Infused with Darkness

Chapter 4

Two figures clothed in all black walked into the little riverside village. As all human life was mostly concentrated around the Afreiton, it wasn't that hard to find the collection of little huts sprawled along the southern banks of the river.

Despite both of them being in black, it was fairly easy to distinguish them. One had his face revealed - showing he was a male with light blue eyes and a bunch of blonde hair. He had a sword on his belt and held a silver compass in his right hand. The other person was hooded and didn't appear to be carrying any weapons, but their very aura was menacing, the kind that makes you think twice before ever approaching.

The man walked up to one of the villagers with a charming smile, leaving the other one at the edge of the village. 'Hello there,' he greeted, putting the compass in a pocket. He had a strange accent, an accent that sounded like the city. And cities were very far away from here. 

The villager looked at the man, surprised that the stranger talked to him. 'Hi?'

'I was wondering.. have you heard of a witch in this area today or yesterday?' the man asked.

'Witch?' The villager spat on the ground, his entire mood shifting to anger and hatred. 'Yes. The boy is being held by our chief. That little abomination made a pack of wolves attack our village while all our fighters were gone. He was planning on killing us all!'

A few bystanders nodded in agreement, their eyes burning with hatred. The man nodded in agreement as well, knowing better than to fight any of them. 'Then I'm sure you wouldn't mind me and my friend taking the boy somewhere else, would you? We'd get rid of him forever.'

'You'd have to ask Shiusan, our chief. He decides what is going to happen to him. You can find him there,' another villager said, pointing at one of the huts. It was bigger than the others, but made of the same simple and natural materials: planks, twigs and clay.

The man smiled again. 'Thank you,' he says and walks towards the hut. The other person in black falls in line next to him, accompanying him while still not having uttered a single word.

They were stopped by the guard outside the hut. 'Who are you and why are you here?' he asks with a stern expression, glancing at the man's sword. He reached for his own weapon.

'We are here to talk to your chief about your witch problem. We are witch hunters, you see,' the man replied.

'The chief is busy, come back later.'

The man sighed. 'Are you sure you won't let us in?'

When the guard nodded, the man shrugged. 'Then we'll have to do it this way.' The man's light blue eyes became as dark as a starless night. 'Let us in.'

The guard blinked and took a step to the right, no longer blocking the entrance. The man showed a predatory grin. 'Ah, it works every single time,' he said as his eyes changed back to light blue, then he entered the hut.

There were five men in the hut, gathered around a fire. They appeared to be the elders and the much younger chief, all holding serious expressions. They stopped talking when the man walked in.

One of the five spoke up, and the man guessed he was the chief as he was youngest of them all and looked strongest. 'Who are you and how did you get in?'

'Oh, the guard was nice enough to let me in. As for who I am, I am a witch hunter. You have a witch here, don't you?'

Another one spoke up, and the man guessed he was an elder by the lines in his face and the first silver strands of hair. 'We might have. Why?'