-----"We can look after her," Brandel says weakly, indicating the girl while he looks at Kazel, "I think the dark swords Krord and I have can repel any actions from those monsters, especially in the daylight." The young man staggers a bit until Runik catches him and forces him to lean on the dwarf.
-----"Aye," Runik quips, "yer talkin' mighty big now, Brandel. Bett'r let me n' Krord handle things." As he steers the young mercenary toward the wagon, Runik tells Kazel, "Th' Cap'n won't be a'lettin' us drink on th' trip, so me figurin' tells me, yer buyin' when we meets up agin."
-----As Krord and Runik ease the young mercenary into the bed of the wagon, Xavia approaches the three rogues. "My troop is ready to continue our journey. I trust I have made myself clear as to an appropriate plan to your situation?" she says.
-----A pained expression crosses the Dread Pirate's face as Xavia speaks. He lowers his head and pinches the bridge of his nose as he replies, "Yes, Xavia. You've made yerself abundantly clear. Melliflously clear. And I'm sure we'll all miss yer pearls o' wisdom, once ye head off down the road. When ye head off down the road. Anytime now. Bye, bye." The Dread Pirate coughs ostentatiously, then looks up at the sky and begins whistling a jaunty pirate tune.
-----Seth shrugs as the paladin speaks and mumbles something about certain people needing to relax as he packs up ready to leave. He calls Albert to him and feeds him some bread. He then moves over to Brandel and nods good-bye to him.
-----Kazel considers for a moment, then pats the girl and lifts her into the wagon. "Alright, let's be off for these monsters."
-----Within the next hour, the tavern building is vacated. The troop stands mounted ready to ride off and the rogues' wagon is also prepared. The surrounding village is gloomy and quiet except for the birds that noisily fly from tree to tree.
-----The Lady Paladin looks at the rogues one last time as they prepare to ride off. "May the Holy Redeemer bring thee the Justice you deserve," she says sternly. Without waiting for a reaction, she calls the command and the entire troop rides out toward the southern plains. The two guards from Oakwood who accompanied Sol cast the rogues a strange look before departing but otherwise say nothing.
-----As the massive galloping fades through the trees, Krord starts the horses hitched to the wagon. The vehicle starts off up the trail road toward Oakwood. Brandel appears to be resting while Runik and the little girl ride in the back looking over him.
-----Runik hefts his warhammer one last time and calls, "Be seein' ye in a few hours! First round's on ye!"
-----With that, the trio is left alone among the silent buildings. In front of the tavern, the poles where the torches were mounted the night before still stand.
-----As the soldiers and priests ride off, the Dread Pirate makes a rude gesture at Abrams, saying, "Make sure to pass that along to Raven and Sol."
-----When everyone is gone, Dread turns to Marast and says, "Arrrr, well, no time like the present. Let's get this over with."
-----As an aside to Kazel and Seth, Dread mutters, "I'm not really sure that the paladin's blessing was a wholly benevolent one."
-----Seth smiles and casually states, "I think she wanted your body but was too uptight to ask, and so transferred her repressed longing into expressions of justice and hate. Next time you see her, a big sloppy kiss should break the ice."
-----Kazel shrugs. "Na, I wouldn't be too worried. If the Holy Redeemer've been doing his job, we wouldn't be out here doing it for him in the first place."
-----Marast immediately sets about scanning the ground for tell-tale signs of the werecreatures. First he draws forth his bow and nocks an arrow as if anticipating trouble. The elf then begins observing the ground a few yards away from the torches where the Dread Pirate saw the large beast vanish into the night.
-----The village remains silent with its buildings showing no sign of living souls. No smoke rises from the small stone chimneys and the window panes reflect the gray gloom of the sky. Across from the tavern building, the home and the work building of a blacksmith appear all but boarded up.
-----At this point, Marast stops and casts the rogues a frustrated confused expression. "Marast not find tracks," he grunts before returning to the task at hand. The elf then circles the perimeter of the closest buildings looking this way and that for tracks.
-----After a few longer moments, Marast curses, "Stupid humans walk on tracks." But this even sounds like the elf is having a hard time convincing himself of this observation.