The forest beyond the outskirts of the city carried a cacophony of pine-cones and wild pine martins frozen over, Theodore thought.

He felt the cold winter breeze swim through his black winter coat, as his black stallion quivered in its hooves. The gates of Vollimere closed behind them with a thundering thud, leaving him, Yvette, and Sebastian alone in front of the wilderness outside the wall.

"How far is the nearest village from the city?" Theodore asked.

"Waterdalk should be the closest one, it's west of here. We might reach it by nightfall if we quicken the pace," Sebastian replied, brushing the hair off his cream-colored steed. 

"Then let's get moving, shall we?" Yvette rode on with her white mare first. "I don't want the Claw to sneak up on us again."

"You and me both, milady," Sebastian pulled on his reigns. "We best proceed with haste, and caution."

Theodore trailed the two from behind as they traversed the road out of Vollimere. From what Yvette told him, she and Sebastian have been friends since childhood. No matter they've been so close lately that Theodore couldn't help but watch them with envy.

After having a heavy breakfast at the College earlier that day, Theodore went straight to getting himself dressed up for the hunt. As he was heading down to the stables with Yvette, the Headmaster was already there waiting.

"My dear, may we talk in private for a moment?" He asked, a sense of urgency washed upon his gaunt face.

Yvette nodded along without question. "Stay here, Theo. I'll be right back," she whispered to Theodore before she followed the Headmaster.

Naturally, Theodore decided to follow her anyway. The Headmaster and Yvette took a turn toward an empty hallway with Theodore hiding in a pillar a few distance away, hoping to discreetly eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Have you made contact with Magnus lately?" He heard the Headmaster's voice from afar.

"No, my lord. He's been making fewer replies to the letters I've sent him. Maybe he's in trouble, what with these recent events," Yvette answered. "His last report to me was two days ago, reporting the Claw recouping their losses after our battle and due to launch a retaliation soon."

"Don't fret, my child." The Headmaster's voice remained calm and relaxed. "Winter is getting stronger by the minute. Magnus is clever enough not to arouse any suspicion, but it's best that you should find him as soon as possible once you depart."

"I will, my lord," Yvette answered as her footsteps approach.

"Wait! I almost forgot." The Headmaster immediately spoke. "Do give him this when you do meet. It's a gift from me."

"You know he won't accept this, just like last time. He just wants to see you. You owe him that much. After all, you're his..."

"Never speak of him inside these walls!" The Headmaster sharply interrupted. "You know the rules, Yvette. I have no choice but to abide by them as the Headmaster."

"I understand." Yvette's voice sounded dejected.

"Besides, he sees you more as family than me." The Headmaster returned to his composed tone. "You're like an older sister to him. He'll listen to you, I'm sure. Now you best go on and, good luck on your journey."

Before Yvette even finished the conversation or walked back toward the stables, Theodore quickly left the corridor and took the fastest way back to the stables. But by the time he got there, Yvette was already packing her supplies onto her saddle with Sebastian.

"Where have you been?" He asked whilst putting a saddle over his horse.

"The garderobe," Theodore sharply lied before reiterating himself. "The toilets, I meant."

A good trick to have in his sleeves, as Sebastian was completely fooled by it. Though Yvette was hardly duped by his deception, she simply stared at Theodore with an austere glimmer in her eyes.

"Anyways," Theodore brushed it off, heading toward his horse. "Let's not waste anymore time. The hunt awaits."

And so they departed from the city walls surrounding Vollimere, en route to Waterdalk on horseback. From what he was told, Dorottya's domain lies somewhere in the mountains around the province, which was very far from the capital. It would take weeks before they've reached it, but winter would have been upon their feet by then.

"Our best strategy," Sebastian relayed to his companions. "Would be to keep moving during the day, as fast as we could manage but steady enough not to exhaust ourselves in the process."

"And by night?" Yvette asked.

"Well, we lay low and pray that we don't get spotted by any Claw commandos," Sebastian replied. "If we couldn't manage to reach Waterdalk by nightfall, we should camp out in a safe spot in the forest."

