October 27th

I was walking along the road today, perhaps twenty minutes away from the manor. I was deep in thought when suddenly the area around me became covered in fog. It was so dense, so thick, that nearly all light was blocked and I could barely see the stone wall to my immediate left. I expected it to dissipate as quickly as it appeared, for something like that at midday seemed most bizarre to me, however it did not go away. I wandered through the fog until I eventually exited it and, upon looking back, found it to be almost like a wall. I would hazard a guess as to it being dome shaped, but I could not tell for certain, as the wall of fog went up past the tree canopy above me. It was nowhere close to the position where those people told me to look yesterday, although I would expect it to move around. However, the implications of it being the same monster are disturbing. So far there has been no evidence of it making any noise, therefore a silent killer that hides in a cloud of fog that it creates itself is terrifying. Luckily for me, I did not encounter the beast. If I did, I, sadly, do not think I would have been able to capture it in my current state.

October 28th

I keep thinking about that cloud of fog. Like I said in my previous entry, a silent killer that hides in the mist is most definitely not something to be taken lightly. I should begin devising strategies to capture or kill it should I encounter it, or at the very least, be able to defend myself against its attacks, although I have no idea what it may be capable of, as I have obviously not seen it. This is certainly a conundrum, the biggest problem I would be facing would be visibility, and likely the second issue would be hearing. I cannot fix the hearing issues, as it would make sense that the creature has a way of severely limiting the noise it produces, which could otherwise give away its position. I will start thinking of solutions.

October 29th

I have come up with a potential solution. Well, more accurately, I have thought of many. From bringing many candles I can place down, to simply getting a large torch/lantern, and even to getting a suit of armor so that it cannot physically harm me, but that is very impractical due to many issues such as time to get the materials, having to walk around in it for many hours, and having even worse vision. No, I think the best solution would be to memorize the landscape behind me so that if need be, I can backtrack and attempt to lure it out in the hopes that it follows me. That solution of course has many problems, and would rely on several coincidences, but it is the best I can come up with.

Furthermore, this is operating under the assumption that it will not ambush me while I am memorizing the landscape, it will not attack from behind, and that I survive the first attacks to be able to attempt to evade it in the first place. This is truly a fascinating thought problem.

Maybe I could make a large fan to move the fog away from the area immediately around me? There are still many problems, the fog was so thick that I could barely see two feet in front of me.

October 31st

I saw it! Oh I cannot believe that I saw it. Dear god what have I seen?? I suppose it is not as bad as it could have been though, but still… I do not think I will easily forget what I saw. What I saw… I do warn you. The entire head seemed to be made up of a ball of flesh. It had spikes sticking out of it all over. The mouth, it did not have teeth, instead it had jagged pieces of metal and stone stuck in its mouth. It did not have lips, nor did it have eyelids, its eyes were just ragged holes, from which it exuded a purple glow. The purple color seemed almost to be leaking out of the eyes and mouth. The mouth stretched out like a sinkhole. I think it also had another eye on the side of its head, but I cannot be sure, and if it did, it is certainly different from the other eyes, as there is no purple glow.

But that arm. It was missing an arm. In its place was a rotting stump. The smell. Oh, the smell was awful. It reeked of death and decay. Its arm must have been torn off by something, that was the piece that I found last week.

Something must have torn off the arm. Simply catching it on something isn’t good enough, it must have been another beast that ripped its arm off.

November 1st

Today Father told me he would be leaving again. I asked him why he would be leaving and he said that it was to try to find purpose. Purpose, I want purpose. Who does not wish for purpose and meaning? Well, actually I could answer that, those who already have purpose. There are a hundred different things that could give Father purpose and he chose none of them?

“Is there no purpose to your life here?” I had asked him. He told me “not really.” Bastard! If he was here as a father, then he could feel a sense of purpose for raising me. He gets what he deserves.

I asked him what he was going to be doing. He just said traveling.Traveling? I find it hard to believe that one could find purpose in their life simply by traveling. It is not as if he is going to meet someone special and start a family. HA! Could you imagine that? Have a second son he “loves” more than me, and leave him too?

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“Well, why did you come back?” I asked him. We were in the study and Father looked out the window without answering me. Then he turned to me and said that he wanted to see me. See me? After 20 years? And then he is leaving again? I am in disbelief. Since when has he cared about me? He has spent nearly every day whenever he has free time with Maryanne or drinking tea with Archibold.

November 2nd

I do not need that old man! I was fine on my own before, I will be fine on my own now! I do not care if he leaves or stays.

