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Rae sighs at the fact that the ropes may not be long enough to secure the animal down. Nevertheless, she cuts through each one carefully so as to keep as much length intact as possible. As long as the gag is not so tight that the woman cannot undo it herself, Rae leaves it alone. But she does ask the woman, "Can you tell us anything about this beast that we haven't heard already? Anything that might be of importance right now?"

The woman pulls the gag down around her neck and out of her mouth as soon as one hand is freed by Rae and gets down off the stone as fast as her shaky limbs will allow once the second one is freed as well. Tears are still coming down her face, but she's obviously trying to get a grip on herself.

"Thank you..." she says. "I thought..." she takes a deep shaky breath and wipes away some tears with the back of her hand. But the fear has not completely left her and she casts quick glances at the sun's last pale rays. "The beast... it will come... soon. It beset upon Hirot nearly 6 months ago. Every night at first. Until Sylle Ru, that's the Jarl's seer, saw that it would be content with a sacrifice every 3 nights. Since then it has been better. It is decided by a lottery."

It went unspoken, but therein lied the implication that she herself had been part of the same mob that drove previous unfortunates to this very spot and she hung her head in shame.

She closed her eyes for a moment, her lips pressed tight together. "I do not want to die...," she said, fighting back another wave of tears. "But some say the hound only kills men... that it takes women to be its brides in the kingdom beneath the moors," she shuddered, unsure if this fate sounded any better. "But papa says that isn't true. He thinks the hound will not rest until every last citizen of Hirot is slain."

"Peace now," Myrah said to the tortured captive, "You are safe."

She listened to the young woman's story with interest and weighed her own thoughts.

"A dog that takes brides?" Myrah scoffed, "that's very likely a falsehood to placate their own guilt."

"It seems more likely that something happened six months ago, perhaps a desecration, perhaps by the Jarl or his men and this Sylle is covering.

It would seem we need speak with this seer and quickly for we both need be away from here and need to see an end to this menace."

She wiped away a few more tears, but seemed to have gotten ahold of her herself for the most part. "He's almost always with the Jarl," she said to Myrah and then it was her turn to scoff. "... I don't think they've got a clue what to do. Keep saying they're working on a plan. That they just need more time."

She shook her head, then took a few steps away from the stone table, eager to heed Myrah's suggestion to be away from the spot. "Let's hurry back..."

"I still say, they shoulda been the first t'sacrifice 'emselves. What if they ain't even in lot?" Rae grumbles just loud enough for the rest to hear. Glancing between the others, she asks, "Do ye think the mule'll even prove a worthwhile attempt then? If we're gonna do it, we ought to hurry."

The woman looked uncertain, but hopeful. "The Jarl and Sylle Ru say it will only be satisfied with a person. Nothan and some of the guards tried distracting it with lamb's blood one night. Anselm says it seemed to work. Nothan says no."

Myrah turned on her heel, stepping quickly in the direction of the hamlet.

"We should speak on the move lest we enjoy the gnashing of teeth upon flesh."

"In the means, " she said over her shoulder, "is there a secret way into the village? It would be shame to arrive there only for us all to be taken and fed to this beast one by one."

Nightfrost looked at the trampled footprints but turned her head to the girl as she spoke. She had stayed silent and observant, but nodded slightly as she heard that it will only take humans. 'The thought of the beast taking wives seems more like a shapeshifter, or if it is somehow working for something that does take brides......' She nodded to Myrah, "That is true. Though if it only takes humans won't the beast go to the village anyway?" She hummed slightly, "When we do go to the town I shall try to find a library to identify this creature or check with locals to see if we can get more information."

Rae shrugs her shoulders. The others obviously know as much as she does, and the only way to know whether the poor mule will be satisfactory for a night is to try. She knots the leading line through one of the holes in the stone and leaves it short so that the animal is as close to the stone altar as possible. "Sorry, ol' boy. You deserve it less'n a couple o' the folks down there, I reckon." She pats the mule's neck apologetically.

