“This is where she lives,” Althaus announced as they came to a small house on the south end of the village.

Elsa Bauer’s house was a simple, but tidy stone structure. Althaus walked up to its wooden door and knocked. A blonde-haired woman in her early forties opened the door. Alexandra’s eye was immediately caught by her odd facial features. She didn’t look like a person from the Yerbian continent or one of the many Bergman she had seen during her time in Nordfell. Rather, Elsa Bauer looked like a mix between the two.

“Hello Markus. How may I help you?”

“Hello Elsa, I have some men with me from the capitol. They wanted to ask you some questions,” Althaus answered. An expression of confusion formed on Elsa’s face.

“Can we come in?” Althaus asked. Elsa nodded her head and showed the group into her house. Althaus introduced Alexandra as Alf Neuman.

“Elsa Bauer.” The woman said, introducing herself she extended her hand to Alexandra, “What brings you to me, Sir Neuman?”

“We are investigating a murder; your father’s murder to be specific,” Alexandra explained. Elsa looked away for a brief moment, appearing as though she had just tasted something foul. She then returned her gaze to Alexandra.

“I don’t know what I can tell you. That was a long time ago and I wasn’t there when it happened. I’d rather just move on from all of that,” Elsa explained.

“I’m sorry Ms. Bauer, but we really would like to go over this with you one more time. We believe your father’s murderer is connected to something that is of great importance to the security of the empire,” Ekkehardt said.

“How is that the case? His killer is dead,” Elsa remarked.

“Dead?” Alexandra repeated, “How do you know that?” Elsa’s eyes darted across the room for a brief moment.

“It happened decades ago. He would have to be dead by now,” Elsa answered.

“I see…” Ekkehardt responded.

“Ms. Bauer, I was told that your father was a religious man, is that true?” Alexandra asked. Elsa was a tad bit annoyed, but decided to tolerate her inquiries.

“He attended service every week,” Elsa answered.

“I see,” Alexandra replied, “Did your father have any enemies that you know of, anyone that might have wanted to hurt him?” Elsa shook her head.

“No, not that I know of,” She answered. Alexandra nodded.

“Okay. Do you remember where you were on the day of your father’s murder?” Alexandra asked.

“I was playing near the bridge,” Elsa answered.

“Do you remember who you were with?”

“I was alone.”

“I see. What can you tell us about Wilhelm Metzger?” Alexandra asked. Elsa produced a slight frown.

“I don’t think I can tell you anything that you don’t already know. He was… a bad man. What else is there to say?”

“How was he bad?” Alexandra probed.

“He… he drank and beat his wife,” Elsa responded.

“Was he your father’s friend?” Alexandra asked.

“I guess you could say that,” Elsa said before pausing for a moment, “... He would visit my father at the bakery often. We lived next door, you see.”

“And what would they talk about when Metzger visited the bakery?” Alexandra asked.

“Nothing important; the weather, the news, Metzger’s debits,” She answered.

“Did you know any of his creditors?”

“Well, yes. He owed money to just about every man in the village at one point or another.”

“Did any of these people seem like they were violent or involved in something dangerous?” Alexandra asked.

“Not that I know of. I honestly cannot recall. This was not something that a child would pay attention to.”

“Do you know where Metzger’s wife Aloisa was on the day of the murders?” Alexandra asked. Elsa shook her head.

“No sir, I do not,” she answered.

Alexandra then swallowed her saliva as she prepared to ask her next question.

“I apologize for being so blunt about this, but did your father ever have any affiliations with the occult? Did he ever question the church or meet with strange people?” Alexandra asked as she braced for Elsa’s response.

“No. Not that I’m aware of,” Elsa answered. She spoke as though she was telling Alexandra that her father preferred pork over beef or that his favorite color was green. She responded to the question as though it was of no importance. If anything, the lack of disgust or anger at the suggestion of her father having any occult affiliations bothered Alexandra more than the outburst she had feared.

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“Okay, I have one more question: Do you know of anyone in the village named ‘Cedric’?” Alexandra asked. The final word of Alexandra’s question hit Elsa like a fist. She inhaled deeply as her eyes darted across the room.

“You mean Cedric of Sortpool, the foreigner who was friends with the count?” Elsa asked.

“I mean someone besides him. Someone who was either from or lived near this village specifically,” Alexandra explained. She could see a hint of fear in Elsa’s face.

“No. I never knew anyone like that,” she answered.

A few minutes later

“Mr. Althaus, may I have a few moments to speak with Ekkehardt privately?” Alexandra asked. The group had left Elsa’s house and were now back at the bakery. Ekkehardt and Alexandra ducked into the alley-like space next to the bakery, the same one that Wulf Becker and Wilhelm Metzger’s killer had escaped from years ago, and began to speak softly to each other.

“Eike, are you feeling the same as me when it comes to Elsa?” Alexandra asked.

