Session 12: This Used to be a Playground

 

As the party heard a noise behind them, they turned around to see a wolfman, still clad in the tatters of the Captain's clothing. The combat that ensued was vicious but over quickly, with only Clooney sustaining any real injury, though he did not appear to suffer any lasting effects. The mayor was quick with praise, if not a monetary award, and tried to convince the party to stay on as guards. But their duty to rescue Mario the unicorn impelled them onwards. The weather mitigated as they traveled south, spending one night at the Proud Home before arriving in Tervel. The circus dominated that town, well known for the various schools of tricks, acrobatics, and circustry. 

The party decided that a variety of approaches towards scouting out the tents would be the best way to figure out how to move forward. Gnick advocated for letting the animals out and burning it all down, but the group thought this would attract too much attention. Clooney disguised himself as, in the words of Bart, a "dumb looking furry lion creature," and was welcomed to the ring of wagoned cages that included Mario the unicorn. He tried to pick the lock on his cage, but it was more difficult than he expected. Meanwhile the eponymous dwarf walked around carrying a box, trying to look like he belonged. Remi tried to charm the strong man, but was himself dazzled by the charms of his new best friend, the dancer of the seven veils. Gnick and Ash also toured the facility, where Gnick had a short conversation with Mario and promised he would get him out of there. He also saw a dumb looking furry lion creature that asked him to let it out, but Gnick didn't want to cause too much excitement. Guy was headed for the circus, but got distracted by some a shop selling nice afghans.

Session 11: Lycanthropy Misanthropy (Ash)

We barely escaped the slimes, dropping Remy's body off the balcony and dragging it into the street to keep him from being dissolved. After some more sleep and meditation on the mysteries of the flame, I was able to help Gnick and Clooney get most of Remy's blood back on the inside where it belongs. The next morning, by way of apology, the inn offered us an extra rasher of bacon for our trouble.

We decided to stay another day to let Bart finish up some hammering. I had a pretty bad day of fortune telling. There's only so many variations of "You will be crushed by a falling tree." that you can tell these lumberjacks before they get suspicious. Also nobody likes to pay for bad news, or bears for that matter. Clooney did some investigating and found out that a hooded figure had dropped off the wine vats full of blood oozes, and that they bore the sigil of House Amber

For the second night in a row, screaming woke me up. This time it was slightly more feminine and it was coming from a house across the way from the inn. We rushed to render aid, but Captain Rapacion was already there. An young woman said a man with a wolf's eyes was at her door when she went to lock up. It brushed past her and tore her husband to shreds. By the time we got there, the trail was cold and trampled, so there was no way to find the monster and nothing to burn.

We were getting ready to pack up and bid farewell to Leene, when Captain Rapacion stopped us and asked for help. In retrospect, that was odd. We split up to help him and his patrolmen keep watch around the town's borders. I found a dead maiden buried in the snow, maimed like the old man had been. When we met back up with the others, Gnick was wearing the top of a giant owl's head as a hat, so I'm guessing he has a complicated relationship with animals.

Eventually, we picked up a trail that seemed to belong to the killer, striding confidently out of town that we tracked to a local barn. There we saw some clothes were left in the snow and lupine paws made up the trail after this murderous naked weirdo polymorphed himself. We were able to follow the trail (back to town or inside the barn or another barn) and we discovered the mutilated corpses of the two patrolmen who helped rescue us from the slimes the other day. We decided to investigate the captains house, and found an arm in one of his cabinets! Turning around, we saw that the fiendish Captain apparently had a death wish I am quite happy to fulfill in short order (by cooking him (with my power of fire)).

Session 10: Wolves on Leene

 

As the temperatures began to dip lower, the party left Perrin in search of the circus where they believed Mario the unicorn to be held. The first day of their trip was uneventful, and they spent a restful night at the Inn of Bonne Jouissance, enjoying the roast pork for which that locale is justly famous. On the next day, the forest began to thicken around them. As they approached a bridge crossing a small brook, eight wolves emerged from the trees, flanking them as they attacked. The group was able to kill the beasts, but not without serious injury to Remi and Bart. Gnick was able to treat their wounds somewhat, but Remi in particular was still in bad shape as they approached Leene.

Leene is a lovely forest town, full of half-timbered houses and workshops where artisans fashion wooden goods from the timber in the surrounding area. The party went to a local inn, the Sign of the Barrel, where they retired for the night. In the middle of the night, however, the lighter sleepers of the group were awakened by the sound of something oozing through the windows of their rooms. Three blood slimes had infiltrated the hotel! The party made a brave stand, but especially with Remi barely standing, they could only manage a fighting retreat. Fortunately, the city guard showed up, and they were able to eliminate the threat.