While we took a moment to rest and recover after the fight, I looked over the loot. Some were the same to pieces that we had seen before, and others were new, or at least new enough that I hadn’t seen ones quite like it before. Still, most of them were just destined for the bag of holding tied to Frostmane’s back. In fact, only Vestele found an upgrade to her gear in this lot, replacing her old shield with the werewolf’s shield.

Shifter’s Shirt

Type

Light Armor

Weight

10

AC Bonus

6

Max Dex

6

ACP

0

ASF

10%

This shirt of mithral rings is light-weight and comfortable for most wearers. While any humanoid race could wear it, only those with some ability to shift their form would get the most use out of it.

+2 Enhancement Bonus to AC

Mithral – 1/2 weight, +2 Max Dex, ACP +3 (Min 0), Counts as one armor category lower (Min Light).

+1 Enhancement bonus to Armor

Shifter – This armor shifts with the wearer when they change form, such as through Wild Shape or Alternate Form, instead of being melded into their new form. If the base form is proficient with the armor, the new form is, too. (+3 Bonus)

Malarite’s Blade

Type

Exotic Weapon

Weight

6

Damage

1d10+2

Damage Type

Slashing

Crit

19-20 / x2

Range

--

This hand-and-a-half sword is made of a cruel style, and is emblazoned with the symbol of Malar on its blade. Though it conveys no special benefit to servants of the Beastlord, it has been enchanted to shift size along with its wielder.

+2 Enhancement bonus

Sizing – This weapon resizes to fit the wielder.

Shifter’s Shield

Type

Shield

Weight

15

AC Bonus

+5

Max Dex

--

ACP

-1

ASF

15%

This heavy steel shield was created for a powerful shapeshifter, to be used in his transformed state. However, it can be used by any creature proficient in its use.

+3 Enhancement Bonus

Sizing – This shield resizes to fit the wielder

Looking at the others, I said, “OK, all jokes aside, we should get a move on. This attack was more reckless than the ones we’ve seen before. Either they’re getting desperate, or they just want to delay us. Probably best to hurry up and stop their fun either way.”

Frostmane chuffed. “Either way, these whelps are just getting easier to beat. Maybe at this mine we’ll find some prey worthy of fighting.”

Vestele shook her head. “Before we go, we should at least make use of the healing wand. Frostmane is mostly fine, but you got knocked around a bit there, Mel.”

Melinda’s Cure Light Wounds (Melinda): 1d8+1 = 4

Melinda’s Cure Light Wounds (Melinda): 1d8+1 = 2

Melinda’s Cure Light Wounds (Melinda): 1d8+1 = 8

Melinda’s Cure Light Wounds (Melinda): 1d8+1 = 9

Melinda’s Cure Light Wounds (Melinda): 1d8+1 = 2

Melinda’s Cure Light Wounds (Melinda): 1d8+1 = 8

Melinda’s Cure Light Wounds (Melinda): 1d8+1 = 9 (2 overheal)

Melinda’s Cure Light Wounds (Frostmane): 1d8+1 = 8

Melinda’s Cure Light Wounds (Frostmane): 1d8+1 = 5

Being somewhat allergic to the idea of dying, I quickly agreed to wait until after I healed myself. I also placed a couple hits from the wand onto Frostmane, just to be safe. As I slipped the wand back into my bag, I sighed. “This wand is almost burnt out.”

Vestele nodded. “I’ll save what spells I can for healing, then. But there is only so much I can do. If the enemies start getting much stronger, we may find ourselves forced to camp out more, to recover our strength.”

Siora shook her head. “We’ll deal with that when it comes. For now, let’s continue on.”

Getting through the woods was easy enough. The animals and monsters that normally made these woods their home had fled because of the Blood Moon. It was too soon for them to have returned just yet. We kept watch for any more werewolves, but for the moment, we were able to move through the woods unmolested.

To say that none of us were masters of stealth would be far too kind. So, it wasn’t entirely surprising that we heard a wolf’s howl from the trees ahead, followed by the sound of the creature running the other way. The enemy wasn’t stupid, and they’d put out scouts. We’d be walking into prepared defenses, but, well, there wasn’t anything we could do about that at the moment.

Hustling forward, we came to a stop just outside a large clearing. The trees had been cleared for a hundred feet from the side of the hill where the mine was supposed to be. A wooden palisade had been constructed in front of the wall, and I could see two guard towers flanking a gate that closed even as we were watching.

Before the gate there was a stone bridge over a wide moat. It looked at least twenty feet wide, but it was hard to see how deep it went. The moat stretched around the palisade, eventually stretching back to the side of the hill.

An alarm rang out from the guard towers. Fixing my gaze on the towers, I saw an archer in armor in each tower, their eyes focused on us. Any hope of stealth we might have had was well and truly gone, and the two archers were taking cover behind the crenellations as they lined up their shots.

I cursed as an arrow flew past me. They weren’t going to just let us stay here, it seemed. “That’s the way you want to play it? Fuck it. Let’s dance.”

Initiatives:

Melinda

Frostmane

Fiendwolf Warrior x2

Vestele

Siora

Melinda’s Attack (FW1): 1d20+16 = 36 (Touch) (Crit Threat)

Confirm Crit: 1d20+16 = 35 (Touch) (Crit)

Caster Level Check: 1d20+10 = 30 (Success)

Hellrime Chain Damage: 12d6 = 46 (Cold) (10 Resisted)

Melinda’s Attack (FW2): 1d20+16 = 30 (Touch) (Hit)

Hellrime Chain damage: 23 (Cold) (10 Resisted)

Flying forward, I managed to overcharge one of my blasts, sending a larger than normal bolt of icy cold forward, blasting the first archer, before the blast chained to the second, who was just within range. I was lucky that the blast was as big as it was, because both of the archers looked as though they shrugged off a portion of that damage. Almost like how the fiendish wolves did.