“If you feel that she wasn’t being completely honest with us, then yeah, I’m feeling the same as you,” Ekkehardt answered.

“She knows something that she’s not telling us, I can just feel it. Everything about the way she talked to us was just… off…” Alexandra remarked.

“Do you think she was involved in the killings?” Ekkehardt asked. Alexandra shrugged.

“I don’t know. She was a child when all of this happened. How could she have been involved? What could she have done; summon a moonman to kill her father? I don’t think that makes sense.”

“Alex, I don’t think anything in my life has made sense for the past few months,” Ekkehardt replied. Alexandra ran through the conversation in her mind one more time. She remembered the fear in Elsa’s face when she said the name ‘Cedric’. Was Elsa afraid of them or was she afraid of something else entirely?

Meanwhile

From a dark corner of the Frauenwald, Nashorn sat on a fallen tree trunk and as he studied the maps sprawled over his lap. For a moment he glanced to his side; to the sketchbook that was sitting next to him. He contemplated opening it again, but a rustling in the branches above stopped him before he could. An owl flew overhead before landing behind him. A few moments later, Nashorn could hear the soft steps of a small man behind him.

“What did you see, Sova?” The pale man asked.

“It’s just as you said, Nashorn. Whoever made those maps knew what they were doing,” the voice from behind Nashorn responded. Nashorn smiled.

“Good. We will stick with the original plan then,” He said. He then began to fold up his maps and put them back in his pack. While his pack was open, he pulled out a pair of thick glasses and turned around. He extended them out to the naked man in front of him.

“Here,” He said. Without thinking, Sova reached out, grabbed the glasses, and put them on. He found his clothing and dressed himself without any further assistance or difficulty. For a moment there was silence between the two men.

“Hey Nashorn…”

“Yeah?”

“Have you put any thought into what you’re going to do when this is all over?” Sova asked.

“What do you mean by that?” Nashorn responded.

“I mean what are you going to do when this job is over; when we’ll be able to do whatever we want. What will you do?” Sova repeated. Nashorn shrugged. He picked up his sketchbook and put it back in his bag.

“I don’t know. Why does it matter?” Nashorn shot back. Sova scratched the back of his head.

“I dunno. I was just thinking while I was alone up there. I was thinking about how I would still like to see you from time to time after this. You are the reason why we made it this far after all,” Sova explained.

“I see…”

“I was thinking that it would be great if you could visit me from time to time when I’m studying architecture. I think you would like that too,” Sova said.

“Yeah… I think I’ll do that…” Nashorn responded.

Without any warning, the sound of twigs snapping sent both men towards their weapons. They turned around only to see Farkash carrying a dead deer.

“Dinner,” He said. They both nodded in approval and let go of their weapons. Niedźwiedź and Zmija were not far behind him. Niedźwiedź effortlessly carried a large quantity of firewood while Zmija carried a dead rabbit, berries, mushrooms, and root vegetables. Nashorn immediately got up to help Farkash with the deer.

“Excellent work. This should be more than enough for all of us,” he said. It was only when he looked at the dead rabbit held by Zmija that he realized that he forgot about something.

“Have any of you seen Hienă?” Nashorn asked. It was at that moment a feeling of panic began to set within the group.

“I thought she was with you…” Zmija said while pointing at Farkash, who responded by simply shaking his head. Before he could respond, Sova spoke up.

“I think I saw her near the vill… shit!” he exclaimed. Without thinking, Sova tore off his glasses, tossed them to Zmija, and began to strip down. Farkash followed suit.

“You two stay with the camp,” Nashorn said to Zmija and Niedźwiedź, “The three of us will handle it this,”

Within less than a minute the three of them were all, in some manner, racing towards Weisshart.

Sometime later, back at Weisshart

Ekkehardt slammed the church door shut seconds before the bottle of wine shattered against it.

“I am so sorry about this,” Althaus said, “He… he acts like this sometimes. He has a problem. We don’t know what to do.”

“It’s okay, sir. I don’t know if he would have told us anything useful anyways,” Alexandra responded. Ekkehardt nodded.

“I think it’s for the best if we just move on,” He said.

“I see. I don’t really know who else to send you to. I don’t think there is anyone left who saw what happened that day,” Althaus said.

“Well then, I think we should just retire to the blockhouse for the night and prepare for tomorrow,” Alexandra suggested. Ekkehardt nodded in agreement.

“Okay. I will show you around and make sure that you…” Althaus began, only to be cut off by a loud cackle down the road. Someone in the distance was laughing loudly. The group turned around to see a figure on the road; the source of the laughter. Alexandra could see it walking slowly towards them with a weapon in its hand. As it neared her, fear began to flow into Alexandra. She didn’t want to believe it at first, but she realized that what was walking towards her and laughing might have had two arms, two legs, and a head, but it was not human.