1797/Shift

Shift
Date of Scene:	13 March 2015
Location:	Winter
Synopsis:	Wolves are attacking a Russian village in the middle of nowhere. A mystical call for aid has gone out, and those receptive to the call have answered.
Cast of Characters:	307, 513, 722, 725, 726

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Walter Bernhard (726) has posed:
    Snowfall. White landscape. Dark pines.

    Dwellings. Wood and stone. High walls.

    Howling. Creeping shadows. Hungry beasts.

    Blood. Open gates. Waiting victims.

    The wolves are at the doors.

    The wolves are at the doors.

    --------------------------

    A village in a rustic, non-modern era of Russia - or a country like it - is having problems with wolves. A mystic message has been sent out, nature itself conveying the call for aid, to those who are receptive. The village is small, a dozen or so homes of stone and wood, with deep cellars for food storage, and chimneys designed to allow smoke to flow without heavy snow blocking the openings. The people live a simple life.

    But in winter, people do not travel if they can help it. It's too dangerous. Too cold. Frosbite can set in within minutes. It requires a lot of energy to make one's way through the deep snow. And then there's the threat of wolves, who might attack a helpless, stranded traveler. The wolves who attack now, however, are different. Unnatural.

    It's unclear how they even get into the village, but they come at night and depart before morning. Those who have tried to venture out for help haven't made it far, being taken out shortly after reaching the nearby forest. These beasts are bashing down the sturdy doors, clawing away thick wood, and murdering the village one house at a time. Everyone has heard the screams, and they have been unable to do anything except cower, and wait for their turn.

    Those who respond to the call find the village in the middle of a vast field of white, untouched for the most part, with an expansive, dark forest all around. The road here went through the forest, but there are other ways of reaching the village, and at least for now no further attacks upon travelers have taken place.

    The walls around the village are tall, mostly of stone, held together with some sort of bonding agent, but currently not doing their job very well, on account of the heavy iron-and-wood front gates are lying open.

    The air is crisp and cold, the sky clear, but light is already nearly faded to night thanks to the season and this part of the world.

Alvira (722) has posed:
    Given the nature of the problem, Alvira had hoped to arrive at the village far earlier than she is now. However, a busy schedule would hardly allow for such an arrangement, much to her dismay.

    A small, sleek aircraft roughly the size of a TIE fighter with a more jet-like shape to it flies overhead, leaving a trail of blue in its wake. The craft turns at just over the horizon, banking, then slowing to a spiral over the village, speed dropping as it descends. The landing it makes is a graceful settling upon the ground, revealing its VTOL design, the snow crunching beneath its wake. From a side door on the craft, Alvira emerges, cloaked and clothed in garb fitting for dealing with much colder climates. Behind her, the door slides closed and locks.

    With little preamble and no indication that she's waiting for someone to join her, the woman strides into the open gates, a gloved hand reaching behind her rest on the hilt of her weapon. Silently, she examines the tracks within the village, seeking out the ones clearly meant to belong to beasts.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Cold isn't really all that bad when you're a wolf and have lots of warm, thick fur...wait, wolf? Yep, there's a rather large wolf wandering about the snowy field and heading towards the village. Probably not the best form to be in for doing this, but its his preferred one and besides, it may even trick whatever other kind of wolves there are here into thinking that he is one of them. Besides, not all wolves are bloodthirsty monsters.

He wanders about, sniffing at the snow for any signs of whatever may be the problem around here, best to get to know what things might smell like at least and then tilts his head to listen.

Once he's done with exploring a little bit, the large wolf wanders towards the village and through the gate and glances around then sits down, waiting to see who else might come along, his tail swishing along the snowy ground, wondering what would happen if he went up to someone and said Boo,, no, probably not a good idea to do here right now.

Ysuran (725) has posed:
    Wolves are not that vicious. Not naturally, anyway. They can always be whipped into a frenzy and attack villagers. But they seem to be TARGETING villagers, even through houses. And to Ysuran that's just not natural. Almost anytime he personally had been attacked by wolves in Faer�n had been when they were hungry, thought he was attacking their young, were being ridden by kobolds, or weren't natural wolves.

    ...Bloody winter wolves.

    Ysuran thus comes to aid the village as best he can. He expects these wolves to be either not natural wolves ('natural' as he knows them, mind) or to be being directed by something. The tearing down of the village's doors and gates seems to indicate something unnatural at work. His magical senses are active here, as as he rides closer to the village on horseback, he scans his surroundings, hoping to see if there was anything amiss here magically that could shed light on the situation.

