Chapter 140: Chapter 136: A Rogue encounters a hairy situation.

 

 

As her wet hair got into her eyes for the umpteenth time today, she pushed it back and took another look at the gloomy cloud filled sky. The heavy rain that had been pounding down for the last three days had started to lessen, and dusk was now upon them. As the entire party was soaked to the bone, they would have to soon find someplace dry tonight or risk getting sick. Nicole sighed and thought back to how all of this had all happened.

They had left the library tower without any trouble and discovered a village on the river that had a boat for hire. Nicole cursed at herself when she thought back on this for not looking into the captain of the boat a little more. She had found herself lately distracted by Frankie's presence, constantly wanting to be around her. Still that was no excuse and looking back the signs were obvious that the captain was incompetent and worse a drunkard. During the second night on the boat, the fool had taken the wrong route inevitably leading to a rapids which crashed the boat, and it came close for all of them as the boat began to sink, which barely made it ashore.

Leaving the captain to figure out how to fix his damn boat they set off walking towards the coast and purchased a cart from a rather poor village to ride. Which is when the rain started to pour. It slowed their travel to a crawl and leaving them in irritable moods. Nicole had wanted to find a place to wait out the storm but all they could find were small forest cabins that had seen better times and barely provided shelter so they pressed on despite the roads becoming virtually impassable.

Then earlier today there was an earthquake that had triggered a massive mudslide that took out the road and a bridge. In fact the mudslide came incredibly close to swamping them in it's earthy grip. It was only by sheer luck they managed to get out of the way. With that path obstructed for the foreseeable future, they were forced to backtrack several miles to another road to the coast. Unfortunately, while they were moving the back wheel on the cart they were riding suddenly shattered, throwing Nicole from her seat into the thick mud of the road.

The others were alright, but the cart was immobilized. Seeing that fixing the cart would take a while, Nicole allowed Debra and Frankie to take the horses ahead to see if they could find somewhere to rest tonight, hopefully a village or a small homestead. Meanwhile, Nicole helped Denise as best she could. Denise managed with some effort to fix up the broken wheel. Though Denise didn't think the wheel would last very long. They had been attempting to attach the wheel when Denise tossed the wheel aside and cursed.

"What's the matter?" Nicole asked her.

"Take a look at this." Denise said pointing underneath the cart. Getting to her knees, Nicole could see what the dwarf woman had been looking at. The axle had snapped completely in half. "I should've taken a look at it before I even fixed the wheel."

"Is it fixable?"

"Not with what I have available." Denise shook her head. "The core of it's completely rotten. Any support I can manage will just break once a load is put on it."

"Damn." Nicole said. "If we can find a replacement axle can you fix it?"

Denise stroked her chin and said "Not in this weather, as it is I don't want to risk getting under the cart and have it crash on me. Honestly in my opinion we should just take the horses to a new village and buy a new cart. Cause I don't trust the front axle either."

Nicole sighed agreeing with Denise. She knew the cart was quite old when she bought it, but it had been the only available one in the village they had passed through. Just as she was thinking of what they could do, she spotted Debra making her way towards them. Debra had to be careful not to trip in the mud. Which was hard for the dwarf girl as in some spots the mud nearly came up to her groin. "Were you able to discover a place where we can rest for the night?"

"Yeah up ahead is an abandoned farm. The house is completely a waste, but there is a barn that is still in good shape. Frankie stayed behind to get the horses settled and dried off. How does the cart look?" Debra said.

Shaking her head Nicole said "Not great. We will take another look at it tomorrow. Lead the way to the barn. I want to get dry, I swear the rain is soaking my bones."

"Okay, let's go through the woods. It's a shortcut back to the farm and far easier to walk through." Debra said guiding them through a wooded area up a hill and several minutes later Nicole found herself looking at the remains of a farmhouse. The house seemed to have been caught up in a fire a while ago leaving charred remains behind. Nearby she saw the barn that Debra had mentioned. While it looked old, it at least looked like it was still solid. Debra pushed open the barn door letting them in and then closing it right behind them to keep out the rain. Nicole saw Frankie nearby drying off one of the horses.

"Ah your here Nicole." Frankie said, putting down a towel. "This place is not much to look at, but it's dry and pest-free. What's more, we found a fireplace on the side of the barn where we could start a fire. Be nice to get dry tonight, my breasts are starting to chafe." Frankie said.

Nicole nodded and agreed with her. The breast form she was wearing was getting unpleasant as well. Denise said "I'll work on getting the fire started. Do we still have some of that broth we had a few days ago? I need some warm liquid in me to get my core back up and warm. That damn freezing rain was bad. Looks like winter's coming."

Debra said "I still have the leftover broth preserved in my inventory, however I don't have much to add to it other than some ration bars. I wanted to pick up some more food from that village, but what they were offering was just rotten."

