"How?! We just gonna tie him up and cart him back to the cathedral or somethin'?!" She hadn't taken her eyes off the man. She didn't dare let him out of her sight.
"No need to put him in the cart. He can walk. Besides, it would appear the bodies need to go into the cart." He turns to the man, "You said that 'it' was not a normal wolf. What did you mean by that? And where is 'it'?"
"Yeah, I'm just sure he can be trusted. Not like he's got blood on his hands already!" Kora whispered sarcastically, turning to Elijah for support before realizing he was even less likely to agree with her than Sehkola. Gods, I'm workin' with two knights-in-shinin'-armor here!
She kept her hand near her blade, but kept her distance while the others did what they felt was best. Instead, she scanned the area, keeping her eyes and ears open for any hint of whatever else might be lurking nearby.
"You misunderstand, Lady Kora. It has nothing to do with trust. My thought was he can be bound and tied at the back of the cart; following behind it. No reason to exert the poor mule with the extra weight more than is necessary."
"I would like to save him if possible yes, however not at risk of others ending up worse for it... Sehkola could you see if any magic is involved with that wound from here? Maybe there is a quick and easy fix to it." Elijah suggests.
"Huh..." Kora faltered. She blamed her nerves for getting to her. "Okay, that I can get behind." she said, a bit mollified.
At Elijah's suggestion, she mentioned hopefully, "Can't a priest just bless him or somethin'? They can cure it with magic, can't they?"
Elijah nods, "Quite possibly, it's a matter of either getting the priest here, or getting the man to the priest -- Unfortunately I am not far enough along in my training to be able to work such miracles yet... however if it is just a matter of healing the wound I do have some small ability to do that."
"I will see if any of the wounds radiate magic, although I feel that the fact they showed evil is likely evidence enough that they are not normal wounds." Sehkola casts detect magic on the man.
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"He turns to the man, "You said that 'it' was not a normal wolf. What did you mean by that? And where is 'it'?"
"I don't know! I have never seen it. I have only heard it when no on else has, lurking somewhere.." The man shakily gets up, using a tree for support. He looks at the corpses, "I couldn't warn them in time."
Kora looked suspicious upon hearing the man's explanation. Hearin' voices in his head maybe... She looked down at the corpses. But it takes more'n bein' crazy to manage this...
"You two hash this out. I'm gettin' them on the wagon." she said quietly to Sehkola and Elijah. She didn't have a head for magic or curses, and honestly it made her hair stand on end. But they would probably need to get moving soon, and fast, so she went to work putting the corpses in the wagon as respectfully as one person could.
"He turns to the man, "You said that 'it' was not a normal wolf. What did you mean by that? And where is 'it'?""I don't know! I have never seen it. I have only heard it when no on else has, lurking somewhere.." The man shakily gets up, using a tree for support. He looks at the corpses, "I couldn't warn them in time."
"If you have not seen it, how do you know it even is a wolf? And how could you not see it when it has clearly bitten you?"
Sehkola turns to the others. "Interestingly, his bite radiates some necromantic magic. Somewhat odd."
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"If you have not seen it, how do you know it even is a wolf? And how could you not see it when it has clearly bitten you?"
"Wolf prints are everywhere if you know where to look. The wolf that bit me is dead now, I saw it crushed under a tree not long ago. When I last went by it ravens were pecking out it's eyes."
Sehkola turns to the others. "Interestingly, his bite radiates some necromantic magic. Somewhat odd."
The man stares incredulously at his wound.
"Death magic... on my arm?" Suddenly, Rin grabs his arm adn doubles over in pain.
Elijah moves towards the man, "I think I can help let me see it."
Elijah then reaches out and LAYS ON HANDS.
Kora glanced at the man doubling over and Elijah hurrying to his aid, and left the body she was pulling where it lay as she placed her hand on her dagger. She had no clue what was going on but she was hellbent on not being caught off-guard out here.
Gods, did Sehkola say 'necromancy'?! She felt a chill working down her spine as she remembered that night in a graveyard outside Magnimar.
Sehkola rushes over to the man. He looks to Elijah. "Can I help? Do you know what is wrong with him?"
"Not really," Elijah shrugs, "I figure if it's the wound though, maybe healing the wound will get rid of the... infection. At least that's my hope."
"Is it workin'?" Kora asked hopefully as Elijah tried to heal the man.
