In Dreams - Session 11
The Wolves of Malrikstead
General Summary
Leaving the wagon and cart by the roadside, and charging Gracen to defend Alvar and the children, the four adventurers ride under the twilit sky for Malrikstead.
They pause at the turnoff to Old Mitchar's place. Speculating that the disturbance may be the result of a new beetle attack, Mongo and Sylman ride down the lane to investigate.
Nothing seems amiss, and there is no sign of life or movement other than the echoing sound of their horses' hooves. Riding closer, their nostrils are assaulted by the stench of the decaying giant beetle, whose rotting corpse is still inside Mitchar's house.
Mongo decides that this time, he will do what he should have done long before. Swinging off his horse, he clambers up the side of the house, takes out his flint and steel, and starts to light a fire in the thatched roof.
Meanwhile, Eric and Bruno see someone running down the road towards them from Malrikstead—a stocky man, one of the farmers they met on their earlier visit. He bears a terrified expression. "It's you, you've returned!" he calls out to them. "You've got to help them!" Panting, he explains that the town is being attacked by ghostly wolves. "The Maker is punishing us for our sins!" Eric tells him to take shelter at Mitchar's farm, but he ignores the advice and continues running down the main road.
After a few minutes of effort, Mongo has a roaring blaze going on the roof. He climbs back down and, at a safe distance, watches as the fire starts to consume the house.
Sylman rides up to Mongo. "Are you happy now?" he asks.
Mongo remains silent. Staring at the flames, he is certain that the fires burning in Malrikstead are a sign. He should have burned the hovel down earlier.
He and Sylman rejoin Eric and Bruno, and the four of them ride cautiously towards Malrikstead. Ahead of them, the road passes by a small farmhouse and over a shallow creek and low bridge to the cluster of buildings that make up the core of the hamlet. Ahead and to their left, the provisioner's is aflame, while ahead and to their right, the mill next to the creek is burning, as is the reeve's house further down the road. They hear shouts and screams, and see a few people scrambling for water from the creek to fight the flames. There are two bodies lying in the street. A wolf stands atop one of them, while a second wolf paces nearby.
The party rides swiftly over the bridge towards the wolves. Sylman fires his crossbow at the wolf atop the body; the bolt knocks the animal aside, but strangely it makes no noise at the impact. Mongo hits the other wolf with his longbow.
Riding closer, they see that one of the persons in the street is dead, with his throat torn out. The other—recognizable now as another farmer they met—still lives, but seems paralyzed with fear.
The wolf Sylman hit is a ghostly, transparent blue, and seems to be in pain. The second wolf is so dark as to be almost featureless, like the Shadows; its eyes glow blue, like one afflicted by The Mark.
The shadow-wolf turns its head to the side and speaks, in Common with an Orcish accent. "There you are. Gawonii's whispers spoke true. Where is the huntmistress and her pup?"
The adventurers exchange glances. The question surely refers to the orcs Tukaja and her son Ezno; and the wolf must be the ka, the witch, that Tukaja warned them of.
"That's for us to know, and you to find out," Eric declares.
In the ensuing combat, Sylman and then Bruno are thrown from their frightened horses, but still manage to strike at the ghostly wolf, which fades out of existence. Eric's attempt to cast Silence on the witch fails. In response, she emits a deep, terrifying howl, and Eric is filled with fear. After Mongo hits her with his longbow, she steps into the shadow of a building, and vanishes.
Then seven more of the ghostly wolves swarm out from between the burning buildings of the hamlet, and attack.
In the light of the flames, a fierce battle begins. Overcoming his fear, Eric fires his bow but is thrown in turn by his skittish horse. The wolves swarm over him and Bruno, knocking Bruno prone and injuring both of them before Eric is able to destroy one with a Dissonant Whisper. The farmer finally recovers enough to flee, but is pursued and killed.
Still atop his horse, Mongo reaches for Father Whitehill's rosary, and momentarily closes his eyes in prayer. Since he first put it on, he has become attuned to the powers its four stones provide: power to heal, to bless, and to smite. Now he invokes the blessings of the Maker for himself, Sylman, and Eric.
Standing off from the battle, Sylman fires multiple crossbow bolts into the melee. Mongo too is unhorsed, but still fires his longbow to good effect, destroying another wolf. Eric is bitten again, as is Bruno, but they fight on with sword, warhammer, and magic.
There are still four of the ghostly wolves remaining when they hear the voice of the witch from the shadows. "Surrender," she says, "and tell me me what you know, or everyone in this town will die."
Sylman hefts his crossbow. "Those are big words, you old hag!" he cries, even as Eric, conscious of his and Bruno's injuries, responds "we surrender! Let's put down our weapons and talk." He and Sylman look at each other in dismay.