"That's not the only thing that was rotten" Denise chuckled.

"I take it the work on the cart did not go well" Frankie said hanging up the towel she was using.

Nicole sighed and said "Not at all. Turns out the axle was completely rotten. We will take another look at it tomorrow, but Denise does not believe she can fix it with the tools we have available."

Denise nodded and said "I'll take a look around this barn. Maybe there's a wooden pole that we can use temporarily. I might also be able to finagle something to be able to limp it to a nearby town where I can fix it. The front axle looks to be bad too so I would not expect it to make it ten miles."

"That really sucks." Frankie said. "I do not know how long the roads are going to take to dry up, but the horses endured a hell of time getting through that muck so we will have to walk."

Debra interjected and said "If we have to walk, do you know where we are? We keep having to change course, that I'm a bit mystified where we are currently. Especially since we haven't passed any villages with a name. Hell the village we bought the cart in was just called the village."

Nicole sighed and said "I'm very sorry for this mess. I really should have checked out that captain a bit better for hiring him. Or at least kept a better watch on the path the boat was taking. Due to his carelessness we are now over a hundred miles north of where I wanted to be. This route was supposed to take us to one of Kestonia's biggest lakes and from there we could have found another boat to take us to the coast. However with the road washed out and the bridge gone, we will have to go through Delmeyers Pass, after which will be fairly straight shot to the coast."

"Woah wait a moment!" Frankie said, "Are you talking about the cursed Delmeyers Pass? Isn't that the place where all those people got trapped in a snowstorm in winter and were forced to resort to cannibalism?"

"Yes, but the pass is absolutely safe at the moment. It's only at the end of the year when the snow makes the pass impossible." Nicole said.

Frowning Frankie said "Doesn't mean it's not cursed. I've heard horror stories from those who pass through the pass."

Debra asked, "Why didn't you want to go through this pass in the first place?"

"I didn't want to actually go through that area if I could help it. Because my family holds the land beyond that pass. After what happened with my father I had no desire to ever go back there. Still at the moment it's our best option for reaching the coast."

"Surely with your appearance now they wouldn't recognize you?" Debra said.

"I'm unsure. I don't like the idea of them actually recognizing me. But with the bridge out this is the fastest way to the coast."

Frankie went next to Nicole and wrapped her arms around her. "Don't worry no matter what happens I will be here for you. I will face your family together with you."

"Thank you Frankie." Nicole said, smiling a warmth that shook off the chill appearing in her heart. She grasped one of Frankies hands in her own and squeezed it. They sat there for a bit while Denise worked to get a fire going.

A short time later Denise had managed to get a fire roaring in the fireplace. Despite the old nature of the bar, soon it was fairly balmy within. As Frankie did not have access to the system, she had to leave her wet clothes to dry in front of the fireplace, and she was now wearing one of Nicole's larger shirts. As most of the wood outside was wet, Nicole was worried that they would run out of firewood. However Debra discovered a big stack of wood in one of the stalls of the barn.

Frankie had gotten up and was starting to prepare dinner when Debra came up to Nicole and said "I found something interesting, you should take a look at this."

Nicole stood and followed Debra to the back of the barn. "Help me to move this." Debra gestured to an old hay stack. With a groan Nicole helped the dwarf girl to push aside the heavy hay to the side.

"What did you find?" Nicole asked after shifting the hay away.

"Well ever since I got into the barn, I've been sensing shaped metal beneath the barn and it was driving me a little crazy so I took a look around and found this!" Debra said, swiping away some leftover hay and revealed an old metal trap door. "Looks like there is some kind of cellar beneath the barn."

"That is odd. Maybe it's an old root cellar." Nicole said as she took another look around the barn. Originally she had assumed the barn had been abandoned like the burnt down house outside, but now that she looked around she could see signs that someone had been here recently. Taking another look at the trap door, she could see it was heavily rusted, yet the metal lock on it looked almost brand new.

"Do you think you can get it open?" Debra asked.

Bending down Nicole took a closer look at the lock and nodded "Yeah. I recognize this type of lock. It looks more formidable than it really is." Nicole pulled out her lockpicking tools and then took out a rake and inserted it into the lock wiggling it back and forth until there was a satisfying click. Pulling open the lock she tossed it aside.

"Here assist me with this trap door." Nicole said and the two of them grunted lifting the thick metal door. When it was fully open, they could see inside a set of stairs that led down into a stone brick room. Surprisingly instead of the dark which she expected there was a flickering light.

Pulling out a dagger to be safe, Nicole began walking down the stairs with Debra following close behind her. The stairs creaked as they walked down them and from below a man's voice called out "Grace is that you? I've told you before I don't want you to see me when I've changed. You know how it went last time. Please leave me be."

