In the Shadow of the Summer

Feldcroft

The journey to Feldcroft took longer than you'd anticipated. There were far more poachers than there had been the day before, and it was taking far too long to access Isidora's magic. You had to hope you'd already done enough to reveal her message. Since you only had your ancient magic left to protect you, you had to be more strategic about how you travelled. Several times, you heard Sebastian make an odd comment about releasing Bourne and continuing on foot, but you wouldn't be able to forgive yourself if you allowed Bourne to get captured again just to save yourself. Besides, you'd already come so far and you were so close. It was worth the risk to continue riding.

There were a couple of close calls. At one point, a group of poachers lined up across your path like a human wall, expecting Bourne to stop so they could use the time to clamber up and make a grab for you. Fortunately, Bourne seemed to know better, and ran straight through them. At another point, someone blasted you with Stupefy and you toppled off Bourne's back to the ground. You were half sure that you dislocated your shoulder in the fall, but you had bigger things to worry about when you saw a group of poachers racing toward you with their wands aimed at you. Sebastian managed to beat them to you and set the ground ablaze in front of them so they couldn't get past. As much as you'd wanted to skip going there, it was a relief to see Feldcroft in the distance a short while later.

"The place doesn't look any different," Sebastian observed as you looked down upon the hamlet from up the road. He was right, the place didn't look any different from when you'd last visited. Tall grass covered the ground outside the little stone houses. The hamlet's inhabitants wandered round carrying food or fabrics, chatting amongst themselves or simply admiring their surroundings. You'd never had a chance to appreciate what a truly lovely place it was before it was tainted by memories of the goblin attack.

"We should hide Bourne," you said. "I suspect he'll bring us a lot of unwanted attention if we arrive on his back." Bourne snorted in response, probably reluctant to have to stay hidden away by himself.
"You're right," said Sebastian. "Here, why don't I find somewhere for him and you... make sure it's safe for me to return."
"What are you talking about?"
"Listen." Sebastian sighed. "My uncle was very well respected in Feldcroft. If people know what happened, they might not be too pleased to see me."
"I hadn't thought of that," you admitted. "Very well. Just make sure he's properly hidden." Sebastian nodded and you swung your leg over Bourne's neck awkwardly so that you could dismount. With one last glance up at Sebastian, you noticed him staring down at the hamlet fearfully, before he beckoned Bourne to continue on.

You hoped that all was well in the hamlet. If the people did know of what had transpired in the catacomb, you suspected that Sebastian would have been captured and taken to Azkaban months ago, so you were optimistic. You just had to hope Anne had listened to Ominis and kept her mouth shut. You began to lose faith slightly when people began to notice you and their expressions turned to that of disdain. The hamlet was quieter than you remembered it. There were no children playing outside or old ladies gossiping merrily. Thick clouds rolled across the sky in front of the sun, leaving the hamlet in a dull grey shadow.

When you arrived at Sebastian's out, which appeared to be wildly overgrown with leaves, you spotted Bernard Ndiaye looking rather bored behind his merchant stall. As much as you wanted to disappear inside and wait for Sebastian, your curiosity got the better of you and you made your way over.
"Good afternoon, sir," you said timidly. "Nice to see you again."
"Nice to see you again too. How can I help you?"
"I was just wondering..." You glanced over your shoulder at your surroundings before turning back. "What happened here?" Mr Ndiaye let out a sigh and hung his head slightly.
"Well, our hamlet's been in mourning for a while unfortunately. We recently lost one of our own - Solomon Sallow. A longtime resident."
"I'm sorry to hear that." You swallowed nervously. "Do you know... how it happened?"
"Died in his sleep, and so young. Tragic twist of fate. We all took it rather hard actually."
"That's awful," you said, rather unconvincingly, but Mr Ndiaye didn't seem to notice.
"The worst part is, he was a guardian to his nephew and niece. She's particularly devastated, poor girl."