Sarah wordlessly begins to somersault and vault under, around, and over the beastmen, her daggers flashing here and there, into ones spine, through another's gut, across a third's eyes. She's leveraging her superior agility over the beastmen's sheer strength.

Dan's swift strikes bring him into melee combat with the creatures, dodging tooth and claw. Inevitably, a D&D Character rarely dodges every attack. For each of the beastmen he fights, Dan receives a fresh scratch or bruise. One manages to bull-rush him, knocking him to the ground and giving it the perfect chance to rip out his neck.

A finely crafted +1 Arrow flies overhead and finds its place deep in the creature's fur. Greg releases another, and it stumbles back roaring. Gathering his might, Dan's twin blades sever the creature's head from its shoulders.

Nearby, Cassander's arrows leap from her bow and into the beastmen surrounding John. But it does not seem to be those arrows that are doing the most damage. His blades flying left and right like a Barbarian's Rage, the beastmen are brutally butcher one by one. But this reckless fighting he adopted is not without its cost, and with his defences wide open the beastmen are beginning to wear on him.

Sarah's nimble blades and Cassander's arrows seem to preventing John's reckless demise, but even with their help his health is clearly beginning to drop. One beastman almost tears through John's back, but Sarah knocks it out of the way as she jumps past.

John, however, does not seem to be relenting in his fury. In fact, it seems to be getting worse.

As she "wished" for the brutally destructive cartoon arrows, Greg was half expecting nothing more than the magical equivalent of the "WHA-WHA-WHAAAAAHHHH" sound that is heard on game shows when a contestant loses big.
Still, he is actually disappointed when they don't appear.
On the other hand......Magic Arrows are definitely a step in the right direction.

The elven archer was about to keep going when she saw her friend John on her last legs ("Kind of a strange expression, really, since 'last legs' implies more than one, which for John would mean all of them, which....kinda means that he's actually fine, but whatever).

Tizona!!!!!   Think Magic Arrows!!!!   Use your imagination and visualize MAGIC ARROWS!!!!!

Having said that, Greg realized that she couldn't engage in combat any longer when healing was so desparately needed.  It was normal D&D ettiquitte to wait until  the combat was over before dishing out the "cure lights", but John needed her NOW, and Greg would never, ever forgive herself if anything happened to his ranger friend, especailly after she'd been such a good friend and teacher on the way here from the elven.....DAMMIT!  No!  That was Aliana's memories, not his!  Focus!

Stowing her bow and pulling her finely crafted elven sword, the cleric readied her holy symbol and tried to run to the ranger's side, prepared to fight her way there.   She was also trying to use the same trick that she'd used on the arrows on her sword.

Sarah follows the principle of 'If it aint broke, dont fix it', and continues her acrobatics. She begins to focus more on keeping John alive and slashing, but making sure that she's out of the path of his blades.

"Magic Arrows?  Magic Arrows!!!"  Cassander hadn't thought about using magic arrows.  If she could enchant arrows, why not everyones weapons, arrows and blades.

"I'll do you one better Aliana."  She slung the bow to free up her hands and started to focus her arcane energies.  If she couldn't think of a spell to pull John out from underneath that horde of beastmen then she was going to make sure that the group could fight better.  Energies woven into a spell to enchant weapons, keen the edges, strengthen the metal.  Tendrils of energy spun out from her outstretched hands, touching the bare metal of the weapons.

"If you guys can pull Alyissia out of that mess, I have a spell that can shield us." she said, pulling out the bow again, once the spell had been cast.  She readied an arrow, a faint ethereal glow coming from the arrowhead, and loosed it at their enemies.  "I should have brought out my Paladin."

Probally to her friends surprise(and most likely horror) John actually dropped her weapons. She grew more violent moving even faster then her elven reflexs should have allowed if that was even possibly. She start to bite, kick and scratch with a fury that would make a bezerker feel at home. She didn't even seem to acknowledge her friends were even there at this point.

Greg is horrified to see what's happening to John.  Is this some kind of Ranger battle fury or....

Oh god!!!   Please don't be a werewolf, please don't be a werewolf, please don't be a werewolf.......

