Chương 50: Monsters

"I'm going to need more than that," Evan said.

"I need to know what we're up against." Catriona and Lamont exchanged a concerned look before the Patriarch answered.

"I will tell you what we saw, but I strongly advise against entering the Vason Estate. Kill the Beasts, but stay away from whoever is paying them to deliver these poor humans to the estate."

"I'm not sure that's possible. My friend's brother is one of the people they abducted. Those are just innocent people, Patriarch. Whatever that person inside the mansion is doing to them, we need to save them. Why are you so afraid? What was wrong with the bodies you found?" Lamont refilled his teacup, then let out a long breath.

"As Catriona has said, it's hard to explain if you didn't see it firsthand. No longer human fits it pretty well. More monster than human." A shiver ran down Evan's spine.

"They're turning the people… into monsters?"

"They're trying, at least," Lamont said with a heavy sigh.

"I'm reasonably sure they haven't been successful. All we found were corpses. That tells me this Professor's experiments have not yielded results, but he's doing something to them to corrupt and mutate them."

"Successful or not, he's killing people, so we need to stop him," Evan said, fists balling in anger. Human experiments… apparently sick, twisted people existed in this world, just as they existed on Earth.

"On that we can agree," Lamont said in a somber tone. There was a moment of silence. Evan's gaze drifted as he was trying to come to terms with the thought of what would await them at the Vason Estate. He looked out the window, which gave him a clear view of the treehouse village outside. He spotted several archers going about their business.

"If you want him gone, you could send some of your warriors with us," he suggested. Lamont leaned back slightly, his expression hardening.

"I'm sorry, that won't be possible."

"But you said yourself you want to get rid of him," Evan protested.

"The Vason Estate is outside of the Old Forest. At the edge of it, but outside. And none of the people the Beasts abducted or the bodies we found belong to the Whisperleaf Tribe or any other Forest People tribe in this part of the Old Forest."

"But didn't you say all human lives are valuable? You helped Oliver."

"This is different," Lamont said, jaw set tight.

"How is it different?"

"You came to us. Leaving the forest and attacking an outsider is not something we Forest People do. As terrible as this is, we don't meddle in affairs that do not concern us." Out of the corner of his eye, Evan noticed that Catriona ground her teeth. If he had to guess, he would say she wasn't very happy with that doctrine, but she remained stone-faced and silent. Evan wasn't ready to give up just yet, though. The thought of fighting the Beasts again had scared him, but this Professor?

A crazy magical scientist trying to turn humans into monsters? Just the idea of facing that guy freaked him out. He would feel a lot better with half a dozen archers or spearmen at his back. Or better yet, in front of him.

"This could concern you very soon," he tried.

"What if the Beasts run out of suitable victims for the Professor's experiments? The villages in the Rainwilds are already taking protective measures. Many are leaving their homes altogether. What if the Beasts turn to your people next? What if they start abducting members of your tribe?" A muscle in Lamont's jaw twitched, but his voice remained polite.

"If that happens, we will take all the necessary measures to keep our people safe, but until then, my hands are bound."

"But you're the Patriarch," Evan protested.

"I thought you were the guy in charge."

"I can't make any decision without the Matriarch's approval."

"Then we wait until she returns." Lamont shook his head.

"You would be wasting your time, I'm afraid. In fact, it would be better for both of us if you'd be gone by the time she returns. The Matriarch is much more conservative when it comes to our way of life. She will be very unhappy I allowed you and your friends into our village." Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"There is nothing I can do to convince you?"

"I'm very sorry, Evan. I really am. But I can't help you anymore than I already have." Deflated, Evan nodded and stood back.

"Thank you for your time anyway, Patriarch. And the very valuable information you provided." Lamont and Catriona stood up too, accompanying him to the door.

"I hope it will do you some good."

"At least now we know what we're up against," Evan said, stepping back out onto the platform.

"Good luck, traveler," Lamont said with a sad smile.

"Catriona, please show Evan the way to our guest quarters." Evan looked up, peering through the dense tree canopy over their heads, noticing the specks of light blue had been replaced by night sky. He was thankful Lamont allowed them to stay the night. The Old Forest was dark and scary enough during the daytime. He really didn't want to stumble through it in the pitch-black darkness of night.

"I want to check on my friend first, before I go to bed. Catriona, can you show me the way back?" He looked over the platform's railing, down onto the maze of interconnected bridges and walkways.

