I Let It In And It Took Everything

by Hail Stan

"If you are destined to fail with your "new lifestyle" - that doesn't means that I will be a winner. My dear friend, remember - we are never winning. It's just an act of generosity, granted to us from above..."

2. Of Long Forgotten Stories And Pathways

I Let It In And It Took Everything
Chapter 2

The morning sun started to slowly shine upon the thick overcast in the skies. Pitch black clouds, that only were lightened in the big cities by some far away orange lights of torches, were, slowly turning blue. The first thing Clovis saw after waking up was a wooden wall beside him, that he just blankly stared in, without any thoughts or plans. The first thing hybrid finally remembered was that he had to be awake soon - the road to Tanmare was waiting for him. Clovis rolled on his back, and tried to get up, but sudden loss of any strength and a headache quickly halted the progress of starting a new day. "I probably still have at least 5 minutes to spend" - thought half-breed. And so, Clovis continued staring in blank point, that this time was somewhere on the ceiling. Hybrid had a weird habit of waking up a lot earlier than expected, and so, the whole village was still sleeping. It would've been a complete silence if the room didn't had a watch on the other wall, and some unknown bird was soaring it's last hours of the night, before going to sleep until the sunset.

"I had already forgotten that such silence can even exist in this world. No voices of a giant city, no voices of servants, or anyone else. Just a distant voices of nature, and a watch". Speaking of which, Clovis tried to look what time it was, but of course, in such early hours the light that was going through the windows was way too dim to see what time it is without getting up close. "Hm, looks like I can't postpone getting up any further". After a sigh, Clovis slowly had slowly get up, and was now sitting on the bed. "How in the burning hell someone can wake up easily and fast? Lucky bastards.." Hybrid then took the ring, that was laying on a table, and wore a mana crystal necklace, as he was going to the watch, that was near the mirror. Clovis lit up a miniature fireball to see what time it was.
"4 AM? I guess I have to start packing up". Clovis then looked up in the mirror. For the past few months his hair grew longer, and now easily touched his shoulders. Clovis used to spend quite some time to comb it, but now he only did so with his fingers(luckily for him, his hair wasn't curly). His face also was also now looking a lot more tired because of all the alcohol that he was drinking for the last month. The keidran, who earlier looked like a 20 year old boy now did looked like someone actually running towards his mid 30's
- You think somebody gives a shit about how you're looking, huh?
As the hybrid, stepped away from the mirror, he looked at some of the items, that were laying on and besides the chair, that stood near the desk. A second pair of clothes, tent, towel, a small tea-pot, saucepan, a plaid, several books he used to read, and a fishing rod. He always preferred to rent a stagecoach for long distance trips, both so he wouldn't had to destroy his legs in a process, and so he could've take more items with him. "Hm, that fishing rod works surprisingly good for something, that is with me for half of my life.."
After packing up all of his items in two bags, half-breed was exiting the tavern. Before leaving, he noticed that the main part of the tavern empty, even though shelves contained dozens of bottles with most various alcoholic beverages. "Quite a big lack of concern for your own property, considering that the rooms here can be rented. Anyone who stayed overnight could've easily take those and leave without a trace." - though hybrid. After exiting the tavern, he sat on a nearby bench. The cold, autumn morning breeze was going through his hair. The morning fog highly reduced the visibility. Clovis was enjoying the weather. Many consider this weather depressing, but for him it was soothing and calm to sit, and stare at the distance. Usually his eyes followed birds, flying in the distance, but now he simply stared above himself, watching how fog covered the clouds. The morning slowly took over - the surroundings slowly reached lighter shades of blue, striving towards the pale grey colour, usual for this time of year.
Some time later, hybrid's eyes saw the wagon slowly moving towards tavern, before stopping near it. A familiar tiger family was on it.
- Ah, I see you've already woke up! Good morning to you, Mr. Kilgore!
- Morning to y'all. - nonchalantly replied Clovis.
- So, you've took everything you need? Some equipment, weapons, and such?
- I did. So, are we going right now?
- Yeah, no need to wait any further. Put the bags on the wagon, and sit down on it. Me and my wife will be driving it, and you watch the road and tell me if you'll see anything suspicious.
- As you wish, Mr. Grönholm.
- Alright then. But before we will move, everyone, let's sit before the start of the journey for a good luck.
After Clovis put his bags, the five keidrans sat for a little bit, and then without any words, Brad tapped horses on theirs necks, and they put a wagon to motion. Although tiger family seemingly wanted so sell the goods from the fields as fast as possible, but there was no hurry neither in a horse's pace, nor in the overall atmosphere. The houses were passing by, until the last one was finally behind them, shrinking in it's size, before disappearing out of view entirely.

Pretty soon the fields changed to a thick forests. Although they were far from it during autumns - the grass was already in a mix of brown, yellow and orange colors, and majority of leaves had fallen off. The rains and fog turned the ground into a mix of dirt, grass and leafs. The whole family haven't said the word since leaving - the mother and a daughter were deep in theirs thoughts. Young Marcus, whom had always stayed with grandparents when mom and dad were going to sell goods, now joined them for the first, and couldn't stop looking around. He was living a dream of every young soul, infatuated by a storied about sea travellers - he finally was in a journey himself, albeit not by sea. Clovis himself, who was payed to look for a road, wasn't putting too much enthusiasm in it. Of course, he did watched it, but payed a lot more attention to a scenery around him, and was partially in his own mind. The first to notice that silence has been going for a bit too long was Bradley, who were himself watching a road ahead of him.
- Huh, you all seem to become quiet, I see. Well, why don't we play a game of words, huh? Mister Kilgore, would you mind to join us?
- Nah, I think I'll just watch the road.
- Okay, as you wish. As for the rest, I think you know the rules. I'll be starting, then my precious Sophie, then Seraphima, then Marcus, and then me once again. Alright, first world for today is going to be "Autumn"
- "North"
- "Hope"
- My word starts with "E", hm. I'll pick "Evening"
- Alright, "G". Let's go with "Ground"
Meanwhile, Clovis was admiring the fine views of autumn forests. The very feeling of movement was pretty new for him, considering the fact he had spend so long in his mansion. Previously hybrid liked to think, that it was the best place in all of Mekkan. However, recently he found himself enjoying moving someplace new. This newly found feeling, that an entire world is open to you, that you're free to go as far as the eye could see...
Then the wagon suddenly stopped. Clovis looked behind his shoulder. Further ahead of it he saw a lynx keidran - quite a rare sight to see. Hybrid stared at him, although it wasn't one of fear, or even tension - it was a stare of an experienced cat, who had already began to plan both the next move of a mouse nearby him, and a ways to block any exit routes possible. The lynx, however, looked like he wasn't planning attack. He stared at the wagon with a mix of uncertainty and curiosity for several minutes, before he sat in the horse, and rode in the distance.
- Well, kids, - said Bradley - do you want us to chase that fella? Hahaa, in all fairness, we would've never done that if we would've desperately wanted to! The horses the lynx usually use are twice as fast as ours two combined! Although, they're usually friendly folks - there aren't much of them as a whole, so they usually live in already established communities, without having any of their own. Poor bastards...
- Well, if I were you I wouldn't have been so fast to trust to some stranger only because he's from a so called "trustworthy species" - said red eyed keidran.
- Oh, why is that, Mr. Kilgore? Lynx usually known for having a very clear reputation.
- I've recently had a lot time to think about various things, Mr. Grönholm. I used to have a..."Species favouritism", so to speak. But now I understand, that no matter the species - all of them are the same. And I can easily tell you, that keidran, basitins, humans, doesn't matter – all of them are equally horrible
- You sound a bit too pessimistic, Mr. Kilgore. - said Sophie.
- I sound realistic, Mrs. Grönholm, and you know it. We may have become smarter, but deep down we are all feral animals, thinking about most basic of things
- But what about those, who create art? What about those, who participate in charity? What about those, who save others? And yes, you can say, that art oftentimes created purely for the money, a lot of charity groups are profiting from it, and the nobles who donate there spend a lot more on awful means, and that those who save others do it oftentimes for money only, but still, a lot of commissioned art later may found itself in museums, for everyone to see. Even if charity groups profit on it, most of the time at least partially money still do go for those who needed it, which is already better than nothing, and even if those nobles do spend even more money on slaves, drinks, and women - the money they gave are already better than nothing. If the people who save others do it for nothing but praise from others, or money - they still do the good thing, and help others. It's so easy to focus on, yes, sometimes hidden motives behind good actions, focus on negative reasons, whilst disregarding a positive outcomes.
Sorry, if this may sound a bit out of nowhere and rude, Mr. Kilgore, but I'm just so tired of so many good folks giving up on others because of their own bad experiences and traumas. Yes, the world is full of rot, but it's also full of beauty, and not only in a nature, or art, but also even in others. It's wrong to only focus on positive, but focusing only on negativity is no better. I know, that using jaded nihilism may feel good as a defensive mechanism initially - heck, I did that when I was in yours years, Mr. Kilgore! But in the long term, it will drain you completely. The true wisdom is to perfectly know the downsides of life, but also know and respect it's uphills.
Initially, Clovis didn't had any strong emotions towards Sophie's response, but the more he was comprehending her words, the more frustration crept inside of him. "Wait a second...their own experiences? Defensive mechanism? Traumas!? Who the hell she thinks she is!? A wife of some farmer, or someone qualified to state something like that!? And life advises! I'm a goddamn 32 year old man, I don't need any fucking life advises!" Although hybrid didn't showed his irritation, but any desire to continue this dialogue quickly faded away. Half-breed aid nothing, and simply stared on the road once more. Meanwhile, the day, that seemingly not so long ago finally visited the Mekkan after a long night, was now already bidding farewell, as the clouds were becoming darker and darker.
- Hm, looks like we have to stop soon - said older tiger. - And, since the trees are all soaked - looks like we will have to eat something, that doesn't requires any cooking.
- I can make some food for us, if you want - said Clovis, who laying on a wagon, and staring at the skies. - Although don't expect wonders from me.
- Is there anything you may need, Mr. Kilgore?
- Well, aside from obvious, the place with roof would've come in handy, but I'm not an idiot to use open fire in tents, and aside from them, I assume there isn't much such places, right?
- Unfortunately, there aren't. But anyways, Mr. Kilgore, would you mind also to light our lamps? We want to search for some mushrooms, so that we could've make the mushroom soup, but it's already getting quite dark.
"Wandering around the forests at night without any weapons? Very cautious indeed"
- Maybe you'll just go for it tomorrow in the morning, and simply eat some other food?
- Hmm, alright, I guess. Sophie! Do you have a list of everything we took with ouselves ?
"Alright, back to the cooking.."

