While writing my diary I tried to draw a picture of what our names were for Vespa. Mine was by far the easiest but the others were not so simple. Before employing this tactic I showed them to the others, the idea was met with some support but Rhodes suggested (and thus defeating my idea) that we speak them phonically. I humored him during his speech because he had forgotten that neither she nor we had any idea what the other was saying. The dialect and syntax was too different in my opinion to make it a viable option.
During the night I had my heart to heart with Phobos about my feelings and she appeared to understand. But still I felt she was holding back, at that time the guard came back with some rabbits. (why is it always rabbits?) The family, a portly pair of human adults and a pair of kids not even six years of age, joined us. But while Vespa was haughty with the adults, she was playful with the kids. Phobos echoed my thoughts when she whispered “like a cat”. The guard seemed to still be wary of us but put his faith in Vespa’s trusting us but not so much Rhodes.
Soon it was time to turn in and Vespa suggested that the children spend the night with her, the parents turned pale and from what I was told by Torin and by their body language they were horrified at this. After much talk and after Torin interposed himself between her and the family trying to indicate that he would protect them Vespa relented and in a huff went to bed alone. I tried to be a comfort by drawing myself in a protective stance over her sleeping form but that did little to sooth her mood. The guard approached Torin and thanked him for his intervention and then he told him to “beware the moon”.
Berrien told us of certain creatures that were affected by the cycles of the moon and some people even worshiped it so we should be on our guard. This apparently entailed everyone being with in striking distance of Vespa’s cart/bed. I however slept in the tent with Phobos angry at the others for being THAT untrusting and I said “If they kill her they die”. As I drifted off I heard Phobos whisper “Does that include me?”
I was awoken by Palos yelling “Get up the monster has awoken!” At which I thought “it has now!”
Torin tried to get the monsters attention. He pointed at it violently and using both hands pressed together palm to palm he brought them to the side of his face and using all his arcane mastery he indicated that the monster should go back to sleep if it be so kind and awaited the response of the beast, Rhodes however shouted a terrible beast is attacking the princess!” to which Torin responded "It is the princess”. Rhodes then remarked ”SHUT UP I'm getting my story straight” He then attacked and I heard both his hit and the beasts response and the roar of pain and tearing of flesh.
Vespa (the beast) leaped over my tent, dodging Rhodes swing, and landed along side Torin who seeing that his masterful plan had failed cast Bigbie’s hand but a quick swipe from Vespa made him miss and she moved into the tent to feast of the meal within and as a regal does started with the entrées.
As the boy was devoured Palos appeared in front of the tent in a flash attempting to save the family. His two swords flashing cut into her flank. In response she wheeled around and slashed him with a claw. I leaped to my feat drawing my blades and said” In no uncertain terms are we to slay her”. I could hear Berrien awaken Hescan via a bow poke to the gut and the wine thunk of the arrow striking the beast Vespa.
Rhodes charged but his blow missed he then shouted” Avast ye' bastard I've come to slay you as I've done before!” I retorted” you haven't slain me yet Dwarf”. The beast suddenly became a cloud of claws and despite an arrow appearing in its flank from Berrien who shouted ”Don't kill it it's the princess” to that Rhodes replies ”Thanks I never figured that out”. But the blows took their toll on Torin, Rhodes and Palos all of whom got clawed and pushed back and flattened, save for Rhodes whose closeness to the earth helped him stay upright. Torin tried to use his Bigbie’s hand again but the beast dodged. Palos flipped onto his feat and charged the beast but his swords only found fur, Hescan awoke stood up and in a commanding voice yelled ”fight on” and I could see Palos' wounds heal, I slithered up to her flank saying ”Forgive me my princess”, stabbed her in the flank then Phobos blinded her. I then had to swallow my spit due to the families presence. The guard got his act together and took a swipe at the beast, I gestured him to get the family out.
