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| Session 1: Wolves of Olnfield | |
|---|---|
| Session Number | 1 |
| Date | 2021-01-30 |
| Recording | File:PlaceholderRecording.mp3 |
| Previous Session | Session 0 |
| Next Session | Session 2 |
Events
Willen Wanderfoot
Badly injured when the villagers sent a posse to hunt down the wolves, Wanderfoot has been left badly damaged by his experiences – both mentally and physically. He is currently laid up in a room across from the Shepherd’s Hook, where he is regularly attended by a cleric.
The room is small and sparse though there are fresh flowers on a table by the window. The halfling lies in the bed, white-faced and soaked in his own sweat. His left arm is bandaged and his right leg. He explains that when the posse was attacked, he was bitten badly and was trampled as the other men fled. His memories are hazy as he drifted in and out of consciousness, but he remembers gruff voices arguing in the darkness and a powerful grip on his ankle. He hesitantly confesses that the wolves were talking, arguing fiercely over whether they should eat him or not. Wanderfoot then breaks down in tears and refuses to say anything more.
The Meeting
Exiting Wanderfoot’s room, the party can see that the bar has quieted down. You see the people you met the day before, Yana, Rumen, Gilette is by the door. There are a couple figures standing up amidst the crowd. There is a soldier, 3 humans, and a halfling. Tyson Clanton. First and foremost, his job is to protect the people of Olnfield. Though he had commands to follow from the capital city of Gadena, there isn’t much that needs focused on in the small village. He has the freedom to work with Saima Kuusk and the other heads to create peace.**
Justicar Saima Kuusk is well respected by the village. She works closely with the faction of The Peace Reserve stationed in Olnfield to uphold the laws of The Kingdom of Gadena while also making sure that her citizens are taken care of.
Hugo Axelstrom, Iris Bourne, Tobias Renwald
As the party re-enters, they can hear raised voices, and when they enter, the halfling is arguing with one of the human women about whether the village should stop exporting its grain and other food while the crisis with the wolves remains unresolved.
Hugo reacts angrily to any interruption but warms to the party if they identify themselves. If the party has not come to the village to help with the wolves, Saima will try to persuade them to take the job, offering 500gp reward, free lodgings and other small favors.
The small group can provide detailed information about the wolf attacks, as well as the rumors known to the common folk.** The wolves have been driving people out of farms and outlying hamlets, taking entire herds of sheep as well as cattle, pigs and chickens. They have been acting in a way that is unusually effective, such as ambushing shepherds as they move their flocks, and opening gates and pulling down fences. They only seem to be after the sheep. Cattle, horses, and chickens have so far been safe and left unharmed and untouched.
There have always been wolves in the woods, but in the space of three months they have gone from a nuisance to a major threat. People are abandoning farms out of ear, leaving the village to either stop exporting the crops that have already been harvested and risk bankruptcy, or go hungry.
A posse of people was organized to hunt down the wolves, but they were attacked in the woods and driven back. Tobias will speak up, mentioning that his twin brother who was dabbling with sorcery, Alexi, went missing around the same time the attacks began, forcing them to turn to professional adventurers for aid.
They believe that the wolves live in the woods to the west of town but are not sure. Hugo introduces himself officially and say that he has been working here for the best part of forty years and is happy to answer questions on the local government and provide general support for the party.
Iris steps forward and explains that the wolves haven’t been a direct problem to any of the fishermen, but hurting the shepherds, hurts them in turn.
Tyson guided you all to Tobias’ house where you found notebooks filled with arcane scribblings and experimentations. Felrick transferred the scent of one of the books to a rock, which Anise then used to help track.
Barnall Woods
Eventually, the party should end up making a trek into the woods, which are thick and clogged with undergrowth. The smell of earth and moss fills the air and the passage of small animals creates a constant hustle in the bushes. Occasionally, the howl of a lone wolf echoes eerily from the north.
Finding the parting in the woods takes approximately two hours at a walking pace.
After an hour or so of travel through the dense undergrowth of the southernmost reaches of the Barnall Woods, the party begins to see sprinkles of blood as if an injured animal had traveled through here or was dragged through.
Traveling through the forest the party wandered across the path of a Giant Snake and swiftly killed it. They avoided a rampaging and hurt owlbear, and found their way to a clearing, through which you could see wolves, doing strangely human activities, outside of a cave.
From the treeline, it is possible to see a cave entrance roughly 10ft wide and 10ft tall at its highest point, set into a low cliff of grey stone. A thin plume of smoke appears to be coming from a point on the hill above the cliff, maybe 30 ft back from the cave entrance.
Alexi's Wolves' Cave
Milling around the area are six wolves. Some are sat around the fire, some are seemingly working on improving the fence, and some are in the process of tearing a sheep carcass apart. Many of the wolves appear to be wearing strips of brightly-colored cloth or other decorations tied about limbs or their necks.
The entire scene seems remarkably peaceful and organized for a wolf den. The plume of smoke is coming from a hole in the cave ceiling. It is roughly 30 ft back from the cave entrance and is just about big enough for a small creature to squeeze through.
The hole opens into the far-right cave chamber and is 15ft off the ground, directly above the fire. You can hear two wolves having an argument over the future of the pack. Both wolves are dark grey. One’s eyes glow with a constant orange flame and thin stripes of deep red run across her body. The other’s eyes pulse with a blue crackling light.
One (Smoke), is angrily ranting about the appearance of the adventuring party and that it proves they need to be more aggressive. She believes they should start killing more humans, halflings, and dwarves in a bid to speed up their retreat from the area.
The other (Beacon) however, argues in extremely soft tones that it means they should do the exact opposite. He wants to conduct a few more small-scale raids and then disappear from the area, moving further into the wilderness.
The argument will last for some time before the pair move out of the main cave complex.
The least stealthy of the party stayed back, but unfortunately, Brenri, not paying close enough attention, tripped a wire at the edge of the forest, sending alarms clanking and alerting the wolves to their presence. Battle ensued At one point, one of the alphas wanted a ceasefire to talk and discuss. The other was not as on board and halfway through the discussion, turned on her partner, badly injuring him. The party took up the fight once more, slaying her.
The alpha was left to speak with the adventurers, unsatisfied that they had killed those of his pack, but understanding. A deal was struck, persuading them that their secret of gained intelligence would be kept if they were to pack up and leave that place. He directed the group to Alexi’s grave and promised to be gone within the day.
Back in Olnfield
The party returned to Olnfield, told Saima that all the wolves were disposed of and informed her that Alexi was dead.
After a long day, many of the party grabbed some of homemade cider from Leanor and started in on a night’s revelry. Gaotha, Felrick, and Caukdim left to go outside and sit with Anise, genially pouring one out in remembrance of Alexi.
But, the possibly calm night was ruined by a loud banging as a door to one of the buildings down the path was violently shoved open and you saw a robed figured pushed out, tumbling to the ground. After him walked, Brienne, holding a sword to the figure’s throat. “I thought I told you to leave this place.”