The next morning while I was waiting for a message back from my butterflies, I decided to start on my own mission. I needed to learn anything and everything about witches. I was doubtful I'd find much in a place like this.
I continued walking through the village to an antique shop. I had asked the inn keeper if there was any library or bookstore nearby, and she said this would be the closest I'd find to that. It was a tiny space, probably smaller than the size of Lexy's closet. A bell chimed as I entered inside. The room was packed with trinkets and books, it was hard to make sight of anything else.
"There's no one here." I said to myself.
"Wrong I'm right here."
The voice surprised me as I turned around looking for it's owner.
"Down here."
I stood on my toes and looked over the counter in front of me. There a small elderly lady sat on the ground meditating.
"Just so you know, the bookkeeper is on the stranger side."
I thought back to the inn keepers words. She slowly stood up from the ground, the beading of her outfit rattling with each movement. Her grey hair was twisted up with a fork. She had a wide grin on her face and she looked straight into my eyes with her magnified circular lenses. I took a step back on instinct.
"Um-"
I was at a loss for words. Maybe it was because I wasn't used to the outside world, but was this a common appearance?
"It looks like quite a interesting soul has stumbled into my shop." she spoke with a rasp in her voice.
Maybe I should just leave…
I shook my head and looked back at the unusual women.
"I was hoping to look around at some of the books here." I tried to keep it discreet.
"Hmm, are you looking for anything in particular?"
I hesitated deciding whether or not it was a good idea to reveal my intentions.
"I was hoping to learn more about extinct types of magic, like dragons, vampires, or witches." I glanced back and forth from her to the wall behind her, emphasizing the word witches at the end.
"My what sparked that kind of interest?" she said very intrigued.
I wasn't very fond of her trying to pick at my brain. She must have noticed as she started cackling.
"Don't get your panties in a wad hon, I'm not trying to integrate you. Regrettably you are out of luck, the saintess slaves destroyed anything regarding those who use "dark" magic." she said with no hesitation.
I sighed in defeat. I should have known those temple bastards wouldn't make this easy for me. To think they would go as far as implementing censorship.
"Don't look glum hon, there might not be any written information, but there is this..." she smiled and pointed to her head.
I looked at her questionably.
"It's me. The knowledge that have stored in my brain." she said excitedly.
Her response didn't exactly excite me. Whether she was telling the truth or not I may be able to find something out, so I decided to hear her out.
"Alright, what do you know?" I asked.
"I can't tell you much about dragons or vampires as they are age old tales, but witches…" she narrowed her eyes.
"I know a bit about witches."
I could feel my anxiety increasing with the feeling that she could see right through me.
"D-Darn I was hoping to learn about dragons, but witches will do. I-I guess." I tried acting nonchalantly but even I was unconvinced by the performance.
The old women cackled once more and hoped atop her counter, crossing her legs and pulling out a cigar from her blouse. Her persona resembled that of pirates I once read about in books.
"Not too long ago witches were just like anyone else, living amongst everyone in harmony. Although the temple desperately wanted to rid of them, they couldn't because there was an agreement that as long as they lived in the Kingdom of Chaos they were to remain unharmed. The coven, consisted of only women, was a normal village besides the fact the occupants were witches. I actually visited them once on my travels, and unlike what they tell you they were quite beautiful, inside and out."
"You met them?" I was astounded.
"Sure did, they were quite accommodating."
I wonder if my mother was among the ones she met?
"Sadly, the peaceful days came to an end. I'm not sure why but the Kingdom of Chaos withdrew their amnesty treaty and not long after their whole village was burned down by the temple."
"Don't worry baby, mama will protect you."
I remembered the words that constantly haunted my dreams. Except, the memories didn't stop there.
"Run Selena, leave us and protect Laemise!"
Screams. Lots of screams. I could feel my body begin to shake.
"You don't look so good, hon."
My vision was getting hazy as the voices got louder. I could hear a couple things crashing in the background as the old women sat me down on a chair.
"Take some deep breaths. Five seconds in, seven seconds out."
I tried following her directions, the stimulation slowly decreasing around me.
The old women handed me a cup of water as I regained my composure.
"S-Sorry I haven't been feeling too well these days." I said with a bit of shakiness.
"That's alright hon, the topic wasn't exactly the easiest to digest."