"What would happen if we do encounter some Claw commandos?" Theodore queried.

Sebastian gulped. "I think you know the answer to that, Sir Theodore."

"What makes you so sure they'd only attack during the night?" Theodore inquired. "I haven't actually fought a demi-beast since a few days ago, so I'll need the information."

Sebastian rubbed his chin together as he recalled. "Theodore, demi-beasts may have superior strength and agility than an average human, but they're still mortal enough to die and cower to gunfire. And we have a great deal of firearms among the military. But what they lack in proper technology, they make up for in guerilla tactics. 

"They make use of their environment, the forests from which they were born and traverse through like a walk in the park. And the darkness - that's their biggest advantage - they use that to catch their prey by surprise. They may seem human, but in their core, they're cold-blooded predators."

"Interesting," Theodore remarked, touching the base of his scabbard. "It would seem you've got a lot of experience with these demi-beasts. Rather curious, I must say."

"To say I have a lot of experience is to put it lightly, Theodore. Before the Claw made themselves known, the most of the Army's problems used to be handling small skirmishes and uprisings from demi-beast tribes all over the province," Sebastian explained. "That was six years ago, when I was still a retainer for the former Commander Montaigne. I think that was also the same time I met Yvette."

Yvette nodded in support of his story. "The conflict at the time was getting worse. The Cardinal dismissed his previous court magician and was in desperate need of a replacement. The Parliament recommended Lady Fiona to him after they dismissed her. All while taking me in as her apprentice, she helped contain the uprisings with Commander Montaigne. By chance, Sebastian and I met during the last few battles of that war."

Theodore ate up all the information he needed. "I suppose, both of you being witnesses to those times," he told them. "How would you compare what happened back then to the recent actions by the Claw."

Sebastian and Yvette were silent for a moment. "It's far worse now with the Claw, believe me. Back then, each of the tribes have their own reason to rebel against the Cardinal. They could never gain an alliance with each other because they're too busy getting on each other's throats over who gets to rule the province, who gets to reap the reward, and who gets to kill the Cardinal. In the end, they destroyed themselves and the Cardinal's army was only there to clean up the mess.

"On the other hand, Lycaon managed to unite the last few remaining tribes in the province - the Hawks and the Owls - into his rebellion. The Hawks from the mountains are a powerful but careful folk, they're the kind to wait out the entire conflict until either sides are far too weakened before they descend from the clouds to deliver a coup de grace. As for the Owls, they're the only tribe that had no animosity against the Cardinal and didn't have any part in the conflict until recently."

Theodore kept nodding in silence, strangely intrigued. "How come?"

"For one thing, Theo," Yvette spoke next. "The Owls are very well-off on their own. They live deeper into the forests, see, so they don't generally make themselves known in the presence of humans. Unlike the Hawks, they simply wanted peace to themselves and do not wish for their lives to be trifled with. Lycaon must have been very persuasive if they were to join his cause."

"And you sound as if you knew them quite well," Theodore raised his eyebrow.

He could see Yvette slightly quiver in her saddle in front of him. "I've studied them quite a lot, of course. You've got to know your enemies before you could approach them," she told him. "And besides, no one has seen an owl demi-beast for twenty years. They wouldn't make themselves known unless it's necessary."

She may have taken after Fiona's charm and mannerisms, but she can't hold a lie for just as long as she does, Theodore thought.

Eventually, the trio wordlessly trotted down the dirt trail through empty grass fields, rushing rivers that lead off into the foggy distance, and deep pine forests that stretch for miles and hide many secrets.

⚜️

"We should camp here for the night," Sebastian jumped off his horse and started unpacking his saddle. "Then we can continue straight to Waterdalk in the morning."

This part of the forest was a little too quiet, Theodore mused. But it'll be enough as the night grew heavy. The nights were never truly safe for travelers, especially in this province. Surrounding their camp was a hefty abundance of tall grass growing under the roots of the forest.

"You boys should check the perimeter for any disturbances. I'll stay here and lay down the protection enchantments," Yvette told the two.

