"I'll stay and look for anything that will help us identify them, maybe allowing us to take something to their..." he stops talking, unsure what would help anyone after they received this news.
Looking over the inside the house, Hamish, Jalros and Naomi both realize the second door leads to a bedroom. Judging by the cots and bed and a half, this would be where the family all slept. In the corner sits a large chest, and a locked window provides a view of the backyard.
In spite of being evidently the home of a poor farmer family, the room and the house in general are in a well tended state, both the adult's and children's beds having been carefully made, and their meager possessions (apart from what was used for the meal) neatly stored in their cupboards.
Elgrin's efforts don't seem to produce any additional results, and he is unable to find any relevant tracks.
Following Hamish and Jalros into the bedroom, Naomi shakes her head and begins to unload the crossbow. Moving to the chest, thinking about her grandparents in Fairhill and how she and her family would want to know if something happened to them. Slinging the crossbow over her shoulder, she gestures towards the chest. "Gubble's right, we should learn who they are and find out if they have any kin to notify."
Nodding, "Good idea, Naomi." Jalros moves over to the window and stares out into the backyard, noticing Elgrin searching for something. "I wonder if Elgrin has found anything," he says to no one in particular before stepping away from the window and looking pensive. "It appears we may have a difficult time locating these murderers," he confesses, his outward appearance one of dissatisfaction at that prospect. "No matter. If I've learned anything, people like that always find a way to get themselves found. It's just a matter of time."
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It was not easy for Naomi to peruse the chest's contents... One by one she went through each of the stored items, as if going through the history of the family lying dead just outside - old and stained babygrows, bedlinen, tablecloths, Sunday clothes and others passed down from brother to sister, worn out and patched many times over... All clean and as well maintained as possible. And all embroidered with the initials 'PS'.
At the bottom, stashed into a corner and wrapped in an old rag, Naomi found also some silver and copper coins.
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Having found nothing around the house, Guthlag stays near the front, keeping an eye on the bodies. Cann keeps an eye on the chicken. Why would anyone target a family like this, if not to raid? He touches the dogwood of his scythe, running his fingers over the portion of the handle which has been sanded and brushed with beeswax. They saw something they weren't supposed to see. He walks close to the bodies, one by one, looking over the wounds carefully while glancing up at the woods around him periodically. Naomi said one was killed with a poisoned dagger. Who fights with a dagger, and not a real weapon? The burly half-orc imagines the reach advantage he would enjoy with his scythe against someone carrying a dagger. Maybe someone without a real weapon. But there were others, with swords and axes and hobnail boots.
After finding nothing else inside, Gubble returns outside. He scans the tree line one last time, sighs, then moves to where Guthlag is standing next to the bodies. "Maybe all we can do for them is to give them a burial." his voice sad. "Did you see any shovels?"
Hamish curses and slams his blade back into the sheath at his side. He looks around the bedroom and eventually moves back out to the outer room and finally the courtyard.
"This makes no sense." He says shaking his head in baffled confusion. "Not an animal. Not raiders. What raider would leave livestock and food? Not bandits. Not with an unsearched chest with coin simply hidden beneath some clothes?"
He nods at Gubble's suggestion and looks around for shovel and pick to help dig the graves.
You find shovels and other digging/farming tools around the back of the house.
"An example?" the halfling suggests with a questioning tone "I heard tales of tyrants butchering the small folk and leaving them out of rot for passer bys to see, and know that it is not safe to cross some line." grasping a shovel he looks out at the forest again "maybe whatever is in there is doing the same."
"Good idea," Guthlag says, moving towards the barn. He picks his way through the various domesticated animals, leaving Cann behind with Thistle and Naomi. I doubt these animals can survive on their own. Maybe if there are other homesteaders nearby.
"I'll go with Guthlag. Best we do not go too far alone." Jalros follows after the half-orc.
Once they reach the barn, Jalros takes his time and looks around the place for anything other than animals.
Gubble nods to the logic, and gets to digging. A task that is becoming more common every day.
It is exactly as Jalros and Guthlag explore the barn, Elgrin paces the perimeter, and Hamish, Naomi and Gubble prepare to start digging graves, that disaster strikes!
Gubble suddenly hears a familiar voice. He looks over and sees Vortigern and four large men with bows drawn, just inside the cover of the surrounding woods some 60 feet away.
Vortigern has his familiar — the devil-eyed raven — perched on his shoulder and he is reading a scroll with a strong voice. As he finishes reading the scroll, the raven transforms into a small, devilish, winged creature and with a hideous shriek flies off Vortigern’s shoulder, immediately going invisible.
Instantly all around Hamish, Gubble and Naomi the ground comes alive. Skeletal hands claw through the ground and begin to encircle the party.
