The village elder seems to be a good idea

The village elder is not hard to find. Everybody knows him, because he takes care of the problems of the people for more than a decade by now. Since only larger settlements have a real mayor, who is mostly chosen by the noble who rules the area, village elders are mostly just peasants with a lot of experience. They have not that much influence, but in most cases, they do their best to help their neighbors with their skills and knowledge. Some of them can even read. It was the same in Hardwood.

The house of the village elder is located at the border of the village. It is just a normal house with a small garden like every other house in Cornflower Fields. You knock at the door and quickly, a young woman, maybe three or four years older than you, opens. She is a little skeptical when she sees your robe, but she immediately invites you in.

The village elder is a man with a bald head, a white beard that reaches his chest, wrinkled skin and scrawny limbs. He sits in a chair by the fireplace, a cup of tea in his hand, smiling as he watches a little girl try to read from a book. It's not necessarily excellent, but considering that almost 90 percent of the population can't read at all, it's already significantly better than average.

“Greetings, my dear,” the village elder greets you happy, “praise the gods, the mage guild has answered to my request. I feared for the worst when Baronet Fenwick did not send any ... useful help.”

“The lord of these lands did not help you?” you ask surprised, “did he ignore your request?”

“He is not a bad man, but I'm afraid all he did was to send us a knight to find out what has happened,” the village elder mumbles and takes a sip from his tea, “This would probably have been enough, but this so called knight was a coward who just fled when he found out the monster is real and not just a horror story. But where are my manners? Please take a seat my friend. Madeline, would you please be a dear and make another cup of tea for our guest?”

“Sure, grandfather,” the woman who let you in agrees and heads over to a cupboard to get a clean cup and some tea herbs for you.

“Are you a real mage?” the small girl asks and tugs at your robe, “can you use spells and make incredible things happen?”

“Gina, please, let our guest have her tea first!” the village elder says laughing and caresses the girls head.

“I want to be a mage too,” Gina continues happy, “I would do wonders wherever I come and throw fireballs at all bandits. Can you make me a mage too? Can you show me some magic?”

“I'm afraid, you have to be born with magic powers,” you reply smiling, “there is a simple test to find out you are a mage or not. But I have no tool for it with me.”

“Can you take it with you next time?” Gina asks excited, “I will learn how to read until then. And then I can learn spells, right?”

“Of course she will, little one,” the village elder promises smiling, “but now we have a monster to deal with. Watch and learn how real heroes deal with such things. So, what can I do for you?”

“Well, I just arrived with my mentor and we are gathering information,” you say calm and take a cup of hot tea from Madeline, “thank you. Now, I assume you can give me a small overview over the situation. What has happened so far, where did the monster attacked and do you have any lead where it could hide.”

“Well, it all began a month and a half ago when a huge, wolf like creature killed a sheep from farmer Plata,” the village elder says thinking, “at first we thought it was just a wolf attack, but then the sightings of the creature became more. By now we have 23 attacks on the farms close to the forest. Eleven dead animals, five dead neighbors and the small militia is constantly alarmed. The farmers at the western farms all moved closer to the village with their families and livestock. Survivors of the attack describe the monster as a huge wolf with a scorpion tail. We asked the adventurers guild for help, but only one guy with a big ax took the offer. He … was not been seen after going on hunt.”

“I'm sorry to hear this,” you say compassionate, “but you mentioned the forest. Do you think the monster lives there?”

“We think so, yes,” the village elder mumbles and sounds tired, “but the forest is too big to search it. We have too few men in the militia. And so many would die hunting this beast. We are more used to defend ourselves against bandits. But if there were some, the monster ate them before attacking us.”

“Bandits?” you ask suddenly alarmed, “is there a bandit hideout in the forest?”

“Yes there was, but the guard destroyed it years ago,” the Village elder mumbles lost in thoughs, “a half-ruined guard post of the King's loyalists from the last rebellion of the previous ... oh, that must have been a good 90 years ago. I was still a little rascal back then. It was just a small, rundown building of stone with a wooden tower. The bandits of the old days formed a small camp around it. Every few years a lousy thief try to hide there from the guards. But it is empty for a long time now. Why do you ask? You think the monster prefers the ruins over a cave?”

“Probably,” you mumble, “my mentor assumes the monster is a chimera. A mix of two or more animals, created by dark magic. Chimeras are animalistic predators, but they are made by humans and are designed to understand simple commands. So they prefer artificial structures like ruins over natural ones, if they find some.”

“I had no idea,” the village elder says impressed, “but this makes sense. The old bandit hideout is close to ever sighting of the monster. Then … it might be there. I need to tell the guard.”

“Yes, that would be great,” you agree, “but let us take care of this first. My mentor is a trained battle mage. We have better chances. Thank you for your information, sir. You have been a great help.”

You finish your tea, say goodbye to everyone, promise Gina to show her a magic trick when you return and leave the house to tell Tocar what you found out. But you don't get far. You are stopped just a few meters behind the door.

“Hey, wait a moment,” Madeline suddenly says behind you, “Clare was your name, right? I need to talk to you for a moment.”

“Sure, what can I do for you?” you ask a little nervous while Madeline begins to corner you between the house wall and a chart full of empty baskets, “”

“Not exactly, it is … about my daughter, Gina,” Madeline answers and seems to look for the right words, “listen, I know her fascination with magic is a little uncommon for people like us. And know the law that every magically gifted child has to get education. But I would … I would like to ask you to keep this a secret. I don't want her to be taken away from me. Even if she can visit me during education. So … can I convince you to not tell anyone in your guild about her or her request.”

“To be honest, I have my doubts she really is a mage,” you answer restrained, “her fascination is charming, but she needs a strong connection to mana to become a mage. I haven't seen her do anything so far that is so unnatural that it would hint to such a connection. Or have you noticed anything like that?”

“No, I don't think so,” Madeline answers and thinks for a moment, “sometimes she talks to some animals as if they are real people. But I assume that is something every child does sometimes. And she is learning how to read. That is something extraordinary, isn't it? Only nobles, churchmen and mages can do this, right?”

“Oh, sweet déjà vu,” you mumble a little amused, “don't worry. This is nothing that hints some connection to magic. Everybody with the right education can learn how to read. The risk of loosing your daughter to the guild for this is very small.”

“You don't understand,” Madeline interrupts you and bites her lips, “I lost my parents to the winter and my husband to some bandits. My grandfather will not see many summers anymore either. I will do everything necessary to keep my little girl with me. One day she will be old enough to go her own way. But she is only ten years old. I would be very, very grateful if you could just ... forget her fascination for magic.”

“I can assure you, that the guild has no intention to come here extra to test your daughter without even some vague hints,” you explain calm, “and I have no intention to create some stories to mess with your live. My condolences for your losses, by the way.”

“This … would be more easy with a male mage, I assume,” Madeline sighs, “come on. Do I really have to be that precise about how grateful I would be?”