The Black Stone [IC]

[Deadly]

The captain looks at the ruined ship "I doubt it. Maybe we can repair it, or... make a raft. I think I'll stay with the last of my men here, maybe we can salvage something, or find another boat. If you head inland and find anyone alive, maybe they can help. At least they know the island better, maybe there are other villages who have boats available."

[Anonomuss]

Ilvaen

Ilvaen nods to the captain, "Is there anything we can do to help you before we leave? I'd like to be able to help ensure your safety before we venture further inland. It would be nice to have somewhere safe to return to, or direct others to."

[Deadly]

"I don't think you can do anything except find out what they are doing here. I think they're much more likely to go after you if you head inland. We'll do what we can here. Now that we know there are werewolves around we should be better prepared for them if they come again."

[Honikan]

Ren Vyrilik

Ren thanks the captain, then turns to his companions. "I suppose we should go then, did you see which direction they ran off to?"

[WhiskElement]

"Yes, thank you, captain. I think I saw the werewolves heading to the north. We could start there. Anything you all want to grab from the ship first? I think I've got all I need." Oraxain wasn't bloodthirsty by any means, but he was looking forward to tracking down these vicious beasts.

[Deadly]

Algol decides to stay behind and help the effort here.

And going to assume you move on then. You don't get far along the northern road before it splits in two, the two paths leading further north and west.

[Anonomuss]

Ilvaen

Ilvaen looked up and down the two paths. "I suppose we should head north, if we're to find these werewolves."

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Anything of note to be seen down either road?

[Deadly]

Ilvaen doesn't see anything in particular down either path. If their mission was to find the stone and the village supposed to be near it, however, then the western path might be the right path.

[Honikan]

Ren Vyrilik

Wasn't the stone supposed to be near the village? I think the western path stays along the back of the village, as far as I can tell.

[WhiskElement]

"Yes, I think I remember something about it being to the west in my previous research. Let's go that way, then." Oraxain tentatively glanced at his companions for confirmation and pointed his feet towards the west.

[Deadly]

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Just a note because I may have screwed up a little:

The map in the first post should technically be rotated 90° anti-clockwise. The path that points north on the map actually leads west, and the one that points east is actually north.

Also, the village you're currently in is not the one near the stone. The one near the stone is somewhere further inland to the south-west.

[Honikan]

Ren Vyrilik

Ren leads the party down the road to the west, keepin a careful eye out, while tracking the werewolves. "What do you suppose we will find when we get to the stone? It's turned many a man insane."

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Perception- (1d20+13)[30]

[Anonomuss]

Ilvaen

Ilvaen walked alongside Ren as they moved down he road, his voice low and conversational. "I think we have to hope that the Nightingale will provide for us, once we find it, or failing that, that the stories we have heard are false. Either way we should endeavour to make sure that no others suffer a fate as frim as those tales suggest.

[Deadly]

Ren easily finds the trail of werewolves, leading along the river. Gazing ahead the path leads towards a bridge in the distance.

[WhiskElement]

Oraxain

"Well, I too have heard the tales of insanity, but those werewolves didn't seem insane to me. Frenzied, maybe, but not insane. If anything, they were more organized than I would have expected. And that disturbs me more than insanity, I think. We best be careful as we cross this bridge here; it would seem like an easy place to lay a trap."

[Anonomuss]

Ilvaen

"True, we would do well to be vigilent. Ilvaen said, holding his holy symbol tightly.

[Deadly]

As you approach cautiously, you see a small figure sitting motionlessly on the bridge. You don't have to get very close before the nature of the scene before you becomes horrifyingly clear. The stones of the bridge around the figure are stained red, even from afar you have no doubt that it is blood. As you move closer you see that it is a young lycanthrope boy, age unclear, stripped and mutilated and no doubt left there by the werewolves as a message. His face has been flayed, long strips of flesh still framing the bare skull, his genitals have been cut off, and the rest of his body brutally lashed as by whips. Words are carved deep into his chest with large, crude letters "We greet you!" The grinning skull almost seems to accent this message. He can't have been dead long, all the blood is still fresh. However vile and savagely brutal the scene, it was clearly a calculated act.

[Honikan]

Ren Vyrilik

This horrifying show of violence and imagery shocks Ren. He stumbles back, yet is intrigued. Slowly and hesitantly, Ren takes steps towards the mutilated body. "Why would..." he started,

"Gah!" Ren's mind starts reeling. In front of him, he sees the lycanthope being tortured and torn apart. His brain feels as though it's going to explode!

Then all in an instant it stops. When Ren opens his eyes, he realizes he is on the ground, small gouges in his arms. He was clawing himself. In hurried, short breaths he forces out, "May I get some assistance..?"

