The sun peeked from the north over the horizon of the pine trees, casting dark, spiky shadows on the ground.
A slight breeze touched the blades of grass around Fara, tickling her awake to a new day and carrying the scent of fresh dew into her nose, reminding her of her hometown and making her homesick.
In the distance, she saw a small town in the Vascon Duchy. It was an old town whose maintenance had not been handled well. She could get there in around half an hour on her horse.
As she got up from her blanket, she saw the light spreading across the field, showing Fara that a new day had come and filling her with hope, which made her smile.
She raked the ashes from last night's campfire over the remaining embers and stomped them out with her worn leather boots, leaving the soles of her boots slightly gray in color.
Tightening her grip on the hilt of her short sword, her smile was now gone, replaced with a scowl and a look of determination in her eyes. She had only one thought in her mind:
Again…
She stretched her body with a short sword at her hip and a wooden shield on her back. Walking over to a nearby river, she filled her waterskin to the brim.
She then walked over to Vairon and gently patted her companion to signal that it was time to go. She got on the saddle despite the bulk of her gear.
"Let's go, Vairon," she told her companion as she squeezed her legs, urging Vairon to trot.
In an hour I can finally sell those herbs and get a room for a few nights, she thought to herself, although I still need to get some food.
Riding on her horse, Fara felt the warmth of the morning sunlight on her skin and noticed the stone arch gates in the distance beyond the pine trees.
She said to her companion, "Just ten more minutes, and we'll be there. Then we can rest."
Reaching the city gate, Fara saw that it was a stone portcullis with a wooden grille and iron spikes at the bottom that were slightly rusting.
The portcullis was around four meters tall and connected to stone walls that surrounded the entire city, likely leading to another gate on the opposite side.
"Halt!" Fara heard as she was getting close to the city gates, she got off her horse and talked to the guards.
The guards were wearing chainmail armor, and under it, they had on gambesons painted in black and yellow checkers. In their hands, they held dull iron-tipped spears, menacingly pointed in Fara's direction.
"Why did you come here?" said one of the guards impatiently, giving her a sharp glare.
"I need to sell some herbs and find a place to stay," Fara replied.
"Don't you have anywhere else to go? We already have enough travelers coming here, and we don't need any doxies like you," said the other guard with a repulsed look on his face.
"I just want to sell some herbs and find a place to sleep." Fara explained.
"Fine, you may enter, but keep that sword of yours sheathed. Weapons are not allowed to be drawn here." Replied the first guard while pointing at her sword.
"Yes, sir," Fara answered.
They're always so crude, Fara thought to herself, feeling uneasy as she sensed the guards staring at her while she entered through the gate.
As Fara entered through the stone gate, she started walking towards the market.
"I still need to find a stable to put you in," Fara said to her horse while looking at the shops.
Seeing a herb merchant ahead on the street, Fara yelled, "Hey, wait!" The merchant looked back and saw Fara running towards him.
"Hm? Yes? Do you need something?" answered the merchant.
Still panting, Fara said, "No, but I have something I think you'd be interested in." She pulled some strange plants out of her leather bag and presented them to the merchant.
"These are special herbs I found about an hour's ride from here. The Northmen have stories about plants like these having magical properties and being able to help with diseases."
"They're magic, you say?" the merchant asked suspiciously.
"Ah, I mean that's just what I've heard... They're just stories at the end of the day," Fara replied with a nervous laugh.
"So how much do you want for them? It's not something that I can sell to just anyone."
Thinking for a moment, she said, "Hmmm, how about three silver coins? I think that's fair."
The merchant stepped closer to Fara and said, "I'll give you two coins, and in return, I won't tell the guards you brought heathen herbs here. How does that sound?"
"Y-yes, sounds good," Fara said, giving him the herbs.
Taking the coins, she took off with Vairon while thinking, At least I got enough for a night and some food, trying to get as far away from the merchant as possible.
Going through the streets, Fara kept nervously looking over her shoulder, wary that the merchant was following her. After wandering for some time, she noticed the wooden door of a nearby tavern. After tying Vairon's reins to a small wooden post, she entered the tavern.
