WAKE OF THE UNDEAD HUNTERS

Fredirich Van Fulkoph wandered into a path that lead through deep mists. He saw a light in the distance, but ignored it. He met giant frogs, whom he easily handled. A centipede found its way through his leg, but he was able to toss it aside. Coming back to initial path where he saw the light, he found the light was not there anymore. Checking with his torch, he saw that the area behind the bushes was covered with swamp water. He noticed a hidden raft and found a pole nearby. As he tried moving the raft, he saw the raft had a glow underneath it and a strong sudden wind made him close his eyes. Upon opening them, he was no longer in the same location, he faced a small isle in the water, with a hut made of sugar cane and bamboo and hay ceiling. Fred met an odd old man named ChickenBone. ChickenBone directed him to take the raft and go to the nearby villa.

As Fred got in the raft, it glowed a bit and after a swift wind and opening his eyes he found himself facing a plantation. A muddy way lead to the town, passing through the sugar cane plantation. Right and left were covered areas of sugar cane. The area was pitch black, the torch being the only source of light. The sound of frogs and insects buzzing comforted you as you have come to realize that silence means trouble. After a while, you notice a clearing on the right side, and a giant house, a manor for the looks of it, flanked by a smaller that seems to be some kind of barn. No light sources at all. Fred decided to keep going as he knew it was past midnight and it seemed no one would answer.

The main way had few houses left and right... A hill flanked the town... A giant wall around the hill hinted that something else was there, but it was barely seen through darkness... The shape was a silhouette drawn by  the contrast of night wersus lightning... a silent lightning that outlined giant clouds and everything under such heaven in the pitch black night. In the town there was only one meager light, from a small house flanking the church. Fred met the shaman Brucian who was tending to Kelar and Erasmus. Brucian offered a simple meal and a place to stay for the night. Next day, Fred meets Kelar and Erasmus. Kelar went with Fred, looking for the constable so Fred can offer his services to the town. The constable was not at home. Next stop, the Full Moon Inn.

At the Inn, Katrina and Norris were in the same table with constable Gremin. They seemed to be arguing about the bear encounter at the manor. Fred offer his services and is updated with what has been going on in the town. Fred, constable and Kelar decide to go to the manor to find out werabouts of the servants. As they go out, a woman follows them at a distance.

Meanwhile, Erasmus had stayed at the church to pay respects to Osiris. After a while he noticed that Luc was standing at the entrance of the church staring at him. Luc reacts babbling the same scrambled verses he keeps repeating at all times. Erasmus tries talking to him, but the lad is basically looking through him talking nonsense. As Erasmus decodes to leave and heads out, he catches a glimpse of a curved blade wielded by a man in a black hooded cape. Erasmus turns and cast  a command: "Stop". For a moment the blade was kept in the air, and Luc moved away both surprised and afraid.

After the sudden halt, the mystery man tried to escape, but Erasmus threw himself over him, holding him down. They both struggled, but Erasmus used his mace to control the stranger in the floor  without harming him.

Kelar, Fred and the constable arrived in time to witness how Erasmus captured the guy and unmasked him. The constable immediately identified the man as Jean Tarascon. Fred, Kelar and constable took Jean to the jail. The constable will stay there as he also needs to contact the mayor at Port Del'Hour to explain the situation... Fred, Erasmus and Kelar are heading towards the plantation's manor to get some answers.

They noticed the woman that was at the inn was still following them.

DINNER AT TARASCON MANSION

Erasmus Greywolf, who walks the path of Osiris, began his journey. He was determined to follow his faith, trusting that his god would allow him to fulfill his destiny. As he silently walked through the forest, he felt a sudden shift all around him. A vapor came from the ground but soon solidified into a mist that completely surrounded him. The thick mists made it impossible to look beyond a foot away. After a while he realized there was an acute change in the environment, humid heat and mild pestilence. Swarms of mosquitoes buzzed all around. He realized that very slowly, a swamp surrounding manifested taking over what he knew as woodland spaces.

As he wandered he felt the eyes of the swamp upon him. Stagnant water all around featured entangled roots and pieces of logs. To one side, a log drift lazily atop the still waters. Time stood still as Erasmus felt shadows slip through the trees. One blink later, he realized the log was some type of small gator. It latched itself to his leg as if trying to pull him into the water, but the creature was too small and in the end Erasmus survived the fight.

