"Voices? There be people?" Rudolph placed his hand on Mari's shoulder, the stairs giving him the necessary height difference to achieve the feat comfortably. "Lassie move over a bit will ye? Can't see much." He peered from the side. "What the blazes be you all here? Followers of the Lantern Bearer aye? Far ways from Lantern's Cross you all be. What this about being bitten? We haven't seen a werebeast much less been a snack fer one." He looked past and saw the forge and tubs. "Well I'll be damned. Lassie, make way make way." The dwarf ushered Mari down the stairs, ignoring Visage's plight with the woman.

"Good reaction." The knight nodded and smiled slightly to Lera, then turned to the captain.

"You're welcome..." Aurea answered, lowering her sword to previous position as her body relaxed. "Don't rough him up too much though...This man has seen things and is absolutely terrified, probably for a reason. I don't think chains and darkness of his cell will improve this status much, if you were to gather information from him." The woman then escorted the captain and his people with her gaze, before it got fixed back on the caravan. She approached the carriage and looked inside, to make sure there's no more surprises. If there in fact were none, she'd help the townsfolk with unloading the goods and transporting the wounded.

Visage pulled back enough to miss being beheaded, thankful his reflexes were still sharp as ever. His tensioned muscles barely resisted letting the arrow fly at the lady, relaxing the bow slowly. He pressed the arrow against the riser of the bow, letting it meld back, then hooked his bow on his hip as it morphed into a small cudgel again. He smiled a woodsman's friendly but wary grin.

"We both came rather close to dying in that instant -- a headless friend and an impaled defender don't make for a good pairing. No, my dear, I am not bitten, nor is the rest of my team. We come from Thornfell -- the rest of my party are there helping defend. I am Visage. We come with silvered weapons, and I have here heated silver for my arrows. We are fighters and spellcasters alike, and bring you six vivacious souls."

He cast a glance behind the poor woman, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I am many things, but first and foremost a Druid. I can heal wounds and cure ills. Allow me to help you remedy this situation as best I can."

As the Rudolph shouldered up next to him, Visage nodded to the dwarf. "This is Rudolph." Turning to the dwarf and Mari, he nodded upstairs. "Tell the others we're needed here. It's late, I say we stay and help these people. This woman is alone, and if we leave they'll most likely die tonight." A wry grin broke his lips as he smiled at Ruddy. "My terms are not negotiable."

"Alright then. Let us head to the barracks nearby. As it's made to house small-time criminals, it's not the damp pit of darkness and despair like a few places I've seen. Not only that, there's also a training hall in there for us to train, or rehabilitate the knight if needed." Lera would then escort the sullen knight, along with Sir Dreimon, to the aforementioned barracks. She would also have the captain hold onto the knight's blade for safe-keeping.

She looked at the worn down knight, Aurea. A taciturn woman of battle, charming in looks and combat. Dull silver armor, grey hair and glassy eyes with ashen skin, she possessed a marble-like appearance, like a work of art. Despite her cold exterior, she showed compassion in words and actions, like her care for the crazed soldier. She was almost unexpectedly virtuous in Lera's eyes.

Then again, she was chastised once for being horribly judgemental and stereotypical and arrogant. Time to reflect, Lera.

"Miss Aurea," Lera called out to her companion before leaving for the barracks, "I do suggest you tug your braid inside your armor, for it may prove to be dangerous in the future. Even so, I like your hairstyle. Good luck with your work."

A small smile as Rudolph chuckled. "Wouldn't have it any other way. But you best send word back to Thornfell before night strikes. Sure you can flap yourself here and back sharpishly. We're gonna need help come mornin, carts to carry back these metals and the wounded. More time we give them to prepare, better the chances one of these young bucks don't bleed out in us. Oy laddie." He would point to Amon as he made his way down. "Ye said ye could heal right? Why not make yerself useful and do what you can for them? Don't pull yerself though, we ain't got no one to heal you if you faint on us."

