Wolves on the Road to Selbu

The caravan to Selbu followed unfinished work from the river-road mission. Families were ready to resettle inland after the Fjordgate victory, but the road from Niðaróss still ran through burned villages, frightened animals, and remnants of the horde. The party traveled with wagons, supplies, livestock, and settlers who needed more than courage to reach a new home.

Goblins struck first, blocking the road with a fallen tree. The party fought through the ambush, including a goblin shaman and a frightened tracker. Luna Winterscale skewered the shaman with a spear empowered by True Strike, Marina slowed a fleeing goblin with a javelin, and Kira Snowstep finished it with her bow.

The woods gave stranger warnings. Kira and Einar Tidehoof spoke with small animals and learned that wolves had been acting strangely. Finn Amberfur shifted into a more golden retriever-like form and helped track six corrupted wolves. Borin Stoneborn confirmed an arcane disease with Detect Poison and Disease, and Einar translated with Speak with Animals. Moonwatcher Bobsdottir and Marina Sam used Lay on Hands over multiple rests to cure the wolves, while Kira and Finn hunted boar to feed them.

The healed pack did not simply vanish. Their leader, later called Stormhowl, became an ally. Marina gave Stormhowl a tarot reading, and the wolves helped the party find the caravan near Selbu. When a wolf stopped a child from eating a purple mushroom, the danger in the village became clear.

At Selbu, settlers and wolves negotiated a territorial agreement. People would claim the village and nearby fields; wolves would hold the farther wild land. The wolves would not hunt livestock, and the settlers would respect their hunting grounds. The party burned the purple mushrooms around Selbu, making rebuilding possible.

The peace was fragile but real. Soon after leaving, the wolves returned asking for help: Lesser Stone Trolls had taken their home caves while they were away. The caravan had reached Selbu, but the road inland had opened onto another obligation.