Seonghwa could veto his way through his worried friends and nefarious gargoyle. They gathered their belongings after he had finished his food and bid their goodbyes to the owners of Lewes Screws. On their way to the northern gates, Yunho kept eyeing Seonghwa warily as if he would faint again if left out of sight for even a second.

The care of his companions soothed Seonghwa's distress. He pushed all thought about Hongjoong away and made sure he didn't have to look at the man as he thanked the other two for their backing. The gargoyle didn't mind trudging behind them. His irritation about Jongho joining their group was still apparent in the air, but Seonghwa didn't have the energy to dwell on it. He and Hongjoong were so different, of course, they would take opposite actions. Hongjoong would watch a man drown with sick pleasure while Seonghwa would hurry to save him. The spread between their differences didn't bother Seonghwa. As long as he gained distance from Hongjoong, his haunting presence and those amber eyes, he take responsibility for what the gargoyle did.

Yunho and Jongho were good friends. The flow of Yunho's delightful stories with Perie as his partner in crime never ended. The traces of hope that glowed in Jongho's eyes as Seonghwa's presence taught him not all was lost made this journey worth it.

Seonghwa needed Hongjoong to survive and Hongjoong needed him to fulfil his oath. There couldn't be anything more between them. No matter how much Seonghwa wished for Hongjoong's taunting to stop, he knew it wouldn't. The vicious demon enjoyed his game of corruption and he didn't care what damage it left on Seonghwa's already fragile health. His pain was Hongjoong's joy. The gargoyle couldn't reap his soul because of the bonds that held him, but he could get his perverse gratification from Seonghwa's suffering.

The image of amber eyes between his thighs flashed through Seonghwa's mind. He shook his head to himself.

Yunho picked up on his inner struggle and tilted his head at Seonghwa. The motion looked so similar to Perie that Seonghwa had to chuckle, the amber eyes fading out of his mind.

"A livre for your thoughts?"

The forest was misty today. Grey veils of fog shrouded the trees as if masking their loss of beauty and colour. They clung to their branches like the fluttering veils of the woman that had cursed Seonghwa.

Lost in the sight, Seonghwa hummed. The birds were quieter these days, for most of them travelled west during the cold season. Instead of their sweet song, the eerie caws of crows filled the air with a sense of dread. The atmosphere was fitting for the witch they sought. It made Seonghwa shudder with the ghostly unholiness that lingered all around. Hongjoong fit right in.

"I thought about the witch. I imagine witches to be very scary. They are unholy beings, and they know how to evade heavenly punishment. Have you ever met a witch before?"

Yunho stared into the sky, reflecting. The laces of his shirt were undone and showed off his tanned collarbone despite the chill breeze. Seonghwa worried he would get sick.

"I met a fortune teller, but I can't tell if she was a proper witch or a fraud. If she was authentic, she was the proper amount of eerie. Cryptic words, wafting smoke, and all that. The smell of incense. But she didn't do a blood ritual or anything."

While the image Yunho painted was eerie, his amused tone wasn't.

"What fortune did she tell you?"

Yunho hesitated. When he giggled, Seonghwa had to smile along involuntarily.

"She said I would get in trouble and that my usual lifestyle may conflict with the decisions that would need to be taken. As I said, absolutely cryptic."

"Perhaps she meant you might need to go against your morals to do the right thing?"

If only someone taught that to Hongjoong.

"Or she meant that going against my morals could mean death and despair or something like that. Who knows, maybe I passed that moment the same day. With predictions like those, you never know when they happen. If they are real." Yunho shrugged.

"But she wasn't scary. She offered her magic for money and that was all there was. I doubt your witch can be paid the same way. If she even hears us out."

Troubled, Seonghwa fingered his cross. He prayed the deal would go smoothly and that the witch wouldn't demand an unattainable price. Life was worth a lot, but depending on what she wanted, his time would run out before he could accumulate such a cost.

"I hope Hongjoong knows to convince her. He shares her black blood and that might compel her to help." Seonghwa glanced toward the gargoyle. He reminded himself once more not to feed his revolt about the demon any further. He needed Hongjoong to survive. If the gargoyle changed teams last minute, Seonghwa was lost.

Hongjoong wandered unbothered, but Jongho's disturbed expression caught Seonghwa's eyes. The crusader in the white uniform had been watchful since Seonghwa had collapsed earlier, but the talk about witches woke the same unsettlement in him as in Seonghwa. Neither of them would ever get done purging her evil off them.

"I can charm my way under her skirts if need be," Yunho offered himself. Seonghwa glared at him with playful disapproval, and the man snickered. When he lifted his hands in defence, Perie came from the skies to sit down on his left arm.

"Fine, fine." He fed her some meat as they concentrated on the path. The bridge to Briar Glen showed in the distance. It was a massive stone structure that spanned the Lewes River, the biggest river in their kingdom. Guards milled around there at all hours of the day and it was much more influential for the trade than the bridge over the Morden River had been.

Beyond the bridge, the mountains surrounding Briar Glen rose to the skies as if on their way to greet God in his heavenly court. Their tips were perpetually white with snow, but they looked so soft and dreamy between the clouds that they had earned their name. Wool Mountains. They were so tall that Seonghwa couldn't fathom an entire bustling town to find a place in their midst.

From now on, instead of under the trees, they would sleep under the open sky. Meadows spanned the lands around the mountains and they would spend one more night on them before they started the hike over rough stone. Naturally, the mountains were dotted with trees, but they wouldn't offer a safe resting spot.

On the steep paths and narrow corners of the hills, Seonghwa could only imagine how many robbers or wild cats would await them. He felt protected with Jongho by his side, but he didn't want any of his friends to get hurt.

