RP:The First Yew Wand and the Wolf Amulet

Part of the Hungry Like The Wolf Arc

Summary: Queen Josleen, Meri, Salvaret, Roald (NPC) and Zanril Wyvernbane (NPC) go on an adventure to find The First Yew Wand. (This band of heroes was put together after Josleen held adventurer auditions in Larket.) The adventure starts simple enough, but quickly runs into trouble as our heroes face off against a grendel in a dragon boneyard, hungry terramanders trying to eat them as they repel down a cliff, and then, most tragically (for Josleen, anyway), intra-party betrayal and thievery.

Zanril Wyvernbane steals the yew wand for himself.

Fort Freedom, Start to an Adventure

Meri :: How much preparation has actually gone into this mission? Honestly Meri does not care. She did not manage to meet with either of the two adventurer's, so hopefully ElkBoi has perhaps done some amount of planning with the Queen. This meant that Meri was approaching this mission with the 'every man or woman for themselves' mentality despite whatever promises and assurances might have been made to Josleen about her safety. Meri was here...in her usual attire. Does it really need to be spelled out at this point? She's a rough and tumble chick. She's not wearing a dress, promise. There is a bow, there is sword, etc, etc, etc. All very typical for Meri. She may have a few more tricks up her sleeve outside of the bow and the sword. But she doesn't know these other adventurer's for not, and she does not like Josleen....So whatever other aces she might have brought, well that just ain't yo business.

Salvaret followed the path leading up to the fortress, his blue hood wasn't over his head as the sun thankfully wasn't beating down in full force today. Despite the dread he'd felt earlier in accepting this mission the elf had come to terms with it, he'd be working with those way more skilled in their professions so it wasn't like he'd be expected to take charge and lead the party to victory, just had to make sure the queen returned with her prize, more or less unharmed. It was about this point he noted Meri, he offered her a friendly smile. "Excited for the grand adventure?" Sal had ensured to prepare as he best he knew for this journey, his bow was slung across his back with a quiver holding it and roughly thirty arrows in place. His overall color scheme was blue today right down to the sheath of the longsword he kept belted to his waist.

Josleen also does not wear a dress, and that is a remarkable turn for the feminine queen. She dons breathable cotton and expensive leathers. Her boots are dyed in a gradient from deep brown at the toe to blonde at the ankle, the stain highlighting the natural texture of the leather. The pair of boots alone cost more than the yearly wages of a castle maid. All other pieces of leather are stamped and embroidered. Colorful flowers are stitched up along the outside seam of her leather pants. Her hair is plaited with bits of jewelry. Josleen even carries a backpack to look the part of adventurer, and wears a dagger at her hip that she does not know how to wield. Roald’s rucksack looks far heavier, but the muscular warrior has no trouble shouldering the burden. He too wears leather and cotton, and judging by the quality an expensive set too, but for practical reasons rather than ostentatious ones. He carries two swords, a longsword and a rapier. He also leads a pack horse who carries the heaviest load. No Queen travels light. Zanril arrives last. He wears only cotton and carries no pack. Why does he need one? The forest provides everything he may need. Josleen greets her adventurers with a broad smile. “A fine day for an adventure! Thank you all for following through. Roald has charted a course for us through--” Zanril cuts her off, “I scouted a safe path to the crystal moat,” Zanril announces. “Oh, you’re familiar with the entrance under enchantment?” Josleen asks, a bit surprised. Zanril nods. Josleen glances at Roald who studies Zanril carefully. The two men stare at each other and, reluctantly, Roald nods. “Very well, lead the way, Zanril,” Josleen practically sings. She breathes in summer air and smells the promise of adventure and freedom, two of the few things she does not possess in abundance.

Meri :: Maybe if Salvaret had poised any other question toward Meri? She might have at least managed a polite response. "Suuuuuure," she says, the tone of her voice suggesting that she was definitely not excited about this mission. She was probably the only one being brought on this venture with questionable intention. Did she really want Josleen to get the yew wand? The answer was no, but she had to be smart. When Josleen arrives, the only relief that Meri gets is that she has not been Queen for so long that she has managed to forget what the appropriate attire for adventuring might be. This relief is short-lived when those blue eyes spot the pack horse. Meri is not entirely sure she wants to know what items the Queen has deemed useful for this adventure. It will clearly only be able to travel so far with them, unless the horse can swim...Zanril's words to Josleen puts an abrupt end to the analysis Meri is doing of Josleen's preparations. He's planned the way. Meri's brow lifts in surprise, only mild, planning a route is the smart thing to do. "Getting to the moat is not the hard part," Meri responds to Zanril, but even though her words make it clear that she is not really that impressed with his announcement he planned the way...the blonde motions for him to lead the way. She'd follow behind, ideally ahead of Josleen....Though taking up the rear was a tempting idea. At least she could more easily peel herself away from the party if she felt so inclined. Meri just wanted to get this party in motion. There might be some situations where Meri was more keen on talking, this was not one of them. Conversations were distractions.

Salvaret merely chuckled at Meri's response, after using him for target practice he didn't expect much from her, she seemed the no nonsense type after all. Focusing his attention to the others he raised an eyebrow at the conversation between the two men, there was a twinge of doubt that struck him once more. This Zanril fellow seemed quite helpful but after his rather dramatic win in the courtroom, Sal was glad to have had a few days to reflect upon how they'd ended up here. He didn't believe it be malicious, perhaps Zanril was in a similar boat to himself financially though that feeling of doubt would linger, he didn't know any of the people he was about to travel with but he'd do his best to ensure their survival. "I'm ready when you guys are." He called out to the gathered party.

Josleen :: Zanril delivers a safe and uneventful walk through Kelay-Sage. Though, as Meri said, this area isn’t particularly dangerous. As they walk through enchantment, they meet a few pixies. The pixies zip up the group and greet them in sing song voices. “Hello!” “Who are you?” “Welcome!” “I have a present for you!” A small pink and green pixie throws her pale yellow dust on Meri. The powder shines then evaporates leaving behind the pleasant scent of wildflowers. “Perfume!” Though the pixies buzz about the entire group, a keen observer would notice that they don’t speak directly to, or even glance at, Zanril. When the party reaches the moat, Roald pulls off the heavy pack and smacks the horse’s rear. The horse trots off back north to return to Larket. Roald gets to work unfurling a rope ladder. “Hey, Salvaret,” he says as he tosses stakes and a hammer to the ranger. “Lend a hand.” Together Roald and Salvaret will secure a rope ladder into the earth. Meanwhile, Josleen unpacks oblong spheres from her backpack. “Hold these and you’ll be able to breathe through the moat and traverse the barrier to the under enchantment.” She hands a dragon egg to each party member. “Roald will lead the way. When you’re ready, jump in.” Roald grabs the loose end of the rope ladder and jumps head first into the shallow moat. Before his head hits the floor, his entire body shimmers then disappears. The end of the rope ladder disappears too, and part of it remains visible to the eye. Josleen hugs her egg and jumps in feet first without apprehension as though she has done this before.

