The Witch Hunters, Book 1: The Prophet of Ash

When finally the rest of their party woke, they found Eisengrim sitting by a rekindled fire. He’d started a pot of coffee boiling while he poured over one of the maps he kept in a waterproof tube. Meanwhile, Dietrich made breakfast.

“You have ten minutes to get your morning routine done. Then, I need you to come and sit with me.”

The old bull’s orders were obeyed by Siegfried and everyone else. Dietrich passed out mugs of coffee as they returned to the fireside. At Eisengrim’s beckoning, all gathered around him and the dirty old parchment on his lap. Dietrich produced the star stones and a collective gasp rose from those not already in the know.

“My working theory,” Eisengrim began, ignoring all the obvious questions. “Is that they came from the Dead Lands. If you observe some of those fragments, they seem to come from a statute, or some other kind of carving. The only place something like this could exist without our knowledge is out there.”

“So this means this group came from there?” Theo asked.

Eisengrim nodded. “That is what I believe, yes.”

“Why wasn’t I informed about this discovery until now?” asked the Prince, quietly bristling.

“Cause you’re not much use,” Gerda snapped.

“Stop it, the pair of you!” the old bull growled. A terrified silence fell over them all, which Eisengrim broke a few moments later after he shot Gerda and the Prince each a glare. “Your Grace, I apologise for not sharing this sooner, and I hope you will forgive my impertinence, but I do have more practical knowledge of these matters than you do. I wanted some time to think things over, puzzle out what the abundance of star stones means about our quarry, and try to come up with a plan of action for us.”

“So, what is happening?” Klara asked then.

Eisengrim ticked off points with the thick fingers of his free hand. “Firstly, there is no doubt in mind now that Martin Bauer is a witch. Secondly, someone knew this, possibly before even Martin himself did. Third, not only did they know this, but they also knew where to find him.” The bull’s massive fingers played over his map, and his five colleagues scrambled to get a good view as he went on. He began at the edge of the map, of the known and safe world. “These are the beginning of the Dead Lands.” The finger moved along, passing three settlements and out of date markings of where the forests ended decades ago. It stopped near Gozer. “This is the Bauer farm. It’s perhaps one hundred and ten or so miles away from the border. Between it and the Dead Lands are more Crown-sponsored endeavours, and three towns your Grace’s uncle has been trying to repopulate since he succeeded to the throne: Alte Eichen, Anderswo, and then Schweigen, right on the border with the Old World.”

“You think the people we’re after are gonna have to go to one of these towns, don’t you?” Gerda said then.

“How many of their party do you think are left?” asked Klara.

Gerda rubbed her chin. “At least twenty, maybe more. I’d say perhaps thirty at the most.”

“There’s no way so many can keep themselves supplied just sticking to the woods,” said Theo. “Especially if they’re in a hurry.”

“Wait a second,” Prince Siegfried said, butting in. “Let’s get one thing out of the way first. I’ll accept that the Bauer boy is more than likely a magic user at this stage. But how can you be so certain that someone else knew, and more over they knew where to find him? What proof do you have of this?”

“None,” Eisengrim said, staring directly at the richly dressed man. “All I have is a working theory, for now. That is why I require your aid, your Grace.”

“What do you mean?” the Prince asked, his skin blanching ever so slightly.

Eisengrim gestured back to his map, and all leaned over to follow his explanation. “We know the people we track are currently moving through the woods. That slows them down, but it makes following them more difficult. As Theo has pointed out, they will need resupply before they reach the Dead Lands. The distance is too great to try and forage their way through the forest. Sooner or later they will have to go back to the road, and one of the towns between their objective and here.”

“So you want me to ride to Eichen.”

“Yes, your Grace. Stay there a day and learn what you can. We need to know firstly if anyone is still alive there. If so, then we need to learn if our friends passed through on their way to the Capital. I’ll need you to go then at Anderswo, where you’ll wait for us. Moving on to Schweigen is pointless. It’s practically on the border and the King’s Law means nothing down there. It’s the home of madmen and mystics.”

“Should I mobilise the town militias?” the Prince asked then. He looked annoyed, but resigned to his task. That was good. Eisengrim had little patience for bickering at the best of times.

