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The midmorning sun was rising slowly in the sky above, lengthening the shadows of the nearby buildings. I imagined the shadows as ghostly hands reaching out to touch all in their wake, but unable to fully grasp anything. Perhaps my being idle at the eastern gate was causing my mind to wander too much.

I had been waiting near the gates for my two wolven fellows. It had taken the father and I a short time to gather all the usual supplies for an exorcism, and I departed for the gate. This wasn’t an unfamiliar routine for me, as I’d been part of several such exorcisms, and I knew where to go to await whoever was chosen to accompany me. Even so, I’d been standing out there for about a half hour, and still no one had shown up, much less any sort of message delivered for me to know how long to expect to wait around.

I decided to go over my supplies, however few they may be, just to make absolute sure I had everything I needed. Opening up the satchel at my side, I rummaged around. I mentally checked off each item I saw; several vials of holy water, a small buckler shield, a book of prayers and miracles, and folded up neatly at the bottom was my stole. Not too many items, but then again it was only the necessities. For my own part, I had ditched my black vestments and donned the more recognizable priestly outfit. There was the long purple robe descending down to just above my boots, and atop the robe was a simple white cotton tunic, marking my very being with the recognizable twin colors of the Myrran faith.

I looked true to the part of a man of the cloth, ready to deal with whatever sorcerer menace was out there, minus not having my stole properly affixed or my buckler at hand. But who’s really gonna judge that harshly? True to point, even the letter from Velwood’s mayor addressed me as father alongside my mentor, despite my having not yet been official ordained. It honestly felt a bit odd to be called by the title of father, I’d been so used to everyone in Blackthorne just using my name. I reminded myself that eventually, I’d have to get adjusted to the title one way or the other, seeing as my planned anointing wasn’t too far off.

Father MacDonald had told me when he was ready to have me ordained, and set the date a few months off, so as to, in his words, “allow me to be prepared.” I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but I also assumed it wasn’t customary for an apprentice cleric to know their exact official recognition into the Church proper.

Just then, I noticed a familiar pair of leather armor-clad wolves making their way towards me. The same pair from the night previous who had been on gate duty, as it turned out. The shaggy wolf man and the gold furred wolfess were dressed in the typical leather armor of the wolves, silver swords hanging at their waists, and fire in their eyes. These two were named Lucian and Juliet, and I’d known them since the three of us were kids, long before any of us had taken the path of the church. On the hip opposite their swords, each wolf had a small pack of supplies—probably a few healing balms or salves, or some such items I’d seen other wolves use on hunts. The shaggy one was holding a bag of what I’d later learn was food, and of course the blonde one was clutching a box of cigars. I almost shook my head at that, the fact she couldn’t go even a few days without her smokes.

I waved at the pair as they neared, offering a friendly, “Morning,” as they approached. I scanned the two of them up and down and said, “Kinda figured you guys would sit this out, since you had gate duty last night.”

Juliet smirked and stated, “Come on, that stuff’s on shift work, and ours was over around midnight.” She then pulled forth one of her cigars, struck a match, and began to puff. The smoke lazily rose from the lit end of the roll and I watched as the burned edges crept down as Juliet took another puff.

The shaggy haired Lucian yawned. “I’ve been waiting for the chance to do another hunt. Been too many months of patrols and gate duty for me.”

“I’ll drink to that,” the shewolf said with a chuckle. “And besides, I don’t think I’ve ever done a hunt with altar boy here,” she stated, chucking a thumb in my direction.

“Really?” I wondered aloud. Had I never actually done an exorcism with Juliet before? I searched my memories, but of all the demons and sorcerers I’d helped bring to justice since apprenticing to Father MacDonald, I couldn’t find a single instance of Juliet being present at them. Certainly, there were a few times I was unable to attend, either due to my inexperience at the time or suffering from mild illnesses, but I felt like I’d joined all the wolves at least once.

I shrugged after my little mental checking. “What an odd coincidence.”

She just smiled and offered her free hand. “Take good care of me, ok? Don’t wanna come home to my husband missing any limbs.”

As I shook her furred hand, which dwarfed my own, I returned her smile. “I promise that the most you’ll lose is maybe an eye and a few teeth.”

