“They were not known to you?” Flora asked.
“Nay, my lady. They were unfamiliar to me.” Hadwin offered more. “I was surprised when I came across them. This area is quiet, few travelers come this way, nothing for them here. And none would dare challenge Lord Torin. His exceptional battle skills are well-known as are his warriors.”
Flora could certainly attest to that having seen him fight.
“It is a strange predicament, my lady, very strange indeed,” Hadwin said, shaking his head.
“And there was nothing else that caught your eye about the scene?” Flora asked.
“To be honest, my lady, I did not linger there for fear if it was an attack the culprits might still be lingering about. I hurried off eager to cross the bridge to Outerson and inform Lord Torin of what I had found and seek safety here.”
“I am glad you arrived safely, Hadwin, and thank you for speaking with me.” She stopped as she turned and looked to the man again. “I am curious. Where did you get the scroll?”
“It’s strange how I came by it. A heavy rainstorm forced me off my usual path. I found myself in a heavily forested area, a bit gloomy it was and that was where I came across a monastery. I sought shelter there and left the next morning after a hearty breakfast. It wasn’t until a few days later when I was a distance away that I discovered the scroll in my cart. No one showed interest in it and while I can read some, I cannot read Latin and the scroll is in Latin.”
“Do you recall the name of the monastery?” Torin asked.
“Nay, my lord.”
“Are you certain it was a monastery?” Torin asked.
Hadwin scratched his head again. “I assumed it was since a monk greeted me, though the place itself appeared a fortress, a high stone wall surrounding it and a solid wood door one had to pass through that was not even the entrance to the monastery itself. I was led to a long, stone building several doors running along it, private quarters for the monks I assumed. I was given one of the rooms for the night and provided with a generous amount of food.”
“Are you sure it was a monk who greeted you? Torin asked.
“He wore a dark robe,” Hadwin said as if that satisfied it.
Torin pursued with more questions. “Did he wear a wooden cross around his neck? Was the robe belted? What did he say to you?”
“I do not recall seeing a cross or a belt and I believe the monk had taken a vow of silence, since he only nodded or shook his head, and with his hood drawn up I barely saw his face. I was treated well, as one would be at a monastery. I was even given a sack of food to take with me when I left the next morning.” Hadwin shivered. “I must say though that when I glanced back after I was beyond the stone wall, I cast my eye on the monastery itself and it was a powerful and frightening sight how wide it was and how high it rose. It resembled more a fortress than a monastery.”
“You have been helpful, Hadwin,” Torin said.
“I am glad I could help in some small way, my lord,” Hadwin said.
Torin took hold of his wife’s hand and kept a hasty pace.
“Why did you ask him about the monk and the monastery?” Flora asked, sensing something was wrong.
“I need you to tell me what that scroll says,” Torin said.
“Why?”
Torin shook his head. “Can you do anything without questioning it?”
“Nay, it is who I am, and I cannot change who I am, and I do not want to change who I am,” she said. “Now tell me why you need me to read the scroll to you.”
He remained silent until they reached the keep, then he called out to the servants gathered there waiting for Flora. “Lady Flora will be delayed.”
With no further explanation, many of the servants smiled as they walked toward the kitchen for another hot brew, thinking his lordship was making certain there would be an heir to the title soon enough.
Once inside the cottage, Torin explained. “I do not believe Hadwin stopped at a monastery.”
“Where do you believe he stopped?”
“I believe he came upon the home of the Lord Varrick, a legend in his own right, and I am concerned what might be in the scroll since there has been talk that a man with his immense skills could only come from the power of the devil.”
“Are you telling me that you believe the scroll is a pact he made with the devil?”