After making the food, the group was sitting around improvised campfire. Since the wood was all soaked from fog and rain, it was decided to put some lamps in the middle, and sat on some logs they had found near.
- Uhh, so...Sir, you didn't told me where have you learned the recipe for that omelet without any milk.
Clovis, who was previously looking at the lanterns, looked up to find a voice who was talking to him - once again, it was a young tigress. "She ain't going to leave me alone, ain't she...Why is everybody so eager to pry into each others lives.." But he didn't wanted to start another argument, or think too hard for an answer, so hybrid just tiredly replied: "Well, just heard about it long ago.."
- Speaking of that, - said Bradley - anyone wants to hear one old story, that happened long ago?
- Does it involves some weird things, like devils and blood? - curiously asked Marcus
- Well..It kinda does..
- Brad..- groaned Sophie
- Oh, mom, come on! I won't be scared, I promise! - said younger tiger
- Honey, come on..
After short pause, the older tigress sighed, and reluctantly agreed
- Well, good. Seraphima, Tacitus, what about you?
- Fine by me - said young tigress
- ...As you wish - shrugged Clovis.
- Alright, but I ask you about one thing - for the love of all that's saint, please, don't interrupt me. Otherwise I might forget some parts, and tell such a mess, that it's gonna be painfully to listen to, alright?
The group had silently agreed.