Frowning, Nicole carefully moved down into the cellar to discover a nearly nude man sitting within a massive metal cage that took up half of the room. It was a cramped room lit by a series of lanterns and a red circle surrounding the cage. He was startled when he saw Nicole and said "Who are you? How did you get in here?" He was surprised and leapt to his feet. "There is nothing here for you, you must leave!"

Sliding the dagger back into its sheath, Nicole held up her hands and said "Do not worry, we are not here to rob you. We just came here seeking shelter from the rain." Nicole glanced around and the sole thing she could see in the cage was a bag that looked to contain food. "Why are you inside a cage?"

The man hesitated for a bit and then sighed. "Look, this farm used to belong to my parents, so you are welcome to use the barn as shelter for the night. My pa would have skinned me alive if he found out I forced people out into a storm. As to why I am inside this cage, is because I was a fool a while ago. Due to my rashness I got bit by a werewolf and cursed to become one every full moon week."

Debra looked astonished and said "I heard of werewolves. I thought it was just a myth of people mistaking beast men. You're saying it's genuine? If it's a curse, can't you appeal to the priests to help get it removed?"

"I travelled to the north and found the goddess of curses. However, the priests told me that there are several varieties of werewolf curses loose upon the world. Several of them can not be cured, which was one that I had been afflicted with. According to them the variety of curse I had gotten was actually classed more as a blessing then a curse, and thus no longer fell under the purview of their goddess." The man said angrily.

He kicked the bag which broke open spilling fruits and vegetables across the floor. "How dare those damn priests call the hell I'm going through a blessing!" The man said seething. At that time he grabbed the bars and took a deep breath. "Forgive my outburst. My emotions get far more unstable the closer to the time the moon rises. Oh, I guess I forgot to introduce myself. I am Ash. To make sure I don't hurt anyone and curse them to this existence I have my friend Grace lock me up in this cage until the full moon week is over."

Concerned Nicole asked "Are you that dangerous when you become a werewolf?"

Ash hesitated and then nodded. "The second time I transformed I assaulted someone and nearly killed them. Never again I vowed and so here is where I spend the full moon." He looked at his hands and said "I only remember bits and pieces of the things that occur when I become a werewolf. Take care, I had Grace mark out the red circle for her safety, it's how far I can reach from the cage when I become the beast. No matter what it says, do not go past that line, though I would prefer you to flee from here and seal me back up. Grace will return later and release me when it is safe to do so."

As Ash had been speaking Nicole observed that he wasn't being entirely truthful about the things, he remembered when he became a werewolf. She was unsure at the reason he would lie and looked around once again and said "I'm afraid I can't leave just yet. I need to observe this werewolf myself just to make sure it can't escape. I need to make sure my friends will be safe sleeping here tonight."

"Fine, do whatever you want. Just beware the beast and don't let it out." Ash said. "I have no doubts that it will like and try to deceive you to open the cage."

"I will take care not to open the cage." Nicole said, looking a little more closer at the cage."

Debra asked, "So is there a village nearby? Our cart broke down and we either need to buy a whole new cart or get replacement parts for it."

Ash scratched his Jaw and said "Yeah there is a small village a few miles east of here where I live. I would lead you to it, but I need to remain locked in here for two more nights."

"Sounds like you think you pose a danger during the day?" Debra asked.

Ash sighed and once again Nicole noticed that he didn't look like he was about to speak the truth. "I used to just lock myself at night, but I transformed once during the day. Fortunately I didn't hurt anyone. Though I must admit it was unsettling realizing that the beast could emerge at any time during the full moon period. Thus, I am now locked up here for a full week."

"If this is your parents farm why is the house burned down?"

A hint of rage flashed on Ash's face so quickly that Nicole almost missed it and he said "That's none of your business. They are gone, that's all you need to know."

Frowning Nicole wanted to ask more questions as she felt that Ash was concealing something when she heard steps on the stairs. "Are you down here Nicole? Dinner is made. What is this place?" Frankie said as she came down and looked shocked and said "Hey what's with the cage. Is this some kinda sex dungeon? Hey are you okay in there?" Frankie began to rattle off questions.

After settling the curious Frankie and giving a brief introduction to Ash, they went back up and had dinner. Nicole had offered a bowl to Ash, but he had refused as he said transforming on a full stomach made it hurt worse. While they were eating, Nicole said "Ash mentioned that there was a village nearby. I think we can get the cart to this farm and go to see if they have replacement parts or a new cart entirely."

"Do we have enough coins to purchase a new one?" Debra asked.

"Yeah, we still have quite a few gold coins." Frankie said. "You know, Ash doesn't seem comfortable with you observing him transform."

"I know. If I could, I would just leave him to his cursed fate. However, I got the strong feeling that he was hiding something from us. While I don't think he's concealing anything dangerous, I just need to make sure. At least he seems genuine in his desire not to harm anyone."

Debra nodded and said "It did seem suspicious in some parts of his story. But he is locked away in that cage so is he really a danger to us?"

