It took a little convincing, but I did get Shlomo to talk to me about that night, after they left Giradin in the church's guest room.

According to Shlomo, he, Mu, and Fulk were silent when they walked away. Their walk through the sanctuary was unsettlingly quiet, save for the snoring of those who'd decided to stay the night as close to the saint as they could. And the occasional cry of an infant whose mother sat in a pew, rocking her to sleep.

When they finally felt the cool night air blowing into their sleeves as they left through the front doors, Mu broke the silence with a chuckle. "I'm not sure which of us belonged in there the least."

Shlomo nudged Mu. "Hey, if the saint says we're welcome who am I to argue with the Christians' God? He seems to be making all the rules these days anyway..."

Both men exchanged another chuckle, but Mu's posture soon grew serious. "I'd better get to my patrol. The aschengeist could be out there right now."

Shlomo tilted his head to one side. "You weren't just saying that to pacify him? You really intend to go out there without knowing how to kill it."

"Don't be an idiot," Fulk muttered.

"He speaks!" Mu raised his hands comically. "Hallelujah! Alert the Pope! Fulk the Blessed speaks."

"Piss off..." Fulk grumbled and folded his arms.

Shlomo patted Fulk on the back, but the murderer jerked his shoulder away. "Come now, don't say that. We're all we've got. What really happened last night? You still haven't told us."

Fulk shook his head. "Leave it."

"Don't be that way, my friend!" Shlomo playfully chided. "We're like family and we're here--"

"Will you people be quiet!" came a hiss from the shadows.

Shlomo jumped at the voice, only now noticing the people asleep under the buttresses. "Apologies!"

Mu wrapped an arm around Shlomo's shoulder and steered him away from the front of the church. Fulk gave a rude gesture to the man who'd complained about their noise and followed Mu.

It was a short walk to a spot where they seemed more secluded. They stood behind one of the taller houses in Elekvaz, obscured from the moonlight.

"You don't want to know," Fulk said. "You don't want to know what fucking happened that night."

"Then why are you bringing it up?" Shlomo asked.

Mu pointed to Shlomo. "That's no secret. He desperately wants to talk about it."

"Of course I want to talk about it!" Fulk hissed. "But you don't really want to know."

"We're here for you, brother," said Shlomo in a sympathetic tone. "You don't need to carry this burden alone."

By the look on Fulk's face, he mistook Shlomo's genuine sympathy for either pity or mockery. "That night, I heard Giradin screaming for help, so I ran to his room. The door wouldn't open, so I started to break it down. On the other side, I could hear Giradin crying in pain. I was so sure he'd be dead by the time I broke through, but I at least wanted revenge on the shit who made him suffer like that."

When Fulk stopped, Shlomo motioned with his hand for him to go on. "And when you broke through the door?"

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"It was a... an assenbitch or whatever they're called. A cinder ghost, like Giradin said." Fulk paused while Mu let out a sigh of relief. Shlomo could only assume he was relieved that Giradin wasn't making that part up at least. Maybe there was truth in the tale after all.

Fulk continued, "It had ripped out his eye, so I smashed it and grabbed him. We ran, but the ashen... the damn ghost chased us. I tried to fight it off, but it broke my wrists, and I knew we were dead. I was so sure it was over. Then I hear Giradin mumbling something."

Fulk shuddered as he recalled the moment and cast his eyes at the ground. "Fuck... that voice... It wasn't Giradin's voice. It sounded like a thousand voices all at once. Children's voices, elders' voices, women, men, even crows. You ever hear a crow talk?"

Shlomo shook his head.

"It's creepy. It's like death talking to you. Anyway, so, it was this choir of voices speaking from Giradin's throat, and they said some weird words I've never heard before. Then Giradin just... he bursts into flames! Hot, red flames, like... out of the pits of Hell."

Shlomo felt a chill wash over him.

Fulk looked up at Shlomo with a look like a child telling tales of the monster outside his bedroom window. His hands trembled and his knees shook. "The evil spirit... it bowed its head to him, and then it started backing away. Giradin stepped toward it, and... I swear, the thing looked like it was trying to apologize to him. And he kept walking toward it. And it ran away."

Shlomo and Mujahid exchanged looks with one another. A practice which Shlomo always felt was a little silly, considering neither of them could see each other's faces under those masks. Shlomo turned back to Fulk. "You said it broke your wrists, though, right?"

"Aye."

"So, did Giradin really heal you? Or did you magically heal yourself?"

Fulk said, "Oh, Giradin definitely healed me. He grabbed my wrists, and I felt heat burn through me. For a moment, it felt like every vein in my body was on fire, but I was totally paralyzed. I couldn't even cry out, or pull away. I couldn't tell him he was hurting me. Then he took his fingers away, and the pain was gone. My wrists weren't broken anymore."

"Well... at least you're better now..."

Fulk rolled back his sleeve, revealing that every vein under the skin in his forearm had turned black. "Am I? The bones aren't broken anymore, but I... I can feel something inside me. I taste bitterness on my tongue, and it feels like... like worms under my flesh where my veins should be..." Fulk shivered again, and Shlomo swears he saw tears in the murderer's eyes. "I constantly feel like I'm about to vomit... but I can't. I haven't eaten in over a day, yet I'm not hungry. I've been awake since that incident, but I don't feel tired. Shit... what the Hell is happening to me?"

Fulk clawed at his own temples through the bandages and groaned. "Gaaaah! What the Hell did he do to me? What the Hell? What the Hell? Shit!" He beat his fist against the nearest wall. "I don't feel right at all! I just want to leave this place! When can we go back to the monastery? I want to go home! Oh, God, I want to go home!"

Shlomo raised his hands to calm Fulk down. "We can fix this... We'll use some leeches, get the bad blood out..."

"It's beyond leeches!" Fulk cried. "You think I'm just sick? No, I'm cursed! He put something evil in me. It's not just bad blood, it's some kind of demonic... something... No, we need to talk to someone who knows about this sort of thing."

"Aha!" Shlomo cried. "I knew you let that witch live!"

"Aye! I'd've been stupid not to!" Fulk retorted. "Levanna told us how to kill the strik... the strig... the vampire. She told us how to kill the vampire. Someone like that was sure to be useful in the future. Now's a better time than any. I need to find her. Maybe she can explain what's happening with Giradin. Maybe he's possessed or something."

"If you think he's possessed wait for the Templars," said Mu. "They specialize in dealing with problems like this."

Shlomo nodded. "And at least let me try the leeches before you go running off to a witch in the woods."

"That's all we need..." Fulk muttered, "Demon leeches. No, you're not doing bloodletting. For all we know, that'll make whatever's in me stronger."

Shlomo laughed. "Funny... you think modern medicine will make the curse in you worse, but going to see a witch? No, that can't possibly go wrong!"

"Levanna's the only one who can help me," Fulk insisted one more time before turning to walk away.

"Fulk! You can't leave! The city's locked down, remember?"

Fulk gave Shlomo a rude gesture and continued on his way.

Shlomo turned to Mu again. "This is just... too strange. You heard what the people of Elekvaz said about Giradin. They saw white, glowing light and felt peaceful in his presence. But Fulk's describing something completely different."

Mu shrugged. "Maybe it's because Fulk always tries to see the evil in things."

Shlomo chuckled. "Oh, he's just too miserable to allow himself to be happy, is he?"

Mu laughed back. "Is it so hard to believe? If you look hard enough for evil, you'll find it, even in the most unlikely places. But if you look for good, you'll find that too, even when it's all but gone."