This was not the best-case scenario (Patreon)

I had hoped for (Zandar did not beg forgiveness and/or ask me to help her) but at least I managed to mitigate the damage. The rabbits would not be able to actually kill her, and at least I had convinced them not to torture her or set her on fire. Somehow I doubted that she would ever thank me for the favor.

As I strolled back through the forest, I mused on the idea of the rabbits thinking that Zandar was a ghost. I could almost imagine the looks on their faces when they checked Zandar's execution spot in the morning and she was gone! They would be certain she was a witch then! Even better, they might start believing that the White Elf had the power to resurrect the dead! HA! They would be so scared they'd probably drop everything and flee their town, leaving a trail of little brown pellets behind them! And if they didn't evacuate right away, I could return as "Squire Young" again and fan their fear til it reached panic levels! Just thinking about it made me giggle. I decided to keep the disguise on, in case I needed to go back soon.

I made my way back to the scrying tower, not hurrying because the situation needed a little bit of time to develop. When I got there, I entered the scryspace and began to look for Zandar. The sun was starting to set when I finally found her, still dangling from the tree where they had hanged her. She certainly was committed to the bit, staying up there in that uncomfortable position for hours! I had to admire her theatrical sense though. It was definitely better to wait til dark to "come back from the dead." I grinned and settled back to watch what she would do.

She did nothing.

Another hour passed, and Zandar slowly swung at the end of her rope. That's when I remembered she had been walled up in a cellar for more than a century, and maybe being unkillable didn't mean that she could escape from such situations on her own.

I was just about to head out there and help her, when a wagon came trundling down the road.

A couple of rats got out, cut Zandar down, and stripped her naked. THIEVES!! I paid real gold for those clothes! Plus, it angered me to see these grubby lowfolk taking such liberties with the mother of my child! But I decided it would be best to avoid confrontation and just wait until they left.

The rats had barely gotten out of earshot when Zandar revived. She struggled for a moment to pop her neck bones back in place, and then stalked grimly toward Bunkirk. This was going to be good!

She picked up a sledgehammer and broke a window. She climbed inside and asked the terrified rabbits where she could find Squire Young. Of course they didn't know, because the Squire didn't really exist ... and then ...

Zandar murdered them.

She proceeded to go on a killing spree that would have sickened even Burnside. The most Unseelie still know that for such intimidation tactics to work, you must leave a few witnesses alive to tell the tale. Zandar massacred them all. She spared no-one. They shot her a few times but that only made her angrier.

I pooked down there, thinking that I could intervene, but the situation was already out of control. All I could do was sit in a tree and watch as the church exploded and the whole village became engulfed in flames.

PREV http://www.patreon.com/posts/103064175