Sophie looks Gregor up and down with an appraising eye and a disapproving frown. "Young man, that's no way to speak to your elders! Just who do you think you are, eh?"
--
She turns her attention to Pontia. "Much better, thank you, Pontia. I am glad to see you still well and healthy."
--
She returns Niculae's greeting and then adds "Yes, this tree is not what it appeared!"
--
finally she greets Doro. "Good to see you too, young man. I was following the cultists of the Whispering Way when I had to hide out in this house, but then I couldn't leave because of that tree. Not much adventure, if you ask me."
"It's a hangman tree. I recognized it from my studies."
Gregor furrows his brows at Niculaie for a moment, not getting it. Injure me? Why would it...oh. He nods. "Could you help me, Vivian?" It was just like the big man to ask the pretty lady for help first.
Vivian slender (and quick!) fingers trace a spiral on Gregor's wounds,and she prays Pharasma to wait a little more to accept the fighter in her realm.
Not the most soothing words... but at least the redhead's prayers are quite efficient, as Gregor feels as good as new!
That was quite a fight... Glad you are still alive after that ordeal. Does anyone else need healing?
"Young man, that's no way to speak to your elders! Just who do you think you are, eh?"
Gregor smirks, chuckling slightly. "I'm just a big man with a long, sharp stick." He is glad that the others seem to recognize the old woman.
-----
Gregor's face relaxes as the healing magic is applied. He thanks Vivian, bowing low before her.
"Hmmph. Keep your long sharp stick to yourself. "
It's nice to see you again, Sophie. Don't be too grumpy with Gregor. I know you have a kind heart. We are on the track of a pack of werewolves, even if there are saner and healthier occupations. Are you willing and able to join us?
"It is good to see you again too, girl. As for whether I'm willing and able to hunt werewolves, and cultists for that matter, what do you think I'm doing out here? "
As you catch up, you find that Sophie was tracking the group that are tracking the Whispering Way, which is exactly the reason you are all here at this point.
Other than the fact that the Demon Wolves were clearly here (based on the dead ones in the tree), it seems to confirm your suspicions that everyone is headed for the town of Feldgrau.
Following the Demon Wolves’ trail, you approach the town from the northwest.
Toward the end of Barstoi’s forced occupation of Ardeal almost 2 decades ago, Count Aericnein Neska’s troops spent a night in the small town of Feldgrau. When they pulled out the next morning, they repaid the town for its hospitality by butchering its citizens and putting Feldgrau to the torch.
Niculaie scowls as they approach the burned-out ruins at the edge of Feldgrau. "This town was the site of one of the atrocities committed by Barstoi in its occupation of Ardeal. Almost two decades ago, Count Neska's troops were quartered here for a night. When they pulled out the next morning, they repaid the villagers for their hospitality butchering them all and putting the town to the torch. As well-mannered as our late acquaintance Cilas Graydon may have been, he had a bloody reputation as one of Count Neska's commanders. I wonder if he was involved in the massacre?" He shudders. "We should watch for signs of the unquiet dead while we are here; I will be surprised if the spirits of some of the townsfolk do not linger."
Niculaie keeps an eye out for bats, rats, or ordinary wolves among the collapsing husks of the town's buildings, hoping to gain some information about how far behind the Demon Wolves the adventurers are, and any hazards they may face crossing the town.
Oddly, you don't really see, or sense, any bats, rats, or wolves in the area.
F1.
On the outskirts of the town stand the ruins of a small farmhouse and two outbuildings, their roofs long collapsed, exposing splintered frames of gray timber. Beyond, a sodden, unsown field stretches to the edge of the shattered town of Feldgrau. The barren earth is scarred with muddy trenches and covered with a perpetual wash of low, swirling fog. Dead trees, like pale and wiry skeletons, grasp at the gray skies, casting their long, ghostly shadows over the crumbling ruins.
You do, however, discover several sets of tracks, both wolf and human, leading into town.
Vivian shivers at Nic's words
So we have to worry about werewolves AND undead now? Nice to know...Let's hope history won't repeat itself, and we aren't destined to be butchered too, like lambs at the slaughter.
