Return to Kertak

 From our position above the town, I could see that, on two corners, totems had been set up.  They were crudely made of wood with an animal skull at the top and a body nailed beneath.  I could see the skull on the southern totem was that of a reindeer while the eastern one was a polar bear.  As we watched, we saw four armoured figures emerge from the tavern, surrounding a figure in white robes.

Wishing to get a better look at what was happening, I used my wild shape ability and took on the form of an arctic fox.  This was the first time I had used this talent and, though it felt strange at first, it was quite a thrill.  The stealth of the fox allowed me to approach the village where I came to the strange yellow barrier.  Crossing it was painful, I don't think I had ever encountered magic so dark in nature.  Once through, I was able to avoid the skeletons which were patrolling the town and got a better look at the zombies which were doing the digging.

Climbing onto the roof of one of the buildings, I was able to see that figures overseeing the digging consisted of what looked like four knights.  From my position, I was unable to see their faces but their eyes were glowing a bright red.  Similarly, I was unable to see the face of the woman in white but there was something wrong about her.  Maybe it was the smell of rotten flesh that seemed to pervade the whole town.  Fortunately, once atop the roof, the air was a little clearer and I could see something of what was being excavated.  I was unable to clearly identify it but, whatever it was, it gave off a white/orange glow.  I decided I had seen enough and began to make my way back to my compatriots only to find that they had been discovered by some of the skeletons and were under attack.  Both Breena and Korik were giving a good account of themselves by the time I arrived.  The skeletons were dispatched but not before I concluded that my light hammer was not a sufficiently powerful enough weapon.

Following the fight, we made camp and I took the first watch.  The moon was bright enough for me to see

by and there was a beautiful aurora in the air.  However, this source of light was not needed as the name passed quietly and without incident.  It is shame the cannot be said for the second night.  Following a quiet day's travel, we were just making camp when we were set upon by a set of wolves, at least I thought so at first.  It did not take long to realise that the curse of undeath has also reached the animal kingdom.  Fortunately, my new found shape changing ability allowed me to take on the form of a brown bear which went a long way towards swinging the fight in our favour.  Once the creatures had been disposed of, we settled down for the night.

I am happy to see that the rest of our journey passed without incident and, a couple of days later, we arrived back at Kartak just after sunset.  We immediately reported back to Captain Boris who suggested we pass our information onto Father Amin before he sounded us out regarding checking on the messengers who had not yet returned.  After agreeing that I would be amenable to such a commission, the three of us set off to the shrine to see the good Father.

Upon describing what I had seen, Father Amin told me he had encountered a similar dark spell in the past.  He suggested that we give him a couple of days to try and identify what is happening and return to him then.  In gratitude, I made a donation to the church before heading to the Wanderer's Flock for the evening where I was able to catch up with some old friends who reported that they, too, had seen Brook.  Following this, I made my way to the house where my father and I had been given lodgings.  Fortunately, my mother had been on the road when the attack happened so it is reasonable to assume that she is safe.  My father told me that he had seen Kayleen heading off with the Garricks before he lost sight of her so, hopefully, she is also safe.

Next morning, a brightly painted wagon pulled up on the East Path and the gnome driver slumped unconscious in the driver's seat.  I performed my limited healing magic upon him which roused him enough to report that he had been attacked by ogres on the road.  Immediately, I took him over to Father Amin's who summoned Juniper, the local alchemist, in case any potions should be deemed necessary.  Knowing he was to be well cared for, I headed over to see Captain Boris and passed the news onto him.  He asked if I, along with my companions, would see what was happening on the road.

Breena immediately agreed to accompany me but Korik required a little more persuasion.  It was only by telling him that ogres tended to carry large amounts of extra strong ale that brought him on board.  In addition, I had to buy the little bastard a new weapon as he had managed to misplace his.  At the same time, I used some of the treasure I had acquired to purchase a mace before we set off.  It wasn't long before we came upon some gnomish wagons, presumably travelling companions of the poor soul who arrived in town.  In addition, smoke was visible rising from the forest.  Upon our approach, we heard the sound of voices speaking giantish...

To the Outpost

 It was the beginning of winter when the undead fell upon my home town of Kolked.  Along with around 50 other survivors, so many did not make it out of town, we fled to the nearby town of Kertak where the denizens were good enough to take us in.  Upon arrival, I spend my time in the temple of Yaoshi, sister goddess to my own patron Yaryla.

