The Enchantress of Ingley Ch. 09

The room grew quiet as the young wizard spoke, and the tension grew palpably with each revelation. "There have been two girls left orphaned at the church in recent memory, both in the same winter. One is probably the daughter of the witch, and carries the inborn magic of that line, the other is the daughter of the enchantress. One of them was taken in by the Squire of Ingley, named Marissa, and grew up in relative luxury. The other, Jenrea, was taken in by the local innkeeper."

Behind Crow, Scarlet dropped a bottle on hearing his words, while Hafred gaped in shock. If the sage was right, that meant that Jenrea, his sweet, good hearted, Jenrea had magic in her blood. Witch or Enchantress, he wasn't sure that he liked the idea of either. Yet all he could muster was a deep concern for her, as if the news of what she had been all her life was some new sentence to be borne for eternity.

It was only the faint wail and fearful gasp of the captured bandit woman that dragged Hafred back to the present. She was curled up against the wall, her head in her hands and her face pale.

"What is it, woman?" The smith's apprentice snapped. He wasn't in the mood for such theatrics, and yet he immediately regretted his tone. The bandit girl looked genuinely terrified.

"M-Miss Blade! My boss. She was sent by some woman to catch two girls outside of Ingley. The squire's daughter and some barmaid-"

Hafred leapt to his feet, and before Rufus could make a move to stop him, he had pulled the bandit woman up by the throat, and pinned her against the wall.

"What did you say?!"

"S-some woman!" The bandit began, only to be cut off by Rufus's booming voice.

"Hafred Smith! Release the prisoner and calm yourself."

At the elder knight's commanding tone, Hafred did let the bandit woman down. He wasn't certain what had come over him, only that the thought of Jenrea in danger made his blood boil. Soft arms slipped about his waist, and gently pulled him back. It was only when he glanced over his shoulder that he saw they belonged to Elthyne. The nymph's lovely features were wrought with concern.

"Forgive him, good Sir," Crow's wife spoke up in the young man's defense, "Jenrea is his sweetheart."

Rufus sighed and nodded, the anger draining from his features, "Understood, but we need information. And she may be our only lead." He then strode toward the cowering woman, who was far from the threatening cut throat she'd appeared to be earlier in the evening. Perhaps the news of what her 'boss' was out to face really had terrified her. Or perhaps it was the quiet intimidation of the knight's very presence, so much more menacing than even Hafred's rage.

"What's your name, girl?" He spoke in a softer tone, though it was far from reassuring.

"K-Kat, sir."

"Well, Kat. I'll make you a deal. If you value your boss's life, you'll accept it, for we may be the only ones who can get them out of the situation they've put themselves in. Tell us what you know about this woman who asked you to capture the two girls. Do that, and we'll let you go."

Hafred tried to protest, but was cut off by the light squeeze of Elthyne's arms about his torso. With a faint grumble, he held his tongue.

"W-well, Sir," Kat seemed to regain some of her composure. "She was dark and mysterious, and she spoke with a commanding tone. I don't know what came over us, there were dozens of us there and she just waltzed into camp, like she owned the place. None of us could stop her, or really wanted to. It was like she belonged there."

Rufus, Cantrol, and Crow exchanged meaningful glances, then the older knight continued, "Can you tell us what she looked like?"

The bandit woman chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully, before speaking in a quieter tone, "Well, don't think I'm crazy for this. She was hidden and cloaked and veiled, but... well, her voice. Her voice reminded me of that woman what is always around the Squire. His new wife or whatever she is."

Rufus visibly tensed at those words, but it was the Prince who spoke next, his own voice authoritative, but so icily calm that it made Hafred shiver. "Well, Rufus, it seems that the bastard George has access to an enchantress. And probably two of them, if this Marissa girl was the enchantress's daughter. Probably came out of the woodwork to retrieve her daughter when she came of age, and hone her skills."

"Now," Crow interrupted, "there's a good chance that neither girl has come into her own powers. I certainly haven't heard of anything strange going on lately. Hafred, Scarlet, have either of you noticed Jenrea exhibiting any strange powers? Throwing bolts of lightning, setting things on fire?"