"I'm not well versed on werewolves, but I do know that they are supposedly incredibly strong. I believe those were iron bars, not the thickest or thinnest, but I don't believe they could stop a werewolf bending the metal. Why, I might be able to cause some bend in the bars if I employed all my strength. I didn't see any major bending, but I did observe several areas where the paint on the bars was scraped off."

Debra was silent and said "They were Iron bars. I didn't look too closely at them. They might be maybe an inch and half thick. Hard to bend but not totally impossible. On the flipside I didn't note any gaps in the cage that would allow a person to escape. Assuredly they would have noticed if the werewolf escaped before. Though I do have to say something, that amount of Iron would not have been cheap to buy. I don't know what Ash does, but if he is a farmer, I don't see him producing that much coin to buy all that Iron."

"Yeah, it's hard to say. Nevertheless, if he is escaping in some way as a werewolf, he did mention that he didn't recall what he does as a werewolf so he wouldn't recall if the werewolf escaped. Plus the lock on the cage does look fishy."

"What do you mean?" Denise asked, putting down her bowl.

"Let's assume that his friend Grace is hurt and unable to come to release Ash. What then? Would he starve to death? While he could be that blindly trusting in his friend, it actually strikes me that he has another means of escaping that cage."

Frankie looked thoughtful and nodded "I would too just in case. For all that if he wants to lock himself up to keep the werewolf from harming people, having a way to open the cage from within the cage seems counterproductive."

"Maybe he thinks the werewolf won't be able to use his exact means of escape for some reason. However, I don't want to take that risk, especially since I'm the one who brought you all here."

Frankie said "You are doing the best you can Nicole. That's all that can be asked of you." Frankie said.

"Plus we wanted to see more of the world. So all this extra travel is quite fun despite the constant rain. Going through those rapids was quite exhilarating." Debra said.

"That was scary but it was fun." Denise said and went to the barn door and glanced out. "It looks like the moon is starting to come out so you best get down there if you truly want to see Ash transform."

"Alright." Nicole nodded and went back down into the cellar where she found Ash huddled against the side of the cage groaning in evident pain.

Glancing up from his crouched position Ash screamed "Do not fall for the beast's lies. Argh! I feel it coming!"

Ash screamed in agony and Nicole watched as his muscles began to twist and move underneath his skin. There was a sick crunching noise as bones broke as they began to lengthen. Thick black fur began to burst forth while the scream began turning more into a howl. It's features turned more to those of a wolf than a man, until finally the werewolf stood towering over Nicole, a good foot or so. It blinked and stared at her through the cage walls, however Nicole found the strangest part to be the werewolf before her was now clearly female with a pair of giant breasts and a clear lack of male genitalia.

The werewolf stretched out its arms and said in a surprisingly feminine if raspy voice "At last I was tired of listening to myself bitch and moan about changing. It only hurts for a few seconds then it feels amazing, nothing to complain about. I mean take a look at me? I may not be the epitome of beauty but damn am I stacked in all the right locations." The werewolf ran her hands along her breasts winking at Nicole.

Frankie, who had followed Nicole down, said in surprise "You changed into a woman?"

The werewolf snorted and said "Yes I see your pretty little eyes aren't blind. Gone is the flesh of Ash the man, to be replaced with the flesh of Ashley, the woman." It looked at Nicole and said smiling "You could always come in and give it a test to see if I am a full woman if you don't believe me."

"No thank you." Nicole said. "Ash didn't go into detail about you, but from his stance I thought you would be more?"

"Bestial?" Ashley chuckled and shook her head. "For Ash the freedom I represent is just too wild not to be beastly. Of course I don't blame Ash for thinking that, as the raw emotions I have been locked away for a long time for him. I however assure you that I am just as civilized as my counterpart. Ash failed to ask you, but who exactly are you?"

"I am Nicole, and this is Frankie and Debra. Denise is upstairs watching the fire. We are traveling to the coast when our cart broke and we were forced to take shelter here."

"Nicole, you say?" Ashley looked closer at her and said "Since I'm stuck here for the night why don't we get better acquainted? You could come closer, so I can get a better look at you."

"I'm fine right here. Ash failed to tell us more about you. Of course Ash also said he could not remember what happened while shifted into you. Yet for some reason I feel he wasn't confessing the whole truth." Nicole said.

"Oh that is rich." Ashley laughed and continued "We are the same person, I can remember what Ash knows and Ash can clearly remember what I do. Ash just doesn't want to remember, so he blocks all the memory's as best he can. Ash is afraid all those memories will just open up his deepest and darkest secret and he is terrified at what that will do."

"Which secret would that be exactly?" Nicole asked.

"That which we might perhaps share. You may have altered your appearance, but I can smell underneath it is a man." Ashley said sniffing at the air and then grinning at Nicole.

