Their group continued to go unchallenged by monsters, which Priscilla now knew was probably due to the platypus, and they approached the edge of the fens near sunset. Just before they exited, Tabitha called the group to a halt and Priscilla and her party gathered near her.

"You all remember the plan." Where some people might phrase that as a question, Tabitha said it so matter of fact like any other reality was impossible. They all nodded their heads regardless because that's what one does when a scary lady spoke like that.

Priscilla glanced only briefly at the platypus on Illnyea's shoulder, who looked like it wasn't going anywhere soon, and resigned herself to traveling with the little fucker. Sulaiman, Kavil, and Priscilla pulled on their cloak's hood and took their positions scattered amongst the crowd while Illnyea stood boldly next to Tabitha, hand resting on her borrowed sword with a determined expression on her face that dared anyone to challenge her.

Tabitha's jaw was clenched tight and her eyes rocky as she gripped Beowulf's head in her hands and Holly was sent to the safest position of being in the middle of the group, hidden amongst the adults.

They began to march towards the town quietly. The tension in the air was palpable with each step that brought them closer to confrontation, towards the people who had offered up them as sacrifices.

The first person to spot their procession turned out to be the mayor's lackey, the strawberry blonde who had picked a fight with Sulaiman in the inn. His hand was wrapped in bandages and he stumbled when he caught sight of Tabitha, who smiled wickedly at him. The man turned and started to run away, nearly tripping over himself as he pivoted.

By the time they had come across the center of the town, staring down the broken knight statue in the fountain, the word had spread of their arrival. The townspeople had gathered around the fountain, everyone staring with wide eyes as they beheld people they had written off as dead. Some had expressions bordering on hope, but no one said anything or stepped forward, like they were paralyzed with indecision by their sudden appearance.

Fylkir pushed his way through the crowd, and he looked at Tabitha with horrified denial, his head shaking back and forth faster and faster. Gone was the ever-smiling and unflappable mayor who so expertly kept the villagers isolated.

"What." Fylkir's voice cracked and he wet his lips. "What are–"

Tabitha had a nasty smile on her face as she tossed the head in her hands onto the ground. It bounced wetly twice before rolling so that the animal skin revealed Beowulf's blank gaze was staring up at the mayor. The bloody stump bumped against his boot and Fylkir jerked back, eyes going wide as his breathing quickened.

"The starving bitch is dead, Fylkir," Tabitha said plainly as everyone processed what they were staring at, "along with each and everyone of her servants."

Their collection of former prisoners started to press in along the sides, forming a circle around Tabitha, pinning Fylkir between her, their vicious gazes that hungered for retribution, and the blood stained fountain. The other villagers shied away from them, huddling on the other side of the statue, leaving the mayor to fend for himself. Priscilla shuffled forward with the rest of them, waiting for the right moment.

"You're lying," Fylkir stuttered, "you, you couldn't possibly have–"

Priscilla edged a little closer, hand on her borrowed crossbow while Sulaiman mirrored her on the other side.

"Careful there, Fylkir," Tabitha warned, her tone darkly sarcastic. "It almost sounds like you're sad that the man-eating monster has died. Oh wait." Tabitha tilted her head, expression half-way between a sneer and sarcastic snarl. "I forgot, you've been nothing more than a parasite since the cannibals arrived, forcing anyone who disagreed with you to fuck off into the fens while you were in your house feeling oh so high and mighty.

"You must be terrified," Tabitha said, her voice filled with dark pleasure, "to know that you no longer have any power and your sins have come back to haunt you."

Fylkir went tense, his body stiffening from the malice dripping off her words while the former prisoners pressed in a little closer, teeth bared in a snarling smile and eyes full of accusation.

"And all of you" – Tabitha's withering glare drifted lazily upwards and she took care to meet as many eyes as she could amongst those in the village who had never left – "you stood by and watched him force my daughter into a cannibal's clutches, the same girl you all watched grow up, who trusted you, and you did nothing."

Many flinched as Tabitha's gaze swept across them, glancing away or paling. Tabitha looked satisfied with that result, and stared at Fylkir with piercing blue eyes once more, face utterly blank of emotion.

"Surrender now, Fylkir," Tabitha said, "or be delivered into the Shade Father's embrace."

Fylkir's jaw was clenched so tight a vein bulged in his neck. He swallowed slowly, his Adam's apple bobbing, and then he glanced at the ground.

When he looked back up, Fylkir's eyes were hard as he said, "There's no way you could have killed her, Tabby, you have to be lying–"

Tabitha's lip curled in distaste at the nickname but with her hand, she made the signal they had all agreed upon.

