Chapter 3

The mid-afternoon sun beamed down on Ed and Al as they trekked across town and into the forest surrounding the village. The heat combined with the humidity of the woods made travel uncomfortable, but that thought hadn't even crossed their minds as they remained resolute on pursuing their missing friend. They didn't know exactly what they were looking for, but the general store manager made it seem as though the mercenary camp wasn't too far outside of town, and it was their hope that a brute force search would be enough. And that was good because time was of the essence. Winry had been captured at least a few hours ago, and that was more than enough time for the unthinkable to happen. And every wasted second made that unbearable scenario even more likely.

The search, however, turned out to be harder than they had optimistically imagined. The forest was thick with shrubs and vegetation, making travel slightly more difficult. Surrounded by green foliage, there weren't many indisputably-unique waypoints in the woods, which made navigation damn near impossible. Though Ed tried to walk in a calculated manner, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were walking around in circles and getting nowhere.

What was even more strange than their fruitless efforts to locate the camp thus far was the lack of retaliation from the mercenaries themselves. Ed had trekked into these woods under the impression that they would be ambushed, for the man at the general store said that the mercenaries killed anyone who tried to flee town. But, even so, Ed and Al had yet to be attacked on their journey. Ed remained on his guard for the inevitable attack, often jumping in caution at the most mundane of sounds such as a bird chipping or a small animal rustling nearby leaves, but that attack never came. Surely the mercenaries have realized by now that he and Al had traveled well beyond the city limits, right? They were obviously very competent if they've been able to paralyze an entire town in complete fear for so long. So where was the ambush?

The more Ed thought about this entire situation, the less it made sense. But he still pursued on, housing a grim look of determination on his face. He hadn't said a word to Al since they left town, and out of either respect or fear, Al hadn't said anything either. But that was for the better. Ed grew more and more focused as time passed, so much so that he probably couldn't hold a coherent conversation even if he tried. Everything about his entire being was wrapped around trying to get Winry back, nothing else could keep even a sliver of his attention. Perhaps Al had noticed this himself and chose not to bother his brother. Or maybe Al felt the same way. Whatever the case for Al's silence, Ed knew he had to stay confident, now more than ever. For Al's sake and for Winry's sake. But if he was being honest with himself, his displayed determination was simply a guise of his rapidly-increasing concern.

After about an hour of careful search, Ed found a large clearing void of trees and plants. They were still in the woods, but no trees grew here, leaving a large, unshaded area which would be perfect for housing dozens of mercenaries. And looking around, Ed was relieved to see that this place was obviously the mercenaries' camp. Or what was left of it, at least.

"What happened here?" Al asked quietly to himself as he stared in shock out over the field in front of them.

It was the camp all right. There were dozens of tents set up in the middle of the clearing, a clear sign that a bunch of people called this place home at some point. But there wasn't a single mercenary in sight now. It simply looked abandoned. All life was gone, and in it's place was nothing but an ominous feeling of uncertainty and dozens of unanswerable questions.

Ed stepped forward and carefully looked around the camp. There were many tents scattered around and most of them were upright but none of them were in good condition – most were damp from rain or had holes in them. There were remnants of a few campfires scattered around, but the wood in them was either burnt or waterlogged. They obviously hadn't been on fire in quite some time. There was a single, larger tent set up in the middle of the camp which seemed to be used as a command station, but there were no files or reports inside, just a single, bare table which gave no indication of what had happened to the camp. A single weapon shed was next to the command station, and all of its weapons were corroded or just in bad condition. The dirt pathways that connected the encampment together were bare, signifying that nobody had walked those paths in quite some time. And, looking very carefully, there were several small, dark red stains on some of the nearby tents and such, which could only be blood.

"Impossible..." Ed muttered, in disbelief.

"This place has been abandoned, Ed." Al said quietly. "A while ago, too, by the looks of it."

