The witch of the wood

The dream, or nightmare, is over, and you seem safe, at first glance. Your body is normal, but you find yourself lying on a simple cot. Where is your campsite? Where is Aegis? This is clearly not your bed in the abbey, so you cannot even pretend there's a chance that the events of the previous day were all part of that awful nightmare.

You begin to take stock of your situation. You seem to be in a small cottage. By the light coming in through the window, it's daytime, but impossible to tell when exactly, as rain is falling in sheets against the glass. There are bookshelves along the walls, some lined with actual books, others stacked to overflowing with various knick-knacks, oddly-colored bottles, animal parts, and so on. There is a hearth nearby, providing a welcome warmth. You see your robe hanging nearby the hearth. Not too far away is a second set of clothes, neatly folded, and some sturdy-looking boots. Then it hits you - the sword!

You frantically look around, the heavy blanket that was covering you falling to the floor of the cottage. There is a note not far away on a small table, along with a bowl filled with some sort of stew.

"Took the liberty of cleaning you and your clothes. Your blade looked priceless, so I hid it away for you for safekeeping. Please enjoy some stew when you wake up. It will help with the morning sickness.

P.S. Your horse was a perfect gentleman."

Somehow, your situation made less sense now than just a moment ago. Morning sickness? What on earth?

As if just now becoming aware of your nudity, you look down. The symbol you find is far less elaborate than the one you owned in your dream, but it is nevertheless unmistakable. You run your hands down your body, testing the symbol, as if rubbing it off your skin will make it go away.

You feel numb. Thoughts fail you for a few minutes as you stare dumbly at the mark.

A mark of the daemon. The daemon that **** you.

Void of rational thought, emotions begin to flood in, filling the hole. Rage. Sorrow. Disbelief. You scream, and sob, and laugh, all at once. Clutching at your stomach, you curl into a ball, and succumb to the emotional chaos until all of the tension has been released, and there's nothing left to feel.

"I see you're awake, then."

You snap to alertness and spin around to look at the open doorway. A woman, seemingly not much older than you and of similar, if a bit curvier, build, is shrugging off a water-logged old coat. Underneath she wears tightly-fitted leather pants and barely a vest - maybe half a vest to your mind - that only just preserves the woman's modesty. She is lightly tanned, with straight black hair that falls to her waist, and sparkling green eyes.

You catch yourself staring at her exotic features, despite your previous emotional state, and quickly get back to your feet. You cover your nakedness with your hands.

"I'm not sure what you saw, but I apologize for whatever you may have walked in on."

The woman looks truly sympathetic. "Please don't be embarrassed, Sabine. What you've experienced, that's the correct reaction, and long overdue in my opinion."

You don't try to hide your shock. Who is this person? She's taken you in and apparently cared for you, but you're not comfortable with whatever mind-reading tricks, or whatever, she's employing. "I'm sorry, but if you know who I am and what I've been through, then you must realize I find it difficult to trust whoever... or whatever... you are."

The woman simply smiles, hands you the blanket again and sits down in a small chair near the hearth. "Of course, how rude of me. My name is Indra..."

There's a momentary pause in her introduction. That brief span of time seems like an eternity as you wonder about her intentions...