One hour has already passed and as you are about to drift into random thoughts the front door of the tavern opens calmly with the arrival of the Lord Édouard, who carries a pondering expression.
- Good afternoon, milord.
Thaís cheerfully greets him, taking his attention away of whatever troubled his mind.
- Bonjour.
His voice sounds tired as he heads towards the table at which Sigmundo is sat, calling you:
- Orion, sit with us.
After having a seat and placing his hat on the edge of the back rest of his chair, Lord Édouard is about to say something but immediately stops upon noticing Sigmundo's expression – who still stares blankly at the table's surface –. Thaís, bringing a pint of ale, explains:
- He's having another one of his... moments.
- Hmm, je vois. What happened this time?
The lord asks so casually that you begin to suspect that it is rather common for Sigmundo to be like this, but as soon as Thaís is about to answer, the entrance door opens abruptly and, bringing an obnoxious quantity of firewood, Jorge announces his return excitedly:
- Amor, I'm back!
By his tone alone, one would be mad to say that Jorge could be a happier and more enthusiastic person that he already is, even when performing such menial tasks as retrieving firewood he carries himself with such joy that few can match even during their happiest days. After placing the firewood at the foot of the bar's counter, he sees you, Lord Édouard and Sigmundo sat around the same table and so, an almost child-like expression of excitement takes hold of his face, showing how his ability to experience happiness seems to go even farther than what one would already be impressed by.
- Oh, I understand now... Merci.
Lord Édouard – in a way – responds to his own question before Thaís as soon as he sees Jorge whilst raising his pint in gratitude and then having a big sip, making you suppose that this is not the first time that Sigmundo had one of his “moments” and, that Jorge was probably the reason last time as well.
As Thaís comes up with another random task for Jorge – not wanting him to scare Sigmundo again –, Lord Édouard continues:
- Listen Sigmundo, what I told you before still goes. If you don't want to hunt, it's not a problem, we can find something else for you to do.
- N-No no... It's ok, I-I can hunt.
The lord pauses for a little as if he expects Sigmundo to go back on his decision but all the boy does is avoid eye contact with you and the lord. Therefore, he continues:
- Any of you has hunted before?
Both shake your heads side to side but – for some unexplainable reason – you feel hesitation coming from Sigmundo. Either way, Lord Édouard finishes his ale, getting up and reassuring:
- Don't worry, you will be just backup for when we find the Beast. Allons y.
After saying goodbye to Jorge and Thaís, the three of you leave the tavern and then head to the village's main gates. You cannot but help to notice how Sigmundo seems to be having a heated debate inside his mind, you think of saying something but the gates are already here and Lord Édouard starts talking with one of the guards:
- Commandant Lötschental, have your man organised the fields as I ordered?
- Yes milord, all is exactly as you have instructed.
This very soldier – or commanding officer, more precisely – wears a blue coat and speaks in a tone expected from someone of his position, however he also seems to have an – almost unnoticeable – accent quite different from the others. He hands Lord Édouard a rifle whilst they continue talking.
- Have you located the Beast again?
- Sadly no, milord. After the last hunt it would appear it went hiding.
- Je vois, open the gates then. If we don't return in two hours at maximum, you know what to do.
- Y-Yes, milord.
Whatever Lord Édouard instructed the officer to do, it probably is something quite serious given the slight hesitation in his response.
As soon as the gates open, you head down a rather wide road that leads deep into the forest. At about five metres from the gates there are two – one at each side – large stones covered in ancient runes, there is something odd about them that you cannot quite decipher, so whilst pointing at one, you inquire the lord:
- What are those?
He looks at you and then at the stone after signalling something to the guards over the village's walls, responding:
They were left here by the ancient inhabitants of this region. Some of the villagers say that they were supposed to attract “evil spirits” since this was one the most used roads by the Empire of the Gold Eagle during the period of the first invasion.
He then resumes following the road, apparently without anything else to say. Both you and Sigmundo continue to follow but upon walking past the stones, – for a fraction of a second – your ears detect quiet whispers and suddenly a shiver runs down your spine, bringing you to an immediate halt that lasts just short enough so that, before the others could notice something, you are back to normal.
Without knowing exactly what just happened and remembering the morning's events, a strong certainty that somehow you were cursed some time before losing your memories threatens to wreak havoc in your mind again but, recognising that here and now would be a terrible setting for such a crisis, you force every thought of your past to cease and – barely manage to – continue walking as if everything was fine.
Still noticeably tense but a little less scared, Sigmundo sees a small path branching from the left side of the road, diving deeper into the forest. He then asks Lord Édouard – helping you to become distracted from your impending crisis –:
- Where does it go?
- Hm?... To Maebh's home.
Lord Édouard again answers without looking back, also having a distracted tone this time, almost as if he is worried about the Beast appearing suddenly, if it were not for how he could very well be still thinking about the same matter he was when he entered the tavern. His silence provokes Sigmundo to ask more:
- Uh... Isn't it dangerous for her to live outside of the village's walls? With the Beast on the loose and what not...
- After the death of mon frère she has refused to live anywhere else...
- … That and, she is not as defenceless as you might think...
You and Sigmundo look at each other, confused by the lord’s words but he does not seem inclined to add anything else, making the silence even tenser. The three of you then make a curve to the right following a segment of the road that takes to the foot of the mountain.
