\ Haven:Mist and Shadow Plotlogs/From Roots To Blood Sr Elias 240901
Plotlogs

From Roots To Blood Sr Elias 240901

In the frost-bitten and eerie surroundings of Navorost, a tale of horror and courage unfolds. Within the somber locality, adventurers arrive at the Moonguard Inn, gathered by Sharalyn the Wise’s call for help. She tells of a village that has turned silent, with scouts disappearing in their attempt to investigate. Among the group, Isaiah stands out with his ill-chosen attire for the frigid environment, indicating his unpreparedness for what lay ahead. The group, including Ash, Juniper, and Victoria, sets out to uncover the mystery, armed with their distinct abilities and a firm resolve.

Their journey through the snowy wilds soon leads them to an unnerving encounter with an oddly aggressive velociraptor, displaying a resilience to their attacks that is both unnatural and alarming. In defeating the beast, they discover a leech-like parasite controlling it, hinting at a more sinister force at work. The group pushes forward, their unity and determination undeterred by the dangers of the Wilds.

Eventually, they reach the seemingly abandoned village, only to find it in ruins and the presence of an ominous figure, Noerook, surrounded by mindless villagers under his control. A grim confrontation follows, where Noerook is revealed to control the villagers through leech-like parasites, similar to the one encountered earlier. Despite their efforts to communicate and find a peaceful resolution, the situation escalates, leading to Noerook's explosive demise and the heartbreaking realization that the villagers are beyond saving, their wills enslaved by the parasites.

In the aftermath, the adventurers find themselves faced with a moral dilemma: how to deal with the villagers, now nothing more than husks of their former selves. Debate ensues, weighing the respect for what life may remain against the merciful act of ending their suffering. Ultimately, they decide on a pragmatic yet somber approach: isolating the villagers to prevent further harm while preserving one as evidence of the tragedy that befell the village.

Returning to Sharalyn with the evidence and their grim report, the adventurers find little in the way of answers or solace. The shaman’s inability to provide immediate insight into the parasites leaves a sense of unfinished business, a reminder of the dark mysteries that lurk in the wilds of Navorost. Despite this, the group stands as a testament to bravery, facing the unknown with unwavering resolve. Their journey back home is marked not by triumph, but by a reflective acknowledgment of the challenges that lie in meddling with forces beyond understanding. Their mission concludes, for now, a haunting reminder of the delicate balance between life and the darker forces that seek to corrupt it.
(From Roots to Blood(SRElias):SRElias)

[Sat Aug 31 2024]

On Within the borders of Navorost
Slightly smaller than Westrend, Navorost has a temperate to tropical climate, and many fertile coastal regions, with rivers that travel deep inland. The Kingdom of Nar controls a great deal of the continent, and the People have settled here in many different nomadic tribes as well. There are rumors that the Illarin Empire plans to expand their borders into Navorost.

It is after dusk, about 86F(30C) degrees, There is a waning crescent moon.

Traveling through the familiar gates into the wilds, on the other side is a realm different than Earth. It is a land of primal energies, an untamed land. Back in Haven summer is still going strong for the most part. The beaches are still comfortable, the sun warms your skin, and the flowers are still in bloom. When it comes to Navorost at the Moonguard Inn, it is a very different story. While the hearth is warm and toasty, just outside winter is fierce and angry as snow comes down to blanket the lands. The Wilds themselves are like they are cut out from a period in time and the Moonguard Inn is no exception. The Inn has a healthy amount of patrons eating meals and consuming large quantity of ale, but place seems bustling. Called here, you are one of those that have responded to the calls from the locals and one in particular, a shaman called Sharalyn the Wise.

It isn't immediately obvious whom this Shaman is, a red haired, slender woman roughly in her thirties clad in furs, bobbles, and totems approaches where all of you are gathered within the Inn. While she does have many laugh lines etched into her face, her expression now is one that is grim. When she addresses those gathered here, it removes any doubts that she is the Shaman that was calling out for aid, "I am Sharalyn. I assume you are the adventurers that have come to the aid of the People. I am sure you have many questions, but I will start with a brief explanation. A small village that lays an hour from here has gone silent. Those that we send there never return and I have grown concerned. I am not a wealthy person, but I will provide what I can for you all."

One barely has to look at Isaiah to figure out that he did /not/ dress for the weather; short shorts, house slippers, and God knows what's under that hoodie. He's shaking like a leaf- he didn't think this through, but as he steps into the Inn and feels the warmth of the hearth upon him, that's what he rushes for- noticing only a moment too late that he's skidding past Ash. He gives them a sorrowful glance over his shoulder, then starts rubbing his hands together as he kneels before the fire, trying to recover his body heat. Mistakes have, indeed, been made.

Ash nods to Sharalyn, distracted by Isaiah, also moves closer to the fire. They seem unsure if they should step close to him or not, so they stand at an awkward distance, instead. They try to focus on the Shaman, keeping their priorities straighter than their orientation, but not as professionally as they would like. They seem to be doing both better AND worse with the cold than Isaiah - while they are *much* more suited for heat, physically, they've undergone training to resist the cold... though they remain utterly *miserable*. They speak up after a moment, saying, "I think we will be glad to investigate in your stead. Please, tell us everything you know." They're not the leader of this group, but they speak, anyways.

For some reason, Victoria appears almost unbothered by the cold, the only sign of it a brief shiver. She pulls the sleeves of her sweater halfway over her hands, crossing her arms in front of her when she's within range of the hearth. Her eyes take in everything about the room slowly before a nod is given to Ash in agreement. Panning her gaze to Juniper, she silently awaits the response of the others with her.

While the fearless leader shakes like a leaf in front of the fire dressed as a slutty bunny, Juniper appears to have gotten the briefing that it is in fact still Winter in the Wilds and stands comfortably covered, on alert for when the shaman approaches. "How many have you sent? Who were they?" she asks, a natural frown creasing her brows as she considers this ominous way of selling her cause to those of her family gathered here. "What can you tell us from observation of the village? You have... clearly lived to tell the tale of its abandonment."

While it seems that Isaiah did not prepare for the trip, Sharalyn frowns as he looks upon the man in the rabbit slippers. She walks over to the wall, pulling off a cloak made of a deer hide to bring over to him, holding it out. The cloak itself is what you would expect from a fur cloak, except it has the head still intact, designed to be worn as a hood of sorts. Once Isaiah is settled, Sharalyn moves on to answer Ash's question, "Off worlders are odd at times, but I do honor all of your bravery. We lost contact with a village on the outskirts. They often come into town to trade pelts they get from trapping, but we haven't heard from them in weeks. We have sent four scouts, none of them have come back. We don't have the people to send, I fear something bad has happened to them."

