Harlan ran out of things to do a week into his illness.

“How much longer until I get to use magic again?”

“A week, maybe more, maybe less. Wait until that bracelet has grown a seed.”

“So do you know how to fix me already?”

“I have a few ideas.”

“So why should I wait a week? Why not do it now?”

“Because you’ve also picked up a very dangerous bit of magic in your soul, and it needs to be safely removed. That bracelet will fuse your magic, Periwinkle’s magic, and that dangerous magic, into something new.”

“Alright. What is then?”

“Even mentioning the name of the magic is liable to give you ideas.”

Harlan took a moment to answer.

“I trust you.”

Another two incredibly boring days passed before Liat was ready to be picked up.

“It’s been a while.”

“You wouldn’t believe the trouble I went through to get here. I can’t imagine what it would’ve been like to travel the country to reach your home.”

The two embraced.

“Damn, you got solid.”

“Yeah, drake parts will do that to you.”

“Huh, alright. And who is your friend here?”

“This is Maria, my personal servant for a time.”

“With a name like that, I’m guessing you are an exile like me?”

“Yes, I’ve left behind my people because they refuse to see the world and change. Instead they break their rules little by little to pretend that they are holding onto the isolationist dogma of the past.”

“I feel the same way, there is so much that they could see if they just stopped being so damn stubborn.”

“Yes. And I hear we are both in the same position with Sir Fomoria, taking on some work for a time to fund travel somewhere else.”

“Speaking of travel, I’d like some rest.”

They made their way to Harlan’s home through a few short gate uses.

He got her set up in a guest room before lunch, and then they spoke of work.

“I’ll take you to Tole here after dinner, if that is enough time for you to get rested of course.”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine by then.”

She went to sleep after eating a small meal.

Harlan went to his office and slid a few panels around to complete runes hidden in the walls.

“Alright, nobody can hear us now. Who was that back in the desert?”

“Just another fun tradition of my people. Someone will be watching her for a year or two, if she reveals something she shouldn’t, they will try to kill her.”

“And how did he hide from her?”

“A minor spell that hides someone's mind. I’m sure we only found him because we aren’t normal, our mental senses could get past it. If I had to guess, they sent some new spy for real world experience.”

“I’ll need to make that spell then.”

“Of course. Now, what I am wondering is why you’ve put runic structures in your home. Why not soulsmithing?”

“The runes won’t appear to anyone's magical sense until they’ve been activated.”

“I suppose that is fair.”

Harlan visited the village, played with the children, met up with the lovers, and then returned home for dinner.

“Tonight we have sand drake filets cooked in a pepper and tomato sauce with eggs.”

“And here I thought I got away from home cooking.”

“I’m kidding, roasted turkey, corn casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy.”

Harlan saw an empty seat at the table.

“Isha, where is Sara?”

“She stayed home, morning sickness again.”

“I’ll check on her when we go to Tole.”

After their meal Harlan used the train to reach the growing town.

“I was wondering, Amber wasn’t at your home, did she move back to the farm?”

“She decided to join the army anyway and go to the frontier. So she's probably at boot camp for the next month, more of an aptitude test so they can see what rank to give her.”

“Oh… she didn’t tell me. ”

“I… I don’t mean to pry, but you and Amber, you got close, really close. Is there any-”

Liat waved her hands.

“No no no, we are just friends. I mean we did- no nevermind, I shouldn’t tell you that. We are just friends.”

“Huh, alright then.”

“So, Maria, how did you meet Harlan?”

The moment he stepped from the station the guards who kept anyone out of it saluted him.

“You don’t need to salute me, by working you already honor me.”

“Yes sir, Sir Fomoria.”

“That equipment looks to be quite high quality, and made of a low skysteel composite.”

“Sir Balor said that this station needs to be a symbol, and it wouldn’t do to have us in mundane armor.”

“It looks good on you, custom fitted?”

“Yes.”

“Keep up the good work, if my brother gave you this position and those items, then I assume you have already done good work.”

The men were beaming with pride to be noticed by their lord.

As he got out of the walled area which housed his station, an aide sent by the mayor was already there.

“Sir Fomoria, what can we do to help you today?”

“Firstly, I’d like to visit the home of my employee, Sara, and her husband Gunther.”

“Of course, I can lead the way.”

Harlan had already been to her home once, and while he knew the way, he let the girl do her job.

