mickume/alt_dnd · Datasets at Hugging Face

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Baasha seemed to read the Druid’s mind, "Not that I care, mind you. I just want to get home. So long as those fools can help get that done, I’m fine.
"Agreed." Alleria murmured. She really shouldn’t, but she added, "You prefer Tallonon?" She kept her voice soft, so that the others wouldn’t hear. And to try to keep her revulsion hidden.
Baasha laughed, nearly dropping the arrow in her hands as she shook. "He’s very pretty, that much is true, but no, no eyes for Tallonon."
Bored with the debate over ale quality, Keening began a song about a barmaid with loose morals and wicked Tiefling. Alleria noted, that most of his songs so far were about the deflowering or impregnating of hapless women. It was starting to grate on her nerves.
"Keening." She called out to the bard. "Do you know anything that doesn’t center around the deflowering of a barmaid or farmer’s daughter? Baasha and I are starting to feel woefully under represented."
The Bard cleared his throat and started a new song, this time free of deflowering. The new one was a haunting tale of a cursed prince that was forced to travel his realm in the guise of a monster as he searched for true love. It wasn’t quite what she had been looking for, but it was still an improvement. It carried them through the final part of their journey to Krazk.
Tired and hungry, they finally reached the gates of Krazk right before nightfall. Much to their chagrin though, the guards would not let them enter. Dhamon convinced the guards to fetch their Burgomaster, so that he might speak with him instead. Still, they were refused entry.
"You are no friend of Krazk." The thin, wispy haired man explained. "But, if you were to do something for us, then we would be friends."
Tallonon asked, "What would you have us do?" he sounded tired and frustrated. They all were.
"Would you at least allow our two friends in..." Dhamon motioned to Ireena and Ismark. "...they are the children of the late Burgomaster of the Village of Barovia. It would be a real show of respect and kindness..."
"Indeed, and we would gladly show such kindness. To. Our. Friends. Surely you have been in Barovia long enough to have learned the importance of friendship."
Irritated that they were getting nowhere, Alleria cut in. "Just tell us what we need to do and we will see to it." She asked with an unmistakable sharpness in her voice.
The frail old leader chuckled. "Directness. I approve. We have been troubled lately by a pack of werewolves. We believe they have taken up in a cave to the east. Take care of them and you will have earned our everlasting friendship."
Muttering to herself, Alleria nodded. "Good enough. We shall take care of it."
"Werewolves? But I’m allergic." Keening joked, and Quintis nudged him, smirking.
"What about Ismark and Ireena? We can’t take them into a wolves’ den." Mason asked, in a moment of seriousness that Alleria had yet to see from him.
Dhamon turned away from the gate, to the group, his brows raised as if waiting for suggestions.
"I have something that will help." Tallonon said, taking a few steps away from the main gate and the group. Still in plain view of the guards, the Warlock started incanting in some nefarious sounding tongue that none of them understood. Dark energies swirled around a patch of ground and it erupted, twisting and contorting as it formed a dome of dirt and tree roots. It was as tall as a person, with a single opening at its front. "They will be safe in there until we return. No one can enter or leave but us."
"Good, that is that taken care of at least." Mason said with a clap of his hands. "Now let’s go skin us some wolves." He glances over to Alleria. "No offense, of course."
"None taken." She murmured.
It wasn’t far to the cave the Burgomaster had described to them. Without Ireena and Ismark, they had made good time as well. The starts had just started winking into existence when they stopped at the mouth of the den. There were no sounds of life, but gnawed on bones and a faint whiff of rotten meat suggested there were predators deeper inside.
The mouth of the cave was large enough that one could have driven a wagon into it. The group ventured inside, two by two, with ease. Quintis vanished immediately, sneaking off on his own to follow along in the shadows. As they went deeper into the cave, it grew darker and Dhamon was forced to use the light from the Sunsword. Those who could see darkness squinted and blinked as their eyes adjusted. Dhamon and Baasha were now able to see better.
If the mouth of the cave had been big enough for a single wagon, the cavern it opened up to was large enough for half a dozen. The back of the cave had a raised ledge and a narrow passage on either side. The light from Dhamon’s sword had also revealed sets of red eyes that were clinging to the last pockets of darkness in various nooks and crannies.
Up on top of the ledge in the back there were three harry, lupine humanoid figures. They appeared extremely angry to have been interrupted in the middle of their evening meal. The largest one called out, in barely decipherable common, "Kill them!" The two werewolves on either side, leapt form their spots and dashed towards the group.
Around her, Alleria’s companions drew their weapons and picked their targets. She took a step back, away from the group, and transformed into a giant elk. She was so large, her antlers nearly scraped their ceiling of the cave.
Mason took a moment to goggle at the creature now standing wear Alleria had been, though he recovered quickly. "Nice rack!" He said with a laugh as he drew his scimitar.
