A Tale of Fortunes Cross

Ch. 5: The Black Witches Fortune

They walked through fields for the rest of the day just Karaan and Sarah. They finally reached the village just after nightfall so they went to a nearby inn and slept. Karaan woke Sarah up the next morning bright and early. He told her to take a bath and put on her fine dress. Today was a very special day, but he wouldn't say why. She bathed and then changed and Karaan did the same. They left the room later than normal. They walked out and began walking down the street. Karaan became skeptical very quickly. The street was empty not a single person other than himself and Sarah. Half the shops were abandoned or closed down. This was one of the busiest streets last time he was in town. Even Sarah was a bit skeptical. As he walked down the street he noticed occasionally form a house that wasn't yet abandoned a person would peer from the window. They walked to the end of the street where there stood on the outer corner of the town a small hut. Three walls made of clay standing about 8 feet tall. A roof made of wood, not planks but large branches with a black and purple tarp over it. The tarp had a bright red laced in it. The tarp draped over the front of the hut where the wall was made of wood similar to that of the roof. In the middle was a large opening where a door should be but no door and the tarp seemed to be torn in two. Sarah looking kind of scared turned to Karaan and asked "What is this?" Karaan answered this is where an old friend of mine lives. Her name is Agatha and she's a fortune teller. She's a very good one, she has a reputation for never being wrong." Sarah looked nervous as they approached the opening. Karaan shoved her through. In front of her sat an old woman she was quite hefty and her body filled with wrinkles. She was almost the definition of and old witch. The hut was filled with all sorts of what appeared to be magic items. From spellbooks that looked thousands of years old to a large glass orb which strangely was on a shelf on the wall not on the table in the middle of the room as you would expect. There was gold, everything from rings to rods. There were sea shells and almost any strange item you could imagine. Even a stuffed kissinge the top shelf in the upper right corner. It really was a small shop with a single room. It had a door in the back, or it appeared to be a door but the outside of the building had nothing remotely similar to another room, it didn't even appear to have an opening just a solid clay wall. There was an old black piano in the upper left corner that was playing a slow dark tune, it was playing itself. The woman herself was in a dark black robe no purple but with foggy grey and red lacings throughout it. She had a large slooped over nose with a large wart on the middle left side. The woman looked at her with a large grin and in an old womanly deep raspy voice asked "How may I help you deer? Would you like me to curse your husband? Or perhaps you would like eternal youth. Or to have every man to lay eyes on you fall to your knees with heart stricken love, to obey your every command. Come now speak your mind I don't have all day you see!" Sarah scared half to death, even the aura coming from this woman felt pitch black. Her knees shook, she couldn't move or speak or even swallow. Then Karaan entered the room. She threw her table across the room as if it were nothing and jumped up screaming "Karaan my boy! It's been so long! Come give your old mother a hug!" She wrapped her arms tightly around Karaan and he did the same to her. Sarah slightly relaxed now asked "This is your mother?" Karaan answered "No, not my birth mother. But she's played a very important part in my life for as long as I can remember. She is one of my greatest friends. And she is like a mother to me." Sarah sighed a large sigh of relief as Agatha said to Karaan letting go of him "And what brings you here today my boy? Just browsing? Or perhaps you would like to know how this young woman would fair in bed? Not nearly as well as me I'll tell you now." She said with a loud stout joking laugh. Sarah gritted her teeth at that comment slightly angered and slightly disgusted by it as Agatha continued "Or perhaps you just wished to stop and see this old hag once more? Yes?" Karaan chuckled at her comments as he replied "Well I did want to see you but I also wish to have her fortune told." Agatha replied in her loud obnoxious stale voice "Yes now. I see. I will charge you a single gold piece. A special discount for my dear Karaan." Karaan surprised replied "What!? You must be joking a gold piece? You usually charge half a silver!?" Agatha replied "Well as you can see business has been absolutely dreadful lately, and an old woman has to eat somehow." Sarah finding herself slightly angered by this for some reason just continued to grit her teeth and let it play out. Karaan replied "Well I don't have a gold piece on me. But I'm sure I have enough change to cover it. I better get a good discount next time I come through though!" He said reaching into his bag" She grinned a dastardly grin. "Oh don't even joke about that deer, I won't have anything left by the time you pass by next." Sarah found herself more and more aggravated as this woman was so obviously using Karaans liking of her to steal from him so much money that he had worked so hard for. But she just gritted her teeth. If Karaan had taught her anything, the best learning experience is a mistake. Karaan handed her the entire bag of money. A look of anger came over Sarahs face. Agatha took the money and quickly grabbed Sarah's cheeks and pulled her toward her until Sarah could