Cid looked out of the opened shutters of his room for a long moment before turning back to Kveldulf and Jeanne. “This is getting more and more peculiar by the day. And none of it to my liking,” he said to them.

“I think it’s a little odd that the same group of people we’re actively looking act are given a bad summoning incantation and another member has their skin turned into thread while alive,” said Kveldulf.

“I mean, if Edmund had given us the bait to walk into a trap and we left without a scratch, it isn’t that hard to think he double-crossed his own group,” said Jeanne.

“And for the time being, anything pointing to someone, or some group, actively undermining the flagellants is intuitional, no offense Kel,” Cid said.

Kveldulf shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m fine, but I could half-ass being offended, if it’ll make you feel better.”

“Could you?” Jeanne asked.

“I’d like to think so.”

Cid crossed his arms. “There not much making sense here. Either they’re grossly incompetent, which is always possible but highly unlikely, they acted on the events involving the doctor’s phantasm pup faster than anticipated, or there might be others trying to get rid of these fanatics for one reason or another.”

“What should we do then?”

“We’re waiting for Gabriel and Ben to get back from their watch on Galbert at the house before we …” Cid’s ears perked up just before the sound of the doors slammed opened. He, Jeanne and Kveldulf all went for their weapons as they heard Gabriel calling out to them.

“We’ve got company!” she yelled from the floor below.

“Of course, we do,” Cid said, shaking his head as he walked towards the door.

“Son of a bitch,” Jeanne said, one of her eyes twitching as she and Kveldulf followed Cid out of the room.

Moving down stairs, they saw Gabriel, blood covering her mouth all the down the front of her armor, carrying Benkin as he looked dazed with several deep wounds on the back of his head.

“Doctor! Get your gear, we have wounded!” Cid commanded before turning to Gabriel. “What happened?”

“We were watching the house when this whole damned parade of flagellant started down the street. And they were coming right for us so we hightailed it and left.”

“And the blood?” Cid asked.

“Well, one of the bastards chasing us chucked a rock or something and it hit his head.”

“Outstanding,” Cid said, “Doctor!”

“I’m here, I’m here” Leonidas said, shuffling down the steps as fast as he could, he satchel in tow, with Puppý shortly behind. He moved over to Benkin, helping Gabriel get him to a table and examined him as the vampyre went back to Cid, Jeanne and Kveldulf.

“And where did the blood come from?” Kveldulf asked her.

“One of them tried to cut us of from a corner and just bit his throat out,” Gabriel replied.

“Oh, that makes more sense than I thought,” Kveldulf replied scratching his head.

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“So, where’s this company you were talking about?” Jeanne asked.

“Bring out the heathens!” a voice cried out.

“There,” Gabriel replied, pointing outside with her thumb.

Puppý began growling as he stood next to Leonidas. “Oh buddy, now is not the time,” he said the pup.

A group of four flagellants burst through the entrance into the inn. The innkeeper shouting at them before one of them snapped their flail at the innkeeper. Cid, Jeanne, Kveldulf and Gabriel had their weapons ready as the flagellants turned back to The Wolves. “You have been found in acts most heinous against our kind and benevolent Shepherd. As well as having been privy to the deplorable murders of several of our pious kin in devilish acts of barbarity.”

“No, we weren’t!” Jeanne protested. “They were already dead.”

“Lies shall not avail you now!” the flagellant declared as he pointed his flail towards Jeanne.

Puppý barked at the flagellants, who turned and were wide eyed.

“Wode-born abomination!” one of them shouted.

“And a family fuck you too!” Leonidas shouted back. “That’s my dog!”

“Heathen!” one of the flagellants said as he moved towards Leonidas.

Puppý’s eyes grew from black to a fiercely bright red, shaking violently, his voice growing deeper and darker. The dog’s teeth extending and becoming jagged with saliva dripping from his maw. The pup grew in size as its legs became big enough to stand on two feet. Puppý’s arms took on a thick muscular appearance with razor sharp claws on the ends of each finger.

Cid, Jeanne, Kveldulf and Gabriel watched, stunned, as this small chipper pup transform into a monstrous creature. “What the fuck is that” Jeanne said as the dog leapt to engaged the flagellants and engaged them without mercy.

Puppý sunk his claws deep into the torso of the flagellant moving towards the doctor, biting into his shoulder and ripping out a huge part of his chest, blood and organs falling onto the floor before the rest of the body went down. The other flagellants froze in terror as color left their faces. The creature roared a guttural cry, causing them to flee into the streets. The monstrous dog following them in tow, still carrying part of the dead flagellant with him.

“Puppý get back here!” Leonidas called out.

“He’s going to get half of the city guards on our heads!” Jeanne cried out.

“If just half,” Cid said.

“Hold on,” said Leonidas, “I’ll go get him before he causes a mess. Can someone keep pressure one Ben’s wounds?”

“I’ve got it,” Jeanne said as she grabbed the dressings.

As Leonidas raced out Cid turned to the shaking innkeeper. “How much would be a good starting price to cover the mess and, say a werewolf did that,” the Felidan said as he pointed to the gnawed-on corpse.

“How about this, you keep the gold, do whatever you want with … them, and keep that dog from chew on my person, and I’ll handle the mess with free room and board thrown in?”

“Very kind,” Cid said. “Though I hope the doctor doesn’t take too long getting his pet back.”

Leonidas walked back into the inn, covered in blood on much of his clothing and a shocked distant look in his eyes. Puppý, back in his normal form, flowing behind happily with a severed hand in his mouth. The doctor walked up to the bar, placing a silver coin onto the table. “Something strong please,” he said to the innkeeper.

The innkeeper was about to speak when Cid waved his hand and shook his head quickly. The innkeeper provided the doctor a drink who took a long swig before he went back over to work on Benkin. “Everything all right?” Gabriel asked him.

“Just wasn’t expecting Puppý to be so … yeah,” the doctor replied.

Jeanne looked down at the pup, now wagging it’s tail swiftly and looking accomplished, the hand still in it’s mouth.

“Um,” Jeanne said, hesitantly, “is that for me?” She fought the growing urge to let out her last meal over this gift.

The dog lifted its head up and down several times.

“Oh,” she said, taking the limb and looking at it with a cringing smile, “thank you … P-Puppý.”

The dog went back to Leonidas, watching him as he worked on Benkin. Jeanne looked at the hand as Cid came up to her. Jeanne looked up at Cid, Please take this, she gestured with a pleading gaze.

Cid shook his head. I’m not getting on the little one’s bad side.

“Um, Leonidas,” Jeanne said to her partner, “d-did you know that your friend could do that?”

“Uh,” Leonidas replied, still dazed, “yeah, a few times actually.”

“And you did think to tell us any of this beforehand because?” Jeanne demanded.

Leonidas turned to her and shrugged innocently. “Slipped my mind.”

“Slipped your mind,” Jeanne said, her eye twitching again. “It slipped your mind. I’m slip gonna slip your mind like you’ve never slipped before!”

Kveldulf and Cid both intercepted Jeanne as she lunged towards Leonidas. Puppý looked at Jeanne, stepping back a few steps and whimpering before Leonidas turned to him. “She’s just stressed out, friend,” he said to the dog as he continued working on Benkin’s wound.