Chapter 42: Chapter 41

The past few days had been busy, very busy for Torie. Not only did a dangerous monster appear near the town, but it had injured Ranger Washington before it was driven off. Even worse, a witch hunter took it upon himself to assist in hunting the creature. In a way, this was a blessing as witch hunters were immortals with powerful magic, but due to their long lives, witch hunters were more often than not mentally unstable.

The witch hunter aside, Torie's main concern was on Ranger Washington. Though she had been told that Keith, the witch hunter, had used healing magic, his condition was something to keep an eye on. From what she heard many of his bones had been broken and he suffered from internal bleeding. It was a miracle that he was alive at all. Having heard that, Adriana had decided that now was the time to strike. As it was weakened, she would forcibly stay by his side to help in his "recovery."

Walking through the town, and by her side was her maid Zen. Though she did not fully approve of her plan to stay at Etrius' cottage, she helped nonetheless. Possibly part of her plan to reeducate the other servants as she was away, she was willing to let her stay at Etrius' place. Happy as she was, Adriana did her best not to smile as the official reason for her visit was to check on his condition.

Despite hearing about his injuries, Adriana knew that he was fine. Not only because the witch hunter used healing magic, but because Etrius wouldn't let itself be so easily destroyed, especially since he was taking care of Abby. Even if he was destroyed, all she needed to do was keep an eye out for its next appearance. It may take some time, but eventually he would return.

With Zen acting as her guide, and carrying a basket with a gift of soft bread and potent smelling cheese that Abby particularly enjoyed, Adriana felt the paved road turn into the familiar hard packed dirt. Through her thin shoes, she felt every little rock and footprint that came before her. They were small, though not like that of another woman but of someone else. How many people visit Etrius? He'll have to answer for this later.

Soon, though not soon enough, they arrived outside a cozy cottage. Smelling the familiar wood smoke and both Abby and Etrius' scent, Adriana relaxed a little bit. No one else was here, or had even come by today. Now that she thought about it, did Etrius have any friends? Whenever they had dinner together, he never talked about anyone. Part of her was happy that Etrius was all hers, though that specific aspect of his may become a bad influence on Abby. The witch hunter doesn't count. He was a witch hunter and should stay away from her family.

Not noticing her thoughts, Zen knocked on the door. There were two sets of footsteps one with a substantial amount of mass and one that clicked, those were likely Abby's. After the turning of a lock, the door opened.

 

"Ranger Washington." Zen bowed.

"The feeling is mutual." Etrius replied.

"Its good-" Zen paused wondering if she heard that right.

"Hi mom, hi Zen." Abby greeted.

"Hello sweetheart, hello darling." Adriana smiled. "Darling, aren't you sposto be resting?"

"Keith already used his magic on me." Etrius defended.

"That's no good." Adriana said. "You were injured and need to rest. Even if you feel fine."

"That's what I said!" Abby cutely.

"I'm certain that I know my body better than anyone else." Etrius said.

"Even so, you need to rest." She said firmly. "I suppose that it's a good idea that I came here."

"Explain." It said.

"To put it simply, I'm going to stay here and ensure that you rest properly." She said.

"If I refuse?" It asked.

"As your boss I forbid you to refuse."

"This is harassment."

"I'm doing what I feel is best for you."

"How long?" Etrius asked.

"Three days and nights." Zen said. "Should Lady Haywood determine you are in good health that is."

"If not, I'll stay for as long as I wan-" Adriana started.

"A week, two at most." Zen cut in. "Unless something urgent comes up, that's how long we can work without Lady Haywood's guidance."

"Y-yes. Two weeks at most…" Adriana said, wanting to forget her responsibilities.

"The dark age has ended, so though it may not seem like it, things have slowed down for a bit." Zen explained. "We expect work to pick up in a week or two as things return to normal."

"Don't remind me." She sighed.

"So you're slacking off." Etrius said.

"It's a vacation!" Abby said, excited.

"I think it's more like a holiday." Etrius corrected.

"Yes, well-" Adriana said. "I will be taking care of you for the time being."

"I understand." Etrius said. "Sorry for taking up your time."

"No, think nothing of it." Adriana said.

"Did you bring pajamas?" Abby asked, noticing the lack of luggage.

"It's being brought over by the couriers." Zen explained. "It should arrive before noon."

"Oh, okay." Abby said.

"That being said, we brought you a gift." Adriana said.

"Yes, it's from the staff." Zen said, handing her the basket.

 

Peering in the basket, Abby looked at the cheese and then lifted it up. Seemingly confused, she put it down and lifted up the bread.