---

- Great. So, this story was told to me by my grandfather. It happened around...Heh, 100 years ago, if not even more. Back in the days, when Haivalöx consisted of only around 8 houses, and the upper part of it was nothing but a mountainous field, surrounded by forests and that valley. And those houses were each no better than the house of that boozer Garrison, if not worse! Back then nobody build themselves a decent houses, because, hey, what's the point to build it, if some random heck from the forests could've easily burned it to the ground? That could've been some nomad half-feral keidran, or humans, sometimes even other tigers united in groups, and stole from others folks just like them...There was a lot of things back then…
But I digressed. Well, earlier, there lived some old veteran, that locals called..If I remember correctly, Lumberjack.. Probably like that..But that's not the point. Well, he had a 7 year old son by the name of Jordie, and 18 year old daughter by the name of Martha, that was considered by many a most beautiful girl in the village. Even my aunt, rest her soul, often told, that there was no woman who could've compared with her, and you all probably know, that for a woman it's easier, I apologize in advance, to kiss with a devil, than to admit other woman's beauty..
Seraphima seemed a little bit annoyed by this, and after a small groan, she turned her head to the side, which did make Clovis slightly smirk.
- Nonetheless, there was also a young guy, with such a silly name, Adam Unnamed, although "Unnamed" was most likely a surname, that locals created for him, because nobody knew his parents. It was hard to say something about him, but girls oftentimes said, that if he had a richer clothing - he probably would've been the most handsome young man in this village. Sadly though, his clothes probably had more holes in them, then pockets of a leopard's pants had a gold coins in them! What didn't helped is the fact, that a frequent visitor to a Lumberjack was some white wolf, who came from far, far away lands of endless winters. Long, white hair, expensive clothes, weapons, and everything in his appearance told others, that he was a member of "high society", so to speak. And you all probably know why does somebody goes to a house owner, if he has an unmarried daughter. And of course, Lumberjack quickly had liked this wolf. Needless to say, neither Martha, nor Adam liked the way thing were going. When poor boy found out, that such nobility was his rival for Martha he was devastated.
"I thought, that the morning sun and midnight skies will sing us songs, that we'll live in a big house, and will be seeing as our kids are growing up" - he said. "But now I see, that only wind lonely clouds and wind will sing me lullabies, and the only thing I'll see is how eagles will be feasting on my bones!"
And, as any young and broken heart, he went not to drown or hang himself, but to the local tavern, to try to drink away his pain. When owner saw him at such an early hours, when most were still working on the field, she didn't believed his eyes. "Give me yours strongest drinks, quick" - he said to her. Well, she poured him some egg-nog, classic choice. Adam starts to drink it, but he didn't liked that at all - it was burning his mouth. Hah, youngsters! They never appreciate egg-nog until they grew older, because as you grow this god's beverage grows on you...
- Well, here we go again... - snarled Sophie. She was usually very kind woman, but whenever the case was about alcohol, and especially her husband's love for it her patience ended pretty quickly. - What was a nice story quickly turned into old heck's ramblings about some cheap, shitty booze. Old alcoholic, and you won't even choke on that crap! You'd probably married the glass of egg-nog, if it would've been of my height, and could refill itself!
- Easy, easy, Sophie. And please, not in front of guests.. - the last part Brad tried to say as quieter as possible, as if nobody would've heard it otherwise.
- Then cut this crap immediately, you old drunkard!
- Alright, alright...So, uhh, just like I said, 'nog was disgusting to Adam. Suddenly, he feels as somebody taps his shoulder, and says to him: "Ahoy there, young man!". Adam turns around - behind him stood a tiger called Ferdinand. Tall as the mountain, and eyes just like the eyes of a bull. I probably should have told you earlier about this man. In short - nobody knew neither his parents, nor from where he was. He simply appeared out of nowhere, and done nothing, but drinking at tavern!
"Huh, what a weird feeling of déjà vu..."
- He also used to give various gifts to women in the village, and overall, having fun. Although a lot of folks were suspicious of him. First of all, nobody knew how he got those money. Second, he never went on any of the religious holidays. And thirdly, a lot of women recalled, that after taking those gifts, some unexplainable things started going on with them - as if the devil came to them from the swamps of a Blue Rock river, and starts to either choke them, or pulling theirs hair, or biting the fingers, things like that. And you cannot just get out of those things easily - throw it to the river, and it swims back to you! Well, nonetheless, Ferdinand then tells him: "I know what you need, boy!", and gives an entire bag full of gold. "I'll give you even more than that" - he continues, "And even Martha will be yours! But you'll have to do one small thing for me in return!".
"Devil!" - screamed Adam, "I'll do anything for Martha!".
"Good!" - said Ferdinand. "Then meet me at the giant oak in a Blue rock valley at night. I'll be waiting for you there!". And so, both agreed.
Oh, how impatient was Adam! Just how much he anticipated to meet Ferdinand. And finally, when the night had fallen, he went on to the valley, where was a giant oak, that stood there like some beautiful landmark. Ferdinand was already waiting for him. It was so dark there, that he barely saw his own hands. And so, they went on together on the other side of the river by a small wooden bridge, that still stands to this day. As you all saw, on the other side of Blue Rock yet another forest begins. The two were slowly going through thick woods and bushes. Never in his life Adam was there. They had stopped on an open spot near three hills. Ferdinand had stopped here.
"Do you see those three hills? There will be a lot of flowers on them, but forbid otherworldly power to pick even one of those. You will be needed giant red rose, that will bloom there. As soon, as you'll see it - pick it, and don't look back no matter what you'll see behind you!"
Adam wanted to ask some questions...The he looked - and Ferdinand had already disappeared. He went on to those three hills - nothing there, only some dark there. Then the moon came out - and hundreds of flowers appeared near him - one better than other. He then saw what he needed - a red rose. Adam quickly ran up to him, and when he wanted to take the flower with him he saw that hundreds of other arms also were trying to reach it, and behind him something jumped from place to place, slowly closing on on him. Adam closed his eyes, took the flower - and suddenly, everything around him become silent. On some log nearby appeared Ferdinand, his whole body was blue, like some old corpse. And doesn't even slightly moved - eyes were staring at something only he knew, opened up his mouth, and just kept staring, not even flinching. Ooh, scary!..Then Adam heard some howl, which sent shivers down his spine, and it seemed, like the flowers started whispering something to eachother, and trees started sending curses on unknown language...Then Ferdinand's face came to life, and eyes started shining
"Finally she returned!" - he said. "Now listen, Adam! There will appear a pretty woman soon, you should follow everything she says to you, because if not - you'll be gone for good!" And then, some dog ran out of nowhere, barking at them, which then transformed into cat, and started hissing at them
"Calm down, old witch!" - said Ferdinand
And then, that cat transformed into some human - she was around 80 years old, her face was like a rotten apple, and she had a voice like a door, that wasn't lubed for ages. " "Pretty woman", indeed " thought Adam. The witch took that rose, and started to whisper some words in unknown language. Suddenly she throw it in the air, and - can you imagine? It didn't fallen back immediately, but it flowed in the air like a small fireball, and when it actually fallen back, it did it so far away, that it seemed like a small star.
"Here!" - quietly said the witch. Ferdinand give young man a shovel, and said: "Dig here, Adam, and you'll see so much gold, that neither you, nor Lumberjack saw in yours dreams!"
Adam started digging, and suddenly, he felt something solid - the shovel doesn't goes further. His eyes saw small iron chest. He wanted to get it with his hands, but chest started going further into the ground, and it went further, and further, and further. And behind himself he heard laughter, that seemed a lot more like snake's hissing.
"No, you will never see gold until you'll shed some innocent blood" - said witch, and took to him some child, wrapped up in a big white towel, showing with her fingers, that he has to cut his head off. Adam was in shock. Just like that - to cut a head off of an innocent kid! With a heartache he took off a towel from child's head, and what do you think? Besides him stood small Jordie, Martha's younger brother. Like an insane Adam ran up with a knife to a witch, and even was ready to strike...
"Have you forgotten what you've promised for a girl?.." - roared Ferdinand, and as if shot a poisoned arrow to Adam's head
The witch raised her hand slightly - blue fire had erupted from the ground, and it all shined like a glass, and everything beneath it become visible. Coins, gold, diamonds were in chests and just thrown beneath the soil. Adam's eyes were burning, sanity left his mind...With his hands shaking from anticipation he took the knife, and an innocent blood had spilled... Satan's laughter roared from all sides. Awful creatures were jumping in packs around him. The witch took the headless corpse with her hands, and like a wolf, started to drink blood from it... Adam's head started spinning. He took every bit of strength that was left in him, and ran away as fast as he could. Everything was shining in crimson lights around him. The trees, all covered in blood, seemed to scream from pain. The burning sky was shaking...The fire lightning bolts were shining in his eyes.
When breathless Adam came home, he had fallen down on the floor, and dead-like dream had took over him. Two days and two nights he was sleeping without waking up. When he woke up on third day, Adam was looking around the corners of his house, as if trying to remember something, but to no avail . When he had moved a little bit he felt like something was near him. He looked up - there were two bags full of gold. Only now he remembered, that he was looking for some treasure, and it was very scary for him, but how, or for what he had earned it - he could not remember that. Martha also told him, that some stray folks stole Jordie away, and yet, Adam couldn't even remember his face.
As soon as Lumberjack saw the gold, he immediately become a lot softer to this young man - "Ehh, maybe Adam isn't the best. But haven't I loved him? Wasn't he like a son for me?" And old tiger started saying such a silly nonsense, he even teared up himself. There was only one strange thing: when Martha started telling how some creatures had stolen Jordie Adam couldn't even remember his face.
But nonetheless, there was no point waiting further. The white wolf was sent back to look for white she-wolves on a cold north, and the couple had married. Ah, what a weddings were back then! What now, tell me, Sophie, what now!? Someone throws a ring, or talking with in-laws, they'll be hating the very next day, or crap like that? Hah, pathetic, I say! Back then folks used to dress as a templars and devils, and kiss eachother, or to drink as many glasses of egg-nog, whilst dancing on one foot, as it was even possible, until loudly falling! Hahaaa, oh, youth...Ahem, well, closer to the story. As you all can guess, the couple started to live like a truue royalty! However, the locals were suspicious of all the money, that had fallen on theirs heads. "From whom it all may come, if not from devilry?" What didn't helped is that on the same day Ferdinand had disappear from the village. Around a month after a wedding a very weird things started happening with Adam. Every morning he woke up, and as soon as he saw the bags of gold, he just sat somewhere near them, and was sitting there, as if trying to remember how he took those. He remembers going to pub, and ordering an egg-nog. It was burning his mouth, it was disgusting to him. He then remembered someone tapping his shoulder, and everything afterwards was like in a fog. Sometimes Martha managed to talk with him, sometimes he even laughed, and genuinely had a good time, but then looked up back at those bags, said: "Hold up, hold up, I forgot!", and went straight back to watch the bags and think. Poor girl tried to do everything she could - but nothing seemed to help. He was watching the bags, and sometimes he looked as if he's starting to remember something, but then he had forgotten yet again.
And so, passed the summer, autumn, first snow had fallen, and already melted, but Adam still was doing the same thing everyday. The boy himself had seemed to lost his mind: his hair and beard grew long, his stare become a lot more erratic. He often gotten up, walked around the room, stared somewhere, as if trying to catch someone; his lips slowly move, as if he tried to call some old, forgotten word, and stop soon afterwards. Insanity takes over his mind; he starts to chew his own hands, and pull his hair, until calming down, he won't fall down, and later he gets up, and the rage, and the suffering, over and over again.
Martha at first was afraid to stay alone at home, but overall, she seemed to get used to her tragedy. But she changed massively - her cheerfulness had gone completely, her face become a lot more jaded and tired. In the end, she decided to ask an old local magician to, maybe, try and help her husband. When they came to the house, Adam was simply staring at the bags yet again. Tiredly, he slowly moved his eyes to take a closer look of new faces. Suddenly, he shook violently, as if on execution...And laughed so scarily, that the fear immediately struck Martha's heart. "I REMEMBERED! I REMEMBERED! - he shouted in a horrifying euphoria, and, after taking an axe, he threw it into the old mage. The axe was stopped by a wooden door it managed to hit. The mage had disappeared, and a young child, in a white shirt, with a head, hidden behind a towel, appeared in the middle of a house...The towel was thrown away.
"Jordie!" - shouted Martha, and wanted to ran up to her younger brother, who had been gone for around a year at the time; but the ghost suddenly was covered in blood, from head to toe, and shined the red light on the room. Out of fear, she ran away from the house, but when she calmed down a little bit, she wanted to help him, but to no avail! The door locked behind her so firmly, that she had no way of getting inside. The locals had gathered around. The started to knock; in the end, they simply broke down the door, but there was no one there. The house was full of smoke, and in the middle, where Jordie stood, was now a pile of embers. Everyone ran up to the bags - but now only broken glass was there, instead of gold. Nobody dared to say a single word there - this wonder send everyone in a pure terror.
What was after it is a bit hard to remember. I remember, that in the same day as the devil took Adam to himself, Ferdinand once again appeared on the village. But everyone was running away from him now. The locals quickly understood what he was - no other than a satan that took keidran's image in order to open up a treasures. And since they do not come to the evil forces and spirits, he lures young fellers to do the work for him. But even then there was no peace from a goddamn Ferdinand. Aunt of my grandfather said that he was angry for her a lot more than for others since she left her tavern, that she used to had, and he tried desperately to take revenge for that. One time, when the oldest lads and gals were sitting there, and talked about various occasions and old things, on the table was a roasted pork. And it seemed to everyone, that a pig lifted it's head, the eyes suddenly came to life and shined, and the moustache appeared on it's face. Everyone quickly recognized Ferdinand's face. My grandpa's aunt even thought he'll ask for an egg-nog...Or the other time, when a local priest, who loved to have some "quality time", so to speak, with a glass of alcohol, started drinking, and suddenly sees, as a glass was bowing to him! Or an interesting situation that happened to his spouse: she wanted to do something with a barrel, don't remember what exactly, and suddenly she sees, as a barrel starts rolling away from her! And you all may laugh, but trust me, it wasn't funny for locals back then. My grandpa's aunt oftentimes complained, that as soon as the night comes, somebody starts knocking on the roof and scratching on the walls….So...What do you think about this all?

