“Should we go in after her? Maybe she needs our help” Jacob whispered into my ears.

We had been waiting a safe distance away from Riverbrook as instructed by the mage who freed us but it had almost been two hours with no signs of fighting. Hiding off by the side of the road that leads south from Riverbrook, I tried to keep the group in good spirits but that was starting to become difficult. Words of encouragement quickly fell on deaf ears as the freezing rain and biting wind harried us. Jacob and I were keeping look out while the rest of the group was further back in the brush hiding. The waiting had caused Jacob to become impatient and he constantly nagged me to take action instead of waiting.

“You heard what she said, we would just be a burden to her in a fight. Just have a little faith, you saw what she did to those soldiers” I replied, trying to comfort Jacob while shivering from the cold.

“Erick, we can’t stay out here much longer, the children won’t last long in this rain”

Jacob was right, everybody was already shaking from the icy rain and huddling together wasn’t much comfort.

“You are right… hand out the weapons we took from the soldiers and tell everyone that we are going back to the village and don’t forget her bag”

Having given out the weapons to the group, we decided it was time to venture back into our village and meet whatever fate had in store for us. The men and women lead the way while the children stayed at the rear, hoping that the adults would protect them. As we were about to reach the first few buildings of the village, we saw a group approaching us, due to the rain our sight was limited and we could not clearly make out the figures.

“They are coming, get ready!” I say to my people

We try our best to get into a fighting stance but being farmers and hunters we had no real combat training and our postures held no confidence. As the group of unknown figures approached us, I mentally readied myself for what was likely the last fight of my life. To my astounding relief the group approaching us were fellow villagers and not soldiers of Count Ramuse.

“Lower your weapons they are not soldiers, they're our people” I command my group.

We lower our weapons and start to quickly close in on the oncoming group.

“Erick! You’re safe, the mage told us to look for people outside of town. Are you all right? Quickly get to shelter, there are no soldiers left in town. Are the children all right? Quickly get them dry and warm” Kade the Elder leading the other group rambled off quickly.

“Calm down Elder Kade, we are cold but otherwise fine”

“Good good, now everyone get home and get yourselves warm and dry”

“What about the mage? I still need to return her bag”

“She’s at the town hall, we elders are meeting with her soon”

“I’ll go get changed and meet you there Elder”

I turn around and take the mage’s bag from a woman who was holding it and then head back to my home. The others say a few parting words and soon we are all back in our own homes. Upon arriving at my house, I notice the signs of battle that must have taken place. Tables overturned, weapons strewn around the room, but no bodies or blood anywhere.

“What happened to the soldiers?” I ponder out loud.

Then memories of what happened to the soldiers south of town race across my mind. So much blood and gore, I had never seen such violence in my life. In the past I had witnessed injured hunters returning to town with bloody wounds and broken bones, but what the mage had done to those soldiers was entirely different. Not only the way she killed them, but what happened afterwards had been seared into my memory.

The shadow that flowed from her cape like black water and devoured the remains of the men and the smile she had afterwards. I had heard about mages but never one that could control shadows and rip apart men without lifting a finger. And that beautiful smiling face of hers that showed no sign of remorse or sadness at her actions, it would surely haunt me for years to come.

*It’s best I don’t ask too many questions*

I quickly changed out of my cold wet clothes and put on fresh dry ones along with a heavy rain coat. I did not want to keep the mage waiting for her belongings and rushed off towards the town hall, shielding her bag from the rain beneath my coat. When I arrived at the hall I see the three village elders; Kade, Roswell and Yasmin sitting side by side at a table while the mage sat opposite to them with a golden hawk perched on her shoulder. The elders sat in silence while the mage slowly drank from a flagon filled with what I presume is ale.

Brushing of the rain from my coat, I withdraw the bag from under it and make my way towards the group. As I near the group, the mage turns her attention towards me, eyeing the bag I was holding, she then waves her hands suggesting that I hand over her bag. Upon receiving the bag the mage quickly opens it and shifts through the bag before closing it again.

“Good it’s all there, now shall we start the meeting? I’ve had enough ale for now” the mage says while finishing her drink.

Lillianna

*Time to start my plan*

“Ahem… killing people makes me thirsty” I say while shrugging.

The three elders and the man standing next to them glance at each other with nervous eyes, but remain silent.

“Shall we start with introductions? My name is Lillianna, your names are?” I say as I gesture with my hand for them to reply.

