“Okay, start from the beginning and don’t spare any details.” Miles Whitehand stated as he sat down in a meeting room alongside his apprentice and the four doctors of Willowcreak. With a meticulous gaze he looked them over, studying their every movement all while appearing laid back and arrogant in his posture and attitude. Leaned back in his chair while wearing light, casual clothing despite the approaching winter months. A simple, white cotton shirt covering his tanned skin, and a gold chain around his neck which let the sun gods sigil rest over his chest. The golden amulet in the shape of a blazing sun.
“For a bit over five years now we have been treating a young girl by the name of Molly Rivers, who was showing increasingly worrying symptoms ever since the day she was born. As her mother, Erica Rivers’, worries in regards to her daughter’s condition worsened, she became… increasingly more difficult to deal with.” The elven doctor stated with a bit of a frown as she glanced over at the other doctors, her long, blonde hair tied up in a neat ponytail behind her.
“Difficult in what sense?” Miles carelessly interrupted before she could continue and took out a notebook to quote down some of the doctor’s words.
“She became increasingly rude and hot-tempered, and it was almost as if she became even more creative with her insults each time we saw her. Though I am sure doctor Witherbark would be the best to explain her irrational actions, as he faced the brunt of it.” Lore’leia stated and turned towards William, who couldn’t help but look rather nervous.
“Ah, yes… as time passed it was almost as if she grew even colder with each passing appointment… It was as if something was sucking the joy of life right out of her. Yet at the same time it was hard not to sympathise with her, as her situation was not only intense but also incredibly unusual… As a fellow parent I get anxious if my son catches even the common cold, so I can’t even begin to understand what she went through…” William slowly explained, as if he had struggled to form the words he spoke even though they sounded sincere.
“And this… Night Pox… I’ve understood it is incredibly dangerous from the documents I’ve been given by the institute. You say Molly showed signs of it since the day she was born?” Miles questioned with a raised eyebrow before moving one of his shoulder-long, dark brown locks out of the corner of his amber coloured eyes. A loosely trimmed beard adorned his cheeks, adding to his appearance as an charismatic, yet carefree man.
“Yes, though it is all incredibly strange as there have been no other cases anywhere near here.” Lore’leia pointed out in a somewhat defensive tone.
“So you have no clue in the slightest how she could have caught it?” He asked in a somewhat patronising tone and the doctors simply shook their heads as a response. “I see… Let’s talk about Erica for a moment. I was told she attacked the medical centre after Molly died and killed one of the town guards?”
“That would be correct…” William said followed by a deep sigh.
“The entire situation was not just terrifying but also incredibly strange.” Lore’Leia added as if she had just realised something peculiar.
“Would you care to elaborate?” Miles continued his line of questioning in a conceited manner, all while doodling a small picture of the elven woman before him in the corner of his notebook. Her features exaggerated and her nose so large it covered most of her face, which thankfully could only be seen by his apprentice who sat next to him and looked the drawing over with great frustration.
“I was unfortunate enough to be the one to greet her when she marched in here with an unusual passion in her eyes… It was as if she had changed overnight. She was physically stronger than what should be possible for a woman of her size and while parts of her seemed coherent she also rambled quite a bit. Repeating things back to me which were said days earlier by either me or the other doctors in a confined environment which should have been impossible for her to overhear... Some of them were even things one would need extensive medical training to understand, something she certainly does not have. Yet she spoke as if she understood much more than she reasonably should have.” The elven woman dramatically spoke.
“What sort of things did she say?”
“She repeated back my own words to me, mostly in regards to Molly’s illness and condition. Much of it she repeated back without context as well, as if she was retelling a conversation with certain parts of it missing. I think the conversation specifically was the one we had a few days before Molly’s death when we received news from the institute. We were reading through their medical assessment of Night Pox together, and discussing our thoughts in regards to Molly being picked up by the institute, as well as the tragic news of her not being the only case. And I would like to preface that she repeated it back to me word for word with an uncomfortable level of accuracy.”
