Chapter IV

Coordinate

Dannar I

-In the spring, when the flowers bloom, we will see each other again.-

Underneath a sky darkened by smoke and ash burnt a great fire. All-consuming, world-ending. It would never cease, not until all was gone. Between it lay a future corpse. Someone who stared blankly into the dark sky. All life, all hope, he had already given up. No longer a person, just an empty puppet. An empty puppet that would be charred and melted.

But above, in that sky, bright sunshine spread throughout. Blinded, he blinked for the first time in an eternity.

There was no fire nor ash. Green, rolling hills surrounded him. He was on one himself, on a bed of roots below a tall and wide oaken tree. Echoes of steel on dirt, the song of birds, and the cry of the cicadas all spread throughout the air. Men in white walked between the hills. White steel and indigo clothes. They walked on a road that led towards a keep some time away. There were fields of white cotton flowers down there, as well.

Peace. In all of it was peace. He was at peace, perhaps for the first time since his birth. Then, peaceful as he was, he heard light steps walking up the hill. In the corner of his eye, he saw a fluttering white going along with the pleasant gale. He closed his eyes for but a moment. When he opened them, he saw two shining emeralds looking at him from above and a wide smile that would be etched into his memory.

And as he closed his eyes once more, he found it hard to reopen them. There was a sound of hooves, and the sound of wheels on the road. He felt the wood of a cart behind his back and a soft leather cushion underneath him. His eyes slowly adjusted to the sight. In front of him sat a man with long, curly black hair and beard. That man’s gaze was locked onto Dannar. He peered into him with his tired brown eyes, all while wearing a melancholic smile.

“Awake?” the man asked.

“Hrmmm…” he rubbed his eyes with his knuckles and moved his bangs away from his face. He looked at the man opposite him again. Joeseph. That was his name. He wore the same armour as he did, a white plate with blue cloths. Their colour, the colour of the Inquisition.

“Dannar, you alright?” he spoke again.

“Aye, just… lost.”

“Did you remember something?”

“No, same dream as before.”

“I see,” he let out a disappointing sigh. “In any case, we’ll be at the keep soon enough. Hoped it’d be sooner, want to rinse all this blood off of me.”

“Just don’t stand in the splatter next time. Worked for me.”

“You shut your mouth. You weren’t the one who had to stab the lizard, you just held it down.”

“Could’ve stabbed it somewhere less volatile.”

“I sure as hell didn’t expect the head to be filled with that much blood,” he crossed his arms. “And the stench as well… urgh.”

“Aye, well, at least it’s good for the skin. Or so I’ve heard.”

The carriage suddenly stopped. “We’re here,” said the driver. The two jumped off and made their way towards the keep. The same keep Dannar dreamt about. That very scenery was in front of him again.

They entered the keep’s spacious interior. The first room was a large place with some six tables on one side and a section with cupboards a long counter. The walls were made out of grey stone, and all the floors out of wood. Flags were hung on certain places. All had a blue sword pointing downwards on a field of white.

“Captain Joeseph!” yelled out a boy and rushed forward. He saluted, placing his left palm on top of his heart. “Did you kill the lizard? Was it fire-breathing?”

“Yes, Alyon, we killed it. No, it did not breathe fire. It was venomous, with sharp teeth and claws.”

“And an inappropriately short tail,” Dannar added.

“That too. Did you scrub the floor?”

“Well, uh, I did. But it’s dirty again. And someone threw up.”

“Someone? Edward. Must’ve been,” Joeseph rubbed his forehead. “Alyon, continue your studies. Are you using Dannar’s notes for reference?” the boy nodded and started walking up the stairs. “Good. I’ll go scrub the floor then. Dannar, you go eat, or drink, or something, the hell do I know.”

“You sure you don’t want me to do it?”

Joeseph grabbed a brush to scrub the floor from nearby. “I’m already dirty and smelly, might as well go ahead and clean. Now go. And tell Anise to brew some tea,” he commanded and started scrubbing the floor.

