A strong scent of coffee enters your nose and floods your lungs waking you warmly, it is a rather comforting sensation if not for the awfully bitter taste in your mouth, so bitter that it seems as if it comes from having drank a rather strong medication instead of the warm drink. Yet, that is not the only mixture of discomfort and comfort you are experiencing, no… Throughout your sensorial organs echoes the remnants of a general malaise as if you just came back from death, it clashes with the comfort and relaxation that the bed and covers provide you, adding to the already far too confused state of your mind.

  Even now, the comfort of the warm sheets along with the darkness that is only slightly defied by a dim candle over the night-stand makes you wish to stay like this for all eternity. That is, if it were not for the fact that something feels awfully wrong.

  You turn now to the other side and look out of the window, it is already night-time and, yet, no sound is coming from the ground floor – which is quite alarming since the usual is for this to be one of the noisiest hours at the tavern –. Furthermore, only now your brain notices the absence of any memories regarding what happened in the past few hours or how you came to be here.

  Still feeling a little dizzy, you try to get off the bed leaning on the night-stand, your feet touch the ground carefully only to immediately become shaky from the sound of something falling on the floor, that raises the adrenaline levels in your bloods and consequently gives you the necessary energy to shake off the remaining drowsiness and hurriedly follow your way out of the room.

  The corridor is as empty and – honestly unnervingly – quiet as the outside, suggesting that indeed there might be no one in the building.

-        “I don't like this...”

-        “Did the Beast attack and kill every-”

  The wooden boards of the stairs creek loudly with your first step, interrupting your thoughts and nearly giving you a heart attack. After descending it, it becomes clear that the main hall is completely deserted? the lights are off – having the only sources of illumination as the scarce starlight that bleeds from the windows as well as the warm candlelight escaping from the kitchen –; the air is so cold and still as if it were occupied by a gelid and static mist and the shadow covered furnishing seem like spectres among the trees of a dark forest. All of this combines into a macabre atmosphere that causes the hairs on your back to stand.

  After a few more – and agonisingly – careful steps, you stop in front the open door of the kitchen, looking for any signs of Thaís and Jorge but to no avail, instead, only finding a pot cooking in the oven, a few vegetables cut on a board and a concerning lack of human presence, almost as if they had left in a hurry.

  As you are about to lose  yourself into thoughts, the clinging of armour outside breaks the silence as a group of guards run past the tavern. Curiosity takes hold of you and guides your feet towards the front door, you offer no resistance but upon grabbing the handle, something screams for your attention: At a few steps from your current position, in front of the fireplace, there is a suspicious emptiness, almost as if the chairs and tables had been moved during cleaning but never returned to their usual place after. Something itches in the depths of your mind but the hurried steps outside keep you from paying much attention.

  As you step outside, the freezing air of the night already surpasses the discomfort of the one from inside, being gelid and gushing to such extent that your face's skin feels solid like stone already. But even then, guided by an almost primitive curiosity, you close the door behind you and set aim at a large crown forming at the other side of the main plaza, right in front of the Cœur D'Argent manor.

  With each step their voices become clearer, apparently this commotion relates to something about guards not letting people leave the village and, and... A curfew??? Before you can learn more, a figure dawned in a grey cloak crosses paths with you whilst trying to leave the crowd, but ends up crashing into you:

-        So-Sorry, sorry, I wa...

  Your words are suddenly interrupted when the figure turns her face your way, revealing herself to be Maebh. Before even recognising you, her “mask” falls for a brief  moment and fear and surprise are shown, she then quickly hides them again, making an annoyed expression and soon resuming her way – but with more hurried steps – towards the gates.

  Before your brain can even process what just happened, you find yourself standing alone in the middle of the plaza with Maebh already out of sight. Seeing the crowd gradually grow quieter as if something was about to happen, you run towards their direction only to once more be stopped midway, though now, due to feeling out of breath. It does not make sense to feel like this now given how no signal was presented before, and yet, here you are. Thoughts of this particularity threaten to expand but soon are interrupted by a voice calling your name:

-        Orion! Over here!

  Still with your hands on your knees but – strangely – feeling better already, you look forward and see both Thaís and Jorge waving at you from amongst the crowd. Whilst making your way towards them, your mind still cannot let go of how strange it was to lose and then recover your breath so quickly, it almost seemed as if the surprise of finding – or even the very presence of – Maebh caused it.

-        Are you feeling better already?

-        You scared us...

  Thaís asks and Jorge adds right after, both expressing great concern.

-        Hmm, ye-yes yes, I think so...

  You then have a look at your surroundings and remember to ask:

-        What is happening in here?

-        Ah, earlier today, a little after you passed out, the guards went knocking at everybody's door's telling them to not leave home after eight in the night and that those were the orders from the Lord Édouard...

-        Then, at around one hour ago, this crowd begin forming...

  After Jorge's response Thaís is quick to add:

-        Some villagers were also complaining about the guards not letting them leave the village without even giving a reason why.

