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| Details |
| Author: | OzmaAsimov |
| Summary: | Gabriella gathers a team of worgen on behalf on HOWL to go into Duskwood in search of feral worgen to capture…or kill. |
| Rating: | T for Teen |
Tyrrell rides up on a magnificent black stallion.
[Gabriella]: Lady Merelda, Lord Tyrrell. Good, good.
[Tyrrell]: Good afternoon, cousin.
Thaniel slides off the bench and wanders up.
Gabriella peers over at Thaniel. "Will you be joining us, young Mr. Clay?"
Addelaine looks Tyrrell over, curious.
[Thaniel]: Mmhm…
Thaniel yawns, covering his mouth.
Addelaine offers Thaniel a little smile.
Tyrrell dismounts and speaks to his horse in a low, soothing tone.
[Merelda]: Good afternoon, cousin, S.I. Thorne, Thaniel, and… good to see you again as well, Addelaine.
Thaniel smiles sleepily at everyone.
[Thaniel]: I don't know you. I'm Thaniel Clay. Hello…
[Tyrrell]: Tyrrell.
Tyrrell bows down graciously.
Thaniel nods. One name. Hopefully easy to remember. He gives Tyrrell a little finger-wiggle wave.
Gabriella gets right to it, addressing them all. "Your answer to the call for assistance is appreciated. You should know that this is part of a larger effort to establish a formal group of feral hunters, but we'll take any worgen aid we can get."
Tyrrell arches his silver-streaked brow.
[Merelda]: I doubt I'm much of what you'd want in a feral hunter, but I'm happy to support your plans as I can, Gabriella.
A Duskwood citizen gives the group a wary look, overhearing Gabriella mention worgen.
[Gabriella]: You cannot be turned feral, and right now that is what we need, Lady Merelda.
Merelda adds as an aside for Zath, "Thorne and Thaniel are in my pack. Addelaine may be soon."
Merelda nods at Gabriella.
[Tyrrell]: I see.
Addelaine brightens and smiles at Lord Tyrrell.
Thaniel looks to Addelaine. "You did magic yesterday." It was NOT yesterday. "Can you make sheep?"
Tyrrell studies Addelaine, then gives her a solemn nod.
[Gabriella]: We will undoubtedly face deadly combat in our hunt. But as we go, we must be on the lookout for any signs of ferals still clinging to their humanity. Those, if they exist, we will try to capture alive.
Addelaine nods at Thaniel. "Mostly."
[Merelda]: Do you know what that might look like? Or have some kind of… trap plan?
Thaniel nods. "Sheep are easier to catch than worgen. You can herd them."
[Gabriella]: The plan will be to overpower and shackle them. If polymorphing them into sheep is possible, that would be far easier to manage, yes.
Addelaine relaxes a little. "That's true. I admit, my talents are more…explosive than trapping-related. I'll be glad to contribute."
Thaniel smiles dreamily. He did it, he had an idea.
[Gabriella]: As for what it might look like…look for signs of more human-like behavior. Hesitation to attack. Wearing sentimental trinkets. Returning to places or people important to their human lives. That sort of thing.
Merelda nods again, pressing her lips together in thought.
[Tyrrell]: Cousin, did you not have your own feral phase?
[Thaniel]: We don't remember it well.
Tyrrell nods at Thaniel, seeming to make a mental note.
[Merelda]: It is something of a blur. I'm not certain whether I did exhibit any of that behavior, or if I'm simply lucky to have been caught rather than killed.
[Tyrrell]: I wondered if it might help you empathize and perceive signs of humanity in others.
[Merelda]: We'll see. I've not had much contact with free-roaming ferals since those days.
[Tyrrell]: I will be no help in those matters, but if something needs to be destroyed, you have my fire.
[Gabriella]: I had the benefit of hunting my eventual packmates before I was turned, so was able to observe such behaviors while they existed.
Tyrrell nods at Gabriella.
Addelaine eyes Tyrrell with more interest as he mentions fire.
[Merelda]: I mostly just tried to keep Ozzy out of it, so I was away from danger… until I wasn't.
Tyrrell nods.
[Gabriella]: Still, our understanding of the ferals is evolving. Mistakes will be made, and we will learn from them.
[Tyrrell]: Indeed.
[Merelda]: The problem remains, so we will have to act, mistake or not.
Gabriella nods firmly.
[Gabriella]: Come. We should inform the Night Watch of our presence here.
