The Grey Witch. Part Three

Erin and Joshua approach the town of Hantel, ready to challenge the Grey Witch.

Part 3

Erin and Joshua sat in the remains of the 'Roasted Ox' tavern. Erin nursed a glass of buqa. She sipped the drink, winced,

“This hooch will send me mad.”

“Unlikely.” Joshua said, he seemed distracted and was tapping his finger through the table,

“Erin, does anything strike you as odd about the village?”

She stared at him,

“Well, it's been burned to the ground, everybody's dead - nope, nothing wrong here.”

He ignored the sarcasm and queried,

“Everybody?”

Erin was quiet. She thought carefully about the bodies. Something had been nagging at her. She raised her eyebrows and looked at Joshua,

“Oh hell. There were no women, well there were but...”

“But they were too old to be of any use.”

Erin said nothing. She didn't want to voice what they were both thinking. Joshua faded out of sight for a second, a sign that he was really upset. She said,

“Joshua? Please don't do that. It may be nothing, perhaps they're somewhere else in Stoneway?”

She knew she was clinging to a forlorn hope. The women were going to be used as slaves. Her mentor shook his head sadly,

“I've checked every building. So have you. We need to go now, the witch has to been found and stopped.”

“Killed, you mean?”

“If it comes to that, then yes, kill her.”

After refilling her canteen, storing salted and dried food in a pack, Erin walked into the street,

“She'll head south, to Hantel.” was her opinion.

Joshua stayed quiet. A single person could not have caused this much damage, surely?

Erin sighed,

“Well?”

“Well what?”

“She'll be going to Hantel next, yes?”

The halfling nodded and they started walking out of the village.

Two days later, the companions crested a hill and saw Hantel in the distance. Smoke rose from its centre. Erin and Joshua sat down by the roadside. She chewed at a piece of dried beef, distractedly. Joshua was pacing up and down in front of her. Eventually she said,

“Hells bells, Josh, will you stop doing that?”

“Sorry already.” he snapped and sat beside her.

“Look,” she said, “We both knew the witch would have got here, by now. We both knew she'll have done a s**t load of damage to Hantel.”

“All by herself, very impressive or very unbelievable.”

A tingling sensation in Erin's face gave a feeling of inexplicable dread. She only knew they needed to hide themselves quickly. She hissed to Joshua,

“Off the road. Hide.”

They ran into the field behind them. Dropped below a clump of razor grass and waited. A moment later, five men, armed with crossbows, appeared. They all wore grey gilets with a white stripe across the front. Once they were sure the patrol were out of sight, Erin and Joshua stood up again.

Erin demanded,

“Joshua, what the hell was that about?”

He shook his head unhappily,

“It seems to bear out my theory.”

“I'm not going to like this, am I?”

“I doubt it. There's no way a single person could have completely destroyed Stoneway in a few days.”

Erin felt queasy,

“Therefore, the witch had help.”

Her mentor nodded,

“It's the only thing that makes sense. Somebody was expecting her in Stoneway and the same has probably happened in Hantel.”

Erin walked back onto the road, then across to the other side to the edge of a forest. She said,

“We have to assume Hantel has fallen to the Grey B***h.”

Joshua agreed. It would be suicidal for them to simply walk through the city gates. He suggested they approach the city through the forest. His companion nodded. Before they resumed their journey, Erin said,

“Joshua, back there, when the patrol got close, I felt a tingling just here.” she pointed to the lump on her face, “Is there something I should know?”

“Well, yes, there is. But now's not the time."

Erin was about to disagree, then she stopped, placed a finger on her lips and indicated for Joshua to hide. A woman crashed through the undergrowth, closely followed by two men wearing grey uniforms. They punched the woman to the ground. The outraged Erin stepped into view and said,

“That's enough.”

They stared at her, one of them snarled,

“Mind your own business, b***h.”

Erin sighed,

“Now that was rude.”

She began to walk over to them. They drew knives and grinned at each other, the one who had spoken before said,

"Al, take care of the snooty b***h. I'll deal with this one."

Erin frowned, the man's words were becoming slower, more drawn out. He was moving slower, she shook her head. Her attacker moved to stab her. Erin grabbed his wrist, pulled and swept his legs away with her foot. The other man had risen and was laboriously making his way to her. She spun on the ball of her foot, kicked out sideways, impacting his throat with her heel.

The first man ran away holding a broken wrist. The second man lay still.

Erin sank to her knee, dripping with sweat and struggling to breathe.

The woman was on her feet, by now. Erin turned her head to look at her,

"You okay?"

The woman nodded, her eyes wide and mouth open. Joshua was moving to them, he said,

"She's probably in shock."

"I expect so. Those b******s.."

Joshua was shaking his head,

"No, I mean she's shocked by you."

"Why, what did I do?"

Her mentor smiled proudly,

"Exactly what I expected you to do. Just a lot quicker."

Joshua looked over at the still figure. Tightened his mouth, said to her,

“Looks like you've made your first kill.”

Erin was quiet, then said quietly,

“I suppose I'm meant to get used to it?”

Joshua said,

"You'll need to deal with that, later.” He looked over to the other woman,

“Excuse me, miss. What's your name?"

"Ruth, Ruth Beltane.” She stared at Joshua,

“Are you, by any chance, a halfling?”

He inclined his head and said,

“I'm surprised you've heard of people like me.”

“I read a lot.”

Erin said,

"Fascinating, I'm Erin Bloodquell, that's Joshua. What did those men want with you?"

"They wanted to kill me. I wouldn't pledge allegiance to the Grey Witch."

Erin and Joshua exchanged glances. He said,

"Tell us everything."

End of part three.

Author's Note

Usual requests. Harsh and soft feedback appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Reviews

[barleygirl]

As in earlier chapters, well-written & conceived. The pacing is pulling me along with eagerness to continue your story (I'm easily distractible!) I know you explained "Halfling" before, but by now I can't remember what halflings are, or what is the significance of this distinction?!?!? Maybe some context to continually reinforce this as you bring it up here & there along the way??

Also, about halfway thru, did you mean to switch to "Gray B***h" (in dialogue just before woman crashed thru undergrowth)?

[Vic]

I definitely noticed improvement in Part Three. It does feel a little rushed moving from scene to scene, but it still fits together well. I'm not sure how to suggest slowing it down other than maybe spending a little more time describing the surroundings and emotional reactions of Joshua and Erin. How did the burned and decaying town smell? Was it easy for Erin to get out of her head, or will she always associate smoke with that experience? What's the weather like? Will it rain soon and dampen our heroes' moods, or provide them the cover they need to travel unseen?

Just thoughts to keep in the back of your mind, do with them what you will. Good job raising the stakes by including help for the Witch