Location - Little Plains, a town halfway between Ptolus, Slune, and almost equidistant from Dorhinthas in the south of the empire.
Party in Play
Rae - Elf. Fighter 1/ Wizard 4. One of the original members of the party that originated in the town of Little Plains. She is somewhat of a strategist and creative tactician always looking for an edge when the situation gets dicey.
Wulfe - Elf. Fighter 1/ Wizard 4. Originally from a small town north of Ptolus near the Moonsilver Forest, he wandered westward to satisfy his curiosity about the frontier areas of the empire. Joining the group early in their adventuring career he has been a steadfast companion and effective in any dangerous situation. He wields Cheval, a Faery forged longsword known for occasional bursts of radiant energy.
Korved - Human. Cleric 4. An itinerant priest, he arrived in Little Plains hoping to come to grips with his recent experiences. He had joined the Gaen faith at a young age and over time found his thinking more in line with her masculine aspect Hannan. The non-violent and amicable split in the church was his signal to explore the world.
Sparky - Human. Fighter 4. She's a force to be reckoned with in a toe to toe fight. Recent life as a sword for hire had led to some less than respectable jobs and little in the way of pay. Joining an adventuring group seemed a wise choice.
Celestia - Elf. Fighter 1/ Wizard 2. A bold and confident adventurer, she puts forward an unfearful countenance. A recent addition to the group Celestia is making herself at home as if she were there all along despite lacking the experience of the other members.
Jill - Human. Fighter 3. A sell sword by trade, she has recently been down on her luck and in need of work. Hired to deliver a bag of coins to this group she ended up joining as a means of escaping from the butt end of the empire. Capable with sword and bow Jill is a good fit for the team.
Jackalope - Human. Fighter 3. A stranger in Little Plains that arrived about the time the wolf attacks began. Staying at the Brown Dog, Jackalope approached the party after overhearing their intent to go north. Volunteering additional information about the wolf problem, the party agreed that an extra sword arm might be in order.
It was past noon when the westward team noticed a pair of wolves stalking their movements from a line of trees and underbrush to the northeast. The wolves drew back into the trees and disappeared from view. Sparky, Korved, and Wulfe had hoped to arrive unnoticed so they could potentially outflank the wolf pack, but now they'd been spotted.
At around 8 in the evening they turned east and lead their army of bones to a mile north of the farm and turned south.
Meanwhile Jill and Jackalope conducted their business in town. First they visited the shop of Platt the silversmith and jeweler to see about having 10 arrows and three swords coated with silver before nightfall. After some discussion Platt agreed to drop everything and give it his best effort, making no promises. He asked them to return around 9 that evening to pick up what he had managed to complete.
Having arranged the silvering of weapons, they adjourned to the shop next door, that of Santhosh the apothecary to see about procuring some wolfsbane. Business was quick and they bought his whole supply.
The day was long and dull for Rae and Celestia as they kept watch for any sign of wolves. Nothing was stirring in the area around the farm.
By 10 that night everything was falling into place. The skeleton army had reached the northern edge of the farm field while Jill and Jackalope were on the road just south of the farm, not far from the barn. That's when the wolves rushed to the attack.
Under the leadership of two werewolves the 14 strong pack moved to attack the divided party. A line of wolves was moving to delay the undead re-enforcements, another rushed toward Jackalope and Jill on the road, and more charged a swordless Celestia by the front of the house. Snealing around the southwest corner of the house, attempting to get to Deek in the root cellar, the second werewolf and two of the wolves closed in on Rae.
Hearing growls and movement to the south, Wulfe and Korved cast light on stones and throw them into field. The light revealed the seriousness of the moment.
Rae was lucky to detect the enemies attempting to creep up to her position and thinking quickly she cast web trapping them in place between a tree and the side of the house. This decision proved critical.
To the east, following behind the rapidly moving wolves was an upright humanoid figure covered in fur.. The figure rushed to the nearest light stone and threw it far to the southeast returning half of the field to darkness.
Wulfe managed to target the werewolf with Magic Missiles before it could blend back into the night. Meanwhile Korved rushed south into the middle of the farm field. This might have been foolish, but he was counting on a secret weapon to turn things against their enemy.
Nearly surrounded by 3 wolves, Celestia managed to free herself and rushed into the open door of the farmhouse with Rae on her heels. Rae slammed the door closed barely on time to keep the wolves at bay, growling and scratching the door.
Cut off by 4 wolves, Jackaplope and Jill found themselves in a desperate fight for their lives. They managed to slay one of their attackers and wound another, but they were being savaged horribly.
Skeletons rushed south engaging wolves. A battle rages between fangs and bones. Two skeletons fell first until the larger numbers of undead proved their worth. In all 4 of the wolves sent to delay them lay dead.
Korved and the werewolf came face to face in the center of the field. The sword Korved was wielding was far from ordinary, which the lycanthrope would soon discover to his dismay. The weapon was powerful, made to slay shape shifters, creatures with unfixed forms, violating the law of conformity of body. During their fight Korved landed two strong blows to the one claw strike from the surprised were-creature.
Struggling in the web, the two wolves managed to eventually break free, however the female werewolf remained restrained. From the opened southern facing window Celestia and Rae began raining Magic Missiles upon her. In agony and growing desperate, she began calling out.
"Mamma's here Deek. Please come out Deek, it's momma."
This turn of events left Rae confounded. This creature couldn't be Deek's mother, Widow Penik had been missing and presumed dead four years now.
Bleeding from multiple wounds and fearing for her life, Jackalope fought her way free, making it into the barn and slamming the door behind her. Jill remained standing alone against three ravening wolves.
With a great pained howl the were-beast facing Korved broke away toward the east, sending the remaining wolves scattering away into darkness, leaving the female behind.
Recasting web to keep this enigma of a werewolf restrained, Rae began a back and forth argument with the creature. Eventually the thing named herself as Elena Penik. She was indeed the missing widow, and Deek's mother.
The now converged party began discussing options. After a time Elena agreed to subject herself and Deek to waiting locked in the cellar for someone to come and cast Remove Curse on each of them.
Further talk elicited more information about their remaining foe. Klayne, as he was called, would return to the Moon Cave tonight, but would likely return at some point seeking to reclaim his mate and anyone else he could curse.
Once it was decided that the party would again split up, Wulfe hid the 26 remaining skeletons to hide in the barn. He realized that sometime during their northward march another skeleton had joined them, drawn by the Crystal of Calling.
Wulf maintained watch while the others rested until morning. Korved and Rae then took a treasure loaded chest into town, planning to speak with the two high ranking priestesses at the temples of Melann and Aldinach seeking Remove Curse.
Revealing the problem to the priestesses brought initial shock from Hart. She joined them when they approached Tabish at the temple of Aldinach. Tabish agreed to cure the afflicted mother and child of their moon sickness and was eager to get started. After a brief delay, the four of them journeyed to the farm.
The two ranking clergy entered the cellar, unafraid of the cursed kin and after twenty minutes emerged along with the now cured family members.
Giving the remaining Remove Curse scroll to Korved, Tabish recommended the party not delay in finding the remaining beast to either cure him or kill him before he could spread the curse to anyone else.
Reluctant to go off chasing Klayne, the party hesitated, discussing their options.
Note: The Widow Penik storyline was the first adventure the group undertook in the campaign. This is the result after 4 years of in-game time.
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