  Your brain fails to process all of this information as it is receiving it, and so takes a little to make sense of things. Yet, as you are about to understand the situation, the front door of the manor opens and from there comes out Lord Édouard, Lady Marie and an unknown man.

-        Milord! Why are we not allowed to leave our homes at night?

-        Milord, Milady! I need to depart to the neighbouring village still this night to visit an ill relative but the guards are not opening the gates.

-        Milady! Your son has gone mad! He ordered a curfew!!!

  Although – almost – all of the villagers are behaving respectfully, it is difficult not to notice the frustration and revolt in their voices. The complaints soon grow louder and  more numerous as the nobles and the stranger remain quiet positioning themselves for – probably – a speech. Then, once they are in position, Lady Cœur D'Argent strikes the deck with her cane in a manner quite similar to how a judge would strike with their hammer and, once the crowd is silent, begins in a saddened tone:

-        As you may have already heard, the youth Sigmundo disappeared this afternoon after he, mon fils and Orion were attacked by the Beast while training. Upon the return of the latter two, we immediately sent a rescue team but as soon as they entered the woods, two guards were ambushed and killed by the Beast...

  The brief calm that the crowd maintained whilst Lady Marie spoke is immediately broken once she mentions the death of the guards, sorrow and despair threaten to spread exponentially but the lady gestures a gentle warning that the has not finished talking yet:

-        However, on their way back, the remaining of the rescue team found this travelling merchant...

  She gesticulates towards the stranger standing beside her son, the lord, yet he seems to still be too scared to talk and instead just looks at the crowd anxious, almost as if scanning for the Beast amongst it. For the brief second that he looks at you, your heart jumps with tension, as if you expect him to recognise you but soon his scrutinising eyes aim at the next person with the same hurry as they aimed at you. A brief moment of wait passes and so, accepting it might be too much to ask for the “poor” man to talk, Lady Marie takes a step forward proceeding to tell his story herself:

-        He was travelling north-east when he saw someone, that we're quite sure was Sigmundo, climbing the hills, yet upon moving closer, the Beast jumped from between the trees and begin chasing him instead. He told us that he ran towards our village and after crossing the rapids it had simply vanished. That matches what the rescue team reported but there is yet much we need to question him about....

  A pause follows right after by reluctance and the way she now looks at the crowd brings you a bad presage in regard to what is going to be said next. She then draws a deep breath and, after a second, releases the air calmly soon continuing:

-        We still do not have all the information we would like to before taking such a decision, but, with all that has happened thus far, it is with a heavy heart that I, Lady Marie Cœur D'Argent  decree that the rescue efforts be stopped and the gates locked until the Beast is dead. My son has also instructed the guards to announce the curfew time, since we still don't know if it is able to climb the walls or not, we must not take any chances...

-        … With all of that said, return to your homes and may the Nameless God protect us and guide the poor Sigmundo back to safety.

  The crowd is outraged and threatens to enter frenzy, shouting words of dissatisfaction and fear whilst Lady Marie, her son and the merchant are escorted back into the mansion by two guards. The others are quick to begin dispersing the crowd, avoiding to aggravate the situation further. Yet, even before imminent chaos, – the absolute mess that currently is – your mind takes notice of a rather peculiar detail: The way in which Lady Marie finished her words and hurried back inside the manor were far too emotionless to reflect any real fear towards a Beast attack, no... It was as if she had other, more concerning matters urging her attention, matters so exponentially more dangerous that they cast a shadow on the Beast situation. You feed such thoughts in your mind more and more, but the way people are behaving immediately prompts Jorge to suggest, already pulling you and Thaís away from the crowd:

-        It would be best for us to get going already, eh?

  He tries to sound collected but his face gives away the fear boiling inside his mind, yet, even then you still do not let go of your theory, sinking deeper into it to the point of not noticing Jorge letting go of your arm upon leaving the main plaza. Two farmers then walk past you, heading parallel to the tavern's direction, talking about something that immediately catches your – already far too dispersed – attention:

-        Attends! But what about that woman with the white hair?! I saw her leaving the village without being stopped by the guards... That's not fair!

-        Técol! She is Lord Jacques' widow.... There are some strange stories surrounding her, believe me when I say you don't want to get involved with that woman... Seriously, act like you didn't see, she is just trouble!

  Absorbed by their conversation, you separate from Thaís and Jorge and wanders off to the farmers’ direction, intent on asking them what those “strange stories” are, but before you even take three steps their way, Thaís places her hands on your shoulders, directing you back towards the tavern whilst inquiring:

-        Say, now that you're awake you must be starving, hã?

  Her voice carries such a friendly and maternal tone that one would find it difficult to notice all the fear and worry masked beneath it, yet not you… And so, your brain quickly disperses on it or more precisely, on what might be its causes. She then adds, winning over your attention even more through your stomach:

          -     Today I prepared some recipes from home, I hope you’ll like them.