Fantasy reputations and redemption

[pluvian_penguin]

After two and a half months on the run, Yair was getting used to the new pattern his life had taken. Leave a village as soon as possible after dawn, only to stop at every other cluster of houses along the road, searching for information and a nurse for Adelina. She was... making things difficult. He didn't like to admit it, but it was true. Without her, he would have been to the right port in ten days.

I could have gotten across the sea by now, he couldn't help thinking to himself as his gelding snorted into an empty trough.

But if he'd left Adelina anywhere else, she could be dead, now. Sometimes he wondered if anyone else could see the magic in her eyes as easily as he could. Sometimes he wondered if he was seeing anything at all, or just afraid that he would, someday. A baby could show strong magic, at times, but hers was much more subtle. A stray coin floating to her hands, a flower suddenly dyed on her blanket, a poorly skilled violinist's bow snapping.

Things that Yair could almost explain away, if he wanted to. But he couldn't do that now. He had to be so much more than what he'd once been.

Fatherhood. It was a frightening prospect.

A door closed to his left, and he looked over to see the young woman he'd spoken with earlier that afternoon. He'd made a bargain, helping her father in the fields for a few hours while she watched Adelina. The baby fussed more when they travelled all day long. He didn't think he was very good at calming her.

“The inn's about ten miles up the road,” she told him, one hand holding the horse's bridle as he mounted. “Around that part of the forest.”

He glanced in the direction she nodded towards. There was a long line of trees straggling out from the main woods. Enough to block the view beyond, though not enough to hide bandits, as far as he could tell. He'd be able to get there before nightfall. Not by much, but he'd need to arrange dinner and a room.

“Thank you,” was all he said, and the moment the girl had passed the baby up to him, he turned his horse and was off.

The trees were thick enough that he went through the woods at a canter, keeping a sharp eye out for any movement, though he saw nothing than a startled rabbit. On the other side of it, the road sloped down, to a town nestled in the base of a small valley. There were a few dozen buildings sprawling out, acres of farmland surrounding the outer dozen, the rest clustered together. Even from here, he could see the glow of a smith's forge and the racks of a tannery. One building was larger than the rest, with a large yard fenced in by wooden posts. That, he guessed, would be the inn.

It was another hour and a half to get there from the woods. The sun had just begun to sink below the ridge of mountains, casting a dusky blue haze over the land below. Candles were beginning to come to life in windowsills and on tables, and mothers called their children inside among worries over wolves. Yair passed it all without a second look. Few of them seemed to pay him much mind, either.

He stopped at the inn, talking briefly with a stablehand to confirm where he was, before he had the boy lead his horse away to be cared for.

“I need a private room,” he said to the woman who greeted him inside. “And a cradle if you have it. I'll pay in gold.”

“Oh, I think we can manage,” she said brightly. “And will you be wanting dinner?”

The following conversation would have been much easier if it weren't for Adelina's decision to start wailing.

Yair could only smile tightly, hoping that the innkeeper wouldn't be too irritated with him for the disruption. She simply shrugged, and caught a young girl by the elbow, telling her to lead Yair to one of the upstairs rooms, and send dinner up after him in about half an hour.

He was able to get Adelina to calm down, after that, though still unaware of what had bothered her so much. She was far too young to be getting her teeth in, wasn't she? A woman had asked him about that a week ago, and he hadn't known how to answer her, except to say not yet.

There was a knock at the door, and another when he didn't answer immediately. Adelina fussed again when he tried to lay her down, so she stayed where she was, half-asleep on his shoulder, with her baby blanket in his other hand. Despite his full hands, he managed to get the door open. It swung more quickly than he meant to, and he caught it with his foot.

“Sorry,” he said absentmindedly, not really paying attention to the person on the other side of the door. “She's just – you know.” Well, chances were the stranger didn't know. Yair hadn't known himself until he was abruptly thrust into this responsibility.

With that, he looked up, expecting to see the girl from before, but instead...

“Who are you?” he asked, trying to keep his voice light even as his brows furrowed.

