h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Today's mystic adventure involves reverse werewolves (wolves that turn into people at night), the inhabitants of a small city called Krenn (The city is really small, but is full of six-story stone buildings like Paris, with an enormous castle on the outskirts), and, of course, a forest (as beautiful as it is deadly) filled with ferns, frogs, and night birds, all illuminated by the full moon, which sets the atmosphere alternately leaden-blue or deep-jade.
The wolves are gray wolves, larger than normal, which transform into humans between the age of twenty and fourty years (that's the human's age, not the age of the wolf), and are either male or female. Some of the reverse werewolves are evil, luring unsuspecting denizens into the forest where they are eaten. Other reverse werewolves are good, trying to become human again. We must help them (the good ones, I mean).
The picturesque landscape in which our tale takes place is the Valley of Forever Night (not eternal night, just that the days are unusually shorter than ten hours and the nights are fourteen hours long). The governing family of the City of Krenn, the Canterwells, live not in the castle, but in a separate mansion in town. Local lore tells that the castle is haunted by members of the royal court, who were all killed accidentally in an experiment by a witch named Apenhaus who believed she would be able to cure the reverse werewolves with the proper spell from the Library of Krenn (a frighteningly gothic building housing hundreds of spell books and scrolls). However, Apenhaus was turned to stone by her last experiment, and the ghosts hid her statue somewhere in the castle.
The scene begins with a red and black coach knocking against rocks and trees as the coachman drives the two white horses towards the welcoming lights of the city at a frightful speed. Behind the coach, eight gray wolves thunder through the underbrush. With a loud crash, the carriage drives off the road and through an old wooden fence. The wolves stop at the edge of the forest and watch the coach enter the city. The coach stops in front of a tavern called La Belle et La Bête. A woman in a blue dress strolls out and to the coachman who is just getting down.
"Visitors from some foreign land?" asks the woman coyly, peering into the carriage windows.
"No, no, just some more books for the Library. That is the last time I'm making the trip at night." Says the coachman gruffly.
"Oh, poor baby. Let me make it all better." she lures him towards an alley. Once out of sight, he pulls his jacket off. She kisses him, folds down his collar and licks his neck.
Suddenly, her fangs rip through the flesh of his neck. With no throat, he us unable to call for help. Before him stand a group of figures, waiting for a hunk of his fatty flesh. His eyes close slowly. Fade to black...
Scene 2 begins in the town square. Our heroes have assembled again to rid this land of darkness. A short man with glasses runs past them and into a dark, gothic building. Looking around the square, we see that several shops are still open. George walks towards 'Madame Xima's Tarot Readings'.
A very atmospheric gypsy fortune teller sits at a table in front of a deck of cards. As our heroes enter, she stands, and quickly sums up the above information and recalls the events of last night's attack.
"Your objectives," she begins, "are to recover the statue of Apenhaus, find the proper magic spell at the Library of Krenn to bring her back to life, discover the means to save the reverse werewolves and return them to normal. Ask me more."
(Now that I'm better at hosting these games, I will be playing the parts of the Fortune teller, Mr. Marsters (the short man with glasses at the Library), the Squire (one of the Castle ghosts), and a few others as the game proceeds. Let's play!

[Kimini] Who's this ... Apenhaus?

[Madame Xima]"Apenhaus was my aunt, a great and powerful sorceress(but everyone said she was a witch!). She worked for King Xavier Canterwell at his castle at the edge of town. About ten years ago, she accidentally released a powerful demonic force into the woods that transformed wolves into people, but only at night. My aunt was was so afraid the people would blame her for the killings, she tried to recapture the demonic spirit. But alas! Her first attempt distroyed the physical bodies of the members of the royal staff (gardeners, maids, accountants, etc.) leaving them restless spirits and her second experiment turned her body to stone. The inept Ghosts of Canterwell Castle hid her body somewhere among the family's extensive art collection. Only she can stop the reverse werewolves."

[George to Madame Xima] Can we have a picture of your aunt, [to others] that way we will be able to recognise her.
[Madame Xima] There is a photograph of her over by the door. You may borrow it if you like, but please return it.

*George slides the photo out of the frame and slips it into his medicine bag*

[Madame Xima] Are there any other questions?

[Squelk] Do you know of the Librarian? How likely is it that he will help us?

[Madame Xima (pronounced ZEE-MA)] The Chief Librarian, Mr. Marsters, runs a tight ship over at the Library of Krenn on the other side of the square. He is also one of the last members of the Library staff on duty, since the others have mysteriously disapeared. Marsters is a novice magician, and with such a small staff, has conjoured up some unique methods of paper management. He is the only librarian working tonight, I know because he was just here having his fortune read, and he will certainly help you find the proper spells. I would go myself, but I'm much too busy here. Take my card (Madame Xima hands Squelk her Library card which says "Amix, Lorac") and tell Marsters I sent you. Anything else?

[Kimini] Yes. Where's the other characters?

[Madame Xima] I don't know where your friend Sea is at this time. If you mean...oh well, here goes. When you get to the Castle, look for the Squire, he knows where all the bodies are buries, so to speak. The sad fact is, most of the ghosts don't realize they are dead and continue to go about their jobs ad nausium.

ScReAmS ArE HeArD FrOm OuTsIdE...

[Squelk}Oh, dear...

*dashes outside*

What the...?!

A woman in a red dress is being attacked by a tall, blond man with black eyebrows and a goatee. He also has claws and fangs, strange... NO! Not strange at all, this being the first encounter with a reverse werewolf out Heroes will have! Hurry!

[Squelk] *clicks fingers*

*time stops*

*wanders over to examine the reverse werewolf*

Hmmm...
I wouldn't like to get near *those* claws, but oh well...

*clicks fingers*

*begins to attack werewolf with staff she always travels with (she IS a sorceress)*

Come on, you lot!

I run to the woman and pull her to saifty, there I apply a magic potion to heal the cuts on her arms and legs. Than I run to Squelk and attack the reverse werewolf with my magic Sword of Forethought.

[Kimini flies straight into the reverse-werewolf's face]

[Kimini] BOO!

The reverse werewolf snaps at Kimini. George cuts off one of it's arms. Ouch!

*a woman is walking down the street, humming to herself vacantly. well, actually, she isn't REALLY a woman, she's an esper in the FORM of a woman... thus her confidence at walking down the street alone with reverse werewolves running around. anyway, she abruptly sees the brawl going on and runs over to see if she can help*

[sea] what's going on here!?

[Kimini] We're battling a reverse-werewolf! What's it LOOK like??

The reverse werewolf morphs back into a gray wolf and darts down an alley. The severed arm also returns to wolf-form. George puts the arm into a tupperware contained and puts it in his medical bag.

[George] I guess that's a draw. Let's go find... Should we find the statue of Apenhaus in the Castle OR the stone reversal spell from the Library? I don't think we should split up, there being reverse werewolves around and everything...

[Squelk] I vote the spell book first. Then we've got it for talking to Apenhaus with

[Kimini] Sounds good.