"This is fine.." Isaiah murmurs mostly to himself, huddled up by the flames that he wills a bit closeer to himself by the second. Most might be blistering by now, but something about the ginger-headed fucker is resistant to the heat. He peeks up at Ash for a while, but his vision is cut off when that deer's head cloak falls about his shoulders warmly. At first he is startled, but then he starts looking the item over and a shit-eating grin spreads his overly freckled cheeks (on his face). "Oh, fucking badass. I look like a Shaman or something," he decides, standing up and closing it around himself after using the deer's head to shadow his eyes. Now they've done it. He shifts his attention to Juniper then, saying, "I think she was receiving correspondence from them, but now she can't get in touch no matter how often she tries- not that she was there?" in confirmation.

Ash gives Sharalyn another nod, looking over at their partner - is that jealousy? No, certainly concern. After all, it turns into a warm, fond smile when he perks up. "Any rumours going around before contact was cut off? Strange game, weird weather that didn't reach here, maybe talks about a newcomer as traders had a meal here at the inn?" As they speak, they attempt to move surreptitiously closer to Isaiah.

"Four," Juniper repeats, casting her eyes to the three others that gather with her - obviously mulling something over in her head. "Well, unless they've all found their bliss out there and chose not to return - we can assume something 'bad' has happened to them." The blonde nods to Isaiah to confirm she understands the circumstance. "Being sent in blind. Of course. It's never easy." She wets her lips with her tongue before her eyes fall back on the shaman. "What can we expect to find? Structures? Any fortifications around the perimeter?" As she pauses, Ash fills in and she slides her eyes over to them as well, nodding along. "Any information is... appreciated."

Victoria remains quiet for quite a time, her attention turned to the flicker of the flames. "Who's the last person you saw from there?" she finally asks quietly. "Maybe they said something telling the last time they came through?" She glances to the Shaman with a curious expression.

Ash nods to Juniper for covering the military aspect, as expected, then to Victoria for having a like mind in regards to gathering more clues.

"It is a village. There is like ten buildings, most of them are farm structures, I think there was a blacksmith. I can't remember, it has been years since I have been there myself." Sharalyn ponders as she gets asked a half dozen questions, but she works to answer all the helpful adventurers, "It has been over a two moons since we have seen anyone from that village, that is why we started to send scouts. After you lose a few scouts, it can be normal things when you live here. The storm consuming some, the animals, but four... No, that is something else. I feel something bad has happened to the village." The readheaded woman looks more concerned as the conversation carries on, harder and harder for her to hide her fear for the people of the village, "I can't offer much, but you all will be heroes to me if you can help them. I fear bandits might be holding them... or worse."

"I'm going to bet for worse," Victoria murmurs under her breath and almost unheard. As she exhales, she rakes a hand through her hair, flinging it back behind her shoulders.

"Me too, but I'm ready to go regardless," Juniper decides, keeping it to the more personal /I/ so as not to implicate anyone else with other feelings on the matter.

Ash nods to Sharalyn, saying firmly, "If there's any way to help them, I assure you, we will do so. After all," they smile here, softly, meant to put her at ease. They give a slight bow, hands up in the air somewhat, "that is why we are here." They stand up straighter, controlling their shivers to appear more confident. "If you've not heard any rumors, then we should probably prepare to leave. Do you have horses, or is it an hour by foot?"

Victoria nods to Juniper in agreement.

Ash adds to Juniper, "I'd like to stop by the gate right quick, but that should only take 5 minutes, max, to get some things from my trunk."

Horses Ash asks? A luxury to be had in this two horse town. However, Sharalyn is much too kind to actually put it like that, instead she explains, "I am sorry. I am afraid we won't be able to provide horses, but if I did have them, they would be at your disposal." But what she does provide is a scroll that she retrieves resting on the mantle place. She unrolls it and it seems to be a crude map of the area drawn in charcoal on vellum. From the looks of it, it seems like the village is almost due west outside of the town, "It is about an hour and a half from here, but on a day like this, it might be closer to two hours because of the snow." And indeed there is snow, coming down in heavy flakes which make visibility difficult.

Ash looks over the map carefully, nodding. They are *completely* unaware of Wildern economies, but can appreciate a decent map and a straight direction.

"May as well jump right into it then," Victoria nods, stretching her arms. "Cold's good for circulation, or something." She glances at the other three, lifting eyebrows.

Ash frowns at Victoria, violently disagreeing, but somehow holding it all in. They look to someone for permission to run back off to the gate before they all set out, standing near the fire in the meantime.

Ash frowns at Victoria, violently disagreeing, but somehow holding it all in. They look to Juniper for permission to run back off to the gate before they all set out, standing near the fire in the meantime.

Juniper looks like she's never met a cold day in the Wilds that she didn't like. She's pulling her hood up over her blonde hair in preparation for the trip already and nodding to the others with a dubious look at Isaiah's footwear. "Ash. Get your things. We've got no time to spare," she states then while shifting her own black duffel bag up to sling it messenger style over her shoulder.

"I have my payment," Isaiah decides as he pulls that buckskin cloak a little bit tighter around himself, snuggling into it whilst doing his best to look ominous and menacing. Even still, when he notices Ash using every opportunity that they can find to come closer to him, he sighs, reaches out, snags one of their hands, and /yanks/ them over to him, linking their fingers together while still grumpily looking away from them. "And fuck bandits- they're just Dollar General mercenaries. Let's show them what it really looks like when you kill indiscriminately," says the Council Member, his chin lifting in a slightly proud fashion. Still, the cloak isn't /that/ long, and Juniper gets to catch a glance of her esteemed leader wiggling his toes in his bunny slippers.

Ash nods to Juniper, heading out at a jog, then a run - surely in order to be timely... not just to get through the cold faster. Though, they smile at Isaiah first, looking relieved - though aware that not all is clear. They tug him along, or slip from his hands all too soon - either way, they're trying to be quick.

Without a real sweater, cloak, or anything of the like, Victoria lets her hair fall around her shoulders, appearing unconcerned with any type of cold. A pair of blades is tucked down into the side of one boot, and she secures a bow behind her and nods. "While I doubt I'll use them, I'd suppose it helps to have them," she muses.