Turning to the cleric before heading away, she asks, "You're the spiritual type, whaddya think? Is this good enough, or should 'e be on top o' it? I just don' know how t'keep 'im there..."

Galiena looked uncertainly at the mule then to Rae. Certainly this was never part of her training. "I couldn't say, but I don't know how we'd get him to lay down on it, so it will probably have to do."

Leaving the poor mule to its fate, she and Rae, followed by the trader, with Thorin guarding their rear, hurried after Myrah, Nightfrost, and Morgan (the girl).

"I know of no secret way in," Morgan said to Myrah as they made haste toward the wagon with it's remaining mule and then to Hirot. "There's the gates, to the south, and the rest is walled right up to the hill where Meadhold sits... that's the Jarl's hall."

Morgan glanced toward Nightfrost, wonder in her eyes at even the thought of something so grand as a library. "There are some books in the chapel and I think Lloré might have one or two," she offered, a far cry from the library the druid might have been hoping for.

The village itself came into view, just as the sun's last rays were disappearing. It is defended by a low earthen rampart topped with a wooden palisade. Behind the village, a causeway rises to a great hall resting atop a craggy ridge. Black hearth-smoke hangs forlornly over the village, as if even the smoke were too frightened to venture beyond the village walls. "My father owns the Inn. You can stay there tonight. We'll have to hurry to make the gate. They'll be closing it for the night in a few minutes. Perhaps I could hide in the wagon?"

Do the adventurers head toward the gate? Or devise another way in? (Or camp out?)

"Well, then, we'd best hurry and hope there ain't somebody waitin' with too many questions," Rae advises. "Much as I'd like t'accost that what's-'is-face in 'is big, fancy, safe hall, it's likely ill-advised, I'd suppose."

Morgan climbed into the wagon and laid low, not anxious to be seen and marched right back up to the Standing Stones.

As the wagon and adventurers approach, they see a pair of militia men standing atop a simple watch platform that rises about the wall, some 25' in height. The vigilant pair, Mocle and Naven, sound a horn, alerting everyone to the arrival of strangers. Despite that, they descend the platform to welcome newcomers to Hirot.

"Hurry! We're just about to close the gate for the night, but heard you were coming from some of the others, so have been holding it a few extra minutes for you..." says Mocle.

"The Wolf Spear Inn is right up the way..." says Naven, pointing north toward the center of the village. "Assumin' you'll want to stay there."

Adversity brings unity.

Or hopes a certain estranged Hobgoblin.

Having fled his tyrannical ilk, the deserter quickly fled towards human lands. Not towards any place that was peaceful or prosperous by any means, he was a professional soldier after all and where violence thrives warriors will always be needed.

Hirot was such a place. Having heard of rumors of a deadly beast hounding the town the Hobgoblin youth quickly made his way there, hoping that with some luck the humans will care less about his race and more about his strength of arms. He did mean to kill the thing for them, surely humans wouldn't be so foolish to decline help solely on race, right? Right??

Traveling through less obvious roads, Xepil arrived to Hirot at dusk, trailing behind a small group of people. Where they adventurers? He couldn't tell for certain but the Dwarven woman was armed as dwarves often are.

When the horns sounded, Xepil reflexively tensed up thinking that the guards may have spotted him and immediately sounded the alarm. He relaxed he realised the horns weren't for him but it was sobering experience nevertheless, reminding that he was now in human lands.

Deciding that it was best not to draw any unnecessary attention to himself, Xepil pulled his hood up to cover his face and shuffled closer to the group pretending to be another traveler. With a heavy cloack covering his body and a hood to cast a shadow on his face he'd look perfectly like another human, albeit a slightly tall and skinny one. He thought he'd had no trouble getting in unless the dwarf smelled him or something, which made him give Rae an ample berth.