Much worse than that, the corpses of the dead peasants and their children begin stirring, and standing up uttering inhuman growls - with hungry eyes, they move in on the adventurers!
"You are a fool Gubble!" - Vortigern's voice echoes after his spell is complete - "And you have brought all these fools to die with you!"
-- Round 1 --
"Good idea," Guthlag says, moving towards the barn. He picks his way through the various domesticated animals, leaving Cann behind with Thistle and Naomi. I doubt these animals can survive on their own. Maybe if there are other homesteaders nearby.
Guthlag rushes out of the barn when he hears the sounds of shouting. He doesn't quite register that Jalros is still with him, brushing easily past the big man. In the doorway of the barn, he watches as an army of the dead is raised around his companions.
The thought to flee never touches his mind.
He raises his own magic, directing the plants in a wide area to reach out and snare those around them.
Cann is startled by the skeletons, instinctively skipping backwards towards Thistle. Her hackles raise in a moment, and she howls out a warning.
Seeing the skeletons emerge from the loamy soil, Hamish drops the old shovel he'd been using to dig the graves and instead draws forth his rapier.
"Blasted, gods cursed necromancer." Hamish hisses. "You'd be the one responsible for the deaths of these people."
He steps forward to engage the skeleton crawling forth only a few feet away.
Gubble stares hard at Vortigern, so hard if the fates were kind the sniveling horrid arrogant petty ass would die from just the stare. But alas, not today. "You both should get behind the wagon." Gubble suggests to Hammish and Naomi, as he follows his own advice.
The family. Not even allowed the peace of death. He shook his head as he pulls out a bit of old butter from his components bag. His arcane words and will focus on their area bringing a yellowish grease up from the ground.
With a curious look as Guthlag goes running past, "What is it, Guthlag?" Jalros quickly follows. When he makes it outside and sees the walking dead, he continues right past the half-orc and straight towards the nearest ones with his typical sense of determination.
Elgrin watches in anger as the poor peasant corpses are defiled with necromancy.
He charges at the nearest one (R20) seeking to end it before it can get Gubble.
charge+2
Guthlag moves forward and casts a spell - the grass and weeds in the area in front of the house begin to grow abnormally, and begin to entangle everyone!
With a snarl, thistle attacks the zombie child, and pulls her on the ground, ripping and tearing.
Naomi dashes north by the farmhouse, jumping over as the fallen zombie tried to grab her ankle.
Hamish stepped forward to pierce at the skeleton, but his weapon just went right through its hollow ribcage.
Jalros dashes out of the barn.
Elgrin charges one of the skeletons, hitting it with a solid blow! His weapon is unfortunately not very efficient against the bony monstrosity.
Gubble retreats, and casts a spell - the two zombies slip on the grease and fall down.
-- Round 1 (cont.) --
The zombies on the grease area crawl out of it, one toward Naomi, and the other toward Jalros, while the third one attacks Thistle from the ground, slamming the wolf painfully.
The zombies in front of the house were not affected by the spell as there are no plants in the dirt road - they shuffle ahead mindlessly and extremely slowly - one toward Cann, and another toward Hamish. However as soon as they step foot on the grass, they are immediately entangled.
Two skeletons wade in on Cann, one ripping into the wolf with dirty fingernails.
Two others attack Hamish.
The last skeleton retaliates on Elgrin with empty eyes, but the elongated nails do not even come close to the armored paladin.
"You cannot hide from me!" - Vortigern screeches, and conjures two missiles of magical energy which dart unerringly toward Gubble, hitting him painfully in the chest! Then the foul wizard retreats, somehow avoiding to be entangled by the insidious plants.
The archers fire a hail of arrows, one of them hitting Hamish. Two of them try to retreat, but the other two are too tied up by the plants to even try to run, so they stand their ground.
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-- Round 2 --
Naomi cuts off the zombie boy's head, leaving it motionless and hopefully completely dead this time around. Thistle also hits successfully, but the undead child is still moving.
Cursing, Hamish retreats back toward the wagon, hoping to put some cover between himself and the archers.
Gubble staggers in pain as the two orbs slam into him, coughing up blood as he tries to right himself. Reaching out he grabs hold of Hamish's arm in a death grip. "He's... after me. If you can, get the others, and run." he casts protection from evil on the swashbuckler, before patting his arm like a kindly grandfather. Letting go he pokes his head around the wagon corner "You always were the jealous sort, you insufferable Ass." he taunts, hoping to continue to draw ire.
Frustrated with his falcatas' failure to find purchase on his initial attack, Elgrin whirls a complete 360 building momentum for a crushing blow into the skeleton
Jalros steps closer and unloads on the undead.
Thistle tries to avoid the horrendous zombie, but the creature manages to hit him nonetheless, with impossible speed and accuracy!
