Blackgrave

As the four of them neared the ruins, up behind a wall on a scaffolding, an elven sentry watched them approach. “Who goes there!” he loudly shouted. Other elves appeared from within the ruins, some on the ground, and another up above with a bow.

“We mean no harm!” Lord Ros yelled back. “We are Witch Hunters following a lead.” He pulled out his letter containing the King’s seal and held it up to the elves as a few approached. The archer knocked an arrow and pulled back the string.

“Stop where you stand,” he called out. Lord Ros and the others did as they were commanded.

An elven man in a beautifully crafted silver breastplate approached a few paces. His right hand, covered in a silver gauntlet was at his side, and his left carried a sturdy steel shield that had three prongs at its peak resembling a crown. His long, bright blond hair fell on the equally magnificent red cloak that hung around his shoulders, matching the sash wrapped around his waist. His sword remained sheathed at his side showing only the bright ruby in its pommel.

“What do you want?” the elven man said in an authoritative tone.

“We come here seeking to investigate these ruins. We know a witch used it earlier in the month. We aim to find any trail she may have left,” Lord Ros answered. “We come bearing the King’s seal, let us in so we can continue our investigation.”

Lord Ros had learned early on in The Order that the King’s seal gave Witch Hunters ultimate authority over anyone within the Kingdom of Scrydell. From the poorest peasant to the richest noble, no one had the authority to stop them from doing whatever they deemed necessary to complete their investigation.

The elven man didn’t budge, and once he produced a letter bearing the King’s seal of his own, it was clear why.

“We have been given exclusive rights in dealing with these ruins by the very King who lends you his authority. By your own King’s proclamation in accordance with the treaty of Red and White, any elven ruins found within Scrydell lands will be considered the Sword of Light’s territory until a full investigation is concluded and any elven artifacts are recovered. It is at that time the Kingdom of Scrydell will purchase the ruins from the Sword of Light and control of the territory will return to Scrydell.”

Lord Ros hastily read over the letter as the man spoke. Resolving to not give up, he pressed ahead. “Surely you could make some sort of exception. This is no unconfirmed investigation. This is a witch hunt if there ever was one.” His eyes glowed with hope. “Now, we have it on good authority that the Witch of Doubt was using this place as a lair, and if we let her get away, there is no telling what damage she could do.”

“The answer is no. If we find any evidence of this Witch of Doubt you speak of, it will be filled out in our official report. Until then, I suggest you take your investigation elsewhere. These ruins belong to our ancestors, and we will not continue to have you humans do with them as you please.” The elven man would not back down, and Lord Ros’ patience had begun to wane.

“I see,” he said. He looked to others, but found no support. Gilt and Kangee hung back and fiddled with their animals while Ithena stood arms folded in front of her, staring the elves down. “Well, I won’t let this come to violence. If you are so keen on preventing us entry, I suppose it is your right given by the King.”

“Glad you see things our way,” replied the elf.

“Halt! You, there—stop!” shouted someone from within the ruins. The elven man and Lord Ros gave one another a bemused look.

“Grab her, quickly!” shouted another elf from beyond the wall.

The elves all ran into the ruins with the Witch Hunters close behind. Regardless of their decision to prevent them from entering, Lord Ros pressed forward, refusing to let the opportunity to enter amidst the Chaos go to waste.

When they ran past the dilapidated wall, they spotted her. It was the spirit of Kreecha Ironhnauf. She shrank back and away from the elves, but they quickly surrounded her. Fear swirled in her eyes as she searched the crowd for any signs of compassion.

Lord Ros tried to shout, “Don’t touch her, she’s dan—” But it was too late. One of the elves reached for her arm. As his hand phased through her pale ghostly form, she let out a loud and terrible scream.

“I’m the only one who gets to touch her!” an angry voice boomed from the center of the ruins. A swirl of energy formed into a single mass and took on a fiery shape. Its whole form was wispy and moved like flame, its eyes burned a bright orange, and its voice sounded like thunder.

The elves drew their blades, screaming orders in their elven tongue. Arrows rained, steel and silver slid from sheaths, and four flaming blades rose up to join them.

“Your attacks will do nothing! Only Arcane or Divinity will do it harm!” Lord Ros shouted.

The lead elf spoke a hushed tone and flourished his blade exotically. It was crafted from silver and elegantly curved from hilt to tip. A bright bulb of light came crashing down from the heavens through the trees and into the spirit. Its flames grew wild and it let out a hellish scream.

The spirit lunged from the light, slashing an elf through the chest with its ghostly blade. The elf shrieked in horror before he seized up and fell to the ground, dropping his weapon and smacking his head off of the dirt.

Lord Ros and Kangee charged in together, swinging their flaming blades and circling around it. Lord Ros went in close and slashed at the spirits midsection while Kangee made a sweeping arc with his glaive. Their blades did little, save for drawing the attention away from the fallen warrior.

The spirit locked eyes with Kangee and terror filled him as it spoke in a deep guttural tone. “Pests, all of you pests!” Both its frame and the flames of its eyes grew brighter and more untamed as it stared Kangee down.

“We found another Crow, boys! This one still has some fight in him!” It raised its ghostly blade and swung for Kangee’s neck. He dove to the spirit’s right and rolled himself back up with a fluid bound.

“Take this!” Gilt yelled . He splashed a jar of salt into its ghastly frame. The spirit screamed and disappeared from sight.

“When it returns it will be invisible. Be wary! It could strike from anywhere!” Lord Ros shouted. The elves grouped up together and scanned from side to side. Ros ordered the Witch Hunters to surround Kangee. “Get eyes on him, Kangee!”

