#kaulder

“We?” You only glanced at Chloe and then your eyes immediately snapped back to the man. He was wearing close-fitting black clothes and boots. He would've blended it on the street if you didn't feel the energy coming off of him. The Axe and Cross ring on his finger was the final clue that told you exactly who he was. 

“Yes, we,” Chloe said. “I know it's kind of inconvenient, but we need to lay low for a few days. Can we stay here?” 

You continued to stare at the Witch Hunter, and he stared back at you. Then your vision was blocked by Chloe's hand as she snapped her fingers impatiently. 

“Hello? Is anyone home?” 

Your eyes snapped to Chloe and you dug your fingers into the counter, trying to ground yourself in the moment. This wasn't really happening, was it? 

“You brought the Witch Hunter to my apothecary, Chloe. What the hell are you thinking?” 

“My name's Kaulder.” 

You jumped at the sudden booming voice. It was so deep, you were certain the glass panes in your cabinets were rattling. You once again looked at the man. He stepped forward, his footsteps heavy on the brick. He stretched out one large hand toward you. 

“I'm a friend of Chloe's,” he continued. “And I take it you are too.” 

“How is a witch friends with someone like you?” 

Kaulder's mouth twitched in a smile and his dark eyes shifted to Chloe. “It's kind of a long story, but she can tell you that I'm not what the stories say I am. I promise, I'm not here to hurt you.” 

His hand lingered in the air for another moment before you finally reached out and shook it. His skin was warm, almost hot, and his palm was rough. He smiled at you, his eyes crinkling. Your heart skipped a beat and your cheeks warmed. 

Just nerves, you told yourself, pulling your hand quickly out of his. You immediately missed the warmth of it, the strength of his grip. 

“Good,” he said. “A truce. Now, can we get on with this? We need a place to stay.” 

“Why? What are you doing here?” 

“We're looking for a coven,” Chloe said, helping herself behind the counter. She began pulling open drawers and cabinets. “They've been operating around here for a while, seems like. Kaulder says they're dangerous, and they're planning something big.” 

Kaulder's eyes were still on you as you turned to Chloe, shutting the drawers and cabinets after her. 

“What does that have to do with me?” 

“You're my closest friend in this place,” she said with a soft smile. “If anyone knows anything about a coven working in this area, it'd be you. Besides, I don't want anything to happen to you. I've already lost Miranda.” 

“I heard about that.” 

“How?” Kaulder asked. 

You looked at him, shrugging. “Witches talk. When one of us gets killed, that news spreads like wildfire. Everyone always assumes it's you, so we're always on the lookout, taking care of each other. But even if we weren't that connected, I would've known anyway.” 

You walked to a curio cabinet in the corner and pointed to one of the shelves. It was filled with crystals in various shapes, sizes, and colors. Most of them were vibrant, seeming to glow from the inside. One of them, near the front center, was cracked in half and dull. 

“I keep a crystal for all my friends and some of my more faithful customers. Whenever something happens to a crystal, I know something's happened to them. When Miranda died, this crystal broke in half and the light went out. That's what crystals do – when they've reached the end of their purpose, they break.” 

You turned back to Kaulder. “You honestly didn't kill her?” 

“No, I didn't. It was another coven. They killed her to keep her from helping me.” 

“And, you, Chloe, you really believe in helping him? A Witch Hunter?” 

Chloe nodded. “I do.” 

“Okay … Then I'll help you. Let me know what you need and I'll get it for you.” 

“A place to stay,” said Kaulder. Now that you'd gotten over your initial shock and fear, you were surprised at how gently he spoke. “A safe place. One where we wouldn't be noticed by anyone. If any members of the coven come here, we should go someplace else.” 

“Dedicated members of underground covens don't usually shop with anyone outside of the coven, since they don't want to risk being found out. That being said, I can't guarantee any of my customers aren't in the coven. But I use protection spells on the building. I can easily place a cloaking spell over the back room so no one knows you're here.” 

“What about your apartment upstairs?” Chloe asked, eyes bright. 

“You come here with a Witch Hunter and want me to give you access to my apartment?” you finally shot a glare at your friend. “Whatever. Yeah, I can do a cloaking spell over my apartment, too. I have more protection spells over my apartment than my apothecary, anyway. I'll have to erase some of them, though …” 

“Let me guess,” Kaulder said with amusement. “You've got a few sigils to keep me away?” 

“It's the most common sigil used in modern witchcraft,” you said with your own smile. It was amazing how quickly you were beginning to relax around this man. It was alarming. “It shouldn't take long to get rid of them, though. Chloe, if you want to keep an eye out down here, I'll go up and start scrubbing sigils.” 

You turned to head through the back room leading to the stairs up to your apartment. Kaulder grabbed your wrist, stopping you. 

“You're actually going up there to do that, right? You're not calling your friends in the coven, are you?” 

“Chloe and Miranda were the closest things I had to a coven, Kaulder. The kinds of witches you're hunting killed Miranda, and I assume they aren’t too thrilled Chloe is helping you, so, no, I'm not going to call them.” 

“It's very important that you don't lie to me. If we're going to survive this together, we need to trust each other. Got it?” 

“I trust Chloe, and she trusts you. I guess that's good enough for now.” 

“I guess it is.” Kaulder released you. 

You rubbed your wrist, though it didn't hurt. Still, it was a strange feeling. You never thought you'd even see the Witch Hunter in person, let alone be in a room with him, talking to him, negotiating with him, shaking his hand. You hated to admit it, but you were beginning to believe him. Maybe he wasn't what the stories said. 

“I'll be as quick as I can,” you said, opening the door to the back room. “Chloe, you can do another protection spell on this building. Two witches are better than one.” You glanced at Kaulder to see if he'd make a face or say something, but he didn't. 

Chloe resumed her place behind the counter, rifling through drawers for bottles and canisters. 

“And when you're done, why don't you order dinner from Tsuki's?” You looked at Kaulder over your shoulder as you stepped into the back room. “You'll like that restaurant. No magic at all. But when I get back down here, you're going to explain everything to me.” 

“It's a long story,” Kaulder said again. 

“Then I guess it'll be a long night.” 

Optional bonuses: Choose one character from each of the following groups if you’re familiar with them:

1]Characters from WOTC events or other D&D shows that shared games with canon characters without being even vaguely referenced in CR: Jocks Machina:  Ullac Jotunn / Bieber MJ Timberlake CelebriD&D: Mankum / Dietrich Stream of Annihilation and The Descent games which had Twiggy or Arkhan Force Grey Dice Camera Action (which would mean that also includes all the characters from shows that crossed over with it such as: The Adventure Zone/Acquisitions Incorporated/The C Team/High Rollers: Aerois/Sirens of the Realms/Dark and Dicey/Trapped in the Birdcage...)

2]If you don’t care about canon: Jester’s two non-canon one-shots High Rollers: Lightfall because of the “Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus” module which leads me to: Your OC (Arkhan is 5e canon now so your personal D&D game can be considered canon by extension if you want) You know what, just choose any character from your favorite D&D show (I certainly have favorite characters from other D&D shows that weren’t mentioned in this long post) Also from any of the Critical Role one-shots that doesn’t take place in Exandria whether it’s D&D or other systems.