On all sides, large wolves were stepping from the shadows, snarling and gnashing their teeth. They weren’t as large as Alleria in her dire wolf form, but they were definitely larger than the average wolf. They looked sickly as well, foaming at the mouth and vacant in the eyes.
The current odds suggested the fight wouldn’t be difficult or last too long. The pair of werewolves moved quickly, almost as quick as the scruffy wolves. One of them beelined for Dhamon, the other for Mason. All four of the wolves closed in and circled the great Elk. The wolves lunged in and out, snapping and snarling at the giant elk. She was the perfect distraction, allowing Quintis and Keening to move in behind the four legged foes. The third werewolf slipped off down the dark tunnel behind the ledge.
Baasha and Tallonon stayed at a distance. The archer fired two arrows in rapid succession, sinking one into the first werewolf’s chest, the other into its leg. It had been about to strike at Dhamon, but the force of the two arrows caused him to stumble slightly. Tallonon concentrated on the other, who had lunged for Mason and started murmuring a spell. The half-Drow waited for Mason to strike first though, and when the Cleric’s sword cut deep into the beast’s shoulder, the Warlock let loose his spell. The dark magic’s hit the beast square in the chest, tearing into its flesh and sending it flying backwards. It hit the cave wall and slumped down into a heap, leaving a blood stained down the rock wall.
Dhamon had enough time to brace himself for the incoming attack. The werewolf tried to tackle him, but Dhamon brought his shield up, just in time, to block. The Paladin swung his sword in retaliation, but he missed. He slammed into the beast’s side soundly, knocking him to the ground.
Ignoring the wolves biting at her heels, the shapeshifted Elf struck at the creature with both its hooves. The attack was devastating enough to knock the lupine attacker out cold.
In all the commotion, Keening managed to put a pair of the wolves asleep, while Quintis easily dispatched the pair he had been flanking. Before Alleria could catch up with what was going on behind her, Baasha finished off the two sleeping wolves with an arrow each.
"Anyone hurt?" Dhamon asked, even though their foes never landed a blow. He wanted to make sure no one had been infected.
Keening and Quintis each went to one of the werewolves, making sure they were indeed dead and to search them for coin. The one that had been knocked across the cavern was clearly dead, and coinless as well. As Keening bent over the one that Alleria had trampled, it jerked to life, grabbing wildly and growling at the Bard.
"Keening!" Baasha called out, as she grabbed for an arrow. Alleria turned her great antlered head towards Keening and Dhamon made a quick dash forward, his sword outstretched.
It was Tallonon that was fastest though, uttering a single magic word that caused the thrashing lycanthrope to go stiff and immobile. It was frozen, its fangs only inches from sinking into Keening’s left arm. Baasha’s arrow whizzed past Dhamon, sinking deep into the monster’s face, the shaft nearly having taken off the Bard’s nose the altercation was so close quartered. Unable to fall over dead, the werewolf just hunt there, bleeding onto Keening.
"Valkur’s weedy beard, that was close!" Mason exclaimed as he walked over to offer his friend a hand up.
"Aye." Agreed Dhamon as he loved over to the Half-Drow and Human. "Good save and masterful shot."
"We should check the rest of the cave. There were three of them, remember?" Baasha pointed out. "I can’t imagine only three werewolves would be giving the town so much trouble."
Mason glanced from the two dead werewolves to the dead dire wolves and back to the dead humanoids once again. "Do you think the wolves are their pets? Or?"
"Mason..." Baasha looked disturbed by her suggestion and Alleria-Elf snorted loudly, scraping at the ground with a hoof.
"I don’t know!" He exclaimed, laughing. "Our Lady Alleria is fairly alluring in her fire wolf form." He teased and then gave the Elk a playful slap on its flank. The large creature turned its hard sharply and exhaled loudly - and wetly - in the Cleric’s face.
"Could be worse, "least she didn’t bite me this time." He said, glibly. The large Elk leaned in, shoving the much smaller Half-Elf back a step and out of her way. The shapeshifted Druid eyed him for a long moment before breaking into a trot towards the back of the cave.
The cave narrowed in the back, looping around behind the raised area. The smell of rot lingered there as well, and the group followed the stink like a clearly marked trail. They did their best to remain quiet, but Dhamon’s armor made that nearly impossible. They hadn’t travelled that far when faint whimpering sounds drifted up the tunnel. It caused them all to pause.
Mason whispered to the rest of the group, "Sounds like children."
"Could be animals. Food. Maybe?" Dhamon replied
"No, definitely children." Mason replied.
"The guards didn’t say anything about missing children." Baasha whispered.
"Could be their kids. Werewolf kids." Tallonon mused, rubbing his chin in thought.
The Elk chuffed, shaking her head violently in disgust. The idea of them biting and infecting children was unforgivable to her.
Quintis made a "stop-talking’ gesture and crept on ahead to scout out the tunnel. The rest ceased their chatter and they gave the Rogue a comfortable lead. When no signal came for them to stay put, they followed. The tunnel narrowed, making it a tight fit for the large Elk, and she head to tilt her head at an awkward angle to fit her antlers through. It eventually widened to a larger cave, like the one they had just left. Quintis was nowhere to be seen.