“You aren’t the woman who was sent to guide me in the past. Where is she?”

“Her mother fell ill, and she took up different work so she could be nearer to home.”

“Something a healer cannot fix?”

“Afraid so, it is a matter of age.”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“I’ve been told the symptoms can be put off.”

“I would hate to bring down this conversation with talk of money.”

“Hmm…”

They were just a few dozen feet when Harlan first smelled it, Marigold grabbed his shoulder.

“Calm down, we don’t know yet.”

He walked slowly to her door, his mind and body arguing back and forth to force him to take each step as his enhanced senses only made it clearer what the smell was. When he got to her door, he froze, he knew what was behind the door, and he couldn’t open it, no argument could be made to himself to step inside.

Liat pulled him away and called for the guards.

When they opened the door, he could see a hand, and a simple bracelet made from stems, Periwinkle had given one to anyone who visited, and Sara enjoyed the little white flowers that never withered away.

Harlan’s legs gave out as he saw the petals stained red, and Liat had to hold him up as his face distorted

The guards noticed their golems acting strangely all of a sudden.

“Red-4, follow.”

“Lockdown protocols are in effect. Please return to your homes.”

He lowered his emotions, there was a time and a place for feeling, but now, he needed to work.

At least that is how he justified hiding from his pain.

“I need to go inside to investigate.”

Liat grabbed his shoulder.

“I don’t know who she was to you, but you shouldn’t see this.”

“I need to investigate. I cannot leave it to them.”

He pulled out his amulet and contacted Balor to explain so he could contact Seekers.

On the other end he could

He deeply inhaled.

Three sets of blood, it was not a clean kill, Gunther hit one of them with his sheers, cut off a finger, they took the finger, left the blood.

Harlan looked down at the man, no tears fell as he closed his dull eyes.

When Harlan stepped out of the house a crowd had gathered to see what the commotion was and to find out why the golems were forcing everyone to return to their homes.

“Harlan, do this smartly.‘

“I will.”

He inhaled again, trying to catch the wounded man.

The nose of a Direwolf was not quite as good as the trackers used by the Nightwatchers, but it was good enough to cut through the smells of the town.

His pupils dilated as he hooked onto it.

He took the form of a bird, one not known to any man.

With his four sets of rapidly beating wings and his wolf head he deftly moved through the trees to find the men who were waiting to be picked up.

He called the Black Sentinels to him, then once they had silently retrieved the men he took them back to Tole for questioning. The Sentinels were to wait, if a gate really did open, they would go through it and find out who was there.

Harlan dragged the men guardhouse and tossed them in cells facing one another.

As much as he wanted to start peeling flesh off of them, then force feed them tonics and heal them just to start the process again until they broke. He knew there were things best left to expert.

So he pulled out his amulet.

“Carden. I know you have torturers among your people. I require one.”

“This is rather sudden, and you called during a meal with my-”

“One of mine was murdered. I have the two men who did it. Tell me, can you send one, or do I call someone else?”

“I’ll make a few calls, where do you need them?”

“The village of Tole in the Redstone barony.”

When the men awoke Harlan took not of their mental states, the way they looked around the room.

Their movements were not of hunters, they were soldiers who quickly took in the defects of the cell and had already started to plan an escape..

“Who sent you?”

“Please, sir, I have no idea why you’ve done this, I’m just a simple-”

Harlan pulled out a pair of daggers.

“You cleaned them.”

Harlan’s head returned to that of a wolf.

“But the blood still stinks.”

He snarled and the man stepped back.

“Do you know what is wonderful about having two of you? I can offer for one to live and the other to die.

I can tear one of you apart, until there is nothing but paste while the other can only watch. To the first man who tells me who hired you, I will give you a thousand gold coins and your freedom, I can even change your face, you could be a new man, who never has to see me again.”

“You’ve no proof that we’ve done anything. You can’t-”

They knew no telekinesis, their auras were not unlocked, so he plucked their eyes out, leaving them still connected to their brains so they could see their own empty

“I’ll give you the time to think about how you want to answer me.”

Harlan stepped outside to find the guard captain waiting.

“You cannot take two civilians with no evidence and-”

Harlan rushed forward and put his hands over his mouth, squeezing until he felt the man’s teeth loosen and blood began to come from his mouth.

He looked around the room with more than a single set of eyes to intimidate the other guards into compliance, then he healed the captain so he could speak.