 

[crypt]

For a while now, Anzo had been tracking Yair and trailing behind him, steadily growing closer to him each time he stopped at a town to rest. He had to admit, the other man was good at covering his tracks, but Anzo had been in this line of work for a long while. He had a knack for finding people who didn't want to be found and that was precisely why he had been hired by the headmaster to find the ex-witch-hunter in the first place. From how Yair was described to him by the headmaster, he sounded like an utterly insane individual who was said to be trying to wreak havoc on the entire continent using dark magic.

In his mind, he'd be doing the world a favor by ridding it of someone so unstable. Plus, the reward he was promised for going through all of the effort and trouble gave him some extra incentive.

After a couple of hours of riding on horseback, he had finally made it to the town he was certain Yair was residing in. It seemed like a perfect place to lay low and it was one of the only decently-sized towns for miles. Logically, given where Yair had been hiding before, this would be the best place to go.

His horse had been moving at a good, galloping pace, so he preemptively pulled on the reigns to slow down as he closed in on the town. From the road, he had seen a good few buildings and many vast stretches of farmland, but he was still confident that he'd be able to track his target down. He had found people in larger towns, after all, so he didn't think this would be an issue for him in the slightest. He'd go through his usual routine, which consisted of checking all of the logical places where someone might stay, checking the more unorthodox, shadowed places, and then, if needed, he'd scout the town out thoroughly on foot.

He wouldn't stop until every corner of the town was checked and only then, when he was sure that Yair wasn't there, would he move on. It was possible that he had just simply made his way through the town, but given how late it was, Anzo didn't think so.

When he passed through the gates of the town, he set his mind to searching for an inn because that was the most obvious location. He surveyed the town on his horse for a good couple of minutes before his gaze fell on the largest building in town, which he assumed was the inn. Upon closer inspection, the sign hanging above the door confirmed his assumption.

In one fluid movement, he gracefully dismounted from his horse, leading it over to the stables by the reigns so it could be tended to. Assuming that everything went well, he wouldn't be here for long, but he still wanted his horse to be taken care of in the meantime.

With his horse now in the stables, he turned and walked up to the door to the inn, pushing it open. He strode in, his boots making deep echoes against the wooden floor as he walked. He approached one of the staff members, a woman, and stopped in front of her, taking down his hood.

He cleared his throat before speaking. "Excuse me. I'm currently looking for a friend of mine, a close friend who I'd like to visit," he said. "He told me that he'd be staying here and he should have arrived today." He lied as if it were as easy as breathing and, at this point, it practically was for him. "He's tall with black hair and brown eyes. I could also give you his name, if that'd be of more help."

"Oh, that's quite alright," she chirped, flashing a smile. "Not too long ago, one man did come in who matched that description. You're welcome to head up and strike up a conversation, see if he's the friend you're looking for. He's staying in the seventh room on the left."

He smiled, his smile deceptively kind. "Thanks for your help, that's probably him, so I'll go up."

Without further ado, he departed from the woman and walked upstairs. He headed down the hall and only stopped once he was in front of the correct door, raising his hand to knock on it. When he knocked, he heard rustling coming from inside the room, then he heard footsteps approaching. The footsteps grew closer before they stopped and once they stopped, the door swung open a brief second later. Sure enough, when the door opened, his eyes fell on a man holding an infant. He assumed that this was Yair, the man who he had been tracking, the man who he had been ordered to kill.

When he was asked who he was, he didn't answer immediately, opting to survey the other man's appearance instead; he was doing so to verify that this was who he was actually looking for. Curly black hair, not quite as dark as ink, tumbled from his head, the curls framing his face. Brown eyes stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to reply, but he still didn't, not yet. He took a few more moments to scan him from head to toe before he came to his conclusion. Appearance-wise, he was a complete match for the one he was looking for, but he didn't attack instantly since he was holding a child.

"Who am I?" Anzo echoed his question, then chuckled. Slowly, he placed a leather-clad hand on his left side, his fingers resting over something concealed beneath his coat. "Why don't you take a guess as to who I could be?"

 

[pluvian_penguin]

The man just stared a moment, which... That was a little odd, right? It wasn't just in Yair's imagination, that there could be something afoot, here? He'd become paranoid in the last few months, but he was of the firm opinion that he had every reason to be. The headmaster would kill him to keep things quiet. Or at least, Yair was pretty sure he would. After all, it wouldn't be the first time...