It was dimly lit with torches, though Dhamon’s sword soon brightly illuminated the entire cave. At the far wall, there was looking like a small shrine, complete with an altar. It was complete with a mysterious hooded figure that was crouched down at the shrine, muttering to itself. On either side of the altar were small rickety wooden cages, each with a sobbing child locked inside.
The cloaked worshipper hadn’t, despite the brighter light filling the cave, noticed them yet. But, one of the children had. Reaching out, it started howling, "Save us! Please!"
"No one is going to save you, you little urchins." Came a scratchy little voice from under the hood. The figure still hadn’t clued into their presence.
More than happy to oblige, the group took advantage of the element of surprise. The large Elk shaped Elf charged forward, clearing the full distance of the cavern with ease. She struck the hooded figure in the back, knocking her fully to the ground.
Dhamon quirked a brow as the great deer charged in without warning. He rushed in as well, hot on its heels. He was followed closely behind by Mason. Quintis stepped out of the shadows, sprinting in to take up position by the Elk’s side. Baasha knocked an arrow, but held back with Tallonon and Keening, watchful. There was at least one other werewolf somewhere in the cavern.
The children were crying and wailing at the top of their lungs by now. The ruckus had caught the attention of others, elsewhere in the cave.
When the cloaked woman finally got to her feet, she gave the Elk and Quintis the evil eye. "How dare you!" she croaked as she steadied herself with her gnarled wooden staff. The holy symbol around her neck was finally evident, and it was one they had seen before.
Alleria tried to trample the dark druid, rearing up on her hind legs. The older druid was spryer than she looked and darted to the side to avoid it. She retaliated with a jerk of her staff and a magic word. A loud crack and a thunderous shockwave sent Alleria flying backwards, nearly bowling over Baasha. Quintis managed to roll to the side to avoid it, springing back up into his feet with ease when he was clear.
Mason grabbed his holy symbol and focused his attention on his devotion to Valkur. Calling on his assistance for a boon, Quintis, Dhamon and the giant Elk all shimmered with a blue light for a moment, as if covered in a sea-mist.
Dhamon moved to strike the cloaked druid on the arm. Lightening quick and agile, Quintis struck as well, sinking his rapier into her side. The figure shrieked defiantly and prepared to cast again, but Dhamon raised his shield and shoved the Druid hard, slamming her to the floor once again. Alleria charged back in, and as she was on the ground, the other druid was unable to dodge this time. The Elk brought both its front hooves down on her, trampling her roughly.
Between the sounds of battle and the shrieking of the frightened children, the group at ranged was almost caught unawares. By the time Baasha realized they were being flanked, their foes were a mere five or six feet away.
"Behind us!" she called out as she spun around, knocking an arrow as she did. Keening hurried forward a few steps, trying to put a safe distance between himself and the trio of creatures. Tallonon was quicker, and like Baasha, was already preparing an attack as he spun around to face the new foes.
Baasha’s arrow and Tallonon’s searing blast both hit the werewolf on their right. The twin strikes wounded, but did not disable the beast completely. Keening, getting a hold of himself, concentrated on the uninjured werewolf and then, as if the beast had just heard an amusing story, fell onto its back in a fit of highly unsettling laughter. Both its comrade and the dire wolf seemed stunned by the strange actions of their packmate.
Seizing the moment, Mason bravely ran forward, past Baasha and the two Half-Elves. Calling out, "Valkur guide my hand!" he slashed at the injured werewolf with his scimitar. Blood sprayed from the deep gash in his neck, splattering his laughing packmate and dire wolf.
The werewolf Druid tried to get up again, but the crone was clearly surrounded this time. "I surrender!" She croaked, holding her grimy hands up in the air. "Please, mercy."
"Call off the other!" Dhamon demanded, holding his sword tip in her face.
"Yes, yes of course." She said, raising her voice. "You lot, back off. Stand aside..." she called out, though she couldn’t get a clear view of what was happening to the others.
Her words fell on deaf ears, as the remaining werewolf was on the ground still, suffering from a fit of magical laughter. The wolf stood by its side, looking confused. It didn’t attack, instead taking a defense stance over the werewolf.
Dhamon took a step back, allowing the evil druid room to stand up. Quintis stepped away to free the children from their cages. They clung to him, their filthy faces tear streaked and terrified. Alleria shapeshifted back to her natural form and went to check on the children as well.
Mason stared down the wolf, on guard, as he unshouldered his pack to unhitch a coil of rope from its side. He handed it to Keening, "Tie the other one up." He did his best to position himself between the protective wolf and Keening. Baasha had moved in closer as well, knocking an arrow and training it on the laughing werewolf. Tallonon moved up to join Dhamon to inspect the alter.
On the wall behind the small shrine a human tanned skin hung from the wall. The crude altar was a wooden statue of a wolf-headed woman. Wreathes of flowers and vines, as well as human and animal body pieces were draped upon it. Piled at the bottom if it was various bits and bobs of treasure.
