The Witchmaker

They ventured back into the forest in search of the totem deep in the woods. Mezolas led the way, following his senses. The dark spirits hid and ran upon seeing the group. They knew they would be defeated by a group of summoners if they drew near.

"There it is," announced Mezolas when the totems were in view. They were carved wooden structures with the decapitated head of an animal resting on top. Candles were scattered around fresh offerings of flowers, dead animals, and some stale bread.

"Someone has definitely been here," said Adrian upon examining the items. He lit up the totems in flames and the offerings. He continued to burn everything related to it until he could find no more. He made sure not to let the fire spread beyond the area. A faint sound was heard from nearby. "Liriel." His familiar emerged immediately, standing guard beside him.

"It seems that we are not alone," said Mezolas.

Olivia turned around. The moment she did, a creature in tattered black robes with a mask resembling an avian skull and feathers emerged from behind a tall bush. It was like an entity seen in nightmares. It was only when a human hand was visible under the long sleeves that they realized the gruesome 'thing' was human.

"Adrian Icarus," the mysterious person spoke. "You follow me wherever I go like a fly."

"You brew trouble wherever you go," replied Adrian.

The Belaria twins hid behind Olivia out of fear, clutching the back of her clothing tightly.

"What did you do to the villagers here?" Olivia asked the masked person.

"Sweet girl, only storybook villains reply to such questions. In real life, you are left in the dark, fearful of what is to come. You will only realize everything after the disaster happens." The person turned around, looking at Mezolas. "Tell Nox I will be waiting for him."

"Liriel! Don't let him leave!" Adrian sent his familiar after the person. Unfortunately, the masked one vanished without a trace, as if shrouded by the spirits of the forest. Liriel could not find the target.

"Let him leave, son of house Icarus. I deem it unwise to rush in unprepared against an ally of the ancient ones. He will certainly cause trouble again, but should we all perish here, none would be able to tell the tale and defeat him in the future," advised Mezolas.

Adrian hated to admit it, but Mezolas was right.

"How are we supposed to free the villagers now?" Olivia asked with a sigh. "The wood nymph said to bring he who causes them to die and that's probably the witchmaker."

"We will have to make negotiations, although the villagers might be safest in the realm of the fairies," replied Mezolas. "I believe the witchmaker is less likely to return if we have people stand guard here." He gave Adrian a look.

"I'll have it arranged," the leader of Royal Red replied. He couldn't argue with what Mezolas said.

"What if that scary thing comes back? What do we do?" Ama Belaria

Unknown to Olivia, there were beings making their way to her. The ancient spirits gathered around her and appeared to take the life out of her. Mezolas could not protect her from them. He could only watch helplessly as his Lady was being suffocated by these beings. He swore to himself that he would personally see through their destruction if he had the chance to.

"Olivia!" Adrian realized what was happening.

"Make haste, son of house Icarus! Use the salts and stalks in her satchel to drive them away!" Mezolas shouted. The fate of his Lady was in the hands of the Icarus boy's actions.

Adrian snatched the items and used them. They were effective, but Olivia was already unconscious by the time the spirits left her alone. He quickly carried her on his back and gave the twins the task of keeping the ancient spirits away from them as they attempted to retreat. They managed to flee safely to their headquarters where they left Olivia to recover in the infirmary.

"Son of house Icarus, I give you my thanks for coming to my Lady's aid," spoke Mezolas, breaking the silence that had been there since they arrived. His sudden gratitude caught Adrian by surprise, who deemed beings such as he incapable of expressing thankfulness.

"It is my duty to protect others," replied Adrian. "Why was she being attacked by those things?" He had an idea why, but wanted to hear Mezolas' answer.

"Witch doctors are vengeful and have knowledge of who rendered their offerings null by the hand of purifying flames. The ineffectiveness of curses is bad for business."

Adrian sat on a stool beside her bed and contemplated on everything that took place. For his sake and for the safety of curse victims, this girl's life was put at risk. A price to pay for righteousness. He feared for his good friend Leonel as well.

"What happened to her?" Shina was shocked to see Olivia's condition. He was just returning a pair of scissors he borrowed from the infirmary when he saw them.

"Someone cursed her and sent ancient spirits after her. She isn't completely safe yet," replied Adrian.

"So it really happened, huh?"

"I hope Leonel makes it back safely. Perhaps I shouldn't have let him go alone."

"Me too."

"Will Olivia be ok?" The Belaria twins hid behind Shina. They both appeared worried.

"She will be fine," Shina assured them. "She doesn't give up that easily."