---

The biggest impression, as it usually goes, was on the youngest person from the group. Marcus had a really big imagination, and so, he was absolutely terrified because of this story, but just like any young and curious soul, he couldn't stop himself from listening. His expression was quickly noticed by Sophie.
- Brad, you old moron! Look what you have done to Marcus!
- Wha-? I have told, that this story is going to be scary.
- Mom, I'm fine! - the young boy tried to reassure his loving mother, but as it usually goes with mothers when theirs child gets even slightly hurt, physically or psychologically, Sophie did not wanted to listen to nobody, including even her own son.
- Hush, Marcy! Go back to tents to have some sleep, we'll have a long day tomorrow - and of course, the only thing left for a young man to do was to do as his mother told him to
- Well, are you happy, grey idiot? - Sophie was talking to Brad. - Now look, our kid is scared, and all because of some old cretin decided to tell some shitty story that was, I can guarantee you, a complete lie...
- Hey, hey there, the spirits, witches demons and all that things are real! Hell, I even married one, and raised two kids with one of them, can you imagine? - laughed Brad
- Just look at him, our kid was terrified of the nonsense he said, and he's shaming me in front of respectable folk! - said Sophie
- Oh, come on, let the old man have fun, maybe I'm telling you my last story tonight, and all you're doing is just not getting angry at me for nothing - kept laughing Brad.
- Dad! Don't say such things.. - said Seraphima. The tigress always worried for her family, and although she understood, that someday the parents will pass away, and it's inevitable, the thought was still terrifying for her.
- And now you're also scaring your daughter!
- Alright, alright, sorry y'all, okay? - Brad decided, that his wife's hand was still heavy enough to make some troubles for him, and to apologize before situation spun out of control would be the best option. - Anyways, we've yet to hear a single word from our "guardian" so far. Mr. Kilgore, what do you think?
The half-breed himself had probably the most neutral expression from all of the group, but it didn't looked like he was bored, or dissatisfied with the story.
- Eh..It was alright. Interesting, but definitely not the scariest thing I've heard or witnessed
- Oh, come on, Tacitus, a story about satan in keidrans body! How is that can be not scary? No offense, but it even kinda has some parallels with you. Although you don't seem to ask for anything from locals, so I think it's just a coincidence, although I have to admit, an unusual one!
Hybrid's expression became more thoughtful. After some pause, Clovis finally replied.
- ...You know what life taught me, Mr. Grönholm?
- Tell me, Tacitus.
- That you should be afraid of those who alive, not those who are dead. I've always only heard rumors about some spirits, demons, etc.. However, I've saw how many horrors can alive do. Especially when they're driven by desperation and anger. Any morality, principles – it all can be reduced to zero under right circumstances. And we are talking about those, who have any. I wouldn't have been so adamant to trust others if I wouldn't have saw it all myself. And this spiritual thing... - smirked Clovis, whilst looking at the improvised "campfire". - It doesn't even comes close to that. Not even in a slightest. Still, that was an interesting one, I guess.
- Huh, interesting point of view. Well anyways, - said Bradley - I think Sophie will agree, that it's getting pretty late now. We should probably be getting to sleep right now. By the way, Mr. Kilgore, I've saw your fishing rod, and, uh..Well, how do you feel about idea of getting to go on fishing tomorrow?
- Fishing? Ain't you said that you are already late in the season, and need to sell those goods as soon as possible?
- Oh, come on, Tacitus, they won't run away from us. Besides, we will do it the smart way - we'll be moving forward on our way, and simply stop nearby some river or lake. Catfish, crucians, pikes, perches - so many fish that we can catch, especially in this wild places. We'll start moving in the morning, and most likely, stop for several hours during day.
- With all due respect, but... Catching a pike? Catfish? During day? You're heavily overestimating us, Mr. Grönholm. - chuckled hybrid. - Besides, the nets would've been a lot better thing for this.
- Tacitus, I'm so old, that I'm already one foot in a grave, I know that nets would've been a better option. But first - what's the point of ruining such peaceful process by turning it into scavenging for food under the water? And second - do I look like a professional fisher, Tacitus
- I don't know - shrugged Clovis. - I met you yesterday.
- No, I don't. I wanted to buy it, but I guess I'll do it either at Tanmare, or maybe even make one myself. Well, anyways, I think it's time to rest, everyone. See you tomorrow, Tacitus
- Good night y'all - said Clovis, and went into his own tent. It was a usual place for a rest for anyone, who loved, or simply had to travel. Majority of land was still a wild territory, and tents usually served as the only resting place. Sure, there was on occasional abandoned house or cabin, but most of those were so few and in-between, that they were never a guaranteed place to live. Besides, who knows who may be inside of those? It was pretty common for stray criminals on the run to take a rest in some places. More superstitious folks believed, that such old, abandoned places were inhabited by the spirits of those, who lived here earlier. Nobody had some exact opinion on whether those spirits could do harm, or not, but everyone who may have been asked would answer, that it was considered disrespectful.
The half-breed entered the tent. It was a little bit soaked because of the fog and rain, but in the end, even this was better than sleeping under the late autumn rain. The bed-sheets on the ground and sleeping bag also helped to not get sick because if wet ground and cold temperatures. "Better than nothing, I guess" - thought Clovis, as he layed on his side. The hair, that grew to his shoulders, was now falling on his muzzle. The half-breed simply stared blankly, without any real thoughts to think of; he only listened to a small rain outside. The sedating songs of the ethereal orchestra quickly brought sleep to exhausted crimson eyes, letting the soul to finally take a small reprieve from earthly hardships, even if for only several hours.

---

A summer evening - how little, and yet, how much can be in those simple words. The air become colder, as the sun was picking darker and darker shades of yellow, that slowly changed to orange, and sometimes to red. For Clovis it was a very relaxed time - he usually loved to sleep somewhere in the garden, or to simply watch as the time slipped away, and the day transitioned in the night.
- Clovis, come here - said the voice. The half-breed didn't thought twice about it, and immediately went there, of course after picking some strawberries from the garden. The voice immediately saw, that this young bastard already scavenged for some fruits to eat.
- Hah, you've already found something there? Well, just don't eat green ones.
- A year old? I know what I'm doing, sis!
- Hahaa, of course! Well, come on, sit on a wagon - we have to buy some food, or Greg and Emily will kill us!
- I swear to gods, they drive me nuts sometimes! Even though they're ours parents, they're just so-
- Come on there, you cannot say such things. Also, do you need any help to climb here?
- Nah, I'll be fine - said Clovis, as he sat on top of small wagon. Hybrid pulled up the reins, and horses set off. The surroundings seemed absolutely perfect - all the trees seemed like from a picture: each one had a crown of perfectly green colored leafs. There wasn't a single one, that was drained by parasites, struck by a lightning, or chopped down by someone. After some time they moved into some fields, with occasional trees to the sides. They were cultivated, and so didn't grew up to the size of the trees, as the case was with wild fields. What was a little bit unsettling to Clovis is that he didn't remembered ever being in any of the places - neither the village, nor the fields. And yet, he had not only heard a familiar names, but also spoken with a very familiar voice. Besides, if they were heading to buy supplies - why they were deviating further and further from any kind of civilization.
- Hold on, wha... - Clovis wanted to ask the figure, that was sitting beside him, but he saw, that there wasn't anyone here. His voice also has changed. Even though it wasn't that deep to begin with, but now it sounded a lot more similar to what he had used to hear for past several years. Not only that previous one was higher than usual, but it also had a note of naivety and innocence in his voice, that had been alien to him for many years at this point. But what surprised him the most was the change of a landscape around him. It was now a lot colder place, and resembled the beginning of the winter a lot more. The fields were replaced by just a vast open spaces with only a dirt and occasional withered grass and trees. Even the sky changed - from a usual summer evening it was now hidden behind thick overcast, with some breaches in it. Clovis saw some clouds, that were starting to appear, but he had only now realized that. The wagon started moving faster. The surroundings started to pass him by faster and faster, and yet it seemed, like everything around him was just a different iteration of the same place. Everything started to blur as the pace was becoming faster, and yet to him it still seemed like in a slow motion. Hybrid didn't heard a sound of horses, or a winter - the only thing he heard was his own voice in his head, asking the questions:
"Where are we going?"
- Where am I going?... - asked Clovis out-loud, but there was nobody to answer his question. The reality slowly faded to him, and all that he saw was a colorwave of dark grey, with occasional orange and blue lines moving around him, and constantly changing theirs shapes in a complete absence of any sounds.

---

When Clovis woke up the first person to greet him, almost in parallel to him waking up, was a headache. "Well hello there, my old friend..." - thought hybrid. His morning ritual never brought any joy to half-breed, but the soaked tent, and a cold air of autumn morning managed to make it even more miserable to him. One thing was to be in this weather when you're fully awake and clothed. But to be in during and immediately after the sleep, whilst wearing only some shirt and pants and being in a sleeping bag was a completely different thing. As Clovis's years passed it was harder and harder for him to find strength to get up each morning. The fast paced life, full of anxieties, the stressful environment, where even the most basic trust was way too generous gift, and his 32nd spin around the sun definitely started to caught up with him once he had finally slowed down his own life. If he would've still been in some tavern room he'd probably spent an hour staring at absolute nothingness, but perspective of staying in this tent for any longer, god forbid even mentioning, an entire hour, was no better. Immediately after moving to a sitting position, Clovis was rewarded with a sparks in his eyes - a clear indicator of health problems, that half-breed neither had time, nor desire to care about.
After dressing up, hybrid exited the tent. The place where the group stopped was a typical forest glade. Several logs probably were brought here by several passerby's, because the overall glade looked like a too good place to take a rest for any wanderer, who could've ever be here - the logs were located exactly in the form of square, with a perfectly made spot for a campfire, where anyone could've make some food for themselves.
Clovis then remembered the dream he had this night. Truth be told, the dreams he had oftentimes scared him. Most of them were surreal, and yet, very detailed and graphic. And he was very thankful, that most of the time his dreams were either nothing but an empty, dark void, or he simply didn't even remembered any.
But before hybrid didn't started analyzing the last dream, he saw a tiger slowly exiting another tent
- Ah, Mr. Kilgore. Good morning to you - said the old tiger
- Morning to you too - replied Clovis.
- Seems like you've already woken up. That's good, because we should be starting packing things up. And don't forget about the fishing as soon as we'll find a good spot!
- Yeah, I haven't.. - replied hybrid. Clovis was still barely able to move, so the thought of doing something send dread to him. Besides, for him the fishing is like a substitution for a meditation - it should be done alone at a quiet place, where it is possible to enjoy weather and nature all by yourself. The concept of entire family there, big and loud group of keidrans was almost complete opposite of Clovis's idea of fishing. But, since Brad was paying him, there wasn't much option granted for him.

