Knoll filled them in with the details before he could even sit down. "Things are not looking good, something happened before Eliott was put under questioning in the garrison."

Clayton knitted his eyebrows. "Eliott did something?"

"It's not that he did something, he--" Knoll was trying to grasp the right words to use and struggled with it for a moment, "Well it is to be expected that he would do something, nasty man that he is but, this… this is different."

Knoll scratched his head hating his poor description. 

"He looks different. What I mean was he seemed to be not himself. Didn't know what has gotten into him that as soon as he woke up, he attacked everyone inside and severely injured two guards who were trying to master him! We have been with Eliott for quite a time and we know his temper. He was a mean fellow but… at that moment, that wasn't like him at all."

"His eyes were nasty I tell you! As soon as he saw a person he would grab and hurt 'em." a fat mercenary said with a look of bewilderment. "Also, his skin looked purplish and green, it was terrifying."

"Thin man that he is, he sure does have a very strong body, almost threw me over to the ceiling." another brother echoed. He shook his head while recalling how he was easily lifted and slammed on the table. Until now his back hurts.  

Clayton was intrigued. He had seen Eliott and of course assessed how much strength the person has. Exploding in such a short period would damage an inexperienced body but according to description, Eliott went on attacking people. 

"It was as if he was cursed…"

The rest nodded their heads to affirm. The word 'curse' created a ripple in that small establishment. Some people stopped eating and began to listen carefully. 

"Thankfully, there was a passing warlock residing in the governor's manor. He had the same thought as you. He came to help and speculated that Eliott may have touched something contaminated by dark elements. Only the long exposure from it would have resulted in that kind of condition."

As Knoll explained the faces of those who are listening are getting heavier and panicked. Why they have been with Eliott for a month already. 

Beck stepped in to dispel the bleak atmosphere, "The warlock assured that if it indeed a curse, as long as ablution is performed, there will be no further spread of the contamination."

Hearing that, their unease was alleviated. But the mercenaries were still looking uncomfortable. Ayan noticed that and so was Clayton.

"Didn't you say that an ablution is to be performed?"

Beck sighed heavily, "Yes but the warlock said we, as people who came in contact with Eliott, should have shown the same symptoms but he could not find out the reason why we were not affected." 

"You have been checked?"

"Yes." Knoll was the one who answered Clayton's question.

They were also asked several times inside the garrison and were only released now. It was already six in the evening where their stomachs are grumbling! 

"May I ask something very private?" Ayan again. 

Knoll chuckled, Mr Rozenberg's little wife is really interesting. "Go ahead, ma'am." 

"What kind of method do you use to determine if the person is plagued by dark elements or not? If you find it intrusive or it is difficult to answer please take it as my mindless chatter."

Everyone's good opinion of her rose several notches. The missus speaks freely but she is not tactless, well-spoken but not arrogant. Earlier when her husband asked if they had been checked they showed no signs of fear. Normally people would feel very frightened about this kind of news. 

Those who eat in this restaurant are not exempted.  

Beck had a thoughtful look for a moment recalling how they met them. Sure enough, those who came out of the forest are not ordinary.

"It is a very simple thing, no need to feel restrained," Knoll said. "We use a purity stone condensed from the purest magical essence. They are mined from places with dense mana concentration, they are expensive but still enough not to be called rare. When a person contaminated by dark elements touches it, the stone becomes black and depending on the hue from light to dark, the warlocks and diviners diagnose the severity of contamination. That's it."

"Don't forget that purity stone is also used to detect poison, it's just that the colour turns yellow," Beck added.

That is why the upper crust, the monarchs, even more, have specially crafted utensils made of precious purity stones.

"I see…" Ayan nodded then surreptitiously glanced at Clayton. 

She hopes he doesn't find her asking too unusual. 

"Thankfully there was a warlock, Eliott was in luck." Even though he is a nasty fellow, falling to the dark elements like the furies is another matter. They shouldn't sneer at human life just because they were horrid. "Will the master bring Eliott along with him?"

"That is for certain. He needed to be sent to the nearest temple for ablution."

"Since you are cleared, I don't see why you have to feel down or is there more problem?"

The men were instantly awakened by her question. They should be glad they survived. However, deep inside they knew that everything was far from over. Ablution may cleanse the dark elements but it cannot save Eliott's life. This is something the missus doesn't know. The topic was too depressing that none was inclined to voice it out. They do not want to spoil the evening and worry the couple. 

Eight large men sat near their table and also ordered dinner.

After the meal, Clayton was about to send Ayan back to their room when another diner bumped into her by accident. Clayton hurriedly caught her body and put her back to her feet unscathed.

