The Howling

The shutters were closed and barred, and the doors were boarded up. Kamiran kin Margen, one of the tavern’s owners, kept a silent vigil by the fireside while the guests filed out of the common room. The Red Rock Tavern was locked up for the night.

Corvis, Perris, Thuramarsh and Samira climbed the stairs to their rooms while Rover and Sariel chose to stay downstairs. Rover curled up by the fireside, occasionally twitching in his sleep. Sariel fell into her trance-like state, a legacy of her Elvish heritage. The room fell quiet as the night settled in…

… and then the howling began.

The sound seemed to come from all directions, echoing off the high buildings and town walls. Wolves? Wargs? Werewolves perhaps? No one was keen to venture outside to investigate … without any weapons. They had stashed them in a safe place outside of the town to avoid a confrontation with the guards. Now they were feeling more vulnerable than ever.

Booted footsteps could be heard outside in the market square. Guards patrolling, with torches blazing brightly. No one else could be seen in the streets… and the howling went on.

Dawn came, silently. No roosters cried or dogs barked. But the village came to life as shutters were opened and people pushed their handcarts filled with wares to the market square.

The Cobbler

Sariel watched as Kamiran stood up and stretched, his joints stiff from his nightly vigil. He turned to nod at Rover and Sariel and began unbarring the doors and windows. The fire had burned low but still gave a gentle glow. Noises from people moving about upstairs could be heard. Thuramarsh and Perris came down the stairs, followed by Samira. Corvis was nowhere to be seen – probably still asleep.

Taking stock of the learnings from the previous night, the party decided they had a few options. First and foremost was to retrieve their weapons and stash them in the rooms. After that, there would be time to explore the town and visit the temple where the afflicted were being cared for. The trick was how to get your weapons past the guards. Samira suggested they use a culvert in the south wall. Blank stares all round. “What’s a ‘culvert’?” Thuramarsh asked.

Samira has grown up in this town after leaving religious order at the Temple of Ariella at the waterfall upstream. Her local knowledge could prove invaluable, so long as she uses words that everyone understands.

“There’s a small drainage tunnel cut through the south wall on River Street. I used to use it to leave the town unnoticed.”

Thuramarsh looked at the gnome. “Will I fit?” he asked.

“If you suck that gut in, maybe.” she replied.

Heading off across the market square, they wound their way through the back streets that sloped gently down to River Street. As they drew closer, Samira stopped suddenly and stood very still. There before you was a two-storey townhouse with a sign swaying in the wind. “The Cobbler” it proclaimed.

This was Samira’s home.

She needed to go inside. Her adopted parent and mentor, Kez, needed to know she was back, and she should be the one to tell him. But the front door was locked and the windows were shuttered. No sounds came from inside the house and so she tried the rear door. Also locked. Picking it was no great issue and she was careful to avoid the trap that Kez usually set. He was a master of tricks like that, so Samira was careful. Odd, it wasn’t trapped – something was wrong.

Quickly slipping inside, and joined by her fellow thief Sariel, the pair went from room to room looking for signs of life. The place was empty. The fireplace was cold and didn’t look like it had been lit for several days. Searching through her old bedroom, Samira came across a small box – stashed in her favourite hiding place. Kez had left it for her to find.

Inside the box was a note and a small brooch.

Samira quietly read through the note, a tear in her eye. She stopped and began to sob quietly. Sariel looked on, concerned but not willing to intrude on her friend’s grief.

“We should go, the others are waiting outside and the sun is rising.”

“Yes” Samira replied, “But we can stay here when we get the weapons. Kez is not coming back and I need to search the house for something.”