Company of the Lycanthropes.

[G]

Shortly after the Baron received news about the escaped creature known as Adam, his servant knocked on the door of his office once more, looking in cautiously. Seeing his lords head on the desktop, he released a soft, tortured sigh, having the idea that what was next was likely to not be good news, either.

"Sir, there is a Miss Leyna Danatal of Marait, the ninth largest city in Urnst, to see you, sir. She is the elected representative of the city."

Gnort looked up slowly, an expression of "What now?" across his features. The servant shrugged helplessly, as he was just doing his job. Gnort sighed and waved his hand to have her enter, then straightened his appearance, sat back in his chair and turning to again look out of the window.

"Miss Leyna Danatal of Marait, Lord Talanador." announced the servant, gesturing into the office and towards the recently vacated chairs.

"Thank you." came the short reply, then the sound of a seat being taken by the woman, the door shutting behind the servant, and then the sound of the Baron turning in his chair to face her.

"Well, Miss Danatal.. Or should I refer to you as Mayor? Official? What title does your election give you?" Gnort requested politely, smiling towards her.

"Representative would be acceptable, my lord." She replied, nodding her head in respect. Gnort knew that he needed to treat her similarly, else he may find himself instigating a revolution.

While the entire infrastructure of Urnst was based on the trust that he was the nations leader, and the regional directors had the responsibility to govern their local towns and cities internally, if grave enough insult was given to one of those representatives, the trust could be severely damaged and Gnort would quickly find that city breaking from the overall country, running on its own and ready to exact revenge.

"Well then, Representative Danatal, what can I do for you on this rainy Thursday afternoon?" He asked as pleasantly as possible without sounding condescending.

"We require assistance, my lord. Recently, there have been a series of murders and thefts in the city I represent. Our law enforcement is fairly well trained and capable of handling normal types of crimes like this, but after much investigation, it has been brought to my attention that we are not equipped properly in either weapons or knowledge to deal with this specific situation. As your past indicates, it was suggested that you may be in a position to either know personally, or have the proper contacts to aquire the aid of someone who is trained in this type of matter, and therefore qualified to educate our law enforcement in these most needed skills. Will you help us?" she pleaded.

[G]

Raising a hand gesturing to wait, he shook his head. "Now wait a moment. You said your law enforcement is capable of handling murders and thefts. What is so special about these cases that would require a specialist?"

Looking down at her hands folded in her lap, Leyna sighed. "How much do you know of Lycanthropy, my lord?"

"Oh, I know well enough. Werewolves and the like. Just the standard.... wait. You mean to tell me that these murders and thefts are done by a werewolf? How can you be sure?"

"We've already had to put down two of our officers and several survivors..." she stated hesitantly.

Gnort sighed deeply. First Adam, now Werewolves. What next?

"There's something you're not telling me. I understand the difficulty in admitting you had to silence your law officials, and some victims. For that you have my deepest sympathy. But, what else is there?"

"Well, my lord. You said 'Werewolf.' We have reason to believe there may be more than one lycanthrope at large."

"More than one?" he said, shaking his head. "How many?"

"At least.. four, my lord. All different kinds."

"Four!" the Baron exclaimed. " I wasn't aware there were that many different types. Good lord, what next? What are they?"

"Sir, at least a Canine, Rodent, Feline, and one other we are not entirely sure of. A ground creature, perhaps a Badger or a Groundhog. I hope it's just one of each, but as I said, we don't have the experience or knowledge to even make guesses beyond that. We do not have the tools. And we wouldn't know where to begin. Can you help us?"

Grumbling softly. Gnort nodded. "Of course I'll help. As you say, I have the proper contacts. You shall be hearing from me as soon as possible, Representative Danatal. These beasts cannot be permitted to exist on our land performing these heinous crimes. It shall be dealt with decisively. You have my word."

He stood holding out his hand to her, which she quickly rose to take, having gotten the commitment she so desperately wanted.

"Oh thank you, my lord, thank you! I had feared you would reject me and make us face these terrors alone, but you have exceeded my hopes! I so look forward to hearing from you! Good day, sir!" With that, she turned and left the office.

With a long sigh, Gnort sat in his chair and turned to again look out the window and into the rainy afternoon.

"A Flesh Golem and a band of Lycans. Soon the Necromancer up North will be making her move, probably. Or maybe some Vampires. Or ghosts. Something else is going to come up, I know it." he stated to himself quietly, reaching to rub the bridge of his nose. "It's like something's telling me something. Sheesh."

[G]

Monday. Late evening.

The Sun had set some time ago, the docks were mostly dark with the exception of a few night lamps here and there, and some of the lights of moored vessels. The Baron was standing at the edge of an empty wharf, waiting for the arrival of the merchant sloop that would be arriving shortly. The arrival was important due to the specific cargo on board. It was both item and person, and the Baron certainly wanted to be sure that Lord Akamat received the proper greeting that one of his station deserved.

There were few personalities in existance that could cause the Baron of Dockside any sort of unease. Fewer still who would lower themselves to personally taking care of a situation that Gnort had in mind for this one to deal with. However, Akamat did owe Gnort a few favors, and the Baron had called in one solid "You owe me."

