20 Memorial Day

The next morning Lilynn and Erwand were ready to catch the village's mysterious demon.

Except they still had no idea how to do so. And Lilynn was getting more and more sure that the mysterious demon was not exactly that, and instead the drunk mage making a fool out of the village.

But she had to prove it somehow.

"Erwand, we need to announce that we had caught the demon," she turned to him in the room.

"Did we?" Erwand turned to her while changing his clothes. His upper body was naked, and the morning sunshine glowed on his muscles like heavenly light.

"I am certain that Kinib is the one stealing from the people. I saw him demand... something from a baker girl yesterday. He threw her bread into the dirt like it was nothing of value to him."

"Lilynn, I don't think this is a great idea. We have one chance to prove the village that we are not here to scam them, and if we mess it up in front of everyone without actual proof, we might become actual criminals in the area."

"Like that ever interested us before."

Lilynn sat down on the bed.

As much as he wanted this so-called demon to be real, she was sure it was the village misunderstanding something bigger going on behind their back. And, to be honest, she did want to help the people out there who were under Kinib's harmful presence. She was not ready to leave them yet. Something deep inside was pushing her to go out and do something.

"Didn't they suspect that it attacked at night?" Lilynn tried to remember.

"I believe so. We could set up a trap for the night," Erwand said. That sounded like a decent idea to start catching a hypothetical demon. Now they just needed the people's help to set up the perfect trap.

⠀

Before noon the village's main street was the busiest. Even more than the usual. Many vendors were selling their products to the people -- or instead, were just trying. The village was not big, and clearly only a few people stopped to check the products, and even fewer decided to buy something. But besides all this, people were gathering around the middle of the village, putting candles and flowers at the feet of the statue of a lady.

Lilynn suspected maybe it was a sacrifice to the gods, who is depicted in that statue. It was a tall, sculped woman with curly hair made out of clear marble.

But this might cause some problems if they wanted to catch any demons.

"We are here to remember Lady Kirsan's death, who was the mayor of this village. She was a great leader, giving us hope and prosperity." One of the gathered people said to Lilynn.

"We need help to set up a trap. And for that, we will need the usual materials that the demon usually steals," Lilynn tried to clarify why they were here. Not for some random memorial day to ruin their job.

"I'm afraid you cannot do it today. Most people will be here in the evening, lighting candles in the dark for her. We have been doing this for many years ago!"

"Do you want that demon gone or not? Then you should do as we say!" Lilynn got impatient, and said that in a hostile tone. The villager man backed up a bit. This might have been a bad attempt to gain any trust. Thankfully, Erwand just arrived next to her.

"What's going on here, demon-hunter-enchantress?"

Lilynn explained the memorial ceremony, and Erwand started to think while making his fuzzy eyebrows move on his face.

"Can you tell more about this mayor?" he turned to the villager.

"Erwand! We are here to catch it! Ask him about permission!" Lilynn stepped in.

"Just one sec."

The villager hesitated, but started to talk:

"As I said, she was a great leader... But one day she disappeared. Long time ago, most don't even remember it! Without her, we were weak and the demon problem appeared. Kinib arrived not so much later to our town, and ever since we did not have a mayor elected."

"Is that how much the people trusted that guy?" Lilynn wondered, feeling sick even thinking about the drunk mage.

"Yes, he was indeed a great mage when he appeared. Time, however, got him rusty."

Erwand thanked the man and they both went along.

"We need someone who might help us in the midst of a ceremony day," he concluded.

Lilynn's mind clicked: "Someone who is desperate to help us."

Lilynn went to see the bakery again. She could see the bread in front of the shop was fresh and still steaming, teasing buyers to the baker girl.

So far, from others they knew that it turned out that the demon only attacked at night, and that nobody has really ever seen it close. Which was the most suspicious thing about it.

"So how do the people know it is a demon and not something else?" Lilynn wondered as she asked someone next to the bakery.

"It must be! It has been haunting us for decades!" a person from the street said. All this just made her more suspicious of Kinib tricking with these people, matching their resources in two ways simultaneously. "But if you plan to hunt it now, we are having a sacred day today!"

More and more people said the same thing; stating that Erwand and Lilynn should not work on this day. What they did not mention, however, was that the demon appearing at their homes, stealing food was more likely if they were all away at the same time. It seemed logical that the demon would use the opportunity of their commemoration. This was the best time to catch it, no doubt.

But, Lilynn needed to convince the baker girl first.

When she stepped into the bakery, Luija, the girl from yesterday was working on the dough. As she recognized Lilynn, her face went dark.

"Please, leave me alone, I do not know anything about..." she started to stutter.

"We just need your help," Lilynn stopped her. "We have a plan to find this demon and end Kinib's work here."

Luija's eyes suddenly glowed but went dark again.

"You cannot do it today. Everyone will be out in town, commemorating..."

"But I know that you want the demon gone more that anyone else. Because that would mean Kinib gone too."

The baker girl stopped kneading.

"You mean..."

"He would no longer have power here. If we catch the demon before he does, and finally prove that he is useless, nobody will be on his defense."

Luija stared at the floor. Her face was tainted in flour again.

"You wouldn't lie to us as he did?"

The question surprised Lilynn, but she stayed calm. Oh, indeed they were lying about themselves since they arrived.

"Me and my partner will do our best, I promise you."

She did not know what else to say. She just needed her trust, but did not want to utter any more lies.

"You... Somehow, your presence scares me, enchantress. It feels very weird, somehow similar to Kinib's presence... But... I will help to catch the demon, and then all of you will leave me alone" Luija said.