"Are you certain about this, Arthur? Can we trust them to help us?"
"Yes, I see no reason we can't. Laura in particular is a dear friend of mine in my world, and gets along very well with all your counterparts too."
Feliciano sipped at his ale as he glanced around the pub. They had reached the village of Coit this afternoon, in eastern Ridudia, tracing the origin of the spell to somewhere near this village. They found rooms at the inn, where they were now just finishing their supper in the pub downstairs.
He took a glance at the bar, where the two siblings who ran the place were talking to other patrons. Arthur had identified Laura as the nation of Belgium, and Eric as the nation of Luxembourg, two of his neighbours just across the water.
"I trust Arthur with this, Tolys," Madeline upheld, "We have come across them here, so close to the source of the spell we are tracking. Surely that's a sign that we are where we need to be, and that they might even have a role to play in all this."
"Netherlands as well," Arthur added, "He should be around here too."
"Netherlands?" Lovino probed.
"Another nation that neighbours Belgium and Luxembourg," Arthur described, "His human name would be Lars, he is an elder brother figure to Laura and Eric."
"Okay, so how do we find out if they know anything?" Tolys asked in a hushed tone, "It's not like Arthur can outright tell them that he knows them in an alternate world."
As the group paused to think, Feliciano watched as the two innkeepers began leading some men out of the pub. It was strange enough that the inn had no other guests and the pub was so quiet. It was even stranger yet that they now appeared to be clearing the place out, even though the sun had just set.
As Eric led the other pub patrons to the door, Laura walked over and approached their table.
"Hello there," Laura greeted, "We have to close up early tonight, you will have to head to your rooms shortly."
"Why do you close up early?" Feliciano pried, "The sun has just set, the night is very young."
"It's best you don't get involved, dearies," Laura insisted, "Strange things happen on the nights of the full moon, you will be safest in your rooms."
"And what exactly happens under the full moon?" Madeline grilled, "What is there to be feared?"
"I'm sorry, it is difficult to explain to outsiders," Laura refused, "It's been happening for five years now throughout Ridudia, and it's the worst here in Coit. Too many have been lost to it already."
On that note, Laura rushed away from the group to help Eric get the last stragglers out the door. Intrigued by the hints of secrets, the group immediately huddled in to whisper across the table.
"Could it be the spell?" Lovino reviewed, "Strange things happening every full moon for the past five years, throughout Ridudia and at its worst here?"
"Quite likely, but she clearly doesn't want to tell us directly," Tolys answered, "How do we get them to talk?"
"We keep a close eye on them, and take our time getting to our rooms," Arthur guided, "Perhaps something will happen, or we'll find something to investigate."
Feliciano glanced back at the door, just in time to see Laura and Eric push the last drunk patron through before shutting the door. Eric immediately barred the door with a plank of wood, while Laura locked it in with chains and a padlock. Whatever was happening, they clearly did not want anything going through that door for the rest of the night.
Once the door was secure, Eric went to close all the window shutters. Laura approached their table again, now that they were the only guests in the place.
"It's time to head upstairs, please," Laura requested, "I can bring more food to your rooms if you'd like to finish eating in there."
Feliciano raised his glass to his lips, downing the last few gulps of ale while the others rose from their seats. He placed his cup gently on the table as Madeline circled behind him to leave her spot, before rising to his own feet. Nodding at Laura who was waiting to clear the table, Feliciano followed the rest of the group to the front hallway, where Eric was holding open the door to the staircase.
One by one, they all went through the door onto the stairs, with Feliciano at the end of the pack. As he reached the door, Feliciano casually reached out and patted Eric on the shoulder in gratitude, only to immediately feel a jolt of magic as he did so. Feliciano could hardly keep the nonchalant smile on his face, as his birth spell told him that Eric had been subjected to some malevolent magic.
Feliciano walked past and began climbing the stairs, hearing Eric shutting the door and locking it. Knowing that he wasn't being watched anymore, Feliciano slowed in ascending the stairs, analyzing the magic he just felt, and quickly determined exactly which magic the young man had been subjected to.
Upon this discovery, Feliciano bolted the remaining steps up the stairs. When he turned right, he saw Tolys and Lovino loitering by the door to Madeline's room, Arthur in the doorway opposite.
"Eric is under the spell," Feliciano revealed as he approached, "I felt it when I patted him on the shoulder just now. Whatever happens on full moons affects him, and is caused by the spell we are tracking!"
"The spell is influencing the people of Coit?" Tolys figured out, "That is definitely not good."
"Do we know if it's affecting Laura as well?" Arthur asked.
"I don't know, I didn't get a chance to touch her," Feliciano answered, "Whatever is happening, though, we need to keep an eye on Eric."
"We should prepare to investigate then," Madeline recommended, "Once we know the coast is clear, I can freeze the padlocks to break them, and we can figure out how I can lift the spells."
"We better get ready, then," Lovino added, "It's going to be a busy night."
As soon as Lovino said that, Feliciano heard the door at the bottom of the stairs open again. The group immediately dispersed and went to their rooms. Having the room closest to the staircase, Feliciano snuck over and took a peak. Laura was at the bottom, locking and barring the door from this side, with two baskets and a red cloak sitting on the steps beside her.
Eric was not with her.
As she spun to face the stairs, Feliciano pulled back and snuck back into the safety of his room. He immediately set himself to work, laying out things on the bed that he would need for the night. Within moments, there was a knock at his open door, and he turned to see Laura there.
"This basket is for your group," she offered, "I assumed you wouldn't mind sharing."
