The man who rudely sat down at their table was definitely not a normal person. He was a middle-aged man wearing a simple brown robe. He had wild brown hair, but Seraphine could clearly see a brand on his forehead. It was the sun of Deius.
Deius had a special role in religion, for he was the creator god. He created mankind in his own image and gave them the light of the sun every day to keep the monsters of darkness at bay.
That is why he was also one of the two guardian gods of the Kaeladons. The sun was his symbol, just as the five-pointed star was the symbol of Nocia, the goddess of the night. But the sun on the forehead of the unknown man was not the normal symbol, for an eclipse was burned into the centre of the sun, and within it crossed a whip and a sword.
The man seemed to be clearly waiting for a reaction from her as he watched her with his dull-looking brown eyes. Even though Seraphine had not expected to be recognised here, it was not uncommon for people to recognize her from time to time. After all, she was one of the most famous Kaeladons, but normally, when she was identified, people kept their distance from her. Kaeladons were, as mentioned, notorious and feared by many.
Seraphine decided not to react to the man but concentrated on her meal again.
The man waited for her to reply, but when her silence dragged on, he lost his patience. "I've heard a lot about you and your deeds, Miss Seraphine. To be honest, I'm quite a fan. The tales I hear about you are more than impressive. It's just unbelievable to hear how you, a woman who is almost still a child, chase these monsters back into the abyss alone in the dark of night, and for minimal pay at that. I could never do that!"
Now Seraphine pricked up her ears. Although the man seemed to be praising her, something about his tone of voice was...wrong, but she decided not to answer and to wait for the man's further reaction.
When the man saw that she still did not want to answer, or even acknowledge his existence, he sighed heavily, "But I also envy you. I am just a simple man, without purpose in this world, but you Kaeladons are born with a gift blessed by Deius that we normal people can only dream of. You know immediately who you are and what your task is, while I had to search for it for so long."
He pressed on. "I wish to make you an offer, Miss Seraphine. My name is Joan. I was sent by the Order of Faith, sent here specifically to find you. We could use your help. I promise you, it will be worth your while."
Seraphine finally reacted. She set down her fork and knife and looked directly at him. "The Order of Faith, hm?" she murmured, "Even though this isn't my area of responsibility, I have actually heard about you. Many inquisitors sharpen their torture devices just in case they get their hands on one of you. They don't like it when fanatics use the word of Deius to spread their eccentric views."
Joan gave a faint smile, "Unfortunately, our friends in the Church have strayed from the true path of Deius. Greed has corrupted their ranks, and belief is no longer as important to them as it once was. But we could debate the directions of faith all day. Why don't we turn to business
instead? Believe me, this offer will not disappoint you."
Seraphine exhaled heavily. "Mister Joan
…"
"Just Joan, in the Order of Faith, we do not use titles. We are all equal," he interrupted.
"Joan," she corrected herself, "as kind as your offer may sound, I must decline. I already have an assignment from my family. But if you ask again later, perhaps I might have time for you."
Joan shook his head. "You misunderstand. I do not wish to commission you. I wish to employ you permanently. Join the Order of Faith. Follow Deius. Lend us your strength."
Seraphine couldn't help but laugh. "I know how your order operates. You hunt down and capture anyone who refuses to follow you. You torture them until they have no choice but to die. You threaten families, children, and women. And you really believe that I would join you so that you can use me as a weapon for your senseless cult?"
Joan looked at her, the smile on his lips forced. "I assure you, we are not a cult, we are—"
"I. Do. Not. Care." Seraphine interrupted him mid-sentence, " I am a hunter, Joan. I hunt monsters from the abyss. As you have realised, that is my job, my destiny, and neither you nor anyone else can change that!"
Joan cleared his throat and tried again. "If you would only come with me to our camp, we could talk about it. I promise you, we have things that would really interest you."
Seraphine rolled her eyes. Slowly, this man began to get on her nerves.
"Thanks, but really, no thanks. Now if you would kindly... get lost." She pointed to her food. "As you can clearly see, I just want to eat in peace. I've had a really exhausting day and really don't want to deal with fanatics who just don't seem to understand "no" anymore."
The smile disappeared from Joan's face entirely. "I would be careful, Miss Seraphine. Not even you can afford to have us as enemies."
Seraphine slowly stood up from her seat. "Joan, I have fought creatures whose mere sight would have shattered your feeble mind, beings so ancient that even when your great-grandfather was born, they were already considered primeval. I have come closer to death more times than most people will in their entire lives. So if you think you can threaten me, then you are even more foolish than I thought. I am not afraid of you, your cult, or whatever you want to call it. I will ask you one last time, politely, to piss off... please."
