The Mark of the Cursed - (The third part of the story)

"I'm doing fine, Eve, you can already leave me be and go meet your groom.
When was the day you were supposed to have the wedding again? Or has his family moved it again.
They're not accepting your marriage. I can see that. We used to be friends with them before those damned rumors ruined our family reputation..."

Anselm was coughing in his chair, reaching for a old chalice with high hopes there'd still be some wine left. However it was already empty, just as all the wine bottles on the table. He laid the chalice on a small table, which had a fine layer of dust on it.

"Well it looks like it's time for me to go to bed. I know it's not too late, but I'm just a tired old man and you don't need to entertain me any longer. I can manage on my own."

She gave her father a hug. No words were needed, as he was warm to hug and they both knew they were doing well enough. After the hug, she walked down the dusty, dark stairs down and headed out. Some wallpapers were coming off a bit and you could see dust almost everywhere. Most of the manor was empty.

On the outside, the garden was overgrown and mostly unattended. The fountain had stopped working and was filled with branches and leaves. The arrangements in flowerbeds were long gone, but there were still flowers there. The garden was beautiful in it's way, just far less controlled. The nature doesn't need humans to succeed.

It was early evening and the streets were already mostly empty. Eve was walking on the cobblestone road towards home of Sigmund, meeting only a few people on the way. They were commoners, looking down in the ground as they saw her. Be it because of her family reputation or not, she didn't care.

The town was somewhat large but it wasn't expanding. The size of the town was mostly limited by the ancient machine in the middle, which cast a protective force field around the town. The machine was very tall, taller than any trees and buildings present, even the very few ancient tall houses which were still intact. They were built before the catastrophe in the past and people nowadays were not able to build anything similar to them. Neither they understood how the field generator worked, but luckily they were able to run it. To keep their town safe for all the evil on the outside.

The Sigmund family manor was even larger than Eve's, but it was also in perfect upkeep. The building was three floors high and perhaps one of the largest buildings in the town. It was made from large, gray bricks and the wall was lit by a line of lanterns. The gray wall reflected light to the surroundings, highlighting the size of the building.

As Eve walked to the door, she was let in but as Sigmund wasn't there, she had to stay in the hallway and wait for him to return. This reflected her status. She was accepted only for Sigmund, not allowed to enter without him, but it would have been worse for Sigmund's family if she had been left wait outside. It was better to keep her hidden within the walls of the manor.

She had to sit and wait alone so she had no sense of time. It started to feel like she would had waited for ages, and started to get worried, as Sigmund had no reason to be away this long. Especially not when he knew she'd come to see him.

Finally she could hear some noise from the outside and she went to see to the window. She could see soldiers and horses in the yard. The soldiers were shouting for people to come and help them. Eve bent forwards to see better what was happening when she saw some horses were wounded and soldiers covered with blood.

Eve quickly ran to the yard just to see Sigmund being carried by two soldiers towards the manor. He had no blood on him and didn't see injured, but he was unconscious.

"Sigmund! SIGMUND!" Eve tried to scream, but Sigmund showed no reaction. The soldiers just continued to carry him upstairs. Eve walked behind them and grabbed the arm of another soldier who was walking behind.
"What happened to him and is he hurt?"

"I'm sorry miss, we were ambushed outside of the force field in the woods by a group of bandits. We fought them off but... I don't know what happened to young lord Sigmund. He fought the bandit leader, a bearded man with one eye, but then he just collapsed before the bandits ran away. I'm very sorry I don't know what happened."

She stopped for a blink of an eye and felt like her heart skipped a beat. Sigmund was still there and breathing, right? Everyone rushed in the manor and carried Sigmund upstairs to his bedroom, on his bed. He looked very calm, like he'd just be asleep. His rest wasn't disturbed even when his father and mother rushed to the room, the mother was screaming Sigmund's name and the father asking what happened.

The family doctor arrived soon after them and started to examine Sigmund. There were no visible injuries and the doctor examined his head and eyes for signs of concussion. The doctor didn't say a word, but swiped with his hand for someone to undress Sigmund so he could examine his body.

Two servants instantly started to carefully remove Sigmund's clothing, but as they had removed the jacket and the vest, Sigmund suddenly started to shout and had strong cramps and started to moan loudly in pain. Everyone in the room reacted with a shock, but the cramps ended as soon as they started.

Sigmund was once again laying still. Quiet and eyes closed.

The servants were hesitant to continue undressing him, but continued nonetheless. One of the soldiers who had accompanied Sigmund started to talk.

"He had a spasm like that soon after the fight we had. After that another one while we were on our way back to town.. we don't know what that is. Otherwise he's just like that, not moving or reacting at all."

The doctor gave a nod to the soldier. As Sigmund's shirt was removed, a strange mark was revealed. It was on his chest, a pitch black, strange symbol, which looked like it was burned on his chest. It was worrisome enough, but the marking was emitting something which looked like black and red smoke.

"I can't help you with this", the doctor started with a deep sigh.
"He's not injured but cursed. I'm not an expert on curses, but this looks like a demonic symbol. If he is only cursed, we need someone to remove the curse. The worst possible case is that a demon has been put inside him. If this is the case, his soul will slowly burn up and die."

The doctor took a short pause to get a deep breath.

"The only way to be sure is either to find a master who's studied curses and demons or to find the bandit who did this to him. Either way, I'm unable to do any more. Sorry."

The doctor made a small bow and left the room.

Sigmund's mother collapsed on the floor, crying. His father was giving orders to the servants.
"You, go to the temple and find reverend. Wake him up and tell him to come here at once!"

As nobody was paying attention to Eve, she walked up on Sigmund and gently caressed his face.
"My love, you don't deserve anything like this. I promise you, I'll do everything to save you."

Eve turned around and walked away from the bed and stepped in the hallway. A few soldiers were waiting in the hallway and gave her a very worried look. She had no authority over the soldiers, but as they all cared about Sigmund, she knew they would be willing to help.

"Will you join me to find the man who did this to Sigmund?"

"We'll do anything for him."

"Then take me where you had the battle. This is our best chance to save Sigmund's life.

The soldiers led Eve downstairs and to the stables, through the armory. Everyone picked up anything would need and climbed on horses. Together all five of them took off and started their ride out from the town.

As they were riding past the last houses, Eve tried to clear her mind but couldn't help on thinking about Sigmund and hoping he'd survive. She was too confused to feel almost anything, as she was filled with hope, fear, anger and determination. On her belt she could feel she had her sword on the left and gun on the right. It was the same one she found years ago, as a child. Ancient and rare relic of the past, but still a very valuable tool in combat.

The group rode to the forcefield gateway and the guards let them past it. The road through dark woods opened in front of them as the sun had already set. The pale moonlight and warm light from the torches was the only light leading their way, as the glow from the town diminished.