"Something was dragged off this way. What was here?"
Darius gets low taking some of the dirt and blood sniffing it and noting where he had experienced these happenings before. After some mental wrangling his tells the two men his findings.
" The first set are what I believe to be Werewolf tracks.. I would have thought a Direwolf.. but the nail and foot placement is all wrong. The creature met up with.. a Dire Boar from the taste of the Blood and the imprinting in the soil. After presumably killing the Boar.. it was dragged off in... This direction.... into the woods. We MIGHT be able to catch whatever it is, Dire Boars are not light. "
"You've identified the tracks right son, but what got dragged off was my stag for sure. Let's go see."
Delgros follows the tracks, and assuming you follow him, you go about 50 feet off the trail.
There, in a clearing, are three wild Dire Boars munching on a stag carcass.
"Welp. That explains that." he manages, before the nearest ones notice you.
Z casts Iron Skin.
Darius summons divine wrath to hunt the creatures the power of Destruction running through him. He unfurls his whip.
Jones drinks a Dex mutagen and draws his rapier.
Jones (25)
Sledge (24)
Big Pig 1 (23)
Duristan (21)
Delgros (18)
Zin (18)
Darius (14)
Big Pig 2 (10)
Big Pig 3 (9)
The three stocky, horse-sized boars eye the Beast Crew and their merry men menacingly, pawing the dirt in preparation for a charge.
Sledge spends the round beforehand checking the surrounding area for other threats and figuring out how to anticipate the boar's attacks, as well as how to hit through their thick hide more effectively.
Sledge chuckles. "Been a while since I've gone hunting. Let me show ya'll how it's done. Jones, remind Zin not to fry them, we want them to stay edible."
He explodes into violently powerful motion, instantly arriving at the side of one of the pigs , which he immediately dropkicks in the spine.
Pummeling Dragon Charge
Jones Studies and slashes Big Pig 1.
The pig Sledge nails staggers from the force of the blow.
It retaliates.
But its tusks sway wildly along with the rest of it, and scrape across Sledge's armor.
Duristan moves in, whipping out his longsword and shield.
Delgros takes aim with his longbow and fires.
And together they drop another of the boars before it gets to act.
With everyone already crowding around the boars, Z will just opt to fire to beams at one not currently locked in melee.
The last boar is staggered by Zin's Fire.
" Hrmph, I guess I'll finish the job "
Darius moves up and ends the last Boar's life with a well placed whipping.
The last boar drops.
Duristan immediately moves in to inspect the corpse.
"Hm. Can someone help me out?"
There are two kinds of wounds on the stag. Tusk and bite marks that are obviously post-mortem (from the boars), and lacerations and bite marks that appear to be the wounds that killed it.
Upon being told this, Duristan get excited again.
"Yes, I knew it! It WAS werewolves."
"I'm going to stay the night and see if I can trap one. You guys in? It'll be a great hunt..." Duristan says, hopeful.
Delgros snorts.
"You can stay out here and get yourself killed if you want. I'm out." he says, and stalks off back toward Ascanor.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Duristan. Too many things can go wrong. Let's go back to Ascanor - if we're going to hunt a werewolf, we've got to be intending to do so from start to finish, and we started this day hunting pigs."
As he says this, Sledge finishes rigging up a rope harness to carry one of the boars, and hoists it with a grunt. "Let's go."
" Why are you so worried about Werewolves when you could easily drop a boar. As a matter of fact.. You said that this Stag was yours, if so what did you kill it with? "
Darius says to Delgros as he starts moving.
"I didn't kill it. I had been tracking it for a while for one of the hunts I take the Lodge guests on. Safe, controlled sorts of things. Got out here to find it again earlier and it had been ripped apart like this. Those little pansies went screaming back to the Lodge so I followed to make sure they got back alreayd. You know the rest, pretty much."
@Sledge: "But we can't just leave these things roaming around the woods. This is REALLY close to the Lodge!"
"While true, if we get killed because we're not prepared, then who will protect the people at the Lodge? Better to come back fully prepared than try to deal with it immediately and risk failure."
" If need be we will kill them as they come it is no problem. Preparation is the key to success and failing that Improvisation. If we are going on a Werewolf hunt we will go ready to hunt a hundred to the ground. "
"Well, I'm doing it." he says stubbornly.
"I have crates full of silvered wolf traps and other equipment I can use to make a perimeter, and my hirelings anyway. It just would have been nice to have you along."
"Duristan, you're being foolish. You're risking the lives of your hirelings. Be reasonable - reason is the mark of a gentleman."
"But courage is the mark of a hunter!"
"There is a difference between courage and recklessness. You have nothing to lose from waiting a day."
" As a Sarenite I know much about courage but I must also have great patience. As any Hunter patience is much a virtue as courage. You will not catch your prey if you have no ability to stalk it first. Your last trap did not go well, what ensures you this one will? This coming from an experienced mind in this particular field. "
"But what if it's gone by then?"
" You think werewolves just leave an area and never come back.. no, THEN we HUNT them down. "
Duristan, reluctantly, acquiesces.
"Okay. Tomorrow night."
" Good.. now I believe since we assisted you and will do so net hunt, you assist us.. correct? "
"Oh, of course. What was it you needed help with?"
" There seems to be an issue with our getting into the Lodge.. which we need to do to finish a mission for the esteemed provider, Caromarc. "
"But didn't the porter already say he'd let you in?"
" This is true, but in my experience it helps to affirm the person is.. true to their word. It would be so easy to go back on that word if something had happened to you or he changed his mind. Being.. careful never hurt. We also found clues on a possible hunt, so it was not all bad. "
"It seemed to me that he only let us stay because it was less trouble than continuing to argue with us," Jones remarks with a smirk. "Best take advantage of that before he can change his mind."
Upon your return, you are greeted by Belik (the porter. He stands out in front of the gates holding a tray with mugs of some steaming beverage, and gives you an apologetic grin.
“Please accept my most sincere apologies for my inappropriate behavior earlier. I was not informed of your coming and acted hastily on behalf of the lodge warden. I have since spoken to him, and he has informed me of my mistake. I can assure you that you will suffer no further ill treatment during your stay at Ascanor Lodge. Coffee?"
Z picks up the mug and heads inside, "Thank you, Barney."
-Posted with Wayfinder
"It's Belik, miss."
"Whenever it's convenient for you, my master would like to speak with you to offer introductions and an apology of his own."
"That is quite alright. You were performing your duties as you saw fit, given the information you had at the time."
Jones takes a mug. "Thank you. We will meet with your master as soon as possible."
-Posted with Wayfinder
[b"Well then, if you will follow me?"[/b]
Belik leads you into the Lodge, through the grand hall and up a staircase to what he informs you is the reference library.
He opens the door, revealing shelves line with books,and a man.
“Esteemed guests, may I present Estovion Lozarov, Lodge Warden of Ascanor.” Belik intones.
"Thank you Belik. You're dismissed." Estovion says, and the halfling porter bows and leaves.
“Please do not hold the actions of my porter against him. The error in your improper greeting was entirely mine. I neglected to inform my staff of the open invitations I gave to the Order,” he winks slyly to you “And they did not recognize the reservations. Rest assured, however, that all of the lodge’s facilities are at your disposal, including our libraries. While the general library is down the hall, this one,” he says, gesturing at the book-filled shelves, “is likely better suited to your research.”
"Many thanks."
Sledge chuckles, and rises. "For now, though, I'm starving, and I'm in the mood for boar."
"That's quite all right. I actually have some business of my own to attend to. Belik will be waiting at the end of the hall to show you to your rooms."