"This doesn't make any sense." Ed said, hardly louder than a whisper, gazing across the scene and hoping that there was something he had missed on the first examination. This had to be the mercenaries' camp, that much was certain. The weapons and the command tent proved that much. But where were the mercenaries?

"Do you think that general store manager lied to us?" Al asked.

"Why would he lie?" Ed said with a frown. "No, he told us the truth. Or, at least, what he thought was the truth."

Ed bent down and picked up a charred fire log that was resting in a extinguished campfire. "This place was abandoned over two or three weeks ago, maybe even longer than that." Ed said, tossing the log back into the pile. "There's no way Winry was ever here."

"But that's a good thing, right?" Al said. "Maybe somebody drove them off and the town just doesn't realize it yet."

"Maybe." Ed said with a nod. "But that doesn't explain why Winry was kidnapped, nor does it tell us where she is now."

"Yeah, you're right." Al nodded. "Maybe they just relocated their camp somewhere else. Or it could just be coincidence."

"I'm not so sure." Ed replied, his mind full of thought.

"What are you thinking, brother?" Al asked.

"Remember what that man said, Al?" Ed asked, a sudden thought coming to him. "About the citizens of that town having to pay gold to the mercenaries under threat of death? It sounded as if that is still going on."

Al's suit of armor tensed up as he realized what Ed was implying. "Yeah, it's a little strange for a band of mercenaries that has disbanded to continue collecting their tributes." Al agreed.

"Exactly." Ed nodded. "So who's collecting these payments now?"

"We could hide during an exchange and follow the collector back to his base?" Al suggested.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing." Ed replied.

Ed didn't waste any more time as he broke into a run out of the camp with the intention of making it back to town before dark. They had spent a lot of time in the forest with not much to show for it so far, but there was something very suspicious going on here, and they were getting close to the truth.

Ed wasn't sure whether Al noticed (and if he hadn't, Ed had no intention of telling him), but there were clearly signs of a fight back in the mercenary camp. Dried-out splotches of blood were scattered throughout the camp, but it was unclear how those stains got there. Could it be fighting amongst themselves which caused the mercenaries to disband? Or did some outside influence drive them off? It would have been easier to answer that question had there been any remains of the fight in the camp, but there wasn't a single body to be found, dead or alive. That fact that there were no bodies was actually quite worrisome to Ed, but it wasn't all that strange. Any honorable fighter would allow his enemies a chance to bury their dead. Or, maybe he was just getting ahead of himself. The possibility remained that the mercenaries were still around and they were just all out traveling somewhere or had relocated, as unlikely of a coincidence as that may be. Either way, it seemed the best way to answer this question would be to follow the collector to his base.

The Elric brothers arrived back in town after a twenty-minute dash back through the outskirts of the forest. They raced through the streets back to the general store that had been to just a few hours ago, where they quickly opened the door and slipped inside.

"Oh, hello, you two." The same man as before said when they entered the store. "Did you have any luck?"

Ed ignored the question. "Sir, you say you have to pay these mercenaries in gold every day." Ed said, his voice wavering due to being exhausted. "How do these exchanges take place?"

If the man was startled by the unusual question, he didn't show it. "Well, there's a small mining cart we fill up with the specified amount, and we wheel it out to the south entrance to town at night." He replied. "Somebody from the mercenaries comes and takes its contents, bringing back the empty cart in the morning. Why, are you boys onto something?"

Again, the man's question is ignored. "Ed, we may still have some time to catch it tonight!" Al said excitedly. Outside, the sun was beginning to set under the horizon. It would be close, but perhaps there was still time to make it tonight.

"Thank you, sir." Ed said quickly, bowing ever-so-slightly. And, as quickly as he arrived, Ed was rushing out the front door once again without a backwards glance. He didn't even stop to hear the old man's reply.

The two of them ran across town again and arrived at the south gate to town just in time to see a citizen pushing out a mining cart and leaving it in the middle of the road. He must have been very confident that it wouldn't be stolen, for he immediately turned his back and left the cart there unattended. This town must have seen so much hardship that no one would dare messing with the mercenaries' offering now.

