Shapeshifting is a skill that both lycans and werewolves pull off. However, most werewolves can naturally learn this skill, while lycans need to train hard to achieve it. They're also different in appearance. Werewolf's wolf form was a total transformation into a wolf, a four-legged wild animal, but much larger. On the other hand, Lycan's wolf form changes only their aesthetic, but they're still standing with their two feet. Their fangs and claws become longer and sharper. Even though they look different, they still possess extraordinary power when they're in their wolf form.
Back in Horkun village, Hekharold was still holding on to his summoning skill. Curhelia continued casting mana regeneration skill to him so that he could last longer, maintaining his summon.
"My summons is coming back. I'm hoping for good news," Hekharold said.
"That's great, but I wonder what happened to Gaurdon and Zaptan chasing Estrow," Djelkaro worriedly uttered.
"They'll be fine. Gaurdon is a dependable comrade. He won't let anything bad happen to them," Hekharold responded.
"I hope so. They should hurry back as soon as they can. We can't proceed on our plan without them," the chief said as he stood up and faced the window, looking outside.
"Worrying too much won't get us anywhere. We must do what we can do," Curhelia said.
"Expect the worst and resolve it for the best." I like that," Djelkaro replied.
They don't have a choice but to wait to see what happens next. Meanwhile, Estrow and his acquaintances had already reached the Dalish village. It was like a fortress, surrounded by a cliff. There's only one entrance, and it was heavily guarded by Ramphu's men. They're hiding in the bush, scouting.
"How can we get inside? The security was too tight," Gaurdon asked Estrow.
"There's a hidden entrance, but it was below the cliff," Estrow answered.
"That's where we're going in? "Zaptan asked.
"Yes, but first we should get rid of our smell. We must blend in as villagers," Estrow replied.
"How do we get rid of our smell? "Gaurdon asked again.
"Please follow me," Estrow said as he walked away from the bush. He was looking around until he found a specific plant, and he picked it.
"What's that? "Zaptan asked.
"It's lemon grass; our village usually uses this in every delicacy. It's smell was strongly aromatic, so it can hide your foreign smell. You'll just have to chew a portion of it's root and rub the rest of it on your body," Estrow explained.
"Interesting, let's do this," Gaurdon said, then he did what Estrow said. Same for Zaptan; both of them now hide their smell. They're all ready to infiltrate.
"We're all set; we'll just have to get down to the cliff and find the hidden entrance," Estrow said.
They carefully walked their way to the bottom of the cliff. They saw the entrance they had to climb from below. The way up was steep, but they were able to climb it because of their extraordinary agility. When they were at the entrance, the way inside was very dark. Zaptan took out his stone that glowed so brightly in the darkness that it gave them light like the moon. Estrow led them and carefully explored the hidden passage.
"Are we under the village itself? "Gourdon asked Estrow.
"Yes. This passage served as an emergency exit for the whole village so many years ago. But when the Dalish's forces became so strong, they've forgotten its existence. I always used this passage whenever I wanted to sneak out of the village, when I'm a child," Estrow answered.
"So it's safe to say that nobody will know that we're here? "Gaurdon asked.
"I hope so. We are near. You can shapeshift now," Estrow said, then he himself transformed; the same was true for Gaurdon and Zaptan.
"This will be a crucial part of this mission. If anything goes wrong, do not engage. Just find the nearest exit and escape," Zaptan ordered.
"Yes, my lord," Estrow and Gaurdon answered together.
Estrow slowly opened up the door that was connected to an empty alley. They carefully went outside in their wolf form.
"I can't believe I can last this long in my wolf form, just by possessing a stone. I hope this doesn't have a side effect or something," Gaurdon told himself.
"Follow me; we have to get to the roof of that building," Estrow said while pointing out a building.
They slowly walked their way near the building. Some villagers noticed them, but they chose to ignore them since they look and smell like normal Dalish people. Once they were in the building, they found a way to get to the top of the roof, and with their agility, they were able to climb it easily.
"I want you to pay attention to this, alright? That was the chief's outpost; Ramphu must be there. While the prison was at the back of that outpost. You two will be my lookout while I'm sneaking into that prison. If something bad was about to happen, please blow this whistle to inform me," Estrow explained, then handed Gaurdon a strange whistle.
"If you see your mother, you'll save her, and we'll get out of here the same way we entered, right? "Gaurdon asked.
"Yes, this will be quick as long as we do this stealthily," Estrow answered.
"Okay, let's do this," Gaurdon replied.
