Arad and Aella left Hank’s lodge after hearing what he had to say. “What do you think?” Arad asked, looking at her.

“He’s hiding a lot from us.” Aella replied, “We should hear what the others have to say first.”

“So we go to the church,” Arad looked at the sky, “Lydia and Jack should be checking on them,” He added.

“Yeah,” Aella looked back at the lodge, “But he saved your life. We should give him the benefit of the doubt for now,”

“You’re right.”

***

Jack walked across the streets, yawning. Each step seemed lazier was the last and was slower. His eyes darted from right to left, inspecting the dark crevices like a thief, scared of the guards ambushing him. He looked suspicious.

“Hey, young man.” A man called Jack. “I’ve never seen you here before. Care to take a look at my wares?”

Jack stared at him with a smile, “Sorry, but I’m looking for something specific.” He approached the man, “I’m looking to buy a shadow,”

“A shadow? Can you sell those?” The man looked confused, scratching his head, “Is it magic?”

Jack shook his head, “Yeah, I don’t think you will have it,” He turned around a smile, walking into the alleyways with a smile. After a while, a door opened, and a woman in her late forties called to him, “Come here,”

Jack turned toward her with a smile, “Finally, I’ve been walking around for an hour,”

After entering the house, Jack looked a the woman, “Bussiness is slow around here,” He smiled, “In Alina, thieves would have jumped me a while ago.”

“You’re right and wrong.” The woman smiled, “Bussiness isn’t slow. We’re lacking men in this small village.” She pulled a chair and sat staring at Jack.

After sitting face to face with the woman, Jack asked, “What is going on in the city with the werewolf,”

the woman stared at Jack, surprised, “That’s a big one to start with,” she smiled, “Last person who asked got buried in the forest. “Are you a problem?”

“You got it wrong. We make troubles go away.” Jack stared at her face, “The beast is dangerous at night, so you can’t get many jobs done.” He stared at her, “Give me information, and we will do our best to make the beast go away.”

“Hard to believe,” The woman shook her head, “The last men I sent ended up beaten to the bones,”

“Beaten?” Jack glared at her, “They survived the attack?”

“The beast is picky. He prefers the fresh of young maidens.” The woman sighed, “My stinky-ass thieves who never bathed in a month are sure to make it puke.”

Jack scratched his head, “Come on, tell me.” he smiled, “Who and how many had the beast killed?”

The woman looked back, standing up to bring a ledger, “Fifty-seven one.” she flipped through the pages and handed the book to Jack.

“This is disturbing but weird at the same time.” Jack looked at her, “You have them divided into killed and kidnapped,”

“Kidnapped means the beast went through the trouble of getting them alive.” she pointed at some pages, “Probably for pleasure,”

“There are men and women on the list,” Jack glared at her, “And even children. Have you ever thought of the possibility of the beast having a goal?”

“I’m not here to think of what a werewolf wants,” The woman glared at Jack, “All I know is there,”

Jack closed the ledger, “Putting this aside,” He stared into her eyes, “When did the attacks start? What triggered the monster?”

The woman scratched her chin, “A while back. The church issued a decree.” the woman looked at Jack, “All children born with animalistic features are to head to them and have those parts cut off, if possible.”

Jack stood up, “Hold the **, what?” BANG! The woman smacked him in the head with a pan. “We’re in my house. Watch your tongue.”

Jack sat back down, rubbing his head. “First of all, people are born like that here?”

“Rarely.” The woman sighed, “We did have a kid born with a cat tail and ears to two humans parents.” She scratched her head, “Saying it caused a problem is an understatement.”

“So the beast attacked after the decree?” Jack asked.

“Yeah. The next day when the church collected the seven kids, he attacked them under the sun. Gouged two priests and tore the rest apart,” The woman explained.

“And let me guess, took the kids and left?”

“No.” The woman replied, “That day, the beast only killed the priests. But he kidnapped the kids at night. Alongside two sisters from the church.”

“So the decree is what set him off,” Jack scratched his head, “Did the church pull it back?”

“The decree? No, they accused the families of the children of summoning the beast. That also was a pain to clear,” The woman sighed, standing up, “Can your people get the beast to leave?”

Jack nodded with a smile, “We have a beast as well,” He stared at the door, “Something more friendly and controlled. Just let us try.” He looked the woman in the eye, “Worst scenario, you have to bury four strangers.”

***

Lydia approached the church, and the priest stood at the door, “We’ve been waiting for you,” He said with a smile, staring around, “Where is the rest of your party?”

Lydia looked into his eyes, and she was about to speak. ^Jack doesn’t like the church…^

“A griffon attacked us on the way. They are dealing with the clean up.” Lydia replied, telling a half lie with a smile.

The priest nodded with a smile, “Ho! If you killed a griffon. Then you’re skilled enough to solve our problem.”

Lydia glared at him, “Your report never mentioned a werewolf,” She glared at him with her eyes flashing golden.

“It doesn’t matter the nature of the obstacles. What matter is surpassing them.” The priest replied.

“You should have informed us of the full story,” She glared at him, “Preparation is important,” ｏｖ𝚕．ｃｏ𝚖

“God decided everything.” The priest said with a grin, “Trust in the fate he laid for you,”

Lydia sighed, “It doesn’t matter now. Tell me everything so I can get rid of the werewolf, if possible.” She walked into the church beside him. ^This annoying bastard…Is this why Jack hates them?^

As they walked in, the priest looked back at her, “The beast interrupted a holy cleansing. We have to make the ritual happen.”

“What kind of cleansing? Why did it tick the beast off?”

“Children were born with the beast blood in them. We had to cleanse them before they turn feral. The beast seems to want them to be like him,”

Lydia scratched her head. ^The werewolf wants to prevent the church from curing his curse.^ She thought about it, and for some reason, something in the back of her head was screaming that it was wrong.

“What kind of help can you provide?” Lydia stared at the priest, “We need to get this problem wrapped up as soon as possible,”

“We can’t offer much with how many casualties we got, but I will be sure you get the bare minimum funds and a place to stay.” He looked at her, smiling. “Of course, you got everyone corporation if you wanted to ask any questions.”

Lydia nodded, “I will ask the sisters and look around. The beast climbed to the bell. Can I get there?”

“The sisters will guide you there,” the priest replied with a smile as he headed inside.

Lydia stared at him back, frowning, “I hope the rest got anything useful.” She then went around, searching for the sisters.

“Excuse me, do you have a moment?” Lydia approached one of the sisters. The sister looked at her and bowed gently, “A paladin? Are the one sent to deal with the beast?”

Lydia nodded, sitting on one of the church’s chairs, “Care to tell me anything you know?”

The sister nodded, “I don’t know how she did it, but that werewolf appeared in the middle of the church and headed directly to our dorm.” The sister explained, “I only heard Jesica’s screams and saw the beast rush out with her.”

For a moment, Lydia thought about what she heard, “You said ‘She’?”

“Ah, yes.” The sister stared at her, “The werewolf didn’t seem to have any private parts, so I suspected it might be a she.”

The sister looked out, “But I’m no expert on them. So it might be he as well. You better ask someone with more knowledge,”

Lydia scratched her chin, “You might be right. Just like cats and dogs, it should be clear.” She smiled, “This will help us narrow the suspect list by half, thank you.”

As Lydia was about to leave, the sister grabbed her by the hand, “I have something else to tell you. Can we talk in a private room?”

Lydia stared at her, “Of course, what do you have to say?”

The two walked to a private room.