“Towns been quiet for a few days, no one in, no one out.” Nyx’s scout met us a mile outside of Oakhaven. A short goblin, fully dressed in black to conceal himself. Goblins aren’t the welcome sort of company in human villages. “Few days back a woman came through, stuck out like a sore thumb. Her clothes were just a little too fancy to be any of the country folk around here. So kept my eyes on her as she passed through. Didn’t stay long though. All she did was go inside the tavern, grab a drink, and leave.”
“Great, so you’ve nothing to report.” Aurora says. Irritation thick in her voice.
“Woah there toots, you didn’t let me finish.” Aurora flicks her hand and fire engulfs it.
“What did you just call me?”
Our goblin friend takes as large a step back as he can and raises his hands in surrender.
“Woah woah woah! Why all the hostility baby? I’m just tryna do my job here.” Aurora puts out the flame and shakes her head.
“Any other useless information you have to offer?”
“As a matter a fact I do, and it ain’t even close to useless. Some hooded guy came through the town shortly after that weird lady. Started pokin around askin questions about her. Dunno if he’s huntin her, or just has a hard on for her.” Aurora scoffs in disgust, cutting him off. He looks at her for permission to continue, she rolls her eyes and waves her hand.
“As I was sayin. He was pokin around every inch of that place, talking to any poor sob he could find. None of em musta been helpful though, guy is still there. Sittin in the tavern, all by himself. Just watchin people like some creepy flesh gargoyle.” He shudders at the imagery he created. “That’s all I got princess, any questions?” Her lips curl into a snarl, but before she can react I step between her and the goblin.
“You said he was hooded, was there anything else about his appearance that could help us find him?”
“He’s an older guy, silvery beard, wrinkled hands you catch my drift. Didn’t really get a good look at him, with the hood over his head and all. He ain’t hard to spot. You’ll know him when you see him. Now if I’m free to go your majesty.“ He glares behind me at Aurora. “I got coin to spend and an ache that needs rubbin!” I’m beginning to understand why Aurora reviles these creatures.
“That’s enough for us to go on, thank you.”
“Weeeell, glad somebody actually respects my work. Unlike some people.” He waves us off and soon disappears down the road.
“Disgusting creatures, goblins.” Rhys says. “But at least he was more helpful than most of his kind.”
“They’re all useless. Better they all be rounded up and recycled for reagents than used as spies.” Aurora says.
“Goblin genocide seems a bit extreme my dear. But I do appreciate the sentiment.“ He smiles and squeezes her hand gently. “Now, let’s go find out mystery man.”
The town is as the goblin said. Quiet. Only a few people roam the streets at this hour of night. It’s a small farming village, producing much of the grain stores for the surrounding kingdom. Crooked dirt streets wind their way through shops and houses, making it far more difficult than it should be to navigate such a place. We follow the sound of drunken men and the smell of fresh bread to the inn. It’s a brightly lit two story building. With a bar on the first and beds on the second.
“I’ll go get us some beds and grab us some drinks. Find us a place to sit will you Soren?” Rhys says, and makes his way towards the bar. We weave through the patrons to an empty table in the corner. We sit quietly, all eyes scanning the crowd for a mysterious old man. With a description like that, so many of these people could be our mark. After some time Rhys joins us at the table.
“I’ve got good news and bad news.” He takes a seat and huffs a sigh. “Good news is we’ve got beds. Bad news is no drinks.” Durin guffaws at the statement and slams the table with a fist.
“What the bloody hell do you mean no drinks?! My bellies already flatter than an elf’s ass!” Rhys throws his hands up.
“Only joking, they’ll be right over.”
“You sick bastard.” Durin relaxes back into his chair and pulls a small trinket from his bag and begins tinkering with it. Some kind of puzzle maybe? A faint laugh escapes me, and I glance over to Aurora. She’s pulled her hood tight over her head, witches are not welcome in most of the world. But still, I glimpse her smile through the shadows cast on her face. My chest burns with a strange sensation, my eyes linger a little too long. Ivar jabs me with an elbow. Groaning and clutching my side, I look at him confused. He nods his head towards Aurora.
“It’s rude to stare.” His tone is flat and unpleased. Something draws me to her, but she still might be the enemy. I can’t forget that.
“Thanks.” I say. The clattering of glasses takes our attention, a pleasant looking waitress weaves through the crowd expertly balancing drinks atop a platter. Behind her, a man catches my eye. Sitting at the bar alone, a hood drawn over his head. Could that be him? I watch him as he sits, unmoving except to raise the glass to his lips.
“Five ales for the party.” The smiling waitress begins handing drinks out.
“Thank you my dear.” Rhys says, taking his mug. I reach out and take mine, giving her a thankful nod.
“Let me know if y’all need anything else.” She turns and starts to leave.
“Wait, before you go. Who is that over there at the bar?“ I point to the man at the bar.
