Yilgwi strikes again, this time with far more skill.
The strike to the back of his leg surprises Duristan for a last time, before he falls down. He doesn't turn back into human form though.
Herm stands watching to see if Duristan stands back up, "So do we believe that he has men here?" Herm asks as he pulls out a healing wand.
40/75 HP
"Better, anyone else need healing?' Herm looks around
"He wanted us to take to someone. I assume there is someone, but they won't be friendly towwards us. To make a guess, I'd say he's with the wolves." Kendra concludes.
Jominda checks on the wolves pulse.
"Do we want him dead, or alive?" she inquires.
"Dead, we don't need him coming back and attacking us from the rear." Herm says as he drives the blade of his sword into the mans throat ending him
Duristan transforms a last time, from wolf back to his human form. He is now thoroughly dead.
"He seemed so nice!"
"He's always been a snoibbish ass. But it was bearable, as long as the ones he tried to kill were werewolves." Jominda tells, not curtailing her frustration about that dead noble.
"At least his fate is no longer a mystery." Kendra states. "Shall we look around the town?"
"We shall yes, hopefully he was lying about having a group of mercs here and we can leave this town before more ill attacks us." Herm says stripping the body of anything of use and covering it with a sheet. "Can anyone else use a long sword?"
"It would look cool on me, but with all the sharp edges..." Jominda ogles the weapon sceptically.
To not walk over half the town, the group inspects the neighboring building. This one once served as a modest homestead, though it has suffered extensive looting over the years. The corpse of a Whispering Way cultist lies sprawled across the floor, a terrifyingly huge bite missing from his abdomen. The splintered remains of three skeletons lie around the corpse.
"Maybe I was wrong about there being many others here. I guess it wasn't the Demon wolves who did this since are they not aligned with the Whispering way?" Herm asks as he scans the body and skeletons for anything to give them a clue.
"The demon wolves are after the cultists. We've seen one cultist already slaughtered in that farmhouse. And I'm no expert on this, but this bite wound could be from a werewolf."
"As I see no evidence to the contrary, I'd say the wolves killed another one of those cultists and the bones are probably destroyed undead."
Whoever were here, thoroughly lootet the place. There is nothing found on the cultist and also the room has no more hidden treassures.
"Shall we move on to the next building?" Herm looks at his companions
As in this house nothing more of interest is found, the group moves to the next one that neighbours this one. Hundreds of candles fill this shop’s shelves, lying in pale lumps of tallow and wax beneath years of dust. Several small copper kettles hang suspended from an iron rack over a brick hearth. Above the kettles, dozens of half-completed candles hang from iron rods. On a nearby table sits a spool of twisted cotton thread, waiting to be measured and cut into wicks, as well as a variety of wooden molds.
"*Interesting, so this town was attacked when no one was ready?' Herm mutters out loud
You all see yourself as a chandler at work, suddenly besieged by troops who break into your shop. The soldiers drag you by the throat from your hiding place under the counter, across the room, and then slam your head into a pot of boiling tallow.
You clutch your throat and drag yourrself across the room and slam your face into one of the copper kettles.
The imaginary hot tallow causes you third-degree burns erupt across your face.
[Jominda watches the scene in horror, standing stiff in shock.
"That is... how can humans do such a thing!"
Yilgwi is uncharacteristically grim in the vision's aftermath.
Before Herms does something stupid, Jominda drags him out of the building. "What are we actually searching for? Not enough that we have demon wolves and evil cultists. Now we have those annoying haunts again. And no father Grimborrow to take care of them." she complains.
"Let's not stand outside. There, this large house might be of interest. And it might have a good view over the open place. That would be nice for a rest, if we don't want to leave town again."
"A terrible thing." Herm says "I don't poses the powers like Father Grim Burrow for destroying Haunts." Herm says exiting the building "We are looking for these mercs."
The group follows Kendra's suggestion and walks into the next house. Lengths of rusted chain fitted with large hooks hang from the ceiling of this shop, above piles of animal bones. Inside stand several wooden tables covered with dark stains, holding a collection of rusted cleavers, knives, chisels, and bone saws. Several large stone cabinets line the exterior of the room, sealed with wooden doors.
The more interesting part though is the creatures that are already there. Obviously the Whispering Way also came to the conclusion that this building is strategically interesting. A cultist, a black haired woman, in a black strapless dress with a breastplate over it. Her arms are covered in skull tatoos. And she leads two skeletons and a large, clawy, spiky, quadruped, undead monstrosity which reeks of disease.
The first skeleton attacks on sight.
Yilgwi casts a spell to protect his party from evil.
The skeleton moves up and attacks Yilgwi. The quadruped charges and jumps at Herm.
Jominda chucks some bombs at the big nasty trying to catch as many enemies as possible in the blast.
The big deseased creature is reduced to a charred and burning pile of stinking bones and skin. One of the skeletons is destroyed in the blast. The other is burned badly. The cultist also is burned, but for her it's not as bad.
Kendra ponders her options, but the room is to small, for big effects. She readies her crossbow to try to interrupt the cultist if she tries anything with magic. Not that her chances are good.
Herm moves the cultist, "You work the the Whispering Way? You shall not live the day." Herm says as he swings his sword around
Herm adds another scratch to the slightly burned cultist. To get there he risks an attack of the skeleton, but his solid armor prevents worse.
The cultist steps back and casts a spell. Kendra shoots her, but misses. Jominda is hit with a blindness spell .
"Cursed wench!" Jominda calls out while laying a bomb carpet over the cultist.
The precious armour does the cultist no good, and she goes down in flame.
The skeleton tries to hit Yilgwi but fails.
Yilgwi makes a clumsy attack and actually blushes.
Seeing the cultist go down Herm turns on the skeleton, knowing his weapon won't be as effective Herm strikes harder.
"More undead?' Herm is not sure what to take of all the random peoples in this town.
Jominda tries her luck too. She pulls out a light mace and hits the skeleton.
Or not.
Luckily the skeleton has no sense of humor. Or it might die of laughing. No one manages to hit the undead.
It might have been an error for Jominda to step up. She gets cut.
"Never liked skeletons. Can't trust something without a digestive system!"
Jominda swings her mace again, but steps away to leave it to the men to sinish that skeleton with the sharp sword.
Herm tries again.
The skeleton gets infected with the missing desease.
"Skinny bastard!"
Yilgwi ends the skeleton. The building contains not much else of interest. But a slain woman, who didn't make it against that group of the Way.
The skeletons wear a breastplate, a heavy steel shield and a masterwork longsword each.
Dead woman: +1 breastplate, +1 falchion, wooden holy symbol of Jezelda