    Thankfully Ysuran has the cold temperatures to use as an excuse to hide his pointed ears with a thick hood. He's bundled up warmly to protect against the cold, with thick clothes and a hooded cloak with warm fur on the inside to hold in the heat. All these articles of thick clothing are mostly in black and dark blue. Though the only thing that might seem out of place at first glance is the very large, black tome he carries cradled in one arm.

Finna (513) has posed:
    Most of the Multiverse is not to Finna's tastes. Except all of the food in various cities. That she likes. But the all the smelly smoke and concrete jungles are no place for a creature of the wilderness.

    Above all, the Chosen of Luna are guardians... Of man and nature alike.

    Nature is very good at calling for Lunar help!

    Whether the origin intended to attract a Lunar or not... they managed to do so.

    The little creature's steps are unusually light and quick, not even enough to break the surface of the snow. Still, the white-furred vulpine's nose is to the ground as it dashes around, sniffing up evidence about just what in the world's happening here...

    This eventually leads her back to the gates. And then to Alvira, who smells PRETTY STRANGE given hwo she just arrived.

    The fox barks once at her way. It's a shrill noise not at all like what one'd hear from a dog, but it's merely a warning. 'I'm watching you,' the little creature seems to be saying, as it takes a HUGE LEAP up atop one of the walls to trot around them and look out into the wilderness.

    Once that's done... Finna finally notices Allyn seated down by the gates.

    And decides to LEAP from the gates down onto his head. Strangely the landing's no heaveir than if a bird simply decided to swoop in and perch, never mind how high she fell.

Walter Bernhard (726) has posed:
    Flying craft are really not common here, but no one is really in a position to complain, or marvel, or anything else. Once it has landed, and Alvira has disembarked, it is left where it is. No sudden attacks or anything. Upon entering the village, Alvira discovers at least five house holds with their doors hanging open or broken down, and redness in the snow in various amounts. The older blood spills are more like an off-shade mud, while the kills from the night prior have still stained the snow mostly-crimson. The tracks that can be identified are odd. They'll be clustered around certain areas, and then be completely absent in the stretches of snow and mud and displaced gravel surrounding those areas. It's almost like the wolves are just appearing out of thin air and then vanishing when their grisly work is done.

    The scent of death hangs heavy in the air for both Allyn's and Finna's investigations. True, wolf is really not a good form to be in, especially since others in the area may be on the look-out for wolves that people need to be rescued from. But the smell in the air is like old carrion. Sure, there's the recent kills, and some of those are likely rotting, but the smell that is most pervasive is that of old meat - old death - and that death lurks in the woods surrounding the village, as well as being present in the village itself.

    Ysuran's approach goes uninterrupted, though his horse may be skittish about approaching the village itself - far less than passing through the forest, if Ysuran went that way - but still indicatory that there's something amiss that is either being heard or smelled or otherwise sensed by animal instincts. Perhaps it is the smell of wolf And to magical senses, the there seems to be a constant 'pressure' emanating from it, though it is the same sensation that called these people here to begin with. It's not a hostile sensation at all, more like an urgent 'calling' or 'pleading'.

    Somewhere within the village, whoever called for aid is still calling. It's not completely dead after all.

    Finna's investigations turn up something further. Not only are humans still alive in the village, though stinking with the scent of fear, but there is something beneath the snow. Possibly underground, or just under the surface. The sound of it is possibly unnerving. It sounds like liquid moving this way and that, but not in any fixed 'flow'. It's not like an underground stream. More like some squelching, sloshing something going from one location to another, and then back, and then somewhere else. It's distant, but still centered underneath the village.

Alvira (722) has posed:
    Alas. Alvira would have enjoyed it if there were at least /some/ people out to see her craft, regardless of the lower preceived technology level of this area. Advertisement is advertisement even if that isn't her true purpose for being here. As she starts to examine the tracks and the previous scenes of kills, she gradually gains the sense of being watched by someone. At first it is not really heeded, assuming that the still-alive villagers cowering in their homes may have found a way to watch her.

    But then the white fox yips at her and the woman stiffens, watching the creature. It was far too small to be what was causing the deaths here-but beyond that, she sees the much larger wolf now lingering by the gates moments before Finna hops onto it.

    ".../heel/." Alvira states clearly, reaching back into her cloak and withdrawing her sword...for what value of sword it can really be call. The Spine is a heavily serrated weapon that does indeed look like the bones of a human spine, ending with a pelvic bone as the hilt. "You're a big wolf but you don't seem big or aggressive enough to be causing this."

