18 A Good Man, Part 1

The carriage rumbled down the dirt road, pulled by a pair of horses.

While Kiren was grateful to not be manhandled, he couldn't think of a reason why Excelerate didn't simply transport them the way he had the previous day. Every bump in the road sent a jolt of pain through every tiny injury he had sustained. He kept his teeth clenched tight to prevent himself from crying out.

Excelerate sat opposite him and Lace. He looked out of the open window, a hand propped under his chin. His greying hair hung down over his eyes.

Looking closer, Kiren noticed that his eyes were actually closed.

"He's fast asleep, the bastard," Kiren muttered.

Lace giggled.

He paused, glancing at her. "So… you're okay? No bad effects from what happened?"

"It's a bit of a struggle to breathe, and I was told my ankle might bug me for a while, but that's about it," Lace said. " All thanks to Good Doctor, of course—without her aid, I don't know what would have happened. She did say that if I'd used my Power one more time, I would have died for sure." She shuddered. "I'm glad it didn't come to that." She smiled shakily.

Kiren nodded. "Right."

"So… what do you think we're doing? We didn't kill all the Beasts outside Winewater Village, but he said we wouldn't be doing anything strenuous, so it must be something else."

Kiren shrugged. "No idea. Hopefully, he'll deign to tell us."

"I guess we'll find out once we get there."

The carriage ride to the village took a little over an hour, according to Kiren's approximation. Excelerate stood the moment the carriage stopped, from fully asleep to fully awake inside a few seconds.

As they exited, villagers had already gathered outside. They thanked Excelerate and performed prayers as they touched him or tugged at his cloak.

"You saved our village!" one man cried.

"Praise the Heroes' Guild!" a woman called, clutching a baby to her bosom.

The Hero ignored them as he told the coachman to wait for them to finish and paid the man a small sum.

"He's getting all the fucking credit," Kiren grumbled. "That seem right to you?"

"In all fairness, he did do most of the killing," Lace said.

Kiren harrumphed, crossing his arms.

"You're back, Master Hero," Elder Maxim said, working his way to the front of the crowd. "Your visit is welcome, but… unexpected. You've already slaughtered the Beasts. What brings you here?"

"You could call it a social visit," Excelerate said. "I'd like everyone to gather in the square so that I may speak to you all. Gather your family and friends that are still indoors and meet me there."

"Of course, Master Hero," Maxim said with a stiff bow. "Give us a few minutes to get everyone out here."

Excelerate untangled himself from the mass of adoring yokels and made his way towards the square, which was hardly more than a rounded section of dirt that had been trampled flat in the middle of the village, the river sighing gently off to the right.

Lace hurried after the Hero, and Kiren followed begrudgingly.

"What is it we're here for, again?" Kiren asked.

"A Hero's most important work," Excelerate said. "Serving justice."

They were the first to arrive at the square. Excelerate pulled out an empty water barrel beneath the shadow of a large oak tree and sat, letting out a small sigh. He snapped his fingers in Kiren's direction, the blurred motion producing a loud crack.

"Kiren, fetch me some good rope," he said. He nodded towards a grayed, leaning building at the edge of the village. "You might find some in that storage shed. The longer the better."

Kiren didn't even bother asking why he needed it. The man was clearly not fond of answering. It didn't take him long to find a length of rope inside the moldy, old building. It was frayed at the edges, but thick enough tie down a bull and long enough to wrap around the whole square if Excelerate so needed.

By the time he returned, most of the village had gathered around Excelerate apart from a few farmers still working out in the fields. Excelerate waited patiently for everyone to quiet down.

Kiren placed the rope at his feet and the Hero nodded.

"Alright, then. I'd like to have a little chat with you all." He paused, his eyes drifting across the assembled villagers. "Yesterday, I listened to your plights. It seems that the Beast scourge has taken a heavier toll on the village than the Guild was led to believe."

The people looked to Elder Maxim.

"We have our share of problems, certainly, but no more than others," Maxim said. "Now that you've driven off the Beasts, we can restore the peace, for the time being."

Excelerate turned to a middle-aged woman standing near the front of the congregation, a trio of children hiding behind her skirts.

"You there. Goodwife Charla, is it?" he asked.

The woman nodded. "Yes, Master Hero."

"You've had some concern of nightmares troubling the village for some time, yes?"

Charla hesitated. "Well… The children, you see. They wake up an hour after I put them to sleep. Every night, same time, sure as the bells at Wiseman's Temple. They complain of nightmares, terrible figures who mutilate and murder. I wouldn't put much stock in it, except…" She paused and looked at the ground. "I've been having them myself. The most awful dreams. It chills the bones even to think of them."

