The plane arrived in the northern region late in the afternoon.
From the moment they left the airport, it was obvious that the place was completely different from the cities Ethan was used to. Snow covered almost everything, while the houses were few and scattered, separated by wide stretches of white-covered trees.
There was only one main road running through the town. Most of the shops, restaurants, and other services were gathered along it.
Ethan didn't need much time to find the place he was looking for.
One bar.
It was a medium-sized wooden building, with smoke rising from its chimney and a simple sign hanging above the entrance.
The three of them went inside.
The warmth was comfortable compared to the cold outside. Wooden tables filled the room, while a few customers sat near the fireplace.
Ethan gave the place a quick look.
Nothing seemed unusual.
And that was exactly what he wanted.
They sat near a window that gave them a clear view of the street.
One of the waitresses approached them with menus.
"I'd like something non-alcoholic."
Then he pointed toward Lian.
"And some juice for her."
Alex took the menu as if she were preparing for an entirely different mission.
"I want cake... pizza... chicken... grilled meat... pasta... donuts... and a beer."
Ethan looked at her.
Then at the menu.
Then back at her.
"That's all?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
"I won't eat too much."
Ethan couldn't find an appropriate response.
Lian simply looked at her in silence.
A few minutes later, the dishes began arriving one after another.
Alex didn't take long.
One plate after another disappeared from in front of her until nothing remained on the table except empty dishes.
One of the waitresses had been watching the scene from a distance. She eventually approached to collect the plates.
She looked at Alex with admiration.
"You have quite an appetite."
Then she turned toward Ethan.
"Your wife certainly has a healthy appetite."
A brief silence followed.
Ethan answered, slightly embarrassed.
"Yes... she does."
Lian lifted her glass to hide her laughter.
Alex continued eating as though the conversation had nothing to do with her.
***
Once things settled down, Ethan returned his attention to the mission.
His eyes moved between the entrance, the tables, and the waitresses.
Only two.
One was a young woman with short brown hair. The other was a blonde girl who looked slightly younger.
If Ethan's theory was correct, one of them was the woman the dwarf had come here to see.
He wouldn't have to wait long.
A man entered the bar.
He was tall, wearing the same red checkered shirt and loose-fitting jeans Ethan had seen in the photographs.
The dwarf.
He sat at a table in the corner.
He called one of the waitresses.
"Sara, bring me a drink, please."
Ethan's eyes narrowed slightly.
Sara.
He looked at the girl.
Then at the dwarf.
The pieces were beginning to fall into place.
Sara reached his table a few moments later with his drink.
The dwarf made no attempt to hide his interest in her.
He started talking to her, and gradually his words turned into obvious flirting.
Sara, however, didn't seem interested.
Her replies were short, and whenever the conversation dragged on, she tried to end it.
He didn't give up.
Every time he finished his drink, he ordered another.
Whenever Sara passed near him, he tried to start another conversation.
He remained there for quite some time.
Ethan rarely took his eyes off him.
Then Alex said:
"I'm going to the bathroom."
She left the table.
Ethan used the opportunity to look at Lian.
"How are you?"
"Fine."
"I mean... after everything that happened."
Lian was quiet for a moment.
Then she said:
"I don't live with my family anymore."
Ethan looked at her with concern.
"What happened?"
She lowered her eyes toward her glass.
"They threw me out."
"Why?"
"I told them I had made a contract with a dark elf."
Ethan didn't know what to say.
She continued:
"I didn't tell them that he was actually human."
He looked at her.
"Why?"
"If they had known the truth, they would have killed me."
Silence settled between them.
Then Ethan asked:
"How are you living now?"
Lian pulled a black card from her pocket and placed it on the table.
It took Ethan only a few seconds to recognize it.
His card.
He looked at it.
Then at Lian.
"Where did you get that?"
"When you threw it away that time, when you wanted to reveal yourself."
Ethan remembered the scene.
He had thought the card was gone.
But she had kept it.
Lian said:
"I used it to rent a house and buy everything I needed."
Ethan reached for the card and took it back.
He ran a hand through his hair awkwardly.
"You should have told me."
"Why?"
"You could have lived with me."
Lian stared at him for a few seconds.
She didn't know what to say.
At that moment, Ethan realized something else.
Alex was taking too long.
He turned toward the dwarf's table.
The man was still there.
Ethan breathed a little easier.
But that relief didn't last.
Sara was walking toward him.
This time, he wasn't holding an empty glass, and he hadn't called for her.
She had gone to him on her own.
She said something Ethan couldn't hear.
Then she stood before him for a few moments.
The dwarf got up.
They left the bar together.
Something felt wrong.
Ethan had to decide quickly.
Alex hadn't returned.
And the dwarf was leaving now.
There was no time to wait.
"Lian. Come on."
The two of them left the bar.
***
They followed the dwarf and Sara along the main road.
After a short distance, they left the town and headed toward an area covered in trees.
The snow was deeper there, and the trees were so tall that their tops nearly disappeared into the white mist.
Ethan continued following them until a wooden sign appeared ahead.
He read it.
"DANGER OF AVALANCHES. WE'RE TIRED OF RECOVERING BODIES."
Ethan stared at it for a moment.
The stupidest sign I've ever seen.
Then another thought followed.
Whoever writes something like that only makes people want to find out what's inside.
It didn't matter now.
He continued forward.
The two entered the forest.
Then Ethan heard the dwarf's voice.
"Why did you bring me here?"
Sara answered.
But it wasn't the same voice Ethan had heard inside the bar.
It was sharper.
Lower.
Terrifying.
"Because I'm going to eat you."
Ethan didn't understand.
Then something happened in front of him.
Sara's body began to change.
Her jaw stretched unnaturally, and the bones of her face shifted as an enormous mouth opened, revealing rows of long, sharp teeth.
Her features transformed completely.
She was no longer the girl who worked at the bar.
She wasn't even human anymore.
Ethan remained where he was, unable to process what he was seeing.
The dwarf had no idea that he had led himself straight into a trap.
And Ethan...
had just realized that the investigation that began with a simple photograph of a dwarf had led him to something that none of his deductions had predicted.