Over the course of the day, Draul led his companions to patrol around Sandpoint. Given that Sandpoint was a small town, word was starting to get around that Sheriff Hemlock left for Magnimar for help, with more rumors spreading when Shalelu left during the morning without a word. Although he could see that the townsfolk were worried earlier in the day, that changed throughout the day when they saw the heroes that fought against the goblins were vigilant in keeping Sandpoint safe. The citizens waved toward the adventurers and Draul was starting to remember the people that came up to the group that could talk to them. When all was said and done, he was glad to see that his presence was reassuring the people of Sandpoint.

The rest of his companions were getting along with the people well enough although Draul thought that some of them could take their patrols more seriously. He thought that Mariel's experience over the others would come in handy but she took several long breaks even when it appeared she wasn't exhausted. Draul was starting to realize that the wizard preferred leisurely work over being active and had to go out of his way to force her to stick with the group at times. Draul had high hopes for Razvan when he offered to split up to cover more ground, but after the paladin found him behind the general store with a redhead woman, he felt it best to keep him on a short leash.

At the very least, Draul knew he could trust Kennick to be vigilant, and although he wasn't too keen on Corita singing and playing with her lute while on patrol, the way she was able to keep morale up in Sandpoint made up for her lack of attention for threats. There weren't any problems to address throughout their patrol but it was good to be active and see more of Sandpoint. By now, Draul had a good idea of where everything was in town. While part of him did want to do something more than patrol, he was glad that Sandpoint was safe.

It was only at the end of the day when the sun was starting to set that they saw the first sign something was wrong. A middle-aged woman rushed toward the group, holding an infant covered in a white cloth in one hand while keeping a young boy close to her with the other. The woman's face was covered in tears and her son looked to be incredibly frightened. Draul frowned and stepped forward, leading his companions to meet the distressed mother.

"Heroes, please, I need your help," the mother called out. "We thought that Aeren was only having nightmares, but after we heard our dog cry out and then… well, see for yourselves!"

The woman pulled her son to the group and showed his arms. The adventurers gasped to see the young boy's arms were covered in fresh bite marks.

"There's a monster in my closet," Aeren, the young boy, said with a whimper.

"How terrible!" Corita exclaimed in horror.

"Guess we have to deal with the monster," Razvan nodded in agreement.

"You have to hurry," the mother told the adventurers. "After we found Petal, our dog, dead, Alergast stayed behind to kill whatever's in our home while I got our children and ran off."

"Lead the way," Draul said.

The woman ran as quickly as she could to her home with the adventurers following right behind her. She quickly explained where to find Aerin's room in her home (along with frantically telling them that her name was Amele) with Aerin quietly claiming that the monster was a goblin like he saw during the recent attack. The bite marks did look like they could belong to a goblin and it was possible that one may have escaped into the family's home after the attack failed. If that was indeed the case, it was important that they make it to find Alergast before the unthinkable happened.

Amele stayed outside of the small home while Draul led the others inside. After making their way through a hallway, they came into Aerin's bedroom, which was eerily silent. Draul turned away from the corpse of Petal, a small dog that was on the ground by the foot of the bed with blood coming from his head. It took only a second for the group to find the closet and saw a man on his belly as if he was climbing into the closet. His legs were out for the adventurers to see but his body from the torso up was covered by a hole in the closet.

Draul noted grimly that Alergast wasn't moving.

"Is he…" Corita whispered and grew pale.

"Damn," Razvan cursed under his breath. "The goblin got him already."

"It must be hiding in the hole," Mariel commented, taking the situation she was in with nothing more than a frown.

"You're right," Drauul said quietly. "Kennick, give me a hand."

Kennick nodded with his expression grim. He remained silent and grabbed one of Alergast's legs while Draul grabbed the other leg. Together, they pulled him out of the hole in the closet to find that he was very much dead. Corita and Razvan looked in horror at the sight with Alergast's face and chest a bloody mess covered in teeth marks. Even Kennick turned away, his face turning green at the sight. Draul frowned, and although he had seen his fair share of corpses and wasn't too taken aback, he knew it was difficult for the others to have seen what happened to Alergast. Mariel remained calm while Corita, Razvan, and Kennick backed away from the body. Draul grabbed a blanket from Aerin's bed to cover the corpse to spare his companions the pain the sight brought them.

Before they could talk about what to do next, a shrill shriek came from the hole. The adventurers remembered the warning of what Aerin said was in his closet and reached for their weapons. They armed themselves in time for the goblin to lunge out of the hole, his mouth covered in dark blood. The blade the goblin wielded was broken in half but the monster swung out madly with Kennick barely avoiding the attack.

