With a new sense of urgency, I turned my attention to the loot we’d gained. The first thing I noticed was that weapons and armor were clearly of high quality, but unadorned, for the most part. They were made for someone who valued functionality over pageantry.

Silent Hunter’s Shirt

Type

Light Armor

Weight

10

AC

+6

Max Dex

7

ACP

0

ASF

10%

This chain shirt has been made of mithril, making it lighter and easier to move around in. It has been further enchanted to aid in a wearer’s ability to move as freely and quietly as possible. Unusually for a piece of such quality, it is unadorned by any symbol, not even a maker’s mark.

+2 Enhancement to AC

Nimbleness – Max DEX +1, ACP reduced by 2 (min 1)

Shifting - 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.

Silent – 3/day use Silence as 3rd level Cleric.

This shirt of mithril rings was impressive in its simplicity. It was solely focused on being as lightweight and unencumbering as possible, while giving the wearer the benefit of being able to silence their footfalls at need. Of course, the spell provided by the armor would silence everything in its immediate area, making it a nasty weapon against casters. If the huntress hadn’t been disabled by Siora’s spell, she probably would have tried to silence me with that.

Unfortunately, that same quality made it far less useful for our group. I wore no armor, and the demonic sisters needed to speak in order to cast their spells. And there was no way that shirt would fit upon Frostmane. So, into the bag it went.

Deathbringer’s Breath

Type

Greatsword / Composite Longbow

Weight

8 lbs

Damage

2d6 / 1d8

Damage Type

Slashing / Piercing

Critical

19-20/x2 / x3

Range

110

A masterwork of enchantment suited for those who need to switch between attacks in melee or at range on the fly, and do not wish to risk setting down one weapon for another. This weapon changes from one form to another at its wielder’s will. It has been further enchanted, so that the blade is one of pure energy, while the bow turns its arrows to energy, allowing them to easily pass through all nonliving material. This makes it perfectly suited for hunting living creatures, but ineffective against constructs or the undead. The only marking upon the weapon, in either form, is that of a skull situated upon the hilt (in greatsword form) or through which the arrows are fired (in longbow form).

Great Swordbow – Transforms from a +1 Greatsword to a +1 Composite (+4 STR) Longbow. Enchanting this weapon follows the rules for double weapons. Can interchange between bow and sword attacks as part of the same full attack action.

Brilliant Energy – This weapon ignores all nonliving material, bypassing armor. Projectile weapons bestow this property on their ammunition.

Sizing – Weapon changes size with user.

The huntress’s weapon, unlike her armor, was a deadly-looking thing. The greatsword version was as though the blade had been turned into shimmering light. If one removed the skull and crossguard, replaced the leather-wrapped hilt with one of metal, and added a persistent humming sound, then any nerd or geek would cream themselves at the sight. I hadn’t been into those kinds of things, even before I was abducted, but the weapon was iconic enough that, even after years living in this world, the comparison came to me, unbidden. As a bow, the wood it was made of was blackened, so that the only thing that stood out was the wide-mouthed skull, through which the archer fired.

This weapon made it easy to see how the huntress got misidentified as an Assassin. Striking from concealment, using a bow that could pierce through most defenses, even hitting through solid walls? Yeah, that would be something that would mark them down as an assassin to me.

It was just a pity that none of us could use it. Either we didn’t have the necessary skills, or we lacked the strength, or there was the little fact that Frostmane couldn’t draw a bow without hands. It was a pity, since the blade was wickedly effective, but there was nothing for it, so into the bag it went.

Lesser Crystal of Fire Assault

Type

Weapon Crystal

Weight

0 lbs

Attaches to any weapon with at least a +1 enhancement bonus. Adds 1d6 Fire damage to weapon attacks.

This was a nice little trinket. Slap it on any magical weapon, and you could deal some extra fire damage. I couldn’t do that, because of my class features, but someone else could use it, surely. Oh, it wouldn’t be any good against these demon wolves, but against anything else? Well, most things hate getting set on fire.

Ring of the Ghost Wolf

Type

Ring

Weight

0 lbs

This ring is well suited to all those who would prefer to stalk their prey unseen, rather than engage with them head on. It acts as both a Ring of Invisibility and a Ring of the Predator.

Invisibility – Can become invisible, as the spell, at will.

Predator - +10 Competence bonus to Hide and Move Silently, Trackless step (as druid ability)

Now, however, we were getting to the stuff we could actually use. The ranger and her wolf companion both had one of these rings. Frostmane immediately traded out his Ring of the Hunter for this one, a move I approved of. The old ring still had the ‘Predator’ ability, but with a +1 to natural armor. The wolf being able to go invisible could only help us. The other ring went into the bag.

Ring of Protection +3

Type

Ring

Weight

0 lbs

This ring confers a +3 Deflection bonus to AC on its wearer.

These were stronger versions of rings we already had. It was a quick discussion, but we all agreed that Siora and Vestele needed the extra protection more than Frostmane or I. So, they switched their rings, and tossed the old ones into the bag.

Amulet of the Alpha Wolf

Type

Neck

Weight

0 lbs

This amulet, carved from human bone into the shape of a wolf’s head, is heavily enchanted. It offers the wearer the benefits of an Amulet of Mighty Fists +2, Amulet of Natural Armor +3, and Amulet of Health +4.