Priscilla darted forward and aimed a hard kick at the back of Fylkir's right knee, making it buckle and sending Fylkir onto his knees. She kicked his shoulder, sending him spinning onto his back. He stared up with shock as she pointed her crossbow at his heart.

"Guess you missed the memo," Priscilla said lightly, "there's only two options here: surrender or die!"

Priscilla knew that every prisoner and her party were lifting their weapons, pointing them at the crowd. She didn't think that anyone would try to help out Fylkir, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"You see," Priscilla continued casually, like they were discussing the weather, "Mrs. Tabitha here wants to let all of you live because she's a soft touch but…" Priscilla's smile grew like a Cheshire cat's as she tugged off her hood, revealing her red hair. She had taken care to put it up in the same style she had worn when she had last been here, and was delighted to hear the villagers gasp and see the blood drain from Fylkir's face.

"We still remember how you chased us into the fens," Priscilla said as Kavil and Sulaiman tugged off their hoods as well. "We'd like some revenge so please," – Priscilla let her finger trail over the crossbow's trigger – "don't surrender."

Sweat beaded and fell down Fylkir's head as he stared at the crossbow before he looked at Priscilla's face with acute terror, like she was a monster.

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"Tick tock, tick tock," Priscilla said, tilting the crossbow back and forth, letting it tip down towards his groin. It wouldn't kill him outright, but threatening a man's dick was always an effective way to motivate them.

"I surrender," Fylkir said, the words spilling out like they burned.

Priscilla sighed as if disappointed but pointed the crossbow at the ground and stepped back. Tabitha quietly walked forward, her shadow covering Fylkir's pale face.

"If Holly had been injured in the fens," Tabitha said quietly, "I would have gutted you myself and left your entrails for the crows to pick over. Be thankful the gods looked after my daughter when one else would."

Sulaiman walked forward, a length of rope held in his hands and hefted the man onto his knees so he could tie Fylkir's arms behind him. Fylkir stared blankly at the ground, not even trying to struggle. Tabitha pursed her lips in disgust and shook her head lightly, before staring at the rest of the village.

"Where is my husband and son?" Tabitha asked with narrowed eyes, her voice cutting through the air like a whip.

Several villagers exchanged looks before a nervous woman cleared her throat.

"They, um, Ulric stole," — the woman glanced nervously at Priscilla — "their horses and fled past the fields."

Tabitha closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"That fool," Tabitha whispered fondly before opening her eyes and pinning the villagers with a glare. "Someone will find me some paper and ink, and then one of you will haul ass to deliver the message to Ulric and bring me back my husband."

People hesitated and Tabitha's eyes narrowed.

"I'd be happy to have you all join Fylkir," Tabitha said and Priscilla perked up, smiling devilishly.

The villagers very quickly began moving.

There were several tearful reunions after the initial confrontation settled down, former sacrifices holding their loved ones and relishing in the fact that they had returned and Tabitha had Aidais' Lament under her thumb within the next thirty minutes. All Priscilla and her friends had to do was stand nearby and look menacing anytime a villager looked like they might hesitate to follow one of Tabitha's orders while Holly ferried their things into a room at the inn. The little platypus demanded to be put on the ground and waddled off to do whatever an eldritch platypus did in their free time. Priscilla hoped it wouldn't get into too much trouble.

Fylkir and several of his closest associates were detained in Fylkir's own home with two former sacrifices standing guard, and their ultimate fate was going to be decided at a later date. Tabitha's lips had pressed into a sharp line when someone had tried to get more details, and she barked, "If you ask me again, you can join him," and they smartly decided to shut up.

It was past nightfall when everything was settled down and Holly invited Priscilla and her friends to have dinner in the inn. Holly held Illnyea's hand, a verified babbler now that they were back in the town, excitedly telling Illnyea about her little brother.

"He likes to play in the mud," Holly said, crinkling her nose, "and throw it at me, but I'm faster so he doesn't usually hit me."

"You're pretty fast," Illnyea said, grinning. "You kept up with me in the fens pretty well."

Holly beamed as they entered the inn, and the smell of freshly baked bread and the sounds of a bustling kitchen hit them.

The large dining room was fuller than it was last time, and Pricilla enjoyed watching the way several villagers glanced away in shame as she bared her teeth in a smile. They may have begun listening to Fylkir out of fear, but one of them in the crowd had been the one who called for Sulaiman and Priscilla to be sacrificed. But the former prisoners and their families welcomed them warmly, pointing towards an empty table with a basket of bread.

Priscilla sat down next to Kavil while Illnyea, Holly, and Sulaiman settled across from them. She grabbed a small loaf and cut herself a slice as her stomach growled. It was speckled with some sort of grain or seed that looked delectable and next to it was a small bowl of what looked like balsamic vinegar and oil, and Priscilla couldn't resist dipping it into the oil and taking a bite. It was warm, fluffy, with a subtle sweet fruit flavor, and it was everything she needed after only eating dried food.

