Not too long ago, Griswold had been involved in a case that was very similar to this one, similar to the point where he would stab himself in the foot at the off chance that this did not involve the exact same culprit. At the time, he had been at it with Charles, another member of the black bulls that had taken an interest in the case and had been put on the same mission as Griswold. This was, however, several weeks before the very exams in which the black knight himself had become a member of the same squad. During that period in which they had gone over the case, he himself had gone around the farmland to inspect the place and look for anything out of the ordinary, which was more or less exactly what he had found and aimed to follow all the way back to where this creature had initially come from.

Unfortunately, one the beast had ventured far enough into the Fringe, they had more or less lost track of it and decided to go back and wait for another instance of it “attacking” and going from there, hoping they would get more to go off of and maybe find that it was coming and going from and back to the same place after every emergence. As of yet, the creature had not done so, so when the news came that it had struck again along the northern borders of the forsaken realm, Griswold had made it his business straight away. With his newly attained stallion named Nuck, he had managed to get across the region in little to no time at all. Because the attacks were usually centered around farmlands, it was not all that difficult to stash Nuck away in a stable. Making sure it had plenty of water and oats, Griswold asked the farmhand to look after the animal and his gear.

Even though Nuck had some odd tastes, the black knight felt odd having to ask these poor people to give the animal a slab of meat for a plethora of reasons having to do with meat being expensive and the fact that a horse preferring flesh might stir up some of that good old-fashioned superstition. Leaving the stables to get a good look at the place where the attack had happened, it wasn’t long before he found the footsteps pressed into the dirt. As had been the case when he had first looked into this particular creature, it had made no attempts at actually destroying the fences surrounding the farmland and causing the animals to escape. Instead, it had more than likely just stepped over it, grabbed hold of a cow and carried it back with it into the fringe. What troubled him about all of this was the fact that this creature could have just killed and eaten anything it wanted, but had limited itself to exactly one cow.

Odd as it was, it coming out at night meant that it was very well aware of the fact that humans would not bother it at it went about its business. Because of this, it could very well just move in, kill a cow and eat it out in the field without having to go through all the trouble of taking it alive. While it being alive was an educated guess at this point, the lack of any blood or an actual struggle would give rise to the idea that the cow it took had not been killed. Either that, or the creature was clever enough to snap the creature’s neck before taking it along, which would give rise to the idea that it might be even more intelligent than Griswold was willing to give it credit for. Truly, the amount of creatures that were out there in the wilderness was massive, and the amount that had never been seen by anyone who lived to tell the tale was quite haunting for some. For Griswold however, it meant that humanity had not yet managed to tame nature just yet, and that was quite a pleasant thought.

With the information he needed to make sure that he was indeed looking for the same creature he had once tried to track down along with Charles, his assumptions had by this point been confirmed, meaning he could return to the farm and look for the person he was supposed to be working with this time around. Not being someone he knew by name or face when he heard it, this Franklin was a member of the green mantis squad, which was one of the magic squads that stood quite high on his list of organizations that had earned his respect. If for no reason other than working hard to rehabilitate criminals and make them useful to society again while also being active within the region that needed the help the most, the members of the mantis squad were people he would pre-emptively give his respect to. That said, respect was an easy thing to lose, so just having it did not mean they would get to keep it.

Heading back to the nearby village, it did not take him a whole lot of time to narrow down the likeliest person that might be this “Franklin” he was looking for. Standing out quite a bit, especially among peasants, Griswold would just approach him and make sure that this was in fact the one he was looking for. Not being the kind of person that really felt any shame when he got something wrong or approached the wrong individual, he could always try again at the off chance that he was wrong.

“Greetings, are you Franklin Stein of the Green Mantis squad?”

“I can tell you this much, and that is the fact that these people are superstitious and full of talk. Many of them lack any real education or worldly knowledge, so if you were to tell them that a flesh-eating thingamajigger had done it, it wouldn’t be long before a large portion of town would talk about a non-existent creature I just made up.”

