11 Talmot

Things were going much smoother than Talmot had anticipated since his previous altercation with the witch Cora. After she had sent him sprawling in the road, Talmot had returned to his small contingent of men seething. Ready to kill the woman regardless of his orders, he knew not to display anger outwardly in front of his men. After taking a few steadying breathes and regaining his composure, the general directed them to move with the mission as planned.

He had longed to see the look of shock on the old bats face when his men rode not onto her farm, but past it, towards the town. When he arrived at the farm, Talmot was pleasantly surprised to find Cora Delvine, head witch of the Conventicle, unconscious at her back door. The situation would have been much messier if Lorna had needed to use blood magic to subdue the older woman. Incapacitating the farmhand was of no consequence.

The young man was strong but had no fighting experience beyond schoolyard scuffles. Despite the gray starting to spread at the general's temples, Talmot was not surprised when he made quick work of forcing the boy to speak. Unfortunately, the farmhand did not know Caroline Delvine's whereabouts other than he had seen her earlier that morning.

The subsequent interrogation had gone much as he expected. The general rose from the three-legged stool after persuading the witch to divulge her granddaughter's whereabouts and instructed lieutenant Gareth to remove her binds. The young man nodded, appearing much timider since leaving the boat. Talmot almost wished Lorna had killed the farmhand. The lieutenant would need to see a corpse sooner or later and best to get the retching out of the way now.

"Ms. Delvine, please impart to us the location of the girl." Talmot loomed over the woman who looked both heartbroken and furious. He would more be inclined to sympathy if her kind wasn't a crime against nature. Lorna's 'detachment' left the old woman on less than even footing with the general, and he immensely enjoyed his new power over her.

"It is as I said to you before, I do not know where Caroline has gone." Cora remained seated, rubbing her hands together, returning blood flow to the appendages. Talmot looked to Lorna, who gave him a slow nod to indicate the truth was being spoken to him.

"What is it you do know? Or does Lorna need to extract the bones from the farmboy's body one at a time?" he said, gesturing to the young man lying unconscious on the floor of the barn. A cow groaned from its stall. Talmot hated animals; stinking creatures only meant for human consumption. Lorna, most vital of all the witches he brought on their journey, looked out of place in such a mundane setting. She looked more suited to The Gilded Feather. The upscale whorehouse Talmot frequented when he had the coin.

Cora shuddered at the threat, "I sent her away-through a stitch."

Talmot didn't know the meaning of the magical term, but another nod from Lorna indicated she understood.

"Where?" Lorna interjected.

"The orchard." was all Cora replied, not looking at the white-robed witch. The disdain between the two was palpable.

"I can track her from there," Lorna told Talmot. That was all he needed to know. He spread his arms in front of him, gesturing for the party to leave, grateful they would be leaving the stench.

"You wouldn't begrudge an old woman her walking stick, would you?" Cora reached down for the wooden cane he had kicked away earlier.

"Fine, take the cane." Talmot was growing impatient.

Cora hobbled to the door leading the small party out of the barn with Lorna following closely behind. Talmot would deal with the farmboy later; his unconscious form still splayed upon the ground. Leaving the barn, they were met with bright sunlight and the smells of spring. Talmot breathed it in and almost coughed. He preferred the city with it's continually changing sights and sounds, but anything was better than where they had just been.

Upon reaching the apple orchard, Cora slowed her pace even further, a feat he thought impossible. He would almost think she was stalling, but to what end? Wordlessly the old woman lifted her cane, pointing to a tree that looked no different than any other in the field. He nodded to Lorna, who moved closer to the tree with her eyes closed, red hair billowing out in the breeze, and hands outstretched open before her.

Talmot began to feel almost as vile as he had back on the boat, too much magic in one day for him to stomach. He imagined himself in the Gilded Feather with a cold mug of ale, to distract his mind from impending nausea.

Before his daydream could progress any further, his eyes opened to the sight of the very air before him split into a wide opening. An audible gasp escaped from lieutenant Gareth behind him. Through the hole, he could see a lush forest and a completely different dirt road than the one he had traveled upon earlier that day. The sight would almost be amazing if it were not so...unnatural.

Lorna turned back to him, her hands still raised. "She went through here."

Talmot knew what he must do. His orders were specific-retrieve the granddaughter of Cora Delvine at any cost and brought her back alive.

"Lieutenant, catch up to men in town and tell them Lorna and I will meet them back at the ship." Talmot gestured for the boy to leave. He started to move towards Lorna, apprehension filling his gut. He inhaled a deep breath, bracing for his step into the gods only knew where. He attempted to lift his foot but found that it was tethered to the ground, the root of the apple grown over his boot. Shock, then anger exploded within him.

Talmot turned to curse the old woman but only caught a glimpse of her skirt before she disappeared into the forest beyond. She had moved so quickly that not even Lorna had registered that the old crone had slipped through, her eyes still closed, focusing on the spell. He watched on, feet still firmly in place, as the red-haired witch realized their prisoner was escaping and attempted to close the gap.

"Come on, lad!" he heard Cora yell as she grabbed Lieutenant Gareth's sleeve and yanked the boy through. Too scared or surprised to argue, the sandy-haired soldier fell in after her. She pointed the cane at Lorna and sent the woman flying backward in a heap behind Talmot, much the same as she had done to him earlier.

Rage filled him, heat flushing his cheeks. "Stop them! Now!" he bellowed at the younger witch. Before Lorna could regain her composure, the hole in the air closed with a snap leaving the two alone in the orchard. Cora Delvine had escaped with his lieutenant.

"Can you open it up again?!" Talmot seethed, his face turning as red as the woman's hair.

"Y-yes." she stammered, "But the old bitch has done something-some spell, I don't know." Lorna spat in frustration. She held up her hands to weave a spell of her own. "It will take me some time to open it again. I've never seen anything like this."

His boot still firmly entrenched in the earth, Talmot slammed his fists on the ground in frustration. The situation was not going as he had anticipated. Not at all.