"Chara," puts away the greataxe Eithne, blatantly ignoring the imp "since you feel responsible for him, and since you insist on asking for this, I won't inflict this loss on you. But it's a mistake that will spell our doom. He probably has much more sympathy for our enemies than for us. At the first opportunity he will betray us. And it will be the end, because our situation is already desperate enough like this, without having to add more threats into our own group".

"And I also can't help wondering who's really serving whom," is the last reflection of the savage stranger "since it's your duty to 'take care of him'... and you are doing so. While it would be his duty to obey you... but you commanded him to answer us, and he did not. Nor is he now. Although the questions have already been asked. Oh yes, I know; maybe if we ask again from the beginning the question we just asked, we'll finally get an answer. If this... servant?... of yours doesn't find a new loophole to disobey and do as he pleases instead, that is. But, well... you'd call this 'obey'?" there is sadness, in her azure eyes, as she repeats one last time "Who's really serving whom?"

Lost in gloomy thoughts and bad omens, the last of the dusk elf maidens shakes her head and simply ceases to be interested in the matter, starting to collect her things and to feed Juhowly, in anticipation of resuming their journey to the cemetery.

At Ichabod's words, Chara suddenly realizes that Onika has seemingly disappeared into the mists. She had been so caught up in looking for Cyrus that she didn't even notice. That... doesn't bode well.

"Ummm... actually... did something happen to Onika as well?" Chara asks nervously as her heart somehow sinks even further. "Never mind, I'll let everyone else ask whatever they need to first. Ichabod, just go ahead and answer their questions from earlier, I guess. And Eithne, as much as I don't like to give his 'exact letter of the law' actions a pass here... he really didn't technically violate an order since I said you could ask him... I should really have told him to answer any questions you had."

When Eithne asks who is serving whom, Chara sighs.

"I'm not a huge fan of this arrangement either," Chara says, her voice sounding utterly drained of vitality. "And I know that he took advantage of the situation to get me to agree to take him on as a familiar when I felt like I didn't have any other choices to find out what happened to Cyrus. But after spending years watching my father commune with devils, I know how they work fairly well. Yes, he can find loopholes in my commands if I'm not careful, and he can ignore my wishes if I don't explicitly tell him what I want him to do... but as a familiar he does have to abide by any orders I give him to the letter. And... it's probably better for us to have him bound in this way than to leave him free to cause trouble however he pleases. The Nine Hells have been trying to get me back ever since I decided to make a pact with a Celestial to escape them; if Ichabod were to die then another imp would almost certainly replace him to cause mischief against us before his body was cold."

"In that case," Eithne decides to return on the theme one last time, replying to Chara "if I were you, I would leave him in this same forest, with the explicit order to remain here, motionless, doing nothing but reciting your favorite prayer to the angels, until you come back to tell him he can stop... So he wouldn't be dead... praying would certainly do his soul a lot of good... and at the same time he wouldn't cause any harm to us... But, hey, after all, he's your familiar, so what orders to give him it's up to you to decide..." she shrugs "...and among my head and yours, it's certainly not mine the wiser one. It's like yesterday, the conversation I had with the fake Nadezhna. What I had to say, I said it. I won't insist over with you, just as I didn't do it with her".

Then, the savage stranger starts playing a bit with Juhowly, who meanwhile has finished eating, telling to the others: "After you have finished asking questions to our trusted servant, let's get back on the road. We have a cemetery to reach. And hopefully to leave, afterwards".

With a low growl, more fitting one of the wolves than a human, Lenn lets the little imp free. He listens to the others specially to Chara. 

"I do trust you Chara. And I have no doubt that you will do whatever is in your power to have him under control. I... " he barely glances towards the imp but he turns back his eyes to Chara " I apologize for my furious rapture. I was.. I am furious for what happened to that little pup. It's... it's not fair and I would like some explanation..." it's obvious that he is making a great effort to control himself when he turns towards the imp again "...If you can provide us with one."

Then they talk about Onnika and he looks around, surprised.

"Wait... where is Onika? " he asks more to himself than to the others that had already asked that obvious question. 