He shifted his weight, briefly considering the idea of just shutting the door in the man's face. But there was half a chance that he could be some other member of the inn's staff. Perhaps the inkeeper's husband, or a man they kept around to handle security. The second thought was quickly brushed aside. In a smaller town like this, there wouldn't be nearly enough trouble to warrant a man here full-time.

Then he abruptly figured out who the man was. The veiled threat made things clear enough. A hired man would only be hunting them for one reason.

“You're here for her,” Yair said, his mouth suddenly dry. He took a step back, gaze cutting to the side, where his weapons laid on a small table, next to a bag with what little supplies he had. Out of reach. Stars. It was so stupid to have put them down.

“You can't just – she's a baby.”

Would that even matter? It hadn't to the headmaster and his minions. They might have noble blood, but there was nothing of nobility about their actions.

“I'll go back with you,” he said abruptly, hoping that might be enough of a bargaining chip to give the stranger pause. “If you attack us now, you'll draw attention. All those people downstairs? You think they would let you leave if they thought you murdered a man? But if you let her go, I'll– I'll put her on a ship. She'll never come back here. And I'll go with you.”

He took another step back. Not toward the table with his sword, he wasn't stupid enough to start a fight while holding a baby. Just away. Away from the man who must want her dead.

There was no world in which Yair actually wanted to go anywhere with the stranger, but himself was the only thing he had to bargain with. Adelina knew nothing of how her life had begun. She'd never be able to say anything about the men who had nearly cost her everything.

But Yair himself was a different story. He knew so much, maybe too much. He was the one who needed to be silenced. And he could be, easily, right in this very room. Anything could happen to Adelina after that. He was the only person who cared what happened to her.

“I just don't want her hurt,” he said, hoping that something he said would have any impact. “I know what she is, she's just... She's innocent, too.”

 

[crypt]

Anzo stood in the doorway, patiently observing as realization dawned upon the other man. What Yair had to say, however, made his lips press into a thin line.

From how he spoke, Yair seemed to be under the impression that Anzo was going to hurt the infant, which wasn't his plan at all. The headmaster had only ordered him to deal with the rogue witch-hunter, there had been no mention of a baby. In all honesty, he had been extremely confused when he first opened the door because he wasn't expecting him to be holding a child.

Seeing Yair glance over to the table, where he could see his weapons laid out, caused his expression to harden. "I wouldn't try anything if I were you," He said, his voice carrying a warning. "What're you going to do? Try and fend me off with a blade in one hand and a baby in the other? While it would be brave, it would also be very stupid."

What he had to say next surprised him and did, in fact, give him pause. His eyebrows raised a fraction when he offered himself up in the hopes of keeping the child safe. He had been anticipating resistance, a fight, perhaps, but not this.

Anzo took the opportunity to step into the room when Yair stepped back once again, kicking the door closed with his boot. He pulled his long coat out of the way, revealing the two axes he kept on his person. Both axes resided in holsters under his sides and a strap and button clasp kept them in place so they wouldn't fall out when he moved. The sharp edges of the axes were covered up by a guard of sorts which ensured that he wouldn't get cut.

Casually, he reached down to his right side, unbuttoning the strap that secured the axe. He removed it from its holster and took off the guard, sliding it down into one of his pockets.

"You seem to be convinced that I'm here for her, but I'm sure you'll be relieved to hear that isn't true," He stated. "You're the one I was sent after, not her."

He then took a step forward, his fingers curled around the handle of his axe. "Now, tell me," He mused, his eyes fixed on Yair. "Why should I take you up on your offer? Why should I just let the girl go? You're quick to protect her—so determined that, after only a couple of months with her, you'd offer yourself up to keep her safe. That tells me that there's more to this, isn't there? She's important."

"After you're out of the way, nothing is stopping me from taking her to the headmaster. I'd likely get a better reward for turning her in." He continued on.

He wasn't sure what the headmaster could want with the baby, but he didn't think anything bad would happen to her. After all, the headmaster seemed trustworthy enough. Both the headmaster and the witch-hunters were seen as righteous, doing what they had to do to keep order, so why would he have any reason to doubt them?