There were five adventurers and one goblin so the battle went remarkably quick. Draul quickly realized that the trio he offered to train were panicking with the memory of Alergast's fate fresh in their mind. It was difficult for them to make their attacks while they couldn't stop their hands from shaking. Corita and Kennick struck the ground by the goblin and Razvan couldn't land either of his daggers against his foe. Mariel blasted the goblin with a missile of magical energy and Draul muttered a quick prayer to the Dawnflower. While there were times he would be merciful, this was not one of those times. His greatclub, glowing with a gold-and-red light, crushed the goblin's skull to end his life.

There were a few seconds of silence with the only sounds being the quickened breathing of Corita, Razvan, and Kennick. Draul turned to the trio, keeping his composure along with Mariel despite what happened. The goblin was dead but there was still much work that they had to do. Work that Draul could spare his companions if only because he knew that they needed a break to unwind.

"Head back to the Rusty Dragon," Draul told the trio. "I can handle it from here."

Silently, the three adventurers made their way out of the room. Razvan was the first to leave with Corita following behind him. Kennick kept his head down and was the last to leave. Mariel crossed her arms, and based on the look she gave him, Draul could tell that she was going to stick with him rather than go back to the Rusty Dragon. Slowly, he led the way outside the home to start the grim part that came with their work.

Time went by in a blur in Draul's mind. He could recall Amele's relief over the goblin's death shattered when he told her that Alergast was killed by the goblin. He and Mariel led her and her children to the Sandpoint Cathedral to avoid having them stay in the house so soon after the tragedy. Once Father Zantus learned about what happened, he agreed to take Amele and her family as guests in the cathedral and would take care of Alergast's family. By the time Draul and Mariel had stepped outside of the Sandpoint Cathedral, the sun had set and it was dark outside. Draul sighed and looked down to the ground, thinking over how he should have done a more thorough job searching for goblins after their raid.

"There was nothing that we could have done," Mariel told Draul, crossing her arms. "As blunt as it may be, he died when he tried to go after the goblin on his own."

"I know," Draul admitted with a sigh. "It doesn't make it any more easy for the others though."

"I suppose so," Mariel nodded in agreement. "At least they can count on you to remain composed after what happened."

Draul turned to look at Mariel. "As did you. I mean no offense when I say that was a surprise to me."

"I had already pictured a more horrifying scene in my head, so seeing something less terrible wasn't too bad," Mariel explained matter-of-factly. "Perhaps I should have said something before we went in. With what we knew going in, we should have known what to expect, but it feels like you and I were the only one ready."

"To be honest, I was hoping for the best. What am I going to tell the others?"

"You can tell them the truth. A lot of people think adventuring is a grand story where the hero saves the day at the end but that's a fantasy found in books. I may not be as experienced as you when it comes to adventuring but I know that it is a violent and grim job. When it comes to killing our enemies, we don't think twice, but sometimes, we see the horrors of what they are capable of, the reason why they are enemies."

"Well said," Draul said quietly with a nod. "I only wish there was more I could do to prepare them for the horrific side of adventuring."

"Only experience can harden them for what is to come," Mariel told Draul. "As long as you're there for them and stay by their side, you're already doing all you can for them."

"I'm thankful for your advice," Draul said with a faint smile. "And I'd like to apologize for my behavior the other night. Just because I don't believe in the theory you came up with doesn't mean I should have dismissed it so soon."

"Apology accepted," Mariel said with a shrug. "Just keep an open mind if I manage to find evidence on what happened to Ezakien's remains."

"Of course. It's getting late. We should head to the Rusty Dragon."

"Lead the way."

Draul led the way back to the Rusty Dragon with Mariel following behind them. His thoughts were still heavy over what happened during the night. He had seen many horrifying sights before he became a paladin but it never made seeing something more terrible any easier. Draul knew that he would struggle to sleep tonight and likely for the next few nights. It wouldn't surprise him if the more inexperienced of the group couldn't sleep at all after what happened.

When Draul opened the door to the Rusty Dragon, he spotted Corita, Razvan, and Kennick seated next to one another at the bar. There were three empty mugs in front of Kennick and Corita leaned her head against Razvan, who kept his gaze at the bar counter. Draul had hoped that Ameiko would have tried cheering them up but he didn't see any sign of her. He didn't know any words that he could say to help them after what happened and didn't think it was his place to force such a conversation upon them.

As Mariel said, the best thing Draul could do was to be there for them. He stepped forward to sit next to Kennick, and much to his surprise, Mariel took a seat next to Corita despite hiding back a yawn. The large mercenary turned to look at the paladin with sorrowful eyes before turning back to wait for his next drink. The five stayed together during the night with little said between them. Although no one suggested the idea, Draul recalled that when it came time to return to their respective rooms, they all left without a word said to leave the day behind them.

A/N: So, funny story, but I actually finished this chapter yesterday and forgot to update Burnt Offerings with it. It's a habit that I've been noticing recently that I'm trying to get out of.

Until next time.