Anna gulps as she turns several shades paler. <<Hey, guys. The Whisperers are here, all right.>> She glances up and around the building to make sure no chunk of it is about to dislodge and fall on her.
She rubs her eyes and checks the runes again, this time for signs that they may be part of a magical trap.
Looking for any signs of trouble Tolvan begins to move rapidly in Anna's direction as well. Not the most patient person I have the pleasure to know... he mumbles under his breath.
Anna grabs Tolvan's hand and points out the runes scrawled at the house's base. "Look there. Just like Harrowstone. And there's several people inside. But they're not answering."
Tolvan considers the ruins.
We need to get in there to see what is going, or has gone on.
Theopolis looks at the building, looking for any sign of what it's original use was, store front, crafting area or home?
"Will this rune explode, if I cross it?"
Anna shakes her head. "No. It's not a trap. It's something else, involving necromancy. The Whisperers laid something like this down around Harrowstone Prison, which got rid of a good ghost and stirred up a whole bunch of bad ones."
This next building (F5), a large wooden structure standing at the outskirts of the town proper, is still fairly intact. The remains of fallen sign outside read "'s Colours & Dyes" - the name of the owner seems to have been lost. The building has two large wooden doors at the side; they're closed. The shop front has been boarded up from the inside and there are no other windows.
Kimberly tries to be stealthy so as to not attract attention, sticking with the others.
She makes her way beside Anna, whispering to her, but unlike Harrowstone, we have learned much on how to deal with such things and are better prepared to do so. Pharasma... glancing at Theo, and the inheritor as well, will protect us.
Now that her companions are around her, Anna is emboldened. She raps hard on the doors to the building. "Oi! Open up! We're neither Whisperers or werewolves!"
Curious about what might be the result of Anna's call, Tolvan stands ready to act.
There's the sudden sound of activity within the building, the removal of a barricade, at least in part. One of the great doors swings open, to reveal a broad, open room, its back wall lined with large, soot-blackened copper vats. A cage-like wooden rack built into the adjacent wall holds numerous bolts of cloth, their colours now faded and spotted with mould. A wide, open-faced hearth takes up most of the opposite side of the room; next to it is a long bench covered with hardened cakes of various coloured dyes, powders, and salts.
Near the back of the room, behind a mound of benches obviously piled up for the purpose, is a werewolf, in hybrid form. Several other such faces - you can count at least half a dozen - stand behind the hastily assembled barricade, all of them apparently training loaded crossbows on the group.
The first werewolf speaks:
"This building belongs to the Prince's Wolves. I have no idea who you are, but you have three choices: leave, surrender or die."
Tolvan breaths a sigh of relief stating Then we have found you. We are sent by Khakis Szadro himself and are in league with you to destroy the Whispering Way. We are not your enemy and bring word of a truce between Prince's Wolves and our group. We must see to it that the Demon Wolves do not recover Kvalca Sain’s heart. If Adimarus Ionacu were to become packlord his rule would be violent and bloody for both weres and humans. And we have proof of this agreement. He produces two ornate silver daggers, the hilts of which are carved into the head of a snarling wolf. Do you recognize these tokens?
Anna had almost been convinced that the occupants would be huddled townsfolk, so the revelation of more werewolves had her alarmed and ready to bolt.
Then Tolvan spoke and she remembered their uneasy alliance with this pack, and she breaks into a broad grin. She looks at the daggers Tolvan shows and then back to the werewolves inside. "I think there's a fourth choice. You invite us inside and we talk."
"Iomedea has seen fit to lead me to the destruction of the Cult of the Whispering way. It has lead me to join with these adventurers, and if they are aiding you then Iomedea must want me to aid you also."
Kimberly looks for the chance to add her input, As Iomedae has sent her messenger, I speak for the church of Pharasma. We have joined our forces together to defeat the Whispering way, and solidify a deal between us.
The wolves' leader stares at the tokens. After Kimberly speaks, he seems to have heard enough, and nods to his companions to stand down. Half a dozen of them, including the leader, emerge from behind their makeshift barricade.
"Talk then. Tell us more," he says, brusquely.
