The Ghost of the Forest

The party gets word from the council that there has been a couple of lone farmers & some livestock has been killed torn apart and partially ate. They are in the southern edge of Eschbach's territory, and the only clues being a ghostly white creature somewhere between human & beast has been glimpsed at a distance at the boundary of the forest, and paw prints. These paw prints are more human than animal, and clawed. Also, it seems to happen during the full moon.

The party is tasked with hunting down this creature.

The players will move down to the edge of the forest noticing it has only been a few hours since the full moon started. The region is foggy & cold with the fog remaining to some degree during the day.

Examining any scene will show that the attack was vicious and more that just a bipedal creature was present. there seems to be 5 1d10 sets of other animals. A successful Survival roll or similar will reveal these general footprints to be of wolves or winter wolves. These lead into the forest

If followed, the tracks will lead to a ruined hunters hut deep in the forest, and likely contain at least some of these wolves / winter wolves.

If examining the scene, they will find a hidden trophy room below the floor. There they will find a diary of a hunter called Rutger the Wolf Killer. He seems to have been a hunter and an expert in hunting down wolves, though taking out other dangerous creatures easily too. He was tasked to protect the farmland to the north to prevent animal attacks & pests getting into the land.

If the locals are asked about him, they report that he hasn't been seen in a while with the following may be mentioned:

• he is thought of as dead
• he was injured by a very large wolf at one stage
• appeared ill for weeks afterwards
• he had pale skin and white hair
• was well built
• could be aggressive but never actively got into a fight with anyone

A bed is present and a few bits of cheap jewellery scattered round but no silver present. These are only worth 3 gold altogether.

They find a small map as well, showing a trail deeper into the forest. It shows an overgrown grove. Human prints & wolf prints are present on the path here & there and in the grove.

At the centre of this grove, there is signs that parts of the overgrown plants have been removed. Multiple tracks lead in and out including others leading East, West and South. These other paths aren't well used and lead nowhere.

The grove seems to have a heavily damaged, and overgrown, and belongs to Wöden, and seems to indicate the darker side of the Wild Hunt.

The party has to stake out the grove or the hut to find him.

He is likely to be seen before night time and appears fine with no knowledge of the attacks. Later in the night he will change into a Loup Garou and attack.

The party may be there when he changes and gets a shock when this happens. Any fight here will lead him to have Advantage on attacks or the Initiative.

If killed or cured they have solved the problem, and in the latter case, it requires the use of a Religion roll on a DC 18.

They can now go to the council to tell them the problem has been sorted and get payment. There they get 1000 Gold.

They have to be careful of not getting Lycanthropy, and may need to cure.