The room they were in, including the furniture, was all one large carving inside of a tree. It was a strange, surreal, and fantastic sight. Kail and Kin sat at a table, opposite a tahkean girl with blonde hair. Kail couldn’t help but focus on her strange inhuman features. Her tail, her clawed fingers, and her horns. Even the teeth of the tahke seemed strangely pointed, giving them a bestial look. Kail had been given some clothes to replace the top that had been ripped apart; a tahkean tunic designed not to cover the body completely, to make it easy to move in and keep the body cool. The forest became very warm during the day, so Kail was grateful for it. Once he’d been dressed Kin had taken him to see Ylva, the girl in front of him, who was mostly in charge of the village.

“We came under… attack, if you can call it that, almost a year ago.” Ylva started to explain. “Animals in the forest started to become hostile, attacking people. A few members of our village got bitten, and they start acting the same way. Eventually they… became what you’ve seen. Part wolf and… very dangerous. Our doctor, Salomon, is working on a cure as we speak.”

“What about the human girl?” Kail asked, drawing a confused look from Ylva. “Both me and Kin came here because we had a request from someone in the city of Hombruck. Her daughter went missing in these woods.”

Ylva shook her head. “Sorry but we haven’t seen any human girl, but I doubt she’d survive for long. She could be… dead… or she might have turned into one of them.”

Kail looked at Kin, who just shrugged noncommittedly. Kail sighed. Then a wave of dizziness hit him. He grabbed the table and gritted his teeth. He felt sick. It passed. Then his stomach growled violently. He noticed that both Kin and Ylva were looking at him. Kin patted him on the shoulder.

“You haven’t eaten for three days. Let’s get some food.” he said. Kail agreed. As they left Kail quickly looked back at Ylva, catching her eye. She looked at him quizzically. He quickly turned back. He couldn’t help thinking that she hadn’t told them the whole story, but she didn’t seem suspicious. Maybe she was keeping details from them that she herself didn’t think were important.

“We should talk to the doctor.” Kail said.

“Sure.” Kin said unenthusiastically. “Look, he’ll probably come to check on you anyway once he hears that you’ve woken up. He seemed especially interested in how fast you were healing. Should probably be wary of him. Either way, food first.” he said.

Back in Kail’s room, or the room he was staying in, he and Kin ate. A combination of meat and vegetables in a bowl. Apparently they had access to uninfected animals, which seemed strange to Kail, but he didn’t question it.

“So have you found any leads about this girl?” Kail asked, now that he and Kin were alone.

“Nope. No one here has seen her. I think she’s probably dead. So no reward for us. These people still need help though. If I can help protect them until their doctor finds a cure for this disease then I will. What are you thinking?” he responded.

Dead? He had to agree, as much as he didn’t want to. She probably was already dead. Kin didn’t seem like he cared much about it though. Kail realised he’d have to tell her mother that they couldn’t find her… if they survived. He couldn’t just leave the tahke alone to deal with their problem, although Kail didn’t know what their situation was regarding defence. Were they like Eastthorpe village, without anyone that could fight?

“I agree.” Kail said. “I’ll help. Maybe we’ll find some kind of clue while we’re here. Or maybe I’ll –“ he was cut off as Kin looked to the doorway. The fabric was pulled to the side and a tahkean man walked in. He had short brown hair, a short beard, and, of course, two horns. He looked at Kail and walked over to him.

“The name’s Salomon” he said. “I’m the doctor of the village. You’re lucky your friend found you when he did.” he motioned to Kin. “Even then, lucky to have survived. Show me?” he motioned to Kail’s chest, where he had been attacked. Kail nodded, lifting up his tunic to show Salomon the scars left behind. Salomon shook his head in astonishment. “Strange. Do all humans heal like that?” he asked. Kin laughed.

“Err.. Not that I know of.” Kail said sheepishly. Salomon rubbed his chin in thought.

“You haven’t shown any signs of infection either… You didn’t get bit anywhere, did you? Didn’t find any bite marks.” Salomon continued. Kail shook his head. “You should be fine then.” he glanced at Kin before continuing. “You should leave when you’re ready. It’s dangerous here. You don’t need to be putting yourself in harms way for us. We’ve got things under control… Besides... we know how this thing interacts with a tahke when it infects them, but we don’t know what would happen to a human.” he said. Kail and Kin looked at each other. Kin shook his head. Kail decided to be polite.

“We’ll… talk about it.” he said, with a polite nod. He then, as if inspiration had struck him, he activated his ability to see into the world of spirits. The world shifted around him to a glowing blue. The room around him glowed with life, still being a living tree, and he could see the doctor in front of him as a soul. He looked… perfectly normal, although Kail was strangely pleased to discover that the souls of the tahke had horns and a tail too. His sight returned back to normal.

