The Madness of Men in a World of Monsters (D&D 5e IC)

[purepolarpanzer]

Set, Birel, and Fanlomen

Teetering on the brink, facing the Abyss.
Mercifully, there is a small well nearby in the barn yard with a full bucket waiting for Set. As the wanderer's mind struggles with the horror of what he just witnessed, the Chief's helpers approach Birel and Fanlomen where they stand, all ashen faced and trembling. "We... we should burn the barn down. Only fire can cleanse corruption like this. We burn the barn, and tomorrow when the godsdamned sun is out we plant an oak in the ashes. Let the Father reclaim this poisoned earth." It is Wallo who voices this opinion, and the other two villagers nod enthusiastically in support of the idea.

Fanlomen's investigations reveal the worst. These wounds are old, and the infection that seeps from them would have killed the beast before long if it were not for Set's merciful cut. Moreover, they were all done in non-vital areas- places that would bleed for hours, perhaps days before the beast would succumb to blood loss. It appears that the bull was mutilated around a week ago and left to suffer intentionally, perhaps in some sort of depraved ritual fueled by pain, anguish, and corruption.

Selissa, Vargath, and Jemriah

As the search party advances on the distant houses of the homesteaders, Selissa stalks through the night, trying to find the hunters before all of them become prey. The trees become thicker, the path overlayed with branches that block out the moon and deepen the darkness surrounding you all. Thankfully the torches hold back the uncertainty of the night. But there is no torch for Selissa, no respite. Noises in the distance grow louder- howls and roars, bloodcurdling cries and yelps. It is hard for Vargath, Jemriah, and the villagers to tell where the sounds are coming from- they echo between the trees, seeming to come from all sides, but thankfully sound as though they are travelling from far away. Only Selissa realizes the truth from her quieter position in the trees- the sounds are growing louder and closer as you travel north. Thankfully they are not approaching you, but you are approaching them.

By the time the party has arrived at one of the homesteader's estates, the sounds of bloody, bestial combat are so loud that the very air seems charged with primal rage. Whatever is making the din, it is dangerously close, hidden in the trees just behind the simple single story home. Scouting ahead, Selissa is the first to spot signs of what causes the raucous. About one hundred yards beyond the home, she starts to find blood sprayed against trees, and tufts of grey, matted fur hanging from bushes and branches. Moving silently, Selissa finds a small hill that rises to a crest before it descends into a hollow, a small valley between the surrounding hills. The sounds of battling animals is coming from this hollow, and they are so loud they are painful to her elven ears. Dare she get a closer look?

While Selissa scouts beyond the home, Vargath, Jemriah, and company approach it from the front. It is a humble affair, barely more than a cabin with an attached garden plot. Sitting on the porch in a rocking chair rests an old man, perhaps in his seventies, who seems completely ignorant to the roars of rage coming from behind his cabin. He has bare feet, muddy and withered, that rise into legs covered in buckskin pants. Naked from the waist up, his body is thin and spindly, wrinkled and scarred. His eyes, however, are bright, alive, and darting. When he sees your party coming closer, he smiles and waves congenially. "HOWDY NEIGHBORS!" He shouts, but it can barely be heard over the sounds of beasts fighting in the distance. "Did ya'll come for a touch of moonlight shine? I got plenty in the jug ifn you have a mind to tip back with Ol Roger!" He cackles and raises a ceramic jug, taking a hefty pull from it, still ignoring the horrible noises coming from behind his cabin that make it so he can barely be understood. "That's Ol' Roger!" Says the woman leading the villagers. "He's stone deaf and half-crazy. Probably didn't hear the bell to gather. Hell, he DEFINITELY didn't hear the bell if he can't hear this racket! We need to get him to safety!" She has to shout to be heard clearly over the sounds of monsters going to war.