[b][i]Meanwhile, somewhere in Kindeance Westernmost Province[/i][/b] 
__________________________________________________________

She called the place the Lab workstation. It was the place where ingredients for some potions were ground, measured, 
and then prepared to be cooked on small burners. It was also the place for her to 'work' on her test subjects; they were usually placed, tied, or sedated on a rather large table at the corner of the room in varieties of position and condition. 

But today she had to empty that table at Stritzel's request. And the reason for it was even more ridiculous; to make the place easier for the eye for an inspection. 


Widernia O'heyak doesn't like it when someone invades her turf. 

Strangers or patrons didn't matter, the only difference was, for her patron she was willing to hide her dislikes and rein the urgency to backstab them. After all, her research could not continue without their funding. She needs them as much as they need her, and so far she could always draw a line and assure her patron that they were on equal ground. 

But there was something different this time, something that tipped the scale and forced Wedernia to be more lenient, if not careful. Unlike the usual pathetic and whiny Stritzel, the patron visiting today was a powerful man, old but so powerful she could smell it. 

The man was some sort of "Controller" named Jonas Delving. A patriarch of one of the most powerful clans in Kindeance. Today, after overseeing the deliverance of their regular supplies, he was scheduled to have a tour in her lab, making sure the money spent was put to good use. 

So here she was, like a dog on a short leash mustering every bit of patience she could find to 'show him around' 

"What is this? Inquired the man as they arrived in front of a set of rooms separated by iron bars. The first cell was dwelled by a very large bear sleeping in a very large and sturdy bed. Despite the premium decoration, and the effort of Stritzel's servant to keep it as clean as possible, the room reeked the smell of foul blood and pus.  

To answer their Controller's inquiry, [i]that[/i] bear was half the reason why Widernia was here. The diagnosis concluded that he suffered a catastrophic organ contusion and had a piece of arrowhead-shaped crystal buried somewhere under his brain cavity. The internal damage can heal, albeit slowly, but the nose trauma was... not so optimistic. In fact, it only got worse day by day. 

"That's my boy." Answered Stritzel, sounding genuinely brittle. The Controller only nodded as if the bizarreness of the answer didn't faze him at all. 

Shifting his attention to the next cell, there was another bear chained in an outstretched position. His eyes were opened, but didn't seem fully conscious. His head tilted several times, mostly to look at the oil lamps in the corner of the room. Every once in a while he made a low guttural sound, sometimes a faint whimper or soft whirr of his breath. 

It seemed he was having a rough night yesterday. After securing some ampuls of blood from his beastly arm, it was Stritzel's turn to indulge in whatever plan she fancied for their newest plaything. She didn't know what happened after the door was closed, nor did she care, but the moans were oddly spectacular. 

The controller gestured for an explanation without having to ask. 

"Another specimen, his younger brother." Though her smile was still fake and she was lying to her teeth, Widernia's voice sounded more ebullient this time. "The important one. The very useful one." 

"Explain to me." 

Widernia set aside some of her disheveled red hair and began enthusiastically. "We have been making an enchantment potion, yet the effect was minuscule. Luckily we secured this bear some three days ago. I've tested his blood, experimenting on it... and."

"And?"

"His blood is the key ingredient to bypass a certain chemical reaction that is otherwise impossible to maintain with conventional method." 

The Controller, after a long-winded pause finally nodded. He looked at the bear again, rubbing his chin as if trying to recall something. But all that mattered for Widernia was the man didn't look very excited, or disappointed after hearing about the progress she discovered, and it insulted her to her very being. 

"I see the gold is being put to good use, as it should be," said the man flatly. Then he turned to Stritzel again. 

"Now, I have more important things to discuss with you. My source told me Fredricus has prepared a group of agents-" 

"No! No! No!" 

For a brief second, Stritzel's elderly frame arched as if something had pulled her. "Were they the SAME DAMN CREATURES WHO HURT MY SON?"

"Hard to say. But there was less reason for Fredricus to not employ his previous hirelings if they were that effective."

"Effective huh," Widernia mumbled. In order to calm the impulse to backstab the Controller for his failure to appreciate her work, she had retreated into the second cell where the restrained bear was, grinning from ear to ear when she heard that the king had dispatched them to find their missing friend. The Druid Bear from the Misty Forest.  

Such a twist of fate that the Controller himself was unaware that the Druid in question was right under his nose. Such ignorance was deemed advantageous for her. The man got his plan, and she got hers. Her plan was better and theirs... boring.

"You hear that, my dear test subject?" the red-haired mage purred as she caressed the bear's fur. "How lucky of you that your friends are coming. Could I say the same for my master back then?"

Her master. A sudden urge to scissor the bear's exposed neck swelled inside her, but years under her master's tutelage had allowed her to be patient, to compromise. Not now, but soon, she will have her revenge, a long, precise, and bloody. And from that act of revenge, she would create something new.    

She would settle with imagining a V-shaped incision for now. And indulging herself in a tough choice between implanting the head and spine or just the head. Letting her imagination run wild before closing the cell again, and activating the runic lock. 

She and Stritzel would keep this secret to themselves for this time being. Though the motives were different, it suited her purpose nonetheless.