As they wordlessly followed her suggestion and went into the forest, Theodore caught a glimpse of Yvette walking in a massive circle around the perimeter with her cane in hand. As she muttered a series of incantations, the tip of her cane began to emit a faint blue light. She waved it around as the were surrounded by what looked like a field of heat haze.

"Protective enchantments," Theodore said as they walked. "Is there anything she can't do?"

"You should've seen her the day Lady Fiona chose her as her apprentice," Sebastian told him. "Yvette gave her as well as the rest of the College a spectacle to feast upon."

"How did it go, then?" Theodore sparked the campfire aflame with a snap of his fingers.

"About as well as you might expect," Sebastian replied. "Lady Fiona was looking for a worthy apprentice as her first task of being the new court magician for the Cardinal. Of course, every magician and alchemist in the city went there and volunteered themselves but sadly, the Lady turned everyone down."

"As expected, Fiona expects nothing but the peak of perfection." Theodore jested so cruelly. "Those people didn't stand a chance. How did Yvette manage to win her over?"

Sebastian smirked as he gathered twigs from the ground. "You see, Yvette overcompensated a bit. Lady Fiona simply asked her to do anything with her magic, to impress her. Yvette ended up conjuring a giant whale out of the fountain water and letting it fly around the city."

Theodore simply nodded, as he observed the fervent gleam of admiration on Sebastian's face. "I'm not surprised. She's a capable magician, I saw her worth in a fight myself."

"Truly, she's simply... remarkable." Sebastian's face was practically gleaming in the dark as he said it.

"How close are the both of you to make a face that... revolting?" Theodore sneered.

"I beg your pardon?" He was puzzled by the notion.

"You make that face whenever you're around her, red like tomato or blood," Theodore noted. "And you fidget the fingers around your hands, even though you're not holding anything. I can't quite understand it. Do you like her?"

"That's a preposterous notion if I've ever heard one," Sebastian sharply told him. "I simply respect her as a magician. You don't find that many magicians in Vollimere before Lady Fiona came into the fray."

"I can imagine why," Theodore replied. Vollimere was, after all, the same province where Dorottya hailed from. For years, her infamous reputation must have stained the people's view of magicians throughout the province.

"Vollimere didn't welcome the idea of having the Parliament of Magicians control much of Fericire, but it's not like they have any power or in any shape to refuse them," he commented. "For as long as the province has stood for years, the people turned to alchemy as the source of the province's majesty. Because unlike magic, it's much easier to study but it's also a complex web that takes years to master."

"So that's why Saint Lucille's College is reserved only for that art," Theodore noted, kicking some pebbles after every step. "No wonder Yvette and Fiona look so out of place there. But what about you? Do you aspire to be an alchemist, by any chance?"

"Me? Heavens, no," Sebastian laughed it off. "Believe me, it's a lot easier to be a soldier these days than to be an alchemist. From how Lord Martin put it, the Guild of Alchemy have far bigger ambitions apart from creating potions that can benefit humanity."

"Enlighten me, lieutenant." Theodore raised his eyebrow, his curiosity tingling.

"See, for ages past, alchemy have always yearned for the discovery of the ultimate relic: the Philosopher's stone, an elixir of immense power. It is said that anyone who beholds this stone has the power to transmute basic elements into gold or precious metals, cure any sickness without the need for potions, and could even make the beholder immortal.

"The goodwill that the Guild of Alchemy has established in the eyes of the continent has always been nothing more but a stepping stone to achieving that ultimate mission: to find the Stone and cultivate its secrets."

"Sounds like they're no worse than the magicians at playing the fool," Theodore waded through the field of tall grass first. "You're quite knowledgeable of alchemy, despite not being one yourself."

Sebastian tilted his head, a faint smirk appeared on his face. "My family studied alchemy. I barely got to see their faces when they fell to Dorottya's plagues, yet I was most drawn to their study of the arts they left behind as I learned more about them. It's something you pick up rather quickly when you're tied to a family like that, don't you agree?"