Because, Greg thought, I'm not sure what spell cures it, but I know I don't have it right now.


The thought of having to subdue the crazed ranger until morning left her cold.

Cassander loosed another enchanted arrow.  Her eyes followed the path to the target and she watched the arrow embed itseld in an opponent, and saw John toss away her swords and start fighting more animalistically.

"This is not good." she muttered as she readied another arrow.  If this was lycanthropy, Cassander wasn't sure what she could do about it.  Did she have a Remove curse spell or was that the Cleric?  And would it work on a werebeast?

"Don't let them bite you!" she shouted to her companions, loosing another arrow.  There had to be something that she could do, but what.  Dammit Tizona, think.

As Dan was pinned down to the ground, two things ran through his mind:

"BAAAGGGAAAAHHHH!!!"
"FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!"

Luckily, or unluckily depending on how you look at it, he listened to the second option. He slipped his hands out of the grip of the monster and attempted to stab the monster in the shoulders, if he ould do that he might be able to jump on it's back and use him like a ventriliquist. If such a thing was possible, only he wold think of doing it.

As John drops his/her weapons, you see him/her begin to change, slowly at first but more quickly as it progresses.

Her body begins to become larger and more bent forward, as her legs thicken and the bones begin to warp. Her nails become sharp claws, and her teeth long and sharp. Her golden eyes are filled with blood lust.

Hair begins to sprout across her body as she continues to grow, the straps of her clothes snapping beneath her new bulk. Her face begins to become elongated, a blending of that of elf and wolf.

Soon, John, or even his character does not stand before you. A werewolf does. A werewolf tearing his opponents into literal shreds.

The beastmen do not relent by this sudden transformation, however. They seem to have been filled with similar bloodlust, and it takes all your concentration to hold them at bay. There numbers are falling, however.

As each 'round' passes, fewer and fewer rise when they are struck by arrows or blades. Cassander's magic gives you another added edge, your weapons flowing more freely and cutting more smoothly.

Soon, the last beastmen falters. But the Werewolf continues to tear everything to shreds.

Greg stands between John and the rest of the party, sword held ready but loosely, watching the wolf-girl tear into the fallen enemies savagely.
The elf maiden's stomach lurches and she tries to focus on her friend, not his victims.
She hadn't had the chance to heal the ranger until now, and now she hesitated.

What happened when the shapely werewolf grew bored with her dying prey?

Greg still had a few spells left, just in case, and her belt (provided that it carried over like his other Magic Items), was a Healing Belt, which provided a bit of healing magic on a daily basis.
The cleric, however, hoped against hope, even going so far as muttering a distracted prayer to God, Fharlanghn, and even Chris, that she wouldn't have to use any of it to defend the party from John.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:09, Tue 12 May 2009.

Cassander held the bow at the ready, intending to sweep the room for any additional enemies, but her eyes never left John.  She watched silent as the werewolf tore into the downed bodies of their opponents.  It was one thing to have a Dungeon Master describe the action, it was something completely different to see it for real.  The animalistic fury was breathtaking and frightening at the same time.

With the beastmen downed, the situation had changed.  Now instead of a horde they faced only one opponent, who was also their friend.  Tizona had known Alyissia for sometime, and had grown to like the Ranger over the course of their travels but seeing her like this was something that she never expected.  Could she cure her friend?

Tizona raced through the list of spells that she knew.  She was the heavy hitter of the group, most of her spells were meant to buff or damage, not cure.  Curing was the venue of the Cleric.  She was pretty certain that she could kill Alyissia but that was not the best cure for Lycanthropy.  Perhaps the elders in their tribe would have a better idea.

"Uhm...guys?" she said softly, not wanting to attract the werewolfs attention just yet.  "We have a new problem."

From her position at the front of the group, Greg looks back, slightly, and raised her delicate eyebrows.

Ya think?

Realizing that the response probably sounded like the cavalier attitude that had so pissed her off when Dan had shown it, she added:

Sorry.   I mean, yeah, and I'm at a loss as to what to do.  I don't have a Cure Disease or a Remove Curse "memorized" or in my "spell list" or whatever the frick it is that clerics have, and can't get it until sunrise.  Maybe we can tackle her and tie her up?
As she says it, it's obvious that she knows it's a bad idea, but seems unsure about what else to do.

