When Sir Emeric released Dr. Yves on his way, even the plague doctor mask couldn't hide Fulk's frustration. Not that any of us could blame him, even before we knew he suspected Dr. Yves knew Mujahid's murderer. Dr. Yves had the closest thing to a cure for the Black Plague any of us had seen since Giradin passed.

And given the reports of how quickly the plague was spreading in the cities and countryside alike, we knew that if we didn't find and distribute a cure soon all of Christendom was doomed to fall.

"Vanity of vanities," Shlomo muttered, "Everything is vanity. The grave waits for us all. All a man can do is eat, drink, and be merry." The words became like a prayer he said over and over whenever he thought no one was listening. I was.

That night we stayed in the inn above the Chivalrous Bear. Three rooms; one for Sir Emeric and Shlomo, one for Fulk and I, and one for Caleb by himself (which made sense, given his size and smell).

Yes, dear reader, I've decided that I shall hide my true identity from your sight no longer. I am Sir Cristoff, the young Templar who traveled to Elekvaz with Sir Emeric all those years ago. I witnessed many of the events of St. Giradin's sanctification with my own eyes, and pieced together the rest of this story from interviews, reports, and stories I heard from different persons involved. This has, likely, created some inconsistencies in the story, and even led to some events being highly-exaggerated. In any event, this story represents the truth as best I have been able to record it.

This was my charge from the Pope; to write down the events surrounding the Black Plague, and all that happened. I can only hope that whoever finds my manuscript will take some benefit from it. Learn from the mistakes we made, but honor our triumphs and our virtues, few as they may have been.

But, back to the story.

Stolen novel; please report.

As I said, I shared a room with Fulk, and few things are as unsettling as sharing sleeping quarters with a known murderer who's wrestled with demons in the past. Especially since I couldn't tell for sure if the demons were gone, or merely biding their time.

His loud, obnoxious snoring was strangely comforting, because it reminded me that he'd fallen asleep before I did.

Having trouble falling asleep, I attempted to time my breathing with his snores. Slow and steady, drawn-out breaths.

And a sharp intake of air when there was a knock at the door.

I sat up on the bedroll and glanced out the window. It must have been midnight by then, who could possibly be knocking on my door at such an hour?

Fulk's snoring had stopped, and in the moonlight I saw his fingers wrap around the handle of his mace, which lay on the ground.

A second knock.

Must be Sir Emeric, I thought.

I stood from the bed, taking my sword in hand as I approached the door. I glanced back to Fulk's scarred face and he rose from his bedroll, standing beside it with his weapon ready.

"Who is it?" I asked through the door.

"You don't know me," came a high-pitched voice from the other side. "But I want to help you."

I paused a moment, licking my lips. Everything about this was strange, but part of me knew I had to learn about the stranger on the other side of the door.

I lifted the latch and creaked the door open. At first, it appeared that no one was there, until I heard a sigh from knee-level.

A man no taller than two feet stood there, with hair standing up in a wild mess, pale skin, wide eyes, and a bulbous nose.

"Hi, my name is Garbage," he said, not a hint of irony or shame in his high-pitched voice.

"Um... Sir Cristoff," I said, giving him a confused look. "Are you... a dwarf?"

"No no, nothing like that," said Garbage. "I'm a homunculus. But, listen, can I come in?"

A homunculus?

In my years of fighting monsters beside other Templars, I'd learned of such creatures, though I'd never encountered one. Homunculi were creatures created by alchemists who were supposed to be like small human beings. Supposedly, though, the secret to making them had been lost long ago.

"Umm... let me in?" Garbage said.

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, why would I do that?"

"Because you want to know about Dr. Yves and what he's working on," said the homunculus. "I can tell you what you need to know."