CONTENT WARNING: violence, pictured blood (a fair bit)
Maddie
Thanks to the hard work of Gideon and his son, Daniel, myself and the other two men - I forget their names - we managed to rent ourselves a small place to live. It's not great, but it's a roof over our heads. A few other former witchfinders and some of the townspeople help with the fishing, depending on Gideon's predictions for the yield, anyhow - and they all get paid with a good meal and some Simoleons for the effort. Do I miss the money I get from witchfinding? Absolutely, but killing fish is a bit easier, I suppose.
A lot of former witchfinders get overrun with guilt after a while. Me, I never felt it in the first place - that's what made me so good at the job. That, and my mother didn't raise a Jacoban. I don't lash myself unless it's absolutely necessary, and it never is. There's no time for self-pity.
The boys and I have split up for the night in different directions, keeping a beady eye out for them. You know, I don't miss the unofficial uniform, come to think of it.
I hear the crunch and squelch of footsteps through the rime, and a deep male voice speaks out:
"Maddie? Is that you? We wondered where you went."
"James."
James made up for what he lacked in intelligence with his swordfighting prowess and cold brutality. James isn't the one who does this out of necessity - he's dedicated, that's for certain. We worked on a few tasks together before I started helping the other two to brush up on their abilities.
"Where's your uniform? I didn't think you'd be the sort to quit. You were one of Volpe's best, I reckon."
"How flattering - but that isn't my life anymore. I've found easier work since Volpe showed his true colours. He was a spineless brat who sought to spare witches so long as they had fat enough pockets. There are slugs with more backbone than him."
"What nonsense!" he spits. "Volpe was the only person in Henford with any backbone at all! Have you gone soft?"
"Says the one who's too spineless to believe the truth! Volpe's dead - he won't pat you on the head for defending him!"
Even with a good number of former witchfinders citing Volpe's bizarre change of heart regarding everyone's favourite hoity-toity physician Owen Annorin, people still wanted to believe Volpe wanted every witch dead. There's just no reasoning with some of these people. They will never be as rich as Volpe even if he were still alive to pay them. Those who still have their noses three miles up his arse seem to be almost vying for his position, still.
"Our work isn't done, Maddie! Regardless of Volpe, there are still dangerous witches out there that need to be dealt with!"
"At this point, any witchfinder stupid enough to still be doing the job without any pay deserves to be killed by a witch."
James charges at me and our blades kiss. He's a little too old for my liking, though.
I've always dreamed of fighting him. I often provoked people I considered to be my equal in the hopes of a fair fight and never got one from any of the men or women alike. I'm going to take this opportunity for all that it's worth.
I don't a break a sweat keeping up with him - old age is slowing him down, not that he'd admit it. Eventually, we end up with the point of each other's sword at each other's throats.
"Don't you think it's time to pack it in, James? You're nowhere near as agile as you used to be."
"It doesn't matter. I will fight until the end - until dangerous witches are eradicated. Whoever's left over will answer to us so they don't fall out of line. It's an honest shame that you, of all people, decided to give this up. People looked up to you, Maddie-"
I slash him across the chest - not quite the killing blow I'd hoped for, but it'll get the point across, I hope. I don't care how much they idolised me - I'm not going back. If anything, the witches are pretty impressive for standing up to us for so long. Even with the threats of burning, drowning, or some other kind of grisly death, they still kept going. They'd done one better than Volpe, anyhow.
"I hope you don't talk that much when you bang into your next witch - or she'll set you on fire before you have the chance to give her another one of your dreary speeches."
* * *
"Urgh...what's gotten into her? What's gotten into me?"
"Agh, forget the other two! I'll never make it to the monastery ! Have to head for the Annorins...Going to cost a pretty penny."
"Urgh, my clothes are soaked. I'll just have to-"
"Watcher...This was my best shirt! I'll have to just get rid of it all - maybe I'll get seen to quicker if I look like a normal citizen."
Róisín
I help the poor man to his feet. The wound on his chest is horrific, like nothing I've seen yet.
"Can you walk? Follow me."
He's in agony, but he's at least able to walk somewhat. I put his arm over my shoulder, but he's a little heavy to hold up.
"Miss, I don't think I'm going to-"
"You are going to make it," I tell him. "Just a little more, it's just around the corner. And where are your clothes? It's freezing!"
"Torn and bloodied. Got rid of them."
I don't sense any magic on him at all, and it leaves me on-edge, but I can't just leave him. Lydia is tending to other patients, and with wounds like these, he'll die if I leave him. It looks like the attack was from a blade of some sort, not by any witch's magic. Perhaps he tried to defend witches and got attacked as a result?
I quickly lay him down inside of the tent and look to Lunvin, praying in my mind for her blessing. He looks incredibly confused at first, and begins to shiver when my hands and eyes glow.
"Don't panic, Sir - just stay calm. You might feel a little warm and tingly - I'll get these wounds cleared right up. No pain, no surgery. You have to trust me."
He grunts a little, and keeps making strange faces to himself - but it's only to be expected.
