Play of Shadows

01.6 Sacrifice

A tournament had once thrown Ann into a horde of zombies. She'd woken up in an overrun city without a clue about the game setting or her objective, surrounded by rotting bodies with hungry eyes.

Pinned under suspicious stares on all sides, Ann relived that moment. She smiled grimly.

At least she had been allowed to run from the zombies.

The hush that had fallen over the crowd broke. The villagers shouted questions in agitated voices, of Ann and of each other. Those who stood near Ann backed away with haste. The crowd was dense around her otherwise, cutting off all exits.

"It's her! It's gotta be her!" someone shouted.

There were some murmurs of agreement. Most questioned the strange circumstances of Ann's addition as a fourth candidate for elimination when there were only ever three previously. Unaware of the corruption wreaking havoc on the instance, they were trying to reason out a purpose behind the disruption of the established routine.

"Enough!"

The crowd quieted under the narrowed eyes of the village leader, albeit reluctantly. The man glared at Ann, which Ann found highly unfair. It wasn't like she wanted the attention, or had done anything to incite it!

Or had she? Ann couldn't help glancing at where K sat, staring dreamily into space.

"The vote must be held," the village leader said. "Think carefully over your choice."

"Wait! This – this isn't fair!"

Ann's NPC mother broke through the line of men and women watching the fun. She stood in front of Ann, puffing herself up as if to hide Ann behind her. It didn't quite work – Ann was the taller of the two – but the sentiment brought a smile on Ann's face.

"There's something foul afoot!" the woman insisted. Turning to the village leader, she pleaded, "Eric, you must call the trial to an end. Our minds have been poisoned. It will not be a fair vote!"

The village leader looked at her, his expression harsh and impassive, his eyes tired. He did not respond.

Ann's mother turned away from him. She faced the crowd instead, repeating her desperate plea. The villagers shifted and looked at each other.

It was an opportune moment, and Sasha was quick to seize it. "Do we even know what it is we are voting on?" she asked the wavering crowd. "Do we know who we are seeking?"

"The wolves among us!" someone shouted. Others raised their voices in agreement.

"W-what about Lana? She was drowned. A wolf couldn't have done that," Mara spoke up timidly.

Hesitant murmurs followed her words. The death of the unfortunate shepherd had obviously been a topic of conversation for much of the day.

"It's the curse!" a woman said. "The curse took Lana!"

The wolves brought the curse to the village, Ann remembered Sasha saying. She raised her eyes to K and his silver rifle.

"The very first death – was it caused by a wolf?" she asked.

The villagers looked at her warily. Ann's mother whispered for her to be quiet, unhappy to have Ann draw attention to herself this way.

Ann was undeterred. Seeing the villagers' hesitation, she pressed on, "It wasn't, was it? The curse – what if it is something else? What if we are all looking for the wrong thing?"

"Edward – was Edward the first one to die?" a villager said.

Mara looked up, startled. "He – he was? But he drowned," she said. Edward must have been the name of her NPC husband. The one who'd gotten caught in a fishing net, floating down the river.