"I possess several reasons why I appear as I do. The main one being I simply want to. Though I would not say that I want to be a full-blown woman, just that I like to look one on occasion." Nicole said a bit startled. "Are you implying that Ash wished to be a woman?"

"That is precise. It has been our wish to be a woman ever since we were children. Only our father found us playing with a dress we got from Grace and we were assaulted to an inch of death. I was bed stricken for over three months. Since then Ash swore to never think about those urges again and barred them deep away. Those urges slowly became the basis of what I am until I was released by the bite of the werewolf."

"So the curse granted his wish? Is that why Ash's curse is considered a blessing?" Frankie asked, sounding very interested.

"Were you aware that wolves are a symbol of freedom? When he was bitten, I was released from the cage Ash built around me. As might be expected Ash never dreamed of possessing a body quite like this." Ashley fluffed her fur and said "But it's nevertheless a woman's body. Ash despises the priests for telling him the truth only he doesn't want to hear it. The curse was a blessing given to him to free the burdens within his heart and give it a wolven shape. Naturally it freed not only his desire to be a woman but some of his other more hidden urges."

"Are these hidden urges the reason why you nearly killed someone?" Nicole asked.

Ashley shrugged and said "I merely acted to defend myself. My sexuality is complicated, both sides of me are straight. Ash is attracted to women, and I am attracted to men, though I do enjoy sharing a man with a woman. My time was short regrettably and this form has an increased sex drive partly due to Ash's urges. In that manner one night, I found a lover, unfortunately he was recently engaged which he failed to mention. His fiance came in and freaked out and attempted to kill me and I had to defend myself."

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"Wait a moment; I've heard that only silver is effective against a werewolf. How exactly did she threaten you?" Frankie asked.

"I wouldn't know. For some werewolf perhaps, but not I. The woman stabbed me and it hurt terribly. Plus I only broke the woman's arm, which I regret immensely. Maybe those cursed werewolves perhaps are weak to silver but not I. Though I guess if you made a silver blade it would still be able to kill me. But a regular knife would do so as well."

"Ash also said that you would lie and we were not to trust what you state. How can we know you are not lying to us?" Nicole asked.

Ashley was silent for a moment then began to laugh quite loud almost to the point of a howl. When she finished, she said "Of course I lie. I don't know you, and my business is none of yours. I admit, however, I haven't lied about anything major to you yet. On the flipside Ash has lied to your face about several things though some may be perhaps lies of omission."

"Such as?" Debra asked.

"Such as when he said there was nothing of value here in the cellar. Father used to be an adventurer when he was younger, acquired a bit of treasure and stored it down here in the cellar. Underneath one of these stones in the cage is a full sack of coins. When my parents suffered their end, the treasure became Ash's. It's, moreover, the reason how he became a werewolf in the first place." Ashley smiled that wolfish smile again.

Nicole smiled gently and said "That sounds like you naturally want us to open the cage in exchange for some gold. That is not going to happen. Even if I wanted your gold, which I don't, I would ask Ash about it. So how exactly did you come to be?"

"That's hilarious to hear, as Ash was completely certain that you are a bunch of thieves. Since you disbelieve me, I won't show you the gold. I'll just have to find another way out." Ashley shrugged. "As for how Ash became blessed with me, one day dear dad decided to beat the shit out of Ash for whatever reason he had. Ash decided to fight back this time and during the struggle a fire was started. Ash barely escaped the blaze with his life. His parents died and the house burned down. With the house lost Ash wanted to start anew so he took the treasure and headed out."

"Did Ash kill his parents?" Frankie asked.

"Did I say that?" Ashley responded. Then continued on with her story "Anyway Ash took a bag of coins and a golden scepter and fled into the night with the house still on fire. Old Pa apparently found that scepter from an old broken-down temple. Don't know why Pa kept that scepter, only it didn't fit in the bag Ash took. As he was running away the moon came out and lit up the scepter, which summoned a great beast who bit Ash and I was created."

"What happened to this scepter?" Nicole asked. If she could examine it, she might get more insight into this blessing or curse.

"Ash understandably thought it was cursed and wanted nothing to do with it. So he gave it to Grace who wanted to send it to some temples to see if there was another way to get him free of me. After that I have no idea what happened to it."

Nicole was about to ask more questions when Denise called down from above and said "Hey Nicole. You should come up here. I think we have a problem heading towards us."

"I'm on my way up." Nicole shouted then looked at Frankie and said "Keep an eye on her Frankie. Be careful I don't like how relaxed she is."

"Will do." Frankie said as Nicole dashed up the stairs followed by Debra.

As Nicole came running up the stairs she discovered Denise at the barn door signalling her to come over. As she approached, the Dwarf said "I was keeping watch, when I noticed something coming from the woods. Take a look at that." Denise pointed ousted and Nicole could see a bunch of what looked like torch fires moving through the woods towards them. As they got closer, she began to make out people.

