"That is almost as good as my boots." Jominda tells. "But who would come up with 'fallfeather' as an activation phrase?"
"Someone who didn't want to have to think to hard?" Herm repsonds
The smell of smoke comes into the noses of the party from the smoldering of the wood.
"Can someone conjure water?" Herm asks while exiting the tree. "Water skins and we put it out with cloaks and blankets." Herm Orders
Jominda gives Herm the "Can't we let the woods burn down?" look, as she likes her blanket and bedroll un-burned. "If that part of the woods is home to such evil creatures, would it be acceptable, to let it burn and just leave?"
"I'm not an expert in woodcraft..." Kendra begins, while surveying the forest.
The fire is not really spreading, but locally it found enough fuel to not go out on it's own. Generally the floor of the forrest is moist. Probably it could be stomped out with sturdy boots.
Herm walks over and stomps out the fire.
"WHile I agree with your thougths Jominda, we don't need this on our minds that we killed innocents."
Jominda has an idea. She sits down, gets out some items of her alchemical lab and mixes some ingredients together, creating a silvery blue powder.
She moves towards one of the smoldering places and scatters the powder over it. With an endothermic reaction all heat is sucked out of the area, with even the moisture in the air falling down as hoarfrost. "Hey, it worked!" Jominda jumps with joy.
"What worked?" Herm asks
"I managed to put out the fire, without ruining my bedding." Jominda replies.
"Good, now lets get going." Herm finishes packing things up and heads back to the trail and their mounts.
Kendra follows, wearily. She's ill at ease in the forest now.
Jominda scatters some more powder over the smoldering ettercap and then quickly follows the others, to not get lost alone in the woods. "Thank you for fixing my dress." she tells Kendra.
"It's no matter." she says, and without pause changes the subject. "I wonder if it's possible to agree to some kind of pact or bond, that we always trust one another, that would be strong enough to overpower charms like the one before."
She smiles, and switches the topic back, realizing she may have been a bit too dismissive. "I know how fond you are of your clothes. It would be a shame to not see your smile for the rest of the route."
"A magic pact?" Jominda inquires overexcited.
"How would this work?" Herm asks as they get to the trail
"Not a magical one. Just one of trust." Kendra says. "But I don't think it could overpower actual charms. I should do some research on that next time we're in lepidtstad."
"Yes, please. I want some magic pact with you!" Jominda comments in a chipper mood.
The group finds back to the horses and carriage and move on, on the silent path. Somewhen around mid afternoon the group notices something strange in the distance that becomes horrific when coming closer. The pale corpse of a naked man hangs from a large yellow pine, bound to the trunk with rough cords. His mouth is stuffed with large, pale purple flowers, and his wrists and ankles are swollen and dark with bruises marking where his bindings cut into his skin, but the large silver hunting knife embedded deep in his heart seems the most likely cause of death.
Kendra stares in silence at the display, not quite willing to make the first comment for fear its horrifying effect on her will show in her voice.
Herm draws his hammer and moves towards the body.
"He is dead but that doesn't meant he isn't undead." Herm leaves the knife in the mans chest. "Harrold or Jominda do either of you know what this plant is?" Herm scans the area for anyone coming to attack.
"I would guess wolfsbane..." Harrold says
As Herm steps in front of the corpse carefully watching it carefully for any signs of undead movement, he finds himself in a hail of silver crossbow bolts.
Herm growls a bit as the cross bow bolts strike him true.
"Who is there? I am no Werewolf."
Turning around there is no one and on closer inspection Herm finds that he triggered a trap. Following the triggering string you find that there are five light crossbows mounted in the tree.
"Herm!" Jominda calls out as Herm is hit by the arrows. But she relaxes as Herm simply turns around to address the 'attacker'.
Seeing that he tripped a trap and he should have been more observant Herm goes a bit red in the face.
"My fault." touching himself with a gauntleted hand Herm allows the light to heal him.
"Lets gather these cross bows before someone dies from this trap. I assume it was meant for a werewolf but some innocent child could have found this." Herm starts to remove the crossbows.
It is a one way trap, as the crossbows won't reload them self. But Herm collects eight crossbows, just to be sure.
"What about that dead guy?" Jominda asks, pointing at the naked body while not watching it.