The rough feeling of her hand was matched only by how tightly she squeezed mine. The smile she had put on grew wider, showing off all her sharp teeth before she threw her head back and laughed. It a bit too infectious to ignore, and I found myself joining her. However, our laughing seemed to have no effect on Lucian, who looked positively bored. As our laughing died down, Juliet released my hand finally—and I worried for a brief moment if her vice grip had broken any bones—and she brushed past me to head through the gate behind me, forcing me and Lucian to trail after.

We weren’t even two steps out of town when a loud voice called out, “Richter! Wait up!”

I saw my love Victoria heading my way when I turned around, and as she neared, I saw her holding a bag of something or other in one of her hands. When her pace slowed and she came to a halt, she thrust the bag out towards me.

“You never finished your lunch,” she explained. “Wanna make sure you have enough energy for your job, right?”

A small warming sensation filled my cheeks as I accepted my forgotten food. “What would I do without you?”

“Probably exhaust yourself half to death.” That playful glint in her eyes returned, and then she pulled my face down so she could plant one final kiss upon me. “Now go,” she commanded, slapping the side of my arm to hurry me along. She then looked at the wolves beside us and said, “Stab that demon an extra time for me?”

Lucian smiled at that and nodded. He followed it up with, “I’ll be sure to let the filth know I’m doing it in your honor.”

“Then I’ll save a handful of peaches for when you get back.”

I could almost hear Lucian’s stomach grumble out at the sound of his favorite snack.

Victoria chuckled, her laugh so pleasant, it was like a song. “I guess I can take that as a yes, then.”

Juliet landed a soft, joking punch against the smaller woman’s shoulder, laughing with her and saying, “Promise him peaches and you can get this boy to do anything. I once had him reshoe every horse in the stables for a bowl full of the things.”

“Only because you were crying about having to do it by yourself,” Lucian mocked his partner. Juliet did not bite back at that comment, however. Focusing back to Victoria, Lucian said, “Could you get honeyed peaches this time?”

My future wife nodded. “We’ve got a few jars of ‘em in storage. I’m sure mum and dad won’t mind.”

“Excellent!” A massive paw-hand rose up in triumph and he shouted out, “Let’s go slay this demon!” He then took off outside the gates, heading towards the stables where our wagon awaited us, with Juliet following right behind him, making snide remarks about his enthusiasm.

With a roll of my eyes, I shook my head. “Can barely believe he’s related to you,” I mumbled.

“Not by blood,” Victoria said with a laugh. “Now go on. You’ve got an important job to do.” Despite her encouraging words, I could see a shadow of unease about her, but it was quickly replaced with her usual playful looks.

After giving her another embrace and kiss, I told her, “Be back before you know it.” With that said, I departed my fair home of Blackthorne and made the first step towards Velwood. Those first steps, naturally, led me to the wagon just beyond the gate. As I wandered outside, I nodded to the two dark furred wolves currently on guard duty, who repeated the gesture in kind.

Placed beside the stables--and already having a strong draft stallion hitched to the front--was a wagon large enough for Lucian and Juliet to sit comfortably in the back. The driver’s seat was unfortunately not big enough to sit the large humanoid beasts, forcing me to take the reins. Once the wolves were situated, I climbed aboard and got us moving at a swift pace.

Velwood wasn’t too far away, about a good three or four hour ride if we kept a good speed. I’d only been to the town once before, and that was years ago, so I wasn’t terribly familiar with the place or the way there. Thankfully, we had a map and our route already marked out for us. Looking back, I asked Juliet to guide me.

Unfurling the cloth, the wolf woman made a little grunt. “Looks like we follow the road up until we reach the lake, then take the left path. From there it’s basically straight on all the way to Velwood.”

“Really?” I didn’t remember the journey being so…well, simple. Then again, I was still learning to read the last time I headed this way, so my memory probably wasn’t the best to go on. But regardless of any of that, seeing as the trip would be relatively painless—aside from the length of time it would take—it gave me time to think about things.

Things like what would a sorcerer be doing in Velwood. It was a small community, tight knit like a family. There were barely enough people to even call it a proper town. Attacking such a place would surely bring attention almost right away. But, Stolk had said no one had been harmed. Yet. I feared our coming to Velwood might trigger a fight or flight response from the sorcerer and cause them to act rash. However, we still had to go. There was no possible way we could just ignore something like this.

