Captain Davith Rell entered the Snowswept Inn like a stormcloud. Not loud, not angry, not demanding answers, but a presence that was felt.

  His eyes seemed to take in every detail and his rumbling voice never once lifted, never once betrayed fear or displeasure, but calmly asked Master Lewen every question I had thought of and a dozen more I hadn’t.

  He inspected our shared bedroom with hardly a word, other than to tell Terrence and the other guard- whose name was Ward, I’d learned- to stand outside the room and touch nothing. I pointed out Teela’s belongings, showed him which bed was hers, and then opened the window so he could examine the sill and the nearby birch tree.

  The captain then told Lewen to give him every other key to the inn, and inspected the other rooms in turn. I watched with wide eyes and wringing hands.

  “Didn’t turn anything down,” he rumbled upon opening Renner’s original door.

  Heat bolted up my throat as I thought of the lovely young woman who’d been in his bed. I peeked around the man’s broad shoulders. The bedsheets were still rumpled and the room smelled faintly like ginger and apples. The bottle of wine and mug of now-cold ciderwine both sat untouched on the nightstand.

  Davith rubbed his jaw and turned a slow circle through the room. “Were there other travelers last night?” he called over his shoulder.

  Master Lewen, who seemed to be slowly coming to terms with the gravity of the situation, spoke from the hallway. “Yes, captain, ah… a man, wasn’t it?” He looked at me, forehead furrowed, as if for confirmation. “I saw him this morning.”

  I looked away from the rumpled bedspread. “Yes, that was someone we met on the road. The companion I mentioned earlier. He left this morning.”

  Davith faced me fully, dense red brows rising. “Miss Brin, I’m more inclined to think a passing scoundrel had something to do with your friend disappearing, rather than a monster.”

  My face grew warm. I shifted from foot to foot.

  How to explain… I suppose the truth, or something close to it, will have to be enough.

  He waited, sharp eyes fixed attentively on my face.

  I cleared my throat. “N-no, captain. Renner wasn’t… he had, ah, urgent business in Pinnacle. He left. But he didn’t have anything to do with Teela missing.”

  The captain looked fully unconvinced. “My lady, all due respect, but-”

  “I was with him all night,” I blurted out, cheeks burning. “H-he didn’t do anything to Teela.”

  The captain blinked, then gestured at the cold drinks on the nightstand. “I’m sorry, Miss, I seem to be missing something. You said you and your friend shared the bedroom at the end of the hall, and it seems your other companion was in here.” He waited politely for me to clarify.

  I swallowed. “Yes, at first this was his room, but… ah, he ended up sleeping with us.”

  Salt. But I don’t know how to explain this any better, not without indicating why we were so on edge, and then that circles back to interrogating Gil and hunting for other pacted.

  The captain spoke slowly, as if choosing his words very deliberately, “I think I see, Miss Brin, but… I still feel as though something isn’t quite reckoned. If you were close enough with this man to spend the night in his company, it seems odd he would then abandon you in the morning. I assume he was aware of the missing woman? If he spent the night with you both and she was gone come sunrise.”

  I felt hot beads of sweat pooling at my temples. “Y-yes. He was concerned, but, as I said, he had pressing business-”

  “So he left? Took off, knowing there had been an abduction? He didn’t think it would look suspicious for him to leave? He didn’t tell anyone what had happened?”

  I cast my gaze about, flustered and with no idea of how to respond. “L-look, Renner wasn’t close with either of us, he just-”

  “Shall I gather Orim and Donnic, captain?” Ward asked from the hallway.

  I turned, wide-eyed, to see him standing at attention with one hand clasped over his swordhilt.

  He gestured to the room. “Fae in Snowmelt… I didn’t believe it, not for a moment. But a passing rogue ready to prey on this fine young woman and her friend? We’ll sort that out easily enough.”

  I whirled back to the captain. “No! No, you’re not listening- Renner didn’t have anything to do with this! I… I understand that it looks bad, him leaving, but I was with him all night, and he certainly didn’t take her.”

  “How do you know?” Ward asked evenly. I turned to see him looking down at me, gray eyes glinting. He looked almost smug.

  “What?”

  “Well, you fell asleep at some point. You must have. You said you and him kept company. All three of you, by the sounds of things,” he nodded towards the far bedroom, the one we’d all shared, with a little snicker. “No judgement, of course, but-”

  “It wasn’t like that!” I ground out, dragging a hand through my hair. I turned pleadingly towards the captain. “We weren’t… look, I mentioned this before, I’m from Fellbrook. Five nights ago, Fae attacked the town. I’ve been traveling to Pinnacle to tell the Order what happened, and there’s been other things on the road, too! Burned inns, awful fog with music in it, shadows that…” I pressed trembling hands to my cheeks. “I was frightened. After everything… I don’t sleep well. I was afraid. I told Renner and he came in and yes, I fell asleep, but he didn’t do anything to Teela. This was a Fae!”

  Davith watched, only his eyes moving, then gave a slow nod. “Easy, Miss Brin. What my fellow here means is that we can’t rule this man out as a suspect.”

