Tales Of The Continent - Part 5

Chapter 3

I stayed in the cabin for no more than three days. On the opening morning, the improvement in my health was pretty lacking but I refused to sit down and let the aching take over, so I asked Vailin if there was anything I could do whilst I stayed there. At first she was apprehensive, but I assured her it was the best way for me to get better. So on that first day I helped milk the cows and chop some firewood, incredibly basic stuff but I was still worn out by the end of it. On the second day I felt far better with pain only coming across me if I was hunched over for too long. I was able to chop wood for hours on end and I took Ellis out hunting with Indy, where we bought down a giant deer. Hopefully it would keep the two them fed for a while. During that evening I was able to show Ellis a little bit of sword technique, apparently my gear had survived with me, which was odd. When the third day came I woke up and immediately told Vailin that I would be going at first light the next day because I felt basically perfect, with nothing but small burn marks on my left arm where the magic had clearly dug a little deeper. It was a miracle really, whatever she put in her brews were extraordinary. In the evening of the final day I was sitting down at the table with Vailin, drinking some tea, after a long day of chopping yet more wood and collecting chicken eggs and cow's milk.

"May I ask you something?" she said.

Other then pleasantries we hadn't really spoken over the past few days, given the fact that I'd be leaving soon and would never see them again.

"Sure,"

"How did you come to be floating down that river?"

A wave of shock ran through the inside of me, despite being together we had never discussed what got me here.

"I was following a horde of night creatures, planning on killing them, but instead I was led into a sorcerer's lair. After fighting her night creatures and killing all of them, she hit me with some sort of spell... and then I woke up here,"

"Why were you following the Night Creatures?" she asked,

"The Commander of the armies of Jömund Port contracted me to kill them all. Apparently they were destroying trade caravans that were going back forth between the Port and their various military bases dotted around the east."

"So you weren't expecting to find a sorcerer? Don't sorcerers create night creatures?"

"Originally yes, they were the entire reason the Hunters were established, to kill these creatures and any rogue sorcerers. But the sorcerers started getting clever and they gave the animals the ability to shapeshift and breed. Ever since the extermination of the sorcerers the night creatures have still existed."

"Didn't Hunters have a role in the purge of all known sorcerers though?"

This threw me off guard, this wasn't common knowledge,

"Yes they did, the King enlisted us to help combat the sorcerers-,"

"Because you're enhanced with magic?" She interrupted, an eager look now in her eyes,

"Yes, that, and because with our years of training we became more capable than an entire army. But there then followed a purge of magic across the land, our loyalty to the King became forgotten and it resulted in us becoming persecuted because of our abilities and strange life style,"

We sat in silence for a few more minutes,

"Will you kill the sorcerer?"

Part of me wanted to say yes, because of Knash, but I knew exactly what Keiger would say if I let emotion cloud me.

"If she refuses to come in alive and stand trial, then I will have to kill her as proof of the job completed."

"Stand trial? That just means waiting to be executed,"