Chapter Four Hundred and Ninety-Four - The Binding of Aberrforth

"We need to save him, right?" I whispered to the others. "It's the right thing to do... probably?"

"Probably?" Desiree asked. "Why would saving this poor soul be improbable? TThis is a man bound to a pole, all alone -- save for this mysterious summer cottage, curiously isolated entirely from polite civilization. A more suspicious setup I could not devise. Even putting aside the obviously unsavory nature of his captivity, recall that we were sent here specifically to save this man. So I say again: why would saving him not be the right thing to do?"

"He might be enjoying it," Calamity said.

I turned to him. "How?" I asked.

Calamity flushed a little under his fur and rubbed at his cheek. "I'll explain when you're older," he said, which was very not helpful! "We probably should help him out."

"Where are his friends?" I asked. "I mean, the pixies saw five people, right? That's one. Where are the other four?"

"Eaten already?" Awen gasped.

"Eaten?" I repeated. "That was an option?"

"Girls, Calamity, calm yourselves," Amaryllis hissed. Calamity raised an incredulous eyebrow and pointed to himself, but Amaryllis ignored his look of indignity and ploughed on. "Obviously we need to save Sir Aberrforth, it's what we're here for. The choice is between going loud and going quiet."

"So we can dash in, get him, and run?" I asked.

Awen nodded. "Or, ah, we wait until nightfall, sneak over, and try to free him quietly? That might be a lot safer."

"What about the 'talk it out' option?" I asked. "Someone needs to be living there, right? It doesn't look abandoned at all. And they can't be, uh, uncivilised or anything. They have a garden."

"Having a garden isn't the end-all-be-all in terms of who is or isn't civilised," Amaryllis said. I disagreed on principle, but didn't want to start an argument.

This person had a nice garden. It was set up as three long, rather wide rows. There were stones stacked on stones, kind of like the sort of fence I was used to seeing on roadsides, but this one held up a lot of packed dirt within which the actual garden was growing. That way, the person working on the garden wouldn't have to bend down much to get to their plants.

Further in was another garden, with several big bushes covered in little flowering berries, surrounded by herbs and freshly tilled, weed-free soil.

This wasn't just a quick hobby garden, there was a lot of work here. I couldn't imagine someone who spent this much time working on something being that bad of a person.

Even if they had someone tied to a pole in their backyard.

"The problem with walking up to anyone like that is that it destroys any opportunities to try anything else," Amaryllis said. "We can't sneak over and save Sir Aberrforth if the person knows we're coming. It's tossing our element of surprise in the trash."

"Yes, but stealing isn't very polite," I pointed out. "Wait, would this be kidnapping? I'm confused."

"Is it stealing if the thing we're taking back is a person?" Desiree asked. "I'm uncertain if the label of theft truly applies. I think, from a purely legal standpoint, it might fall under the prerogative of a rescue, which would be judged differently than theft."

"Oh, rescuing isn't kidnapping," I agreed with a nod.

"Ah, uncle always says that there aren't any judges in the wilds," Awen said.

I shrugged. Whether or not something was legal or not wasn't something I usually made a fuss to care about. I cared more about doing the right thing. "Let's ask? Otherwise, we might be in for a fight. I... I might be hoping here, but I hope that whoever caught Sir Aberrforth is at least reasonable?"

Amaryllis hummed. "Alright, plan B then. Broccoli, how far can you summon a burst of Cleaning magic, and can you do it while not observing where the magic is?"

"Uh, I guess?" I said.

Amaryllis nodded, then pointed to a bush some ways behind us. "Close your eyes and make that bush clean," she said.

I did, and felt a small tug at my mana reserves. When I opened my eyes... the bush looked like a bush? It was hard to tell if it was clean or not. "Did that work?" I asked.

"It did. We're using that as a signal. Broccoli, go be yourself at the local. Does anyone volunteer to accompany her?"

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"I'll go," Awen said.

