A Root of Evil [open on request]

[Crofea Villiers]

At this point in time, it would not really be accurate to say that Crofea was lost. To be lost, one needs a destination and, for however long Crofea had been walking, (More than four hours she judged by the sun, and on her third day no less), the wandering witch had never really bothered to set a particular destination. Leaving Londonium, she had simply kept the sun on her right hand shoulder and walked in a straight line. When she encountered a river, she followed it downstream without a great deal of contemplation. Getting back should simply be a matter of retracing her steps, or so she figured. This grand experiment of hers was supposed to have been an exercise in testing her limits, but in retrospect, Crofea had never expected to make it so far. Her sphere of viable travel was far larger than expected. Crofea Villiers wondered why this was as she finally spied a shabby village. It had been awhile since she’d seen civilization. Eying the sun (later afternoon), Crofea continued to follow the river toward the shabby little river settlement.

“It’d be nice to know where I am.”

Tapping her staff twice on the ground, she continued with a contented sigh.

“….”

The town appeared abandoned. Crofea wondered if this was the beginning of her troubles. She had initially suspected that the uneventfulness of her journey had been due to a possible popularity in her route. Now, Crofea had her doubts, she might have been tracing the steps of something far more sinister. Crofea felt the lower right corner of her mouth pull into a briefly twitching grimace. Steeling herself, Crofea continued within…

“Bandits…?”

Crofea shook her head. Was it possible? On closer examination, the village was really not so small as it was bisected. She could see this now, she was standing on the literal line in the sand. To her left were the burnt-out ruins of what seemed like rather nice stone buildings that had been set fire to, the town, this was actually a small town Crofea realized, seemed a ways better down the street to her right. Better, but not in great shape. Crofea noted a make-shift walled barricade of wood, stakes, and wagons among other rubbish formed a rudimentary wall blocking the streets deeper within. If it were indeed bandits that plagued this settlement they would both have to be a recent occurrence and a periodically consistent one. Crofea had her doubts, to attack from the river seemed like a fair enough plan, but why continue returning with further raiding parties when the settlement had begun to fortify? The barricade itself didn’t seem particularly well suited for keeping out armed attackers anyhow, especially if they were employing fire.

“Maybe the villagers…?”

Detective Crofea Villiers tiled her head and cast her panning gaze longside and back toward her left. If it were the villagers who were employing fire, why? The collateral damage was apparently significant. They could just be stupid, but that was generally the worst thing to assume. Over the course of the five minutes of contemplation Crofea tapped her staff once and continued down the street. She thought she heard a shuffling in one of the darker buildings to her left and picked up the pace slightly. Likely a feral beast, she assumed. Crofea at her level, wouldn’t stand a chance. Especially in the open. She considered climbing the barricade, but there really was no guarantee of the status of the other side.

“Higher ground would be best…”

Crofea scanned the horizon of the buildings around her. Surely there was some building that was built to be taller than the others. A mayor’s house or some kind of civil office? Crofea guessed that it was likely that such a place would be the gathering point for any kind of defense.

“Over it is.”

Crofea continued down the block looking for some kind of gap that would grant easier access along the streets of waste. Destroying such a barrier was certainly a possibility, but she figured they were there for a reason. Better to disturb as little as possible. Finding a satisfactory gap, Crofea frowned. She would have to crawl through on her stomach.

“Right.”

Dusting herself off, Crofea Villiers continued down the street. In spite of now being on the other side, she still saw no signs of inhabitation. The sun would be setting soon. Outside her notice, numerous Nepent Snatchers rose from the river and continued to flood into the ruined parts of the city under the coming darkness. Her order of procedure was first to find a high ground and then search for any signs of life. The word ‘plague’ buzzing in the back of her mind all the while.

NOTES

WC - 792

Tags - Tyreth