Delas fashioned a simple trap on the ground, and climbed into a tree. "Make him step in the rope circle! Be quick, or he'll call for help!"
Astien snarled, standing between Marius and Cormac, defending the young man like his own child. He growled and snapped at his lover.
"Astien, it's me, Marius," the large man said as Cormac ran for the trap to the best of his ability. He looked into Astien's eyes. "You remember me, don't you?"
For a single, short second, the growling ceased, as Astien looked at Marius. But when he noticed Cormac getting away, he began snarling once more. He leaped over to Cormac, and again stood between him and his would-be rescuer.
Cormac kept going and collapsed in the snow, just behind Delas' trap. His body trembled as he gasped for air while patches of fur began to cover his body in spots.
"Cormac!" Marius bellowed. "Hang in there!"
As soon as Astien stepped in the rope, Delas dropped from the tree. "Fire in the hole!" Holding the other end of the rope, Astien's side was jerked into the air, and he fell face first into the snow as his legs were lifted up. He began clawing at the air, trying to swipe at the rope, but couldn't quite maneuver his torso so be able to reach it. Delas held into the rope, but was hanging in the air, unable to let go lest Astien be freed. "Tie his snout first, or he's gonna call out!"
Marius quickly bound Astien snout and then his front paws. "Sorry about this, but you'll thank us later." He kissed Astien's head and then went to Cormac. He gently gagged him and bound his hands and feet. With Delas' help they made their way back to the horses and the carriage. "Delas, can you get the horses hooked up and the carriage going?" He tethered Astien and Cormac to the bottom bunk. Cormac was unconscious and his body still trembled beside Astien's.
"When those wolfkin don't see these two again, they're gonna come find us! I don't know if we can go fast enough!" Regardless, Delas had the carriage going full speed in user a minute. Astien was struggling around his bindings, writhing. He was trying to snarl and howl around his bindings, but none of it worked. Eventually, he was relegated to just whimpering.
"I'm sorry I had to do this," Marius said. He gently touched Astien's belly and gave it a light rub. "Everything will be alright, I promise you." He looked to Cormac. Patches of fur were growing as fast as they were falling out, something he had never seen before. "How is it that you're warding this off?" He quietly asked. He took some ointment out of Astien's collection and put it on Cormac's burnt hands.
Astien whimpered loudly, crying as bet he could around the bindings on his mouth. He fidgeted and struggled, and continued his crying, letting out small howls of frustration.
"I know," Marius said in a comforting tone. As the night wore on Marius managed to stay awake and swapped places with Delas a few times. Early the next morning, not too long after sunrise, they came to a city.
"So," Delas said. "In out carriage, we have a completely feral, non-verbal, savage wolfkin who may or may not be able to turn people with a bite, and someone who's about to turn into the same thing. "How are we going to stay in this town? All someone would have to do is offhandedly look in the window."
"Just keep the curtains drawn and try to keep Astien quiet," Marius said as he pulled to a stop. "I'm going to look for somebody to reverse or remove this curse. Don't let anybody in unless you hear me with them." He headed into the city with the hope of finding somebody to help them. His first stop would be the temples.
Cormac's wings were covered in fur with only a few small, bald patches here and there. His entire body was covered in a light fuzz, but beyond that not much else had changed. He was still out cold and had hardly moved throughout the night.
Delas just scratched his head. He was at a loss for how to keep Astien calm. "Um… dogs like belly rubs. Want a belly rub?" He began rubbing Astien's belly, which seemed to calm him down a bit.
In the holy district, there were several temples devoted to various gods. In this town, there was Asana'a temple, Tamara's temple, Faye's temple, and the all-child temple, which was devoted to every god, not just one.
Marius went into the all-child temple, figuring it was his best chance. "Hello? I need assistance with a magical matter."
Cormac groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. He looked at Delas for a few moments before closing his eyes again. His body was sore and exhausted and fighting against his bindings would cause more harm than good. He managed to move slightly, though he bumped against Astien.
An elderly priest stood at the altar at the front of the temple, as light bathed in from the stained glass windows. Statues of every child stood, large and grand. "Why hello. What do you need, my boy?" The priest asked.
Delas looked over at Cormac. "Hey. Is there anything I can get you? Wet cloth, water.... Maybe just some music?"
(Off to sleep, be back tomorrow. Kisses)
"Two of my traveling companions were bitten by wolfkin last night. I need to find somebody who can remove the curse."
Cormac slowly nodded his head at the last suggestion. With the gag in his mouth it would be hard for him to drink. He huffed as he snuggled closer to Astien.
"Oh my. That is troubling. First they killed some of ours, so we killed theirs, now this." The priest looked perturbed. "Let's see… I can't think of anyone off the top of my head, but…"
"The priest can't help." Came a voice. It came from an elf, sitting in a pew. He was small, and quite frankly, looked crazy. His hair was wild and going in every which way, his eyes had deep, dark bags beneath them, and beside the pew he sat in, he had a coffin, larger than he was, made of bones.
Astien allowed tried to curl up around Cormac defensively, but failed in this endeavor. Delas picked up his guitar, and set about playing a tune.
"I once had a girl
Or should I say, she once had me.
She showed me her room,
Isn't it good, Norwegian wood?"
"Would you be able to?" Marius asked the strange elf.
Cormac closed his eyes and listened to the music.
The elf just shrugged as he didn't even look at Marius. "I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. It depends on-" he jerked his head to the right. "Reet, I'm talking here! Just give me a minute!" He said to thin air. He looked back at Marius. "It depends on hot strong the magic is, I guess." He started petting thin air next to him. "I can try, but I might not be able to do it."
Astien kept whimpering, and tried to howl out his sadness, but couldn't. Delas kept playing songs, hoping to assuage their pain.
"Please try," Marius said with concern. He worried for Cormac and Astien and Aiden. There was no telling what the transformation had done to the child if it did anything at all. "I'll pay you for your trouble."