“Aye, aye,” Dannar said and walked of. He went up the stairs first, towards his room, where he removed his armour and put on his plain linen clothing and leather trousers. He hung his gloves on his belt and walked back down the stairs, towards another room on the bottom floor. It was a small kitchen with a pantry in another room next to it. On top the already lit stove was a yet to boil kettle. And across it, on a chair, sat a young woman in a dress of white and blue, with eyes of emerald and golden-brown hair, reading a book. Dannar sat beside her.

“Back so soon?” she asked.

“Aye, another successful hunt,” he proudly exclaimed. “What’re you reading?”

“A book.”

“Really now?”

“Mhm. One about Valoryan swordsmanship. Look, it even has pictures, so you can read it, too.”

“I haven’t forgotten how to read, thank you very much.”

“But you remember nothing of your life before coming here. It’s been, what, five months? You should really try harder and remember.”

“Well, you don’t remember where you’re from, either.”

“Valorya.”

“So you claim. And apparently I’m from Reinra, yet I’ve no clue.”

“The accent makes it obvious,” she flipped a page. “Oooh, look at this one!”

Dannar leaned his head towards the book. “A tad bit visceral, isn’t it?” he looked at a rather bloody picture of a man stabbing another with three swords.

“Mhm. Some good old Valoryan magic. Funny how the land of swords uses swords as magic, no? Well, used. How long ago did magic die out? Some nine hundred years ago?”

“Nine hundred and seventy-eight. The starting point of the new era.”

“I’m pretty sure the war between Kyrione and the Dammari was the reason we started from zero then. Might be connected, though. Who knows,” she cleared her throat. “In any case, I think the last bladebinder died well over a hundred years ago, during the last war.”

Dannar shrugged his shoulders. “A good thing. The less magic there is, the better. Otherwise we’d have more things like that overgrown lizard and world-ending witches.”

“You know, you’re the only person who believes that magi can end the world. And that there are these witches that surpass reality. Might be why you’ve forgotten your past? A witch took your memories,” she neared her face towards him. “Or maybe you’re the witch.”

He chuckled. “I might be. But if I were a witch, I’d conjure myself up some food right now. Anything else we have besides…”

“No, only smoked ham,” she averted her eyes to the now boiling kettle. “Go grab yourself the ham. I have to prepare the tea,” she stood up and placed her book on her chair.

“Aye, aye,” he stood up and went inside the pantry, grabbed a large chunk of smoked ham and entered the kitchen again, heading towards the exit.

“Shouldn’t you have some bread with that?”

“Nay, got to change things up here and there,” he said and left the kitchen. Then, he walked up towards one of the tables and began eating his smoked ham in peace, for probably the five hundredth time now. He watched Joeseph scrub the floor and gave him a thumbs up and a smile. Joeseph, however, had a rather annoyed face as it seemed he had encountered some sturdy filth, so he gave back a finger, as well. Not a well-meaning finger, though.

Halfway into his peaceful meal came an interruption. The ground shook, as if they were in the middle of an earthquake. Flashing lights came from outside and a thunderous sound split the heavens. Then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped.

Joeseph quickly jumped to his feet. “Again!?” he walked up to one of the windows and looked out of it. “What is wrong with that damn oak!?”

“You sure it’s the oak’s fault?” Dannar asked, munching on the ham.

“Dan,” he turned around and walked towards him. “There is another person lying underneath the oak. The same thing happened when you showed up here. So please, go out there and check who it is. Maybe you remember something. Maybe you don’t. I don’t care. Go check,” he pointed at the door and returned to his scrubbing.

Dannar, in silence and still eating the ham, walked out.

He walked down the road, finishing his food. There were two hills to his right, divided by a plain field of grass. The second one had an oaken tree. A tree alike an oak, yet it was different somehow. At least it made Dannar feel differently when nearby. There was some sort of tingling sensation in his heart, his hairs stood on end, and he felt lost, misguided.

Dannar shook his head and began walking up the hill. It was a very short and easy hike, hard to tumble down unless severely impaired by alcohol. Lucky that he was sober.

Below the tree, nestled between the branches, lay a woman in greyish robes. They were cotton, finely woven and decorated with curved lines of white and blue. Her hair was long and copper, her face soft and beautiful, and her skin was a pale white. Frail, Dannar thought. A deceitful frailty. She was strong, and only being right next to her made him realize that.

