The Black Quill

The Lavender Sorceress

It's 1692. Grimwald's night sky paints a dreary canvas, brimming with thousands of sparkling lights. Merlin's cottage sat lonesomely underneath the luminescence of the sky. But Merlin was not home. No, on any other night he would be dozing off in that little room of his or perhaps swigging down a pint of ale. Tonight was a special night; he would hunt himself a monster and slay it. But which kind? It would have to be one robust as he was—perhaps even stronger. One of ample size and powerful enough to level an entire city. For he was determined to buy himself back into the guild he so callously treated once.

It began with minor, yet senseless behavior which later developed into something of a chaotic nature. At first he would skip out on guild meetings, lazing around all day eating and drinking at the local pub. If he ever decided to go out on a job, it would take several weeks—even months—until he finally came back. Some of the guild members assumed this was because he chose for himself the more challenging jobs that required the greatest of skills and exertion. But in actuality, it was the fact that he preferred to remain in isolation most of the time, and would only complete his task whenever he found it necessary. Yet despite this, he always managed to get the job done. Then came the day he challenged one of the burlier guild members to a fight while under the influence. This resulted in heaps of collateral damage and one very uptight guild master.

Thus, it was decided by the master that Merlin was to be exiled until he had proven to be sufficient and committed to the guild. So, here he was in the Black Forest searching for beasts and creatures alike worthy enough to give himself a name. But alas, his efforts remained futile, for he found nothing but leafless trees and what seemed to be the remains of a dead deer. He was ready to give in and turn back home when a peculiar sound caught his ear. The crunching of dead leaves drew closer to him; something or someone was watching him. Unsheathing his sword, he pivoted toward the direction of the noise, ready to face whatever came his way head on.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" He demanded. Much to his surprise, the creature turned out to be nothing but a woman dressed in charcoal-black robes. Under her hood, she wore a pale, prominent, face with high cheeks and a strong chin. Her frizzy, lavender hair wrapped around her head like that of a lion's mane and matched with her piercing serpent-like eyes.

"Oh there's no need for that, my dear" she grinned devilishly. Merlin was awestruck, what was a young woman like her doing all alone in the woods? But taking a closer look, he realized she was no ordinary woman.

"Who..who are—"

"The name's Agnes" the woman introduced herself, "Master sorceress of witchcraft and wizardry. Hi, how's it goin?" She continued.

"Merlin," he returned, "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Oh no, goodness no! But I know you and I came here with tidings to offer you some help" Agnes said.

"Sorry, lady. I work alone" Merlin responded, the ever so hard-hearted. He was ready to continue his journey back home when Agnes vanished and reappeared next to him in a puff of violet smoke.

"Oh come on! Just hear me out" she said, embracing his shoulder. "Listen, I would be eternally grateful if you did a huge favor and tracked something down for me—or rather someone. What do you say?"

And Merlin the skeptical, "Why me? Why can't you do it yourself?" He insisted.

"Well, hey I would but I seemed to have lost their trail. And word around the street is that you're quite the apt hunter! You know, I'll admit a little lazy but still pretty good—"

Merlin rolled his eyes, "What do you need me to do?"

Agnes' lip curved into a lopsided smile, "Ay there it is! That's the attitude I was looking for!" She exclaimed, toying with Merlin's chin. Once again, she vanished and turned up before him.

"Alright, so here's the deal. You are in desperate need of killing yourself a monster, and I need to find myself a little runt who happened to run off with one of my valuables" she informed. Agnes snapped her fingers to conjure a poster of a little blonde girl with a round face covered in smut. Her clothes appeared to be nothing less than filthy tattered rags.

"Find me this girl, and I will create for you the most fearsome of creatures!" She exalted. Merlin furrowed his brow—surely this must be some rouse. A twisted scheme that would inevitably cost him his sense of honor—even his life. For what was this little girl to him but a simple peasant, who, in most circumstances, he would turn a blind eye to. Yet he remained curious and thusly, pressed on.

"And what must I do once I find this...girl?" He inquired.

And Agnes with an impish smile on her face, "Well, it's simple really." Snapping her fingers a second time, she procured to his sight a small, hexagonal glass bottle filled with pink, bubbling liquid. At the head of the bottle was a cap in the shape of a skull and a label with an inscription unrecognizable to Merlin.

"That little brat thought she could do away with one of my healing potions. If you could find her, I want you to give her this" Agnes offered. Merlin accepted the bottle and studied its features, to which he concluded it to be rather ghastly.

"What will it do to her?" He asked.

"Well, in layman's terms, she will get what she deserves, and you will get your monster. Sound good enough for you?" Agnes teased, stretching out her hand. Merlin observed the bottle and the poster one last time. Something about this seemed off to him, but the offer was quite tasteful to his desires. Finally, he decided he would fare better with these chances than returning home empty handed. With a firm grip, he took Agnes' hand in his and signed himself to her deal. A red glow glistened underneath his hand as he shook Agnes', which progressively grew brighter, nearly blinding him. In a matter of seconds, the light faded away to which he responded by examining his palm. On his forearm now, was a brand—a symbol in the shape of an infinity sign with crossed lines intersecting in the middle.

"Great! So the deal's set and done" Agnes snickered, "I'll give you approximately 72 hours to find the girl." She advanced forward, tugging along a trail of black smoke at her feet, but never keeping her eyes of his.

"Oh, and if you ever decide to cross me, I'll ensure that you'll find your little beast much sooner than you'd like" she warned, gripping his chin.

"Okay? See you soon!" She said with a crooked laugh, before vanishing a final time in a cloud of violet smoke. Under the moonlight, Merlin trembled, his figure encompassed in a myriad of shadows. A single raven perched on a dead tree branch above him, crowing sinisterly. He was alone.