    Though she takes note of the unusual quality of the tracks, mysterious disappearances of them and all, she also knows that there are multiple ones. If Allyn the wolf was part of those then there would be more large wolves to follow. Rather than focusing on the lone one, whom she assumes is a decoy, Alvira watches her flanks for further signs of an assumed pack.

Ysuran (725) has posed:
    Ysuran closes his eyes as he approaches, opening his mind to that magic more, so he can sense it better. The skittishness of the horse thus startles him and he pulls the horse to a stop nearby the village. No need for it to go further now. He'll make the rest of the trip on foot. It's not too far.

    As he enters, he notices... a wolf. With a white fox on its head? And an elegant-looking human female with dark brown hair. IT's an odd collection of creatures and people, that's for certain. However, he also notices that the wolf and fox aren't attacking-- neither each other, nor the human female, nor the townspeople. Very odd.

    Perhaps it will later be forgiven that Ysuran doesn't realize at first that Finna the arctic fox Lunar and Allyn the shapeshifting man-turned-wolf can speak. He is unaware of their true natures here. And so he turns his attention to Alvira. "...Pardon me," he offers politely, bowing as he presents himself. "I am here to assist with the wolf problem." A pointed look to Allyn-- again, Ysuran is unaware of his true nature, or Finna's.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn blinks as he feels something land on his head, it's not heavy, but stillehe feels it. Ah, he knows that scent though and that yip. His tail thumps on the ground once he can tell that it is Finna, he hadn't seen her in quite a while and is glad to see her now. He doesn't like the smell coming from the village or the forest and is sure that she doesn't either.

He blinks and then peers at the woman that tells him to heel and his ears perk, "Heel? I'm not a dog, I'm a wolf and wolves don't heel on command you know?" His eyes glint with a brief moment of amusement, "No, I'm not one of the wolves that has caused this, don't worry, I'm a good wolf." well, ok maybe not completely good, but he's a force of nature, is anything like that really good, or evil? Well, it can be both sometimes

He nods to Ysuran, trying not to dislodge the fox on his head, "I think we're all here to deal with a wolf problem, or whatever it is. I don't smell anything good, whatever it is, it smells spoiled." his ears flick a little since he can't see Finna, "You smell that?" he asks her.

Finna (513) has posed:
    "How could I NOT smell it?" After affectionally bopping Allyn on the sout with one paw, Finna vaults forward, executes a few stunning midair flips--

    And lands in human form, having shifted remarkably quickly. SOMEHOW she's still managing to not break through the snow's crust, no matter how implausible that is. Steps all light as a feather and nimbler than her totem animal should ever be.

    The young woman, dressed in huntress leathers of a style telling of the northern regions, grins at Ysuran and Alvira.

    "... rot. Foul, deep rot. And something... something STRANGE is moving around underground. If you two are here to help... step one's finding whoever called. The village shaman, most likely!"

    ...Shaman?

    Just who could rattle that off as if it was second nature, anyways?

    "Whatever's down there is moving around. A creature. River wouldn't be moving around all herky jerky, so I'm thinking something slimy or maybe a water elemental... won't know 'til we see though."

Walter Bernhard (726) has posed:
    That sensation of calling suddenly wanes and fades, even as the source of it comes out into the open. It is indeed a shaman or someone like it. Seemingly an old man with a long board, in Russian civilian garb of an era several centuries ago. Along with him his a young, pretty woman who may be his daughter or grand daughter. She is dressed similarly, and seems to also have some degree of mystical presence, though less developed. The old man begins speaking, saying, "Welcome to our village. We thank you for coming. We can offer little reward for your generous aid, but what food and wealth we have is yours. We ask only that you leave us enough to get through the rest of the winter season."

    The woman seems displeased by having to pay people to save them from monsters, but doesn't protest. Instead she says, "We have been under assault by vicious wolf-like creatures for the past several days. I would welcome you inside, but the hour already approaches when the beasts will attack, and once our door closes, we will not open it again until the threat has passed." There are manners, and then there are MANNERS. They are willing to offer cordiality, compensation, and so on, but they are not willing to possibly die just for politness's sake. That is pretty reasonable.

    The pair don't seem particularly weirded out by talking wolves or foxes turning into people or hooded figures or people who come in on VTOL jets. They have probably exhausted their ability to become emotionally invested in such comparatively trivial things after being exposed to the horror of their friends, family, and neighbors being gradually murdered night after night.