[Tyrrell]: I'm happy to assist when I can until my next deployment; after that, perhaps I can convince Oslynn to join you.
Thaniel perks up. "You know Ozzy?"
[Tyrrell]: I do. Her sister was in my military unit for many years.
Gabriella tilts her head in consideration. "Interesting. Perhaps this work would give Ozzy some sense of direction."
[Thaniel]: She's my friend.
[Tyrrell]: I am glad to hear she has made friends.
Gabriella salutes Commander Althea Ebonlocke with respect.
Tyrrell does not salute.
[Gabriella]: Commander Ebonlocke. S.I. Gabriella Thorne. We're here on behalf of HOWL to assist with the feral worgen problem here in Duskwood.
Commander Althea Ebonlocke tenses in the presence of the worgen. "I got your letter. I won't lie—I have some concerns about worgen being sent to deal with worgen. You're sure that won't cause any conflicts of interest?"
[Thaniel]: Huh? No, it's safer.
Merelda raises an eyebrow.
[Tyrrell]: There are worgen, my dear lady, and then there are worgen.
[Gabriella]: Ending the threat of feral worgen is very much in our interest.
[Thaniel]: If they bite us, we can't become worgen again.
[Thaniel]: Because we're already worgen. See?
Commander Althea Ebonlocke says: I hope that's the case. Go speak with Calor, over there across the square. He works with Master Jonathan Carevin. Carevin has a personal crusade to rid these lands of evil.
[Tyrrell]: The young man raises a good point.
Addelaine bites her lips to keep from laughing.
Commander Althea Ebonlocke points across the way to Calor.
[Thaniel]: Don't worry.
[Gabriella]: Thank you, Commander.
Thaniel smiles at Commander Ebonlocke.
[Gabriella]: Excuse me, are you Calor?
Calor says: I am. Who's asking?
Tyrrell seems to fit right into the gloomy atmosphere despite the white robe. Whatever he was going for, it just ended up making him look like a ghost.
[Gabriella]: S.I. Thorne and company, on behalf of HOWL.
[Thaniel]: Hello, I'm Thaniel Clay.
Tyrrell flinches ever so slightly at the acronym.
Calor says: Ah, so you're the bloodhounds that HOWL group sent? If everything I've heard about you cured worgen is true, Master Carevin and I are glad for the help.
Merelda fades into the gloomy atmosphere in her earth-tone clothing.
[Tyrrell]: Bloodh— *Tyrrell shuts up.*
Calor says: You'll have to pardon any skepticism. The people of Darkshire have suffered years of horror at the claws of worgen. Master Carevin wants you to prove your intentions.
Gabriella arches an eyebrow.
[Tyrrell]: Most of us have plenty of experience proving ourselves.
[Merelda]: In what way should we do so this time?
[Thaniel]: We came into town and offered to help instead of running around killing people. So…
Thaniel tilts his head.
Merelda gestures to Thaniel. .See?
Tyrrell smiles crookedly at Thaniel.
Addelaine nods her head once toward Thaniel, acknowledging his point.
Calor nods to Zath, "That may be, but this is Duskwood." He states this firmly as if that should explain it.
Calor says: There is a pack of Nightbane worgen in Brightwood Grove, just west of town. Wipe out every worgen you find there.
[Tyrrell]: Easily done.
Merelda glances at Zath, slightly startled at the quick answer.
[Gabriella]: Understand that part of our mission is to identify worgen that can be rescued from their feral state. Some might be redeemable.
Addelaine opens her mouth to object, but then just glances at Gabriella.
Thaniel tilts his head the other way.
Calor says: I understand that perfectly well. There are folks here in Duskwood on a similar mission. But you're going to have to trust our intelligence when I tell you these worgen in Brightwood are beyond any hope. They're completely savage.
[Tyrrell]: Then they will be disposed of.
Gabriella glances to the group, then sighs and stares at Calor for a moment, then nods. "Very well."
[Thaniel]: How large is the pack?
Calor says: Last count, at least a dozen. But their numbers fluctuate.
[Thaniel]: Okay.
[Gabriella]: Mmmhm. All it takes is a bite to increase their numbers. We'll be cautious.
[Tyrrell]: At least, as the young man points out, our being bitten is no risk, hm?
[Thaniel]: I'm a healer. So…
[Gabriella]: Exactly why we're doing this.
