A1b. The Visitor at the Door
Location: Master Bedroom, Guest Bedrooms, Dining Room and Hearth
Characters: The Beast of the Woods
The lodge is quiet, its only other light the faint orange glow from the hearth’s dying embers. The floorboards creak softly beneath your steps as, just outside, the blizzard batters the lodge’s sturdy walls.
You leave your bedchambers behind, departing the small, circular corridor that connects them, and exiting into the larger space beyond. To the left, a set of steep wooden stairs leads up to the loft, which—from the evening’s exploration—you recall holds a small storage area.
Beyond the base of the stairs, the dining room is just as you left it, with chairs pushed in and dishes stacked neatly. To the left, a door leads to the empty kitchen, which stands dark and quiet. Ahead, the lodge’s front door waits in silent stillness.
If the players linger without opening the door, the knocking repeats soon thereafter as a fierce pounding on the door.
If a player looks out one of the windows, they find the blizzard roaring outside, the limbs of the forest’s nearby trees lurching in the storm’s fierce winds. They also observe a faint, glowing red light flickering in the icy darkness before the lodge like a coal. (A player with darkvision can see that the light seems to be emitted from a tall silhouette standing before the lodge, though it’s difficult to make out any features amidst the blizzard.)
If the players open the door and speak with the Beast, proceed to A1d. The Questions of the Beast
If the players leave the door closes, proceed to A1c. The Visitor at the Window