    "We know not from where they came or why, but they have persisted in breaking into our homes, one at a time." the older shaman says. "And I believe that they may be remaining underground somehow during the day. They only come out at night."

Alvira (722) has posed:
    There is a brief flash of relief in Alvira's eyes as she sees Ysuran's approach. Clearly he was not a villager, being bold enough to be outside of the barricaded houses. Her tenseness lessens just slightly though she does remain alert in case of an ambush. Still, politeness receives more in kind from the woman and she inclines her head, lifting her free hand to her chest. "That is good, then. I too am here to investigate the wolves."

    Much to Alvira's surprise, the wolf talks. "There was a time..." Alvira says with a hint of wistfulness, "...when the wolves would obey a command from me." Then, to her surprise, the fox is also talking. "...but those were ordinary wolves and such, not shapeshifters like yourselves." Smoothly, Alvira brushes back her cloak and slides the Spine into the sheath held at the small of her back.

    No sooner than Finna speaks of meeting the Shaman does the 'Shaman' reveal himself. His offer receives a dismissive wave, "I have no use for your wealth or food, unless it is land you offer. Keep your meager possessions. Tell us, are they striking the houses in a pattern? Is there a particular house you suspect will be next? Being underground would explain the unusual tracks."

Ysuran (725) has posed:
    And then suddenly the wolf SPEAKS?! Ysuran is visibly taken aback, and takes a step back from Allyn. He seems to compose himself a moment later, though, and offers, "M-my apologies, I had no idea ... " He trails off, because it seems rather obvious now that he'd had no idea Allyn could speak. Allyn speaks of a scent, and Ysuran tilts his head up. He obviously doesn't smell it, though... his sense of scent isn't THAT good!

    Suddenly Finna is no longer a fox but a young woman! Again Ysuran seems visibly surprised by this. But again he composes himself, and hears her words. He doesn't seem too surprised when Finna mentions a shaman-- perhaps he's used to the concept himself. Finna's words he confirms with a nod.

    Oh yes. For those with a keen nose, Ysuran smells a lot like death too. The scent of corpse-dust, bone fragments, and coffin-wood. And of dusty tomes and strange chemicals.

    He nods as well to Alvira's words. "There was indeed a call..." He is pre-empted, however when there is suddenly an old man and a young woman there! Ysuran turns to them, bowing politely. He immediately assures the villagers kindly, "I did not come here for recompense, only to render aid where it is needed." He nods once, offering to the group at large, "I am Ysuran."

Allyn (307) has posed:
The large dire wolf sighs and then stands as Finna leaps off him and he stands and trots over to her and gives her hand a nuzzle and a lick, "Well, I suppose just so I don't get confused with these other wolves, I should do the same, hmmm?," he hates his human form, but well, it wouldn't be good to get attacked in the heat of battle. He shifts to his human form then and grins to Finna and bows to the others, "Well, I'm not your opdinary wolf, no matter how much I say otherwise and just ask Finna here, I usually don't follow commands." he winks at Alvira.

He nods to Ysuran and then watches the shamen for a few moments and nods, "We'll take care of it I am sure, if it's not something natural it needs to be stopped."

Finna (513) has posed:
    Oh hey, Shaman! Finna whips around with a hand planted on her hip. The other is scratching Allyn behind the ears affectionately! "Keep the food, you two. The wilds provide everything I need save for friends."

    From mischief to business in a hurry. The mark of the moon appears on her forehead - a glittering silver crescent emblem that shimmers in the fading light. At the same time... even the two shaman will be able to see her foxy features, the ears and tail that stand out even in human form. They too glitter and shimmer seemingly of their own moonlight.

    "You called for aid and this Child of Luna heard it. And she's also hearing the rustling SOMETHINGS under the village... how exactly would they be coming OUT? Are there caves around here? Tunnels? Perhaps they aren't even proper beasts, but some kind of spirit..."

Walter Bernhard (726) has posed:
    Both of the spiritualists nod in thanks to the generous heroes who would help them without reward. When it comes time to answer how the wolves come out from underground, however, there is little they can offer. "We haven't been able to observe them, and there's no caverns or tunnels that we know of. Our houses have deep cellars, but they shouldn't be deep enough to allow this," the woman says.