“We are the elders of this village, I am Yasmin, this is Roswell and Kade” the elderly woman of the group says.

The three elders before me a look to be in their 50s or 60s with the woman having her long grey hair tied into a knot behind her head. The two men have similar grey hair, which are cut short and extends to their eyebrows, both men have long grey beards. The two men are wearing the standard attire of farmers, which are long sleeved cloth shirts and pants with leather work boots. While the woman is wearing a plain long blue sleeved dress that goes down to her ankles. Their skin is wrinkled and tanned showing the signs of those who work in the fields for a living.

“And you are?” I gesture towards the man standing next to the elders, he looks to be in his mid-20s. He is wearing a thick leather coat and has short blonde hair no longer than a finger’s width, with a clean shaven face.

“Umm… I’m Erick, you saved me on the road outside of town. Thank you” Erick says as he bows his head to show gratitude.

“Well then, now that introductions are done, I have a few questions I would like to ask”

“Anything you like great mage, we will try our best to answer your questions” Elder Roswell replies.

*Great mage? Are they trying to butter me up?*

“I would prefer if you just referred to me by my name”

“Yes of course, our apologies. What questions do you have for us?” this time Elder Kade answers.

“When I talked to the group Erick was with, they informed me that they were not aware why your village was attacked and requested that I free your town. However upon speaking to the now deceased knights I was told that your village defied a decree to send men to fight for Count Ramuse. This defiance lead to the Count sending his men here, and well you know the rest”

The elders look at each other with fear before Elder Kade replies.

“We can explain”

“Please do” I gesture for him to continue.

“They wanted to draft all the men in the village. If we sent all the men away to fight, we wouldn’t have enough people to tend to the fields or hunt. It would have meant the end of our village, they even demanded boys who had not come of age”

“And so you ignored the decree? What did you think would happen if you did nothing? That the Count would just forget about your village?”

“We did not know what to do” Yasmin replied while bowing her head in shame.

“So the Elders decided to nothing and hope for the best? Did the people of the village know?”

“We did not tell them of the decree, it was sent as a letter and only the elders have read it”

Erick interjects, rage barely held back in his voice.

“Why didn’t you tell us! Maybe we could have sent only a few men or… I don’t know… anything would have been better than doing nothing”

*I guess the villagers really didn’t know why they were attacked*

I wave my hand at Erick signalling him to calm down.

“Well what’s done is done. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t deceived. Now how do you plan to compensate me for my troubles?”

“We will give you anything you ask for, just name your price” Elder Roswell responds.

*Anything I want huh?*

“How about two children to eat, they don’t have to be big, babies will do”

*Might as well have some fun with these stupid elders*

The Elders eyes widen with shock and all three of them start trembling while looking at each other in panic. Erick on the other hand is seemingly oblivious to my request and just stares at his feet, obviously still angry at the inaction of the elders.

“I was joking” I wave my hands dismissively while laughing.

“That was not funny” Erick replies.

*I guess he was listening after all*

“Well… now for my actual payment. I want control of all the trade in this town” my eyes narrow as I make my demand.

“You want all the trade in Riverbrook, what does that even mean?” Elder Kade questions with a worried look on his face.

“I plan to travel north, towards uncharted lands. There will no doubt be people there who have goods to trade. I plan on making your village a trading hub for Fraul with the currently unknown north ” I say with a wide smile on my face.

“And you want to take over the village to do this?” Elder Yasmin replies.

“All I want is control on all future trade in this town. That means no one will be permitted to trade with anyone or sell anything from the north unless I give permission. What you do with local goods for the time being will be up to you”

“We are still ruled by Count Ramuse, we cannot give you something we don’t have” Elder Yasmin continues.

“I will take care of Count Ramuse, all I want is for you to agree to my terms. It’s not a bad deal, I saved your town and will deal with the Count, while all you have to do is give up your trade privileges”

“For how long?” Elder Kade askes.

“For as long as I live” I reply with a smirk on my face.

“That’s outrageous! Mages can live for hundreds of years. We would be shackling our children and grandchildren to this deal of yours” Elder Roswell interjects.

“You offered to pay me any price I wanted, that price is your freedom to trade. If you do not wish to pay me what I ask, than I will leave this village to its fate. However I am sure the Count will not give you such generous terms for killing his men”

“We did not kill his men… you did” again from Elder Roswell.

