Morgan shivered, wracked with pain and need from the dragon's blood. She hungered for it, lusted for more: that brief taste had given her both pleasure and power beyond measure, and now, without it, her whole body hurt.
They had no choice but to lock her away in her room, her Paladin keeping her company, while Sol researched the cult further and Titan spent his time with the Blood Seer. The Seer had offered his help, but Sol didn't want to take that route yet: not simply because she did not trust the Seer, but also because she thought grimly that it might do Morgan some good to feel the pains of her own actions. She had saved them, certainly... but she had also put herself at great risk, and this was not an experience that Sol wanted to repeat.
Sol's instincts told her they had been betrayed, but she had no evidence, and the cult had vanished from the town. She thought they might be able to track them down... but it would be a waste of time and resources. No, better to find out what she could from the few witnesses to the cult's deeds, and then continue on their quest to discover the root of the Tyrant Wyrms. They couldn't be distracted.
Yet at the same time, something nibbled at her. Why would Veliuona betray them? That didn't make any sense, and Veliuona wasn't foolish. Was she just looking for an excuse to turn the tides of war onto the self-proclaimed goddess of undeath?
But wouldn't it be better to destroy Veliuona when they had the chance?
No, they needed each other to stem the tide of the Tyrant Wyrms. Perhaps this was simply the cunning ploy of another force of darkness and evil, seeking to turn all its enemies against each other so that it could take over Equestria once they had sufficiently weakened one-another...
She would have to research. She would have to figure things out, before she allowed herself to make any moves. Her passion drove her towards revenge, but... no. She couldn't always follow her passions. Sometimes, she had to repress them.
But one thing she knew was that a foe who had worked so hard to kill them would not simply give up the fight because they had failed once. Sol couldn't let this experience repeat itself, though: they had to be ready for when their enemies rose up against them again.
For now, she thought they could afford a few days' rest here in the town. It was unlikely the enemy could return, and Morgan needed to get the dragon's blood out of her system. It had made her powerful, certainly, but a poison was still a poison for all its pleasant effects, and a maddened Morgan was not something Sol could see a use for in the future. If she wanted a hunting dog, she would buy one from a trader.
No, they would wait, that would be safest, Sol thought.
But as it turned out, Sol thought very wrong indeed.
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