  I opened my mouth to argue and he amended quickly in his deep rumble, “But that doesn’t mean I don’t believe you. You say you met him on the road, aye? So if his intentions were malicious, he had plenty of opportunity to enact them before coming to a populated area.”

  I closed my eyes in relief. “Yes. Thank you, yes.” I gestured back towards our shared bedroom. “And you haven’t even seen the tree yet; the handprint.”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  He heaved a sigh and paced once more through the bedroom. “I’m surely not eager to. First, though; young Master Terrence. A favor, if you please.”

  The tawny-haired young man had been dead silent through our inspection of the inn. He peeked in through the open doorway, eyes round. “Yes, captain?”

  “Whether this is the work of a monster or a man, it’s clear something’s amiss. Go round up the off-duty Watch. Tell them to grab their leathers, swords, shields, and a days’ worth of rations and assemble here.”

  Terrence’s eyes grew even larger. “Yes, sir.”

  There was a brief pause and the captain added, “Now, son.”

  Terrence startled, then turned and disappeared down the hall. I heard his booted feet hit the steps and thud down the stairs.

  Davith clasped his hands behind his back and faced Ward. “Go door to door. Tell folks there’s a missing woman, and ask for volunteers to help search the outskirts.”

  The thin man winced. “Sir, are we sure that’s wise? If there’s a criminal on the loose-“

  “It wasn’t Renner,” I snapped, rounding on him.

  The captain lifted one hand, palm up, and frowned at the two of us. “Tell anyone who’s willing to help to gather here at the inn. We’ll divide into groups and have a member of the Watch in each.”

  “Wouldn’t it be better for us to start up the road, captain? Me and a few guards can surely take one man, and he doesn’t have much of a head start.”

  I opened my mouth, nearly ready to start shouting at the man, and he added quickly, “I agree that this ‘Renner’ may not be guilty, sir, but surely you want him questioned.”

  Davith’s eyes narrowed. “The priority is finding this missing woman, Ward. We’ll send a group north, but not before we’re organized and ready to search the woods. Go. Now.”

  Ward snapped a salute, spun on his heel, and strode towards the staircase.

  “Master Lewen, I realize I’m putting you out of sorts,” the captain murmured, frowning thoughtfully.

  The red-faced innkeeper shook his head, broad hands flapping at the air. “Not at all, captain. I feel terrible about all this. Just terrible. A young lady taken right under my nose, and me without a salted clue. Miss, I’m so sorry.”

  I flinched. “It wasn’t your fault,” I told him for probably the twentieth time since we’d reached the inn. “It seems like something messed with your head.”

  “Too true,” the captain rumbled. “I fear dark magic may be at play, here. And that leads us to this print you found. Show me, my lady. And, Lewen, be a good man and fix some lunch. Something hearty for Miss Brin, who I’ll wager hasn’t had much food today. Then gather up anything that will travel. Wrap it in linens and give bundles out to the folk who are willing to search. We can’t have folks collapsing out in the woods. I’ll cover the cost.”

  “I’ll see right to it, sir.”

  Davith fixed his sharp eyes on me. My heart was thrumming madly with relief. “Alright, Miss Brin. Let’s have a closer look at this tree, shall we?”

  I led him downstairs and out the door, around the side of the inn, and to the foot of the warped tree. The smell of rot had waned somewhat, but my nostrils still stung upon approaching.

  “Here, captain. Look.” I tapped my fingers just below the glistening patch of dead bark, trying not to shudder at how large it was.

  He stared without expression. His flat nose and bushy mustache were the only things that moved.

  Finally he grunted. “Saints above, my lady. You weren’t exaggerating.” He craned his neck this way and that, examining the rounded palm and the crooked, too-long fingers.

  After a while he began pacing, glancing this way and that at the surrounding ground. Finally he looked up at the window sill and the smear of half-melted, congested ochre along the wood. “What is that?”

  “Rotbutter. Renner had a little and he… ah, he’s a very cautious person. He put some outside the window just in case.”

  His red mustache twitched. “Rotbutter. Aye, looks like it. I saw some last summer. You didn’t mention this Renner was part of the Order, my lady.”

  I blinked. The words made sense, but… they also just didn’t. I spent a moment trying to puzzle through them. “He… the Order? Thalessians, you mean?”

  He nodded, squinting up at the rancid substance. “Strange that it didn’t work.”

  I shifted, glancing around and fighting down the swell of nervous dread coiling through my stomach. “I’m sorry, captain, I don’t… why exactly would you think Renner is part of the Order? What does rotbutter have to do with…?”

  He looked at me, mouth curved downwards at the corners. “We had one of their folk pass through last year. Right in the heat of summer, though of course it only gets so warm this close to the mountains.” He gave a dry chuckle. “A real, honest-to-gods paladin. White cloak, with a sword gilded with witchwood. Real armor, too, the kind melted and beaten until it’ll turn away any blade. Not like the leathers we’ve got. And his horse; finest beast I’ve ever laid eyes on. Our stablemaster wept when he saw the creature.”

  I chewed my lower lip, fingers twisting into my crimson hem, and tried not to appear too anxious for more information.

