The next morning, Scott awoke in a cheery mood, and although he had slept well, he ended up eating more food than I'd ever seen him eat for breakfast. Guess he was hungry? Well, he did spew everything on the train, so it makes sense. Elysif and I joined him for breakfast, but ours were a simple plate of bread with cheese and a single sausage. Once we had all eaten, Scott had the innkeeper extend our stay, and we headed off to explore the town.
We wandered a little way into the classic cottage-style town. Most of the buildings shared the inn’s style of having cobbled stone for the base, with plaster walls and wood supports. The rest of the buildings were similar to London’s grey brick ones. All of the larger streets were a mix of cobblestone and dirt, while most of the other roads were dirt paths. To the east and west were lush green fields, with herds of sheep and cows grazing peacefully in the grass with the fresh morning dew. Beyond the town's fields, to the east, was the forest that the Willowisps were suspected to be coming from. Everything looked peaceful. Even with the rumor of a monster, and the fact that it was starting to get chilly from the September air, the townspeople were bustling around the town. As far as I could tell, there was no danger here. The people were happy, and children ran along playing happily without any kind of guidance. It was a nice town.
“So, Scott?” I started. There was still a bit of curiosity with Scott’s family situation, because I’m just a nosey little shit, but I also wanted to understand what was going on. He seemed to not be bothered by questions like this, so it shouldn’t be wrong to ask.
“So, what?” he replied, inquisitive.
“Your friend, Compton. Why did it seem like you two were having a spat? Elysif said that he and you were raised together, so I would assume that you two would get along,” I asked, putting together the little bit of knowledge I had.
“Is that what it seemed like to you? That we were having a spat?” he asked rhetorically, before letting out a sigh. “He might be my longest known living friend. In fact, I would say he’s more like a brother. He is one of the few traveling agents of the Table that takes on jobs all over the world, and it’s usually top secret, so I rarely get to see him. When I do, though, I like to mess with him, and he does the same. It’s just the way that we bond,” Scott explained as if he were reminiscing about the past. He even seemed happy about my misunderstanding for reasons I didn’t comprehend.
“I did find it strange to see Uncle Compton without him sending a letter first,” Elysif said, joining in on the conversation.
“He has been busy with a mission recently and couldn’t stay long, so he didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. Compton did come to visit us before Mama Louise’s party, though. I was going to introduce Lou to him, but we were busy, and he couldn’t stay for long. I was going to introduce you yesterday, but you both disappeared and I… forgot,” Scott said, as he realized that he had never introduced me. Anyone could tell that he was regretting that.
“Did he tell you what his secret mission was?” I asked.
“No, and I was just giving him a hard time. Of course Ten would tell Arbus the details of the mission. Arbus and Mary have archived everything since the time of the Knights of the Templar,” Scott said.
“I didn’t know the Table was affiliated with the Knight’s of the Templar!” Elysif said, surprised.
“We were the Knight’s of the Templar,” Scott replied in his usual crass, smartass tone.
“What!” we both exclaimed in shock. I didn’t know all of my history, but that didn’t add up for some reason.
“Yep, after the Knights of the Round Table disbanded, we changed names for a bit and ended up becoming the Knights of the Templar. Though, after the first crusade, Mordred decided that they had strayed from their mission, and left the Church with a bunch of the knights. After that, we were scattered all over the world as traitors that fought monsters as aimless wanderers. The Table couldn’t keep the peace that way, so Mordred gathered as many remnants of the order and started over in the early fifteen-hundreds. We were unnamed for a while, until we decided to go with the title of Table in the mid-seventeen-hundreds,” Scott explained. It sounded like a proper history lesson, so we took the explanation as is.
“So, what do we need to do in town?” I asked, as no one had told me what we were supposed to be doing yet.
“We need to talk to the people of Haringey about the Willowisps without mentioning monsters or the supernatural. People start to think you’re crazy if you do, because we do a pretty good job and make sure the general populace isn’t aware of their existence… with a lot of exceptions,” he answered as if he knew from experience.
“So, basically, what you’re saying is that we need to ask if anything strange has happened recently?” Elysif summarized.
“Exactly,” Scott said.
“Should we split up?” I asked. It did seem like the best option for covering more ground, but I still wasn’t sure if it was safe with Willowisps being at large.