Meri :: It's hard to dodge a puff off dust being thrown at one's self, but Meri tries. "Whaaat? Noooo." She's not really sure what it is the dust is and pixie's are known to be tricksters. She might look a little silly, trying to avoid a harmless looking cloud of yellow dust...but she tries. And she is only partially successful. Which is good...because those werewolf noses tend to be quite sensitive. Even if the yellow dust only proves to be perfume, and pretty dang good smelling perfume at that. With all her dodging, it is hard to say if Meri makes any observations about the way that the pixie's seem to avoid Zanril. If she does, she keeps this detail to herself. Harmless or not, but Meri was not feeling like a particularly helpful adventurer! Salvaret and Roald may very well end up being Josleen's golden boys for the day. Into the water the team begins to go and Meri is going to do her best to assure that she is the last to make the swim. This is not a swim that Meri has made numerous times in her life, but she's done it at least once...so she knows what could potentially be looming once that manage to surface through the other side of the moat. Just before Meri breaks through the surface of the water, she slows her swimming speed so that she does not draw attention to herself by splashing about. Hopefully the rest have thought to do the same, she probably could have stood to warn them though...It's like Meri doesn't really care if Josleen gets the wand or not! #rude

Salvaret was awestruck by the forest path he'd found himself in, despite his elvish heritage he wasn't well versed in the other kingdoms of the world, the adventurous part of him was glad to be here in this exact moment as the pixies greeted them, it's during this head in the cloud moment he feels a dull thud against his hip. Glancing down Sal noted with a bit of embarrassment the hammer and stakes Roald had tossed, he offered a grin before scooping them from the ground. "On it." Was all the elf offered while his pale face turned a light shade of red, this was off to a great start he thought, he needed to keep his wits about him, unknown territory and dangers awaited after all. Using the hammer he secured the rope ladder and tested it to ensure there'd be no issue of it suddenly dislodging and possibly leaving the party stranded. He passed the hammer back to Roald before taking the offered egg from the queen, he held it gently in his hand feeling the texture of the item. He waited patiently for Josleen and Roald to dive in, he'd be third to dive in. Taking his place near the ladder he looked down once more before closing his eyes and diving headfirst into the moat, the egg clutched tight to his chest.

Roald :: All who jumped into the moat, regardless of which end went in first, land on their feet. Zanril waits for no instructions and immediately scouts the nest and the path ahead to the south. It’s unclear what motivates him, but given his sparse equipment, it’s clear he is not a man who is in this for the coin. Zanril leads the party through the dragon tunnel, the blasted tunnel, and into the dragon boneyard. The smell of rotting flesh assaults the party before they reach the graveyard. Once inside they find the decaying carcass of a blue dragon whelp. Chunks of the whelp’s body are missing - the front left leg, the right shoulder, part of its neck and its back. Bite marks suggest that something has been feeding in this relatively fresh corpse. “Strange. Dragons rarely die while young,” Josleen says. Zanril kneels by the young dragon’s head. He gestures for torchlight and Roald obliges. In the dim yellow flamelight, Zanril points out bumpy red ad black rashes on the dragon’s face. “Scale sickness,” he says. “Rare for it to claim a dragon, even a young one…” “I thought it impossible,” says Josleen, whose father is a world renown magical naturalist. Zanril shook his head. “There are unnatural strains brewed by evil shamans, druids, and witches that can affect even dragons.” “So someone is behind this?” “Maybe, or maybe this dragon got into an old, long forgotten bad brew.” As Josleen and Zanril discuss the corpse, the cavern wall behind them moves. Or better said, something perfectly camouflaged into the cavern wall moves. Unknown to Zanril and Josleen, a gray-bodied creature, seven feet tall and as wide as two broad men side-by-side, lurches forward. His long clawed arms lift to either side of his distended belly, poised to strike. The torchlight glows in its yellow eyes and gleams on its long lacerated teeth. Uglier than a cave troll, balder than an ogre, save for a long line of bristly black hair that runs down the length of its neck and spine. Those with sensitive noses will also smell the scent of mead on its breath. Josleen and Zanril remain oblivious as the grendel takes two fast swipes, one at Zanril’s side and one at Josleen’s head.

Drunk Grendel in a Dragon Boneyard

Meri :: While Zanril and Josleen discuss the death of the dragon, their surprise, their suspicion as to how it might have met it's fate, Meri is actually looking everywhere else around the boneyard. Ideally, she wants to find the yew wand before anyone else. She is not the only person who has motives outside of gold. So when this gray mass starts to move, Meri is catches sight of it pretty quickly. And...Meri does nothing. Get them, grendel! Diiiiie witch-haters. Juuuuust kidding. This is not how Meri reacts at all, as much as this is what she would love to do. Why not? This puts an obvious target on her back. She may not like Josleen, but by actually taking this job she has agreed to play the game to some extent. Any misbehavior that she may (or may not) do during this adventure? Well she can't get caught for it, and all she needs are two witnesses who can be like "dude, this chick totally did not even try and save the Queen, Macon, now off with her witch-loving head." And so Meri fights. But her joining this fight does not come in the form of her pulling sword from scabbard and charging the grendel head on. The psion puts her other abilities to good use. It's a telekinetic blast of energy that is lobbed at the grendel. Unless the beast has the means to defend against this unseen manifestation of energy, then his attack against Josleen and Zanril will ideally be thrown off course sparing them both severe damage. It will hopefully by themselves enough time to ready themselves for this dangerous situation. Really though, Meri only wants to be half invested in this fight. If she could find the yew wand and make her escape while everyone was distracted with the fight...Well. That would be ideal, wouldn't it? If the results of her attack on the beasty is that it turns it's attention on her next? Meri smirks at this thought.

