Jean was the first to awaken.

He stretched his arms, resulting in a series of satisfying pops before standing up.

He then walked into the kitchen and grabbed a few pieces of wood before placing them in the fireplace.

They’d need more wood soon. Jean realized.

He then started a fire before walking out of the house to light the little lamp next to the door.

That’s when he saw them.

Seven men walked casually up the street.

Their dark clothes were coated in what looked like dried blood and their eyes shined, like glistening daggers in the dark.

They also had a woman with them.

“Oi! You there. Are you friendly?”

One of them asked without stopping.

Jean’s eyes narrowed.

“As friendly as can be. Are you by chance part of a group called the Bloody Numbers?” Jean asked as loud as possible.

“Yes and keep yer damned voice down." A rather tall and ruggedly handsome man said as he approached Jean.

He then extended his hand before smiling gently.

“The name’s Alexander, but you can call me Alex,” Alex said as his men approached Jean.

“Name's Jean. What brings you folks to Sùith?” Jean asked as he snuck a glance at the woman behind Alex.

Her head was low and she was covered in a dirty silky gown that was so thin, it may as well have been transparent.

“We’re on the hunt, ya see,” Alex said with a bright smile.

“I see. Well, my group won’t be getting in your way.” Jean said with a slight bow.

“Oh, about that. The boss said I should look for survivors while I’m here and you look like you have your wits about you. So would you like to come with us on the return trip to Dòchas?” Alex asked.

“No thanks. We’re fine here.” Jean said.

“Mmm… suit yourself. Anyway, I might as well warn you. Things are about to get pretty wild around here, so keep your heads low, ok-"

Alex's eyes widened.

“Umm… what’s with your lamp?” He asked.

“No idea,” Jean said as he picked up a nearby twig.

“Fires around here are purple for some reason,” Jean said as he burnt the twig by placing it into the lantern.

Alex and his men gawked at the purple flame on the tip of the twig.

“That’s… strange. Anyway, see ya.” Alex said before marching northward.

His men followed closely behind as the crescent moon lit their bloody bodies.

Jean sighed deeply before entering the house, where he found a fully awakened Ayanna.

She had her dagger in hand and her stance was low.

“Calm down. It's those Bloody Number maniacs. They’re seemingly here to hunt.” Jean said, prompting Ayanna to assume a more neutral stance.

Ayanna then pointed out the door.

“What? You want to follow them?”

Ayanna nodded.

“Fine. It would be best if we knew just what those maniacs were up to.” Jean said before nodding towards a sleeping Ayden.

“Tell him we’ll be back,” Jean said before walking out of the door.

He looked up at the crescent moon and remembered a certain detail from Marion’s journal.

Ayanna walked out as well and the two made their way north.

They took great care to make as little noise as possible before arriving at Sùith's northern gate.

Just outside the gate, Jean spotted Alex and his men preparing all sorts of weapons.

Jean’s face twisted when he looked at the blood that stained the large chunks of steel that Alex's men had equipped.

They had everything from gigantic hooks bound to thick ropes, to gigantic cleavers that were usually used for hacking at whale corpses.

A distant howl sent a chill up Jean’s spine and he almost dreaded what was to come.

Alex walked up to the woman, who sat in the middle of the road.

Jean watched as Alex’s men moved the nearby carriages.

They created a funnel of sorts where the further one went up the road, the closer the carriages became.

Alex then took out what looked like a whip from his leather bag.

He then did a little dance before spreading his arms.

“Who are we?” He barked, shaking Jean and Ayanna, who were at the gate.

“Bloody Numbers!” Alex's men yelled in unison.

“What do we do?” He asked as he frantically danced around the woman, whose head was still lowered.

“We hunt, without relent!” His men yelled.

Alex then contorted his body before hitting the woman in the face with the whip.

She fell to her side without a whimper.

“What is our call?” Alex asked as he hit the woman again.

Her extremely thin clothing provided no protection against the fury of the whip.

Jean bit his teeth before walking out of the gate.

Ayanna sighed before following Jean.

“We rebel against the night!”

The Numbers yelled.

Alex opened his mouth to speak, but he stopped once he saw an approaching Jean.

“Ah, have you come to join us on this most anticipated moment?” Alex asked, his eyes wide and his face a twisted grin.

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“What are you doing to her?” Jean asked.

Alex awkwardly turned his head to face the woman while keeping his body facing Jean.

“Mmm? You mean the beast's mate? She’s our bait.” Alex said without fixing his neck.

“She’s not human?” Jean asked.

“Oh, she’s definitely human, but she has accepted the beast. So we wait. Oh yes, we wait. He’ll come-"

An ear-piercing howl filled the air, prompting Jean to turn around.

