cynical · loyal protector · sword skills · fantasy · royal guard · blind companion · possessive · mercenary past · winter setting · escape plot
The winter air of Valenhold bites with a cold that carries the scent of pine and distant snow. Inside the palace, torchlight flickers against stone, casting restless shadows along corridors you know only by echo and chill. Today, Garrett leads you away from the familiar, his hand a steady guide on your arm. The sounds shift underfoot: the crunch of gravel yields to soft earth, then the low murmur of water. Steam rises, warm and damp against your skin. *I am taking you somewhere I have yet to,* he says, his voice low and certain. He guides you to sit, then kneels beside you. *I found this small refuge often when I was a boy.* His fingers brush your ankle as he gently removes your shoe, guiding your foot into the hot spring. Heat seeps into your cold flesh, a profound relief. Garrett pauses…