Artie led them to an area northwest of their original position, Ash tagging along with them.
As they were walking, Eliron noticed a large claw mark on the side of a tree, the slash leaving shallow but sharp imprints on the bark.
From Ash and Artie's reaction, it was clear that they had seen it before.
"I'm guessing whatever you want to show me is related to that?" Eliron asked.
Artie nodded. "There were no signs of goblins down this path, or any other path even. But I found something else."
They made a turn behind a large tree and stopped.
Beside the tree was a large bear lying dead in a pool of viscous blood.
The sight was appalling, and smell of rot hit them next, the disgusting stench causing Yennefer to take a step back.
One of the bear's limbs had been severed roughly. Like trying to cut a branch with a razor, it left bits of flesh above it, the missing limb nowhere in sight.
Its body was also marred with innumerable injuries.
"What do you think?" Artie asked as they watched it.
Yennefer averted her gaze, while Eliron studied it closely.
"There are many monsters in the forest, this isn't exactly rare. I'm guessing you called me for another reason?"
Artie smiled. "Good to see your head is still in the game. Look at the pattern of the attacks…"
When Eliron studied the areas that the monster had targeted with its strikes, he furrowed his brow.
"I see…"
Knees, neck, and joints…
"This isn't the work of any regular monster," Eliron concluded. "It has to be an intelligent beast."
Artie silently agreed with him, nodding her head.
Intelligent monsters were far trickier to deal with, because unlike mindless monsters that would easily walk into traps and often left traceable trails, these monsters were elusive.
Depending on their level of intelligence, they could avoid traps, plot attacks, and even stage complex ambushes.
"Lady Artie, do you recognise these claw marks? I don't think I've seen them before," Ash asked as he watched the bear.
Artie shook her head. "Me neither, it must have migrated from the deeper parts of the forest."
Ash stroked his chin. "But what would have made it come so far?"
As they were talking, Eliron crouched down and pulled out a dagger from his belt.
Swish!
He dug the blade into the monster's hide, ripping into the flesh.
'It's not too rigid yet,' he thought.
Judging by how tough it was, it had not been too long since the monster had died.
"Ew, Eliron! What are you doing?" Yennefer complained, pinching her nostrils closed. "Are you trying to catch the plague?"
He slowly shook his head. "Don't worry about that, I'll properly wash my hands afterwards."
Artie curiously watched him while he worked, trying to figure out the reason behind his actions.
"My lord, what are you trying to find out?" Ash asked as he watched him.
"The cause of death…"
"The… cause of death?" He repeated Eliron's words, slightly confused.
Eliron nodded. "A corpse can tell you a lot more than you think."
Basically, he was performing an autopsy on the bear to find out just what sort of monster had killed it.
After all, knowing what monster it was might just end up preserving their lives as well.
"How long ago do you think this monster has been dead, Artie?" he asked without removing his eyes from the monster.
She was one of the best hunters amongst them, so she could predict it well.
Artie stared at the exposed flesh. "Probably three days at most…"
Eliron nodded. "That means most of the organs should still be intact enough."
There was something strange he had noticed about the carcass when he first arrived.
'Although it has many injuries, most of them were shallow cuts, not deep enough to actually kill it.'
Meaning, something else had killed it.
'I wouldn't have thought about this if autopsies weren't so popular back on Earth…'
Here in the medieval era, death was death to many, there was no real reason to find out what had killed something.
But autopsies had only become popular when people discovered the vast information that could be gotten from them.
It wasn't different when it came to animals.
Yennefer was unable to stomach the disturbing sight, so she excused herself and walked a little farther from them, while Artie and Ash stared at the morbid scene, looking uncertain.
With blood-stained hands, Eliron filtered through the body, taking out one organ after the other and inspecting them…
There was already something he suspected, all he needed to do was confirm his suspicion.
He checked everything he could, and even after going through nearly everything, there was no glaring cause of death.
"Please allow me to assist you, my lord."
To Eliron's surprise, Ash crouched down as well and dug his hand into the corpse.
"What are we looking for?"
Eliron smiled. "Anything out of the natural."
At first, it looked like their attempts were futile, but everything changed when Eliron ripped out its bloody heart.
The heart of the bear… was as black as coal.
"It's just like I thought, the bear died from venom."
The revelation startled their little group, and Yennefer even rushed from where she was to stare at it.
"He's right, this is venom, and from the way it looks, it is a very deadly type."
Artie leaned closer to get a better look, then frowned. "What made you suspect it was venom in the first place?"
Eliron got to his feet, wiping the blood on some leaves as he explained his thinking process.
"Monsters that have weak offensive abilities are often augmented with deadly venom. It was the same way with snakes and spiders…"
"Because they can't do much damage with their bodies, they rely on weaker attacks laced with deadly chemicals."
Artie smiled. "Your thinking is on point. I thought the same at first, but I let go of the idea because of the severed arm…"
She stared down at it. "Now that I see it, you are right, it took a fair number of strikes."
While Yennefer took out her waterskin and poured water on Eliron's hands to wash them, complaining about his recklessness every chance she got, he turned to face them.
"So what kind of monster could it be?"
"Well, there are only two possibilities…" Artie listed out the two options and gave a short summary of them.
When she was done, Eliron's smile broadened.
"Alright, now that we have a general idea of what kind of monster it is, this is what we are going to do…"
The rest of the journey was uneventful, and by nightfall, they made their camp under a large tree.
•••
Deep within the forest, a creature was neck-deep in a corpse, slushing in blood that bathed its entire body, its hands exploring the raw flesh and shoving it down its throat.
And then, all of a sudden, something flickered on in the distance, a small bright light that shone like a beacon, calling it.
The monster hissed, black scales blending with the night, yellow eyes and slit pupils narrowing.
Sssssss—!
And then it moved, charging towards the light at inhuman speeds.