He knelt down. She was fast asleep, or unconscious. Maybe even dead. He turned his head towards her chest. It rose and it fell. She was breathing. He called out to her a few times before lightly shaking her shoulder. No reaction. Deciding not to let a young woman sleep all alone on a hill, he picked her up. She seemed like a child in his arms, but was also heavier than he thought she would be. Dannar carried her off into the keep.

“I see it’s a woman this time, and not half of a giant,” Joeseph said, standing up from the floor. “She alright?”

“Unconscious. Spare room up the stairs, aye?”

“Up the stairs and to the left. I’ll bring some food and water in a bit.”

Dannar nodded and went up the stairs. He went left and then tried to figure out how he would open the door while she was still in his arms. Believing his leg was the best option, he pushed it open with his leg. Fortunately, the door was unlocked. He laid her down on the large bed, ensuring that she would be comfortable. Sweat. She began to sweat and move her head, as if a nightmare had come upon her. He grabbed a nearby towel to dry her forehead, but she stopped as suddenly as she had started. Still, he wiped off the remaining sweat.

Joeseph walked in and placed a plate of ham and bread on the nearby table as well as a cup of water. “I suggest you stay by her side until she wakes. A precaution, if you would.”

“A precaution? Did you watch me sleep when I first came here, as well? Were you the one who carried me up here, in your strong embrace?”

“I dragged you up here. You’re far too heavy. And both me and Anise watched over you, in case you turned hostile,” he looked towards the sleeping woman. “I’ll go take my bath now. You have your sword at the ready. There is something… off about her. I can smell it.”

“You sure it’s not just your own stench you can smell?”

“Might be. Stay alert,” he said and left the room.

Dannar sat down on a nearby chair. He leaned against it with crossed arms and waited, for a time. He grew bored just waiting and took out his journal. A journal he had with him when he woke up here. It was a leather journal with a strap, with slight scratches here and there. It all known magical creatures, their behaviours, diets, habitats, and ways to kill them. He did not know how he got it nor why he had it, and the only thing that indicated ownership was a signature on the first page. D.N.R., which was how he got his name, as he did not remember it.

He turned page after page of the rather lengthy journal, before coming across a drawing of a lizard. A lizard he had killed earlier this morning with the help of Joeseph. It was a large lizard, hiding away in a cave and terrorizing the local Roddan village of Jalbeck. It had been an ordinary common lizard that, one day, due to the influx of magical energies in his body, grew far too large and aggressive. A millennia ago, such occurrences had been commonplace. These days they happened maybe once a week. It was more probable that the creature just died from the magic than for it to morph into a fiend.

Why did such things happen? Dannar did not know. From what he understood, every life had a connection to the world, and sometimes, for one reason or another, a great deal of energy went from the world to that life. Though that only happened during birth. Perhaps the world itself wanted to reshape that life. Perhaps some other powers were at play. He did not know, and he did not care enough to pursue the answers.

But what he did know was that magic was inherently evil and destructive. Elsewise, the Inquisition would have never been founded. However, he also realized that he was here due to some sort of magic and that he had a magic of his own, a magic to call for his weapon from thin air.

“Want some tea?” Anise interrupted his thoughts.

“I’d like some.”

She walked up closer and placed a cup of tea on the table. “This is our newcomer?”

“Aye.”

“Her robes are dirty. Think I have some of my old clothes, she should fit in them. She’s a bit small for my current ones.”

“Already welcoming her? You didn’t even meet her. Might be up to no good.”

“At least there’ll be another woman here. Alyon will only look pretty in a dress for a few more years, before he grows up, so…”

“What?”

“Nothing, nothing,” she chuckled. “Did you remember anything when you saw her?”

“Nay, not a thing.”

“Hmm,” she placed a hand on the bed frame. “The tree is probably possessed. Kidnaps people from all around the world and brings them here,” she placed her other hand on her chin. “She’s from Devyr. Royalty. The Kingly House Avenn, no mistaking it. No one has that colour of hair and skin as them.”

“Huh, might mean I’m some sort of noble, myself.”

