Without Rowan noticing, Moon quietly cast Curse on one of the passing Cragbrutes.
The beast was walking alone, within the casting range of Moon. The thread reached across the distance and settled onto the Cragbrute's soul without visible effect.
As a body refiner beast, the Cragbrute's spiritual defenses were significantly weaker than Moon's own.
Within a few seconds Moon's [Curse] hooked in cleanly, establishing the connection between Moon and the beast.
The Cragbrute continued walking without any change in its posture or gait. Its mind was now controlled Moon, but its behavior remained externally identical to any other beast returning to the nest.
Moon fed it a single simple instruction.
'Every time you see one of your kind, send me a signal. Nothing more.'
The instruction was carefully designed.