They reached the outpost successfully by blending in with the crowd. Gaurdon and Zaptan take their position as lookouts. Estrow sneaks into the prison and looks for his mother. However, she was not there. Estrow was confused. If not in prison, where was she? After a while, he heard a familiar voice laughing. He followed it, and he was surprised when he saw where it came from. He peered at a window; it was the chief's room. Inside, he saw his mother with his uncle. They're happily making conversation.
"I'm still hoping that your son will surrender himself soon," Ramphu said.
"He's one of the toughest fighters in our tribe, but as a son, he was so sweet. He won't let his poor mother die at the hands of his traitor uncle," Estrow's mother replied.
"I'm not a traitor, but his father was. If it wasn't for him, you and I would have ended up together long ago," Ramphu said as he caressed her face.
"It doesn't matter anymore; what's important is that you and I are together now," she replied.
Estrow couldn't believe what he heard. His mother was in love with his uncle. They both betrayed his father. He doesn't know what to do. Then he heard the whistle, blown by Gaurdon.
"What's that? Is it a signal?"Ramphu said.
"Don't mind that, my love, your men will handle it," she responded as she hugged Ramphu.
"I'll be back; I want to know what's happening," Ramphu insisted.
"Alright, I'll be waiting here for you," she replied.
Ramphu went out of the room and headed to where the noise came from. Estrow, on the other hand, sneaks in through the window and faces his mother.
"Avita Euhbit. Care to explain this? "Estrow angrily uttered.
"Estrow? What are you doing here? "Avita shockily responded.
"I'm here to save you, but I think you don't need saving anymore," Estrow replied.
"I was held captive by your uncle, and now I'm here to please him. So that he won't kill me," Avita explained.
"Liar, I've heard what you said to him. Both of you betrayed my father! "Estrow furiously said.
Avita's expression suddenly changed. From a worried mother to a heartless woman who doesn't care about her son at all.
"He's not your father," Avita said, then she sat down, putting one leg on another.
"What do you mean? "Estrow asked.
"You're already born before we got married. That's why you've been using my name until now,Avita answered.
"I'm really confused right now. How did that happen? "Estrow replied.
"Once, I was a helpless mother with a child, without a husband. But Ramphu saved me from being miserable. He loved me with all his heart, and so did I. Until his brother, the current chief, the one you've known as your father, got jealous of him. He wanted me for himself. So he gave Ramphu a mission—a dangerous exploration of the northern region. My heart was devastated when I heard the news. His whole team died during the battle with the nameless' forces. The chief promised me that I would not face the future alone, so we got married. I don't love him, but I did what I had to do because of you," Avita answered.
"Me? Why me? "Estrow confusingly asked.
"I can't raise you on my own. So I accepted the chief's proposal to secure your future. We are hoping that a commoner like us could lead the tribe someday. However, one day Ramphu will finally return. The chief was not happy about it, but he didn't have a choice but to welcome him. Ramphu is a noble warrior, but he was betrayed. Until he finally gets what he deserves. The position of the chief, the leader of the tribe. There's no one who can lead us better than him," Avita replied.
The image of Estrow's father shattered slowly for him. He adored him so much that he wanted to be like him in the future. A great and kind leader who truly understands his people.
"I don't believe you. My father wasn't like that. You and Ramphu are the traitors," Estrow furiously uttered.
"Believe what you want to believe, but it will not change the fact that Ramphu was the new leader of the tribe; perhaps he can also lead the whole empire," Avita said.
Estrow smelled something strange inside the room, but he was not sure. It's like a dark energy was lurking around it.
"Avita, we haven't seen anything," Ramphu said as he entered the room. He was surprised when he saw Estrow.
"He's here," Avita said.
"Estrow, my niece. I cannot believe that we will meet like this. How are you? You look great in your wolf form," Ramphu sarcasticly said.
Estrow just glared at them as he distanced himself. Then he escaped, making his way through the window. Ramphu blew a horn; it was heard from the whole village, indicating that an intruder had sneaked in. Gaurdon and Zaptan are patiently waiting at the entrance of their escape passage.
"He's late. What happened to him? "Gaurdon asked himself.
"He's coming," Zaptan said as he pointed at Estrow, who was running towards them.
"What happened? Where is your mother? "Gaurdon asked.
"I'll tell you later, but first we should escape now," Estrow replied.
"I agree; the whole village might be looking for us now," Zaptan said, then he opened the door for their escape.
Once again, they entered the dark passage and made their way to where they came from. They can hear the ground above shaking. The villagers might be looking for them.