“Sure you are. And I’m the Empress of Xuun.”

“Xuun…?”

“To the west, beyond the desert and the wall. And beyond a few other kingdoms. Most tea comes from there, you know.”

“Ah, didn’t know that. Memory loss and all.”

She sighed. “How very convenient,” she stood up straight and put her hands on her hips. “In any case, I’ll go and grab her some fresh clothes. You just keep keeping an eye on her,” she said and left.

Dannar slowly sipped his tea and waited for the girl to wake up. Anise came by some time later and brought some folded robes. Other than that, everything was quiet. He sifted through his journal here and there, mostly to kill time. It seemed as if he would have to spend quite a while waiting for her to wake up.

That was, until she finally woke up a moment after he thought of that.

She opened her tired eyes. Bright, molten copper. Glowing, almost. She sat up and looked around before resting her eyes on Dannar. Her expression was one of confusion, and she quickly closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead with her palm. She shook her head and then looked at Dannar once more. “Where am I?” she asked with a warm but commanding voice, her arm raised towards him with an open palm. A great wind flew towards her hand.

Dannar stood up and backed off. “Inquisition keep, Lairendy. Please put your hand down, I mean you no harm.”

“And yet you said this was an Inquisition keep. Last I heard, Inquisitors hunted magi. How did I get here? Speak, before I…”

Dannar raised his hands. “An earthquake, some flashing lights, and bam, you were sleeping underneath a tree. I carried you inside, and there’s food on the table. Calm, please?”

She lowered her hand. “Thank you, I suppose. If you could just ignore what my threat, that would be great.”

He relaxed and sat back down. “Sure, sure. Um, anyhow, how’s your memory? Remember anything?”

“What do you mean? I haven’t forgotten anything.”

“You have your memories, then? Name, past, all that?”

“Yes…? Am I not supposed to?”

“Well, uh, I don’t know. Do you remember what happened before you came here?”

She stopped for a brief moment. “…Yes,” she answered with hesitation. She shifted her eyes towards the food on the table, then towards the bed, before looking at Dannar. “Seeing as I’m not chained up and all that, does that mean I pose no threat to you?”

“None at all. I think. I mean, I hadn’t a clue you were a magus before menacingly raising your hand and wanting to… burn my face off?”

“No, I meant to burn everything off, but let’s leave that aside for now,” she cleared her throat. “Does that also mean I may leave?”

“Yes, you may. But…”

“Good, glad to hear it,” she stood up and started to unwrinkled her robes. “…They’re covered in muck,” she turned around. “Is there a place here I can clean my clothes?”

“Well, actually, we brought you a fresh change of clothes, if you want,” he pointed towards the folded white robes.

She touched the fabric with her fingertips. “Awfully expensive clothing to give to a stranger. This is white velvet.”

“They’re old robes, Anise grew out of them. Which is why she put them here.”

She unfolded the robes. Long and white with short sleeves. There was a downwards V on the skirt that would reveal the legs or trousers. It also had a blue outline on both the sleeves and the hem. “Well, it’s a pretty dress. A bit revealing, but I do have my pants on me,” she looked at Dannar. “Mind leaving?”

He stood up and quickly marched off. “I’ll be right outside,” he said and left the room. He leant against the wall and waited for her to finish. Sounds of her shuffling about came from within, some swears also accompanied that. Eventually, she opened the door.

“A tight fit. But I am grateful, nonetheless,” she said and looked at Dannar. “You plan on introducing yourself sometime soon?”

“Dannar.”

“Elynne Avenn, a pleasure,” she crossed her arms and put her shoulder against the door. “Now then, since you’re with the Inquisition and whatnot, you hunt various creatures besides just magi, right?”

“That is… correct. Why?”

“I am looking for someone. A creature, if you will. It looks like me, probably sounds like me, as well. And it’s off doing god knows what.”

“So, erm, a homunculus?”

“Yes, a homunculus.”

“Aye, well, that’s…” he scratched his head. Who was this person before him? No one had ever managed to create an artificial human, and now she was claiming there was one out there. “Do you have some idea where it’s currently at?”

“Assuming it headed straight from Fiosa… what day is it today?”

