They turn around to see Sheifle red in the face and looking mad with rage, tears flowing down his face. He is flanked by Cypress and Jorga, who appear to be quite shaken. Sheifle draws his mace, and charges at the group, screaming for Radamyr's blood. He attempts to charge past Liaathvain, who manages to wrestle his weapon from him, only to have him barrel past her and brandish a dagger. He runs up to the sorcerer, but Radamyr is able to knock the dagger from his hands.
Sheifle screams at him "HE'S DEAD, HE'S DEAD" and proceeds to land a solid punch against Radamyr. The scene has attracted many onlookers from their windows, and some are calling for the guards.
In an attempt to stop him from harming the sorcerer further, Bogor steps in and delivers a powerful blow with his hammer. Upon impact, Sheifle is bloodied, and crumples to the ground. He's alive but in terrible condition. Responding to the cries of its citizens, a patrol of Knights arrives in time to separate the combatants. Two drag Sheifle off for medical attention, while the rest take everyone else to holding cells, MUCH to the displeasure of Arradel, who is absolutely fuming over being carted off.
The knights say no one is being accused of anything, they are simply holding them until they can piece together what happened.
The group is separated into cells. Both Arradel and Liaathvain are put in one cell together, Radamyr and Cypress are sitting together, with Jorga and Bogor having their own cell each. Jorga does not look well, as she has simply been staring at the floor and looking distant this whole time. Realizing they have a quiet moment, they ask Jorga what happened, and what drove Sheifle to near madness.
Without looking up, Jorga tells them that the night after they left for Greyholt, there was a terrible howling that came from outside the Forum's walls, and shortly after that, packs of Worgs came bursting in through the gates and tore their way to the church. Many knights were killed, as well as everyone in the church, including Versteeg. Jorga had been staying in a house that overlooked the path of terror the worgs made as they rushed through the city, and said it was monstrous. She said it seemed as if they were targeting the church, and because the group had left the head of a dead worg there, combined with the suspicions the three already had of them, Sheifle thought perhaps they had lured them in. She knows it's crazy, and she tells them she understands his madness, for the cleric was one of the first to walk into the church and see the terrible scene within. Sheifle told Cypress and Jorga to come with him, and worrying about his sanity, they followed. They left shortly after the attack, knowing that their group had left for Greyholt.
The room falls silent, and several hours pass. Cypress is off in his own little world, manipulating fire in his hands while Radamyr watches, and Arradel, still completely furious over this whole incident starts to check out the lock on her cell, until they hear the voice of a woman outside the door. After a brief muffled conversation, the guard that was outside the door leaves, and in walks the Princess.
She thought that when she heard guards had arrested honoured guests that it might be them, and she came to find out what was going on. She also told them that she had brought the historian so they could speak to him while they wait for their release.
The group however refused the offer, saying they did not wish to speak with him while trapped in the cell. Wandaella was a bit baffled by this decision, and chose to sit and wait with them, wanting to be there with them when they go and speak to him. Concerned with what is happening to their kingdom, she wishes to know anything she can about the worgs.
Wandaella spent much of her time watching Cypress, and he would look back at her every once and awhile. After another hour the guards release them, and tell Cypress and Jorga where they can find Sheifle, and that he is in stable condition. They run off to go and see him, while everyone else makes their way to the historian's.
Upon arrival he brings them into this study, and lays out everything they left him, and asks if any of them have ever heard of the Cult of the Wolf. They of course haven't, and he goes on to tell them that they were an ancient order of druids who worshipped wolves. They revered them so much that they began to curse themselves with Lycanthropy, the terrifying werewolf's curse. He also mentions that it was interesting timing, for Sir Ravenhold had been looking into the sacrifices as well, and had come to him earlier seeking counsel.
He went on to say how the cult's ranks grew to great numbers, and soon they began to threaten all of Dahldrum. The reigning king and military at the time could not stop them, and so the elves of Verraway stepped in to help, and were able to push them back, using a power hidden deep away within a mysterious city. The city appears to have vanished without a trace, however, and no record remains of it. It doesn't say what the power was that defeated them, only that it lied within this forgotten city. He goes on to say that the ritual sacrifices must be tied to bringing the cult back to power. In fact that green piece of fabric from Boro's house is actually a torn piece of a wolf cultist's cloak. The repairs have been extensive to keep it in this condition after all these centuries.
When the party tells the princess that she'll need to tell the king, she laughs. She knows that he won't believe it. While he'll find the worg's behaviour strange, he's always been a sceptic. He will surely doubt the existence of a mythic evil cult. She believes he'll just increase patrols, and put out bounties for worgs.
Liaathvain offers the group's services, for a cost. The group admires her cleverness, and the princess tells them she will have a mission for them tomorrow. They will be summoned to her, and she will give them instructions.
With many questions answered, the group makes their way back to the divine district, and pays a visit to the small rest area where Sheifle is being tended. Jorga is sitting in a corner, staring off into the distance, and Cypress is once again playing with magic. Radamyr scribbles a simple note, and leaves it with Cypress, asking him to give it to Sheifle when he wakes up. Afterwards they decide to stop by the paladin's home to fill him in on all they had learned, but they found his home empty, with books and notes strewn about the room. It didn't appear as if he'd been robbed, but rather that he was engrossed with his study of the evil objects.
Further investigation into his notes would find that he believed the amulets to not only increase the vitality of the wearer, but that they were also a way of communication. Neither of the objects are present though, and he appears to have left in a hurry. Concerned for their friend, they head to their lodgings, and eagerly await word for their mission.
To Be Continued...
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