“Oh bless your heart. Are you feelin alright?” I look at her confused, but when I look back to the bar. He’s gone.
“There was a man there at the bar, a hood pulled over his head. Have you seen him before?”
“Can’t say that I have. Sorry hun.” She gives me a pitying smile and returns to work.
“Was that our mark Soren?” Rhys asks.
“Had to be.” I scan the crowd again, nothing. Where the hell did he go?
“The goblin said he’d been hanging around the inn for weeks now, what’s one more night?” Rhys says. Finishing his drink he lets out a yawn, stretching his arms. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m beat. Durin, you’re with me. Soren and Ivar, room four and Aurora room eight, right across from us. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to wake us.”
“Thank you Rhys.” She says.
“Of course. Now I’m off, you hooligans don’t stay up too late. And Durin, go easy on the ale eh?”
“Piss off.” He says. Rhys chuckles and makes his way up to his room. Ivar follows soon after and Durin loses himself to the drink. Ending up face down on the table snoring like a boar. Aurora chuckles and shakes her head at him, her smile returns and my chest feels hot again. We sit in awkward silence for a while, barely touching our drinks.
“About the other night." She says finally "I’m sorry… about your family.” There’s a pain in her voice. One I cannot quite place. Is it guilt?
“Are you feeling alright? Hearing that from you is… strange.” She rolls her eyes at me and sighs.
“I lost my family too. It’s the reason I ended up in Mournewood. My parents sent through me an old hidden escape tunnel as their final act of love. I watched them be cut down mercilessly and slowly. Their screams still echo in my mind every night.” She pauses, picking up her mug and taking a long drink. “I ran like hell, there was nothing I could do to save them. I was just a girl after all. I ran and ran and ran until my legs could no longer carry me. I collapsed into a ditch somewhere out in the world. Doing my best to stay quiet. That’s where mother found me.”
I don’t know what to say. Nothing can help her feel better about what happened. Nothing can change the past. My heart wants to heal her, but my mind knows this is dangerous. There must be some intent behind her words, to get me to drop my guard. Why the hell is this so hard to fight? She’s a witch, for all I know she could be the one that murdered my family. But even so... my heart yearns for her. Has she cursed me?
“The woman you saw, do you remember what she looked like?” Do I tell her? If it’s her and she realizes, what then? I’m a dead man. She’s turned to look me in the eyes. Seemingly filled with genuine care… They’re beautiful, I want to stop time and stare into them forever. But I can't tell her the truth.
"No. She vanished before I got close enough." A flash of memory fills my mind, a horrific vision of that night. The light from the flames glinting off the black roses on her dress. And the matriarch's mark dark on her wrist. Aurora frowns slightly... empathetically? I'm not sure. Keep your guard up.
"You believe she's somewhere in Mournewood?"
"I've been everywhere else I can think of and I've come up empty handed. Mournewood is my last chance."
"Do you think she's a witch?"
"She could be. She could be a cult member, or just a stranger with very powerful friends."
"Is that why you hate us?"
"You, Rhys and Durin?"
"No." She chuckles "Witches. Because it might've been one of us that killed your family?"
"I'm afraid the answer is a little more complicated than that." I frown, dropping my eyes to my drink.
"Well. Lucky for you, I've got time." Our eyes meet again, she's got a soft cocky smile on her face. Seeing it cracks my armor. Why can't I shut her out?
“Before you saved us, I hated you, I hated Nyx. Your entire race. All my life I’ve been told witches were monsters that emerged through The Shroud only to cause war and chaos. That they lived in caves and ate children. But walking through your village, meeting you... Changed everything. Watching the children of your home play in the streets. And people gathering in the tavern sharing stories and laughing and playing music. I realized at our core, we’re all just people. Trying to get by through whatever means we can.”
“You’re so strange. A lifetime worth of indoctrination and your feelings shifted that quickly?”
“It helps that I’ve a curse I cannot break without your help. Bonus points for saving my life and all.” I say. She answers with a quiet scoff and her famous eye roll.
“Twice.”
“Ivar and I had the Banshee under control, everything was going according to plan.”
“Really? Is that why both of you were on your knees in mud, screaming for help?” We share a laugh.
“But truly, if I hadn't met you, and seen your home. My hatred would still be festering.”
“And if you find the murderer of your family is a witch?”
“The actions of one do not speak for the actions of many.” Her eyes linger on mine for a long while, skeptically searching for the lie behind them. But she will not find one. Her eyes drop to Durin, who has since fallen out of his chair and taken comfort on the stone floor.
“I better get him to bed.” She stands and bends to pull the dwarf from the ground. The sleeve on her left arm rises as she does. I glimpse a small tattoo on her wrist, I tilt my head curiously to align my vision. My heart drops into my stomach. She wakes Durin enough to sling his arm over her, and starts walking towards the stairs. Before taking a step she turns back to me, her expression soft and gentle. “I hope you find her."
