Chapter 5: The Fishmonger and the Merchant (cont.)

As the realization dawned upon the merchant and the crowd, a collective gasp swept through the air, mingling with the heavy silence that followed. The merchant's face contorted with a mix of horror and fury, his eyes ablaze with righteous indignation.

"What did my mother eat?" the merchant implored, his voice trembling with fear, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Hadriah's heart sank as she recounted the sale of the mushrooms. Sadah, unaware of the dire consequences of his actions, answered truthfully, his innocence evident in his voice. "I sold her mushrooms, sir," he replied, his tone tinged with confusion.

The merchant's face paled, his hands trembling with dread. "Oh gods, no. Did you feed my mother poison?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper, his worst fears threatening to consume him.

Sadah, still unaware of the gravity of the situation, smiled innocently. "Oh no. It was just Button Mushrooms. My mother just had some, you see. She is fine," he reassured, his words failing to quell the rising tide of panic.

"Show me," the merchant's son demanded, his voice laced with urgency and desperation.

Leading them back to their little hut, Hadriah showed the gathering crowd the half eaten mushroom pie. There was so little mushroom in it that all the merchants could see was a single mushroom peeking from inside the pie.

“YOU FOOL!” The merchant’s son roared, his voice echoing through the air like a thunderclap. “You’ve killed my mother with your ignorance!”

With each word, he unleashed a flurry of punches upon Sadah’s defenseless form, his blows fueled by a primal need for vengeance. “Those are Destroying Angels! They are toxic! They look exactly like Button Mushrooms but they are poisonous!

In that moment, the weight of Sadah's innocence bore heavy upon his shoulders, his soul burdened by the unintended consequences of his actions. And as he gazed upon the anguish of the man before him, he knew that the repercussions of his folly would echo far beyond the confines of the village square.

However, more than that, he was worried about his mother. Throwing her a worried glance, he stammered, “but…but those were Button Mushrooms, were they not?”

Caught in the grip of mob mentality, the crowd surged forward, their faces twisted in a grotesque mask of hatred and hysteria.

They encircled Sadah like a pack of hungry wolves, "Poisoner! Monster! Murderer!" they shouted with a cacophony of hatred that reverberated through the air like a death knell.

Stones and sticks pelted Sadah relentlessly, each blow landing with the force of unbridled hatred. He could feel the weight of their anger bearing down on him, crushing him beneath its relentless onslaught. Blood oozed from gashes and bruises, mingling with the dirt and grime that coated his broken body as he lay sprawled on the unforgiving ground.

Overwhelmed by the onslaught, the poor boy curled into a ball on the ground, his frail body convulsing with pain.

“Wretched soul!” The mob's voices rose to a deafening crescendo, their cries dripping with venomous rage. “May the gates of hell open and swallow you whole!” Each word was like a dagger to Sadah's kind heart.

Through tear-streaked eyes, Sadah caught sight of his mother, Aveline, her face twisted in a mask of anguish as she fought her way through the frenzied crowd. "Stop! Please, stop!" she pleaded, her voice a desperate cry.

The seconds turned to minutes, which seemed to never end. Unable to bear witness to her son’s suffering, Hadriah threw herself into the fray. Desperate to protect her only child, her own body became a target for their wrath.

But her efforts were in vain. The mob, consumed by bloodlust, showed no mercy as they continued their brutal assault. They beat mother and son mercilessly, their rage unchecked and their hearts hardened by time and tragedy. Their retaliation to all the years of suffering was unleashed in those few moments.

The sound of Aveline’s screams tore through Sadah's soul, each cry a symphony of pain and despair that echoed in the depths of his being. "Mother!" he cried out, his voice hoarse with agony. His words were lost in the chaos, swallowed by the tide of violence that threatened to consume them both.

The villagers and merchants took it upon themselves to kick and punch them repeatedly with all manner of objects. And as the blows rained down upon them, mother and son became indistinguishable amidst the frenzy, their bodies entwined in a macabre dance of suffering.

Through the haze of agony, Sadah clung to a single, flickering ember of defiance. Though battered and broken, he refused to surrender to the darkness that threatened to engulf him. "I didn’t know. I meant no harm," he whispered, his voice a defiant declaration against the cruelty of fate.

Amidst the swirling chaos and brutal fervor of the enraged mob, a sudden commotion erupted, shattering the tense atmosphere of the bustling market square. The familiar clang of metal against stone reverberated through the air as the scales, once securely tucked within Sadah's bag, slipped from his grasp and clattered to the ground. Amidst the chaos, a child, oblivious to the violence unfurling around her, seized the fallen scale with gleeful curiosity, her innocent laughter piercing through the cacophony of anger and fear.

"Look at this funny scale!" the child exclaimed, her nimble fingers deftly balancing a single stone on one side, achieving an improbable equilibrium that defied logic. Distracted by the child's innocent amusement, the villagers, momentarily drawn away from the frenzy, converged around the fallen scales, their murmurs of disbelief echoing like whispers in the wind.

"Are the scales broken?" someone gasped, their voice thick with disbelief and suspicion.

With trembling hands, Aveline, Sadah's mother, pushed through the throng, her heart pounding with a mixture of dread and anticipation. Yet, as she reached out to retrieve the scale from the child, a sudden jolt of searing pain shot through her body, causing her to recoil and collapse to the ground in agony. The poisoned merchant's son, his curiosity piqued by the unfolding scene, swiftly picked up the fallen scale, his keen eyes scrutinizing its intricate details.

With a deft hand, he began to dismantle the device, prying apart its components with a mix of fascination and trepidation. And as the hidden mechanism was laid bare, revealing its clandestine purpose, a collective gasp rippled through the crowd, the weight of revelation hanging heavy in the air like a shroud of uncertainty.

Aveline's heart sank as the truth became painfully clear, her mind reeling with the implications of the discovery.

In the tense and silent aftermath, time seemed to slow to a crawl as the merchant and his entourage, their faces contorted with a mix of shock and indignation, scrutinized the broken scales with newfound scrutiny.

It was a device designed to tip the scales in Aveline's favor, a secret that had remained hidden in plain sight until now, casting a shadow of doubt over the integrity of the village's once-cherished marketplace.

Gasps of outrage filled the air as the truth came to light, accusations of deception and fraud echoing through the market square. "She's been cheating us all along," someone cried, their voice dripping with scorn.

"It's her fault! She raised her child to be a ruffian," the villagers whispered amongst themselves, their voices thick with condemnation.

And in their eyes, Sadah became not just a victim of circumstance, but a malevolent force intent on wreaking havoc upon their peaceful existence. "Evil heart," they spat, their words a venomous indictment of his very being.

As the weight of their judgment bore down upon them, Aveline and Sadah found themselves cast out from the community they had once called home. With each accusatory glare and whispered accusation, their bonds to the village frayed like delicate threads unraveling in the wind.

Yet, the full extent of their punishment was yet to be unveiled.