Page 4 of Wandering Witch

By the time dawn’s rosy pink fingers tickled at the horizon, I had wandered and weaved my way along the scent trail back to the lonesome village I called home. With still no clue as to what prize awaited me at the end of this hunt, I poked my nose into every building.

Still nothing.

A low rumbling growl passed my jowls as the empty postal office revealed yet more disappointment. I huffed and turned away as the scent’s path twined throughout the village.

Where could this prey be hiding? I thought to myself as I looked through the last remaining structures of the abandoned village and chose to leave my den for the very last. Surely they would not be so foolish as to hide where I made my bed?

It would turn out that the little creature that I sought would prove to be that foolhardy.

After I confirmed that it was not hiding in any of the empty buildings, I returned to my den where I found its scent at its strongest.

Farren

After I spent a short time studying my map, I took off in the direction of the circle immediately. Time was of the essence, I would have no way of knowing when the darkness would encroach on me once more. And ever since I was forced to flee Jocelyn, one of the closest people I could have had the honor of calling a friend, the shadows had started closing in tighter.

There was no time to lose. I had to figure out why the spirits wanted me to go to these exact locations.

Although, exact may be a bit of an understatement.

The circle led me to a long abandoned town. Once I arrived there, I had no clue what I was to be looking for. But I had hoped that it would become obvious if I looked around long enough.

Unfortunately, that did not end up being the case. I carefully searched as many of the buildings as I could, to no avail. There was nothing left in this town but dust and cobwebs. It was almost how I imagined the areas ravaged by the darkness looked after I moved on.

Was that perhaps what I was sent here to learn? The cost my curse brought to others?

If that was the case, consider the lesson learned.

Just as nature had begun to reclaim this lost village, so too did my curse “purify” the world behind me to return the land to its natural state.

So did that mean the answer was that I should just stop fighting my fate and let the shadows consume me?

But why did the vision send me the location of three other spots?

I sighed as my thoughts spiraled while I wandered towards the final building located in the town proper.

It stood just as weathered and worn as the rest of the town, the wood showed its age but still appeared steady enough to be a shelter. At least long enough for me to rest up enough to head towards the next circle on my map.

So, with tired, heavy steps, I headed into the building labeled “cannery” in faded paint with hopes that I could sleep a little.

Luckily there was an office located against a far wall that looked to be in usable condition, complete with a door that could still be closed and locked.

Once I was locked into my little room, I laid out my bedroll and slipped into a light if fitful sleep. Hopefully, my sleep would either be filled with blissful nothingness or a more insightful vision as to what I should be looking for at each of my destined locations.

Locke

Upon entering the den, I looked around for any changes great or small to indicate that my prey had taken to hiding in here. However, at first glance, the only thing different I noticed was that the sweet smell clung to the air.

I sighed as I lumbered around the building and nosed my way along the walls testing each and every board for possible changes. As more and more of the smell invaded my nostrils, my focus blurred.

With my mind unfocused, I was forced to allow my beast’s instincts complete control of my body. It pulled me away from the wall I was currently pointed at and towards the opposite wall, the one that divided the main room from some smaller ones.

It was there that the beast had gotten confused as well. But unlike me, he wasn’t deterred by a lack of clear evidence. Instead, he just kept bumping his nose along the walls with more attention given to the closed doors before moving on to the next one down the line.

The last door along the wall seemed to have caught the animal’s interest and I reined myself in enough to peer through his eyes as we stared at the door that radiated the lushest scent I had ever come across.

Together we raised a paw to bring down the door that blocked us with one halfhearted blow. The flimsy wooden barricade shattered easily as it sprayed its splinters across the inside of the room beyond.

Beneath the splinters, a sharp squeal of terror sounded, nearly as sweet as the scent that flowed from the same source. We pushed our way into the small space, not even concerned with the bits of wood that dug into our paw pads.

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