"So how much time until everyone is Gathered?" Zane asked as he leaned back from his finished meal. The feast hall around them was quiet, the curving ceiling lost in shadow beyond the range of the flickering candlelight.
Karen politely passed the dessert dish to the reaching Calla, smiling at the young maow. "It will be at least another day or two, I believe," she said. "I'm hoping that my Knight Champion will have returned to Diamond by then as well," and she looked towards Zane, sipping at her small mug of tea.
Zane nodded knowingly. He glanced around the feast hall, admiring the central skylight through which the clear night's stars were visible. "She exhausted herself this morning... Dr. Lake's been mothering all of the psy-mages since then," and he smirked a bit, still watching the stars. "So it may be another day or two before Dr. Lake lets any of them out of bed, let alone for them to leave Laral..."
"It's a pity that it didn't work," Karen replied quietly. She seemed to have been keeping track of what ears were around them, not wanting to spark too big a discussion here in the feast hall before the entirity of the Gathering had arrived. She had carefully seated herself, bringing Makzin and Zane along with her, such that the other rangers, knights, and Guides that were present would be unable to overhear their conversation. "But you're sure everyone will recover?"
"Quite sure," Zane replied with a nod.
"Cara said his mind was like a wall," Makzin said, struggling with the idea. "A wall too thick for their power, I guess. When people started blacking out, she stopped trying. I just... well, I don't understand how he'd be able to resist them. I mean, he's so wild and thoughtless right now... how could he put up a fight to a psychic?"
Karen smiled softly, almost wistfully. "I don't think the maow's mind is strong, necessarily... as it is just blind. If it doesn't know it's own mind, then how will someone else be able to know it either? The bayyo... he doesn't control himself consciously anymore..." and she sipped her tea in a thoughtful pause. "Something else, probably chemical, hormonal, is driving him now. At this point, trying to reach such a mind is like sending a wave to crash harmlessly against a cliff... I wish we'd known that earlier before injuring so many people trying to break through..."
The woman sighed, finishing her tea and setting down her empty cup. Calla, finishing her apple pie with a wide yawn, settled sleepily against Gideon's shoulder; Karen smiled at the child. "Perhaps you boys should turn in for the night.... at the very least, put the little one to bed."
She rose, taking up her staff. "I think I will call Laurel and see if I can arrange more mundane transport to bring my exhausted staff home... feel free to wander the town tomorrow; good night."
* * * * *
Zane stood from his seat at the large, circular table, the late morning light sifting down from the large curving skylights above to paint the room in a crisp yellow-green. Makzin was seated to his right while Gideon sat quietly to his left. The rest of the gathered were Knights, Rangers, and Guides of other neighboring Halls, about 1 in 3 were maow, and all watching him seriously.
"Just five days ago, my Hall was able to track the bayyo down and capture it before it reached inhabited lands again. It is currently being contained in Laurel's hospital facilities under the care of Dr. Ellen Lake. However... as suspected, this maow is diseased. Dr. Lake has determined that it is not readily contagious, but other than that, the disease's origins and identity are unknown.
"The effects of this disease have resulted in the bayyo's aggressiveness as well as the inability to heal. Also, the maow is unresponsive to many types of sedation, and quickly developes immunity to those few that even work... magical manipulation of any force has proven ineffective."
There was some murmur at this. Zane met all gazes as he could, nodding in affirmation, as did Cara, who was grimacing at the memory of her attempt to manipulate the crazed maow�s mind. Zane took a long breath. "We are unable to keep him sedated for very long. He is in lock-down with minimal contact given his aggressiveness. Our time is short, however, because Dr. Lake fears that his constant aggression is tearing his unhealing body apart. It won't be long before the maow kills himself.
"Aside from what injuries were inflicted upon him in his capture, we did note that the maow shows signs of much older injuries, including a wound that looked to have been surgically cared for. The stitches had been torn, of course, but they were still there. We hope that this may provide insight into the maow's origins. Dr. Lake suspects that the disease is viral. Blood samples have been sent out to all of your cities and others, hopefully to reach scientists that will have a better idea of what this disease is and where it came from."
He sat now, looking to the Daimond Guide as he settled into the high-backed chair.
