Once the werewolf had cried herself out enough to actually speak, she began talking. And, once she started, it was difficult for anyone else to get a word in. It was like she was desperate to have someone, anyone, hear what she had to say.

Conferences were quickly held, the end result of which was Ninette being brought inside the gates. The young werewolf was quickly shuttled inside the Meeting House, and down to a storage room below. The contents of the storage room (namely the archives of any official documents made) were quickly brought upstairs, and the door was sealed with magic.

Finally, the Councilors sat down with us in the Meeting House, to go over what we had learned. Ninette had been all too eager to share everything she knew about what was going on in the Moonwood. It did not paint a pretty picture.

Captain Sweetling sighed as she looked at the mug of water in front of her. “Damn, I thought it was bad before, but now? What a mess.”

Umphery simply nodded. “I know what you mean. We’d been certain that the people we lost had been killed and eaten. Maybe a few of them had survived to be turned. But this? This is worse than we ever imagined.”

I shook my head. According to the town’s records, there were thirty-six people from Moonwater who had been missing, and presumed dead. Another twenty merchants and guards had visited Moonwater since the start of the trouble, and we already knew that few of them escaped.

According to Ninette, however, there were at least three scores of werewolves, including the Alpha and his companions. Those numbers were troubling, certainly, but there was some reason to be optimistic in the short term, at least as far as the town was concerned. With those numbers, it would have been a simple matter for the werewolves to rush the walls early on, and slaughter the ad hoc militia. They would have taken losses, sure, but if they had intended to wipe the town off the map straight away, they could have easily done it before now.

Naturally, that led to the inevitable conclusion that there was something else at play. Or, rather, it was just more confirmation of what everyone was already thinking. There was something going on in the Moonwood that the werewolves were after, and they wanted to keep anyone else’s eyes off them until they had succeeded at whatever they were planning.

Not that the idea of simply keeping their heads down and letting the wolves succeed was ever really an option. Just because they did not want to risk the losses to slaughter the people of Moonwater while they were executing their plans, that did not mean that they would be willing to allow anyone to witness, even at a remove, what they had done, and live to tell about it. There was a very good chance that, after the werewolves succeeded in their plan, no doubt gaining power from its completion, that they would turn their gaze upon Moonwater, and try in earnest to silence them, permanently.

Only ten of the sixty remaining werewolves were ‘natural’ werewolves, those who had inherited their curse from an ancestor. The rest were all ones who had been afflicted with the curse through a wolf’s bite. Even with the afflicted, most of them came from outside the Moonwood.

Most of those who had been taken from the town and the wagons attempting to leave Moonwood were dead. Ninette wasn’t sure, but she believed only ten remained alive. She was the youngest of the remaining survivors, barely older than I was.

The Blood Moon had accelerated the change. Before the next night had fallen, she’d already changed. After that, things grew worse for her. The Alpha forced her to eat the flesh of the other humans who had been captured, while they were still alive. He called it her ‘baptism to the hunt’.

Later, she’d noticed other changes, beyond what would naturally happen when turning into a werewolf. Before, she had been a Commoner, with only two levels. Not exactly uncommon for a farmer girl of fourteen winters who spent her time in the fields, honestly. Now, however, she claimed that her class had changed to Warrior, and she’d already risen to Level 5.

Multiclassing is one thing. Gaining a template was another. Both were not exactly rare. However, someone completely changing their class, losing their old class and gaining a new one with new abilities, was almost unheard of. Oh, there were rumors and fairy tales, of course, of Artifacts and forgotten rituals that could do something like that, but to actually come across something like that was beyond rare. Something about the Blood Moon, or the ‘baptism’, or (more likely) both had changed her, down to the core of who she was. That she still had any memories of her life before the change was impressive. That she was actually sane was more so.

Still, if that was the limit of what the Blood Moon did, that could still be worked around. Werewolves, despite what some people might think, were not controlled directly by the ones who bit them. They may have a new set of feral instincts, but that does not put them under the sway of anyone. They still have free will. They can even control their change, somewhat.

The Blood Moon, however, suppressed that. Ninette had been trapped in her hybrid form since she had first turned. And, the Alpha hadn’t had to physically dominate her, to make her submit and follow him, as was normal in lycanthrope packs. Instead, her body acted, even while her mind was helpless to resist. Not just the Alpha, too, she had not been able to disobey any orders that the natural lycanthropes gave to her.

Furthermore, since she had first been changed, her mind was filled with bloodlust and pain and rage, making it impossible for her to even try and change out of her hybrid form. The pain grew less during the daytime, or when she was hidden away from the moon, but it never really went away. The girl had, apparently, been barely able to sleep since her change, which made her even more susceptible to ‘suggestion’ from the leaders of the werewolf pack, who did not seem to be having those troubles.