    The elder offers, "The land recoils at their presence, and I can feel that, but I don't have the expertise to do more. The old ways are barely even known to us in this era, and all I can do is work with nature and ask it to work with me." Just in the time between when the four arrived and now, light has already faded to the point that it could be considered night. Dark falls fast here, apparently. The younger spiritualist starts pulling the elder towards their home. The elder resists for now, saying, "I haven't noticed any pattern, but I imagine that they intend to get to all of our homes eventually. It may be as simple as which one seems to have the most 'prey' out of the homes remaining."

    "Come, grandfather. We have to go inside," the young woman insists urgently.

    Grandpa Shaman sighs and says, "I regret having to leave you to face this threat alone, but we would only be in the way. Please forgive us." Then the two retreat into their house and lock up the door tight behind them. Not that locked doors seem to be much of an obstacle.

    In short order, a matter of minutes, during which the quartet can converse, investigate the area and the ravaged homes that lie open to the cold night air, or simply wait, the wolves make their presence known.

    And they are like no wolves that have been seen before. From the snow, some sort of black ooze with a smell like rotten blood seeps up to the surface, flowing across the ground swiftly like a number of living puddles - or like liquid shadows. From these shadows, wolf-like creatures, more carcass than beast, with much of their flesh missing, rise up and begin to growl as they surround the outsiders.

    That explains that.

Finna (513) has posed:
    "....Shadows. Rotten shadows. Are these demons?!" Well, whatever they are... FRIENDLY, they are not. She wastes no time taking a fighting stance. "Beasts like these give the night a bad name... well little beasties, let me educate you a little about the Moon's Champions."

    And with that her flesh ripples, bulging and rippling as though something were trying to escape it. But nothing bursts out except for fur and muscle! With a wet, splorching noise her bones and flesh all reshape into a slightly bigger form - sleek, but bred for war, the cross between a fox and human, clad in nothing but thick white fur. She swipes at the air once with claws that not only gleam silver light... but leave glowing trails of it in the air.

    "Luna's Children are the monsters who protect life from the LESSER monsters."

    Again the moon mark shines on her forehead and then Finna is OFF, scampering across the ground with tremendous speed. And the faster she goes, the more she casts off wavering moonlight and shadow of her own!

    Upon reaching one of those shadow wolves, things are gonna get messy, QUICKLY!

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn chuckles as he watches Finna change and run off after the shadow wolf things. "Hey, try to leave some for the rest of us too." he tells her once she's run off and shrugs some.
He then takes off too, sliding his long knife out of its sheath and heads after one of those shadow wolf things. He's not changed into anything else yet, but ah well, Finna is a good slice and dicer anyway when she wants to be. Though he does watch the shadow wolves a moment to see if they are going after a house or something and which one and moves to go to protect it.

Ysuran (725) has posed:
    And another shape-shifter! Ysuran blinks as Allyn transforms into a man-shape. Curious. Could he be a werewolf? But he has a point-- now it's less likely that he'll be confused for one of the other wolves. And Finna suddenly sprouts fox features! Ysuran's eyes widen at this, and he's glad for the hood that conceals his face now. But for the time being he remains silent.

    It's not until the shaman and his granddaughter(?) begin to retrat from the quickly falling darkness that Ysuran speaks up again. "Take care, good Shaman," he says, to both of them. And then he assures them, "We will do what we can to rid your village of this menace."

    Once that black 'ooze' starts to appear and Ysuran frowns sharply. Wait. That does not feel like normal magic. But it does feel familiar. And just before the wolves form into their rotting corpse-shapes, Ysuran can sense it. Undead. They are undead.

    However, Finna's transformation surprises him yet again, and he backpedals from her, fearing that she might have somehow been infected by the magic that spawned these beasts. Though when he realizes she's going after THEM and not HIM, he relaxes and concentrates on the shadowy, evil forms.

    He opens the book under his arm, and flips quickly through the pages. If they are undead, perhaps he can turn at least one of them to his and his allies' side. Temporarily, at least. He begins to chant the words to the spell, the words a dark, horrible hiss, as he tries to reach out to the nearest undead wolf to try to turn it on its brothers.

Alvira (722) has posed:
    "Your consideration is appreciated." Alvira offers in a dry tone to Allyn as he elects to take a human form. She eyes him critically, then adds with a small smirk, "Oh, I bet you'll follow someone's commands." With a shrug, she turns away just slightly, "I am Alvira, by the way, forgive me for not offering that sooner."