"You'd better close the door," he adds. "This town isn't exactly safe."
I am not sure what you already know or what your plans her are. You know we are not your enemy and we share a hatred for the Way. You also know your prince has send us to you and has offered us your aid. Perhaps we can start by you informing us about the tactical situation in the town? Where is the Way, and what other factions are in play?
Kimberly pulls up something to stand on, making her a little taller and closer to eye level with everyone.
First a prayer. Lady Pharasma, Judge of the dead, keeper of the boneyard, we thank you for the blessings you have bestowed upon us this day. and the unique allies you have gifted us with. may our allegiance come together to further your will in the destruction of those most vile in your eyes, The Whispering Way. We also give thanks to Iomedae, who has joined with you in bringing us one of her mighty warriors.
looking to the new allies or at least she hopes to become allies. Tolvan is right, we will need a good tactical layout, but before such things let us establish that we are on the same side here. I am Kimberly, priestess of Pharasma, The elf there goes by the name Tolvan, he is a very skilled warrior and trained in arcane arts. The holy warrior is Theo. he has only recently joined us sent by Iomedae to us through a vision. And the lovely lady is Anna, she is an obtainer of valuable antiquities. The silent one goes by the name Dancia, a strong warrior in her own special way.
looking to the rest, perhaps some introduction on your part will help as well.
Danica stands in the rear with her arms crossed on her chest listening to the conversation.
"My friends speak the truth....there is a truce between us and the were-kin."
The wolves' leader moves forward. One of the others steps out and moves to close the door, while another lights a number of candles.
"Good that you brought the tokens," says the leader. "And there is truth in what you say. My name is Alaric, by the way."
He takes a deep breath. "As for Feldgrau ..."
He sits down and motions the party to do likewise. He takes a short stick and starts to draw a rough map of the town in the dust on the floor of the ruined shop, using stones to mark the positions of buildings as he speaks.
"Both the Demon Wolves and the Whispering Way are rife here. You probably saw the Way's glyphs outside this house. You'll see them elsewhere, on the other buildings. They think it helps them control the spirits that haunt the town, the restless dead that might oppose them. Perhaps it does. To be honest I'm not sure how much good it's done them, but right now they pretty much control Feldgrau."
He places a stone. "This is the mill," he says.
"Adimarus and his boys are holed up there. They've lost a few to the Way, and to their accursed dead. I think they're figuring out what to do. They've turned some idiot to act on their behalf, as well, he's holed up here at the forge."
He places another stone.
"His job is to catch people trying to get into town by the main road and lead them to Adimarus. But he's not up to the job, and can barely defend himself against the Way, so he just hides in there. Much as we do here."
He scowls, briefly, then continues.
"The Way is based here, at the Tower." He places another stone (map ref G). "That's their headquarters, but their patrols are all over town. In particular, here in the town square (F9). Though they have raised so many undead that they have stored some as reserves in some of the buildings. All that being said, if you want to defeat them, the tower is where you'll have to go."
He spits.
"What else? Yes, there's a third power, here, at the inn."
He places another stone (F8).
"I don't think it's linked to the Way. This town has been crushed, so violently, that its full of restless spirits, moaning about revenge and restitution. Hence the glyphs, as I say. That tells me the Way is scared of them. And, frankly, we steer clear as well, as I'm sure does Adimarus."
He looks up. "That's all I can tell you. The town is far more dangerous than that, you can't go round a corner with staring into some unholy aberration. But we've been stuck here for a while, waiting for the Way and the Demon Wolves to destroy one another before we venture out. If you can help break them both, more power to you. But we don't have that kind of power."
He stands. "You can stay here if you wish. It's safe. You can rely on our word."
Anna listens intently, then after a moment she rubs her face. She looks at the faces of the other werewolves, then makes a couple uneasy sidelong glances at her companions at the mention of staying in that building with them.
She takes a step closer to Tolvan and her hand finds his. "Well, thanks, I guess."
Danica looks over to Tolvan and Anna then towards the leader. "I'm more interested in the restless spirits. We have had some experience with some spirits. Tell us more."