It was silent for a moment, but I still needed to ask.
"Can you continue from where you left off? I'm okay, I really want to hear the rest."
The old women stood from her crouched position.
"There isn't much more to tell honestly. That "cleanse" by the temple was the last event of the witches era."
It wasn't everything but her story helped answer a good number of my questions.
"If you want to learn more, I would suggest heading to Chaos. That is where the witches were settled for much of their existence. If you can manage to find a merchant guild there, those stingy hoarders wouldn't even let the temple take sight of their possessions. You might be able to find something valuable to you."
I nodded, it was a good idea. I needed to make the opportunity to go there.
"Th-Thank you for sharing this with me, and for the water." I stood from my chair and set the glass cup on the counter.
I tried not to look directly at her, almost sure if she wasn't suspicious before she would be now.
Did I completely blow my cover.
"Now that I think about it I never introduced myself,"
The old women held out her hand.
"Lennon Fabron, former adventurer."
A part of me didn't want to acknowledge the person who stood before me, however this whole time I did not sense a ounce of malice from her. I took that hand that reached out to me.
"Laemise, n-no last name."
"Laemise." she repeated, before placing another hand atop my own.
"What a beautiful name." she said, with a very gentle smile.
~
I didn't have much time to wrap my head around the earlier encounter with Lennon. My butterflies appeared, signaling that it was time to make my move. I gathered the rest of my things from the inn and followed the direction of fluttering wings. Before leaving I took another good look at the barren village, hoping that this wouldn't be last that I would see of it. It hadn't been long, but somehow I regrettably became attached to it.
The trail lead me closer to the mountain that contained the infamous coal mine.
Could they really be this close by?
I found it hard to believe that they could be in the same proximity but go completely unnoticed. The truth became more and more clear with every step as the presence of mana increased. Finally the butterfly stopped, hovering over a small lake.
I searched in confusion, there was no one here. I kneeled down and dipped my fingers in the lake, and that's when I knew. I was hit with an overwhelming sensation of mana.
"So that's where you're hiding."
I decided to stake out the place for one of the druid soldiers to appear. It was only after the sun had set that one finally appeared. It was an incredible sight, the water shaped itself to the figure of a man. Once he appeared it crashed back down and the man walked on the water like it was the same as breathing air. He was a tall buff man with long hair, his pointed ears barley peaking out. He was dressed in armor that resembled leaves and had a bow and arrow in hand. Once his feet set on land, I made my move.
Go.
I summoned up a butterfly and it flew in the pointed direction of the druid. It caught his attention and he looked around suspiciously.
"Who is there?" the rough voice sounded.
The butterfly began to fly back into the depths of the forest, pulling the druid away from the lake. Just as I was hoping he would, he pursued my butterfly on his own.
"Get back here!"
Once he was far enough away I revealed myself from the tree I was hiding behind. He lifted his bow and arrow up in a defensive stance.
"Who are you!?" he shouted.
I remained silent and stepped closer to him, with each step a number of butterflies formed.
"Stay back!" he shouted again, hesitating to shoot.
I could sense he was getting nervous, glancing back and forth at the direction he came. Once I stood right in front of him he dropped his weapon and fell to his knees. I grasped his face with my hands and looked into his blank eyes reflecting the purple glow around me.
"Now, make this easy on me and show me what I need to know."
Mind picking. This was another one of my techniques, one I had learned on my own. The first time I used it was back when I was a kid on Lexy. Grandmother was livid when she found out and forbade me from using it again. I was locked in my room for two weeks after that and hadn't used it since.
I looked deep into the man's subconscious sifting through memories.
Aha!
I could see the other druids as they hovered over a map. They disclosed their plan to strike on the night of the full moon. A group of them would attack Wargon castle head on, while the other half made use of the distraction to infiltrate the mines. Once I heard all that I needed to know, I slowly drew back from the druid's mind.
Just as I had thought, their plan was to blow up the mines. Which means-
I clenched my fists remembering back to Lennon and the lady at the fruit stand. Lives that had once been forfeited with no regard nor memory.
The full moon would be five days from now, which meant I needed to make haste.
I placed a light kiss on druid's forehead and drew back my hands. My mana butterflies dispersed around us.
"Sweet dreams." I whispered.
With a thud to the ground, I stepped away from the entranced body and made way for my next destination. Wargon castle.