"Take him down and we can put him in your bed roll and I can put him behind you on the carriage?" Herm asks eyeing Kendra and Harrold, Herm takes the body down and removes the dagger, handing it to Kendra. "Could be worth Keeping. What about this Wolfsbane, what do we know of it?"
Jominda ignores the suggestion to use her bedroll "do w have a shovel? We could bury him here."
Kendra takes the knife, and checks if it is silvered.
"I expect the locals suspected this man of being a werewolf. Tied him up while still alive, judging by his wounds, and unable to transform because of the wolfsbane."
She thinks for a moment. "This was a trap for other werewolves... Herm, are those bolts silver too? We could use them. As we could the wolfsbane."
She adds to Jominda and Harrold "If that indeed works against werewolves?"
"If it is effective it can for sure be made into an extract. What do you say Harrold?"
"Wolfsbane can be made into a rather potent poison, for normal people as well as werewolves. Legends say it can be used to cure lyconthropy but I know of no actual case where this has happened."
The group arranges for a simple burial for the corpse to save the next traveller the grisly sight.
At the end of the day the group reaches Ascanor Lodge. A high wooden palisade with a large closed gate hide most of the building. Only half of the upper floor and the roof is visible.
Kendra gathers her courage and rides up to the gate, seeing if there's any mechanic to ring a bell or otherwise draw attention.
Upon coming closer you can see that the entrance to the lodge is through twin wrought-iron portcullises set within large arches inside a small half-timber watch-house, flanked on each side by a low stone tower.
Some guards come out of the watchtower, behind the gate and asks what you want.
"Entry" Kendra states, with a beaming smile, happy that she can get out of the forest into the safety of the manor. Albeit a very relative safety.
She produces the invitation they acquired from the Baron, and hands it over. "I would also like to report the death of someone else with an invitation to this place. We found his remains on the way here."
"We seek entrance to the Lodge, we have a ledge of entrance from Count Cormac." Herm says
"We have not been told to expect new guests. Please wait." one of the guards tells and sends another guard to get the lodge’s porter.
After a few minutes a halfling who introduces himself as Belik Courtaud, the porter of the lodge. He graciously accepts Count Caromarc’s letter of introduction and spends several minutes perusing them in minute detail, lips pursed pensively. He finally looks up, and hands the papers back.
"I apologize for any misunderstanding, but as the porter of Ascanor Lodge, I cannot permit your entrance at this time. You do not have reservations in our books, and despite your claims, I have no evidence to justify allowing strangers into the lodge. From the looks of you, unlike the rest of my guests, you haven’t come here to take a peaceful retreat. I want no trouble, so off with you all, and take whatever troubles you bring somewhere else!"
"Not wishing a peaceful retreat? What nonsense! We look this way because we have experienced some troubling events and now wish a peaceful retreat to recover from them. And as you can verify, our invitation from the count is genuine."
Herm Stands his ground, then takes the body of the dead man off the back of his horse.
"This man was a member of your lodge and lost his life while leaving, it would be poor taste if people knew that your guests weren't safe here." Herm says with a flat face.
While the party argues with the porter there starts a commotion in the background. A rough-and-tumble-looking woodsman heads for the gate, followed by a young noble dressed in finely tailored, studded hunting leathers. Despite the commotion, the two men push through the crowd, oblivious to anyone else’s concerns. Several scruffy-looking hirelings follow behind them leading a pair of horses and carrying wooden crates marked with heraldic symbols. As they shuffle past, the woodsman calls back to the noble, "For the last time Duristan! I’ll take you there, but I ain’t bringing my dogs!"
"That is House Ariesir of Ardeal." Herm says "Take him where good sir?" Herm asks
"If even gold can't get you to bring your dogs. But tell me, were there any howls or footprints, did you try to track the prints around the carcass, did you measure any of the claw or bite marks on the body." Duristan badgers Delgros. Almost in mid-sentence, Duristan catches sight of the group and sizes them up. He calls to them, "You there! Fall in with me, I need more able sword-arms for the hunt!"
The portcullis are opened to let Delgros, Duristan and his entourage through. But the porter and the guards make sure this opportunity is not abused.
"Hunt for what? We need entrance to the lodge." Herm leaves the statement open as a trade
"We're going to hunt down a werewolf!" Duristan proclaims.