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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 1476646" data-attributes="member: 1210">Blaze whinnies innocently, and inwardly both garen snicker to themselves.They’ve known this time would come again since <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1182039#post1182039" target="_blank">they murdered their previous owner, Othic.</a>   The taste of blood was too enticing, and now- now for these, the only individuals who might be able to reveal the truth about them, to come along so perfectly- well!As the little creatures try to coax them out of the cave, the garen open up with psionic assaults, and suddenly Broadsword pitches forward, his long nose transforming as he manifests bite of the wolf!  Captain Cavedwarf lets out a terrific bellow as the lunging garen takes a chunk out of his side!A confused battle ensues, with the halflings first trying to restrain the vicious animals.  This works about as well as one would expect, with Blaze bucking free after they grapple him, and even when he’s being overborne by the halflings he keeps lashing out with his mental powers.  Finally the halflings resort to lethal blows.  The angry dwarven friend of the clan has been less shy about doing so, and he lays about with his greatclub, dropping Broadsword, but Blaze seizes control of Brother He’s body and starts using him as a weapon!  Mama puts an end to that by commanding Brother He to “Fall!”In the end, the heroes put the other mad animal down without too much trouble; though several of them are wounded, none of them are seriously injured.  (Of course, Mama and Trinia have both already expended some healing.)  An investigation into the strange animals is rather instructive.“Crystals,” Ed says.They look with surprise at the crystals they found stuck in the two garens’ foreheads.  They’ve seen them before- when they dealt with the menace of the Dragonstone, and especially that horrible moment when the goblin hammered one into the child’s head back in Copperdeath’s lair.“It made them smart,” Federico realizes.“Maybe we should hammer one into your head, dog!” Mama jokes.  Federico laughs nervously.  “Oh, sure,” he offers, tilting his head back, and Mama pretends to strike the crystal into his forehead, intending to pull her blow at the last instant.  Unfortunately, she misjudges and deals a fair wound to the poor kobold’s noggin.  The group heads back towards town, having found no sign of the missing dog.  That evening they mostly sleep in the Three Legged Blink Dog inn, but Captain Cavedwarf sleeps out of town, and when he awakens he finds a dog curled up near him.  Being a druid, he easily ascertains that it is the animal they seek.  Amused, he hoists it up and takes it into town; the party meets up with him, amazed at his good fortune.  Together the group returns the dog to an attractive teenage girl.  She is overjoyed with happiness at its return, and the party learns that she tutors a local official (they actually already know this, but they’re happy to let her ramble on about it; they’ve already gathered from certain individuals around the town that ‘tutoring’ may be a euphemism for something a little more, shall we say, physical).  She chatters for a while, and Mama tries to put herself in the back of the girl’s mind as a potential judge, hoping that pillow talk will influence the official she, ahem, tutors.  Trinia heads out of town for a while, meditating and burning incense.  She fasts all day, then sends out the call at evening.  By dawn of the next morning her new wolf has come to her, a little more aloof than Misha was and not yet willing to share his name.  They lay down together for a few brief hours of sleep and then she heads back into town.  Today, she knows, is the day when the judges are selected.  As she moves into town she sees a surprising bustle of activity- a stage is being set up, and tables, and chairs; as she walks by she sees a cheery fat human man roll a barrel of water out, no doubt to keep the judges’ palates clear.“They’re setting up,” she tells the others, who are excited to hear it- especially Mama and Airhead Ed.  “I want to be a judge!” Mama gushes, thinking of the prestige.Everyone heads out to the town square, interested in the proceedings, and happily the group finds a breakfast buffet being set up!  For only 3 gold pieces each!“All you can eat?” exclaims Trinia.  “They didn’t reckon with halflings!”Next Time: The judges are selected, the dog is kicked, and a gnoll is sighted!</blockquote>

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