Act 2: Upheaval I - The Werewolf

"Not Zelk, apparently."

"We're in its lair," she says, trying to steer the conversation back to the topic at hand. "It will have to respond to the threat we pose."

Steve smiles at Mihai's joke but is now back on topic. "It's that simple? You make it sound like a wild animal."

Mihai just adjusts his grip on his sword.

"It didn't," she replies while folding her arms. "I found the missing limbs of the victims where they died, here in the Shroud. What was left of them anyway..."

She winces. Fluffle lowers his head, disheartened.

"Ah crap." Steve mutters, lowering his head. "Look, all I'm trying to say is the Endless we encountered can talk, and plan, and carried on very much like something almost akin to a person, though don't tell them I said that. They aren't humans, yeah, but they are intelligent. Why is this one different?"

"It possessed a wolf," she says to Steve. "With its body, it inherited its instincts and desires. That's what motivates it at the moment."

She then answers Konrad. "Yes."

"I'm curious about that, but we can talk after we kill it. We still have to solve those kidnappings before we need to sleep again."

Steve nods in agreement with Mihai. Nadia's answer has satisfied him for now. "Yes, alright then. I'm ready."

Steve laughs. "He can hear you just fine, you know? See?"

Florolf yaps at Steve.

"...Shall we go?" Nadzieja asks.

Szef Zerva leads the party into the Den District.

The sky has now taken a pale shade of gray, making it a lot easier for the adventurers to see where they're going. The silence is as unnerving as before however, and the sound of the fairy's wings flapping in the air is deceptively louder than usual. Now self-conscious about it, Fluffle decides to land on Steve's right shoulder and stay there instead.

Nadzieja keeps walking toward the middle of the Den. On their way there, the party members see a small group of four shadow people walking in their direction. There are four of them, weapons drawn.

The monk takes a few steps to the right to avoid them. She keeps her eyes fixed on her surroundings and regularly glances at the rooftops.

Konrad holds his sword out in front of one as they pass each other.

Steve moves aside and continues to scan the area for trouble.

Konrad's sword goes through the shadowy warrior without any resistance. Thin trails of black smoke linger behind for a moment before they dissipate into the air.

For the next ten minutes, the adventurers continue deeper into the Den, occasionally passing by other indistinctive shadow people. They also catch sight of a another carbuncle, but it runs away as soon as the party gets too close. Florolf doesn't seem surprised to see another one of his kind in this place.

Suddenly, he stops dead in his tracks. With his hackles raised and his ears low, he starts to growl loudly, his eyes fixed at a narrow alleyway.

The monk follows the carbuncle's gaze.

Mihai looks on ahead, adjusts the grip on his sword and asks Nadia - "Any plan beyond straight up beating the shit out of it?"

Doesn't much sound like a question.

Steve holds his staff in front of himself, and readies himself for combat.

"Any suggestion?" Nadzieja asks.

A large creature appears on the roof on the right side of the alley, 60 feet away from the party. Hunched forward, it glares at the party, ready to pounce at its prey. But it doesn't.

Instead, it observes the intruders.

"Off the top of my head..." - he thinks, while he casually raises his middle finger at the Werewolf -  "...can you flank it with me, and keep it off it's feet while i lay in the hurt? This sword is pretty good for that."