"Try some," Priscilla said, dipping the unbitten end into the oil and offering the other half to Kavil. Instead of taking it from her, Kavil just leaned forward and took a bite. His eyebrows went high as the flavor hit his tongue and then he leaned forward and finished off the slice, his lips brushing against her fingers as he groaned in satisfaction.

It took Priscilla a moment to recombobulate herself and stop staring at her fingers, and by then, four bowls of a hearty soup were placed in front of them. It smelled heavenly and Priscilla didn't hesitate to grab another piece of bread to use it as a spoon. She thought it was a potato soup of some sort, the type that stuck to your ribs and left you warm for hours. Everyone dug in, conversation forgotten as they shoveled much needed calories into their bodies.

Tabitha walked over just as Priscilla's spoon scraped against the bottom of her bowl, a pair of men trailing after her. One was one of the prisoners, Naim, who was now clad in clean clothing and looked like he had found a razor since arriving, and the shorter, stockier of the pair clutched Naim's arm as if to reassure himself that Naim was real.

"This is Olly, our resident blacksmith," Tabitha said, gesturing to the stockier man. "Tomorrow, he'll be able to help you with that shield problem of yours, Illnyea."

Illnyea perked up, wiping her mouth as she bowed her head towards Olly.

"Thank you so much," Illnyea said.

"This is the least I can do to repay you for bringing my husband back to me whole," Olly said, his grip on Naim tightening. Olly glanced over the rest of them, his eyes watery from tears of joy as Naim patted his arm comfortingly. "If any of you need repairs, just let me know and I'll do what I can for my husband's saviors. We may not have much here in terms of material, but I'll gladly spend it all on you."

Priscilla gave the man a grin, glad that some of the people in this town were reasonable and wondered if there would be any way to get rid of a dent in a bat. Illnyea ducked her head, scratching her cheek like she was unsure how to respond to the praise as Kavil opened and closed his mouth like he was going to say something but decided against it. Sulaiman's face went through a complicated series of expressions before settling onto something vaguely confused but determined.

"After you've freed Illnyea," Sulaiman said carefully, "my own shield and armor needs to be mended."

Olly's smile was crooked and revealed a chipped tooth as he said, "That's easy enough. Bring your shield round in the morning and I'll have it as good as new."

Sulaiman hesitated for a long moment before he said, "If you'd like to speak more now, you're welcome to join us for dinner."

Priscilla's eyebrows shot up at the unexpected friendly overture from Sulaiman, glancing at Illnyea, who seemed similarly surprised. But Illnyea's surprise melted into something more thoughtful as she tilted her head and nodded.

"If you're sure it's not a burden," Naim said as he exchanged glances with his husband.

"It isn't," Sulaiman said firmly and that was that.

Despite Sulaiman's stiffness, the conversation flowed naturally as Illnyea and Kavil picked up his slack, the topic drifting from the specific metal composition of Sulaiman's shield to learning about when Olly first picked up blacksmithing as an attempt to woo Naim to Tabitha sharing embarrassing stories of Holly's childhood and the preteen begging her mother to shut up.

The misunderstanding about why Priscilla, Sulaiman, and Kavil came to the village and who they were exactly hadn't been fully cleared up as it never became the topic of conversation, since things were staying on lighter topics. Priscilla answered when someone asked her a question, but for the most part she was content to just listen and watch Kavil's eyes crinkle in delight as he made a joke that made Illnyea throw her head back with laughter and Sulaiman roll his eyes.

A warm feeling settled in Priscilla's chest as she unwound and let the tension drain out of her now that everyone she cared about were safe, fed, and happy.

As the dinner wrapped up and their dishes were being cleared, the door to the inn slammed open startlingly loud. A bedraggled Ulric stood there, clutching a young boy and a letter, frantically looking around as he stepped forward before coming to an abrupt halt.

Tabitha stood from where she had been sitting as Holly scrambled up and around the table, shouting, "Nicky! Dad!"

The little boy, presumably Nicky, shouted excitedly, "Holly! You're back!"

Holly slammed into the pair, wrapping her arms tightly around them. Ulric seemed shocked as he stared at Tabitha, who slowly walked forward. Tears ran down his cheeks and Tabitha reached out to wipe them away as she leaned her forehead against his, and they began speaking quietly together.

The smile that worked its way across Priscilla's face as she watched the family reunite was small but satisfied.

If she got to bring about more moments like this, maybe Priscilla might be able to get used to being a hero.

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