After packing up, the group then moved forward. The weather haven't improved much from yesterday - overcast, occasional rain, withered trees and grass. Each time during autumn the trees, grass, flowers, were in a battle with the nature itself, and each time they achieved nothing, but a bitter defeat. This was an uphill battle, or even the ones they had no chance of winning. And yet, each autumn they are trying to resist the change, and almost each and everyone of those are broken into submission by a power they have no influence on, over and over again. Majority of leafs had already fallen down to the ground. Those trees, who still had the remains of theirs crowns, were watching in a numb sorrow on a brothers, who had already fallen down, in a numb sorrow, and were slowly but steadily succumbing to almighty powers of time, whilst cold northern winds were singing songs in languages, known to nobody.
The silence had once again crept up upon the wagon. Each keidran was in theirs thoughts: from as simple, as the thinking about the level of boredom at the moment, to as serious as "what will happen to a soul after the death of a body". Since Sophie herself loved to think about old memories, she was the first to break this silence.
- Say, Mr. Kilgore...Have you ever been in a southern part of a Tiger Territories?
- ..No - lazily answered Clovis.
- Well, in short, that part is changes massively from northern. On a north, we live near giant mountains, as you probably know. But there, it changes into a jungle climate.
- ..Hm.. - this did surprised half-breed a little bit. - How is that even possible, Mr. Grönholm?
- Well, a lot of magicians assume that this happened because of warm ocean flows, that wash the southern lands. If you'll ever happen to be there - you can visit it's biggest city called Glass Cloud. We were on a family trip there once - a beautiful place. I'm not going to spoil way too much, so that you could've experience it first hand, so to speak, but I can definitely say, that you'll not regret visiting it, Tacitus. Besides, it's the biggest port of all the Tiger Lands, so, you may also find some job offers, related to your sphere of work. I'm sure a man who knows how to use magic will finds it's place there.
- Hm... Alright, I'll keep that in mind...
"Rainforests?..Huh... From what I've heard from those who had lived in places like that - it's either the most wonderful, or the most repulsive place to ever be in...But the biggest port sounds intriguing, to say the least. Lots of opportunities... Heh, including to actually witness the jungles myself."
Half-breed's thoughts, however, were interrupted by Bradley
- Mr. Kilgore! Mr. Kilgore. Look on the right side, do you see what I see?
Clovis tried to focus his sight. What he saw in a distance was an unusually big clearing, with that seemed to be like a water in the middle of it.
- A lake. And that means, that we finally have a place for a fishing. Also, I see a trail, that looks like it leads us straight to that lake, so we also wouldn't have to leave this wagon somewhere far from there, which is a great bonus for us.
The group then headed towards the lake. The place itself looked like it didn't belonged here. Thick forest, that covered surrounding areas, almost abruptly ended here. The shores of the lake weren't surrounded by marshes or bulrushes, the other side of it was so far, that it was impossible to see it from one side.
- Ah, a perfect place! - said Bradley. - So, Mr. Kilgore, what would we use as a bait?
- Eh, I'm not too picky, Mr. Grönholm...Just pick whatever you think is best.. - the rare enthusiasm, that still remained in Clovis's spirit from the morning was almost completely gone at this point. He wanted to be as far as possible from anyone in places like this, and the situation he was in reduced the chances for a moment of lonely solace almost to a zero
- Well, then I guess the worms will do just fine. Take another shovel, and dig some for yourselves too.
Luckily for Clovis, it didn't took long to find what he was needed. After the constant rains, the worms swarmed the ground, especially nearby places like this.

---

For around two hours the keidrans were sitting at the shore of a giant lake. The wagon stayed a little bit away from the place where Bradley and Clovis were fishing, so luckily for them, Sophie and kids weren't distracting anyone. The usually talkative tiger was now sitting in a complete silence, which for sure, made Clovis a bit more content with the situation he's in. Because of lack of any strong winds, the lake was almost perfectly reflecting the world around it, just like mirror. The only noises there were occasional gusts of wind, mosquitoes and other bugs, which swarmed this place, were a usual satellites of any lake, river, or even the tiniest stream, and some woodpeckers in the distance. In terms of meditative process, this fishing worked perfectly - lack of anyone to disrupt the silence, gorgeous surroundings helped to make it even better. However, from the pragmatic approach, this didn't helper at all - the usual time for a serious catch is between evening and early morning, whilst keidrans were fishing in an early afternoon.
"Hahaa, great job, young man! To catch even a herring at your age is already quite an achievement! Now, put it here, where the rest of the fish is. Looks like today the sea is merciful, and we'll make a fine fish soup."
"Thank you, mister, happy that I'm not just a dead-weight to you."
"Oh, Clovis, you know how much you matter to me..You.. You're not just a stray boy. You're like...No, you are a son to me..." - the fox figure was looking at him. Several old, salty as the ocean tide tears were falling down it's muzzle. That old face was no stranger to a grief and struggles of the life, and yet, as long as the soul is staying in the flesh - it will always have the strings, that even at such old age could spark the flame in the heart, that was only flickering and fading with time.
It wasn't hard to tell, that Clovis was only physically on the shore of a vast lake: he never saw how the fish approached the bait, peacefully ate it, and swam away in the distance, leaving behind an empty iron hook. His mind, however, was wandering in the long forgotten songs of the past. Everything that he was hiding, suppressing and running away from, started to coming back to him after leaving the guild, and with each day it was stronger than the previous one. Clovis didn't had to usually deal with much of feelings. He truly had a character, that only could have been made in one of the most disgusting places the giant world could've offered - the slums. This rot, that for various reasons, which usually always were connected to incompetence of a rulers of city, corrupted even the most beautiful creations of architects and builders. Life in such places always left a mark on anyone, who spend long enough in it - sometimes physical, sometimes more subtle, mental one. Almost every illegal business - from something as simple as making moonshine, to mysterious "red rooms" - they all had it's roots from such places. Clovis, like a lot of folk who lived there, had a very stubborn, strong-willed and determined character. It was hard to believe, that this once was an easygoing, naive and optimistic child. Only the wavy shape of hair, and, until recent events, a pretty young looking face could've told that the life, just like a mountainous stream, once flourished in this soul. The cheerfulness in the voice was replaced with a smug and sarcastic remarks. "The only way of surviving is to be stronger than your enemy" - the believe that was cemented in Clovis's mind during his years in the thieves guild. But after Brutus's death it seemed like a moments of clarity started to visit him a lot more often. And with them, the old memories as well. More and more he started to catch himself on a thought, that he felt like a trapped rabid animal. Despite being on a top of a social food chain, he felt like he had less control of his life, than he ever had during his darkest days of childhood. The feelings of regret and sorrow now never left him. Clovis tried his usual approach to rationalize them, but to no avail. He was wrong, when he thought, that it was only because of the death of his best friend.