Do Mocle and Naven notice the hobgoblin attempting to sneak in with the group? (14+ for 'yes')

The group moved ahead, down the main way toward the village square (A2). The village square is largely deserted, save for few scruffy mongrels that pick their way through the abandoned stalls. A locked strongbox rests atop a short wooden post in the center of the square. A tattered banner displaying a sable wolf rampant hangs forlornly above the strongbox.

Set just off the town square is The Wolf-Spear Inn (A3). A lonely caravansary long before Hirot grew into a village, the inn still retains hints of its rough origins: arrow slits are set into the shutters, a heavy iron bar stands ready to bar the door, and crenellations are set along the roof’s edge.

Morgan rushes in first, "Father!"

"Morgan?!" a man with slightly graying hair stands up in surprise, joy spreading over his face as he embraces his daughter tightly. "How....?"

"These people, father..." she gestures to the adventurers.

His eyes fill with relieved tears. "Friends, please, come in. You'll stay here tonight for free... for as long as you're in Hirot." He comes over, shaking hands with each of them. "Come in, come in... are you hungry?"

A few other guests are here in the common room, the defensibility of the Wolf-Spear not lost on them, passing the time with dice games and drink.

"Half starved, t' be sure. Thank'ee for the hospitality." Normally Rae would be immensely pleased with finding such a place after a long day's journey, but tonight she seems more on edge than usual. After the greetings and introductions are finished, she turns to her companions to ask in a hushed voice, "Ye think any o' us should set up wit' them there guards at the gate? Maybe we kin catch a glimpse o' this creeter. But this place'll be safer, no doubt."

Having avoided the guards, Xepil follows the group into the inn where they are greeted by some guy hugging a woman who apparently is his daughter. Huh, looks like these guys really are adventurers if they're already doing good deeds and getting freebies from the townsfolk. Looks like Xepil is in luck! At least thus far..

Keeping his hood up, the Hobgoblin scoots to the side and takes a seat at a nearby unoccupied table. His eyes keep a careful watch upon the group whilst he snacks on some of his jerky provisions. He's making no attempt to hide himself and he's also openly staring. Xepil knows is a bad idea to just walk up to the adventurers and start talking to them, and thus, he invokes the age old tradition of being a mysterious hooded stranger sitting in a bar. Hopefully, he'll eventually draw enough attention from the group so that they come to him out of their own volition.

"Ah! I'll get you lot something," the inn keep said, "on the house, of course..."

"I think now that we've intervened, we must do exactly that, Rae," the cleric stated, keeping her voice lowered, despite the fact that everyone in this room would already know they had intervened by the fact that Morgan was here and not tied to the stone to be devoured by the beast. Though it seemed many of the patrons were pretending very hard NOT to notice that fact, looking anywhere but at the adventurers and Morgan.

Except one.

The cloaked figure had come into the Wolf-Spear right behind them, though Galiena had not paid him much mind until now. But he was staring at them so openly it was difficult to ignore. "Have you seen this beast, sir?" she asks, stepping toward Xepil.

Oh good, Xepil smirked a bit when he saw that it was the cleric woman who was approaching him. Men and women of the cloth usually were the more open minded of the bunch, and though Xepil had no idea what sort of religion this human woman followed he could at least tell she was some kind of priestess due to all her religious symbols hanging off her.

"Maybe I have, grrr." Xepil's hood continued to cover his face, but razor sharp teeth showed from the shadows of his hood as he grinned at Galiena. "Maybe I've seen something similar, grrrr."

"You mean to slay this beast, yea? I can help you out with that, grrrr."

The human cleric's brow furrowed slightly as she tried to see under the stranger's hood. The teeth looked decidedly not human and she took an involuntary half a step back from him, hand finding her mace, though she did not draw it from her belt.

If Nightfrost's guesses about the beast being some kind of shapeshifter or were-creature were right... then maybe it resided among the residents of Hirot. Maybe this was the beast!

"How?" she asked, her tone challenging and suspicious, motioning to her companions to get their attention.