Session 30

The Divine Hunt was on, and Sylrieth and Qimys were accompanying the Party. A few hours into their exploration of the forest, the group encountered a pair of dead bodies - hunters that had been attending the celebrations back at the Giant Hills Hunters Lodge. They had ripped and torn to shreds by some kind of massive wild animal. Picking up the trail would be easy for the group and they were soon tracking it through the forest.   Several hours later, their trail led them a small clearing where a massive creature stood, feasting on a deer. The beast looked in their direction and charged. Sylrieth noted the malice and hatred in its eyes. This was no ordinary bear. No more than a moment later, an owlbear, enraged at another predator being in its territory, ran headlong into the fray. It was now a full-on melee and it was unclear who was to blame for the hunters' deaths.   The bear proved to be a harder opponent to fight than was expected, especially after Sir Didymus finished off the owlbear. Bloodbane drove his electrified axe into the body of the bear, sending it to the ground in a lifeless heap. To everyone's surprise, the bear transformed into a human.   The group asked Sylrieth if she recognized him, and she replied that he looked familiar, that she may have seen him at the hunters lodge in years past, but she couldn't be sure. Bloodbane decided to take the man's head with him, to see if anyone back at the lodge would recognize him. He then went and collected the heart of the owlbear, as was their assignment.   As the sun set, the group returned to the lodge. The lodge keeper, Rildrem, greeted the Party with a smile. Sylrieth and Qimys retired to their rooms, exhausted from the hunt. Bloodbane presented Rildrem with a box containing the hunter's head, and she said that she recognized him as being a regular at the lodge. Rildrem mentioned that a wizard known as Mizar Stanfield down in Wolfwater may know about were-creatures. A hunter at the celebrations approached the group and told them that the man's name was Rorvan Big. He was a hunter that had money management issues and had approached the wizard about a month ago.   The Party decided to stay for the Celebration of Arawai and depart for Wolfwater the next morning. They now must learn where these creatures are coming from, and figure out how to stop it if possible...