"Let's hide." Al said quietly.

"Right." Ed said with a nod. Together, they crept along and found a nice, shadowy spot between two houses that gave them a perfect view of the cart, which was lit up by a nearby street lamp.

They waited for about an hour in silence, to no avail. Nobody had come to claim the offering yet, and there hadn't been any activity at all. It had become darker and it was hard to see farther than a couple feet ahead of him, but Ed continued to wait. He focused his attention on the cart because it was the only thing he could see clearly – the street lamp acted as a spotlight, lighting up the cart and drowning the surroundings in darkness. But as time went on, Ed's confidence began waning. Perhaps whoever was behind this had caught onto them and took precautions, for there didn't seem to be anything happening.

"Ed?" Al asked, stirring Ed from his thoughts.

"What is it, Al?" Ed whispered back, not wanting to give away their position with his voice if there was somebody nearby. Clearly, this extended wait didn't only put Ed on edge, but Al as well. Al's voice was shaky, and was filled with worry.

"I hope Winry's okay." Al said quietly.

"She'll be fine." Ed said calmly, trying to feign confidence for both his brother and himself. "We're getting close to solving this, don't lose hope now."

"But what if we're too late?" Al asked.

That was a question that Ed didn't want to think about. "Focus, Al." Ed replied. "We're going to get her back. You'll see."

Al wasn't convinced but he said nothing more. Ed honestly wasn't convinced either but his entire being was focused on finding whoever was responsible and exacting swift justice upon them - mostly because thinking about Winry herself was just too painful. It was easier to imagine a situation in which she was alright rather than accept the possibility that he may never see her again.

After what could have been a few more minutes or a few more hours, the silhouette of a man had finally showed up at the cart. Upon seeing this figure, Ed's figure lit up with a new sense of resolve, and he carefully watched the man and took care to remain extremely still. Even Al, whose metal body was prone to making a lot of noise at even the slightest of motions, somehow managed to stay completely silent. The man stopped in front of the cart to check its contents, and when he was satisfied, he started dragging the cart with him out of the village and down the road.

"After him, hurry!" Ed whispered hectically, but that was unnecessary as Al was ready to pounce as well. The two of them bounded after their target, taking care to stay out of the light of the street lamp as they passed out of the town. The man was traveling down a fork in the road which headed into the depths of the forest. They kept a good distance to avoid being spotted by the man but as soon as he entered the woods, he was consumed by the darkness. They were too far away, they couldn't see him anymore.

"Let's go." Ed said angrily, and starting walking determinedly towards the woods.

"But, brother, are you sure..." Al started to say, but Ed cut him off.

"Come on, Al!" Ed implored. "We've come too far to give up now."

"A-alright." Al conceded, and together, they walked blindly into the mouth of the woods. After only a couple steps into the woods, the darkness had consumed them as well, and they had to walk very slowly to avoid tripping on anything that may be lying around their feet. "I can't see a thing! Brother, let's turn back, we can come back in the morning-"

"No!" Ed said forcefully, his emotions momentarily getting the best of him. He immediately recognized the error in his judgement for he toned his voice down to a whisper before adding, "Look there."

Ed pointed his hand out towards something in the distance but in the darkness, Al couldn't even see where his brother's hand was, much less follow it to whatever he was pointing at. However, he didn't need to know where Ed was pointing to realize what it was that Ed had discovered. "A light..." Al said carefully, spotting a tiny speck of light coming from something far in front of them. It was hard to tell exactly how far away it was but it was at least a couple hundred meters. It appeared to be some kind of lamp, fixated to something that could not be seen due to their far proximity from the light.