“That’s concerning… what happened after that?” He asked as his apprentice threw him a worried gaze, to which he responded with a knowing nod. Rhogar was a good kid, a troubled child raised by the church after his family failed to raise him. Yet despite his age he was quite lacking in his emotional maturity. Always controlled by whichever emotion drove him in that very moment, which wasn’t ideal for someone training to become an investigator. It had been obvious since the beginning of his apprenticeship that he was the sort of kid you would have to tell to keep his mouth shut during anything which was even remotely important.
“She assaulted me, though I thankfully got away with not much more than a few bruises. After that she marched further into the building as if she was some rabid bear with the intention to kill doctor Witherbark…”
“Why him exactly?” Miles asked while nonchalantly scribbling down some notes.
“Because I was her main point of contact throughout her daughter's treatment.” William lamented with a loud sigh. “I would assume she blames me for her daughter’s death…”
“Not an unreasonable assumption, considering what happened.” He pointed out in a somewhat cynical fashion, only to find his apprentice glaring at him as if he had kicked a cute puppy. Which he found ironic considering Miles would bet a small fortune on the boy having been a dog in his previous life. “That she blames you, that is. But I am sure we all agree you did everything you could.” Miles pointed out after once again dismissing his apprentice’s concerns.
An awkward silence filled the room until Rhogar kicked his teacher’s leg underneath the table out of frustration. In retaliation Miles kicked the legs of his chair, sending not just it but also his apprentice tumbling to the floor. The boy painfully rubbed his pale hand against the back of his head, with black strands of hair which reached the sides of his neck moving in a flowing fashion with the movements on his hand.
“Is he okay?” Penelope asked following the loud bang of Rhogar’s shoulder hitting the floor.
“Yes, yes, just ignore him. The boy’s an idiot, I should have left him at the inn.” Miles responded arrogantly as Rhogar grunted in pain as he crawled up from the floors. As the boy grabbed his chair to sit back down he threw his teacher a vicious glare with his emerald green eyes, a small gesture which always brightened Miles’ day.
“Are you sure? I could get him something to prevent bruising.” Penelope persisted, though Miles quickly dismissed her.
“He’ll be fine, things like this happen all the time! Now keep telling me about the time Ms. Rivers tried to kill Doctor Witherbark, I am practically dying to hear what happens next.” He joked while redirecting the attention back to William Witherbark.
“Well… She forced her way further into the building and broke the door leading into the room I was hiding in… Once in the room she yelled and rambled about how I had purposefully killed her daughter… When the guards arrived not long after it was as if she lost her mind right then and there. The guards restrained her and somehow she did something which created enough heat to melt not just his skin but also his armour… I thought she was going to burn the building down as well before the guards chased her out.” William rambled frantically before Miles stopped him with a sigh.
“I’m going to stop you there for a moment. Could you tell me more about what she did to the guard?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like it… She placed her hand on his chest plate and his entire upper body practically disintegrated…”
“Hmm… peculiar indeed… And after that she just… ran?”
“Yes… though she looked scared, as if she momentarily came to her senses…” William carefully added.
“And after that witnesses saw her running north…” Miles pondered to himself for a moment. “Alright, let’s talk about Molly’s missing body. The report I got stated it was last seen here at the medical centre.”
“Yes… it was kept in a locked room at the back of the building and the guards found no sign of breaking and entering… None of us have certainly taken it, and our homes as well as the medical centre have been searched. We genuinely have no idea how it disappeared… Our only real theory is that Erica got her hands on it through some kind of magic, as she did display magical abilities of some sort when she attacked us.” Lore’leia explained with a deep sigh.
“Well I certainly doubt it walked out of here on its own…” Miles jokingly pointed out. “Though it is concerning that she suddenly displayed magical prowess, and I assume this is nothing she has shown herself to have in the past?”
“If she had been a wizard or a caster of some kind throughout all these years… I doubt she would have lived the way she did… I know one of the waitresses she worked with, Erica worked at least 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. If she had magical abilities she wouldn’t have to work even an hour a day and still have been able to pay her bills as well as her daughter’s medical fees…” Penelope added with guilt riddling her voice.
“My personal theory is possession.” Lore’leia confidently declared. “It is the only theory I can think of which would explain everything.”
“It is possible… Though I’d love to hear you elaborate on your theory.”