“That might be for the best. We could meet back at the inn at sundown,” Elysif said.
“I agree,” Scott said. Scott took the south, Elysif took the north, and I took East. Since Scott was headed south back towards the inn, I can only assume he was going to drink and sleep rather than doing his job, but I’ll wait until later to deal with that. Despite everything, Scott gave me a job and a home, so I owed it to him to try and do my job at the very least.
Without much to go on, I the nearest shop-looking building and took a look inside. It was an old bakery. There were stacks of bread on the shelves and even more on trays behind. In the back was a large metal oven that was heated by a wood flame, and a woman stood bent over beside the stove and threw a few logs in. She was a stout woman with her hair tied up under a bonnet and an apron that draped over the front of her dress. Her face was sweaty and covered in a mix of flour and spices that she was blissfully unaware of.
She didn’t seem surprised to see me enter, but came over to greet me nonetheless. “What do ya want?” she asked in a thick Scottish accent. “Are you the new delivery boy?” she continued.
“No, miss. I am just visiting and wanted to ask you some questions,” I replied as considerately and respectfully as possible. She thought for a moment, clicking her lips before finally speaking.
“You can ask me a question if you buy a loaf of bread,” she stated with a smug scowl.
Reaching into my pocket, I handed her a penny from my pocket and she unenthusiastically gave me a loaf of bread. “So what do ya want to ask?” she said in the same thick Scottish accent.
I looked her up and down before finally asking my question. “Have you noticed anything strange around here or in the woods?”
“No,” she said without even giving herself a second to think.
“What about—” I started to ask, but she interrupted me.
“Another question, another loaf of bread. Pay up before ya ask,” she stated.
I couldn’t think of anything else to combat her greedy nature. I needed answers, but I wanted to leave and find someone else to give me some clues. I was just glad she wasn’t speaking Cockney. “Fine, here you go,” I said reluctantly, handing her another penny. She then handed me another loaf of bread and stood cross-armed, waiting for my question.
“Has anyone around her gone missing recently?” I asked, trying not to say anything about the fact that it was probably a waste of money.
“No, not at all. Rubin protects us from wolves and other such things around here,” she said as if I were daft. Who is this Rubin guy? A cult leader or something? I handed her a penny once more and, with a smile, she handed me another loaf of bread.
“Who is Rubin?” I asked.
“Rubin is’n older gent who protects us from wolves and other such things, he also has his things help us in the fields. We tried to pay him, but he refused, so we give him groceries instead,” she said as if she were a schoolgirl talking about her crush. It was weird and made me feel just as disturbed as that time Iscariot flirted with Mama Louise, if not more so. Handing her another penny, she handed me another loaf. Though it looked like I was running out of pennies.
“And where can I find—” I started to ask before a very loud “thunk” sound echoed behind me. I turned around to see a very tall man in an equally long coat laying on his back in front of the bakery door. He had to have been at least two and a half meters tall. “Are you okay?” I asked the man.
The man sat up in response to my question and looked me in the eyes. For a second, I could have sworn his face was a skull, but when I blinked, I saw he had the blandest face I have ever seen. If the most common stock photo was made human, his face would be it. Maybe the skull was just my imagination? Without a word, he stood back up and walked right into the headboard again. Like before, he fell back on his ass. Did he have a concussion? I felt like I should be stifling a laugh, but instead I was just bewildered.
Before I could react, the baker suddenly ran out the door with a bag full of bread and pastries. “Don’t worry about comin' inside, dear. You’ll hurt yourself,” she said to the man in a much sweeter voice than when she was just speaking to me.
“My master thanks you,” the tall man said to the baker woman in a dark, cold accent; and without another word, he stood up and marched off.
“Who was that?” I asked the lady as she stepped back inside. She held out her hand and gestured with an expectant nod that she was waiting. I reached into my pocket and gave her the last of my pennies. Greedy little shit. Satisfied, she pranced back behind the counter to retrieve another loaf for my stack.
“That was one of Rubin’s creatures. They look like us, but they sure don’t act like it, though,” she replied.
“Thank you for the info… and the bread,” I said, taking the bread and heading out the door. Once I was outside, I looked around for the tall man, but saw no trace of him. You would think a guy as tall as he would be easier to find... Nonetheless, I headed in the direction I saw him going.
