Elina

I camped at the edge of the village. Up on a gentle rise with an easy view of people coming and going. The northern side of the village bordered a forest. The southern side led to the main travel road. On the third day, I saw a girl who didn't belong. It was easy to see how: silver hair. No human ever had silver hair.

She waltzed into the village with a basket under her arms, a spring in her step, the sunlight causing her hair to glitter like a river in the summer. A simple grey dress. Leather boots for forest hikes.

Even if a witch stepped into a human settlement for non-violent purposes, she'd usually have the common sense of disguising herself. But this girl, Elina, pranced around in her full form.

Which was the problem.

There's only two reasons why a witch wouldn't disguise herself. Either she was stupid, or she was so powerful that she feared nothing. Not even a witch hunter.

The Church wouldn't pay eighty-five gold plus tax to capture a stupid witch, so it had to be the latter.

But what she did next made things even stranger.

She didn't kill anyone. In fact, the villagers welcomed her. Children ran up to her and tugged at the hem of her dress. Young men blushed. The women invited her to sit down. Have a meal. Have a drink. You must be famished.

By the end of her visit her basket was full. She returned to the forest on the northern side.

From my observation spot I could draw several conclusions.

She was likely an extremely powerful witch. Which meant that in the case of direct combat, one of us would die. If I die I can't complete my job, can't collect payment, can't take care of my sister, Yulia.

Not an option.

Capture involving direct combat had to be avoided. But how?

I recalled her basket. The stuff in it.

I smiled.

Predictable.

---------------------

The next day I went down to Altheim and purchased a four wheeled cart and strapped my horse in front of it. Then I filled the cart with what the witch filled her basket with: corn.

I took the cart, the corn and my horse and went into the forest using the same path Elina used.

Tracking was easy. Footprints and broken branches marked her steps. A little farther along I found rune markings on some tree trunks.

I smiled.

Too easy.

Witches always used runes to mark their territory. To form a barrier. An early warning system. But an early warning system is useless if the enemy can see it and avoid it.

Predictable and careless. But it played well with the plan I had in mind. If all went well, I'll have her tied up and on the cart before nightfall.

I pulled on the reins and my horse came to a lazy stop. I got off and looked at the rune. If I touched it, she'll know that I'm here.