Snakes, Imps, and Refugees

Expedition

The Fractured Pack's travels from the Urja Archive.  During the trip, they learned of increased serpent activity, interacted with an imp bound in service to a hermited wizard, and first heard of the cult in the area.

The next destination on the Fractured Pack's itinerary is Lacington.  Having warned Broxon's kin of the impending threat and gained what knowledge they could from the Urja Archive, the party now seeks to ensure the safety of Xanstaer's home.   To begin their journey, the party decided to seek out Na Pru once more.  Calling to him within his would, the guardian beast came to them.  The Fractured Pack sought to know if there any other disturbances similar to the lighting storm that the party had actively fought.  The giant Elk admitted to there being other momentary spikes of elemental and spiritual energies but they were not what he was worried about.  Na Pru spoke of the increased number of folk passing through the area.  The party calmed this fear by informing the elk of the refugees responding to the uncertainly caused by the closing of the Everstorm.  While the refugees were passing through the area, they likely would not stay.   The second fear of Na Pru was an unknown one.  The guardian beast spoke of a startling increase of snakes in the area.  While serpents where not a sparse animal in the area, they also were not common.  When they were around, they tended to be small.  Na Pru was experiencing a vast increase in the beast and of far larger size.  With springtime youth of the woodlands were being hunted faster than they could grow and it worried Na Pru.   As the party continued their journey, they later found a sight more disturbing than snakes.  Within a forest clearing, the party found a bloody massacre.  At the center of it was an evicerated deer.  Slumped nearby a man.  Scattered under trees and within bushes were dead coyotes, squirrels, and birds.  Hearing a snickering and taking fast action, Clive managed to shoot a darting raven... though the arrow came right out and fell to the ground.   Further prompts and conflicts brought to light the reality of the creature: a shapechanged imp.  Chasing the wounded created into a tree with a hollow, the party managed to coerce some information from the imp.  Giving the moniker of "Norzim", the imp had served under a local hermited mage as he did his experiments.  Recently, the mage had joined in with a cult and the cult insisted that he did not need "Norzim" anymore.  Without officially dismissing "Norzim" from his service, the mage sent the imp away.  Bound to follow instructions given to him, Norzim has moved out into the wilderness and has been passing the time in his boredom.  As a means of getting himself out of the situation, "Norzim" offered the party a contract to serve them for a series of questions once his service was finished with his current master.  The party took the contract to read it.  When they went to question the imp about possible changes he had already used the distraction to flee.   Taking the contract with them, the party continued on to Lacington to find refugee camps constructed all around the gates and the roads around it.