Bao had been taken in for his crimes and transported directly to the capital city of Higrant to stand trial, where he would no doubt be given a life sentence for his family's crimes over the years. Xander had been headed back to Higrant for some rest while he waited for a lead from his contact, but on his way he stopped for a drink at a tavern when a courier arrived with a message for him.

"Bar owner by name of Kaldr in Fireside, south of the capital. The dragon is thought to be involved in multiple disappearances and possibly human trafficking. Unable to be apprehended due to lack of evidence. Investigate as soon as possible. -P."

The letter was from Phineas all right, must have figured Xander would have passed through this town on the way to Higrant. Xander was still in the mood to take someone down, so he left immediately. Fireside was a city near a dormant volcano and it just so happened that the town Xander was in had a road that lead there. He set off down the road leading south unaware of the person tailing him

...

It wasn't hard to forge this "P's" handwriting, after all, Erik had practiced diligently under the instruction of his teacher, Henri Sylvan who is a master thief wanted by the entire kingdom. Unlike his teacher who stole from the rich to give to the poor, Erik prided himself on stealing from criminals. After seeing the wanted posters for the Red Knight who was wanted for obstruction of justice, Erik knew who his next target was going to be.

After tracking him to a small trading outpost in between Higrant and Siren's Cove, he had a courier deliver the forged letter to Xander who immediately fell for the trap. Kaldr was indeed real and was in fact a criminal, but the authorities had no idea who he was and this P. fellow sure wouldn't know him. The Red Knight could consider that information as payment for what he was about to do...

...

Xander hadn't been able to bathe since he arrived in Siren's Cove and the heat had started to get to him. He didn't mind smelling of sweat and musk, but there always comes a time when it becomes unbearable. Luckily enough there was a pond a mile out of town with its own waterfall!

Xander removed all of his clothes and placed under a tree by the water's edge and wadded in, the cold water a refreshing respite from the Higrantian summer heat. The cool stream of the water cascaded down his body as he scrubbed away layers of dirt and sweat from his fur, the cool wind on his wet hide reminding him of his stark nudity out in the middle of nowhere. Being surrounded by nature like this just felt right.

...

Erik was surprised, he didn't expect his chance to come a mile out of town. He was prepared to follow The Red Knight until nightfall when the vigilante would be forced to stop and set up camp. It almost felt like it was fate, that something wanted him to succeed... No wait, that would be ridiculous, it was just a lucky coincidence.

The unicorn was quite handsome, with an incredibly toned body from years of experience fighting criminals. Maybe people will be more sympathetic for him when he comes crawling back to town free of any clothing.

The satyr found the unicorn's clothes underneath a tree near the pond and began to pick up the pants, dagger, but hesitated when he got to the unicorn's briefs. No, he would have all the time in the world to enjoy them later and put them with the rest of the clothes. As he reached for the vest, he heard a sound that made his heart drop.

*snap*

He had stepped on a twig, the only sound to be heard in the clearing besides the waterfall, but even that was quiet compared to the comparative explosion...

The Red Knight heard the noise and quickly turned around to see a frightened satyr holding his clothes.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?!" the unicorn yelled, surprise quickly turning to fury.

Erik snatched the vest and ran getting back onto the road and making a beeline for the trading outpost. The sounds of an angered, yet embarrassed unicorn trailed behind him. If the enraged vigilante wanted his clothes back, he was going to have to pay with his dignity and quite possibly a public indecency charge.