The Witchfinder General sat in an austere room. There was little furniture there and nothing extravagant. He could afford far more, but his religious beliefs valued humility.
His hand clenched a crystal ball. The Witchfinder General sighed as the image of a nobleman and noblewoman appeared on it.
“Lord Eric Lejon. Lady Caroline Lejon,” he said. “I have a request for you.”
“What is it?” the lord asked.
“After this report, I’d like to return to the Land of Those Who Are Devoted to the Gods.”
“Absolutely not. We need you here.”
“Anyone can spy on two teenagers. I need to get back to hunting witches, and I want to see the rest of my family again. I’ve only called them with my crystal ball for a month now,” the Witchfinder General said.
“Don’t worry, we’ll ensure that the witch hunters know exactly why you’re absent. We’re sure your family will understand too,” the lord assured him.
“And we need you here because we need to ensure that the von Myrksalrs are crushed once and for all. It’s the most important thing our family can possibly do. You’re the most capable investigator we have,” the lady stated.
The Witchfinder General regretted his life choices. He had come to Athena Academy to see if he could find a nice girl that his son could marry. Now, he was roped up in a conflict between noble houses.
“What do you want to know?” he said.
“First,” Eric’s face was grim. “Why is that boy still alive? My daughter should have crushed him in the duel.”
The Witchfinder General remembered every moment of the duel. He knew everything that Gustava and Sigismund said. And the Witchfinder General didn’t believe for a second that Gustava was telling the truth about being cursed. However…
“That girl’s parents are horrible. As a father myself, I cannot overlook it,” he thought before speaking. “Sigismund used vile necromancy to curse Gustava. She couldn’t fight, but she managed to disable him before his curse took effect. The duel was a draw.”
“Damn you…you pathetic little girl!” Caroline said.
“How could she let a simple curse get the better of her?” Eric’s face contorted with rage.
“Did you train her to resist curses?” the Witchfinder General asked.
“We gave her some basic training, but she should have trained on her own when she was eating lunch.”
“As a professional witch hunter, I must inform you that you cannot practice resisting curses beyond the basics without being hit by a curse. We witch hunters sometimes give witches the option of serving us instead of dying so our recruits can learn how to resist curses. It isn’t something you can do on your own.”
“She should have found a way! That girl is the heir to the Lejon family, and she needs to uphold the family’s honor!” Caroline said.
“The witch hunters have been trying to find a way to practice curse resisting without assistance for years. If we couldn’t do it, then your daughter could not.”
“Let me tell you why you failed,” Eric’s glare could cut solid rock. “It’s because your organization lets commoners like you lead it. You’re lucky you can get anything done.”
It took all of the Witchfinder General’s self-control to avoid giving in to his anger. The Land of Those Who Are Devoted to the Gods didn’t have any nobles. In fact, the government wasn't allowed to bestow noble titles. Its aristocracy was made up of wealthy commoners for the most part. They all knew to respect the Witchfinder General too.
“Those two want me to know my place. Not because they’re helping fund the witch hunters, but because I’m a commoner by their standards,” he thought.
The Witchfinder General took a deep breath.
“My lord and lady, if you want the Myrksalr boy dead, I can kill him for you. A witch is a witch, no matter how young. I’ll kill even an infant witch,” he said.
“No. This is something that someone in our family must do. Our honor depends on it,” Caroline stated.
“And we need Gustava to crush, humiliate, and destroy him utterly before he dies. Nothing else can satisfy us,” Eric added.
He then entered a coughing fit. The lord stopped and spoke.
“What has that stupid girl been up to after that duel?”
“Attending classes, taking care of her velociraptor, and fighting the Myrksalr witch away from prying eyes.”
“Why the hell is she not fighting him in front of everyone? Is she afraid of losing? My daughter should never lose at anything!” Eric said.
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“And how can she humiliate him if no one sees her victory?” Caroline wondered.
The Witchfinder General’s mind raced. He wanted to make whatever punishment those two would give Gustava as light as possible. There was no way he could tell them the truth about Gustava and Sigismund’s activities. Even if the Witchfinder General thought Sigismund was a witch who deserved to die, he came from a country with different rules. And…
…as much as he hated to admit it, the Witchfinder General didn’t think Sigismund was a bad person. The boy’s treatment of someone he should hate was making him question his beliefs about witchcraft.
“If I may explain the situation,” the Witchfinder General chose his words with care. “You want your daughter to be honorable, correct?”
“Absolutely. She must make the family look good, no matter the situation,” Caroline said.
“The Myrksalr witch has made it clear that he has nothing but absolute respect for your daughter. He treated her as a worthy opponent every time they fought. Gustava believes that if she spat in the face of the respect he showed her, it would be dishonorable,” the Witchfinder General replied.
There was a moment of silence. Eric's and Caroline’s eyes were filled with contemplation. The Witchfinder General hoped that they were starting to come around. But then…
“Gustava’s a selfish failure of a daughter. She’s putting her personal honor ahead of her family’s honor,” Caroline said.