The cloak that Isaiah received, would likely be valuable if it were sold on the other side of the gate. Assuming that cloaks were in fashion right now. Anyone attuned with the weather would know that the snow is unlikely to let up for a few days now and the sooner everyone is on the road, the better. As for Ash, he does have time however to return to his vehicle to get what he needs without incident. Once they are ready, it is time to depart off into the Wilderness.

Ash comes back decked in all white weather gear. A pair of white wool gloves, a white thermal undershirt, padded white winter pants, a white jacket with fur, pair of white socks, soft padded white bamboo-lycra boyshorts underneath, a white wool turtleneck, a white wool headscarf, and white leather fur rimmed boots.

Yes, that's right - Ash is wearing BOOTS. Shoes on their FEET. It shows just how seriously they take - and hate - the cold. They line up to Isaiah to hand him a black pair of knit gloves, not really having anything extra for him, and offer to hold his hands again as they march through the snow.

Trekking out into the Wilds, headed due west away from the settlement in Navorost, you head off into the forest. While the temperature remains cold, there is no real wind to cut through your protective layers of clothing (or lack there of for some), leaving an overall mild experience. Gentle flakes of snow lazily drift towards the ground, many of them clinging to the trees over head. Tracks through the snow leave old signs of wildlife that has passed previously, but now seem to be long ago. Now and again, there are stone trail markers that poke their head through the white covering, reassuring you that you continue on the right path. The is a glint in the snow and a flash of movement. Before you know it, a velociraptor bursts through the snow at rapid speed. How a reptile can survive in this enviroment is uncertain, what is certain is that it is hungry.

Ash grabs their rifle immediately upon seeing the velociraptor, the shoulder strap making it easy to grab or drop. But before shooting, they make an arcane gesture with their fingers, fingers making geometric shapes as the mirror on their charm bracelet flickers and glows. They make a throwing motion, and suddenly, the velociraptor should be glowing, as clear as day, if nothing tricky is afoot. Then, they lift their rifle with both hands, aiming carefully... before letting loose a shot. After the follow through, they lower the weapon to carefully look its features over... not that they'd have all that much time for butchering... right? They frown, though, as thoughts go through their head, feeling unsettled.

Faster than Victoria can get the word "Nope," out of her mouth, there's of course danger because what else would there be in the Wilds? She stops, instinctively drawing her bow to attempt to aim before loosing an arrow towards the oncoming assault. While it would be warmer, she decides to forego shifting for the moment. "Maybe this is what got everyone," she mutters.

Though Isaiah is still wearing the grumpiest face that he can, he lets Ash lead him along by the hand, clinging palm to palm with their fingers laced. He's used to being the one in charge, the one taking the lead, but every now and then he gets into one of these moods. The kind where he just wants to be a follower, to listen to others, and to give the people closest to him the voice and the power. This is one of those times, and so his voice is scarcely heard as the group speaks with the Shaman and then accepts their bounty. He isn't pleased with the trekk at all, and that's not a difficult fact to behold. He has an expressive face, and each bit of snow that falls into his slippers earns the same disgusted and hate-filled expression. The only thing that seems to placate him at this point /is/ walking. It helps to keep him warm, the blood pumping; but do you know what else does that? Hunting dinosaurs. And look, here's one now.

Juniper stares at Ash openly with a sort of tired incredulity when they come back looking like a mix between a snow bunny and the stay puft marshmallow man. Between Isaiah and Ash it's difficult for the she-wolf to maintain a modicum of professionalism but she slips in step with Victoria to forge their path forward.

A lone velociraptor hunting in the snow is luckily not an unexpected occurrence for the blonde, barely blinking in response to its rapid beeline towards the group. Instead, she keeps keen and sharp eyes on its body and steps forward, once... twice... putting herself out front and in the path of destruction. But not her destruction of course. Only this creature's. If it gets close enough that is. Her ranged weapon isn't out and on hand right now, but she doesn't seem all that concerned with this as she pulls the duffel bag off her shoulders to drop it and subsequently draw a blade from a sheath in her boot. She flips it into an offensive hold and waits for the connection of flesh, if the ranged bullet and arrow don't fell the beast before then.

While some might wonder whether the roads are warded from monsters, it is clear that this footpath that is barely noticeable if it weren't for the trail markers, it is clear the efforts were not put in for this great of a distance. To the seasoned adventurers here, a solitary velociraptor would seem to be no challenge at all. The oversized lizard beings to glow as bullets sink into it from Ash's rifle. Victoria and Juniper working together sink their blades into vital spots. The creature does not react to the pain at all as blood trickles down from the wounds. Instead, it bites into Juniper's (luckily for Victoria arm, shaking her around like a ragdoll. It doesn't get too much of her flesh, but her hoodie seems to take the blunt of it as she goes airborne for moments before she lands into soft freshly fallen snow. Whatever the case may be, this one is not like the other velociraptors the adventurers have fought before.

"Shit," Victoria swears softly as Juniper goes flying. She makes a quick retreat, ducking herself to move towards the blonde to ensure she's okay. As she ducks, she pulls a pair of slender Damascus stiletto blades from her boot, one hand securing her bow behind her. Her hands clutch to the grips of each, only moving them from a defensive position long enough to help Juniper up should she need it.

Luckily for Victoria, Juniper took the brunt of that display. Lucky for Juniper, she's pretty damn tough and not easily rattled. This kind of pain - teeth in the arm and limbs attempted to be rendered - is not unfamiliar. The feeling of flight however, in human form, is probably a new one. Luckily it doesn't last long, and her solid body hits the snow with no real damage done. However, her curiosity is now piqued. "JR! Is it magic? What is this?" she shouts after she has regained her lungs of air and as she is approached by Victoria, passing her a grateful glance.

Ash frowns even more, a snarl forming on their face as they move backwards in the snow. As the only non-shifter here, they recognize their form as more fragile. They also recognize that they have several choices to make in their role here. The first thing they do is summon their snark, Boojum, who would emerge from their bracelet mirror in a tiny form, taking time to grow while she scampers up their arm, across their shoulders, then down the other one, jumping to the ground when ready for battle. She grows a bit more, the creature something like a lemur mixed with ferret, with scrabbly pangolin claws. When she is ready, she launches at the velociraptor, tearing and scratching as she dextrously bounces from snow, to scale, to snow, along its tail, snow, neck - she bounces around, using speed to confuse her targets as well as inertia for her mighty blows, should all end well.

Ash has to take the time to summon Boo, but in the meantime, they call out to Juniper, "Bandages?"