“Thursday, tenth of July.”

“It had an entire week, then. Passed by the city of Dammrias already, I assume.”

He stood up straight. “Might not have. We’ve received reports of murders nearby. Seemed like it was done by a human, so we left it to the guards. It was earlier this week, so it’s entirely possible this homunculus of yours is still there as the killed wasn’t caught.”

“Where, exactly?”

“Earldom of Swathe, small town called Westwulf.”

“Hmm, if it was in Swathe, that means it went diagonally from Fiosa. Then it would pass through Fynwood, then Valorya, and then Kyrione. Directly towards the capital, I think.”

“Then it’s somewhere in Fynwood now, you think?”

“Possible. Tell me, besides these reports, did you also hear about Fiosa being destroyed?”

“Destroyed? No, we heard nothing of the sort.”

“I see…” she leant off and started walking. “Well, thank you for the information, but I believe I’ll be going now.”

“I believe otherwise,” said Joeseph, who just now appeared. “If what you just said was true, that means you were involved in the creation of the homunculus. An affront to the Sun, and a clear violation of natural order. Grounds for execution.”

The muscles in Elynne’s arms tightened. Her veins began to glow fiercely. “I’ll kill you before you draw your sword,” she threatened.

“Doubtful. I suggest you cooperate, before you get yourself killed. There’ll be no execution, nor will there be an official write up, provided you allow us to help you find and eliminate the homunculus.”

Elynne slowly let go off her forceful power. “Am I to assume the two of you will accompany me and keep close watch? Slitting my throat while I’m asleep, just in case?”

“Dannar will accompany you. Also, Dannar,” he looked towards him, “we’re moving into the Dammrian citadel tomorrow, this keep will be decommissioned. High lord’s orders.”

“Well, you heard him. Guess you’re coming with me,” Elynne said.

“I, uh, aye?”

“Second thing. Take the Inanium cuffs, in case she begins to act up,” Joeseph added.

“I am still able and willing to burn you from the inside, I hope you are aware of that,” Elynne retorted with anger.

“I don’t think I need to. I trust the lass,” Dannar spoke.

“Don’t haunt me from the grave once she kills you,” Joeseph walked up towards Elynne. “You eat yet?”

“No.”

“Eat. Takes an entire day to Westwulf.”

“We are not going to Westwulf, we are…”

“Fynwood, then. Whatever. It’s a trip either way and you need your energy. Eat.”

“You’re awfully concerned about someone you just threatened.”

“As an unofficial member of my division, I am allowed to both threaten you and be concerned about your well-being. If you don’t agree with these terms, I suggest you find a nice place for a grave,” he said and walked off.

“He grows on you,” Dannar said. “Welcome to our order, I suppose.”

“Why am I going along with this?” she asked herself and entered the still open room. “I am going to eat. No, I won’t escape through the window. I will come downstairs once I’m finished,” she said and slammed the door closed. Dannar shrugged his shoulders and walked down the stairs.

“She eating?” Joeseph asked, sitting by the table with beer in his hand.

“Aye, aye she is. Care to explain why…”

“No, no I don’t. There anything you want me to take to Reyisaan?”

“Wh- Reyisaan? Didn’t you say we’re moving to Dammrias?”

“We’re going to Dammrias first. Then, alongside every other Inquisitor, to Reyisaan. You don’t have to go, as there are no official records you even exist. But the rest of us will be there,” he chugged his tankard. “Except Anise, she’ll be staying in one of my family’s estates for the time being.”

“Right, because only you, Edward, and Alyon are actual Inquisitors.”

“Precisely,” he pointed towards Dan. “So, nothing that needs to be taken?”

“No. I’ll just take my journal and sword with me.”

“Good,” he placed his tankard down and looked Dannar in the eye. “If she acts up, kill her.”

“She won’t.”

“Still, don’t keep your eyes off of her. I don’t know what she’s capable of. You don’t know, either. And I bet you she’s up to no good, just like any other magus.”

“Aye, I know. I’ve no reason not to trust her, though.”

“No reason to trust her, either.”

“She didn’t kill me, that’s a start.”

