“Bad dog! Bad dog! Bad dog!” Scomatch yelled as he cast, Fireball. A bright streak flashed from the halfling’s fingertips. It ignited in the dire wolves' midst. The air was filled with burning hair as the eighteen horse-sized creatures continued their charge.
Kai braced Wave as the first dire wolves met the party’s line. The trident stuck into one of their hindquarters.
It did little to slow down the wall of fur and muscle as it plunged forward. Plowing into the party, Kai and Scomatch were knocked off their feet. Kildo dug his heels into the ground, angling and bracing his shield. Their weight was enormous as they struck. He felt their impact as they raked his side with their claws, as others went up and over the dwarf’s defense. The group was utterly surrounded as the area became a mess of claws, fur, and fangs.
Thrusting Qiekamis, Guo Gan’s quarterstaff went down the throat of a snarling dire wolf to his southeast. The end burst out the base of its skull, killing it. Another to the north snapped its jaws. Lunging, the staff smashed into its chest. It reared up, and the monk side-kicked it. It tumbled over backward into the throng of wolves. The monk went into a flying jump-kick. The force sent another of the beasts tumbling to the northeast.
“Kildo! Are you still alive!” Kai shouted, rising from the ground.
“Aye! Why?” Kildo shouted back.
“I saw your helmet was bouncing along the top of the throng of animals!”
“Don’t ye be worrying about me hat! Be worrying about these puppies!”
Shrugging his shoulders, Kai thrust with Wave. The prongs sunk deep into a dire wolf to the north. It ‘yelped’ as it died. Retracting the weapon, he plunged the trident into a wolf to the east. It also ‘yapped’ in pain as it was slain. He saw the dwarf. There was a small opening, and he lurched ahead. Claws from the dire wolves raked across his back.
The paladin wince as he said, “Here you are.”
“Aye, but where be Scomatch, and why ain’t these things be dead yet,” Kildo scoffed, pushing his shields into the wolves to keep them back.
As if on queue, a ‘whooshing’ sound emanated. Power accumulated around Scomatch’s Staff of Fire. It glowed a crimson-red as he cast, Steel Wind Strike. The halfling became a blur of speed and motion as he hopped, flipped, jumped, and flung himself amid the dire wolves. His staff burst into unimaginable slicing power as he struck the creatures. Each of the five beasts hit shuttered from the impacts. Like a vorpal sword, limbs, heads, or entire midsections were gutted, slaying the creatures. Then, in a superhero fashion, his blurred form landed to the east of the melee, feet wide apart. He supported his weight with his fist, smashing into the floor, while his other hand was out with his luminescent staff away from his body, pointing diagonally upwards.
“Well, that cleared out a few-” Kai began to say before he was interrupted. Two wolves plowed into the paladin, knocking him down and raking him.
Even with ten dire wolves left, they were still outnumbered two to one. Realizing the beasts were using swarming tactics. Kildo cast, Spirit Guardians. A low, rhythmic pulsing began to emanate from the ground. White light came from foreign, purple ground rubble. Fog rolled out fifteen feet from the cleric. Small wisps of air arched out. Longer tendrils began to form.
As the dire wolves charged the dwarven cleric, Kildo’s guardians lunged like spears. They pierced and skewered three. Their corpses hung in the air. However, the spell could not stop the two from trying to make him into a dwarven snack. He felt one of their claws rake against his armor. Their bodies smashed or went over his shield. He stood strong, but he would have been unbalanced and knocked over from their weight if he was a few inches taller. Kildo heard intense snarling before a massive form leaped over the dire wolves and arrived in the battle. His spirit guardian stabbed into the beast, but it did nothing to slow it down.
Over seven feet tall, it resembled a wolf, except for two noticeable traits. It stood on its back legs and lacked a tail. It wore rags, but he caught the letters “F zeg” sewn into the left side of his clothing. However, it was nothing but a mindless, savage predator. Saliva drooled from its mouth as it had a dead, bloodlust look in its eyes. It slashed with its two mighty paws.
Their power was tremendous as its claws raked the front of Kildo’s armor. Necrotic energy drained from him and went into the creature. The flesh from the slashes, from his spirit guardians, reached out to the other side of the wound and began to close and heal.
Guo Gan flipped over a dire wolf. Its jaws snapped, missing by inches. The monk landed by the werewolf Fzeg. He smashed Qiekamis into the creature's abdomen. His Blood Fury Tattoos lit up as they absorbed the lycanthrope’s life energy.
Gaining the werewolf’s attention, Fzeg swiped with its clawed hand. Slashes appeared along the monk’s chest.
Fzeg turned toward Scomatch as he began casting. Thrusting with Wave, Kai’s weapon pierced Fzeg's left leg. As the beast raised its hand to smash, it was halted momentarily by the embedded weapon. Ripping itself free, the razor-sharp claws slashed the front of the halfling.