Passing a few buildings, I saw Elysif squatting behind a bush, looking down the next road. “What are you doing?” I asked, as I came up behind her. She jumped up and turned towards me with a yelp.
“Jesus Christ! Don’t scare me like that,” she said in a slight panic.
“Okay, but what are you doing?” I asked again, ignoring her tense nature.
“I was watching this very sketchy tall man and… why do you have several loaves of bread?” she asked, as her attention was turned to my armful of grain, giving me a cockeyed stare.
“I’ll tell you later. You want one?” I asked before extending a loaf out to her.
“Sure…” she answered with an unsure look, taking a loaf from me.
“This tall guy wouldn’t happen to be carrying a bag filled with pastries, would he?” I asked.
“Well, he wasn’t carrying a bag of any kind but he did slam his head into the doorway of that building,” she said, pointing at the building across from us.
“And that’s what made you suspicious of him?” I asked, cocking my eyebrow. I mean, I did the same thing, but I just thought he was stupid at first.
“Of course not. I thought it was strange, yes, but when I looked at him I could have sworn his head was a skull. No face or anything,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“The same thing happened to me a few minutes ago with a similar person, or it could be the same one. I was following him, but I lost sight of him before seeing you,” I replied.
“So it wasn’t just my imagination? Thank goodness,” she said, before taking a bite out of the loaf of bread.
“Yeah, well it doesn’t matter now. I don’t see him anywhere,” I said, as I looked around the area. There was nothing except for the few locals who were silently judging us from afar for squatting in a bush.
“Shit,” Elysif suddenly said in alarm and disgust.
“I know, that was a good lead,” I said disappointed, not understanding Elysif’s reaction.
“No, this bread is shit,” she said before looking at it to see if there was anything noticeably wrong with it.
“Oh!” I said before taking a bite out of it for myself. Dear God, she was right. It tasted like ash and sawdust cooked with salt and a dash of sugar, so I rapidly spit it on the ground. Though I stopped as soon as I realized that we still may have a lead. “Hey, do you have a few pennies on you?” She gave me a strange look.
“Of course I do,” Elysif replied with a confused expression.
“Good,” I said, without giving any hint to relieve her confusion. Leading Elysif to the bakery I just came from, we used her money to buy more bread and questions. She wasn’t very happy, but didn’t argue with me about it, so I assume she trusts me.
“Do you know where we can find this Rubin fellow?” I asked with Elysif’s penny.
She rubbed her chin for a moment before answering. “He lives in the forest. No one knows where, but don’t go a causin' trouble near his home. He may be a kind soul, but his creatures are meant to protect, and that means if ya mean him harm, they will protect 'em with a vengeance,” she warned.
“Fair enough,” Elysif replied, before strolling out the bakery door. Hearing the baker's answer, I couldn’t help but look at Elysif like she was insane as I followed behind her. That was a fair warning, and I don’t want to die.
“Do you want to head back to the inn?” Elysif asked, noticing my anxiety.
“Yes, but what do we do with all this bread?” I asked as I held up the armful of loaves in my arms.
“We could eat it, give it to someone on the street, or have Scott eat it,” she answered jokingly.
“I think Scott could eat anything without an issue,” I joked back.
“Well… there was a time when he wouldn’t eat at all because he would just hack it up,” she said, solemnly.
“When was this?” I asked with a bit of concern, as I had never heard of this.
“Right after his wife was killed. He couldn’t stomach what he did and the pain of loss made it worse. Silva was a good friend of mine, and even saved me. What happened to Scott as a result, she would have never wanted,” she said with a hurt expression.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be, I was the one who brought it up. Just don’t mention it to Scott, he is trying to stay sober in preparation for our fight against the Willowisps, and so he might be more emotional,” Elysif explained apologetically.
We were nearly back at the inn, but what she said about him being sober in preparation for battle made me wonder. Did he drink because he was depressed or was it something else?
“So, Elysif, why does Scott drink so much? I understand if it’s related to his wife, but I feel like it’s also something else,” I asked.
“It is something else, but I don’t think I’m the one who should be telling you. Ask him yourself if you want to know,” she said with a tired expression.
