Captain Aldric Thornwood's Arc

Chapter 3 of 3

Back in the main living quarters, Aldric set his pack on the table and turned the day over in his mind. The main hive still festered in the forest. If it swarmed before he untangled Matthew's lie, the village would burn. He needed a plan before dawn. A paper pinned near the door caught his eye. A warning poster, crude and loud, claiming the fairy had moved to another village. The ink was fresh. The words bent wrong, like a hand rushing to be believed. Aldric pulled it down and held it to the lamp. "Matthew." His voice was flat. "Where did this come from?" Matthew looked up from the iron stove, calm as still water. "A traveler must have pinned it. They pass through." One sentence. Then he turned back to the kettle. Aldric watched his hands. Steady. Too steady. Aldric crossed to Matthew's coat on the chair. He lifted it. Something heavy shifted in the inner pocket. He drew out a small leather pouch and spilled it open on the wood. River stones tumbled free, each carved with notches and dates — paths, years, a map of a life walked through these woods long before Matthew claimed to be new to them. Aldric set the stones in a row. The lie had a shape now. The hive could wait until morning. The cellar could not.