Cursed: The Legend of Sleeping Beauty

Chapter Twenty Seven - Discovery

Copyright Ⓒ 2019 by B. R. Bailey All Rights Reserved

"Are you certain that she said her grandfather still lived here?" Briar Rose asked as they passed the small, weather-worn sign stating that they were in Heartfield. The main street was deserted. Boards covered windows and doorways on either side of the cobblestone road. 

"Yes," Arthur admitted, though he sounded as uncertain as she felt. "She did mention that Heartfield was a ghost town he refused to abandon. Their families farm has been here for over three hundred years. He refuses to talk to her father because he left, but she maintains a correspondence with him." 

"Mr. Johnson manages to get letters out but won't leave himself," Briar Rose muttered, amazed at how stubborn people could be. 

"He might be better off out here if he can feet himself and have a roof," King Arthur retorted archly. "The cities did not take well the elderly." 

Briar Rose turned to look at the open landscape, seeing that there wasn't any damage. "It doesn't look as though a Dragon has attacked the village, so that might be true."

Giving up on searching all of the farms, Briar Rose cast a spell to detect life. It leads to a farm on the outside of the village, where there was a large cottage. The roofing needed to be redone and, from the looks of the fields, Mr. Johnson was only farming for himself.

Either the Earth here had trouble growing food or he couldn't manage it on his own.

Knocking on the door, Briar Rose announced herself as a Curse Breaker. Something fell from inside and then everything was silent again.

"Your granddaughter Nicole wanted us to check up on you and see if we could help with your Curse," Briar Rose admitted, hoping the mention of his family might help him relax.

"I'm not paying you! Go away!"

The voice was raspy and weak.

"I'm not looking to get paid. I'll break your Curse for free. I've been sweeping this area helping out. If your affliction is being caused by a Cursed in the area, it's my responsibility to find it and remove the Curse."

"Go away! I don't need-" he couldn't finish his sentence before coughing. As they listened something heavy fell to the ground.

"Mr. Johnson?" Briar Rose asked, concerned that he had fallen. When he didn't answer, she decided to use her magic to open up his door. 

"Stay back. Only I need to break," she said, waving back Arthur and Sir Leonard. 

Inside the Cottage, she found a mess of items stacked along the walls. Moving through the narrow aisles of junk, she discovered an old man on the kitchen floor.

He was unconscious and burning with a fever. The purple boils on his face radiated intense magic. Without a doubt, the man was Cursed.

She called out to Arthur and Sir Leonard, asking them to come inside and lock the door. While they cleared out space in the living room, she cleaned the fireplace and cast a spell in it, warming the whole house, which was chilly with the snow outside.

Sir Leonard picked the old man up, placing him on a blanket in front of the fire. There, Briar Rose went over him, noting the effects of the Curse.

"It's low level," she muttered, "the boils have been growing stronger as the Curse remained in his body. This damage is indirect. I can feel that the Curse itself was lethal. That means he was nearby a Cursed artifact that sent power out."