    Turning back to the village shaman she adds: "I've observed the attack sites. They are coming through the front doors and not through the cellars so it appears they prefer being above ground to attack." The idea is presented that the houses with the most 'prey' in them are more likely to be attacked. Then again... "Simply being outside and available may present us as easy targets. On the virtue that all of you responded to this job, I'm going to assume that we are anything but." Alvira withdraws her weapon once more to ready herself.

    The smell, right away, tells her that something is wrong. Not availed of animal senses, the rot stench is highly unusual and reminiscent of the undead, which she has encountered previously. "Tch." Ice magic ripples through her hand and directly into the Spine, the mythril of the blade taking on a slight blue sheen. With a graceful slash of the Spine, she turns the magic to one of the flanks of surrounding wolves, a splash of ice magic striking the ground and spreading upwards into a wall of outward-facing giant ice spikes directed into the wolves.

    She seems pretty startled at Finna's newest transformation which is a good deal more dramatic than the fox form. Yet she remains without panic, calmly directing her magic into the shadow wolves.

Walter Bernhard (726) has posed:
    Compared to normal people, all four of these rescuers are far more powerful. But even when they take hits, it seems that these wolves are fairly sturdier. They may get sent flying, they may suffer serious injuries, but they don't die too easily. At least a couple do, but they clearly have a level of supernatural resilience from their undead, shadow-flesh state, that normal wolves wouldn't have.

    Some of the Shadow Wolves even dissolve back into their puddle form to evade attacks and flow across the ground, the low-light environment making them difficult to track in the chaos of battle. One of them is in the middle of blazing with sinister blood-red flames in preparation for a powerful attack, right as Ysuran seizes control of it. It winds up slamming into one of the other wolves instead of Allyn, its original target. The Shadow Wolf lets out a yelp from the impact, goes tumbling across the snow and then dissipates into motes of shadow that flow upwards into the air and vanish.

    It shakes off the control after a few moments, but its magical unlife has been tampered with and whatever power Ysuran used, it causes its corrupt energies to erupt in an explosion that damages and hurls away a couple other Shadow Wolves in the process of its own destruction.

    The monsters don't seem to be going after houses. They are distinctly focusing on these people who are outdoors. After all, why bother breaking down a door if there's prey already free for killing? They don't seem to demonstrate fear, and the only kind of self-preserving actions they take, such as running quickly to circle around Alvira after her wall of ice impales and sends a number of the pack flying, is done in the pursuit of their intent to kill. There is no long-term plan to survive.

    They're BATTLING, not just 'hunting'.

    Another of the wolves glows with those flames again and lunges into a magic-powered tackle aimed at Finna's back, while a few of the others charge at Alvira and Ysuran, trying to bite or slam into them. Allyn, thus far spared any hostility after stabbing one of the wolves in the skull, is nonetheless in a precarious situation, where the remaining wolves circle, running or pacing, looking for an opening. There doesn't seem to be an endless number of them or anything, but they're still a troublesome and clever opponent.

Alvira (722) has posed:
    Immediately, Alvira notices that these creatures have the ability to set themselves on fire...which could be problematic for her but the others don't need to know about that. It made it all the more important to keep them at distance for now-something that Alvira is pretty well equipped to do here, the cold weather and surrounding snow giving her an advantage.

    As the wolf comes at her, Alvira slams the point of the Spine into the ground before her, ice magic swirling all around her in a mass of blue light and snow. The magic quickly takes form in a snarling, beastial head that counter-lunges right into the leaping wolf with shredding force. "Icewolf bite!"

    Just as that one is addressed, Alvira spins to handle a second one that leaps on her. She twists the Spine horizontally, catching the shadow wolf's gaping jaws on the blade. She allows herself to fall backwards, rolling onto her back and striking a foot upwards at the underbelly of the monster.

    Using the creature's momentum against it, she launches it in the air behind her, then backwards rolls over a shoulder into a crouch.

Ysuran (725) has posed:
    Ysuran's smirk can be seen under his hood as he views the shadow-wolves that do die from their first push. It's not a smirk that would probably be on the face of a truly good creature. But at least he's not attacking them, so it's probably okay.

    As the wolves dart in to attack, Ysuran tries to dodge, but isn't quite able to dodge everything. But even as one bites into his leg, he snarls and swings at it with his staff. The strike is quite a bit stronger than might be expected for a mage.

