Despite the dangers, he says yes.

Earnest stopped to size up the sorceress woman offering her help, who was in the process of taking off her hat. It seemed like today he was just fated to meet beautiful women, as the sorceress standing in front of him was seemingly ripped straight out of a portrait seen in castles. Classically beautiful was probably the best summation of her appearance, although even that felt like an understatement. But enough of carnal desires- Earnest had to deal with her offer.

“Oh, er…that would be much appreciated, yes. But, how…why would you offer up your services like that?” Earnest said. ‘And willingly admit to being a sorceress of the dark arts?’ would have been his follow-up question, but probably a bit too probing for now.

“Well, I am just an apprentice, after all, and so I would like to see if I can use my experience with dark magic into practice… and possibly learn a bit more in the process.” She gave a sly wink with that last part.

Earnest was conflicted. On one hand, dark magic was considered dark and taboo for a reason. Anybody openly claiming to with that in mind was… well, either bluffing, hoping that he was a fool. Perhaps hoping to take advantage of a **** knight under more pressure than his common sense could handle. On the other hand, if she was telling the truth and was an apprentice… was it really alright to allow a practitioner of dark magic to roam free, and possibly aid them? Even assuming that she wasn’t planning on betraying him or some such down the line, letting someone who was a user of dark magic and confident enough in their ability to tell strangers roam free was, at the very least, a flagrant disregard of his knightly duties, and at worst, aiding an active threat to the people of Lindow and the surrounding area, if not more.

However, the only reason he was considering this was because of just how out of his wheelhouse he was. Despite his training as a magical swordsman, he could only really identify that there was magic being used- while he understood the terms in Morgan’s spellbook, for example, it wasn’t as if he had the knowledge to reverse such a spell. And it was not very likely that Alesia by herself could come up with a potion that could reverse the effects of whatever dark magic was entrapping Rosalind. A genuine apprentice of dark magic simply offering up her help was a once-in-a-lifetime event. Assuming she was telling the truth, it would be near-impossible to find someone with similar knowledge of dark magic in general, nevermind the fact that she was apparently willing to help just for the experience, without any strings attached.

And on top of all of this, his initial sense of her was… confused. She was obviously very attractive, but yet something about her just seemed… off. As if somehow she wasn’t telling the full truth when she said she wanted to help just for the experience. Earnest himself didn’t have much experience with dark magic- maybe it was just his own body responding negatively to the presence of one who does use it? Either way, her presence left a small but noticeable pit of nervousness in his gut.

“Well? It’s rude to keep a lady waiting, you know.” She followed this sentence with a slight melodic giggle, and Earnest realized he was staring for much more than was polite while he was debating a question in his mind that he already had an answer to. At the end of the day, his main goal was to save Rosalind, and anything or anyone that could help him with that- of good character or not- was an opportunity that Earnest couldn’t afford to pass up.

“I…Well, I can’t say no. To be completely frank…” Earnest explained the situation to her- about how Rosalind was his childhood friend, about the possession magic used by the misfit boys, and just how **** he was to find some help- any help- to free her from that magic. In response to this, the sorceress did something unexpected. She didn’t belittle him or his friend for their mistakes, nor did she add a gigantic reward as a condition for her help. Instead, Earnest saw a look of what he assumed to be genuine concern.

“Now I definitely have to help. Childhood friends torn apart by wicked dark magic? I cannot let that be.”

Perhaps it was his own exhaustion, his need and want to believe that she could help, or some combination of the two, but he fully believed her then.

She introduced herself as Morgan, a wandering witch traveling on the outskirts of civilization with an interest in dark magic. Apparently, she attempted to use her knowledge of dark magic to help those afflicted by dark magic, and even repurpose dark magic for the benefit of people- although her usage of dark magic put her in conflict with the kingdom’s authorities, which necessitated that she stay towards the edges of the kingdom.The story made logical sense, and also completely unverifiable to Earnest. But what was one more red flag when putting your trust into a practitioner of dark magic?

Earnest spent that night at the inn with Morgan and Alesia, explaining the situation in a hushed tone within the most secluded area of the inn, paying for their meals and also any extra privacy the tavern owner downstairs could provide. Morgan had already shown her empathy for the situation earlier, but she, along with Alesia, were very clearly moved and agreed to begin marching to Knottori tomorrow.

With everyone’s participation secured, now came the question of just how the operation would function. The goal was simple- remove the misfit boys’ possession and influence of Rosalind. But how to accomplish that?

Straight up diplomacy or intimidation was unlikely to work. If this group was willing to use dark magic to achieve their goals, then they probably didn’t have much respect for what meager offers Earnest could offer them, especially in comparison to what they could achieve as Rosalind. And a large mobilization of knights to apprehend the boys- even assuming that Earnest could convince his superiors to do such a thing, would be too loud, and possibly tip off Rosalind and the misfit boys and incite them to make a rash decision. Besides, with their only being three- possibly four- enemies, any extra support from knights or mercenaries would be paid for in increased alertness from the misfit boys. Even just bringing Morgan and Alesia along would raise a few eyebrows. The letters Earnest had sent out would bring in outside help as a last resort- only if he were not to report for three weeks was his commander asked to collect him and/or investigate Knottori.

Morgan made clear a limitation of dark magic in regard to this mission- on the off-chance that she could somehow create a perfect counter-spell to reverse any current possession, such a spell would not prevent further possessions from happening. There would be a waiting period in which she would have to study a spell, think up a counter-spell, figure out how it would interact with the current spell(s) being cast- Rosalind’s safety wouldn’t be guaranteed the second they arrived in Knottori.

Alesia, on the other hand, could create a potion that built up a resistance to possession within Rosalind, but that too was contingent on Morgan being able to correctly identify the spell and its inner workings, and subsequently enchant whatever fortification potion Alesia brewed in order to achieve that effect.

For Earnest’s part, he would be utilizing his own martial prowess. While his training as a knight and magic swordsman did make him a peerless warrior in direct combat, he had only received basic training on surveillance and reconnaissance, given that such tasks were usually delegated to specialists in those fields within the kingdom for any operation carried out by the military. That being said, his opponents were just three young boys, with little combat experience between the three of them, despite Thomlin’s strength. The problem mostly arose with Rosalind- if they were able to possess her, and use her body and skills in a fight… or mind control her, and fight alongside her, there was a very good chance that Earnest could be overpowered. And for all of their ability within their fields of dark magic and potions, both Morgan and Alesia confessed to having minimal fighting ability. There was also the added hurdle of Rosalind being able to notice Earnest’s surveillance, given that she was also an elite knight, despite her current post and possible decline in skills due to the continuous possession.

All of these obstacles being identified, though, did bring a certain level of calm to Earnest’s heart that he didn’t have coming into Lindow. Having companions to support his mission was a major boon, and their skills combined gave them a reasonable shot of success. Furthermore, the letters that Earnest had sent would act as a failsafe if Earnest’s party was somehow incapacitated. The rage and frustration he had felt prior to this night was slowly being replaced by a sense of hope and purpose, and a core belief that he would succeed.

And with that, the party disbanded for the night. They agreed to meet at midday tomorrow, with provisions and other equipment suitable for up to two weeks of residence in Knottori, along with equipment necessary for countering the dark magic Earnest spotted. This trip to Knottori wouldn’t be conducted at the grueling pace that Earnest maintained on his way to Lindow out of consideration for his companions.

For the first time in a while, he slept well.