As Dhamon had allowed her the space, the crone stood up, dusting her hands off on her robe. With her hood now pushed back, her features were now in full view. She may have sounded like an old woman, but she didn’t appear to be even middle age.
"You shouldn’t be here. You need to go. The others will return home soon from the hunt. They will not take kindly to how you have treated their pack mother." She wanted.
"We are not worried about your pack, old woman. These are not the first werewolves we’ve faced." Dhamon informed her. "And who are you then?"
"I am Zuleika, mate of Email, leader of this pack."
"Who is this shrine to, what foul god are you worshiping?" It was Tallonon who asked, but Alleria looked over at the sound of the question, curious as well.
Zuleika hissed, "Mother Night is not foul. She is our mother. Mother of all werewolves."
Alleria looked thoughtful for a moment, "Perhaps an aspect of Selune?" She looked distastefully at the alter and the cages that once held the children. She didn’t seem to have much faith in her own assertion.
"More like the flipside of the coin." Mason offered and Alleria nodded in agreement.
"What should we do with her?" Asked Baasha, "And the other?"
The other werewolf had stopped laughing and was now quietly struggling against its bonds. Keening gave it a warning kick, frowning at it.
"We’ll take them back to Krazk. They will be judged for their crimes. Tie her up too." Dhamon said, jerking his head towards Zuleika.
"You will regret this!" she croaked as Tallonon bound her wrists. "The others will come for me and your villagers will pay the price."
"How long has your mate and the rest of the pack been away?" the half-Drow asked as he knotted the rope.
"Five days." Her voice wavered slightly.
"We killed half a dozen werewolves a few days back. Pretty sure the villagers will be fine." He said with a smug satisfaction.
Alleria raised a brow, but Quintis leaned in and explained: "It was the night before you joined us."
A dark frown formed on Zuleika’s face. "Coincidence!" We are not the only pack in Barovia!"
Tallonon shoved her, pushing her into motion towards the other werewolf. The dire wolf growled, but the other werewolf snarled at it. "Stay!". He didn’t want it following them to the same doom.
They made their way through the cave, back out to the forest. It was still dark out, the night being barely half over.
The group had made their way less than fifty feet when a pack of normal wolves crashed out of the underbrush. The two children began screaming again and in the pandemonium, Zuleika was able to free herself. As she ran, she cast thunderwave again, knocking them all over. She managed to miss the other werewolf with the spell, and he ran off in the opposite direction.
The wolves seemed intent on making a meal of the children, snapping and snarling at the smallest and weakest of the human "pack’. It took a moment for them to recover, but Quintis and Keening ran one way, and Alleria and Mason the other, after Zuleika. Baasha and Dhamon stayed to fend off the wolves and protect the children.
It had been three days now since Alleria and Mason had become separated from the rest of their group. She swore that if they hadn’t been on the verge of completing their quest in this strange land and about to go home, that this split from the others might have been orchestrated by the jovial cleric. The half-elf had been quite forward with her since she joined up with them, but recently it had escalated to heavy flirtation. He had moved past ruffling her ears when she was shapeshifted. It was a good thing for him that his devotion to his god granted him the gift of healing powers, as she had bitten his hand and drawn blood on more than one occasion. If there was one thing she loathed, it was being treated like a pet or beast of burden when she was shapeshifted. The various forms being a Druid of the Moon afforded her, were for work, not play.
That being said, she couldn’t help but find his light-hearted sense of humor to be infectious, and for all his flirtations, he did appear to at least have a trace of a gentleman inside of him. She much preferred his company over that of the others, especially the half-Drow. Had she any say in things; she never would have chosen to travel with the like. But, it was Mason who was first to try to convince her that the dark-skinned elf could be trusted. In her mind, though, that remained to be seen and her position would likely never be changed.
An encounter with a pack of wolves had lead to a split of the group after an ambush. Alleria had given chase to a dark werewolf druid, and Mason had followed. Together, they managed to dispatch of their foe, but had lost their way in the chase. After hours of searching with no luck, they made camp for the night. Exhausted, Alleria was in no mood for small talk, but that didn’t stop Mason. In fact, nothing ever seemed to stop him.
"We should have returned to the Winery to check up on them. I could use a bottle or two, or ten, of their fine vintage right now." He complained, having run out of drink on their second day alone. He unfurled his bedroll next to the small fire and patted the hard ground next to him, that ever-present smile of his playing on his lips.
"You know I do not sleep, Mason." She replied, taking up a lotus style position across from him.
Sweeping his long brown hair out of his eyes, his brows lifted and his smile broadened. His comment unspoken, for he knew she already knew what his comeback would be.
She said nothing, not wanting to engage in this line of conversation with him again.