With a deep breath, Kangee blew it out and cleared his mind from the confusion of the battle. He steadied his breathing and focused on his connection to Veyna. His eyes rolled back until only the whites could be seen. Overhead, Achi perched on a tall tree and scanned the area.

“Where is he, Kangee?” Ithena asked. She held up her left hand, cradling an orb of fire in her palm.

“A moment,” Kangee said, “he hasn’t returned yet, though he will.” Kangee remained standing despite the difficulty. “There!” Kangee pointed towards the group of elves. “He’s right on top of you!”

The head elf brought up his shield, and the others jumped behind. A large circle of white light surrounded the elves, and a tall elven woman in white and red robes appeared from a staircase that led into the ruins. She spoke elvish in a loud booming voice that shook the trees so violently, leaves rained down from above them. The light grew brighter as she brought up one of her hands to her chest and started to chant in her elvish tongue.

The spirit materialized within the circle and appeared to be frozen with his blade raised high. As the light around him grew brighter, his form became wispy and more translucent until he completely faded away.

The elven woman waved her staff in front of her in a Y pattern, and the light dissipated. She lowered her hand, took a deep breath, and turned towards the Witch Hunters, eyeing them down with her enigmatic gaze.

“I thank you, Witch Hunter,” she said to Lord Ros, locking her evergreen eyes with his. “I take it you are in charge?” Her voice was sharp and matched her looks. At any second, Lord Ros thought she could snap and give him a smack for his insolence. Afraid of offending her in any regard, he selected his words with care.

“Yes, I am Lord Ronan Ros. I appreciate the praise, but I must admit you and your men did most of the work,” he replied. “And you are?”

The woman smiled. “I am Heiress Kesaria En’Televh. The Aredesans of Waldenhauf mentioned there might be Witch Hunters coming. You must be who they spoke of.”

“You are correct,” Lord Ros replied. “We are on the hunt for a Witch of Doubt, though she may no longer be a concern.”

“So she has nothing to do with the spirit?” Kesaria replied.

“That is our suspicion, yes,” Lord Ros answered. “We have good reason to believe that she left soon after her battle with the others. However, from speaking with the townsfolk, it is clear another evil is at play. This spirit you just saw will be back unless we can locate the hex bag that grants it power. We have found one already, and it is my belief there are two others out there. One just outside of town along the road, and the other somewhere in these ruins.”

“This hex bag… How exactly did it get here and who is culpable?” Heiress Kesaria asked.

“We believe it to be the work of another witch,” Lord Ros answered. “A Witch of Chaos.”

Heiress Kesaria smiled amusidely. “That is concerning.” She stared down the Witch Hunters for a few moments, carefully deciding what she would do. “If it means being rid of the spirit, search the ruins and find the hex bag.” She glanced over to the elven man in breastplate. “See to it we give them a hand.”

The elven man nodded. “Yes, Heiress Kesaria.”

The four of them, along with a few of the elves, all began to search the ruins. Gilt and Kangee looked around the outside while Lord Ros and Ithena followed Heiress Kesaria down the stairs that led underground.

They passed through the opening that led from the stairs to a huge chamber that was mostly caved in and impassible. Moss covered the walls, mushrooms grew in the corners, and the smell of mildew hung around them. There was a large space beyond the rubble that was impossible to reach, but could be seen thanks to the hanging torches. Some of the rubble had been moved, but it would be many more weeks of labor before a path would be completely cleared.

“What was this place used for?” Lord Ros asked Heiress Kesaria.

“Hard to say,” she replied slowly. “These ruins date back to before the Age of Divinity. We believe these ruins were used as a place of study and worship. Though the ancient Oriethan that is inscribed on the walls has faded to the point of illegibility, a few words of worship towards the Haloreth can be found.” She ran her hand across the faded markings along the wall.

“Haloreth?” Lord Ros asked.

“One of the many gods the Oriethan of old and those in Rethel still worship,” Heiress Kesaria replied.

“And your people don’t?” Lord Ros asked.

“The Sword of Light devotes itself to our goddess, Yirthine. We have no need, or want, for Haloreth or his shadows. Our Divine Heiress is all we require. She is the grand purifier,” Heiress Kesaria replied.

“Yirthine… I thought she was known for her benevolence,” Lord Ros remarked.

“Only those in Rethel still worship her for her benevolence. The fools have refused to embrace her new beauty and have convinced themselves that she can still hear their prayers,” Heiress Kesaria replied.

“Fools indeed,” Ithena said in agreement.

The three of them searched around separately. Lord Ros looked down some stairs that had been caved in, while Ithena ran her hands across the walls.

After a few minutes of searching, Ithena spotted a stone along the wall that shifted to the touch. She took out a dagger and pried it out to reveal another hex bag sitting within the hole. “I found it!” she yelled. “Behind this stone,” she told the others as they approached.

“Burn it, and we’ll be on to the next one,” Lord Ros told her. With a quick flick of her wrist, the bag exploded into flame in her palm.

“And now our investigation will be uninterrupted?” Heiress Kesaria asked.

“I can’t say for certain,” Lord Ros replied. “There is still a final hex bag somewhere out there that we have yet to find and destroy. We know its location, we just have to narrow down where it could be hiding.” A hopeful gleam shone in his eyes. “Perhaps you could join us. Your powers would be invaluable in the coming fight.”

Heiress Kesaria laughed plainly “Yes, well, unfortunately my own tasks have precedent. I have already aided you more than I would have liked. Now, be gone. My research has already been held up long enough. I don’t think I can stomach the idea of having to stop again.”

Lord Ros nodded. “Very well,” he replied before leaving the ruins behind.