Both shook their heads. The very idea was silly, yet the young wizard was taking it all so seriously.

"C-can I go now?" The bandit woman asked, fearfully. With a distracted nod, Rufus drew a dagger, and cut her bonds. It was clear his thoughts were elsewhere, however. No sooner had the bonds been cut, than the woman was out the door and into the night.

"How are we going to find the bandit's camp?!" Hafred finally could take no more. They'd let a golden chance escape before their eyes.

"We're not going after the bandits," the prince still had that icy calm about him, though it seemed Rufus was on the verge of putting his fist through a wall.

"What? Why? They took Jenrea, and ... you said," at this he looked to Rufus, "That you would get the bandit's boss out of what trouble they'd got into. Where will you go, then?"

"It's simple enough," Cantrol turned his gaze to Hafred, and offered a light smile. "We could spend all night chasing down bandits, or we could go right to the source. If we head to Ingley Manor, this woman will bring the girls right to us, after she picks them up from the bandit camp. That way, we don't have to deal with them."

"Further," Crow added, "You can question the Squire and discover whether Marissa has exhibited any special abilities during her youth."

At those words, Rufus finally grinned. "Oh, delightful, I can't wait. I'll get all the information we need out of that bastard." The knight cracked his knuckles in anticipation.

Confused and somewhat disturbed, Hafred could do little but look amongst them. From nearby, Scarlet leaned in. She whispered into his ear, "Some years ago, The Squire was in regular contact with the King's Men. He tricked and disgraced Rufus's wife, and she left the court with Rufus's daughter. Before Rufus could recover her, she'd thrown herself into a river and drowned. His daughter was never found. Ever since, Rufus has been looking forward to getting Squire George at his mercy."

Hafred nodded mutely, though he had little understanding about what sort of court intrigue could cause such a desperate act. It certainly explained some of the enmity exhibited by the men, but his own thoughts were still on Jenrea. "I want to go after her. I'll find the bandit camp myself. Besides, what if this woman doesn't return to the Squire directly? What if she takes them elsewhere instead?"

From beside him, opposite Scarlet, Elthyne spoke up, "I know where their camp is at. Mortals can hardly conceal themselves from the eyes of nature. I can take you there."

Rufus frowned, and then looked back to the Prince. Cantrol studied Hafred with a cold scrutiny. For a moment, the smith's apprentice almost balked. It was all he could do to hold his ground, but he was bolstered by the quiet approval of Scarlet on the one side, and the comforting touch of the shadow nymph on his other.

Finally, the Prince nodded approvingly. "Certainly. It will cover our bases. Rufus and I will go to the manor. You and the nymph will go to the bandit camp. One way or another we will retrieve the girls and sort this all out. Once we've determined which one has enchantress blood, we'll have accomplished our task. Crow?"

"Yes, my lord?"

"Would you mind terribly going to the Tepid Toad and rousing my men? I have a feeling I may need them at the manor, after all is said and done."

The young sage smiled, and rose to his feet. "Of course, my lord. I shall do so without fail."

"And I'll come with him," Scarlet added, moving to her husband's side.

"What about me? What will I do?" Sthelyne whined, but quickly shut up when all eyes glared at her.

"Go back to mistress's house," Elthyne offered in a diplomatic tone, "It's unguarded now, after all."

This seemed to satisfy the other nymph, and pair by pair the group left the Sage's house, heading off in different directions. The night was growing old, and the moon had long passed its zenith. Still, Hafred felt that their troubles had only just begun.

Outside, Elthyne laced her slender fingers with his, and began to lead him off through the shadows. Still, their pace offered him time to watch the others depart. As he hiked toward the treeline, the Prince and Rufus rode off on their mounts, and the Sage summoned forth two steeds from a pair of small silver statues he had on hand. Hafred realized something that no fear for his love's safety or proximity of that lovely nymph could distract him from.

He was getting really, really tired of walking everywhere.