WormWood

The Cedarwood Witch

It was right before dawn, I could see the sun starting to peak over the hill. After a night of tossing and turning, I had gotten ready in anticipation to see the cedarwood witch. I made my way down from my room and to the entrance of the inn. Malcom was nowhere to be found. I was glad, that meant it was going to be much easier to slip out and seek out this witch. I stepped outside and was greeted by the inn keeper. "Hello, by chance could you point me in the direction of.." before I could finish, she gave a little laugh. "You're looking for the witch, aren't ya?" I grinned and gave a small nod. "I figured, most travlers have been seeking out the witch lately." I nodded in understanding. The woman pointed to the direction I needed to head in and said, "If you go straight down that way and take a left, you'll find the witches' house by the lake." I nodded again, "Thank you." I said before making my journey down to see the witch.

I did just as the woman said. I headed straight, took a left and soon found myself at the witch's door. I hesitated, my father would be so upset if he found out I was here. Hell, the whole town of Wormwood would want to burn me at the stake and claim I'm a witch just for associating with this woman. I was about to knock when the door opened on its own. In the doorway stood a short gray-haired woman. "I was wondering if you were ever going to knock," she said with a delightful giggle. I gave an awkward smile and laughed. "I'm sorry." I said, unsure of what to say next. "Now, now it's alright. I find most people who visit seem to hesitate at the door. Too scared of what the people back home might think," she said in a reassuring tone. "Come on in. What can I help you with, Dear?" the woman asked as she moved from the doorway to let me in. I made my way into her home and began my explanation. "Well, you see, my mother fell ill nearly 11 years ago. She's been getting worse and worse as time goes on. I'm looking for something to cure her."

"11 years is a long time. What are her symptoms?" I sighed, "She started off with fainting episodes, her hands began to shake, then she lost control of her lower half. She hasn't walked in almost eight years. Her immunity isn't what it used to be, she often gets sick and she's almost always in pain." I explained as tears started to reach my eyes. "To be honest, I don't know how much longer she has to live, she's frail and can hardly keep a meal down." tears were now streaming down my face. "I'm afraid there's nothing that can really cure her of her ailments, I can provide you with herbs to manage the pain and keep food down. This will help ease her in her final days of life." I shook my head at the witch's words. "No please, I came all this way. I'm defying the orders of my father and could burn at the stake for even coming here. I'm risking everything to save her. So if you know of something please help me."

She looked at a loss for words, "Where is it that you live, dear?" I sighed in frustration, "Wormwood." I answered coldly. Her eyes widened at my last confession. "Wormwood, you say?" I nodded. "There's a forest there, it's said to be home to a very rare but very powerful herb. Legend has it that this herb has brought back people who were at death's door." I looked at her, hope started to fill my heart, "Are you talking about Wormwood Forest?" Without answering, she started scrambling through her bookshelf. She let out a sound of satisfaction and laid an old tattered book down on her desk and began flipping through the pages. She stopped on a page that had a drawing on it. "This is it!" she let out in excitement.

I went around to look. The drawing was of an herb that had a black flower at the very top." Death's flower," I read in a whisper. I continued reading the scribbles along the side of the flower. My eyes widened when I read the final words written. Pulls those on the brink of death back to life, is what it said. "This is what you're looking for," the witch said with a smile. I nodded my head, how was I going to get this flower was my only thought. "This only grows in Wormwood?" I asked the witch. She nodded, "In the forest, yes, a long time ago it was inhabitable. Natives of the land lived in that forest. No one knows why or what happened for it to be a death trap these days. There's always the usual speculation that the devil moved himself in." she shrugged.

"I've been in the forest and survived. If I did it 11 years ago, I could do it again." she shook her head at me in disbelief, "I've never heard of anyone surviving, how did you do it?" I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know. I have no memory of being in there. However, since returning from the forest, I've felt something pulling me back there. I sometimes find myself there even though it was never my destination. I started sleep walking to the edge of it. I even dream of being there. A man often appears in those dreams as well. I feel like this is a sign that I'm supposed to go in there. Maybe it's destiny." I looked over to see the witch smiling at me, "Well, let's not keep destiny waiting. I want you to take this book with you. It's a diary from a long time ago. It has a lot of information about the forest. Use it to find what you need." I nodded my head in thanks as I accepted the diary from her.

"Do you perhaps have a couple of herbs I can take back with me, just to keep my mother comfortable while I'm away looking for this special herb?" The witch started scrambling around once more grabbing dried herbs that were hanging from the wall and making me a bouquet with them. She then wrapped them in some brown paper and wrote a note. "This note details all the information about how to best use those herbs for healing properties." she said with a smile. "Thank you so much! What do I owe you?" she shook her head, "It's free my dear, all I ask is, once you've taken care of business, come back and tell me about your adventure! I'll be looking forward to it!" I smiled at her, "Thank you again, by the way, what's your name?" She waved her hand, "Just call me the Cedarwood Witch."