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"Is it workin'?" Kora asked hopefully as Elijah tried to heal the man.
The man manages to look up, his eyes turning even more feral than before and his teeth more wolf-like. He speaks in a pained whisper.
"If I black out, be ready. That thing is never far away and likes to attack when I can do nothing about..."
He falls unconscious, but remains standing as his flesh ripples and he changes. You realize your suspicions were correct... Rin is lycanthropic. He jumps away from you and looks around, then turns back to face you, his eyes filled with bloodlust. Something about him doesn't seem right...
"Aw hell!"
"By the gods! I have heard tales of were-jackals from my homeland; I never believed them until now!"
Perception, Int check, Initiative (1d20+1=21, 1d20+2=21, 1d20+6=19)
"Oh gods!" Kora jerked her bag of caltrops from her belt and threw it at the beast's feet. She shouted at the others, "Run or fight?!"
Sehkola begins the motions of casting a spell, and unleashes a spray of bright colors at the beast . He yells to the others, "My spell will not hurt it, but may slow it down. I do not think we can hope to defeat this creature; I suggest we run!"
Damage Roll: 4d6+16=34 Non Lethal
Elijah Swings strongly for the head hoping to knock the poor man unconscious before he can change and reek havoc on the community (and Elijah's friends) again. Go down, go down, PLEASE go down! Elijah hopes fervently.
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Elijah Swings strongly for the head hoping to knock the poor man unconscious before he can change and reek havoc on the community (and Elijah's friends) again. Go down, go down, PLEASE go down! Elijah hopes fervently.
When Elijah's maul connects with the werewolfs head, it makes a loud thumping sound. Rin returns to his human form even before he collapses to the ground. The man who lead you into the forest quickly, moves to Rin's side with some rope to tie him up. Grunting, he puts the unconscious man into the cart and places a sheet over him as if dead.
"I do not know what is happening, but I don't think Rin was in control of his actions. If it got out that he was the wolf that had been running rampant through the forest, before or after he is cured, he wouldn't last the night. The Sandpoint Priest should at least be able to tell us what is wrong with him and how to fix it. Taking the dead to him for burial preparation won't cause any rumors. I ask you not to say a word of this to anyone."
Elijah Swings strongly for the head hoping to knock the poor man unconscious before he can change and reek havoc on the community (and Elijah's friends) again. Go down, go down, PLEASE go down! Elijah hopes fervently.When Elijah's maul connects with the werewolfs head, it makes a loud thumping sound. Rin returns to his human form even before he collapses to the ground. The man who lead you into the forest quickly, moves to Rin's side with some rope to tie him up. Grunting, he puts the unconscious man into the cart and places a sheet over him as if dead.
"I do not know what is happening, but I don't think Rin was in control of his actions. If it got out that he was the wolf that had been running rampant through the forest, before or after he is cured, he wouldn't last the night. The Sandpoint Priest should at least be able to tell us what is wrong with him and how to fix it. Taking the dead to him for burial preparation won't cause any rumors. I ask you not to say a word of this to anyone."
"I will defer to the others; however, I feel we should move quickly. And my tongue will not be silent for long, as bringing this beast into the community is dangerous, to say the least."
"Damn, 'Lijah..." Kora had said as the paladin knocked Rin out with one strike. She hadn't expected things to swing in their favor that quickly.
She then seconded Sehkola's sentiments. "Yeah, if it don't work, he's gonna have to go. Unless he wants to live in a cage th'rest of his life."
"If he wasn't in control of himself he is not completely to blame for what happened. I would suggest if anyone asks we came out to find the missing people, found the werewolf that killed them and brought an end to the werewolf. It is the truth and doesn't hurt anyone, while protecting those that couldn't help themselves," Elijah agrees.
Gods, I was right. Mister Shinin' Knight, here. Kora eyed both Elijah and Sehkola for a moment, wondering how differently her career would have gone if the party she had hooked up with had these sorts in it. Things likely would have gone better, at least.
"Well, we'd better hurry. Hopefully if he changes again before we make it..." she trailed off as she took a seat and looked nervously behind her at their morbid cargo. Mentioning her hope that Rin would choose to start with the corpses before moving on to live prey probably wouldn't go over too well.