Cassander scowled back at Gregs snippy response.  Sure she had been pointing out the obvious, but she had to say something, if only to break out of the spell of watching John dismember corpses.  Snippiness wasn't very constructive at this point, however it was understandable given the situation.  Everyone was a little on edge.

"I don't think that we want to get close to her.  One bite and our problems could double.  You saw how quickly John changed.  We can try a sleep spell or maybe our Bard can sing John into submission.  I...I don't know."

Greg blinked in realization.

Actually, that's a REALLY good idea, Tizona.
Kenjinn, can you start playing your bard music?  A bard your level should have the power to
"hath charms to sooth the savage beast".

Of course, she thought, the original quote is "savage breast", but that's too ironic at the moment.

Just, um, set your bardic song to, uh, "fascinate", or something.
She shrugged helplessly, acknowledging yet another thing that they all took for granted in a game that now seemed so alien in "real life".

She backed up slowly and smoothly to be in line with the rest of them, trying not to attract the ranger's attention. still holding her sword loosely so she might be able to at least hold the werewolf at bay, if need be.

As the elf wolfs out, Sarah tumbles over next to Greg. She reaches into a belt pouch and pulls out a handful of berries, handing them to the cleric.

"Belladonna. Feed it to him within an hour, and it cures him. I think."

She prepares to go fully on defense, keeping the attention of the former ally.

Greg took the herbs from Sarah and held them protectively.

"of course', she thought, "that assumes that John WANTS to be healed."

She nods her thanks to the rogue, still mesmerized by their friend's changes.

Dan looks at Greg dubiously. Very dubiously. "I'm not sure a werewolf is like Fluffy from Harry Potter 1" He replies, expressing his dubiousness. Regardless, his music might come in handy for another plan. "I could distract John with an annoying tune while you sneak up and feed h... it the antidote?" He asked the rest of the group, summoning a violin into his hands with magic. Both soothing and excruciatingly painful to the ears.

No, Kenjinn, that EXACTLY how it works, JUST like Fluffy in Harry Potter!   
Greg whispers to the bard frantically.  She doesn't push it though, not wanting to fight with the abrasive man again, despite him verbally "slapping her down again".  She gritted her teeth, though and braced herself to go with his plan.

It was an old D&D rule, "It's better to go with the lesser of two plans or two leaders then to have two good ones waste time fighting and arguing."

Still, she was supposed to...what?  Force-feed the werewolf?  She didn't want to get bitten!  Still, she was probably the best fighter after the ranger, so there was nothing else for it, she supposed.

John stopped ripping into the bodies as Dan began to play. She slowly turns and glared at him, like he was something she didn't want to put up with before snarling "Dan if you don't cut out that racket right now, I'm gonna smash that violin over your head."

Despite the obvious threat, it seemed like she was back to normal... at least mentally.

Sarah doubletakes.

"Wait, are you a natural? Damn, that must have set you back a few levels..."

Greg almost dropped the Belladonna.
J-John?  Are you...ok?
So.....you're NOT a crazed werewolf who'd going to try to kill us?
Um.....I don't mean to pry, you know, just asking.

Greg's nervousness is making him babble a bit.

Cassander lowered the bow.  "Wait, what?!  What's going on?"  she said, looking around at her companions.  "Is this some obscure rule that I don't know about?"

Greg lets out a nervous twitter of laughter.
Maybe the game was mixing genres and the beastman bit activated John's "mutant gene"?
She shrugged.
Maybe the bite of these critters isn't like a normal werewolf bite and a strong will can keep control?
Who knows?
This whole DAY isn't exactly going according to the rulebooks we bought at the comic store, guys.

Greg puts the Belladonna away, but keeps it handy.

After a moment, John shudders, and she slowly resumes the form of a wild elven woman, except the majority of her clothes broke off during her transformation.

Ehem.

The Beastmen corpses lay strewn around the room, the same place they dropped when they were slain by the party. The voice does not speak again, and two sets of Iron doors lead out of the room, each in the opposite direction.