Hagendar's company must pay the blood price of the dead mercenaries to Greymantle and his men, and Hagendar and Lugh would now owe a personal favour to Gudran for his leniency. Hagendar grudgingly agrees and has a few harsh words to Lugh later that morning.
Hagendar and Lugh return to the rest of the company in the Thane's great hall, Lugh now sporting a freshly broken nose. Blacktongue mutters under his breath, cursing Hagendar for undoing his hard work keeping the rogue in one piece.
Whilst they are preparing their gear to venture out that morning in search of the beast, a raving half dead farmer staggers through the town towards Gudran's hall screaming "Bloody murder!"
The Thane's men grab him and quickly drag him to the hall to stand before Gudran and Hagendar's assembled company. Whilst Blacktounge soothes his wounds and calms his wits the farmer tells a tale of horrendous slaughter in the far north quarter, one of the most remote hamlets in Gudran's kingdom. A small community of 5 families near the edge of the Great Old Forest. A huge mass of trees that covers most of the Northern part of Gudran's kingdom.
The farmer woke to the screams of people and livestock. Living nearest the town road, and not having a family, he threw on a rough shirt and fled. The beast caught him on the road and knocked him into a stream. He was carried away by the fast flowing, freezing water, which was probably what saved his life.
The last things he heard as the water carried him away form the hamlet were yet more blood curdling screams and crackling flames leaping from the roof tops of some of the buildings.
Gudran is angry and shames the man for leaving his fellow farmers to die. Blacktongue interrupts and suggests that perhaps the gods made this man run and spared him so he could bring the news of the beast's location.
Blacktongue's words cool Gudran's temper. The farmer is helped off to the healers hut and Gudran orders a few of his men to show Hagendar and his companions the way to the far north quarter and to help them find and slay the beast.
The road is peaceful and ensures the company and their escort are ill prepared for the scene of carnage that waits for them in the hamlet. Not a single person found is living or whole, the livestock are nothing but ripped up pieces of red flesh lying about the buildings and fields. A group of women, children, the last men standing must have made a stand in a barn.
The building was well made and in Hagendar's opinion would be a good place for such a thing. The Thane's men are quiet and say little, visibly shaken, they dumbly take orders form Hagendar and his fellows.
There are tracks of a large beast are all over the hamlet. They make little sense and are not of any type of animal that the Company have ever faced or even heard about. The tracks are not continuous as one would hope when trying to find a trail to track. The creature seems to have been in one place and then another. Walls or doors seemed little trouble for it.
The barn where the last of the killing took place had to be hacked open. None could discern how the beast got inside.
Hagendar, his company, and the Thane's men scour the hamlet for hours trying to piece the night together in hopes of determing which direction the creature had finally left. With no hope of any clear trail being found Hagendar asks Blacktongue to use his magic to track the creature. Ashen faced the Shaman agrees. Magic is a dangerous and uncertain thing, it always has its price and its working to save Lugh the night before had demanded a heavy one.
Preparing a magic circle on the blood soaked dirt of the barn he casts some bones and pleads with the spirits of the dead farmers to come and lead them to their killer.
"...no...no, not that" Blacktongue begged some unseen apparition before him, his body began to writhe and bend, moving in seemingly impossible ways, his eyes rolled back into his head. Gudran's men part drew their swords, knuckles white on the grips.
A hollow voice from some impossibly far a way cold place in a mind piercing whisper said,
"I will show thee, the beast that took my life and spilt the blood and gore of mine family. Tis in yonder wood."
Blacktongue's arm raises slowly and points toward the verge of the ancient green wood. The shaman walks off with a staggering gate as if drunk or asleep, each slow purposeful step taking him closer to the creature responsible for the terrible scene around them.
Blacktongue's head jerks at odd angles and in intervals as he speaks, his voice changing each time.
"Daddy, daddy what happened?"
"Hush child of mine, worry not, vengeance is coming and soon we shall be at peace."
"Children where are you!"
"The doors! the doors were barred, how did it get in?"
"Farther I am sorry..."
The company followed, each trying hard not to listen to the voices or see the strange suggestions of other faces rippling beneath the shamans own.
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