"Good. Then the rest of us will wait for your signal. If they're hostile, one burst. If they're uncooperative but not hostile, two bursts, and if they're friendly and willing to give us Sir Aberrforth, three quick bursts of Cleaning magic at this location. Understood?"

"I think so, yeah," I said.

"Good, then repeat the instructions back to me," she ordered. I did as best I could, and Amaryllis nodded to herself. "Close enough. Let's not waste any more time. If we hear a scream or get any indication that you're in trouble, we're rushing in spells-blazing. Consequences be damned."

I suspected that was the best I would get. Amaryllis really did care, in her own way.

"Okay then! Awen, stay close? If anything happens, I guess we will try our best?"

Awen didn't look as sure as I felt, and I didn't feel all that sure myself. Sure, this was a cute cottage with a nice garden. It was inviting, and the air smelled like fresh herbs and the space was clean and clear, with birdsong and skittering little animals, but it was so far from everything that... I don't know, it felt wrong to just approach? Also, the effigies were kind of a loud 'stay away' sign.

Well, something being a little scary never stopped me before! I shored up my bravery and stepped forwards with as much confidence as I could muster. I only slowed down a little to flash a thumb's up to the forest behind me where my friends were hiding.

Awen stumbled out of the woods with me, clutching her crossbow close while she scanned around us for threats that weren't there yet.

It only took a minute for Sir Aberrforth to notice us. He blinked behind big bushy eyebrows, then turned to look towards the cottage. "Who are you two?" he hissed.

"Hi!" I said in a loud-ish whisper. "I'm Broccoli Bunch, from the Exploration Guild." I tapped my pin. "We're here to save you?"

Aberrforth's brows rose, but he shook his head. "No. Shoo. Get out of here, kids."

"Are you sure?" I asked. "You seem a little tied up."

"No, this is all part of the plan, you see," he said. "I'm going to win her heart over if it's the last thing I do!"

"Who's heart?" I asked. Sir Aberrforth looked a bit out of sorts. He was wearing a nice gambeson, with some embroidery on the edges and a clean tunic beneath. Both were stained with sweat, and from the bruising around his wrists, it looked like he'd been tied to the pole for a while. Still, he looked like a pretty strong guy, and the pole wasn't all that thick. It wasn't like it was a whole tree trunk, more like a thick branch whittled down into a straighter shape by hand.

Sir Aberrforth was well-muscled for an older guy, and with skills being what they were, he should have been able to break out easily enough.

"The witch's," he said with a sigh, his eyes lighting up for a moment. "Laine. She's the one who tied me here, but it's... it's complicated."

"You're in love with the witch who tied you to a pole?" Awen asked, her eyebrows nearly reaching her hairline.

Sir Aberrforth nodded. "Yes, and it's not what it seems. Laine she... she's testing me, you see. Her heart's been broken before, and she's wary. She wants to be sure I'm the one who can withstand her tempests, literal and metaphorical. It's her way, her tradition. But I swear, she's kind-hearted, clever, a true healer of the woods, and--"

I tuned him out and glanced at Awen who shrugged faintly. Was Sir Aberrforth under some sort of spell? If so, that was really awful! "One moment," I said before I raised a hand towards Sir Aberrforth. He had time to blink before I blasted him with Cleaning magic. The sweat stains disappeared, and he looked a little more put-together and clean.

"Why did you do that?" he asked calmly.

"I figured it might clean away any love magic?" I tried.

Sir Aberrforth chuckled. "Ah, that's thoughtful, but no, there's no magic influencing my feelings. My affection for Laine is genuine! It's all part of her challenge to me."

Awen lowered her weapon slightly, still suspicious but curious. "Her challenge? So, this Laine, she's a witch who tests her suitors like this? It seems... intense."

I wasn't sure I liked this. Had my Cleaning magic worked? I felt like it should have, but maybe there was more at work here. Or maybe Sir Aberrforth was just nuts and there was no amount of Cleaning that would fix that up.

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