Amon looked over to the bodies and walked up towards one of them and scanned the rest in the room "So many to heal...ugh" he thought. Amon knew that his shields were going to slow down the healing process and so he snapped his fingers which would then stop the flow of magic from the shields to him. Three fell and created a large banging noise when they hit the ground but the shields would soon disappear. He pulled one arm towards another soldiers arm and have them touch their fingers, he did the same thing to the rest until everyone was in a chain with fingers locked onto each other. He then moved to the soldier that was in the center of the chain, Amon moved his arms forward with palms open towards the man's abdomen and then Amon's hands would glow bright yellow, The soldier was being healed at a quick rate along with the others as a small yellow wave was washing over the other wounded soldiers healing them as well. When he finished he stood up and began making a few stretches. "I haven't done healing like this in a while," he said while cracking his neck.

[Church of Petrania]

Esther retracted her saber and sheathed it slowly, eyeing each and everyone as they passed by her, listening to Visage's 'demand' as she did. She shook her head once Amon had approached the bodies.

"They're deceased," she said coolly. "Take note of the wounds on their bodies. They were infected with lycanthrope."

Amon looked up to see Esther's cold expression in the face of death. She wasn't lying though, each of the bodies had bite marks that pierced their armor, right through to the flesh.

"I suggested we look for a cure but the disease was more potent than usual," she approached the body Amon was currently examining. "Do you see this bite mark? Usually lycanthrope infection would take a full moon before they begin changing shape but after the attack, it only took a few hours before some of them began to turn. They relinquished their souls to the LanternBearer soon after, deciding it was a more honorable fate than that." She tapped the lantern on her side, making a point that their souls were with her.

She stood up and looked to the dwarf. "So you people came here in search of silver," she said approvingly. "We had thought the same but we could not get the Fire of Petrania working for us, neither were any of us capable smiths. The only thing it served us was that the mere presence of silver deterred the lycans from coming in."

[Thornfell]

Sir Dreimon looked placidly at the man praying for Petrania's mercy and nodded. "You're input is noted, Aurea. But we cannot allow him to be free at the moment. For the night, he will stay in a cell. I would grant him a room someplace but given the circumstances of, well this, and what could happen tonight, I'd rather have radicals stored away for the meantime."

Looking to Aurea, he studied her before moving on to Lera. "Lead on, miss."

Lera lead the squad and their prisoner to the barracks. It didn't take that long before they reached Thornfell's barracks. It was built inside a huge tree, massive and wide, windows and doors were carved right into the trunk as well as some floors.

"Thank you, Lera," the captain said. "We can take it from here."

Sir Dreimon and his men entered the facility, dragging the restrained knight among them. The knight kept shaking his head. "Petrania have mercy," he said before sharply turning his head to gaze at Lera. "Leave! Leave while you still can!"

Aurea, however, stayed with the caravans and checked the only two that had arrived. All she saw were several people huddled together as they were assisted by the townsfolk. There were some supplies, some marked specifically for Lera's shop among them. The fallen knight did what she could to help.. Looking up to the sky, she found that night was drawing sooner than expected. It was summer, why was the day shorter?

"Hmm? Oh...Thank you." Aurea turned around briefly when Lera called out to her, grabbing onto her braid unwittingly. She herself began to wonder if such haircut wouldn't be a disadvantage, soon after she established she must've been a warrior in her previous life. The knight had plenty of time for such pondering, wandering alone and figuring what could be of a clue in her own appearance. Either large pauldrons, collar and the helmet made it difficult enough to grab onto her hair...or she was simply bold enough to not bother... Wouldn't that be ironic if that's how 'previous Her' has lost her life?

As Aurea kept carrying around various wares back and forth, she eventually noticed that it was getting darker. The woman stopped with a wooden crate still in her hands and looked up frowning. "The dusk draws near..." She muttered as her gaze moved in direction of the gates. "Too soon." There was still no sight of the 'silver escapade'. The knight stared for a moment, before she shook her head swatting away dark thoughts and carried on with her task, although now even faster than before.

"I've already left a long time ago. No more." Lera whispered under her breath. She is now a citizen of Thornfell, prim and proper. She would protect this home with all her might, at costs.

She returned to the caravan where people were huddled together with supplies. Aurea the knight was hard at work, so it was her turn to do her share. She rummaged through the piles of crates, and found the ones designated for her shop.

