Beltran sighed, and began his tale. “The werewolves in this forest are under the command of Arden Blackfang. He is a follower of Malar Beastlord, and hails from the wildlands to the East, where the Beastlord holds sway over much of the populace.”

“The core of his people are natural-born weres, but their other form is no mere wolf, but a dire wolf. Blackfang is the strongest and most cunning of their lot, but he is not the only one to worry about. His mate and chief lieutenant, Lyndis Blackfang, is a cleric of the Beastlord, and a powerful one at that. Avice Shadowclaw is an Assassin, skilled in stalking prey even in her unnatural hybrid form. And last, but not least, is Haar Bloodhowl, a berserker who embraces the bloodlust of both his barbarian training and bestial nature and combines them. Though he is a brute, do not underestimate him if you wish to live.”

I nodded as I listened to the man speak. “The Pipers are well informed about our foes. Have you been watching them long?”

“Aye. I’d not expect people from Northport or the surroundings to have heard of him, but Blackfang has terrorized the lands near the Gilnead Wall for the last fifteen years. None of those who have gone to take his head have returned. Naturally, we had scouts and wards keeping watch on him.”

“When he left his lair at Darktooth Hold, we had scouts who attempted to follow them. Unfortunately, tracking a pack of werewolves across open ground is no easy feat, and we lost contact with the scouts. Worse, once they were in motion, Blackfang and his lieutenants used items to shield themselves from passive attempts at observing their location by divination. And the more direct divinations only showed Blackfang’s destination, not his goal.”

“These reports made their way to Northport. As I was already working as a traveling merchant, visiting Moonwood and Chantresville as my route, before returning to Northport, I was asked to look into things. Unfortunately, I arrived in Moonwood not long after the Blood Moon started.”

“I learned what I could from the townsfolk, and that, combined with the history of the Moonwood, led me to believe that Blackfang had come to Moonwood to breach the seal on the Temple of the Moonmaiden’s Glory. I didn’t know what for, but this was clearly more than I could handle on my own. So, I attempted to leave the Moonwood, and get word out, so that a team better equipped for the task could be gathered and sent. Unfortunately, I was captured, and here I am.”

Beltran paused, and then said, “But, seeing as I was dead already, the wolves did not bother to hide their talks from me, even when they kept their pawns in the dark. After all, one of those lesser werewolves might be captured and made to talk, but me, I’m dead already, right? And that is why, young Aurelite, you must listen to what I have to say.”

I leaned forward, all ears, as he spoke. “The Huntlord, Blackfang, has been told by his god that the seal of the Temple is weakening. When the temple was assaulted during the orc war, elements of the horde managed to get inside the temple, but soon after the barrier fell, cutting off all contact, even from the gods. That, itself, is something that even the Temple of Selune did not know, but there were also several artifacts inside the temple, relics of Selune that were housed there, and tools of Malar that the orcs brought. Chief among them is the Crown of the Beast King, a powerful artifact that allows the wearer to control all animals, magical beasts, and lycanthropes for a hundred miles or more. Even Druids, through their connection to nature, and bonded companions like a wizard’s familiar are not immune to the commands. I need not tell you why it must not fall into Blackfang’s hands.”

Frostmane growled low. “I will not submit to any human. This crown, how can it be destroyed?”

“Sorry, I don’t know that. But I would imagine it is not something that can easily be done. At any rate, the recovery of the artifacts, and the despoiling of a holy place devoted to Selune is the goal of the Malarites. You will have to stop them, somehow. If you take the Crown to the Temple of Selune, then they, out of anyone, might know of how to safely destroy it.”

Frostmane was clearly unhappy, but none of us blamed him for that. I looked down at the Piper, and said, “What else can you tell us of the Huntlord and his allies? We know that they are basing in the Shrine to Malar and the abandoned mine.”

Beltran shook his head. “If you have heard that much already, then there is little more that I can give to you, other than a location of a cache of items set aside by the Pipers, many years ago, just in case. It was a precaution against desperate times, so that those doing what was necessary could have a chance of completing their mission. The items should be of some use to you, if you can find them.”

I raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t like the Pipers to just go giving out magic items, but then, this was the definition of ‘desperate times’, considering what the Huntlord was after. “Where is this cache, then?”

“Do you know of the elven ruins at Esyh Serin?” When I nodded, he said, “From the tower, walk south for an hour, and you will find small stream coming from a cave. The stream runs all the way to the Wyrmgrave Sea to the southwest, but you must go into the cave. Look for the mark of the Pipers, and say the following words, ‘All within the Master’s eye.’ That should uncloak the cache.”

I nodded slowly. “Then, is there any message you would like us to pass on? I cannot promise anything, of course, given what we face, but if we should return to Northport, I can deliver your last words to someone?”

Beltran just shook his head. “No need. We all made peace with the fact that we might die when we took up the signet of the Pipers. Suffice to say that part of the magic of the Pipers will let them know I am dead, a security against agents lost in the field.”

“Very well.” I stood, and looked over to Siora and Vestele, who had been studying the arrays. “How do we end these people’s torment?”

Siora sighed, as she looked my way. “Destroying the hearts would do it. You can either use simultaneous attacks on all seven, or one overwhelming attack on a single one. The array makes the hearts resistant to physical damage, probably to keep them from accidentally being trod underfoot, but spells should be amplified.”

