Melione placed her bag on the bed before sitting down on the edge. She took a notebook from the bag and opened up to the last page that had taken notes on. She wrote down everything that had happened at Forstford and the strange goo that was all over the village. She knew that whoever survived from the village had to be here in Dunwich.

Grym sat down next to her and handed her his notebook. "Would you want to add my notes to yours?"

Melione looked over at him and took the notebook out of his hand. She flipped open to the drawing of the decomposing creature. She took what he had drew and added it to her notes. She wasn't good at sketching, so she had to add to make sure she took good detailed notes. "Someone has to be here," she whispered.

"I agree," Grym stated.

Melione finished her notes and handed Grym's notebook back to him. "Thank you." She stood up and began to walk to the door.

"Do you want to go over a plan?" Grym asked as he followed her, closing the door behind them.

Melione sighed. She was still getting used to the idea of not working alone. She fell into step beside him. She knew that she needed to make sure that he was in the know with everything that she was thinking. Melione nodded as she stepped out of the inn and into the street. "We need to try to find anyone who survived that village. Considering how fresh that goo was, we should be able to find the villagers easily."

"What if we can't find them?" Grym asked as he took in their surroundings.

The street around them was bustling with activity. People chatted happily and children played up and down the street. Melione wondered if anyone had heard the news of what had happened at Forstford. She crossed her arms over her chest. "I thought that we should split up," she looked up at Grym. "Cover more ground and talk to more people."

Grym looked down at her and shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Grym," she sighed. "I can take care of myself."

"I know you can, Melione," he said slowly as he stepped closer to her. "But I don't trust these people. Something horrible happened at that village and I have a horrible feeling that there's evil here."

Melione rolled her eyes, but didn't argue with him. "Fine. Let's get started." She stepped in front of him and began to weave through the city. She tried to spot anyone who could have been from the village, but was unsuccessful. They had both tried to ask the people that they had past on the street, but every single one had refused to talk to them. Melione thought it strange that they were refusing to talk to one of their own. She understood why the people were hesitant to talk to Grym, an outsider, but to their own dective, she didn't unserstand.

Melione and Grym stopped on the outskirts of the town square. Grym leaned against the wall of a building, his arms crossed. "Why won't they talk?" he grumbled.

Melione stepped closer to him. The amount of people giving Grym hard stares disturbed her. Stepping in front if him, she turned to answer him. "They are not used to someone like you in their city."

Grym looked down at her and smirked. "Not used to someone as handsome as me?"

Melione rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "No, Grym, that's not what I mean and you know it." She turned back to watch the people. "They are not used to someone from the Emerald Realms roaming their streets."

"Then why aren't they talking to you?" Grym shifted behind her. "You are their lead dective."

Melione nodded. "I don't know. They're acting as if they are scared." She motioned for him to follow her back toward the inn. "I want to try again." She bit her lip as she made sure she didn't finish her sentence.

Grym nodded. "Okay. Should we retrace our steps?"

Melione grabbed his arm and pulled him into a tight and dark alley. Once again a strong feeling bloomed in her chest at the close proximity with Grym. She didn't want to admit the pull she felt between them, but it was wrong. She needed to create distance between them, but she couldn't help needing to be close to him. Melione leaned against the wall, creating a couple of inches between them. "I think I need to question my people by myself."

Grym rolled his eyes with a huff. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Grym-"

"They really won't talk to me because I'm from the Emerald Realms?" he scoffed. "I couldn't help where I was born."

Melione took a deep breath and placed her hands on his chest. "I know that, Grym, but these people don't trust anyone from the Emerald Realms. The Eclipse Sanctum has been burned to many times by people from your realm. They have enough reason to be skeptical of you."

"I'm here to help them," Grym commented.

Melione nodded. "I know that, but they don't. They don't understand that you're here to help find these murderers." Melione, being able to see him clearly in the dark alley, watched his face.

Grym moved his hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "Do you trust me?"

Melione's hands flexed against his chest. "I do, Grym, but you need to listen to me. I know my people. Let me talk to them alone."