  He chuckled again. “He was a fine fellow. Sir Fallon, I think his name was? He stayed in Snowmelt for a few days. Was on the hunt for blessed folk. I told him he was as likely to be struck by lightning as to find a runekeeper, these days, and he agreed, but he stayed in town for a time just to be sure. Sparred with me and my men; put us all to shame! We shared drinks one night and he showed me a pouch of rotbutter in his satchel. Said it was a new creation being brought in from, oh, one of the western cities, I can’t recall which one, and being used by the Order.”

  I nodded slowly. “I see. But, surely anyone could have some; if it’s being made somewhere and transported.”

  “Mm. Not the way he spoke of it. Said it was in short supply, and only paladins were allowed to carry the stuff. Salt, I’ll never forget the smell. Vile.”

  I peered up at the smear of yellow, wondering. Renner surely wasn’t a paladin. They were noble and brave. Heroic warriors who fought to protect others.

  They didn’t abandon people in need.

  They didn’t threaten their friends.

  Five days. I’ve known Renner less than five days. We aren’t friends.

  And he’s certainly no hero.

  The captain patted his chest, turning towards me with a thoughtful frown. “Miss Brin, if your companion was a member of the Order, I find it even more strange that he decided to abandon you.”

  I licked my lips, glancing around as if I’d find an answer somewhere on the ground. I certainly couldn’t tell him I suspected Renner had stolen the rotbutter. That would only make him seem more suspicious, and Teela didn’t have time for the Snowmelt Watch to be chasing after our former friend.

  Companion. Barely that. Not a friend.

  Finally I parceled out, “P-perhaps… perhaps he went to get help. To tell his, er, fellows about what had happened. He… he was a very practical man. Perhaps he thought the situation needed more help.”

  Davith scoffed. “And left a young woman for dead? Forgive me, Miss, but that’s not the behavior I’d expect of a Thalessian.”

  I looked away. “You and me both, captain. But… Renner isn’t important. Not now, anyways. You’ve seen the handprint, and heard how forgetful Master Lewen was about everything. Is that enough to convince you?”

  He met my gaze evenly. His lips were pressed into a thin, grim line and his hand was tapping against his swordhilt.

  “Aye. Aye, this seems to be more than the work of a man.”

  I stepped back with a shiver and gestured towards the hill and the trees beyond. “The ruined witchwood tree was in the forest, just beyond that hill. I walked for… maybe half an hour? I left a trail of broken twigs. And I told you that yesterday, on the road into town, we found… well, it looked like a very large birdcage.” I gestured again towards the gleaming, festering patch of wood. “The witchwood and the cage had plants around them that looked like that. Rotted and black, like they were decaying in parts.”

  The captain rubbed his jaw and frowned at the ground around us. “An odd thing, to be sure, but I’ve not heard of dead plants and Fae going hand in hand.”

  I licked my lips. “Well… what about a… a hag?” I nearly choked on the word. I had no idea what it meant, but it felt foul on my tongue.

  His frown deepened. “I’ve not heard of such a creature. It’s not one I know anything about. Salt and ash, I suppose when it comes to Fae there’s types and breeds and… and plenty I don’t know.” He gave me a somber smile, one that did not reach his eyes. “Lived here my whole life, you know, and never once have we had… it’s been safe.”

  I offered my own sad smile. “Fellbrook was the same way. Peaceful.”

  He sighed and shook his head. “Ah. But we’ve heard about the troubles they’ve had out east the past few years. Monsters showing their faces, snapping their teeth. They even say some humans have fallen in with their lot. Chilling idea. I suppose Snowmelt was bound to have trouble turn up, sooner or later.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say, so I just offered a quiet, “I’m sorry, captain.”

  He batted one hand through the air and snorted. “Bah! Listen to me. Maudlin, when there’s work to be done. Come along, Miss Brin. Let’s get you a proper meal.”

  “With all due respect, I’d rather not delay looking for Teela. I don’t think I have the stomach for food, anyways.”

  He fixed me with a stern look. It was an expression that reminded me uncannily of Durst. “Young lady, I mean this is the kindest way possible; you look a fright.”

  I felt blood rush to my face and mumbled, “Thanks, captain.”

  He grunted again. “I don’t mean offense. But you’ve the look of someone who hasn’t rested well in a while. And I’ll wager you’ve spent the morning rushing about town in a panic-”

  “And through the woods,” I sighed.

  “And through the woods. Rallying the townsfolk and organizing search parties will take some time. Once my men are gathered, I’ll explain the situation. We’ll talk about the most likely places this creature might be hiding.”

  “I… I understand. Thank you.” I let my eyes slide closed, just for a moment, in weary relief.

  “It’s my duty, Miss. But, assuming you plan to join the search-”

  My eyes snapped open. “Of course I do!”

  He snorted. “Then you’ll need your strength. You need to sit for a few moments and eat and drink. Is that clear?” His tone sharpened a bit at the end. Not unkindly, but in the manner of a military man giving orders that he expected to be obeyed.

  He’s right. He’s smart, and capable, and he has a plan. And he’s right.

  “Yes, captain.”

  “Good. Now, let’s have lunch.”

  Then Davith Rell marched, with the air of a man wading into battle, towards the front door.