They rode in silence for a little while, each comfortable in their respective silences. Sasaki refused to ride, and so Katarina was forced to slow her normal pace.
"Tell me about Tony." Sasaki asked after an hour on the trail.
"The Mayor?" Katarina asked, eyebrow raised. "You know as much as I, surely." She replied loftily.
"Bullshit. Spill the beans, or I'll make you sing for me." Sasaki replied dourly.
Katarina laughed, and then sang in a low voice,
"Hello stranger, can you tell us where you've been?
More importantly, how ever did you come to be here?
Though a stranger, you can rest here for a while.
But save your energy, your journey here is far from over.
Come the sunrise, we'll descend through Judgement Valley
And weigh your worth before her majesty, the Golden Lady."
She ended the song with a sly smile and a raised eyebrow at Sasaki, who burst out laughing.
After her laughter tapered off, Katarina spoke again. "Unless you're born into Nobility, it can take decades of service to rise in the ranks of the Anglish military." Katarina began. "If you're Nobility, then you begin as an officer, a position that befits your station."
Sasaki nodded. "Makes sense." She replied shortly. Katarina rolled her eyes at this. "Hardly." She replied drily.
"If the Mayor reached the rank in the army on his own, then it would make sense that he would retire as the mayor of a village. He's one step below the true peerage as he's not a landed Noble, but if he plays his cards right his family could become Nobility in a few generations." Katarina lectured. "Things like getting permissions to expand the town's reach, or I suppose he could marry into the Church or a Noble household." Katarina rolled her eyes at that and waved her arms aimlessly for a moment. "Not that a Noble family would be interested in a commoner Mayor of a frontier town in the middle of a nameless forest." she added. "Ultimately, once he... or his descendents... has enough favor and coin, he could buy the town and then there you go: a new Noble House, all ready to set up a dynastic legacy in an out-of-the way part of the Anglish Empire. But I stray from my point." She finished, pulling out a water bottle and biting off a quick swallow.
"If he's Nobility, then what is he doing out here in the middle of nowhere?" She asked curiously.
Sasaki tapped her finger against her lips thoughtfully. "He could be like me- a disreputable or disgraced member of a House." She offered, and Katarina tipped a finger her way. "Good observation." She replied. "His military record is suspect. So assuming he didn't serve, then the question needs to be asked: How did he lose the eye? The leg?" She asked.
Sasaki nodded. "A Nobleman, but maybe he was exposed or... infected or whatever you Anglish call it. He mutated. His family can't kill him off, but he can't completely disappear, either. So they get a sawbones to amputate, and stash him in some out-of-the-way town with a cooked up story." Sasaki hypothesized.
Katarina burst out laughing. Sasaki frowned up at her and made an obscene gesture.
"No, no, Sasaki. You've pretty much described what some Nobility will do."
"Anglish Nobility." Sasaki corrected. "A Yamato man, be he commoner or King who discovers he is afflicted will end his life as quickly, cleanly, and discreetly as possible, so as to not bring shame upon himself, his clan, or his country." She finished primly.
"In truth, some Anglish Nobles will do this as well. They will go to the Church and they will be given the Lady's Mercy." Katarina replied. "In some instances mutation can be arrested by amputation."
"So what will we do about the Mayor?" Sasaki asked, bringing the conversation back on track.
"I've sent a series of requests to the Ministry of Records in Darnell for information on the Mayor. Who he is, who he might be, and whether or not he served."
"By messenger? By bird?" Sasaki queried. "That could take weeks. Months." There was an edge of disappointment in her voice. Katarina smiled to herself, but shook her head.
"That's where confidentiality comes in, Lady Sasaki." Katarina replied. "Just understand that there are methods that Witch Hunters can use to request information almost instantly." She added loftily.
Sasaki rolled her eyes at that. "How much further?" She asked.
"At least a couple more hours." Katarina replied. "Probably four or five. And the last two hours or so will be very wet." She pointed to the thick bank of darkening clouds overhead.
"Shit." Sasaki grumbled.
"You could ride with me." Katarina offered. "We'd beat the storm and arrive in time for dinner."
