Before she could see anything, the strong smell of ammonia and sulphur hit her. It was undoubtedly a reek of decomposing flesh as the foul odour spread in the open air. It was not only unpleasant but also overwhelming and difficult to ignore due to its intensity.
"What is happening here?" She asked one of a bystander.
"It's Lester, one of the wanderers. He has gone mad. Went to the Forest to hunt but…" the man covered his mouth like he wanted to vomit. "The smell is horrible. I can't stand it anymore…!" Then he runs off to the side alley.
Lester was one of the wanderers who occasionally stayed in the city or its proximity. His reputation was always horrible, as he refused to be bound by local beliefs and violated many traditions. He was even bold enough to look into the way of entering the Forest like tying himself to the tree by the long rope, as he slowly went inside.
If the spell takes his senses away, he believes he will always find the way back. Locals knew that he laid several traps in the woods and sometimes caught smaller animals like rabbits. They thought it was foolish, but the hunger got the better of him. This time, however, he did something that crossed all the lines.
One of the traps caught the magical beast similar to a fox, which was a bad omen. The masters of the Forest are known to be passionate and always take care of their own. The death of one of their puppies would trigger their wrath, but Lester still thought he could sell the carcass in the city, as it was very rare to obtain anything belonging to beasts.
He was wrong in many ways. As soon as he entered the city, the smell of rotten flesh attracted anyone. After knowing that he killed the sacred beast, angered people forced him to leave the city.
She passed the crowd and got to the centre. There was a small table with an animal corpse on it, its orange fur was stained with blood. It was a hunted fox with eyes devoid of any sign of life.
Arianell yelled in shock.
"T-Thunder?"
The first thing she thought of was the little fox devouring her stir-fried meat in the morning. It was so lively and cheerful, as it chased after its tail. To think that something similar was now lifelessly rotting away made her stomach squeeze in pain and nausea. She was bewildered and tried to leave but her back hit someone behind.
"Are you okay?" Mihail asked while holding a handkerchief over his nose and mouth. Be careful… The smell of magical beast can cause hallucination and make you faint."
"M-magical beast?!" She repeated words after him, as it was the only way to keep her senses intact.
"Yes, is it your first time seeing it? I have never known that the fox-like one existed either."
She forced herself to look at the corpse again.
No… It wasn't Thunder, whom she fed this morning. Its fur also wasn't as bright. And most importantly, it missed the third eye. She tried to calm down but couldn't help and thought, whether it was related to the little one she knew.
"I was told magical beasts are very rarely seen. How did they manage to hunt one down?"
"Accident probably. He dared to lay some trap in the Forest and killed this one unintentionally," Mihail shrugged. "However, people in the west believe that the death of a magical beast is a bad omen. Forest will take revenge somehow. There is no way for a hunter to stay in town anymore."
Except for demons, the magical beasts also have a precious nucleus in their heart, as soon as they reach adulthood. But mature ones would rather kill themselves by destroying their cores, rather than be captured by humans, making it impossible to get their stone.
The puppies without formed nuclei were easier to catch and tame, but as soon as one of their own went missing, the rest of the inhabitants of the Forest would go into a rage, unleashing their fury on the people they encountered.
"Are you sure, you are alright? Your face is pale…" Mihail asked again.
"Yes, of course, I'm fine… Thank you," she said weakly.
The young merchant took out a clean handkerchief and tried to wipe out the sweat formed on her forehead. Arianell wasn't expecting such a friendly gesture and she blinked several times blankly.
"Pardon me…" Mihail was flustered as he realized his overfamiliar action. He gave her that small piece of cloth made from silk and quickly averted his eyes.
"Thank you…"
Her and Mihail's relationship was horrible from the start. They bickered each time they met, but there was no better business partner than him, as he would deliver every commission he took up without a failure. Today, however, he was acting too nice.
"Make sure to not breathe in too much of this poison," Mihail nodded his head slightly in farewell and went his way. He felt like staying any longer and something unfortunate would happen. Every time he talked to miss Nella, he was in a trance. He somehow liked the feeling, but also feared the thin line he was balancing on.
One wrong step and the hell will devour him. The shadow of danger was lingering around them all the time.
Arianell also left the market as soon as possible. She completely forgot to buy some meat, as the sight of a dead fox made her nauseous and decided to return home right away. It wasn't Thunder at the marketplace, but she wouldn't be at ease unless she checked it with her own eyes.
Outside of the city, she met with two men. They were packing up their tent and loading the wagon. The cart was pulled by one old horse, which looked like it wouldn't be able to travel far anyway.
The man was Lester and his brother Jace.