He then saw a gigantic creature atop Sùith’s northern wall.

It glared at Alex as the light of the crescent moon illuminated its pitch-black fur.

It looked like a dog, except it had long forearms that looked like they belonged to an ape of sorts and its teeth were far too big for its mouth so they awkwardly hung outside its mouth.

“Haha! Finally!” Alex said as he grabbed a nearby clever.

“What do we find in death, gentlemen?” Alex asked with eyes that were scarily narrowed.

“Gentle rest!” Alex's men yelled as the beast jumped down toward them.

It landed with a rather loud thud, creating a small cloud of dust.

The beast then let out a gut-wrenching roar that shook the air and pained the eardrums of any who were too close.

Alex dashed towards the beast with a smile on his face.

The beast threw its tree trunk-sized arm at him, but he skillfully dodged the attack before hacking at the beast's right leg with his cleaver, tearing through flesh and bone in the process.

The beast let out a pained wail before desperately hopping over to the woman’s body in a flash.

Alex's men wasted no time in their attacks.

Their weapons pierced flesh and hacked away at bone as they mutilated the beast.

“Larita!” The beast cried as it clutched the woman in its arms.

Jean then saw that some of the spears were coming extremely close to piercing through the beast and hurting the woman and so he dashed towards one of the spearmen and tackled him.

“Hey, watch it! There’s a person under there." Jean said, but the spearman broke into a deranged chuckle.

“Look carefully, my friend.” He said, prompting Jean to look at the beast.

His eyes widened when he saw the woman gently embracing the beast, even as a spear tore through her chest.

Jean bit his teeth as he let out a growl that shook him to the core.

Ayanna walked up to him and helped him up.

The beast had long since stopped moving and yet Alex's men continuously attacked it.

Some of them even grabbed some of the flesh on the tips of their weapons and wiped their faces with the blood.

“What is wrong with you people?” Jean asked, prompting all of them to look at him with their empty eyes.

“What’s he on about?” One of them asked.

“No idea.” Another said as they grabbed their equipment.

Alex then walked up to Jean before letting out a sigh.

“You seem to have this all wrong. We were doing those two a favour.” Alex said, but Jean frowned in response.

He opened his mouth to speak, but-

“She probably had to watch him turn when it all happened,” Alex said rather softly.

“Many of us lost our loved ones to the madness of this night. Is it not our duty to spare them any further suffering? Or should we let them live on as bloodthirsty beasts?” Alex asked, his face expressionless.

Jean shook his head as he opened his mouth to speak, but the words wouldn’t leave his mouth.

“Anyway, my offer still stands. You can come with us if you like.” Alex said.

Jean turned to Ayanna, but she shrugged, much to his frustration.

Jean took a deep breath before meeting Alex's true blue eyes.

“No thanks. We’ll be fine on our own.” He said, although his voice was not that of a confident man.

Alex smiled before nodding.

“Alright then, but don’t think that this changes anything. You and your people will be welcomed in Dòchas.” He said before walking towards his men.

Ayanna gently patted Jeans back before they made their way back into Sùith.

They eventually returned to Àlainn’s house where Ayden remained asleep.

Jean walked over to the leftmost sofa and plopped down.

Ayanna took Àlainn’s seat and allowed Jean his silence.

A moment passed.

Then another.

Jean slowly stood up, his eyes dark.

“I’ll be back.” He said before walking towards the door.

“Where are you going?” Ayanna wheezed, causing a sharp pain in Jean’s chest.

“I’m going to your friend's house. I want to make something.” He whispered.

Ayanna raised her hands to stand, but Jean gestured that she sit.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be back before you know it.” He said before leaving the house.

He then made his way south.

His steps driven by an unknown force and his eyes focused.

He suddenly stopped upon seeing a child-faced pig monsters it crawled out from the ground.

Jean took a deep breath before unsheathing Ayanna’s dagger.

The monster let out a gurgling noise as it cautiously approached him.

Jean didn’t even give himself time to think before he dashed towards the monster.

It tried clawing at him, but Jean’s movements were far too rapid for it to predict and so it ended up clawing at the air.

Jean had dodged the creature’s so perfectly that he was practically on top of it.

A quick stab to the temple was all it took to end the creatures hideous life, but not before it let out a death cry.

Jean winced before rising to his feet.

He then saw several more monsters creeping out from the shadows.

Jean reverse wielded the dagger as an eerie sense of danger filled the air around him.

.

..

Jean lowered his dagger and placed it into his makeshift sheath before entering Randall’s home.

He gently knocked on the door for no reason before entering the dark house.

He rummaged around for a bit and eventually found some candles, which he promptly lit before placing them in key places.