“Fair point,” he finished his beer. “I’m going to finish reports in my study. Don’t know when we’ll see each other again, but best of luck,” he went towards a room near the staircase. “Don’t get yourself killed,” he entered the room and closed the door.

Some time later, Elynne came down. They went outside and down the road towards a cart driver waiting to be hired. It was some time away from the hill with the tree, next to a post sign that had carriage written and drawn on it.

“Thought we’d walk,” Elynne said. “Fynwood is just two days away on feet, you know.”

“Do you want to walk?”

“Hmm… perhaps. Perhaps not. Not sure myself.”

“Well, in any case, I think we should go to Westwulf first. Just to check.”

“And if it has nothing to do with my quarry, we leave and head to Fynwood.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he nodded and walked towards the carriage. “Good day, we’d like to hire the cart for Westwulf.”

“Ten crowns,” the rider said. “If you got the coin, hop on.”

Dannar took out a single coin that had a ten and a crown on it. The rider pocketed it and gestured for them to sit behind. Then, as they sat on the cart, he shouted at the horses and they steadily started to trot towards their destination. The rider also hummed a tune as they started, and he continued whistling and humming for quite some time.

Soon enough, the end of their daylong trip was nearing as the man hummed on constantly without rest. Perchance it would not have bothered them, had he not been doing the same song, but their fate was to not find out if it would have been bothersome or not.

They stopped shortly in Wergild which was just on the road between the highlands that made up most of Roddan and the flat earldom of Lairendy, which was more akin to Konned. There, the cart driver had loaded up some supplies that he was aiming to bring to Westwulf and was then convinced that he should get inebriated before continuing to drive the cart.

Before Wergild, they had passed by other villages, mostly fishing and farming ones, as there was nothing else to build upon since there were few hills and trees in eastern Roddan, only the coast and some fertile plots of land.

Then afterwards they passed over numerous hills and between mountains, by pine forests and mining encampments and through guarded gateways every mile or so. The threat of bandit highlanders was non-existent during Thursdays; for some odd reason, they refused to raid on that specific day of the week and instead kept to their camps in the high mounts, the only thing coming from them were merry shouting and roasted goat smoke.

By Friday evening, they had arrived in the town of Westwulf, which was some time east from the Roddiya river. They had spoken in length whilst travelling, though Dannar mostly listened as he did not know much about himself. She told him of the place she grew up in, of her sisters which sometimes visited her, of her mentor, and of the prince she had been betrothed to.

“We’ve arrived, children,” the cart driver suddenly said and the two hopped off. “Stay safe!”

They headed into the walled town and towards an inn where they might look for clues. An overabundance of guards prowled the street, carrying bright lanterns, silver daggers on their hips and rows of garlic on their chest. It was a strange sight, to be sure.

“Seems to me they’re looking for vampires,” Elynne said. “Not a homunculus.”

“Might be that they’re mistaken. I’ll go ask a guard,” they approached a guard standing by a lamp post, fidgeting around. “Excuse me, why are you all carrying silver and garlic?”

“Some bloodsucker’s been going around and gutting people, killed four already near the town. Folk’re afraid it’ll strike in town next,” the guard answered.

“A vampire, you believe?”

“Dunno. Corpses were dry, didn’t have much blood,” he said, vacantly staring in the distance for a while before walking off.

“Strange man.”

“A strange man, but no homunculus here,” she sighed and shook her head. “Guess it’s time to investigate Fynwood.”

“Don’t want to go vampire hunting?”

“Not really, no. But we should probably rent a room at the inn, not too safe to walk around during the night,” she headed towards the inn and Dan followed alongside.

They entered the dimly lit inn. There were few people inside, a single one stood out. He seemed like a nobleman, wearing fine, red garments, his head covered in clean brown hair. In his hand, which had two ruby and one emerald ring, was a silver cup of wine. The man spoke to some people in a corner, chuckling and shouting with them.

Dan and Elynne sat on the counter and ordered two pints of ale from the unkempt tavernkeeper as well as a room. In silence, Dannar took a large gulp of ale and turned around, eyeing and inspecting every single customer.

“Think staring at people will help you find the vampire?” she interrupted his soundless observation.