Looking towards her friends. "you guys think we can gain the spirits as an ally?"
Anna coughs in surprise. "Even though Vesorianna was nice -- in a chatty way -- I think most spirits are better off avoided."
Alaric looks up at Danica. "I'm sorry," he says. "You know as much as I do, now."
Kimberly tries to recall what she can about these spirits. from what I can recall, I am sure that whatever has caused these spirits to rise needs to be dealt with before they can be eliminated. Phrasma awaits them and we need to lead them to her.
"I remember in our not so recent past of one or two "spirits" helping us out. With their involvement we would not have passed the events in the prison. Let us not forget about our encounter with the beast. He was our most useful friend and ally." Danica pauses for a brief moment to remember the past. How easily she would have killed an abomination. This adventure has shown her that good and evil is not just black and white, that they have made some compromises with their internal ethics.
Danica continues "We should not close this door on the spirit. If The Way is afraid of them then I think we should explore why they are afraid of them. History has shown us that we have unusual 'friends'. I'm willing to explore this option. I'm really interest in these glyphs that keep them at bay."
Tolvan considers. If we can do so without interacting with the demon wolves or the Way I think we try to communicate with the spirits, learn more about these glyphs, and try to weaken them. Anything bad for the way is likely good for us. We can start by studying the glyphs right here.
Kimberly tries to offer some help, I have some religious studies I can try and take a look, but I am afraid that many of the ways of the arcane are a little to complex for me.
she looks around for any of these glyphs, so where are they? has anyone made a copy of them?
"I know very little of the ways of the unliving creatures and specters. My goddess provides me with the ability to see the vile wickedness that taints a creature, and then send the evil from this world. I will follow you lead for the time being."
You notice that Theopolis turns his head to the side as each person speaks, keeping his gaze on the floor, obviously avoiding looking at any of the creatures that were already in the building.
Anna pinches her brow and mutters under her breath. Then she looks up and forces a smile. "Right, then. We're off to see the spirits. I'd offer to scout the way, but you guys seem to manage to find the danger anyway. So let's go. Keep your heads down and stick to the shadows if you can." She takes a look at the paladin and his heavy, clanking armor. "And Theopolis? I dunno. Maybe there's a spell or something."
Then an idea comes to her and she plays with the hem of her cloak. "This might help a little bit," she says, referring to the elven garment.
Danica approaches the leader of the were-clan. "Tell us where are the spirits located."
Anna points to one of the stones that Alaric placed on his map. "He said it's there: at the inn. Don't worry. I'm usually really good at finding inns. Though always for a very different kind of spirits."
"Let's go then to make some new friends."
Alaric nods. "The inn is just to the south. It includes what used to to be the provisioner's shop, for the troops. The innkeeper looked after the troops well, before they destroyed the town. His pockets were nicely filled, but it's left his soul unfulfilled. Be careful in your dealings with him and maybe you can get him on your side."
As the party makes to leave, he adds "And, if you don't want to be pulled into a bigger fight, keep clear of the town square on your way over. As I said, that's where the Way is raising its army. So stay out of their line of sight and stay quiet, unless you want to take them on head on."
He stands, and returns to his group of companions at the back of the dyer's shop.
The group moves quietly over to the inn, ignoring the strange wailing sounds coming from the square to the east. The door to the inn is unlocked. Again the lower wall is marked with the Way's scarlet glyphs, presumably once again in an attempt to ward against the town's wandering spirits. Inside, the building consists of a large, open storage area separated from a smaller storefront by a long wooden sales counter.
Behind the counter hovers the wavering, ghostly form of a sad-faced, balding old man with stringy hair laced loosely across his head and tremendous bags beneath his eyes. The figure seems to be busy tying a noose to the ceiling. The ghostly form of a chair stands nearby, completing the scene.
Anna's breath catches and she backs away. She grows several shades paler and grips her crossbow in white-knuckled fear.
Kimberly tries to comfort Anna to ease her fears.
It alright, remember that I have grown quite a bit since the prison, and I am more than capable of handling these things now. And besides I have given you Pharasma's protection.