Quillax's Account
We were making good time towards our destination, having bought horses or summoned in Jarrick's case, despite pulling a cart for Clank. As we walked along a stretch of dirt road, we could see a farmhouse in the distance, but the bushes around us made us wary. As we approached the farmhouse, cautiously, cultists (recognised as such by our party) were spotted surrounding the house and one of its occupants, who swiftly retreated into his home. We decided to take action, both against the cultists and the enemies we sensed around us.
Sepheria laid down a fire ball in the centre of the cultists, doing plenty of damage. Clank, Neril, and I headed toward the Rightmost group hiding in the bushes, only to find they were undead. Neril excused himself to go help Serpheria with the cultists. Elwin and Jarrick took on the Leftmost group, also undead, and handled them with little difficulty. The spellcaster leading the way to our destination decided he was best placed somewhere far from the undead and retreated some distance back down the road.
We were made aware of someone shooting a crossbow out from the upstairs of the farmhouse, but as they were targeting the cultists, we assumed they were not enemies. Jarrick went to help Sepheria and Neril at the farmhouse while Elwin helped Clank and I with our remaining undead problem. Then we moved forward to assist, although the rest of our group had it mostly under control.
We were invited inside the farmhouse, and were introduced to the owner, the crossbow wielder, his daughter and her infant, and her husband, Orrick, whom our travelling companion recognised as a deserter from an expedition to kill a very bad person, which had gone quite wrong. He had been thought dead but now facts were beginning to point to that he had betrayed that party.
When he decided to flee, on Jarrick's summoned horse, our thoughts were confirmed. He was guilty of something at least. Jarrick called his horse and we apprehended him for further questioning for later.
As it was late, we decided it was best to camp. Sepheria set up a special warded dome outside, which half of us slept in, including Orrick, wary of a mid-night attack by the undead. The other half, including the woman and her child and our travelling companion, decided to sleep indoors. Jarrick agreed to sleep in the house as well just in case our companion decided to take revenge on Orrick's wife for the loss of his friends.
I heard a scream in the middle of the night from a neighbouring farmstead and we swiftly woke everyone, getting them safely into Sepheria's magic dome, which had a special one-time-use prototype magic generator, which would allow it to last despite her leaving it. Unfortunately, it took months to create so she only had the one.
Again, we split the party, leaving Elwin and Clank behind to guard the family.
Before we got even a mile away, Sepheria called us back, saying her proximity alarms had gone off and the others would be in danger. We hurried back past scarecrows which looked somehow wrong. At one point, Jarrick's mount tripped but I hoped the Paladin would be fine. If he was not with us in a short time, I would double back for him once we secured the group's safety.
It turned out a rather large group of undead had decided to do what we had worried about, and were attacking the dome, digging under it. Neril was able to get there first and pulled the attacker out from their holes. We struggled to ensure the family's safety in the dark and then Jarrick came on foot with a horde of undead in his wake.
In the heat of the battle, we lost track of Orrick, temporarily, as he ran. Once the undead problem was mostly under control, I gave chase. I heard Neril and Sepheria follow shortly after. I was able to catch up with Orrick at the edge of the swamp where a witch waited. I was not able to convince her to give him to me, however, she promised she would keep him alive so we could come and speak with him at our leisure in the future. It wasn't the best outcome, but better than her killing him. We returned to the farmhouse to explain to his wife his location, tend to our injuries, and finish resting.
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