For about twenty minutes, the silence is only challenged by the soft sound of the snow crushing under your feet until, finally, you reach what seems to be the end destination: A vast field by the mountain's foot.
It is circled by wooden fences – probably meant to keep animals from stomping on or eating whatever is usually planted here – and behind it is a rather small rocky hill that protrudes from the mountain. Whilst Lord Édouard opens the gate, you also notice the presence of large, rounded targets marked with circles, having also a slightly erased trail of footprints between them and you.
- Is everything ok, Orion?
Lord Édouard asks causing your mind to realise that the gate is already opened and he and Sigmundo are already a few steps in the field.
- Uh?... Oh! Yes yes.
Your response does anything but omit you brief moment of zoning off and so, without even waiting for them to ask something else, you swiftly try to catch up. The silence from before remains for a little longer until the three of you stop at about twenty~thirty metres from the targets, that is when Lord Édouard grabs the rifle from his shoulder and, after removing the ammunition, indifferently begins to explain how it works.
Still a little dispersed, you – somehow – manage to understand almost everything as if it were all well familiar to you, regrettably that soon turns his explanation into boredom and you begin zoning off again: Could such familiarity be because of you past? But if so, how does it connect with being cursed? After all, firearms do not sound quite useful use against magic for instance, what if a witch turned it into a venomous serpent? You think yourself to be more of the type that would use a bow and arrows instead...
Fortunately, before your mind may try to convince you of the curse yet again, Lord Édouard finished his explanation:
- Bien, now step back.
His instructs you and Sigmundo so whilst loading the rifle and then taking aim.
- When aiming at something that's at medium or long range, you want to have the crosshair slightly above where you want the shot to hit...
Soon after finishing his words he pulls the trigger and masterfully lands a hit in the precise middle of the target. He then hands Sigmundo the rifle being careful to always keep the end of the barrel pointed to the sky and away from everyone, calling:
- Your turn.
Though it is true that the Lord Édouard is not – necessarily – one to motivate or comfort others, the sheer indifference with which he hands Sigmundo the firearm, without any additional advice is quite cold, or rather... Suspicious. However, as pale and reluctant as Sigmundo has been since stepping into the field, the way he maintains proper posture whilst holding the rifle towards the targets and seemingly unconsciously maintaining his finger off the trigger until having clearance to fire, makes you wonder if he also has had previous experience with firearms – what would be quite concerning since, unlike you, he has no amnesia or fair reason to say he did not know how to shoot –.
- “Hmm... But that can't be, he doesn't seem the type that would know that kind of thing...”
Your mind notes whilst he clumsily fires at one of the targets and misses horribly. Then, with an expression of – almost – relief, he extends the rifle to Lord Édouard, ready to hand it back but is stopped immediately:
- Try again.
Sigmundo briefly pauses in the same way a child would upon being caught in the act of doing something they sound not – rather comedienne – but soon goes back to aiming at the targets, again with a child-like posture of defeat.
You look at the lord curious about what he is thinking and sees that his eyes scan Sigmundo apprehensively, scrutinising even the most minute of his moves. Something is not right. Could it be that the whole purpose of bringing you and Sigmundo here was not a “hunting qualification test” but rather to see if either one of you is hiding something? The stern way in which he has his arms crossed and yet seems to be as ready as one could be should something happen unnerves you, but suddenly, something else clicks:
- “Wait...”
Your mind whispers as if it uncovered a conspiracy theory .
- “What’s Sigmundo's story again?”
Indeed, as late as it may be to ask such a question, only now you realise that you do not know nor have heard any mentions of Sigmundo's past; who exactly is he; where does he come from and how he got here; et cetera et cetera... All the answers to those questions are lacking and, given Lord Édouard's stance, it seems that he does not know much more that you do either. However, before you may drown deeper into such reflections, Sigmundo's shots attract your attention directly to the targets, more precisely, to the holes they made, impressively rivalling Lord Édouard's aim.
- Not bad...
- It's your time now, Orion.
The lord comments, in a satisfied tone – probably having confirmed that Sigmundo is indeed hiding something – yet still in a impassive way so to not reveal his worries but before he even finishes his sentence, Sigmundo already hands you the rifle, eagerly relieved to the point of seemingly being oblivious to yours and Lord Édouard's concerns.
Either way, you move to face the targets and upon lifting the gun and taking aim, the cold metal in your hands – somehow – feels “wrong”... “Unfair” even, provoking a rather familiar sensation of guilt to take over you.
- “By the gods… What have I done and forgot to feel this way?!”
It troubles you to the point of spawning more questions within your mind so, not wanting – fearing, actually – to find out why, you quickly ignore that part of your brain and fire the first shot at the outer-most target from left to the right. A light ache echoes inside your ears but without thinking much you shoot again, now at the second target, once more your ears ache but in a much more suspicious way, you ignore it and proceed to shoot at the final target. Oddly enough, after that the ache transforms into a “buzzing” that gradually fades as now your sight blurs incrementally, causing you to quickly return the rifle to Lord Édouard, freeing your hands so that you may rub your eyes.
- Orion? Ça va?
- Y-Yes... I just think some gunpowder went into my eyes.
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