A quick update while we pause to catch our breath.
Standing at the edge of the clearing, we could hear the sounds of wolves fast approaching. It sounded like at least one hundred, which makes me believe it could not have been the Vollensag, since we read that they numbered less than 30. Of course, it could just be members of all of the tribes converging on the same place at once. Which seems like our luck. Diriston said he would stay behind and find us a way out of the Shudderwood. He's supposed to signal us if it's okay. I believe we will just find his corpse instead.
We started slowly toward the Stairs Of The Moon, but soon sped up as we could hear the werewolves getting closer. Nathan reached the ramp first, and was attacked by four werewolves that dropped down from above. We took them out as swiftly as we could, then moved inside.
Once inside we were almost immediately attacked by some sort of ghost werewolf creature. I was able to fight it off when it tried to posses me. Kovun was not as lucky. He grew claws and attacked us. I did not want to hurt him, but I was already injured from the fight with the werewolves and I couldn’t take much more. Kovun was soon unconscious, and the ghost left him to find someone else. Nara's protector reappeared and prevented her from being possessed at one point. We fought the ghost until it fled, screaming that it would return.
With Kovun conscious again, we moved on to two rooms across from each other. The room on the left appeared to be a former quarters though it had no furnishings and the floor was thick with dust. There was a female corpse in the corner. It appeared she had drug herself there after being attacked by werewolves. She was wearing an iron ring marking her as a member of the Whispering Way. She carried onyx gemstones which is a component of animate dead spells. She also had a map of Ustalav with four coordinates marked: Ravengro, Lepistadt, Stairs Of The Moon, and a fourth location miles away, out of the Shudderwood. It was three locations where we had been one step behind the Whispering Way. Maybe we could beat them to this fourth location, and stop them. Israfil beheaded the corpse, and Nathan punted the head in to the woods. They did seem to enjoy this activity, and I do not blame them at all.
The room to the right appeared to be a former quarters as well, but it still contained some rusted pieces of furniture. However this room was swept clean of dust. Nathan found some loose stones in the wall of the north corner. As soon as he moved them though, I was struck with horrible pain. The others discovered a tunnel behind the stones, and I slowly followed them as we made our way through the tunnel and in to the next room.
The room contained an operating table, manacles, and shelves of potions and such. It also contained Estovion, who had a nasty werewolf bite on his forearm. He screamed at us that we had ruined his life, and immediately attacked. Kovun was quickly unconscious again, and Nathan dodged Estovion's spell which then struck everyone else. I was greatly weakened already, and I felt myself slipping in to unconsciousness as well, so I backed out through the tunnel to try to regroup. Estovion's spells followed me though, as black tentacles suddenly appeared, strangling everyone. Estovion was finally defeated, as Israfil beheaded him with her sickle. Nathan didn't kick the head this time, but he did take it and shove it between the iron bars facing the ceiling.
We searched the room and found many magical items on Estovion, including a spellbook that Nara took. The shelves contained three wolfsbane potions which will be very useful, and a locked strongbox. Nathan managed to open the strongbox and found three scroll cases with moth wing decorations on them. There was a scroll detailing the communion ritual for the Dust Moth, and a scroll of remove disease. The most interesting thing though were the ancient journals that detailed the history of the Stairs Of The Moon. Telling of how the high priest's son was serving as a missionary and returned with a nasty form of lycantrophy. The high priest experimented on his son, but couldn't cure him. So he used his son's blood to turn his congregation in to werewolves so he could continue his experiments. Considering the dust-covered skeleton at the bottom of the pit in this room, and the silver surgical tools, this must be where the experiments occurred. And the ghost werewolf must be the high priest's son. We should do what we can to put him to rest. But first I need some rest. Lots of it actually.
Standing at the edge of the clearing, we could hear the sounds of wolves fast approaching. It sounded like at least one hundred, which makes me believe it could not have been the Vollensag, since we read that they numbered less than 30. Of course, it could just be members of all of the tribes converging on the same place at once. Which seems like our luck. Diriston said he would stay behind and find us a way out of the Shudderwood. He's supposed to signal us if it's okay. I believe we will just find his corpse instead.
We started slowly toward the Stairs Of The Moon, but soon sped up as we could hear the werewolves getting closer. Nathan reached the ramp first, and was attacked by four werewolves that dropped down from above. We took them out as swiftly as we could, then moved inside.
Once inside we were almost immediately attacked by some sort of ghost werewolf creature. I was able to fight it off when it tried to posses me. Kovun was not as lucky. He grew claws and attacked us. I did not want to hurt him, but I was already injured from the fight with the werewolves and I couldn’t take much more. Kovun was soon unconscious, and the ghost left him to find someone else. Nara's protector reappeared and prevented her from being possessed at one point. We fought the ghost until it fled, screaming that it would return.
With Kovun conscious again, we moved on to two rooms across from each other. The room on the left appeared to be a former quarters though it had no furnishings and the floor was thick with dust. There was a female corpse in the corner. It appeared she had drug herself there after being attacked by werewolves. She was wearing an iron ring marking her as a member of the Whispering Way. She carried onyx gemstones which is a component of animate dead spells. She also had a map of Ustalav with four coordinates marked: Ravengro, Lepistadt, Stairs Of The Moon, and a fourth location miles away, out of the Shudderwood. It was three locations where we had been one step behind the Whispering Way. Maybe we could beat them to this fourth location, and stop them. Israfil beheaded the corpse, and Nathan punted the head in to the woods. They did seem to enjoy this activity, and I do not blame them at all.
The room to the right appeared to be a former quarters as well, but it still contained some rusted pieces of furniture. However this room was swept clean of dust. Nathan found some loose stones in the wall of the north corner. As soon as he moved them though, I was struck with horrible pain. The others discovered a tunnel behind the stones, and I slowly followed them as we made our way through the tunnel and in to the next room.
The room contained an operating table, manacles, and shelves of potions and such. It also contained Estovion, who had a nasty werewolf bite on his forearm. He screamed at us that we had ruined his life, and immediately attacked. Kovun was quickly unconscious again, and Nathan dodged Estovion's spell which then struck everyone else. I was greatly weakened already, and I felt myself slipping in to unconsciousness as well, so I backed out through the tunnel to try to regroup. Estovion's spells followed me though, as black tentacles suddenly appeared, strangling everyone. Estovion was finally defeated, as Israfil beheaded him with her sickle. Nathan didn't kick the head this time, but he did take it and shove it between the iron bars facing the ceiling.
We searched the room and found many magical items on Estovion, including a spellbook that Nara took. The shelves contained three wolfsbane potions which will be very useful, and a locked strongbox. Nathan managed to open the strongbox and found three scroll cases with moth wing decorations on them. There was a scroll detailing the communion ritual for the Dust Moth, and a scroll of remove disease. The most interesting thing though were the ancient journals that detailed the history of the Stairs Of The Moon. Telling of how the high priest's son was serving as a missionary and returned with a nasty form of lycantrophy. The high priest experimented on his son, but couldn't cure him. So he used his son's blood to turn his congregation in to werewolves so he could continue his experiments. Considering the dust-covered skeleton at the bottom of the pit in this room, and the silver surgical tools, this must be where the experiments occurred. And the ghost werewolf must be the high priest's son. We should do what we can to put him to rest. But first I need some rest. Lots of it actually.