March of the Dead
Late Desnus 4722AR. Asked by Councilmember Agrit Staginsdar of Trunau to track down Jacra Hibun in Fiorna's Faith near the ruins of Lastwall. Last raven brought only a bloodied scrap of paper. Missing people. Find the spellbook Agrit lended her and evacuate the townsfolk.
Travelled for three days. Found ourselves in a narrow muddy valley - plenty of rain recently. The farmhouses and shacks littering the main trail showed clear signs of abduction - meals left unfinished, doors hanging open. Found a dead cow with its entrails hanging out in a kitchen. Slew the cockroaches feasting on it. Tracked to where it had been killed and found a human tooth. Roughly 5 days old.
Carried on towards Fiorna's Faith, approaching from the south down a steep hillside. The torrential rain returned, making footing dangerous.
Clear signs of rapid evacuation and attempted defences - overturned carts, unattended houses, improvised barricades. Headed up to a large stone manor house on the central hill of the town. Heavy barricades and a large soot-stained hole in the wall gave signs of a failed attempt to withstand a siege. Mitch's characters badger scouted the grounds. Ascertained that the breach led into the kitchen and that the large muddy sinkhole in the grounds led down to some dank and dangerous warrens filled with the sounds of undead groaning.
Entering the house via the doorless main doorway, found a bloodstain near the main staircase and some muddy footprints leading upstairs. Found the top floor of the grand library, but sadly no spellbook. A silver dagger and accompanying bloodstain were also found. The guest room was largely unremarkable, entirely ruined. The master bedroom yielded a chest with the town's coffers and deeds within. The servants quarters had been untouched - clearly the employees had been drafted to defend the main house.
Back in the town, befriended a mangy cat in the general store, and checked out the Pick & Pint Inn. Poor barricades and broken windows suggested this building had also been besieged. Notches on the wall suggested the defenders had only lasted 3 days. Large muddy sinkhole in the centre of the room. Found a sulphur zombie in one of the barricaded guest rooms upstairs.
