Sagus and Aktheus

Sagus and Aktheus sat together on a pew, Sagus reflecting on his journey and Aktheus gazing at sister Monica. Sagus noticed this out of the corner of his eye and smiled.

"She's beautiful."

Aktheus sighed and nodded. "Yes, she is." At first, he thought nothing of the comment, since it was what he himself was thinking, but it soon dawned on him that he shouldn't know that. "How did you know?"

Sagus smiled. "Through this bandanna, you mean? It isn't an ordinary rag on my eyes. It's blessed by a mage of reason to counteract a curse put on me by the demon Arakarin. He cursed me to something even worse than blindness."

"What could be worse than blindness?"

"To see only lies." Aktheus was confused, which satisfied Sagus' tendency to be a bit of a showman. "When I was younger, Arakarin came to my hometown and slaughtered a lot of people. I tried to fight him, but he easily threw me aside. He told me that since i'd made him laugh, he wouldn't kill me, and then he cursed me. I wandered through falsehood for a long time, I think about three months, when I came across the mage of reason, Zenathen, who took pity on me. She tore a piece of my ragged clothes off, and chanted a spell. When she put it on me, she turned from a hideous monster to a kind and beautiful young woman. Ever since, I can see truths. I owe her everything."

"I see. So you can now see as everyone else does."

"No. I can't see lies."

"Hmm..."

The two sat in silence for awhile, until Sophie entered, carrying a beekerful of blue-green fluid. She told AKtheus that it would win sister Monica's heart, but only if he was upfront about what it was and if she chose to drink it. At this Aktheus became frustrated, then wistful. He gulped and...