As soon as she hears you have arrived, Mayor Lithari comes out to meet you in the square. Some folks have gathered around, but most are used to your presence and so ignore you for the time being.
"How bad is it?", she says matter-of-factly.
"The Coalition is performing some sort of operation in the area, but the commander has assured me that they are not interested in Garnettown."
Shakti starts muttering to herself, not really loud enough to be overheard, but not quiet enough to be hard to understand for anyone that is trying either, "Yes, probably best that we put all our weapon in long term storage, throw a party, and get highly intoxicated before falling into one mass stupor. And since there is obviously no danger, we can feel free to sleep with our necks exposed."
The elfin woman nods. "I'm not sure how you managed to speak to the commander, but do remember that the Coalition claims all of this area as their own. Anything they do here is dangerous. That said, thank you for looking into it. We shall prepare for the worst nonetheless. I do not want to be caught sleeping should they change their mind. If you'll assist, I would most appreciate it."
"I will protect you until I am relieved of my duty or die." says Auriel without a hint of sarcasm or humor.
"How can I help?" Burgurk asks simply.
"What is next? Do we watch these Coalition soldiers for treachery? Build fortifications for this village? Or should we take the fight to them? I suggested to my new companions that we acquire a scout and question him. They declined on the grounds of the risks. However, I make the same offer to you; I can find you such a scout, if you are willing. I am confident I can do this without casting direct suspicion upon your people."
Lithari merely shakes her head. "No, you've done what you can and I'd rather not poke the hornet's nest if I can help it. For now, you can assist in doing what you can to shore up our defenses. If they come knocking, we want to be ready." As she goes to direct each of you to a a place you might help, a loud scream goes up from somewhere in the town. The mayor looks to you as if to say, 'now what?'
Arriving at the scene, there is a large crowd forming around a very mutilated body of a woman, her clothes torn to shreds and her flesh no better. One of the local guards is failing at consoling another woman who is sobbing and pointing off in the direction of the forest. She keeps muttering something about "...a beast.. it came out of nowhere and it...it...", she devolves into crying again.
It is easy to see the direction it went as several makeshift walls have been torn down and you can see debris where it tore through the town and headed towards the forest...
Auriel doesn't even stop moving, but charges after the creature.
Burgurk follows in his wake.
Running, in case the creature we're chasing is running too (or is just plain fast) :
Auriel and Burgurk take off after the creature, getting a glimpse of fur and claws crashing through trees just ahead...
= 6, a Success
Auriel begins sprinting and it's clear that he's had training in doing so.
The creature bolts ahead of you, tearing through trees and shrubbery as if it wasn't there. Burgurk hurries to catch up, his native instincts kicking in. Auriel, while trained to run fast, has difficulty with obstacles and almost runs into a tree directly ahead of him...
Shakti allowed herself a bit of an internal smile as the others ran off after the beast. She looks at the women to see if either was the boy's mother. It was an interesting ploy by the beast, and while not her place to interfere in the hunt of another, it was still one that was likely to be short lived. The town would now be warry of attacks, and start to look for where the beast was hiding. If it was smart, or even cunning, it would move on now for a different population.
She wondered silently if the boy had become the beast, or the other way around. If it could take different shapes, it might prolong its hunt a while yet, by taking the place of someone else instead. But if it was tied to the form of the boy, say by a curse or infection that had caused him to become the creature, then he would no doubt be found and killed relatively soon.
Of course, if that was the case, then the source of the curse might still pose these people a problem.
None of this was her concern, of course. As long as she was aware and warry of the creature, it posed little physical risk to her. And its hunt was merely its role in this world, hunter and prey.
Shakti walked over to the mutilated body, just to make certain she was in fact beyond the reach of life. Even grievous wounds could be survivable, depending on the amount of time elapsed, and whether or not major blood vessels had been severed. Without bleeding, even massive trauma to the flesh could be survived.
While the chase continues, the crowd around the woman grows, but they move to let Shakti investigate her wounds. This woman was definitely attacked by some sort of animal. Claw tears around her arms and legs as well as a massive bite wound in her shoulder are easily identified. What isn't clear at this point is what kind of creature, though Shakti has her suspicions. The blood pooled around the body has started to congeal and what skin Shakti can see has paled. There is no movement in her chest either. For all intents and purposes, this woman is dead.
Auriel spins around the tree and uses it as a springboard to launch himself from.
New Chase Agility roll :
= 5, a Success
The creature stays out of reach of both of you, crashing through the brush as if it wasn't there. Just as you start to catch up, a smaller branch comes out of nowhere and crashes in front of you. Auriel slows enough to miss it, causing him to fall back a bit, but Burgurk is right next to it...
Burgurk manages to spot the swinging branch and duck out of the way at the last second...
Auriel continues to push himself forward after this creature that would harm innocents he has sworn to protect.
= 7
Burgurk picks up a stick lying on the ground, and tries to throw it in between the creature's legs, hoping to trip it up.
Burgurk will take the 10D, so the creature acts first.
Same shtick (pun intended) :
= 9, the TN for the creature's Agility roll
Back in the village, Shakti stands in order to address the onlookers.
"This one is beyond saving. Convey her remains to an appropriate place."
Back in the village, some of the men come to help carry the poor woman's body to Old Man Duncan's place to be taken care of and given a proper burial...
Meanwhile, the chase continues... Burgurk throws another stick, but this time it only causes the beast to duck..
Maneuver roll :
so no +2
= 5, a Success
Jonis, without her Glitter Girl, stays behind with Shakti, pale-faced and worrying about the attack.
Can the boy they saved not the only werewolf around?
"Shakti, let's look for the boy. I worry about him."
The creature seems to get confused as to which direction it is going and it slows down. This allows Burgurk and Auriel to catch up some.
Auriel will continue the chase, attempting to get into melee with the creature.
Jonis notices the person trying to stay hidden, but discards it as a shy person.
Shakti does not particularly notice any one creature among the assembled unwashed masses.
Burgurk tries to throw a mental Blast at the creature :
= 10, a Raise
And does
Doing 43 points of damage to the creature.
As it appears the creature is about to disappear into the forest, it freezes in place. Its claws go to its head and it howls in pain. It then collapses into a heap. As you get close, the creature begins shrinking dramatically. When you reach him, you are staring at the body of a young boy, about 8 years old...
Auriel kneels and checks the boy's pulse to see if he still lives.
Once he sees the creature turn into the child, Burgurk tries to psychically heal him :
= 8, a Success and a Raise, up to 2 Wounds removed.
Burgurk turns to Ariel and says "Any ideas on how to keep him from turning back into the creature before we get him back to the village?"
The boy starts to come to, Burgurk psychically removing the damage he had caused. At first he is too groggy to realize what is going on, but as you are talking, his eyes widen in horror. "Did I hurt anyone?"
"We'll get to that in a minute. Why don't you start by telling us the last thing you remember?"
The fear is evident on the boy's face. "I.. I was helping Mama and.. and I accidentally ran into someone and made them drop their bread. They started yelling and then... then I was here."