“I might, might not. You never know. We could try throwing garlic at strangers.”

“Does garlic even work against vampires?”

“Nay. But we might piss one off and it’ll attack us. That’ll reveal it.”

“A brilliant idea. You get the garlic and throw it, I’ll watch you get beaten up by a drunk.”

“Huh, you doubt my tavern brawling skills? I could deck any person here.”

“Right, sure, let’s go back to the observing,” she turned around and started looking at the crowd with Dannar.

Dannar fixated his eyes on the nobleman. His shoes did not match the rest of the clean clothing; they were muddy and ripped. He seemed pale and malnourished, had black circles underneath his eyes, smiled without showing his teeth and hid his hands with gloves. Dannar noticed that the man had his arm around a woman. Black hair and black clothes, pale skin as well. Youthful, no older than sixteen, regal looking too.

Wife? No wedding ring on either person’s hand. Lover? Awfully close sister? “Bartender, who is that man in red, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Hm? Baron Westwulf, he is.”

“And the girl?”

“His daughter,” the man looked down and continued to tend the bar.

“Wouldn’t a baron be a bit too conspicuous? I mean, I’m sure even vampires know that they’re associated with aristocracy and wouldn’t hide as nobles.”

“You never know. He hides his teeth, but might be that they aren’t as whole as he’d want them to be. And he’s in a place of power. People wouldn’t just go accusing him of being a vampire, so he uses that to hide it.”

“Might be his daughter.”

“Why’d you think so?”

“Looks like a smug bitch. Kind of like a vampire,” she responded.

“…A valid reason, surely. Might be that she actually is one. Might be that it’s both of them.”

“Or neither,” she drank her ale. “We should follow them after they leave, see where they go and what they do.”

“I, uh, don’t think that’s the smartest idea.”

“What’s the worst thing that could happen? We get arrested, maybe flogged, probably nothing deadly. Or we just get rid of the people that discover us and end up fine.”

“Ah, I’m sure I’ve done worse things,” he finished his ale and left forty silvers on the counter. “Let’s get going then. They’ve already gone.”

The baron had already gone inside his manor at the end of town with the black-haired girl. Dannar and Elynne went to the hind entrance of the manor and there stood a locked door. There were no lights coming from the manor, even though both the baron and his daughter were inside. Dan had a feeling of premonition building up inside him.

“Right, let’s decide how we’ll deal with them if they are vampires,” Elynne spoke. “You stab them, I lit them on fire. Sounds good?”

“Hmm…”

“Hmm what? Have some other idea? Going to punch them to death? Bleed on them, perhaps?”

“Maybe I might,” he responded jokingly.

She sighed. “Let’s unlock the door first.”

And as she said that, Dannar took out a bronze skeleton key from inside his pocket, designed specifically for situations such as this one.

“Great. And how do you plan on going about and using it?”

“Simple, really. I just…” he neared the key towards he lock, before noticing that there was no lock and there was no keyhole, only a knob. “Well, uh… front entrance?”

“Move aside,” she went towards the door and placed her palm atop the knob. Her eyes and her veins glowed fiercely bright as a wind came towards her fingers. Moments later, the entire door began to melt down, and the entrance was wide open. “I am sure they will find a replacement door,” she said, and they entered.

They entered the manor. Were it not for the rays of moonlight that dropped through the window, the room would no doubt be pitch black. An awful stench spread through the air, the stench of a rotting carcass which might have or might have not confirmed that a vampire lived here. The two creeped slowly through the room and reached a stairway that led upwards.

In front, a faint outline of a candle on a stool in a hall that stretched for far too long. With a snap of her fingers and a breeze of cold wind, sparks came to light up the candle. With the waxen stick ablaze, the way was lit up. Walls painted a yellowish green, like rotten lemons, and décor consisting of numerous landscape paintings and four busts, each bearing the name Westwulf. To the right; an open door. A study.

They went inside where on a desk a journal stood clad in leather. Upon closer inspection, they received but one concrete answer. That answer was nothing, therefore they left the journal where they found it and went for the closed door opposite the room.