"I messed up. Going here was a mistake. My mother betrayed my father. She was with Ramphu all this time," Estrow said while running as fast as he could.
"Avita? Betrayed your father? "Zaptan asked, then he stopped running. Gaurdon and Estrow also stopped.
"Yes, why did you look surprised? "Estrow replied.
"I don't know them well, but when I first visit this village, I can see that your parents were deeply in love with each other. I highly doubt any of them would betray each other," Zaptan explained.
"But she said it herself. She's with Ramphu now, and she loves him more than anyone else," Estrow confusingly replied.
"I'm sorry to interrupt you both, but I think we must move now. Save this talk later," Gaurdon insisted.
"You're right; I'm sorry. Let's go," Zaptan replied, then they all ran again.
"I'm so confused. I also witnessed my mother's affection for my father; it was genuine. There's no way she will betray him, but why did she say such things?" Estrow told himself.
After a while, they finally reach the exit. However, it was swarming with Dalish guards. They continue hiding inside the old passage, waiting for the guards to be gone.
"I never thought they would search this area. They think we will jump that high just to escape. "Estrow said.
"They're just trying all the possibilities. If they don't find anything here for a while, they'll move on," Gaurdon replied.
"Then we'll just have to wait. I guess we can go back to our normal form. We're hiding now, so we don't have to maintain this form," Estrow suggested.
"Tell me, Estrow, is there anything that you didn't tell us? "Zaptan asked Estrow.
"My Lord, what are you talking about? "Estrow confusingly replied.
"We have a feeling that elemental boosters have some side effects on the user. That's why your father hasn't told the empire about its existence. To be safe, we buffed ourselves with vitality spells, just to be sure it wouldn't severely affect us. But we were surprised when the stone itself feeds on the user's life force, not mana," Gaurdon explained.
"So you already knew; I apologize, my lord. I'm just desperate to save my mother, but now it doesn't matter anymore. We'll proceed on our plan and destroy both of them," Estrow humbly replied as he kneeled down.
"If I were you, I wouldn't judge them so quickly. We don't know the real story behind everything. We better get back to Horkun village first; perhaps the help we needed was already on their way." Zaptan composedly responded.
"Yes, my lord," Estrow replied, then he stood up.
"We're clear. We gotta go," Gaurdon said.
They successfully escape the Dalish guards. They've decided to get back to Horkun village. Meanwhile, at the Hidden Falls camp, Sharlock's party was ready to go to the Old Ruins, where they would meet the lycans who had requested their help.
"Now, who wants to go? "Sharlock asked his comrades.
"I will go, obviously," Melisha answered.
"Me too," Ruviel said.
"I'm in," Aurdim uttered.
"How about you, Dumbo? "Sharlock asked.
"I think I will stay here until Craig wakes up," Dumbo answered.
"I almost forgot; Craig was still unconscious. Then I will stay with them, captain," Aurdim said.
"We need you on the battlefield, Aurdim; you'll have to go with us," Sharlock replied.
"How about Melisha? She was with Craig, so she must be by his side when he wakes up," Aurdim suggested.
"Idiot, the Lycans specifically wrote the letter for me. So I must be the one to negotiate with them," Melisha harshly responded.
"That leaves Ruviel; you'll stay with them, right? "Aurdim asked Ruviel.
"What makes you think I want to be with them, huh? If I have the choice, I will kill these two with my own hands. Argh!" Ruviel furiously uttered.
"I guess that's not a bad idea. You'll be with them for a while, Ruviel, until Craig wakes up," Sharlock ordered Ruviel.
"But captain, you'll need me on the battlefield too, right? "Ruviel objected.
"Yes, but now, Craig and Dumbo's safety is our priority," Sharlock replied.
"They're here, at our camp. Those witches can't reach them here," Ruviel insisted, but Sharlock glared at him.
"I know you know why they needed protection, right? "Sharlock soberly uttered.
"Yes, captain," Ruviel answered.
"It's settled; we better move right now. Our friends are waiting for us," Melisha said. She stood up and walked to the door.
"Take care of them," Aurdim worriedly told Ruviel as he put his arm on his shoulder.
"Just think about this, okay? You're on your own mission; I hope you can figure it out," Sharlock softly uttered.
"Yes captain. I won't let you down," Ruviel humbly responded.
Finally, the help that the lycans needed was already on its way. An alliance that might destroy the witch queen will rise soon. Craig was still sleeping. No one knows when he will wake up.