[Gabriella]: Let's move…and wait until we're out of town to transform.
Thaniel nods. "Okay."
Tyrrell studies Calor a moment longer, then follows.
[Thaniel]: Light be with you, Mr. Calor.
Merelda says quietly, "Not that I doubt them, but lets trust our own eyes."
[Tyrrell]: Frankly I wish I could avoid it altogether, as I am not a melee combatant, but I seem to have little choice in the matter.
[Thaniel]: Merelda can be a bear now.
Tyrrell eyes his cousin.
[Thaniel]: We can hide behind her.
[Gabriella]: I was uncomfortable with the other form as well, Tyrrell. But I've learned it has its benefits…like masking the weariness of age.
[Tyrrell]: Are you suggesting that I am old, S.I. Thorne?
[Thaniel]: No, she's old.
Addelaine laughs lightly.
Merelda seems to shrink a little at the memory of her bear form.
Tyrrell laughs.
Gabriella pauses and grits her teeth, "No," her voice takes on a growl as her body shifts and grows, "But I am."
Tyrrell frowns and remains in human form… for now.
Thaniel does as well. Until a spider comes at them.
Merelda does as well. "I have now some practice in taking several forms, but I do prefer this one."
Tyrrell changes despite himself when he casts felfire.
[Gabriella]: Let's sniff out these ferals.
Tyrrell growls.
[Thaniel]: You were a very brave bear.
Merelda checks carefully that there are no townspeople around before she joins the rest in worgen form.
Merelda smiles at Thaniel. "It was my first time doing such a thing in combat."
[Tyrrell]: Were you unhappy with only two forms, cousin?
[Merelda]: Gabriella, I expect you'll tell me if a bear is needed?
[Merelda]: I would have been happy with one, cousin.
[Addelaine]: So far, these seem to be quite feral. No hesitation or relulctance.
[Addelaine]: *reluctance
Tyrrell growls softly.
Merelda bites her tongue. "I'm sorry. I'm learning with the druids. The shapechanging seems to be a part of it."
[Gabriella]: I'll let you know, Lady Merelda. I trust you'll be able to see if battle is turning against us.
[Tyrrell]: I'm only teasing you, cousin.
[Gabriella]: A camp…not unheard of in ferals. Sadly, not a sign of humanity.
[Thaniel]: They're sleeping.
[Thaniel]: And they've built shelters.
[Gabriella]: Take out the patroller first. Quietly if possible.
[Merelda]: I am not sure how to do quietly.
Thaniel whispers to the Light and shields the others.
Tyrrell uses non-fire spells due to the "quietly."
Merelda shoots a beam of moonlight into the worgen. It is neither quiet nor stealthy.
Addelaine doesn't flinch as she's attacked. But she does use fire.
Tyrrell eyes Merelda.
[Gabriella]: They're waking! Attack!
[Addelaine]: They bothered to build a fire.
[Merelda]: I wonder if this is a worgen camp, or simply a human camp that they overrran.
[Merelda]: They might have been new worgen.
Thaniel calls up a little glow of light in his cupped palms. "It's not a human camp. There's a face here."
[Gabriella]: Feral worgen are savage, but not unintelligent.
[Tyrrell]: Murlocs also build fires.
[Merelda]: …or an ogre camp. Are there ogres?
[Addelaine]: True. I heard there are ogres farther west.
[Merelda]: I wonder if an ogre can be turned into a worgen.
[Tyrrell]: Gods, cousin.
Thaniel whispers to the bodies of the dead ferals one at a time.
[Tyrrell]: Consider wondering that silently.
[Merelda]: If they can, they will exist whether I ask the question or not, cousin.
Tyrrell lets out a long, drawn-out sigh.
Addelaine 's eyes brighten, but she doesn't laugh out loud. This time.
[Gabriella]: It's a fair question. Let us hope the ogre's alien physiology makes them immune.
Gabriella sniffs the air. "More worgen approach."
[Tyrrell]: And just in case, if you bite any ogres, please finish them.
[Merelda]: I will make certain of it.
[Thaniel]: I don't bite anyone any more.
[Tyrrell]: Wise.
[Gabriella]: The best policy for all of us, I think.
[Merelda]: At the very least, only bite with the intent to kill.
[Addelaine]: It's so uncivlised. I have better means of killing, when it comes to that.
[Tyrrell]: It puts a bit of a cramp on my social life, but I'll survive.
