20 The Witch Burning

After having finished the deal, Jack went to the Merchant Association to order a few bags of saltpeter at once.

Saltpeter is a crucial component of gunpowder, as it was well-known in the modern world. The quicker Jack could obtain the essential chemical product, the easier it would be for their plan to proceed.

As he was about to go back to the inn in the vanishing sunset light, the bell tower of the only church in the town sounded. The three dull strikes verberated every corner of the tiny village, marking the occasion of another barbaric gathering.

***

Spotting each other in the crowd of people was hard, but Jack finally found Emma after shouting her name for a dozen times.

In the middle of the square was a high stage made of stones and dirt. They had started to become familiar with this place of the town.

A moment later, two carriages with an iron cage on top were entering the square. The crowd cheered as they made way for the wagons. Emma did not feel like cheering, so Jack cheered in her stead.

The carriages were surrounded by priests in black hood, murmuring in prayers, and a few warriors in white armours. Jack was told they are the knights of the church.

One of them was holding up a white flag. A symbol that looked like four small "T"s joined at the tail ends with a big circle, was drawn on it. The church symbol was identical to the aiming reticle on a game Jack played. This symbol was also present on the chest of every church member, which Jack found amusing.

Next to him, however, Emma was a lot less calm. She was breathing hard and was looking at the ground.

"Emma, you have to look at the stage. The people on the stage can see everyone. If they notice you not looking at them, things could turn bad for us."

Jack gently reminded.

"You have to look, but don't let it get to you."

Emma gulped and turned her eyes upward. They were wet and trembling.

The church knights used a long pole with a clamp at the end to secure the necks of their prisoners. They pushed the prisoners onto the stage.

The first prisoner was a man. His eyes were deep red. He was biting at the air, making bone-chilling clacking sounds. Some of the man's teeth were missing, presumably due to his incessant mouth clapping. His hands were tightly tied behind his back.

A knight with almost full metal armors, including metal gloves and metal face mask, tied the man to one of the five poles present on the stage. The man tried to bite at him, to no avail.

The other prisoner was a dishevelled young girl. She did not look older than 16 years old. There were tears on her face. Apart from the metal clamp, there was a metal collar on her neck. The same procedure ensured, after which she was tied to another pole on the stage.

"Burn them!"

"Burn the devil incarnates!"

"Send them to hell!"

The crowd became noisy. Emma was putting her two hands on her mouth, trying to hide her sobbing. Jack hugged her tightly to cover for the girl, as he cheered along with the crowd.

A priest got on the stage. He put a hand up. The crowd quieted down.

"Behold, citizens of the Redshire village!"

The priest shouted.

"The devil has gotten its tainted hand on our people in its effort to conquer our peaceful world."

"This time, it has turned a man, Dallas Barrie, into one of its beasts."

"And it has incarnated into a woman, Falline Ashton."

"Make no mistakes, in front of you are no longer humans. This is a demon, and this is a beast."

"In the name of the Holy Source, we, children of the Domain, vowed to banish devils from this world!"

At this time, the young girl cried loudly.

"I am not a demon. I am still Falline, please believe me!"

"Mom, dad, I am your daughter! Please don't let them burn me…!"

A stone was weakly thrown at the girl from the crowd. A middle-aged woman, tears flowing out of her eyes like a broken dam, shouted at the stage after her action. A man with balding head was holding her up.

"Shut up, demon, how dare you take my girl's body? How dare you pretend to be her? Die, damned creature!"

The man explained to the priest after covering the woman's mouth with his hand.

"I am very sorry, my Holy Father, I could not stop her."

"Fear not, my child. We understand your grieving. Come to the church and confess, the Source is all forgiving." The priest smiled, as he pushed a rag into the girl's mouth.

"Now, it is time to purify evils."

A few towners helped with the preparation by bringing the burning materials out from a storage shack next to the town square. Two of them was holding a torch. Woods, broken branches were put into a hole under the poles.

"Oh no…" Emma's soft voice was heard. Jack hurriedly covered her mouth. No one seemed to have heard it.

The man was still biting at the air, unfazed at the event that was about to unfold. The girl tied to the pole was shaking her head wildly, the rag in her mouth was waving in the air. As the priest approached with two torches on each hand, she stopped shaking, and turned her eyes to the crowd, to her parents.

She looked like she was trying to smile.

With a rag in her mouth and tears on her face, the smile became either a haunting effort of the last goodbye, or a laugh at her cruel fate.

The priest threw a torch into each hole.

***

The ex-captain and the engineer walked back to the inn. There was a suffocating silence between them.

Jack grabbed Emma tightly by her shoulder. He spoke in a small voice.

"One day, we will end this, Emma."

"I promise to you."

Smoke was still drifting through the air. It was nauseating. Emma couldn't take it anymore. She threw up. Jack patted her back, while smiling wryly to the passersby.

"My sanity is being chipped away in this godforsaken place. We have to end this NOW."

Emma spoke decisively after wiping her mouth.