Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 30 - 29 Confirming the Target

Squish.

Ralph dismounted from the carriage; right before him lay Lavren, the destination of this journey.

Unlike Cassandra, which boasted churches and castles, here there was only a uniform landscape of low stone buildings. Several swarthy-skinned peasant women poked their heads out from behind their doors, sizing up the government official who had just descended from the carriage—an uncommon sight for outsiders here.

The construction of roads had not yet begun, and the village was still lined with dirt paths. Even this main artery, used for transportation, was mired in mud. Ralph breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, long years of work habits allowed him to move quietly and with care. During the process of alighting, only the very bottom layer of his riding boots became coated with a splatter of mud.

Splat!

Lyle jumped out of the carriage. Despite the gap being less than fifty centimeters from the ground, his landing was as if he had detonated a depth charge beneath his feet. The splashed mud spread like an open hand, slapping a swath across Ralph’s trousers.

That blasted child!

Barely containing the urge to scold Lyle in front of everyone, Ralph reached out a hand to grab him. Due to the slick mud, Lyle nearly lost his balance and toppled over into the mire.

"Have we finally arrived?" William was the third to disembark. Stretching languidly, he was about to step down when he caught Ralph’s mortified gaze.

Not daring to offend this stern-faced official, and unsure of his own misstep, William cautiously stepped down from the carriage, trembling.

Ralph took solace in the misfortune, holding onto hope that his uniform might yet be salvageable. He wished that meeting the mayor wouldn’t lead to undue embarrassment due to his appearance.

The mayor arrived quickly; a middle-aged man with peppered hair, meticulously groomed yet not free from the stain of dust. His beard, though carefully trimmed, had lost its form. He wore simple homespun clothes similar to the common folk, his boots stained yellow, the fine silk lining protruding from his cuff the only sign of the extraordinary status of this man who stood before them, looking every bit the farmer.

The mayor assessed Ralph’s attire—a scrupulous ensemble marred comically by the mud on his trouser legs. Nonetheless, it caused the mayor’s curly beard to twitch slightly upward. Apparently, any vexation about one’s own dress was no longer relevant, and of course, he wouldn’t throw stones from a glass house; a sense of kinship naturally emerged.

The mayor chuckled, "Welcome, Mr. Sheriff, to my humble and remote corner. Here, even God’s finest garments are sullied by the mundane."

Ralph, a man of detail, could discern the warmth in the mayor’s greeting; it seemed his nephew’s calamity had worked in his favor, for strangers seldom had a good first impression of Ralph.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor. If possible, I need to quickly take my colleagues to the site for a close examination, to get to the root of the problem."

Ralph’s brisk efficiency was not off-putting, and clearly, the mayor was pleased by such diligence, "Of course, diligent sir, I shall lead you to the scene forthwith. We haven’t moved Mirren’s body; it’s still at the edge of his farm. Townsfolk are reluctant to stay near him, even his wife. So, should you need our assistance, there might be some difficulty, but rest assured, I can arrange for a few sturdy lads to follow your command."

"No one having touched is good, and an undisturbed scene makes it easier for us to find evidence." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

They called it a farm, but it was really just a large fenced-off area with green sprouts about shin high. Not far off lay a stand of reeds, each about a person’s height, some already tattered.

"That’s a swamp. Surrounding Lavren is this kind of wetland. Please be careful moving around the area; you might inadvertently find it difficult to get out. Lafillin nearby is even worse—the townspeople say that almost every month someone is swallowed by the marsh."

As Ralph and his group approached, the stench of the corpse grew stronger. Beside a cluster of fallen reeds, they found the body.

With no refrigeration, the body had already started to decay, transformed fats filling beneath the skin, making it appear bloated.

"Be careful, Lyle."

Lyle nodded and pulled a beaked mask from his pocket, placing it over his face. Donning gloves, he began his inspection.

Rigor mortis had passed, the body was softening; the left arm had vanished without a trace. A viscous fluid seeped from the exposed cross-section, with plasma already congealed and clinging to the putrid flesh that was beginning to attract maggots.

The severed arm, with no other wounds found, the cause of death was excessive blood loss, with no attempt at rescue.

Lyle carefully examined the small piece of broken arm resting on his left shoulder.

The firewood hadn’t been completely gnawed clean.

It had been confirmed, it was an animal attack.

The bone fragments on the severed arm indicated a crushing by a huge force, yet it wasn’t like damage inflicted by blunt weapon. The flesh, already decayed, could not provide further insights, but the remaining bone fragments served as evidence.

Those were bite marks from firewood.

Lyle returned with the bone fragments, not jumping to conclusions, and signaled to Ralph, "Look here, following these cracks, and this shattered wound, we can be sure, at the time, the victim’s arm was pierced by a sharp object at least ten centimeters in diameter, and there’s another defect on the back of the bone, though it’s not opposite. Two weapons attacked the arm simultaneously, the staggered impacts shattered the remaining parts of the hand bone, it’s unfathomable how such a wound was inflicted."

"That’s a tooth mark, a wound from a bite by teeth at least ten centimeters in diameter," said Ralph calmly. "It seems, it’s the giant wolf from Lafillin."

Ralph concluded his findings to the mayor, whose eyes immediately darkened a great deal, as it was clear that the giant wolf was beyond his handling, "Should we consult the church?" For such supernatural events, the church was people’s first point of reference.

"Let’s not rush, I will go check it out first, I need a guide to take me to the original site of Lafillin."

"Wouldn’t that be too dangerous? Sheriff, you want to take the risk personally."

"I have my limits, find me a sharp and agile guide, Mr. Mayor," he requested.

"If you insist," the mayor responded reluctantly.

"Yes."

"Lyle, you and William stay in town. I’ll look into this, and there’s no need to take you with me so as not to slow us down," Ralph would not tell them that he was going wolf-hunting.

"Okay."

"Understood, sir."

Lyle did not insist on staying, it was just past the afternoon, and the firewood creature wouldn’t come out; Ralph’s safety was not a concern.

Ralph nodded, took the metal box, and left with his guide.

Lyle approached the mayor, "Sir, if possible, my colleague and I wish to continue examining the body."

"Certainly, sir. Please be careful. My house is in the center of Lavren, the one with the weather vane on the roof, always ready with hot water and food for both of you," the mayor offered.

"Thank you, sir."

The mayor left, without leaving anyone behind.

Watching the others disappear at the end of his sightline, Lyle turned to look at William.

"William, are you ready for an adventure?"