Road to Kiev, Chapter Three

Horses Away and Wolves, part IV

After a particularly bitter argument between Thalia and Reynaldo, the party agrees to let the horses go, as she believes they will have a better chance of survival out by themselves than with the party, as it's being attacked by wolves every night. Thalia acts as bait and, as predicted the wolves do come again and the party kills most of them, letting the rest escape in favor of saving arrows.

Disease and a Peasant

Nicolae and Thorvald start feeling very sore while walking. The party meets a Bulgar peasant who tries to run away. Edward casts hold person and the party ties him up to prevent him from giving away our position.

More Disease and a Nun

Nicolae and Thorvald collapse from their sickness. Edward insists on checking them both. He finds large insect bites on them both and deduces that that is what is causing their sickness. As Edward checks Thorvald, who has entirely stripped down, a nun wanders into the clearing. She identifies herself as Sister Agatha from Poland. As she speaks with the party, she mentions her father's name and Catarina figures out that her father was a necromancer, so she probably is too. Stretchers are made for Thorvald and Nicolae, and they are carried while the party travels.

The Crazy Woman

After a few hours of travel, a crazy woman rushes from the trees and begins raving about an angel. Or something. She makes very little sense. She is called Hedwig, and is a Bulgar.

Whoops!

Reynaldo gets caught trying to steal Sister Agatha's magic book. He insists he was merely trying to save Sister Agatha from a scorpion sting, but everyone knows better than to believe Reynaldo would risk himself for someone he barely knows.

Wolves, part V

This night, the nun acts as bait, but when the wolves come, she doesn't come up. She is quickly felled and Hedwig jumps down to help her, then the rest of the party, excluding the sick ones and Catarina and Reynaldo, jump down. Many wolves are killed, including one by Gunther (finally), but more importantly, two are captured.

Kai is a What?

Kai talks to the two wolves after casting Speak With Animals. The two wolves call him master, and insist that they are attacking the party for his benefit, as they are his enemy. The party starts to question whether or not Kai is a werewolf. After resting, Thorvald and Nicolae are still sick.

Midnight Flight

Kai casts Cure Disease on Thorvald and Nicolae, making maggots burst through the two wounds that Edward had identified, and they immediately start to feel better. That night, during Gunther, Edward, and Reynaldo's watch, Kai escapes. He casts darkness, silence, and assorted other spells. By the time Gunther figures out what is going on, Kai has left the party, presumably to keep the wolves off of us. He leaves the Magic Flail behind, however.

Bearshit and old-time Jehovah's Witnesses

Feeling very depressed after Kai's flight and self-imposed exile, the party encounters a bear. Thalia quickly pacifies it and it leaves the party alone. Days later, they encounter followers of Asteroth, who refuse to leave them alone about their religion. Then they call a very large creature with wings to attack them. After only a few hits, the monster yelled and magically forced Thalia, Thorvald, Hedwig, Sister Agatha, and Edward to flee. Nicolae and Catarina cast Sleep and Color Spray, respectively, on the worshippers and destroy their holy symbols, upside-down crosses. Wong and Gunther beat the creature down, taking a lot of heavy hits in the process, while Catarina casts Rope Trick. The creature comes back, bigger and very angry, and the remaining party members crawl into the hole in space created by the spell. They hear a lot of crunching and munching. By the time the fleeing members regain their senses and return, the party notices three very important things: the creature has seemingly gone, the worshippers are in various stages of having been eaten, and Edward has dropped the Magic Flail whilst fleeing. He had it for about two seconds before losing it.

End Chapter Three
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Next: Road to Kiev, Chapter Four