The Most Dangerous Game

"Take Heathayla and the Child safely to Melarn's Door, or you will never be welcome back at the Mootscarp. Make haste, and learn about this goddess of yours, there is something...touched...about you all," Bhin and Ledo admonished the party as they bid them farewell with a goat and supplies for the journey across the Moor. And with an unwavering, uncompromising, unswerving, and inflexible commitment to their goal, they departed the Mootscarp. 

For two days they made good haste, but then, well--they wavered, they compromised, they swerved. 

It all started with the lightning storm. As they sought refuge in a cave, they discovered another party had made the dry den their home for the night. At first it was a little hairy--literally, as Falka in hybrid-wolf form pinned one of the men to the wall, and demanded their unconditional surrender. But soon, Dala'gse arrived and helped defuse the situation. As the rest of the party arrived, everyone relaxed and got to know each other. They decided they would share the cave for the night and go on their separate ways in the morning. The group was from Dragonspear Castle and was making its way to the Mootscarp to more directly trade with the assembled tribes. Whudry, a nobleman's son, seemed to be the leader. He was accompanied by Qaan, a merchant, Dirk, their ranger guide, and Smitty and Pileson, two guards. 

Dirk spilled the beans that they had discovered an ancient door in the cave, covered with dots and with some kind of markings. Intriguing. The group went to investigate. Rya could pronounce the ancient symbols on the door, but she needed Qaan to translate. It said, "Malar is Lord." Pileson was well schooled in theology, and filled in the group on the finer points of Malar, the Beastlord, and his followers. Whudry recognized the dots as the night sky above the Moor. Pileson knew Malar's chief star sign was the claw. Rya remembered the constellation from herr mother, and together the two decided they should fill in the holes in the door with claws and other detritus littering the cave. Dirk warned them, it looked like there was some kind of mechanism in the wall, and it was likely booby trapped. The party watched on as Rya and Pileson filled in The Claw, and the door swung open. 

Inside was a small chamber, unadorned save for a small statuette with the Beastlord's visage--and a pair of black diamonds for eyes. On either way were what looked like ancient artifacts--a bow and a pair of boots. There was some confusion over who should get which, but it was eventually decided amicably, that Dirk would take the bow, and Falka the boots. Safad used his artificer knowledge to identify the items as ceremonial and enchanted artifacts used in hunts to honor Malar. 

With the puzzle solved, the group decided to bed down for the night, and in the morning rise for a hunt to appease Malar, since they just defiled his shrine. 

But Falka had other plans. After a quick diversion where Dala'gse plugged in the Heron constellation holes and Safad tried to teach the group a lesson about meddling with ancient magiks, Falka thought she would appease the god in other ways. Dirk had inquired about her Hemocraft, and was professionally interested in her skills as a Blood Hunter. She decided to show him some of her ways, outside, away from the party. Dirk was curious. Too curious for Falka's liking. She cursed him with paralysis, gagged and bound him, and then went inside to enlist an associate in her hunt. Ironica would do. But Falka aroused the suspicion of Whudry, who was about to protest when Ironica cast Hideous Laughter on him. He suddenly found the whole endeavor hilarious. Dala'gse was confused. 

The distraction gave Falka just enough time to explain to Ironica the plan: knock Dirk unconscious, travel two hours deeper into the Moor, set him loose, and appease Malar with an even better gift--the hunt of human prey. Ironica agreed, and the two set out North into Hark territory with the subdued Dirk. 

But Whudry's laughing fit wore off and he roused his companions to action, drawing their weapons and charging out of the cave. Dala'gse had ushered a terrified Heathayla out first. When they burst out on the stormy night they were shocked to find a red dragon approaching the cave. Rya smiled and told Dala'gse it was just her illusion, but the others were fooled and fled back to the safety of the cave. Safad went to see what was going on, convinced that just because he knew that illusions existed, he would be immune to this preposterous claim that a dragon was stalking them. But he investigated it with Rook and realized the dragon was very real indeed. 

Dala'gse convinced a trusting Heathayla that running into Hark territory would be just the thing for reuniting her with Davna, and they set off after Ironica and Falka, who were bonding over their kidnapping (and tales of life in thralldom). After a two hour march, they decided the place was as good as any. They plopped the unconscious ranger down on the ground, shook him awake, and set him free. Dala'gse prayed to Silvanus for guidance, having druidcrafted a miniature oak into existence. An errant rain drop made a leaf fall, which was sign enough for the dwarf. 

Ironica encouraged the man to set off, he was free. Falka pointed him east where his companions supposedly were waiting for him. Heathayla was shocked, disgusted, and annoyed. She breastfed the child. 

After a few minutes head start, Falka and Ironica took off after Dirk. Dala'gse kept watch with Heathayla. 

Within 8 minutes, the pair had closed in on the maimed Dirk. Some serious sport, indeed. Ironica fired the first salvo, and missed. Falka hit with an arrow and the pair closed in on the terrified man. Falka tested her new boots, praising Malar as she pounced to close an impossible distance to her prey, and sunk her wolf claws into the man. He was near death as Ironica approached and knocked him out. Falka ceremoniously thanked Malar and dedicated this kill to him, digging deeper into flesh until the man expired. A curious knot of hair found itself around her finger when she released the dead ranger. Ironica dug him a grave. 

Meanwhile, Dalag'se heard some goblins approaching and tried to flee with Heathayla. He was struck by an arrow and enraged. Instead of protecting his charge, he sent her alone and helpless with a premature newborn into the stormy night of the dangerous Moorish wilderness. He roared into bear form and charged the goblin patrol. They didn't know what hit them, as he bit and rent them to shreds, one after another. Two tried to flee, but he chased them down and slew them in their tracks.

All for the crime of protecting their tribal lands from invaders. 

Once he calmed down he set out to find Heathayla. But she must have run at least a thousand yards in the time it took him to slay the goblin guardians of their homeland. Amidst the thunder, rain, and washed out tracks, he couldn't find her trail, and his calls for her were muffled by the storm. He decided to track east in hopes he would catch her, but only ended up finding the returning Falka and Ironica. 

Heathayla and the Child were lost, stumbling somewhere through the dark. On Hark lands.

And so it was that the party found themselves separated. Safad and Rya were in a cave hunkered down during the storm with the travelers from Dragonspear, Whudry, Qaan, Smitty, and Pileson. Falka, Ironica, and Dalag'se were somewhere two hours northeast of Malar's shrine in the wilds of the High Moor on Hark territory. With all the rain and dark and lack of map it may prove difficult to find their way back to the cave. And Safad and Rya had no idea where their companions went. Dawn rose on the High Moor. 

Safad made a magic wand.