Chapter 86: The Witch Cries 1

Sena crossed her arms, her back pressed on a wall. She is in a room of the compound of her noble house in Dunwich. She eyes Bruno, who’s looking at the documents sent to them by the other noble houses. The noble houses have sent the parchments in order to help with the rampaging witch. The rampaging witch of blue is what they call the witch.

“Is there anything that could tell us about the witch?” said Sena, eager to know the enemy. “We have been getting odd reports and news of the rampage yet the sun’s crown still is chasing after that witch. They aren’t usually this incompetent.”

“Nothing milady, so far we have been getting nothing but the same reports.” Bruno switched the papers on his hand and read its contents, “The witch has been raiding farmlands, killing cattle, destroying farmsteads. There are deaths happening and mostly they are guards and patrols. The sun’s crown is too late in each report. Although they reason that the shrubbery around the area prevents them from chasing the witch far.”

“Prevent them?” she said quizzically, “Hard to believe when the sun’s crown is composed of knights and rangers, people who have gone to the front-lines and were trained to protect the realm from harbingers. Either they are getting lazy or the witch is good.”

Bruno nodded, taking another report.

“Another report says that the witch is versatile in nature magic. Almost like a Kapri Demon in terms of her ability to manipulate the nature around her. The one thing about the witch is that most of the common folks who have seen the witch. According to the commoners, the Witch has round eyes, blue hair, a robe, a coiled root staff. The one thing easily distinguishable about the witch is her long ears.”

“Long ears, so the witch is an elf then?” Sena touched her chin, “An Elf far from home, trying to destroy farmsteads? I know that the Elf has something against cultivating the land or what they call as wounding the land, but to think that they would come here and destroy the farmsteads? Is it really an elf?”

“But milady, only the Elf-kind has long ears.”

Bruno said as if it was obvious.

“They are, but still I would like to know my enemies. This ‘witch’ has blue hair right?”

“Yes, they call hair the blue witch because of her hair.”

“I recall that there are no night elves now. They perished a long time ago when Master Paladin Arthur brought down the sun upon their home. Only they have blue hair and even the normal elves have blonde hair or gray with a green tint. Their skin also has a green glow on it.”

The night elves were the first race that went extinct in the first years of the war. Master Paladin Arthur was the commander of an Imperial Unit and was one of the few who manages to enter elf territory and brought mayhem and victory. Their victory composed of annihilating the night elves and their moon well.

“Indeed, milady.” Bruno glances at the reports, “There is no way that the night elves could exist, not to mention that even if they do, this ‘witch’ should have the green glow that the mother tree gives every elf. Possibly this ‘witch’ could be half-blood.”

“A half-blood...”

Sena grimaced. To her, the half-blood is the result of much degeneracy in the battlefield. She heard stories of the soldiers from the front-lines falling for their elf enemies. The elves are after all a beautiful race. And men that stayed on the field of corpses would even forget their disgust and copulate with them.

“But milady,” Bruno said, “A half blood should never have this kind of power.”

“Who knows? There many things we don’t understand. But nonetheless, the fact that this witch has been terrorizing the area and still uncaught despite the sun’s crown chasing her, makes her a problem. Honestly, Bruno, I would like to deal with this witch for what she is doing.”

“Milady, but the sun’s crown won’t allow that.”

“Exactly.” she scowled, “They even sent that letter to us right?”

“To never interfere with the duty of the Sun’s Crown. They did send that.”

Sena frowned. As an ascended knight she was duty bound to help the people of the realm. But even she could not act when the sun’s crown tells her not to. The sun’s glare is what they call the letter that the sun’s crown sends. She could not possibly disobey the sun’s crown. And even her family, despite their standings would prove difficult to go against the sun’s crown.

“Still...” Sena said, “We just cannot leave that Witch rampaging.”

“But milady we can’t. The sun’s crown said.”

“The sun’s crown said that we shall never chase their prey. It never told us to never protect the people around the area. Not to mention that if we do meet the Witch, we can act in self-defense. We will not chase after the witch but we will defend ourselves when it comes to it. Do you understand?”

Bruno was perplexed for a second.

“I understand. Still milady, how can we find the witch?”

Sena crossed her arms in thought. Her eyes focused on the scenery outside. The town was visible and the line of clay tiled roofs was clearly seen. She pondered on what to do. The witch was seen in many places. Farmsteads and villages, and by the looks of it the witch have a great knowledge of the land. If the witch didn’t have that knowledge then how could she possibly escape the sun’s crown that easily? The sun’s crown is made of veterans that tracked and killed many dangerous beasts. Sena believes they couldn’t possibly lose that easily unless the witch was better at them in navigating the land. Not to mention that with the knowledge of the land plus the abilities to control the vegetation of the land makes the witch untraceable.