"That looks like a mob. Debra I need you to look for another exit just in case we need to flee. Denise stays inside but cover me the best you can. If I need to retreat and I can't get back inside, lock the door and flee I'll meet you elsewhere."

"Got it." Denise said, pulling out her hammer.

Stepping out, Nicole carefully moved towards the group that had now left the woods and was on the way to the barn. The four men in front, however, were wearing armor and had swords. The four men in front, however, were wearing armor and had swords. They stopped when they spotted Nicole and the lead man separated walking up to her and he said "Who are you? What are you doing here? You're not from around here."

"I am Nicole. I was traveling to the coast when my cart broke down in the mud. As such I decided to take refuge in this barn for the night. A bit late to be out. Is something the matter?"

The man spat and said "That is an understatement missy. Their be a monster inside that barn we must destroy. Seeing you are standing here in the moonlight, I see you are not afflicted by its curse. Stand aside girl so we can do what we came here to do. At that time we will escort you back to our village and see you on your way tomorrow."

Nicole frowned and said "How do you know there is a monster in the barn. I met the owner of this barn, and they didn't seem to be very hostile, nothing like a monster."

Another man walked up and said "The owner of the barn is the monster. A few months back, Ash asked me to build a cage in the barn. I thought it was quite weird at the time, but I did so. At that time the next month the rapes and murders began during the full moon. Witnesses saw a giant wolf leaving the scenes and we finally got word tonight that the beast would be here locked away. It is time we put a stop to this menace haunting our lives."

The first man spoke up and said "I am the town's head guard. It is my duty to bring to justice that thing in the barn so stand aside girl."

Nicole did not like where this was going and said "Wait a moment, you said rapes and murders? What are you talking about?"

"That is none of your concern. This is our business and we will handle it, move or we will handle you as well." The man aggressively said getting into Nicole's Face.

Not backing up Nicole said in response," I think it is my business as I am Nicole Van Dracken, a Noble from the neighboring region. If this involves citizens of Kestonia then it is my duty to look into it." Nicole said, puffing herself up and staring into the man's eyes which flinched at her gaze. Nicole hated using her family's name, but the fear of nobility was the only thing that would scare these people into stopping and listening to reason. She did not know if Ashley was guilty or not, but she would not stand by and let them deliver mob justice.

She could see the wheels turn in the man's head as he considered his options. Then he finally said "I am Richard, and I recognize the authority of your Nobility. However, I am the protector of my town, and you do not rule here. If I suspect you are in cahoots with this beast, I will not hesitate to arrest you. Before I tell you what you want to know you must swear by your family name to the gods that this is not some ploy to let the beast escape."

Nicole nodded and said "I swear to the gods above that I as a Van Dracken will not let the beast flee before Justice."

"Very well. We first discovered that there was a Werewolf among us when my daughter Sela found her fiance Sam being attacked by a great beast. When she attacked it, the beast broke her arm and fled into the woods. I sent my guards out in a search for it, but we could not find any trace of it. However the next month I received word that a woman who was living alone was raped by a giant beast. The next day we also found a merchant who was visiting torn to shreds and his coin bag stolen. Several more attacks have occurred, each one more vicious than the last. We can not stand by and let more of our familys be torn apart by this hellbeast."

Nicole frowned, Ash did say he locked himself away, however, Nicole did suspect that he had another way out, and it was entirely possible that Ashley could have escaped and did these things. Though Ashley did claim she was attracted to males, so why would she be raping only women in that case? "Where the men that were killed nude?"

Richard shook his head. "No, they were all dressed properly, well as far as we can tell for most of them. Some of the later bodies were so torn up it was hard to tell who they were."

Considering this new information Nicole thought a bit more. If Ashley was the murderer, why would she only break Sela's arm? Plus if she had access to her parents' coin why would she feel the need to steal the merchant's coin? "I will let you know Richard that I have spoken to both Ash and the werewolf before you came here. Ash claims he has locked himself away during the last full moon weeks. Do you have any proof that it was Ash who committed these heinous crimes? Could it be another werewolf?"

"I do, at one of the murder sites we found some clothes that belong to Ash. I have several witnesses that all say the werewolf seemed to head in this direction after the murders. Finally and most damning is that a victim was taken by Ash to the cage only for her to trap Ash within the cage."

"What?" Nicole was confused and before she could ask any more questions the barn door burst open and Ashley came charging out with Frankie following as did the two twin dwarfs.

"Richard, I see you are flinging your weight around again. I had told you before that I had nothing to do with my parents death. Now you're threatening me without even doing your job and looking into. I didn't do shit other than defending myself from your daughter. I already apologized to her, and I certainly didn't rape anyone or kill anyone." Ashley growled out.