 

[pluvian_penguin]

The stranger didn't seem too impressed at hearing that someone knew his purpose. Yair couldn't help but think that maybe he shouldn't have offered to hunt down a child, if he didn't want to be blamed for his own behaviour. Unless the headmaster had lied to him about the whole thing, but surely it would have caused questions, to hunt a child and not explain why they were wanted.

Of course his brief idea didn't go unnoticed. No, he didn't plan to do that. Not unless there was no other choice. He wasn't entirely convinced that it would be brave, but there was no question that it would be stupid. Adelina would get hurt, and then where would that leave him? Nowhere he wanted to be.

When the door closed, he flinched slightly, unable to help himself. Adelina shifted, a soft noise of protest coming from her at the sudden sound. It was doubtful that she was awake enough to realise anyone else was there.

Yair shushed her, rubbing her back until she settled with a little gurgle. If something was going to happen... It would probably be for the best, if she slept through as much as possible.

His mouth went dry when Anzo revealed the axes, and he took another step back when one was loosed, bumping backwards into the rocking chair. It creaked quietly against the floor for a few moments before settling again. He'd made enough threats to know one when he saw it. Being on the other side of the predator-prey dynamic wasn't a shift that he was very fond of. And it wasn't just that he wanted to keep his promise to Willow. He wanted to protect Adelina for her own sake. Because she was just – just a baby.

Oddly enough, it was a relief to hear that Adelina wasn't the target. His shoulders slumped a little, but it wasn't long before they tensed again.

He'd spoken too soon. Showed his hand too early. He had very little to bargain with, and he doubted that Anzo was unaware.

“She's not important to anyone but me,” he said, his voice tight. “Not for any good reason. They killed her mother, they'll kill her too. They were going to, until I – I knew they wouldn't be happy to lose her, but I hoped they wouldn't hunt her.”

Even from the beginning, he knew it was a largely futile hope. The academy didn't like any kind of failure. And the headmaster, in particular, had barely agreed to the restrictions placed on his hunts. It was an open secret, among their ranks, that he thought he should be able to do what he wanted. Yair had never stopped to wonder how much a stranger would know.

“They might not pay you a coin for her,” he said, desperately hoping he could appeal to the desire for money. “But while you're with us, I'll pay for your lodgings. Whatever they send you for expenses, you can keep it. They won't know.”

His knees felt weak under him, and he sat on the edge of the bed, wondering if there was any way out of this for her. His entire plan had hinged on getting to the port before someone caught up to him. It was an open secret that mages had many allies there. He'd hoped to find anyone that could get them across the ocean.

 

[crypt]

Surely, he had no reason to doubt the headmaster, right? Right?

Even though the headmaster seemed to be a moral individual, now that he was here with his axe in his hand, he started to question things.

Why hadn't the headmaster mentioned the baby to him? It would have been important to know that Yair was traveling with an infant in tow. The omission of such a crucial detail gnawed at him the more he thought about it—the headmaster had to have known. He had a lot to say about Yair, so it only made sense that he would have known, but there was a slim chance that he was unaware as well. The question was, if he had known, had he deliberately kept Anzo in the dark?

The possibility of him being misled made the entire situation not sit right with him. The certainty he had once felt about his task was slipping away, replaced by a quiet suspicion.

He didn't advance right away, listening to what Yair had to say. His expression remained the same, completely neutral, masking what was on his mind.

Yair could very well be lying to him, lying as a desperate last-ditch effort to try and keep the child safe, and he knew that, but his words still caused him to pause and think. Would the headmaster really have her killed, a mere infant? Based on what he had heard about the headmaster and their interaction, he didn’t believe he was the type of man who would slaughter a baby. But then again, if he had truly lied to Anzo, what other dark motivations could he be hiding? Could he even trust the information the headmaster had given him, or were his words just more deception?

Anzo had been told that Yair was a hostile, dangerous man who had been consumed by madness, but, if that were the case, why was he here offering himself up for the child's safety? Why wasn't he using the dark magic that he was allegedly in possession of to simply fight him off? He had hunted plenty of people in his time—liars, traitors, men who would have done anything to save their own skin, but this felt different. Yair's words weren't the desperate rambling of a man trying to save himself. No, he was concerned solely with making sure no harm would come to the girl.