Theodore silently agreed, perhaps there was something he had in common with this lieutenant. "What do you think? In your belief, do you think that the Stone itself could be found?"

"I highly doubt it," he scoffed at his question. "The Stone is simply a legend that the Guild has deluded themselves into thinking it exists. Even Lord Martin thought that his peers at the Guild were a little too... mad, so to speak."

"Careful what you say, lieutenant. You never know if there are eyes and ears that could spy on our conversation."

"Oh, I would know right away if there are any spies," Sebastian grinned ever so snidely, pointing at his sharply-tipped ears. "My ears are a lot sharper than most people. I could hear even the faintest whispers from a mile away."

Theodore rolled his eyes in a playful manner. "Nice try, but I've got the nose of a bloodhound, see. Not only can I identify unique scents so accurately, I can also trace it back to the source even from afar."

"Really? That does sound very useful in your profession. Tell me, what do I smell like?" Sebastian asked.

Theodore leaned closely toward Sebastian and caught a whiff of his scent, to which his face cringed in disgust. "You smell like rancid cheese under that uniform of yours."

The lieutenant merely laughed at him. "I suppose these last few days must've been a nightmare to deal with, anyhow. But now that you're here, maybe things could change..."

His voice trailed off, but Theodore paid him no mind. He simply bobbed his head up and down, as the hunter already heard everything that was needed to hear about his new companion. "I think we've covered enough ground. We should head back to Yvette and rest for the night-"

"Hold on," Sebastian sharply called to him as his body stood still and vigilant, his laid-back attitude had dissolved in an instant. "Do you hear that?"

As Theodore took heed, he heard nothing. Not a single song of the birds, nor the tune of the distant crickets. Their scent were nowhere to be found as well. He and Sebastian were alone in the forest, almost too alone.

"There's nothing here..." Theodore was about to say before he noticed something strange as well. "Hold on, I can smell something strange as well."

There was a thick layer of assorted scents covering the forest around them like a fog. It smelled of rotten flesh and so it was so dense that Theodore couldn't pinpoint exactly where the source was coming from.

Just then, a fierce roar from the distance shook the forest behind Theodore, from where the rotten stench was strongest. It was inhumane shriek, a roar that sounded like a lion and an elephant stitched together.

"What was that?!" Sebastian unsheathed his sword as he hesitantly looked around his surroundings. "Crap, it's coming from over there! Arm yourself!"

On one hand, Theodore took out his revolver and unsheathed his sword with the other, ready for what might be a bloody battle. The two would soon feel the earth shake as this unseen beast began scrambling toward them, barging through the nearby trees and the fauna that were unfortunately in the way.

As if out of instinct, Theodore quickly shoved Sebastian out of the way as the monster sprang out from the tall grass and nearly stomped on both of them. The beast then straightened up as it met its prey, its scale was twice as larger than the trees around it.

This beast had not one but three malformed human faces, the misshapen antler horns of a great stag, a bulky mammalian complexion of a lion, a garden of scarlet knives disguised as a mane, and the long sharp tail of a scorpion's. 

Its back was pierced with dozens of rusted blades lodged deep into its dead pale skin. Its belly underneath was big, yet it looked so heavy and frumpy compared to the rest of its body, barely strung together by such rough stitchings. It roared once more upon them, as a mixture of bile and blood spilled in-between its yellowish fangs.

"It's a chimera..." Theodore muttered under his breath, before charging at the beast with the tip of his sword aiming for the eyes.

Alas before he could strike the chimera in the eye, its tail reflexively parried his sword away. Like a whip, it cracked its tail loudly at Theodore, intending to kill him with a swift strike to his left flank. He blocked it however with his sword, only to be met with a dozen more tail whips faster than the naked eye could see.

But Theodore was quick to evade and fend them off, with each dragging him back. But the full force of its last attack managed to send him flying toward a nearby tree.

Turning its sights onto Sebastian, it charged at him with its horns meant to ram into his chest as soon as it laid eyes upon him. Sebastian swerved out of the way and pulled out his gun, to which he fired at the chimera six times.