As the trees and hills passed us by, I looked on, gazing at the horizon. My mind wandered further, drifting from the thoughts of our sorcerer problem to those of demons and the chaos they brought with them. Since time immemorial, our world was plagued by the scourge of the abyss. I began to wonder if it were possible to ever put a permanent end to their corrupting touch upon the world. Sure, the wolves can fight them off and kill them, and we priests and priestesses can purify their vile corruption, but there never seemed to be a stop to it all. Someone somewhere would call forth a demon, seeking power and such, and the cycle continues.

Lost in thought as I was, I didn’t even notice the lake until Lucian pulled the reins from my hands and prevented the stallion from running headlong into the drink. He had reached around me to take hold of the leather straps, and was forcing the beast to halt, which it did so in such a manner, the wagon bumped and rustled hard.

When we finally came to a standstill, a large hand slapped against my back rather roughly. “Where’s your damn head?” Juliet questioned, giving my backside another firm hit.

“Sorry, sorry.” I looked around, noticing one of the bags in the back of the wagon had fallen out during our little half tumble. I let out a sigh and went to retrieve it, trying to explain myself as I did so.

After telling them about my thoughts, they shared their own.

“Since they haven’t attacked anyone yet,” Lucian spoke first, “maybe it’s a sign whatever power the demon granted them isn’t powerful.”

“Come on, it’s magic,” Juliet chastised. “It’s always dangerous, no matter what.”

“Well, I mean, they could just be…I don’t know, experimenting with the magic for now? Like, trying to see what they can do before actually using it maliciously.”

Hm. Interesting. Chiming in, I said, “So, like they’re testing things out? Seems a bit of a reach. If they’re deranged enough to form a pact with a demon, why wouldn’t they just use the power as soon as possible?”

Broad shoulders shrug and he answered, “No clue. But, hypothetically, were it me, I’d take my time learning the limits of what the demonic forces allow me to do. After all, I’d want to know just how far I could take it before my body begins to give out.”

“Well, I suppose there isn’t any point in speculating like this,” Juliet stated. She took the bag from me and put it back in the wagon. “It’d be more useful to get to Velwood as soon as we can, and pray our investigating doesn’t make the sorcerer freak out. Although, if we’re lucky, we make him ju~ust jumpy enough that he reveals himself without hurting someone in the process.”

I climbed back into the driver’s seat, taking hold of the reins once more. “I doubt things would be that simple.”

“Ahh, but wouldn’t it be great if they were?” she said with a sigh. I could hear her fishing around in her bag, followed by the sound of a match being struck. And so, the first cigar of surely many is lit.

“Ack, do you have to do that right next to me?”

Chancing a look back, I saw Lucian waving a hand through the small plume of smoke Juliet had just puffed out from between her lips. “Bad enough I had gate duty with you last night. The least you could do is sit behind me when you smoke.”

A sound of faux indignation shot forth from the shewolf. Despite that, however, she did scoot past him and then took a long pull from the cigar, blowing out an entire lungful of the smoke a moment later, the small foul-smelling cloud trailing us as the wagon moved ever forward. I wasn’t entirely sure how Juliet could stand the constant scent of those cigars of hers, much less the taste.

With the wind rushing by, whipping my hair about, I gazed back on the road ahead. We hadn’t even been away from home for half an hour, and my butt was already starting to get sore from the uncomfortable wooden seat. I could only imagine how much worse it would get as time went on.

As I took the wagon around yet another hill, I could see it in the distance. Velwood. It was similar to Blackthorne; surrounded by a protective wall. Only, Velwood’s wall was one of wood—strong wood, but wood all the same—and not the thick sturdy stone of my hometown. The wall also didn’t climb as high as home’s. Then again, this far south was rather peaceful and safe, maybe they didn’t need the extra defense.

Because the wall was lower, I could see more of the town from my vantage point by the hills. It was like a sister town to Blackthorne; a mixture of stone and wooden buildings, wide streets and squares, shops and homes sitting side by side. It even had twin gates on opposite ends of the town, too. Funny coincidence.

BANG

I slammed my hand down on the side of my seat, violently waking up the wolves napping behind me. I heard them shuffle around as they got up.

“What?! What happened?!” Juliet popped up beside me, her head inches from mind, fuzzy cheek almost touching my own.

