Re: To the 'Town' on the Hill

by **Nara-pyon** Sat Oct 20, 2018 5:40 pm

When they had rested a bit, the group continued on to the next building. The wall of it had collapsed inside, exposing the furniture to the elements, and most of the furniture was destroyed. However, in one corner, Aeris saw a drawer intact, and she moved to check it out.

Inside the drawer she found a thin book, and flipping through it she saw that it was a ledger of sorts, with notes about amounts of metals, oils, charcoal and leather. Occasionally, there were notes for precious metals, or rare jewels, and often, next to the entries about the gems, were notes that they were for "Landan".

"A ledger," she told the others, closing it and turning to show them. "Do you think it's worth anything to anyone?"

by **Kara Winters** Sat Oct 20, 2018 5:43 pm

Reed went over and skimmed over the ledger in Aeris' hands, he couldn't imagine why anyone would need that much metal, perhaps an artisan?

"Doubtful," he admitted, "But it's interesting..."

He wondered who this Landan was, perhaps the lord? But the wording seemed too informal.

Now that they were all in the building, there was a door to the south, so this place was a bit bigger than the first homes they saw as well.

by **Nara-pyon** Sat Oct 20, 2018 5:49 pm

Aeris shrugged and handed the book over to Reed, since he seemed to find it more interesting than she did.

Zoltan meanwhile moved to check out the southern door. In it, he found a room that had once been a pantry. There were jars and pots of things, and though it had clearly been meant to be preserved, it still smelled somewhat rank, and he didn't care to look any further into it.

"Rotted food," he grunted to the others, closing the door again.

by **Kara Winters** Sat Oct 20, 2018 5:52 pm

Risa took a small walk (it was not a large room) around the room to see if they had missed anything. It did not appear like there was anything of interest. Then again, they had managed to find things in every place they had been to so far, so she supposed that wasn't unexpected.

Reed closed to ledger and handed it back to Aeris, "Either this person was a merchant, or more likely some sort of private artisan."

by **Nara-pyon** Sat Oct 20, 2018 6:31 pm

Aeris tucked the ledge into her bag. Who knew? Maybe someone would care.

"Or something," she agreed with Reed. "But we might as well move on."

She led the way to the next building, slowly pushed the door open, and looked inside. In the far back of the building, where there was little but shadows, she saw five shadowy figures - four looked humanoid, the fifth like a creature of some kind.

"Get ready, everyone, there are five in there," she cautioned the others.

Zoltan bit hit lip and put himself into a rage, his vision going red. He gripped his greataxe in both hands and rushed into the room past Aeris. He focused on the first creature he saw, a gaunt, gray dog-like creature with no hair, rotting in places. It looked rather fierce, but that didn't hold Zoltan back. He let out a battle cry as he swung his axe at the creature.

The dog leapt to one side, and the greataxe hit the ground harmlessly.

Aeris stepped into the doorway and to one side to make room for the others. She pointed one hand at the dog and spoke a word of power, summoning three magical darts that flew from her fingertip and pierced the rotting dog. It yelped as each dart pierced its flesh, leaving holes in it, sounding very much as though it felt the attacks more than any of the zombies had so far.

by **Kara Winters** Sat Oct 20, 2018 6:47 pm

Risa hurried in and took up station on the left side of the door, getting out her long bow so she wouldn't have to go near the creatures. There were many of them and she didn't want to be putting herself in a bad spot. She took aim and hit the zombie in front of her with an arrow.

The zombies during this time were shuffling towards the group, the one that Risa just shot shambled towards her and slammed itself against her, causing her to hit against the wall. She dropped her bow as she wouldn't be able to do anymore long range attacks now.

Another zombie shuffled over to Zoltan's left and made a hard bow as if to whack him with its upper torso, not the most effective way to attack seeing as Zoltan was much shorter than the zombie.

One of the zombies on the right made a beeline for Aeris and slammed into her with its body.

The final zombie on the far right shuffled over to Zoltan, pinning him between all it's peers. It too try to body slam him but didn't manage to do any damage, and missed him completely.

At this point Reed had rushed in to help Zoltan and since it was being pinned, but realized even if he were to have Zoltan's back, he wouldn't be able to reach those zombies without a spear. Instead he pointed to the one on Zoltan's left and shouted how it was a horrible at even dying. The creature seemed to twitch but wasn't affected at all by the spell.

The undead canine leaped forward to bite Zoltan but ended up missing the dwarf too as he too moved out of the way before he could have his face bitten off by the creature.

by **Nara-pyon** Sat Oct 20, 2018 6:57 pm

Zoltan's rage rose to a frenzy, and he swung his greataxe at the dog again, and once again he missed as the dog dodged out of the way.

Aeris jabbed at the zombie next to her with both daggers, but only the first one managed to graze it. It left a line of dark liquid oozing from the wound.

by **Kara Winters** Sat Oct 20, 2018 7:07 pm

Risa pulled out her long sword and as she did so the zombie in front of her attacked her slamming into her once more. She grunted in pain at that as her back was slammed into the wall.

The zombie that was doing it's slamming bow, tried to slam into Zoltan again and missed nearly toppling over completely, but by some miracle managed to not fall over.

Meanwhile the zombie that Aeris was dealing with, slammed it's body against her again, pushing her against the wall.

Zoltan seemed to have better luck dodging the very slow zombies as the one on his right tried to slam him again but once more Zoltan moved out of the way with some quick footwork.

Reed scratched his head and then began to hum soundlessly, no one around him would hear it. The undead hound jerked and then began to shake before running away from Zoltan. This gave the barbarian an opportunity to attack which he took and then missed as the hound kept running until it reached the door the far end of the room. Once it was there however, and managed to shake off whatever had caused it, it ran back towards Zoltan trying to knock him to the ground as it bite him on the shoulder. There seemed to be blackness seeping from it and the skin around the edges of the bite turned a bit grey. Zoltan grind his teeth together as he steadied himself on his feet and he could feel something into his blood but managed to fight off the affects.

by **Nara-pyon** Sat Oct 20, 2018 10:20 pm

The bite however focused Zoltan in a way he hadn't been before, and he directed his next attacks against the hound again, mustering all his strength and fury. He slashed at it with his greataxe, slashing an enormous hole in its side and sending it, motionless, to the ground; but even then, it wasn't enough. He slashed at it again, bringing his greataxe down with all his strength, cleaving the corpse into two halves.

Aeris stabbed again with her two daggers at the zombie closest to her. She missed with her first attack, her dagger slashing wide, but the second connected, leaving a long, oozing slice in the zombie's torso. It was still moving, however, and still a threat.

by **Kara Winters** Sat Oct 20, 2018 10:34 pm

Risa swung her long sword at the zombie as hard as she could slashing a gapping hole in the creature. Ooze and whatever was left of it's guts poured out of the wound as it kept moving. She wrinkled her nose at it. The zombie made a lunge for her but this time she was prepared and moved out of the way of the creature.

The zombie on Zoltan's left swung it's torso down and hit the dwarf hard. It groaned as it did so, not from pain, but more as a reaction.

Meanwhile the zombie that was still surprisingly moving head butt Aeris in the shoulder hard, but ends up hitting against her magical shield, which she put up in defense instead.

The final zombie which was one Zoltan's right, didn't manage to hit him at all, instead it's arms swung wildly and missed him completely.

Reed looked at the zombie to Zoltan's left and shouted out to it, "You look like a wilted vegetable!"

Which was a horrible insult, and not that great, but it did the trick and the zombie jerked back as if it was being hit.

by **Nara-pyon** Sat Oct 20, 2018 11:41 pm

Zoltan swung at the zombie that had hit him, slashing through its torso with his greataxe. The torso split partially, and the arm and shoulder fell from the zombie's body. Zoltan slashed again, and this time the torso split completely, the zombie falling to the ground for the final time.

Aeris stabbed again at the zombie next to her, and as before her first attack went wild, missing completely. The second one however did hit, causing another gash to open on the zombie's body, and black goo began to ooze from this point as well. The zombie's movements were slower now, jerkier, but it was still moving.

by **Kara Winters** Sat Oct 20, 2018 11:48 pm

Risa thrust the long sword into the zombie's chest and then brought it down, slicing it open. The zombie jerked and fell over as ooze spread throughout the floor. It didn't move however, much to Risa's relief.

This left two zombies, including the strangely moving one near Aeris. It tried to body chuck her with its shoulder but didn't manage to really hit that hard and was more like a bump than anything else. The zombie to the right of Zoltan however was still fresh and it showed as it slammed its body against Zoltan.

Reed, now that the zombie near Risa was dead, stepped over the bodies of her kill and Zoltan's to move around the dwarf so he could stab the zombie that had been trying to attack Zoltan. He stabbed the zombie with his rapier, leaving a good size hole in it that it didn't seem to notice.

by **Nara-pyon** Sun Oct 21, 2018 12:07 am

Zoltan again attacked the zombie nearest him, aiming for its neck in an attempt to decapitate it. He swung hard, and with only slight resistance, he severed the neck, sending the zombie's head to the floor with a splat.

With only one zombie left now, Zoltan aimed for it as well. He hit it in the head, making it lurch with the impact, the skull splitting open. It jerked slightly, then kept on going.

"This'n jes' doesn'e know when te DIE!" Zoltan burst out in frustration.

Aeris had had enough of this zombie. Using the last of her magic reserves, she sent forth three glowing darts from her hand. All three darts struck it in the neck, ripping the skin away and snapping the spine. Magic was clearly at work here. Its head swaying limply along with the body, it lurched forward, catching itself before hit hit the ground. It was still moving.

"Unbelievable!" she said angrily. "Just die already! I mean, again!"

by **Kara Winters** Sun Oct 21, 2018 12:15 am

Risa moved to help Aeris and Zoltan banish the last of the zombies. She struck out at it slashing it deep across the chest. The zombie jerked once more but kept on moving as it turned to attack Risa since she was the last person to attack it. It however, with the damage it took did not manage to hit her at all.

Reed moved to the zombies other side but somehow managed to miss complete as the zombie just jerked out of the way.

by **Nara-pyon** Sun Oct 21, 2018 5:26 pm

Zoltan swung his greataxe twice more at the zombie, severing an arm with each swing. The arms flopped to the ground, and it looked like the zombie was about to follow - but then it jerked itself upright again, planting its feet solidly.

Aeris continued striking at it with both of her daggers, slashing it across its torso again and again. Flesh fell from the chest, exposing ribs and internal organs, black and rotted, and again it looked as though the zombie was going down - but at the last second, with another jerk, it stood up once more.

by **Kara Winters** Sun Oct 21, 2018 8:51 pm

Risa runs it through with her sword, the whole sword and her hand going through the creature, to the point where Reed had to back away quickly to not get skewered. However, it finally does the trick and the zombie slides off of Risa's arm onto the ground. It does not move and it appears to have finally died.

"Finally, I didn't realize zombies could be so stubborn," Risa murmured as she pulled out a cloth normally used to clean the sword, but she used it to also wipe her hand and the hilt as it was full of ooze.

by **Nara-pyon** Sun Oct 21, 2018 8:55 pm

"Let me," Aeris said quickly, moving to Risa's side. She used prestidigitation several times on Risa, on herself, and on anyone else who had any of the dark ooze on them, until they and their weapons were all clean.

Zoltan sighed heavily. "Le's check out this place and then go back to camp for the nigh'," he said tiredly. "This place is ridiculous."

by **Kara Winters** Sun Oct 21, 2018 8:56 pm

"Well, that's what happens when no one does anything about it for a few decades I believe?" Reed wasn't sure about the last part, but it had been a number of years.

Risa nodded, "At least we know not all places have undead?"

So that was a bit hopeful at least.

by **Nara-pyon** Sun Oct 21, 2018 9:24 pm

Zoltan nodded. "An' we've cleared wha', half the town?"

As he spoke he looked around the room, taking everything he found. There were smith's tools, two longswords, a tall container with 20 arrows, and a shield with a family crest on it.

Aeris moved to the back door of the room and opened it. It led outside again, to another work area, with an outdoor forge. She looked around, but found only a few smith's tools, a shortsword, some nails, some horseshoes, all of it rusted.

"Nothing of use here," she announced to the others, heading back inside. "I think Zoltan was right, we could use a night's rest before we go on."

by **Kara Winters** Sun Oct 21, 2018 9:27 pm

"Probably a bit more than half considering we cleared the first floor of the manor and there's not as many homes on the east side," Risa spoke up, "Though I don't know if we searched the whole first floor."

She knew they were more concerned about finding whatever had caused all the undead in the first place.

"So it's safe to go back to the camp and rest I think," Reed agreed.

by **Nara-pyon** Sun Oct 21, 2018 9:34 pm

The group gathered their things together and left the smithy, watching carefully as they made their way back to the camp where Allen and the horses were waiting for them.

by **Kara Winters** Sun Oct 21, 2018 9:41 pm

The nice thing about having a person watch camp was that there was also someone at camp preparing a meal so those going through the abandoned 'town' didn't have to. This just allowed everyone to relax, and the next day they were ready at the entrance once more. Whatever big items that were found were left in the chest in the cart.

Risa with her map opened, asked, "Do we want to go east this time, or start at the mansion?"

by **Nara-pyon** Sun Oct 21, 2018 10:49 pm

"We might as well start east," Aeris suggested, "and continue around to the manor again."

It was closer than starting on the further side of town, and really, why not?

They made their way to the first building to the east side of town. There wasn't exactly a door, but there was a massive hole in the wall where the door had been, as if someone had forced their way through not the door, but the wall surrounding it. Stone and rotting wood littered the ground near the hole. Aeris stepped up to the edge of the hole and peered inside.

There were shards of wood on the floor, and the eastern window was boarded up as if someone had once tried to take refuge here, but clearly something had gotten in, as it was now empty. Aeris was about to dismiss the building entirely when she noticed that something about the floorboards seemed ... off. Uneven. As if something might be underneath.

"Check this out," she called to the others, entering the building and kneeling at the uneven spot.

She pulled at the board and was surprised at how easily it came up. Beneath it, she found a small wooden box, and inside that she found 24 cp, 30 sp, 8 gp, a pair of engraved bone dice, and a letter. She opened it up and read:

"To anyone who finds this letter,
My name was Arvin Archer. I existed,
and I lived here. When I could not
fight, I hid in hopes of help coming.
If my body is not here, I have become
one of them. Please put my body to
rest."

Tears pricked at her eyes. "So sad," she murmured, standing again. She tucked what she had found into her bag, but kept the letter to show to the others.

by **Kara Winters** Sun Oct 21, 2018 11:02 pm

"Found something?" Reed asked from the door way.

He carefully peered through, but didn't see anything of threat, the place seemed pretty bare with the exception of the amount of wood shards that were about.

by **Nara-pyon** Sun Oct 21, 2018 11:06 pm

Aeris nodded and held the letter out to Reed. "Some coins, some dice, and a letter," she told him. "Here."

She let him read it.

by Sponsored content