Merse sighed in relief as she finally entered the familiar territory around Dregsbale two days after leaving the wolfen camp. Kayl, as well as the other souls, had seemed to merely look on as she traveled, except of course for the krake and hydra, which were still struggling with each other in obvious abhorrence of one another. Merse began circling around the city to reach an entry point located on the far side.
</i> I thought you were headed for the city, </i> Kayl suddenly broke his silence, causing Merse to jump. Why are you heading away from the gate?
I'm heading for a different passageway into the city, Merse tersely stated. Which you should know from my memories.
Why would I know your memories? Kayl snorted. Merse paused in surprise. It hadn't occurred to her that when Kayl's memories poured into her, hers hadn't done the same to him.
Wait... Kayl started, noting her sudden stop. You don't mean...
Yeah. Merse exhaled. When you died, I was able to see ALL of your memories. Without knowing why, Merse's thoughts suddenly went to Kayl's intimate time with Alra, and the normally stoic Merse found herself blushing slightly, but rapidly cleared her head. To distract herself, Merse concentrated on returning her form to normal, and slipped on the moccasins to protect her human feet, ignoring the look somewhere between frustration and horror that Kayl was giving her.
Anyway, it's not necessarily a bad thing, Merse thought to herself. At least now I know no one else knows about my past. Satisfied on that point, Merse headed for a different passageway from the one she had used with Drin, hoping this time to pass into the city unnoticed.
**********
Archmage Tewlaine grimaced impatiently. While the journey from Dregsbale with the wolfen corpse had been relatively uneventful, apart from a soldier losing his pack and bow, she couldn't help but resent the amount of time she was having to spend searching for answers in the wilderness. While Tewlaine, the soldiers, and her merchant contact had arrived at the trading post that morning, they had been forced to wait until dusk for the wolfen Alpha and his group to arrive, which had only served to whet her impatience. As the sun set, glowing eyes finally appeared, reflecting the gleam of the torches.
"Why are you here?" one of the Alpha's subordinates growled at the merchant, eyeing the soldiers and the mages suspiciously. "Why do you bring soldiers and magic-weavers?"
"Look, somethin' happened up at Dregsbale, and I didn't have much of a choice," the merchant replied nervously, looking to Tewlaine for guidance. Taking a breath, Tewlaine stepped forward.
"Alpha of the wolfen," Tewlaine began. "We discovered a great injustice had been committed in Dregsbale. One of your kind had been attacked and killed five days ago. We have brought the body to you in hopes that you might identify it and aid us in finding the murderers." The Alpha gave no indication of whether he believed the archmage's story, but the other wolfen were clearly skeptical, knowing Dregsbale couldn't care less about the fate of a dead wolfen.
Tewlaine motioned to the soldiers, and four of them reluctantly brought forward the litter which held Kayl's corpse.
"Kayl!" Rigg sputtered in disbelief. "Five days ago? But that's impossible..." Rigg stopped as the Alpha gave him a sharp look, warning him into silence.
"I assure you," Tewlaine spoke up, sensing something interesting had provoked the wolfen's outburst. "The wolfen died in Dregsbale five days ago, as well as many local criminals. Is there something you can tell us of this matter?"
"We know nothing of your cities, other than that they bring death to our kind, whether within their walls or without," the Alpha responded firmly, not giving Tewlaine a chance to pry further. "We will return his body to his kindred that his spirit may be laid to rest." So saying, four wolfen moved forward and picked up the litter.
"Is there anything further?" the Alpha queried. The merchant quickly shook his head, and the wolfen left as Tewlaine pondered their actions frustratedly. She had been close, she knew it. However, they had given her one important lead. By the wolfen's reaction, the dead wolfen should not have died in Dregsbale. Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Tewlaine resigned herself to returning to Dregsbale. It looked like the only other lead left to her was the spider.
**********
As a forlorn howl arose from beside the litter, the Alpha turned from Alra and Raka to walk a few steps away with the shaman.
"It is definitely him, but he is wearing the mating talisman; Alra identified it. How is that possible?" the Alpha asked sternly.
"It is possible because the one who entered our village four days ago was not Kayl Steelfur," the shaman frowned darkly. Lowering her voice, she continued, "You must send out messengers to every tribe to warn them before it is too late. We must begin the hunt. A Soul-stealer walks among us."