-----"For that reason," Xavia says, "here is what I am proposing. I will not arrest you. In the morning, my patrol will continue to Redmarsh. You and your companions will go to the Town of Oakwood. There you can notify the noble authorities of the plight here in Navlot, seek help for yourselves and turn yourselves into custody."
-----"In a short time I will return or send word to Oakwood of your assistance here. If you have not reported to the proper officials, I will submit my own report and you may be declared fugitives of Oakwood, Hearthorn and Altoria. I am hoping you will make the right and just choice."
-----The Lady Paladin looks calmly at everyone in the rogues' party as the soldiers continue to watch the windows, doors and the floor holes in the tavern.
-----Abram and the other guard from Oakwood briefly glance in the rogues' direction while the priests gather the implements that are no longer needed by the fireplace.
-----Xavia stops her gaze on the child in Krord's lap and her expression shows more concern.
-----Surprised at the paladin's statement, Dread responds, "Aye, do what ye will, paladin. But when the morrow comes, I'll be goin after them werecreatures. By the time anyone reported what's goin on here to the proper authorities and a patrol was mounted to come in here and wipe out the werecreatures, the number o' werewolves could have multiplied severalfold. They'll be that much more difficult to root out and exterminate. Not to mention that this town will be completely decimated. Those that aren't killed, will join the ranks o' the werecritters. This be our chance to nip this in the bud, afore it spreads to the point where we need an army to come in save the region. Now, you have yer own job to do as far as the plague goes, but I won't be ridin off when mornin comes, leavin those werewolves at my back."
-----Kazel leans on a wall and exhales. "Well, that's a workable plan, but we'd better be somewhere safe by next nightfall. There's no telling how many are out there even if we can track some of them down. And of course there's the chance that you and Seth might be on the other team by then."
-----The Dread Pirate nods and replies, "Aye, but at least I'll be easy to pick out of the werewolf pack. We'll spend tomorrow morning tracking them down, if we don't find 'em by afternoon, then we'll ride on."
-----Seth smiles and then says, "I think I'll be ok, but to be sure I would need to consult some books. I think we are ok until the next full moon, so maybe in Oakwood I will find some tomes, or better still back at home with Books. She will find something that will tell us what to do." He then smiles at the Paladin and simply states, "and Zharta and friends owe us big time for clearing out that exploding priestess. Even if his followers got the story of Nylan Lotley and the Great Rat fight wrong!" He idly tunes his harp before putting it away. "I really need to construct a great epic of that fight. Nylan was not alone on that one!"
-----He stares each of the priests and paladin in the eye and gives the Oakwood guards a knowing smile that speaks volumes.
-----After a while he begins to chuckle and ends up laughing quite hard and then he blurts out, "and that bit about Sir Slappie, the most noble and fierce knight, who once faced down an arch devil from the Nine Hells!!!" He begins howling and rolling on the floor until he begins to choke, which stops him laughing.
-----"No," Xavia says with a hint of pleading in her voice, "Oakwood is a day's ride from here, even less to the village of Noth up the trail. If you start toward the Town of Oakwood in the morning, another patrol could quickly be on its way."
-----Changing her tone, the paladin frowns and adds, "If you insist on going after the werecreatures, I must insist that the child go with me."
-----The little girl suddenly looks at Kazel with alarm.
-----The Dread Pirate rolls his eyes in exasperation, then says, "Well then, what's to prevent us from saying that we'll go to Oakwood, take the child with us, then when you leave, we go and hunt the werebeasts. You can only control so much here. If you try to take the child, we'll fight you. And we are a more puissant force than the werebeasts running about outside. I killed one of those werebeasts down in the tunnel below and have only a scratch to show for it. Kazel is a doughtier fighter than I. Press us further at peril to your mission. The child obviously does not wish to accompany you. Kazel does not wish the child to go with you. Therefore the child will not go with you."
-----Dread continues, "If those werebeasts chose to follow you and fully assaulted your group, could you fight them off? I think not, if you could, you wouldn't be holed up in here. So, who is the child safer with? For that matter, if we rode off to Oakwood and got help, who's to say those werewolves wouldn't follow your group anyway. Oakwood may only be a day away, but if you leave and the werewolves follow you, then you're both another day's travel away. And we have to ask, would the werewolves stay here, where the area is already picked clean, or would they follow the group that managed to kill one of them? Or would they follow the group that they forced into a siege situation. They would follow you and decimate your group as you travel. And no healers would ever cure the growing plague. The only option is for us to root them out, or at least kill as many of them as we can. Otherwise your group will not make it. And your group cannot be delayed in its mission. Or destroyed for that matter. As for the safety of the child while we hunt out the vermin, we have at our disposal a scroll that will repel lycanthropes. If we are overwhelmedthen Seth can read his scroll and flee with the child. And inform Oakwood of where the werewolves are located."