AN: I've finally got the majority of this story plotted out and all I really need to do is to sit down and right the chapters now. So now I can start updating the chapters regularly, so yay~ And enjoy reading!

Chapter 2:

In such a small village it wasn't difficult to find that abandoned manor that Beatrice spoke of. Although, if Alfyn hadn't been looking for such a place, he may have overlooked it overwise.

Like most manors, a tall stone fence, albeit covered in green and brown vines, along with moss and small mushrooms, seemed to surround the entire property. An iron fence was rusted and bent, one side hanging from the hinges, while the other was twisted as if someone or something had forced it to form a makeshift entrance.

A little surprising to find a manor in a village.

Still, the flower that should help those kids and ease them of their symptoms was said to grow inside. Why such a place existed wasn't any of his concern. Even if the place was occupied, he'd still try to find a way in.

After all, he had experience sneaking into manors. As unwilling as that was…

"Looks inviting," Therion commented drily next to him.

"Yup. So, inviting that we should head on in without knocking, right?" Alfyn as he headed toward the (hopefully) manmade gap in the gate.

As they stepped into the boundaries of the manor and onto the long stone pathway that led to the front entrance, they were confronted by the site of ashen grey statues among the twisting vines and overgrown rose bushes. They were that of people, but...they were in various stages of pain and suffering it seemed. Some kneeling. Some in the foetal position. Others seeming screaming up at the sky. But all wearing an expression of pain.

"So, this Garden of Unease, huh?" Therion muttered, appearing uneasy.

"It's fitting, I gotta admit," Alfyn said, unable to hide his own unease, especially about those statues. "The thorny vines and statues with pained expressions? Yeah, not very inviting."

Therion took a moment to inspect their surroundings a little more before he silently reached into the waistband to pull out a knife. "Yeah."

Alfyn reached for his own weapon, feeling a sense of security when he held it in his hands. "Fortunately, my axe should take care of these vines."

No time to ponder about those...unbelievably creepy statues. They had a job to do.

"Now then…" Alfyn murmured as they ventured deeper into the overgrown and long abandoned garden.

"You know what you're looking for?" Therion asked as he slashed as a vine that was in their way.

"Sure do," Alfyn replied as he took his own weapon to a particularly stubborn thorny vine. "A pink and white flower. I'll know what it is the moment I see it."

"Fine. Then start looking."

Alfyn chuckled softly under his breath at Therion's impatience. But he was glad that Therion decided to accompany him. He'd rather not have dealt with this place alone.

There was something not right about this place. It wasn't the thorns of the overgrown garden. It wasn't even the crumbling remains of the manor that seemed to loom ominously over them. It was the statues. There were a lot of them. Seemingly in every little nook and cranny. In the form of humans, all wearing unnerving expressions of varying degrees of pain and suffering. He couldn't help but feel that no sculptor would set out to create such a thing. Not on purpose anyway.

He was no expert, but a few of those statues look rather...fresh.

Hold there, Alfyn. He was letting his imagine get the better of him!

After a few minutes (though honestly it felt like hours!) of hacking and slashing at the stubborn vines and wild plants, they stumbled into a clearing. In it was an old and long disused water fountain. The feature was thankfully that of a swan and not some misshapen human in pain.

However, it wasn't the water feature that had Alfyn's attention; it was the white and pink flowers that grew around the base of the fountain.

Great! He found what he was looking for!

As he turned to give Therion the good news, the words paused on his lips when they both heard the sound of a tree branch snapping. Not a twig. A branch. From across the clearing. Though it was possible that someone else had ventured into the garden, experience from numerous monster battles caused the both of them to stop and fall silent.

Alfyn spared a quick glance over at Therion, only to immediately look away when another distinct sound of a twig snapping was heard. They definitely weren't alone.

His grip on his axe tightened as he brought it out in front of him, defensive but cautious as another crack was heard in the same direction. However, there was another noise to the left of him. In another direction. Two distinct sounds now. No…wait, three…four!

Next to him, Therion growled lowly as he brought his knife out in front of him and pulled himself into an offensive stance. "Who the hell is out there!"

There was no reply. Well, no verbal reply at least. Just the sound of more branches and twigs snapping. Alfyn was beginning to feel that they weren't dealing with humans.

