Spiriting Elise away while her mother was handling council business, they met Erwin in front of the adventurer's guild. Kynos had the gray cloak draped over his shoulders as he sported guards over his chest, wrists, elbows, and knees, with brown gloves and sturdy boots covering his hands and feet. Elise was clad in the long black cloak, hood covering most of her face and similar protectors hidden underneath, looking very much her role. They both had packs on their back and water canteens strapped to their belts. Kynos wore a small, sharp knife in a sheath on the back of his belt while Elise held her demilune.

Erwin was still in a long white coat, but he had a giant wood framed leather potion case attached to a large belt at his right side, extending all the way down to his knees. He was barehanded, but on his belt hung a pair of unusual gloves; the right one looked like a regular light leather glove, though it extended almost to his elbow. The left glove was a heavier gauntlet with a hooked blade on the back of the hand portion. The fingers on that gauntlet were also metal jointed and pointed like claws. A pair of sturdy goggles hung around his neck. Kynos could see a light leather breastplate peeking out from under the white coat, as well as the usual hard leather knee guards and boots.

Erwin's companion looked much more menacing this time around, enough to startle Elise into hiding behind Kynos briefly as he made his appearance leading the horse-drawn wagon. He had plate metal armor attached to most of his body and a large scutum on his back. A wicked looking flanged mace was affixed in a leather holster on the right of his belt, while a long knife hung in its sheath at his left. His right arm wasn't covered by plate, but by metal shoulder, elbow, and wrist guards, leaving his hand and parts of the arm bare. A long green tattoo ran from underneath his shoulder armor to tip of his right index finger. His name was Otto.

Kynos and Elise quickly learned that Otto, like the two, hardly ever spoke. There wasn't much need for him to, as Erwin dominated the conversation in the wagon.

As Otto managed the reins, Kynos and Elise learned that Erwin hailed from a city to the north, the single heir to a rich estate and medicine business. Despite being in such an enviable position, he had never cared for the lifestyle of luxury and merely wished to become the world's greatest alchemist. He spent his childhood alternating between his personal laboratory and experimenting on any of the family servants or locals that he could get his hands on.

As could be expected, Erwin's family servants and childhood acquaintances began avoiding him like the plague, and, after an especially tragic incident involving a maid losing all of the hair on her body and committing suicide due to her reflection, Erwin's parents sent him to Incanta's famed school system. They figured that as long as their prodigal son was indulging in a particular field, he might as well as learn from the best. Also, they wanted to keep him out of their city, as he had wreaked a good amount of havoc to their brand name.

Now Erwin was Incanta's most infamous non-mage, having earned the nickname 'Bad Medicine' and been kicked out from several dormitories and apartments. Still, he was being sent a fortune every month, allowing him to afford his own home laboratory and reagents. He was having the time of his life. The only person that could be called his friend was Otto, a slave he bought in his youth. Otto had long since been given his freedom, but he held a deep-rooted belief that he had been rescued by Erwin and therefore owed his life to the man. Somehow, Otto had been able to survive quite the series of experiments, his hairless state, large size, and green tattoo having all been the effects of different potions.

Two days of Erwin later, the group reached the edge of the forest.