"That's not a problem at all," Feliciano accepted, "Thank you."
As Feliciano took the basket of bread and cheese, his fingers were able to touch hers. As he pulled the basket away, he was relieved to find that she was not influenced by the spell.
"I normally demand that guests bar the doors to their rooms for the night," Laura explained, "However, you are the only guests tonight, and you are travelling together, so it's up to you if you trust each other."
"Why do you have all these precautions in place?" Feliciano tried again, "What could possibly happen?"
"It's for the best you don't know," Laura persisted, "That's all I will say on the matter. Have a good night."
Noting the tears that were forming in her eyes, Feliciano watched as she hastily sped back down the hallway, holding her red cloak and her basket close to her. She opened the last door at the end of the hallway, went through and closed it behind her. As Feliciano heard the locks being turned from the other side, Lovino came out of his room to stand by him, also observing.
"She's safe, no trace of the spell," Feliciano whispered, "She wasn't happy about me pressing the issue, though, she was almost crying at the end."
"Maybe it has to do with Eric," Lovino theorized, "You'd think he'd also have a safe room for the night up here, right? Maybe the spell is putting him in danger, in a way that Laura has to protect herself from him."
"Quite likely, if he's still downstairs," Feliciano agreed, "If we start breaking locks to get down there, we might have to explain ourselves to him."
"You finish getting ready," Lovino instructed, "I'll tell the others about this."
Feliciano went back into his room, put the basket on the side table, and got himself ready to go spell-breaking. Once he had armed himself, and put back on his boots and cloak, he left the room and found the rest of the group waiting for him.
"No loud noises," Madeline reminded as she led the way, "I'll try to keep the lock-breaking quiet."
Feliciano followed Madeline down the hallway and onto the staircase, listening carefully to make sure they didn't alert Laura by stepping on any creaky floorboards. One by one, each member of their group slowly stepped down the steps, lining up behind Madeline who stood at the locked door. She waited to see that the rest of them were in place, before summoning magic to her fingers and touching the padlock.
It took a few seconds for any effect to be observed, but then Feliciano saw the frost forming around the lock, first a small layer then making the metal look like ice. After a few moments of the padlock being frozen, Madeline finally stopped summoning her ice magic, and pulled at the lock with her hands. In her firm grasp, the padlock shattered into pieces, which Madeline had to catch before they fell to the floor.
"Feliciano, grab the wooden bar," Madeline directed, "My hands are full."
Madeline backed away to the side and up the step, allowing Feliciano to come in and disbar the door. He placed the plank of wood gently against the wall, before turning the doorknob and opening the door wide open. The front hallway was dark and silent, no trace of life and with hardly any light.
Seeing a closed set of shutters directly in front of them, Feliciano went over to unlock and open them. A quick glance outside revealed the town's quiet streets, the full moon shining down on it to illuminate the night. Looking back inside, he saw Tolys and Lovino go to check the rest of the main floor, while Arthur took the shattered padlock from Madeline's hands to dispose of it for her by the bar in the pub.
A strange growl came from behind the door to the right of the stairs, also barred and locked, which must have led into a storage room.
"What was that?" Feliciano asked, "That almost sounded like an animal."
"Something is locked in there," Madeline realized, "All these other doors are locked from the inside, but this one to the storage room is locked from the outside."
Madeline approached the door and reached for the padlock, summoning her magic again to freeze it over. Feliciano watched as the padlock froze over the same way, before Madeline pulled it off as well.
"Here, give me the pieces this time," Feliciano offered, holding out his hands.
Madeline placed the broken pieces of the padlock in Feliciano's hands, the cold touch making him shudder before gaining his grip on the pieces. As Madeline worked on the plank of wood barring the door, Feliciano went over to where Arthur was still standing by the bar.
"Breaking into another room, are we?" Arthur figured out, pointing to the bucket under the bar where he had disposed of the other lock.
"We heard a growl," Feliciano explained, "There's something in that room."
"A growl?" Lovino checked as he came around from the back hallway with Tolys, "What do you mean, a growl?"
"The storage room at the front here was locked from the outside," Feliciano elaborated, "Madeline heard it too, she's breaking into the room right now."
"There's nothing to note in the back rooms, nor any trace of Eric," Lovino reported, "This room at the front must be where he is."
As the brothers spoke, they followed as Tolys and Arthur had both gone ahead to check on Madeline. When Feliciano saw her again, she had just opened the door, and whatever waited for them on the other side greeted her with barking and growling.
"What the fuck?" Arthur gasped, "A wolf?"
Feliciano slowly followed as Madeline led the way into the room, everyone keeping as close to the front wall as possible. As he stood in the doorway, Feliciano heard the wolf snarl, prompting Madeline to summon a small blast of ice magic in defense, making the wolf whimper. Once he was finally in the room, Feliciano finally saw that Madeline had surrounded the wolf by a cage of ice, keeping it from attacking them. The wolf wore a metal collar around its neck, which was chained to the wall.
"Why is there a wolf chained up here?" Tolys asked, "Where's Eric?"
Feliciano glanced around the room, relieved to see no trace of Eric's body, or of any blood to indicate that the wolf had killed him. His gaze landed on a small patch of the wolf's fur, sitting on the ground just outside of Madeline's ice cage. He bent down to pick it up, recognizing immediately the familiar jolt of magic he had felt earlier this evening, and realized what had happened.
"The wolf is Eric," Feliciano announced, "The spell turned him into a wolf under the light of the moon!"