Yair’s offer of money and lodgings was all he had to give and Anzo assumed as much. The reward he had been promised by the headmaster was a hefty sum, an amount that he doubted the other man could outdo, but given the recent developments, the reward now seemed a little less... rewarding.

He exhaled deeply through his nose, shaking his head. "All of it doesn't add up," he muttered under his breath, his fingers flexing around the handle of the axe. His gaze flickered between Yair and the child that he held in his arms. "I was told that you were insane, even violent, but here you are, bargaining away your life without putting up any fight."

His grip on his axe loosened, though only slightly. "No one told me about a baby, but they had plenty to say about you."

 

[pluvian_penguin]

The fact that he was still alive gave him some hope. He had no idea who he was dealing with, but apparently this stranger wasn't completely violent. Yair very much hoped that he could find a way to turn the situation to his favour.

And evidently, there was some doubt as to his nature. Sounded like the headmaster had lied about more than Yair realised. But maybe that could be a good thing, too. Maybe he could use that to turn Anzo to his side.

“That's not what I am,” Yair said quietly, not sure that it would make any difference. “I...” He wasn't sure. He wasn't sure what he'd been for the last twenty years. For so long, he thought he was keeping people safe. Defending them from the witches who were, well, insane and violent.

Maybe he only saw the worst of the witches, but maybe he should have looked harder, too. Did that make him partly responsible for everything that had happened since? Add it to the last of things that he was worried about. Things he didn't want to have to explain to Adelina, someday. If he still knew her. If this bounty hunter didn't turn him in. For all he knew, he could be dead in another month.

But right now, he was trying to think of one problem at a time. Focus. Clear your mind. Solve the problem. Then look for the next thing to solve. That was what the academy had taught him.

“Do you think they would have made me a captain if I was an insane murderer?” he asked, a touch of dry sarcasm in his voice. “They knew who I was. They made me. Trusted me. Until I did something they didn't like.” He'd never expected them to treat him like that. He'd been one of the best. He'd clung to the idea that that made him special.

Now he just had more and more problems.

“We heard about a witch hexing crops to fail a harvest. She was angry that we accused her. She killed three of my men. We took her back to the academy to stand trial and be executed in accordance with the law. That's where Adelina was born. Her mother was sentenced to death for being a witch and a murderess. They said she had bad blood. They said it would save lives to kill her child before it could hurt anyone.

“So I took her.” He shrugged, and looked down at her for a moment, thumb rubbing across the back of her shoulder. He looked up at Anzo, trying to find any hint of what he was thinking. “I'm not dangerous to anyone. And I'm not a child-killer. Maybe they think that makes me dangerous to them, to the things they believe. My intention was just to leave. Find another kingdom where no one would want to hurt her.”

It wasn't exactly a good plan, but he'd been making it up as he went, and he was pretty sure he could have done worse. He'd made it this far, at any rate. And if he could just get another few weeks... well, he'd make it work.

 

[crypt]

While the orders he had been given were as clear as crystal, Anzo wasn't about to follow them blindly, especially after discovering that he had possibly been lied to. The headmaster had failed to give him the full picture, so he'd have to piece things together himself and come to his own conclusion on the situation. It was still bothering him that important details had been left out, but he tamped down his annoyance so he could focus on what was going on in the moment.

He may have been a mercenary, but he didn't rush into things, nor did he kill without a good cause. He had to make sure there was a reason for his target to die and, when it came to the people he pursued, they had to have done something egregiously horrible for him to come after them.

He had gone after all types of awful people, but from what he was gathering, Yair didn't appear to be that bad. If what he was to be believed, that is.

"They said you had gone off the rails and lost your mind after an assignment gone sideways," he said, tapping his fingers on the handle of his axe as he spoke. "I wouldn't think they'd make you a captain if you were completely crazy, no."

To him, Yair's story about the witch seemed believable. He had been watching him as he recounted what had happened and he hadn't seen any nervous tick or tell that would give away that he was lying. No stuttering, no changes in his breathing, no nothing. Then again, he had been a witch-hunter, so it was hard to tell if he had undergone any training to mask such things. He knew the basics about witch-hunters, but not enough for him to know for certain if Yair had. Because of that, he was still slightly apprehensive of believing him.