Time to pack up and ship out. With comparable strength, she brought the two marked crates and headed for her shop. After unpacking all the supplies, she would wish the shopkeeper good luck before she headed back to the mayor's place for her bag of supplies. Wouldn't want to be caught off guard. Even if the supplies were mundane, lacking many magical potions, it was still stockful. Like a traveling merchant, she could sell her wares during the journey, or keep everyone's spirits high.

Mari slowly made her way down the flight of stairs, even ignoring the fact that Visage's life was threatened for a moment. As him and the priestess solved their divergences, the woman circled the room, inspecting the corpses laying around. Although the Fangs leader had seen some shit during her days, she felt slightly uneasy to such sight. When she finally wrapped around, she stopped next to the priestess.

"Well we're gonna need that silver. But as soon as that flame goes away, we will have doggies on our asses, so we better move fast."

Visage grunted solemnly. "Well, healing will be of little help now I suppose. If they have all been bitten, however, I would strongly suggest cremating the bodies. There is no telling how this Lycanthropy may work. Last the we need is a score of our former allies rising as beasts. Besides, cremating them would allow us to honor them as well."

He cast a quick glance around. "I'll send a messenger saying we might be delayed. If there is just you, Miss, then we have little reason to take longer. That said, I can seal us into this basement with solid stone if need be, so I am not deeply afraid of the night...but no need to push our luck."

With that said, he strode over to the stairwell and lifted up his hand. In the palm of his hand the air swirled as a tiny screech owl morphed into view. The creature stared at its creator silently. Visage met its gaze. "Go to Thornfell. Find the Mayor. Tell him that we have found a survivor -- and many dead -- at the temple. We may be delayed, but will strive to return -- or make it to our next stop -- before nightfall, silver and survivor in tow."

The owl nodded, then leapt towards the doorway. It flapped its wings, silently flitting out of view as it headed for the exit. Visage nodded, then turned back to the ground.

"If you wish to find the silver, I can go ahead and seal this entrance. I will stand guard outside since I will be able to pass through my own stone wall." He moved to the foot of the stairs, but waited for their decision.

____________________________________________________

Cast: Animal Messenger
Essence Channeled: 8 | Total: 19

The dwarf bowed his head slightly as a form of respect to the dead and placed his hand on his chest. "Sounds like you got yerself quite the responsibility then lassie, gettin you home safe will be gettin them all home safe. But good t' 'ear that we won't be bothered by any werebeasts whilst in here. Doesn't make us any more than rats trapped in a hole, but least w're safe, fer now."

"The metals right here laddie." Rudolph patted the tubs. "Now we got two choices, wait out here for the night then head back in the mornin and come back with carts and horses, or hoof it back now and come back in the mornin with carts and horses. Now I don't know about you lads and lasses, but Om thinkin that as long as this silver is here, them werebeasts ain't gonna rest easy. So I got a funny feelin in m' gut that if we leave this silver now, we ain't gonna get it in the mornin. Now how'd that be the case I aint sure, but these beasties seem to be different, so I suspect somethin." Rudolph chuckled dryly. "But w're not gonna be able to move these tubs in a few hours lassie, these must weigh tonnes if not more. We gonna need them carts."

Visage left for the stairwell do summon his messenger and at that time, it took a while. He knew of the tug earlier, the one that sent all creatures to scurry away from here and perhaps it was one reason as to why his messenger was taking too long to come by. The minutes he spent waiting however, allowed the druid to see that it had already gotten dark. A lot sooner than what was expected. It was never a good sign if the Sun decided to leave the summer day early.

In time, his messenger did arrive, an owl of small stature. The owl was visibly shaken, its feather's rustled as it shook its body to smoothen them out. It gazed at Visage, frightened but compelled and awaited the message that needed delivering. With it said and done, the small owl turned its head and looked to the sky, doubtful before actually flying off.

The changeling walked down the stairwell to meet the rest of the group; Esther simply gave him a nod.

