About 50 Leagues south of the cursed town of Hamlet, lies a small villa called Marchnik off the coast. The people of the small town have seen many refugees from the Hamlet town seeking sanctuary several years ago. Due to the limited space and resources, many were sent further west or south. Marchnik was originally a small settlement of gypsies over a century ago who set up camp and never left due to the abundance of seafood. For decades the fishermen brought bountiful catches giving self sufficiency and eventually trade with other towns not far off. Families thrived and the settlement grew, but not without the scrutiny of brigands and ruthless mercenaries.
Robberies and rapes began to become a common event until the settlers mobbed and hunted these brutal immoral criminals to justice while some fled. A couple of towns over had an outbreak of plague leading to the destruction of two small villages because there was no access to sanitary conditions or a plague doctor. Those fleeing this calamity ran to any other town they could to find refuge only to spread the disease bringing more victims into death's embrace. Marchnik was no exception as they lost almost a score of residents once they tried to help a small family fleeing. Through strict quarantine, the village was able to keep the rest of the villagers safe. A plague doctor also happened to come through the village and was able to save a young girl from that tragic fate which claimed her family and several villagers.
All of this led to xenophobia of many outsiders making it very difficult to trust anyone. The young girl was taken in by the inn keeper and given a job; but some of the villagers objected and resented this fourteen year old lass saying she should move on to another village. The cemetery just outside the village was a grim reminder of what had happened. Three years passed, but still certain villagers would have nothing to do with her. She had long fire red hair with pale blue eyes and skin. She was sixteen winters old but really quiet and only spoke to a few people including the innkeeper and his wife. During those three years she only ventured to the small fish & farmers market they had on the weekend near the docks. The little time she had to herself, she was educated by the monk in the small chapel in the village. The traumatic memories of people dying left and right in her small town continued to haunt her. Why did she not join her family and fellow towns folk in death? Why was she allowed to continue living?
With the grim faces of strangers, resentful attitudes of other villagers, and unnatural beasts that slowly began to populate the forests beyond, she was not allowed the luxury to focus much thought on her issues of loss. She was petite but was a bit taller than the average girl. She never left the inn without her bodice dagger she carried to keep unscrupulous hands from wandering places they shouldn't be. The self preservation instinct was strong as she had found herself in compromising positions more than once since she arrived. The inn was a social hub of the village where many came to drink in the tavern. Sometimes a traveler would stop for the night either leaving or going to the cursed town of Hamlet. Strangers were not welcomed more than a couple nights; for when they would extend their stay, they were quickly given the cold shoulder and urged to move on. The rumors about travelers going to and from this town could all be coined in one word, 'madness'.
The inn was the biggest building in the village with two stories and a very well crafted thatched roof.
Mariah was upstairs in one of the four rooms above four others changing the bed sheets. She pulled back the main quilts gagging in disgust as she saw more blood on the sheets. Careful not to touch the sheets with her bare hands, she used the other sheet and quilt to pick it up and throw it in the oversized weaved clothes basket. The man who stayed in the room the night before was riddled with scars and wore shackles. He was a very peculiar man. They almost didn't let him stay, but gold has a way of changing someone's mind. No one in the village dared to say a word to the stranger, and avoided any kind of contact at all costs. The bald headed man hardly spoke two words and wasn't seen after he retired to his room. Early the next day he was gone leaving his room door ajar. The young lass carried the basket full of linens and quilts down the staircase.
"That's a full basket there you got lass" the inn keeper commented.
"Don't ask" the young girl rolled her eyes setting the basket down as the bottom of the stairs.
"I knew I shouldn't have rented that room out to that bloke" the inn keeper pounded the counter. The inn keeper was a short but stout mustached man with sandy blond hair and gray eyes. He always had a club hanging from his belt ready to keep the peace if need be.
"Next time we'll know..." the young lass said picking the basket up going to one of the back rooms where they scalded the water to wash clothes.
"Mariah, if you don't mind, the misses and I have another load for you to do as well" the inn keeper shouted.
"Yes sir" Mariah sighed as she put down the basket to open the door at the end of the small hallway.
"You going to stand there or you going to help" came a retort as she bent down to pick up the basket.
The inn keeper's wife was already scalding a small pot of hot water over a fire. She too was a short stout woman and a bit on the plump side.
"You really don't have to help me..." Mariah protested.
"Don't say another word, I'll help you with that" the short woman came over taking the basket of linens and quilts from Mariah.
