her hips. "It'll be some time before she wakes. I suggest you eat and then go see Julian. We don't board freeloaders." Alidorim opened his mouth to assure her he had every intention to pay, but the woman pressed on. "By the way, I managed to untangle the poor girl's tail. Somehow it got tied up about her waist."

Olkith blinked several times. "Her...tail?"

"And thank Sebas when you get a chance!" she called out, disappearing back out of the room. Alidorim could only sit in stunned silence. He took a moment but couldn't recall a moment when a woman half his size railroaded his own conversation.

Dazed Alidorim got up and walked over to the couch. Yulia lay in gentle repose. Lifting the blanket, he saw that she was wearing a proper nightgown rather than rags. The family must have cleaned her up as well. There was no trace of dirt on her skin either. Somehow it made her appear younger.

As promised her feet were wrapped in white bandages, and Alidorim could smell fresh herbs. At least now she could walk without pain.

Looking a bit lower he saw that Yulia did indeed have a thin tale. It matched her hair in color and was about as long as her leg. As he observed the appendage it slowly curled with each of her breathes. In the back of his mind, he'd known Tieflings had them, but for some reason, it never occurred to him that Yulia would possess one. "So...she has a tail...How did I miss that?" Alidorim would have to blame fatigue, frustration, and a genuine indifference on that one. He did find it odd that it was tied about her waist as if she were attempting to hide it. Now that he thought about it, her hair could easily cover the ears and horns. Unless someone got a good look at her eyes, Yulia could pass for human or half-elf in a pinch.