"Good luck with that. But it is fine for me. At the end there will be dead werewolves." Duristan comments, trying not to show, that he is annoyed by that approach.
"Well, I'd like to change my question from earlier. Can we call it a day and enjoy the service of the lodge some more? If we're going to face werewolves - plural - I'd like to prepare a full batch of my explosives." Jominda interrupts the planning of the encounter.
"Yes. Yes we could." Kendra says. She takes her time perusing some more books, eating well, and sitting in the most leisurely of chairs. She looks in on what the other party members are doing from time to time, but hesitates to interrupt them if they look particularly busy.
"Duristan you're a tracker? Just so we don't get lost?" Herm confirms with the man, "Retiring for the night would be advisable, we can leave just after breaking our fast tomorrow."
Jominda talks Kendra into choosing to sit at a table in the ballroom. For one, it is really spacy and has a view over the premises, but more important, you can have food served here. And Jominda keeps Ladimeur busy this evening. "I've heard you are a very talented chef. What caused you to hide your talent here in the woods?" Appealing to his honor as a cook she manages to start some kind of competition, with Ladimeur the only contestant and her the judge.
Sitting there ensures also for Kendra some delicious servings.
"I'm not a tracker. I have staff for that. But I won't get lost in the woods if that's what you mean." Duristan replies. He is piqued by Herm's assumption.
Herm nods at the man, moving to the Ballroom with the ladies to eat the evening meal.
"Does this room not seem to fancy for a hunting lodge?"{/b] Herm says between bites [b]"Estovion will have warned whoever he fled to see that we will pursue." Herm affirms
The rest of the day at the lodge is indeed pleasant. It is a bit noisy while Kroitzer busies himself with Vasoray to fix the damage the spider caused to the entrance.
Finally all go to bed to get the needed rest for the excursion the next day. But the rest is interrupted as a scream from Cilas Graydon echoes through the building.
Herm bolts up right in his bed, grabbing the scarab and long sword leaning against his night stand, Herm rushes out into the hall way looking for Kendra and Jominda. "What is going on?" Herm yells down the hall.
"I don't know" Kendra says as she also exits her room, putting on a robe over her nightgown."Where did the scream come from?"
Jominda comes out of the room after Kendra half asleep. "Whoever is at fault here will be very sorry." Jominda is a rather grumpy person if she doesn't get her beauty sleep.
The door to Graydon's room is broken and an fight is going on inside. Graydon is attacked by Corvin Tergsvor. But something seems wrong with Corvin. His fingers are too long, ending in claws and his face is distorted with his mouth forming a short snout.
He rages in the room, clawing and biting at the unprotected Graydon, who tries to shield himself with little success with his arms held up.
"Tergsvor's been infected. This looks like what the books described as the first change. We need to subdue him, he doesn't know what he's doing!" Kendra exclaims.
Her right hand reaches for the pendant around her neck, while her other hand extends in the direction of Corvin Tergsvor, weaving a quick, swirly pattern.
Instantly a mist swirls out of thin air from a spot close to Graydon's broken door. It's mostly pink, but with bright green and golden swirls, it whirls around the combatants in the room.
Herm enters the room first brandishing his Mithril Long sword in both hands, "I will draw his Eyre, Grayson you escape." Herm shouts swinging his sword.
Corvin rears up and a wolf like spirit is pushed out of his body. The wolf spirit howls and flees through the wall.
Corvin collapses to his knees panting heavily, but the bestial features have left him.
Cilas is aghast on his bed against the wall, also panting heavily.
Jominda puts her explosives away. "I guess we can go back to bed then?" she asks. It's surprising how little the situation has led to her becoming awake.
Kendra looks on astonished. "I didn't expect the change to be cancelled that easily." she says, walking in through the disappating clouds.
Herm will scan the room for a continued evil presence.
"No I, it feels to easy." Herm mutters
"No evil here, keep ready." Herm says
Jominda points with her thumb over her shoulder. "I'll be ready over there, right in my bed. I'm sure you have this covered."
Then sh yawns and leaves.
"It might actually have been a Vilkacis. I read something about that earlier today. It's like a spirit that posesses people, makes them kind of half-werewolf for a bit..."
She suddenly turns towards Cilas, a slight panic in her voice.
Sir Graydon, have you been bitten?"
Herm keeps his sword out, "JOminda I have manacles in my pack, can you retrieve them so we can lock him up if he was bitten?" Herm turn back to CIlas "This is only a temporary measure and for everyone's own good."