“It’s like I’m here alone!” Scomatch bemoaned as he touched the bleeding wound. His annoyance turned to anger as he winced at the pain. He cast, Meteor Swarm. The sky darkened. The sound of a roaring inferno was heard from above. A celestial event was occurring in the heavens. Four enormous meteors were observed radiating from a single point in the sky. The blazing orbs of fire plummeted toward the werewolf and the seven dire wolves. Fzeg’s eyes widened in terror as the asteroids exploded in their midst. The impact encompassed the entire area. Rocks and debris exploded into the earth. It was several heartbeats before the area cleared. The area then returned to its purple haze.
The acidic reek of burning hair, cooking meat, and boiling blood filled the area. Most of the dire wolf bodies were unrecognizable, pulverized into meaty chunks. Fzeg whimpered as large patches of fur were gone. Burns covered its entire body, and even one of its eyes was nothing more than a crushed orb that resembled a smashed, hard-boiled egg.
Fzeg savagely snarled at the halfling.
“Eep!” Scomatch said as the werewolf’s one good eye focused on him. “Charmander protect-” He began as he saw his familiar bounce away. “Such a useless-”
Scomatch was interrupted as Fzeg tore into the halfling and bit the mage’s midsection. Shaking the halfling like a rag doll, he eventually threw his body. He bounced twice and lay still. Scomatch was down.
Kildo began to cast. Fzeg turned as the magical energy accumulated. The werewolf raised up and swiped with its massive clawed paw. It struck him in the face. He felt his flesh tear and felt wet, which must have been blood, rush from the wounds. His entire body became numb as he lost concentration on his spirit guardian spell. They went up in smoke. He continued to stand, but just barely.
Distracted by the spell casters, Guo Gan smashed Qiekamis into the back of Fzeg.
It was like a dream as Kildo watched the monk bash his quarterstaff again and again into the beast. However, the creature ignored him. It raised his paw again. There was little the dwarf could do. It was like his body was paralyzed as the pain began to reach his brain. It felt like if he moved, his face would fall apart. All he could do was watch the tree limb of the werewolf come crashing down. He felt the impact and, less than a second later, darkness.
“Come on! Sniff someone else’s butt!” Kai yelled as he lunged with Wave. Two of the trident’s prongs sunk into the creature’s backside.
Fzeg howled at the pain. Turning, it slashed with its clawed hand. It raked Kai’s front. The paladin looked at the wound as blood poured out.
“Is it that time of the month for you?” Kai questioned and fell.
Guo Gan and Fzeg were the only two combatants left. All the dire wolves were in bits and pieces strewn across the battlefield. His party members were down and bleeding. With each moment, more and more of their life energy was drained. It was unlikely they would last the next eighteen seconds if they didn’t receive any healing. The monk and werewolf circled. At once, they leaped at each other. Staff and foot, fang and claw lashed out, striking each other. The combatants were constantly blurred in speed and motion. Forget technique, forget strategy, the battle was a straight-up street brawl. The only question was who wanted it the most.
Fzeg's jaw came down to rip the head from Guo Gan. The monk threw up Qiekamis. The werewolf’s jaws clamped down. There was a struggle as one tried to hold on, and the other tried to rip it away. The beast was too strong. Qiekamis came ripping away. The monk was defenseless.
Grinning slyly and in blinding speed, Guo Gan struck Fzeg’s chest, rapidly striking around its heart four times. The monk then hit in the center and twisted perfectly, executing the sacred five-point palm exploding heart technique.
The werewolf’s heart stopped. Fzeg whimpered as it looked down at Guo Gan. The beast then crumpled dead to the ground.
Guo Gan rushed to the dwarven cleric and administered a healing potion.
Lightly touching his face, Kildo winced at the pain and asked, “Did Scomatch kill the werewolf?”
Snorting in amusement, Guo Gan said, “No, but I’m sure he’ll claim he basically did.”
After the rest of the party was up and fully healed, thanks to Kildo’s Mass Healing spell, the room’s appearance began to change, like smoke dissipating. The area turned from a purple, barren wasteland to an ordinary stone room. Several piles of hay were nearby, along with a very large one.
The remnants of the dire wolves and the werewolf remained. They all remained unchanged and didn’t revert to another form.
“I wonder if it was a lady werewolf,” Guo Gan commented.
“Ew,” Scomatch replied.
In the distance, an altar at the far end of the room materialized.
“I think there’s something on it,” Kai said, sitting and pointing in the distance.
“Charmander! Go do something useful in your life and get it,” Scomatch ordered.
The halfling’s familiar moved saddened across the room and plucked the object.
The rest of the party followed. Writing could be seen across its front. It read: “Here is the key to the Darkness surrounded by the light.”
“Char!” Charmander chirped and handed the halfling a ring.
Scomatch cast, Identify. He studied it briefly, saying, “It’s a ring that will open a portal to the Dark One.”
“Does it have to be opened in a certain area?” Kai asked.
“Nope. Anywhere will do. We could do it now if we want,” Scomatch answered.
“Let's rest here, and then we can open it,” Kai said.
“Captain, maybe a better idea be to take it back to the Space Dragon, where we could be getting a proper rest,” Kildo replied.
“Right, let’s head to the ship, rest up, and then pay this Dark One a visit.”
Werewolf Treasure:
· Hidden Box - 10,000 gp
· Portal Ring Key to the Dark One
Party Split:
· 10,000 gp / 5 = 2,000 gp
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