Many years ago, when Clovis bought this mansion, he noticed a small decorative windmill on the roof. What surprised him is the fact that he noticed it was always statically turned to the west, even during the worst weather, which unbelievably irritated half-breed. Clovis decided several times to turn it himself: first time to the east, and then to the south. He oftentimes used to stare at it, expecting it to turn, and yet it always ended the same. However, this wasn't the worst. Hybrid saw, that after killing Brutus it did turned to the north, and once again it was stuck in this position. In this motionlessness of this windmill there was something unexplainable and terrifying; Clovis oftentimes used to get up at night to watch whether windmill moved. Oh, if only it at least slightly moved! But no, it stood still, unchangeable like a fate. Clovis started considering this windmill as a sign of a curse. Sometimes his sick imagination send him to some dark spaces, and the horror took over him. He was in a land of unseen and unheard, and his soul was tormented under the burden of eternity.
Clovis felt more and more sick of the guild he was in. Nobody there had any worth not just as a person, but even as a sapient being. Theirs place belonged in the barn. No one there deserved to share the same air as a brave warriors, or poets, struck by the muse of Minerva - those were vile, shallow creatures, with any principles being easily tradable, and yet whom for some reason thought, that they're smart enough to backstab him, just like Roan and Sam did.
He started to spend more and more time in his own thoughts. The voice, asking him sickening questions never left the hybrid's mind. The doubt, that Clovis thought he successfully get rid off for the reasons of "necessary sacrifice", was coming back to him. Half-breed spend more and more time imagining how certain events in his life could have played out if he had made the different decisions. He barely took care of himself, and never left his room. Each night the voice become stronger and it wasn't the only one. Dozens, hundreds, thousands of them were howling, screaming, whispering at him during night. He felt as the long dead spirits of the nearby forests were visiting him, embracing him and telling him stories of theirs sufferings and final moments. The touch of a cold grave send shivers down his spine. He tried to move away from them, only for the dead ones to move closer to him. His limbs were shaking, as he sank further into the bedsheets, as his eyes wide openly stared at the ceiling. Clovis's mind slowly slipped into other places - he saw himself on a cliffs, in the garden, or some house, and what was more surprising to him is that he was smaller, his voice sounded higher than usual, and he always was taken by a silhouettes to a wagon. And each time it ended with a wagon transitioning to some empty field road during winter, with a sunset, hidden behind a giant, dark overcast. And each time everything blurred, and metamorphosed into nothing but waves of color. Hohooo! The windmill probably have turned! It definitely did turned in this moments! This brought Clovis the laughter, that never managed to reach his throat - only by the intensified shaking of a body, and especially the stomach it was possible to at least assume what was happening.

Fourteen days and fourteen nights he spend like this. On a fifteen one, however, the hybrid decided that the only thing he had left to do was to run away - as far as the eyes could see. He took some of the savings and items he had, but before leaving he remembered the Brahnn. Clovis remembered, how the long dead spirits told him that he had to be punished for his sins, never elaborating on what exactly sins. Hybrid took some of the papers of the plans of Templars via his agents, which he never really had time to read, but Clovis remembered the deal he had for the dragon amulet. It was to attack Edinmire - the city that belonged to Brahnn. Hybrid's eyes then become wide open, and his hands were trembling: "Amulet! The gift from the Beelzebub!" Since hybrid already used it to cure himself from the effects of a curse, he had earned during Dragon Masquerade, he had no use from it now, and it was quickly decided to drown this abomination in the closest river. As for the Brahnn - it was decided that he, or to be correct, Carmine Galante, would once again use mental link and his agents to send this information to Royal Family of Human Empire - a level of power high enough to do something to someone like that Brahnn, if that was even his real name.

---

On a majority of the journey to the tiger lands Clovis didn't really recalled anything remarkable to happen. After arriving to the town named Lfynderwf, he found there a private company, that could've take on the stagecoaches anyone to any place they would've wanted. But in all fairness, when the wolves heard, that Clovis wants to go to Human Territories, on the very other end of the empire to the city called Witchen, and also via the road through Drylands Desert, to avoid as much other villages as possible, some of them thought that he was joking, and some thought that the wind probably too negatively affected his brain. But as soon as he showed the small bag full of gold coins, and said that he also pays the second one after the arrival, the wolves were in doubts. It was a lot of money, but was it worth it to go through half the continent for it, and especially with such a tense political situation? For some, unknown back then, reason, Wolves and Humans joined a parley, and the war operations were stopped, but the borders were still considered a pretty dangerous place to be at. Only the old wolf had agreed to transfer Clovis to the destination. "But, son, if anyone during our journey will attack us - you will have to defend yourself, because I am too old to do so". Clovis immediately spotted a mana necklace on wolf's neck, which meant two things: first - he was a pathological liar, because magic could've been easily used even by someone, who is 100 years old. And second - this wolf was also a pathologically lazy man. But on the other hand, hybrid didn't had much options to choose from. Obviously, there wasn't much brave and greedy folks to transfer him to the other part of enemy's country via desert.
"2000 gold coins, and not a single one less". To be fair, hybrid had started both regretting trading his carriage for a tent, food supplies and warmer clothes, and to consider killing this wolf as a viable option. "2000!? That's the price of an actual house!" - thought Clovis. Although he had earned an actual riches, but the habit of fighting for the price, which is mandatory for survival in more rural areas, still remained. Besides, even the other wolves were looking at half-breed, whilst holding theirs laughter. But unfortunately for himself, due to lack of alternatives Clovis had to agree with price.
Old wolf told hybrid about potential dangers on the way but he was concerned a lot more about safely passing two borders. Surprisingly enough, two old enemies - wolves and humans, have at least some things in common. One of them was total incompetence when it comes to checking those, who were crossing the borders. Clovis told them some nonsensical history about being wandering trader, and nobody didn't even choose to check his bags.
After crossing Pint's Pass, and the famous giant "Warning: Wolves Ahead" sign, around an hour later they saw the Wolfwatch Tower ruins. It was purposely built to show the superiority of humans - the tower was built by the best architect from Old Morlin. Gods definitely have sense of humor, because both Wolfwatch, and Human's Empire old capital suffered the same fate - they were burned to the ground, and everything valuable was stolen, and then resold on the giant markets of Maer Mawr, Glass Cloud, Tanmare, Vipen Shipyard, and the most valuable ones even went as far as Golden Sands outpost, that wasn't even as nearly giant trading post as it is now.
The road then lead the two to the north. And although the giant mountains, that were laying between human wolf lands were still visible, just like the snowy tops of the highest mountains, the weather on the ground was becoming hotter and drier. After passing the Grey River, which wasn't even nearly as big as it was in it's delta, the surroundings turned from the usual meadows and forest to an actual savanna. The Drylands once were the homeland to a leopard kin, that had long ago, one by one left this place to make money with more and less honest ways.
On their way, they also saw yet another destroyed tower, called Timber. This place, however, unlike the previous tower, had no interesting background, or at least interesting enough for an old wolf to actually remember it. As he had said, "This is just some building, built in the middle of nowhere, that served as a landmark. In other words, big enough to be on the world map, but not big enough to be actually important". Clovis didn't believed that much to the words of old wolf, but it looked like he had no other choice - to search for any clues on what it was once was next to impossible.
Some days later, Clovis witnessed his first ever sandstorm. To say that it was terrible experience was a giant understatement. The wind seemed to want to rival it's speed to the speed of the eagles and hawks; the sand was chaotically flying in the air, painting it in dark orange. The only saving grace for him was the fact, that most of the stagecoaches, including his, had a roof. It didn't had any windows though, so it was decided to cover the sides with blankets, that wolf attached to the roof. The sandstorm begun in the afternoon, and lasted until the very next morning, so the two had to sleep in sitting positions.
Theirs next major stop was at Longroad Posthouse outpost. The outpost itself consisted of several houses - mail office, trading shop, and, most importantly, a tavern - probably the only one on a vast, desolated desert space.
Majority of the folks never bothered to go through the old "Drylands Path", as it was called. If they wanted to go on a south side they simply went to Knockford first. There, they either went on a Northern Knockford Road, if the wanted to visit the West Templar College, or, how it usually happened, took Southern Knockford Road, which was going through Pinewood, and then the travellers stopped at North and South Leiton's. From there, it took person either to Camp Hollow, or Wreathwood - one of the biggest trading points in Human Empire. If the wanderer from Morlin Hall, most of the time nobody even bothered to go on the old "Morlin Hall - Hemming Sted - Lintle" road. Since the decay of old "Keidran's Portals" meta of traveling, the "new, but actually old" one was popular once more. The ships again become the best ways of transportation. The wanderer simply went north to Belan Harbor, the biggest one in the entire East Sea, which was located around several hours from Morlin, and from there took it's way to three other major harbours - Riverton Harbor, Sarn Harbor, or Twin Lakes Harbor, and from there they continued theirs road wherever they had to. The southern way of sea travelling was even better. It wasn't exactly "sea" traveling - rather "ocean" traveling. The Triangle Trade Route was easily the most profitable of all trade routes. The amount of money, combined from every trading company that was making it's business here probably could've rivaled the amount of money any country in Mekkan had. Usually it consisted of: Vipen Shipyard, that belonged to Fox Tribes, Wreathwood Harbor, Knockwood Port, and Derelict Port at the "Trappers" outpost, which belonged to Human Empire, and were scattered from the western city Wreathwood, which was almost on the border with Forest Wolf Empire, and went all the way to the east to "Trappers" outpost, south of Edinmire, which was on the border with Tiger Territories, Knockwood being in the middle. Then the ships were swimming to the edge of so called "Eastern Mekkan Leg", to the Tiger Territories biggest port city called Glass Cloud. From there, the ships took off to Golden Sands outpost, which was located on the Western Basitins Empire territory, which was located on the archipelago of islands, north of fishing village called Oberwind. The place was almost magical, which was ironic, considering who it belonged to - outpost itself was a village, located on a miniature islands, where the one had only two or three houses on it. They all were connected via bridges and canals, where boats swam in case if some bridge would've been broken. This place looked like a small fishing village and yet, almost every captain knew that this place was one of the richest ports in the entire Mekkan. Most of the money the Western Basitins Empire earned here weren't staying here, quickly transported to it's capital, Western Mohlen Hall. This made the "Golden Sands - Western Mohlen Hall" one of the most attractive in the world for the pirates. What also helped is the fact, that Eastern Empire rarely had given help for any investigation in the cases of attack on a ships, and even when asked to check any of the ships that were in empire's docks the response was always along the lines of "Any ship that arrives to Eastern Basitins Empire will only abide eastern safety protocols and laws", since even with improved relations between two countries, nobody was generous enough to help with eachother's problems. This always sparked a political scandal with frequency of one time per year, which always ended during Basitin Games; for regular basitins it ended in a various festivals, that were held in each countries during this times, and for "King" Jade Adelaide of Eastern Empire and Queen Marianne Nakhta of Western Basitin Empire it usually ended in a private dinner, and later in Adelaide's royal-sized be-...Hm... On the other hand, what wouldn't damn gossipers made up only to have some fun and talk about things they know nothing about. After all, the gossips are always just that - gossips, right?..