"Beast!" The crowd shouted and a few of them tried to surge forward but the guards held them back.

Richard glared at Ashley and said "You just happened to escape the blaze that took your parents life? Bah, that is not why we are here today. A werewolf has been tearing up the populace, and you are the only werewolf in this area."

"You just want to blame this on me cause it's easy. You didn't believe Ash when he told you he was being beaten by his father, oh no, why would you believe me now." Ashley cracked her claws.

Seeing the two of them getting really amped up, Nicole yelled in her commanding tone "Shut the fuck up! Using my authority I am acting as Judge in this matter. I will determine if Ashley has done what you claim, and if she has she will be judged according to the law, not by your mob. If she did not do these crimes, then I will help you find the true murderer. But the both of you will listen to me, do the both of you understand?"

Richard glared at Ashley then said "Fine. I will listen. Though if that beast tries to flee or I think you are not upholding justice I will be forced to act."

Ashley snorted and said "Try it."

"Ashley, I won't warn you again, I will hold you to account. If you keep acting up, I will take you down myself." Nicole said. "First off we need to determine if you could have committed the crimes. How did you get out of the cage?"

"I heard the two of you arguing, so I took Ash's spare key and unlocked the cage. He assumed wrongly he could prevent me from using it by keeping in a box filled with wolfsbane. Which is unpleasant for me yes, but it is only dangerous should it get into your bloodstream. If I had been a beast as Ash thinks then I could not have opened the box due to the wolfsbane."

"So then you admit you can leave the cage whenever you desire?" Nicole said.

"Yes loathe that I am to admit it. I did not leave to do the things they are accusing me of. In fact this is the first time I am hearing of this. The only times I left the cage was to meet up with my lovers."

"Who the fuck would that be?" Richard said "Are you so deluded that you believe raping women..." Richard stopped and took another look at Ashley.

"Who I fuck is none of your goddamn business." Ashley growled out.

Richard frowned and said "So you are saying there is another werewolf?"

"I don't know, but I definitely didn't do these things." Ashley said.

"Before Ashley came out, you mentioned something about a potential victim trapping Ashley in the cage. Who were you speaking about?"

"A woman named Grace, said that Ash tried to trick her into the cage to become his sex slave only that she managed to trap him inside instead."

When Richard said that Ashley looked completely shaken and said "What? No, that couldn't have happened. Grace is my best friend, she wouldn't have said that. Why would she say that?"

"She did say that." Richard said. "I thought... Ash you were a guy?"

"Ash was male, but I am Ashley all female." Ashley said, "What of it?"

"What is your point Richard?" Nicole asked.

"I was furious when I came here, so I didn't immediately think of it, but now that I've calmed down I've remembered. Two of the women who were raped are now pregnant. Unless you can grow the right equipment, I don't see how you could have made them pregnant. Still you could have slaughtered those men."

Something was wrong here. "Where is this woman Grace?"

"I don't know, I wanted her to lead us to this cage but she refused saying she had to be elsewhere." Richard said.

A massive howl lit up the night raising the hair on the back of Nicoles neck and a massive form leaped from the top of the barn. Standing up on its hindlegs, it began to clap as it walked towards them. Standing up on its hindlegs, it began to clap as it walked towards them. "Quite the interesting show." It said. While it was trying to speak in a serious tone, Nicole had a hard time taking it seriously. A massive dick at least a foot long was swinging back and forth making it look almost comical.

"I failed to realize that you had a way out Ash. Or Ashley whatever you call yourself. This is a setback to my plans, no matter."

Ashley looked flabbergasted and said "Grace? You're a werewolf? Did you use that scepter?" Then Ashley growled and said "You killed those people and framed me?"

"Ah poor Ash didn't see the power within the scepter. Unfortunately, it refused to give me the blessing despite me trying so hard. Unfortunately, it refused to give me the blessing despite me trying so hard. So I devastated it, and to my surprise it cursed me giving me what I wanted, though with more negative traits compared to you Ash. How Ironic, Ash fears becoming a beast, but his is more human then me. Though I must admit despite the disadvantages, there is nothing quite like breaking a bitch in."

Richard yelled and said "Why? Why kill them?"

"Why? Because they had what I wanted, so I took it. Do you not understand? I am more powerful than you, I am more than you. Does a King bow before a peasant? No. I sated my lust on those whores, I filled my pockets with gold from those pathetic weaklings, I am the master of all. Do you know how much I hated this lifestyle? I hated farming. I hated the people in the village, but most of all I hated you Ash."

Ashley looked hurt and said "You could have left. Ash even offered to help you go to a school in one of the cities."

Grace snorted and said "School? Toil for years and years just to survive. No. I will have none of that. I decided to take what I need. When Ash told me that his father had a stash of gold I knew what I had to do. One night I snuck to your house and to my delight you were in the middle of a fight with your father. I set fire to your house, only you managed to escape."