The two mancers present are unfamiliar if the velociraptor is enhanced through magic as Juniper suggested. In addition, it is even uncertain if this animal is outside the norms for velociraptors in general. Perhaps it is just the ones closer to town that are smaller and as you go deep into the woods, they just get stronger? But something does feel rather unnatural about how it responds to injury... or the lack of response that is. Victoria retreats from the giant lizard effectively, Juniper works to recover, which she does it with relative ease considering the lizard moves his yellow eyed focus onto the frail looking Victoria. Fortunately for her once again, between a bit of fancy magic from Ash and their usage of the creature known as the snark, the velociraptor is deterred. The lizard is pounced upon by the summon. It doesn't really react though beyond it stumbling at the impact at first, but it doesn't try to dodge or throw the summon, it just refocuses back on Victoria.

With Juniper alive and well and the others being safe, Victoria turns her attention back to the issue at hand, frowning with a swallow as the velociraptor appears to take an interest in her. For a moment, she stares back at it defiantly. "I am not food," she firmly states, tightening her grip on the delicate, though sharp knives she holds. A glance is given to Ash and Isaiah. "You got anything to slow it down?"

When the velociraptor puts its yellowed eyes on Victoria, Juniper snarls in reflex. So this one's not going down easy? Fine. She's not going down easy either. Since her duffel bag has already been dropped, Juniper goes for the shift, letting the cracking sound of bone and rending flesh carry on the winter's night echoes. As a wolf, she takes in a large inhale of the scent from the raptor, seeing if she can discern anything from that before she hurls herself once again at the raptor for a takedown before it can make any snap decisions regarding her packmate.

Ash snarls vocally this time, their human expression not truly able to keep up with the anger as someone in their newfound family is targeted. They decide to step things up another notch. Unable - and unwilling - to take Victoria's place, they still cast their magic. They turn their eyes onto the lass and... looks. They look at the strings of fate, and pull on them, with their mind... or, perhaps, their spirit. They chose some of the better ones, warmer destinies... safer futures. They change her luck, for the better, panting slightly afterwards from the effort.

Then comes the casting. They inform Victoria, apologetically, "No, I can't stop it - but I can make it harder for it to get in a good bite or grip... it'll still hurt you." Probably, anyways. Their bracelet glows, using their illusions again, to - hopefully - distract it. The monster isn't behaving right, ignoring Boo completely, so there wouldn't be any surprise if their illusion were to fail. A tastier, more fragile human at Victoria's side, almost like her sister. It's not as detailed as a double - it has no human form beneath it to enhance its reality, but, perhaps, it will be enough. Then, all they can do is aim at the rifle, and try to get a good shot in without hitting Victoria. Maybe they can damage its limbs or shoot it decisively though the head? They inhale through their nose to try and smell a scent of death upon it, but with their headscarf on their face, it doesn't work out very well.

Covering in injuries, many of them would have seemed to be fatal, it still trudges towards Victoria, blood oozing from its wounds as the wounds themselves start to slow down. Perhaps it is Ash's luck that makes the difference? Or the snark chewing on the back of its neck. For whatever reason, the velociraptor just collapses, dead. There was no blow at the moment of it falling, it just seems like the creature ran out of blood. It does seem rather odd for a velociraptor to continue attacking when it was fatally wounded in just the pursuit of prey. Whatever the case may be. It is dead now and everyone is relatively unharmed due to effective teamwork.


Covered in injuries, many of them would have seemed to be fatal, it still trudges towards Victoria, blood oozing from its wounds as the wounds themselves start to slow down. Perhaps it is Ash's luck that makes the difference? Or the snark chewing on the back of its neck. For whatever reason, the velociraptor just collapses, dead. There was no blow at the moment of it falling, it just seems like the creature ran out of blood. It does seem rather odd for a velociraptor to continue attacking when it was fatally wounded in just the pursuit of prey. Whatever the case may be. It is dead now and everyone is relatively unharmed due to effective teamwork. (fix)

Juniper(wolf) lands on a dead velociraptor, triumphant and angry. She makes to take a large, gnashing bite from its hide but stops herself in the final moments. Human intelligence sparks through her for a moment and she sniffs the open wounds of the raptor, the blood. She's trying to search this unnatural being for any signs of tampering - of difference from the bodies of the others she knows so well from her frequent forays into these woods.

Victoria lets out a relieved sigh, casting a grateful look to Ash and Juniper(wolf).

Ash sighs in relief, looking around carefully for further enemies before flicking the safety and dropping their rifle, letting it swing to the side as they carefully move forward. Their eyes scan the environment, then they'd check over Juniper(wolf), still not used to a werewolf's enhanced healing. They'd check Isaiah next, ensuring that their fellow mancer and beloved is still alright, then checking Victoria. They know that she *should* be fine, but always good to check, yes? They look at the raptor last - not because it's not important (they certainly approve of someone' tactics), but they know little of forensics, let alone figuring out who did what to it. What they're educated on is the anatomy of these creatures, the better to cut them open with. Still, one might hope that they manage to make some proper observations.

Ash sighs in relief, looking around carefully for further enemies before flicking the safety and dropping their rifle, letting it swing to the side as they carefully move forward. Their eyes scan the environment, then they'd check over Juniper(wolf), still not used to a werewolf's enhanced healing. They'd check Isaiah next, ensuring that their fellow mancer and beloved is still alright, then checking Victoria. They know that she *should* be fine, but always good to check, yes? They look at the raptor last - not because it's not important (they certainly approve of Juniper(wolf)'s tactics), but they know little of forensics, let alone figuring out who did what to it. What they're educated on is the anatomy of these creatures, the better to cut them open with. Still, one might hope that they manage to make some proper observations.

Inspecting the velociraptor, in many ways it seems to be normal. Its behavior is what seems to have been off. It probably would have gone unnoticed though, but the acute senses of a wolf, Juniper(wolf) picks up on something. At the base of the velociraptor's skull looks like a little tail of something. Roughly a minute after the lizard is dead, that tail starts to squirm and it comes out from under a scale. It seems like an engorged leech, which starts making its way towards the wolf.

"Oh, hell no," Victoria shakes her head. "Squish it?" She begins to move toward the leech, bringing a boot up threateningly as she reaches where Juniper(wolf) stands.

Ash yelps, "No! Don't!"

Juniper(wolf)'s first instinct is to lash out and bite the worm, but again, she holds herself in check. A hesitant dinner plate sized paw looks like it might consider squishing the leech but then she backs up, just out of reach from it. One step, two steps. She's curious it seems. Usually these things can tell a person more alive than dead. But containing it is the problem. Another step back and she lets herself get back into human form so that the scientist's brain can form the words, "We should catch it."