Sasaki's lips compressed tightly. "No. I refuse." She frowned up at Katarina. "Go back ahead of me. No need to wait on me, Witch Hunter."
"It could be dangerous." Katarina advised.
"I am dangerous." Sasaki snapped back challengingly, a touch of anger in her voice. "Go, Witch Hunter. Save me some food. I'll catch you up."
Katarina eyed Sasaki carefully. Why was she angry? She took another few minutes contemplating the friendship they'd struck up. Katarina did not make friends easily. She stayed on the road and in the forests, moving from job to job, tracking Witches. She discovered she rather liked the petite, sassy mercenary.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
If she rode on ahead, Sasaki would not begrudge her. They would meet back at the inn as if nothing had happened. If she forced Sasaki to ride with her, they would fight, and it was possible that their friendship would be irretrievably broken.
After a few minutes of contemplation, Katarina suddenly leaned down and grabbed the smaller woman's shoulder. She signaled with her legs, and her horse, used to such actions, turned properly, allowing Katarina to firmly grab Sasaki about the shoulders. Katarina hauled backwards, her horse still turning around, and pulled Sasaki up into the saddle. Sasaki immediately started shrieking, legs kicking, twisting her body frantically, but Katarina, who was used to such things from witches, was implacable.
She hauled Sasaki into the saddle in front of her, scooting back to make room, pulling the smaller woman's leg across the horn so that she was seated properly.
"Come on Sasaki, it's not that bad." Katarina murmured into Sasaki's ear. "Calm down, calm down." She continued to murmur soothing words into Sasaki's ear. Eventually her struggles ceased.
"I hate you." Sasaki finally stated after a few minutes. "And you've got arms like steel bars."
"Okay." Katarina replied.
"I'm going to kill you." Sasaki muttered darkly.
"Okay." Katarina replied again.
Sasaki's muscles had been thrumming like a plucked bowstring; she relaxed after a few more moments.
"You don't have to open your eyes." Katarina murmured quietly. "Just relax. I've got my arms around you."
"You're treating me like I'm scared." Sasaki retorted.
"You're not?" Katarina asked curiously.
"Certainly not." Sasaki retorted. "I'm furious. Horses are filthy creatures. And if you hadn't noticed, I'm wearing silk."
Katarina chuckled. "So you do know how to ride."
Sasaki grimaced, but didn't say anything.
Sasaki kept her eyes closed, and listened to the relentless sound of hoofbeats, the steady, even breathing of Katarina. She could smell the horse, Katarina's sweat, could feel the pressure of Katarina's arm around her, the weirdly swaying feeling of the horse beneath her. The alcohol was making her relaxed and drowsy, despite the lurching and swaying of the horses' stride.
"Open your eyes." Katarina murmured to Sasaki. "It's time to get down."
Sasaki opened her eyes. Had she fallen asleep? unbelievable. Her first time on horseback and she'd nearly slept through the entire thing. Suddenly Sasaki realized she was in a precarious position. She'd never been on horseback before, so she had no idea how to get down. She couldn't ask for help, either, otherwise she'd reveal her ignorance. She definitely didn't want Katarina to realize that she'd fallen asleep, either.
Katarina didn't give her any time to formulate an answer, though. She grabbed Sasaki's leg and pulled it up and over the horses' neck, and then eased her down to the ground.
"I could have done it myself, boorish woman." Sasaki grumbled, and Katarina nodded. "I figured." She agreed comfortably.
Katarina swung down from the horse herself, Sasaki admiring her carefree movements. Katarina turned partway to glance at Sasaki and pointed. "Got about a five or ten minute walk into town. I'm looking forward to a hot meal."
Sasaki nodded and shivered as a chilly breeze washed over them, heavy with humidity.
As they came back into town, they could see the villagers lowering shutters over their windows.
"It's going to be a big one." Katarina observed. She made a disgusted noise in her throat. "Well, hopefully that buys me some time." She remarked in a voice that suggested anything but.
"Time for what?" Sasaki asked, glancing at her and reaching up to adjust the narrow sword on her back.
"If things escalate, they usually do so quickly." Katarina replied shortly. "Tensions are mounting. Right now they're thinking to themselves, 'That woman needs to get gone.' Soon they'll start saying it to each other. Then the escalation."