Rudolph found the tubs to be warmest close to the forge itself. Despite the weak flame in the forge, the tub closest was partialy molten. The tubs of metals were segregated, each with a plaque above them. For gold, the plaque above it said: "For you were generous and unselfish, you shared with us the likeness of the Sun."¹

"It is simply my duty, dwarf," she said humbly. "Nothing more. I agree to staying as well. The lycans are tenacious and patient hunters, they know we'll be leaving soon. We can cremate the bodie s after the dwarf does his work. How fast can you smith, dwarf?"


Night eventually fell, an hour sooner than what was expected. Sir Dreimon had ordered the closing of the gates which the town was more than happy to oblige to. Aurea and Lera watched as the gates to Thornfell, west and east, were closed shut and the four meter high barricade made the city feel cramped. Archers began to patrol the treetops as the sky darkened into an inky black. Fortunately, stars still flickered and the moon was still whole.

The wind brought a summer chill and the sounds of movement in the trees stirred the patrols. It could have been simply the wind.

Aurea knew better. This wind was different. She didn't feel the cold or heat, not with her body anymore but the air felt eerily familiar².

-=-=-=-=-

Lera arrived at the town hall to grab her stuff. When she did, she found Rhea still asleep and Haru reading his book, nothing new was happening it seemed. Until the mayor and a new guy had appeared from the hallway.

"Ah, Lera," the mayor said, a grim expression on his face. "It seems we won't be getting any more shipments from Lantern's Cross anytime soon, the one that this boy Nocturn delivered, is the last of it."

"Aye, miss," Nocturn said, affirming the fact. "There 'as been an incident in the Bearer's Hold and it seems the Order are doing their best and 'ad the city evacuate. On our way here, we eyed some Sun children, no doubt arriving to assist."

FOOTNOTES:
¹For Rudolph:
Iron: "For you were merciful and kind, you have given us the tools to which me made our cities and society."
Silver: "For you were worried and troubled, you had pleaded with the Goddess of the Hunt and gave us the bane of the abberations of the wild."
There were others for Copper, Bronze and an empty tub but they are all illegible.

²For Aurea: Your amulet reacts to the atmospheric essence brought on by the wind. It's not only you that feels the air is familiar. It felt like the Glacial Wastes.

Rhea was in and out of of it during her nap. She picked up on some various sounds both within the building and outside of it, though she didn't really care for anything that was going on. Her being here was only temporary, and she had no obligation to deal with these people more than what she had agreed to. Without a care in the world, Rhea rolled herself from the couch and began to stretch her limbs. A quick gaze towards the windows let her know that night had fallen sooner than it should have. The huntress reclaimed her seat before pulling out some smoked jerky from her bag, as well as a quiver full of wooden arrows. "I suppose the other half of our rag-tag team won't be joining us tonight. Would be a shame if they all got eaten, I rather like the dwarf."

After unloading the shipment, Aurea remained outside assisting with last preparations before the nightfall. This woman really looked like a tireless type, that wouldn't sit idly as long as there was anything that could be taken care of.

She watched the gates being closed, but that hasn't made her feel any better, since the other party still hasn't returned, or safer, limiting her vision. It was just a matter of mild annoyance, but still; There was no telling what's past these walls now...aside for the hunch. There was familiar essence in the air, and the night felt odd the very moment it got dark, if not before even. There was only one other night like this that she remembered, but she had a feeling there were many more that she did not. The knight took a deep breath of crisp air, crossing her arms and frowning at the archers up top, before she suddenly turned on her heel and hastily made her way towards the town hall, making up her mind.

Aurea entered the main room for one reason only; her helmet. She marched through the chamber, straight towards the windowsill and having retrieved her equipment, the woman turned around and drummed on her helmet almost fondly, eyeing the people inside. They were all still here, minding their own business. Only difference really, was that the hunter was awake now. On Rhea, Aurea's gaze remained the longest, since presently beside herself she was the only person that the knight believed could really fend for herself, and was actually armed. Aurea stared for no longer than ten seconds in total, and then headed back for the exit. "The air reeks of trouble..." The undead spoke up to no one in particular, perhaps trying to explain her awkward proceedings. She still didn't know to what extents she can trust her 'instincts'. Coming out as paranoid might also make her look suspicious in the long run.