Juniper says "We should catch it."
Victoria stops short, swiveling her head towards Ash first, then simply sets her foot in the snow and leaves the leech unharmed, though she wrinkles her nose, making a rather disgusted face as she regards it.

While it might seem like this little leech might possess some other powers, overall the thing is easily caught. It seems to lack any supernatural strength or grace and in many ways, just seems almost identical to a normal leech. Except for being on a lizard in the middle of the woods in the middle of winter.

Ash pulls out a bottle from their back pocket, saying, "I can pour this out and use it... I also have a vial I can pour out, too. If you don't have anything proper, June." They don't explain *why* they have this, or why they chose this over the vial. "If... we have absolutely NOTHING better... I have a flask." The reluctance in their voice at this offer is near violent - they will do it, but they hope to every gods in the world that there's another way.

While the leech catching begins, Juniper takes the moment to stoically redress amongst the drifts of snow, unbothered, not shivering. Simply going through the motions without a hint of embarassment. "Whatever you're comfortable with, Ash," she replies easily enough, tying off her boot. "It doesn't need a five star hotel."

Victoria shakes her head, raising both hands up and stepping backwards. She nods at Ash, as though volunteering them for tribute for this particular endeavor.

Ash digs a hole in the snow, pouring out the bottle with their nose covered, then fills the hole in with snow. They rinse the bottle out with snow before scooping up the leech carefully. They secure the lid - not to tight as to remove airflow, but tight enough that it doesn't just fall open at some movement. They then hand it over to Juniper - the scientist.

Juniper gets this show on the road and just scoops up the leech in this vial. Yum. In the name of science.

Once the leech is contained, it slithers along the bottom of the jar before it just stops moving all together. It is unclear whether the specimen is dead, but it is contained for sure. It does look like a normal leech though. But regardless, the path lays forward as the village likely grows near.

"Strange," Victoria muses, moving forward to look over the leech once it's safely in the jar. Weapons stored safely for now, she takes a deep breath and exhales slowly, jaw set firmly. Her eyes turn back towards the path, however covered in snow it may be as she attempts to discern how much further they need to go.

Ash returns to Isaiah, locking hands with him as they move on.

By now, Juniper has picked up her duffel from the snow as well and tucks the vial away. Unable to do anything about whether the leech is dead or not - they did their best - she just resumes their trek, catching up with Victoria to sling an arm companionably around her shoulder for a little while as they walk through the snow once again in perhaps, contemplative silence and concentration. Linked by other things than words.

Finally, the goal in sight. The village remains in very poor shape. Many of the structures seem to be in poor shape, with doors ripped off, shutters broken, and blood smears clearly seen on the walls. However there is one thing there is not.... Bodies. White, pristine snow covers all the horizontal surfaces like nature decided to cover up the horrors that seem to have happened here. There is a single figure that steps out of one of the structures with his arms held out and a creepy smile on his face, "Welcome, welcome my friend. I am Noerook, have you come to join my family?" And as he asks this question, people start rising up out of the snow, shuffling their way towards you.

The brief safety Victoria felt during the end of that trek with Juniper close by quickly fades, and Victoria's expression turns to concern with wide eyes and a sharp inhale of breath. "Guys..." she hisses through clenched teeth, very slowly moving to reach for weapons that perhaps would have been better left in her hands.

Ash summons Boo first this time - this is clearly going to be a *problem*. They say, with casualness as they summon their beloved fighting pet, "Oh, Noerook? Nice to meet you. And, nah, I've already got one!" Their inflection shifts to make it a Monty Python reference as they complete the summoning. In the mean time, they jovially inform him, "We're a team of doctors, medics - ah, I suppose you'd call us healers, no? We heard of strange coming ons, so maybe you can help? Perhaps we can have an interview with *juuust* you, and your, ah, family can wait their turn? Sound good?" Their fingers form an arcane shape, but they don't give him a glow-up - not yet, anyways.

Juniper is keeping her mouth shut for now, casting a sort of web of attention around her. Practising a careful scanning technique, the blonde attempts to keep an eye on not only the approaching threat, but her two companions with her. Ash's attempt at conversation is allowed, and maybe even welcomed, as she waits for the flavour of this villain to show itself.

As they try to negotiate with Noerook, it seems the man that is actively hopping around in a circle like a mad man, chittering and giggling to himself in something that seems like of like a premature celebration, it doesn't stop the 'zombies' from moving forward, brandishing farming tools as weapons. They do seem to be alive, sort of. They seem to be breathing and moving forward, but they have vacant looks on their face. The lights are on, but no one is home. Noerook starts hacking into his hand and out comes a leech from deep within his throat. He hurls it off at Ash, narrowly missing. It is obvious words aren't going to work, luckly Ash's summon arrives.

Ash shrugs, having tried, and looks to Juniper for confirmation. "Shall we dance, Teach?"

Drawing her bow from behind her, Victoria glances to Juniper as well for a moment, then back to the new threat before them. She doesn't shoot, not yet. She seems to be waiting on word from her companions.

When the leech is chucked at Ash, Juniper's suspicions are confirmed and she makes the noise of a frustrated growl, watching the arc of that horrid thing and confirming that it doesn't actually hit Ash. Having to hope that it is slowed by the snow, she tears her eyes from it to nod at Ash. "Stop the source. I'll protect you from the villagers." And just like that, here we go again. To move faster, hit harder and sink into those keen senses, the woman once again breaks into a shift and lets out a throaty howl.

Ash gives a war cry in return, taking that as a command to attack. They keep an eye on the leech, shifting position so that they can stomp on it, not wanting it to creep up on them, before lifting their rifle and aiming at Noerook. They make those motions again, making him glow before trying to shoot him right in the - stomach. They originally aimed for his head, then, considering, his lungs, before settling on the stomach.

Ash makes a chirping whistle, and Boo bounds forward with evident excitement. She darts left and right as she moves forward, unable to make a proper beeline, but the aim is right for Noerook. In video games, you've always got to aim for the caster, yeah? Additionally, if they want to actually *save* people... one assumes that taking him out might makes things easier. One hopes, anyways... otherwise, this may become a slaughter. Of one side... or the other.

Ash and Victoria seem to have the same idea, and with only a second to carefully aim and draw, she lets an arrow fly in the direction of Noerook. It's not to kill however, but perhaps just to wound him enough to stop all of this and see if something can be done to help him.

