Chapter 33: Chapter 33: The Menacing Visitor

Mayor Duran looked at the bookshelf, tracing his finger against the spines of each book. Hadwin the cleric had a decent amount of them, however, there were none that really caught his eye. It seemed like they were all based on religious or philosophical subjects. Finally, he decided to pick one that he had at least read once before and found intriguing.

It was a book titled The Enemies of the Gods and You, by Hansh Debus. It was well over a few decades old by now, but the mayor had been interested in the connections it made between the different churches of each god, and how they interacted with the web that is the politics of their nation.

He grabbed the book and went to sit down. It had been a few years since he last read it, so perhaps this time he would be able to take a few new things from it. As he flipped open to the first page, the mayor glanced over to the kitchen. He had told Hadwin that the cleric could go to the bed. It had been made to sound like a polite offer, but in truth, he simply didn’t particularly like the sound of that man’s voice. However, Hadwin had refused, and then insisted on making them both some tea to drink while they waited for the storm to calm down.

After a little time passed, Hadwin returned with the tea and sat on the chair opposite from him. The mayor paused his reading to take a sip of his drink, and couldn’t help but frown a little. It was far too bitter and still extremely hot. He placed it down on the table, hoping that he could stomach the taste after it least somewhat cooled down. The mayor hoped that the storm would pass by sooner than later. He hated having to be here instead of already being in his nice bed back at home. For now though, mayor Duran would just have to put up with it and wait.

The two of them spent the next several minutes sitting in relative silence. The only sounds were the crackles of the fireplace, rain hitting the house, and the occasional roar of thunder. However, as they sat there, Hadwin seemed to gradually become visibly nervous. Each time a strike of lightning flashed through the window, the cleric visibly flinched. The mayor had to suppress a sigh.

“Is there something wrong, Hadwin? I never knew you as someone afraid of bad weather,” he asked. The other man looked at him, before gazing up at the ceiling. His forehead glistened with sweat. He pulled an amulet from under his robes, and clenched it tightly in his fist.

“Sir Duran, I fear that the goddess’s wrath may be upon us. It’s a bad omen, I can feel it. Don’t you think it’s unusual to see a storm like this during winter? It’s a sign of her anger, we must appease her quickly before her punishment comes!” The cleric grabbed a cloth and dabbed it against his face.

“Hmm, is that so,” Duran began, clearly skeptical. “Perhaps it’s simply a regular thunderstorm. Winter has been a little mild this year, after all. Besides, it’s not as though we’ve done anything to deserve her ire, have we? As far as I know, both I and everyone else in the town have-”

Knock knock knock

Mayor Duran froze at the sound of knocking on the door. Who would be here at this hour, and in the middle of a storm? It couldn’t be one of his own guards. As far as they were aware, he was already asleep in his home. Nobody should know that he was currently here. The mayor glanced at the cleric, who seemed just as confused as him.

“Do you have any idea who that might be?” He asked in a hushed voice. Hadwin shook his head and stood up. He went to grab a candle stick and lit it.

“Just stay here, I’ll go and find out. It might be that one of the neighbors needs my help with something. I think one of them has been having problems keeping water out of their house. So it could just be that something finally broke. If I had to guess, that’s probably what it is.” He walked out of the living room and went into the hallway.

The mayor leaned back into his seat, and took a sip of the tea. Hadwin was probably correct. Whoever it was, it most likely wasn’t anything for him to be concerned over. As long as he simply stayed here, they wouldn’t be able to see him or know that he was here. All he had to do was wait for the cleric to deal with them and then come back.

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Even from where Duran sat, he could hear the front door creak open. He tried to keep an ear open, in an attempt to make out anything being said. He could just barely hear Hadwin greeting whoever it was. However, he couldn’t perceive whatever response the stranger gave. Perhaps his assistant was right to say that he was starting to become hard of hearing with his age. Or maybe the voice of this unknown person was simply muffled out by the wind and rain.

A few moments passed, but it was then that he heard a sudden noise. A thump, as if something had just fallen onto the floor. The mayor leaned forward, trying to peer into the relative darkness of the hallway. However, from his current position at least, he was unable to see anything. As he was trying to look, he then heard the door creak as it moved again.

There was a few seconds of quiet stillness, before someone began to walk through the hallway. The old wooden floor of the building creaked with their steps. From inside the hall, he could just barely make out a man’s silhouette.

“Hadwin, did something happen? Who was that?” Mayor Duran asked, his voice barely more than a whisper. However, from out of the shadows, someone other than the cleric stepped into the room. As this person walked in, their face became illuminated in the flickering light of the fireplace. The mayor’s eyes widened. It was the young man from just earlier that evening, Emil.

The same man who was a stranger that had chosen to not give his last name. He was the person who had found the weapon, and practically forced the mayor’s hand into publically launching an investigation. And then he had directly approached the mayor, and continued to push the matter when everyone else had gone home for the night. Now he was here and looking right at him.

“Good evening, Mr. Mayor. I’m afraid that I have a few questions for you regarding the murders. Hopefully, you’ll be willing to be truthful and tell me everything I want to know,” Emil stated as he approached.

It took a moment for the mayor to process what he had just said. Murders? How much did this man already know? No, that didn’t matter now. It was clearly enough to know that he and Hadwin were linked to the drownings. But how could this stranger have known that he would be in the cleric’s home tonight? Had he secretly been following him ever since their discussion earlier?

Mayor Duran tried to stand up and say something. To ask what Emil was doing here, and what had happened to Hadwin. However, when he looked into the man’s eyes, his voice became caught inside of his throat. There was something dark about his gaze, a harshness. How could a person’s presence and demeanor change so drastically?

Before, he had seemed like any other young adult, barely out of their teens and still looked like a child before the mayor. But now, there was an unsettling coldness to him, like the mayor was currently facing down the most dangerous man on earth. But he still had his own pride to think about. He couldn’t let himself be intimated, and as such, forced himself to speak. Mayor Duran carefully chose his next few words. And as he was about to speak, also began to slowly reach behind his back.

“Emil, was it? Before I answer your question, I have one of my own. Where’s the man that just greeted you at the door?” When he asked that question, Emil paused. He then gave the mayor a slight smile, one that caused a shiver to go down his body.

“Ah, I wouldn’t worry too much about him. I imagine that murdering a child takes a lot out of you. So as of this second, he’s taking a restful nap. I'm sure the two of us will have a pleasant discussion when he does wake up. But right now, Mr. Mayor, you're the man of the hour."

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