“What do you make of this?” Elrith asked.

We had arrived at Bear exactly at night the following day. The townsfolk weren’t happy to see us and kept their distance. In fact, I felt that some looked surprised that I was in town. Elrith and I immediately started investigating the town, looking for clues and hints.

“I asked some of the locals,” Elrith stated, once we met back up at the town square, later that day. “Based on what I was told, the supernatural activity only occurs at night.”

I nodded, letting the information sink in. It looked like supernatural forces were indeed at work here; meaning should be taken care of, as soon as possible.

“Did you find anything Seth?” Elrith asked.

“I didn’t ask around, but I did snoop around the town. Nothing seems out of place, meaning the culprit is probably staying out of town.”

Elrith nodded at my statement. Knowing that we would only find this culprit at night, we had no choice to book an inn, and wait the day away. Elrith took off, claiming she wanted to investigate some more, which I found odd. She never did extra work, unless I asked (forced) her too.

I, on the other hand, asked the inn owner if there was someplace I could practice. He hesitated when he saw me, sweating quite a bit, but he asked me to follow. He led me outside, behind the inn, where a makeshift practice ring, was constructed. I thanked him and started practicing on some wooden dummies.

“Stab, slice, back step,” I muttered under my breath, telling myself the actions as I performed them.

“Dodge, dodge, slice, and lunge.”

“Well, well, should I be honored or worried that the Blade is currently staying in my town?” A voice asked.

I turned around to meet an old, short and plump man. He was dressed in a brown, three-piece suit, with a navy blue tie. He wore small round glasses on the tip of his nose. A well-groomed, white, mustache completed his look.

“Can I help you?” I asked him, putting on a defensive stance.

The old man laughed. “No need to be so defensive. I’m only here to talk. I’m the mayor of this town, Bart Baldwin. Please, please, sit.” He said, beckoning me to sit with him at a nearby table where tea was present.

“Why are you so calm about talking to me? Most people would be scared.” I told him.

He took a sip of his tea. “Oh don’t be fooled Mr. Nox, can I call you that?”

I nodded.

“Thank you, Mr. Nox, but do not be fooled by appearances, I am very much scared of you, but I do not show it. Fear is a powerful weapon, you should know that more than anyone, but if you don’t show fear, the weapon becomes useless.”

I leaned forward intrigued by what he was saying.

“Yes of course fear is powerful, but you’re one of the only few that have not shown fear towards me, frankly it’s quite surprising.”

“Well, I’m an old fellow now. I’ve seen lots of events, seen lots of people. You could say that age has made me wiser. I’m a man of knowledge. Knowledge is a great weapon. Mr. Nox, I’ve met my fair share of criminals and thugs, I used to be part of this towns, town guards. I showed my fear when I was younger, but I learned that if you take the fear away, you remove their main psychological weapon.”

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The mayor took out a pocket watch, looking at the time. He put it away, finishing his tea and stood up.

“I must sincerely apologize Mr. Nox, for the sudden departure, but I must leave for a meeting that takes place in a couple hours. It has been a pleasure to talk to you.” He reached out for a handshake, which I returned in kind.

The day was turning into the evening when Elrith finally came back.

“I did some looking a bit outside of town and found an old abandoned, decaying mine camp. There are a few buildings still standing, and of course the mine, but I dared not to explore it alone.”

“Well investigate the mine, when night falls. That’s where the culprit may be hiding.” I added.

Elrith nodded, and then suddenly remembered something. “Oh! Now don’t be mad, but I booked us a reservation at a fancy looking restaurant named the Bear’s Delight.

I knew I shouldn’t have left her go alone.

Night time had arrived, so we went to the fancy restaurant that Elrith had booked. It would be a strain on your coin, but luxury wasn’t something I was used to or got to enjoy often. So once in a while, having some enjoyment was welcoming. We arrived at the restaurant and immediately we stood out. I wore a simple black three-piece suit, along with my mask. Elrith, on the other hand, wore a dress, half white and black. It was a weird fashion statement.

“Good evening, Sir, Madam.” The waiter nervously said, when seeing who he would serve. “What will you two have your supper tonight?”

“I will have a Gaian tuna with the best wine you have, while the girl will have steak with juice.”

“What kind of steak and what kind of juice?” The waiter asked.

“Gaian steak, with extra ketchup and Bearberry juice.”

“Very well, I’ll be back with your food.”

Soon later we received our food. Elrith ate like an animal, which could be accurate, considering she was part animal. I ate more well-mannered, taking my time. Also, I had to take my time considering I had a mask that covered half my face. Eventually during our “date,” I decided to tell her about the letter I had received some days ago.

“The Empire sought you out and you’re not even going!?” she said choking on her piece of steak. “Have you gone completely insane?”

I distracted myself with my wine glass. It was filled with a thick-sweet, Valkyrian Transit red wine. The color wasn’t the most appealing, however, with a crummy red color. I amused myself by twirling the wine in the glass.

“I’m not going immediately,” I replied. “I plan on wrapping up things here first. Nobles have to learn some patience. I’m not a lap dog.”

We continued eating as time went by. Out of boredom, I started to eavesdrop on the conversations of others. None were useful or interesting for that matter, I returned back to my plate. How boring people can be.

We finished our supper, paid and left. As we exited, a woman yelled.

“Thief! Murderer! Savage!” she let out with a blood cry.

A man was on the ground beside the woman, red stains on his shirt. A bloody dagger was beside him. A few meters away a man was running out of town.

“Finally, something interesting in this town,” I said and sprinted after the individual, with Elrith close behind.

The man proved tricky to catch. He would bob and weave, running into random alleyways, zigzagging to try and avoid me. Finally, we burst out of town, into its outskirts, with dense forests straight ahead. The man was losing steam from running. I could hear his heavy breathing; I could see the sweat drenching his clothing and I felt like I could hear his heart beating heavily. We dove into the woods, the man hiding behind trees. I stopped running, not to make any noise. I stood there, motionless, carefully listening.

“Come on; show yourself, I don’t have all day,” I whispered to myself.

I was answered when I heard a twig snap behind a tree. I lunged towards the tree. Before the man could leave, I grabbed him by the neck, lifted him up and slammed him against the tree.

“Don’t kill me please!” I had no choice! I would die if I didn’t comply!” the man squealed, as I tightened my hold on his neck.

“What do you mean? Why did you have no choice? Who would kill you?”

The man’s eyes darted left to right, extreme fear in them. “No, no, no, I can’t. I’ll be killed, she’ll kill me!”

“Answer me, or I’ll kill you!”

The man panicked even more at that remark, but I got my answer nonetheless. I nodded and released my grip on his throat; he crumpled to the ground, having a coughing fit.

“So will you let me liv-”

I cut him off, snapping his neck. He was a murderer by harming that man back in town. He deserved to die. I stood there in the forest, thinking of what he had said: She. The killer was a she, and that’s when I realized that Elrith was nowhere to be seen.