After entering the tavern Clovis immediately remembered how any traders avoided this desert like a plague, because the contingent of this place, somehow, managed to contain even more shady and less trustworthy folks then Snowshill's taverns. Snowshill is, probably, the most remote place in the entire Mekkan. Located on an Island Of A Thousands Hurricanes, it was the closest habitable place to so-called "Frozen Wastes" - giant, unexplored lands, that by rumors, contained both big dangers, and even bigger treasures. The first one was easily proofed by the fates of Fragoth's Assent and The Marble Tower. The first one was a ship, that was part of expedition, send there to explore the lands, which was sank near the cold shores of "Wastes". The second one was a tower, built by another expedition, which should've served White Wolf Empire as a key point in further exploration of this lands. After a year, the tower stopped sending any ships or letters of a reports from there. The group, send there to explain what happened found out, that the tower was destroyed for a very long time. Only a letter in one of the deeper levels of a tower, build purposely to serve as a living places, explained that some of the wolves were leaving this place during some "catastrophic event". What kind of event it was? What happened with those who left? This, and some other questions were only a topics for discussions, without any certain answer. The rulers understood this sign, and decided to stop the attempts to explore it, although the debate with Human Empire regarding the owner of a lands, that were so minimally understood, that nobody knew even it's true size, was still there. Although some more cynical folks speculated, that the actual reason for stopping the exploration programme was due to the old keidran anecdote about white wolves:
" - Hey, Kieran(the names were usually always changing from one storyteller to the other), I was thinking about one thing - what do white wolves actually want? To take everything, and share between eachother? Or to actually work and earn money?
- I know what white wolves want, Gav - to not work and earn money. "
And although this was a pretty stereotypical way of thinking, but it seemed like the most logical to a lot of folks. However, since there is no consistency when it comes to humans, keidrans and basitins, there were also some crazy adventurists amongst white wolves, who actually bought a boat, and swam around 10 miles of the cold, deep blue sea, that separated Snowshill from Wastes, with everything needed for traveling, and returned several months later with gold, which also proofed that there were riches. Paradoxically, this also proved that old anecdote definitely had some truth behind it - otherwise what's the reason for the royalty to put a blind eye on a potential millions of gold?

Anyways, from everything above it's quite possible to imagine just what kind of mindset it had to take to actually be in Snowshill, unless you were born there. The person had to be either be an adventurist to the very core, or simply having nothing to lose. Both traits were correlated with the level of stability in a person's life - the less chaotic his, or her's life was, the more visible those traits of character were. And of course, if somebody has enough money to be in such remote place, then this "somebody" is not some poor farmer, or citizen, or a villager, and aside from those, only the criminals were influenced by a desire for money and success on the same level. And despite this, the Longroad Tavern, somehow, managed to have even less trustworthy clients. After all, at least those few who returned from Frozen Wastes returned with pockets full of gold, and usually, upon arrival, they drank away a lot of those gold. And, oh gods, just how amazingly they did so - they shared the alcohol with entire tavern, rented musicians, played poker at a high stakes, even if they didn't knew crap about how to play it. The atmosphere was one of a brotherhood, and not just blood one, but a spiritual one. And, unlike the upbeat Snowshill taverns, the atmosphere here was quite different one. This place felt a lot more forgotten and "left behind" - stray clients were usually sitting one by one, without saying a single word, aside from usual "Bartender, give me some drinks" in a different variations. Majority of tables were empty, and the poker table had already began to cover in dust.
The old wolf and Clovis decided to order something to drink. As expected, the variety of options was comically low - cheap beer, or egg-nog. "I don't drive drunk" - said the wolf, and proceeded to order two beers. After Clovis raised an eyebrow and asked an obvious question, it was soon followed by an obvious answer from a wolf: "Pfft, as if it's a real alcohol anyways..". "Looks like my skill of picking a good, responsible folks for job haven't disappeared with time..." - thought Clovis. After several glasses, the wolf suggested hybrid to play some poker with him. At first, Clovis was pretty confident - usually he always managed to be on top most of the time, and after a series of games he always returned with bigger amount of money than before. Half-breed's confidence, however, was completely broken by a fifth lost game in a row. Every time Clovis had a pair of jokers the wolf seemed had to have a pair of kings, every time he had a pair of kings the wolf had a pair of aces, and every time Clovis had aces, the wolf had Street, and once even Flash in his hands. Every bit of smugness, that was present on half-breed's face not so long ago, seemed to transfer upon wolf's face, leaving hybrid with only twitching in his left eye. The old man saw how irritated the younger keidran was, and he didn't even tried to hide his joy from it.
"Hehee, old asshole," - thought Clovis - "you think I was born last Tuesday? You think I don't understand that you're cheating?"
And so, Clovis decided to call a bartender to be a dealer for some additional coin, although he probably would've done this even for free, since the lines for a drink were pathetically low. However, aside from level of Clovis's frustration, it didn't changed the outcome: the first time Clovis didn't even had a pair of cards, the second one too. During the third game he was the closest to actually winning: Clovis had a trio of kings. "Well...I guess I'm gonna wipe that smirk from yours face right now, you idiot" - thought hybrid. Tch, as if! The old wolf had yet another Street in his hands. Clovis eyes were wide open from disbelief.
The fourth and fifth game were mediocre at best, and pathetic at worst. During fourth one Clovis didn't managed to even get a pair, and during fifth one it was only a pair 8's against a pair of jokers.
If half-breed wasn't his employer, old wolf probably would've roasted him as much as he possibly could. The lesson of accepting the defeat was always hard to swallow, but Clovis decided to not continue this humiliation after tenth loss. What did surprised him though, is that the old wolf refused to take the money he allegedly won. "Naah, I'm so old, that I'm just like an autumn leaf - one blow of the wind, and I will fall to the ground. I cannot take the money with me to the grave, so you can leave them for yourself. Besides, I did had my own fun, and positive emotions - those are the true blessing, not hedonistic horseshit!" - he said as he was sipping his glass of beer, though the drunk notes were starting to really show themselves in his voice. "Well, at least there is something good to say about you, old heck" - thought Clovis.
After the game of poker, the duo decided to rent the rooms for a night.
- Five gold coins for each room
- Five? - asked surprised half-breed. - What do you think you're renting!? A mansion with a view of an ocean, or some room with a dirty bed and bare walls? Three gold coins for each one, and I do not want to hear any sad stories about bones out of glass and skin out of paper, that would've explained your greediness
- For three coins I can only say that I equally do not want to hear the sound of your voice, mister - replied leopard. The pride son of savannah was no stranger to a heated arguments in this gods forbidden tavern. - You either paying the price I just named, or you're staying under the endless sky to make some company for a rattlesnakes, that wake up during the colder nighttime.
Clovis was no fool, and understood, that sleeping on the sands was a horrible perspective, but due to his habit of arguing for price of almost everything, and his lack of socialization with somebody on equal statuses as him, hybrid's temper quickly backfired on him.
After a short pause and a sigh, Clovis then answered to a leopard in a much calmer manner.
- ...Maybe four gold coins per room?
- If you would've spoken like this from the beginning - I would've considered it. But now - 5 gold's, and not a single silver coin less.
A subtle smile appeared on leopard's mouth. It was a smile of a winner
- ...Okay, okay, spend those money wisely, prick… - Clovis then put 10 gold coins on the table.
- Great. Your rooms are "19" and "21". Enjoy your stay at the Longroad Tavern, gentlemen. - smirked the leopard.
Clovis then took two keys, and gave one to the wolf, who had been watching this small scene, but his facial expression didn't told his opinion on this situation.

After entering his room, Clovis took a look outside of the window. There is not much words that could describe all the beauty of a night in the desert. The overcasts, so usual to the wolf and fox lands were a complete strangers here. The usual orange color, which was result of a night lights of a big cities, was changed to not even black, but dark blue colored night sky, with a full moon on it. The constellations, that usually never visit the big towns, were perfectly visible here, as if the planet was closer to them in such places. The sky in the desert was captivating for Clovis. No, such beauty will never visit the corrupted cities and towns! Only in such wildernesses the nature and space will send theirs blessing upon the eyes of a soul, unbound to the self-made prisons. However, it was getting pretty late, and the road was still pretty long for Clovis, so he just tried to memorize this view in his head, before going to sleep.

