The Thrappled Lemmings and the WhoWolf (Rangers of Shadow Deep)

And back to Rangers of Shadow Deep. Let's see how this goes.

"So, you need us to go and investigate the creepy manor house?" queried Aethelwyrd.

"That's about the size of it," was the auxiliary commander's response, "We'll come with you, of course. Our company was mauled by a couple of werewolves and we set off after them. They appeared to be heading for Portals Manor."

"Ah, so it's not so much of a WhereWolf as it is of a WhoWolf," quipped Aethelwyrd, finding herself incredibly funny. Those around her just looked pained.

Aethelwyrd had set out with Onund, Ash and Incunabulum to deliver a message for her captain, leaving the rest of her patrol behind to tend to their wounds after the last mission into the Shadow Deep itself. She had encountered the exhausted auxiliaries along the way and had no choice but to help them.

"Meh, ok, I guess. We'd better get moving before they move on again."

The auxiliaries staggered to their feet and got ready to lead the way to the manor. It was night, but the full moon ensured they could see well enough as they slid through the rain and mud towards their objective.

The game set-up. The heroes are in the lower left of the picture, monster cards with spare monsters to the left of the playing area and the heroes' character sheets to the right

As they reached the edge of the home fields around the manor, they had a better view of the place. It had seen better days, but was not in bad condition. A ramshackle barn lay to one side. The manor itself was a low building and in better condition. It looked like someone might still live there. An eel pond lay nearby with a rowing boat drifting in its middle. To one side was a copse of woods.

Suddenly, a wolf's howl sundered the night's silence. The hairs on the back of Aethelwyrd's neck rose and a chill ran down her spine. This was definitely boding, and she really did not like boding.

"Everyone ready?"

They all checked their weapons and harness one last time.

"Let's move out. Incunabulum, you're with me. Also, you Seb with the axe and you with the bow. What's your name? Orla? Ok.  We'll circle round via the woods. Onund and Ash, you and those other two, Covin and Nicolan, wasn't it? You circle round via the barn and then towards the front door to the manor. We need to check there is nothing behind us before we move into the manor itself. Stick with your team and watch each other's backs."

The two groups slid silently through the night towards their objectives. As they did so, Orla spotted giant flies in front of the dilapidated barn and began firing ineffectively at them.

"Pah," muttered Incunabulum, "You literally cannot even hit the blooming barn door!"

Orla gave him a tired look and nocked another arrow to her bow.

"Werewolf!" yelled Seb.

"Where wolf?" responded Aethelwyrd.

"There wolf!" yelled Seb again, pointing towards the barn door. A werewolf had indeed just emerged from the barn.

"There wolf!"

As this went on, the giant flies buzzed toward's Athelwyrd's group, while a swarm of giant rats and a wolf were charging towards Onund's group, intent on devouring them.

Between them they slew the wolf and moved to engage the rats. The night was lit up suddenly as Incanabulum fried a fly and singed another with a fireball.

Rats! Why did it have to be rats?

A scream rang out and a young man emerged from under the wagon that the rats had been harassing. He looked panicked and unsure what to do.

"To arms!" shouted Aethelwyrd and her whole group rallied to her. Seb engaged a giant fly, as she did the same. Incunabulum blasted the werewolf with a magic bolt. It howled in agony. Orla missed the broad side of the barn again and nocked another arrow to have another go. She did not have time to shoot again before the werewolf was upon her and tearing huge chunks out of her.

"I've got you outnumbered 1 to 3!" cried the werewolf.

Meanwhile, Covin was beset by giant rats and being cut to ribbons too. Fortunately, Nicolan and Onund raced to help him and cut the rats down before they could kill the poor auxiliary.

As this was going on, Ash raced into the forest where the wolf had come from. He found the corpse of an auxiliary soldier with a long fang buried in its throat. This was a clear sign that the werewolf had been here and tracks suggested it had headed off towards the manor.

Aethelwyrd and Seb both slew their giant flies and moved to aid Orla. It was just as well. With their aid, she only just fended off the werewolf and then managed to slide her dagger in under its guard, opening a large would in its side. Just as well because the wound from the magic bolt was healing at a rapid rate of knots. Seeing the vile beast thus engaged and suffering, Incunabulum joined the fray too only for the werewolf's claws to cut a huge gash across his body. Blood sprayed everywhere as he was seriously wounded.

Ash raced off to the wagon where the young man was. Lying beside it was another horribly mutilated corpse.

