As the color returns to his eyes and the world comes back into focus, Gregoth slumps, leans against the wall beside him.
“Why… why would someone kill their cow outside and then pull it inside? This is a kitchen, not a butcher’s yard.” He rubs his eyes, looks down at the gauze covering his torso as if seeing it for the first time, and takes several deep breaths.
Ernie pulls a bandana over his mouth before cutting into the cow to perform an autopsy.
"Look. Bite marks here, here, and here. Not from an animal. Something that was once humanoid, but not so much anymore. Definitely undead. About five days ago. Then the beast had its head smashed in later."
Ernie strips off his gloves then rinses them with water from his flask as he talks. "So I have a theory, but we need evidence. I think the cow may been killed outside by undead and then moved itself here after rising from the dead, where it was killed again with blunt force. So we need to look out for two things. Whoever finished off the cow might still be alive. But there is also most likely more undead in the area. Likely zombies or ghouls."
"And one final thing. I think we should burn this corpse. Just in case."
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Andagard uncovers a human tooth in the grass near the bloodstains, also covered in dried blood.
After investigating the last farmhouse, the only way forward is down the valley path into Fiorna’s Faith. The path is dangerous, made worse by recent downpours that have washed away many of the slopes. Each of you must attempt a DC 15 Athletics check to see if they make it down in one piece.
Roll 2d8 slashing damage as you fall across sharp rocks and tree roots.
Gregoth's crooked leg gives out at just the right time to send him down the hillside on his face.
Using his staff Andagard takes it slow going to the slick hill. "Lean back a bit and take it slow."
Ernie ties one end of his fifty feet of rope to a tree trunk before carefully rappeling down the slope, holding the rope in one hand.
The bear grabs onto the rope Ernie ties to the tree trunk and lowers himself down. If Knight Night did bounced into the rocks, he didn't seem to get caught at all.
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Ernie and Knight Night manage to make it down!
After descending into the rain-drenched valley, the village of Fiorna’s Faith finally comes into view. No smoke rises from the chimneys of the quiet town. Even from this distance, it’s clear something has gone terribly wrong. Doors hang open, windows are shattered, and no light or sound emanates from what appears to be an empty, abandoned town.
Knight Night keeps his sword out to help detect the presence of any undead.
Whenever an undead creature or captive soul is within 100 feet of this object, the spiral glows, shedding dim blue light in a 10-foot radius. If the creature is hiding or the soul is hidden, it must succeed at a Stealth check against your Perception DC to fool the sigil and prevent the spiral from glowing.
Andagard nods. His eyes sweep through the houses as they pass them. "We should do a quick sweep of these houses as we pass by. Check for survivors."
Ernie nods in agreement.
"I'd rather know this side is cleared before crossing that river, just in case we have to retreat back over it."
He suggests the smaller houses to the east and south of their current position, then going to the larger building to their north..
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The party moves into town without looking into the houses. As they do, the rains pick up, and the sun seems to be hiding behind a thick blanket of clouds. Signs of struggle show on every building, from broken doors to bloodstains. A backpack lies in the middle of the street with one of its shoulder straps snapped.
Andagard picks up the backpack and begins to go through each of the pockets. "Seems like an army came through here."
"No body by the backpack. Maybe the owner had to drop it to escape from something. We should probably save the locket for now."
Ernie goes back through the small houses in the north of town with Andagard to check for survivors or any lurking undead.
"For their sake, let us hope the truth is so. This place is rather spooky." Knight Night's grip on his sword tightens, he checks if it is glowing at all.
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You make your way back tot he first house. The village is eerily quiet, not even the sounds of birds can be heard, and the normal complement of squirrels and other small animals appear to be missing. This small house, of daub and wattle construction and a thatched roof, much like most in the area, is abandoned. A damp, musty smell pervades the house as obvious signs of mold and mildew can be found near the windows left open even during the current rain. It appears that whoever lived here left in a hurry, as they left drawers open, with odds and ends of clothing left flung around the room. The panty is bare, with storage containers left open around the kitchen. Lying on the floor is a corn husk doll, oddly shaped, with 6 arms.
Ernie carefully approaches the dool, then picks it up.
"Six arms, huh? Its a weird toy to give a child."