The ship arrived and settled in with all the precision one would expect of a good crew, and the captain himself came down the ramp to speak to the Baron. Being the naval sort, both the Captain and the Baron eyed each other quietly, each sizing the other. Gnort was the more impatient one, and if the Captain decided it was weakness that he speak first, so be it. G wanted to get everything dealt with as quickly as possible.

"Is he on board?" Gnort asked.

"No." came the reply.

"I was told that he would be on your vessel. Due to arrive in this time frame, and that you would inform me of his arrival." the Baron began irritably. Of course he didn't like having misinformation, nor looking the fool.

"No, sir. Ye asked me if he was on board. 'tis as I said, he's not." came the simple reply again. This time though, it answered everything.

"He's behind me, isn't he?"

"Aye, sir, that he is. I'll be sayin' good night then. I'nnnbve got more to unload than passengers."

Gnort nodded to the captain and then turned to face his old comrade. Akamat looked every bit the stereotypical vampire lord one would come to expect. The fancy clothes, the white vest covered by the black evening jacket. Obsidian buttons, gold cufflinks, black slacks and even the blood red medallion around his neck. Following that was the standard black cloak with deep red inside. A pale face and slicked back black hair completed his visage. Gnort smiled and stuck out his hand, completely unsurprised that the undead creature had simply appeared suddenly behind him.

"Lord Akamat. It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Dockside district of Rhydin. I hope you will find the accommodations I've ordered for you to your satisfaction and.." Gnort was quickly cut off with a wave of the Vampires hand.

"Yes, yes. I know how vell you like your formalities. I do not need to hear zem now or ever. Ve have experienced enough and know enough about each uzzuh, zat ve can skip those. I do vish to inform you zat if it vere not for my debts to you, I vould most certainly not step down to zis level of menial labor. If only I were to receive zomezing in return vould I feel it vorth a person of my talents." Akamat spoke boredly, believing everything he said.

"It's a Lycanthrope."

"Tosh. Zat iz nossing! A Lycan is like ze buzzing of flies to me! How old you haf gotten."

"Yeah, well, we can't all be as immortal as you, you know." Gnort responded with a grouchy tone.

"I offered it to you once. Ze offer iz still open if you but choose to take it." Akamat said with a raised brow and expressive hand movements.

"I'll think about it. Garlic?" G said, raising a garlic bulb close to the Vampire.

"Stereoypes! I choose to not eat garlic, mortal. It does me no harm." But there was a hiss to his voice that wasn't there previously.

"You're lecturing me about stereotypes? Look at how you dress. Just like all the other Vamps I've seen around here. Anyway, it's not just one Lycan. There's at least Four."

This got the vampires attention. "Four, you say? Zis does have some interest in it after all." laughed Akamat, looking as if he would enjoy the next few evenings coming up. "Come. Take me to zis Tavern of yours and ve shall speak of old times vhen ve vere young and both mortal."

With that, the Vampire clasped Gnort on the shoulder and pulled him away from the docks, towards the city proper.

[G]

This time, the Baron and the Vampire were sitting at a table in the Golden Ivy Tavern, discussing old times before getting down to specific business.

"... And then they made me their chief." Gnort finished his story, taking a sip of his glass of brandy.

"Ahh, Gnort. You alvays did haf ze luck of ze gods in your favor. It is good to see zat has not changed. And now, you are ze respectable businessman and lord of an entire country. Ze gods have been more kind zan usual, I sink." Akamat responded amusedly, taking a sip of his.. well, whatever he drinks.

"Now you must tell me. Vhat are the stories behind the verevolfs of vhich you have brought me here to deal viss? Vhen you vere the great Outlaw, you needed no assistance in dealing vis sings like verevolfs and beasts and the like. You and your company slew dragons!" spoken with a flambouyant wave. "You took on Rary the Traitor, and Azalin the Lich.. by the vay, you simply must explain to me the lightning bolt cannon Rary had again. I could make good use of zat."

"Yeah. Maybe sometime in the future. Anyway I know. But I'm not, as you remind me, as young as I was in the past, and most of that stuff was done with the original Company. Now I have responsibilities and commitments and the like. I am not nearly in as much practice as I used to be other than dueling in the Arena. And that's not anything like a real fight where it's a life and death battle. There's no Ward on a battlefield. Plus, while my tracking skills are still well above par, you, yourself know that when a lycan doesn't want to be found, they're very, very difficult to locate."

"You speak truth, comrade Baron. Perhaps, sometime, you vill consider an immortality pact. Who can know for sure. But, for now, you choose normal life. So be it. As to your lycan problem, I do believe zat I can deal vis it for you. After all, I owe you. For much, I sink."

"Don't mention it. I kinda enjoy being known for my selfishness a bit." came the smirking reply. "Well, the city being hounded is Marait. When you get there, you will find Representative Leyna Danatal will have all the other information you require. Remember, you are there to help, not imbibe in the country flavors. Just the Lycans."

"My dear Comrade Baron Talanador, you vound me. My feelings are hurt. I vould not sink of feeding off of your employees. Or the people you govern. I am here to assist. Zat is all."

"All right then. You leave tomorrow evening. I'd like you to get there before daylight."

"I vill see vhat I can do."

(Each story to be continued in seperate threads)