The scent of cheap alcohol and slightly burnt ham filled the air, as the prayers and conversations of the customers mingled throughout the tavern.
Fara placed her leather bag on a chair near a wooden table and sat down on a cloth-covered chair next to it.
A picture of a praying nun was painted on the stone wall to her right, and Fara looked at it with sorrow in her heart, thinking, You always come back, don't you?
Fara ordered a simple dish of cheese and herring, which arrived ten minutes later. As she looked at the other customers praying before eating their meals, she thought, Crap, how does that prayer go? Glancing at the other customers, she tried to listen closely to copy their prayers. She closed her palms together and said, "Oh, holy mother, may this dish be filling and nourishing."
Some customers stared at Fara in a suspicious way, making her feel shaky.
A mature woman got up from her seat, walked over to Fara, and said in a cynical tone, "I don't think that's the right prayer, dear. Is everything alright?"
Fara thought to herself, Calm down and just tell her something. She answered the woman, "Oh yes, I'm just still a bit sleepy, so I got confused and-"
The woman cut her off and said, "A good follower shouldn't be so arrogant as to forget a prayer. Now repeat after me: 'Holy mother, make this meal filling and holy'."
After repeating what the woman had said, Fara noticed that the other customers had returned to their usual dining habits, though they still occasionally glanced at her with disapproval.
When the woman returned to her seat, Fara ate more quickly, trying to avoid the other customers' stares. After finishing her meal, she hurriedly walked out of the tavern and into the town's streets.
Fara freed Vairon's reins from the wooden pole and rode off with him, trying to escape the stares of customers leaving the restaurant. She made her way through the narrow streets of the town, leading to alleys between the houses of the townspeople.
The houses in the town were tall, with two or three floors, and so close together that Fara felt like the town itself was closing in on her. Their roofs were covered in red clay tiles, making it seem as though the town was bleeding into the people themselves.
After wandering through the alleys for a couple of hours, trying to look for a place to rest, Fara noticed the sun beating down on her in the afternoon sky and wondered to herself, Why is it so damn hot?
As she continued walking through the streets, she saw that some of the houses were crumbling and thought to herself, Bandits probably came through here.
She picked up the pace, trying to avoid the pieces of clay tiles falling from the rooftops.
As she passed a nearby church, Fara heard someone calling out to her. "Girl! Excuse me!"
She turned to see a priest wearing a black robe holding a walking cane and a holy scripture.
"Yes? What is it?" she asked as he approached her.
"We're about to begin our afternoon sermon, and I was wondering if you would be interested in joining us," the priest said with a warm smile.
Growing more uneasy, Fara declined the priest's offer. "No, thank you. I still need to find a place to stay tonight, and I'm not sure I would be a good fit in there anyway," she replied.
As the priest took a few steps closer, he persisted, "I'm sure you would get along just fine, and the Lady would provide for you if you stayed with us."
Fara pulled her horse towards her and replied, "I'm sorry, but I have to get going. I have some things to take care of, so I can't go in."
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She thought to herself, They're always so insistent.
The priest let out a big sigh and spoke in an agitated tone, "Very well. Just be careful. There have been some attacks recently, and I'm not sure the Lady will protect someone who isn't a devout follower."
He glared at Fara as he spoke. Fara smiled back at the priest, tapped the guard of her sword, and said, "I can take care of myself, thank you."
Walking away, she made sure to avoid the priest's gaze and returned to the town streets, looking around to ensure he wasn't following her.
Fara wandered the streets, striking up conversations with merchants and learning more about the town.
As she entered the center of the town, she noticed a blacksmith's shop with white walls, a few stone slabs leading up to the entrance, a sharply angled roof, and a chimney coming from its side. Near the entrance, there was a wooden sign with the word "Forge" hanging from it.
Fara tied down her horse and said, "It'll be quick, Vai. I'm just going to check something."
Inside the forge, there was a stone hearth that led to the chimney, with a bellow pumping air into it. Nearby stood an anvil and a bucket of water, while on the opposite wall, a large workbench displayed an array of tools, including hammers and files.