"What? You set that fire?" Ashley said, looking hurt. ""Ah poor Ash didn't see the power within the scepter. You were my best friend."

"Oh I bet you would have, like the bitch you really all. But I desired it all, and with you gone I would have it. Yet over and over again you escape my plans for you. I will have to kill you all of course, but know I will enjoy every moment of it."

"You bastard!" Ashley growled and leapt towards Grace. The larger werewolf grabbed her, and they got into a fierce wrestling and biting match. As the werewolves fought, the mob lost their nerve and began to flee into the woods. Nicole wanted to help but could not get a clear shot at Grace. At one point Grace grabbed onto Ashley and flung her towards Nicole.

Nicole shadow stepped out of the way and popped up right behind Grace and stabbed her blood drinking blade deep into the werewolf who roared in pain and shook her off and went to claw Nicole. Denise dashed up and put up her shield and blocked the claw attack from Grace. Debra roared and a glowing hammer slammed into Grace knocking the werewolf back.

"Fools, you don't have the power to stop me." Grace roared and stood up only to be tackled by Ashley who came from behind and bit deep spraying blood across the area. Grace grabbed grace and was about to strike when a large crossbow bolt struck the werewolf and the wolf screamed in pain. It tried weakly to pull out the bolt when several more plunged into the werewolfs side. Grace groaned and sank to its knees then collapsed.

From the woods came a group of people wearing cloaks of fur and carrying crossbows. Following behind them was a man and a woman who didn't seem a part of this new group. Richard said "Sela? What are you doing here, and who are these people?"

"Father!" Sela ran up. "Why didn't you tell me that there were people getting killed by a werewolf?"

Richard frowned and said "You were recovering. I didn't want to disturb you and Sam for your upcoming honeymoon."

"These are Priests of the one of the several gods of hunting. They came when they heard that we had a werewolf problem. Which you should have told me about and this whole mess wouldn't have happened."

The head priest came up to Grace and said "Child your crimes have been seen oh terrible wolf of nightmares. With the poison from wolfsbane, we send you to your judgement in the afterlife."

Grace gave one last gasp and collapsed shrinking back into that of a woman's body. Ashley came to her and checked her. "She is dead. I thought she was my best friend, now I realize I didn't know who she was really."

Richard went to the priest and said "I thank you for coming. Are you werewolf hunters?"

"No. We only hunt those who break the spirit of the hunt. This one has done no harm to the hunt. She is yours to deal with." The priest said while the other priests lifted and wrapped up claires body. "We will take the body of this one to be cremated."

"Father leaves Ashley alone. She did nothing wrong." Sela said.

"But she is dangerous, she broke your arm and assaulted your fiance." Richard said.

"That was my misunderstanding and fault. I thought she was attacking Sam. It turns out they were making love. I had some words with Sam, and we came to an understanding. She came back and apologized to me the next month. I've been trying telling you, but you kept away. If I knew all these rapes and murders were happening I would have been able to let you know Ashley was with us at those times."

Richard looked shocked and said "Wait... Ashley did say she went out to meet her lovers, that means it was you two?"

Sam and Sela nodded and took Ashley's hands. "It's not something I would have ever thought, but we three fell in love. In fact I was planning to ask Ash to join us as well." Sela said.

Richard sighed and said "I see no problem as long as the three of you are happy. Ashley, I apologize for the things I accused you of."

"I understand you were doing your job Richard. Just know I do love your daughter and son-in-law very much."

Richard nodded and left with the guards back to the village. As he left Ashley came up to Nicole and said "Well that was a lot to take in. I want to thank you, Nicole, for standing up and seeking justice. Most I feel would have simply let me be killed."

"You are welcome. How do you think Ash will react to all of this?" Nicole asked.

"I don't know. It hurt me pretty hard." Ashley sighed. "Grace was my best friend. At least we know how the fire started now." Ashley glanced toward the remains of the farmhouse.

"How did you escape?" Nicole asked.

"My father saved me. We had both beaten each other pretty good, and when the fires occurred it happened so fast. Mother was trapped with no way to get to her, and we were going to die I thought. But dad grabbed me and flung me through the fires to the outside. It's always bothered me that the man I despise the most also saved my life. Now it turns out one of the people I loved the most wanted me dead. Hopefully, with Sam and Sela's help, Ash will be better. One day I hope he comes to accept me as well."

As Ashley turned to walk back to the awaiting couple, Ashley said to Frankie who had came next to Frankie. "Don't forget the advice I gave you Frankie. Nicole, you may use the barn as long as you need. Plus you may take what you need from the stash." Ashley winked and walked off.

"What advice did she give to you Frankie?" Nicole asked curiously.

"Oh she helped put some things into perspectives that I didn't think about." She smiled and took Nicoles arm and led her into the barn. "I think I would like to head to bed."

 

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