“Right, well, if you have any questions come over to my clinic. I hope, for your own sakes, that you return to your safe human city though.” Salomon said before leaving.

“Well, that seemed awfully suspicious.” Kin noted. He looked at Kail. “Did something just happen that I didn’t see? You seemed… strange for a moment.”

“I looked at his soul.” Kail explained. “Although his soul looked perfectly normal.”

Kin nodded. “Oh yeah, your ability to see the dead. I really can’t tell if it’s some joke of yours that you won’t let me in to or not.”

Kail shook his head. “It’s true. Ask Yiannis the next time you see him.”

“Yiannis?” Kin asked. “How would he know?” Kail then told Kin about the job he had joined Yiannis on. “I’m surprised you and Yiannis got along.” Kin said.

Kail thought to object but agreed. “Me too. He seemed pretty… well… mercenary at first. But he ended up agreeing to protect the village so I guess he’s not so bad.”

“I guess not. Maybe he’s secretly a kind-hearted soul inside” Kin said with a laugh. “You know, that girl Ylva, she’s not the actual head of this place. Her grandfather is. Apparently he keeps himself isolated on an island in the middle of a lake. Also, apparently, he’s like you. He can talk to spirits too. Interested in meeting a fellow madman?”

Kail’s eyes widened in shock. Someone else who could talk to the dead? He was definitely interested. He nodded enthusiastically.

“I’ll talk to some of the people here and see if I can take you to go talk to him.” Kin said.

“Thank you.” Kail responded. He really didn’t know anything about his ability other than that he could see souls and talk to them. He recalled what had happened at Eastthorpe village. It had seemed like he had been possessed by Ulric’s spirit. Was that a part of his ability too? “If he really can though…. please don’t call him a madman. It is real.”

When Kail next woke up it was dark. He could hear voices coming from outside. He looked to the door to see a familiar figure looking out the door. He got out of bed and walked over to join her, making her jump. It was the girl who he assumed had been taking care of him when he’d been asleep for three days. The girl that had been there when he had first woken up.

“What’s going on?” Kail asked.

“I’m not sure.” she responded. “If we were under attack they’d have sounded the horn.” Horn? Kail wondered. “It looks like people are gathering on the forest floor for some reason. Maybe they’re going out for a patrol?” Kail looked to see torches shedding light about, and a few tahke climbing down trees heading to the ground.

“Shall we get a closer look?” Kail asked. The girl looked at him in shock, but he could tell she was just as curious as he was. She nodded enthusiastically. Kail wondered if she’d been told to look after him. Perhaps the tahke Salomon had assigned her to it. Was she his assistant? He looked around and realised how easily the tahke could get about. With their claws and tails they easily climbed up and down the trees. “Erm…” he started. She realised his dilemma.

“Here.” the girl said, showing him a rope tied to the platform they were on. “Not everyone here is a good climber. I mean… most of us, sure, but not everyone. Let’s use these.” she said.

“Thanks.” Kail responded. “I didn’t catch your name by the way…”

“I’m Siv.” she replied. “I help out Doctor Salomon as much as I can. When he first got here he shouldered everything himself, and so I ended up kind of becoming his assistant. For everything he’s doing for us he deserves some help.”

When he first got here? So he wasn’t always part of this village? He wanted to ask more but she let the rope drop down and started to climb down. Kail followed, although even with the help of a rope it was still hard work. He realised that there was another platform further down, and he found that every level had ropes so they could move further down, thankfully. Once they reached the forest floor they found a large group of tahke. Seeing so many of them together he realised that the tahke must be naturally a little shorter than humans. Most of them were around his height or shorter. The height difference was made more noticeable as a few of them carried torches which shed light on two figures in the middle of the group. One was Kin, much taller than Kail, and his height was a sharp contrast to the group of tahke surrounding him. The other was a tahkean that Kail hadn’t met yet. Taller than Kail, taller than the rest of the tahke and only slightly shorter than Kin. His light brown hair stood out, made even more prominent by the horns on his head. Kail was confused. This person had five horns around his head, jutting through his hair like a crown. He didn’t know much about the tahke, but everyone he had seen so far had only two horns.

As he was in the habit of doing, Kail tried to look at the man’s soul. However, surrounded by so many people, Kail couldn’t make it out. There were too many people in the way. Kail tried to get closer, Siv following him, but he had difficulty pushing through the crowd.