A flash of white to Alfyn's left caught his attention and he immediately turned to look. Out of the forest of vines and thorns staggered a pure white skeleton. It seemed to rattle with each stumbling step it took.

About ten yards away staggered out another set of bones. And then another. Great, there appears to be about four of them now.

They were those of the bone type monster. Though he couldn't tell which they were. Oddly they seemed to be carrying chunks of stone along with their shredded pieces of clothes. A new kind or…?

"Gadzooks, where in the hells did they come from?" Alfyn asked as he took a moment to swing his satchel over his head to secure it against his side for the impeding battle.

"Tch. Adding to the atmosphere," Therion replied drily as he tossed his scarf over his shoulder, also preparing to fight.

"Is that a bandit bone or a warrior bone. Er, bones I should say-?"

"It's a skeleton. That's enough."

"I mean, I guess..."

"Look, it's weak to either axe or knife, and ice or fire. We'll work it out."

Alfyn had to smile. "Well, can't argue with that!"

Therion darted forward with a low growl and Alfyn followed. Therion had always been faster and more agile than him, so he allowed him to take the lead while he would take the back. Taking out the stragglers and healing any wounds. He doubted there would be any. But he was always ready for just in case.

As Therion sidestepped a bones that seemed indifferent of his knife attacks, Alfyn stepped up to take his place. He swung his axe over his head and brought it down promptly. The sounds of metal splitting the skull was a noise Alfyn still winced at. But at least there wasn't there was squishy, slurping sound immediately after. No brains or anything 'fleshy' with these guys.

As the bones fell apart and dropped to the ground, Alfyn turned to look for his next target. Only to see more bones stumble from their surroundings.

A smorgasbord of bones, it seemed. How lucky were they? By lucky, he meant his axe and Therion's knife would be more than enough to take care of them, and they wouldn't have to worry about either setting the entire garden on fire or freezing the place.

Oh well, he just had to keep swinging his axe. Eventually they would thin out, right? Hopefully they would stop advancing soon. Therion was probably edging closer to the urge to set the place on fire. Not that Alfyn could blame him. But, you know, the flowers and all were kinda important.

Falling into the mindset of battling, Alfyn worked in cooperation with Therion. And finally, the numbers began to dwindle until there were none left. The battle was tedious, that was for sure, but thankfully not all that difficult.

"Whew," Alfyn uttered as he rested his axe on his shoulder and wiped his brow. "Wasn't expecting those bony guys. I wonder where they came from?"

Therion shrugged nonchalantly as he holstered his knives within his clothes. "This is the reason why you shouldn't go anywhere alone," he said as he gave Alfyn a very piercing look.

"You've got a point," Alfyn laughed as he also rather nonchalantly holstered his own weapon. "But I'm not worried. With you watching my back, I can get into all the trouble in the world and still come out the other side!"

Therion unexpectedly tensed and gave Alfyn a look that was both confused and somehow curious. "...You trust me that much, huh?" he asked.

Alfyn blinked at the strange question before he smiled broadly. "Of course. I have no reason not to. If anything happens to me, you'll find me. So, no worries for me."

Therion continued to simply look at him, though more curious than confused. However, a half smile soon appeared on his lips. "Hn. Do try to keep out of trouble."

"I'll try my best," Alfyn said as he flashed him a grin. "But you know me."

"Oh yes," Therion murmured as he shook his head. He then frowned and folded his arms across his chest as he glanced around at their surroundings. "Now, hurry up and find that flower before more of those bastards turn up."

Alfyn quickly remembered why they were in the middle of this untamed garden in the first place and felt his cheeks heat in a flush. "Right."

Turning away from Therion, Alfyn headed toward the water feature in the centre of this impromptu battleground. Thankfully, in spite of the chaos, the flowers were untouched. There was a small patch of them, but there should be enough to create a salve for the kids at the orphanage.

"Ah, there they are," Alfyn murmured as he knelt down and carefully began to pick the flowers, taking only the petals as they were the only thing they needed for the salve. No need to uproot the whole thing. "Yup, this is the right one."

"Got enough?" Therion asked as he kept a watchful eye over him and their surroundings. "Don't want to be trekking back here again."

