The house at the end of the village stood apart from the others,its walls of grey stone weathered by decades of wind and rain. A windmill creaked nearby, its blades turning slowly in the damp breeze, the building was larger than the surrounding cottages, its windows dark and unwelcoming, its door banded with iron. It was the house of the elder of the village.
Sebastian approached the door while his boots squelching in the mud. Behind him, Dandelion and Zoltan followed with waryexpressions. The villagers who had been watching them from the shadows had retreated into their homes, their doors closing with soft thuds, their eyes peeking through shuttered windows.
Sebastian knocked.
The sound echoed through the quiet square, for a long moment, there was no response. Then the door creaked open, revealing a man who was clearly the elder of the village.
He was old, perhaps older than the weathered stones of his house, older than the windmill that creaked beside it. His face was a roadmap of wrinkles, his skin leathery and browned by years of sun and wind. His eyes were sharp, missing nothing. He wore simple clothes, rough-spun wool and leather.
He looked at Sebastian, his eyes traveling slowly from the witcher's face to his medallion, to the swords on his back. His expression did not change.
"A witcher," the elder said. His voice was low and rough, he was man who had spent his entire life in this godforsaken corner of the world. "We don't get many of yer kind here. What business brings ye to our humble village?"
Sebastian inclined his head, his voice calm and respectful. "I'm looking for work. I heard there might be some monster problems in these parts, and if not, perhaps you could point me in the right direction."
The elder studied him for a long moment. Then he stepped back, gesturing for them to enter. "Come in, then. We can talk inside."
The interior of the house was dark and cluttered, filled with the accumulated detritus of a long life. The walls were lined with shelves holding jars and bottles and strange, dried herbs. A fire crackled in the hearth, casting dancing shadows across the room. The air was thick with the smell of smoke and old wood.
The elder settled into a chair near the fire, he gestured for them to sit, but did not offer them anything to drink.
"Ye say ye're looking for work," the elder said, his eyes fixed on Sebastian. "We've had some troubles here, aye. Strange happenings in the woods. Livestock disappearing, crops failing." He paused, his voice dropping. "Some say it's the work of witches.. Others say it's the old spirits of the forest being angry at us."
Sebastian leaned forward, "Tell me more."
The elder sighed, "It all started a few years back," he said. "We had a stranger come to our village, a woman from the south.My son was charmed by her, for she was a fine beauty, aye..But there was something wrong about that lass, something unnatural. She brought bad luck with her, and after a time, our people began to suffer.. Livestock died. Children fell ill. Crops withered in the fields."
He shook his head slowly. "Some of us tried to warn her. We told her to leave, to go back to wherever she came from.. But she refused. She said she had nowhere else to go. So we did what we had to do. We drove her out into the woods and told her never to come back."
Sebastian's expression remained neutral, but his yellow eyes were sharp, missing nothing. "And what happened to her after that?"
The elder shrugged. "We never saw her again. I assume she made her way to another village, or perhaps she died in the woods. It's not our concern. The only thing that matters is that the bad luck left with her.. For a time.."
Sebastian nodded slowly, "I see. And this woman, what was her name?"
The elder's eyes flickered, just for a moment. "I don't remember," he said. "It's been so long. She was just a stranger, passing through. We didn't trouble ourselves to learn her name."
Dandelion's mouth opened, ready to speak, ready to expose the lies that were spilling from the elder's lips. But before he could say a word, Sebastian's hand shot out, gripping his arm with the force of iron.
Dandelion's eyes widened. He looked at Sebastian, who met his gaze with a warning look that was unmistakable.
'Not a word.'
Dandelion closed his mouth, his expression one of barelycontained frustration.
Zoltan, sitting beside him, shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He had seen the warning in Sebastian's eyes too.
Sebastian turned back to the elder, his voice smooth and pleasant. "I appreciate your honesty. These are troubling times, and it's good to know that you're taking steps to protect your village. I'm sure I can find a way to help with whatever is troubling you."
The elder nodded, his expression one of relief. "Thank ye, master witcher. We are grateful for any assistance ye can offer."
Sebastian rose, his movements unhurried. "I'll have a look around the woods, see if I can find any signs of what might be causing your problems. If I find anything, I'll let you know."
The elder rose as well, extending his hand. Sebastian shook it, his grip firm and brief.
"Thank ye," the elder said. "And if ye do find anything, any trace of that woman.. I would appreciate it if ye could keep it quiet. The people here are simple folk, they don't need to be troubled by the past."
Sebastian smiled, a thin, cold expression that did not reach his eyes. "Of course. I understand completely."
He turned and walked toward the door, Dandelion and Zoltan following close behind.
They stepped out into the grey afternoon light, the windmill creaking overhead. The village was quiet, the doors still shut, the windows still shuttered.
Dandelion's face was red with frustration. "What the hell was that?!" he hissed, his voice carrying a note of disbelief. "He was lying! Lying through his teeth! He knew exactly what happened to Marian, and he was trying to make us believe she was some kind of witch!"
Sebastian's expression did not change. He led them away from the house, his steps calm and unhurried.
"I know," Sebastian said quietly.
Dandelion blinked. "Then why.."
"Because," Sebastian said, his voice cold, "the truth is a weapon. And like any weapon, it must be used at the right time, in the right way. If I had accused him, if I had confronted him with the truth, he would have denied it. He would have called us liars, and he would have turned the village against us."
Dandelion opened his mouth to argue, but Zoltan cut him off.
"The boy's right," the dwarf said, his voice low and serious. "We need more than just his word. We need proof. Something that ties him and the rest of the village to Marian's death."
Dandelion was pacing, his boots squelching in the mud. "Sowhat now? We know the old bastard is lying. We know he'shiding something. We can't just.."
"We wait," Sebastian said.
Zoltan crossed his thick arms, his bushy eyebrows furrowed. "Wait for what? The old goat's not going to confess just because we ask nicely."
Sebastian shook his head slowly. "No. But whatever he did, whatever he and the villagers did to Marian, it's still here. It's still in this village.."
Dandelion stopped pacing. "What do you mean?"
Sebastian's eyes swept the village, searching for something. "The elder told us that their problems started when Marian arrived. Crops failing. Livestock dying. But he lied about the timing. He lied about the cause." He paused. "The sacrifices they made, the blood they spilled... it didn't solve anything. It only made things worse, he said it himself, killing Marian, only helped things return to normal for a time."
Zoltan's eyes narrowed. "How do you know he was telling the truth about this whole evil plaguing the village nonesense?"
Sebastian's expression was grim. "I've read about it before,events like these in other places where people thought they could buy their safety with blood. It never works. The magic doesn't go away. It festers. It grows. And eventually, it comes back to claim what's owed."
Dandelion swallowed hard. "So the villagers... they're actuallybeing hunted by something? Something they created?"
Sebastian nodded. "Something like that. The elder thought he could fix it by killing the foreigner, but they clearly made it worse, I need to investigate Marian's house a bit more, we might have missed something important."
/-\
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