The evening came sooner than Alistair had wanted. If it were just him, he would’ve ignored the order Rosomil had given him, but Aila made sure he wouldn’t miss his appointment. Together, they went to the inn and found him sitting at the largest table with the old man, who hadn’t done much but watched them during their stay. The moment he entered the small room, Rosomil stood up and welcomed him as if the inn belonged to him.

  “Good to see you here”, he said and showed Alistair towards the stairs. “Please, go up. We’ve prepared a room.”

  “Can I come along?”, asked Aila, reluctant.

  “No”, he answered cold.

  For a moment, she looked like she was about to protest, but a stern gaze from Rosomil was all it needed for her to stay down. With a sigh, she hung her head and looked lost around the place, as Alistair followed Rosomil up the stairs.

  “May I offer the young lady some mead or water?”, asked the old man, weirdly polite. “And please, sit down. This might take a while.”

  “I’ll take some water, thank you”, she replied shy. “My name is Aila.”

  “Well met, Aila. You can call me Aswald.”

  What else was spoken Alistair didn’t hear as they reached the first floor and there relatively soon the room the knight had reserved. Rosomil stopped in front of the door, opened it and invited Alistair in with a stiff gesture. Somehow, this felt worse than his first interrogation.

  “Please sit down”, said Rosomil after he had entered the room and closed the door.

  Alistair followed the offer and took a deep breath. The room was brightly lit by multiple lamps and candles, as well as the fireplace. He felt suddenly very naked despite being fully clothed.

  “While I look after your injuries, I’ll ask you a few things”, Rosomil began, sat down next to him and adjusted the light. “I expect you to be honest with me.”

  “Why would you think I would lie to you?”, he asked, seeking safety in forwardness.

  “Because you’re the worst lair I ever had to get to know until now!”, he replied angry. “I just told your girl that you had a head injury so she wouldn’t be even more worried than she already is! And I do believe this lie serves you well, doesn't it? Now tell me! Why did you undress and take a swim in the ocean last night?”

  “I didn’t-”

  “You did!”, he shouted and slammed his hand on the table, which made everything on it jump. “I know how to read trails! And no one! No one in this world folds their clothes and tugs them away in a dry crevice without intention! Now tell me where you went, or I officially name you a suspect in the murders!”

  “Yes, I did swim in the ocean last night”, Alistair admitted slowly. “But the why is none of your business.”

  “It is very well my business”, Rosomil replied deadly calm and glared at him. “Get your shirt off.”

  “I… I can’t tell you why”, he repeated less confident and undressed his upper body.

  “I’m not in the mood for this”, said Rosomil, and touched Alistair’s forehead.

  For a second, his fingertips felt like hot iron, then a tingling sensation filled Alistair’s whole head and caused him nearly to black out. But before he could drop from the chair, he knight removed his hand and cursed.

  “W-what did you do just now?”, Alistair asked through the splitting headache he had caused.

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  “I tried to extract your memory but failed”, he explained as if him performing witchcraft was normal.

  “You’re a demon?”, asked Alistair and felt his entire body grow cold.

  “No. Not a demon”, explained Rosomil with a slight hint of shame on his face, while he undid the bandages. “I’m just born with an affinity for magic, which enables me to use it. Now tell me why Sedna has placed a spell on you.”

  “I… I can’t”, he whispered defeated, which made Rosomil ease up. “I just can’t.”

  “I see”, he replied, more tired than anything else, and started to examine Alistair’s wounds. “You made a dangerous deal with a dangerous being. Was gaining a sealskin really worth it?”

  “H-how do you know?”, he asked, shocked and wanted to say more, but his tongue felt as if it was pulling itself down his throat.

  “Don’t force yourself to say anything on the matter, the consequences could cost you more than you know, should you push past the spell’s restrictions.”

  “You sound like you have experience…”

  “Not personally, but I’ve seen what can happen if you make a deal and do the wrong thing.”

