A few days had passed since then.
Maxwell stood beside Albert at the outskirts of the settlement.
Before them lay the aftermath of violence, a stretch of broken ground that looked as though something had torn through it.
Scorched stone, shattered debris, and gouges in the earth spread unevenly across the area.
"The people around here all said the same thing," Maxwell said quietly. "Loud noises in the night. By morning, this was all that was left."
Albert folded his arms, fixing his gaze to the ground.
"Two of my men disappeared earlier this week. Just yesterday, another one went missing." he said, narrowing his eyes.
"Judging from this alone, there was definitely a battle here."
Gremit hummed as he moved ahead of them, his form pacing slowly through the wreckage.
He studied the marks with practiced eyes as his claws nudged aside fragments of stone.
"Violence of this scale would point to spawns," Gremit said. "But that should be impossible within a maire's territory."
