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Yami rolled onto his back, rubbing his left leg wincing in pain. "Damnit... Not now..."

Thunderclaw let out a ferocious roar.
"Yami! What's the problem?"

Erhard whirled at the sound of Thunderclaw's roar of rage. <<No!>> he wailed. <<Don't!>>

Too late. Howls and shrieks began to sound all round. All at once, the night air was filled with overwhelming noise. Not more terrible could have been the chaos and cacophony if the demons of the pit itself had released their exultant howl of the damned.

<<May the powers preserve us. They come!>>

Amid the terrible wails and caterwaulings, a dilapidated house two blocks to the north exploded in a shower of plaster and brick. A bubbling gurgle, a hint of a roaring voice as of melted and rotting vocal chords, rolled through the poisoned air. Its intonation was a deep basso trilling, a pustular perversion that drew out like a long death-rattle.

"Gggooooooodddd Wwwwwaaaaaalllllkeeerrrrr!"

<<Yuthlan! Save us, they have a Yuthlan. A big one.>> Then he turned to his companions. <<The time for stealth is past. The thing you just heard is easily capable of killing us all. It's slow but it will have help.>>

He looked wildly about him. <<There is no time. Run while you can. I'll distract them long enough for you to get away. Find your contact, Thunderclaw. Yami, if you can make it, head for Sabbatis, a small town north of here at the edge of the Hamilton preserve. My den is there. Find my brothers. Warn them!>>

Yami shook angrily, wanting to stay and fight, but his leg would not permit him. "May the goddess watch over you." He shook as he went to stand, but managed. He was in pain, but this was just enough an emergency to get the adrenaline pumping so he had the strength to go on.

"We will do our best to make sure this enemy cannot overwhelm this planet. Yami, Sarence, we must move quickly. If we can reach another town or city, we should be able to get to my contact. Swiftly now."

Yami followed as quickly as his leg would allow him. He snarled everytime the pain shot through it, only going faster. He wouldn't fail now.

The silver light of Luna now seemed to reflect a cold and ghastly luminosity that seemed to rime the city blocks and the surging shadows as from the breath of some ancient and malevolent giant of the cold wastes. The roars of the Malandanti filled the ears of the werewolves, seeming to be an unfeeling mockery of all voices, impure and heartless.

Erhard took one last look at his companions as he prepared to spring down to the street. <<Farewell!>>

Just then a mass of undulating darkness detached itself from the greater shadow of the city and squirmed its way toward the lone Benadanti.

The mass had eyes. Red and glowing, pinpricks of blood. It drooled, snarled, and gibbered in a mindless torrent of blasphemy.

Erhard stood tall and erect in the street and howled out his challenge. <<Come, you murdering swine. Come to me, dark spawn! I defy you and your masters. Come to me if you dare!>>

As the living tide of evil swept towards him, Erhard drew up his chest and a growl grew deep within his throat. Rising to a rumbling crescendo, it seemed like an earthquake lived in his chest. Then in an instant, he loosed his fury. The howl from his throat threw bits of stone and brick into the air, and made visual distortions as the very molecules of atmosphere quivered at the shock. The ear-splitting cry brought cries of pain and dismay from the dark creatures as some of them fell to the ground, bleeding and broken, while others exploded in showers of flesh and bone.

But the dark wave could not be quenched. As the other werewolves scattered to their various missions, the last they saw of Erhard, Banshee of the Benandanti, was his snarling form as he tore into the rotting flesh of the enemy, hurled twisted things into the air, or let loose with another haunting cry that flensed his foes alive.

Then he was lost to sight among the buildings and the endless enemy swarm.

Thunderclaw heard a sound of triumph from the swarms of evil.
"We don't have much time, they will be on their way now."

Yami nodded and limped along behind him. "If I slow us down, you may have to go on without me. I can keep them off you two for a while."

"No. We have so far lost one, and another would be catastrophic. I'm not leaving someone else behind to die."

Yami grinned. "Who said I'd die?" He laughed. "You're right, I would more likely die, but at least it would give you a chance."

Thunderclaw stared at Yami grimly. "At this current time, that would be the worst thing to happen."

Yami nodded hurrying as fast as his leg allowed him. Thunderclaw was right, they needed all the help they could get. "How far is this friend of yours?"

"He's everywhere and nowhere at the same time. We need to rech civilisation with communications and we'll be able to get hold of him."

Yami quickened his pace, the pain in his leg gone now. He hurried on with Thunderclaw. "I just traveled in from a town. Two days travel but if we run in wolf form then we should make it by nightfall."

"Then let us run faster than we ever have before"

Yami did run faster, the pain in his leg gone. They didn't reach the town by nightfall but did reach it sometime after midnight

Thunderclaw quickly took a seat.
"It won't be long now. We should rest somewhere, and I'll find a way to contact him tomorrow."

Yami sniffed around. "I had a temporary den that was a cave by a river. We can use that for shelter for now."

"Good. Looks like we have somewhere to stay then at least."

"Good thing too, it smells like rain." Yami led him down to the river and the hollowed out cave.

When they arrived, Thunderclaw had a brief look around.
"Small, but it will keep us safe until morning comes."

OOC Post: Hi guys. Been following your posts and just wanted to be clear as to your present location (which was never firmly established). I checked a map of Hamilton County and the best cave system near a "river" would be Chimney Mountain near Kings Flow and Big Brook. True it's a tourist attraction, but the caves at the summit form a complicated maze that only expert cave divers are allowed to enter. Perfect hiding place, yes?

(OOC: Thanks that is a perfect hiding place, thanks for the contribution while your character is AWOL )

Yami nodded. It slowly started to rain, and eventually a downpour started. Yami had gone through a few dry sticks when he'd transformed back, using his infamous lighter, and created a small fire in the cave.

Thunderclaw huffed heavily.
"I don't know how people always seem to find themselves in these messes.