Lycanthropists? That or furries

The people before you are quite... different, like Lady Silver said. They look mostly human, but have animal traits to their bodies that clearly are not human. There are two women, one man, one boy and one girl. A family perhaps. They are dressed in rags, no doubt having been stripped and searched upon capture.

One of the women, with cat ears, slitted amber eyes, and elongated incisors steps forward, a striped tail swaying just under her ragged dress. "Thank you fair Drow. I fear what could have happened to us had we not been rescued." She says.

"Yes well, if we could continue this chat elsewhere, I have had enough guards and heroes for one day." You say, looking around for any newcomers. The badger and the Gnoll are standing guard around you, but if a whole squad of hero's show up, it wont be enough.

"Indeed." The cat woman says looking around at the unconsious guards. She looks at her group before beckoning them. "May we travel with you? Until we are far enough away from here?" She requests. You think it over for a moment before nodding.

"But not for too far. Large groups tend to attract attention." You explain. She nods before you all jump off the cart and start jogging towards your home. You travel in silence for about an hour before you feel safe enough to speak up.

"Tell me, who are you all?" You ask.

"We do not have much of a history. We only arrived here in the last update, and there were only ten of us at the time. But we quickly lost half our people before we were captured. From what I know, we are called Beast-kin. We resemble humans, but with animal traits and we have the ability to transform into the animal we resemble for a limited time." She explains

"I see. But this is not much different from lycanthrope is it not?" You ask.

"No. We are not **** to change during the full moon, nor are we allergic to silver." She explains.

"I see. Well, do any of you have names?"

"I am Thistle. Leader of our small troupe here." She explains.

"I am Yazas Vrammagon, the drow micro-boss of these mountains." You explain. She looks at you with a calculated look for a moment.

"And why did a micro-boss choose to help us? I find it odd that you knew we were going to be there." She says leveling a look at you.

"Personally it was of mutual gain. My Goddess sent me to retrieve you. I gained fame, experience, and whatever i looted, while you gained freedom." You explain.

"And who is this goddess of yours?" She asks.

"That would be Lady Silver. Goddess of the moon. I know, a Drow worshiping the moon, how odd. But Lady Silver is the only god to ever help me, and so she is my goddess." You explain.

"We shall have to give an offering to her once we are safe." Thistle says in thought. You continue in silence for a while longer before the Gnoll comes up to you.

"We are hunted." He says.

"How many?" You ask. You had sent him behind you a ways to make sure you weren't being followed, and it seems like that was a good idea.

"Four. Come up soon." He snarls.

"We must part ways for now." You explain to Thistle. "Our group has caught the attention of more heroes. How long does your transformation last?" You inquire.

"An hour, two for the more powerful of our people." She explains. You think for a moment for the best possible action.

"Very well. Shift into your animal forms and follow the river towards the mountains, there it shall end at a waterfall and lake. Tell the nymphs that you know me and are in danger, they should help you. We shall meet you there in a few days before figuring it out from there." You say. She nods before going to her group and whispering to them. After a moment she stops and the five transform into a fox, tiger, gorilla, otter, and mountain goat. The tiger, Thistle, gives you a nod before the group starts jogging towards the mountain, their form dissapearing in the mist.

"Strange people." The Gnoll says.

"Indeed. Let's go, we need to give them as much time as possible to escape." You say. The Gnoll nodds before going over to the animal tracks and smearing the dirt around them, destroying any trail they may have left. After about ten minutes he returns and you set off at a light run going parallel to the mountains. It's a bit risky, as you are moving towards the necromancer's land, but it should throw off any pursuers.

A few hours after your split, you rest in a small clearing. "If we continue at this pace we shall arrive at the lair in a day and a half." You say to the Gnoll. He nods before continuing to keep an eye out for anything off. Since you have a few minutes you decide to open up your inventory to see what you got from your raid.

(!) New items detected:

(!) 1 Scale mail chest piece
(!) 30 Silver coins
(!) 4 silver ore
(!) 7 dried meat
(!) 1 pair Studded leather arm guards
(!) 3 leather boots
(!) 2 potions of healing
(!) 3 vial of snake venom
(!) 2 shortwords, iron
(!) 1 gemstone, ???
(!) 12 stone arrows
(!) 1 scroll of water creation, rare

"Hey Gnoll, how's your-Gah!" You start before he tackles you to the ground. Sticking out of the log you were sitting on is an arrow.

"Time to go!" He says as you pick yourself off the floor. Three hero's jump out of the mist, firing are after arrow towards you.

"Where's the fourth one!?" You ask as you run.

"Hunting Beast-kin." The Gnoll guess's. You run for a few hours, arrows every now and then lodging themselves into the trees around you. Your feat hasn't appeared in your mind yet, but it could be that you are too busy trying not to be killed to notice.

