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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 2689977" data-attributes="member: 1210">Huge fields of wheat, golden-brown and waiting for the scythe, stretch out before our heroes.  They move, some on foot and some on horseback, along the paths and roads that cut through the fields, radiating out from Kamenda City through the various areas that are tilled and harvested around it.  After over a month of inactivity in the city, they are, by the baron’s command, looking for the Tydonian raiders.  They have already seen a few small areas of burnt field, destroyed by the Tydonians.  Sir Cedric’s face bears a deep scowl.Though Dahlia is a good tracker, there are too many different sets of prints to ascertain anything near the city.  As the group moves further away from it, heading south, the group chooses a burnt area and Dahlia examines the ground intently again.  Here, between the thinner tracks and the evidence of damage, she is able at last to find a trail.  Our heroes follow it for a time as the sun descends towards the western horizon.  Shortly after dark, still trying to follow the tracks, Dahlia admits that she needs more light, and the party sets camp.The night is pleasant and warm.  The party sets watching, hoping to see any troubles caused by the Tydonians in the surrounding fields.Instead, deep in the night, there is a strange howling in the distance.  On watch, Cara shivers.  It’s a haunting sound. The howl comes again, noticeably closer. “Hey guys!”  Cara begins waking the others, and everyone scrambles into weary consciousness.  The howl sounds in the night again.Weapons rasp from sheaths.  Otis casts a light spell on a stone.  Kyle slings it into the distance, and it arcs down on the ground about 50’ away.  Unfortunately, it reveals nothing.Another eerie howl.Then the creatures bound in on our heroes: two things that at first resemble hounds, but as they rush through the lit area the strange, porcupine-like quills all over their bodies are revealed.  Kyle gives a wordless cry and slings another stone, which smashes into the first of the beasts.  The creature just keeps coming, and both howl again.  This time, however, Cara’s voice cuts across them as she begins singing.The creatures reach the party in a blindingly-fast instant, and tear into Jorgen and Dahlia with staggering intensity.  Both of them bite savagely, and both Jorgen and Dahlia are badly injured.  Dahlia steps back and casts cat’s grace on herself, while her badger leaps forward to the attack.  Jorgen, too, melees with the monster, though he is badly bleeding.  He twists away as the hound-thing shakes and its spines threaten to pierce his lunging arm. Kyle, meanwhile, is exploring his new arcane skills.  First he moves to a safe distance, near his master Otis; then he casts mage armor.  Otis nods encouragingly, then says, “This is what you should do next!”  He casts a magic missile at one of the monsters.  A moment later Kyle emulates him, and though he only gets one missile to Otis’ two, the combination is enough to take the hideous monster down!  Jorgen and the badger, meanwhile, are dueling the remaining thing.  Both Hrar and the sheriff manage to land solid blows, and a second magic missile spell from Otis causes it to yelp in pain.  Soon it withdraws, and Dahlia casts calm animals on her raging badger.The party stares at the corpse.  “What is that thing?” wonders Dahlia. “It was disgusting,” opines Otis.  “With all those spines, or quills.”“It was dangerous,” Jorgen comments.  “They almost killed me when they charged us.”The party considers skinning the beast.  When they examine its hide, they are shocked to find a brand on it.“It might be too hard to skin this thing, but we can certainly take that in order to find out who these things belong to,” sheriff Jorgen muses.  “We thould thow it to the baron,” states Sir Cedric.The group decides to move while the trail is hot, despite the fact that it is dark.  They put on armor and ready weapons and torches.  Dahlia leads the party back along the trail of the beasts.  They follow deep into the night, traveling over a mile, before they come into a secluded area surrounded by trees and find signs of... something.  What appears to be some kind of an altar of mixed horse and goat bones is near the smothered remains of a fire.  A Kamendan banner serves as the altar cloth.“Many tracks,” Dahlia breathes.  After a few moments she leads the party further along.  “After they left the fire, they went this way,” she says.  “There were a dozen or more of them.”  “They must be some kind of cult,” Cara murmurs.“They are traitors.”  Jorgen’s voice is flat. After almost an hour, Dahlia’s face falls.  “They split up!” she exclaims.  “Into... it looks like four different groups.”  “Pick one and let’s follow,” suggests Jorgen.  But she can keep to the trail only so long, as it heads back towards the city and to thicker tracks.  Frustrated in their pursuit, our heroes are nonetheless able to conclude that the cultists probably went back into the city.“Look, a fire!” exclaims Kyle.The party turns.  In the night they indeed see what appears to be a fire: a large one, a bonfire even.  Even though it doesn’t really look like burning fields, our heroes decide to investigate it.  It is very late; they are very tired.The fire turns out to be a party of peasants celebrating the birth of a new child.  Our heroes (especially Cedric) celebrate with the peasant farther.  The farmers invite the group to rest around the fire, and our heroes gladly accept.  Despite their fatigue, our heroes still wisely set watches.Deep, deep in the night, the Tydonians begin burning some wheat.Next Time: Our heroes battle a group of Tydonians!</blockquote>

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