Mercenaries gripped their weapons tight and bent at the knees, ready for an assault. All remained mostly quiet, but outside our perimeter was the deep snarling of weregnomes, their jaws snapping at us from the shadows.
“They move swiftly through the brush,” Allandria noted.
The western entrance to our fortified clearing became abuzz with activity. The guards shuffled in place and began to taunt the beasts, who snarled and snapped back at them. Then, someone shouted a warning.
“On the tree! Look out above!”
Above the men taunting the wolves in the forest were two weregnomes which had climbed the tree trunks, digging into the bark with their massive claws. The men at the western entrance looked up all at once, and were incidentally rushed from the front.
A weregnome crashed through their lines, with only one mercenary able to react quickly and get out of the way. He thrust a spear through the weregnome’s shoulder, but the beast managed to slash another human in the chest and bash away a third.
The beast was massive, with a thick body and long, fat claws. Most terrifying of all, it kept all the gnome proportions as a wolf, so it had a massive head atop a wolf body with a maw that could devour half a human in one bite. Glowing red eyes and drooling with its tongue hanging out, the weregnome ran into the clearing while the two weregnomes in the trees pounced on the mercenaries left in its wake. The one with the good reflexes was quick to his feet and defending himself competently, but the other screamed as the beast bit his shoulder and shook him like a rag doll.
Spears were thrust into the beast playing with its food and it tried to flee but was corralled by the mercenaries. Griffrod and I rushed to it while another group tried to get a hold of the one running loose within our fortifications.
The weregnome snapped at one of the mercenaries but instead bit down on Griffrod’s arm, making no dent in its stone skin. Griffrod helped the men with spears pin the beast to the floor and I stood firmly with my shield aimed at the weregnome.
“Pelor, grant me your light to burn away this foul beast!” I boomed, imagining the sun from my vision. The light filled me from within and shined around me, then funneled into my shield. From the golden lion’s head on the front of my shield, the light beamed forth and burned the weregnome. Griffrod clinched his eyes shut, but the light did not burn him. The beast yelped and cried, kicking and clawing to get away until it stopped, and all that remained was the smell of burned hair and meat accompanied by a loud sizzle. Griffrod stood up and grabbed his ax, then severed the beast’s head from its body to be safe.
That was one down with only one of our own injured. To my left, a dozen mercenaries had taken down the other weregnome and removed its head. None of them had been injured. The group remained on guard, with some watching the trees.
Griffrod and I turned to take in the situation behind us. The other three weregnomes had all breached our perimeter and all four were rampaging throughout the encampment. Several of our forces were lying on the ground injured or dead. Some had taken to archery in order to prevent too much clutter, taking shots at the beasts whenever they could. Two of the beasts were circling a disorganized and panicking group of men protecting a few who had been injured. The other two were engaged, with only one encircled and losing its fight. The other two noticed and ran to support the one having trouble.
“This way!” I commanded. “They’re all inside! There’s no use in guarding the perimeter, come on!”
The others hurried after us. The ones we were supporting had no idea there were enemies incoming and we clashed with the trio of weregnomes in time to prevent a slaughter. We cut down the weregnome they were fighting from behind, stampeding over it and removing its head before it knew what was happening.
I arrived and fired a beam of light behind an unsuspecting ranger. He turned to see a burning weregnome immediately behind him, retreating from the searing light. The ranger followed up with a silver sword through the beast’s heart. It was subsequently rushed by the forces we had brought with us then cut to ribbons and decapitated a moment later.
The second weregnome which had come to aid in the fight had a chance to avoid the stampede and retreated, taking only a few slashes and arrows when it slid to a stop to change direction. The weregnome which was losing its battle was also retreating, but not as swiftly and being chased by a half dozen men shooting at it with arrows, spears raining down in its path. Another group corralled it from the side and soon, it was surrounded and stabbed to death, its head promptly removed.
One weregnome managed to receive only a few slashes and largely evaded our forces. It scampered into the forest and everyone took a moment to assess the situation. After a moment, someone roared: “We did it!”
We all cheered and roared, hooting and bumping chests together, sometimes embracing each other or patting each other on the shoulder. After a moment, we divided up responsibilities. Most stood guard while healers tended to the wounded, which totaled eighteen.
“Hey Cleric, could you spare a heal?” Alfar’s voice called me from behind. His arm had been bit and was bleeding heavily. He had already removed his armor and pulled up his sleeve.
“I’m a bit tired but I’ve got a few in me. Why not go to the dedicated healers?” I waved for him to bring me his arm.
“I prefer the gentle touch of a friend.”
I laughed, then took a deep breath and centered my mind. I healed and cleansed the wound, which was accompanied by a strange sizzling sound. “Do you hear that sizzling sound?”
“I hear only the ringing of your divine healing. Thank you.” He stood upright and his shoulders relaxed. His pain was gone and a moment later his arm was completely healed. Another human arrived as well, his ribs perforated and bleeding. He wasn’t wearing much armor.
“Hey Sun guy, could I get one of those, too?” he asked. The phrase ‘sun guy’ sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it.
“Sure. What’s your name, friend? And, why aren’t you wearing armor?”
“The name’s Brutus, I’m a sorcerer.”
“Oh, you’re Brutus… nice to meet you.” I healed Brutus and again heard the sizzling before I laid down on the ground and stared up at the stars with a yawn.
Liara, Allandria’s priestess, was one of the dedicated healers, and distributed potions to cure the lycanthropy in the wounded. She had brought many vials of the potion with her, and since they did not work on the gnomes, there were plenty to spare. Those with lycanthropy experience a fever until they transform on the same night. Once the night passed, we would feel assured they were cured. As the evening drew to a close, we ate and celebrated the victory.
With only one injured weregnome left, a few rangers ate and went to bed early so they could track down the beast during the daylight hours. They’d have a fresh trail to pick up on when the sun came up.
The hunt the following day went smoothly. It took half the day, but the group of a dozen who went hunting for the final weregnome found it after half a day’s search asleep in a high-up tree hollow. After giving the young female gnome who turned out to be the final weregnome a proper burial, they returned to camp.
We reported the good news to Glitterfalls and decided to head back the following night. The party which had gone looking for the final weregnome was tired from the day’s trek. A pleasant, cheerful mood swept through the group as night fell and together we ate our pre-made dinners, courtesy of the crown. One by one after night fell, some people went to bed early. I took no notice of it until Allandria’s priestess shuffled close and called for her attention while we were all sitting together.
“Yes, Liara?”
“The ones that have been going to bed were the injured from yesterday. The ones falling asleep right now are also from that group. I put my hand to one of their foreheads and he was running a fever. I fear the potion may not have worked. We should bring them all together, immediately.”
“What? This is not good. Let’s round them up, spread the word to fetch them and drag them here if they have to.” Allandria’s orders were stern and she rushed to the nearest sleepy mercenary. Unfortunately, Liara’s warnings were too late.
Those we suspected of being infected began to moan and fall out of their chairs. The festive mood ceased as everyone checked on the well being of those who were collapsing. The one nearest to us already had a crowd forming around him and we had to push people out of the way.
Before our eyes, the human bent over on his hands and knees collapsed onto his side and his arm grew large and fat, like a gnome. Then his torso, arms and legs. Last, his head turned large and bulbous. His clothes shredded to pieces, hanging together by threads. The crowd backed away, aghast and beside themselves after watching a man become a gnome.
“Oh, whatever that was, I feel a lot better. What? Is that my voice? What’s wrong with my voice? Ah! My hands!” The panicked mercenary, now a gnome, examined his body and looked around to the rest of us, who looked back at him with stunned faces and slack jaws.