Dannika couldn’t procure the horses for the journey to the Amber Temple yet, so the Squishies decided to investigate the reports of werewolves in the area. As they left Vallaki to the east, they soon noticed search parties made up of Dusk Elves and Vistani searching the forest. They spoke with one of the pairs and were told they were looking for a little girl named Arabelle, a Vistani girl who went missing two days prior. The group remembered Savid, the Dusk Elf who they found in Argynvostholt, who was also looking for a little girl.
They promise to keep an eye out for her, and return her to the Vistani camp if they find her. They continue to Lake Zarovich, where Rasper said he saw the werewolf den. Inside, they snuck up on the sleeping pack, and killed nearly all of them, taking their leader prisoner until they could get information. The woman seemed unperturbed by the death of her pack, and more upset that another werewolf would continue to reign.
Her name was Zuleika, and while rude, she was a fount of information. She explained that the group here split from the main pack, led by Kiril. He had been kidnapping children, forcing them to fight to the death, and turning the victor. These new werewolf pups would be given to Strahd as a gift for his wedding day, an army of werewolf soldiers. There were those in the pack who disagreed, and felt they shouldn’t kill the kids, but rather keep them, turn them, and conquer Barovia with their own army.
Zuleika’s partner, Emil, tried to challenge Kiril to a duel for control of the pack, but Kiril ratted out the defectors to Strahd. Emil was taken by Rahadin to Castle Ravenloft and hasn’t been seen since. Zuleika and the others who disagreed with Kiril fled, forming their own pack, with plans to regroup, grow, and kill Kiril. However, with the death of the rest of her pack, Zuleika is running low on options. She agrees to help the party into the werewolf den, kill Kiril, and free the children, if they will find Emil in Castle Ravenloft for her.
The party agrees, and heads back to Vallaki to regroup themselves before heading out to the werewolf den.
