Wilds - The Road Home

With a pile of gold, silver, copper, and platinum bars in their hands, greed comes to the fore, and the party decides it's time to head to town. They retreat out of the vault complex, sealing all the doors behind them, and fall back to the camp they used the previous night, near the stream. The hike isn't terribly long, but Durego and Raúguey have convinced everyone that they should load excess personal gear on the mules so they can split the bars and other treasure among party members. That way a mule can't run off with all the loot. It takes a couple hours to wind down off the hill and backtrack along the old road, covering tracks as best they can.


While Maro, Rawon, Jonquil, and Dagmarten shuffle gear, Durego, Locky, Ohwatoo, Ingvild, and Locky examine the curious objects discovered and discuss the road back, leaving Mordikarr, Gorvil, and Saurabh to keep watch. Afternoon stretches into evening, and by nightfall the gear is reshuffled and the plan is set. The group finishes their preparations for the next day's push, and heads for the land of Nod. The night passes quietly, and the next morning they're up early, ready to implement:

The Plan, known as The Plan!

Head back to town along the old road. Stop off at the spire / tower to see if the tube/rod/cap contraption is actually a key to the black door, but don't explore. Continue north to the nearby ruined tower and off-load / hide some of the party's bulky gear, so the group can bring / stockpile additional supplies on the next trip. Continue east, timing travel to avoid camping near the gnoll village, or the church/battlesite/graveyard. Use the old road as a guide and continue directly east past the church site. Hopefully the abandoned road will provide a more direct route to civilized lands. Once in known territory, head to Auslaug via Brekkevale, to retrieve the giant lynx pelt that was being tanned. Establish a camp somewhere outside the town so the lynx kits and Mordikarr don't freak out. Let's see how it goes.

July 17 - clear, calm and hot. The party gets an early start, traipsing through the woods at a fair pace. Near midday they pass the shrine to Fraykulga, and Rawon and Mordikarr check it out to see if there are any signs of fresh activity. Nothing. Unwilling to waste time in unfriendly territory, the group pushes on, leaving the woods for open fields and prairie. With one eye on the sky (giant flying predator), and the other on the road, they press on to the ruined village where they make camp among the remains of stone walls.

July 18 - clear, calm, but cooler. The clear skies mean it gets light early, so another early start. Mordikarr warns the group that they'll be passing the swamps today (if everything goes according to plan), so they should be ready to fight or flee if the lizard men approach. The warning makes for nervous travel, but all for naught. Nightfall sees the party past the abandoned farm (after a quick stop for water), and on the north-east branch of the road, headed for the tower. There's not enough light to make it all the way there, so the group camps in the open, a hasty and dry camp (though the group has plenty of waterskins now...)

July 19 - cool, partly cloudy, breezy. The night passed quietly, but Dagmarten and Mordikarr are both up early, sniffing the wind. "Feels like rain," says Dagmarten, and Mordikarr agrees. With that cheery thought in mind, the party packs up and heads north toward the tower ruin, which is fairly close. The lesser road takes the party into the dense woods that surround the tower site, slowing progress, but by mid-morning the party is close to the site. Just as the party starts up the final rise leading to the tower ruin, the beasts get crazy! The mules bray and pull at their leads, trying to retreat. Suren snarls and leaps from Mordikarr's shoulder onto a nearby tree, climbing swiftly to the top. The kits snarl and growl, crouching near their respective owners.

Warned by the sudden change in behavior, the party swiftly arms itself and spreads out to protect the animals. "Any idea what set them off Mordikarr?" asks Locky.

"Bad smell. Dead smell." He sniffs the air. "You no smell it?"

Then everyone catches the scent, the odor of putrefaction and death. Faint at first, then stronger. A twig snaps, then another. Rustling noises ahead, and then a shape creeps out of the undergrowth, a rotting humanoid form clothed in scraps and rags. Another staggers forth, then a third. And a fourth. They turn to the party, and one makes a noise, a half-growling whine.

"Where did *these* come from?" mutters Gorvil as he winds his crossbow...

The hike back so far

OOC: Zombies? Ghouls? Ghasts? Grave Lickers? Who knows? They're obviously hostile though.

Current supplies: 8 days food, 11 days feed.

End Date: July 19, Year of the Badger, mid-morning
End Status: It's off to kill undead we go!
End Location: Near the ruined tower in the Wilds

Standing Orders

Marching Order (servants march with their leader)

Outdoor
Front: Rawon,Mordikarr, Maro
Middle: Locky, Ohwatoo (Jonquil), Ingvild, Dagmarten
Rear: Durego (Gorvil), Raúguey (Saurabh)

Indoor
Front: Ingvild, Durego, Raúguey (Saurabh)
Middle: Maro, Ohwatoo (Jonquil), Dagmarten
Rear: Rawon, Locky, Mordikarr

Watches
1 - Ingvild, Raúguey (Saurabah), Rawon
2 - Maro, Locky, Durego (Gorvil)
3 - Ohwatoo (Jonquil), Dagmarten, Mordikarr

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