The Rogues Who Went Rogue
Chapter 87

Eighteen vigils entered the Forest of Oderem with Duica and Bernadette, and the forest graced their nostrils with the same scent of freshly-baked pastries once more. When they reached the River of Heres, they felt the ground tremoring for a brief moment, which made them pause in their steps as the fish in the water swam away out of fear. When nothing happened for the next few moments, the vigils followed the trail up to the waterfall. Two vigils stayed at that spot while the remaining eighteen crossed the river and started sniffing.

Bernadette caught a faint mixed-scent of vampires and lycans, and they headed in that particular direction. After dashing for only a mile, the trail just stopped.

"Scent sprays. Damn these proditors," VIG 009, Dominic cursed.

Duica murmured, "This is the Forest of Oderem. This whole place is practically a scent-producing factory. Do synthetic scent sprays even work here? Wouldn't the forest just wipe them out?”

His eyes scanned the place, unconvinced that that was the end of the trail. He and a few others started walking around, and when they stepped on the metal cover, they paused in surprise for a brief second before starting to kick away the dry leaves. The cover contained a symbol of what appeared to be the front view of a papilio, the very type of insect that was only found in the palace pond and nowhere else in the empire.

Dominic hesitantly asked, "Do we still think their Imperial Majesties have nothing to do with this?"

Duica squatted and studied the cover. The metal had a thick layer of rust. Certain parts of the cover were beginning to chip off. Duica then questioned, "If they had something to do with it, why send us here to replace the purported closet hiding their skeletons?" Dominic looked around and suggested in a whisper like he was about to say something forbidden, "To lure us in there and kill us, perhaps?"

Bernadette's brows furrowed in disbelief when she retorted, "Why would the empress want to kill us? We've only ever been loyal to her and her consort."

Dominic sighed before asking, "Alright, then. Who's going in there?"

"I am," Bernadette was the first to volunteer. Another nine vigils did too, including Duica.

Apart from two vigils who bent over the cover, getting ready to pull it open, the other vigils got ready for a possible attack at the opening. Upon Duica's firm nod, the two pulled open the cover, and to everyone's relief, nothing came out. Now, on to the next step: entering.

Duica hopped in first, followed by Bernadette and the rest. All of them immediately noticed the rope attached to the opening that appeared freshly cut. There wasn't a soul in sight. Their vision adjusted to the darkness and one of them switched on the lamps on the floor, walls and tables. There was a lot of furniture around, and none of it had any dust.

Bernadette concluded, "They either left before we got here, or they'd be coming back."

Duica said, "I doubt they'd be coming back, Bernie. There are no valuables here. These are just things that no one takes with them when they run." "But if they ran..."

Duica finished for her, "Someone saw us. They knew we were coming. Search the place, everyone."
Eighteen vigils entered the Forest of Oderem with Duica and Bernadette, and the forest graced their nostrils with the same scent of freshly-baked pastries once more. When they reached the River of Heres, they felt the ground tremoring for a brief moment, which made them pause in their steps as the fish in the water swam away out of fear.

They scoured the hallways lit by more wall lamps, and went from room to room. The mixed vampire-lycan scents were everywhere. Like the vigils were taught to do with the case from Falling Vines and Saber Vagary, they sniffed any clothes and belongings left behind before recording the scents.

Duica noticed a fresh trail in the soil, and traced it to the boulder. He got three fortis to move it to the side, and they were astonished to replace a tunnel that led to a grill, which was being pushed back by a wall of rocks.

Everyone awaited instructions, and Duica calmly said, "If the Forest of Oderem has led us here, unharmed, we can assume that it's safe for their Majesties and Highnesses to enter. We should return to the castle and report our replaceings."

After the quick sniff and search, the lights were turned off and the vigils came out from the metal opening. Duica was halfway through suggesting they scoured the rest of the forest before the smell of rotten eggs was sprayed by a staghorn fern in his face. 'How is a fern even capable of producing any scent?' Duica wondered.

Dominic bit his bottom lip to stop himself from laughing at his leader before he said, "I don't think the forest wants us to do that."

Duica coughed and distanced himself from the harmless-looking plant before he uttered louder than usual, "Fine fine. We'll just return and report." The fresh scent of pastries replaced the foul odor once more.