    But he IS a mage. And so as he gets the wolf off of him, he chants again, this time a shorter spell. A small purple shield-shape begins to orbit him and any who happen to be close enough, trailing a black smoke. It doesn't interfere with targetting, however. But any who happen to have acquired it may find themselves taking less damage. This may be especially useful to Alvira, if these wolves are indeed using fire magic, or something like it.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn eyes the wolves that are surrounding him and circling him, "Well now, looks like I am in trouble doesn't it?" he chuckles and then shakes his head and puts his long-knife back in its sheath. "Well, lets see if you corrupt things can bite through this. Now don't blame me if I don't go easy on you, just because you're wolves, alright?"

He raises an eyebrow at the shadow wolves and then shifts forms again, becoming a large Megalocrab, one of the shapes he learned to take on from his time in Ezorea.

The large crab doesn't wait for the shadow wolves to come for him, he scuttles right towards the group of them, snapping his claws at any that get too close to him and then blasting them with a stream of corrosive bubbles. "Try to get through my shell!"

Finna (513) has posed:
    Finna has become the hunter of hunters! With several of the wolves going down, shredded to pieces by the Claws of the Silver Moon, she goes snarling and snowballing across the ground before she somehow manages to slam all four hands to the ground and spring back up to a standing position.... just in time for the shadowy smoke to wreathe around her. She glances left and right worriedly at it, but upon seeing the source gives it the benefit of the doubt.

    It's just in time too because Finna's rather quickly the subject to a strange pounce from behind. Her ears are the first sign that she knows it's coming however!

    And strangely... she DOESN'T dodge. Instead she simply stands in the way?!

    The Shadow Wolf plows into her. Plows THROUGH HER?!

    Yes, that's right. Anyone watching her will see the weirdest thing happen. Her flesh ripples like the water on a lake's surface, or perhaps moonlight flickering across the ripples on a mostly still lake... splashing and folding out of the way in a simultaneously mesmerizing and maddening display. She doesn't come out away unscathed - a few globs of flesh and splashes of blood follow the Shadow Wolf. But...

    In the next instant the rest of Finna follows. She's quick to pounce the thing as her body reforms and DIVES down for its neck from above with both claws in a pincer slash!

Walter Bernhard (726) has posed:
    The flames seem to be some kind of dark magical energy rather than true fire, and it seems to mainly provide temporary speed and damage enhancement for that lunging attack of theirs. The energy dissipates after their attacks are completed. Nonetheless, Alvira's ice magic and sword play are effective in dismantling the monsters. When they 'die', they yelp and vanish into motes of darkness, leaving no physical trace of their presence aside from the print of their bodies and paws upon the snow.

    The staff strike from Ysuran knocks his attacker away, and the shields he produces help mitigate any damage taken. The number of the monsters is greatly reduced. They may not be cannon fodder, but they clearly aren't Elites. This is made especially clear when Allyn's crab form is used, practically snapping the Shadow Wolves in half, and melting their faces with bubbles. They don't actually fall apart into pieces, and their flesh seems to be more shadow than skin, but either way they are suffering enough damage to make them vanish.

    The claws and fangs of Finna crunch and tear into the foul, rotten, shadow-flesh of her target, and it gives a strangled yelp before vanishing like the others.

    That seems to be all of them, as none were willing to retreat. They fought to the last, doggedly trying to eliminate the enemy no matter what. And now they are the ones who were defeated. The village is safe!

Alvira (722) has posed:
    Quick to her feet, Alvira searches all around, ready to take on any that remain, now newly buffed by the spell of the elf. However, it seems that the four of them have eliminated all the monsters. "Well! That was efficient. Well done." The last bit seems to have been directed at the rest of the group with slight grudging respect.

    The woman eyes the large crab form of Alynn, sheathing her weapon as she does so. She seems to be restraining herself at that very moment from approaching the shapeshifter further. What if it too can simply flow its body around like Finna? She's not sure she'd enjoy that happening to her, especially if it results in gibs getting on her.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn glances around checking to see if there are anymore enemies around. The crab's eyes going from one person to the next, before he shifts back to his wolf form, more comfortable in that one at least. "I think they are gone for now at least.?" he eyes A;vira for a moment and gives her a wag of his tail.

He's not like Finna at all, well, other than being able to shapeshift too, but other than that he's just normal. "Hopefully they wont come back."

Finna (513) has posed:
    With the wolf going down.... Finna sags. No more enemies! Phew. She ends up shrinking back down to normal human form, although the glowing claws remain - as does the brightly glowing aura. Her fox features are also quite visible to pretty much everyone! But she skip-dashes over to the otehrs... and regards Allyn with a quirky sideways gaze, lips pressed together thinly.... until he changes back.