Salvaret felt a bit shaken by the sudden change in surroundings, nevertheless he sets to work following the others from the cave, the stench of rot is particularly pungent causing him to wrinkle his nose in disgust. Taking in the Bone Yard he was able to discern the long left bones couldn't be the source, this was quickly confirmed when he'd settled his gaze on Zanril and the queen, the corpse of the young dragon was indeed the source of the smell though Sal's attention didn't linger long before noting the hint of movement. His eyes were quite used to lowlight conditions and he could just make out the gray beast within the dark, his heart pounded as adrenaline kicked in, he'd not a clue what it was but it's intentions were clearly hostile as it made a move to attack. Almost in sync with the grendel he loosed his bow and fired a pair of arrows in one motion aimed directly at the creatures hands, this wasn't the most accurate way of shooting but perhaps he'd distract it at the very least. Unlike Meri he chose to shout to the others while doing this. "DUCK!" Was all he could shout before everything played out.

Josleen ducks on Salvaret’s command and just narrowly misses the high-aiming swipe. Zanril deftly leaps backwards out of the way and draws his shortbow as he does so. Meri’s psionic blast sends the grendel flying against the wall and just out of reach of Salvaret’s arrows, which both zip past and graze the grendel’s hand and arm, but don’t land cleanly in their target. The grendel’s back cracks on impact and the beast lets out a spine-chilling roar. Josleen scramble’s out of the fight’s way and takes cover behind a stalagmite. Roald leaps over his charge and into action, dual-wielding his longsword and rapier. He slashes at the grendel’s belly with the longsword and stabs at its shoulder with the rapier in hopes of rendering the joint useless. His longsword slices shallowly into the stomach’s rippling fat, and the rapier stabs into stone and sets off sparks. Zanril fires two arrows at the grendel. One hits its thigh, the other just barely misses as the grendel turns towards Roald to shove him out of the way. Roald is sent back several feet but keeps his balance. The arrow in the grendel’s thigh does nothing to slow him down as he charges right at Meri. Years of experience attacking parties in search of honey wine have taught the beast to always target the magic user first. The grendel zig zags as he runs to prevent Meri (and Zanril and Salvaret) from having a clean shot. As he nears the psion he unhinges his jaw and burps out a fireball that smells sweetly of mead. The honey-scented fireball flies straight for Meri’s face.

Meri smirks, as promised. When Meri first came to these lands, if she found herself in a situation such as this one, she would have been far more unnerved and a fearful mess. Gone was that nervous woman. The grendel runs toward Meri, using it's own instinct to attempt to take the 'magic' user out. Meri is more than happy to square off with the beast, but it is not her bow nor her psionic abilities that she relies on to outmaneuver the beast. Before she picked up the bow, there was the sword, and before she decided to landlock here, there was the sea. It's those skills, with the sword and her footwork mixed with the speed of a werewolf that Meri employees right now. Her sword is not drawn, not yet, but as the grendel run towards her? She runs toward it, when it zig-zags, so does she. Her steps mirror his, not quite perfectly but she is doing a damn good job of following almost step for step. When the fireball is launched toward her face? Meri drops down into a slide so that the mead-smelling fireball flies over her head rather than hitting her head. The blonde uses the speed from her full-forced run to propel her forward...still toward the grendel-esque creature. Hopefully she'll manage to slide right beneath his legs. If not though? That's cool. It is during this slide that Meri is drawing out her sword, because one way or another she's going to try and impale it through it's lower torso. Things could go badly though. All of this could go wrong. Grendel could just punt Meri into a wall, that would hurt. It's a risky move, but sometimes the unexpected gets the job done. That's half the point of going on these adventures, half of these things are thought up on the fly. Who knows how they will really play out?

Salvaret wasn't too surprised he'd mostly missed the beast, he was just glad his allies weren't ripped to shreds in front of him. He took a moment to study it during its engagement with the others, he couldn't lose an arrow safely while it skirmished with Roald anyhow. Watching it bolt full speed after Meri he knew the bow would be useless past this point as it's movements were too erratic to get a clean shot, Sal opted to sling his bow back to it's attachment point on his quiver while bolting forward. His plan wasn't to beat Meri to the beast but rather use it's single minded focus on her to land a devastating blow, unsheathing his sword it moved silently from his scabbard as he darted towards the grendel, he chose a path he hoped would keep it from noticing what he was about to do. As he reached the point he was looking for he used one of the many skulls and bones as a launch pad to leap at the beast while bringing his sword down in a stabbing motion aimed for the mid point of the grendel's back, he'd hope to cripple it if not outright kill the beast. The last thing he noted while attempting this blow was the glint of Meri's unsheathed blade.

Josleen :: When Meri slides under the grendel, the beast, which isn’t as stupid as it looks, immediatly lifts its leg to try and step back and away from the petite impaler under its body. Meri is faster than the grendel and she stabs it cleanly through the same thigh that already has an arrow stuck in it. Meri’s sword impales and slices several inches through the tough muscle before the grendel wrestles itself off. It stumbles back onto its rump and with its good leg kicks fiercely at Meri’s body in hopes of sending her flying away. Simultaneously with Salvaret, Roald jumps straight up as high as the low ceiling allows, much higher than is typical of humans, and arcs his leap straight above the grendel with every intention to impale it right through the head, using the force of gravity to add reckless damage to his blow. The grendel, focused on Roald, scoots back to avoid Roald but instead puts itself in Salvaret’s kill path. Salvaret’s blade slices cleanly down on grendel’s skull, fractures it, but then slides down the side of its face, through its ear, and into the taut trap muscle that connects neck to shoulder. Roald lands in front of the Grendel, between its thighs as the grendel roars in pain. The beast is badly injured and too stunned to get up. It’s finished, slowly dying, but determined to take someone down with it. Once again it unhinges its jaw to breathe fire on Roald. Despite Salvaret’s presence to the side of and behind the grendel, Zanril has a clean shot right into the grendel’s skull to stop the attack dead, but… he chooses not to. Zanril holds his shot, endangering Roald’s life. Neither Josleen nor Roald notice Zanril’s hesitation. Roald jumps up with the superhuman ability once more. The fire singes his legs and feet, but his now-charred leathers protect his flesh.Once it is clear the grendel has missed, Zanril releases his arrow right into the grendel’s skull, finishing off Salvaret’s kill.

