Part 4

It was late afternoon by the time Yurn found Gustav's dwelling deep within the forest, despite leaving the Inn not long after dawn. There was an unmistakable stench of death near the house, and even plant life itself did not want to draw near, with even the grass stopping a good distance away. More of the strange animals could be spotted near the home, but they kept their distance from him, seemingly observing Yurn. Looking at one of them, it was unmistakably a bear, yet there was stitching around the jaw, like it had been replaced. The back legs were likewise stitched, with what appeared to be the legs of a cougar.

"What has this man done?" Yurn whispered under his breath. He held his hammer close, as if expecting to be attacked.

When he reached the door of the building, he hesitated. What if Sirene was wrong? What if Gustav was an unreasonable man? But he thought of the strange stitched animals he observed on his journey here, and strengthened his resolve. No amount of fear would deviate him from his oath. He reached a hand out and knocked on the door. After several minutes, he began to wonder if it was unoccupied, when the door finally creaked open. Standing in front of him was a woman wearing full length black robes. He spotted the same stitching on her neck as she peered at him. Her skin was sickly in colour, like that of a corpse.

"Can I help you?" She asked. Her voice was raspy and did not match her appearance. "You're awfully deep in the forest. You lost?"

"Perhaps. I am search of a man known as Gustav the Necromancer. Is he home?" Yurn asked.

The woman's body language changed immediately. She partially closed the door, and reached behind her back, as if ready for a fight. "Are you one of his friends?" she asked suspiciously.

"Nothing of the sort. I've been asked by Sirene Ignitis to talk to him regarding his... research. She's upset with it." Yurn replied, holding up his hands, trying to defuse the situation.

"Can't say I've ever heard of her, but you don't sound like you know him. You can come in." She said, opening the door again.

After Yurn had settled down in the front sitting room, with the woman seated across from him. He noticed more stitching, at her hands. Trying to ignore the implications, he asked a question.

"So where is Gustav? Is he currently out in the forest?" Yurn asked.

"I killed him." The woman answered plainly. "I fed him to the animals after sticking a knife in his throat. He should have never turned his back on me. Or made me."

While Yurn was shocked at the casual admittance of murder, he was more concerned about the last thing she said. "He made you?"

"Yes. You've no doubt noticed the stitches already. My neck, my wrists. There's many more under these robes. I am dead flesh. No, not dead. I was never alive. I am the life's work of that madman."

"So why did you... kill him?" Yurn asked carefully.

"Because my creation is a crime against the nature, the Gods, and myself." She responded, her raspy voice deadpan. "To be born is to have a chance to live. You grow, learn, have a family, become old, and return to the soil whence you came. I was made. I cannot grow, I will never growhave old,a andfamily, I havewill alreadynever discoveredage, and I cannot die."

"Forgive me I have just realized I have not introduced myself." Yurn said, still processing what she just said. "My name is Yurn, and I am a Templar of Sargon."

"Then perhaps you already understand my predicament, Yurn. You may call me Liddell. It is what Gustav called me."