Locked. From inside came a faint sound; raindrops on a puddle of water. Yet how could it rain within a manor? And rain did not smell like a cadaver left underneath the searing Sun for a week. Kicking the door down was not an option – too loud. Elynne resorted to the same trick as before and burnt open a passageway.

The black-haired woman lay on the floor. Ripped apart clothes and limbs, an exploded chest – its contents on the ceiling above, the blood dripping like red rain. Her face was no better, a chunk of her nose and lips was gone and her eyes were lifelessly bland and void. Her skin was paler than it was in the tavern, but a majority of her blood was still in the body or in the room. And why did her corpse smell so badly? She was breathing less than an hour ago…

Or was she?

Both Dannar and Elynne were shocked and disgusted by the sight. However, they still approached the body to investigate, fighting against the nausea building up in their stomachs. Upon closer inspection, Dannar noticed that the blood was drained through three holes on either side of the woman’s chest. As if massive teeth clenched around her and sucked out her vitae.

They started to walk slowly around the room, trying to find anything worthwhile. And then, a sound from above, either the third floor or the attic. They left the room with quick but quiet steps and went up the stairs at the end of the hallway.

Another corpse. The blood could be barely seen as it melded with his wine-red clothing, soaking it up. The baron had been slaughtered in the same fashion as his daughter, yet he was unnaturally aged – his hair became white and grey and his skin quickly wrinkled and paled. The man was barely in his forties, yet he looked like a long-living elder.

Then came the breathing. Heavy, monstrous, bloodthirsty. The steps echoed through the attic, the wooden planks creaked as if they were in pain. Dust and dirt settled in the moonlight, the beast was here in the well-lit room, but unseen.

And the beast started sobbing. “Why,” it cried out. A long, wailing cry. “Why did you take them from me? And now you return, for me. Why did you take them?”

“Show yourself. Who are you talking about?” Dannar demanded.

“My husband. My daughter. You came into my house. You ravaged them and stole their life. Why? For centuries we lived in peace, we left the town alone. Why? Why? Why?” it roared as it cried out, roared and whimpered.

“We killed no one! We came here to find out who the killer was!”

“Liar! Liar! I saw you, following my illusions! Following them here, towards their resting place! You killed them! She killed them and took their souls! Auughaaa!” the beast yelled and slammed the floor with its feet, revealing itself for the first time.

It lunged at them. Quickly. It would rip them to shreds in an instant.

Fragments of blue and silvers, sparks of starlight. In his hands, the blade manifested. The great silver blade, far too large yet as light as a feather and sharper that anything known to man, cleaved the fiend in half.

It shuddered and wailed like a bloodthirsty siren. It clawed and gnawed at the floor in its swarthy grey skin. Its claws were long like a bears, and it had tusks longer than that. Short hair all over the body, and legs that were shrivelled and meek. And its eyes. Its eyes were yellow, like the eyes of a cat. And they were filled with fear. Fear and hate. Hate that grew as the beast shrieked and pointed at Elynne. Hate that faded as it mauled the floor one last time before dying in its blood and guts.

The greatsword, as large as him and with a cylinder attached on the blade from the crossguard, disappeared from Dannar’s hand, leaving a trail of stardust in the night sky. He looked at Elynne who stared back, dumbfounded. “I assume the homunculus killed the beast’s family. It thought you were the homunculus and attacked. In any case, we killed the foul thing.”

She gave out a deep breath. “A… fair assumption,” she shuddered. “I feel… uneasy. But at least the beast is dead.”

“I suppose so. We should…”

“What was that?” Elynne interrupted him. “That sword? You used magic.”

“No, I…” he stopped himself. “I don’t know. I’ve had that sword since I woke up underneath the oak, same as you.”

“Except unlike me, you remember nothing,” she looked down at the severed corpse. “Never mind all that now. Let’s leave. Get some rest. Tomorrow, we’re headed towards Fynwood.”

“Aye, to Fynwood,” they started to walk away from the manor.

They left and went towards the inn to spend the night. Dannar looked behind himself, towards the manor and to the starlit sky. Something about what just transpired had stirred a memory within him. Perhaps he would remember something on this journey. Tomorrow, they would continue on their path. And whatever he was dragged into, he would see it through. For better or for worse.