“That would be too embarrassing to ask out of the blue with him. He isn’t exactly the type to just tell us something if we ask,”
“Fair enough,” she said, still refusing to let me in on why he drinks.
“He can tell me when he feels like it, but I think I would have an easier time accepting his drunk nature if I knew. For now, I’m fine with it, since you and Iscariot are fine with it,” I said.
“You know... when you say stuff like that you sound like a mature adult instead of your usual self,” Elysif said with a condescending and snarky smile.
“I am more mature than you. Wait, what do I sound like normally?” I asked, slightly offended by her snarky remark.
“Like hell you’re more mature than me!” she stated angrily. Without missing a beat, Elysif changed her tone to that of a more joking one. “I am a refined woman of society, and a doctor.” This caused us both to chuckle. After she said this, a quick look around showed that we had passed the inn without realizing it, and were about two buildings away.
“I think we missed the inn? Let’s turn around,” I said, bringing her attention to where we were. Upon noticing that I was right, she punched me in the arm lightly.
“Stop distracting me,” she replied, before turning around and marching back towards the inn.
When we got to the front of the inn, I opened the door for Elysif, nearly dropping my armful of bread in the process. As she entered, I gave a respectful bow before saying, “After you. A refined woman of society like yourself should be doted upon, yes?”
She gave me an exasperated look, knowing that I was only giving her crap for what she said a moment ago. “Shut up, you ass,” she replied, before storming inside with a huff. We had only been gone two and a half hours, but we might have gotten some good leads as to where we needed to go. Because we were back so early, we were planning on waiting for Scott to come back, but we didn’t have to wait. Scott was already there, sitting at a table with his feet up and a mug in hand.
“Hey, Scott, you look busy,” I sneered in annoyance, as Elysif and I stormed towards his table. We couldn’t help but feel offended by his laziness.
“Oh… bugger,” he said in a slight panic, as he looked up at us and put his feet down. “I was waiting for you to return, I found some leads.”
“We also found some leads,” Elysif replied, ignoring his obvious lie.
“Oh, really. What are they?” he asked.
“You first,” I said. He looked at me as if I had just betrayed him. Though he just let out an accepting sigh before speaking.
“Fine, the innkeeper who is currently preparing my lunch has been telling me about some very tall men that aren’t actually human. They come into town once a week for groceries and other supplies at the behest of their master. The townspeople don’t charge for any of it since these creatures are protecting the town from wolves and anything else that might be around. Some even said that they also help with farmwork in the spring and fall. A few of the townsfolk even attempted to pay the creature's master, but he refused and only asked for supplies,” Scott answered. I guess he wasn’t lying, after all. Elysif was happy with that answer, so she sat down at the table next to Scott. Having been looking around for the past two and a half hours, I wanted to sit as well, so I did, across from Elysif.
“That sounds similar to what we learned, but we believe that these tall men are actually the Willowisps in disguise. We both saw one and also saw its bone face,” Elysif replied.
“Well, that’s interesting. I had a feeling that was the case, but Willowisps are known to be incredibly dangerous. Maybe their master is just good enough at controlling them? Though that would require a serious amount of strength and focus. I wouldn’t be surprised if he lost control of a few of them and that is what attacked a few of our supernatural associates,” Scott pondered aloud. As he did, Scott swirled the drink in his hand, gazing into the foaming liquid.
“I also learned the name of their master and have an idea of where he possibly lives,” I added.
“That’s good to hear. What’s his name, and where can we find him?” Scott asked.
“Rubin, and he lives in the Forest to the east.”
“No shit, Sherlock! We know he lives in the forest, that’s where they've been coming from. Also, why are your arms full of bread?” Scott asked me with a confused look.
“That’s a story that I don’t want to get into,” I said, looking down at my bread. “You want some?”
“Sure, but since we have to wait a week before the Willowisps show up again, I can drink for the next six days. You two want to join in?” Scott asked, before pulling out his flask and chugging some of it.
“I can drink to that!” Elysif replied eagerly.
“I wouldn’t mind some beer,” I agreed. Scott then took a bite out of one of the loaves of bread.
“Wow, that tastes like shit!” he said, looking it up and down for issues like Elysif had done before taking another bite despite the taste.
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