The Baronness has much to answer for (Act III)

Rest for the rest of the evening was difficult, the constant stirring of your mind preventing your body from sleep. So many unanswered questions. How could anyone be a werewolf for over a decade like he did? They're supposed to be slaves to their monstrous hunger and lust for combat. That he knew who you were and was able to converse intelligently shows there to be a large problem with the narrative. Worse than that, is how could your Fearghus Doolyn know about this from the start, and not tell anyone? That he was able to take in someone who suffered from the werewolves curse was a testemant to his charity and faith in the goodness of all, but he was still putting everyone else in the Cathedral at risk, including you. You've been given a glimpse into what may be going on with Doolyn and why he was taken, including the sense that he wasn't really kidnapped, but there is so much left to answer. The larger issue is what to do now? You could continue to follow this path. The more you think, you realize that even if you find him, you would receive answers, but not satisfaction. Especially with your Colonel Dilancia and your now fealty to The Watch, there is no going back to normal.

In the morning, you and her work together in a small room to prepare the body of Tsiber for a burial.

"We should prepare him as a member of the Phoenician Church" You say, to which Dilancia agrees "This makes sense, I will follow your guidance." As you began to clean the body of the wolf-man, she offers a disconcerting thought.

"You know, it is entirely possible that your old friend wasn't really a believer in Phoenica, but relied on it to justify his ties to Fearghus."

"I've thought about that" You say quietly, tense in the moment

"Than you must have recognized that Doolyn was possibly also a pretender"

"I can't believe that. I've known him my entire life, you've known him even longer. I refuse to believe that he would keep such a lie going for so long, when he's been responsible for so many following in his path."

"He wouldn't be the first person to seek religion and leadership in order to gain power and reputation. He lived a more luxurious life than would have been possible as a veteran of a forgotten war."

"Do you not trust your own senses? Your own memory?" You respond back sharply "You didn't seem to have a problem with it for the years prior to this point."

"How little you know" Dilancia responded, dropping the cloth and resting her hands on her side "I was suspicious of his turn to religion from the moment he returned from the war, with a bad leg and professing a new outlook on life. He was never that kind of man before. People don't just change"

"Or maybe" You respond, raising your voice, leaning over the table towards her "You didn't know him as well as you thought you did. Is it really suspicion his religious beliefs, or are you so just angry that he didn't join The Watch with you?"

She sighs as she looks down for a moment, collecting herself "Perhaps." She leans up and looks at you, trying to defuse the situation "Doolyn was a competent fighter and a capable leader, before the war and before his injury. We would have been stronger together."

"Did you ever?"

"Like him? No." She responded neutrally "I do not have a memory of ever liking men. There is no longing memory of what might have been between us. In all context, I should be thankful. Either way, had he joined The Watch, I would not be here with you now, so I regret nothing of what has transpired"

"Thank you, Dilancia."

"This all said, Demetria, I feel I must ask the question of what do we do now? I am here because of you, and will submit myself to whatever choices you make. That said, I feel I must point out that circumstances have changed greatly since we ventured out. Our mission is to defeat evil where it stands, and we found it, barely escaping with our lives."

"I know, and I've been thinking about that alot. We still don't know why Fearghus left, but it does sound more and more like he's exactly where he's needs to be, and isn't in any danger."

"Agreed" The Colonel said with a nod "We cannot say the same for the people in this town, or anyone within the vicinity of that Vampire sitting on the throne."

"Agreed" You respond in kind "She sought us out because of a relationship to these werewolves that we weren't yet aware of. That we still don't fully understand."

"So, are you saying that we pull on that thread more, figure out what Tsiber was talking about? It sounds like prophecy, or madness."

You shake your head "I'm saying we need to take the fight back to her. Tsiber knows who I am, and according to the Barroness, we've been surrounded by werewolves for days. If that's true, there may be others who know who I am, who we are. If we can marshall them together, we might be able to make a stand against her."

"That's very risky Demetria" She replies "Your friend Tsiber here is the rare exception, I think. Even if we can find and talk to others, how do you plan on convincing them to join and fight?"

"I don't know yet, but we have to try."

"And what should happen if we fail to recruit them?"

"Than so be it. We attack the castle and the Baroness, we have the fight on our terms, not hers, and destroy her. Any and every life we take there is a reduction in the evil within the world, so there's no way that we can lose."

Dilancia smiles "You're finally starting to sound like a Paladin."