A few of the villagers murmured in agreement, though no one spoke up as candidly.

"I see. And did you have these nightmares yesterday?"

Charla hesitated. "No offense to you, Master Hero. I heard of your deeds in the woods, how you dealt with the Beasts. But the dreams… they didn't stop. I hardly slept a wink last night. I stayed up, watching my children. I didn't want the men in the shadows to take them while they slumbered. It sounds silly now, but…" She shrugged. "That's all I can do to explain it."

Excelerate nodded. "I understand. The binding circle you created for the spawnling outside the village. Who crafted it?"

"I did," Maxim said.

"I see. And do you know that the circle is faulty? It will allow the Beast's blood to seep into your fields and your waters. That is why your crops have been withering."

A chorus of gasps went through the crowd.

"I had no idea," Maxim said apologetically. "I have only done my best to protect the village. I shall visit the Temple, so that I may learn to perform the ritual properly."

"Good. Do so. You lost your daughters some time ago, didn't you?"

"I hardly see how that is relevant," Maxim spluttered.

Excelerate's expression went from bored to a wide-eyed stare in a moment.

"Answer."

Maxim looked down. "Yes… Taken by Beasts in the night. When I awoke the morning after, the door was ripped open, and their beds were empty, with footprints leading towards the forest. I never heard anything, and I never saw them again." His eye twitched. "Couldn't go back there after that."

"I see." Excelerate's bored expression returned. "Apologies for your loss." He picked something out of his teeth and flicked it away. "Goodwife Charla, how long after the disappearance of Maxim's daughters would you say the nightmares began? It's a recent phenomenon, yes?"

The woman grew silent for a minute. "I wouldn't exactly know, to be honest. Only the priests keep track of exact days out here, and we don't have any of those. Maybe two, three weeks?"

Excelerate nodded. "Thank you." He turned to another woman in the crowd. She looked to be in her twenties, with deep brown, tangled hair and bloodshot eyes.

"Goodwife Erena, I take it? You lost your husband, the woodsman, didn't you?"

The woman looked up. She stared Excelerate directly in the eye. "Yes."

"Do you know why he went out into the forest that day?"

"Creator only knows," Elder Maxim said, thumping his cane on the ground. "We all appreciate your help, Master Hero, but these… inquiries are simply too much. You are tearing open painful memories best left to heal."

"I do know," Erena said, despite the elder's intervention. "He told me a young child had been spotted at the border of the forest and went out to find him and bring him back. He never returned."

"Do you know why he left his axe?" Kiren asked quickly. "Surely, he knew the woods were dangerous?"

"I haven't the faintest," Erena said. "I think he just forgot about it."

"Do you know who informed him of the missing child?"

"Why, Elder Maxim did."

"Is that so?" Excelerate looked to the elder and smiled. "Do you remember what you told the woodsman at that time?"

"I spotted a child wandering at the edge of the forest, but my tired old legs aren't good in the uneven terrain." He tapped his right leg with the cane. "I asked the woodsman to go and fetch the boy urgently before we lost him."

"And you asked him to leave his axe?" Excelerate asked.

Maxim shook his head. "No such thing. Like his wife says, he probably forgot to take it in his hurry. A tragic mistake."

"That's not true, is it?" came a child's voice. One of Charla's children was tugging at the goodwife's skirt. "I heard Elder say to Janos that he mustn't bring his axe. He said it would have scared the child away." The boy giggled. "I know I would have been scared if a man like that came at me with an axe."

"Shh!" Charla said. "Pell, the adults are talking."

Excelerate's smile widened. "The boy's word conflicts with yours, Maxim. Isn't that strange?"

"He must be mistaken," Maxim said firmly. "I said no such thing. I swear it on the… on the Creator." His face went pale as if he was about to be sick. "Surely, you don't believe the word of a boy over that of a man?"

"No, you're quite right."

Maxim visibly relaxed.

"But it does cast doubt over your story."

"We didn't uncover any sign of a child when we ventured out to find Jagon's body," a bearded man said. "We weren't able to stay for long—not even to bury the man—for fear of the infernal sounds coming from the forest, but we tried to call out. Nothing. No corpse, neither."

"Interesting," Excelerate said. "Maxim, you wouldn't mind if we searched your home, would you? To clear your name from any connection to these tragic happenings."

Maxim blanched. "Why, that's ridiculous! An attack on my privacy! I…"

"Kiren, Lace, go search the elder's home for me," Excelerate said. "Be thorough. Take your time."

Kiren and Lace looked at each other. She swallowed.

'I have a bad feeling about this,' he thought.