As Fara entered, she noticed a young man hammering away at nails on the workbench, and a young woman who approached her.
"Hello there, do you need help with anything?" asked the young woman.
"Ah, yes, I have my sword here, and I want to get it cleaned and checked," replied Fara, while handing it over to the young woman.
"Sure, just a moment," said the young woman. She took Fara's sword and examined it closely. After a short heated conversation with the man, she came back to Fara and asked curiously, "So, how did you get the sword? It doesn't look like something a burgher can just buy..."
Feeling nervous, Fara realized she needed to say something. "I passed through a battlefield some time ago and saw it stuck in the ground, so I picked it up. It's nothing special," she replied.
"Sure..." said the woman suspiciously. The young man came over to them, handed Fara her sword and said, "That will be two silver coins."
Before Fara could hand over the money, the woman said, "It only costs one silver, and you barely did anything, you churl."
After some more bickering between the two apparent siblings, Fara paid a silver coin to the young man and quickly left the forge to try to avoid more questions about her sword.
As the day turned to dusk and the sun began its descent toward the horizon, she noticed several town guards staring at her.
A feeling of uneasiness crept over her. Why are they staring at me? she thought. I haven't drawn my sword or done anything suspicious.
"We should probably find an inn soon before we run into any trouble," Fara said to her horse. As they neared the edge of town, she spotted an old-looking inn situated close to a damaged portcullis that likely bore the scars of a past attack on the town.
Noticing Vairon's anxiousness, Fara tied his reins to a wooden pole outside the inn and gave his neck a comforting pat. "I know, Vai, we'll only be here for the night and then we'll be on our way," she said before heading inside.
As Fara stepped into the inn, the dusty wooden planks beneath her creaked and squeaked. She scanned the stone walls and noticed a bearded old man behind a pine wood counter who seemed to be the innkeeper. Approaching the counter, she inquired, "Excuse me, do you have any rooms available?"
"Hello there. Yes, we do have rooms available," replied the innkeeper. "The cost is one silver and one copper coin per night. Would you like to pay now or when you leave?"
After settling the payment, Fara began walking towards her room. Reflecting on the day's events, she asked, "Are the guards here always like that?"
The innkeeper looked up, "Some faeries were attacking us, and the guards suspect a witch is behind it."
Fara was puzzled, "How can you be sure it's a witch?"
"Who else could it be? Those aren't bandits," the innkeeper replied irritably.
"But witches can't summon familiars anyway, so it's probably not a witch," Fara said.
A sudden silence fell upon the room. After a few seconds, the innkeeper spoke in an authoritative and repulsed tone, "You should go to your room for now. It will be dark soon, and it's better for you to stay there."
Fara nodded her head and walked hurriedly to her room, feeling tears starting to form in her eyes.
Fara pushed open the wooden door and stepped into the dimly lit and slightly dusty room.
She threw her leather bag onto the opposite wall. She made her way over to a wooden chair beside a table in the corner, sank down onto the seat, and buried her face in her hands. Tears started streaming down her cheeks as she thought to herself, Why did I say it?
Fara got up from her chair and wiped her tears while telling herself, "N-no, no! Everything is going to be fine! I'll just find somewhere else to stay, and everything will be fine!"
Walking to her bag, her knees grew weaker and weaker until she fell to the ground on the dusty wooden floor.
She breathed heavily and held onto herself, her anxiety overwhelming her, with no one around to help. Fara started bawling and weeping, not caring who heard her, "No! No! No! Why?! It's always the same! It's always the same mistake!"
Not having any air left in her lungs, Fara took deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. She got up, her knees still trembling .
Fara walked to her bag while wiping the tears off her face. She thought to herself, "I just have to get out and everything will be fine!"
Scrambling through her bag, Fara took out a green cloak with a hood and a head of a rose whose color was as red as blood. She put the cloak on herself and hood over her head, tied it around her neck, and approached the table with tears still running down her face.