The man rose slowly, fists clenched. He glared at her in anger. "You-"
But Seraphine suddenly recoiled, her face filled with panic. "No! I do not want to go with you, my lord!" she cried loudly, her voice trembling with fear. "Please, leave me alone!"
Joan frowned, startled by her sudden change in demeanor. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, the woman from behind the bar approached. "What is going on here?" she asked Seraphine.
Seraphine pointed at him in fright. "This man...he wants to drag me to his camp by force. I have never seen him before in my life, I swear."
The man tried to speak, but the woman cut him off. "You should leave."
"Woman…" he said, stepping toward her, "You don't know what you're getting yourself into, so turn around, walk away, and maybe I'll forget your rudeness."
The woman laughed sharply. "I don't know who you think you are, but this is my bar, and in my bar, everyone follows my rules! And the first rule is, men with ugly faces like yours are not welcome. So turn around and walk away, or else..."
The man approached her menacingly, anger flashing in his eyes. But the surprisingly brave woman did not take a step back, because at that very moment, the guests at the other table interrupted their conversations and slowly stood up. Some even drew knives or swords.
Joan's eyes darted from man to man as if he were calculating whether he could defeat them, but then his gaze met Seraphine's. Her deep black eyes looked at him calmly, and he knew that even if he could defeat the men, he still couldn't win against Seraphine. After all, she was a Kaeladon, and he was just a regular man. He stepped back, but not without taking one last look at Seraphine, "You'll regret this, hunter!"
"Thank you, thank you so much," Seraphine said to the woman after Joan finally left, "You all really saved my life."
The woman smiled kindly. "That is all right. Your bath is already drawn. Come, I will take you to your room." She laid a hand on Seraphine's back and guided her toward the corridor.
The woman looked at Seraphine. She reminded her of herself when she was younger. She, too, never had any money and carried weapons everywhere that were too big for her and she could hardly use. She had to fight her way through everything just to get a hot meal.
Seraphine let her lead her to her room. She opened the door for her. The room was small, with a single bed, and in the middle stood a large tub steaming with hot water. Seraphine could not help but smile at the thought of a good, long bath. "Thank you again!" she said to the barmaid.
"Don't worry about it. If you need anything else, just come out front. Otherwise, I live two rooms further back. Simply knock."
Seraphine thanked her once more before the woman turned and returned to the bar. Stretching, Seraphine stepped inside. She yawned as she closed the door behind her, but she couldn't relax for a second because she noticed movement behind the door the very next moment.
Without hesitation, she drew her sword and struck. Whoever crept in like that could mean nothing good. She almost expected it to be Joan who had secretly sneaked into the room.
Her silver blade flashed, slicing through the air in a clean arc, but then stopped abruptly as if she hit a wall. A figure stood directly behind the door, catching the sword with one bare hand.
"Tsk!" Seraphine hissed as she recognized him. It was the same figure she had seen leaning against the palace walls. He still wore the same hat and coat, the same old brown boots and long trousers. But this time, Seraphine could see his face clearly. It was a ghastly sight, even for a seasoned hunter like her. His skin was an unnatural shade of gray and green, mottled like rot. It was torn and wrinkled, hanging from his face.
He had no eyes, only two black pits that seemed to sink deep into his skull. His lips were missing, ripped away, leaving his face locked in a perpetual toothy grin.
Seraphine wrenched her sword free from his grasp. This was not her first time encountering the creature, nor her first attempt at killing it.
"Do you always have to sneak up on me like that?" she asked in irritation.
The creature's grin widened as it stared at her. It seemed greatly amused.
Seraphine forced a smile in return. "You really are a delightful jester, are you not?"
The creature waved dismissively, as if he were ashamed of the great praise.
Seraphine sighed and put her sword back in its sheath. "Could you please come back later to annoy me?" The creature tilted its head, as though considering.
Seraphine gestured toward the bath. "I know you have no eyes, but I know you can see clearly. And as you can see here, I intend to take a bath. So be a good ghoul, or whatever you are, and behave like a gentleman."
The creature hesitated for a second, but then shrugged and actually left. She rolled her eyes. This creature had followed her for nearly half a year now. She watched him leave, deep in thought. At first, she had tried everything to kill it, but whatever it was, she had never seen such a powerful being. Her attacks had no effect; her silver blade, which could severely wound any other monster from the abyss with a single strike, seemed useless against the ghoul.
But the ghoul did not seem to want to hurt them, merely observing them as if they were a play, which he found highly entertaining.
The only thing he did was play lots of stupid and sometimes really mean pranks on her or at the expense of people who couldn't even see him. It seemed to be his fulfillment, that's why she simply called him Jester.