I smirked and told her the honest truth. “Nothing. Just wanted you guys awake when we got to town.”

“Ugh!” She swatted my arm and settled back in the wagon. “You’re lucky I like Victoria, or else I’d wring your neck.” I just smiled at her false threat.

“Guess we’re finally here,” Lucian spoke up. The wagon jostled as he crawled forward to get a better look. Soon, I had two furry heads right beside my own as both wolves were checking out the town before us.

The wind was almost encouraging us to hurry up and get to town, the breeze blowing strong at our backs now. Wasting no time, I snapped the reins hard, getting the horse to go into a full gallop, the sound of its heavy hooves digging into the earth with each pounding step actually bringing me a sense of relief since I could see our destination finally at hand. And sure enough, the beast brought up to the entrance gate in almost no time.

The “gate” itself was in truth a pair of large wooden doors, and they had little segments for a log or bar to be placed between them on the interior side, to serve as a makeshift lock. Standing beside the gate, and dressed in a simple gambeson was the supposed guard. The young man was of Jeltean origin, his skin as pale as a sheet, and with hair like fire. He was grasping a long spear and had planted the blunt end into the dirt, leaning into the haft in idle boredom.

As our wagon approached, the guard took one look at us and a smile lit up his face.

“You must be one of the priests from Blackthorne.” It wasn’t a question.

Then again, when a man dressed in clerical make pulling two wolves in a cart rolls by, it wasn’t exactly a reach to think he’d be a priest. For my response, I nodded and introduced myself, along with my companions.

After that, I told him, “We’d like to see Mayor Stolk first. Get as much detail about the situation as we can before our investigation begins.”

“Certainly, Father,” he nodded as he spoke. “The mayor’s home is right past the smithy’s. It’s the only house on the south side with a blue roof. Can’t miss it.”

I thanked him, but before I could get the horse moving again, the guard stopped us.

Eyes shifted, he looked over his shoulder—twice—faltered with his spear and almost had it fumble to the ground.

Juliet made a little annoyed grunt. “Just spit it out, already.”

“Do…do you really think it’s a demon?” His voice came out barely a whisper, and he looked around again.

“That’s what we’re here to find out,” Lucian spoke.

“But don’t worry yourself,” I stated, trying to soothe the young guard. “No matter what’s happening in your town, we will uncover the truth of things. And if it is indeed a demon, we will spare no mercy for the monster.”

The guard nodded, then bit at the side of his bottom lip for a moment, hesitating. “And the sorcerer?” he spoke in a whisper.

The blonde-furred wolfess leaned towards the young man, close enough to greet him at eye level. One brow raised up and she asked, “You know something?”

With a shaky voice, he got out, “N-No, I swear on the Holy Mother. I just heard r-rumors, y’know? People get to talking in a little town like this.”

“What kind of talking?” she questioned him, but not before hopping out of the wagon and stretching her cramped limbs. The young guard jumped backwards at the sudden act, stumbling over his own feet and landing with a loud thud upon the ground.

After brushing the dirt off his pants bottom and picking his spear back up, he informed us of the talk of the town. “Well, like the mayor sent in the letter, weird things been going on. Frigid air during the middle of a hot sunny day, creepy sounds in the dead of night. All that stuff. But see, some people be saying they heard a voice out there at night, when everyone should be sleeping.”

I scratched at my hair covered chin. “Hm,” I mused, “well, if it is a sorcerer, then hearing voices at night isn’t out of the ordinary. They tend to perform their dark magics under cover of darkness, after all. Less eyes to see them.”

“Yeah, but the dark ain’t doing nothing about any ears to hear them,” Lucian joked.

“True,” I nodded at his point. “Then again, we can’t be too sure yet.” I gave the guard a modest salute as I got the horse moving again, calling back to him, “We’ll take what you said into consideration, though.”

“Consideration,” Juliet said, mimicking my voice as she did, which wasn’t altogether too difficult with her already deep voice. She had opted to walk beside the horse, keeping pace with the beast as we made our way through the gate.

“The only thing we ought to be considering is how long it’ll take until this sorcerer makes a wrong move and kills someone.”

Cool autumn air entered my lungs and departed in a heavy sigh. “I’ve been considering that the entire ride here.”