205 Castel's Crush

Aži played with one of his mice from his mouse farm. He scratched behind its white ear and ran a claw gently along its delicate spine. The soft fur parted from his pointed talon and he admired how frail their bodies felt when he held them. The white mouse had a small nick at the edge of its left ear that he fiddled with.

As it tried to run away from him, he would grab it by its tail and bring it back. Today he decided to name this one Tik-Tik.

The heavy chestnut door to his room opened and Tyr stepped in wearing his black armor. He tied his dark brown hair into a high ponytail and his long bangs draped to the side of his face.

His harsh voice announced, "Time to head out. Macha prepared a few more of those mice for you. She said to tell you they're in the fridge. Meet me in the courtyard when you're ready."

Aži heard the front door closing and flicked his tail. Today he did not feel like doing anything and just wanted to lie about. He gave a small snort and a dark puff of smoke rose out of his nostrils. His long tongue licked Tik-Tik, the papillae on his tongue lifted the mouse's white fur, pushing it up.

He lamented at having to leave his precious farm for a few weeks. Gingerly putting Tik-Tik back in the case which covered one of his walls, he purred to sooth his pets. His scaly claw raised, and he tapped the clear glass to tell them goodbye.

Before leaving, he strapped on his belly pack that Macha gifted him and double checked to ensure there was enough food in the dispenser for his mice. These were all amazing items which she commissioned for him and he appreciated how innovative her ideas were. The daily food machine was such a good idea that the guild's pet shop made a deal with her and began selling the dispensers to the public.

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The village of Alvier that Macha's group needed to assist, was situated on a mountain. This mountain had been carved so there were flat terraces where the various grains could be grown. The village housing stood at the bottom of the mountain. As they looked up, they could see the complex of stone and mud walls that carefully fashioned into the natural contours of the mountain's landscape.

"Woah," Macha breathed, amazed at the beautiful sight.

In this area, spring came much quicker than in Marseille. The green grass already created a lush carpet on the ground and the patches of grain were beginning to grow in the fields.

The elevation was higher here and a low cloud rolled past them. Macha reached out and swirled her hand around in the fog. It felt chilly and moist. As it passed through the party, fabric from their clothes became damp from the moisture that was trapped in the mist. Tiny droplets of water clung to their skin and the cold breeze cooled it.

Castel sneezed. "I hope it isn't common for clouds to pass through the village. If so, I should have packed warmer clothes," he said as he rubbed his nose.

They reached the edge of the barrier and waited. A strong magical field stopped them from entering. A little while later, a woman came running down the pathway towards them. She wore a brown and white striped wool dress with medium length bell sleeves. It was tied at the waist and her light-brown hair swayed as she made her way to them.

Giving a friendly smile, she sounded winded when she greeted them, "Welcome! I am Nuria, the village elder. Are you here to solve the aswang problem we have?"

Macha looked at the woman with surprise. Although she was the village elder, she looked to be more like someone Tyr's age. When she heard they had an elder, she immediately thought the person would be older looking like Bartosz or Hrod's butler.

Zain nodded his head, and the group made their introductions.

Castel cheeks turned a deep shade of pink while he introduced himself. He thought the woman was beautiful and had a difficult time acting indifferent.

"While you are here, I would appreciate if you kept the investigation a secret. As you can tell, we are a small village. Many of the people here love each other, but we do have some long-standing feuds. I do not want the search to cause bad relations among our people." Nuria scratched her head, "I suppose we can say that you are visiting on the King's behalf. Maybe we can go with the idea that you are thinking of joining our village. Is that okay?"

The idea did not seem like a bad one. If the families trusted them, it could make it easier to get information from everyone.

Zian replied, "I think we're all fine with that story. Right?" he turned to the group.

Macha stepped forward, "But don't they already sense something is wrong because of the barrier?"

"We all know something is going on. I told them it is put up, for now, to make sure the thing outside does not come in. I did not tell them that I have suspicions of the creature being inside the village."

No one else objected, so Zian continued, "Where will we be staying?"

Nuria brought down the ward and everyone hurried inside. After the party passed the walls, she reactivated the seal.

"You may stay with me. I own the largest house since I have officials live with me when they visit. For now, the village is on lock-down and no one can leave or enter unless I allow it. The spell will only last for two more weeks so we need to find the aswang by then. If not, it might escape."

As the group followed Nuria through the village, they passed by the villagers. Most of the people were in the fields above, so the streets were empty. Most of the homes had high pointed thatched roofs. Their white walls had colorful flowers painted on along the windows. The shutters were all opened, which gave the homes a warm inviting look.

Nuria's house looked similar to the other homes in the front but had an added portion in the rear that was made of stone. She opened the unlocked door and invited them inside.

Inside her home was bare. She did not own many things and everything seemed to be for necessity only. The team followed her through the house, towards the back. Compared to the rest of her home, she filled the guest rooms with paintings and throws. It appeared as if she spent all of her efforts decorating and maintaining the guest chambers.

"Everyone should be back from the fields in a few hours. Until then, why don't you relax and freshen up. If any of you want, I have time to explain the details of what happened," Nuria offered.

No one was tired, so they all agreed to meet downstairs in a few minutes. They wanted to find out as much information as possible before they started their hunt.

Everyone gathered around the fireplace. It was not cold, so it remained unlit. Nuria set a large pitcher of tea on a side table and took a seat on a wooden stool. "Please, ask me anything you need," she said, trying to be helpful.

"How do you know it's an aswang?" asked Macha. There were many types of creatures in the world, so she wanted to uncover how they could be so sure.

Nuria took a deep breath and exhaled. "I am not positive. I think it might be, but I am not sure. The two victims were both children, which aswangs like. We also know that aswangs have been reported around the area before."

Castel fiddled with his thumbs, "Do you know where the children went missing?" He stole a glance at the village leader. Her tan skin was smooth and gave her a healthy appearance.

The way he glanced at her, caused Nuria to blush. "Oh, yeah. I can show you if you want," she said with a shy smile. It had been a long time since a man looked at her the way he did.

The other members in the group noticed that Castel was acting strangely.

Turning to the others, he suggested, "Um, if you guys want I can go with Nuria to check out the locations and you guys can take a look around the village." While he wanted to find the monster, he also wanted to get to know her more if he could.

A smile crept along Aeson's face. "Sure thing bud. I like that idea, we can do that."

He had never seen his muscular friend warm up to a woman like this before. Castel was generally a little more serious and reserved. Due to his modest nature, he rarely bothered pursuing women. Aeson always thought his colleague was more of a look, but not touch sort of fellow.

After a few more questions, the group decided to split up into pairs: Castel and Nuria, Aeson and Minh, Aierim and Zian, and Palila with Macha.