She took her wooden shield off her back and put it on the slightly dusty wooden table, Fara put the rose head in the center of the shield and said, "Spinae principissa, praesidium tuum mihi da", and felt her mana flowing into the rose head.
As the mana flowed into the rose head, Fara felt a familiar feeling, like her hand was bleeding despite not having any blood coming out.
Suddenly vines of thorns started sprouting from the rose, covering the front of the shield.
The sound of people talking outside the room could be heard, though it wasn't clear what they were discussing. The voices grew louder and it became apparent that the two guards from the morning were outside. Fara could hear them getting closer to her door, and their voices became clearer. Suddenly, the guards began pounding on her door and shouting for her to come out.
"Get out! Face your trial witch!" Shouted one of the guards.
Seeing the door shake, Fara took a few steps closer to the door, put her hands on the stone floor, and whispered, "Montis dominus, muros attolle," as she felt her mana flowing into the stone floor beneath her. The ground started shaking as a stone wall rose in front of the door, sealing the room shut.
Fara took a few steps back and put her bag on her back, steeling herself for the confrontation with the guards outside. I can do this, she thought. Everything will be fine. I just need to get out.
Filled with anger and frustration, she gripped her thorn-covered wooden shield and pointed her sword at the door and stone wall, channeling almost all of her mana into her sword, and for a little while feeling like her sword became an extension of her.
With a scream that echoed through the room, she called upon the power of the lady of the winds: "Domina venti, ostende mihi potentiam tuam!"
A powerful gale of wind exploded from her sword, blasting apart the stone wall and door.
Fara ran through the opening, passing both of the guards knocked out on the ground. Seeing their heads bleeding, she said in her mind, They're fine! They're fine! Trying to calm herself down.
Before getting out, Fara turned around and noticed the innkeeper on all fours, trying to shield himself from the falling debris. She yelled at him, "You'll be fine! Just go away!" After taking a few steps out of the inn, Fara ran towards Vairon.
She hugged its neck and screamed, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Tears started forming in her eyes again. As she untied the reins that tied it to the wooden pole, she told Vairon, "Everything is fine, I promise. We just need to go away and find somewhere else to stay."
After mounting Vairon, Fara noticed one of the guards stumbling out of the inn in a daze with a crossbow.
As she rode away, she heard the guard yell at her from a small distance, "Murderer! Get back here!" before shooting a single arrow in her direction and falling to the ground, unconscious with a bleeding head.
The arrow cut Fara's calf, making her bleed. She started screaming from the pain, unable to concentrate on riding Vairon, clinging to the horse like a scared child. She cried harder and harder, unable to stop the pain. She breathed heavily, with only one thought in her mind: I have to get out.
With the wound getting bigger letting more blood out, Fara gathered all her concentration, grabbed the reins, and directed Vairon towards the heavily damaged second portcullis. She got Vairon to go through it, and as she left the town, she let out a huge scream and thought to herself, Why is it always the same?!
Fara rode on Vairon for an hour before stopping from exhaustion in a forest of pine trees near a small lake. She tried to get off the saddle, readjusted her weight, and lifted her leg over Vairon's back. After getting her second leg out of the stirrup, she tried to gently land on the grassy ground below her. She landed on her feet and immediately fell to her knees as she felt the pain from the cut in her calf opening again.
Fara let out a scream and immediately bit her lips to distract herself from the pain. After struggling to get up, she limped over to the nearby lake, took off her leather boots, and submerged her legs in the water to clean up her wound.
The water touched the cut, making Fara cry out from a sudden sting of a burning sensation shooting up her leg like red-hot needles. Blood seeped into the water, forming a small crimson pool around her submerged foot.
Fara ripped off some of the grass near her and cleaned it off in the lake’s water. She took out her leg and, after making sure the wound wasn’t infected, she rubbed the ripped grass on the slightly bleeding wound.
Fara made sure the grass was well soaked with her blood and yelled out to the forest, "Spiritus capite operto, adveni!".
Suddenly a slender, white, almost transparent three-fingered hand rested on Fara's shoulder. The hand came out of a cloak; the strange figure was the size of a young child.