Grym nodded slowly. "Alright. I'll walk around and search for clues if that cult has been here." He paused for a moment. "Let's meet back at the inn when we're done."

"Agreed," Melione gave a quick nod before turning to move out of the alley. Grym stopped her by gripping her arm and pulling her a little deeper into the alley. "Grym-" she stopped short as he pressed his lips against hers. Her hands moved over his stomach and chest as she leaned closer into him. His lips moved against hers with pure hunger. His tongue moved over her bottom lip, asking for entrance and she immediately granted it to him. Grym deepened the kiss as their tongues fought for dominance.

Grym pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry," he sighed. "I couldn't help myself."

Melione ran her hands down to his stomach and gripped his belt. She needed more of him. She craved more of him. But she fought to push down her cravings as she had a job to do. She pulled on his belt, bringing him closer to her. "We'll finish this later." She pushed against him and forced herself out of the alley. Forced herself to put distance between her and Grym. Her mind wasn't able to focus clearly when he touched her.

Melione walked through the streets slower than before, taking her time. She stepped into the town square, scanning her surroundings. She stopped at a stand and looked down at what was being sold. Dozens of different fruits lined the stand, price tags sitting in front of the fruits.

"Is there anything that I can help you with, Detective?" The man behind the counter asked her.

Melione looked up to meet and smiling face of an older man. She returned his smile and clasped her hands behind her back. "I was just wondering if you know about anything that happened at Forstford?"

The man cleared his throat as he began to rearrange the fruits on his stand. "Horrible things happened there," he sighed.

Melione nodded. "I had just traveled from Forstford and saw the aftermath. Do you know what could have caused that destruction?"

The old man looked up at her and nodded. "The people who survived said that they had seen a Shani barreling through their village, destroying everything."

Melione's hands twitched at the name of the monster. "Are those people still here?"

"Unfortunately, no," an older woman piped up beside Melione. The woman picked a couple of fruits off of the stand and handed the older man a couple of coins. "The last survivor passed away a couple of days ago from their wounds." She ticked her tongue as she shook her head. "The poor souls of Forstford. That Shani took everyone to their grave."

Melione took a deep breath and gave both of them and quick nod. "Thank you, very much." She turned away and walked quickly back to the inn. She should have know that it was a Shani that had destroyed the village. She just didn't think that it was possible that it could have gotten past the village's defensives. Melione finally returned to the inn and opened her door, hoping that Grym was already back.

He wasn't.

Melione sighed and closed the door behind her. Walking over to the bed, she pulled out her notebook and began to write down what the villagers had told her about the village. She took out a book and began to flip through the pages until she reached the page talking about the Shani.

Grym walked through the door before closing it behind him. "Did you find out anything?" He asked as he sat down beside her.

Melione nodded as she shook her notebook. "I did. Did you find any clues about that cult?"

Grym shook his head. "No." He took the notebook out of her hand and read what she had written down. "What is a Shani?"

"A horrible monster," she answered.

"More horrible than that one that attacked me?"

Melione nodded. "The creatures in this realm are horrible. Danger constantly follows you here. As I've told you before, each village and city has a protective barrier around it so none of the monsters get into their city. Those barriers keep us safe." She looked down at the page with a drawing of a Shani on it. "Shani's are one of the oldest monsters in Unotuary. Their black, leathery skin makes it extremely difficult to kill. Rumor has it that they are able to evaporate into thin air to get away from their attackers and are able to travel between the realms with ease." She sighed. "Although, Shani's prefer the climate of the Eclipse Sanctum above the rest. I'm just wondering how a Shani was able to get across the protective barrier of Forstford."

Grym stayed silent for a time, staring down at the drawing of the Shani. "Do you think there was something in Forstford that someone wanted?"

"What do you mean?" Melione looked up at him.

"I mean, given what we had found at that village, there could be something in it that the cult was wanting." He opened up his notebook to the drawing of the creature and the words that they had found. "That healer was hiding something, Melione. He didn't like us being there in the first place."

Melione nodded her agreement. "But what could have been in Forstford that he would've wanted?"