Meri :: The kick from grendel would probably be enough to do some serious damage to your average human, thankfully Meri was no longer this. Plus said grendel was currently under assault and failing on his rump with only a bum leg to keep him stable while he kicked with, so Meri is not kicked with the full brunt that the beast would normally pack. That does not mean it does not send her flying, and that it doesn't hurt. Oh it hurts. It hurts enough that she lays there on the cavern floor trying to catch her breath. At least that is what it might look like to most. Really Meri was trying to control her temper, keep the wolf restrained, so that she does not lose her shhh because if she cannot maintain her composure...well. Let's just say she's a young werewolf who has not really managed to gain any sense of control of her actions as a wolf. Plus she's not sure she wants everyone present knowing she is a werewolf, if she can prevent such. It's not until the psionic werewolf believes that she has managed to regain her composure that she pushes up to her feet, but unbeknown to her those blue eyes are still a vivid golden color. Somehow in all of the madness Meri did manage to take note of Zanril's hesitation. Still not entirely cool and collected, the blonde let's her temper get the better of her. She does not blatantly call Zanril out for everyone to hear, she really does not care if he is here to muck up Josleen's little plan. Meri wouldn't mind that. Meri does mind that his hesitation could put her own life in danger, and she has a daughter to get home to. The werewolf approaches Zanril, ignoring all concepts of personal space even though she is normally very astutely aware of them. "Careful, elk-boy, I'm starting to feel famished." Her tone might not carry suggestion of threat, but the words make it clear. The woman pulls away from Zanril at this point, leaving him with a saccharine smile as parting. Golden eyes find focus on the others in the party. She's not going to ask Josleen and Roald if they're alright and in one piece, that might suggest she actually cares about them. Trust. She does not. Provided they pass her visual inspection, Meri will turn and approach the now deceased grendel and inspect it...for anything of importance. Keys. Wands. Secret maps. Cool weapons. And if there is nothing? Meri is going to callously press the party onward through the tunnel. I mean normally she's not so heartless but this work is being done for Josleen so....

Salvaret couldn't believe how quickly the fight had ended, he looked down at the blade he held in his hand, he noted how the blood dripped from the gleaming metal, it was a strange feeling as the adrenaline still coursed through his veins. From his position he was unaware of Zanril's hesitation, heat of the moment and all that. He wiped the sword clean on the slain grendel then, least as clean as one could it from such actions. Sheathing his sword back in its scabbard he took a moment to look over his companions, it seemed this fight went quite well despite the initial surprise, it was then Sal noticed Meri speaking with Zanril, the manner in which she spoke was certainly aggressive but it wasn't his place to get involved. He didn't search the creature himself, the lack of pants or any real clothing in general suggested anything the creature had kept probably wouldn't interest the ranger. "Everyone alright?" He said to the others, he knew Meri had sustained a blow along with Roald's now damaged leathers, best to address any damages now before heading deeper, there was no telling what else crept in the shadows in places such as this. Whether they answered him or not he'd fall in line behind Meri, the job was far from done after all.

Terramander, rocky terramancing meat-eating salamanders, trying to eat this meat, on a cliff!

Josleen :: Meri finds one thing of note strapped to the grendel’s wrist under a leather bracer: a faded, folded map. Roald checks on the Queen, and once she’s on her feet, he checks on then the rest of the party, including Zanril who he doesn’t realize hesitated to act. He then approaches Meri, “Are you alright? How are your ribs? Any sharp pain?” He’s checking for fractures. Once everyone is well and ready to move, Josleen takes the lead with Salvaret and Zanril brings up the rear. As they exit the tavern, Salvaret may notice that beneath a set of bones are a quiver of peculiar looking arrows. Upon closer inspection he’ll notice their arrowheads are made of glass. Inside the quiver is a note that reads ‘Troll slaying arrows. Say ‘Daybreak’ to summon the power of the sun’ There is an illustration which shows the sun rising and shining through the glass arrowheads’ tips, delivering a pack of lethal sunlight to trolls. There are 8 in total. The tunnel gently ascends upwards until they reach a short vertical climb that opens into hillside littered with bones and brittle stone. The flora is threateningly thick and heavy with enchantment. Despite her pampered lifestyle, Josleen does not seem frightened. There was a time before when she wore the crown when adventure was something she sought. They cross the moors and reach the fells. Roald removes his rucksack and pulls out rope, pitons, hammers. “I hope you’re all competent climbers. We need to repel down the cliff,” he explains. “I can take the lead.” He hammers into the clifface the first piton, expertly loops through rope, and demonstrates to the rest of the party how to wear a leather harness and loop the rope into the harness’s clip. If anyone needs extra guidance, he uses Josleen as an example of how to use the slack to lower yourself along the cliff face, using your feet to repel without smashing into the stone wall. Once again, and perhaps surprisingly, Josleen performs the task with ease. Unsurprisingly, Zanril decides to free climb without the harness, his hands and feet finding purchases on mere centimeters of stone, because of course.

Meri was not about to share her finds with the group, at least not this group. We've already established why she is being colder than the norm, no need to beat that horse dead. Roald fussing over her is met with a lofted brow, but she manages to keep the sharpness out of her tone of voice when she answers, "Right as rain." The blonde was not known as the best climber in the lands, but she was not the worst....If she could manage to not look down. She's never been known for her love of heights, having refused numerous times to take any forms of flying travel...but she's going to have to manage. After harnessing herself up, strapping herself in, and checking to make sure none of her gear is going to cause her to go falling from the rock face...Meri joins the team in the decent down the cliff face. She's like a turtle for this neck of the journey, slow and steady will rain this race. She's also heavily considering just putting an end to Zanril right here and now...She has a feeling that it would make their lives so much easier. No one would be the wiser. It would just take a thought and it would look like he slipped, no. Meri smirks. Unable to resist the temptation to show Zanril just how serious she was with her threat, he's given a little bump with some telekinetic energy. Not hard enough that he'd actually fall...But enough that he might just slip up a bit. And then Meri can chime in with, "Bit breezy out today, hm? I'd of taken the gear..." At least it's not the Queen suffering Meri's ire, it seems that she's found a new target for the moment.

Salvaret did manage to note the stash of arrows, he'd used a few in the fight after all, stone walls and large beasts wouldn't have left much for him to salvage of his own so the find was welcome. Looking over the quiver he inspected the contents while following the others, a lucky find he thought before adding its contents to his own gear, the quiver itself was discarded however, he liked his own better after all. The change from bones and death to a far more lively setting was a welcome one, the ranger knew death was a part of the great cycle but despite this he wasn't a fan of hanging out in mass graveyards, in particular he'd have to add recently slain beasts in mass graveyards higher on his list of places he'd avoid when possible. Sticking with the others he observed Roald and Josleen's demonstration of how to use the ropes they'd provided, it seemed simple enough to him, taking his place in line he gently lowered himself down the cliff face, thankfully heights were not something Sal feared. Or so he thought as a foot hold broke from the cliff face and sent small rocks scattering below. He managed to hold on despite this and called out and apology to those below. " Sorry about that, stone was weaker than I thought." He'd need to be more careful he thought, the ropes would hold if he fell he believed but on the off chance they didn't he wouldn't take the chance and proceeded to make his way a bit slower down.