Gabriella smirks at Zath.
Merelda laughs.
Thaniel blinks at Tyrrell. He smiles a little. "That was funny."
[Gabriella]: It seems the rest of the pack is dead or scattered. Back to town.
Thaniel sheds his worgen form easily.
Gabriella returns to human form so as not to alarm the locals.
Merelda clenches her worgen fists and then follows suit.
Thaniel falls behind the group significantly.
Addelaine shivers and resumes her human form.
Addelaine looks back for Thaniel.
Gabriella nods to Calor. "The pack has been culled. What few remained have scattered. We'll keep an eye out for them."
Thaniel catches up eventually.
Tyrrell glances back at Thaniel. "Are you all right?"
Calor says: Impressive, bloodhounds. It would seem you are what you say you are, and capable enough to handle yourselves against the Nightbane. Perhaps a more suitable challenge can be found for you.
Thaniel points down at his feet. His left foot is twisted partially inwards. "I'm not fast like this."
Calor says: The feral worgen infestation stretches further than Brightwood Grove. To the south, on the very edges of Darkshire itself, the Rotting Orchard is host to even more of the savage beasts.
Gabriella nods to Thaniel. "Nor I. Don't worry, we won't leave you behind."
[Gabriella]: Alright, Calor. You want us to take out another pack?
Tyrrell frowns in concern at Thaniel's feet. "Is there something we can do to help? Would you like to lean on me?"
Calor says: I doubt you could wipe out this entire pack, but we can weaken it.
Addelaine blinks and looks at Thaniel's feet too.
Thaniel taps his staff on the cobblestones. "It's okay. Just don't let spiders sneak up on me."
Thaniel whispers, "I run fast as a worgen. But they'll get scared here if I do that."
Calor says: There are more cunning worgen there that conjure foul shadows to tear their enemies apart from a distance. If you really want to get into Master Carevin's good graces, go to the orchard and slay the Shadow Weavers.
Tyrrell nods solemnly at Thaniel. "I can watch your back."
[Thaniel]: Thank you.
Merelda murmurs, "Worgen wielding shadow."
[Gabriella]: South, then. To the 'Rotting Orchard'.
[Merelda]: That does sound like something that can't be allowed to continue.
[Tyrrell]: Sounds delightful…
Tyrrell gave his horse to Steven Black a while ago, by the way.
Merelda sighs, and then switches back to worgen form at the edge of town.
Tyrrell does not.
Thaniel reverts to worgen form as well. He can actually keep up this way.
Gabriella quietly envies Zath's knees.
Tyrrell seems to have no trouble keeping up with the longer-legged worgen even in his human form.
Merelda probably would have trouble. She's an architect, not a soldier.
[Gabriella]: Careful. They're all around.
[Tyrrell]: The "Rotting Orchard" may not be a pleasant name, but it is accurate.
Gabriella wrinkles her nose, nodding.
[Merelda]: Dreadful that there's no one to care for the fruiting trees.
[Gabriella]: Tyrrell, what can we expect from these 'shadow weavers', do you think?
[Tyrrell]: I suppose if you try to give these places reasonable names it only comes out sounding ironic.
[Tyrrell]: I doubt they have command of particularly sophisticated magics.
Thaniel yelps as a stealthy worgen appears in their midst and attacks Gabriella.
[Tyrrell]: It will hurt, but nothing you can't shake off.
Gabriella nods.
[Thaniel]: I can heal us.
[Tyrrell]: Thank you.
[Gabriella]: We'll need your Light, Clay, yes.
Merelda seems to be leaning entirely on some kind of weaponized moonlight and starlight today.
[Gabriella]: Let's go.
Addelaine 's nose twitches as she tries to scent out any other stealthy worgen. Her brow is furrowed at her lack of success.
[Tyrrell]: Prioritize the others, Thaniel. I have means of self-healing.
[Gabriella]: These ones are cleverer, for sure. Stealthy and cunning.
Thaniel says, "Okay," but really he's just prioritizing whoever gets hit.
[Merelda]: Or I could heal you, cousin. *Merelda says with a laugh* There's no shortage of healing - no need to be a martyr here.
[Tyrrell]: It's only logical. Martyrdom has nothing to do with it. *Says the martyr.*
Merelda raises her paws. "As you like."
[Thaniel]: It's good to know for an emergency. If we get swarmed.
[Gabriella]: We'll all look out for each other.