"I'm not sure." Cilas replies. On Herm's suggestions he adds "But I think not."
Herm checks Cilar thoroughly, but finds only claw marks.
"That's terrifying. What was that thing?" Cilas asks exasperated. "And what hinders it to come back?"
"I am not so sure, maybe we drove it off." Herm doesn't sound convinced.
Corvin doesn't look good either. The cut Herm dealed him is one thing, but being possessed by a spirit has visibly shaken up the poet of the lodge.
Herm Checks the other man over as well, "We will get on this in the morning, for now I guess we just hope that we drove the spirit off."
Corvin has only the cut from the sword. And the trauma.
"It shouldn't be able to come back for at least a day, I believe." Kendra says. "But I'm not sure. I can look into it, but until then I suggest we lock up our rooms tightly, and react to any cries of help in great force." Kendra says. "I'll prepare another of these spells, just in case. And we need to keep Herm's adamantine weapon close by."
This night no one has a good sleep - with a haunting werewolf on the run. But Kendra's assumption wasn't proven wrong this night. It keeps silent, and the next morning all are still there and alive.
"What do you make of all of this?" Jominda asks Kendra as they are both awake in their room.
Kendra is silent for a moment, before answering. "I'm starting to see how the Whispering way works. I thought they were just necromancers and ruined people's lives that way, but everywhere we go chasing them, it seems they make use of the excisting local unrest to make things worse - and cover their tracks in the meanwhile. The undead at Harrowstone, Thomas at Lepidtstad, the Count's own creations at his mansion, and here it's the local werewolf population."
"It's really devious, but quite smart." she admits begrudgingly.
She stands up from the bed and stretches out, walking over to the wardrobe to fetch some clothes, but as she stands there, she turns back to Jominda with a thoughtful expression.
"Jominda, yesterday, when Herm was talking about settling down, marrying a good man..." She lets a short pause fall, but then looks straight at Jominda as she continues. "...Or a woman... I... couldn't help but notice you reacted to that."
Kendra pauses again, trying to gauge Jominda's reaction.
"Are you secretly a noble? Because I think the burden of marrying you to become one would be bearable." Jominda jokes.
Jominda is trying hard not to blush, for being called out that way. But it doesn't really work. But she for sure wont turn away, even if she was red like a beet.
Herm Snores loudly as only a man can do when something is happening.
In the Morning Herm puts on his Armor before leaving the room, moving down to the ladies room he knocks softly.
"Kendra.... Jominda... Are you awake?"
"Hah! I'm not a noble, so you won't have to bear with that, silly!" Kendra replies, rather obliviously. Kendra expects the blushing just to be from the fact Kendra had seen Jominda react in the first place. "It's just... you know, I just wanted you to know I think it's okay. To want to marry women, I mean."
She smiles sheepishly, and then continues dressing herself.
"I can't imagine anything like marrying, right now. I've been dealing with my father's death, and then just this chase after the Whispering Way... Perhaps once this is all finished, I -"
She is interrupted by a soft knock on the door, followed by Herm's voice. "Yes, Herm. One moment though, I'm not decent yet."
"Looks like I stay untitled for now." Jominda concludes.
While finishing her preparations for the day, she has another thought. "Maybe I simply become rich. I've heard once that you can get adopted by nobles. Preferably from nobles that have fallen on hard times and need the money."
"You want to become a noble?" Kendra says as she finishes dressing and moves to answer the door. "Why would you want that?"
"Currently I'm called Jominda Fallenbridge. But it would be much cooler to be Your Grace, Duchess Jominda of Canterwall." Jominda tells, her body straightened out and her nose slightly in the air.
"I'd be a welcome guest at lodges and parties at castles. And in Ravengro, the council men and women would doff their hats when they meet me in the streets."
"I like that idea." she adds absentminded.
The corner of Kendra's mouth turns up. "Weirdly enough, so do I."
She opens the door, and tells Herm. "I will need an hour to study my spellbook still, but I'd like some breakfast first."
Jominda starts moving on the mentioning of breakfast. "We could start calling each other that way. What would your title be?" Jominda asks on the way.
Herm waits patiently outside the ladies room
Kendra walks out, not answering Jominda's question for the moment as she hasn't got the faintest idea of an answer. Instead, she asks Herm "Herm, have you been knighted?"