"As you wish my lady. As you know, it is my sole ambition to serve you to the very best of my ability."

"Now, let's see. Dhampir, you wanted to know what I did to the little cur. I did nothing to it."

"Werewolf, you asked, 'What?' The answer is unclear as I am uncertain if you were asking about me or the rotting carcass of a dead wolf. You asked, ' How?' Again, I'm not sure what you are referencing. I came here of my own volition using the powers that are mine. The runt was taken from here by someone obviously stealthy and then gored and carved up with a knife. You also asked, 'When?' I came this morning, to find you packing up your things and my new master looking for her gutted former pet. Finally, you asked,"if I'm Chara's familiar, aren't I supposed to look out for her?' Well, yes. But I was not her familiar at the time and to be frank I was away freshening up when the crime took place. I only know of the rotting mess of blood and meat because I passed it on my way here. I assure you that nothing is more important to me than my lady's health and safety. So why don't you just worry about yourself, you barely capable amalgam of deep insecurity and unquenchable rage."

"Oh. And you, corpse with a thousand whiners, had a question, too. You asked, if you should have noticed someone taking the innocent little puppy? Based on your high notion of yourself, I suppose you should have, but it turns out your just as mortal, well post-mortal, as the rest of these rejects."

"Now, rather than ask, you did demand that I tell you what happened. Against my better judgement I will tell you this because my master is full of grace in spite of your cruelty toward me. I watched you last night, left, and returned this morning. I don't know who took your little rodent but I suggest there are 5 perfectly good suspects who were here and now are not. Perhaps you should stop seeking infernal inspiration when the merely mortal will do." 

He then sticks his tongue out at Lenn and Eithne and turns his back to them, while still standing on Chara's shoulder.

Ignoring the last gesture of the imp, Lenn looks around trying to find any clue of Onnika’s whereabouts 

(Would there have been any way for anyone to notice when Onika went missing? Or are we going to say that this happened overnight? Also, I'm assuming that her wolf pup is gone as well?)

Lucian visibly flinches when the imp say 'werewolf', eyes widening at the fact that the imp somehow knows. But...then again, if the creature has been following Chara, he probably overheard his confession. Then he looks around in surprise, realizing that Onika was indeed missing. How had he not noticed this before? Sure, Onika had always been quiet, but surely he should have noticed her leave... shouldn't he? 

"When would she have left? How did no one notice this earlier?" He says quickly, his heart sinking further and further. This day was off to a bad start, and it just seemed to be getting worse. 

When the imp addresses him, Lucian flinches again,  "D...don't call me that... please." He shakes his head, a mixture of sadness, anger, and confusion washing over him as the imp continues. He takes a step backwards as Ichabod's words hit him like a knife. He ducks his head, wrapping his arms around himself and setting his jaw. In spite of the buried half of him that wants to return those words with ones of his own, he forces himself to stay calm. "So you really saw nothing?" He says more to himself then to the imp, "You don't suppose...that...small man..." He shakes his head again, not wanting to jump to conclusions. They might not have had the best introductions last night, but he didn't want to assume the worst about the group of outsiders. Still...it seemed that Rontic was the most likely culprit at this point. Yet...that didn't answer what could have happened to Onika.

Straightening himself, he lets his arms fall to his sides and he clenches his fists, "So. Do you have any useful information? Or do we have to figure this out ourselves? Do you know when Onika disappeared? How long have you been following us? Were you there when...when that body fell out of the tree? If so, do you know who was responsible for that? Could that be somehow connected to what happened to Onika and Cyrus?" He stops himself, realizing that he is rambling, and that the imp likely either doesn't have the answers, or won't give them as freely as he says he will. After a moment he adds, "You seem to know an awful lot about the rest of us, so I just assumed that you might know about...the other things we have seen and dealt with so far."

Ichabod looks at Lucian with disdain. "You know, you are too weak for that curse you bear. It's pitiful. I can have it taken away, for a price."