Andalgrad picks up the doll. "Some child must have left it behind. They took everything with them when they fled."
"Let's check out teh rest of the houses on this block and head on up to the manor." He worries that there might be someone that hid from this attack and remains hiding out of fear.
Ernie sets the doll back where he found it. "Let's look at the next house."
Gregoth limps along, pausing only to pull the ointment-soaked bandage from Ernie off his torso and tie it tight around his bloodied leg.
Knight Night looks a the doll after Ernie sets it down. It seems like a reflection to the bear, as though coming across a kindred spirit, even if it is a lifeless doll. If no one objects, Knight Night takes the doll.
"Hello, little friend. My adventure also had confusing beginnings."
Knight Night then catches up to the rest of the group heading for the next house.
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The building’s front door has been barricaded from the outside with wooden boards and planks. Next to it on the wall, someone has painted a crude skull. The back door of the house, or one of the windows, has been smashed from the inside. The inside is a mess, with dirt and mud all over the floor and the heavy smell of rot hanging in the air.
Under all the dirt and mud you find a hole in the floor that looks like something, or someone, dug UP from under the ground. It is quite collapsed now.
You swear you see the little doll turn its head towards you and its face scrunches up as if in a smile. The very long needle-like nose is a little disconcerting, though.
"Something dug themselves out of the ground. Could be something that burrows, but my theory is they buried somebody that didn't want to stay buried."
Knight Night wonders if it was his imagination, but smiles in return anyways. He places the doll onto his belt at his hip and gives it a comforting, gentle pat.
Checking his sword again for any sign of undead, Knight Night looks around cautiously for any sign of recent activity outside of the pit.
"That's not horrifying..." Andalgrad grabs his staff and walks across the street. "I'll head over and check out this house, see if there are similar signs." He looks back to see if someone wants to head over with him.
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The party follows Andagard across the street after finding nothing more in here. This is another residence, and inside you find blood splatters everywhere, but no one to be found.
You find another hole in the floor where it looks like something dug its way up. Eerily, in the dirt, you find a single humanoid finger, severed from its hand, rotting in the mud.
"Another," Gregoth grunts. Carefully he unstraps the broken wood on his back and uses it to poke at the pit.
Slowly the large man kneels and pulls a rotting finger out of the hole. "No hand," he offers by way of explanation, showing it to Andalgrad.
Kas looks around. "Let's give these two houses a deeper look." He begins to rummage through the cupboards and rooms one by one.
"Let's be quick about it though. There are a lot of houses for us to look at and if there are survivors here, they might be wounded or in danger."
Ernie suggests splitting into two groups and searching the houses in pairs. He chooses to start with the house where Gregoth found the finger.
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The team splits up to thoroughly search the last two houses.
Andagard spends time to thoroughly search everything, and finds a mug that is not broken, a couple of bars of soap, and a shovel.
Ernie does the same thing in the other house, but finds no additional body parts. He does find a pair of shears and an hourglass.
This takes about 30 minutes to perform a full search in each case.
"I'll start heading for the next house, if I see anything I will return and report it." Knight Night cautiously makes his way to the next house, the little bear being weary of the deafening silence of anticipation. He keeps his sword close in hopes that the night light blade could tell him of any dangers ahead.
Ernie looks at the sheers and says "These could probably cut off a finger in a pinch.". He tosses them aside but decides to keep the hourglass on a hunch. He follows the animate bear to the next house once finished with his examination.
"So far, this is looking rather grim. Several creatures seem to have come from below." Andagard follows behind Knight Night. "It's going to take nearly a week to search everything here." He looks off at all of the destruction and houses.
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As you appraoche the next house, the battered door opens with a long, drawn-out creak, revealing a dark room that stinks of rotten meat. Something stirs in the darkness and rushes forward. Three large boars move out to attack!
4
2
3
6
5
8
1
7
One of the boars charges up to Andagard and tries to gore him!
It does quite the number on him!
- x Boar 2
- => Ernie
- => Gregoth
- => Andagard
- => Zeldana
- => Knight Night
- Boar #3
- Boar #4
Conditions:
Andagard: 28/47
Ernie: 35/35
Gregoth: 53/53
Knight Night: 39/39
Zeldana: 41/41
Enemy Conditions
Boar 1:
Boar 2:
Boar 3: