My spur of the moment, minimally thought out plan, of course, went wrong on me. I should have thought it through, but I didn't want to waste time. I went after them as soon as I could.
But I'm getting ahead again.

I'd never headed eastward from the town except the one time I went hunting with Kadach. I cleared that area quickly, and from there on I was in unfamiliar territory.
For the most part, it looked fairly normal. The great plain continued, though in places it seemed to give way to marshy areas. I avoided them. Getting wet was one thing, but marsh water isn't so nice, and the smell of some of them...
There were trees dotted around, of course, but even they seemed fewer in number, and were mostly either dead or just stumps in the ground.
By the end of the first day of running, I'd covered a lot of ground. There was absolutely nowhere safe to stay though, no cover, nothing I could use to give me some warning. Staying as a wolf was out of the question. Any vampire who saw me would know exactly what it meant.
All those I'd met so far – well, those that I'd actually managed to talk with for a few moments – seemed to recognise me in my natural form too, meaning no matter what form I took I was going to be at risk.
In the end, I found a tree with plenty of branches, climbed it and stayed up there in my own form. The tree offered little in the way of cover, but it was the best I could do. I had to take some risks if I was going to reach the vampire's keep. The best I could hope for was that anyone who did try to reach me would make the tree rustle enough to wake me.
In best habits ever since then, it was a troubled sleep. My dreams seemed influenced by the nightmare of what had happened to the pack, seeing it from their point of view instead of my own. The vampires were all familiar too, always looking like the ones I'd killed. What made the nightmare worse was that I seemed to be able to hear, to smell, to feel everything. I won't go into that. It's not pleasant as it is, and they did use some nasty means to deal with the pack.
I woke with a start before dawn had broken, and ended up falling out of the tree. Not the best start to the day. I had managed to make it through most of the night without incident it seemed, so at least it wasn't all bad.
There was no way I was getting back to sleep after that, so I decided I might as well set out again.
It was just as dawn broke I saw the top of their fortress starting to claw it's way above the horizon.
I will never understand vampires. They're part-dead or something, I get that. But what in their diseased minds makes them think that black is a good colour for everything? That already ugly construct of theirs just looked even more ugly in black. I suppose it could be so it's harder to see at night, but since more of them stick to the preconceptions of vampires and get up at night, the lights are always on, which means they're still easily visible.
Personally, I just think they're stupid, but I'm prejudiced so my opinion doesn't count for as much.
As that fortress started to loom higher, the marshy areas stopped appearing, and farmlands started appearing. The buildings were all made of black stone, naturally.
I paused briefly at one of those farmsteads, taking my natural form instead so I wouldn't raise any suspicions. The farmers were all afraid of something they wouldn't talk about, and steadfastly refused to look at or talk about the castle. No information coming from them to help me.
Their resident cooks did give me breakfast though, which was at least some consolation. Slightly over-boiled vegetable soup isn't exactly the best breakfast, but it was better than nothing.
While I was with them, I began to form a plan. During one of my visits with Kieran, he'd mentioned that they could pluck thoughts from any mind, turning anyone into a spy. This suggested to me that they had to pick the people they wanted to do that to, rather than just pulling a kind of mental net through every mind in range. That gave me one edge, they might know I was coming, but they didn't know where I was. It seemed unlikely that these farmers put me at any kind of risk.
To be safe though, I decided that when I left I'd circle around through the farmlands to come in from either the north or south, instead of from the west – that would be what they expected. After all, they think of us as just simple-minded dogs.
Don't try calling me that yourself though – not unless you want to see what your own face looks like after I take it off you.
I was still faced with two problems – getting in, and getting in without being recognised. There didn't seem to be any way around either of them. I took a risk again on the second one and hoped that only certain vampires actually knew about me. As to the first... well, I'd think of something. Before I got to the gates, hopefully.
I gave thanks to the cooks before I left the farmstead again. They still eyed me suspiciously, and I ignored it. There wasn't much I could do about it. If I had my way though, by the time I was done here they wouldn't have to live in fear any longer.
This close to people, I didn't dare change form unless it was absolutely necessary. It slowed me down, but couldn't be helped. I aimed to reach the path to the southern gate, having to cross fields and go through paths that were hardly more than just a well worn bit of ground. Several times I was run off fields. Apparently not all the locals appreciated random people wandering through their land.
It was when I reached the main route in I found my way in. Several wagons loaded with wheat were headed toward the gates. The gates were guarded, of course, but the guards didn't seem to be checking the carts. Poor security, but good for me.
I drew back from the road, trying to get out of sight. I had to peer through a few windows, and look around to make sure no one would see me, then I changed back to a wolf and took the risk of being seen, running out into the road and jumping into the last wagon, quickly hiding myself under it's cargo. I didn't change back just yet, as my better senses told me more, letting me build an image of what was around me.
It was very tense, having to wait under there while the wagon creaked and bumped along to path to the town around the fortress. Any number of things could have gone wrong. It's fortunate I was a wolf at the time, because like so many other things, the nature of the wolf simply sets aside things that aren't worthwhile, such as worrying about things there's nothing to be done about. Wolves are very practical creatures because of this.
