William's current predicament required quiet prayer for him to reflect upon his available options. Unfortunately, the church’s manic inhabitants were not conducive to his need for composed silence and he was forced to look elsewhere. Similarly, the local tavern would likely be filled with loud and intrusive drunkards, celebrating their new friends from the visiting caravan. He could not go to the nearby woods, given what lurked within. With the day’s trade winding down, Victoria’s wagon remained as his only chance for relative solitude. Only a few weary-eyed merchants remained trading, leaving only a scarce few stragglers trying to haggle with those still operating.

He entered the medical tent to find Victoria, devoid of patients, processing the various herbs and mushrooms which had been gathered by her familiar. Leo was hanging around Victoria’s tent, finishing up the lingering business and securing any lose goods. A wordless conversation passed through them; a simple wave communicated his need for isolation. The rhythmic sounds of mortar grinding on pestle remained the only sound in the ward, calming his strained mind.

William’s mind constantly reviewed his available options, weighing the costs of each action, much to his growing frustration. He lacked the personnel to deal with both situations simultaneously and any large party would likely scare off his quarry. Only a few people between the village and caravan knew of the current werewolf situation, to prevent panic he felt it would be better to keep it that way. It was clear that the werewolves were a more active and dangerous threat, leaving the village to fend for themselves whilst he completed his mission would certainly lead to countless more deaths. Whatever he thought about the threat his captive posed, letting her roam around unchecked was also unacceptable.

-

Victoria approached him after what was likely an hour of deep concentration, with an offering of a cup of water, “Would I be correct in assuming that you are thinking about the werewolves?” His state of concentration now broken, he rounded his attention on Victoria “How did you know about that?” “You are not the only one to talk with people, the townsfolk I treated were afraid of the recent wolf attacks. I sent Rose to look into it and collect some supplies from the woods. She has confirmed their presence from their tracks and other locals have confirmed an unknown number of humanoid figures in the woods.” The other locals mentioned were another matter which could be addressed later, but knowledge of another level-headed soul gave him some notion of comfort. Even if that soul was not, strictly speaking, an ally of his.

“You seem to be awfully co-operative. What are you planning?” The accusation was mostly ignored by Victoria. William had realised early on that any attempt at provoking Victoria would likely garner nothing more than mild annoyance, serving only to waste the initiator’s energy. “I am not planning anything, gathering information is of utmost importance. You would be surprised what just a little information can lead to.” Her calm rebuttal was a continuation of the vampire’s pattern of observation followed by adaptation. She was likely content to remain passive, having accepted the current status quo. “Though one might say my survival is a motivating factor. If you were the one to deliver me to the church, my odds of survival would improve a little.”

The sentence momentarily stunned William, “What?” Victoria elaborated, “If you were to disappear, the church would elevate my profile and send additional resources which I would be unable to handle. The wolves are seemingly an unknown presence outside of this town, I would be seen as your killer regardless of whatever manages to kill you. If you deliver me safely, I have a better chance of survival with your account of my character. Whatever that may be. If you die to these beasts, I am in a worse situation than before.” William again found himself ignorant of his position, unaware of his own value. “So, you would prefer that I ignore the werewolves and return with reinforcements?” Victoria contemplated her response, seemingly comparing multiple possibilities and results. “That outcome would only be slightly better than the immediate alternatives. Due to the circumstances, your mindset would have you returning to the village leaving me without any testimony. Resulting in any positive impressions I have made, being lost.”

Leo, who had previously been eavesdropping, decided to insert himself into the conversation. “If you ask me, you’d be better off going for help or hiring some mercenaries.” William gave Leo an angry look, which was subsequently ignored. “I’ve seen some magical beasts, monstrous things. This one, er... a Lambton snake? Maybe an eel*. Whatever it was, it was bigger than a horse. Nearly scared the life out of me. If it were me, I'd just burn down the forest and hang around the edges; I am safe behind a wall of spikes while the beasts have to choose between fire and steel.” Victoria was apparently not a fan of the excessively bold suggestion, “You are right that the odds of success rise with more men, but burning the forest is unlikely to get your desired result. With our current technology and without direct divine intervention, the only truly safe method would be catapults firing holy water followed by a legion of heavily armored knights.”

William grew increasingly frustrated. He ultimately knew that they were right, but did not like the implication of leaving the innocent unprotected. “You want me to just abandon these people while the damned werewolves get stronger?” It was Victoria who lent a comforting hand, “I would guess that the attacks have lasted a month and none of the messengers has successfully escaped the village. If you were to die alone to the werewolves, it might cost more lives than just your own.” William continued to internally struggle against the reality that, in fact, it was better if he left the village to fend for themselves a while longer. “Please leave me, I... I need to pray more.”

Leo left for the tavern, that was currently warming up to a loud party lasting into the early hours, while Victoria returned to whatever task she was doing. In desperation for any alternative plan, which didn’t involve abandoning the village, William's mind turned to his understanding of Victoria’s mental processes. Her current circumstances were the result of careful analysis of her situation and a comparison between the options she identified. The resulting bizarre circumstances she had created potentially opened many doors that were previously closed and now might grant survival. Analyzing his own situation; he had little money, only his own equipment, and no allies within a day’s travel. It was unlikely the caravan would lend him much in the way of money or resources, meaning that he could not hire additional fighters to assist him. The town had few combat-ready citizens, so he could not try to rally a militia. The only other resource he had was his captive vampire whom he could not release.

At that instant, he had a moment of crazed inspiration. His prisoner had equal, if not more, occult knowledge than him and had mentioned some degree of combat experience. Either his faith or his gut instinct told him that she would be sufficient to aid him. This heretical plan now hinged on his captive agreeing to aid him, while not sabotaging his efforts to save the village. Despite William trusting Victoria to some extent, his ingrained bias prevented him from accepting her word on its own merits.

-

One of the ancient arts of church is binding two souls in a contract, held to their word by their god. Each school of magic had its own version of the pact with its own quirks. As a general principle, any deity can enforce this contract; however the relative strength of the deity will determine the strength of the pact. When entering into a divine pact, all parties should be aware the whims of the pact’s overseer can influence the value of the pact. William’s deity prioritszed honor and respect, generally making his particular god appealing for individual agreements. One of the requirements of most Light-based beings is that all parties must consent to the pact, which is not necessarily a requirement for all deities. Many would see this as a desirable pantheon of gods to swear onto, their punishments for breaking bonds are usually excessive and fatal.

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*The Lambton Worm is a large eel-like creature from North-Eastern English mythology