I heard a rustling as my only warning of a possible threat. I hid in the trees' foliage as I observed, waiting. They came from the thicket, four humanoid and tailed figures- but unlike Creed's gloriously thick black-scaled tail of Satanhood, their tails were thin and ugly. They snuck around and whispered fervently, with blades in their hands. They had long snouts reminiscent of rats, and fur covered their persons. Assuming the knife in their hand was not a greeting, they didn't come with friendly intentions.

I threw one of two daggers at one, landed on a second with a blade aimed at its crown, stabbed a third, and as the fourth realized I was there, it swung its knife in a wide arc. I was cut at my arm, but I then closed the distance and dug my dagger into where I assumed a heart would be.

After a dramatic fall done spectacularly by whatever that thing was, I looked at my wound. It was more server than I first assumed, a long gash from elbow to wrist. Blood flowed steadily from the wound, turning the road to mud.

Creed stirred from his sleep, waking up from the noise. He looked around, from what I could guess groggily, but regained his wits almost instantly. His eyes locked into me, glowing creepily in the near absolute darkness. His eyes widened for a moment, before going sharp, and he looked around. His gaze paused over the dead things, before he started moving.

He jumped off the carriage and ran twords me. I was feeling faint and slightly dizzy, and I was gripping above my arm, trying to slow the blood flow. He came to my side and he sang;

"In death a foe

And injured a friend

Heal this piece of muck

And his wounds mend" 

His words echoed, and when he finished the gash healed, I felt more stable and my dizziness disappeared.

I tried comprehending what I just witnessed, and when I had a slight grasp I said "that sounds like a very weird spell." I had seen spells used before, by Celebdîn specifically.

"It's a personalized version- the words don't matter, really, as long as the idea remains. The more accurate the words to the situation, the better the effect, though. There's a standardized spell, but I can hardly remember it."

I had several questions regarding his words choice, but withheld then, along with several choice words, and thanked him.

"So what are those things?" I asked.

"The wererats? They're wererats. I think."

"Are those things... Common?"

"Not really, but not rare enough for them to be unusual. It's pretty good too be able to face a group of them alone, though, so congratulations, Nock."

"Thanks. So what do we do with these," I pointed at the bodies.

"Well... I think their fur can sell?"

"Do you know how to skin things?"

I looked at him, and he looked at me the exact same way.

”let's just get rid of them."

"Agreed. "

We disposed of the bodies by carrying them away from camp.

Then Creed fell asleep and I continued keeping watch.

.......

Nelliny had emerged from her carriage and demanded food, which that morning specifically was a seasoned egg with fried vegetables.

On the third day of travel, I tested Creed's knowledge by sending him out foraging again, while I slept.