Josleen :: Meri’s telekinetic bump forces Zanril’s right grip free of a rock. His fingers fumble desperately for a new ledge and he finds purchase after slipping a few inches and mildly scraping his palm. Everyone else may believe Zanril simply slipped, like Salvaret did, but the were-elk knows better. He felt the unnatural bump and knows the woman gloating at him is responsible. He glares at Meri but says nothing. Revenge is a dish best served cold. He continues his descent when suddenly another bump rocks him and everyone else on the cliff. The ropes wiggle dangerously, threatening to smack climbers into stone. Josleen’s rope twists and just before she’s about to slam sidelong into the stone face she yanks on her slack to finish spinning 360 degrees and land back on her feet on the cliff, as expertly as if she has been here before. “Terramanders!” she shouts as she points at a three foot-wide cave directly below Salvaret. Blink and you’ll miss it, the cave collapses on itself quickly and is replaced by a boulder. (Up to each writer whether or not their characters know this: terramanders are large salamander-shaped, stone-skinned, carnivorous beasts that cling to vertical cliffs and feed by knocking climbing creatures loose from the wall and catching the falling prey in their cave-like mouths. They are large enough to swallow a grown man - or elk! - whole.) Roald and Josleen peer down the stone face to try and spot the expertly camouflaged creatures. They are near impossible to detect by sight or smell. “We need to descend quickly,” Josleen says. “Salvaret, it was last seen directly below you. Climb towards me then descend. You may need to place a couple more pitons to your right, so that if you fall, you don’t fall directly into its mouth.” Roald quickly drops three feet and Josleen zips after him. They have another 50 feet to go and this twelve-foot long terramander could be anywhere - and there could be more than one. As Salvaret works his way over to the right then down, a giant mass of stone leaps off the cliff face, a cave opening at the very top as it leaps towards Salvaret’s body to snatch him from the air like a fish leaping out of the water to catch a fly.

Meri action : :: Of all frakkin' places to need to encounter their next trouble spot, it had to be while descending a cliff face? Meri has moments to decide what she would like to do. She could stay strapped in to her harness and attempt to wage a battle on the side of a cliff face, dodging this and trying to stab at that. This really did not sound like an ideal plan of action, this kept her in a field of battle that the terramanders were comfortable with. Not her. She preferred her own feet on the ground...but she had fifty feet to go before she could get there. The psion sucks in a breath, keeping one hand on gripped on the line she has been repelling from, while the other goes for her sword. This happens just as Salvaret is being attacked. Except Meri does not employ her sword to try and save Salvaret, she instead relies on her psionic abilities again. Another telekinetic blast of energy, this one is far from a gentle bump, and is aimed for the terramander. Bare minimum Meri hopes to at least knock it off of it's intended attack path, causing it to miss turning Salvaret into a chew toy. Shortly after, Meri uses her sword to cut her rope so that she is free falling those remaining fifty feet. This seems like suicide, except you know...she's a psion whose strength is telekinesis. Which you know....involves moving objects? Or things of mass. Meri is a thing of mass, oui? In this instance, the psion is focusing hard on slowing the speed at which she'll hit the earth and she does this within the last fifeteen to ten feet of her fall....All so that she does not flatten herself into a pancake. If her rapid decent has not managed to pull the attention of the terramanders to her? Well then hopefully swapping out sword for bow and arrow will do the trick. Meri is well aware that their skin is as thick as stone, and that her arrows will do no good. But the intention is more to give Josleen, Salvret and Roald a chance to fully descend. Zanril can suck it.

Salvaret went wide eyed as Josleen shouted the name of a beast the elf had only heard of in stories, all thoughts of proceeding calmly down the mountain were gone as he engaged his arms and legs in following the path the queen had mentioned he should take. Despite his faster pace along the cliff face he could only go as fast as he was able to jam new pitons into the rock, taking a chance at glancing down after inserting the last piton he'd need to follow the party in what he hoped would be a safer path from the creature, he noted the maw loomed open as the terrormander leapt directly for him seeking to claim it's elven snack. He let go then, falling for a moment to avoid the creature, he intended to grab the slack when he moved out of range, it was then he noted it moved awkwardly from the telekinetic blast. This didn't save Sal despite Meri's efforts as the line was very much in the way of the terrormander causing his line to be cut shortly after stopping his descent. The ranger fell then, he was higher than the rest but a plan came to mind, least the best one he could think of while plummeting helplessly to an untimely demise. Extending his hands out he could feel the motion of the air and the moisture it contained, it was a humid enough day so it should work... it'd have to. Opening the palm of his left hand a slide of ice formed near the bottom of the cliff. He angled himself shortly before impact, the thud of his impact was still quite loud as he tumbled down his makeshift slide and found his stop in a pile of bushes. His world was pain then as he struggled to his feet, glancing at his left hand he identified the source as his pinky finger being bent at an odd angle. His gaze moved to the others still trying to descend down, gripping his pinky with his right hand he inhaled sharply as he popped it back in place, the nausea he felt was almost overwhelming before he settled somewhere close to normal, though he knew he'd be quite sore if they managed to make it out of this alive. Remove his bow from it's loop on his quiver he quickly nocked an arrow in preparation for the coming fight.

Josleen :: The terramander that was leaping for Salvaret takes a psionic blow and smashes stone against stone into the cliff. Salvaret just barely avoids being crushed, but unfortunately his line is cut. Bye, Salvaret, it was nice knowing you. Josleen, Roald, and Zanril are shaken loose by the impact. This time Josleen fails to spin herself fully and smacks her hip painfully against an out-jutting boulder. Roald flies backward into a concave dip in the cliff and Zanril free falls a couple feet before he catches himself on a narrow ledge. He scrapes his shins and knees this time. Maybe he should have taken a harness after all. Roald, noticing that Meri could catch herself with her telekinetic powers, shouts to Meri. “Catch the Queen!” Roald reaches a ledge big enough for the balls of his feet and he unhooks himself from his harness. Zanril spies Salvaret’s icey slide and makes a beeline for it before it melts. The terramander jumps towards Zanril for an elken snack, and Zanril jumps towards what was left of Meri’s rope, Tarzan swings towards the ice slide, flips three times midair, then lands butt first onto the slide and slips down to safety, albeit with a sore bump and a bruised tailbone. Zanril lifts a hand towards Salvaret’s bow. “There’s no fighting this, only running.” Roald takes another superhuman leap, this time towards the terramander to draw its attention towards himself and away from the Queen. Josleen looks down to Meri for confirmation, “Do you have me? Can you catch me?” She’ll wait for a single nod of confirmation before pulling her dagger off her belt and cutting her own rope. She trusts Meri fully, despite their history. What’s a little politics between sort of friends?

