Chapter Text
Claric’s chest heaved as he stared down at the slaughtered monster before him. Tendrils of black smoke escaped from the fatal wound Claric had inflicted with his broadsword. A crowd of villagers had gathered around the village center, murmuring fearfully as they cautiously peered at the beast. Suddenly, the small tendrils of smoke leaking from the wound began to seep out of the creature's mouth and eye sockets, engulfing it in a dark cloud. A few gasps could be heard from the crowd and Claric’s heart rate spiked in fear. The cloud festered and then slowly subsided leaving behind the pale lifeless body of a young village child, clad in torn garments. Claric stumbled backward, his heart filling with dread. This was no beast.
A woman from the crowd screamed, shoving people aside to run toward the child. She cradled him in her arms “My boy, my boy, my baby boy!” She sobbed hysterically, rocking the child back and forth in her arms. Claric watched her, paralyzed in fear and grief. How could this be? The monster which had previously been terrorizing the village square was one of the village children?
“That’s the Wellsmith’s boy” someone cried amongst the onlookers. “Farming family on the eastern edge of town.”
A murmur ran through the crowd.
“Oh, poor thing.”
“How could this happen?”
Another villager covered her child’s eyes guiding her away from Claric.
“I - I -” Claric can hardly keep from hyperventilating. “I’m so sorry.”
“GET AWAY FROM HIM!” she croaked, “Get away from my boy” She flails her arms in Claric’s direction snarling at him before returning to her grieving. He staggered back. His sword clattering to the ground; the world seemed to swirl around him.
A few paces back, the loud clacking of hooves fast approaching could be heard followed by the sight of Ser Wayde, the knight-captain weaving through the village streets. “Out of the way! Move!” He boomed as villagers scrambled like ants to avoid being pounded to the ground by giant hooves. Steadying his notably large, dark-haired steed, Ser Wayde studied the scene below him, his gaze shifting between Claric and the grieving mother cradling her child. His face contorted in a manner Claric could only understand as something between sharp disapproval and wariness.
“Did you do this, soldier?” He growls, “Did you slaughter this child?”
Dark blood still glinted fresh on the abandoned sword, Claric’s empty sheath serving as a testament to his guilt. Claric’s mouth opened then closed, his mind scrambling to come up with an explanation. Before he managed to get out any words, one of the villagers in the crowd chimed in “That child has been missing for weeks! When this man here slew the monster, he turned into this boy her. Somethin’ devilish is afoot if you ask me.”
“Is this true?” the councilman asks Claric.
Claric nodded. “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have - .” He trailed off, a wave of guilt enveloping his heart upon realizing he couldn’t remember the boy’s name. He recognized him, running about the market only days before.
“I see,” Ser Wayde mumbled, bringing a hand to his temples, “Very well. There will be a council meeting tonight. The eldest member of each home will attend. Take caution and no children. Now back away, let this mother grieve in peace!”
There was another soft murmur amongst the group as people shifted uneasily but no one moved. Ser Wayde's eyes flashed with anger, his voice turned sharp and cutting as he drew his blade, his stallion bucking theatrically, “Need I remove you all myself? I said GO!”
Having seen enough violence at the hands of one knight’s blade for the evening, the villagers began to scramble off, many of them stealing a last glance at the morbid scene before retreating to their homes. A small group of them stayed back, consoling the mother of the slain child. Wayde turned to Claric, motioning for him to resheath his sword with a nod. The guilt-laden knight moved tentatively, his shaking hands making the motion all the more conspicuous. All he wanted was to fade away, to become nothing, but he was ordered to return to the townhall immediately, and prepare to speak at the council meeting that night.