“Your people are well trained.” Kin said, motioning to the large ring that had opened around them. Around the ring, holding people back, stood some tahkeans wearing armour, with longswords sheathed at their hips.

“Many thanks, I train them myself.” the tall, five-horned tahkean replied. “I’d much prefer them to be on patrol though, so let us conclude this swiftly.” He walked over to one of his warriors who held out a spear for him.

“Sure thing, Siegfried.” Kin replied. “If I win then I want you to take me to the island, so I can talk with Soxolfr, and I want to bring my friend with me.” He walked over to a warrior on the opposite side of the ring to Siegfried, who also held out a spear for him. The spears looked worlds apart, however. Kin’s spear looked like any average human spear; a wooden shaft with a metal, bladed tip. Siegfried’s spear, however, looked to be completely made from metal. Kin had heard rumours about Siegfried’s strength but… he was sure that a metal spear would weigh him down, and he was confident in his own skill.

“And when I win.” Siegfried responded, pointing his spear at Kin. “You will help me train my warriors, when we’re not on patrol.” Kin sighed. He’d been out on patrol with some of the tahkean warriors, although never with Siegfried. Word of his skill must had gotten back to him. Perhaps he’d been told that Kin had slain the beast that had attacked Kail.

“Sure.” Kin responded. “Although you won’t be winning.” he said with a smile. Siegfried didn’t respond, a look of utter concentration on his face as he assumed his pose, his spear held out before him. He waited for Kin to do the same. Kin waited for a moment, measuring Siegfried up. The weight of the metal spear didn’t seem to bother him. He showed no movement, except for his calm breaths. Kin sighed and follow suit. They both calmly and slowly moved along the outer edge of the circle and slowly closed in, as if each following the pattern of a spiral intending to meet in the middle.

When they were within each other’s range their spears rose to meet simultaneously. The clash of metal on metal could be heard by everyone. They seemed evenly matched as their spearheads deflected off each other time and time again… but they weren’t evenly matched at all.

Impressive he thought to himself. Every time their spears met his spear was swung away with unreal force. He regained control each time and brought it back, only for it to be deflected wide again. In comparison, Siegfried’s weapon didn’t move much. It stayed in front of him, slapping Kin’s attacks away. Siegfried stepped forward and attacked; a straightforward thrust. Kin tried to deflect it but Siegfried was too strong. He had to sidestep, holding his spear in defence. Siegfried swung it sideways at him and he had to duck and use his spear to guide it over him. He had to wonder grimly if the wooden shaft would hold out. Siegfried swung back, this time aiming at Kin’s legs, and he had to jump to avoid it. At the same time he brought his spear down from above towards Siegfried, forcing him to pull his spear back and deflect the attack. With Kin’s spear out wide, Siegfried swung his down towards him from above. He wouldn’t be able to deflect it. It wasn’t just a matter of moving his weapon in the way in time; Siegfried was too physically strong. Even if he brought the wooden shaft up to block it he felt like it would simply break. For the first time so far, Kin had to jump back out of the way. He’d been pushed back. Siegfried had control of the centre of the ring. The fact that his spear is made entirely of metal doesn’t slow him down in the slightest. Siegfried’s breathing was still calm. Meanwhile, Kin’s breathing had sped up, needing to draw in more oxygen to replenish the energy he’d wasted trying to deflect Siegfried’s overpowering attacks.

“That’s some unreal strength.” Kin said, laughing bitterly. He couldn’t fight Siegfried as if he was simply another spear user. It would lead to his doom. He would have to try to outmanoeuvre him and hope he was faster and more skillful enough to bridge the gap between their strength.

“Are you strong?” Siegfried asked. The question shook Kin from his thoughts. “I mean no disrespect. Some of my warriors are stronger than others, but when I spar with them I can’t tell. Are you strong? I can’t tell.” His tone didn’t seem demeaning or judgemental. Kin could tell he was actually curious. For some reason that angered him more.

“I like to think I am.” Kin responded. “I train to be strong, stronger than others. But your strength… It’s as if you’re cheating.” he said with a laugh. “But don’t worry, strength alone won’t beat me.” Siegfried cocked his head in curiosity. Kin wondered if Siegfried had ever lost a fight. He would be happy to sate his curiosity and give him his first taste of defeat. He would have to use everything he could to win. Siegfried had control of the ring, so Kin thought about how to use that fact to his advantage. Siegfried had no reason to move from the centre, and he didn’t seem to be in a rush to finish the fight.

