The Heartwood Float through bright rooms; no borders, no fences

It was really just one thing after another, after another, after another.

It wasn't as though they had expected to happen upon yet another grim scenario, though at least this time it was before someone had turned into a corpse. Though not just someone, but one of their purported allies—Dirge remembered him, though last time he had seen him he hadn't quite been the shade of heather red that he bore down. It was Hydra who took point while he lingered, playing the part of sentinel but more there to eavesdrop than anything.

It didn't take long for Vengeance to spill the beans, and how they filled the blanks.

The names meant nothing to Dirge, though there seemed to have been some truth to Dacio's story. Caiaphas, the blackheaded sea witch. He inferred the other two must have been in the leader's employ, at least until the previous events had transpired. But was Merrick the wolf that Hydra sought? The name didn't seem right, he thought as his gaze surveyed their surroundings in the quiet wood. But maybe it was, maybe it was the link that Hydra had been looking for all along... and his gaze settled on her and Lyra curiously.

kind of a cameo of sorts, dirge'll interject where he wants.