Chapter 27

I was told when I finally woke up that I had been out for nearly five hours. Everyone wanted to be there with me when I woke up, but they knew the importance of the burning of the skulls. Lillian had stayed by me and told the others when I finally came to. I explained to them the meeting I had with Phaltina and that the curse had been released from the skulls when they broke apart. Kayla was a bit disappointed that she would not be using her mortar and pestle, but she was happier that I was okay.

I told them our target’s name, which surprised them only slightly and also the effect that killing him would have. They were not sure how they felt about us losing our abilities. They were worried that if their abilities were lost before the threat the Dran posed was dealt with, they could wind up in his clutches. They were not wrong, as the threat his arrogance and greed posed was viable. We had a lot of people behind us, of course, but there was no telling if it would be enough. For now, we could only speculate at what would happen; a lot could occur in that time.

It really surprised them when they learned that my name was derived from the wolf that had been killed. They saw it as an omen that we would be victorious. I could only hope that they were right, and we would come out of this conflict safe and sound. I was not sure what would happen. If Voguel was as old as the curse itself, then he would be the most powerful thing I had ever come across. I had doubts that, even with my abilities and my well of energy as they were before destroying the skulls, it would not be enough to defeat him.

Regardless of the curse being lifted from the skulls, we maintained our plan of keeping the pyre lit until we were certain there was nothing left. The last thing we needed was Voguel getting his hands on a remaining shard and somehow preventing us from lifting the curse for good. During that week, the ladies paired off and kept themselves busy talking, sparring or, if possible, working on their various hobbies. The preparations that Eritor had discussed with us were implemented without issue and we were confident that we would be ready. Numerous patrols around the fort, patrols within the town and hidden watchers in the woods near the cave. We would receive regular updates via carrier bird on what was seen. So far no one had appeared at the stronghold, but we were not certain if that would change.

Eritor and the Patron were working on drills so that they could evacuate the town to the safety of the fort at the drop of a hat. Most of these drills were primarily based on a warning from the soldiers stationed in the woods. To prepare for every eventuality, we had them drill a full-on attack on the village without prior warning. This was done in the evenings to best simulate the situation they would find themselves in during the blood moon. Janet was confident they would be ready, but she worried about the other towns, cities, and villages in the province. She knew that not all the carrier birds would reach their destinations before the moon rose, but she had to try. There was too much ground to cover and too many places to warn before our time ran out.

As the night of the blood moon drew closer, everyone was getting more and more on edge. We had no idea what their plans had been and where they had planned to strike. We could go through multiple simulations as to how they would attack, but that could be nothing like what could end up happening. We had been given vague information that left too much unknown. I had a feeling that was intentional. Not that the woman had tried to be vague, but because Voguel’s stand-in had been intentionally vague to her. I had gotten the distinct impression that she had not been entirely trusted, but given the things she had done, I was not really surprised.

I found that my mind was distracted by the warning that I had been given by the goddess. I only wished she could have told me where the bastard was, but I had to assume there was a reason. Given all the information she had given to me freely, I do not think she knew where he was. If she did, she could not tell me as it sounded like she was not allowed to interfere. To be powerless and trapped for so long, alone, and unable to fix the mistake she had made in anger must have been terrible to deal with until the power of the curse would be broken.

My eyes widened as I realized what had happened and why I had felt odd while I was there. She had probably used all her power just to pull me into her dreamscape and keep me there. The curse had been weakened at that moment, but not disrupted fully. That would explain why I had no powers then, either, as it was intended for her not to be able to use hers. It was the dreamscape itself that had been nullifying my abilities. Somehow, she had been able to circumvent it for a time, during the release of the curse from the skulls, but there was no telling how much energy it took out of her. I wondered if I would meet her again when this was all over, but I laughed at the foolishness of wondering if I would meet a goddess again.

While I felt somewhat diminished when I awoke, it did not last long, as the well of energy that I got through the bond rejuvenated me. I could tell that the amount of energy being generated had diminished, so I would need to be more conservative with using it in the future. I worried about what our enemy was up to and voiced my concerns that perhaps we should wait until the conflict with the Dran and Voguel was finished before heading to Celka’s village. Especially since, if we need to be in the southern region of Vishant, we will have to worry about my women giving birth on the way.

Janet was five months pregnant and Int’samba was a month’s travel away. That meant a two-month round trip to get back here, not to mention the two-month journey to the capital. She would be giving birth before we arrived and then there was the risk to the newborn which would remove her from the fighting. The others would be a month behind her. I would rather put an end to the threats to our family first and foremost. Then we could take our time to pay our final respects to Celka before returning home to raise our family. I could not risk their health and the health of the babies like that.

The others reluctantly agreed, as they all had their hearts set on completing our quest. However, they could not fault my reasoning and they agreed the meeting with the goddess was a sign that forces were pushing us towards a final conflict. We just wondered what it was that the First One was planning. We debated the various theories we each had but we ended up talking in circles. I made sure to test them again to see what affect the drain had on their abilities. Like me, they had felt a loss, but it was less then I had felt. They still would be more than a match for anyone, but I worried about the loss of strength.

We made sure to get plenty of rest the day of the blood moon. That morning the pyre had been allowed to go out and Eritor assured me that the ashes would be scattered in the woods north of the town. We agreed that, given the large amount of soldiers in the fort, we would be best served in the town to help evacuate, if need be, but primarily to deal with any attacking Voguel. Everyone but the soldiers and ourselves locked up tight in their respective domiciles and we watched with growing dread and anticipation as the sun set and the moon began to rise.

It looked no different than any other blood moon, its red light blanketing the land in its crimson glow. I could feel the effect the moon had on Lillian’s wolf form and I could sense greater power flowing from her into the well. I stretched out with my sense and listened for anything approaching the town. I expected to hear the howl of wolves, which was the first sign of a Voguel attack, but there was none. I stretched out as far as my senses could go but could not detect any sign of Voguel. There was no sign of something or anything approaching the town from the forest. There were no screams of terror or barking of orders, only silence as we waited.

We patrolled the town, waiting on edge for some sign of attack, but there was none. All night there was no attack by packs of wolves, nor was there any sign of one. As the moon set and the sun rose, we looked at each other, worried what that could mean.

My suspicions were correct: we had purged the northern group of Voguel who were meant to move southward from here, causing whatever havoc they could. That meant there might have been one or two groups to the south that were meant to head north. We would not know until reports came in of what had transpired. Janet had made sure to put in her note that we would be here for a week or two, until we got all the reports back of any casualties and results of the blood moon.

We talked to the Patron and she was glad that we had protected them from what would have been an insurmountable force. Eritor was worried, as we were, and wished they had better ways to communicate to other places in the province. He agreed that last night did not feel right, and, though it had been proof of our victory against the Voguel, there was a threat that was still hidden in the shadows. We knew that we would soon hear of it but were uncertain the time or place.