Suddenly, as you round a large boulder, you are met face to face with pack of zombies. "Shit! We went to far!" You yell as they start lumbering towards you. You dodge a swipe by the closest one before the Gnoll howls in pain as an arrow imbeds itself into his pelt. "Quickly, follow me!" You yell as you lead them around the zombies. You hear behind you the confrontation between hero and undead, allowing you to turn towards the mountains.

For the next two days you evaded the hunters until you arrived at the stream, allowing you to finally loose the hero's and after a few more hours of a brisk walk, arrive at the lake.

"Yazas, i see you made more friends." The nymph says once you get there.

"Yeah, all in the name of expanding my territory." You explain as you take a drink from the lake. The five had made it there about 8 hours before you did, and the nymphs gave them food and water.

"You're hurt!" The young girl who had turned into the otter said once she saw the Gnoll. She was young, maybe 8, with dark brown hair, and a small tail sticking out from her dress. "You need to get the arrow out before it gets infected." She says.

"Oh? Are you interested in medicine young one?" You ask with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah! I wanna be a healer when I'm big." She smiles. You return it and think for a moment.

"Well, do you know how to make any potions or medicines yet?" You ask.

"I know how to make a creme that helps heal a wound." She says. You look at her in surprise before reclaiming your cool.

"Do you now? Do you think you can find what you need to do so in the woods here?" You ask she nods her head and you look at the man who became a gorilla. "Do you mind going with her so she can find what she needs?" You ask. He looks at you and nods before the girl takes his hand and leads him into the woods.

You reach over and yank out the arrow, causing the Gnoll to grunt in pain. "Was the trip here uneventful?" You ask Thistle after handing the arrow to the Gnoll.

"We dealt with the hero who was after us, but we did not see the others." She explained.

"They tracked us for a while but we led them into another boss's territory and slowed them down." You explain. "But it is good to hear that you prevailed uninhibited."

"It was thanks to your instruction. And Lady Silver's interference. Perhaps She is a goddess worth following." She says. A feeling inside you makes you think this was the moon goddess's plan all along surfaces, but you push it down for the moment.

"You know, i can invite you all into my dungeon if you wish. Heroes will still come around, but you won't be hunted like you are here." You say.

"Oh? And what is required of us? To fight for you to maybe kill off a hero? Or die buying you time?" Thistle says looking at you.

"Perhaps, but I've got an idea in my head for the future of my lair, and if what i think the god's did when they introduced claimed land is true, I may be able to grasp that future." You say. Thistle looks at you, trying to decipher your thoughts before turning towards falls.

"This is quite the lovely place we arrived in. I do not now where we came from, or if we just appeared, but from what I can see these mountains will do my people well." She says.

"Yes, but you must be careful of the other bosses. Many of them are not as nice as I have been." You warn.

"Have you met many of them?" She asks.

"Not personally. But their minions are enough of a first impression. The two I know of who are like me are the Necromancer and the Ant Queen. I fought a few of the Queen's lackeys before claiming my own lair, and the Necromancer left me quite the welcome gift of an undead Ogre in the middle of the night." You explain.

"I see. Give me a few hours to debate your offer before I give you my answer." She explains. "You've given me much to think about."

With that the two of you go your seperate ways, with her joining the slightly younger fox girl who is playing with the goat boy in the lake. Sitting down with your group, you finish looking at your stats.

Fame: 634

Diplomacy! +100 (Expand)
Raided a trade route! +140 (Expand)
A quest has been issued against you! +7 (Expand)
Defeated a hero! +100 (Expand)

Diplomacy! +100 (Expanded)

Saved a rival faction in a time of need! + 50
Offered a rival faction assistance beyond your initial help +25
Offered a rival faction sancutary +15
Word of your diplomatic ability is spreading +10

Raided a trade route! +140 (Expanded)

Successfully raided a settlement's caravan +75
You've been given a new nickname based on your actions +40 (Yazas the Silver Brigand)
Word of your cunning, daring, and mercy are spreading +25

Defeated a hero! +100 (Expanded)

Defeated a hero of a higher level than you +70
Defeated the same hero multiple times +30

A quest has been issued against you! +7 (Expanded)

Quest accepted (x7) +7

New Elven Lord abilities unlocked!

Tactical observance: You can now see your minion's stats sheets to better plan out raids and defenses.

Lord's Champion (0/5): You can make any of your minions into a Champion, allowing them similar abilities to a lair monster by respawning under your control at your lair with their levels intact.

Your eyes widen at the ability to finally read your groups stats. Quickly, you glance at the Gnoll to see what he can do.