It takes some time, and leaves me light-headed and slightly nauseous. I take a cloth and some cold water from a flask and clean off the blood from his hands and chest. Once I'm finished, there's no scar, nothing at all to say this man was ever attacked. He's gobsmacked.
"What was - it's gone. It doesn't hurt, there's no scar - what kind of - I'm - I don't know what to - One moment. Before I give you my thanks, I can't help but feel like you're familiar, Miss."
Familiar? I certainly don't recognise him, but I suppose Finchwick and Withernham are only small.
"I'm not entirely sure, Sir, but no thanks needed. I just want to-"
"Dr. Annorin's execution, that was it. You spoke up for him, didn't you? Who would've thought - him, magic? And, well, I'd say, who would have thought magic had a place in medicine, and yet here you are. Your powers are something to marvel at! Revolutionary, even!"
"Indeed, Sir."
The man's gaze narrows. It's quite intimidating.
"Even after Owen Annorin proved magic can be used for good, Volpe was still intent on killing him...Devastating, isn't it? All the lives lost to this mess...It fills me with so much rage. And for what? Having magic in their blood?"
"It's beyond tragic, Sir. How did you get that horrific cut, anyway? Was it a witchfinder's sword?"
"That exactly," he growls. "Some blonde woman. I was just walking towards the graveyard and she came for me out of nowhere! Shoulder-length blonde hair. Early thirties. Very cocky and sarcastic personality - very unladylike! They'll just assume anyone is a witch nowadays. It's unbelievable!"
That sounds a lot like it could possibly be - No! Not the woman who killed the Jacoban?
No witchfinder would kill a Jacoban, but then maybe Maddie doesn't care who she kills to try and pull the wool over witches' eyes...maybe it was an elaborate lie! Perhaps I need to tell Dan about this, but he lives out in Willow Creek - maybe I can tell Eli? Or wait until the next fishmarket? Or am I jumping to conclusions?
The man gets to his feet and gives me a grateful smile. I still can't believe it myself - there's absolutely no trace of the injury. Lunvin's power is beyond fascinating, and I become more and more thankful to Her for the life I've been able to give others with Her gift.
"You are incredible!" He gives me a tough pat on the shoulder. "Now let me just..."
He hands me a generous amount of Simoleons and pats it flat into a pile in my palm. It's about what Lydia would have charged him for a far longer and more painful procedure.
"Take care of yourself. My name is Charles; it's a pleasure to meet you."
I don't believe any patient has ever asked. Lydia never refers to me by name in the company of patients, but I know what men are like when you don't give them a response. Girls always have a little list of convincing lies in the back of their minds just in case.
"Esther. Wonderful to meet you, Charles. Please, stay safe."
My heart aches at the thought of what happened at the monastery - the description fit Maddie exactly. I've never met any woman as cocky as she is. It doesn't make any sense as to why a witchfinder would kill both a Jacoban and attempt to kill a man with no magic in him. Perhaps some witchfinders get bored and need a variety of prey - I don't believe I'll ever understand them, but I might need to tell somebody about this.
* * *
"Oh! James! Where are your clothes?"
"Ruined."
"Ah. Well, thank the Watcher we found you here - that bitch at the monastery told us to go to the mansion! I thought we were trying to save money here? Either that, or she's protecting-"
"I've found her."
"You what?! So I let him stab me for nothing?"
"Precisely. You see, I was attacked by Maddie, of all people. She's gone soft. Isn't a witchfinder anymore. Thinks we're all idiots. I would have probably died if I didn't get seen to."
"She couldn't have been that soft if she stabbed you - wait. You look fine!"
"Like I said - I found the witch. She's at the mansion - healed the wound on my chest with some kind of glowing magic. It was over in a few minutes - it just felt warm and tingly, and now there's no mark at all."
"That sounds like a tall tale if I've ever heard one - and Jowan's told me he has a wife."
"I do have a wife! She's very real! She lives in Willow Creek and she loves me very-"
"I'm telling the truth! She was the blonde girl who defended Owen Annorin at his trial! I pretended to be fascinated by her magic, gave her Maddie's description and said she came for me thinking I was a witch. The question would be how we get past the gryphon-"
"Oh, don't look at me like that, Jowan! Animals are halfwits - and still smarter than you are. It'll be easy enough."
"If it's a magical creature, it's probably smarter than any normal animal."
"Perhaps. Dangerous animals can always be killed in some way or another - but if that's not an option, then we'll need to find some way to distract it. 'Esther' mentioned Lydia was far too busy, so we might not have to worry about her. If we cause enough of a fuss - and have enough casualties to keep her busy-"
"Don't even ask! I'm not getting stabbed again!"
"What sort of fuss do we cause, anyhow?!"
"Something we know at least a good portion of the general public can get behind. Lydia's husband caused plenty of controversy and fled - we could always demand to know his whereabouts. Of course, the public are split right down the middle on how they feel about him now, but I bet if we throw in enough about money and a lack of repercussions, we might have a shot. Now, there's a tent just behind the mansion, and..."