"To answer your questions, as my lady demands, I checked in on my Chara every day. Now that I'm bound to her, I'll be here all the time. I did not see what happened with your companion. I don't know anything about a body in a tree, it must have happened when I was away. I don't know the fate of the witch's pet. If my mistress likes, I could look over the area to see if there are any clues." He turns to Chara.

“I’m not weak!” Lucian exclaims, the words coming a bit louder then he’d meant. He crosses his arms, diverting his gaze. Is the imp trying to provoke him? Could he really…get rid of the curse? “What…kind of price?” He almost doesn’t ask, but then realizes that if Ichabod really has the power to remove his Lycanthropy, can’t Chara just order him to do so? After a moment he says, “I’m not on the market for selling my soul. I’ve been dealing with this curse for…as long as I can remember. So don’t assume I’m going to strike a deal out of desperation.” He speaks deliberately, doing his best to hide the fact that he has always been desperate when it came to his curse. He’d always thought he would do anything to get rid of it, but right now he had to think about what sort of consequences that could lead to. 

He shakes his head, realizing that he is getting distracted, “Fine. If…you don’t have any idea as to what happened…” He glances at Chara and Lenn, “I can try picking up a trail… If the rest of you are up for the risk.” He hesitates, eyeing Ichabod for a moment, “Unless we think Ichabod’s scouting will be enough.” 

"The facts demonstrate what I had already anticipated in words" Eithne replies to Lucian (but speaking aloud enough for anyone to hear). "Ichabore" (deliberately misspelling the name) "is not only boring, but also completely useless. He happened by chance to see the dead puppy (if we are to believe him). But he doesn't actually know (or say) anything about what happened . Probably, they kicked him out of hell more to get him out of the way, this pitiful demonic failure, rather than because they really believe that he can be able to help them in any of their plots. I wouldn't even trust him to tie shoelaces, as far as I'm concerned, far less in helping us finding poor Onika".

"Personally," continues the savage stranger "I think whoever is persecuting us is too powerful for us. He can do anything under our noses. The Hanged Man… Cyrus… Onika… He never lets himself be discovered, nor leaves any traces - he also somehow manages to make sure that we don't realize what he has done until some time later. In my opinion, he uses some supernatural power. If any of us can find Onika's tracks, we certainly try to follow them... but I doubt we will find them. And if we don't find them, I fear that our only choice is to continue along the path of our mission. Delay to blindly turn around looking for our friend... it would give us no guarantees of finding her or saving her, while it would give us guarantees of delaying our mission. And perhaps this is what our persecutor wants".

“I trust you” says Lenn putting a hand in Lucian’s shoulder after nodding when he refuses the devil’s offer.

”That little one is not as useful as he pretend to be after all…” he says referí g ti his lack of knowledge in almost everything that they had asked, but he had to admit that he says it out loud just to provoke the imp, as he had been doing with Lucian. 
Lenn takes a mental note of that. He must be stronger than that and do not fall into his mind games. 

After hearing Eithne ideas Lenn nods again in agreement. 

Chara considers for a few moments, then nods at Ichabod's suggestion.

"Alright Ichabod," she says. "I think that would be a good idea... please go and search for any clues you can find about what happened to Onika and her pet, then report back to me with anything relevant that you were able to discover. I guess we'll probably be packing up within the hour, so return by then."

As soon as Ichabod flies off, Chara slumps against a tree, looking completely exhausted. She wants to mourn Cyrus... both the deceased wolf and her father whom the imp had so cruelly mocked several times within a few minutes, but she knows that there really isn't any time for that right now. She sighs and turns her attention to Lucian, deciding to answer the elf's question regarding what kind of price the little devil might ask to cure him of his condition.

"Lucian," Chara says hesitantly. "You asked what kind of price he might be asking... I'll be honest, the price would probably be something dear to you, but not necessarily your soul. They might even offer to help you without immediately demanding payment... like Ichabod literally just did to me when he told me that he would let me know where Cyrus was in exchange for an unnamed 'favor...' which in this case turned out to be taking him on as a familiar. Ichabod himself doesn't have the power to cure lycanthropy, but he could broker a deal with a more powerful devil who does have that ability. I'm... not exactly thrilled to be telling you this, but I thought it would probably be better if I let you know now rather let you wonder until you got curious enough to ask him what he could do when I'm not here for whatever reason."

