"I volunteer to please go to the brig." The woman winced, afraid to look at Amber.
"I'll take you." Amber said softly
They walked into a pathway, the same rock wall, only without the shell-white paint, revealing the roughest and truest face underneath, and Milda couldn't help but reach out and touch it, her hands full of crystals.
The torchlight made the rock walls glisten, and on closer inspection, they were covered with tiny, clear crystals. The reefs that grew on the coast were natural boundaries, clean walls of salt that would keep any magical creatures from coming in or going out.
The confinement room had a small oak window with not even a single window in it, opening only to the darkness that obliterated everything, but Rena was so grateful that she asked for Amber's blessing, and went in contentedly.
Only the footsteps of the two were left in the aisle before Amber said slowly, "Stop her ooze."
Mida was a bit embarrassed. "But the wudu juice can restrain the pain of the man-wolf transformation."
"The poison of the Wu Teng juice has already blackened her nails, if she continues to drink it, she will die."
The air was silent, and only the sound of the duo's footsteps could be heard. They came to a large silver door, decorated with vine flowers and moon-long stones, and when Amber raised her hand, before she could touch the door, it screeched open, and the wide stone hall had long been filled with witches in all colors of robes.
Among them, Bertha, clad in ermine, was the most seated, and she immediately rose to greet Amber in person.
"I heard you were meditating, and I apologize for disturbing you, but the moment of the full moon is approaching, and the number of human wolves we shelter continues to grow."
Mida thought of the dense crowd in the marketplace just now and couldn't help but get goosebumps on her arms. God knows what kind of courage she was holding to continue walking forward and what kind of strong confidence Amber should have in the crowd.
There were no windows or doors underground, and not even a hint of moonlight was allowed, because the light of the full moon would drive those pious and hard-working believers into monsters, and the cozy and lovely city would turn into a wolf's den of blood and flesh overnight.
"It's a hard battle then." Amber agreed with Bertha's words, sighing slightly.
Even though there was no moonlight here, she could still clearly sense the fullness of the moon halo, the holes in her mortal body gradually filling up like the air condensing before the rain, an unending stream of magical power that kept her safe and sound even after not eating for five whole days in the Cave of Contemplation.
The stringed moon is gradually plumping up the youthful silhouette of the goddess, and the maiden goddess with her silver bow is growing into a scepter-wielding goddess of magic. The full moon was also the most powerful moment for each adult Moon Witch as they approached the Goddess, or rather, they were the Goddess.
In the Stone Hall, assembled were the Grand Witches of Miller's Valley, acknowledged by the Temple of the Maiden Goddesses. Each donned ermine robes adorned with intricate silver and gold threads, featuring captivating patterns that, upon closer inspection, revealed enigmatic astronomical images. They accessorized with silver ornaments and precious stones that glistened like stars, creating a celestial aura around them.
But they were not here to celebrate the feast before the night of the full moon, but to prepare for the battle that lay ahead.
One of the witches pinned her treasured blue cloak with an emerald bird as she reported with a serious look on her face, "Seven hundred and thirty-two, of which one hundred and twenty are children that can be controlled with a simple anesthetic, leaving six hundred and twelve."
Amber nodded and gave the order, "Count the men and women separately, man wolves are susceptible to werewolf summoning and demonic chatter in their ears when they are transformed; that will make them as mad as a bull."
Bertha leaped to her feet. "We can also track the wolves in reverse if the situation is properly controlled. They're as quiet as they are dead, instead of eating, not eating clean, and giving us a bunch of human wolves."
The blue-robed witch from the party looked at her less approvingly but didn't say anything. Bertha hated everything related to werewolves, treating those human-wolf victims, she always insisted that death was their only relief.
There were quite a few witches who supported Bertha, and one of them, a witch with red hair like fire, said with undisguised meanness, "We also have to be grateful that werewolves don't have pups with humans, or we don't know what other monsters we can create."
"Enough."
As soon as Amber spoke up, the stone hall was immediately as silent as the grave.
Amber asked, as if casually, "How did it go with Oya?"
"I used all the evil spells I could." Bertha folded her arms. "She still insists that Dill used her to escape."
"She still believes that werewolves are extinct," the blonde witch said in an unusually soft tone, her smile as gentle as the morning sun. "Let's ask her to stay in the underground and sit on the night of the full moon soon."
Bertha couldn't help but hook out a smile, her eyes filled with amusement. She had never been convinced of Amber, but now she is convinced of her ruthlessness.
The two fiercest and most powerful witches in Miller's Valley looked at each other and smiled, and everyone in the room felt a wave of goosebumps that didn't lose out to the onset of a wolf tide.
The blue-robed witch with the wise gaze was one of the few unaffected, and she said business-like, "The matter of Dill's disappearance has yet to be cleared up, and when the night of the full moon is over, I would ask that the lady herself bring her back to confront Oya. There is no way we can keep Oya for too long, and Lady Elenka of Golden Oak is already protesting, insisting that we release her before the Autumn Harvest Festival in Junli River."
Amber nodded, seemingly respecting her wishes, but suddenly remembered something and turned her head to look around the crowd. "By the way, do you guys believe what Oya said?"
The blonde witch smiled gently, and the tiger-spotted cat in her arms swept through the crowd with sharp blue eyes.
The crowd looked at me and I looked at you. Who dares to say? You just had that smile on your face and you're planning to throw people to the wolves, who dare to say one more word. I'm afraid I'll have to be a companion with Oya.
A few of the big witches looked at Bertha, expecting her to say something against Amber. Bertha, however, didn't even glance at them and waited for the meeting to end with one hand on her cheek.
The red-haired witch glared at Amber for a few moments and hated dill even more when she thought of her daughter, who she had turned into a hen.
Hmph, also, that puppy slave has to have that life to survive the night of the full moon. The night of the full moon didn't just belong to witches, it was also a night of revelry for monsters and demons.
The werewolf victims, the werewolves who will come out at their master's command, will be the biggest test all the little witches will face when they leave Miller's Hollow—the full moon.
The wolf tide of the full moon.