“We’ll give her a week to humiliate and kill the Myrksalr boy or we’ll disinherit her,” Eric stated.
“The gods gave you the gift of intelligence,” the Witchfinder General said. “Why aren’t you using it?”
The lord and lady were stunned by a commoner daring to talk to them in such a disrespectful way.
“Listen to me. Gustava is the only daughter you have. Lord Lejon, you’re too old to have more children. If Gustava dies, your house dies with her.”
“My daughter would never let any Myrksalr kill her,” Eric objected.
“With how much you’ve insulted her in front of me, I have trouble believing that,” the Witchfinder General stated.
“We’re only hard on her because we want her to be at her best.”
“She won’t be at her best if you pressure her. She’ll make a mistake and lose her head. Even if she doesn’t die, what will you do if she fails to kill that witch in a week? Disinheriting her would destroy your noble house.”
“Death before dishonor,” Caroline said.
“You’re willing to destroy your noble house over a pointless grudge, and you say your daughter is selfish?” the Witchfinder General asked.
“Don’t you dare talk to us that way!” Eric shouted. “What would you know of our history? 1,000 years ago, the Myrksalr family was among the Guthic noble families that led the tribes invading our homeland. We tried our best to defeat them in battle, but all our efforts failed. One of my ancestors died fighting a member of the Myrksaldr family!”
He clenched his hand so hard it turned white.
“And then, the failure of a king we had back then offered the Guths lands instead of driving them out. Worse still, the lands of the Myrksaldr family were on the border of our lands. Our king trusted those foreigners to protect his people more than he trusted our ancestors.”
“I am aware of all that. However, the reason why the Guthic tribes accepted your king’s offer is because they couldn’t take your fortified cities, just ravage the countryside. The war was a draw,” the Witchfinder General said.
“A draw where one of our family died. We’ve been enemies with the Myrksaldr family ever since. We must exterminate them completely, and I will see it done before I die,” Eric stated.
“Then why have Gustava kill the witch? Why not do it yourself?”
“Because I’m too old to fight. I couldn’t even beat Gustava at this point, even if she is a failure. Now, I need to devise a punishment to ensure Gustava kills the Myrksaldr boy. If there’s one thing that you’re right about, it’s that threatening to disinherit her is too drastic.”
“Perhaps we could threaten to take away that horrid bird she loves so much?” Caroline suggested.
“An excellent idea,” Eric said.
“Might I humbly request another course of action?” the Witchfinder General had an idea. “There are other ways than childbirth to get more relatives. Perhaps you could marry your daughter to someone in exchange for the Myrksaldr witch’s humiliation and death?”
“That…might just work. If they join our family in a matrilineal marriage, they’d join our family upon the wedding. Then, the Myrksaldr boy’s death would have been at the hands of one of our family,” Caroline stated.
“Yes. We can send a crystal ball message to every family who’d be interested in a matrilineal marriage with our family and has sons at Athena Academy. The first one who kills the Myrksaldr boy will get to marry Gustava,” Eric nodded.
“Perhaps you should limit it further to the families that your family would gain the most in a marriage and the sons who’d be most compatible with Gustava?” the Witchfinder General said.
“No. That would limit the numbers we could draw from. We must press as hard as we can now that our vengeance is at hand. I’ll send the message right away.”
With that, the image of the two nobles in the crystal ball faded. The Witchfinder General thought a moment. He recalled the families at Athena Academy who would apply to Eric’s conditions.
“There are 10 students who meet Lord Lejon’s qualifications. Well, that’s one less witch in the world. I just hope whoever kills him will be good to Gustava,” the Witchfinder General said.
There was a knock on the door to the building the Witchfinder General was in. He listened with care. Two fast knocks. A pause. Then a single knock. Another pause. Two more fast knocks.
The Witchfinder General went to the door and opened it. Thomas stood outside. He had a vacant smile on his face.
“Hello, father, it’s good to see you,” Thomas said.
“Good to see you too,” a thought came to the Witchfinder General. “Thomas, what do you think of Gustava Lejon?”
“She exists.”
“Then you wouldn’t be interested in her?”
“Not really,” Thomas stated.
“That’s good. There are things you are better off not getting involved with. Anyway, how are your classes going? Did you remember to say your prayers? Are you making any friends?” the Witchfinder General asked.
“Yes, yes, and no. But I have a plan for that last one,” his son answered.
“A plan?”
“Yes. Father, how long will you be in Athena Academy?” Thomas said.
“I’m not certain. It could be anywhere from the next few days to a week or so,” the Witchfinder General replied.
“Could you stay until this Saturn’s Day at least? There’s a tournament that’s starting then, and I entered it. I want you to watch it. I want to see if I can make a friend,” his son stated.
“Ah, I see. So, that’s your plan,” the Witchfinder General said.
“Yes,” Thomas nodded. “I might be able to find someone as strong as me there.”