Frostmane’s Ref Save (Glyph of Warding): 1d20+14 = 15 (Fail)

Blast Damage: 5d8 = 14 (Fire) (+50% damage taken)

Frostmane, not being able to fly, quickly ran over to the bridge that was crossing the moat. I wasn’t sure what he intended to do, except perhaps to try and break down the gate, or climb the wall. Whatever his intentions, however, they were upended, along with him, when a spike of magic turned into a blast of flame exploding underneath him as he stepped onto the bridge.

FW1’s attack (Melinda): 1d20+15 = 22 (Miss)

FW1’s attack (Melinda): 1d20+10 = 13 (Miss)

FW1’s attack (Melinda): 1d20+5 = 19 (Miss)

FW1’s attack (Melinda): 1d20+15 = 31 (Hit)

Damage: 1d8+5 = 7 (Piercing)

Iron Vulnerability: 1d6 = 2 (Piercing) (DR 10/Cold Iron)

FW1’s attack (Melinda): 1d20+10 = 25 (Miss)

FW1’s attack (Melinda): 1d20+5 = 20 (Miss)

The archers did not waste time, sending arrows my way. Dancing in the air, I managed to avoid most of them. One struck my thigh, but my magically enhanced skin caused it to bounce off without even a scratch.

Vestele spread her wings, but kept close to the ground, not wanting to mark herself as a target for the archers. Flying up behind Frostmane, she said, “It seems that they were more than prepared for us. I am sure that there will be more traps ahead.”

Hearing that, Siora flew up behind the winter wolf, and landed at the edge of the bridge. “I’ll scoot ahead and start looking for traps, I guess. Mel, you think you can take these guys on your own?”

Melinda’s Attack (FW1): 1d20+16 = 33 (Touch) (Hit)

Caster Level Check: 1d20+10 = 12 (Fail)

“Sure, I got this!” I said, as I launched another bolt of magic at the archer, only for it to splash harmlessly against his chest. “Or, maybe not. They’re resistant to spells, like those fiendish wolves!” As I flew over the wall, I could see that the courtyard behind the palisade was empty, for now. At least we only had to worry about the two archers.

Frostmane growled as he looked at the gate, unwilling to approach carelessly, now that he knew there were likely more traps. “Then toss them down here! I’ll take care of them.”

The two archers looked at each other, and nodded in silent agreement. The next moment, they howled loudly, as their bodies changed. They were werewolves, but unlike any I had seen before. They looked like denizens of the lower planes. But were they always like this, or did the leader of these Malarites change them somehow?

Vestele’s Cure Light Wounds (Frostmane): 1d8+5 = 12

Vestele touched Frostmane on the flank and unleashed a healing spell. “If they are making all their people resist spells, that is going to get very annoying, very fast. That is not power I would like to see in their hands.”

Siora’s Search Check: 1d20+19 = 33 (Success)

Siora slid up in front of Frostmane, checking the ground as she went. She stopped short of the gate, however, cursing slightly. “There’s another glyph on this gate. Someone really wanted to give us a bad day!”

Melinda’s Attack (FW1): 1d20+16 = 30 (Touch) (Hit)

Caster Level Check: 1d20+10 = 16 (Fail)

Circling around the towers to keep enough speed to stay in the air, I unleashed another blast at the werewolf. Once again, it splashed harmlessly on its chest. “We could be in trouble here, guys. My blasts aren’t getting through. Whatever resistance they have, it is higher than that of the wolves we faced before.”

Frostmane was not pleased. He couldn’t go forward because of the gate and the trap, and he couldn’t reach the werewolves from the ground. So, he got into a defensive stance, and waited. But he was not happy about it.

FW1’s Jump check: 1d20+8 = 23 (Success)

Melinda’s AoO (FW1): 1d20+16 = 26 (Miss)

FW1’s attack (Melinda): 1d20+15 = 35 (Touch) (Hit)

FW1’s Grapple check (Melinda): 1d20+15 = 18

Melinda’s grapple check: 1d20+10 = 18 (Fail, Grappled)

Grapple Damage (Melinda): 1d4+4 = 6 (Slashing) (DR 10/Cold Iron)

Falling Damage (Melinda and FW1): 2d6 = 5 (DR 10/Cold Iron, DR 5/Silver)

FW2’s Jump check: 1d20+8 = 28 (Success)

Falling damage (FW2): 1d6 = 2 (DR 5/Silver)

I saw the gleam in the wolf’s eye the moment before it happened. With a snarl, the werewolf jumped off the platform he had been standing on, launching himself at me. I tried to hit him away, but he was too well armored for that. I could smell his doglike breath as he wrapped his arms around me, the weight too much for my wings to keep us aloft!

We crashed, but not from so great a height as either of us were injured by it. But I was still wrapped up in the werewolf’s arms, and I could feel his claws on my skin. And then I heard a second thump, as the other werewolf landed beside us. And he had a length of rope in his hands.

“Shit, Mel! Siora, get that trap disarmed, we need to get Frostmane through the door.” Vestele realized the danger I was in, at least, which was a blessing.

Siora’s Disable Device check: 1d20+23 = 33

Time: 2d4 = 4 rounds

“Working on it! This glyph is set to go off whenever someone attempts to open the gate without saying the password. It will take me a bit to try and disable it. See if you can unlock the door, so when it is disabled we can get through.”

That sentence was less of a blessing. From what Siora said, it would take them a bit to make sure that the door was safe. I just hoped that they would be able to get to me before anything else happened.