"I'm not sure I can find it on my own." Catriona gave him a half-nod, not meeting his gaze. The young woman looked like she was deep in her own thoughts, but she still led Evan through the tree village surefooted. He'd expected more questions about his Earth origins, considering how excited she was when she first found out, but to his surprise she remained silent the entire way back to Grainne's house. When they entered, the house was suspiciously empty. No sign of the old healer, her assistant, or Luca.

Worried, Evan rushed into the treatment room and found Oliver still lying on the table, exactly where he'd left him. He was sleeping, or maybe he was still unconscious, but his breathing was regular and his complexion had regained some color, so Evan didn't attempt to wake his friend. Instead, he checked up on him in his party menu. The poisoned status was gone, but the shoulder injury was still listed. His health bar was at 13%. Jasper appeared from a backdoor Evan could see led to a balcony.

"Where have you been?" Evan asked, feeling on edge.

"You and Luca were supposed to watch over him in case he woke up."

"Tell that to Luca," Jasper said grumpily.

"He's clinging to the healer's assistant like a barnacle. Looks like they've taken a liking to each other. I had to watch him like a hawk to avoid a political incident. I don't think the tribe would look too kindly on an outsider boy seducing one of their young women." Catriona had lingered at the back of the room in silence, but Jasper's words seemed to pull her out of her thoughts.

"He's right," she said sternly.

"We have very strict rules about these kinds of things. She could be expelled from the tribe. Tell your friend to stay away from Ailie." Evan gave her a flat look.

"Why don't you tell Ailie to stay away from Luca?" She put her hands on her hips and glared at him with pinched lips.

"You know what? I'll do just that." She stomped past him and went out the door. Evan went after her, just as the two brand-new lovebirds on the balcony—Luca and Ailie—jumped away from each other. Ailie's eyes were downcast, while Luca grinned sheepishly.

"It's time for our guest to retire to the guest quarters," Catriona said, eyes flicking between Luca and Ailie.

"Oh, I will show them there!" the young healer offered, eyes glinting with excitement.

"No, I will show them there," Catriona said sternly.

"You go inside and check on the patient. Where is Grainne?"

"At the Whisperbranch house. The baby is coming."

"Then stay with the patient until she gets back."

"Yes, Catriona," Ailie answered, lowering her head in obedience. With a sharp nod, Catriona gestured for the rest of them to get out of the house, but Evan didn't move.

"I would rather stay with Oliver," he said.

"I don't want him to wake up all alone in a strange, dark room."

"He won't be alone, Ailie will be with him. And if he gets agitated, we have magic to calm his mind." Ailie nodded.

"I will take good care of him, I promise." Reluctantly, Evan followed Catriona outside. He would've preferred to stay by Oliver's side, but he knew he was on Catriona's home turf and her word mattered more than his opinion if they wanted to stay in the relative safety of the Whisperleaf Tribe's home while Oliver was recovering from his injury. Catriona led them through the tree village, now beautifully lit by countless lanterns and lamps, woven from branches and bark, illuminated by yellow glowing magical orbs.

If anything, the village was even more breathtaking and fantastical at nighttime, and Evan had to be careful not to misstep and slip off the narrow walkways because he kept craning his neck to take in the sight. While they moved through the village, Evan spotted Grainne between the trees. The ancient woman was flying through the village on a fluffy little cloud, like the friend of Jasper's they had after leaving Stormhaven.

He'd seen many cool magical powers since he'd arrived in this world, but this might be one of the coolest so far, up there with Alexandra's cloud horses. Catriona noticed his amazed expression and followed his gaze.

"Ah, looks like Grainne is on her way back."

"She can fly on a cloud? I thought she was a healer."

"Yes, that's one of her skills, yes," Catriona said.

"May I ask what her affinity is, or is that an inappropriate question?" Catriona shrugged.

"Some people are touchy about revealing too much about their skills, but Grainne is not one of them. Her affinity is Storm."

"Huh, interesting. I have a friend with the Storm affinity, but her skill set is very different from Grainne's. She's a speed-based staff fighter."

"Much depends on the skill gems you use," Catriona said.

"That's why you have to choose very carefully." Evan rubbed the back of his head, thinking about his own choices. Many of them had been made on a whim.

"Yeah, you're not the first person to tell me this. I'm starting to develop some anxiety over how to fill my empty slots." Catriona raised one of her perfectly sculpted eyebrows.

"You have an empty skill slot?"

"I ranked up quicker than I expected, and ability gems cost a lot of money. At least the good ones, so I delayed the choice until I could afford better options." She looked over her shoulder and studied him for a moment.

"Hm… interesting. Very interesting."