[Merelda]: I don't wield the Light, though. It's a kind of nature magic.
[Tyrrell]: Very effective in healing as well.
[Addelaine]: I can't heal, so everyone please heal me! *She laughs a little as she says it.*
[Gabriella]: I can see some in the houses there. They're in pack territory…so probably still completely feral. Still, watch for signs of humanity.
[Tyrrell]: The 7th Legion has employed druids to great effect for years.
Merelda draws some kind of green energy and settles it around Addelaine. "There you go, dear."
[Tyrrell]: Thus far I have seen not even the slightest signs of hesitation in them.
[Gabriella]: Nor I.
[Gabriella]: Search the house.
[Addelaine]: There's someone upstairs.
[Merelda]: They have all seemed entirely ready to attack.
Tyrrell fights the guy. Shadow on shadow!
Gabriella sighs. "All ferals."
[Gabriella]: To the next house.
Gabriella approaches the next house, and a worgen lunges out, attacking her immediately.
Thaniel gasps and shields Gabby.
[Gabriella]: Interesting. Those shades they summon seem to vanish when their master dies.
Gabriella looks to Zath for confirmation.
Addelaine 's nose twitches constantly as they approach the house.
[Tyrrell]: Yes.
[Merelda]: Better than them roaming free with no master.
[Tyrrell]: They are not stable entities.
Merelda glances at Addelaine. "Do you smell something?"
[Addelaine]: No, that's what's so frustrating.
Merelda tilts her head in question.
[Addelaine]: I can't smell the ones that sneak up on us. It's just… everything smells like worgen.
[Merelda]: Ah, yes. I can see that. The musk is powerful here.
[Tyrrell]: These worgen seem to be taking void energy and … animating it crudely. But the animation only lasts so long as they focus on it. I've never seen anything exactly like it.
[Gabriella]: The rotting fruit isn't helping. Seems to mask their scent.
[Gabriella]: Interesting. Savage ingenuity, hmm?
[Addelaine]: Every now and then, I catch a faint sound but only moments before they attack.
[Gabriella]: This pack is firmly established. I highly doubt we'll find any that can be saved. Let's thin out these shadow weavers and leave before they can rally.
[Tyrrell]: Agreed.
Merelda looks at Tyrrell. "Do you think they might have been those who followed your profession prior to being bitten?"
Tyrrell mutters something that sounds a bit like, 'There but for the grace of the Light…'
Addelaine keeps an eye on Thaniel.
Merelda 's gaze flicks again to Zath, a moment of sympathy.
Thaniel remains in his worgen form until they get significantly closer to town, this time.
Tyrrell also keeps an eye on Thaniel.
Merelda quickly melts back into human form as soon as they see a sentry.
[Tyrrell]: Splendid dog, S. I. Thorne. I've never seen one so obedient.
[Thaniel]: His name is Cheddar and he's a really good boy.
[Gabriella]: Cheddar is well trained, and he's been with me a very long time.
Tyrrell studies the dog. "Good boy, Cheddar," he says softly.
Thaniel whispers, "He's also very old."
Tyrrell nods solemnly at Thaniel.
Cheddar wuffs.
Thaniel smiles.
[Gabriella]: We killed every shadow weaver we could find. But that pack is firmly entrenched. We'll need a larger force to clear them out entirely.
Calor says: Yes, a patroller witnessed you in the orchard. You performed well against the Shadow Weavers, bloodhounds. But even now, years after their first arrival, there seem to be so many to replace the ones we kill.
Tyrrell twitches at 'bloodhounds.'
Thaniel makes a sad noise.
Merelda waits patiently for the orders that seem likely to be coming.
[Gabriella]: Have faith. You have a new weapon in your arsenal. Us.
Calor says: I will put my faith in Master Carevin. No doubt he will get to the bottom of the problem.
Addelaine cocks her head at the name "bloodhound", apparently still making up her mind about it.
Calor says: Still, I'm convinced you're ready to take on the toughest of the Nightbane worgen infesting the woods. The ones we call Vile Fangs and Tainted Ones have proven the most dangerous.
Calor says: They've settled down near some of the caves and in the mine to the south, in a place called Roland's Doom. From far away you can even see the light of their bonfires.
Gabriella checks her map of Duskwood. "Roland's Doom. Very well."
Merelda murmurs, "Poor Roland, then. We'll do our best to avoid doom."