Meri :: Catch the Queen?! They did have a full understanding of who they were talking to, right? Honestly Meri and Callum were hoping for just this moment, they were chatting about just this scenario when Meri dropped of Fleur to the babydaddy. It would be hard to prove that Meri really did it on purpose. 'Magic' can be such a fickle thing....And yet on the very same side of that coin...Macon was not a rational person and King's did not always need sound or solid proof to do anything. Too many eyes were on Meri to just let Josleen fall to her death....There is a hard roll of her eyes before Meri nods, "All of you, jump. At once." Except for perhaps Salvaret who maybe perhaps is already falling due to his rope being snapped by the terramander? He might be the exception to the 'jump all at once' command. The other three though will hopefully heed Meri's demand. Even Zanril. When and if they jump, they're not going to be floating delicately down to the ground. Their fall will mirror Meri's. It'll be a free fall until the very last second. Their landing is not nearly as soft as Meri's though. It's not rough enough that anyone will sustain any serious injuries, maybe a bruise or two depending on they manage to position themselves in the air. Maaaybe Josleen and Zanril might feel this is intentional, the rough landing...but the truth is it's honestly just a trickier feat...catching more than one person in the air. It was a lot for the psion to put her focus on in one sitting. Everyone has their limits, from magical to mental to physical and Meri was definitely feeling a drain from having to depend so much on her psionic abilities. It's ignored for now, as there is no other choice but to push on. That terramander is certain to descend the cliff after an easy meal. They might have an easier time holding their own against it now that they had feet on the ground, but that stone-like skin will make it a challenging battle. One they might have to engage in one way or another if they have to trek back this way. Her bow is drawn, but her arrows are ordinary, it's just a precautionary measure to offer cover while the rest of the party regains their composure. Salvaret though, "Try those arrows you found..."

Salvaret was glad to see Meri's power was up to the job of slowing the descent of not just one person but two, all with magic alone. It would certainly be less painful then his own graceful dive onto his icy creation, his gaze met Zanril's then as he loosened the hold on his bowstring, the others were mostly out of danger now so perhaps the more experienced ranger was right. However Meri's call to use the enchanted arrows he'd found sent his mind reeling with ideas, would it even work? The note had detailed it as a concentrated burst of sunlight but the creature itself was made of rock, did it even have eyes to be blinded... The elf made his decision then, he nodded to Zanril. "Fighting would be stupid in this case, but perhaps a bit of cover." Sal sheathed his blue feathered arrow while quickly drawing one of the glass tipped arrows, he then aimed it just above the others after calling out. "Run straight to me and shield your eyes everyone!" With their backs to the burst of light they'd hopefully be unaffected when he let the arrow loose from his bow, it flew swiftly through the air as he shouted the command. "Daybreak!" The burst of light was far more intense than Sal had imagined, even turning himself mostly away from the burst of sunlight with his eyes shut he could still feel a heavy heat and see light behind his lids though not a dangerous wave of heat thankfully as the light quickly faded, Sal finished his turn away from the cliff then preparing to run with the others. He hoped it'd have some effect on the beast, at the very least a chance to get the others to safety.

Camping and Betrayal

Josleen leaps without hesitation, largely because this is Roald's plan and she trusts him, and in a smaller part because she has no reason to suspect Meri. Her narcissism makes her blind to some of her would be enemies. She shouts the whole way down until her scream is cut short by an unceremonious "Unf" followed by a grunt and moaning from the pain of the sudden stop. As Salvaret provides cover, she runs from the cliff. For a woman who doesn't ever need to do physical labor, she's surprisingly fleet of foot. Salvaret's bet pays off. The sunburst temporarily blinds the terramander, and the heat scares the creature off. He's a predator in search of easy prey, and he's not sure this prey if worth the fight. Roald claps Meri on the shoulder as he jogs past her. "Well done, Meri." Josleen adds to that with a nod and a broad smile. "That's quite a skill." As the sun sets, the party continues its march south into a moorland made thorny and dangerous by overgrown vines that twist and arch overhead and underfoot. "The first den of the primordial lycans is said to be somewhere in these moors," Josleen explains to her companions. "It is hidden in the day, but can be detected in the moonlight. Tonight is a full moon, which is why we set out today. We should set up camp, eat, rest, and wait for night fall." Zanril scouts for a relativelt safe location protected on three sides by thickets. He and Roald hack out a larger clearing for the party to gather. Josleen sits on a woven, thick blanket large enough for several occupants and invites whoever would like to join her to have a seat. With only each other for company, she begins to tell stories from her large bardic repetoire. She focuses on Frostmaw stories, which tend to be politcally safe. 1. How Satoshi came into power. 2. How Hildegarde came into power. 3. How Hildegarde defeated rebellious power hungry frost giants who stoked a civil war. When the stories conclude she asks, "How is Callum these days, Meri? I haven't heard from him in some time. My garden misses his talent." Then to Salvaret, "Where did you grow up, Salvaret?"