Baasha seemed to read the Druid’s mind, "Not that I care, mind you. I just want to get home. So long as those fools can help get that done, I’m fine.

"Agreed." Alleria murmured. She really shouldn’t, but she added, "You prefer Tallonon?" She kept her voice soft, so that the others wouldn’t hear. And to try to keep her revulsion hidden.

Baasha laughed, nearly dropping the arrow in her hands as she shook. "He’s very pretty, that much is true, but no, no eyes for Tallonon."

Bored with the debate over ale quality, Keening began a song about a barmaid with loose morals and wicked Tiefling. Alleria noted, that most of his songs so far were about the deflowering or impregnating of hapless women. It was starting to grate on her nerves.

"Keening." She called out to the bard. "Do you know anything that doesn’t center around the deflowering of a barmaid or farmer’s daughter? Baasha and I are starting to feel woefully under represented."

The Bard cleared his throat and started a new song, this time free of deflowering. The new one was a haunting tale of a cursed prince that was forced to travel his realm in the guise of a monster as he searched for true love. It wasn’t quite what she had been looking for, but it was still an improvement. It carried them through the final part of their journey to Krazk.

Tired and hungry, they finally reached the gates of Krazk right before nightfall. Much to their chagrin though, the guards would not let them enter. Dhamon convinced the guards to fetch their Burgomaster, so that he might speak with him instead. Still, they were refused entry.

"You are no friend of Krazk." The thin, wispy haired man explained. "But, if you were to do something for us, then we would be friends."

Tallonon asked, "What would you have us do?" he sounded tired and frustrated. They all were.

"Would you at least allow our two friends in..." Dhamon motioned to Ireena and Ismark. "...they are the children of the late Burgomaster of the Village of Barovia. It would be a real show of respect and kindness..."

"Indeed, and we would gladly show such kindness. To. Our. Friends. Surely you have been in Barovia long enough to have learned the importance of friendship."

Irritated that they were getting nowhere, Alleria cut in. "Just tell us what we need to do and we will see to it." She asked with an unmistakable sharpness in her voice.

The frail old leader chuckled. "Directness. I approve. We have been troubled lately by a pack of werewolves. We believe they have taken up in a cave to the east. Take care of them and you will have earned our everlasting friendship."

Muttering to herself, Alleria nodded. "Good enough. We shall take care of it."

"Werewolves? But I’m allergic." Keening joked, and Quintis nudged him, smirking.

"What about Ismark and Ireena? We can’t take them into a wolves’ den." Mason asked, in a moment of seriousness that Alleria had yet to see from him.

Dhamon turned away from the gate, to the group, his brows raised as if waiting for suggestions.

"I have something that will help." Tallonon said, taking a few steps away from the main gate and the group. Still in plain view of the guards, the Warlock started incanting in some nefarious sounding tongue that none of them understood. Dark energies swirled around a patch of ground and it erupted, twisting and contorting as it formed a dome of dirt and tree roots. It was as tall as a person, with a single opening at its front. "They will be safe in there until we return. No one can enter or leave but us."

"Good, that is that taken care of at least." Mason said with a clap of his hands. "Now let’s go skin us some wolves." He glances over to Alleria. "No offense, of course."

"None taken." She murmured.

It wasn’t far to the cave the Burgomaster had described to them. Without Ireena and Ismark, they had made good time as well. The starts had just started winking into existence when they stopped at the mouth of the den. There were no sounds of life, but gnawed on bones and a faint whiff of rotten meat suggested there were predators deeper inside.

The mouth of the cave was large enough that one could have driven a wagon into it. The group ventured inside, two by two, with ease. Quintis vanished immediately, sneaking off on his own to follow along in the shadows. As they went deeper into the cave, it grew darker and Dhamon was forced to use the light from the Sunsword. Those who could see darkness squinted and blinked as their eyes adjusted. Dhamon and Baasha were now able to see better.

If the mouth of the cave had been big enough for a single wagon, the cavern it opened up to was large enough for half a dozen. The back of the cave had a raised ledge and a narrow passage on either side. The light from Dhamon’s sword had also revealed sets of red eyes that were clinging to the last pockets of darkness in various nooks and crannies.

Up on top of the ledge in the back there were three harry, lupine humanoid figures. They appeared extremely angry to have been interrupted in the middle of their evening meal. The largest one called out, in barely decipherable common, "Kill them!" The two werewolves on either side, leapt form their spots and dashed towards the group.

Around her, Alleria’s companions drew their weapons and picked their targets. She took a step back, away from the group, and transformed into a giant elk. She was so large, her antlers nearly scraped their ceiling of the cave.

Mason took a moment to goggle at the creature now standing wear Alleria had been, though he recovered quickly. "Nice rack!" He said with a laugh as he drew his scimitar.

