eyes.
“Yes my friends,” he says. “A demon disguised as a man. Evil are his works and through Serenna, the gods work to counter his most malign plans.” He gazes into their faces, eyes wild with a crazed look to them. “You will see for yourself,” he says. Beginning to mumble to himself, he suddenly walks forward and James has to back his horse quickly out of the way to keep the man from walking into it.
He sits there a moment and watches as the man continues down the road. “Great!” he exclaims. “What in the world is she saying about me now?”
“Looks like it’s getting pretty serious,” Illan says. “I’ve seen religious zealots before, and that man certainly acted like one. We better be careful while we’re there.”
“What is she doing?” asks Fifer. “Creating a new religion?”
“We’ll find out shortly,” he says.
“Wonder how come word of this hadn’t reached us before?” Jiron asks.
Shrugging, James says, “Who knows? Maybe she’s just recently stepped up what she’s telling people. Or maybe she’s come to believe it as well.”
“What are you going to do?” Miko asks as they resume their way north.
“I don’t know,” he replies. “But I can’t just let this whole thing fester and rot. Who knows where it might lead?” Or where it already has?
They continue on down the road and it’s well after dark when the lights from Willimet appear ahead of them. Off to the east of town, a large pavilion has been erected in which numerous people are congregating. Many fires dot the area around the pavilion where those not within can keep warm.
“What’s that?” Dave asks as they ride closer to town. “Looks like a revival meeting from back home.”
“It does, doesn’t it,” agrees James. “It’s probably where she’s preaching.”
Suddenly a great cheer and cry can be heard coming from the pavilion. “Wonder what she’s telling them now?” he hears Miko say behind him.
“Probably that I’m going to eat their souls or something,” he says.
Jiron chuckles, “Maybe.”
James turns his horse toward the pavilion, intending to go see what’s going on but Illan stops him. “I don’t think it would be such a good idea for you to go over there right now.”
“Why?” he asks.
“If you’re recognized as the person of whom she’s talking about, they’ll try to tear you apart,” he says. “Or you’ll be forced to kill them.” He pauses a moment as James digests that. Then he asks, “Do you want a bloodbath?”
“No,” he replies.
“Alright then,” Illan says. “Let’s find an inn and the rest of us will find out what’s going on and let you know while you stay out of sight in your room.”
James definitely doesn’t like the sound of the plan, but can see the wisdom in it. “Very well,” he says. Turning his horse back to the road, he leads them toward Willimet.
The first thing he notices upon reaching the outskirts of town are the many lean-tos and makeshift dwellings which have sprung up since he was here last. When they reach the outer edge of the main buildings of town, the number of makeshift dwellings decline rapidly until they disappear altogether.
The few citizens still on the street hurry along as if they’re afraid to be out after dark. “There’s a definite uneasy feeling here,” observes Jiron.
“I know,” agrees Fifer. Watching one fellow hurrying along, he sees him continuously darting nervous glances this way and that. When he notices Fifer looking at him, he stops in his tracks, then darts quickly down a side alley.
“Wonder what has them all spooked?” Dave asks.
“The answer is probably in that pavilion sitting outside of town,” replies James. “From the look of that one guy we ran into earlier, it isn’t surprising the townsfolk have grown wary.”
They come to an inn and James has everyone wait by the horses while he and Illan go inside to see about getting some rooms. He dismounts and with Illan right behind him, goes through the front door.
As he enters, a man behind the counter turns with a start, his eyes wide. When he sees them entering, his demeanor subtly relaxes and he asks, “Travelers?”
James nods and says, “Yes we are. Just passing through on our way north.”
At that, the man completely relaxes. Illan asks, “What has everyone around here so afraid?”
The man’s eyes dart around for a moment, as if he’s looking to see if anyone is listening. Waving for them to come closer, he says in a soft voice, “It’s the woman out in the big tent in the center of the pavilion outside of town. She and her followers have everyone on edge.”
“Why?” James asks. “What’s going on?”
“Before summer, she had been a simple fortune teller who gave bad advice,” he says. “Everyone knew she was a fake but as she was very nice, we didn’t say anything. One day that all changed.”
James glances to Illan as the man continues.
“As the story goes, and let me tell you it’s different depending on who tells it to you, a man came to her and asked for a reading. He was a stranger in town so didn’t realize she was a fake. What happens next no one is sure about, but the next morning her crystal ball is shattered and she has this streak of white hair where the day before it had been black.”
“She begins telling this story about how some demon showed up and tried to take his soul but that she fought him away. Now those of us who knew her didn’t believe it for an instance. I mean really? What a wild tale. But as time went on, she continued telling it and some came to believe in it. I think even after awhile she did too.”
“Up until about a month ago things were fine. She had her little following and most of us were rather amused by the whole thing. Oh sure, for a lark we would at times go and listen to her but none took her serious. Most of us still don’t.”
“What changed?” James asks.
“Things started happening,” the man says. “People who went to hear her talk all of a sudden became ardent believers. Those who became believers would entice travelers passing through to go and listen to her. Then they too, became believers. Before we knew it, she had amassed hundreds of people and one day that large pavilion and the big tent sprung up.”
“Interesting,” Illan comments.
“This city is falling apart rapidly,” he tells them. “People are afraid to be on the streets for fear of being ‘asked’ to attend one of her talks.”
“Why should that be a problem?” James asks.
“If you refuse, sometimes they go away, sometimes not,” he replies. “One man refused and a pack of her believers fell on him and beat him to a pulp right here in the center of town.”
“Didn’t the guard try to stop them?” Illan asks.
“Some were in the vicinity, but word has it they’ve been bought off by someone, maybe her. Now they patrol the streets but do nothing to stop her people if they get violent.” Leaning closer and lowering his voice even more, he says, “I’ve even heard that some who spend too much time within the tent go mad.”
“Really?” prompts Illan.
“Really!” he says. “A friend of mine became a believer and spent a week straight within her tent, listening to her talk. When he came out, he wasn’t himself and all he could talk about was her and her mission to thwart the demon that walks the land.”
James glances to Illan who nods. They both remember how that man who they encountered on the road here had acted.
“Anyway,” he says. “Stay here in the inn, maybe in your rooms and don’t go out until dawn. Her people are most active at night though can be encountered anytime.”
“Thanks for the information,” James says.
“Do you still plan on staying?” the man asks.
Nodding, James says, “We have to.”
“It’ll be three coppers per room,” the man says. “How many will you require?”