The rest of the way to the Witchen wasn't full of any remarkable situations. After arriving to the town, and bidding farewell to an old wolf, Clovis was met with another problem - crossing the border to the Tiger Lands. It was possible to do it only by two ways. But, taking the "Via "Trappers" outpost" option was impossible. It was located south of Edinmire, and, for obvious reasons, Clovis couldn't be even near that village. And so, only one option remained for him - to cross the border via mountains. There was no roads, decent enough for horses to go through, so he had to carry all of his items himself.
However, this wasn't the biggest challenge for a half-breed. What Clovis did underestimated was a sheer power of mountains. There temperatures were becoming lower and lower the higher he went. The air pressure was lowering too. Clovis had lost count of how many times he felt sick there, and vomited. What was worse, is that every night they started to return to him during nights - and once again hybrid felt this freezing embraces, once again he heard the stories of suffering and final days of souls, who had no name or a face. His thoughts were once again focused on a windmill - was it moving now, when the estate was owned by someone else? Or was it like a monolith, statically standing there, never changing it's direction? From that point he barely remembers anything - everything felt like a fever dream to a keidran. The clarity had visited Clovis once more, when he found himself in some old house in the middle of a forest. At first he thought, that this was a fever dream in his dying mind, so he quickly went outside. Clovis sat on a stump nearby the house, and waited for some time. Seemed like no spirit was visiting him, so it looked like it was a reality. His thoughts, however, quickly changed to a more pragmatic subjects, primarily to the fact, that half-breed was hungry. Right after standing up, Clovis was met by a two tigers. "Oh, looks like you're awake already. Thank gods, we've been worried, you know?" - said female looking one. "You've been in some delusional dreams for around two days now." Hybrid then asked whether it was something about the long dead ones, and surprisingly, it wasn't. The couple told him, that Clovis sometimes talked with somebody, than seed to become incredibly angry, to the point where, if he wouldn't have been put to sleep immediately upon arriving, gods know what could've happen - he seemed to curse someone, turn from side to side, even roar and scream sometimes. After that he seemed to be a lot calmer, and when he raised his voice it seemed a lot more distraught; he seemed to also speak someone's names, primarily "Brutus", "Gregory" and "Amanda". Clovis didn't remembered anything from those dreams, but upon hearing what names he spoke in his fever it was decided, that he wouldn't have told anything anyways.

After having a nice breakfast with a couple, they had told Clovis how did he even get here in the first place. Turned out that the male tiger, that was a woodsman of this forest, found hybrid during the night, when he decided to inspect the noises outside of his cabin, that resembled the actual voice. Whenever you hear some voices in the woods, shouting some weird things, such as "Not so strong and almighty now, huh!?", shortly followed by "Stop looking at me as if I'm some feral beast!" - it's seems pretty logical to get up, and wash your face with a water. And yet, after couple did that, the incoherent screaming haven't died out. The older tiger decided to check what, in the name of gods, is happening there. The keidran was not a coward in any way, but still, out of fear he even forgotten to take mana crystals, and only took axe with him. The tiger went a little bit further into the woods. There, due to tiger's good sight, which was a usual trait, he saw Clovis first - his fur was dirty and soaked, his eyes and limbs were twitching, and his mouth seemed like it was speaking some numb curses. "Uh, hello sir, do you need some help?" - said tiger. Clovis immediately shook with all his body, and lit up a small fireball - he saw the other keidran watching him. Hybrid then made a direct eye contact, and stopped blinking altogether, his muscles tensed. The same happened to the tiger. Like an experienced hunters, that, technically, they both were, two keidrans playing a mind game of predicting eachother's next move, whilst simultaneously thinking of possible ways of neutralizing one another. But the fact that Clovis was outnumbered had decided his fate: the tigress, who was watching the scene, did not simply cowardly waited for the outcome, but took a bow, and one arrow, covered in a sedative, powerful enough to bring anyone Clovis's size, but not strong enough to cause lethal damage. After all, if that would've been someone who's target was to rob the house, or do any other harm - that person wouldn't have been blowing his cover. Although, the anxiety caused by this encounter did affected the tigress - otherwise, she would've probably tried to shoot somewhere in the leg, instead of a chest. Clovis backed up a little bit because of the arrow, that hit him. The shock of someone shooting frozen him in one place, and so he didn't tried to take it out. Around 15 seconds later he started to feel light-headed. The voices were dying out, and the sounds of some birds started to become louder it a heron? Or a crane? The sound was lower than usual, so must've been something with long legs - maybe even flamingos! But why are they pink? As if theirs skin was ripped off! As if they were boiled alive! And now, they want the revenge!...

In the end, Clovis tripped over the log, that was right behind him, and all of his strength had finally left him. The pair then looked around the forest to find a potential camp of this strange individual, and they actually managed to find it around a mile north from the place of such an unusual encounter. The couple decided to bring this feller inside for a rest, and then talk with him, if he'll either regain sanity himself, or with the help of sedative. In case Clovis would've decided to pull out some unexpected move, the tigers also put away his weapons and mana crystals, and took some weapons themselves - after all, he was a skillful magician, but in terms of physical strength he didn't had much chances against two tigers, who were several heads higher than him. But, as it was already told, for several days, a fever took hybrid in it's powerful hands. Some time later, the couple had to leave the house for some small amount of time for some reason, that they didn't told the half-breed, and exactly at that time he finally woken up.
In return, Clovis himself told his story, or to be correct, the story of a trader by the name of Tacitus Kilgore, who came to this place from far-off wolven city called Maer Mawr to explore the land, and local markets, if possibly. On the question "How did you get in this woods, and in such horrible shape?" Clovis only answered, that he got sick in the mountains, and then he barely remembered anything else – talking about trespassing the border with strangers is not the most reasonable thing to do, after all.
After a dinner at the forest house Clovis asked whether there are any villages nearby. The couple answered, that there is one - a village called Haivalöx, around ten miles from here, and that they'll help him to find a way there tomorrow, but for the meantime hybrid should stay for a night. Clovis didn't had any problems with this.
After staying for the night, the couple helped then hybrid to get to Haivalöx. There he stayed at the local tavern, and started doing nothing but drinking, his new lifestyle of moral decay, although the morality of half-breed was pretty arguable aspect, depending on a point of view. A month later he had met with the tiger family, and now, he was catching the fish - a process he had learnt and grew to love many years back.
The morning ocean breeze was flowing in Clovis's face, sending shivers down his spine. How good it was to went fishing alone early in the morning. The clouds swarmed the skies - there wasn't a single breach, where the sun could've shined upon this wet, cold lands. It was almost impossible to see the actual sunrise - and this days didn't brought any wonders with it. But there was just something majestic in this dark, maybe even grimly looking lands. The sea seemed like a deep blue abyss, ready to swallow whole anyone courageous enough to try and conquer it. Some speculated, that Foxlands were this way because of an ancient curse. As a legend says, that and old king gave two of his sons half of the kingdom each, and on his deathbed he wished that they had ruled those lands peacefully. Unfortunately, the older brother killed the younger one, but when dying, the younger son cursed his older sibling, and many believe, that such weather conditions on Foxlands are the result of this rivalry. And who knows, maybe they're right? It's hard to explain otherwise why the overcasts, rains, cold southwest and northern winds loved this place that much. And yet, it was such a welcomed place in a heart of a half-breed. His hair and fur was a wet mess, and yet he would've never traded this place for any other. This smell of... freshly baked pie. Pie! Grandma wanted to make it today, didn't she? Well, looks like it's time to wrap everything up, and go to grandparents home! If only every parent was like the one, that Amelia was...
The hills, full of fog and green grass were almost the only thing, that was in hybrid's eyesight, and the thought of warm house, and a good people, waiting there, was the only thing in his mind. Huh, it's even possible to hear how grandma Claire is calling! "Sweetheart, come on, go back faster! You'll get a fever because of such a bad winds! Mister, are you alright? Mr. Kilgore!"
"...What?"
- Mr. Kilgore, are you alright?
Suddenly, everything that he just saw was gone. The foggy green hills changed with a view of giant lake and forest. Clovis also felt, as somebody was tapping n his shoulder. Half-breed immediately turned to see who was doing it - and he saw a face of already familiar tiger.
"...Oh...Yeah...Exactly.."
- Mr. Kilgore, you've seemed to zone out. Is everything alright? - Bradley raised an eyebrow. Hybrid's ears had flopped, and his gaze, that earlier was motionlessly staring at some place only he knew existed, now changed on a lot more jaded and tired one.
- Yeah...Sure.. - replied Clovis. - Anyways, can you please tell what you were saying back then once again?
- Right..So, uhh... As I was saying, catching pike is sometimes unbelievably hard thing! That beast is just wild, Tacitus!...
"Back to the land of mediocrity..."
Clovis quietly sighed, and looked once again at the lake - the skies seemed to get slowly darker and darker. Seemed like the rain was slowly approaching.