Meri :: Roald seems alright. Emphasis on seems. By default Meri is quite skeptical of Roald's character despite her initial judgement formation, no one who is -really- alright can actually work for the Queen for an extended period of time, right? This is just one of the things that Meri is dwelling over while she and the others set about locating a camp. A camp that Zanril was keen on helping to select - because of course he was. This was another thing that was on her mind. The final thing that the werewolf is dwelling over is the statement that it was a full moon. Were daylight not still drowning out the various hues of Arh'Nuk and Vaalane, Meri's blue eyes would be skyward trying to figure out which of the two satellites might be the culprit tonight. What exactly was Meri going to do? Honestly these thoughts are enough to consume Meri's mind that she really does not pay much heed to any of Josleen's stories. It's not until the Queen asks her a direct question that Meri actually lends her voice to this story time at all. Her reaction is a poor one. A brow is lifted at the question and a protective expression crosses her features. She answers with a very terse single word, "Fine." There was plenty more that Meri could say on the subject of Callum, but she's not one to wear her personal life on her sleeve. In fact, she does not even really seem interested in sticking around for further story time. The light was falling from the sky, Meri was in a race with the clock and with the Queen. She still had a mindset of trying to get that wand before Josleen did. At some point she would have to make her move. So she stands and announces, "I have to take a piss." Which is not entirely a lie. They have been traveling awhile. Fighting some things...the need to pee is just one of those things that everyone has to tend to. Just...maybe some might manage to be less crude about it. The idea is that Salvaret can talk about where he grew up while Meri snuck off to pee...after which she would further sneak off. Bye Felicias. Sure, it would not be too long before the party realizes that Meri has not returned from her pee. But whatever. By then the woman will hopefully have enough of a lead. Adventure's Guild leader she is, yes, but she's also obtained decent rank within the Rogue's guild as well. It's at this point in time that she puts one of their trinkets to good use. Once she is sufficient distance away and only if she does not catch the scent of anyone nosey..like Zanril, Meri will run her thumb over a medallion that hangs concealed beneath her shirt. Upon doing this, it is activated and the woman is consumed in a cloak of shadows. Disguised in shadows, Meri will move through the thorns and the vines in search for the hidden opening to this lycan den that is only revealed...during a time she might lose her own shhh and could potentially turn on the entire party. Maaaybe Meri should have thought the timing of this adventure through a bit more. Tick tock.

Salvaret was quite glad to be away from the cliff and large predatory rock creatures, despite nearly dying more than once today the elf couldn't help but smile while setting to work on getting the camp set up. Zanril's choice of location was quite sound, the ranger couldn't have chosen much better himself, it was shortly after everyone had established themselves in the clearing that he approached Meri. "Hey, I just wanted to say thanks for earlier, pretty sure I would've been a smear on the cliff if you hadn't assisted, also the idea to use the arrows was a smart one. I'm pretty glad we have someone like you watching out for us." He'd take his leave from her then, she didn't seem the chatty type so he didn't expect a lengthy response. Sal made his way to the others then before taking the seat that was offered upon the blanket, he'd removed his bow from his quiver before sitting in a cross legged position, the tales she regaled them with were interesting enough, he'd journeyed to Frostmaw twice before so he was familiar enough with the area though the history was a mystery to him. He didn't have much to add till the queen asked him a direct question, he lingered for a moment on how best to answer. "I grew up in Xalious actually, fairly normal childhood I suppose... Tried to apprentice myself to a wizard a time or two but my mother always felt I had a head for things more martial, she's probably right since the first time I tried to cast a spell I managed to blacken the nails on the hand I tried with." He chuckled then. " Took a few months for them to grow back but at least it wasn't anything worse." He then asked a question of Josleen herself. "What about yourself, you don't move like I'd imagine royalty, you actually seem at home on the road?"

Josleen is a bard by training. Wittling away hours with stories and small talk is a talent she cultivated (and before you knock it, it landed her a king, hot damn). The drawback to that talent is a tendency to lose track of time when engaged in the charm arts. Josleen brightens when Salvaret mentions Xalious. “Oh what a fun coincidence! I also grew up in Xalious. I think it’s the best village to grow up in, don’t you? My father is an academic in the mage’s guild. Kyl’oriel, you may have heard of him. He’s an arcane naturalist, studies the naturally occuring magical fauna and flora. He also wanted me to grow up to be mage, but my mother is a bard and I took after her. Say, as a ranger I am sure you’ve read many of his books. I’d be happy to get you a signed copy of your favorite of his books.” As the Xalious natives chat away happily, Roald does begin to wonder where Meri has gone, but also, you know, women and the bathroom, and their monthlies and all that. He decides to wait it out a little longer before saying anything. Zanril, on the other hand, shares a duplicitous motive with Meri and can sniff out a fellow rat. No way is he letting that woman steal that yew wand out from under him. The blonde imbecile probably doesn’t even know what it is. That wand is Zanril’s birthright (or so he believes, jury’s still out). He leaves the group casually as if he too just needs to pee. Although he leaves in the opposite direction from Meri, he quickly circles the group to follow her scent. He moves quickly with the wild spirit in his steps. The thick, thorny underbrush does not slow him, nor does it rustle nor crunch under his mystically featherlight steps. He stays downwind of Meri to try and hide his scent from her. When he finds her, he does not expose himself but instead waits for her to find the den first and trails her until she does so. After about 20 minutes of wandering, Meri will notice that some of the shadows beneath a particularly dense thicket shimmer a faint silver in the moonlight. All Meri needs to do to enter the den is slip into the silver shadow which acts as a portal that will push her into a spacious den inside the bramble bush. It’s as if she’s inside an igloo made of thorns. It’s spacious enough for a family of 12 wolves. Pushed against the curved wall are piles of treasures, mostly reagents, bottled elixirs, a few hides from deer and bears. The largest bear hide has been stretched out like a rug and at its center are the most valuable items, among them are the yew wand and an ancient amulet shaped crudely like a wolf.

Meri :: Stupid elk-bois with their fancy nostrils. Meri is evidently going to learn the hard way that werewolves are not the only beings with a heightened sense of smell, once she actually realizes that Zanril has actually managed to tail her. And yes! For the record, the blonde imbecile literally has no idea what this wand could do. She tried to ask her sister to research it, Khitti is smart like that...Meri was given a bit of an explanation but Khitti needed to do more homework on the question. Once Meri locates the den, she enters about as cautiously as one can when they don't really know the terrain or what might be contained inside. Upon entering the den, the search begins. There are piles of treasure which might make the search daunting to someone who was trying to steal as many of the most valuable items as possible. Meri really just wanted to get her hands on one item. She wanted to locate the wand, break it, and then make her escape before Josleen and company managed to arrive. Sure there were other things that caught Meri's attention that she might stuff away for safe keeping if she had the item. First thing was first though, the wand, find it and break it...and do so before the moon climbs too high in the sky.

Salvaret wasn't too surprised he hadn't met her before hand in the village they shared growing up, his childhood was mostly spent playing alone in the woods dreaming of something more than the borders of his hometown. "I've heard of him a time or two but never happened to meet him while there, I'm sure you know how aloof us elves can be." The mention of his profession of choice he addressed next. "More something I fell into, learned a lot about nature from my mother, she liked to keep our medicine home made, the rest just kinda fell into place when I flunked out of guard duty, not a fan of staying in one place for so long, tend to get antsy." It was then he glanced towards the direction Meri had taken off to, she'd been gone for far too long, Zanril as well it seemed. "Not to change the subject but is anyone else getting a bad feeling about our missing allies?" He stood up then and scooped his bow back up. "Those two don't seem to get along very well, might be best we go check on them." He started to make his way towards the trees he'd seen Meri head through hoping he could follow her trail, whether Roald and Josleen followed was up to them but Sal couldn't shake a bad feeling that'd found its way into his gut.

