Chapter 45 — Young Heroes

Irene was walking back home from purchasing fresh vegetables and meat to prepare for dinner. The last few days had been unbelievably terrible, and with the way the celestial bodies must have surely aligned against her, she was certain that more was to come.

Just remembering how she had encountered the rumored evil witch only to witness her using a fire snake to charm the bakers in the plain light of day was terrible enough, but for her son to have been with her… was even worse. Sure enough, he had been affected by her charm and was asking why the pretty girl was a bad person and why mommy was so mad at her.

Because witches eat little boys! And he had the gall to tell her that was just a bedtime story to trick boys into behaving and that he wasn't going to fall for that! Apparently, his friend had told him so! There was no way she was going to let him play with that boy again.

So, she changed tack and told him even if the witch didn't eat boys, she was tricking everyone! Thankfully, he did think that tricking people was bad, but when Irene explained that the witch was making everyone think she was their friend so they would give her stuff and do things for her, he wondered if she was just lonely. Lonely! For gods' sakes!

Argh! And all that was after her somewhat successful effort to marshal her neighbors against the threat had been crushed by the witch’s pet barbarian showing up to threaten them all back into complacence. Fools! They might not be coming for you and yours yet, but they will! She had even been forced to flee for her life with her son carried in her arms!

Her son had thought the barbarian with the swords was scary, but wouldn't she get mad if anyone tried to hurt him? The kid was too smart for his own good! He was too young to understand that sometimes you have to risk making people mad to stop a more dangerous threat before it becomes unstoppable.

And when Irene looked up at the sound of clinking weapons and armor to see that very witch leading the captain and several guardsmen to meet up with Master Rigure and the priest—the priest!—she knew this village was done for even before they all obediently fell in behind her like thralls…

Just like Irene had warned, it was too late. The hateful witch already had the powerful people of this village completely enthralled. An unstoppable force. That morning at the bakery really had been the last chance. By noon, the witch even had the guards watching and asking Irene not to cause any more trouble each time she tried to warn someone.

Now for her family's safety, Irene would have to keep quiet, biding her time until she could convince her husband to leave this doomed village.

“It’s nice to finally meet the rumored witch of the wilds who charmed Lord Vorshan and Captain Bastach,” Priest Dohan said dryly.

Captain Bastach rolled his eyes. “If people keep saying those things, even my men will believe it.”

The balding middle-age man heartily chuckled, his gold-trimmed brown priest robes and embroidered stole shaking with his gut. “So, girl, have you been holding up okay? It’s often hard to adapt to a new place and new culture.”

Ria immediately took a liking to Priest Dohan and gave him a warm smile. “I’m learning so much here, and there’s so much more to do compared to Shadewood. I miss my family, but Jarrel’s parents have been treating me like a real granddaughter, and most of the people I’ve met have been really nice to me.”

“That’s good to hear. I’m glad that you’re keeping positive.” Priest Dohan returned her smile with a bright and kindly smile of his own. “When Danna came by the chapel the other day and gushed about a cute foreign girl and how she wanted us to bless the fabric for the girl's academy robes, I couldn't help but be interested. And after having met you, I feel comfortable extending my chapel’s protection. If you need help or advice, you can come to me anytime.”

“Thank you, Priest Dohan! I will!” Ria said and gave him a big hug.

“Hoh-ho! You’re most welcome, girl,” Priest Dohan chuckled and patted her back.

The guardsmen were all slack-jawed at the sight of a witch happily hugging their priest of Hemse. Shouldn’t she burst into flames or something?

“Now, girl, you called us out here for help with something important. Why don’t you explain the situation for Rigure and me as we continue walking?” Priest Dohan prompted.

Taking the lead again, Ria detailed what she and Leon had found in the cellar.

Both Master Rigure and Priest Dohan had questions which she answered as best she could.

“Sounds like this investigation is going to take a while. Good thing I brought your scrolls with me,” Master Rigure said with a wink.

“Thanks! How’d I do?” Ria asked excitedly.

“Very impressive for your first attempts. Your more powerful ones were missing safety circuits to convert the stored energy into something generally harmless like light, sound, shadows or such when the scroll becomes damaged, so I had to add red ‘handle with care’ warnings to those, but otherwise everything was fine. I thought your use of divination for optimizing the healing scrolls was particularly inspired,” Master Rigure reported cheerfully.