    "That form is not at ALL appealing. Fur beats a carapace any day of the week! ... Phew. Did we get 'em all? I don't hear any more..."

Ysuran (725) has posed:
    Hopefully the village is safe.

    Creatures like that don't just pop up out of nowhere. However, he doesn't speak up yet. Once it seems the coast is clear, he looks to Alvira with her words of respect. "Thank you. Yourself as well," he offers kindly. He takes a step, and is reminded that a wolf did take a bite from him-- he hisses, and wobbles, putting his staff down onto the ground to support himself before he falls.

    He looks to his injured leg. Good thing he has a horse. Unless the thing ran off or something. Or maybe got killed. Then again if it died, he can just raise it from the dead again to serve its purpose ...

    Allyn's words, as well as Finna's get a nod, but Ysuran cautions, "It is unlikely that such beasts would come about naturally. Perhaps it was merely an accident. But I suspect a more direct influence."

Finna (513) has posed:
    Finna purses her lips. "Yeah, no doubt about that. But why? There's not much here anyone'd want, is there? So either someone just wants the place gone or the locals have something they want... but these things smelled foul. NOt quite undead. I'm thinking.... dark magics, maybe used to power up dead wolves. Or something foul from the Underworld or whatever the locals have for one - since they only come out at night they're probably vulnerable to sunlight."

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn trots over to Finna and leans against her, "Of course fur beats carapace any day, but what'd you want me to do? change into a serpent? I'd have to go into hibernation in this cold if I had gone scaley!" his tail wags and he grabs one of Finna's wrists in his jaws and shakes it playfully. "But I know I look better in fur anyway." he sits back down and nods, "Not sure what was going on, but maybe we should look into it and see what we can find sometime, it's definately not natural."

Alvira (722) has posed:
    "I would have to agree on the dark magics...but you're right." Alvira rubs her chin, "Their behavior was unusual. Directed. Not the typical markings of a..." she pauses, looking down at Allyn, "...wild animal. Something was directing them, maybe to make a point. Maybe this was the hometown of someone famous and this was meant as a message to that person." If so, well, that's one ruined plan.

Ysuran (725) has posed:
    "That I do not know," Ysuran replies to Finna's question. "They could have been made completely accidentally. Or someone could indeed have wished these people dead. Perhaps it was done for a simple test. There are many reasons why. But which it is... that I do not know. There is not enough evidence for one over the other, and we do not know who-- or what-- was responsible."

    He nods to Allyn's statement. "Perhaps we will be able to discover more ..." He pauses at Alvira's words, listens carefully. "I had thought as much as well," he replies. "I have very rarely been attacked by a normal wolf, and only when it felt threatened, or was directed by someone else."

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn ponders for a few moments and seems to shrug, well at least the lowering of his ears suggest that. "I could have tried to talk to them, though I didn't think of that until now. Well, when I first heard of the troubles, I thought I would, but then there was that rotting smell." he shakes his head, "I don't think they would have understood me, or even would have talked to me.. I know I've seen things since I found my way to these worlds, but I still don't understand it all."

The large wolf sighs and then shakes his head at Ysuran, "No, wolves don't usually just attack for no reason, other than maybe hunger sometimes when there is not much prey to be found for a pack." he peers up at Finna at few moments.

Finna (513) has posed:
    "Predators USUALLY only attack if they're hungry or feel threatened. OR feel like they need to defend their territory. Wolves can be very loving and friendly creatures even when they're not actually humans here. These weren't wolves, they just looked like them." She ends up shaking her head, then folding her arms-- or is about to but then Allyn snags one. So she kneels down and wraps her other arm around Allyn for a squeeeeeze-hug!

    "You! Pft..."

Alvira (722) has posed:
    "Then it is agreed by all of us. These attacks were not a natural thing." Not that Alvira was actually aware that there were shadow wolves naturally in this part of the world or not. "It would be worth circling back with the village shaman to see what sorts of people have come from this town. Or perhaps some kind of declaration of the culprit is to happen in a few days. Hard to say but there may not be more avenues to investigate with this."

Ysuran (725) has posed:
    "It is not likely," Ysuran replies, reasoning, "I do not know if it is similar here, but in my world undead are generally raised as mindless, unfeeling drones. Automatons, you could say. And here... these showed no real survival instinct, did they? Only the desire to kill."

    He does pause, however, as Finna bearhugs Allyn, and chuckles quietly. Though he offers no comment. Alvira's words draw a quiet sound of agreement. "A good idea. Shall we?"