Wilm courageously gallops his wolf into the garden, landing a solid blow with his axe. His steed, however, is unable to bite into the ruffian. With a blast from his pistol, Graxzos fells the man.
Meanwhile, Kelsier draws out a javelin and hurls it at the hunter near the house, the javelin finds a home in the man's chest, but he still stands! That is, until Sam conjures up a magic missile that puts the thug out of his misery.
Seeing his two comrades easily killed by the arriving Pathfinders, the last of the brutish men drops his weapons and flees as quickly as possible.
The flames begin to spread!
The gnome, seeing the hunters leave, begins frantically shouting, "The fire! My crops!" He rushes forward with a shovel and begins trying to tamp out the fire closest to him.
Though Wilm misses his charge at the thug, the man realizes he won't be able to outrun a wolf and immediately surrenders. "...place is gonna burn down anyway..." he mutters under his breath.
Meanwhile the gnome continues to shout, "I'd like to save my garden, you silly dwarf!"
Kelsier spots a heavy canvas tarp draped over a box next to the outhouse. He grabs it and rushes to the closest fire.
With Wilm keeping guard over the thug, the rest of the pathinders are able to work together to save the farm.
As the last embers are snuffed out, the gnome walks over and feebly kicks at the captured man.
"You stupid fool! You stole my belladonna! Burn down my garden for nothin'! I ought to let these folks here put you out of your misery!"
He takes a step away and greets the party. "Thank you for that. You must be the lot that Brackett said was comin'. You've all got the look of Pathfinders about you, you do. I'm Falbin." He holds up a hand in greeting.
"See their silver blades? All this business with 'beast-men' has brought a scourge of lycanthrope hunters. These ones here were part of a group that stole my belladonna and then, obviously, tried to burn down my garden. Thanks for saving it." He wipes his hands of soot. "So, how can I help you?"
The lycanthrope hunter sits still and grumbles under his breath.
"Actually, I've got some rope. Would one of you mind tying that fella up?"
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Kelsier retrieves his javelin and rewraps the Amentum, then stows it. He helps tie up the man. "Where is the belladonna now?"
As he and the others speak with the gnome, he pulls out a whetstone and begins sharpening his javelins, then his blades.
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"Would you mind checking the bags? One of 'em has it, but I can't tell. You humans all look the same..."
You find a satchel of belladonna flowers in one of the dead men's bags. "That's it! Oh thank you!" He reaches out and clutches the satchel to his chest.
Falbin then roots around in his garden and plucks up a single flower with large, pink petals. "I can't let any of the belladonnas go, but take this. It's a litheria blossom. I think you'll find it quite useful."
with large, pink petals. The pollen of the litheria blossom
bridges the gap between life and death, functioning like
an elixir, though inhaled rather than imbibed. A creature
that inhales the pollen gains the benefit of the death ward
and deathwatch spells. Both effects last for 10 minutes.
If plucked, the flower remains vibrant and alive until the
pollen within the flower is inhaled, at which point the
flower wilts and dies. The pollen remains potent only so
long as it held within the flower or immediately thereafter.
One round after the pollen is removed from the flower,
both the pollen and the flower become nonmagical.
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Wilm, eyes alight with excitement joins the conversation. Hey! Thanks for the healing blossom, who wants to keep hold of it, any of you guys?
So, down to business, you said something about Lycanthrope hunters, that obviously is connected to what Brackett has sent us here regarding.
This man, is he a simple mercenary, or part of something larger? How bad has the beastman problem got? Do we need to recover the stolen belladonna?
Moving out of ear shot of the captive.
We were told that you could help us track down the druids that might be behind all this. Do you know where they might be operating from and how we can infiltrate them and grab the magic twig?
Amidst chatting with the gnome Wilm finds time to speak to Graxzos - That was an amazing shot with your thunderstick! I've been told of such things and never fancied they could compare with a solid charge. But i have to say I'm impressed! Where did you learn to use such a thing?
Falbin answers Graxzos, "Belladonnas are helpful with the treatment of lycanthropy. But, the druids out there at Briar's Henge ain't makin' regular old werewolves with that atavistic splinter."
He then addresses Wilm's inquiries, "Well, Briar's Henge is about two days' travel south of here, so you’d best hurry if you want to catch the druids before the ritual ends. The trail is fairly good for the first day, and there’s a small logging camp you could rest at. The loggers there are no friends of the druids, so you’re likely to receive a warm welcome if you mention you’re working against Briar Henge. Briar Henge is another day further southeast along some narrow - but passable - trails.”
Falbin walks around his garden, kicking dirt over some embers that are fighting against dying down. "See, the druids intend to transform everyone in the surrounding area into feral animal-men as a perverted way of returning them to ‘nature.’ The ritual is slow but powerful. The druids have been performing the ritual for weeks, and it seems to affect the area for miles around Briar Henge. Exactly how far out, I couldn’t say. I’ve done a lot of research, though, and I’ve learned two important points. First, the effects of the ritual are reversed only if the Atavistic Splinter is removed from Briar Henge before the entire ritual is complete—then all the affected animal-men would return to normal. Second, the ritual will end at sundown the day after tomorrow. That is, the ritual will only last two more days. As it takes almost two days to get to Briar Henge, you’d better get moving.”
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Wilm listens with eager and attentive ears. Eyes flashing with excitement and anticipation.
a terrible curse, we must save these people and this region. Our names will go down in history !
Those listening would be forgiven for thinking that the names in history part meant more to the excitable young halfling than saving people's lives...