On all sides, large wolves were stepping from the shadows, snarling and gnashing their teeth. They weren’t as large as Alleria in her dire wolf form, but they were definitely larger than the average wolf. They looked sickly as well, foaming at the mouth and vacant in the eyes.

The current odds suggested the fight wouldn’t be difficult or last too long. The pair of werewolves moved quickly, almost as quick as the scruffy wolves. One of them beelined for Dhamon, the other for Mason. All four of the wolves closed in and circled the great Elk. The wolves lunged in and out, snapping and snarling at the giant elk. She was the perfect distraction, allowing Quintis and Keening to move in behind the four legged foes. The third werewolf slipped off down the dark tunnel behind the ledge.

Baasha and Tallonon stayed at a distance. The archer fired two arrows in rapid succession, sinking one into the first werewolf’s chest, the other into its leg. It had been about to strike at Dhamon, but the force of the two arrows caused him to stumble slightly. Tallonon concentrated on the other, who had lunged for Mason and started murmuring a spell. The half-Drow waited for Mason to strike first though, and when the Cleric’s sword cut deep into the beast’s shoulder, the Warlock let loose his spell. The dark magic’s hit the beast square in the chest, tearing into its flesh and sending it flying backwards. It hit the cave wall and slumped down into a heap, leaving a blood stained down the rock wall.

Dhamon had enough time to brace himself for the incoming attack. The werewolf tried to tackle him, but Dhamon brought his shield up, just in time, to block. The Paladin swung his sword in retaliation, but he missed. He slammed into the beast’s side soundly, knocking him to the ground.

Ignoring the wolves biting at her heels, the shapeshifted Elf struck at the creature with both its hooves. The attack was devastating enough to knock the lupine attacker out cold.

In all the commotion, Keening managed to put a pair of the wolves asleep, while Quintis easily dispatched the pair he had been flanking. Before Alleria could catch up with what was going on behind her, Baasha finished off the two sleeping wolves with an arrow each.

"Anyone hurt?" Dhamon asked, even though their foes never landed a blow. He wanted to make sure no one had been infected.

Keening and Quintis each went to one of the werewolves, making sure they were indeed dead and to search them for coin. The one that had been knocked across the cavern was clearly dead, and coinless as well. As Keening bent over the one that Alleria had trampled, it jerked to life, grabbing wildly and growling at the Bard.

"Keening!" Baasha called out, as she grabbed for an arrow. Alleria turned her great antlered head towards Keening and Dhamon made a quick dash forward, his sword outstretched.

It was Tallonon that was fastest though, uttering a single magic word that caused the thrashing lycanthrope to go stiff and immobile. It was frozen, its fangs only inches from sinking into Keening’s left arm. Baasha’s arrow whizzed past Dhamon, sinking deep into the monster’s face, the shaft nearly having taken off the Bard’s nose the altercation was so close quartered. Unable to fall over dead, the werewolf just hunt there, bleeding onto Keening.

"Valkur’s weedy beard, that was close!" Mason exclaimed as he walked over to offer his friend a hand up.

"Aye." Agreed Dhamon as he loved over to the Half-Drow and Human. "Good save and masterful shot."

"We should check the rest of the cave. There were three of them, remember?" Baasha pointed out. "I can’t imagine only three werewolves would be giving the town so much trouble."

Mason glanced from the two dead werewolves to the dead dire wolves and back to the dead humanoids once again. "Do you think the wolves are their pets? Or?"

"Mason..." Baasha looked disturbed by her suggestion and Alleria-Elf snorted loudly, scraping at the ground with a hoof.

"I don’t know!" He exclaimed, laughing. "Our Lady Alleria is fairly alluring in her fire wolf form." He teased and then gave the Elk a playful slap on its flank. The large creature turned its hard sharply and exhaled loudly - and wetly - in the Cleric’s face.

"Could be worse, "least she didn’t bite me this time." He said, glibly. The large Elk leaned in, shoving the much smaller Half-Elf back a step and out of her way. The shapeshifted Druid eyed him for a long moment before breaking into a trot towards the back of the cave.

The cave narrowed in the back, looping around behind the raised area. The smell of rot lingered there as well, and the group followed the stink like a clearly marked trail. They did their best to remain quiet, but Dhamon’s armor made that nearly impossible. They hadn’t travelled that far when faint whimpering sounds drifted up the tunnel. It caused them all to pause.

Mason whispered to the rest of the group, "Sounds like children."

"Could be animals. Food. Maybe?" Dhamon replied

"No, definitely children." Mason replied.

"The guards didn’t say anything about missing children." Baasha whispered.

"Could be their kids. Werewolf kids." Tallonon mused, rubbing his chin in thought.

The Elk chuffed, shaking her head violently in disgust. The idea of them biting and infecting children was unforgivable to her.

Quintis made a "stop-talking’ gesture and crept on ahead to scout out the tunnel. The rest ceased their chatter and they gave the Rogue a comfortable lead. When no signal came for them to stay put, they followed. The tunnel narrowed, making it a tight fit for the large Elk, and she head to tilt her head at an awkward angle to fit her antlers through. It eventually widened to a larger cave, like the one they had just left. Quintis was nowhere to be seen.