"Well, I can't be too certain," Alfyn admitted as he pulled out a few glass bottles from his satchel and carefully placed the gathered petals inside. "I might need more or less, depending on the patient. And how well they take to the medicine. But I'll gather what I can here and hope it will be enough."

He was fairly certain that his salve would ease the kids' symptoms. Specially the fever and the nasal congestion. But that rash was something else entirely. He needed to do a bit more of a thorough inspection on that. Hopefully, once he stabilised the fever, he'd be able to concentrate on that rash.

With his new materials safely stashed away, Alfyn heaved a sigh as he pushed himself to his feet.

"Now, let's get out of here," Alfyn said as he secured his satchel to his side. "Getting out will probably be easier because of the path we made. We'll just need to retrace our steps."

"Yeah," Therion murmured as he continued to eye off their surroundings. "The sooner the better."

Alfyn couldn't agree more. Those bony monsters were an unwelcome surprise. Amongst the unease of the statues, looming ruins of a manor, and the thriving forest of thorns.

Gripping his axe tightly for just in case, Alfyn followed Therion as he led their way out of the garden. Thankfully getting out was a lot easier than forcing their way in. And they hadn't encountered any more of those bony guys.

Huh…he could have sworn that he saw more statues going in then there were as they headed out…maybe he just miscounted. Still, he was relieved when they stumbled their way through the opening in the rusted and mangled front gate and back into the paved paths of the village.

Now came the hard part. He needed to help those kids.

The walk back to the orphanage was silent, Alfyn mentally calculating how much salve he needed for each child. They were of different ages, after all. He couldn't give them all the same dose.

"Hey, we're back!" Alfyn announced as he and Therion entered the orphanage. He wasn't sure how long they had been gone, but he assumed an hour or two?

Beatrice was still sat by the bedside of the girl who warned them of the Garden of Unease. As they walked over, the girl perked up and she clutched her teddy bear tightly. Her eyes widen and she looked rather excited upon their return.

"Y-you're back?" she gasped.

"Yup!" Alfyn grinned as he stepped over to stand by her bedside. He bent forward and ruffled the girl's hair. "Told ya I would. Now, let me get to work so you can feel better, ok?"

Alfyn headed over to the table with his required goods and noticed that Therion had paused to speak with Primrose and Ophilia, who were thankfully still entering the children and keeping them distracted. Therion was likely telling them of what had occurred.

Nevermind. Time to get to work!

Creating salves were thankfully second nature to him, even when he was whipping up a completely new recipe. The base recipe remained mostly the same. It was the ingredients that changed. Crush a few herbs, combine with the petals, add some spring water, turn into a paste and…done!

The girl that Beatrice sat with looked about four years in age, so about a medium dose for her.

Portioning some of the salve into vial, Alfyn capped it and gave it a hearty shake to ensure that the ingredients were well and truly mixed. As he did that, he made his way over to the little girl and crouched down next to her bed.

"Now, this is going to feel a bit funny, but that's normal, ok?" Alfyn softly instructed.

The girl appeared hesitant, even scrunching her nose up at him. But she obediently allowed Alfyn to give her the balm. He carefully massaged the salve upon her forehead, the back of her head, and her throat. She giggled a couple of times, but thankfully didn't try to squirm away.

With the lotion administered, Alfyn sat back on his heels and allowed the girl to lie down upon her bed. A few tenses minutes went by as he and Beatrice waited to see if the salve was successful. Or if it was a waste of time.

"Well?" Beatrice chewed nervously on her bottom lip as she asked.

Alfyn carefully inspected the child and felt a sigh of relief pass his lips. "It appears to be working, thankfully."

"Oh, that is such good news," Beatrice breathed, the tension in her shoulders suddenly fading and she gave Alfyn a truly grateful look. "I'm truly relieved. You are a miracle worker."

"Hey now, just doing my job," Alfyn claimed with a smile as he pushed himself to his feet. "Don't mention it. After all, I still gotta work on curing them completely." His smile faded slightly. "That...won't be as easy."

"Still, this is a remarkable improvement!" Beatrice insisted as she pushed herself to her feet, too, suddenly full of energy. "And in such a short time! I must tell my husband immediately."