Falbin, is that two days walking or riding? In either case, where can we hire, buy, borrow steeds for my companions to speed our journey. If the distance you mentioned was walking that'll give us more time, if it's riding then we just need them to get there.
And have you any advice on how to infiltrate their lair. Do you know if they will be mainly preoccupied with the ritual?
Amidst the chatting he finds time to say a bit more to Graxzos. Yes, those who teach us... important memories. I remember my Uncle Frebian first teaching me how to tilt a lance from wolf back... I sure miss him...
Falbin shakes his head slowly. "It's two days by foot. With all the craziness going on, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone that's got enough horses to spare for all of you."
To Graxzos, "Well, they'll still hurt, won't they? But no, I don't think yer silver would be of any special use against those that have been turned by this ritual." He answers Sam, "And no, I don’t think you'll have to worry about being changed. Only people that have been in the area for a prolonged period of time seem affected. If you go to Briar Henge quickly, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.”
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Graxzos groans and smacks his forehead with one gloved, meaty fist. "Feggin' Brackett told us ye were investigatin' increased were activity! I go to all this trouble..." He starts to stump off toward the south, still muttering irately under his breath as he loads his pistol. "...stick this thing so far up that VC's rear it'll come out his eyeballs... C'mon!" he calls to the others. "Sounds like we'd best get a move on, eh?"
"Well...I mean, when I sent the first report to Brackett, I did think that we were dealing with standard werewolves. Sorry..."
Falbin gives you a fond wave as you travel on the path to Briar Henge. After most of a day's journey, the path runs through a small collection of buildings deep in the forest. This place appears to be a successful lumber camp — nearly a small village — but seems abandoned. A few open doors bang softly in the wind, hanging askew on their hinges.
2 claw attacks (1d3 damage for medium creatures, 1d2 for small)
1 bite attack (1d4 damage for medium, 1d3 for small)
+2 bonus to Constitution
-2 Damage to Intelligence
-2 Damage to Charisma
At the start of each day, a bestial creature takes an additional 2 points of Int and Cha damage to a minimum of 2. A bestial creature whose Int or Cha reaches 2 cannot remove the template except with a break enchantment spell, and all ability damage becomes permanent. Such a character is removed from play in the Pathfinder Society Organized Play campaign at the conclusion of the scenario.
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Wilm banters along with his comrades, riding on ahead with Max and then coming back, trailing behind then catching up. Generally enjoying the sights and sound of a new place.
Soo nice to be out of the city, this area reminds me of where i grew up you know. At which he proceeds to reminisce about his childhood with anyone who will listen, whilst trying to get them to tell him about theirs.
Hmm, what is going on here? Looks like something is afoot!
Wilm readies his Lance and looks about for clues, whist encouraging Max to do the same.
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Graxzos trudges along with the others, casting wary glances around at the trees and undergrowth as they go. "I don' like this place. Too much cover. How in the sands are y' supposed to see an enemy comin'?" The dwarf is increasingly surly as the team heads deeper into the forest, and most attempts at banter are answered by growls rather than words.
Looking around the abandoned camp, a deep growl grows in the dwarf's throat. "Puts me teeth on edge. Where've they all gone? This is what you get fer livin' in the trees...ugh!" The dwarf shakes his head and clutches his stomach, shaking his head as though his stomach is troubling him. He splits off from the rest of the group to investigate a nearby house.
A few minutes later, the group hears a howl of rage from the hut that Graxzos was investigating. They discover the dwarf crouching over a basin of rainwater in a corner of the hut.
"What is happening to meeeee..." with an aggrieved snarl, the dwarf whirls around--showing newly grown out fangs and nails lengthened into claws! "Whhaaat is thiiiis?"
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Sam feels a sudden weakness and falls his knees. Black fur starts to grow all around his body.
He twists and shakes while taking deep breaths. After a moment he maneges to regain some control.
#%$& gnome!
That fool has no idea what he was talking about. We are all in danger of being affected by the ritual! It's powers already started working on me too. The people on this village... they must all have already turned.
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Kelsier puts a hand to his Longsword at the sight of the Dwarf's transformation, but then his face takes on a sympathetic expression and he does nothing more.
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Kelsier, Waki, Sam, and Beromir notice strange movements throughout the seemingly abandoned village. Suddenly, three bestial men appear and move in to attack!
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Kelsier moves onto the platform in the middle of the town square, drawing a javelin and his shield as he goes. Once there he hurls the javelin at the beastman East of him, but it thuds harmlessly into the wall behind it. Kelsier draws a spear and waits.
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As his comrades spring into action, Graxzos snarls, shaking his head as though trying to shake off the curse that's descended on him. "Dang...beastie...men!" the dwarf growls, slurring slightly. Trundling around the fountain as his fellow Pathfinders take up their positions, he draws his pistol and aims takes careful aim, sweeping the area and waiting for one of the foes to come in sight.
Kelsier moves up and chucks a javelin, but it misses.
Beromir rushes forward, as do Waki and Graxzos. The tengu readies to slice into the first of the beast men to get close, and Graxzos plans to put a bullet in one.
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A deep growling echo's out from Wilm's wolf.
Yes Max, there is trouble afoot, no doubt about it!
Wilm looks for a sight line to set up for charging. He draws Max back a little whilst readying to charge the guy at the bottom left. He'll charge once the mook reaches the square the arrow is pointing to. (although if he stops moving before that then he charges to where he is...