Rhodes hid (quite well) and struck the beast but got cut from her spiny hide. Palos scored a glancing blow on her as Torin's Bigbie’s hand failed again. The beast tried to leap clear of us and despite taking a huge amount of damage fled. I gave chase and sliced into her flanks and Hescan backed me up delivering the knockout blow. Right then in front of our eyes the beast changed shape and reverted to that of the princess. Even as Phobos said it I used my cloak to cover up the princess. It was at that point that Rhodes complained that it was because of the fact she was the princess we could not kill it.
As Hescan tended to the wounded and buried what remained of the boy we discussed what had happened and it was agreed that she was a lycanthrope but that was not all, the guard told us that not only was she under a curse but her father has been concealing the fact from her (hence the lock up). That led us to the next problem. Tomorrow night there would be one final full moon, so we had to come up with a plan. As we discussed this Berrien consoled the human noble female. Her husband, who was quite distraught, made remarks at Rhodes which needed no translation. Rhodes understood. “Humans have such short lives to have kids”.
There were a few more problems to be rectified, the most pressing of which was that Vespa had no clothes. Despite Phobos' remarks on typical male groups we did eventually get the noble woman to give us some of hers.
Then came the matter of prevention. This did result in two things: One, we “secured” her in what remained of the canvas of her tent. Two, we needed to make a sleeping potion to keep her asleep.
I admitted “I lack the knowledge but if I had the right ingredients I could give it a shot.”
The rangers, while we traveled, tried to find some herbs that we could use but being in a foreign land came back with what the guard indicated was poisonous. He showed them the colored tip to seek out. It was near dark when they returned and as the sky turned black I had made a potion that I believed would work.
I then goatherd up the poisonous plants and pocketed them. Berrien’s keen eyes fell upon me and he warned me on invoking his ire should I use them.
Soon we ate and thanks to the noble woman Vespa ate the potion. Whence she fell into a deep slumber, to our relief. That did not prevent the same if not even more excessive “precautions”.
I again was alone with Phobos and my thoughts when it happened. The others were arrayed in a combat formation ready to strike the moment the beast appeared. (A lot of faith in me eh?)
Palos bow in hand fired two shots, both piercing her furry hide. Berrien’s follow up spiting tree attack bounced off the cart. Hescan moved up and using warlords strike slammed his weapon into Vespa’s ribs, strengthening us all. He then used hammer and anvil on her and Rhodes struck her with a mighty blow. In response Vespa tried to move but Rhodes cut into her, as she passed she retaliated and clawed him. Again she turned into a cloud of claws striking Rhodes, Berrien and Hescan. Rhodes got the worst of it as chunks of flesh and blood were ripped off his torso. The others received nasty cuts and were knocked flat. I remembered its last appearance, so drawing both blades became one with the shadows. I awaited it to try and eat the family, Rhodes, despite his many attempts to hit, missed again and took on his rein of steel stance.
Palos woke Torin using the most ancient of techniques. Then using shadow wasp strike pierced her furry skin and she howled in pain. Both Berrien’s and Torin’s shots/spells missed their mark. Hescan rose to his feat and charged, striking Vespa, Vespa leaped over the others in an attempt to escape, I gave chase striking once from afar.
Now seeing that if she ran I could not return her to her family I charged after her, and with Phobos dark blade glistening in the moonlight, and despite the damage from her fur, cut deep into her legs, and as she screamed in pain a single tear ran unnoticed down my cheek, for it had nearly crippled her.
Rhodes joined me and his crushing blow hurt her even more. Vespa barely dodged Palos jaws of the world as he moved up. Berrien’s electrified arrows whizzed over head and Hescan's blow like wise missed. Even as Torin’s magical missiles exploded into her it was Rhodes stance attack that felled her. Fortunately for her (and even more for him) he did not go for his much wanted kill.
She collapsed once more to revert to her beautiful self.
I find my self now in a foreign land with foreign thoughts and feeling, “Why do I feel this way about this human? Is it because of her monstrous side? But if that is true why do I want to save her from it? Why is the hunger easier to quell when she is with us? Above all else. Why do I want to protect her from others with my life?” I've asked Phobos but she is silent.