Lucian offers a small smile at Lenn's words, though he can't help but think to himself that it doesn't matter whether or not his friends trust him. If the wolf gets free, he won't be in control anymore. But he's tried to make that clear, and they all keep telling him that they trust him and that he is stronger then the curse. He just wishes that those words actually would make a difference. 

"I...I understand," he says in response to Eithne. "But if it's alright with you I'd like to try. Even if there are no tracks...there might be a scent. At least...well...I I don't know..." He trails off, "If this person or thing has supernatural powers, then maybe there really isn't anything we can do about it but...I still think we should try to look for her."

As Chara begins talking to him he shifts uncomfortably. Part of him wants to know if there was any chance the price would be worth it. After all, if Chara thought it safe enough to make a deal with Ichabod to help find a wolf pup...why couldn't he ask for his curse to be removed? Still, the greater part of him was screaming not to get involved with demons. Only bad things could come from that...and who knows if this cure would really be a cure? What if he wound up worse off then he already is? "I... thanks for telling me..." He says after a moment, "I just..." He lets out a long breath, covering his eyes with his palms for a moment, before saying, "I just... I've been looking for a way to control this curse for so long without any real hope of being free of it... I can't help but wonder if it would be worth it... I know... It's stupid...." He shakes his head, realizing to late that the words had left his mouth. "I've been...managing, so far...so...The last thing I need is to get involved with demons more powerful then..." he gestures the direction that Ichabod flew. 

He stands silently for a moment before looking back at the camp. "Well," he says shakily. "The more I think about this the less I want to try it. But I want to do what I can to try to find Onika." He looks to Lenn, "If...it looks like I'm going to transform...knock me out or something...okay?" He tries to smile but the effort doesn't las long. 

He moves hesitantly to where he thinks Onika last was. Then sits down, "Um... ready when you are?" He looks expectantly at Lenn, assuming that the Paladin would be ready with a sword in case he transformed. 

"It's not stupid... the Nine Hells prey upon desperation," Chara says glumly.

Chara watches silently as Lucian prepares to use his wolf senses to look for Onika. She prays silently to her patron that he'll find the druid unharmed... but with the way things have been going so far, she does her best to steel herself in case he returns with more bad news.

"Ready" Eithne confirms. "Do what you can. And don't worry too much..." she tries to joke "...if you transform, I'm pretty sure you'll go for Ichabore first!"

Lucian gives a small smile at Eithne's remark, but finds it difficult to joke about, "Honestly...the wolf will probably go after whoever is closest to me." He says this hesitantly, but he thinks it is important that they understand. 

Once he is sure that they are all ready, he takes some comfort in the idea that Lenn and Eithne might be able to knock him out before the transformation could even complete--if he transformed at all. He had to keep a positive attitude...the less he believed in himself...the more likely he would be to fail. Letting out a breath, he closes his eyes, rests his arms on his knees, and clasps his hands together in front of himself as if meditating. He focuses on breathing, in through his nose, out through his mouth, hoping that he will be able to recognize whatever scents he manages to pick up... it wasn't as if these senses were dormant...he just suppresses them so often that he rarely notices his heightened senses. He forces himself to open up to the smells and sounds around him, and let just a little bit of the beast out...

Survival (with advantage): 14 

As he sits there, he feels the beast straining against him. His brow farrows just slightly as he forces the wolf back. No, not today. Not now. They don't have time to deal with the wolf if it gets out. His body quivers just slightly, but he manages to resume his 'calm' demeanor thanks to his meditation. Once he is sure that the wolf is contained, he refocuses on the task at hand. 

Lenn nods and smiles back to Lucian and gets closer to him to inspire him trust and confidence. He lets out a small laugh when Eithne says he will go towards Ichabod first. 

"The last thing I need is for Lucian to turn Ichabod into a werewolf," Chara says with a half-hearted chuckle.

Lucian: