"Under siege you say? What war is that?" Cilas inquires.
"Just by the leadership maybe?" Herm is curious as well. "Estovion didn't do much to protect those inside.'
"You make it sound like it's his fault what happened today." Cilas comments.
"We have more reason to believe it was him than anyone else." Harrold says as he walks in, pushing Belik ahead of him
"And we have reason to believe that people in league with Estovion also played the different werewolf packs in the woods. From what I gather, mostly for inter-pack fighting..." She remains firm in her words as she finishes the sentence. "But that may well spill over or even be with a goal to assault this lodge."
"That sounds horrible. How do you come to these grim conclusions?" Cilas inquires. His brows moving into a position that give the impression he is worried.
"Some information we have dug up here and information we came here with." Herm says "So we need to go find Estovion, any idea where he would have fled to in the woods?"
"I do. His friend's friends' camp, the black-furred werewolves." Kendra says. "It's obvious, isn't it? The main problem we have is we have no idea where that camp is."
"The information has to be somewhere here. Shall we go search again?" Jominda suggests.
"I'm not sure what you are talking about, but I'll set the guards straight, that they don't dawdle when Estovion is not around." Cilas tells and is off to do so.
"I bet Duristan knows where to go to find this camp." Herm says setting off in search of the man who wants to kill all werewolves.
Duristan is found in his room. "A place where the werewolves meet? That would be grandiose. I didn't know such a place exists. And Lozarov has a hand in this you say? He is one of those people who have papers for everything. Let's go and ask him. He has to tell me where to find these werewolves!"
"He has fled the lodge, we confronted him already." Herm says
"Then let's search his office!" Duristan replies. He leaves his room, closes the door and moves towards Estovion's office.
Herm looks at the closed door, "I guess we should follow him." Herm says leading the others to the office.
"We are not going to destroy anything in here, just look for papers to help us figure this out." Herm tells Duristan mater of factly
As Herm searches everything in Estovion's room for hours he stumbles over a traveller's jounal which has a mote sticking out. The journal’s author, an unnamed worshiper of Desna, recorded several entries describing his pilgrimage to an ancient, abandoned temple of Desna and observatory in the Shudderwood known as the Stairs of the Moon. The journal includes a description of the temple, but the details of its exact location are frustratingly vague. These pages are bookmarked with a folded piece of paper, scribbled with a faded note reading, “See ‘Halo of Dreams’ on page
322, filed under Religion.
The book referenced lies prominently on the deak. Page 322 reads:
T he origin of the Dusk Moth can be traced back to pre-Thassilonian Varisia, though the role it played in those ancient times has been lost to history. During the Age of Enthronement, Desna’s priests recovered the relic from the ruins of Thassilon, and carried it into the Shudderwood during the founding of Ustalav. There the priests constructed a temple to the goddess of dreams and disassembled the Dusk Moth, incorporating its parts into a great observatory atop the temple, which they dubbed the Stairs of the Moon. High atop the observatory, during the twilight hour, the faithful enacted a sacred ritual of communion to activate the power of the Dusk Moth, placing them in a heightened dream-state in which they could commune directly with the Song of the Spheres.
"You got something interesting?" Jominda inquires.
Something about a Dusk Moth, taking about Desna's pre-Thassilonian history." Herm says handing the paper over to the ladies
"That sounds interesting. But does it have a connection to the werewolves or the Whispering Way?" Jominda asks, as nothing comes to mind at the moment.
"Well we can always go take a look." Herm says "Maybe there will be more directions there, plus it was in a book that Estovion was looking at and book marked."
"Wow, meeting a deity! We should definitely do that!" Jominda exclaims.
"Weird temples, rituals, and communicating through dream state? Sounds... culty." Kendra interjects. "But it might be interesting to investigate if we come across a temple in the woods."
"We will need a guide though, I am not familiar with these woods at all. We do not want to get lost with all the werewolves around." Herm says
"Perhaps there are maps in here or in the library. And Duristan, you seemed to know where to hunt for werewolves, did you not?"
Herm continues to search the office for a map of the surrounding area.
"You need a guide through the wood? Count me in. I'm the area's biggest werewolf hunter. I know my way around. I think I have seen a stone structure once from afar. I'm sure I can lead you there." Duristan answers.
Kendra straightenes up, her face coming alight "Great! It would do me well to get out of this stuffy mansion with all the... things here."
She hesitates "Though not all Werewolves should perhaps be hunted, Duristan. Could you cope with that?"
Duristan raises a brow, but doesn't answer the question.
"I think werewolf hunting is kind of disappointing. You hunt a mighty beast, and you end up with a puny human corpse."
"Jominda most likely has the right of it. What will we need to do this effectively though Duristan? Silver and what else?" Herm asks the more experience man.
"If you have a good silver weapon you're good to fight." Duristan tells, patting his sheathed sword. "But you should also get a protection against turning into a werewolf yourself when you get bitten."
"What kind of protection would that be?" Kendra inquires. "As Herm says, you are the most experienced of us when it comes to dealing with werewolves."
"You must think I'm quite quaint," Kendra says after a short pause, "Not wishing to kill all the werewolves we encounter on sight. I can explain to you, though, why I think this would be a good thing for all parties involved."
"Can we buy silvered weapons at the lodge here?" Herm asks Duristan
"I searched out a witch who gave me this protective scar!" Duristan tells, showing a wolf shaped burn mark on his neck, just below the collar.
"I don't think so. You can ask Delgros. Maybe he has something."
"There's not likely to be any witch near, I think. We'll just have to be extra careful.
She points at Herm, with a smile. "Or have armour that can prevent bites."
"Or change to the dark side and grow scary big teeth." Jominda tells with ominous voice, close to Duristan's ear.
"Do we want to go now, or wait til tomorrow?" she asks.
"I would go by the wisdom of our expert" Kendra says with utmost cincerity as she indicates Duristan, "But I expect having as much light as possible is a good thing. And it would allow us all to procure as much effective weapons and defenses as possible."
"Perhaps there are alchemical recipies in these books that help against werewolves, both offensive and defensive." Kendra waves her hand about at all the books in Estovion's room. "Or those in the library."
"Herm, Duristan, could you look at the kitchen? See if any of the silverware is usable as a weapon? Perhaps even silvered candlebras to use as makeshift maces?"
Herm smirks at the thought of using a Candlebras to buldgeon a Werewolf to death but does so.
"We are seeking anything made of silver" Herm tells the help
"I have my usual alchemical remedies that are effective against almost everything." Kendra states, playing with a vial in her hand. "But using the books to read up on werewolves is probably a good thing." she adds. But there is not much conviction behind that.
"Is it not enough that you steal my silverware from the tables? Now you come even to the kitchen to make it disappear?" Ruessa Webbe accuses Herm.
"I haven't nor would I steal anything like that ma'am, I was asking if you did, if you will refuse me then I will leave accordingly." Herm says to the cock.
"Of course we have silverware, but that is only for dinner." Webbe replies
"Then I will disturb you no longer" Herm says heading back to find Kendra.
"They will not part with their Silver Ware although I would doubt it would be overly effective and if it is truly fully silver." Herm mutters. "There must be a smith here who has items for sale, or we could journey back to Lepidstadt to procure some."
"That is a long journey." Kendra says, looking up from the book she's browsing.
"Any help could be useful, even the smallest things. Won't she part with the silverware for a situation like this? hrm." She shifts her weight on the other foot, before continuing "Perhaps Duristan knows of more people who have equipment available for a werewolf encounter. We could use any assistance we can get, I reckon."
There is some information about the werewolves found in the books and papers and Duristan can fill in some details himself.
While over a dozen distinct werewolf packs live within the Shudderwood, most packs trace their lineages to one of five tribes native to the region, which are described below. Most of these tribes have two names: that which they call themselves, and a more common epithet by which most outsiders know them.
Dorzhanevs or Broken Ones: These lycanthropes settle in remote or isolated territories, building small provincial communities near the wood’s edge. For the most part, they pose as simple farmers or trappers, occasionally traveling to larger communities to sell or trade for goods. They live and hunt in small packs, targeting lone travelers or those who stray from larger groups. Physically smaller than the other tribes, the Broken Ones transform into red wolves. Their pack structure is matriarchal, and their current tribe leader is the druid Cybrisa Dorzhanev.
Jezeldans or Demon Wolves: The smallest and most recently formed pack in the Shudderwood, the Demon Wolves are an amalgam of newly afflicted werewolves, whose pitiful existence is typically scorned by most natural lycanthropes, and exiles from other tribes, all worshipers of the demon lord Jezelda, Mistress of the Hungry Moon. Their current tribe leader, an antipaladin named Adimarus Ionacu, was once in fact an afflicted werewolf who willingly contracted the disease in devotion to his demonic patron. As a boon, Jezelda transformed him into a natural lycanthrope, and bade him convert more werewolves to her worship. To date, Adimarus’s missionary zeal has been quite successful; the black-furred Jezeldans are one of the fastest-growing tribes in the region, and may soon rise as the new lords of the wood.
Mordrinacht or Silverhides: The Mordrinacht, colloquially known as the Silverhides for their gray-white fur, are more aggressive than the Broken Ones, yet possess more composure and subtlety than the other tribes. The Mordrinacht rarely form standard packs, instead living much of their lives as solitary individuals or lone wolves. Only in times of great importance do they unite and form organized packs. More so than all the others, the Mordrinacht have been successful at blending in with normal humans and living secretly within their communities, with a few bold individuals even settling in some of Ustalav’s major cities. Descended from those afflicted with lycanthropy by the ancient high priest of Desna, the Mordrinacht have long gathered at the Stairs of the Moon to pay homage to the spirit of their ancestor, the vilkacis. It is no secret that the Silverhides’ current leader, Mathus Mordrinacht, has had designs on the position of packlord over all the packs of the Shudderwood for some time.
Prince’s Wolves: Varisian werewolves with ties to the Sczarni crime family, the Prince’s Wolves were created as part of Prince Andriadus Virholt’s efforts to rid his lands of the agents of the Whispering Tyrant centuries ago. The Prince’s Wolves maintain a tight pack structure and spend much of their time traveling in small family groups, performing or pickpocketing to support themselves before moving on to do it again somewhere else. The Prince’s Wolves transform into wolves with brown or gray fur, and their current tribe leader is a roguish scoundrel named Rhakis Szadro.
Vollensag or Primals: The smallest of the Shudderwood’s tribes, the Vollensag are also the most homogenous, as they are all descended from the ancient Kellid tribes who once inhabited these lands before they were driven out by the invading Varisians. At present, less than 30 Vollensag remain, settled deep in the woods and traveling in small migratory hunting packs, living as much as their ancestors did. Despite their declining numbers, the Primals’ ability to transform into large gray dire wolves makes them an influential force among the wolves of the wood. The Vollensag tribe leader, Kvalca Sain, is packlord over all the wolves of the Shudderwood.
"SO we are looking to talk to the Primals or Vollensag wolves to find out what is going on and if they know any information? Do you think we can talk to them, I realize they will be evil, I am not fool hardy and will not run head long into a battle for no reason." Herm says with a slight smirk.
"You already met some. They don't want to talk." Duristan replies.
"I still think the Whispering Way is trying to get the wolves riled up." Kendra says. "And if we talk to some of the more reasonable ones, we might get them to band together with us and fight the Way, and the Demon Wolves."
"You could be right Duristan but we have to try, we don't need to have the entire woods out to get us." Herm says "Do you think we can do that Kendra?"
"It's always worth a try." Kendra replies to Herm. "I mean, if it fails, we will always have Duristan's sword as a backup. Trying to kill them first and then talk as a backup is a lot harder."