The Chronicles of 'Team B' - Chapter 28 - The Call of the Wild

General Summary

The respite from the navii proves short-lived. The howling hordes of the dead that Yuri led away begin to converge onto the new, hastily-constructed camp before the weary adventurers have had a chance to rest, and the cossack resumes his maneuvers. This time, with Augusta being unable to summon up another tabernacle, he takes Svetlana along on Zorina's horse, as to make sure she is not left in danger. After leading one group away, the second reappears. At that point, the rest of the party - Alden, Augusta, Zalyn, and Zorina - make a decision to scatter, so that the creatures break up into groups that head in different directions. There is no time to reach agreement regarding where to meet when (or if) the navii tire of their pursuit, but the group hastily agrees to meet somewhere near Sitnitsa - the most obvious landmark in the area.

* * *

The previous night, before traveling to Sitnitsa, Lokan hears a familiar voice while on watch calling him from a nearby bush. As he approaches, his adopted mother, Danifa, steps out, and speaks out a command that bewitches her son. She tells him to quietly return to the campsite, pick up Agapia, and walk away with her. Under her influence, Lokan does as he is ordered. The girl, though she wakes, is encouraged to be quiet because she is being taken to a place where there is a wolf cub, and is carried away. A short distance away, the rest of Lokan's lupine family is laying in wait - the woodsmen and travelers Vagran and Iar, the cunning warrior, Tserg, and the mighty warrior, Zhelan. Agapia is transferred to Zhelan, who binds her, and carries her on his back, while the rest of the group turns into wolves, and hurries away to their hideout, about a day's travel away.
Along the way, Lokan asks his mother what had befallen the group since he went off wandering by himself. She explains that they have been biding their time, living by their wits, but recently, she has seen that their salvation, and the salvation of their kind is at stake at last. She is drawn to Agapia, because she has eaten the egg, and feels that through her, the settlement that has left wolfkind marginal and despised in the world is about to be reversed. She does not say more, given Agapia's proximity, but promises to reveal all once they reach their home. Lokan also asks if Danifa was the Sitnitsa witch, Cherniava, and his mother says that she was not.
The hideout is a sizable hut surrounded by shrubs and hedges (and likely protected by various traps, Lokan is sure). Waiting inside is a new member of the band - a young, handsome wolfman named Zabav, who seems to have become the group favorite. Zabav entertains the group with stories about Grey Wolf, and his imminent return, while Agapia is placed, alone, in a loft in one of the side rooms. Danifa now tells Lokan the plan - the band will consume Agapia, which will have the effect of drawing all of wolfkind to them. Lokan interjects that he thought the goal was to change the perception of wolves among the human populace, but Danifa says that the egg is a gamechanger: convincing humans that the wolves have been maligned is no longer necessary. Lokan says that Agapia is special to him, and that in any case, Yuri and the rest will come for her. Danifa is unperturbed, and is ready to let them come: Zhelan's morning star is more than a match for Yuri and all comers. Lokan then suggests that perhaps Agapia can be paraded around various cities in order to sow chaos.
Meanwhile, Agapia, realizing that there is no wolf cub, and no fun, begins trying to free herself. She slowly twists herself out of her sloppily-tied bonds, rolls her die, which comes up red, and presages conflict, and then turns herself invisible, and walks out of the hut. Somehow able to avoid the snares and pits laid out by Danifa's crew, and skips away into the night.
Soon, Danifa senses that her captive is gone, and rouses her crew to chase after her. Lokan, Vagran, and Iar move faster than the others, and soon pick up her trail, which is leading toward the village.

* * *

Zalyn, who had been looking for a pond in which to hide from the navii, hears the sounds of pursuit. She conceals herself behind a tree, and sees a disheveled young girl fleeing from three wolfmen toward the village. Stepping out, she introduces herself, and quickly learns that Agapia is also a member of the group she just joined. At this, Terentii scampers down off her, assumes his human form, quickly explains why he abandoned Agapia when the wolfmen took her, and then, saying he senses them approaching, turns back into a rat, and climbs onto Agapia. Zalyn watches as the wolfmen fling sling stones at their quarry, and chase her, with cudgels, into the village, while from the other side, a throng of navii approaches. Agapia, barely able to escape the cudgels and the wolves' snapping teeth, flees into the church, bars the door, and tries to grab onto the chandelier. Vagran attempts to force the door open, while Iar covers the back entrance, but Lokan tells them that they are doing it wrong, and says that he will retrieve Agapia from the church himself. Lokan manages to force open the door (after clocking Vagran from behind for insubordination), and begins trying to convince Agapia to accompany the wolves back to the hideout, in order to escape the approach of the navii. In the meantime, Zorina, who has heard the commotion from far away, also approaches the church.
The three wolves lead Agapia and Zorina away from Sitnitsa, and back toward Danifa's hideout. After arriving, he asks his mother why she does not attempt to simply devour Agapia now, but the Den Mother tells him that the group has agreed to a pact that they shall all eat her, and therefore, she will wait for Zhelan, Tserg, and Zabav to return before she initiates the ritual of consuming the consumer of the egg.

Character(s) interacted with

• Danifa and her band 

• Stinker aka Terentii 

Report Date

16 Aug 2019

Secondary Location

Sitnitsa