It seems that she has a lot to thought about.

...

He ran deep across the streets. He tried to avoid the obstacles but his heart was already in a panic. Fear has crept into his heart as the shadowy figure approaches like a cursed wraith that would follow him everywhere. He already tried losing the shadowy figure out in the streets but it proved much troublesome. The morning light was still raging up in the sky. But he could not feel anything but dread as he ran across the alleys of Dunwich.

“AH!”

He jerked his body to the right. He saw a rope dagger with a C-like tip. He felt like the moment that it hits him he would be dragged by the shadowy figure. He ran again. But the figure following got even faster and he could feel that figure lingering in his shadows. He felt fear. He didn’t expect that someone would actually have the nerves to attack a courier of the sun’s crown.

“Stop!”

He shouted. This happened when he was walking around. As a member of the sun’s crown, he never feared for anything. He was a knight and a ranger. But the one chasing after him made him feel dread. He moved like a panther ready to strike him anytime. He relied on his status first but he found out that the figure does not care at all.

He continued to run with his pack. The pack is filled with letters for the sun’s crown and to the noble houses. Particularly, the bag right now was carrying an important parcel. He thought that the figure was trying to get this parcel and schemed against the Sun’s crown.

Of course, the figure’s true intention wasn’t that. He wouldn’t know about it so he just ran trying to escape the shadow. But the shadow was fast, he ran along the walls, vault over the houses and leap on the tall houses edges and uses that rope dagger of his to swing across long gaps.

He already tried anything he knew but the chaser had the advantage in every way. He was a knight and yet not even he could escape the shadow before him. But he still ran desperately. This time he wanted to go near an outpost of guards. He knew that once he gets there the shadowy figure might stop following him. With that, he can then wait for the shadow to leave. He assured this plan inside his head. But suddenly he felt danger approach him.

He took a big breath. He jerked his shoulder and unknowingly he drew his sword to deflect the dagger. Clang, his sword met the dagger and a smile plastered on his lips. However, that smile immediately went away as he sees the man following him pouncing on him like a panther.

The jester-like mask staring at him. The tattered cloak fluttering made him freeze for a moment. He then tried to hit the shadow but the shadow pulled his rope dagger and wrapped it around the hilt of his sword. The shadow pulled his sword away from him and before he could draw the dagger hung on his belt. The masked man has already wrapped his right arm around his neck and he felt his head behind the man’s armpit.

He then felt his head moving down to the floor. Then he saw everything went black.

...

He saw the man carrying the parcels unconscious on the ground. Arden has stalked the man and since he couldn’t find any useful information on the brokers or around the area. He decided to target a courier instead. Usually targeting Couriers is something frowned upon in the kingdom. And they usually get hunted down. The Courier he targeted was no simple courier. He was someone working from the sun’s crown so he could not possibly show his identity. He could kill the man but the man was only doing his job. He wasn’t a killer so obviously, Arden will never do so.

The courier was carrying parcels. He started rummaging in the bag and inspected the letters. His eyes focused on anything that would tell him of the situation around the area. Each letter was different. Some came from the capital while some are from noble houses. He didn’t care about the politics in the capital so he just went and see anything that relates to the situation in Dunwich. After searching for a while he saw a letter with the sun’s crown embed on it. It was sealed with red wax and was stamped with the symbol of the sun.

He removed the wax sealing and opened the letter. In the letter, he saw information about the area where the witch was. But to him, the letter was the usual information. It was just the location where the Witch has already attacked. He already learned of this and he could not help but feel annoyed.

He then reached for another letter. This time it was a bit better. The letter showed him that the sun’s crown is trying to catch the witch. They have failed and they need to entrap the sun’s crown. But reading this letter, he could not help but raise a brow. Why would the sun’s crown entrapped the witch and at the same time prevent any noble houses from helping?

The other letters were requests from the noble houses to defend their fiefs. And the letter from the sun’s crown are all reply letters that assures them that they will trap the witch while telling them intently not to interfere with the sun’s crown prey. Arden found this odd. Why would they not let the owners help in defend their fiefs?

He wanted to know more about this so he tried to search for another letter. But he heard the sound of footsteps and saw a group of patrols walking down the alley. Their eyes met with him and immediately they put their hands on their swords and drew it. Arden clicked his tongue immediately. He stood upright, took a smoke pellet from his pocket and throws it on the ground. A cloud of smoke then spread all over the narrow alley and before the guards could try to apprehend Arden, he already pulled his wire grapplers and using the pulleys attached to his belt, escaped to the rooftops.

Once the smoke settled. All the guards could see was the fainted courier and the letters spread across the ground.