Chapter 2: Welcome to Saltown
Hennrick entered the town through the main gate. From the high stone walls and paved roads he could tell the town had once been wealthy, but everywhere he looked there were signs of decay. Walls were cracking and crumbling in places. The thatched roofs of the timber dwellings were old and decaying.
People were busy about the street doing their daily tasks. Some glanced up at Hennrick with curiosity but hastily looked away. Mothers ushered their children away from him in fear. Hennrick looked away from them to not intimidate them further, but he could not figure out what he had done to insight this fear.
The great hall at the center of town was not large, but it was well built and fortified with many rooms. The Sal family crest hung beneath the narrow windows showing a white boar with large tusks. A scrawny man with straw hair and pale skin approached Hennrick. He looked to be around his 40s, but he moved slowly as if he was considerably older.
"You must be Master Hennrick," the pale man said when he finally reached him at the hall's entrance. "I am Alfred, head servant of Lord Sal. I will announce you. Come with me please."
Hennrick followed him into the dimly lit hall. The walls were decorated with boars heads from successful hunts and lush linens draped the walls. The only sounds were the crackling of the fireplace and their footsteps as they made their way to the dining hall.
"You must be tired from your travels," Alfred dutifully said to break the silence. "Going down the Eastern road takes a long time."
"Fortunately I did not have to travel so long. I didn't take the Eastern road," Hennrick replied matter of factly. Alfred cocked his head and looked at him with confusion. "I came by the Fairway Forest road."
Alfred's eyes widened with shock. "Y-you came from the forest?"
Hennrick nodded, "Is there something wrong?"
Alfred coughed in surprise and quickly shook his head, "no no no, Master Hennrick," he said with a high voice, "I'm sure everything's just fine. It's just no one comes from the forest anymore."
"And why is tha-"
"Oh and here we are Sir. The dining hall."
Hennrick looked from the nervous servant to the hall. Lord Sal was seated at the head of the table staring vacantly at the food that lined it. He looked to be in his 40s, strongly built, but his shoulders slumped in fatigue. To his left sat a young woman. She was beautiful with her angelic features and light blonde hair piled on top of her head, but you could tell she had been crying from the redness in her sad eyes. Across from her sat two small children who looked just like the Lord and this woman. The blonde angel must be the Lady of the town, Lady Lilith.
The air felt gloomy, and it all seemed to be emanating from the vacant seat at the table between the two children.
Alfred rushes to his lord's side and whispered urgently in his ear. Lord Sal's eyes snapped to Hennrick as if he was trying to stare into his soul. Sal made a flicking gesture with his wrist and Alfred ran off out of the hall.
"Take a seat Master Hennrick," Sal commanded. "Thank you for arriving so timely. As you know our town has been suffering from illness, and we could use your skills to fight it."
"Yes lord. What sort of illness is it?"
"All we know is that it seems to be coming from the well water. Anyone who drinks from it has fallen ill." Lady Lilith made a small sob but quickly suppressed it.
"I would like to inspect the well, my lord."
"In time," Sal said tiredly.
Alfred breathlessly returned to the dining hall, and behind him an older man in priests robes. A large wooden cross hung from the man's neck and swayed as he walked straight to Hennrick. Without any introduction this priest stared at Hennrick with a piercing gaze. Confused, Hennrick looked to Alfred and Sal for an explanation, but none came.
After what felt like ages, the priest broke his gaze and nodded to Sal. Sal returned his nod.
"Thank you Father Swithred. Now that that has been settled, I will show you this illness. Come with me."
The lord and lady stood from the table and walked out of the hall. Hennrick rushed behind them as they made their way to a small bed chamber. The only light came from a bedside candle as curtains covered the window and the room smelled of stale sweat. A maid got up from her perch at the bedside when she saw the lord and lady enter and took her leave.
Lilith sat on the stool and looked worriedly at the small boy on bed who was struggling to breath. Each pant was labored as his skin glistened with sweat from a fever.
As Hennrick inspected the boy the child did not wake. It was not a good sign.
"How long has he been like this my lady?" Hennrick asked.
Lilith's eyes began to well as she gulped back her tears, "three days now. Just a few days ago he was healthy, running and happy. I don't know how he got to the water..." Tears trickled down her face.
"We must first open these windows and get some fresh air. Put this ointment on his head and feet every few hours to help draw out his fever. But there are some things I must find."
"Alfred," Sal commanded, "take Master Hennrick to his workshop. Make sure the town healer is there to answer any of his questions."
"Yes my lord. This way please."
Hennrick followed Alfred out of the hall, and in the courtyard stood a well. It's wood was dark and the stones blackened by fire. Crosses were placed all around it as if it were trying to ward off something evil.
"Is that the well?" Hennrick asked as he nodded his head in its direction.
"Mmm," Alfred confirmed. "Didn't always used to be like that. When I was a younger man cool, clean water would come from there. It went foul some years ago now, and no matter what we did the well would not come down. Not burning it, battering it, nothing." Alfred crossed himself while looking at the abomination.
Alfred noticed Hennrick staring at it and shook his head as if remembering something. "B-but let's not focus on that now. We must go to your new workshop."
His workshop was a good ways across town. They had to travel up and down the hilly roads leaving Alfred gasping for air when they finally reached the home.
"Are you alright?" Hennrick asked with concern. "Are you ill?"
Alfred coughed and shook his head. "No," he wheezed, "my lungs never fully recovered. Got sick from the well when it first fouled." He finished with a series of coughs.
Hennrick grew even more concerned. It looked as though this illness has some lasting consequences if you are lucky enough to survive. He reached out to Alfred to help steady him.
"No, no, don't *cough* worry about me," Alfred panted as he motioned for Hennrick to go inside. "I'll be there shortly," he punctuated with a series of coughs.
Hennrick looked at him skeptically but at last nodded and walked inside his new home and workshop. The place was small but well built. The timber was sturdy and the thatched roof looked in decent condition. In the middle of the room was a long wooden table with several tall candles on it for light. A shelf contained a few books on herbs and remedies and several jars of dried goods, and in the corner was a bed.
Hennrick heard a knock at the door and turned to find an elderly man hobbling into his home with a cane in hand. "You must be the new healer," the old man whistled through his missing teeth. "I am Egil, the old healer. I hope you find your new workshop suitable." Not waiting for a response Egil began to hobble around the room and inspect it for himself. "I'm sure you have questions. There were quite a few other healers that came before you and they all had questions."
"What do you mean there were other healers before me? What happened to them?"
Egil continued to inspect the room. "They failed," he replied as if that answered everything.
"What do you mean failed?"
"They couldn't find a cure or they died. Mostly from the illness. They would start with a sweating fever. Their bodies felt hot, but they would shiver as if cold. Their lungs began filling with mucus as they coughed and coughed, eventually losing consciousness and finally dying. Few have survived it."
"And when did this illness start exactly?"
Egil looked at the flickering candle at the table, his face vacant as if recalling a memory from long ago. "It started 8 years ago. Just after the Lady was ousted."
"Lady Lilith?" Hennrick asked surprised.
"No, Lord Sal's first wife. The hag Lady Gisela."
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