As Venti Laughlin moved no more, his skull slowly melted into a puddle of disgusting goo, after having been repeatedly stabbed by members of the House Donovan. The wisps bowed to Lawrence before a gust of wind swept them away and the metal door swung itself shut.

Lawrence walked over and uncorked a bottle of holy water from his bag onto the remains, watching as the holy water splashed onto the remains and making a hissing sound. Indeed, Venti Laughlin was no more. Whatever magic he wove in this town was now gone. Anyone who came to town and was charmed into not leaving and pledging fealty to Venti Laughlin will find that his influence has subsided, with many questions in their heads on what has happened since they gave their minds to him.

"Are they okay?" Lawrence asked Craig, who had propped Kunivia and Kessler against the wall. The young lady, Kunivia, seemed much more alert, having watched the Butcher's execution by some ghosts and looking at her brother worriedly. Kessler, on the other hand, seemed to slip in and out of consciousness. Walking closer, Lawrence knelt down beside the young man.

"Sir, can you do something?" Kunivia pleaded while Craig looked at Lawrence, "Hey, if you can help him, I'm in your debt for sure."

"You already are terribly indebted, I'm sure that a few more debts are fine," Lawrence said, the user interface scanning Kessler's body. The man's stamina was rapidly depleting for some reason. No signs of poison either. Some bone fractures but...

Possession

"Christ almighty..." Lawrence sighed, taking out another bottle of holy water and tipping it into the mouth of Kessler, who was shivering and ice cold to touch. As the holy water was swallowed, Kessler coughed and choked. However, as he opened his mouth, there was a low moan, that of the Butcher and a very faint voice, almost a whisper.

"... No... Not like this..."

With that, Lawrence watched as the status bar, Possession, disappeared, replaced with Fatigue. Feeding him another Greater Restoration potion, Lawrence watched as the colour returned to the face of the man. He wearily opened his eyes and the first person the man saw was Kunivia.

"Are we... Are you okay?" Kessler asked, attempting to muster the strength to grab his sister's arm. Kunivia's eyes watered, as she embraced him.

"It is okay now..." Kunivia sobbed, as Craig and Lawrence watched, smiling as the two of them comforted one another. As the two calmed down, they helped Lawrence and Craig release the prisoners, where their standing in society ranged from wealthy merchants to minor nobles and travellers. For those who were dead, Lawrence made sure to bless their bodies before opening the cells, just in case some undead shenanigans decided to unfold itself as a plot twist, courtesy of Lawrence failing to note subtle hints in the user interface.

As Lawrence stepped out of the church, a large group of people were gathered at the entrance, holding torches and the likes, the light illuminating the area in front of the church. At the front was Tiefna and Laura.

Laura still looked terrified, however, Tiefna had the look of someone who was thoroughly impressed.

"I must say that I am pretty impressed," Tiefna said, folding her arms.

"Everyone back to their senses yet?" Lawrence asked, looking around at the faces of the people around him.

"They are slowly starting to remember the things they have done, but it seemed like it will take some time before they know it fully," Tiefna replied, brushing the hair out of her eyes.

"You're the leader for now, I suppose?" Lawrence asked and Tiefna nodded.

"Alright, we're just going to leave this place. You can do me a favour, however--"

"Wait! Take us with you!"

Lawrence turned around and saw two men. One in a dirtied sailor's garb and the other in what seemed like a turban and merchantile robes, which reminded Lawrence strongly of those middle eastern Arab merchants.

"My name is Ha'ad and this is my friend, Berg. Thank you for rescuing us, but please, can you take us with you? Once I get in touch with my family, I will reward you greatly!"

Lawrence almost sighed in annoyance. Another escort mission?

"Where to?" Craig asked and Ha'ad's eyes lit up.

"Black Bay Village!"

"Oh... That's along the way then...?" Craig looked at Lawrence uncertainly who shrugged and nodded. Kunivia and Kessler, who have retrieved their gear, hugged Craig and Lawrence.

"We'll join you in Black Bay soon. I just need to take Kunivia home first, I'm sure our big brother is worried," Kessler remarked and Craig nodded in agreement. Slowly, the crowd disperesed, with a few awkward thank yous to Lawrence and party.

"Do me a favour, if you ever hear of a man called Gregor Smith, do send word to Black Bay," Lawrence said to Tiefna who smiled and nodded.

"Look, thank you, say thank you to the big boy?" Tiefna urged the little girl who shuffled forward quietly, looking at the ground.

Lawrence knelt down, smiling and patting the girl's shoulder.

"T-Thank you..."

As the group left The Singing Gardens, Lawrence had bought four horses to make it back to Black Bay Village. Apparently, Ha'ad and Berg were en route to Black Bay Village until their ship was attacked by sirens.

"Interesting, you mean to say they charmed your men?" Craig asked and Berg nodded grudgingly as if finding Craig's taste in things that were interesting to be in poor taste.

"I think that's a Siren's skill of Bewitching Melody. Hear enough of their song and you will join them. Unless you are mentally capable enough of resisting it of course," Lawrence replied, quietly gathering information from Craig and Berg's conversation.

"I wish to set up a trading company in Black Bay, the company is also willing to help develop the port as long as the rights to trade in the company are given to only me, Ha'ad Hashite!" the heir to the Hashite company proudly declared and Craig nodded appreciatively. By now, Craig has gotten used to Lawrence's act of pretending to be someone unimportant that he just plays along now.

"I'm Lawrence Carstein, a resident of the village, along with Craig here, I'll be happy to bring you to the village chief, Roland for further negotiations. But it is getting late so we should make camp at Castle Altis," Lawrence said and the group readily agreed.

It was a fool's errand to attempt travelling at night especially through that forest. Though the undead by the Butcher and Marquis Donovan are no more, who is to know if the necrotic energy has not influenced other things?

From a distance, they could see the fortress Altis.

There seemed to be several men with torches moving along the walls. For once, Lawrence felt not the dreary feeling of looking at the fortress.