“I’ll do whatever the fuck I want, you will either help me, or you will step aside. You failed to protect my people, so I am going to do what I can to find the man behind that.”

“Ye-yes, Sir Fomoria.”

“Find anything you can about these two men, from their disguises they were pretending to be local hunters. See if they have been here for long, or if anyone can recognize them. If they have homes, search them.

If they have friends, bring them to me so we can speak. If they have a favorite baker, let me know what kind of bread they like. I want everything from them.”

The captain left and took the stunned men with him.

Harlan watched the pair of men alongside Marigold and waited for the Nightwatcher to arrive.

“You should be careful with you magic. It is-”

“Bullshit. I trusted that you had my best interests in mind, but you just don’t want me to have this much power. I see that now, now that my thoughts are not quite so clouded with emotions.”

“There is a time for power, and there is a time for resourcefulness. If you can always brute force a victory through overwhelming power, you will lose your edge, turning into nothing but a beast.”

“I am likely to forgive you, but for a time, I will do what I want.”

A man walked through the door with a thick black jacket and a wide brimmed hat that contrasted with the pale white mask over his face.

“Sir Fomoria, as requested, I am here. No payment will be asked for at this time.”

“The moment they say a name, I will have it checked. They must’ve left some evidence behind.”

Liat came in to try to comfort Harlan again, but she left after a few minutes. The screams weren’t not the worst part, it was the smell. Flame charred the mens until his bones were black. Acid sizzled against their arms until the flesh just dropped to the floor.

Harlan was taking mental notes, but Marigold knew all of this and more already.

Seekers finally arrived. So Harlan went to the lobby to meet with them.

“Sir Fomoria. Your worker might not have been a noble, but her murder was meant to be an attack against you, so we have been called in to investigate any leads you might have already found.”

“Good. I have a man gathering information from the two who committed the killing just past this door.

You may speak with him.”

The Seekers entered the room and then exited a few minutes later green in the face.

“We will… look into the lead one of the men gave up. One of them also requested to speak with you.”

Harlan entered the room again.

“Which one of you wished to speak?”

The man in the left cell whimpered.

“C-count Haldren. Yo-you killed a mercenary band who often worked for him. He wanted to… let you know the pain of losing good help.”

“Any evidence? And what did you tell The Seekers?”

“The Seekers are going to chase a dead end, the baron under Haldren that he used to hire us. We burned the orders from the count, but I kept the ashes, just in case. They are under the floor of my home.”

“Why tell me this, and not the seekers?”

“The gold, the new life, to stop this suffering. Please, I’m telling the truth.”

The man wept, but his tears ran dry long ago.

“Stop torturing this man for a time. Maria, come with me.”

“Of course, Sir Fomoria.”

The box of ashes was where he said it was, and once reconstructed it showed letters that bore the official crest of house Haldren; his own signet ring confirmed them as real.

He contacted the Seekers and handed over the information.

Once they were gone again dragged the man who did not tell him out into the town square.

He looted a merchant's stall, leaving a cold coin behind.

The bottle in his hand was pitch, he remembered once as a child he had helped his father make some torches, the wolves were getting bold, and he wanted to put some lights out to scare them away.

He poured it over the man, then set him ablaze using a flint and stone.

He didn’t utter a word, no warnings or threats Harlan just sat on a bench and watched the man until he was nothing but blackened bones.

Then he walked away, back to Sara’s home.

He brushed her hair, matted down with blood and stuck to the floor.

“I’ve already thought through everything I wanted to blame. I wanted to blame Gunther, for taking you here, away from my security, the safety I offered you both. I wanted to blame the men here who should’ve protected you, the guards and golems. I wanted to blame the men who killed you, but they are just working for another evil man. I wanted to blame the count who hired them, but in the end, this is my fault.

I should’ve forced you to stay, I should’ve never brought Gunther to my home, I should’ve made you learn magic to keep yourself safe when nobody else could. In the end, I should’ve been stronger, I should’ve had another me here all the time to watch you. I should-”

Adina had arrived, though it took some time for another gate mage to bring her home.

“We need to let people come here, bring back their bodies and prepare them for burial.”

“How is Isha holding up, I know they are- were, close.”

“You don’t need to be strong right now, for her, or for anyone else.”

Harlan removed the limits he put on his emotions.

The Forest was loud with wailing birds and wolves, no mind could resist the painful outpouring of emotions from the boy.