November 2nd

Father left early this afternoon. He was saying something about trade opportunities in Asia and something about taking advantage of new trade routes. Charlotte returned to the manor and helped him into the carriage before giving me a cold look and leaving. I do feel a little bad for firing her, but I must cover my tracks for now, I do not want it all to fall apart like it did before. This is all I have now, and it is all I have had for a long time. I have worked to maintain and build my life in my manor, away from most other people, I will not see it fall apart. If that means getting rid of anyone new here, so be it, it is a small price to pay. And besides, it is not as if Charlotte’s life was destroyed, I paid her a sizable amount of money and she also still has her job at Father’s house in Paris.

Really, though? Trade opportunities in China? First of all, he just fought a war there, secondly, I doubt that was his primary motivation. I could see it in his eyes. That fury had rekindled in his heart. I suppose it is better than that emptiness which I was greeted with when he first arrived, but it is only a slight improvement.

Now that he is gone, I can focus on monsters again with increased attention as well. I can finally focus on hunting that weird octopus monster.

November 2nd

What did I do today? It seems as if the day has just crawled by. After Father left, I went back to the forest, but I couldn’t find anything. I spent hours searching in vain for something, anything, yet I came out empty handed.

November 3rd

The weather is turning colder and colder. I spent much of today inside, Maryanne insisted. She wanted to spend time together but she and the butler talked about nonsense. Gossip and whatnot. I just sat in a corner for much of the time, drawing sketches in my journal.

November 4th

Last night I heard howling coming from the forest. It was unlike anything I had heard before, except maybe that howl on the night I caught the horned owl. That was a remarkable creature, with its shiny feathers and pointy horns. I would like to see it again, it was unusually calm being around me and even stayed still long enough for me to get a detailed sketch. Remembering that creature puts a smile on my face.

November 5th?

What even was the point in Father returning if he is just going to leave again after a month? I feel he did that just to toy with me. Why?

November 6th

I think I saw the octopus monster again today. It was from a distance, so I could not see much, as it was heavily obscured by fog and trees, but it looked like it was feeding on something. Whatever it was feeding on appeared to be struggling, as the monster screeched and then I heard a snapping sound, as if of bones being broken, and then a gurgle, which cut through the fog like a knife.

So clearly the monster needs to eat something to sustain itself, and is likely to regrow the limb it lost, but what could it be eating? I did not want to approach it so I just made note of the location and will return later.

November 6th

I returned later in the day, closer to evening, but all that I could see was slime and a large bloodstain. It seems the monster ate all of whatever it had hunted. I could find no clue as to what it could have been. Rather disappointing, isn’t it? That could have been a perfect opportunity to learn more about it. I cannot believe I did not approach it.

November 8th

Today has been very worrying to me. A strange man approached me early in the morning. He pounded on the door with incredible vigor and when I answered, he demanded to know where the fire fox was. He was very strange. His clothes were covered in straps and pockets. He had a heavy coat on as well, which had a pocket sewn onto each arm, near the shoulder. A rifle was slung over his shoulder and I could see a sword hanging from his waist. There was gear and tools hanging from his belt: rope, bags, a cloth sticking out of his pocket. Heavy blacksmith gloves were tucked underneath a heavy pouch strapped to his leg. As he spoke, he pinned the brim of his hat to the side of the crown, allowing me to see his cold, grey eyes.

“The fox you found, I need one like it.” He said to me.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” I responded.

How did he know about it? No one should know it exists except the butler. Did he talk? No, he wouldn’t. And besides, this man is not from here, I can tell by his deep tan.

I reluctantly invited him in, for he refused to leave until he got what he wanted, and then excused myself to the kitchen, where I am currently attempting to think through the problem. How on earth did he know about the fire fox? Maybe I can play along for now, at least until I find out his motives… Yes, I could get him to do something for me in exchange for giving him the fire fox. Maybe I can use him to help me capture the octopus monster, and if he dies, well that’s one less thing to worry about. But first, I need to find out who he is.

November 8th

Griffin is a rather strange name, surely that is not his real name. Out of all the questions I asked him, nothing he told me really helped. I asked him where he was from and he told me he was coming from London. Preposterous! I know he is no englishman! His accent betrays his lie. I asked him why he sought out the fox, to which he said “are you going to give it to me or not?” “I know not where it is, but that is a problem for later,” I replied. “Why do you want it?”

“I received a letter at my hotel seeking to hire my services.”

“And what services are those?” I asked him.

“Monster hunting.”