"What's going to escalate?" Sasaki asked curiously.
Katarina shrugged. "Maybe the mayor will get a case of paranoia and suspect I'm looking into him. Maybe he'll decide to take action. Who knows?" Katarina asked. "It's happened before, it'll likely happen again. Let's hope it's not the case here."
She pointed at the inn. "Drop the horse off at the stables, would you? I have to stop in at the church again."
Sasaki frowned at her. "You check in there a lot." She observed. Katarina nodded. "I have to check on Mystia regularly." She trailed off evasively. "I also pray."
"You prayed in your room this morning." Sasaki replied. Katarina nodded. "True, but I should do so again."
Sasaki sighed. "Fine." Katarina nodded.
"The cask is in the saddlebag. I won't be mad if you help yourself to some." Katarina offered with a smile, and then added, "Though if you don't leave me any I'll definitely make you beg for the Lady's Mercy."
Sasaki laughed. "All right, all right, I'll save you some." and turned towards the inn, taking up the proffered reins from Katarina.
Katarina stopped off at the church, and took a minute to pray to the Golden Lady for forgiveness. She'd decided to keep the secret of Camille's power out of necessity and a small amount of admiration. If it were revealed that Camille had magical powers, the villagers would likely tear her apart, no matter the Sanctioning. Camille's very existence depended on her discretion. She'd had to lie to Sasaki, and that's why she'd prayed for forgiveness. Sasaki knew that Camille was a magic user, but still, Katarina liked the woman and decided to keep her dealings with Camille apart from her.
When she rose to her feet, Camille had a small leather pouch ready. "The return, it came quickly. not more than two hours after you left. I tried to look for you, but could not find you."
Katarina nodded. "I decided to take a trip out to the pavilion just to see it. I appreciate everything, Camille."
She sat down and pulled out the papers, and read each carefully. The first few pages were what she requested on the Mayor; her eyebrow raised at a couple of the points mentioned in the papers, and nodded to herself. The last page was a request addressed to her; her Writ and Warrant were out of date and she was requested to report to Darnell for an update at her earliest convenience. "Thank you again, Camille." She said finally. She tucked the satchel in her belt so that it rested comfortably against her lower back, under her coat.
"How is Mystia?" Katarina asked, and Camille smiled. "She sleeps, madame. She has not been a problem. When you are ready to move on from Higgenfal, she will be ready." Katarina smiled warmly at her and nodded approvingly.
"Thank you, Camille." Katarina repeated, and gestured at one of the pews. "Can I have a moment to think things over?" She asked, and Camille nodded, and made her farewells.
There was the plot from the mage to deal with, unless it had already happened before Katarina had arrived. She discounted that idea quickly because there were no rumors or mentions of people missing. She still had no way of identifying who it was they'd selected for the sacrifice, or if the citizens of Higgenfal were blameless, or if there were unknown collaborators in the village.
There was the fact that the villagers were getting tense. Relations were getting strained. If she hadn't mouthed off at the church, it might not have reached this point so quickly, but there was nothing that could be done for that now.
The mayor was a sham. Oh, he was appointed all right, but he lived at the heart of a lie. Could he be a collaborator? She didn't think so. An intersection of stupidity and low cunning.
The bits Mother Swan had revealed, the mysterious lights, and the slime or whatever, that was suspicious enough, and Katarina was willing to bet good steel that those were related to the mage. Katarina considered and then rejected the idea that Mystia herself was a collaborator. Camille was eager to help, and didn't carry any of the hallmarks of a conspirator or heretic. Her brother was certainly suspect, however.
All her ruminations yielded nothing. She needed more information, and she wasn't going to find it sitting on a bench in a backwater church. She raised her voice and made her goodbyes.
"You might want to stay indoors, Katarina." Camille warned from somewhere inside the church. "It's likely to rain for the next couple days."
Katarina nodded dourly. "I think so too." She muttered.
Outside, the clouds had turned menacing, a bruised purplish black, heavy and pregnant with rain. Katarina let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, and stepped off the boardwalk and crossed the muddy road to the inn as the first raindrops began to fall.