She traces a spiral on her heart, while looking for any trap or hidden foe
Dire words friend Niculaie. Should we try to skirt the town?
Doro replied while adjusting his frame in the saddle. he patted Kal-Zi on the shoulder as the horse whinnied and shuffled his feat.
Niculaie points to the foot- and paw-prints leading into what remains of Feldgrau. "I am no tracker, but it appears our quarry's trail leads into the ruins, so I fear we have little choice in the matter. If it is any comfort, I have heard no tales of undead at this specific site; my comment on that subject was merely a warning, based on past experience."
This small farmhouse seems quiet, but clearly there have been tracks in and out of here.
Vivian examines the tracks, trying to ascertain how many wolf-people came and went
Gregor offers a hand to Vivian.
He also checks the straps on his armor, adjusts his pack, and grabs his barbarian chew. "Do any of us look like lambs?" Gregor asks Vivian.
"I think we should clear the outer buildings first, then work our way in. We don't want to get surrounded or ambushed."
Do you want me to scout it first? Or do we have magical means to obtain the same result?
Sophie stands by, letting the others decide how best to approach the town.
Though the farmstead is uninhabited, the central farmhouse contains a makeshift shrine. On the crude altar lies the very bloody remains of a Whispering Way cultist.
Gregor is struck by the shrine. "I wonder if this person took the knife willingly." He stares at the remains for some time.
Doro walks in looking at the altar. Shrugs and says whatever foul cult this is. I dont think this matters.
The wizard examines the area, trying to avoid looking at the body for too long. "It's a shrine to the demon lord of werewolves. I suppose we know who sacrificed the cultist; I doubt the victim went willingly."
Niculaie crouches down before the shrine to get a better look at the corpse, then reluctantly reaches out to lay a hand on what remains of its head. He closes his eyes and tries to some information about what the cultists and werewolves are up to.
Read the Bones (Su): At 2nd level, a gravedigger can perform object reading as an occultist (Occult Adventures 48), but only on corpses, bones, and other physical remains.
Object Reading (Su): At 2nd level, an occultist learns how to read information from items he examines. Examining an item in this way requires him to spend 1 minute handling the item. If the item is a magic item, the occultist learns its properties and command word as if he had successfully examined the item using detect magic and succeeded at a Spellcraft check. This ability does not reveal whether the item is cursed unless the occultist’s class level is equal to or greater than the caster level of the item. If the item has any historical significance, the occultist learns one piece of information about its past (as determined by the GM). Finally, if the item was last used no longer than 1 day ago per the occultist’s class level, the occultist learns one piece of information about the last creature to use the item. This information might be a glimpse of the creature’s appearance, a brief vision of what it saw while using the item, or perhaps its emotional state when it last used the item. The GM determines what information is gained in this way. This functions like the psychometry occult skill unlock (see page 196), but doesn’t require a skill check and can be used at will.
The cultist's name is irrelevant, but beyond that, you glean only a small amount of information. It seems that the demon wolves are chasing the Whispering Way, and now both groups have holed up in this town. You sense great fear and pain, as the cultist was not intending to get caught, tortured and sacrificed. He was one of a patrol that ran into a patrol of the werewolves. You also sense that there was some amount of concern about ghosts roaming the town.
Not too sure what you can "object read" from a head, but will give it a go.
Niculaie blinks, then stands back up and wipes his hand with a scrap of cloth.
"Apparently everyone we are following, the Whispering Way cultists and the Jezeldans, are here in the remains of this town. The Demon Wolves are hunting the cultists, the cultists are trying to evade the lycanthropes. This wretch was on a patrol when he was captured by the werewolves and sacrificed."
Niculaie remounts his horse, then draws a blunt, silver-tipped arrow and holds it on the string of his bow. "In addition, the dead man at least was concerned about ghosts that he believed wander the town. I don't know whether he saw evidence of them, mind you. However, I believe we have enough flesh-and-blood enemies to worry about that we will be on our guard against anyone - or anything - that might want to kill us. Shall we continue into the town?"
