Chapter 3

Catherine wandered the town exploring the shops and learning about the people. She entered an apothecary called "Septimus And Sons" she entered and a bell rang.

"hold on! I'll be out in a moment!" A young boy shouted from the back. Catherine examined the store, but it was nothing like a normal pharmacy. Instead there were poisons and other plants which she had never heard of.

Just then a young man in his late teens or early twenties rushed behind the counter, "so sorry for the wait, how can I help you today?" He wore a white lab coat and had black hair. His face seemed to have some burns that looked fresh.

Catherine examined a bottle, "what is wolfsbane?" She asked as she pulled it off the shelf.

The young boy looked around a bit suspiciously, "that one is good for avoiding the you-know-what, not sure why, but granddad always made sure merchants left with it around their neck. Never did see any of them again..." He seemed to be reliving the past for a moment.

Catherine put the bottle back and examined the other strange plants. "What are all of these? I've never even heard of half of them."

The young man nodded, "fair. These plants only grow in the forest by Casterlin. It's no doubt you wouldn't have heard of them if you aren't from around here. Things like, wisp breath, blood drinkers, poison donut..." He started pointing at a few of the oddly named ones.

"so what exactly do you do then?" Catherine thought it was a bunch of folklore hogwash.

The young boy seemed genuine, "I'm a doctor, grandad always taught me about everything he made: potions, tonics, poisons. Most of these things are necessary if you want to survive in the forest."

Catherine furled a questioning brow, "why would you need to survive in the forest? I came in quite easily. Though I suppose that creature could be dangerous. But couldn't anyone just leave? If it really does only appear on full moons then every other day of the fortnight should be safe right?"

The young doctor widened his eyes, "so you don't know? You can't leave casterlins forest except on a full moon." He gathered a couple of bottles together. "You must've arrived just yesterday, you really are lucky you made it in the town before the gates closed. This forest has a magic spell on it. You can't leave until the full moon, if you try then you'll find yourself back at the entrance of the town again. All the towns folk know better than to even try leaving on a full moon though, even if you spent the whole day trying to escape the forest, the moon would eventually come out, only then can you leave... And by then you were already being tracked by you-know-what."

Catherine disregarded the boys warnings, "well thank you. Should I need you, I'll call on you again." She held out her hand for a handshake.

The young boy grabbed it cheerfully, "Septimus... after my grandad... Not because I'm the seventh or anything... I'm actually the only one left." He gave a weak smile. And waved goodbye.

Catherine went to the church to think some more about what she had learned. She sat in one of the empty pews as the patriarch read scripture and prayed to the All Mother. She sat in silence until he finished, then he approached her.

"so what is a saintess of the order doing in Casterlin of all places?" He seemed to already know but wanted to strike up a conversation anyways.

Catherine smiled warmly at the patriarch, "it seems there is trouble in the town father... Is it true that one one can leave?" She knew that he would not lie.

The patriarch clasped his hands together, "ah... I am sorry... But it is true. There is a mighty spell at work that even I am unable to break..." He seemed worried.

Catherine sighed. Whether she was sent here to die or not. There was only one way out of town. She looked up at the patriarch, "what do you know of the beast of the forest?" Now determined to survive she needed to get information.

The patriarch led her to the library, "we have an ancient scroll. Here, read this." It was a dusty parchment but she took it and sprawled it out on the table. There was one large word at the top of the parchment.

"Werewolf"