Gnoll Hunter, Lvl 6
Gnoll, Monster, Explicit
Experience to level up: 372
Strenght 25, Dexterity 20, Stamina 21, Charisma 14, Inteligence, 15, Wisdom 18
Skills:
Tracking
Survivor
Feats:
Survivor: Can supress pain for periods of time, not causing any debuffs when retreating from battle or in battle.
Natural Predator: Gain +2 to Tracking and Hunting. Teeth and Claws are natural weapons to be used.
Pack animal: Gain +1 to damage when with at least 2 members of your pack, add +1 per every 2 members. Pack members gain immunity to rage.
Rage: A natural insanity lurks beneath your minds surface, causing a small chance to enter a rage when in battle. +3 to strength, but -5 to intelligence, and the ability to distinguish friend or foe is gone.
Darkvision: can see 30 feet in complete darkness.

It seems the Gnoll is stronger than you expected, especially some of his feats. You hope he considers you part of his pact, otherwise one of these days it might get ugly. You also wonder what the differences between the skill and feat of survival are but that is a question for another day.

Looking up, the sun is just starting to set, and the otter girl has returned with the Gorilla man and has started mushing some herbs together with a rock. Some of the nymphs are playing with the Fox girl and Goat boy, while others are lazing around in the lake. Off in the horizon you can see a full moon starting to show in the sky and the memory of Lady Silver telling you to feast beneath the full moon slides into your head.

"Well Everyone, I think it's about time for dinner. What say you?" You ask. Everyone lets out an "Aye!" Before you go gather fire wood. You make a fire and have the Gnoll take out the deer meat he had and cook it over the flames. Once its sufficently cooked you dole it out to the group and eat your fill. "To new beginnings, may Lady Silver Shine brightly upon you." You smile. Everyone lets out a cheer, even the Gnoll, and finishes eating.

As you put the left overs away, moonlight shines down on you and you feel the urge to start humming a strange tune. Everyone grows quiet as they hear the melody and look at you in confusion, never hearing, or expecting you to hum. Thistle whispers something to the young goat boy before he pulls out a small wooden flute and starts playing a song that goes with your tune.

Everyone soon starts getting into it, either humming or singing before Thistle goes up to the Gorilla Beast-kin and starts to dance with him. The otter girl takes the Gnoll by the hand and brings him around the fire. He seems incredibly confused by the Beast-kin and your actions but moves jerkily in a similar matter, causing everyone to laugh.

"May I have a dance Lord Yazas." The Fox girl asks with a small curtsey. She's cute, with black hair and black fox ears with white tips. A smiliar colored tail extends from under the ragged dress. Her skin is tan and she has ice white eyes.

"Sure." You say before she too pulls you to the dance floor. You twirl and dip in glee, a few fleating memories of dance lessons from your childhood coming here and there, leading to strange but beautiful dance between you two. The Moonlight sparkles down upon your group and seems to shimer in places as everyone, Drow, Gnoll, Beast-kin, Nymph, and even Badger are singing and dancing. The goat boy is playing loudly, and a bit out of tune, but it goes with the theme of the night of celebration.

Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye, you spot someone else moving about. You stop dancing and see that it's a Drow woman, naked, with Silver hair dancing to the music. She turns her head to you and gives you a wink before dissapearing into moonlight. The fox girl pulls you back and you continue dancing for a few hours.

...

"I've not danced like that since I was a child." You say to Thistle once the festivities have died down. You, Thistle, the Gorilla Beast-kin, and the Badger are awake with the last two on guard duty for the moment.

"Yes. I never thought we would have such a celebration as the one tonight." She responds. You both stare at the fire for a moment before she speaks up again. "Lady Silver worked through us. Starting with you, and radiating to everyone else. It was a wonderful feeling." She says.

"She was here tonight." You say, causing Thistle to look up at you in suprise. "Thats why I stopped dancing for a few moments. She was off towards the trees, dancing along with us." You say as you move a log around with your spear.

"I didn't realise. Why didn't she announce herself?" She asks. You take a moment to mull over your words.

"Lady Silver... is different. In terms of deities that is. Before me, all her previous followers were discovered and killed, so any acolytes she can get she will take." You explain.

"It must be nice having such a connection to a goddess." She says.

"In a way, I suppose so. She's given me access to magic I never would have accessed before, and she's saved me on numerous occasions. But we don't talk all that much, so I don't know all that much more than you do. But, It's nice knowing that there is someone looking down on you and trying to protect you." You say looking up at the moon.

You two return to silence for a time, the cracking of the fire the only thing breaking the stillness. "Yazas." Thistle says eventually. "If the offer is still available, I would like it if tou accepted my people into your home."

"Whatever your plan is, I know you will do what you can to protect us." She says before the Gorilla man switches with her for watch.