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Rin stays silent as you head back to town. Once you arrive at Sandpoint's Church and begin unloading your cart behind it, the man who asked for your help goes inside. He returns moments later with an elderly man in robes.
"Hello, I'm told there is a problem with necromancy and one who yets lives. This man says his friend has become a werewolf, is this true?"
Kora shrugged as she stepped off the wagon. "Looked like it to me."
She pointed her thumb back at their grim cargo. "We should probably move this somewhere nobody can see right quick before we draw a crowd."
"It would appear that way, yes. One thing to note: the beast had patches of purple fur. Though I am new to Avistan, I have never seen a wolf with markings such as that."
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"We should probably move this somewhere nobody can see right quick before we draw a crowd."
"Yes, of course. Bring them into the church, I have a chamber we can put them in. It is where I will perform their funeral rights later, after this is settled."
"It would appear that way, yes. One thing to note: the beast had patches of purple fur. Though I am new to Avistan, I have never seen a wolf with markings such as that."
His eyes widen. "Neither have I. That is most troubling indeed. Hopefully my spells can shed light on what is happening here. Is there anything else you can tell me about what happened?"
"We should probably move this somewhere nobody can see right quick before we draw a crowd.""Yes, of course. Bring them into the church, I have a chamber we can put them in. It is where I will perform their funeral rights later, after this is settled."
"It would appear that way, yes. One thing to note: the beast had patches of purple fur. Though I am new to Avistan, I have never seen a wolf with markings such as that."His eyes widen. "Neither have I. That is most troubling indeed. Hopefully my spells can shed light on what is happening here. Is there anything else you can tell me about what happened?"
"Other than the necromantic magic his bites radiated, which I believe was mentioned, no. Oh, wait, he did talk as though there was another wolf; the fact that he himself was bitten seems to lend credence to this."
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"Other than the necromantic magic his bites radiated, which I believe was mentioned, no. Oh, wait, he did talk as though there was another wolf; the fact that he himself was bitten seems to lend credence to this."
"There may be another werewolf and his wound radiates necromancy? It seems something is very wrong in Sandpoint." Once you have placed the dead in the chamber he mentioned, the Priest places Rin on one of the churches pews, leaving him tied up in case the worst happens.
"You said he had necromancy on his arm, which means some one who can cast spells may be behind this. I'll will see if I can identify the particular spell active on him. A moment please." He begins to chant, his brow furrowing in concentration. His hands float above Rin, lingering over his bite mark. This continues for an hour before he stops, breathing heavily, and leans against the pew."The spell affecting him... is mostly unheard of, even by those with a stronger connection to their deities than I. It is a curse, that was rumored to have been given to clerics long ago by a now dead good of disease and carnivores. It was said to be able to let any animal bestow lycanthropy on the one it bites. You may place your worries to rest, the wolf that bit this man cannot curse any more people. I doubt any worship that god now, since his name was lost in the records long before I was born, which means some one found a scroll that had this spell scribed on it. What worries me though, is the purple fur you mentioned. It can mean any number of things, from the scroll being miscast to the wrong material being used when the scroll was scribed. But... I believe it means there is someone with a connection to the Lower Planes-those that house demons and devils-out to destroy Sandpoint. If such a person where to use a scroll with this spell, his tainted magic would bleed through, causing a connection between the Lower Planes and the victim. You are looking for someone who doesn't fit in with others, who knows about the Planes, and has enough knowledge of ancient dieties to find and use, the curse. If you choose to go looking that is." The Priest returns to his chanting, and the bite mark on Rin's arm fades. While it is still visible, it looks as if it is now very old. "The spell is gone now. No doubt he will use it to impress the young women of Sandpoint."
Kora's jaw hung open halfway through the old priest's explanation. Most of it went over her head, but some snippets she latched onto. Dead gods? Demons and devils and curses? Cayden's sake!
"Gods! Who the hell did he piss off to get a curse aimed at 'im like that. And who the hell around here would have a connection to the hells? Those weird twins?"
"That was my first thought too," Elijah answers, "Gip, what all do you know about those twins we fought, and whoever leads them?"
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"That was my first thought too," Elijah answers, "Gip, what all do you know about those twins we fought, and whoever leads them?"
"Not more than I told you first time. They come to cave one day, tell leader to hand tribe to them to control. Leader say no and they strike him down with shadows that came from their hands. They use shadows a lot."