The villagers do approach, not really advancing fast, but they start to get in striking range. It doesn't seem like walking and chewing gum at the same time is one of their skill sets, so they don't immediately strike, but it is obvious they are preparing too. As Ash strikes Noerook in the stomach with an arrow (which it does land), the man screams in pain, "Owww owww owww, stop it!" He screeches as he points at Ash, "Get that pathetic wretch! Destroy them!" And the villagers change their focus, starting to move towards Ash. What is obvious though, Noerook did react to pain.

Noerook is struck with an arrow and a bullet, one by Victoria and the other by Ash, but the reaction remains the same.

Juniper(wolf) isn't here to re-slaughter the villagers if she can help it, but she sure as shit isn't going to be letting them take her family to join theirs. These ones have been claimed by the radiant golden wolf, and if that howl wasn't warning enough - the snarling mass of dripping teeth revealed in her maw backs it up. The villagers that make their way toward Ash get treated to near 300 lbs of wolf putting herself between them and the mancer. When she swipes though, it's not at their vulnerable bodies, but rather to disarm them or chuck them with her weight.

Victoria decides to refocus her efforts once direction is given to the shuffling villagers, and she turns her fire to them, drawing another arrow back and letting it loose to see if they can be further slowed down. She swivels eyes back soon after to someone and she prepares for another shot as Juniper(wolf) goes about attempting a swift dispatch at any closer threats. "Call them off," she states, voice low but firm in the seeming request she makes.

Victoria decides to refocus her efforts once direction is given to the shuffling villagers, and she turns her fire to them, drawing another arrow back and letting it loose to see if they can be further slowed down. She swivels eyes back soon after to Noerook and she prepares for another shot as Juniper(wolf) goes about attempting a swift dispatch at any closer threats. "Call them off," she states, voice low but firm in the seeming request she makes.

Ash has, fortunately or not, had harsher, colder training, and seems unconcerned about whether or not they kill or not. Still, while they shoot at someone mercilessly, they focus on *him*, focusing on where they *think* the root of his power is. In agreement, they tell him, "Yeah, if you listen, I'll stop turning you into a thimble. Especially if you ask *nicely*." There's a hard edge at the end, nasty, even. They seem wary of the numbers, moving away from Isaiah while calling out to Juniper(wolf), "Make sure you don't catch anything, Teach. You do *not* want me doing surgery, so be safe instead." Smarmy, but concerned. They don't watch much TV, but they've seen their share of zombie movies. They follow up their next shot with another gesture, distracting villagers (hopefully) from wounding Juniper(wolf) too badly. They make a couple of chirping sounds again, allowing Boo to assist Juniper(wolf) in warding off villagers. Comical in how it resembles a blue hedgehog, the snark's tactic is simply to bowl into their stomachs full speed to try to knock them over, before bouncing into the back of another one's knees. Go, Boo! Use Trip Attack!

Ash has, fortunately or not, had harsher, colder training, and seems unconcerned about whether or not they kill or not. Still, while they shoot at Noerook mercilessly, they focus on *him*, focusing on where they *think* the root of his power is. In agreement, they tell him, "Yeah, if you listen, I'll stop turning you into a thimble. Especially if you ask *nicely*." There's a hard edge at the end, nasty, even. They seem wary of the numbers, moving away from Isaiah while calling out to Juniper(wolf), "Make sure you don't catch anything, Teach. You do *not* want me doing surgery, so be safe instead." Smarmy, but concerned. They don't watch much TV, but they've seen their share of zombie movies. They follow up their next shot with another gesture, distracting villagers (hopefully) from wounding Juniper(wolf) too badly. They make a couple of chirping sounds again, allowing Boo to assist Juniper(wolf) in warding off villagers. Comical in how it resembles a blue hedgehog, the snark's tactic is simply to bowl into their stomachs full speed to try to knock them over, before bouncing into the back of another one's knees. Go, Boo! Use Trip Attack!

The last arrows and bullets hits Noerook, he coughs violent and clenches his chest almost in an exaggerated fashion. This could easily be mistake as an act, like he is playing some kind of game with very dark humor, but the injury dealt was very real. The man's skin starts to boil outward and he explodes in a wonderful geyser of blood and gore. Mixed in with the remains, several leeches wiggle within the puddles of blood. Some start crawling outward but as they leave the blood remains of the madman, they start to freeze in the snow and seem to die. As for the villagers, while Juniper(wolf) fought them off, scratching into their flesh, but being careful not to do anything lethal seems effective. Once Noerook bursts. The villagers just stop, standing in place mindlessly.

The efforts of the wolf come to a slow and stop as the villagers do just the same. Juniper(wolf) backs away from them quickly, coming to keep a vigil in front of Victoria with a deep throated growl at them in final warning in the aftermath of the man exploding. If nothing happens, she takes a few quiet plodding steps to circle around the outside of one standing villager looking at them carefully for signs of a leech infection at the back of /their/ necks.

Victoria's eyes squint and she looks away as the man meets his end in a rather violent display, though in her hands her bow remains steady, still lifted in the direction of where he had been, not far from approaching villagers. She seems content to keep the weapon within her hands until safety is assured. "He had an opportunity," she shrugs.

Ash sighs in relief as their murder is successful, edging forward with caution after waiting a moment to see what happens. If nothing does, they approach the man carefully, looking for any living leeches before asking Juniper(wolf), "Can I kick snow over him? Try to freeze him - and them -faster?" Their next step, after doing so or being denied, would be to check all over the closest villager. They don't have enough of an understanding of the nervous or cerebral systems to think that the leech *must* be on the neck. Unlike Victoria, they seem to have no problem with having killed him. Even though, given that most of their combat has been in the nightmare... this would be the first time they've killed another human.

At least, if they viewed him as human... or view *themself* as such.

The mad make, Noerook at this point is nothing but blood, jelly like chunks, and some bone fragments. As for the villages, Juniper(wolf)'s very acute wolfish senses do catch signs of leeches on each of the villages, all behind the left ear on them. They seem to be actively feeding and bloated. The villagers just sway slowly, taking shallow breaths. There seems to be no real thoughts going through their heads. Their bodies do show signs of frost bite, as not all of them are properly dressed for the cold.

Victoria allows herself to finally look where her bow points, and seeing no movement and the...remnants of Noerook, she brings her bow down slowly. "What the hell just happened?" is all she can bring herself to ask out loud, wide eyes carefully assessing the villagers.