Jean chuckled as he watched their yellow flames flicker in the darkness.

He then made his way into the basement, where he found a pile of all manner of materials, but he wanted something in particular.

He knelt over a pile of what looked like metallic ingots of varying shade and texture.

Jean picked the ones he felt would do before returning to the ground floor.

He then entered the back room to find a rather pleasing sight.

It was a rather modest forge setup.

Jean smirked before sitting on an old wooden chair.

He then set about crafting whatever it was he had in mind.

.

..

Fea hopped down the stairs as his eyes took in the gentle purple light of the ethereal purple flames.

He hopped over to where Ayden and Ayanna sat before tilting his head.

“Where is Jean?” He asked.

“Mom said he’s over at uncle Randall’s house,” Ayden said softly.

“Should we check up on him-"

A strange splashing noise came from outside followed by-

“Fuck!”

Everyone froze for a moment before rushing out of the house.

There they found a dirty Jean, picking up a wooden bucket.

“Jean?” Ayden called.

Jean turned to face Ayden, his eyes hidden by the darkness of the night.

“What are you doing?” Ayden asked upon noticing that both of Jean’s arms were coated in dried blood.

“I’m making something, yes. I hope you don’t mind, but I’ll be using your pal’s forge for some time.” He said as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

No one spoke as he stood in the darkness.

“Are you sure you don’t need any help?” Ayden asked.

“Yes, don't worry. Hey, tell you what. Let me finish what I’m doing here. Then Ayanna and I can go catch us something for the coming days- do days even count for anything anymore? Hehe.” Jean chuckled.

Ayden turned to Ayanna, but she shook her head in response.

“Ok,” Ayden said.

“Yes. Oh and don’t worry. I’ll be done before you know.” Jean said with a weak smile.

Everyone other than Jean returned to the house where they found an awakened Àlainn.

“Good morning?” Ayden said as his mother and Fea returned to their seats.

“Good morning, prionnsa. Is there anything you’d like me to do?” Àlainn asked.

Ayden’s eyes narrowed for a moment.

“Mmm… could you make two sets of sturdy clothing?” He asked.

“I could.”

“Yes, please do.” Ayden said.

“I’ll begin right away-"

A low growl from below stopped Àlainn mid-sentence.

She lowered her head as everyone stared at her.

“Hehe, take a seat. I’ll reheat the leftovers for you.” Ayden said as he placed a few pieces of wood into the stove.

“Mmm…” Ayden droned.

They had run out of wood, but he shelved that thought as the flames bathed the medium-sized pot full of stew.

He crossed his arms as he plotted where they’d have to go for more wood.

We could pillage the neighbourhood. Ayden thought, but a cold chill ran up his spine as he wondered what Ayanna would do to him if he even suggested such a scheme.

That left only one option-

“It would seem as though we’ve run out of wood,” Fea said rather loudly.

“So it would seem.” Àlainn agreed as Ayden served up some stew into a bowl.

“We may have to search for wood in some nearby houses,” Fea suggested as Ayden handed the bowl to Àlainn, who accepted it with a gentle bow.

“Well, mom? Should we?” Ayden nervously asked and Ayanna nodded instantly, causing Ayden’s shoulders to droop.

Ayanna had always taught him to respect the properties of others, but he quickly accepted that they were victims of rather bizarre circumstances and so he sighed in defeat.

“Lady Ayanna, take the boy and loot the nearby houses. I shall remain with the seamstress." Fea said with a caw.

Ayden sighed before accompanying Ayanna out of the house.

Ayanna pointed at the house to their right and so right they went.

Ayanna knocked on the door, only for the door to slightly open.

Ayanna cautiously raised her dagger before stepping into the dark house.

“Candle,” Ayanna whispered.

Ayden nodded before dashing back to Àlainn’s house where he found her in deep conversation with Fea.

“That is why I think the reverie plane is not a higher plane of existence, but a parallel and integral part of the cosmos.” He said as Àlainn ate away at her stew.

“Umm… do you have any candles or extra lanterns?” Ayden asked, causing Fea to shoot him a strange glance.

“Yes, there should be a lantern next to the door.”

Ayden nodded before promptly grabbing the aforementioned lantern, lighting it and running out of the house.

He then made his way towards the next house and he watched in awe as the flame of the lantern turned from ethereal purple to its normal and rather boring state.

Ayden entered the house to find Ayanna cautiously waiting in what looked like the living room.

The warm light of the lantern greatly increased their visibility as the shadows retreated into deep crevices.

Ayden and Ayanna then spent several minutes rummaging through what looked like the house of a rather normal family, but Ayden and Ayanna only wanted some wood and maybe some candles.

The two eventually returned to Àlainn’s house where they stored their findings next to the door.