“If you do, and they show up,” Dietrich said then, cutting in. “You’ll just get everyone killed.”

“Dietrich’s right, your Grace. Observe, but do not engage is the order of the day for now. If you stumble across another of our Order there, enlist their aid, but I doubt you will be so fortunate. The rest of us, in the meantime, shall continue tracking our quarry. If we can catch up and ambush them, all the better, but their numbers are formidable. We must be very careful, here. One of the reasons I’m sending you to these towns is to find out if anyone in them is even alive any more.”

“How?”

“If I’m to observe and nothing else then,” the Prince began, “Then I should send word to the King. He needs to be alerted to what’s happening. Maybe he can gather more of the Order and send them after us.”

“That’ll take too long,” Gerda said. “They’re scattered all over Sturmwatch.”

“And if we fail, what then?” Siegfried demanded. “My uncle must be warned, and the rest of the Order must be gathered in case the worst happens to us. They’ve already butchered the people at the Bauer farm and God knows who else!”

“Enough,” the old bull growled. Silence returned at once. “If there is anyone to take your message to the King, your Grace, you of course must send one. However, finding out information about our quarry is the primary objective for you. Do you understand?”

Siegfried, chastised, nodded. For her part, Gerda kept silent and avoided looking Eisengrim in the eye.

“How could they have known Martin was a witch, or where to find him?” Klara asked quickly, clearly looking to get back to the matter at hand. “How could anyone have figured any of that out?”

“I don’t know,” the Hammer confessed. “but that troubles me greatly. When we catch up with them, I would like to ask the minotaur leading this group that, among other things. We five shall continue the pursuit. Their numbers are far greater than ours, and we must assume they know that they are being pursued, or will become aware of it in short order. Their numbers, and this precaution they have taken against the effects of magic, make them extremely dangerous. If we can find a means to surprise and destroy them, we must take it. If not, we shall have to content ourselves to whittle their numbers down little by little. The objective is to stop them before they reach the Old World, at any cost.”

“How many of the ones left do you think are magic users?” Theo asked.

Eisengrim was silent. This was the rub of it. “I don’t know. At least one other. We know the one at the Bauer farm was a minotaur.”

“How do you think they met, that old woman, and the minotaur?”

“The Dead Lands,” said Dietrich then, speaking with cold authority. “It’s the only safe place for witches. Even the boy I killed knew that. They must have met out there, and kept together for mutual protection, and company. It must be very lonely, being like that.”

“But why in God’s name would anyone else want to associate with them?” asked the pale man’s old pupil.

“Well,” Dietrich said slowly, taking great care with his answer. “Having a witch or two on your side could be decisive, if you found a way to avoid being collateral damage, like the bunch we’re tracking have.”

“There are also those that worship them,” Siegfried suggested then. “They see them as remnants of the Old World, when magic was supposedly everywhere, and wasn’t poison to everything.”

“Heretics, one and all,” said Klara. She did not notice Dietrich glare at her, but Eisengrim did.

“Well, whatever you call them, Countess,” Siegfried went on. “They do exist. They’re not really a problem. Usually a year in a cell wises them up, or a few hours with the King’s torturers.”

“And if that doesn’t work, you can just hang them!” Theo said. His tone was happy, but the smile on his lips and the glint in his eyes warned of murder. “Just like everyone else we don’t like!”

“Many go to Schweigen,” Dietrich said then, eyeing the younger bull warily. “To avoid persecution. It’s possible our friends drew a lot of their followers from there.”

“That may necessitate investigation,” Eisengrim said, determined to regain control. “But for the moment our task is to stop this group as quickly as possible. Take a stone, each of you, and put them on your mounts. Our quarry has not thought to protect their horses, but we shall.”

“So,” Gerda said then. “Does anyone want to explain why they put themselves in such danger to go and grab Martin Bauer?”

“Maybe they’re recruiting,” Dietrich suggested.

“For what?” Theo asked.

No one answered. No one spoke for some time. They all clearly had ideas they did not care to say aloud.

“Pack your things,” ordered Eisengrim at last. “Time is our enemy.”