The cottage of Lord Nostrum loomed uncommonly large over the village. The well-kept stone masonry of the two-story structure contrasted from the dilapidated stone and wood dwellings, stalls, and stables throughout the village. Every other building in the town stood at ground level cottage, even the inn lacked a second floor. A sturdy wooden roof distinguished the manor from the typical thatch that sheltered everything else. Large windows flanked by sizeable brown shutters were evenly placed into the wall to protect thick panes of glass. Light shone from all the first-floor windows and a few from the second-floor.
A short stone wall around the building contained intermittent look outs. They avoided the guards by going a distance around the wall and approaching from the back, where there were less look outs and quite a few trees to provide cover. From there, they climbed over tumbling stones where the wall had crumbled and his behind a tree. Nadia had counted three guards with spears total. Their leather armor looked half rotten. One nodded into short lapses of sleep as he stood in place at the corner. Nadia and Josh snuck directly underneath an open window into the second floor with no light.
“So what now Sherlock?” Josh asked.
“Don’t worry, I scoped the place out on my break,” Nadia pulled the big hook from her jeans, “I borrowed this baby from the kitchen. They use them for cleaning the big fish.”
One quick fling and she had the rope up to the window. The hook hit the wood with a loud knock. None of the guards noticed. Nobody came to the window to check. She began climbing immediately. Josh shook his head.
“This is just an adventure for you, isn’t it?”
“I’m not going to wait for you,” she said, before quickly scaling the rope and crawling into the house. She didn’t have to wait; he climbed up right behind her and with less noise. They found themselves in a library. Shelves of paper and old books collected dust.
“How do you know he even keeps his wife here? What if she’s in the hospital?” Josh whispered.
“Does this strike you as the kind of place to find a hospital?”
“I don’t know, did you just assume they keep sick people at home?”
“Look, she’s somewhere in this house and I intend to find her.”
“This is so stupid.”
“Shh,” Nadia chided as she opened the door.
The upstairs hall was dark and unoccupied with one of the rooms open. Flickering light from a candle escaped the entrance. They kept to the walls and tiptoed quietly towards the room. Nadia peeked inside. A soft bed centered amid fine ivory posts held a woman with pale green skin. A light blanket of pink silk laid over her body.
A tall man with a long white beard and white robes to match it whispered an incantation by her bedside. Nadia’s foot made the floor creak as she looked inside while Josh faced-palmed. He wondered why she hadn’t just sent him to scout the place and get information because she was terrible at being an assassin. Nadia pulled her head back to avoid being seen, but the bearded man already detected a presence. He grabbed a staff from against the wall and used it with both hands to assist in standing.
“Lord Nostrum, I’ve been expecting you. I’m keeping her condition from deteriorating.”
Nadia and Josh clung to the wall, not daring to make a sound. The healer became suspicious when nobody answered, “Lord Nostrum, is it you, or is it somebody else maybe? You don’t smell like the lord, definitely not.”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Nadia came forward modestly, as the old man seemed harmless enough. She knew they were discovered anyway.
“Who are you? Have you permission to enter the lady’s bedchambers? What manner of thievery is this?”
“We’re not thieves, we came to see if we could heal his wife.”
“You have no permission to be here!” yelled the old magician at the top of his voice, which wasn’t very loud, as he was old and feeble.
Nadia walked past him without another word. She knelt by the bedside and took the lady’s hand. The pale green color lifted from the stricken woman’s limb. A healthy skin tone traveled up her arm as the old healer glared.
“Guards, guards, they’re killing her. Help!” he yelled as loudly as he could while running for the stairs.
“I’m healing her,” Nadia said calmly.
Suddenly, Nadia’s stomach jolted, and it felt like something squirmed inside her mind probing for the worst nightmares of her soul. The lady’s hand turned a pale green again, then her entire complexion darkened into an ash. Guards came to the door with spears pointed, one unsheathed a sword. Lord Nostrum himself ran past them before they could interfere. The magician in white robes stood still, as if concentrating on a single thought. Still, the old healer in white robes diverted enough attention to focus on Nostrum.
“This intruder, is her intention to kill the maiden?” the healer gasped, “She drains my ability to keep her health stable with some misguided power.”
Nostrum pushed Nadia away from his wife. Her color stabilized into a pale green. The magician, covered in sweat, took a deep breath, and wiped his forehead.
“What are you doing here!?” Nostrum yelled as he shook Nadia. “What are you doing to my Mardela!? You don’t belong here! You don’t belong here!”
The old healer hovered over Nostrum fretfully, “I tried to warn her, but she insisted on using such dark magic on Mardela, terribly dreadful my lord. Maybe she was jealous; maybe she wanted you free from the commitment of a sick wife.”
“Have you no response lass!?”
Nadia became pale, almost in a trance herself, and she couldn’t speak. Nostrum pushed Nadia against the wall and checked on his wife, who had stabilized to her former condition.
“She would have certainly died if it wasn’t for me. You must deal harshly with these intruders. They should be made an example of.”
“Wait a minute!” Josh protested, as two guards grasped his arms. “This old man is lying through his teeth; she came here to heal your wife. She can do it, she’s done it before, and she almost succeeded here.”
“Almost succeeded in sending my wife to the grave.”
Nadia started to stir. She slid down with her legs folded against the floor and spoke in a weak monotonous voice, “She was almost well. It all seemed so easy and then something... something. I don’t know, I just don’t know. Josh, did you do something?”
“Me!?”
Tears dropped as Nadia cried, “I didn’t mean any harm. I really didn’t. Something went wrong.”
“Nadia, now is not the time to have a breakdown!” Josh turned to Nostrum, “You have to believe us; we were trying to help. We had the best of intentions.”
Nostrum looked at Josh, then sympathetically at Nadia.
The healer stepped forward quickly and whispered in his ear, “Even with the best of intentions, they still broke into your home like thieves and almost killed the lady with their ‘so called’ healing powers.”
“Get them out of here,” Nostrum said, “Take them to the jail and have a guard posted. If these two escape, no pay or rations to those responsible for an entire month.”
Two guards grabbed Nadia from under the arms. Her head went down as she offered no resistance and consented to be taken peacefully under Nostrum’s order. Josh consented likewise. The healer gently tilted the lady’s head after they had been led away.
“I’m sorry, Healer Braddox,” Nostrum sighed, “This is a peaceful village, the few guards we have don’t have much experience with intruders or spies.”
“As I explained before, the bite of the green mushroom is unforgiving after the wound festers. She must survive ten years of woe to recover, quick attempts to heal her will lead to death. It’s lucky I maintain my post here with all diligence. You should double the guard, just to be safe. I fear they may try to pull this folly again.”
Nostrum held his wife’s hand, sighed, “Thanks for your efforts. Misguided as it was, I feel they were trying to help. The woman merely wished to curry my favor. How I wish they could have succeeded. How I wish.”
“They can’t, they won’t, and such an intrusion must be severely punished for the lady’s sake. I doubt her motives are so noble. Perhaps you have an eye for the younger woman? She should be made an example of before your people get the wrong idea.”
“That will be my decision, and mine alone.”