[Tyrrell]: Don't worry, cousin, "Merelda's Doom" is a good league and a half to the west.
Addelaine chuckles, low and soft.
[Merelda]: Oh I'm pleased to hear it, *Merelda says with a smile* Do be a dear and mark it on a map for me, so I'll be sure to avoid it.
Addelaine shifts when Gabriella does.
Merelda follows suit.
[Tyrrell]: Oh, but I'd hate to spoil the surprise.
Thaniel says, "Hello," very politely every time they pass a patroller.
[Merelda]: Goodness, is this personal? Do you have doom plans for me, cousin? Should I have for you? I'm afraid I don't know well the customs of my mother's side.
[Tyrrell]: Tyrrells are all about doom, my dear.
[Tyrrell]: I'm the only one of us left, after all, hm?
Merelda laughs. "I'm beginning to see that. Perhaps I'm half doom and half laughter."
[Tyrrell]: Slaughter, then?
[Addelaine]: I'd like to try something.
[Tyrrell]: By all means.
The attacking ferals are vicious and bloodthirsty, showing no sign of hesitation.
Thaniel giggles very belatedly. It took him a moment to figure out 'slaughter'.
[Addelaine]: It might be good to know for certain that I can turn a worgen into a sheep, before the need is dire.
[Merelda]: Or perhaps loom. *Merelda, as a worgen, does loom*
[Tyrrell]: Ah, good idea, yes.
[Tyrrell]: Try one?
Thaniel | Boy does it sound weird giggling in worgen form.
[Thaniel]: Okay. I'll shield you.
[Gabriella]: Slaughter. Appropriate here. I suggest an aggressive strategy.
[Tyrrell]: Ah, well done.
[Gabriella]: Attack!
Addelaine beams.
[Thaniel]: Good sheep.
[Merelda]: Perfectly formed sheep!
[Addelaine]: Thank you.
[Tyrrell]: I'm rather shocked his fellows didn't all turn on him and devour him.
[Thaniel]: Why are they fighting each other? Territory?
[Addelaine]: They seem quite occupied fighting each other.
[Tyrrell]: Possibly, yes.
[Tyrrell]: Different packs?
[Thaniel]: He said there were the Vile Fangs and the Tainted Ones.
[Merelda]: There was often some fighting between packs. Over territory or… other things.
[Gabriella]: Perhaps he was, indeed, referring to different packs.
Thaniel pokes his fingers together. "Those sound like pack names to me. But not good ones."
[Tyrrell]: I'm the last person to turn to when seeking to understand the mind of a feral worgen. All I understand about feral worgen is that their teeth hurt.
[Gabriella]: The usual things. Food. Mates. Imagined slights.
Thaniel whispers to the Light as one of the worgen manages to bite Merelda, and there's a surge of disease-cleansing energy around the wound.
[Gabriella]: We should press into the mine. There are likely many more within.
[Addelaine]: Persistent things.
Tyrrell hurls spells that look like regular fire, but there is the faintest scent of sulfur about them.
[Merelda]: Most of us lost years to it. *Merelda's gaze goes distant.* But as we said, years we can't recall clearly.
Gabriella sniffs at the air in the deep mine. "There is something about this place…it feels familiar somehow."
[Merelda]: Familiar?
[Addelaine]: Perhaps you once took shelter in a cave or mine.
Tyrrell peers at Gabriella searchingly.
Thaniel sniff sniffs. "Oh."
Tyrrell doesn't ever stop to sniff the air; he seems to still be relying on his eyes and ears.
[Gabriella]: I'm not sure what it is. Not a scent. It's….
Gabriella shakes her head. "I'm being ridiculous. Forget it."
Tyrrell absently strokes his goatee, then startles when he notices his own claws.
[Thaniel]: No, I think you're right.
[Addelaine]: I haven't known you long, but I've never known you to be ridiculous.
Tyrrell agrees with Addelaine.
[Gabriella]: Then let's not speak of it.
Merelda nods. "I see what you mean, but I can't tell where I remember it from."
[Thaniel]: That first big tree.
Tyrrell shrugs. Must be a worgen thing…
[Addelaine]: Wait.
[Tyrrell]: Hmmm?
[Addelaine]: Shift.
Thaniel once again remains in his worgen form until they get close to town. "Hello," he says politely to a member of the Night Watch. "Light be with you."
Tyrrell nods at Addelaine.
Thaniel shifts when they get close.