With that, she turned and hurried in the direction she had led her husband in before. As she did so, she hurried past Cyrus, who walked in, seemingly oblivious to her as his eyes were focused on the book in his hands.

Alright, time to help the other kids!

Portioning out the rest of the salve, Alfyn returned to his task with a renewed vigour. Now that he was certain that his salve worked, he felt more comfortable about getting straight to work. He was still cautious, especially when it came to the younger ones, but he was confident that would be no side effects.

As he moved from child to child, Alfyn began to become accustomed to their ailments. They were the same with each kid. Very little difference. Something felt…off though.

With the last child safely tucked back in their bed, their fever reduced to a more comfortable level, Alfyn found himself drifting back to the table in the centre of the room and resting against it for a moment.

"Hmm..."

Funnily enough, Cyrus was pulled from his book by Alfyn's involuntary noise of confusion. "Have you discovered something of note?" he asked as he snapped his book shut and made his way to stand by the table as well.

"I think I have," Alfyn admitted as he reached up to ease out a knot of tension in his shoulder with his hand. "Now that the symptoms have been reduced, I can better check their vitals. And I think I might have found the true origin."

"Go on," Cyrus urged.

Alfyn pressed his lips together tightly as he glanced over his shoulder to ensure that Beatrice wasn't within hearing range. Even though she was nowhere to be found, he motioned Cyrus to lean toward him so he could speak with him quietly. Intrigued, Cyrus pressed the book atop of the table and leaned toward him.

"There's no doubt about it, Professor," Alfyn said. "These kids have been poisoned with something."

A flicker of surprise appeared on Cyrus' face before he nodded. "So, the origin of their symptoms is an outside influence?"

"Exactly. Don't know what, but it's not a virus or illness."

"Interesting."

"Apparently these kids ain't the only ones' suffering."

"Yes, I had overheard Beatrice state that others are also suffering from this," Cyrus explained before the two of them leaned back. After a quick, cautionary glance around them, he turned back to Alfyn with an offer. "Would you like of me to make some inquiries?"

Alfyn smiled and nodded his head. He would have done so himself but he wanted to stay for a while longer to keep an eye on the kids. And on Henry and Beatrice. He wasn't being all hush-hush because he didn't trust them. They were overworked and exhausted. So, he just didn't want to stress them out any more than they were.

"I'd appreciate it, Professor."

Cyrus simply shook his head and gave Alfyn a small smile. "Not at all. I'll see what I can find out for you."

As Cyrus moved to leave the orphanage, Therion unexpectedly called out to him. "Hey."

"Hm?" Cyrus murmured as he paused in his steps.

"While you're at it, maybe you could ask around about that so-called Garden of Unease and that abandoned manor," Therion suggested. "Something doesn't feel right with me about that place."

Now Cyrus appeared really interested in that. "Is that so? Intriguing. Very well, I'll take Olberic with me then."

With that, he quickly made his way from the building. Alfyn watched until he was no longer out of sight before he turned to look toward Therion. Who, funnily enough, was making his way over to him. Whether he had somehow overheard his brief conversation with Cyrus, it didn't matter. But he was glad that Therion was around. Something was going on. Something he didn't like.

And he would feel better if Therion was able to use his skills of his to help him out once more. Probably selfish of him to ask, but…

"Therion?"

"Yeah?"

"You…should head to the inn. Or maybe the tavern," Alfyn suggested, which earned him a confused and disgruntled look from Therion. "I'm going to be here a while. No point in your getting bored here while you wait, you know? You might have better things to do, yeah?"

Therion stared at him for a few seconds before realisation appeared in his eyes and he thankfully nodded his head. "...The tavern might be a good idea actually. Primrose and Ophilia are still here if anything should happen."

"Right," Alfyn said with a smile that was both purposely cheerful and grateful. "Have a drink for me!"

"Yeah," Therion murmured, though he didn't sound or look too happy about leaving him. "See you back at the inn. Before midnight."

Alfyn nodded his hand and maintained his smile. "I can't make any promises. Just don't send Olberic or H'annit after me. Last time you did, they flung me over their shoulder and carried me like a sack of potatoes. Impressive, I'll give them that. Not too comfortable, though."

That got him a half-smile from Therion before he turned to walk away. "Heh. Make no promises."