 

"No meat?" Abby asked, looking up at Zen.

"Meat?" Zen asked.

"Yeah." Abby nodded. "Samantha puts meat under the cheese for me."

"Does she?" Zen asked, a smile forming on her lips.

"Ah!" Abby realized her mistake. "I didn't say that!"

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"Well, that explains one thing." Zen said. "I will need to have a talk with her."

"I- is she in trouble?" Abby asked.

"Well…" Zen thought. "We'll have her on laundry duty for a week when she gets back."

“Oh, okay.” Abby said, not understanding how harsh or soft she was being.

“I can’t have you standing outside all day.” Etrius said. “Please, come in.”

“Of course.” Adriana said.

 

With Abby being their guide, Adriana and Zen were led to the bench on one side of the table. With only a goat hide as a comforter, they took their modest seats. Already well familiar with this, Adriana gratefully took her usual spot. Zen, though a bit displeased in the simplicity, gave no complaints. Putting her hands on the table, Adriana’s hands touched some wooden instruments. Exploring it, she discovered them to be arrows. Remembering Etrius’ report, knew of their uselessness.

 

“Were your arrows ineffective?” Adriana asked.

“Mostly yeah.” Etrius said. “Let me move those for you.”

“Forgive me for asking, but if your arrows were useless, how did you drive it away?” Zen asked.

“With Keith’s magic, I suppose that it didn’t think we were worth the trouble.” Etrius said.

“If arrows don’t work, what should we do in the event of another encounter?” Zen asked.

“If they were made of meteoritic-iron it would be a different story. For now spears and hammers have enough mass.” Etrius said. “These arrows do work, but it’ll take quite a few of them to take it down. If I had more time and distance I would be able to, with some trouble that is.”

“And what of crossbows?” Zen asked. “Would those be more effective?”

“Out in the forest, no. They’re just too slow firing. If it was immobilized then yes, but at that point you should just save the time and run it through with a few spears.” Etrius said, taking a seat, opposite of Adriana.

“And how do you suggest we immobilize it?” She asked.

“I’m not sure if they’ll be strong enough, but bear traps should work.” It said.

“We’ll have to order a few for future use.” Zen muttered.

“Do you suspect that it was alone?” Adriana asked.

“We saw it come alone from some strange bone formation and Keith destroyed it before we left.” It said. “Whether that was the only formation, we can’t be certain.”

“We can have hunters go out in a search for these formations and destroy them if possible.” Adriana said.

“It was easy to break them but we don’t know for certain if that will stop other demons from coming out of them.” It said.

“So it was a demon?” Zen asked.

“Though it didn’t exactly use magic, it did come from some sort of forest sorcery so it technically does classify as one.” It said.

“Well,” Zen said. “Our first dangerous demon. I hadn’t suspected that it would come so soon. Have adventurers or monster hunters started appearing?”

“Not to my knowledge.” It shook its head. “In the coming weeks a bunch should appear in the capital. As for if or when they’ll come here, I’m not sure.”

“I hope they aren’t too disruptive…” Zen sighed.

“If they are, I’m sure they’ll be dealt with.” Adriana said.

“They can’t be any worse than witch hunters.” Etrius said.

“I suppose that’s true.” Zen said.

“What are adventures?” Abby asked, chewing on a piece of soft bread.

“They are trouble makers.” Zen said. “People desperate enough to go out hunting monsters and scouring dungeons for treasures.”

“Dungeons?” Abby tilted her head. “Like prisons?”

“No, they are like caves that were transformed with magic into underground fortress-like structures.” Etrius explained. “They appear sometimes naturally, by intelligent demons, magicians, or in rare cases old mining towns.”

“And they have treasure in them?” Abby asked.

“Sometimes. Other times they just become demon and monster nests.” It said.

“They’re big risks if you ask me.” Zen said. “Nothing good can come from making monster nests near towns.”

“Especially in the early days at the end of a dark age, but there are always stories of dying mining towns making them in desperation.” Adriana said. “Sometimes it works out but more often than not, they overflow.”

“A very bad decision.” Zen said.

“If it’s bad, why do they do it?” Abby asked.

“Well, thats…” Adriana hesitated.

“At best they are misinformed.” Zen said. “At worst they are harming others for their own self interest.”

“That’s bad.” Abby said. “People shouldn’t hurt others.”

“Yes, hurting others is bad.” Zen said.

“Mmn…” Abby nodded.

“Even if there are reasons to hurt others, you should always try to talk it out first.” Zen said, imparting important wisdom. 

“Mmn!” Abby shook her head vigorously.

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