Not really paying a whole lot of attention to anything that did not directly involve this particular case, he just imagined that this man was yet another odd one. But that much was to be expected of the black bulls and the green mantis squads, as it seemed to be the only two squads in the kingdom that seemed to more or less take all that they could get, which happened to be the kind of people most others would rather not have around because they were quirky or potentially a dangerous liability. As someone who had been a member of the crimson lions before he eventually quit being a magic knight to pursue a life as a mercenary that was out to help the people of the forsaken realm, he had realized a couple of things most people might not be able to grasp in such a short period of time.

One of these things was the fact that the way the magic squads worked in the land of clover was somewhat odd, and that some of them seemed to function as glorified, overqualified babysitters for the rich. He had also learned that it was next to impossible to protect a region as large as the forsaken realm on his own, no matter how strong he became or how well known his name, or rather his moniker became within the realm. One might think that a roaming knight that stomped out monsters and murderers equally might dissuade some from undertaking their crimes against the poor and the downtrodden, though that seemed to not be the case. Whether they were just really brave, stupid or just truly desperate, some people would not be turned away from the wrong path and back to the righteous, which was quite sad. Funnily enough, those that did make a turn for the better often ended up in Franklin’s own squad.

“Luckily for us, I have a pretty good idea as to what we’re looking for, as this beast struck in the region at least once before. I’ve tried to go after it once before, but we lost track of it somewhere inside of the Fringe. Given how the tracks lead away from the forsaken region, the fencework remains intact and no signs of killing or feeding indicated otherwise, I am almost entirely certain we’re dealing with the same species, if not the exact same creature.”

Sharing his findings with Franklin, who had gone across town to get his hands on some witness reports that might be useful, he imagined that him adding this much to what Franklin himself had found out might be useful. That said, Griswold himself was already fully invested in the idea of following the tracks and heading into the fringe itself. He was not looking forward to the same beast tricking him twice, which was one of many reasons why he had trained and strengthened his senses to the point that he had. One of these sensory abilities he had managed to finetune over the past month was what they called Ki in the east, a means of sensory that went beyond merely tracking mana and magical sources, something that was perfect for warriors and hunters such as himself. With it, he knew that the two of them were going to find whatever had done this, put it to justice, and maybe even return the cow to the field it called home.

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Funny enough, as he listened to this guy working out his theories and narrowing things down for himself, it seemed that he had either misunderstood what Griswold had said, or maybe simply hadn’t heard it due to how busy he was with himself. So instead of really repeating himself, as that was something he hated doing, he just allowed Franklin to lead them to the place he himself had already been to prior to returning to town. As they passed by the farm, Griswold shot a glance towards the nearby stable to see whether or not Nuck had decided to behave and was still where he had left him. While he could not really see it all that well, judging by the fact that they were still traveling in a group of two instead of three, it seemed safe to assume that the animal had decided to actually stay put for the time being.

“There are times where I hope for that to be true, but many of them live quite far away from society in smaller villages, or in seclusion on a farm. Because of that, many don’t believe in anything other people might tell them if they have another opinion, which is particularly true coming from someone they’ve never met. Best way to reach them is to show up, and let them see you put in the work.”

Deciding it was better to work the kinks out of a misconception the man had regarding the average peasant dwelling within this particular realm, the black knight imagined that this was something that would likely help him out throughout his career. After all, like the black bulls, he too was working in this region, so it was good to know exactly how to address these people and know what not to expect from them. Unfortunately in many cases, expecting more than superstition was not wise, as many here went to church to pray to higher beings for help. It was one of the many reasons why Griswold was working so hard here, because he believed these people needed more than faith in a higher power in the sky, they needed to believe that there were people on the ground that were fighting for the safety many believed was given to them through faith.

Over time, many had come to believe that there were people that did the best they could for them, the Solarian Wolf being one of them. Though there were exceptions that dragged him from the region and had him delving into dungeons, fighting against demons and handling other threats in the common and even the noble regions at times, there was no doubt that the forsaken region was where he spent the vast majority of his time. Whether it was whacking bad guys, rerouting or culling beast and monster populations or undertaking something entirely different such as reinforcing and building homes, as long as it served the populace, he’d go about doing it. Sometimes, it allowed him to change some minds, but at the end of the day, Griswold was usually just glad with the knowledge that these unfortunate people were aware of him and the hard work he did for them.

