The Grey Tower

The Hex Bringer

The village was already bustling with life, some of the fishing boats had returned and although Kiira's father was not among them, his journey would take longer, there was still cause fora wonderful atmosphere. She looked to Arius, shrouded in his designed glamour to keep his true face hidden. He perused and inspected wares, all the while listening to the chatter of the locals. Some of these families had lived here from the birth of Greymouth itself, Kiira knew that because so many of spoke of it. She couldn't help but wonder if this was like a reunion of sorts for Arius. She followed him, mindful to keep the cloak up and her own features veiled from sight. She didn't want to be seen with a crazy man.

"Is it the same as you remember it?" She asked him quietly when they stopped by a woman who was selling small mackerel, mostly for bait given the small size of them and Arius chuckled and looked over.
"This place has changed, it's never the same when I visit. You should have seen it in its glory days." Arius tempted and looked around,

"Bright colours as far as the eye could see, the nets were bursting with fish and Lords and Ladies came to visit." He smiled to her with a glint in his eye and Kiira had to admit, it sounded ideal. She did wonder what had happened though, Lords and Ladies no longer graced this place, most roads went around the village, and nobody ever entered simply to visit anymore.

"The Black Rot stopped them?" She asked Arius quietly and he inspected an empty glass bottle, keen with interest.
"Oh, no, no. That filthy disease hit everywhere, towns, even the citadel and palaces." He said as he peered at the glass and tapped it, experimentally,

"No, the Hex Bringer kept visitors at bay." He remarked to Kiira.

"Hex Bringer?" Kiira was growing more and more curious but also could feel her own sanity slipping away. Arius dropped a gold piece on the table for the woman who was selling glass bottles with cork stoppers as he gathered a few of them.

"Quite. Stories of him have grown extinct too, I see." Arius remarked, as he fumbled to place the bottles in his satchel. The layers of fine clothing causing difficulties it seemed and Kiira smirked a little. This was all rather unbelievable, and a lesser person would have cried witch and had him burnt at the stake for the claims he made and the things he did. He was fortunate it was Kiira, the local daydreamer and curious cat.

"He was another, like me. He once protected a township, Heraldton, slightly north of here. Heard of it?" He asked and cast her a look with eyes that were not his. Kiira shook her head, she had never heard of a place called Heraldton and Arius nodded,

"He destroyed it. The very thing he was supposed to protect, he burned it to the ground and those who resided in it. It was merciless." His eyes grew dark as he walked through the village square and Kiira noticed he was no longer looking at wares, lost in a fiery memory.

"Why?" She asked him, cautiously.

"For power. For fun, who truly knows. He made a threat against the people of Greymouth, drunk on blood and whatever he had gained from destroying his own people, that they would be next. Of course, I could not stand for it. I made sure to protect the people of Greymouth, but he never made attempt. For three years, the nets ran empty though, it barely rained, and I found it was his work, hexing the village. I believe he was trying to weaken them, grind them down and me, hoping I would become too weak to protect them." Arius remarked, it had never happened though. Kiira watched him, as they walked and he stopped at an old woman's stall, she was selling sugared candies and fruits, a rare treat in this place.

"What happened?" Kiira asked him, she wanted to know how it ended and Arius glanced over to her with a smile,

"Don't know. I think another must have taken care of him, maybe he perished. Nobody heard from him. I checked archive's and such, but nobody has seen or heard from the man." Arius remarked to her with a shrug as he dropped some silver down and handed Kiira a small pouch of sugared candies.