Chapter V : Cornered ! - The Adventure

The scenario is here.

Hunted through the dense forest by a Werewolf and his pack, Rudraige stood desperately alone.  He is however a mighty Brythunian lord, and not without defense.

The warrior decided to stay out of the trees, and despite nature playing tricks on him, slew four giant wolves in quick succession.  Leaving a little blood behind to throw off the scent, he followed the stream northwards, in the hope of finding a way out.  Rudraige came across a hapless victim from another hunt, taking a javelin from the corpse.  More wolves came hurtling through the undergrowth; he impaled one on his sword, then threw his shield in the muzzle of a second.  This desperate action bought him enough leeway to at last find his bearings.  From a small rise in the ground, and with the help of a sudden ray of sunlight, he could see freedom somewhere to the west.

This had cost precious time, however.  Bounding between the thick tree trunks came a Dire Wolf.

Rudraige warded off its assault, not without hurt.  Knowing the Dire Wolf would avoid his lesser companions from being distracted [the Dire Wolf can fairly easily remove blood from the map, ndlr], Rudraige put all his strength into an all-out assault : and brought the beast down, head cloven from shoulders !

By now the Werewolf, an enemy of great power, had entered the fray.  Tired and weakened, Rudraige fought a running battle against it.

It bayed for reinforcements however, which though easily overcome, slowed the Brythunian down.  The lord was now bleeding profusely [with only two energy gems left, ndlr], but stumbled onto the way out, which was now only a stone's throw away.  His armour was shredded and of little use against the Werewolf in any case [Precision Strike proved to be a useful skill during this game, ndlr], so he threw it off in a desperate attempt to reach freedom.

The Werewolf was faster however, and dragged the Brythunian down.  He wounded it in a desperate last struggle, but then all strength left him.  The last thing he saw were blood-specked jaws biting down, and then darkness.  Eternal darkness.

Rudraige dies a hero's death.  Splitting off from his comrades helped buy them precious time, then saved a little girl's life.  Such an accomplished hunter of beast and man must have known that, alone, he had little chance against the horrors of the wilderness.  Despite the odds, he was close to making it [the exit hex was only a turn away, ndlr].

That the Gods appreciated his deeds is shown by the blow of a hunting horn, that of Eadric. The Werewolf knows to fear that sound, and his pack disperses, leaving the Brythunian's corpse unsullied.

A few days later, homing in on the scroll, a Hyperborean Emissary recovers it among the debris of battle.  The amount of blood makes it obvious that her quarry is dead.  She decides there is little interest in pursuing the tracks north, grabs up the scroll and pushes her harried company east.  Between them and Turan there are several hundred leagues....

 

A well-balanced scenario - Rudraige's error was no doubt putting so much wrath into slaying the Dire Wolf, then lacking the Energy to leave a blood trail - and an epic end to a mighty warrior.  This is the stuff legends are made of !