It was dimly lit with torches, though Dhamon’s sword soon brightly illuminated the entire cave. At the far wall, there was looking like a small shrine, complete with an altar. It was complete with a mysterious hooded figure that was crouched down at the shrine, muttering to itself. On either side of the altar were small rickety wooden cages, each with a sobbing child locked inside.

The cloaked worshipper hadn’t, despite the brighter light filling the cave, noticed them yet. But, one of the children had. Reaching out, it started howling, "Save us! Please!"

"No one is going to save you, you little urchins." Came a scratchy little voice from under the hood. The figure still hadn’t clued into their presence.

More than happy to oblige, the group took advantage of the element of surprise. The large Elk shaped Elf charged forward, clearing the full distance of the cavern with ease. She struck the hooded figure in the back, knocking her fully to the ground.

Dhamon quirked a brow as the great deer charged in without warning. He rushed in as well, hot on its heels. He was followed closely behind by Mason. Quintis stepped out of the shadows, sprinting in to take up position by the Elk’s side. Baasha knocked an arrow, but held back with Tallonon and Keening, watchful. There was at least one other werewolf somewhere in the cavern.

The children were crying and wailing at the top of their lungs by now. The ruckus had caught the attention of others, elsewhere in the cave.

When the cloaked woman finally got to her feet, she gave the Elk and Quintis the evil eye. "How dare you!" she croaked as she steadied herself with her gnarled wooden staff. The holy symbol around her neck was finally evident, and it was one they had seen before.

Alleria tried to trample the dark druid, rearing up on her hind legs. The older druid was spryer than she looked and darted to the side to avoid it. She retaliated with a jerk of her staff and a magic word. A loud crack and a thunderous shockwave sent Alleria flying backwards, nearly bowling over Baasha. Quintis managed to roll to the side to avoid it, springing back up into his feet with ease when he was clear.

Mason grabbed his holy symbol and focused his attention on his devotion to Valkur. Calling on his assistance for a boon, Quintis, Dhamon and the giant Elk all shimmered with a blue light for a moment, as if covered in a sea-mist.

Dhamon moved to strike the cloaked druid on the arm. Lightening quick and agile, Quintis struck as well, sinking his rapier into her side. The figure shrieked defiantly and prepared to cast again, but Dhamon raised his shield and shoved the Druid hard, slamming her to the floor once again. Alleria charged back in, and as she was on the ground, the other druid was unable to dodge this time. The Elk brought both its front hooves down on her, trampling her roughly.

Between the sounds of battle and the shrieking of the frightened children, the group at ranged was almost caught unawares. By the time Baasha realized they were being flanked, their foes were a mere five or six feet away.

"Behind us!" she called out as she spun around, knocking an arrow as she did. Keening hurried forward a few steps, trying to put a safe distance between himself and the trio of creatures. Tallonon was quicker, and like Baasha, was already preparing an attack as he spun around to face the new foes.

Baasha’s arrow and Tallonon’s searing blast both hit the werewolf on their right. The twin strikes wounded, but did not disable the beast completely. Keening, getting a hold of himself, concentrated on the uninjured werewolf and then, as if the beast had just heard an amusing story, fell onto its back in a fit of highly unsettling laughter. Both its comrade and the dire wolf seemed stunned by the strange actions of their packmate.

Seizing the moment, Mason bravely ran forward, past Baasha and the two Half-Elves. Calling out, "Valkur guide my hand!" he slashed at the injured werewolf with his scimitar. Blood sprayed from the deep gash in his neck, splattering his laughing packmate and dire wolf.

The werewolf Druid tried to get up again, but the crone was clearly surrounded this time. "I surrender!" She croaked, holding her grimy hands up in the air. "Please, mercy."

"Call off the other!" Dhamon demanded, holding his sword tip in her face.

"Yes, yes of course." She said, raising her voice. "You lot, back off. Stand aside..." she called out, though she couldn’t get a clear view of what was happening to the others.

Her words fell on deaf ears, as the remaining werewolf was on the ground still, suffering from a fit of magical laughter. The wolf stood by its side, looking confused. It didn’t attack, instead taking a defense stance over the werewolf.

Dhamon took a step back, allowing the evil druid room to stand up. Quintis stepped away to free the children from their cages. They clung to him, their filthy faces tear streaked and terrified. Alleria shapeshifted back to her natural form and went to check on the children as well.

Mason stared down the wolf, on guard, as he unshouldered his pack to unhitch a coil of rope from its side. He handed it to Keening, "Tie the other one up." He did his best to position himself between the protective wolf and Keening. Baasha had moved in closer as well, knocking an arrow and training it on the laughing werewolf. Tallonon moved up to join Dhamon to inspect the alter.