  For a few moments, they fell silent. Alistair didn’t know what to make of Rosomil. He didn’t even know what to make of himself anymore.

  “Hey, I guess it would be kind of asinine to ask you for help?”, Alistair asked in a low whisper.

  “I would help you but keep the exact wording of your contract in mind”, he replied and put something on his wounds that burned and cooled at the same time. “If it allows you to have help, then yes. If no…”

  “I must do it alone.”

  “Then, I’m sorry.”

  “I should be the one apologizing.”

  At this, Rosomil let out a soft laugh. It would’ve been pleasant if his face weren’t so serious.

  “Whatever you did or promised to do, do it exactly how it was explained to you”, he warned and leaned back after he bandaged Alistair. “Diversion can lead to catastrophe.”

  “I’m… I’m aware of that”, he replied, downtrodden.

  “I hope it won’t be too much of a burden on your soul.”

  “Thank you.”

  “And now, you tell me what you can about last night. I’ll be able to figure out the rest.”

  Alistair nodded and began his tale.

  —

  “What did he say?”, asked Aila once they left the inn.

  It was already dark and the air crisp and clean. The moon above them, despite just being a thin sickle, shone bright, accentuated by a myriad of stars. It was a beautiful night, but Alistair couldn’t bring himself to enjoy it or even suggest a late night walk.

  “That I did a good job of cleaning my wound and that it would soon heal, but I should rest up for a while”, Alistair told her exhausted.

  “Then you won’t set out to fish tomorrow morning?”, she asked, half disappointed, half relieved.

  “You know I can’t skip two days in a row to go fish”, he replied, smiling and hugged her close. “I need to eat.”

  “I could go fish for you”, Aila proposed.

  “I actually prefer my fish to be in one piece, without bite marks.”

  “That’s mean!”

  “Oh, love, I didn’t mean to insult you, and you’re adorable when you play with your fish.”

  “You damnable tease!”, Aila shouted, laughing and leaned against him. “I forgive you, but only this once!”

  “Duly noted”, Alistair replied and leaned in for a kiss, she gladly received.

  Suddenly, Alistair felt being watched by something or someone hateful. A moment later, Father Hamish sauntered out of the shadows between two houses. He walked a little sluggish and seemed drunk. Frowning, Alistair pulled Aila closer but didn’t slow down.

  As they crossed paths, the smell of some strange herbal concoction was strongly emitting from him. Smelling it alone made Alistair dizzy. Alia too seemed to react the same and even pushed him along with a disgusted expression.

  Suddenly, Father Hamish grabbed her. Alistair reacted without thinking and knocked him to the ground. Doing so, he had to fight the urge to beat the priest to a pulp.

  “You mongrel!”, Hamish snarled like an animal. “How dare you attack me!”

  “You grab me!”, Aila responded, angry before Alistair could say anything. “It’s also uncouth for a priest to roam the streets visibly drunk!”

  Before he could get up on his own, his brother appeared and ran towards them.

  “Brother!”, Hamish shouted as he saw him and hastily went back up on his feet.

  “Don’t you brother me!”, shouted Iain and nearly knocked him back down.

  “What’s going on?”, asked Aila, angry.

  “That’s none of your business”, replied Father Iain, cold. “And you, Hamish, you come back this instant!”

  “Make me!”, he shouted like a sullen child, and was off a moment later.

  “Neither of you will utter a single word about this to anyone!”, Iain hissed towards Alistair and Aila, and went after his brother a moment later.

  “What in the Lord's name was this?”, Alistair asked while hugging Aila close.

  “Best we do what he asked of us”, she replied, uncertain.

  “Yeah… I guess…”, he replied.

  In utter silence, they headed to his cottage, where Aila kissed him goodbye for the night and left for her home with her aunt and uncle. Alistair had considered for a moment asking her to stay, but the thought of her finding the sealskin and the bloody bedsheets in the trunk was too much for him. With a heavy heart, he closed the door and went to bed.