Kin moved slowly and carefully around the ring, as if a predator circling its prey. Siegfried remained unshaken. Kin stepped in with an attack from Siegfried’s left. Siegfried deflected it, driving Kin’s spear down into the dirt, like Kin had expected him too. Kin jumped back then tried again, this time from the other side; to the same result. Kin moved around him once again, throwing in the occasional attack to divert Siegfried’s attention. They were no mere feints, however. With each attack he tried to find a way past Siegfried’s defence. His arms burned from overexertion as Siegfried deflected each attack with unreal strength. Once Kin was in the right place he repeated the attack pattern from earlier; an attack on each side purposefully aimed so Siegfried would deflect Kin’s spear into the ground. Siegfried counterattacked, and Kin jumped back once more. Siegfried’s eyes were on him the entire time. Kin smiled and stood upright, a safe distance from Siegfried.

“Giving up?” Siegfried asked, curious. Kin’s eyes didn’t speak of defeat, yet the stance he was in was defenceless. Kin removed a hand from his spear and pointed at Siegfried.

“Eamepeat!” he shouted. An unfamiliar word. Siegfried was confused. Even more so as a sudden light glowed from below him. Siegfried looked down and realised that each time Kin’s spear had been driven into the dirt he had marked the floor. And the marks… glowed suddenly. The ground beneath him was suddenly covered in ice. The ice rapidly moved to cover his feet. He was frozen in place. He looked back up to see a gleeful smile on Kin’s face as he moved faster than he ever had to the side that Siegfried would be defenceless from. His eyes spoke of victory.

“Magic?” Siegfried exclaimed, shocked and caught off guard.

Kin dove forward with his spear ahead of him. However, Siegfried was strong. Unnaturally strong. He pulled his feet free from the ice as if it was mud, sending shards flying about, and quickly moved to defend. For the first time in the fight it was a real defence rather than confidently deflecting Kin’s attacks with ease. He defended with the metal shaft of his spear, not having enough time to bring the tip around. His feet were free, and if he could survive that attack than he planned to overpower Kin as fast as he could, knowing that he had magic at his disposal. He deflected the blow high, but Kin used all his strength to push down on Siegfried’s spear. Siegfried offered a slight smirk. He wouldn’t be overpowered. But then he realised his feet were slipping. He was off-balance. The ice below his feet offered no grip. Even with his strength, without a good foothold he was defenceless. He couldn’t believe the outcome as his feet slipped from under him completely and he fell flat onto his back. The cold permeated through his clothes, causing him to shiver as Kin stood over him, spear tip pointed into his chest.

“Concede?” Kin asked, unable to hide the joy from his voice, as if the gleeful smile wasn’t enough. He then noticed that Siegfried had let go of his weapon with one hand and was gripping the tip of Kin’s spear. His eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“I concede.” Siegfried said. Kin breathed a sigh of relief.

“Eamepeat.” he said again, and the ice beneath Siegfried disappeared. He then removed his spear from Siegfried’s chest and offered him a hand. Siegfried took it and let Kin help him to his feet. No blood. Kin noted. The hand he had grasped was the hand Siegfried had gripped Kin’s spear tip with, yet it wasn’t wet with blood. It hadn’t pierced his skin at all. That’s unnerving.

“Impressive.” Siegfried said. “Magic?” he asked.

“A trick.” Kin offered with a wink. “Used correctly, a fight-winning trick.”

“Well, you win. I’ll keep my word. Tomorrow I’ll take you across the lake to see our head, Soxolfr.” Siegfried responded.

“Cheers, Sieg.” Kin replied.

“Don’t call me that.” Sieg responded.

Then someone came forth from the circle. “What’s going on?” he asked. It was a white-haired human with strange white eyes.

“Awake, Kail? We were just sparring, don’t worry. I did manage to get you a meeting with Soxolfr though! Aren’t I impressive?” Kin said.

“A spar? That was a…. Err, alright then. Thanks.” Kail responded. He looked to Sieg. Kin was starting to learn how to tell when Kail looked at someone’s soul, and he realised Kail had done just that. Apparently a strange symbol appeared in Kail’s eyes when he did it, but it was dark so he couldn’t check. However, he was certain Kail had just done it, from the momentary pause as if he was trying to look at something in detail. “Nice to meet you, my name is Kail.” he said to Sieg, awkwardly bowing. Kin laughed. Sieg turned away from him.

“Warriors!” he shouted, gaining the attention of the tahke wearing armour with swords ready at their hips. “Patrol!” he said. With that the circle started to disperse, and Sieg left without a word. Kin approached Kail.

“You looked at his soul, right? Did you notice anything strange?” Kin asked, wondering about Sieg’s unnatural strength. Kail nodded.

“It’s hard to explain, but there was something strange there… Something else.”