Juniper pulls out her vial from the duffel bag to view the leech within. "We could try, Ash," she says then, as if they're just carrying on casual conversation and one of them had not just been a literal animal. "A frozen leech might be good if they're dying anyway. She stares at the bloated thing behind a villager's ear. "I wonder if we should cut off an ear and attempt to keep it with a food source," she muses. Her gaze flicks over to Victoria. "You're a great shot, that's what. Thank you.""

Juniper pulls out her vial from the duffel bag to view the leech within. "We could try, Ash," she says then, as if they're just carrying on casual conversation and one of them had not just been a literal animal. "A frozen leech might be good if they're dying anyway." She stares at the bloated thing behind a villager's ear. "I wonder if we should cut off an ear and attempt to keep it with a food source," she muses. Her gaze flicks over to Victoria. "You're a great shot, that's what. Thank you." (fix)

Victoria nods to Juniper, looking relieved that her arrows actually did some good in the situation.

Ash explains easily enough, "We shot him so full of bullets and arrows that he 'sploded. And yeah, thank you, Victoria." Nodding to Juniper, they cover him in ice, saying, "I think we'd want to cut the ear off first, and cauterize the wound? Like... are you good at hypnotism? I'm still studying it before I get too involved - I don't want to mess around with it without understanding what I'm doing. Anyways-" They talk too much, they know it, but they can't always help it. "If you can convince them that you didn't just cut off their ear, that would be great... presuming they wake up right after, anyways."

The leech is on the base of the head, just behind the left ear. Not on the ear itself. The villagers do not respond to any of the planning the adventurers have for these poor people.

"Gonna have to go old fashioned," Victoria says thoughtfully. "Just...kind of like tearing off a band-aid." She nods, though doesn't look entirely convinced, or thrilled at the prospect.

Ash notes that the leeches are *on* them, not in them, sighing with relief before checking them out for valuables. Not too conspicuously, not for family heirlooms... maybe a few gold coins... is that cloak made with a good pelt? Any good 'antiques' through the window? They don't *take* anything... just scouting. They glance occasionally at someone, perhaps worried that she'd disapprove if she noticed them actually taking anything. So, they're *just looking*, observing the economic landscape here... and it's not like a bunch of farmers are going to have a few golden swords lying about. After scoping out the good, they reach for their multi-tool. "Rip them off, cut them off, apply heat? Tejas ain't got not leeches... well, maybe up north, they have fucking pine forests there, they could have anything." They shrug, not knowledgeable here at *all*.

Ash notes that the leeches are *on* them, not in them, sighing with relief before checking them out for valuables. Not too conspicuously, not for family heirlooms... maybe a few gold coins... is that cloak made with a good pelt? Any good 'antiques' through the window? They don't *take* anything... just scouting. They glance occasionally at Juniper, perhaps worried that she'd disapprove if she noticed them actually taking anything. So, they're *just looking*, observing the economic landscape here... and it's not like a bunch of farmers are going to have a few golden swords lying about. After scoping out the good, they reach for their multi-tool. "Rip them off, cut them off, apply heat? Tejas ain't got not leeches... well, maybe up north, they have fucking pine forests there, they could have anything." They shrug, not knowledgeable here at *all*.

They seem like rather poor villagers. Looking over the dozens of them, there might be a copper ring here and there, but largely, jewelry seem pretty valueless dyed wooden beads and colorful pieces of yarn. The few coins the could be found don't have much value as it is likely most of these farmers actually used the barter system anyway, which is common in the Wilds.

"No one's getting hypnotised," Juniper responds, still staring at a leech attached to the the skull of this one particular village before she lifts a hand and does something that Dean has done many times before. Long black nails grow from the ends of her fingers in the sort of beginnings of a transformation - but goes no further. With the sharp protrusion as part of her body now she uses it to spear one of the leeches and rip it unceremoniously from the head of the host. "Like a band-aid," she repeats in agreement to Victoria, curious to see what happens when parasite is separated from host.

Ash doesn't seem surprised not to find anything of value on them. Sure, sometimes older societies with different value systems would have valuables that suit the modern age - Ash wouldn't even know. Not having sharp nails, nor carrying a knife, they get to work with their multi-tool instead.

"I didn't mean with your-" Victoria's sentence is cut off as she watches with interest as claws come from Juniper's fingertips. Once the leech is speared through though, her grimace returns and she draws one slender knife from her boot. "hands," she finishes with the shake of her head.


When the leech is ripped off from the villager, the villager drops to the ground and starts convulsing. The convulsions don't last long and after a few moments, they stop moving. Dead. It is clear that the leech has done something to the villagers brain and for the sake of the late hour, it seems like the damage has already been irreversible. They seme to be no more than a walking puppet and the puppet master is dead.

"Right then," Victoria says with the clearing of her throat. She elects to remove another leech from a villager using the tip of her blade, backing up once it's done and then prodding the still body with a boot. "Shame, that."

"Huh," Juniper replies with a distant sort of interest as if she would just turn and write this down in her observational notes with no emotional bearing. "Ash," she says next with a thoughtful tone. "Is there any magic that this feels like? We should walk one of these people back to the shaman for her to look at. It's the only way to keep both specimens alive for further examination."

Ash sighs, stopping. "Well, shit. Guess we gather them, build a bonfire, check the buildings for anything good, and burn them before heading back, yeah?" They shrug, suddenly looking very tired. Not for a lack of energy, or focus - but it's one thing to try to save people, dirtying your hand in the process... and another to figure out that it was just a slaughter. An extermination, really. There seems to be no one to save. They do stop to listen to Juniper, though, nodding as they try to think about what it could be. "Perhaps haemomancy... or a vampire swarm...."

Ash leans in, before suggesting, "Maybe the work of my ancestors, the fae, given the fleshforming and style of it. Defnitely haemomancy, I'm sure of that. It's complex... probably an experiment." They turn to the remains of Noerook, sighing. "A pity he doesn't have much of a body left to study. But, perhaps someone back in town knows his name."

Ash stands amidst a hoard of villagers standing stock still. One has fallen on the ground near Juniper, and another has - apparently - exploded into many tiny bits. The group looks grim, not at *all* like heroes. Turning to Isaiah, Ash calls out, "I think we should kill most of them and burn them, you up for that?" Not if he would *like* to do it, just if he can. Nobody *wants* to do such a job.

"So we can vote, ya?" Juniper decides, suddenly tired and pinching the bridge of her nose. "March back one to be studied. Put the rest out of their misery." She lists off option one on a finger. "Or we stuff em all in a building and hope that there's a solution that someone can come back with. You think that's likely?" She asks Ash this, but shrugs her shoulders as if already suggesting what she thinks of that.