“How else would she be able to ramble about things which should have been impossible for her to know? Some of the things she repeated back to me took me years of medical training before I could understand them, and some of the things were private things about me as well as things I had previously told only the other doctors of Willowcreak. I just… I can’t think of any other possibilities.”
“Well it is a reasonable theory, I shall definitely make sure it is looked into.” Miles responded while stretching his back, letting the cracking sound of his shoulder blades fill the room. “Unless you have anything else you think I should take note of then I think our next stop should be the Rivers home.”
“Does the Order of the First Dawn really have the resources to handle this? I thought you were assisting with the war.” Penelope asked with curiosity in her voice.
“Oh we are assisting with the war, but as I am sure you understand this is both a peculiar and important case. A disease like Night Pox can destroy nations if in the hands of the wrong individual, so I assure you that they’d only hand such a task to the best. That being me.” Miles joked nonchalantly in a way that made Rhogar grimace with displeasure.
“Should we be worried?” Riley awkwardly asked from the back of the room.
“Ah, I thought you were mute for a moment. Not at all, both the war and the investigation are going wonderfully! I can assure you we already have trackers on her trail.”
“That’s reassuring…” Lore’leia said dismissively with a sigh of relief. “I can’t wait to put all this behind us.”
“I’m sure this has been an incredibly stressful time for you all, and I am sure you all have things to process and heal from in regards to this. Violent crimes like these are awful to say the least… and I hope you know that the Order of the First Dawn will always do what they can to aid you.”
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“I am sure I can speak for all of us, saying that we will be fine as long as the lunatic who put us through this is taken off the streets.”
“And I will personally make sure that is done, you have my word. That set, to uphold such a promise I need to continue my investigation… Could any of you show the way to Ms. Rivers' home?”
“Sure, William can go. He knows the layout of her home the best out of all of us.” Lore’leia ordered and waved dismissively towards William.
“Wonderful, I’ll be waiting outside when you are ready to go.” Miles stated as he dragged his apprentice out the room and outside the building.
“Do you always have to be so insensitive? These people were attacked and a man is dead, Miles!” Rhogar exclaimed in a frustrated tone once the doors to the Willowcreak medical centre closed behind them.
“Shhh… Quiet boy, just let me do my job for a moment.”
“Seriously? You act beyond inconsiderate to these people and then you tell me to shut up?” Rhogar relented though Miles visibly wasn’t listening.
“You better not tell them anything dumb when you head out.” Miles heard the elven woman’s voice through the small, invisible orb he had left floating in the room before he left.
“You’ve told me countless times already, nagging at me isn’t going to change anything.”
“Consider it a reminder and not nagging.”
“Is your faith in me so low that you have to constantly remind me?” William responded, sounding more annoyed than anything else.
“Frankly, yes. I have little faith in each and every one of you.”
“Ouch…” Riley stated quietly.
“Have you ever considered that working with you would be more bearable if you were nice? It doesn’t have to be all the time but once a week would make such a difference.” Doctor Witherbark countered.
“Five generations of your family passed before I was even considered a young adult. I am sure I could go take a nap and you would have passed from old age by the time I woke up. Befriending and being nice to someone who’ll die before less than five percent of my lifespan has run its course is pointless.”
“Good to see you have done the maths behind it…” Penelope added defensively, as if trying to take some pressure off of William.
“Just shut your mouth and stop wasting not only my time but the time of the priest outside…”
“Interesting…” Miles said to himself as Rhogar audibly sighed next to him.
“Did you listen to anything I just said?” The boy sneered at him as he dispelled the magical sensor he’d left in the room.
“Not a single word.” He chuckled momentarily as if to purposely frustrate the boy further.
“Sometimes I hate you with a passion…”
“We both know that is not true Rhoggy.”
“That nickname in and of its own makes me want to stab you.” Rhogar frowned as he spoke.
“How noble of you, a shining example of someone following the sun god's practices.” Miles joked as he ruffled the boy's hair.
“You know I’d never actually do it...”
“Of course, you are a child of the sun god. You’d never go against our doctrines.”
“Unlike you.” The boy rebuked in a way that made Miles want to roll his eyes.