The wagons paused at the gates. They were apparently kept closed unless something – or someone – needed to get in or out. There was a short discussion with the guards over their cargo and something about showing the proper papers, then the gates clattered open and we continued in. I was almost at the heart of enemy territory now, but I couldn't let overconfidence get the better of me. I had to stay alert, or I'd get myself caught. This was possibly the most risky part so far.
The wagons made their way through the town, their destination I didn't know. I kept my ears open, listening intently. The townsfolk, like the farmers earlier, all had a hint of fear in them. With so many around, I could almost smell that fear. They seemed to lead relatively normal lives, once the vampires were discounted.
There was one moment where that couldn't be ignored though, as we passed near a market area. I overheard a conversation that only made me more determined to finish this.
There was someone crying, clearly upset, then, "Whatever is the matter?" a male voice asked.
"It's Rosie," the crying woman replied. "They came for her. She wouldn't go with them."
"What happened? She didn't try to fight them did she?" There was a pause, where I assume the woman nodded. "What did they do to her?" he went on, his voice weak.
"They cornered her, then... then they..." she broke off, sobbing harder. There was a longer pause, then she continued, "They took everything off her, then they just..." she stopped again. Just as the wagons were leaving my hearing range of them, I heard her finish, "They had their way, then they killed her."
I was very close to bursting out of my cover right there and then to do something about this, but there was nothing I could do. I couldn't trace the scent of those who'd done it, because I'd be seen and discovered. I couldn't just randomly kill people here, because not all of them were vampires. I had smelled a few, but with so many people around, it was too hard to tell who was and who wasn't.
When the wagons stopped, it was outside some kind of warehouse. Taking care to be quiet, I retreated out from my cover, listening intently and smelling the air. There didn't seem to be any vampires around, only the wagon drivers, and none of them could see here, so I jumped down, quickly returning to my own form and headed down the street trying to look as if I'd been there all along. I had no idea where I was in the town or where this street would lead me.
I wandered around a lot, trying to look as if I lived here like the rest of them, and trying not to react whenever I caught that faint, tinny tell-tale scent. It wasn't easy.
Finally, I emerged onto one of the main thoroughfares, which lead directly up to the home of my enemy. At the top of this wider street was the main entrance, so as I neared the guarded entrance, I found a side street that let me get closer to the base of the fortress so I could look around the outside, to see if there was any other way in.
There wasn't. I'd have to go through the main entrance, and I knew those guards would never let me through, even if they did know what I was. I was so close now! There had to be another way in. Surely even they had to eat or drink like everyone else, right? So how did it all get in?
Well, food would have to be delivered in, I guessed, but what about water? How did their... waste water get out again?
Of course, there had to be sewers. I didn't like the idea of going through them, but it gave me a way in, and that was what I needed.
Keeping track of my position in relation to the fortress, I searched for a way in. There were manholes, but they were all out in the open, no way to get into them without being seen, and there would be a lot of people who'd see me. I'd have to find another way.
As it happened, that way found me. While I'd been looking, I had forgotten to pay attention to those around me, so when I paused to think of another way in, a pair of guards – human, thankfully – came up behind me and roughly took hold of me.
"You're not from around here, are you?" one asked me.
"Uh, no," I answered, trying to hide surprise. "I just got here today."
"We know," the other said. "Got your ID on you?" ID? I hadn't heard anything about this while I'd been around.
"No, not yet."
They shared a look behind my back.
"Here's what we're gonna do then. You're gonna come with us up to the Lord's castle, and get you one, and you're gonna be all docile and quiet like."
"I won't be any trouble," I assured them. They'd kindly provided precisely what I wanted. I'd have to do something about them before they got me to any vampires, otherwise I'd have a slight problem, but I'd deal with that when I got there.
"Sure you won't. We're armed, and you're not."
"Don't need to threaten me. I'll behave myself."
That seemed to unnerve them even more.
Fortunately, I'd been wandering around near the entrance anyway. They passed a brief explanation to the guards on duty, who gave me some threatening looks, but seemed not to know who I was. I didn't want to think about what might have happened if they had.
I was lead into the fortress, through a maze of corridors. The scent of vampires was strong here. When that got almost overpowering, I knew there was one nearby and I had to act quickly.
With one quick movement, I shifted into the Hybrid form and slammed each of the guards against the walls. It made a dreadful noise, but it incapacitated them.
Then I returned to being a wolf and darted down another corridor. Every time the smell of them grew stronger, I changed course for another route, trying to find somewhere I could hide, anywhere to wait until the commotion I'd caused passed.
I didn't find one. They cornered me first, but that wasn't the end of it. Instead, I just shifted once more into the Hybrid form and started dealing with them. If I couldn't reach their Master by stealth, then I'd force my way there.
It was as I fought my way through those vampires and back out into the corridors that I found out why Kathann had told me to find out about Wolfsbane. It wasn't so I could use it – it was intended to be a warning about it.
They managed to get my attention by coming at me head on in great numbers, which distracted me from a single one behind me that managed to snap a kind of cuff around one of my legs, made from the awful stuff.
Wolfsbane is deadly to both our kinds, but only when eaten. When it only comes into contact, it has very different effects.
The moment it touched me, I was forced back to my human form by it, and felt very weak. I couldn't change form, and I couldn't seem to find enough strength to do anything.
Sapped of strength, and left too weak to do anything, I don't know what I expected them to do, but I didn't expect them to just pick me up and carry me along somewhere.