"I'm sorry."

The person who bumped her was a young man with delicate features, he apologized sincerely knowing that he nearly caused an accident. The two did not mind and had no plan to pursue it thus he left with a peace of mind. He seems to be in a hurry that is why the little accident happened. 

"Are you alright?" He asked.

Ayan assured him she was fine. After that Clayton sent his family back to their room and returned downstairs to have a short drink with the mercenary brothers. 

Ayan was tired so she snappily proceeded to make the bed. 

On some occasions, renting a whole room for oneself is rather costly so travellers were used to sharing the space with strangers. Privacy is not a huge issue, the ancients here believed that there is safety in numbers especially when you are out of your abode. Of course, with the exception of the upper crust who had tons of rules, common folks live a lot freely. 

The room Clayton rented has two wooden trundle beds against the west wall. In the middle is a wide space left for the extra beds underneath. On the left wall next to the door is a nightstand with a pewter wash bin and jug for washing. The right wall facing the streets is where the window and balcony door was located. 

Ayan closed the wooden shutter and slid in the bolt. In fact, at this hour most of the houses whether in cities or villages are already shut tight. The night brings in a lot of terrors besides wraith and furies. The dark hours are mostly believed to be the time where miasma is the strongest. Although it cannot turn people into monsters, it can still make them sick nevertheless. 

Certainly none of those aforementioned was Ayan's reason for barring her window but the more practical one. Felons for example. Second is the cold weather. The inn's facility is not bad, hay and horsehair were woven neatly wrapped in coarse cloth and used as soft mattresses. 

Her only concern is the lack of convenient heating. Heated bricks were placed on the beds by the innkeeper earlier to drive the dampness away. There were no fireplaces yet but there is a small brazier by the brick wall near the window enough to warm the room. 

The fireplace is a thing for the wealthy household who had enough finances to commission skilled masons to design their walls and chimneys. Burning logs also cost quite high so unless you're a wealthy merchant or landlord with your forest, you make do with this simplest form of heating. 

The day was long and exhausting, she climbed into the warm bed after tucking the boys into a thick layer of woollen blankets ready to rest herself. Milk slipped from Carmine's embrace to snuggle on her side. 

The sound of conversations from passersby, the clatter of hooves from horses and the tolling of the eight o'clock bell were small details Ayan loved hearing. It's like living in a small village during her outreach mission with her mom. 

The Rose family had various charities and her mother is an active participant. Sometimes she would go with her and bring Monica along to help whenever they didn't feel like camping out. It was a good way of getting in touch with the world. 

It was easier to see the joys and sincerity of people. Far from the artifice, cynicism and the coldness of the modern society she grew up with. 

Monica, although has a bad mouth, is sincere and straightforward. She may seem like your typical millennial who loves everything up to date and fashionable things, the truth is that she's a sucker for warmth.   

When the children in the mountains would come to greet and send them off, she would shed tears for half a day. 

How she missed her. Monica that big marshmallow. 

Outside, the wind was chilly and there was fog in the air. That did not prevent some people from sneaking up the roofs however. 

These men were covered by thick hoods. Four of them stood on top of a familiar inn and listened to the sound from inside. When it was time to move, a shadow came from nowhere.

The huge black thing hovering above was bigger than anything they have ever seen. It looked hungry and mad. Horror seized their hearts. 

"B-Beast…  magical beast." One croaked as his knees buckled in fright. 

"How did it come here?"

"Boss, tonight's affair I'm afraid..."

The man heading the group clenched his fist unwillingly. 

"Retreat. Everyone, retreat!" He ordered in the end. 

The inn's roof was deserted in less than a minute returning to its former silence once again. The huge shadow feared by them dissipated like smoke leaving only a small fluff of white. The tiny thing landed on the cold tile with a heavy plop then licked its paw. 

Asleep and unaware that her companions had slipped out of the inn, Ayan was late to know that last night had a big event. 

Several kilometres away from the city, the garrison knights along with Knoll's mercenary team and Clayton surrounded the mountainside where they first arrived. Inside the encirclement was the aftermath of the skirmish between the soldiers and the bandits. 

The enemy has been sorted out and tied, what's left to do is to check the lair.

"Will the missus resent us for dragging you along with us?" Knoll asked curiously. 

Clayton had a faint smile as an answer. 

"Sigh~ young'uns are much more open-minded than those advanced in age. Your little wife would probably welcome you back with a sweet smile instead of an earful of nagging."

"Are you married? You sound like one."

"Aye, married to a fine lass with a fiery mouth and a tender heart. Sweet girl my Karmen, gave me three daughters who're more troublesome than boys. Every time I come home she would let me sit on the chair and lecture me for half a day. Been going on for five years and I already memorized the doctrine." 

Fortunately, Ayan doesn't have the habit of 'reading the doctrine' as Knoll put it humoredly. A few glares from her were already enough to serve as a lesson. But he wondered though, what would the dainty wife do in case?

"Where's the tyke Beck by the way? Been missing his arse over here."

"Haven't seen him for a while." Came a reply. 

Beck who was everyone searching for is currently standing in between two knights inspecting something.  

"The informant did not lie. He must have been desperate enough to run back to the city to beg for amnesty." One knight commented wiping the blood off his sword. 

They were standing at the entrance of a dugout cellar filled with various kinds of antiques and treasures that the bandits seized from many caravans and houses. On the other side of the field, the families of the bandits were held down by several soldiers in order not to interfere with the ongoing arrest. 

Their lair was not a big place, there are a few plots of land for planting food, some cottages here and there which served as a lookout post for those who live in the cave.  

Beck was there to recognize the wicker basket stolen from Eliott's caravan. Compared to its appearance yesterday, it now looked a lot more shabby. He crouched down to open the burlap sack covering the lid but he was stopped by a cold tender hand.

"Has no one ever told you that touching items stained with dark elements will affect you?" The stern reprimand came from behind. 

The knights on the side were scared off by the warning and dared not move again. 

Beck rose back to his feet, patted the dirt off his knees and faced the stern-faced person. The warlock hid behind the hood and people could hardly make out of his countenance, the covering, however, was not a hindrance if one is an acquaintance. 

"It's you!" The warlock said in surprise. 

A strong wind blew out of nowhere lifting his hood. The warlock this time is not an old man like Darius but a young man with light brown hair wearing a livery of a certain noble house. 

Beck's eyes crinkled at the corners then answered him with a conspiratorial wink, "Fortunately, the master came to stop me in time."

"What in blazes are you doing here?"

Beck shrugged nonchalantly and said in a low voice, "It's nice to see Master Schon, unfortunately, this is not a good place for a reunion. Shall we make up for it soon?"

"You have not answered my question." 

"Questions can wait."

The young warlock scowled at him. 

"Still so dour as ever, aren't we? You neglect to notice my care."

The browned haired warlock did not alter his expression. "A pity your attitude hinders me from seeing it."

That made Beck laugh then hummed "Nah, you're just blind…"

His voice drifted as he ambled away, not changing his devil-may-care posture.

"Reginald!" 

Master Schon was miffed not getting a decent reply from the scamp instead, he was answered by a two-finger wave and a flirty, "Come visit me in Magpie's Inn~" 

"Incorrigible," Schon muttered and felt blank for a while.  

"Master, was this thing the cause of it?" The captain of the guards arrived on his side and inquired. "Then, how do we transport this?"

The whole bandit's den has suddenly turned into a slaughterhouse, if one of them did not escape to ask for help from the city it is estimated that many more would've died tonight including the old and the young.

Schon pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'll carry it myself, I'm afraid this is one of those accursed objects from 'that' incident. What happened tonight must be reported to the Holy Temple as soon as possible."

Roughly half a night was spent before they managed to subdue the bandits who had gone mad and brought the rest to the garrison. Almost all of the city's force was mobilized tonight, fortunately, the governor did not give them a hard time and easily approved the cleanup.

The warlock named Schon used his robe to cover the cursed object in order to prevent miasma from leaking. His clothes had layers of enchantment made by the diviners of the Holy Temple with the same properties as the barrier surrounding the Dark Continent. 

It was a rare item but he did not hesitate using it for that purpose. Clayton had a good impression of the man who seemed to look austere but dedicated. 

Clayton returned to their room when it was four o'clock in the morning. The night is still long; he only had one oil lamp in hand. The two beds are parallel to each other, and two more extras on the floor where the boys sleep. He did not know whether Ayan was sleeping or looking in his direction. He wasn't sure yet. He moved in cautiously and closed the door. As soon as he turned, he hit the washstand making the pain on his side intensify. 

He ignored it for the whole night because of the situation now that he is relaxed he had plenty of time to mind his wound. 

Ayan heard a noise and woke up groggily. The first thing that came into her mind was: thief! 

She sprang up from the bed like a carp pulling the dagger under the pillow and stopped. Wait, would a thief bring his own light?

"Clayton?" 

He grunted an answer. The pain was spreading fast and he could barely support himself up. 

"Wait." Ayan put on her woollen shawl and turned on the flashlight. It was a lot brighter now and she could see the patch of red on his left side. 

"Clayton, damn it… you're wounded." The soft curse rolled off her lips making him chuckle despite the pain. "What are you laughing at? Come here."

One moment she was jumping then she was slapping the bed to urge him the next.

"The bed might get stained…"

"Why are you whispering?" Ayan asked, imitating him. 

"I'm bleeding… might wake the children."

"I can see you're bleeding, and don't worry about those two. Once they sleep they won't wake up until seven in the morning. Hurry here so I can see it." The demand was too strong he gingerly followed as instructed.

She opened the pouch where she kept most of their medicines for emergencies. There is 500ml of lakewater, iodophor, gauze, elastic bandage, one Ritter Sport knusperkeks-- Ayan closed her eyes. It must have been Carmine putting his snack here. 

"How did you get injured?"

Clayton saw the chocolate, peeled it off and delivered it to his mouth. 

Ayan's rising anxiety was extinguished, "You..."

"I'm a little hungry."

She rolled her eyes. Have you no conscience? Your son will cry if he sees his snack was 'stolen'.

Despite her weird eyes, she still carefully see to his injury. She took the wash bin from the table and cleaned the three inches long cut using lakewater. It wasn't so big, not too deep either but it almost bled him out! The firm mat of tanned skin was cut just like that. 

"I thought you were out drinking with the men?" She murmured in between. "Didn't expect it would be so bloody."

"Drinking would have been more amusing if the garrison did not ask for us to come," he remarked flatly. "A person who confessed he was one with the bandits came to report an incident in their lair."

Ayan found it funny, "That's new. I have never heard of a bandit asking for a rescue."

"Right? The captain wanted to make sure if the bandit had something to do with Eliott's stolen goods so Knoll and the rest had to come. Anyway, everyone in the den was arrested, the most suspicious thing is that some of the bandits who originally went mad all of a sudden appeared lifeless. Unexpectedly, on our way back they started attacking again, just like how they described Eliott's erratic behaviour earlier. A lot more violent in my opinion." The situation was a lot worse than he told her but he would rather keep the gore details to himself. 

Perhaps that is where he got the injury. She thought. 

She was done cleaning the wound and is now putting on gauze and elastic bandage. 

"Take off your clothes," she demanded. 

He was stiff for a second before realizing what she actually meant.

"Well?" 

Facing that pair of clear innocent eyes made him feel like scum.

Clayton had to take off the dirty clothes but Ayan changed her mind abruptly saying that it might pull the wound so she helped him unbutton.

A wide sculpted torso came into her view. The first thought that came into her was not embarrassment but appreciation.

Hm, no wonder he can wrestle with those monsters. 

If best girlfriend Monica was here she would most definitely give her a dropkick: Girl, your focus is wrong!  

This wasn't the first time she had seen this nice piece of male merchandise so she wasn't as bothered as before. Besides, they were discussing something serious. Much to a certain someone's dismay.

"What do you think caused them to turn like that?" She asked, her hands deftly wounding the bandage around his waist. His hip bones stick out a little over the leather belt and a patch of dark hair from below his navel can be seen trailing below, way below hidden under the trousers' cover. 

Ayan's hand paused. She takes it back, she is bothered.

Where was she staring!?

"The warlock did not say but I assume the knights and Knoll knew since they are all natives of the empire. I have to inquire later." He looked as casual as ever, however, his voice held a trace of humour.

"Why were you invited too? You have nothing to do with the robbing incident." 

Clayton eased himself on her pillow. The sweet smell of flowers mixed with bitter herbs wafted comfortingly into his nose driving away the numbness from his wound. 

"The governor's request they say." He closed his eyes and murmured. "Can I sleep here? My wound hurts when I move, I feel like my body does not listen to me."

He opened his eyelids a little to watch her reaction. Ayan looked tangled not because he commandeered her bed but because she felt something doesn't feel right. Clayton had far more serious injuries in the forest before but he rarely showed signs of weakness. Could it be because of something unclean? But she used lakewater. 

And how did he get wounded in the first place? Not to boast but Clayton had fought with a stone dragon before (actually the thing looks more like an oversized iguana rather than a real dragon) but still he remained intact.

Poor girl didn't know she was being teased.

"You go ahead and sleep," she acquiesced and went to the bed across to continue sleeping. "If the pain gets worse, call me okay?" 

She knew the effect of lakewater, aside from cleansing dark elements it can also help heal minor injuries but just in case, she doesn't want to be overly confident. 

As a result, the next morning, Clayton who looked like he was dying last night was already up and running about with Knoll.