On the wall behind the small shrine a human tanned skin hung from the wall. The crude altar was a wooden statue of a wolf-headed woman. Wreathes of flowers and vines, as well as human and animal body pieces were draped upon it. Piled at the bottom if it was various bits and bobs of treasure.

As Dhamon had allowed her the space, the crone stood up, dusting her hands off on her robe. With her hood now pushed back, her features were now in full view. She may have sounded like an old woman, but she didn’t appear to be even middle age.

"You shouldn’t be here. You need to go. The others will return home soon from the hunt. They will not take kindly to how you have treated their pack mother." She wanted.

"We are not worried about your pack, old woman. These are not the first werewolves we’ve faced." Dhamon informed her. "And who are you then?"

"I am Zuleika, mate of Email, leader of this pack."

"Who is this shrine to, what foul god are you worshiping?" It was Tallonon who asked, but Alleria looked over at the sound of the question, curious as well.

Zuleika hissed, "Mother Night is not foul. She is our mother. Mother of all werewolves."

Alleria looked thoughtful for a moment, "Perhaps an aspect of Selune?" She looked distastefully at the alter and the cages that once held the children. She didn’t seem to have much faith in her own assertion.

"More like the flipside of the coin." Mason offered and Alleria nodded in agreement.

"What should we do with her?" Asked Baasha, "And the other?"

The other werewolf had stopped laughing and was now quietly struggling against its bonds. Keening gave it a warning kick, frowning at it.

"We’ll take them back to Krazk. They will be judged for their crimes. Tie her up too." Dhamon said, jerking his head towards Zuleika.

"You will regret this!" she croaked as Tallonon bound her wrists. "The others will come for me and your villagers will pay the price."

"How long has your mate and the rest of the pack been away?" the half-Drow asked as he knotted the rope.

"Five days." Her voice wavered slightly.

"We killed half a dozen werewolves a few days back. Pretty sure the villagers will be fine." He said with a smug satisfaction.

Alleria raised a brow, but Quintis leaned in and explained: "It was the night before you joined us."

A dark frown formed on Zuleika’s face. "Coincidence!" We are not the only pack in Barovia!"

Tallonon shoved her, pushing her into motion towards the other werewolf. The dire wolf growled, but the other werewolf snarled at it. "Stay!". He didn’t want it following them to the same doom.

They made their way through the cave, back out to the forest. It was still dark out, the night being barely half over.

The group had made their way less than fifty feet when a pack of normal wolves crashed out of the underbrush. The two children began screaming again and in the pandemonium, Zuleika was able to free herself. As she ran, she cast thunderwave again, knocking them all over. She managed to miss the other werewolf with the spell, and he ran off in the opposite direction.

The wolves seemed intent on making a meal of the children, snapping and snarling at the smallest and weakest of the human "pack’. It took a moment for them to recover, but Quintis and Keening ran one way, and Alleria and Mason the other, after Zuleika. Baasha and Dhamon stayed to fend off the wolves and protect the children.

It had been three days now since Alleria and Mason had become separated from the rest of their group. She swore that if they hadn’t been on the verge of completing their quest in this strange land and about to go home, that this split from the others might have been orchestrated by the jovial cleric. The half-elf had been quite forward with her since she joined up with them, but recently it had escalated to heavy flirtation. He had moved past ruffling her ears when she was shapeshifted. It was a good thing for him that his devotion to his god granted him the gift of healing powers, as she had bitten his hand and drawn blood on more than one occasion. If there was one thing she loathed, it was being treated like a pet or beast of burden when she was shapeshifted. The various forms being a Druid of the Moon afforded her, were for work, not play.

That being said, she couldn’t help but find his light-hearted sense of humor to be infectious, and for all his flirtations, he did appear to at least have a trace of a gentleman inside of him. She much preferred his company over that of the others, especially the half-Drow. Had she any say in things; she never would have chosen to travel with the like. But, it was Mason who was first to try to convince her that the dark-skinned elf could be trusted. In her mind, though, that remained to be seen and her position would likely never be changed.

An encounter with a pack of wolves had lead to a split of the group after an ambush. Alleria had given chase to a dark werewolf druid, and Mason had followed. Together, they managed to dispatch of their foe, but had lost their way in the chase. After hours of searching with no luck, they made camp for the night. Exhausted, Alleria was in no mood for small talk, but that didn’t stop Mason. In fact, nothing ever seemed to stop him.

"We should have returned to the Winery to check up on them. I could use a bottle or two, or ten, of their fine vintage right now." He complained, having run out of drink on their second day alone. He unfurled his bedroll next to the small fire and patted the hard ground next to him, that ever-present smile of his playing on his lips.

"You know I do not sleep, Mason." She replied, taking up a lotus style position across from him.

Sweeping his long brown hair out of his eyes, his brows lifted and his smile broadened. His comment unspoken, for he knew she already knew what his comeback would be.

She said nothing, not wanting to engage in this line of conversation with him again.