Doro looks at the others and says It sounds like a 3 way fight in there. with us it looks like 4. Is there a way of capitalizing on the factions at odds with each other...
"Well, as the Jezaldans still think we're on their side, we could turn to them for assistance." Gregor shakes his head. "I think it would be best to avoid destabilizing the political situation, but..." He stares at the bloody corpse in front of the party for a few moments. "I'm beginning to wonder if we shouldn't kill them all."
Niculaie raises an eyebrow. "Gentlemen, I do not believe I would be particularly comfortable aligning, however temporarily, with a pack of murderous demon-worshippers, werewolves or not. That said, while I would be happy to sit back and watch them and the Whispering Way cultists destroy each other - so long as none of the cultists escape, and none of the Jezeldans leave here with Sain's heart - perhaps we will be presented with an opportunity to provoke one side into more precipitous action against the other."
As a Pharasman, I would make the Whispering Way my primary target, but there are too few of us and too many of them, undead and werewolves alike, to not proceed with caution and some strategical sense. Pontia, I've seen you summoning a air elemental. Could you do it again and use it as a scout? Do you feel it will be of better use later, into the fight? I'm open to any ideas, of course.
"My family has hunted monsters like these werewolves for generations. I don't think I need to tell you what my instinct is. But I agree, we should approach this situation with a flexible mind--perhaps there are ways we can make things easier on ourselves. I approve of scouting out the town."
"I can summon a creature to scout the town, and I can also prepare and cast the arcane eye spell."
Niculaie is worn out from days on horseback. He pushes lank hair back from his face and sighs, wishing, just for a moment, that they were back in the Lodge.
"Pontia, if I recall correctly, your summoned allies return to their own realms in just a minute or two. If your arcane eye spell will last longer, it might give us a better chance to locate one or both groups. Perhaps it would be best to save the summoning for when we know where they are and are ready to provoke them into a fight."
This particular location seems like you could use it as a decent defensive spot to do some scouting, magic or otherwise, from.
Once the party is secure, Pontia takes a few minutes to prepare the arcane eye spell, and another ten minutes to cast it. She creates the invisible sensor a couple of hundred feet in the air to get the lay of the land, and then moves it down to anything that looks particularly interesting.
You see a few patrols roaming around town - some are werewolves, some are skeletons.
Her eyes closed in focus, the wizard murmurs quietly, "Werewolves and skeletons patrolling the town. Trying to get a closer look."
Try to memorize which ones are the closest, and where do they seem to go, how many they are by patrol.
says Vivian, who is used to covert actions, and avoiding getting caught for her misbehaviors
After a short while, you are able to discern a few patterns that should allow you to largely circumvent the patrols as you move around this ghost town.
The wizard shakes her head as she returns to herself. "I think I have some idea of how they patrol. The werewolves I saw were demon wolves. I wasn't able to tell if the skeletons were mindless undead or something more." She stretches. "Shall we?"
Niculaie counts his remaining blunt, silver-tipped arrows. "If the skeletons are doing the bidding of the cultists, they may lead us to our primary quarry. I suppose my vote is to search the ruins with all possible stealth until we spot one of these possible patrolling skeleton squads, then follow behind. If we cannot avoid combat with them, then at least there will be a few less abominations in the world. As for the Demon Wolves, I expect we will come across them soon enough."
Pontia nods. "That sounds wise. Do you all want to take your horses with us? I use a spell to conjure mine, so it's immaterial where I leave her."
Vivian poses the problem, and gives a solution
Horses hooves aren't that stealthy, if we use them. We could wrap rags on the hooves to lessen the noise. We will have to be careful about how the wind blows too, because werewolves can not only hear us, they can smell us. And horses smell more than a human, but they can outrun a werewolf, when a human cannot, so in both options there are things to lose and things to whinny.
She winks at Pontia, satisfied at her small joke
Doro pats Kal-Zi's neck and says I dont like the idea of leaving our horses behind. In this infested area, any of our foes would likely kill our horses just to make our chasing them down harder. The undead of Feldgrau would just as likely slay things just for being living as well.
Let us follow, but take all with. We can move to the outskirts of town trying to avoid patrols but prepapared to fight.