"Are you ok?"

The young man nodded weakly. He looked exhausted.

"Stay behind us and we'll protect you."

From the other side of the home fields, Onund and his group heard a loud warcry. Aethelwyrd raised her sword and swung hard. With the aid of the others, she was able to bring it crashing down on the werewolf's head, crushing its skull and spattering brains all over her companions.

"Incunabulum, you and the other two go and check out the barn. I've seen something on that boat that I want to investigate. Onund's group moved purposely towards the manor as Aethelwyrd swam out to the rowing boat, where she found a dead dog with red hairs in its jaws. Incunabulum, Seb and Orla moved towards the barn as a wolf came charging in from just beyond it.

Cowering in the corner of the barn behind a hay bale was an old man.

"Too easy!" gloated Ash.

"You're safe now," Incunabulum told the man confidently, despite the bright blood all over his clothes and the weeping gashes in his side.

The old man looked sceptically at him but followed the conjuror anyway.

Ash moved up to the door to the manor house. He could hear whining and scratching from within. Testing the door, he found it locked, but not for long. Seconds later, as the rest of his group joined him, he was putting his lockpicks away.

"Too easy!" he announced to an unappreciative world.

As they gathered by the door, ready to enter, a giant fly exploded from a nearby corpse. Aethelwyrd rowed hurriedly to the shore and quickly dispatched it while Seb slew the wolf that had attacked him. As moved back and made space for Onund to enter the manor. Onund opened the door and was confronted by a hungry wolf. A quick exchange of blows saw this wolf slain, but another raced from the back of the manor house towards the hero.

Elsewhere, Incunabulum, Orla and Seb were returning with the old man to join their compatriots, when a giant fly erupted out of a dead cow and launched itself at the grievously wounded conjuror. Seb raced back to help. He and Incunabulum between the two of them slew the fly.

The wolf trapped in the farmhouse assaulted Onund and hurt him badly. Covin and Nicolan raced around the side of the manor house in search of another entrance.

A chilling howl rent the night air once more, causing Incunabulum to freeze.

Unaffected by the savage howling, a mighty blow from Onund's axe cleaved the wolf's skull, and he was able to enter the manor. The room he stood in was a mess with blood and clothes everywhere. Aethelwyrd following behind spotted a pair of Boots of Soft Tread among the mess and grabbed them. She then spotted a silver sword and seized that too. It would be useful when they found the last of the werewolves.

"We'll check the side door," announced Nicolan.

Ash raced past the pair and found a scared young woman in the next room. She stared at him fearfully but then with realisation that she might now be rescued. The relief was plain on her face.

"Yes, we're here to save you," announced Ash and struck a heroic pose that caused the young woman to laugh and relax. He was only a little miffed that she did not think him heroic enough.

He told her to wait where she was for the others and raced into the next room, almost tripping over a headless corpse there. In the meantime, Aethelwyrd had rushed into the last room of the manor. She found a bloody handprint missing a couple of fingers smeared on the wall and a silver dagger that she thrust into her belt. As she did this, there was a scream from outside.

"NO, COVIN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GET AWAY FROM ME!" Nicolan screamed.

Covin reveals his true colours

Covin's reply was a snarl, his eyes mad beyond all reason as his body swelled and changed into a man-wolf form. He leapt upon Nicolan, who defended himself like a man possessed. The werewolf's claws never once neared him as he drove his sword into the beast's body repeatedly, and followed up with an upwards stab that entered the werewolf's reddened maw, driving up into its brain. Covin slumped to the ground dead, his body returning to its human form as he did so.

The silence after the fraught investigation and fight was deafening. In that silence, the patrol gathered in the manor house, barring the doors and waited out the night, before continuing to deliver their message for the captain.

Wow, that was quite the dramatic ending. Nicolan won the initial melee with the werewolf and then scored a critical hit on his own activation. Very surprising, especially after the first few turns where no one rolled above a 6 and the only reason the heroes were not taking wounds was because the baddies were not rolling over the heroes' armour values. How humiliating would it have been to be defeated by giant flies and giant rats like a first level party?

That was yet another great mission. I loved the investigation mechanic that did not let me know who was the werewolf until the threshold was reached. It made it quite tense and had me thinking about  how I should position the auxiliaries as the threshold was neared so that my heroes would stand a chance. But then Nicolan took out the werewolf in one round and it all became moot. Great and heroic stuff. Perhaps Aethelwyrd should invite Nicolan to join her patrol.