The witch-wolf addresses Eric. "You can tell me what you know after your friends are dead." A giant ghostly wolf, standing some 6 feet tall at the shoulder, emerges from the shadows nearby. Its giant teeth tear into Mongo, who summons all his strength to remain standing.
"Is that surrender option still on the table?" Sylman asks.
Unsure of what will happen next, Bruno and Eric do not attack. Eric takes this chance to speak a Healing Word to himself, while the three smaller wolves move to surround them.
Mongo shows no hesitation. After calling upon the powers of the rosary to heal himself, Mongo draws his sword and attacks the giant wolf. The monster tries to knock him down, but the fighter stays standing. Sylman turns and runs towards the creek, hiding around the corner of the five-foot wall that surrounds the yard of the burning mill.
The witch-wolf appears again from the shadows. "Now, before I send you all to the eternal hunting grounds. Tell me. Where is the huntmistress?"
"She's not here," Eric answers. "We saw her days ago, south of the Crossroads. She was heading south with her people. She's not here," he repeats quietly.
The witch doesn't respond. Then Sylman fires his crossbow at her from hiding. The shadowy form shudders at the blow, tendrils of shadow emerging and dissipating into the air. "That's enough," she snarls.
The wolves attack. Both Bruno and Eric are knocked prone, and bit numerous times. Eric sends one of the wolves fleeing with a Dissonant Whisper, and destroys one with his sword, but Bruno is taken to the point of death by the onslaught, and falls unconscious.
Sylman continues to weave between points of cover near the creek, firing from hiding. After he shoots the witch-wolf again, she disappears. Mongo continues to stand toe-to-toe with the giant wolf, trading blows, but even when Sylman joins his attack, the monster remains standing. Finally Mongo is knocked unconscious after being mauled by both the giant wolf and one of the smaller ones.
From somewhere Sylman hears a voice: "Gawonii knows you. You won't escape his sight." Shrugging off the voice, he waves his arms and taunts the wolves, hoping to lure them away from the fallen. As he withdraws into the tall grasses along the creek, the voice speaks again: "there you are." The witch-wolf's teeth sink into his thigh.
Pushing the foe away, Sylman climbs atop the stone wall of the millyard, and starts to run along it away from the wolves. But he moves only a few feet before his injured leg gives way. He falls off the wall into the creek. Grimly pushing himself up, he again seeks cover in the tall grass.
Eric flees from the ghostly wolves through the open double door of the burning mill, closing the doors behind him. The mill's roof has partially collapsed, and the floor is littered with burning debris. The mill's walled yard is visible through the open rear doors.
As the giant wolf follows Eric, two of the smaller wolves run off down the main road, presumably circling around to attack the mill from the rear. The third goes to join the witch-wolf in pursuit of Sylman.
Eric bars the doors, then moves cautiously through the burning debris to the rear doors. To his left, in a corner of the yard, he sees three people cowering in fear; one of them is old Mitchar. To his right he sees part of the creek, which enters and exits the millyard through bars set in the wall. Behind him, he hears the giant wolf ram the double doors. The doors hold for the moment.
Sylman watches from the grass as the shadowy form of the witch-wolf approaches. "It didn't need to be this way," she says. "You and I are more alike than you realize."
"Is it too late to surrender?" Sylman asks.
The witch-wolf growls. "You're a perfect example of your kind. Rash and reckless. This is why we need to drive you from our lands." She bites him savagely.
Sylman grimaces but manages to stay standing. After slashing the enemy with his rapier, he tosses his weapon over the millyard wall, then vaults over the wall himself, moving away from the creek towards the rear of the yard. Eric moves to join him. Hoping to decoy the witch-wolf away from them, he casts an illusion of Sylman standing inside the yard in the creek.
The shadowy wolf pads up the creek to the bars in the wall, looking through them to the illusion of Sylman. "You're more cunning than I thought," she says. "But not smart enough."
Meanwhile, in the street in front of the mill, Mongo regains consciousness. Taking stock of the situation, he invokes the rosary's power to heal the worst of his wounds, then rises to his feet and quickly moves to the narrow gap between the burning mill and the next building. The space is too narrow for the giant wolf to reach him.
After glancing in his direction, the wolf ignores him, instead ramming the wooden doors of the mill again. The wood cracks, but the doors still hold.
Readying his light crossbow, Mongo invokes the rosary's power of Branding Smite as he fires. "In the name of the Maker, I smite thee!" he calls out. Gleaming with astral power, the bolt strikes true. The giant wolf glows with the radiance of the Maker and disappears in a cloud of light.
In the yard, Eric and Sylman prepare themselves for a final stand. Eric readies a flask of alchemist's fire, while Sylman draws a throwing dagger.
But the witch-wolf snarls and turns aside. "I grow weary of this. Perhaps next time we will get to meet in person." As she begins to lope away, Sylman throws his dagger through the bars, catching her in the side. The wolf erupts into smoke and vanishes.
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