[Merelda]: Oh! *Merelda nearly forgot.*
Tyrrell gently pats you.
Addelaine smiles a little.
Calor says: Welcome back, bloodhounds. To be honest with you, I did not believe that you would get this far, but you are clearly a force to be reckoned with.
Tyrrell narrows his eyes.
[Thaniel]: It's okay that you didn't believe in us, Mr. Calor.
Thaniel says very kindly.
Tyrrell side-eyes Thaniel, but his expression is hard to read.
Calor chuckles. "I don't mind being surprised."
Merelda tries very hard not to laugh.
Addelaine bites down on another laugh, but turns sparkling eyes to Thaniel.
Thaniel smiles at him, completely earnest.
Calor says: Master Carevin is equally impressed and would like to congratulate you himself. He's just inside.
[Tyrrell]: What an honor. *Impossible to tell for sure if sarcastic.*
Merelda just nods politely.
Gabriella hmphs softly and steps inside the house.
Thaniel wipes his feet before entering.
[Gabriella]: Master Carevin, I presume?
Jonathan Carevin looks over the group with a cold, discerning eye. "Calor tells me you worgen have been most effective in exterminating your Nightbane kin."
Thaniel admires a wreath on the wall.
[Merelda]: We're an effective team, *Merelda says mildly*
Gabriella simply nods.
Addelaine gives Carevin a disapproving glance.
Jonathan Carevin says: Calor isn't an easy man to impress. Perhaps you truly are saved. For now, you seem to have driven the Nightbane into hiding. It won't last, but you've bought us some valuable breathing room.
Merelda does not comment on the idea that all worgen are 'kin'.
[Tyrrell]: It was not, in fact, particularly challenging.
Jonathan Carevin laughs at that, actually amused…briefly.
[Thaniel]: Oh. Yes, we are.
Jonathan Carevin says: There are others in Duskwood that can use your help. But I need some time to determine where you'll be most useful.
[Thaniel]: The Light is with us. *A Prayer of Fortitude ripples outwards, including Master Carevin and his wife.*
Jonathan Carevin says: Get some rest. I'll be in touch. Meanwhile, be vigilant, be wary, and trust none who would not give aid to our cause. Glory under the Light.
Tyrrell 's eyes narrow at that last.
[Thaniel]: You have a lovely home. Thank you for meeting with us.
Jonathan Carevin nods sternly to Thaniel and turns back to discussing something quietly with Elaine.
Once outside, Lord Tyrrell addresses the group.
[Tyrrell]: I need to speak with all of you for a moment.
Merelda follows Zath out of the house.
[Gabriella]: Speak your mind, Lord Tyrrell.
Tyrrell lowers his voice so that only the group can hear.
[Tyrrell]: It may be nothing, but… keep an eye on that man. "Glory under the Light." That is the motto of the Scarlet Crusade.
Gabriella arches an eyebrow. "Is it now?"
[Merelda]: That's the rogue group that was up in Lordaeron, isn't it?
Tyrrell nods.
[Tyrrell]: Very dangerous fanatics.
[Thaniel]: My sister told me about them…
[Tyrrell]: It could be a coincidental turn of phrase, but… be mindful.
[Thaniel]: Okay. Thank you.
Tyrrell bows down graciously.
[Gabriella]: I suggest no one remain here in Darkshire alone, then.
Addelaine says dryly, "But it's so welcoming."
[Tyrrell]: yes, the Scarlet Crusade is known to be … intolerant of anything they deem inhuman.
[Thaniel]: I hope I was helpful, Gabriella…?
[Tyrrell]: I shall return to my estate for now, but do not hesitate to contact me if you need anything further.
[Gabriella]: You were, Mr. Clay. Thank you.
Gabriella nods. "Thank you for your aid, Lord Tyrrell."
Thaniel smiles dreamily. "You're welcome."
[Addelaine]: A pleasure to have met you, Lord Tyrrell.
[Merelda]: I'll be careful. We'll watch out for one another.
[Gabriella]: I appreciate all of you for answering the call.
[Tyrrell]: Likewise.
[Gabriella]: I will be in touch, as my work here is far from done.
[Thaniel]: Goodbye.
Tyrrell fetches his magnificent warhorse from the stablemaster and rides away.
Addelaine waggles her fingers at Thaniel in a goodbye.
Thaniel sticks with Gabriella, given that we were not told to stay here alone