Mask Campaign Chapter 3b: Fear and Loathing

   Several days pass, and the party is unable to leave the city. In fact a curfew comes into effect the next night preventing nighttime travel on the streets. Panic grips the city as more plague zombies attack citizens at random. After about 3 days The constable Kangran comes again to see the party, he asks if they know a woman by the name of Ileen or Elan. When the party says yes they do he asks them to explain their relationship, all the while with a saddened and concerned look.

   He tells them their has been an incident and perhaps they should come see for themselves. Assuming they accompany Kangran to the scene, the house of Ileen is currently being guarded by grim looking members of the watch. Inside the house is awash in blood, it covers the floors and walls. Signs of a struggle are obvious but no bodies. When asked Kangran states "the place was found just like this with no corpses err.... victims at all." He asks the party f they know who might have done such a thing or if either had any enemies, award XP if they guess that Malchor might be behind this.

   After they answer he tells them that this was not the only incident, several local priests were murdered last night. They were coming to cure a noble patron and when they arrived at the house, no one was alive but an ambush of plague zombies awaited them. 3 were slain before they could destroy them.

   After Kangran is finished with them the party will likely conduct their own investigation, unfortunately without clout or superior divination magic they will turn up nothing. You might consider throwing in an encounter with plague zombies, an opportunity to play up the hysteria and fear of disease that the citizens have.

   Finally after a long day they must hurry back to the inn to avoid getting caught out after curfew. When arriving they find that they are late for the nightly dinner but the innkeeper will still serve them anyway. Unfortunately they have arrived too late to get soup, its all gone, but there is plenty for dinner.

   Though the innkeeper expresses worry that food might become short if the plague lasts much longer. The innkeeper gets the party their drinks and rushes off to get them food. At this point a man drinking his soup in a loud fashion begins to choke and gasp. Many of the inn's patrons fear the plague and edge away from the man. Sure enough he begins to wheeze and collapse. As this happens several other patrons also begin to get violently sick. Some vomit, others just collapse quickly or choke, but all begin to collapse.

   The players will be trying to help the sick or perhaps just getting out of the way at this point. Suddenly the first man stricken will begin to change. He will scream, and shift to a half wolf/half man like form, classic wolf man. He will attack wildly though not other sick individuals. The other sick individuals, all who drank the soup, shift into plague weres and attack all within the inn., This includes the PC party, what am I saying... especially the PC party.

   The PCs will try to hold out but there are too many, 20 plague weres, and they have the same invulnerability to non-magical weapons that common werewolves do. Eventually the party will be forced to retreat, most likely up the stairs. Though if they can come up with a way to clear a path to the front door let them.

   Eventually the inn will be set fire, the plague weres will finally leave at the last second. They will scurry off into the darkness in small groups, killing people through out the rest of the night before going to ground in the hidden shrine.

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