Hamish retreats!
Gubble protects his companion, staggers and taunts.
Elgrin reduces a skeleton to a pile of broken bones.
Jalros beats an undead little child into an unrecognizable pulp.
Cann snaps at the skeleton as it approaches. When it claws her, she yelps in pain and scurries backwards. She bares her teeth and raises her hackles, waiting to see if the monster will retreat. When it doesn't, she lunges again.
And then she turns to follow Thistle, heedless of any attacks that she might provoke.
Unaware of the greasy coating on the ground, her legs slip out from under her, and she careens facedown into the dirt.
Guthlag himself charges forward, brandishing his scythe. His big frame thuds against the wagon as he slows himself, taking cover beside Hamish and Gubble.
Brave Cann stands his ground against the skeletons advancing on him - his first bite pulls one of the skeletons attacking him to the ground, and the second one crushes it to brittle.
As he moves away, the other skeleton tries to gash him with its claws, but misses the retreating wolf.
-- Round 2 (continued) --
With a snarl, Vortigern launches another pair of magical projectiles at Gubble, before retreating further into the woods - they hit him squarely in the chest even from a great distance, and the halfling falls down unconscious, grasping his chest.
As your companion tumbles to the ground, the devilish imp materializes right next to him - rummaging through the wizard's pockets breaking the invisibility - yet he seems to have been able to find what he was looking for, grabbing a small object and taking flight with a cackle.
Two of the skeletons wade in on Elgrin, one of them scoring a nasty cut.
Another skeleton targets Hamish, but fails miserably.
The mindless zombie child returns to the grease after Cann, but it simply moves too slowly.
The other zombie shuffles around the corner toward Naomi and Thistle, while the entangled one is barely able to inch forward.
From afar the archers launch another volley, one arrow grazing Elgrin on his shoulder.
------------------------------
-- Round 3 --
Distracted by the pain of the wound inflicted by the skeleton Elgrin strikes wildly at it and misses badly
Overlooking the field of battle and seeing Gubble fall, "There's too many," he mutters to himself. Without another thought though, Jalros goes wide and comes in straight toward the undead attacking the wolf.
As he approaches the undead abomination, Joran nearly trips over a loose rock as he swings, having to work just to keep his balance which causes him to miss wide with his attack.
Cann claws her way back to her feet, scrabbling for solid ground. Finding it, she flanks with Jalros, snapping at the Zombie child that has been crawling after her.
Guthlag himself watches the familiar as it pilfers Gubble's pack. For a moment, he forgets his weapon, reaching out to try to grab it with an empty hand. He stumbles over Gubble's unconscious body as he does, and then the creature disappears from his field of vision. Invisible. Moving forward, the half-orc rushes to the aid of Elgrin.
Naomi steps forward, opening a gash on the zombie's chest. Yet the creature still stands.
Guthlag advances on the Skeleton, swinging hard with his scythe and scoring a solid hit. Unfortunately the weapon is not the most efficient against the hard bones.
Hamish jabs his rapier at the thieving familiar. But his own wounds bother his aim and he lunges at the raven.
Ducking behind the wagon, he draws and loads his crossbow hoping the others are fairing a bit better than the halfling and himself.
"Gubble's down, can you do anything for him." The warrior says to Guthlag as the halforc joins him behind the old wagon.
Hamish's jab misses its mark, and he decides to go for a ranged weapon.
Jalros circles around, but his punch is unfortunately poorly aimed. Cann however meets with more success, biting hard onto the zombie.
-- Round 3 (bad guys) --
Evading Hamish's attempt, the imp becomes invisible and flies away, only its horrible cackle remaining in the air.
As if on queue, Vortigern retreats into the woods - "Leave these fools! We have what we need! Come!" - he orders the archers who immediately follow him into the woods. Or at least the two who were not entangled.
The other two try to get rid of the plants and twines around their ankles - one of them actually managing to break free, while the other stays firmly in place.
The greasy zombie reaches for the brawler, slamming hard with its fist.
The skeleton attacked by Guthlag turns on the half-orc, and gashes him with its unclean claws.
The remaining zombies and skeletons miss their attacks on Naomi, Hamish and Elgrin.
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-- Round 4 --
Guthlag doesn't seem to register that his club would be much more effective against these types of enemies, or the question Hamish asked him. He doesn't register the pain of his wound either. He has eyes only for fleeing prey. "Throw down your weapon and we'll let you live," he calls out to the archer who remains stuck. He tries to push past the skeleton whose bloody fingers have just rent his own flesh, then thinks better of it and steps back, taking the distance he needs to swing his sythe.
Cann pushes he shoulder next to Jalros and growls loudly, baring her teeth, which are black with blood. She howls, staying close to the big man.