As they watched the purple ley lines explode and fizzle out, the three companions, Vonn, Gherig and Rhast took their rewards from the Goddess E'rsae, the Mace of Justice and the Shield of the Merciful and returned back down through the temple and out to what was left of the carnage that had wrought havoc on this mining town for the last hour. A wind had stirred up since the barrier was destroyed and the ash from all the remains of the living dead began to blow away, swirling in the wind across the cemetery and out into the river.
People began to slowly come out of hiding and it wasn’t soon that the survivors started to realise that they may not be seeing some of their loved ones again. Many began to cry, clutching to each other sobbing. After the high of somehow saving the town, the three companions quickly sobered up. Even though they had barely survived overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds they all knew it could have been much worse. Twice Rhast had nearly succumbed to his injuries but if it wasn’t for the valiant efforts of his friends and help from towns apothecarist, Thorben both Gherig and Vonn to would be mourning the loss of a friend.
As they slowly walked back up the main street to The Dusty Miner Tavern, each was lost in their own thoughts about what had just happened. What did they agree to? Was this part of the job? It was only happenstance that they were in town when this occurred. What caused it they may never know to later as they must move on in the morning if they are to reach their next booked gig at the Faire of Macht.
Arriving at the taverns door, they entered one at a time and took their places back at the booth they were sitting before it all began. Once seated they looked at each other, then at their drinks and food that was still were they left them and began to eat and drink. It wasn’t long till the taverns owner, Duane, head peered over the top of the counter, exclaiming how glad he was that it was them and not one of those awful undead things. Soon people started to trickle in and stories began to be told about how down at the docks were creatures that rose up out of the water.
Covered in barnacles and looking like bloated corpses, they were being led by a like larger creature. This creature loomed over the others whipped them into action with large bullwhip. Bits of flesh and barnacles would fly from the creatures as the whip flayed at them. They would run out of the water and grab at the panicking people then drag them back in where they killed them. The people killed soon rose and grabbed family members or friends who tried all they could to convince them to stop not believing that they were gone. Stories of the two giant skeletons that Vonn had seen from the building top was especially talked about as the companions soon heard about some of the history of the area and it’s hill.
When the first settlers moved into the region there were two giants, twins, named S’Shah and C’Inda who lived in the area and caused much mayhem and chaos. S’Shah used his brute force to sweep his enemies aside while his sister, C’Inda was a magic user and could cast spells that put the settlers on the back-foot. After failing to find a mutual agreement with them, a mage from Melkinholme was sent.
The mage, Marie Debonnaire, after exhausting all other avenues for a peaceful coexistence, eventually faced them in battle and defeated them. Both the skeletons were buried at the hill and a statue of Marie was erected to commemorate her victory over the giants at the spot on top of the hill were she vanquished them and the peace she brought to the region.
There was excited talk about how they were going to salvage the statue and repair the damage. It had toppled when the ground was disturbed and torn open when the ley lines first went up, imprisoning the town in a field of magic energy that vapourised any who touched it and the skeletons who clawed their way out from their tombs under the hill.
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It wasn’t long until talk turned to an old mayor of Stonequarry who decided that were the old cemetery was, was a good location for a marketplace and then just had the headstones moved and did not exhume the bodies to save money. This brought about a general anger amongst the people but knowing that it was in the past and the mayor long dead there was not much they could do.
"In fact," someone quipped, "he was probably out there tonight." This brought a small bit of laughter around the tavern before it quickly settled back down once more to the sombre mood that pervaded the whole town.
The conversation eventually came around to who did this and why? What was the hoped for outcome? Was it someone they knew? No one knew of anyone who would want to do this. It was a mystery. Many thoughts and ideas where thrown around but no one had an answer. There would be time for that later.
It was then that someone came running in and excitedly started telling everybody about something that was found in the sewers.
"It was," he said, "just laying there dead."
A large mass of what looked like eyes and mouths with tentacle like appendages that had what could almost pass as hands on the end of some of them. The smell was horrible and it was quickly decomposing. A few people ran off to see this gruesome find with Gehrig, Rhast and Vonn quickly following.
Making their way down into the sewers which were part of the ruins of the original town that Stonequarry was built on, they eventually came to the rotting corpse of some unknown abominable creature. A decomposing mass of mouths, eyes and tentacles. A deep dark green to grey colour. The eyes were all different. Some looked like a humans eye while others looked like a cats or goats eyes. Inside the mouth, rows of sharp pointed teeth could be seen.
Retching the companions move closer to the corpse. The smell worse than what they encountered outside the temple earlier that night. The wet cloths wrapped around their mouths and noses only just kept enough of the stench out to keep them from losing their meals.
As the body lay decomposing, flesh turned into pools of slime, hissing and bubbling, acidic smoke drifted off it as the bubbles popped and splashed out large droplets of slime that sprayed out and began to bubble and hiss when they made contact to whatever surface they hit.
Rhast spotted on the ground what looked like runes but these were quickly covered by the spreading slime. Keeping their distance while circling around the corpse looking for more markings, Vonn noticed a door that was slightly ajar in the shadows of the far wall.
Quickly he moves over to it and peeks through the gap. Not seeing anything, he pushes it open. Inside is a corridor. Bringing their lanterns, the companions and the other townsfolk follow it until it becomes a dirt tunnel. Tree roots hanging down from above, moisture heavy in the air. Bending almost to a crawl the tunnel starts to ascend and ends in a door.
Opening it they discover it exits outside of Stonequarry in the bordering woods. In the lantern light tracks are spotted. Following them they come to the large inland lake, Toller See.
Signs that a boat had been beached was evident but looking up and down the coastline and out into the darkness of the lake, nothing could be seen. Only a low mist is visible floating above the river or maybe it is the dust of the dead?
Heading back to Stonequarry and the Dusty Miner, Rhast, Gherig and Vonn were greeted enthusiastically by those there. Here the people of Stonequarry expressed their gratitude and thanks for the companions help in fighting the dead. All food and drink was on the house, a plaque will be erected in their honour and they were also rewarded with a monetary reward. It was all the townspeople could afford but they still wished to show that their aid was very much appreciated. With most of the town guard killed in the initial wave the tally of lives lost would have been much higher if these brave young people did not step up.
Spending the next few hours drinking and performing their set, everyone started to drift off home and eventually Vonn, Rhast and Gherig called it a night and retired themselves. Rising in the morning they broke their fast, said their goodbyes and left for Cortess.
Arriving before nightfall they found a tavern to play and a place to stay, earning themselves some more coin. The next morning they set off to Macht’s Keep, prepping their set list for the night’s performance and planning how they should approach Macht’s Cube and what could they expect to find inside it. It was about mid-afternoon when they arrived at Macht’s Keep and its Faire….