Josleen :: Roald stands when Salvaret does. His intuition sounds the alarm, but his concern is different from Salvaret’s. “Your majesty, I fear they may be looking for the wand to keep for themselves.” As the ranger takes off after Meri, Roald shouts after him, “We’ll follow Zanril. Circle around south to meet up with us again.” He gestures with his hands to demonstrate to Salvaret where they should meet. Coincidentally, it’s near the entrance to the den. Roald wastes no time and only picks up the essentials from the camp, leaves the rest. Meanwhile at the den, Zanril slips into the silver shadow a few minutes after Meri and draws twin daggers from his boots. “I’ve no quarrel with you,” he says by way of announcing himself. “Give me the wand and we can both walk out of here and part ways. You can have the rest.”

Meri :: Oh no, Roald's Spidey-senses are tingling, and they're quite accurate. Meri does not want the wand for herself persay, but his analysis is close enough. And there Meri and Zanril are, in the cave. How brazen is Meri feeling today....Could she effectively fight Zanril and make off with all of the goods? Wand included? The temptation to take on the challenge and the fight was high, but the woman was starting to feel like her skin was starting to crawl. It was not the most pleasant of sensations and it was a good sign that if she was not careful then the entire party could witness her shift and learn she was a werewolf. Plus a fight meant more time in this cave, for Josleen and company to discover them...or maybe the lycans that gathered these items to begin with. Surely they were still somewhere. With a smirk, Meri moves left in the small den while also tossing the wand right. If Zanril wanted the wand that badly, he would have to step out of her way and move to claim it. And if he did? That's when Meri would make a break for it and exit the cave. She is not leaving the cave empty handed, within she found items that peeked her own interest. That wolf-shaped amulet for starters. How could she pass that up? The focus now was to slip escape the cave without Zanril. She has no real interest in returning to the party, in fact she is still trying to get as far away from them as possible. At least she still cloaked in shadows, which should help to conceal her from Roald, Salvaret and Josleen. If Zanril was good to his own word and let Meri go unhindered, then Meri wouldn't do anything to slow his own escape.

Salvaret did just as instructed by Roald, it was a sound plan after all, covering double the ground in half the time. He moved fairly quickly even with only the moonlight to guide him, his eyes were perfectly suited in working with even less light than this. The ranger discovered the entrance to the wolf den a short time before Josleen and Roald would catch up, eyeing the entrance he wasn't sure if anyone was still inside. It'd be foolish for him to enter alone, the comment Roald had made about the others trying to keep the wand for themselves made sense, and he didn't favor his chances if it turned out possibly two of their previous allies were traitors. Sal waited calmly at the entrance with bow drawn and an arrow nocked hoping to guard it should anyone still be in there. "I believe I've found the den!" He shouted, hoping to draw Josleen and Roald to him swiftly.

Josleen :: Zanril happily dives for the wand and lets Meri escape. This turned out easier than he expected. Meri leaves just before Salvaret arrives, but Zanril isn’t so lucky. Just as the ranger exits the den, that foolish young elven ranger is calling for backup. Zanril takes a swipe at Salvaret with his right-hand dagger, then tries to body check him out of the way. He won’t stick around to defeat Salvaret, but instead hopes to shake the young elf off of him long enough to escape with his wand. Roald hears Salvaret’s shouting and charges ahead. Once he has Zanril in his sights, he leaps into the air to land a devastating blow on the thief. Zanril quickly shifts into an elk and doubles out of there at full speed. The wand and all his other possessions are absorbed into his shifting body. Unless someone stops him, he’s gone. “Where’s Meri?” Josleen shouts with genuine concern in her voice. “Oh god, I hope that beast didn’t hurt her!”

Meri isn't going to be the one who stops him. Alas, the werewolf has given into the fact that the moon is riding high in the sky. Honestly, there was really not much that she could do to resist all of this. If concern of Zanril and trying to stop his escape was not concern enough, the sound of a wolf howling can be heard. And you know what? The lycans that occupy the den that the scuffling party is standing outside of? They know that the howl that Meri just released is not one of their own and end up sounding off en masse. This could provide an alternative explanation for what happened to Meri. Maybe the werewolves got her. Hah. Just like they might get Josleen and Roald and Salvaret if they don't get a move on soon. Maybe they'll get elk-boi too if he's not careful.

Salvaret was already on high alert by the time Zanril took a swipe at him, being approached without so much as a hello tends to have that effect. Leaning back he narrowly missed the blade before being successfully shoulder checked, he found himself on the ground then just as Roald made his move on the were-elk. The roars that started sounding off around the party were noted but this wasn't what held his attention. Watching his newfound enemy shift into an elk was still rather impressive, Sal didn't know why Zanril would do this and at this point he didn't really care. Gripping tightly on his bow he quickly forced himself to a kneeling position and took aim, he pointed the tip of his arrow just ahead of the path the Elk would take. Loosing the arrow he hadn't aimed for Zanril's heart, rather his left flank to slow him down. Injured deer could move quickly but a blood trail could be followed and Sal didn't plan on failing this mission, course that would all rely on this last ditch effort, either way the pack of werewolves would be closing in shortly and he'd need to flee with the others.

Josleen :: Salvaret’s arrow flies true and hits the elk in the flank. The blood draws the werewolves towards the elk and his fate lies in their teeth and claws. Roald shouts “Retreat!” He is not about to fight a pack of werewolves with a vulnerable Queen in tow for some wand, legendary or not. He’s not big of magic, but he is big on doing his job: protect the Queen. It’s doubtful Zanril will survive the hunt, and Roald suggests they take cover then track the elk carcass and see if they can recover the wand later. However, when the time arrives there is no carcass to be found and it is unclear whether or not Zanril survived. There’s no evidence one way or the other. Josleen calls for an end to the mission and suggests they all return to Larket. Meanwhile, Meri may discover an interesting property of her new found amulet. The wolf’s eye is a piece of glass that shines and shimmers in the moonlight. If Meri looks through the moon glass she’ll see ghostly outlines of Arh’Nuk and Vaalene as well as various runes and drawing likes crude pictographic maps. It’s unclear what the ghostly images point to. What is clear is that they can only be seen under the light of either moon. Otherwise, the glass reveals nothing special, just whatever is on the other side of the moon glass.