smell her breath, their noses almost touching. She looked the nervous Sarah in the eyes and said "One day one of your great descendants would rule this world. They will be the most powerful ruler this world has ever known, a very powerful magician. Their empire stretching further than any king could imagine. There will not be another empire that size, not before, not after. Their rule will be unquestioned by all and they will change this world, make it a perfect world. But it will be a fruitless endeavor." She had Sarah hanging onto her every word. It was obvious she was an expert, Sarah gazed into her eyes her own eyes shining in the marvelous wander. Karaan laughed saying "C'mon Agatha you say that to everyone! I want a real fortune." Agatha laughed her annoying stale joking laugh again right in Sarah's face. Sarah was disgusted at her lies. She found herself more and more angered by this old hag. The old woman shoved Sarah aside. She walked back to her chair and sat down once more. The old hag waived her hand and the table that had broken in half flew across the room as if in reverse of how it had been thrown and had repaired itself. Sarah would have been astonished if it wasn't for her anger. Another chair joined them at the other end of the table. Agatha in a rude tone said "What are you waiting for an invitation? Set!" Sarah grinned angrily but did as Agatha said and sat in the chair. Agatha asked "So what exactly do you want to know my dear?" Karaan answered "Well I mainly want to know if it was a mistake to buy her or not." Sarah looked disheartened at this statement. Agatha stared blankly into her eyes saying "Let's see what your fortune reads little girl." She stared for several minutes before saying "You made a grievous mistake. This girl will be the cause of your greatest loss." This angered Sarah that much more. And the fact that she was serious when she said it angered Sarah even more. Sarah found herself for the first time since she met Karaan shaking with anger that she could hardly contain. Agatha continued in a slightly looser tone "But don't worry boy she will make it up to you in the dead of night when she bears your child." She laughed once more in her stale loud annoying joking laugh. This brought Sarah to tears, she was so filled with anger. Agatha started to cough loudly out of nowhere. She musically held her hands to her mouth. She coughed up a little blood. Karaan just stood there watching as if it were normal. Sarah frustrated didn't care. But still she bit her tong. Karaan laughed and said to Agatha "Is this really necessary, it's obvious she's flustered you can stop now." Agatha responded "Fine, but I'll tell you... You should really hear what the little one thinks of you when she's lying down for the night." She laughed loud with her annoying stale joking laugh. Sarah had finally reached her breaking point she jumped up and slapped the old hag across the face with her left hand as hard as she could, yelling "Shut up you old Witch!" in the top of her lungs. Agatha almost flew out of her seat. Like a stone she fell to the floor. Sarah stood there angry and Karaan laughing. But after a minute they both realized something was wrong when she didn't move. The piano was no longer playing. Karaan grabbed Sarahs wrist and jerked her out of the tent. Sarah was stunned she couldn't move. As Karaan walked out of the tent dragging Sarah behind by the wrist they passed a young man not much older than Karaan. He was coming to check out the commotion. As Karaan still pulling Sarah walked down the street the boy slowly peered into the tent. He sat there staring as Karaan walked away. After a minute he walked into the tent. Karaan reached about halfway down the road still pulling Sarah who was still stunned and pale, not knowing what was going on or how to react. She was letting him pull her. As they reached the midway point almost in front of the inn where they stayed and where the horse and carriage were at the boy ran out of the tent. He placed his hands up to his mouth pointed to the sky and with the loudest voice he could muster he yelled "The black witch is dead! The black witch is dead!" Karaan quickly gathered his horse and his belongings not wasting any time. He through Sarah into the back of the carriage she sat there still pale still stunned. He continued down the street in a rush with his horse as people slowly began to leave their residents. After a few minutes word had spread everyone was yelling "The black witch is dead! The black witch is dead!" An old man stopped Karaan a few houses from the edge of town and asked "Are you the one who killed her?" Karaan answered in a rush "Yes" The man replied in a slow calm voice "Well thank you for riding our town of this curse, if there is anything at all we can do for you pleas speak your mind. There is no need to fear we are in your debt traveler." A few people had gathered around to see their hero about this time. Karaan answer in a fearful rushed voice "I must leave this place immediately, for I fear we may be cursed otherwise. However I haven't had time to stock up on supplies for the journey. I could much use food and drink." The man hearing this quickly moved out of the way and as Karaan passed him, in a little bit of a rushed voice yelled "Well you heard the man he needs food and drink go get it!" The villagers rushed into their houses to grab supplies for him they even ran out of the village throwing everything from meat, wine and cantinas, to gold and silver and expensive trinkets from some of the wealthier town members. Karaan got on top of the horse after the last person had left and rode off as fast as he could.