Mighty Fists +2 - +2 Enhancement bonus to attacks and damage with unarmed and natural weapons.

Natural Armor +3 - +3 Enhancement to Natural Armor

Health +4 - +4 Enhancement to CON

These two amulets were very nice, as well. Although it pained me to give up the extra damage from the Chausible of Fell Power that I was wearing, both Frostmane and I traded our old neck pieces for these, since we were the primary melee combatants. The extra health and unarmed damage wouldn’t hurt at all.

Boots of the Hunter

Type

Boots

Weight

1 lb

These boots have been enchanted to aid in the wearer’s mobility. They act as both a pair of Boots of Striding and Springing, and Slippers of Spider Climbing.

Striding and Springing - +10 Enhancement to speed. +5 Competence bonus on Jump checks.

Spider Climbing – Continuous Spider Climb effect.

These were… interesting. I could definitely see the appeal for a hunter or assassin, as they would allow them to find a place in a tree or up a wall somewhere to wait, and line up a shot. That wasn’t terribly useful to us, however. Still, I did help Frostmane change out his old boots for these, as the ability to climb walls like a spider would help him get more mobility in areas where the rest of us could just fly.

Cloak of Evasion

Type

Cloak

Weight

1 lb

This dull grey cloak is of a color that would blend in everywhere in the wilds or in darker areas. It has been enchanted to help its wearer endure and escape hostile attacks. It acts as a Cloak of Resistance +5 and a Minor Cloak of Displacement.

Resistance +5 - +5 Resistance bonus to all saves.

Minor Displacement – Continuous 20% miss chance

This cloak was a powerful defensive item, even if it didn’t seem like it on the face of it. A one in five chance to make your opponent miss didn’t make a huge difference, as proved by the fact that we had just taken the cloaks from the huntress and her companion, but it was an extra layer of protection. The resistance bonus, as well, was very potent, and I didn’t doubt we’d be facing spellcasters who were every bit as powerful as we were, even without the enhancements of their demonic werewolf nature. These went to the sisters, for obvious reasons.

Ghost Wolf’s Armor

Type

Light Armor

Weight

40

AC

+7

Max Dex

6

ACP

0

ASF

15%

This suit of studded leather armor fitted for a large, quadrupedal creature like a wolf, offers far superior protective value compared to the natural hide of the wearer alone. Furthermore, it has been enchanted to allow the wearer to operate in complete silence, for a time.

Made for large quadruped creature.

+4 Enhancement bonus to AC.

Silence – 3/day cast Silence as a 3rd level Cleric.

The armor the demon wolf had been wearing was well made. Formed of black leather, a series of straps allowed it to quickly and easily be tied on to the wolf, and just as easily removed from its corpse. The silence effect was nice, and if the wolf had been smarter, like Frostmane, instead of being just a bit more than a normal animal, then things could have been very different. If he had covered the group in the silence effect, then, without Siora and Vestele’s spells, we would have had a VERY different fight, one I don’t think we would have won.

Frostmane’s armor, while not as heavily enchanted, offered more protection, and had plenty of mobility for his needs. No reason to go rocking that boat. So, the armor went into the bag, along with all the rest of the loot that was too valuable to cast aside, but not something that we could use in the coming fights.

With the spoils of battle divided up, I got to my feet, and looked to the north, where the beams of light were still colliding over the temple. “All right, we’re on a time table, but we can’t go too fast. Better to get there a little late than running straight into an ambush.”

Frostmane chuffed. “If the wolves are the first to get through the shield when it is broken, then that means that they will be the ones to find any defenses that might still be active after all this time. Or any defenders who might be left.”

Siora chuckled at that. “True. Temples are always guarded, and this temple was about to be invaded by orcs when the shield went up. Who knows what desperate traps might be left behind. No, I think it would definitely be best to have the wolves find those for us.”

Vestele shook her head, even as she started walking to the north. “Yes, but we don’t want to let them get too big a lead, otherwise they may find whatever it is that they’re after, and use magic to teleport away. That would be disastrous, considering some of the items that are supposed to be in the temple.”

The rest of us kept pace with her, considering that. Some of the relics and artifacts we had been told lay within the temple were nice, but ultimately useless to anyone who wasn’t of the proper faith. Corrupting them or twisting them to be used by others would likely rob them of the majority of their power, making the exercise useless, except as ‘bragging rights’ and something to hold over the rival faith.

Those kinds of power plays were fairly common between the various churches. Oh, they didn’t happen everywhere, and not all the time, but one church trying to get one over on their rival was not something out of place. You could generally count on there being several plots running at any given time in the world with one god trying to get one over on another. Some of those were to change the balance of power in a pantheon, and some were just spite.

Of course, having a time frame that usually lasted for years meant that plots might run concurrently, even at cross purposes, without anyone on the outside being the wiser. The gods could be patient like that, since they were immortal beings. It is when people got involved that things got sticky. Free will and conscious worship fueled the gods but it also had a nasty tendency to muck up their schemes.

Siora’s voice brought me out of my thoughts. “I just hope none of the original defenders, or attackers, are left. I’d really hate to fight through a bunch of werewolves to fight some orcs to fight some priests that everyone thought were dead long ago, just so we can confirm the situation.”

Vestele glared at her sister. “Why, in the Queen’s name, did you have to go and say something like that?”