“That’s quite the bold statement, boy. I follow the rules set by the church to a tee. Sometimes problems just need… creative solutions.”
“Yeah right… creative solutions…” Rhogar sighed audibly. “If it wasn’t for you I’d actually be out making a difference right now.”
“You’d be standing guard by a cave entrance or dead. Sounds like a blast.”
“At least then I’d get to aid in the war...”
“You are more than welcome to apply for a different teacher whenever you want. I know that if you really didn’t want to be here you would have left when we were back in Caerleon four weeks ago.” Miles said as Dr. William Witherbark finally exited the building.
“Did I interrupt something?” William asked as Rhogar practically growled at Miles.
“Not at all.” Miles smiled brightly as he motioned for William to pass him. “Lead the way!”
“It’s not far, only five or so minutes of walking if you take a few shortcuts.” The doctor gestured for the two to follow as he began walking down the desolate dirt roads.
“Great, that gives me more time to look over her home.” Miles cheerfully said with a bright smile, a simple plot to casually spark conversation.
“There isn’t much to see, she sold most of her possessions to pay for her daughter's treatment as well as her rent.” William responded as he took the bait Miles placed before him. The simple trick of making people feel comfortable did so much to their brain, which Miles could easily exploit.
“The treatment must have been quite expensive then, considering how much she worked.”
“Looking for a cure is never cheap, though I am sure being a waitress in a place like this doesn’t pay well either.” The doctor added defensively, though his facial expression conveyed more sadness than guilt as he spoke of the woman.
“Understandably so, I doubt a town like this gets a lot of visitors.”
“We get a merchant or two during harvest season but not much more than that.”
“How long have you and the other doctor’s lived here?” Miles carefully pried, as any details he learned of those involved could help him piece together what led up to the conflict where the guard lost his life.
“I hail from Berxley originally, though the institute placed me here close to seven years ago since they needed someone to help treat the epidemic of the common cold which was rampant here… I ended up staying since my wife liked the peace and quiet of the countryside.” William began explaining, a small smile slipping his lips at the mention of his wife. “Penelope is from Laverne and came here since the land was cheap here, she wanted to plant herself an impressive garden and the soil here was apparently good for that. I am not sure how long she has been here, but all of the others have been here longer than I have. Riley is from here, and he wanted to come back here to treat his sick mother once he finished his education. Lore’leia is from Silfa Serine I think, she never talks about her past or her family, or anything really… I have no idea why she’s here instead of somewhere bigger… since she seems to hate this place.”
“She does seem like she has a bit of a temperament.”
“You’re not kidding… she has a tendency to be quite bitter on an almost daily basis…”
“That sounds pretty frustrating, I have some… associates who are the same, which makes me incredibly grateful that I travel for a living.”
“That sounds nice… I hear the roads are really dangerous currently though.”
“Times of war tend to bring a lot of bandits out of hiding. It’s unfortunate, though there are plenty of guilds and mercenary companies working on putting them out of business.” Miles continued in his cheerful attitude.
“At least that is somewhat reassuring. Hopefully this war will come to an end soon…”
“War benefits no one, only fools seek to participate.” Miles pointed out while throwing Rhogar a knowing glance. “Yet sometimes it cannot be avoided.”
“War can always be avoided.” William passionately declared.
“That’s quite the idealistic thought.”
“I just don’t think there are any valid excuses for why lives should be lost over petty conflicts.”
“Spoken like a true visionary.” Miles responded jokingly before changing the subject. “Doctor Witherbark, I was planning to speak to each of the doctors individually before I left Willowcreak, and I assume now is as good of a time as any. With everything I have been told so far there is one thing which does not add up, how Molly ended up with Night Pox to begin with… As doctors, did you really not have any theories?”
“Of course we had theories, though none which made sense… Somehow in the first moments of her life she must have been exposed to the disease, yet the only ones who interacted with her were Erica and ourselves… as well as some other children in the village I would assume. Yet all our theories depend on her receiving this from someone else, which seems impossible as she was the only Night Pox case within several miles… Riley also had a theory on Erica having been cursed at some point and that it was passed onto Molly before she was born. He mentioned that the incredibly painful birth Erica had to go through added to that theory, yet Lore’leia swiftly dismissed that as Riley reading too many novels based on fiction. She told him he consumed too much pointless junk in the form of his books, and Riley did not seem to take that well.”