“'Suppose the safety stuff is part of the Introduction to Scroll Making lessons? How were the coin values for the scroll’s I made?” Ria asked

Master Rigure laughed. “It is. But I do have books for sale, including an old divination-specialized book that would likely be of particular interest to you. For your scrolls, I’ve included a list of the values that the guild will purchase them for. I’m sure you will be pleased.”

“So, young Ria has an interest in divination, does she?” Priest Dohan asked. “The chapel offers divination services, you know? If you are seeking a truth, sometimes it is easiest to just ask the gods directly.”

Ah! She could ask about her friends and family, but… did she really want to know?

At Ria's suddenly subdued air, Priest Dohan grimaced. “I’m sorry for reminding you of something unpleasant.”

Ria shook her head. “No, it’s fine. I just need some time to prepare.”

Before the silence could stretch out uncomfortably, Ria recognized the alley she was looking for.

“This is it here,” Ria said and waved to Leon and Ranger, who let out a few excited barks. “At the end of this alleyway, on the right.”

“Looks like we still need to work on sanitation in this area,” Priest Dohan commented and both he and Master Rigure were looking with distaste at the filth strewn about the alley.

“If Captain Bastach has the key, we could use the front door,” Ria suggested.

“I do. Brought a few key sets just in case,” Captain Bastach confirmed. “Alright men, go meet up with Leon and the dog. The rest of us will go around to the front.”

“Yes, captain…,” Ravini and the others accepted the order with varying degrees of enthusiasm, and the captain took the lead to take her and the two robed men back around to the front side.

As they walked, Captain Bastach asked a few questions about her locator scrolls and readily arranged to purchase the inexpensive ones. He promised to talk with Lord Vorshan about purchasing the more expensive locator scrolls and had some suggestions for improvements that would better fit their needs.

Master Rigure retrieved the scrolls from a magic pouch of some kind while Captain Bastach was trying the different keys in the lock. Ria looked over the price list and sold the leftover locator scrolls to the guild for a surprisingly decent price.

They met up inside the house with Leon, Ranger, and the guardsmen, and after Ria pointed out the way to the basement, Captain Bastach sent two pairs of his men to check the main floor and upstairs of the house.

With one of Master Rigure’s glowstones in hand, Captain Bastach led the way down to the cellar. Ria followed behind with her brighter lightstone held high. Ranger and Leon brought up the rear.

A gasp came from the captain when he saw the markings painted onto the floor.

Master Rigure walked around to see for himself and let out a sigh. "It's as Ria feared. Necromancy."

"Could the shapeshifter have been using it to steal magical energy, or do you think someone else in town is involved?" Captain Bastach asked.

"Hmm… it's possible. On the other hand, if a villager performed this ritual, then it's possible that the shapeshifter is a familiar to the mage involved. Shapeshifters often become familiars to solve their energy needs through the familiar bond… That a resident of the village would be sacrificing animals to increase their magical power is disturbing," Master Rigure said.

"Quite," Priest Dohan agreed. "If it's a resident, I'm guessing that the mage would be a youth disappointed with their natural talents or tempted by forbidden knowledge. Rigure, is this the sort of ritual that would cause spiritual damage or personality changes?"

Rigure considered for a moment. "Hard to say. A lot would depend on the target's ability to assimilate the spiritual energy. Unexplained illness and personality changes are certainly possible. Weak animals would be easier to assimilate than other people or monsters, but it's still not a healthy thing to do."

Captain Bastach directed Ria show him where the tunnels were then had Master Rigure collapse them with his earth magic. Priest Dohan was shown by Leon to where the pets were buried, where he tasked Guardsman Ravini with digging them up. Ranger was happy to help with the digging.

Ria was asked to try her generalized locater scroll to locate 'the person who killed animals in this cellar', but there was no reaction. So, either the shapeshifter was acting alone or the person wasn't within the scroll’s detection range. The scroll was also used to verify that she had encountered a shapeshifter with the phrase 'person who encountered a shapeshifter today.' That last one was complicated enough to use up the last of the scroll's stored energy.

After the rest of the guardsmen returned and reported, Captain Bastach told Ria and Leon that his men could handle the rest and thanked them. When Ria asked if she needed to take anything back to Aaron at the Adventurers Guild, the captain wrote them up a note to deliver.

As they were leaving, Priest Dohan told Ria and Leon that they were young heroes for having discovered a hidden danger in their midst.