[Anonomuss]

Ilvaen

Ilvaen lowered his eyes, and turned his head away from the scene. He fought the urge to vomit, and tried to breath in some air free of the copper smell of the blood in front of him. When Ren collapsed next to him, and began to feverishly claw at himself, Ilvaen forced thoughts of his own disgust and anger to the back of his mind, and crouched down next to Ren. When Ren opened his eyes, Ilvaen was already next to him, and offered out his arm for support.

"Are you alright? I don't like this any more than anyone else, but unfortunately, it doesn't change what we need to do.

[Honikan]

Ren Vyrilik

He sits up and looks at Ilvaen, "Yes, of course. I... I just was shown by the Nightengale his torture. It was frightening, and I must have reacted." He rubs his left arm, "It's odd that I've had two visions in one day already, self-harm usually isn't involved. I only hope she helps me understand these. I do understand though, the Nightengale's meant for me to see his pain, so we shan't suffer the same fate."

Ren takes a deep breath and exhales, letting his anxiety leave him. Making a quick prayer with his eyes closed. "Ilvaen, may you please take care of my arms?" He holds them out. It is easy to see that Ren is struggling to hold the battered things aloft.

[Anonomuss]

Ilvaen

"Of course," Ilvaen said, and his holy symbol began to glow, as he laid his hands on Ren and his wounds began to slowly disappear.

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Not entirely sure what's needed here, so if its hp I need to restore. Ilvaen will use Life Transference. Otherwise, I suppose, heal check? (d20+12)[26]

[Deadly]

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I wouldn't know either... I assume it's just regular scratches.

[WhiskElement]

Oraxain

Not being well versed in healing, Oraxain waited as Ilvaen tended to Ren's self inflicted wounds. This whole vision/insanity/Nightingale business made him a little uneasy, to be honest. While his new companions seemed able and amiable, was it possible he was heading to investigate something horrifyingly appalling with those who might be extra sensitive to its effects?

Despite his own attempts at composure and rationality, Oraxain was disgusted by the lengths to which this poor individual had been mutilated. He paused to look at the body, seeing if any clue whatsoever might be gleaned from what was left.

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What language was the warning carved in? Or is this not relevant?

[Deadly]

It's somewhat curious that werewolves would write messages, and not even in their own vile tongue. Aside from this the mangled body of the boy provides few clues, at least to Oraxain who isn't a healer.

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Ah... the language.

I just noticed that, due to my somewhat recent language expansion, you and Ren don't even have a shared language. This is because Ren and Ilvaen used the old set of languages, which was much more limited.

I could just let Ren and Ilvaen change their languages. The simplest conversion at this point would be to replace Ayrnáva with Inismal for Ren and Ilvaen. That would also mean the note was written in Inismal.

I didn't mention this before because it's not hugely important. The note is simply written in the most common local language of the region, the one that the werewolves could easily have assumed you'd know, without knowing you.

That, of course, is interesting. Most werewolves don't speak other languages than their own, and even fewer know how to write.

[Honikan]

Ren Vyrilik

Once up and healed, Ren focuses his thoughts and begins to walk again, attempting not to look in the direction of the poor soul on the post. "We better keep moving, the werewolves could return at any moment." He glances back as he walks, "Thanks, Ilvaen."

[WhiskElement]

Oraxain

"I agree. We'd better move on, and hope to catch these werewolves before they catch us. One thing, though...do you all have any idea what we do when we find them? I mean, what's our plan of attack here?" Oraxain didn't like to admit it, but maybe the sight of the mangled body had shaken his confidence a little.

[Anonomuss]

Ilvaen

"I'll be along in a moment. I just want to make sure the boy's soul is now at rest." Ilvaen said to his companions, and moved back to kneel next to the broken body of the boy. He began to pray low and softly, beginning a dirge to the Nightingale and raising his holy symbol to the body. The notes of the song raised his heart even as he tried not to breath in the smell of death. It wasn't right to just leave the boy's body here, wide open beneath the stars. He moved to lift the boy's body away from where it sat and brought it over towards one side of the bridge. He removed the bedroll from his pack, and began to wrap the body in it, hiding the worst of its wounds from the world. He continued to pray as he laid the boy down, and walked back, and tried to put the sight behind him.

[Honikan]

Ren Vyrilik

He watches as Ilvaen lays the Lycanthrope boy to rest, "I understand, it's hard on me too... Let's move on." Ren leads the group across the bridge and onwards. He tries to shake the image from his head, but he knows that is a warning; he focuses on the road ahead.

[WhiskElement]

Oraxain

Oraxain waited patiently as Ilvaen performed the last rites. It was a relief to be with people who displayed a measure of compassion. Compassion means civility, after all. When the act was finished, Oraxain commented to Ilvaen, "You show great kindness; I'm glad to be traveling with you." Then he turned to go.

[Deadly]

After laying the boy to rest, you continue down the road. For many hours you walk with no sign of werewolves and no villages in sight. The forest is growing denser and darker, and the landscape more rugged as you continue south, the only thing suggesting you're on the right path being a small trail.