Its skin was sickly, its eyes were completely white and vacant and its mouth was full of sharp rotting teeth.
Fara recognized it as an old healing spirit from a forgotten age.
As the spirit turned around to face Fara, it spoke in a disconnected voice, "Greetings!" as if it wasn't addressing Fara directly.
Exhausted, Fara looked into the spirit's blank eyes and replied, "Greetings, Spiritus. I have your offering," handing over the blood-soaked grass.
The spirit snatched the offering from Fara's hand and shoved it into its rotting mouth. Fara began to breathe heavily as the spirit examined her body with its gaze. When it noticed the streaks of blood dripping from her calf, it clasped its sickly hand around the wound and squeezed, causing Fara to cry out in pain.
The spirit spoke in an ancient language that made Fara feel like her ears were bleeding. Despite the pain, she watched in awe as the muscles in her calf began to twitch and move, almost as if being rewoven by invisible threads. The edges of the skin then started to pull inwards until the wound closed completely, leaving behind only a faint scar.
Fara began to calm down after seeing her wound completely healed. The spirit immediately grabbed Fara's mouth, pinning her head to the ground, and stared into her eyes.
It said in a disconnected and irritated tone, "Our contract is over, human. I'll wait for your next offering." It then disappeared into the forest, leaving Fara on the ground, trying to process the day she had experienced.
After some time had passed, the stars filled the night sky. Fara got up from the grass, put back on her leather boots and walked over to Vairon, who was eating the grass.
"Hey Vai, are you enjoying yourself?" Fara asked as she patted his neck while he swung his tail freely.
Fara gathered twigs from the trees in the forest and stones from the lake shore. She opened her bag, pulled out a small piece of iron and flint, and after arranging the twigs into a small campfire, she struck the iron piece against the flint, making sparks fly towards the unlit campfire.
After trying a few times, the twigs finally lit up, making a small fire that warmed Fara in the cold night.
Fara waited until she saw that the fire was burning consistently. Then, she left the campfire and went to the forest.
While collecting some herbs, she felt frustrated and started talking to herself. "I hate this shit. I want to sleep in a bed!"
Fara returned to her camp and saw Vairon lying down, almost falling asleep.
She came towards him, lay down, and gently said, "I know, I promise we'll find somewhere safe to stay, maybe even tomorrow! Maybe not... But I promise everything will be fine! Eventually..."
She seemed less like she was talking to Vairon and more like she was trying to reassure herself.
Fara took off her hooded cloak and made it into a small blanket.
She placed her bag near her and set her wooden shield on the ground. Then, she tore the rose from the shield, and as it disconnected, its thorny vines immediately crumbled and withered away, falling to the ground.
Fara grasped in her hand the herbs she had collected and quietly whispered, "Spinae principissa, benedic tuos filios."
The herbs glowed in a strange green hue and quickly stopped seemingly returning to their natural state, as Fara again felt her mana bleeding into the herbs, with no blood being shed.
Fara started feeling immense exhaustion, growing quickly in her body. She swiftly put the herbs in the bag, lay down on her makeshift blanket, felt the heat from the fire, and drifted off into a deep sleep with only one thought in her mind:
I'll try again tomorrow…
The sun peeked again from the north over the horizon of the pine trees, casting dark, spiky shadows on the ground.
A slight breeze touched the blades of grass around Fara, tickling her awake to a new day and carrying the scent of fresh dew into her nose, reminding her of her hometown and making her homesick.
In the distance, she saw another small town in the Vascon Duchy. It was an old town whose maintenance had been handled relatively well. She could get there in around an hour on her horse.
As she got up from her blanket, she saw the light spreading across the lake, showing Fara that a new day had come and filling her with hope, which made her smile.
She raked the ashes from last night's campfire over the remaining embers and stomped them out with her worn leather boots, leaving the soles of her boots slightly gray in color.
Tightening her grip on the hilt of her short sword, her smile was now gone, replaced with a scowl and a look of determination in her eyes. She had only one thought in her mind:
Again…