After Shaedy transforms into a giant greywolf, the party is kinda upset. Really difficult to keep calm.
Beatryce, the priestess and lady-commander of the Adventurer's Guild seeks for a solution, believing this being a curse.
Elower asks for infos from her twin sister Alowar, which is not the funniest girl in the world (and, if you remeber, they usually share experiences cheating on their identity... nice girls), but knows a bit more about magic. She wants to see the wolf and (possibly) the item (fur cloak).
She enters the adventurer's guild, pretending to be Elowen. Her cheating doesn't last long, since she starts behaving like an a*****e, but at least tries something out and it seems like (at least by her knowledge) the enchantment might end at some point...
In the meanwhile, characters prepare for the wood expedition (they still have to take care of the "witch" the night after, along with the mages of the academy and Beatryce herself).
Beatryce states again that she doesn't want the mages help and won't accept any spell upon her. She will still pray (with Father Winfried of Tradeport, her master) to remove any possible curse from them before they live.
While Ciricie, Gillian the Grim, Alowar and Shamyr wait for "something to happen", Shamyr reveals herself as the masked man (do you remember the party, right?). He tells that the real Shamyr is "safe" and that he started following them when he understood that the assassination of her father was NOT requested and he wants to know more...
Now, some days before, Shaedy read the suspect (the guy arrested at the party), and she saw three faces in his mind, while he was thinkin' about his Assassins' Guild. One of the faces had a mask, another was obscured and the third was Fynch, the small feminine thief of the adventurer's guild. The masked man suspects him to be somewhat involved.
Unwanted Attentions
Liam the Bard tries to get more about a weird reaction obtained the night of the Summer's End party, when Henry, married with the not-so-fascinating lady Torlane (mistress of the Weavers' Guild): the small and submissive Henry went to him, trheatening him (he was really drunk), telling that "you and your friends shouldn't get involved in a mess like this!".
This happened right after the weird performance - Fynch's idea actually - where Liam and his band revealed through a song that someone died. They didn't actually make any mention about the actual murder, but (if you remember) the performance was born just to evoke reactions.
Henry repeats the concept to Liam. Now he's not drunk, but enforces the idea that Liam and his friends are too young to take care of the "shadows" that lurk above the "not-so-colourful" Tradeport, city of Guilds, heart of Guildeland.
While they speak in the huge garden of the Torlane family, where merchants and citizen go in and out to buy and sell materials, lady Torlane herself shows from a high terrace. She offers Liam a cup of tea, but he (probably wisely) refuses the offer. Henry seems upset and her wife calls him back as she would have done with a dog. Probably a lot worst.
After they are reunited, Alowar leaves and the "actual" party is right there, in the adventurer's guild dungeon. Shaedy turns back into a human at sunset, definitely shocked.
She tells about dreams and voices involving a cold winter and a far land in the north.
They decide to sleep in the guild, so that their family won't ask many questions about their recent discoveries and travels.
Dreaming Skjolde
During the night, Gillian the Grim decides to sleep "with" the Fur Cloak (not actually wearing it, just keeping it tight). He dreams.
He's a Skjold, a strong and high man of the far northlands. He's walking on a snowed hillside, trying to go against the wind and snow, to reach the top, where other Skjolden barbarians seem to wait.
Between them there's a Yeti.
When he reaches the top, a bearded man gives him something, telling that "that was the promised prize". He handles a little sack: within lies the head of an Al-Sirath woman he calls "the witch". The bearded man gives him some rations and golden emperor (money).
Gillian (his alter ego) pulls out a scroll and gives it to them. The scrolls shows a map and as soon as Gillian tries to look "in it", it seems like he can go deeper and deeper in between the lines, until he feels to reach the places drawn on it. It's a ruin, like a fallen manor, surrounded by slow-walking creatures in the shadows.
The bearded man closes it and swear he will help Gillian to leave the place safely. One of the guy escorting him brings Gillian over the hill, where a pack of wolves seem a bit hungry...
Gillian awakes. He pushes the fur far from him and ask Beatryce to keep it in a safe place, for now.
To the Woods!
They leave in the afternoon, after a long morning spent with Father Winfried and Beatryce herself, praying at the small Rangeth's temple in the Guild's Halls for protection and the removal of any possible curse the witch might have cast upon them.
Now they are ready, with holy water, oils and all the needed weapons. They march to the crossroads where two mages lie in wait: one is the old master called Jansen (we already know him) and a small figure flanking him, probably a rare Gnome or Haflling, saying nothing but a "uhm" while they get near.
Beatryce clears it out again: she won't accept any spell upon her. She prays and bless everyone with kind words and starts leaving the main road, to walk into the deep wood. Everybody look around, nervous.
Then the whole party follow the bold priestess of Rangeth. Hoping her courage will be enough.
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