"Have you been to Briar Glen before?" Seonghwa asked Jongho instead, curious if there were tricks to avoid such difficulties. The brilliant white uniform of the crusader remained marvellously spotless - or he polished it diligently. His swishing cape dangled from his left shoulder and basked in the breeze.

The crusader nodded shyly, but his tongue struggled to form words. Before panic could fill his bleak eyes, Seonghwa gave him a soothing smile.

"I can imagine it's very busy. Is it beautiful?"

A thankful grin curled around Jongho's lips. His round cheeks shifted along with it and Seonghwa suppressed a coo when the man nodded again with more vigour. His reluctant demeanour and careful attitude reminded Seonghwa of a child. Though he didn't know what had happened for Jongho to lose his spark, Seonghwa counted it as a win that some childish innocence had returned to him.

From his peripherals, Seonghwa felt Hongjoong's glare more than he saw it. He didn't need to be reminded of who Jongho was and what he might have done. The man suffered and regretted it. He deserved forgiveness. Something Hongjoong didn't deserve for his murder and tricks since he had not a shred of guilt in his black heart.

"I look forward to seeing it! The stories about Briar Glen spread far and wide and even some of my parents' friends - who lived in the same boring huts all life - knew them. Do you think we get to see the royal family?" Yunho vibrated in his spot with excitement while the group drew closer to the bridge.

"I doubt they leave the palace often," Seonghwa chuckled, though he had to admit his curiosity. What was a king like? Would he look kind? He had heard the queen was praised for her beauty and refinement.

"I can't miss my chance to serenade a princess under her royal window," Yunho snickered. Before Seonghwa got to reply, his eyes fell onto something next to the bridge. It was a white horse, saddled and reined, but without a rider. Its blindingly white fur shone in the afternoon sun. Lost, it flicked his mane about, useless without a person to direct it.

The others took notice of the animal, too, and searched their surroundings. Mighty in its nature, the river sloshed under the bridge. The grasses of its bank were empty and no person on a casual stroll was in sight.

Perie clambered into Yunho's backpack on instinct. The group slowed, unsure whether to approach the horse and search for its owner or whether to leave the animal.

"She's a pretty one," Yunho noted, his hands already searching his bags with the many trinkets and snacks for something a horse liked. Seonghwa worriedly searched the river.

"Why is it alone?" He asked, but Jongho had no answer either. The crusader parted from them to shift through the tall bushes while Hongjoong scanned the nearby forest with his eyes.

Unbothered, the horse grazed all the grass it wanted.

Yunho approached it gingerly, with his hand outstretched in a beckon with his apple slices. Seonghwa followed along to be ready to save him in case the horse kicked. It looked like a regular traveller's horse, not steeled by ploughing work or war. Its beauty hinted at an owner of money, perhaps a noble who had ridden out to enjoy a pleasant day at the river.

Hopefully, he hadn't fallen in and that was why he missed.

The horse lifted its head to stare at Yunho with intelligent eyes. Its ears flicked in interest, then it stretched its head in their direction.

A smile spread on Seonghwa's lips when the horse trudged in, ready to take its apple. However, before it reached them, a grotesque crunch sounded.

The smooth fur and elegant build of the horse warped like the disrupted surface of a still lake. Bones cracked when they shrunk and sickly shapes protruded when its limbs sorted themselves anew. The horse took the shape of a man just tall enough to reach Seonghwa's chest. He wore a red hat and his eyes glinted like vicious little pebbles. The pointed, tall ears at the sides of his head gave away his inhuman heritage.

Seonghwa still couldn't comprehend where the horse had gone when the creature put two fingers in his mouth and whistled.

Dozens of vicious yells sounded from the group of gnomes that sprung the bridge. They crawled from beneath it with spears in their little hands and greed in their eyes as they circled the group.

Seonghwa stumbled back, intimidated by their number even when they were so small. With sardonic laughter, they herded the travellers like animals.

"What's going on here?!" Seonghwa cried. He whipped around to the leader, who had once been a horse. His dirty blond hair peeked from under his hat and matched his koboldish features.

"We are the guards of this bridge and it's time to pay your pontage." Deviousness shone in his eyes when he held out a hand. His gnarly fingers ended in clawed fingernails.

Seonghwa slowly shook his head. Aching in its flutters, his heart raced in his chest.

"I don't believe you work for the king."

Indignant, the gnome opened his mouth.

"Assumptions based on our appearance, how hurtful! Since you want to be mean, get them, lads!"

The voices of his henchmen resounded as they charged. The leader acted at the same time. A thin blade carved with ornate patterns slipped from his sleeve before Seonghwa understood what was happening. It dashed at his abdomen, ready to gut Seonghwa and take what they wanted.

A body crashed into the priest and threw him off his feet. He landed face down in the grass and spat it back out to push himself up in a hurry. His face paled when he saw it wasn't Jongho who had saved him.

The gnome had reacted to the movement faster than anyone could retaliate. His blade had embedded itself deep in Hongjoong's side. The flow of slicing him open was halted by the gargoyle's claw that had wrapped around the kobold's wrist in a crushing grip. The snarl on Hongjoong's lips made Seonghwa's knees weak.

"Ah, this is a problem," the gnome said, nervous. He stepped back with his hands raised and Hongjoong used the moment to rip the blade from his stomach. Black blood sloshed out of the wound and turned Seonghwa's stomach around.

Blade in hand, Hongjoong spread his wings. His sheer size made the other gnomes hesitate in fear, but they didn't retreat.

"Everyone, get that one first!" The leader howled. In a bunch, they charged at Hongjoong and Seonghwa's terrified cry drowned in their mass.