The chimera's skin must've been so thick, as the bullets did not faze it at all. In retaliation, it began to recoil and gag as something bright and burning was about to come out of its mouth. Sebastian was barely able to avoid the subsequent fireball that erupted from the mouth and landed into a blazing collision against the grass.

Before he could even rest and catch his breath, Sebastian was met with the chimera about to pounce him against the ground. Theodore rose up in time and shot the chimera with his own revolver, spewing fiery rounds upon the chimera, knocking it off the lieutenant and scorching its mane in the process.

In the midst of the chaos, Sebastian managed to roll away and regained his footing. The chimera was now flailing about as the flame engulfing its mane has managed to reach its horrible face, blindly it as it wildly pounced at every direction and whipped its tail against whatever it may reach.

Sebastian practically fumed in anger. "Two can play at that game," he said as he cracked his sword against the ground, whereupon the blade became flexible and extended into a long chain whip adorned with steel spikes.

In one swift motion, the lieutenant cracked it at the chimera, leaving a large bloody gash upon its hind legs. Theodore swooped in without a word while it was distracted and leapt against the hill to make a long and terrible gash across the chimera's right flank.

"Boy, this is a hard nut to crack!" Sebastian quipped next to Theodore.

"Shut it, and keep distracting it!" Theodore snapped back as he launched himself against the chimera, coating his sword with his fire magic.

Whilst the scorpion tail flailed from behind, trapped in a heated duel with Theodore, the chimera chased after Sebastian who cracked his whip sword against the creature's face. He managed to pluck out one eye with one strike with the whip, forcing the creature to writhe and recoil away from him.

The chimera squealed in agony, but it wouldn't let the same tactic repeat itself again. It began to huff up the flames spreading around its mane and absorb it into its mouth. With one mad shriek, it set forth a stream of red flames that chased after the two and set the forest around it ablaze.

Sebastian and Theodore were barely able to dodge the fire as it trapped them in a circle with the chimera. Now able to see again, it scrambled around to pursue both of its would-be victims. It spat out flames right as the duo were about to flee in that direction.

Suddenly, what looked like a serpent-shaped stream of water jumped right in front of the blast. It collided with the fire, dissipating into steam. Sebastian heard footsteps approach from behind them, while Theodore immediately recognized her alluring fragrance.

"What did I miss?" Yvette told the two as she caught up with them.

"Took your bloody time, Margoyles." Theodore was exasperated at her atrocious timing. "See if you can distract the chimera with your spirits."

"Gotcha." Yvette nodded and with a flourish of her cane, a silver smoke emerged from the tip. The smoke materialized into a silver-furred lynx, roughly the same size as the chimera.

Two of the chimera's faces tried to scream another fireball at Yvette, but she conjured an ice barrier just in time to block it from her path. She summoned a pair of water serpents once more to snap at its fireballs.

At once, the boar rammed headfirst into the chimera's face and a battle between beasts ensued. They both tumbled, pounced, and clawed each other with their claws. But the chimera's scorpion tail gave the chimera an unfair advantage, as it managed to impale the lynx just when it was biting one of its faces off.

"Theodore, help me relieve it of his behind!" Sebastian called out to him as he approached the chimera from behind.

Theodore followed, shooting whatever bullets he had left to stall the chimera. Sebastian engaged himself in a heated duel against the tail, clashing with his chained whip as he cracked it furiously.

Eventually, in a desperate move to impale him to the ground, the tail embedded itself too deeply in the dirt. With Yvette and Sebastian giving him an opening, Theodore jumped toward the tail and climbed it just when it pulled out and flew into the air.

Theodore held on for dear life as the scorpion tail tried desperately to shake him off. Even a fireball fly past his back, narrowly missing him by mere inches. Despite the constant attempts to brush away his grip by whacking him against the tall grass, Theodore climbed all the way to the base of the tail.

