While standing inside the forge, the first thing Lupus made absolutely sure of was that no one had been left behind. He couldn’t risk assuming. If anyone remained inside, whether a late worker, a guard checking equipnt, or a forger who had fallen asleep on the job, then everything he planned to do tonight would collapse instantly.
He moved quietly, stepping through the dim orange glow left behind by residual heat. The forge still radiated warmth, the air thick with the scent of smoke and lted tal. Lupus sniffed the air carefully. No fresh scents. No shifts in warmth that indicated soone nearby. The only lingering trace was the heavy sll of soot clinging to every surface.
‘Good,’ he thought. ‘At least that part worked. No one stayed behind tonight.’
He walked through the familiar areas, the ones he and the other forgers used during the day. Tables, tools, hamrs, supplies, chunks of beast crystals, and cooling racks. Everything looked exactly the sa as it had when he’d left earlier, except now things were neatly stored away, tucked in their proper places.
Nothing out of the ordinary.
Nothing suspicious.
And that, more than anything, put Lupus on edge.
Because if nothing strange happened out here... then the only answer lay deeper within.
There was only one real place left to check.
His gaze shifted toward the massive structure dominating the center of the forge, the main furnace. A towering tal construct that roared with unnatural flas during the day. It was the heart of the forge, fed by ancient dwarven technology and powered by techniques Lupus still didn’t fully understand.
It was also off-limits. Always off-limits. Even for forgers.
During the day, the flas burned non-stop. At night, the furnace was extinguished, but the heat lingered so heavily that stepping inside would still be dangerous. Even Lupus felt sweat forming at the back of his neck as he approached.
Today, however, he noticed sothing odd.
The flas had been entirely shut off.
No heat trickling out. No flicker of residual fire. Just a quiet, almost eerie silence.
Lupus’ instincts prickled.
‘It’s been burning all day... how is it completely cold right now? This place should still be steaming.’
A part of him was relieved, if the flas weren’t active, he wouldn’t have to walk through literal fire.
But another part of him felt uneasy.
Sothing about this wasn’t natural.
With a slow breath, Lupus placed his hand on the heavy iron latch. It was warm, but not scalding. A good sign. He pulled the door open. The tal creaked softly, and a small gust of ash drifted out like a sigh.
The inside of the furnace was enormous, far bigger than anything he expected. A cavern of tal walls, still faintly glowing from the residual heat, and layers of dark ash covering the ground.
He stepped inside.
Instantly, he felt the thick air cling to his skin. The furnace slled of burning tal, old smoke, and sothing else... sothing tallic and sharp.
He scanned the interior.
At first glance, nothing seed strange.
Weapons hung neatly around the curved walls, swords, spears, axes, all forged by expert hands. Lupus’ eyes widened slightly.
‘These weapons... they feel different. Strong. Almost like they’re calling out.’
He resisted the urge to touch them. He reminded himself why he was here.
Further in, right where the flas would usually erupt during the day, Lupus noticed sothing out of place.
Four tal shackles lay embedded into the floor, two for wrists, two for ankles. Heavy chains connected them together, bolted into the furnace wall itself. Beast-crystal reinforcent shimred faintly across their surface.
Lupus crouched down and touched the shackles. They were cold. Strong. Far stronger than anything a normal blacksmith could make.
“These aren’t ordinary shackles,” he whispered. “This is beast equipnt. Purpose-built. And only enough for one person...”
His body tensed. Soone had been restrained here. Recently.
And willingly or unwillingly... restrained inside a furnace.
Lupus felt a chill run up his spine despite the heat.
‘Who would be locked here? Why inside the one place where no Werewolf is allowed to approach when the flas are active?’
Nothing else remained in the room. No markings. No leftover scent strong enough to identify. Just the shackles, the weapons, and the unsettling emptiness.
Lupus left quickly, forcing himself not to run, and climbed back out the sa chimney. His heart was hamring, not from fear, but from what the implications of this discovery ant.
Hours later, the three of them t on the rooftop of the dorms. The sky was dark, stars scattered faintly above them, and most Werewolves were either asleep or settling down for the night. Galdark had joined them too, anxious to hear what they’d found.
Lupus finished recounting everything he saw.
“That’s strange,” Galdark muttered, rubbing his temples. “I’ve been inside that furnace before. That definitely wasn’t there. The shackles... that whole setup... it wasn’t part of the forge back then.”
Gary gulped, his throat tight. “Do you think it could have sothing to do with the full moon? The shackles looked like they were ant to restrain a Werewolf. Unzoku might’ve cursed Jack’s wife or sothing... maybe she transforms uncontrollably.”
Kai nodded thoughtfully. “It could be. But here’s the issue, Jack’s wife is still being seen around the city, isn’t she? Not often, but enough. And if she were dangerous, wouldn’t Jack be keeping her hidden away?”
“Exactly,” Lupus added. “If she needed restraining, she’d be locked up right now.”
Galdark raised both hands, stopping the flood of speculation. His voice shook slightly, not from fear, but from frustration.
“Have you figured out why Jack is acting strange or not? Because all of this, his family, the forge, the hospital, none of it makes sense together.”
Kai inhaled deeply.
“I haven’t figured it out yet.”
His voice was low. Focused.
“But we’re close. There’s just one more piece we need.”
He turned to Gary.
“Gary. Tell everything you saw inside the house. Every detail. Don’t skip anything.”
Gary repeated his steps, explaining how he entered from the roof, how the place slled unused, how the rooms were trashed, the scratch marks, the boarded-up windows, everything.
Kai listened carefully. His expression gradually shifted, from confusion, to concern, to sothing much more serious.
Lupus and Galdark waited anxiously.
Finally, Kai looked up.
“I’m hoping I’m wrong,” he said quietly. “But Lupus... we’re going to need you to enter that furnace again.”
Lupus blinked. “At night again?”
“No.” Kai shook his head. “During the day.”
****
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