Guy and Sara were tired as they reached the outskirts of the town. Though they'd spent the better part of the day away from the rest of their group, seeing so many other large groups of D& D players made them wish for an adventure. Since they also had been hoping to score a threesome with Alisa, they realized this would be the perfect time, since the rest of the group had gone on to Castle Strahd.
Guy, with his rather muscular frame and build was a standard fighter, clad in black plate mail. Sara was dressed in a red robe, obviously a mage, to anyone with any power of observation.
They were making idle chitchat, approaching a small fork in the path, with the left hand path clearly leading to a village. They'd inquired about Alisa to the many helpful park employees (dressed as Imperial Guards), and they'd been assured that was where their friend would be.
They quickened their pace, when suddenly, a figure leapt in front of them, blocking their path. "Friends," the shadow man said, "Do not continue down the path!"
Guy drew his sword, and Sara backstepped, her hands glowing with energy. "Hold, stranger!" commanded Guy, "and move your hands from your weapon."
"I mean you no harm!" protested the stranger, "I only mean to warn you!"
"Warn us of what?" asked Sara, casting a simple light spell, illuminating the area enough to see their informant's face. He was a thin-built blonde man, who appeared to be a rogue, or other lightly armored type. He didn't appear to have a weapon beside the bow slung to his back. Guy relaxed, putting his sword away.
"That town is not safe after dark, friends. The Lunar Order calls that place home," he told them gravely.
"Lunar Order?" asked Guy, "I've never heard of them."
"The Lunar Order is a growing threat to the empire, how could you not have heard of it?" the stranger asked them.
Sara sighed, "We're new. So, anyway...what's the deal with the Lunar Order?"
"The order is run by a pair of archmages, one male and one female. They are an order of...," he paused dramatically, "werewolves."
Guy snickered, "Werewolves, eh? Big deal. We've slain dragons before."
"I'm afraid you don't understand sir; you've never faced werewolves like these," the stranger said. "The archmages were never bitten. They figured out a way to give themselves lycanthropy by magic! They don't even need to bite you! They have a spell known as the Lunar Fang...anyone hit by it instantly becomes one of them!" The stranger was visibly upset. "They can cast magic while they are in their werewolf forms! Theives and rogues in the guild coat their weapons in a poison which does the same to anyone receiving even a nick from a blade or arrow. The woods have many traps, also coated with it, designed to bring unwary travelers to the guild! This is not even to mention the more common tools of a werewolf, his claws and fangs."
"But our friend is there!" protested Sara.
"Then your friend is lost," replied the stranger.
"Not if we have anything to say about it," Guy said defiantly.
"Well, sir," began the stranger, "and madam, before I take my leave of you, let me tell you of one more thing I know of the guild. The mages, in the interest of secrecy, have cast a most binding spell of amnesia on anyone afflicted by them. By day, everyone in the guild goes about their business as though nothing is different. This way, if anyone should interrogate them, or spy on them, nothing can be determined. But once the sun sets, and the moon's rays first crest the horizon, the affliction takes its course, and they serve only one cause. So if you should find your friend, take care, as she may serve one master by day and another by night."
"So how do YOU know so much about them?" asked Sara, realizing suddenly that he was gone. "Wow," she said to Guy, "That was odd."
"Yeah," Guy replied, "Look, let's get moving. It's almost full dark. If that guy was telling the truth, Alisa is in deep shit."
"Right on," Sara agreed, and they headed further down the left hand path, eager to get to the town.