It was then that a couple of guards I knew from my previous visits to Kertak informed me that I had been summoned to meet with Jarek, the Reeve, at The Wnderer's Flock Inn.  Upon arrival, I was shown into one of the back rooms by the barmaid, Anika.  There, along with two other townsfolk of my acquaintance, Brina and an obnoxious dwarf named Korik, who thinks he is a giant, I found myself in the presence of Jarek and four others - Captain Boris, Father Armin, Holman Smallburrow and Orlin Yalow.  We were informed that a message had been sent to the Lord Castellan in Kelkoto, seeking aid.  However, this august group required someone to travel to one of the old watchtowers left over from 'the Butchery', a millennium ago when we were attacked by an army of golems until Nanook saw fit to wipe them off the map.

With the promise of 20gp for undertaking the venture, I and my companions agreed (coin being in short supply at this time) and, after being warned that the local Derro clans have become restive, we set off north, following the path of the river.

Within a day, we came across the first sign of life upon the tundra - a wounded polar bear (Korik seemed to think it was a dog).  With the help of Kayleen's teachings, I was able to calm the beast and removed a spear head from its leg and sew up the wound.  Following this, we continued out trek northwards until we reached the tower.

Outside the tower, we espied two Derro keeping watch.  Before I had the chance to attempt to move closer, the idiot dwarf threw a stone at one of them and a fight ensued.  During the struggle, I managed to entangle one in my net while we were able to kill the others.  Moving onto the tower's first floor, we encountered more derro, which were quickly despatched although Korik did suffer an injury.  However, before I could use my magic to heal him, the idiot ran up to the second floor.

Waiting there was another Derro and a leader, versed in the use of magic.  Immediately, this creature cast a spell which rendered  Brina and Korik insensible leaving me along to face the creatures.  Knowing that Brina is also versed in the healing arts, I used my magic to revive her before attacking the Derro while she used her abilities to heal the idiot dwarf.  Eventually, we were able to defeat our foes.  Of course, Korik made things worse by repeatedly pounding upon the magic wielding Derro until the unfortunate creature exploded.  It appears that he was wearing a Starglass Pendant and Korik's repeated hits caused the thing to explode.  Shame, it may have come in useful in the future.

By this time, the sun had set and I suggested we rest up for the night rather than attempting to cross the tundra in the darkness.  For most of the night, things were quiet until the final watch.  Korik told us that had heard something moving around downstairs and, at first, I thought it must have been a symptom of his addled brain.  However, when we reached the ground floor, someone was there.

Standing in the doorway to the tower was a female humanoid with blue skin.  Although I have never met her, I immediately recognised her from my parents' description - Brook.  I don't know much about her but they told me that she is not to be trusted and I said as much to her face.  All that she said in reply was that we ought to take a look at Kolked from the Overlook.  After that, she left, leaving behind a smell of saltwater which, for some reason, seemed to be strongest around me.  After a short discussion, we decided that her suggestion could not cause any harm so we set off in the direction of Kolked.

During our 3rd day on the road, we came across four bodies which were immediately recognisible as inhabitants of Kolked, one's who had not made it out alive.  Looking at the four bodies, something strange was noticed.  The bodies had been killed by a trident but, also, had the tell tale marks of being reainimated after death.  A closer inspection showed that the trident wounds had caused burn marks, something Brina said is caused by holy magic.  After a short discussion, the two of us came to the conclusion that the trident wounds had been caused after the unfortunates had been raised from the dead.  Unable to do anything else for these poor souls, we performed the requisite funeral rites and continued onto Kolked.

Arriving on the Overlook, we were met with a strange site.  An orange glow, in the shape of a diamond, had formed around the town, centred on the town square, which appeared to be keeping the undead inside.  What it is, I have no idea but it seems to be keeping the town seperate from the rest of the world which, considering what has happened there, is no bad thing.  One final observation - the greatest concentration of undead appears to be in the centre of town and they seem to be digging for something.

Having seen what, I presume, Brook wanted us to see, we decided to return to Kertak and report what we had learned.

Aldthryn

Born on the tundra to Allanon, a beastmaster, and Cymbril, a scout, Aldthryn learned survival skills at an early age.  When his tribe found Kayleen, a druid lost on the tundra, and took her in, he became fascinated by her teachings.  Pleased to find such an apt pupil, she began to teach him all she knew about the ways of the druid. 

When he reached his early teens, his father  was injured and the family, along with Kayleen, settled in the village of Kolked.  To help supplement the family's income, he began to travel with his mother who hired herself out as a guide between Kolked and the nearby villages of Ertal and Kertak. 

Loving the freedom this life gave him, Aldthryn developed a sense of wanderlust and began dreaming of a life beyond the confines of the small region where he grew up.