"...but you already have plenty else to do Miss Byrd" Mariah said not wanting to look lazy.
"It's alright dear, that was one strange customer last night. I had a bad feeling about him which was why we kept him away from your room on the corner" Mrs. Byrd went on.
"He was returning from that town everyone talks about I'd wager" Mariah said as she dumped the bloody sheets in the scalding water.
"They say a man who lived in a huge once beautiful manor opened the gates to hell he did!" the Mrs. Byrd said as they began using wooden oars to move the linens and quilts around in the hot water.
"I don't know what to believe, I know they are a strange lot up there" the inn keeper came in bellowing.
"Shh... Johann, if there are others in here talking about...that town is something we don't do-we don't want to scare off customers" his wife scolded.
"Matilda, there is no one here other than the local old folk coming to get their brew" the inn keeper went on as he was fastening his pouch filled with silver coins.
"What are you going to buy now?" Matilda said as she put her oar down.
"I'm thinking about hiring a body guard for our busiest nights" Johann replied.
The women continued washing the sheets as Johann left the room.
"We definitely cannot have linens and quilts with blood and god knows what on it" Matilda said as she began sorting through her personal laundry as it lie drying spread out.
The menial task of washing clothes was time consuming. A plague doctor had warned everyone in town avoid touching blood or any humor of the body of a stranger and to always keep eating utensils and beddings clean. As simple as a task as this seemed, it was a very important one. They used expensive coal when they could afford it or would purchase fire wood from the loggers who were brave enough to collect it outside the protective walls of the village. It was almost sun down when they finally finished all the laundry waiting for everything else to dry. As the fall began to creep in, the days they could hang their laundry out was becoming fewer and shorter. The different shades of reds, purples, golds, and oranges were beginning to show up in the trees outside the village. To the south, you could see the how much more vibrant the colors were; but to the north, the colors were dingy, faded, and much more subdued.
The evening was uneventful as the locals finished their socializing and quickly returned to the safety of their homes. The village gate was shut for the night to keep intrepid unidentified travelers and monsters out. The inn was secured and Mariah returned to her dark room with only a single candle in a sconce. Tired from the work of washing clothes, cleaning, and cooking, she was just glad to be done. She was about to do the one thing she enjoyed most of all, reading. She had learned to read during the time of her stay. Not many of the people in the villages were literate. She enjoyed reading old books about folk lore and legends. Most of the information in the old book she read were more about the native species. She felt the weight of sleep, quickly she blew out the candle and hid beneath her quilt.
When she woke, she woke to a horrible bump.
"Mariah! Wake up!" a woman's voice said sternly.
"Woooaahh!" A man's voice said outside as a loud shot could be heard.
"We're being ambushed!" a man said with a red bandana wrapped around his mouth only revealing his eyes and short dark hair.
The woman had a fedora and grey long coat. She had a pick axe and a fair sized knapsack, her features too were unable to be seen in the dark coach as it slammed to a halt. The two adults quickly jumped out of the coach and the clanging of weapons and gunshots ensued. Mariah ducked as low as she could within the stage coach.
"What is happening?!" she demanded to know.
The stage coach door swung open and Mariah was quickly grabbed and pulled out. A man with a green hood and a gun confronted her.
"Dismas! The girl!" the woman shouted.
Mariah quickly reacted slipping out her bodice dagger and stabbed her assailant as crimson blood sprayed.
"You whore bitch! You'll pay!" he said as he prepared to shoot her, but was silenced by to daggers flying. One hit him in the throat and the other in the chest.
"Die!" A huge bellied man screamed as he came out with a cat of nine tails whipping both the man and the woman. More bandits came out of the woods engaging the man and the woman in a fierce battle of life or death.
"No!" the girl screamed as she retrieved her dagger stabbing the huge man almost three times her size in the side. He gave her a quick shady look as she could not see his eyes, and shoved her several feet away knocking her to the ground. A dark smile crept on his face as he raised his cat of nine tails.
"Please! No!" Mariah screamed as the huge man was about to bring down his reign of pain on the young lass, but out of nowhere a huge raven appeared squawking, clawing, and pecking at the huge man's face blinding him. The girl quickly was able to recover but startled by the huge black bird's appearance.
"Mariah!" a voice shouted in her mind and a loud pecking could be heard. Then she was no longer outside the coach, but back in her bed. A slight pecking could be heard at her window. She quickly pulled the green velvet drapes back, and on her window seal was, the raven. It was huge, it looked at her in the darkness cocking its head for a moment, then flew away.