Egotistical as it might sound, being known among the people was originally one of the things he set out to do when he became a magic knight, so he could earn enough money to make the Cromwell farm into a larger business that could foresee a lot of surrounding peasants of paying jobs. These days, the reason why he did what he did had changed quite a bit, as it was no longer about just a single farm, but rather about providing that same kind of structure and steady income to the entire region. So as egotistical as it might have been for him to want to gain a name for himself and the income of a knight so he could help out the farm belonging to the people that took him in when he was at his lowest, he imagined he smoothed some of that over to some extent by wanting to use that same place for the sake of everyone around it that had working hands, feet or preferably both and were willing to put in the work.

When they finally arrived at the farmland where the attack had taken place, or rather, the place from which the cow had been snatched and taken away, he did not really need to look around at all. Walking straight towards the fence, hoping over it and sitting down on it with his back towards Franklin, his gaze peered into the nearby forest that signified the border between the Fringe and the forsaken realm. While it might show some kind of disinterest or even him lowering his guard, neither of the two were true, as for him, lowering his guard had become more or less impossible ever since he mastered his own physical body. So while his magic still had room for growth, Griswold knew that when it came to his own physique and physical skills, there was really not a whole lot else that he could learn or increase beyond this point. That said, he spoke out to Franklin, who had by this point undoubtedly started doing his own research.

“The monster we’re looking for moved over the fence without breaking anything, and did so at night when it knew the average human would be in bed. Initial footprints show it to be a quadruped, but shows bipedal movement after the cow’s tracks disappeared. In conclusion, that makes the beast fairly intelligent, means it did not kill the cow and is strong enough to lift and carry it off for later. Was there anything you wished to add, or would you like to follow the tracks heading into the Fringe?”

While much of what he said could be considered as sarcasm, that was not something Griswold really used a lot, at least not wilfully. At this point, he was merely summarizing what he had found here already, mixed with what he had found out during an earlier encounter with what he believed to be the exact same breed of creature, if not the exact same creature. But seeing as how he did not want to rush the guy, he would just wait atop the fence for him to finish doing what he was doing and get on his way into the forest. Luckily for the both of them, it would not be the first time Griswold had ventured into these woods or what lay beyond, as he had been dealing with werewolves, wargs and a bunch of witch-made hijinks such as hexed statues and lake dwelling monsters in the same region. However, him knowing what he was doing and might encounter out there did not mean that he was actually looking forward to it.

People often said that those who did nothing, achieved nothing. That those that refused to work and practice would never refine their craft, just like how those that never ventured out and studied would never learn a damned thing. Needless to say, these people were quite right. While Griswold himself had never been one for studying and hadn’t really considered the life of a scholar for himself, the amount of things he had learned throughout his relatively short life was plentiful enough to fill out several books on various subjects and topics. Whether it was the kind of thing other people would consider useful or a “fun read” however, that was most likely not going to be the case. Still, it seemed like this Franklin guy was the kind of person that enjoyed information regardless of whether it was useful or whether or not it was the kind of stuff someone would actually want to know.

Truth be told, many of the things he had learned throughout his life were things he would have preferred not to know too, yet the fact that he now did meant that he could now protect himself against it, and if need be pass it along too. Some of the things he had learned over the past few years with regards to werewolves and vampires for instance were truly harrowing, though knowing how they were made and how to stop them could prove invaluable to the right people. In the case of this being they were hunting right now was also a creature that the men and women of this country hadn’t encountered before, or had not documented, it might be worth the trouble of doing that regardless. Whether that was the kind of thing Franklin could be bothered with or not remained to be seen however, as it might very well just be another unique mana beast.

“Lets see what we’re dealing with.”

With just that statement, he made his way down the fence with a simple hop to put his boots back on the ground. It was time to see whether nor not they would be able to do exactly what they had set out to do at a previous point in time, to find exactly what kind of creature had eluded him the first time around.

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