Deep into the night Ashera is busy with making better healing potions. An hour before sunrise she falls asleep.

Maxwell is woken up on command of the abbot. Before the monk leaves Maxwell’s cell he tells Maxwell that the Border Guard Tower is under attack. When Maxwell arrives at the abbot a horse is standing ready. The abbot commands Maxwell to hurry and inform the village of the attack.

While he races towards the village, ten riders start to chase him. Dodging arrows and shooting back at the riders he rides for his life. With Boggsgate in view the riders stop their chase and Maxwell can safely enter the village. Maxwell starts to inform the guards but they are not very willing to sound the alarm. Then the sky gets lit. Three burning balls of fire shoot up from somewhere west of the village.

Dagar wakes up from a bad dream finding a big ring on his finger. Then the rest of the village is awoken by the sound of explosions.

Ashera wakes up finding parts of the house in a blaze. She manages to escape the house with Holand who suddenly is back in his house. Due to the fire and the chaos outside Ashera has no time to think about it.

The village is in panic. The inn is burning. Other houses in the village are on fire, people are running around. Dagar takes command of the situation and sends soldiers to the gates and sets up a fire line to extinguish the fires. When the Grand Duke and his entourage stumble out of the burning inn, the Royal Chamberlain demands that the Grand Duke and his son are brought to safety. Dagar gets the message that a large force is marching towards the west gate.

The commander of the guard orders his soldiers to mount up and escort the Grand Duke through the east gate and towards Siggeldale. Dagar, who has seen the war plans, warns the commander not to ride out. But against his wishes the east gate is opened and the Grand Duke is escorted out. When the party rides out a thunder of noise greets them, leaving some of the soldiers and the commander dead on the ground. Seeing this Dagar orders them back and the gate closed. The Royal Chamberlain keeps urging to get the Grand Duke and his son away from the village.

Then the sky gets lits up again and three more balls of fire are shot to the village, landing on the inn and the stables. Because the fire of the inn is out of control and soldiers marching towards the gate, Dagar orders all who can’t help to take shelter inside his house.

When Dagar, Maxwell and Ashera get together they discuss how to get the Grand Duke out of the village. Ashera tells them that if they could get to the forest she can keep them out of the hand of the soldiers. But before that they try to find Mitch, who is nowhere to be found. Even Kat seems missing. Cyra wants to come with them but Dagar wants to dismiss her. Cyra almost starts to cry and asks Dagar what else he wants her to do. That she already told him she was sorry and that she would help him where ever possible. Ashera can’t believe her ears and is really suspicios about Cyras sudden turn around. Deeming the mission too important Dagar tells her to stay.

They manage to get the Grand Duke over the fence, with him complaining every step of the way. Timor is not very happy too when he discovers he has to get into the necklace or stay behind. Under cover of the night they hurry towards the forest. When Ashera releases Timor again from the necklace he is upset and tells Ashera so. This scares the Grand Duke, who has never heard a “wolf” talking, so much that he starts to scream. A nearby horse patrol hears the scream and start to investigate.

When they try to hide by lying on the ground in the hope that the patrol doesn’t see them, the Grand Duke makes a sudden move which is spotted by the patrol.

Ashera orders everybody to run while Maxwell and Ashera loose some arrows to keep the patrol at bay. Dagar has lots of trouble getting the Grand Duke to run but they manage to get into the woods with Maxwell carrying the Grand Duke’s son in his arms. Ashera hurries them through the forest and when she allows them to rest the patrol has lost their tracks. Taking it a bit slower she leads them to her hideout. Here they can rest and make plans.

Before everybody can take it easy, Timor’s ears prick up and he tells Ashera that the wolves are near. Right before the entrance of her hideout the Alpha wolf howls a challenge. Ashera accepts the challenge and steps out of the hideout. The wolf then charges at her. Ashera starts her own charge and before she leaps from the ground she breaks one of the teeth of the necklace she got from Gru Fasot  and in midair transforms into a wolf. Both wolves attack each other. When Maxwell and Dagar try to interfere Timor calls them back. After a lot of growling, snapping of teeth and in the end a whine,  a new Alpha stands up. Ashera throws her head towards the sky and howls in victory. And with the loser at her feet the pack comes to meet her.

Still in a rush Ashera commands Timor to run with her. Feelings of enjoyment overflow her, the new odors she smells, the smallest noise she hears. But then her nose picks up a new smell on of humans. With Timor still at her side she investigates. She sees the abbot and four monks making their way through the forest. Then she hears and smells more people. Sweaty men with iron on them.

Not wanting to change to her human form she tells Timor to warn Dagar about the monks and help them to get them to the hide out. Close to her hideout Ashera changes back to her human form again when the enchantment ends. Hidden she observed how a Orc male is forced to help soldiers find the tracks of the monks. The orc notices Ashera looking at them. He gives her a small signal of respect and then leads the soldiers away from the hide out.

Still complaining over everything, the Grand Duke settles in to go to sleep. When he is quiet the group settles in and start to discuss options. Before plans can be made, sleep overcomes the them.

 

DM note: Yes that was a bit confusing for them and maybe for you too. Where is Mitch? Why does Dagar suddenly carry a ring? Or why was Holand back in the house while he was in hiding at the bakery?  Look at the title again 🙂

 

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