"That's one for burn em," Juniper notes, turning to Victoria next with an expectant lift of her brows.

When Isaiah comes too, he finds a gory mess of jelly like fleshy bits, dead leeches all around the remains. It literally looks like some just popped like a grape. The villagers seem to just be standing around, rather mindless looking with one of them dead on the ground. All of them seem to be in rough shape, obvious damage to their bodies from the cold.

"Out of their misery," Victoria is quick to say, twirling a knife in one hand.

Juniper doesn't wait for any more votes before she's ripping the leech off the next villager's head with another careful spearing motion.

Ash says "Wait! "
With a grin to Juniper, Victoria reaches for yet another, then turns her head back to Ash.

'Thwump'. The body falls at Juniper's feet and she looks to Ash with a sigh. "What?"

The next leech being speared to the same result. The villager starts to convulse for a moment on the ground and then stops, rather dead.

Ash shakes their head, saying, "It's unlikely - but we can put them in a barn, and see if Sharalyn goes, 'Oh, these are Pituvian leeches,', or some shit. But, even if she has no clue - it might be better for the Wildlings to perform the proper rites. Some of them are from that village." They look amongst the villagers for those that might be equipped for travel and hunting, as opposed to farming or... whatever farmers do in the winter. "I know burning them was *my* idea... but my empathy started crawling back in after the adrenaline fades." They motion to their head, as if this was a normal cognitive function, though it sounds like it's just an excuse to not have to say, 'I was all for slaughtering them, but then thought about making it someone else's problem'.

"Right," Victoria says with a casual flick of the blade she holds prying another leech from it's hold on a villager. "Except they're all but dead as it is." She gestures pointedly to the body that falls at her feet. "Or so it'd seem. I'm not sure they'd come out of it no matter what."

Juniper doesn't particularly look like she cares either way when she flings the dead leech down onto the dead villager's body below her. "He's got a point about the rights. But we run the risk of another, whatever the fuck Noerook was, coming along and reanimating them."

"Or not," Juniper decides. "Whose problem do we want to make it?"

"I mean, we have the one in the jar, yeah? Why not just take that back, and get rid of the rest of these?" Victoria shrugs a shoulder lightly.

At this point, Juniper is selecting one of the healthier looking zombies from the batch, that looks like it could at least maybe keep up with them until they get back to the shaman. "I'm taking one back to her. It's easy enough and always good to have receipts."

Ash nods to Victoria, explaining, "Unless Sharalyn knows what these leeches are. For all we know, it could be a common pest, but no one knew...." They pause as Juniper makes an alternative point. "Mmm... that's fair." They shrug, dismissing their chance to do some good, then thinks. "I mean, if we at least tell them what happened, they can send better people, properly vetted - or hire us again. What are they gonna say, 'Oh know, you should have cut them like grass, why would you try to save them like we wanted?'" They snort, then says, "I think that's mostly a consensus, then? Bring back a dead leech or a zombie - I don't care - then push the rest into a barn."

Victoria nods her head. "Perfectly acceptable," she notes, turning to flick another stabbed leech into snow. "Leaving them here is a risk," she tells Ash. "What if there's another that can reanimate them and spread this...whatever it is further?"

"Round em up then, Ash," Juniper instructs, cutting one from the group to keep for herself. "Then we get paid again," she tells Victoria. "When we have to come back."

Juniper says "Or not."
"Paid," seems to stop Victoria, and she simply turns to shooing the rest of them into one direction.

"You both make excellent points," Victoria sighs.

Ash nods to Juniper. "We were told to find out what happened, and bring back the missing villagers." They look again to see if any of the ones they're leading into the nearest largeish building seem like hunters or scouts.

Some might mistake Isaiah for a corpse amongst the snow; they would not be remiss in this assumption, for the faint that the redhead experienced when, well, everything had started would have put the greatest damsel in distress to shame. He has said time and time again that he does not 'do' zombies. That they terrify him. Mortify him. Horrify him. And yet, here they are, and he's slowly, groggily popping his head up out of the snow, shivering faintly as it clings to his autumnal curls. "Ugh... I just had the worst dream.."

As Isaiah raises his head out of the snow going on about having the worst dream, a purple leech is creeping across his face, heading towards the back of his skull. There is a small trail of slime being left behind it as it moves across his cheek.

Ash stops what they are doing *immediately*, going straight for Isaiah. "Hey, love, hey." They move to tug him out of the snow, frowning as they say, "Can you dry your clothes off? Otherwise, we can go in and swap...." Except, he's definitely bigger than them, it wouldn't work out. "Or... you can-" They *slap* him, hard. To knock the leech away, sure, but he might be too groggy for that context.

The slap might have been better than what Juniper would have done to Isaiah possibly to stop that leech. And possibly because she's salty with the fact she thought she had a wolf coming with her tonight and instead got a fainting bunny. Stopped in her stalk towards Isaiah she just smirks a moment, the sound of the smack being a little bit a balm on her mood for the moment.

Victoria raises both her eyebrows with a quirk of her lips, but says nothing. They already know how she feels.

"Right. Pick a scout looking specimen if there is one. If not, grab someone whose limb isn't going to fall off on the two hour hike. The rest of them, into the barn. Let's get this show on the road," Juniper barks with impatience, already poking and prodding at the puppets to move their bodies. And if they don't, she simply /makes/ them.

Ash has no clue how Victoria feels, but it's fine - they're focused on making sure that Isaiah doesn't turn *into* his worst nightmare. What a great up to make up for their earlier drama, no? They move him over aggressively, not, looking everywhere for a leech before shaking their head. "No, you need to take it all off. Ain't going to put up with the chance of you having one hiding in that hoodie of yours. Get up, strip. Naked. Yes, in the snow." They snap at Isaiah, taking advantage of the opportunity to give him orders. Maybe he'll actually listen without Juniper having to get involved.

Despite Victoria seeming frail, she starts shoving the remaining villagers forward with surprising ease. She starts to corral them within the building, a huff of breath the only sound from her.

Since it seems that everyone has agreed on a solution to their situation. The mindless villagers are rounded up and stored into a barn except for the healthiest. Everyone ventures back to to Navorost to show to Sharalyn what happened to the village. Keeping in mind the time of night and wrapping things up in a timely manner, Sharalyn explains she does not know what is going on with the villagers, but will look into it. Everyone is thanked for their efforts and are able to return to their homes.