Karen nodded to him. "As far as has been reported," she began, her head held normally though her eyes unseeing, "the maow passed through the territories of Diamond, Audrey, and into Laurel, following a north-westerly course until it came to the Reserve's Fence and then followed the Fence to Audrey. From there, it was redirected north-east towards Laurel. Cara? Could you report on the status of tracking the bayyo's movements through Diamond territory?"
The young woman to Karen's right, her raven-colored hair hanging straight like a sheet of black rain from her head, rose from her chair gracefully. Her dark eyes scanned the room, though mental exhaustion creased her features and softened her normally peircing gaze. "The path leads south along the territory's western border, upstream of the city. It has been hard to track through the more rocky areas, as it left few marks of its passing, though torn vegetation and large tracks in the soft soils of the valleys point towards Endledeep," and she was now looking directly at the Endledeep Guide.
The Endledeep Guide, an older man grizzled and graying though certainly still strong, nodded knowingly, turning his eyes to look to Karen quietly.
Karen nodded, "In a moment, Guide Timothy. Lukana of Audrey, have your rangers found evidence enough that the bayyo's trail follows from Laurel to Daimond?"
A blond seated across from Zane, her green eyes grave, nodded quietly, rising from her seat as Cara sat down. "It... has been difficult to track the progress around the inhabited lands of Audrey. Many phytics have already repaired the damage of the maow's passing..." she stressed lightly on the word 'maow,' as though she disliked bestowing the honor of the term on so destructive a beast, but she continued anyway. "...regrowing what vegetation was destroyed. However, the Fence sustained damage along its entire length up until the Adara passes under, and from there, a noticeable trail follows the Adara river into the Diamond territory."
She sat again, her face looking slightly pale. Karen was watching her in her unseeing way, and Zane too felt a stab of pity for the ranger. He was surprised that Lukana had been the one to come to Diamond, given her recent scare at nearly loosing her little sister to the bayyo's ice. Zane shared a glance with Makzin, who was grimacing in discomfort.
The maow next to Lukana, a cavio, put a caring paw on Lukana's arm, and Karen smiled comfortingly before looking now to the Endledeep Guide. "All right then, Guide Timothy," she said softly. "Have you had any luck locating or further following the bayyo�s trail?"
He grimaced, his deep voice rolling out like a boulder from the caves his territory was riddled with. "No, ma'am, the terrain's too rocky, and there's not a scratch or fur patch anywhere to mark the maow's trail. No torn trees or anything. Not much of anything to go on..." and he trailed off, scratching his head. "We've been searching the woodland areas, and fields, but there's been no sign or any reports of disturbance like around Laurel and Audrey."
Karen leaned back in her seat. "Jeni, anything in Talston?"
Jeni, one of Krysta's cousins, shook her head. "No, ma'am."
Karen nodded. "And there have been no reports from the ranger of Hartsylla. Now then, as far as can be determined, the maow originated somewhere in either southwestern Diamond territory or Endledeep's lands. It is possible that it may have travelled even as far across the mountains as Sylazurr, but the trail becomes untrackable just north of Endledeep. There is, as Guide Cather suggests, evidence that the maow was cared for before it turned to the wild, and the disease causing its aggression is unknown. Given the nature of its uncertain origins, it is very unlikely that this will be an isolated occurance..."
The rest of the room nodded in agreement, and Karen closed her milky eyes as she paused. "As such, speed in finding its origins and ways to stop future incidents like this are our priority right now. We need to be able to stop the next one before anyone else gets hurt, or worse," and Lukana was nodding grimly to Karen's words, "and so I think that we should break for lunch for now, to give us time to think before we reconvene tonight."
As the Gathering agreed and began to break apart, the quiet of the room tumbling into murmurs and private discussions as the group began to file out towards the feast hall, Makzin looked to Zane and Gideon, his brow furrowed. "That's why you've kept security up in Laurel, isn't it?"
Zane nodded. "Particularly now that the new Jr.'s are on their test," he replied softly, rising from his seat.
Makzin watched his friend with a strange sickened feeling rising in his stomach, but nodded quietly and followed Zane out of the meeting room towards an uneasy lunch.
* * * * *