###

Pellethia and Octavia granted them an immediate audience, and they didn't even need to consult one another before Pellethia called Lucianne right after.

When Lucianne received the call, she and Xandar rounded up the defense ministers, alliance members, Greg and his top four, Margaret and two of her followers (Azalea and Zane), Chief Dalloway and fifteen lycan warriors before making their way to the Forest of Oderem. The abandoned castle next to the forest looked oddly familiar to Lucianne and Pellethia, though neither of them knew why. They hadn't even been here before. Perhaps it was just a memory from seeing a picture somewhere?

Octavia was visibly worried about letting her wife enter, fearful of any curses that their species had heard so much about, but also understood the need to do this now. The familiar scent of pastries graced everyone's nostrils, and Pellethia couldn't help but smile and chuckled lightly with glistening eyes.

Octavia asked in confusion, "What is it, my dear?"

Her emerald eyes were soft when she said, "That scent reminds me of mom. The whole castle would smell like a bakery when she baked and sent pastries to everyone, even the servants. When I smelled that as a child, I'd drop whatever I was doing and go looking for her just by following the scent. It was like a mother-daughter game of smell-and-seek."

The vigils didn't connect the pastry scents to the late empress, and no one could blame them. The woman passed away more than a millennium ago.

Xandar smiled and said, "The forest is welcoming you, drawing you towards it."

Greg rebutted, "Or luring you into a trap."

Xandar argued, "If that were true, Greg, those who escaped that underground hideout wouldn't have had to escape."

"How do we know the hideout isn't just left empty to mislead us to think that they escaped? What if there was another hideout that the forest didn't want us to replace, hence sprayed foul smells at vigil number one over there when he wanted to look?"

In the midst of their argument, Lucianne was looking straight at the forest and feeling its energy. It felt safe, warm and...welcoming. She had a habit of feeling a creature's energy, but never a forest. This was very odd. Without a word, she started taking steps towards it. That was when Greg came right in front of her and stopped her in her tracks. "My Queen, the king and I are still arguing about this."

Lucianne's curious eyes were replaced with annoyance when she said, "Then you two can stay here and finish the argument. I'm going in."

The duke stopped her again and heaved a heavy sigh at her stubbornness before he suggested, "Let some of us go in first to make sure that it's saf—”

"No," Lucianne spoke in firm defiance, then added, "We all had a deal the other night, Greg. The vigils test the forest for three days, and if nothing happens, I'm allowed to go in. Nothing happened. I'm going in."

Greg faced Xandar and asked in despair and disbelief, "Is there a reason that you're not doing anything to stop her?"

Xandar gestured towards the forest as he said, "Greg, look at it. Feel it. Do you feel any danger or negative energy?"

No, he didn't. In fact, his lycan was curious about the forest, too. The duke couldn't believe his own animal was onboard with this. This beast was trained to be more logical and rational than most, and it always prioritized Lucianne's safety. How could it not be the least bit suspicious now?

Greg hissed at his cousin in hopes of making his own animal listen as well when he questioned, "You're basing whether it's safe on a feeling?!"

Xandar responded instantly, "Any victim in history who was lured in and suffered an unfaithful death or injury felt a degree of danger and uncertainty when they entered, despite the pleasant scents. I don't know about you and your animal, but my lycan isn't picking up any danger from that place."

"Despite the tremor the vigils reported feeling?!" Greg exclaimed at both his cousin and his animal.

Greg's lycan was nodding its head in certainty when Xandar replied in irritation, "Yes! They all got out unharmed, didn't they? If the forest really wanted to go for the kill, it would've caused a second tremor to drop rocks on the vigils when they were in the hideout, don't you think?" Without waiting for Greg's response, Lucianne groaned and walked around him to head towards the forest, and the cousins dropped their argument to follow her. Pellethia was as sure about the forest as Lucianne was, and walked by her side.

The moment they entered, Lucianne felt a warmth wrap around her body. She looked at her hands and legs but found nothing beyond the ordinary. It was then everyone started gasping. She looked around and her eyes widened in shock at two of the five copper streaks in Pellethia's hair glowing - one in blue, and one in green.