Shaking away the thought of what the girl had endured, I looked up at the rest of the group. “Still, as bad as it is, at least we know more about the enemy than we did before. A group of werewolves serving the Beastlord, Malar, is the core of the group. They are likely powerful foes, but they’ve split their forces.”

Celaena nodded. “Yes, as you say. Of the Ten, one of them has been lairing in the caves the wolves of Moonwood have used for years, leading the attacks on Moonwater from there. The rest are split between the abandoned Shrine to the Beastlord on the northeastern edge of the forest, and in the mines that were played out and shut down so long ago.”

Vestele sighed. “The shrine to the Beastlord would be the obvious place for one of the Hunts loyal to him to set as their base of operations. And the wolf caves are an ideal place to shelter and assault the town from. But the mines? What business do they have there?”

Frostmane chuffed. “Look at the map again. The mines are between the shrine and the temple, no? If the temple’s barrier is still up, then the mines would be a good place to store supplies and prepare for when it finally falls.”

Captain Sweetling nodded slowly. “Aye, that’s true enough. And I remember Keira once mentioning how the barrier was said to be ‘energetic’ against those who tried to breach it. Her words, of course. When I asked her to go on, she told me that the last person to attempt to get through the barrier had been struck down by blessed moonfire. Apparently, it has the wonderful effect of slaying someone, and it is impossible to raise the ones who die from it without a Wish or Miracle.”

I whistled softly. “Those are some of the most powerful magics that a mortal caster can use, right? I’ve only heard about such spells in stories and myths!”

Celaena nodded. “Indeed. Few casters ever rise to such power that they can wield those spells, and few of those ever cast them, for the power inherent in those magics can have devastating consequences if used unwisely. Even when one has the best of intentions, things can go awry.”

Umphrey frowned, looking down at the map. “That’s all well and good, but I think you’re all missing something. Ninette said that they had been ordered to stay away from the old elven ruins in the forest, right? I mean, I know that monsters live there, now, but maybe there’s something in the ruins that could be useful?”

The Captain nodded. “Not out of the question. The hunters and militia have never bothered with trying to clear the ruins, since there didn’t seem to be a need, and we never had any trouble with monsters that we tracked back to the ruin. Could be nothing, or it could be something big.”

I looked back at the map. “We had already discussed the possibility that the werewolves might have been hiding in the ruins, or using them for some reason. But that was just idle speculation, since we didn’t know for sure. If the wolves are avoiding the area, though, then it means that there is something there keeping them at bay. Knowing what it is could be invaluable, whether it is a creature that could be made into an ally, or some artifact that could be turned against the wolves.”

Siora grinned as she leaned back in her chair. “In that case, it we could find some way to get a big hitter on our side. I have to admit I wouldn’t mind seeing what the ruins hold. I’ve never heard of an outpost named Esyh Serin, so there could be any number of secrets hidden there.”

Vestele shook her head. “Or, it could be the same as with Moonwater itself, and this ‘Alpha’ simply didn’t want to lose forces subjugating the monsters and claiming whatever remains in the outpost before his plans with the temple are complete. And it is the temple we should be truly concerned about.”

I sighed. “Yes, Magdalin, the witch, told us what her divinations showed, and they suggested that the werewolves were seeking to unleash something that had been sealed away when the Barrier around the Temple was raised. Unfortunately, the Barrier prevented her divinations from giving any more detail on that.”

Celaena frowned. “The Temple of the Moonmaiden’s Glory has been sealed away for a long time, even by the standards of my people.” The elven druidess sighed. “Unfortunately, we have no records of what happened inside the temple once the orcs reached its grounds. It may very well be that whatever challenges you face against the wolves of Malar will pale in comparison to the threat of what is inside the temple.”

“In which case,” the Captain remarked, “any strength you gain along the way will be to your benefit. In that case, clearing the ruins is probably the best choice. At the very least, you’ll eliminate the possibility of whatever is lingering there attacking you from behind while you deal with the Temple.”

Frostmane chuffed. “Well, that’s decided, then. In the morning, we’ll set off, and go see what the wolves are doing. Maybe we’ll even catch that archer who scampered off like a scared pup, instead of fighting.”

I grinned. “At any rate, a fight at the wolf caves should give you some relief for the next couple nights, at least.”

Celaena nodded. “There are game trails through the forest that should lead you to the wolf caves. That will allow you to move faster than traversing through the undergrowth. Now that I have specific targets to scry for, I will attempt to use divinations to see what is happening at the temple and shrine. And it may be that a response to my scrying might distract the enemy from your approach.”

I nodded. “That is the best we can hope for.”