But the scorpion tail was relentless. It had a mind of its own, and it won't let Theodore approach by swinging itself all over the air. Yvette summoned a pair of giant glowing octopus that latched onto the nearby trees and restrained the tail with their tentacles.

He then ignited his sword into flames and, in a calmly manner, amputated off the rest of the tail by sawing it off like a carpenter. Black blood spewed from the stump, staining Theodore's glasses until he could see nothing. As the chimera screamed in terror, Theodore mercilessly stomped over the swords embedded in its backside even deeper as he jumped off the beast and landed firmly on the ground.

In a mad fury, all three heads of the chimera collectively started gagging as it was about to unleash another blazing bolt upon the trio. Before it could release it however, Yvette was quick to point her cane at the beast's mouth as the tip glowed red, holding the fire building up from the creature's throat in its place.

"Theodore, Sebastian, you both know what to do!" She called to him, clearly struggling to concentrate on the chimera.

"On it," the duo quickly replied in unison.

Sebastian was the first to make a move, quickly moving toward the chimera's flank. With a graceful pirouette and a staggering momentum built up behind it, he cracked his whip so hard that the chimera's hind legs were instantaneously severed in one swing.

Theodore came in to finish the deed next. With one bullet left in the barrel, Theodore fired the last round at the one of the chimera's heads, combusting on impact and rendering the beast blind amidst the blaze. Nevertheless, the chimera attempted to pounce on Theodore as a last resort. To which he dove right underneath the beast and disemboweled it in half with his sword.

He slid out from behind as the chimera's innards spill out of its loose belly and ran to a safe distance. It wasn't until the beast was wildly flailing in pain did Yvette release her hold on the fire clogged from within the chimera's throat. At once, the chimera's heads promptly exploded in a fist of flames, with the rest of its body slumped dead against the ground.

It wasn't until the carcass finally stopped convulsing did the three finally catch their breath and the exhaustion of the battle took hold. "What the hell was that?"

"It's a monster," Theodore told him with his eyebrow raised as if it was obvious. "I've fought many already, but never have I fought one that was man-made."

"What makes you say that?" Yvette asked, covering her nose tightly as the stench conjoined with the smoking embers that filled the air.

"Look at this," he pointed to the faint stitch marks on the dead skin. "This is human flesh sewn together with animal parts. You don't see this with the more naturalistic monsters that lurk in the shadows like a predator, nor would they only attack two lone strangers in a forest full of living prey."

Sebastian never looked so disgusted. "So you're saying that this monstrosity was created by someone?"

Theodore nodded, enthusiastically watching the remains of the beast burn. "No doubt this was the work of a Fleshcarver. I've only read of them but you, Yvette, you might have some inkling of who they are."

"I do," Yvette responded, her face was stoic as it was horrified. "This is the work of a Fleshcarver."

"A Fleshcarver?" Sebastian asked, confused. "Sounds disgusting. What are they?"

"They're magicians who practiced the worst of the dark arts, Sebastian," Yvette explained. "The kind that makes monsters out of the dead. But there has never been an actual Fleshcarver for years, and the Parliament made sure to erase every trace of that taboo from existence."

"Not all of it, apparently." Theodore wiped the blood off his sword with his jacket sleeves. "You'd be surprised by how far people would go to preserve their life's work, whether they were even good or not."

"This is madness." Sebastian shook his head, half amazed and half terrified. "First, the Claw, then the mole in the council and now this. That hag has the city all on her grip the whole time. Just what is she waiting for that would stop her from taking over Vollimere completely?"

"Well, I believe," Theodore said, "that Dorottya is too weak right now to be of any threat. I... had a dream of her the night we were attacked by the Claw."

Yvette's eyes enlarged upon hearing this, marching closer toward Theodore. "You tell us this only now? What did you see?"

"Dorottya is still overcoming the effects of the seal laid upon her. She's letting others do her bidding while she rejuvenates in her domain, in a castle somewhere in the mountains.

"For now, she'll take whatever advantage she has to either kill us or delay our journey because even she knows that she has no chance against us. If we press on, no matter how grievous her challenges, she'll soon be as good as dead."