Once again walking in the woods, Gibbs in tow, Dorian stays slow. His last interaction, a week ago, keeps hovering in his mind. His fame is at an all time high, but he can't be happy about it. His usually low attire makes him one of the easiest ones to impersonate. The Stalker is now both one of the more sought after and one of the least well received mercenaries in the land.
— It seems that I'll have to change, again, my reputation. Gibbs, what do you think about making witch hunting my principal activity now ?
Of course, the only answer he receives is a joyful bark. The man then crouches and rubs the dog's head fur with a soft smile. He won't begin to charge for children's tasks, as this is now completely part of his public persona, but he now will especially go to town having witches problems.
With this, he'll both keep earning survival funds and increase his experience fighting against magical foes. Of course, Dorian knows that he'll have more difficulties to be accepted as a witch hunter because of his frame, but at least impersonators won't dare to come afterwards. No one sane of mind can willingly say that he's a witch hunter without real strength to back such a claim.
His mind set, the Stalker walks with renewed purpose. His birds fly over the forest, while his games run through it, eyes peeled in order to find anything of interest for their master. Dorian's usual lifestyle in the forest keeps him toned and ready, even if he faces less and less challenge, his army now strong enough for him to never need to act.
It takes him two more days to find another settlement. It's a city now, and he finds himself at a loss. In such a place, there should be way less opportunities for him to grow, as witches inside those walls are nearly all part of covens. Worse, with witches living in there are very few instances of supernatural problems, since they tend to curb them beforehand.
With a weary sigh, the Stalker enters Dunsmore and searches for an inn, wanting to simply crash for the night before resuming his journey. He needs to be stronger, in order to confront her, and for that he needs to fight more rogues, be they witches or wizards, and monsters. Only then will he have enough experience and strong shadows to win comfortably.
After an uneventful night, as he eats his breakfast while thinking about his next destination, Dorian sees a street urchin coming to him with a paper in hand. Before he can even ask why the child searches him for, having confirmed that, yes, he is indeed the Stalker, the man sees the urchin running out of the inn. On the paper, there is only an address and an hour.
At noon, Dorian awaits in front of a door. When the last bell ringing grows faint, it opens on a ten year-old girl who smiles to him.
— If you please, Mister Dorian, my eldest sister would like to talk to you.
Going through the motion, the man finds himself inside with the little girl locking the door behind them. She beckons him to follow her and leads him in the house, to the dining room, where a tens of women are seated.
— Come in, come in, we were waiting for you.
One of them, appearing to be in her late thirties, smiles at him and gestures to an empty chair in front of a plate.
— When we sensed you entering the city, we had to invite you. After all, you are recognized by Sandra and the others.
With the metaphorical bulb lightning in his mind, Dorian sits and smiles at the hospitable witches. All women chat eagerly during the meal, not hinting at why they wanted to meet him, which reminds the man about the atmosphere during meals back at Mavina's coven. It seems that serious talks have to wait until the end before being addressed. As a guest, he won't overstep their boundaries and waits for the end before talking.
— So… Missus, before anything else, how much do I owe you for the meal ?
A soft chuckle resounds all around the table.
— Nothing at all, dear. As a coven, it's our duty to host recognized hunters after all. It seems that I'll have to send a message to sister Sandra about this hole in your tutoring.
A blush slowly crawls its way to Dorian's cheek, despite his grateful smile. He really shouldn't have left so quickly. It's already too late however, and he can only earnestly accept the playful reminder.
— Now that I've answered your inquiry, let me begin. I'm Sister Gertrude, welcome to our little coven.
As she introduces herself, she nods politely at him. Dorian doesn't answer, his stare calmly roaming through the room and assembled faces. The one who opened the door is apparently the youngest, while Gertrude is the oldest of them. All are smiling good naturedly, which eases his nerves.
— We invited you at Sandra's behest, you see. Of all three covens here, ours is the closest to your, particular, magic and she asked for us to talk to you about what you can do. Before this, I have to ask. Was the hint that sister Mavina gave you enough to understand and discover your new ability ?
While he would prefer to keep his powers close to the chest, Dorian understands that this question isn't only from Gertrude but also from Mavina, Sandra and the others. A warm smile appears on his lips as he nods.
— Yes. I understood it in my hour of need, while helping a white witch, named Mina, in a town. At the time, I was working hand in hand with Hansel and Gretel, two hunters that I chose to direct to Mavina's coven for recognition. They are brother and sisters and, while only Gretel awakened, of white witch's descent.
As he talks, the man sees the youngest's eyes widen in confusion, while the others nod in understanding and smiles.
— If they are, as you said, of witch's descent, I believe that you did the right thing. They won't be adopted however if I understand your story well enough.
— Thanks. As for the power itself, it let me swap places with my shadows, would you like a demonstration ?
Seeing the agreement in their posture, he summons a hare from his shadow, which goes at a room's corner. A thought later, he stands in the corner while the hare is on his chair.
— I see. While it's true that our coven is near your powers, our domain is more about the pure shadows, not the… Dead's shadows. If you want, we can still try to impart our knowledge about shadows to you.
— That would be really helpful, thank you. All of you.
As of this day, he stays for a full month with them in order to learn all he can about their mastery of shadows. Despite his eagerness and their cooperation, they quickly see that his powers are too different from them. While both seem to be related to shadows, his own is more a shadow themed necromancy than a real shadow power.
While not for naught, at the end of his stay Dorian exits Dunsmore with a feeling of defeat. What he learnt isn't enough in his eyes to justify the length of his stay. In his hand, a map given by Gertrude locates a rogue witch's location, one whose existence was revealed to the coven the day before his departure.