“Well, come on, then. Best not to linger too long. They may yet find their courage and come back, although I doubt it.” She chuckled. “More likely they're changing into fresh pants.” When Josselyn continued to stare up at her without response, she let out a sigh, placing her free hand on one of her hips. “Because they had the crap scared out of them, so they need fresh pants. It's a joke.”
Josselyn shook her head as she picked herself up off the ground. She flinched as pain shot up her legs, but otherwise remained wary.
“Who are you? Why are you helping me?”
The woman smiled as she reached out to touch Josseyn's cheek, tracing the bruises that were starting to blossom there and making a tskingnoise. “I'll need to make a poultice for those before they get any worse.” She dropped her hand and moved toward the woods. “Come along, now, Princess, my home is close by, and I'm afraid the answers you seek are far too lengthy to discuss out here in the open.” She paused, looking back over her shoulder, eyebrows raised in question. “Well? Are you coming, dear?”
Josselyn glanced around the dark road, at the barricade looming before her, and Conrad's bloody corpse splayed out on the ground. Her eyes caught on the horse, standing close by, as docile as could be.
“You could ride back to Tallis, of course, if that's what you wish, although you may run into those men along the way. I won't stop you.” The woman turned back toward the woods, her staff lighting up as she stepped into the shadow of the trees. “But if you want to learn about your beast, I'd suggest you come with me. The horse will find its way back home alright.”
Josselyn stood, torn with indecision, as the woman disappeared into the trees, only the faint flicker of light from her staff still visible from the road. She did save me from those men... and she called out the beast from inside me, when even I don't know how to do that...
“Wait up, I'm coming!”
Josselyn started to follow after the light, then hesitated.Dropping down beside Conrad's body, she pulled her dagg er out of his belt and took a moment to strap it back onto her leg, before hurrying after the strange woman. She led them through the forest, moving further and further away from the road. The trees and shrubs grew thicker as they went north, and the way would have been impassable had the woman not used her staff to clear a path. Branches and briers pulled back as if by magic, allowing them to pass by before creeping back into place. Josseyln watched with wide eyes, making sure to stay close to the woman as they walked.
After a while, the woman came to a stop in front of a large boulder. She tapped the end of her staff against the rough stone and the light coming out changed to a bright blue that spread out across the rock face, illuminating a scrolling pattern that was etched across it. Josselyn watched as a small, wooden door appeared, and the woman reached out to pull it open, revealing what looked like a long, dark tunnel.
“How in the world?” Josselyn muttered, craning to look around the other side of the boulder, where there was nothing but trees and brush. She looked at the woman, who was waiting patiently beside the door. "Where does this go?”
The woman grinned, gesturing for Josselyn to enter the tunnel. “Why, it goes to my home, of course. Isn't that where I said we were going?”
Josselyn bit her lip, eyeing both the tunnel and the woman in turn. This is nuts. I must be out of my damn mind to even consider walking into a tunnel to nowhere with some kind of strange witch. I should just turn around and find the road again. Yes, that's exactly what I should do.
Squaring her shoulders, she took a deep breath and stepped past the woman and into the tunnel. The woman followed, pulling the magical door closed behind her. A pinprick of light shone at the end of the tunnel, and Josselyn focused on it, striding toward it with all the confidence she could muster. Moments later, she found herself stepping out into a small clearing, surrounded on all sides by sheer, rock walls, with a small cottage at the center.
Large, flat stones formed a path leading to the doorstep, and green vines full of ivy grew over the rough, stone walls. The back of the cottage was built into the side of a hill, so that you could walk around the house and end up on to the roof, which was covered in some kind of moss. Flowers in a rainbow of colors poked out of every crack and crevice, and a soft glow filled the clearing as the sun made its slow ascent into the sky, the night finally giving way to day.
The woman brushed past her as she stood gaping, heading straight for the cottage door. “Come in, come in,” she urged, stepping to the side as Josselyn followed her. “Let me just take care of that face of yours, then I'll get us each something cool to drink.” She gestured toward a small wooden table with two chairs sitting in what Josselyn assumed was the 'kitchen' area. The entire cottage seemed to be just one open room, with a kitchen area on one side and bedroom on the other.
“What would you like? I've got water, tea...” She paused, waggling her eyebrows at Josselyn. “Some very fine homemade wine.”
“Water would be great, thank you,” Josselyn replied, sitting down in one of the chairs by the table.
The woman bustled about, mumbling to herself as she pulled out various jars, mixing the contents together and wrapping them up in a thin cloth. Once she had finished, she opened a small door in the floor and pulled out a large jug of water. “I like my drinking water nice and cool during