In one swift motion Miles pulled a piece of paper out of his bag and handed it to William. “Does any of these names tell you anything?” He asked while carefully studying the motions of the muscles in William’s face.
As William looked over the list one of his eyebrows raised as his lips shaped into a light frown. “I can’t say they do…” The doctor responded with a gentle sigh as he returned the note to Miles.
“Hmm… Well, thank you either way. Looks like we may have to send some people over to check the ground here, perhaps Molly dug up something while playing with the other kids.”
“If that is the case then it might mean the end of Willowcreak…” William stated carefully, the touch of guilt from earlier returning to his voice.
“I am sure that the queen will make sure you are all relocated to a new home. Somewhere far from whatever might be in the ground here.”
“Who were those people listed on your note?”
“Just some significant individuals, no one you need to worry about really.” Miles responded dismissively as they arrived outside a small, rundown home. The lock had been broken as the guards had likely forced their way into the building in the search for Ms. Rivers. “I assume this is the Rivers residence?”
“Yeah, I can’t say I have a key but I think any lock in the building has been broken by now as the guards combed through the place.”
“Great, I shall get to work then. You are free to leave.”
“Oh, uhm, alright. I’ll be at the medical centre if you have additional questions.
“Wouldn’t it be good to have him here? He might know how Erica disposed of the stuff that came out of Molly’s… blisters…” Rhogar lectured as William disappeared around the corner.
“I’m a little disappointed you haven’t caught on yet, boy…” Miles responded while stepping into the eerie building. “They were far from honest today, so it’s more likely he’d mislead us than actually help the investigation.”
“What? Are you serious?” Rhogar exclaimed in genuine shock.
“Do I look like I am joking?”
“You’re always joking…”
“Come on Rhogar, you know me better than this…” Miles sighed as he walked down the practically empty hallway, glancing into the barely furnished rooms as he walked past them.
“Right, sure, but what were they lying about?”
“Do you remember what they said about Erica’s supposed possession?”
“That she was rambling?”
“Yes, and what was she rambling about according to them?”
“Medical procedures?”
“Correct. Now let me ask you this, what demon, shadow fiend or ancient horror would give a shit about medical procedures? Much less use it to break someone’s mind… I can think of at least forty quicker and more effective ways to break her mind. The woman was a peasant who barely even knew how to read, just show her visions of the void and her brain would be just as fried as the greasy onions we had for lunch today…” Miles explained as he stopped at the end of the short hallway, looking into the only room which was not only properly furnished but also somewhat cluttered.
“That is a really unpleasant way to phrase it…” Rhogar pointed out as Miles stepped into the children’s bedroom. Blankets, toys, pillows and stuffed animals adorned the floor, yet most seemed as though they hadn’t seen much attention. The small bedroom almost had more furniture than the rest of the house combined, with dressers, the small bed, and a large, worn out armchair which looked as if it had been used frequently. The room itself had a faint smell of death and decay, something Miles was more than acquainted with the scent of.
“Perhaps so, but you can’t deny the facts of it. Possession is still not out of the question, but considering how guilty most of them looked while I interrogated them I am not sure how valuable their hypotheses are in all this. Did you pay attention to doctor Witherbark’s face when I showed him the list of names of the archeologists who dug up the Night Pox to begin with? He recognized at least one person on the list yet he denied it… What reasons would he have to conceal things like that from the church?”
“Maybe he is covering up for someone?”
“Perhaps so, but that is not what worries me the most…” He stated as he crouched down on the cluttered floor. Miles took a deep breath as he picked up the small teddy bear which laid on the floor next to the bed. Inspecting its worn down fabric carefully by turning it on its side. Underneath its right foot a name had been stitched into its fabrics, revealing its name to be: ‘Mr. Bear’.
“Really? What are you worried about then?”
“By lying to the church they are lying to the gods. And if they are willing to try to lie to the gods, then what did they tell Erica?”