“True… but I do not think the Count will care who actually killed his men. Once his men fail to return to Fornall, he will send an even larger force to investigate what happened. They will no doubt arrive upon your village and find it unmolested, which will raise questions. Regardless of how you answer these questions, they will carry out the assignment issued to them. That assignment being the subjugation of this town and its people”

Erick finally decides to intervene in the discussion.

“You are asking us to choose between, accepting your terms or enslavement and possible death for everyone in this village?”

“I believe my terms are quite reasonable. Your village will benefit from this arrangement as well. With increased trade, your town will grow more prosperous and become invaluable to Fraul, since you will be the only hub of trade goods from the north. Who knows, I might not even survive my journey north and this village can continue its meagre existence without my influence”

*Once the village becomes invaluable to the Count he will have no choice but to leave it alone*

“And you will make sure Count Ramuse doesn’t destroy this village?”

“That is correct. How I do this, is no concern of yours for the time being”

“Do we have to decide now?”

“You have until sunset tomorrow. I will have a contract written by morning, it will detail the agreement”

“We will need to discuss this with the people” Elder Kade says.

“Do what you must, in the meantime please provide me with lodging until tomorrow”

“Erick since you are here, please take our esteemed guest to the inn and provide her with anything she request, while we decide what to do” Elder Yasmin informs Erick.

Before Erick could say or do anything I interrupt.

“Oh I almost forgot, it would be best if my status as a mage doesn’t spread beyond this village. Who knows what trouble that could cause” I made sure to last part came out more as a threat than a warning.

With those words I stand up and make my way towards the entrance of the town hall.

*I don’t even know why I am helping them so much. Maybe my conscience is finally catching up to me*

Erick

I follow Lillianna as she moves towards the entrance of the hall, keeping a respectable distance at her side. As we reach the entrance I open the door and find that the rain has not subsided.

“Let me get a rain coat for you, please wait here, I won’t be long”

“There is no need, let us be on our way” Lillianna replies.

As she says that, a shadow creeps out from her black cape and envelopes her in its wake, until all that I see is a figure of almost pure darkness, her once white hair now black as night. I recoil at the sight and jump a few steps backwards trying to avoid the shadow in fear that it might take me as well. All the while the golden hawk stays perched on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry, I won’t harm you. This is just quicker than getting a coat. Now please lead the way”

Recovering from my momentary shock, I lead Lillianna through the village towards the only inn in Riverbrook. As we are walking I glance at the shrouded Lillianna and notice that the rain hitting her figure causes the shadow enveloping her to ripple where it lands. I had never seen or heard of such a sight, it was like walking next to a pool of darkness and it made me feel uneasy.

*Having to choose between a demon and enslavement… what have we gotten ourselves into*

As we reach the veranda of the two storey wooden inn, the shadow around Lillianna withdraws back into the cape, revealing a perfectly dry figure of an attractive woman in its place, while the hawk flies away into the sky. I felt relief that she would not enter the inn while cloaked in darkness, it would have caused more panic than I cared to deal with, especially after all that had happened today.

*If I didn’t know better I would be tempted to court her*

I lead Lillianna through the door and towards the main counter. The interior of the inn consists of a few rows of tables and stools lined up throughout the room, culminating with the main counter at the far side of the room and a stair case next to it. There were half a dozen patrons sitting at the tables, eating and drinking trying to find comfort from the ordeals of the day. It was just after noon, yet those that were drinking appeared to be heavily intoxicated with some even passed out on their tables.

*I feel like drinking myself stupid as well*

“Hello Helen, this is Lillianna the mage that saved us. Please give her anything she wants and your best room for the night”

“Of course, we cannot thank you enough for what you have done for this town, please what can I do for you?” Helen replies in a cheerful voice.

Helen the owner of the inn was dressed in a bar keeps outfit, a yellow apron over a long sleeved one piece dress made of grey fabric. She was in her 30s with long strawberry blonde hair down to her waist and gave off a motherly aura with her warm smile and upbeat demeanour.

“First a warm bath and then some food and drink, please” Lillianna answered.

“Right away, I’ll have the bath ready for you in no time, please follow me to your room”

Before leaving to follow Helen, Lillianna turns towards me.

“Wait here, I won’t take long. I wanted to talk to you about a few things” she says.

*What could she want to talk to me about?*

“I will wait here then”