For him to live, a witch must die.
Driven out of his village for the curse he possesses, Tavor is alone. With nowhere else to go, he must venture into the Eylderfell to hunt down the witch who cursed him.
But the forest is dangerous, wild with magic...
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The forest seemed to change as they walked. The trees thinned out and leaves budded and burst from their branches, green and teal in the moonlight. Ghostly lights flickered between the trees, and soft moss dappled the ground.
For a long time, the three of them walked in silence, each buried in their own thoughts. But after some time, the crow spoke. "Tell me more about the curse."
Tavor shot him a sideways glance. "Like what?"
"What does it do, for example?"
Tavor frowned. "You saw what happened back at the cottage. It destroys things."
Not just destroyed. Deacy, leeching away the very essence of whatever it touched. Wood blackened and metal rusted; plants shrivelled and wilted away, flesh rotted.
"But is that all?" the crow pressed.
Tavor's frown deepened. "It destroys things and you want it to do more?"
"Yes, in a manner of speaking. It's very probable that there are other ways of using it, if you dedicated some time to learning it. Perhaps you could use it to your own benefit."
Tavor stared. Was it really possible? But then he realised what the crow was trying to do. Tempt him into using magic; the same as the cat had been earlier.
Just once.
He knew how that story ended. Everyone in the village did. Magic was a blight, and the more it was used, the stronger its grip. He needed to remain strong.
Evil must be purged.
He shook his head, ashamed at himself for even considering it. "I thought we agreed we'd drop it."
Again, the two familiars swapped glances. He expected the crow to argue, but the bird fell silent.
"As you wish."
They walked on in silence. Tavor didn't like the unspoken words flitting between the familiars, the silent conversations they shut him out from. He knew by now there was something they weren't telling him, and that made him uneasy.
Why else would they be following him through this forest, when he'd already told them he planned to kill their master? Perhaps that had been their plan all along. Tempt him into darkness, lured by sweet promises of power, and when they finally found Nestani the darkness would have already taken hold of him. He shuddered.
"Tell me more about the person we're looking for," he said, to distract himself.
The crow perked up. "It's quite an intriguing tale," he said. "They say there was once a human woman from your village, who came across an injured traveller while journeying. The traveller asked the woman for food and water, and although she was busy, she stopped to lend her aid. She bandaged the traveller's wounds, and shared her dinner with him."