"That has to be where he's heading." Ed said quietly. Without another word, Ed led the way towards the light, and Al offered no more words of hesitation. Ed's stride quickened in his desperation and as a result, he tripped a few times over lumps in the unpaved dirt road. But that didn't stop him. They got closer and closer to the light, until they were close enough to see that it was indeed a lamp, which was attached to the wall of an old, rundown house. The light from the lamp was dim but it was enough for them to see that the house was a small, two-story building and was slowly being consumed by nature. The entire wall on the right side was covered in vines, as was much of the roof.

Ed spotted the mining cart sitting just in front of the front door to the house. "This place looks abandoned, but the man came here, alright. Here's his cart." Ed said quietly. "Its still full with the offering. He must have been in a rush, maybe he noticed us following him. Be on your guard."

"Right." Al nodded.

Ed walked up to the lamp and carefully removed it from its bearing. It was the only source of light in sight, and it didn't seem likely that the inside of the house would be well-lit either. With this light source in hand, Ed turned to the front door and began to open it. The hinges squeaked as he pushed the door wide open, and Ed cringed, fearing that the noise would be enough to give them away. But nothing jumped out to attack them, so Ed slowly took a step into the house.

Once inside, Ed lifted his arm over his head in order to better light up the foyer of the house. Given the state of the outside of the house, the inside was in relatively good condition. Apart from a dense accumulation of dust, there was nothing out of place about the foyer of the house. It was a small room, with a door which led to a kitchen area and a staircase which opened to a bedroom. Some of the decorations scattered around the room looked to be somewhat modern. There wasn't anything strange about the interior of the house, but the man they had been following was nowhere in sight.

Ed and Al carefully searched the rest of the house, but they still couldn't find him. The kitchen was empty and looked as though it hadn't been used in weeks, and the washroom was equally undisturbed. The bedroom, however, did show recent signs of use, as it was quite obvious that someone was making use of the bed. That person wasn't there when Ed and Al checked, though, and the bedroom was just as lifeless as the rest of the house.

Ed was ready to turn around and double-check the rest of the house since it was quite obvious nobody was here, but Al stopped him. "Brother." He said. "Take a look at this."

In Al's metal hands was a picture frame, and Ed curiously took it from him. He held it under his lamp light and saw that it was a picture of a young couple, not too much older than himself. They were happily smiling and holding each other. "Blonde hair..." Ed said quietly, realizing what Al saw in the picture. The girl was young and pretty, and had long, blonde hair. At a glance, she almost looked like Winry.

"Do you think she was one of the victims?" Al asked as Ed carefully put the picture frame back on the nightstand next to the bed.

"Seems likely." Ed replied with a nod.

"She must have lived here." Al said. "And once she was out of the way, the house was repurposed for the mercenaries or whoever is behind this."

"Repurposed into what?" Ed asked with a frown. "It's still looks like just a house to me."

"There must be something we're missing." Al replied. "That man didn't just disappear. Let's keep looking."

Ed nodded, then bounded back down the stairs in the hopes of stumbling upon something he had missed the first time around. But even after checking the entire house a second time, he didn't see anything that looked out of place. But Al had keener nighttime vision than Ed did, and he soon found something that looked suspicious. "Ed, come here." He said quietly.

Ed walked over to where to where his brother stood, which was behind the staircase on the ground floor. Al pointed at the wall underneath the staircase, and when Ed looked at it closely, he could clearly see the rigid remains of unrefined alchemy. The wall was a fake, created by alchemy. The man they were tailing must have done this to cover his escape, meaning he was an alchemist himself. Judging by the state of this fake wall though, he was still just an amateur. Or, perhaps, he was just in a rush.

"This must be it." Ed said quietly. He clapped his hands together and placed them on the wall, creating an opening with his alchemy. Behind the fake wall was a staircase that went down into an unseen basement. Ed looked at Al for a moment, then turned and headed down the newly-discovered staircase. The stairs went down fairly deep and at the end, there was a solid metal door.

"Well, this is it." Ed muttered, then gave the metal door a mighty push.

Before the door had even fully opened, a voice called out from somewhere beyond the door, "I was wondering if you were going to show up."