"Your story seems sound. That wasn't a story that could be made up on the spot, especially in a situation like this." He released a sigh and looked down at his axe as if debating something. "With that being said, I'm still not sure if I should believe you."

More than anything, he was looking for another good, concrete reason or fact to change his mind and make him lower his weapon. There was a high chance he had been lied to already by the headmaster and he didn't want to fall for another lie.

"You do realize that if I let you live, they'll just send more people after you, right? People like me or people who are worse," he continued. "The headmaster seemed dead-set on getting rid of you so I doubt that he'll leave you alone. If you're trying to get her someplace safe, the rest of your trip won't be easy, I can assure you that."

In all honesty, he wasn't sure what would happen if he returned to the headmaster without carrying out the order to kill Yair. If Yair's words were true, he doubted the headmaster would be pleased to hear that he had failed to complete his task.

 

[pluvian_penguin]

Though the mercenary wasn't very responsive, he expressed some agreement with Yair. A good sign, wasn't it? If he just wanted to kill Adelina and get paid for it, then Yair wouldn't still have the chance to talk with him. Instead, there was a conversation happening. Even if it didn't feel like he really had a chance to get out of this, he kept talking, explaining what had happened, and the threat that Adelina had faced.

It was a surprise that Anzo didn't dismiss him out of hand, but after all, he wasn't crazy. He knew what he was talking about. What the headmaster had said, well, that was a mystery. He wasn't sure if he should ask or let it stay a mystery.

Sure, it was probably important. But if Yair only managed to get Adelina free at the cost of his own life – would it really matter what specific wording would bring him to the altar of cruelty? He'd bleed upon it, either way.

“I was never much good at lying,” he admitted. That part, at least, was true. He'd never been chosen as lookout for teenage misdemeanours, like stealing sweetbread from the kitchen or planting a frog in an instructor's desk. He was of better use when he could help in a more hands-on way. And while there was certainly no reason for him to be believed in the current situation, he wasn't going to say that, and possibly bring himself under further scrutiny. Anzo was... well, not quite extending an olive branch, but he also wasn't trying to kill anyone.

I probably wouldn't believe me either, if I was in your place.

Nothing could have made him said those words out loud, but they were true, all the same. He couldn't lie well, but that didn't make him naive. Over the years, he'd developed something of a suspicious nature. Mages never admitted to being mages. Murderers never admitted to being murderers.

He'd been raised to believe that he had to be on his guard at all times. A moment of weakness, of acceptance, and a mage could slip past him and wreak destruction on innocent people. That was what had happened twenty-five years ago, if the headmaster was to be believed. And Yair had believed him, until very recently.

A wry smile lifted one corner of his mouth before his expression turned serious again.

“I know,” he agreed. “The headmaster will keep chasing me until he finds me, or someone else makes me stop.” He assumed it would be the former. “She's in more danger than I am. Killing a witch is more agreeable to the population than killing a human.” There was a slightly different lilt to his voice as he said the last, a bit of disdain slipping into his tone. It was the same exact words that he'd heard repeated from instructors and students and peers.

“If I get her away from this kingdom, they'll never find her. An orphan child, taken in by someone who will give her a name in their own language, raise her as their own daughter?” A real smile crossed his lips for the barest of moments, something like hope. “She'll be free. I may not live to see it, but I can believe it all the same.”

But belief would only get him so far. He stretched his legs out in front of him and sighed, eyeing Anzo's axe for a moment before his gaze returned to the man's face.

He'd spent so much of his life thinking he was doing the right thing, only for it to all fall out from under him like a poorly built bridge. Now what was he supposed to do? Save Adelina, that was clear. Something would come after that, though. Whether pleasure or pain, he had no way of knowing. He had little intention to hope, either, not for himself. Just for her.

“Whatever else you want to know,” he said quietly, “I can tell you. I doubt it'll match the words of the headmaster, but the truth can be a complicated thing. Besides,” he added, risking a more targeted opinion, “he had every reason to lie to you, to make you do what he wanted. I have little of that power, and none of his influence.”