Hellrime Blast Damage (Array 1): 8d6 = 30 Magic (+50% Vulnerability) (Destroyed)

Hellrime Blast Damage (Array 2): 22 Magic (+50% Vulnerability) (Destroyed)

I nodded once, and then looked down at Beltran. “May Auril’s breath speed your passing.” That was the only comfort I could give to the man, after all. He nodded, grimly, and closed his eyes. I unleashed a bolt of icy power at his heart in the array, destroying it. The other six hearts caught fire with blue flames. Their owners were already dead by the time I fired my second shot, taking out the second array.

You have destroyed an Anathema Regeneration Array x2.

All party members gain 500 XP.

Your actions have pleased Auril.

All party members gain +1 Sacred bonus to all attacks and damage against lycanthropes while in the Moonwood.

Vestele nodded serenely. “For one who is not a cleric, you have certainly been spreading the name of Auril quite a bit, Melinda. Only right, since the Beastlord is an ancient rival of hers. I’ll admit that the Queen would not care much about a situation like this. Sensations and the soul are more important to her.”

I took a breath, and then said, “Well, as glad as I am to have Icedawn on my side, I think we ought to see what the wolves left behind. Any gear we can use would be helpful.”

Loot:

260 GP

Potion of Cure Light Wounds x2

+2 Mithral Chain Shirt

+2 Bastard Sword

Butcher’s Bonesaw

Sacrificial Knife

Nipple Clamp of Exquisite Pain

Beastblood’s Bow

Loot in the cave was sparse, as expected. Most of the werewolves’ victims simple villagers or merchants. Any treasures they may have had were long gone, probably taken off to the north. What was left was the items left on the female werewolf lord’s corpse. The potions, armor, and sword were all normal enough. Some of the other items, however, painted a grim picture.

Butcher’s Bonesaw

Type

Tool

Weight

2 lb

This enchanted saw is made to cut through flesh and bone with ease. While useless as a weapon, it is quite well suited to its task of sawing through flesh and bone.

+5 circumstance bonus to Craft (Cooking) checks involving large cuts of meat and all Profession (Butcher) checks.

Pain caused by this blade increased by 50%.

At first glance, this saw seemed like nothing special. An enchanted saw designed to butcher animals so that they could be parted out and turned into meat. Grisly, but not exactly anything to be concerned about. But when you looked at that last special effect, its true purpose became clear. This wasn’t a tool designed to be used on corpses. Corpses couldn’t feel pain, after all. This was a sadist’s tool, to be used on the living.

Sacrificial Knife

Type

Dagger

Weight

1 lb

Damage

1d4+1

Damage Type

Piercing / Slashing

Critical

19-20 / x2

Thrown Range

10 ft

This +1 Dagger is highly prized by servants of dark gods. When used in conjunction with a sacrificial rite, a Sacrificial Knife conveys a +3 competence bonus on the Knowledge (Religion) check.

Compared to the bonesaw, this blade was positively normal. After all, sacrificial rites might not be socially acceptable, especially amongst the ‘good’ people of the world, but they were a fact of life in this world. That the werewolf had one wasn’t much of a surprise, considering the two magical arrays on the ground.

Nipple Clamp of Exquisite Pain

Type

Tool

Weight

--

The wearer of this ring is immune to debilitating pain effects such as the circle of nausea or wrack spells. He is not immune to actual damage described as pain. The clamp converts all pain into pleasure. This does not change how or whether a character takes damage, but it does change how they may react to it.

This item, however, was exclusively the domain of perverts. Oh, someone could argue about its usefulness, since it provided immunity to certain spells that casters who were shy about killing outright, or who wanted to capture people alive, would use. Anyone who seriously argued that point, however, was outright lying. One could simply see at a glance that it was for those masochists who enjoyed pain. Or, perhaps, for corrupting someone so that they associated pain with pleasure, attempting to ‘awaken’ a new masochist.

Beastblood’s Bow

Type

Longbow

Weight

3 lb

Damage

1d8+2

Damage Type

Piercing

Critical

X3

Range

100 ft

This +2 Longbow is blessed by the God of the Hunt, Malar. It is also infused with the curse of lycanthropy. Upon first using the bow, any living humanoid or giant who does not worship Malar must make a Fortitude save (DC 15) or contract lycanthropy, as though bitten by a natural werewolf lord. 3/day, the wielder can infuse the curse into an arrow shot from the bow. If the arrow damages a living humanoid or giant, they must make a Fortitude save to avoid contracting lycanthropy, as though bitten by a natural werewolf lord.

This item, out of all of them, was the nastiest. This, at least, answered the question of how members of the militia kept getting exposed to lycanthropy, despite the wolves never breaching the gates, or even getting close to the walls. A cursed weapon that could infuse the curse into the arrows it shot was not entirely unique, but it was clearly not something a normal person would carry around. And, frankly, it wasn’t something I wanted anywhere near me.

As usual, we distributed the coins equally. Vestele, as the party’s healer, took the potions, and the dagger. Siora, without even a hint of shame, took the clamp, and promptly began removing her armor to put it on. I threw the rest of the items, which we couldn’t use, into Frostmane’s pack, while trying not to look at the half-naked Beguiler. That kind of thing was bound to happen when half your party worshipped the Succubus Queen, after all.