Trying to put some distance between him and the unknown dangers in the waters, he looked for higher ground where mud did not connect as much with water. It was following that trail that he met a small group of wandering gypsies, who invited him to spend the night in the safety of their small camp. The unlikely family gathered around one pyre on which there was a cauldron. An old woman stirred and served a deliciously smelling soup. Three kids ran around took their plates, and gulped on the soup. Erasmus was offered soup and safety, as long as he stayed away from the gypsy wagon, which they called their vardo. He was told about a rising evil, causing people to leave the nearby town. Everyone there is quite scared, as people are vanishing or appearing dead. A younger gypsy threw some bones and told him his fortune. " The dead will walk with the coming storm, and you must put them to rest. If not, the rain will turn to blood, and it will drown you, all of you!" Erasmus stayed sleeping near the pyre until it actually extinguished. It was a sound sleep. Upon waking up, the gypsies were gone without a trace.

Following what seem some sort of trail, he passed by a seemingly abandoned high hut which was open but offered no means of entrance. Deciding not to linger longer than necessary, he kept to the trail and reached the borderline of a town named Tarascon. There is a heavy storm brewing in the horizon, a storm that he has been witnessing now for two days, and that increases in size. clouds are very heavy and very dark. The shimmering of lightning can sometimes shape the clouds as night, but no thunder is heard and no rain has fallen so far. Now facing the town, Erasmus notices the giant clouds lurking on the horizon, creeping upon the town...

He walks through the main train flanked by houses. Kids seem to play in the middle of the road, but upon seeing him they run towards a house and stay there. They go on playing after he had passed by, and crossed words with a man that directed him to the Full Moon Inn.

The Full Moon Inn's owner is crying desperately. Erasmus meets Kelar Valyn who gives a vibe of being some kind of hunter, Katrina Von Brandthofen who seems to be a scholar, and Norris Galvanski who seems to be some sort of lumberjack. Kelar tries to comfort the innkeeper. Her daughter was attacked by the madman that has been killing people randomly in the town, but thanks to Kelar and Moonfox he stabbed the lady but did not get to kill her. Moonfox had run to try to catch the madman, but until now there has been no word of Moonfox, or the madman. Henrietta's daughter, Lillin, was taken by the constable to the house of shaman Brucious. Lillin's life was spared, but the Inn had already lost Katha (one of its barmaids) to the madman, and it all is badly affecting Henrietta. Katrina is very focused on a book, and casually talks to Norris who just keeps quiet looking at what the people are doing. Norris seems to be on edge, as if expecting something to happen.

Erasmus and Kelar decide to check on Lillin. On their way they meet with the constable, and then with shaman Brucious who is very concerned that he has not seen Luc for some hours. Kelar and Erasmus seem to be bent towards the idea of going to the cemetery on the hill to check it, as well as they believe something may be up at the plantation. As they are on their way, they see Luc standing in the woodland fork of the road that stands between tha way towards the cemetery and the way towards the the plantation manor and the Tristepas main road. They take Luc to the shaman's house and decide to visit the plantation.

On the way, they hear screams from a house. Upon close inspection, the old house has many trinkets on its balcony and entrance, and all around the shut windows. A female voice screams a name but as Kelar and Erasmus try to get in they find an old lady that is completely frightened of them. She screams and soon after a ruckus a man steps into the house flailing his hand with whats seems like a small shiny dagger. He's demanding to know who they are and why are they attacking the old lady. In the end, the man is the town's tailor Mr. Thomas Levi, neighbor that is always looking out for his townfellows. He explains that old Fiora is very superstitious, and every since her daughter has gone missing she has lost sanity. He invites Kelar & Erasmus to his store and shows them some ultimate fashion fabrics from Port'DelHour. His comments make Kelar & Erasmus decide to visit the plantation manor instead of the cemetery.   

Kelar and Erasmus reached the manor after dark. The manor had no lights at all. Upon checking the area between the manor and the small barn near it, a faint glimmer of light was seeing through the kitchen's window. They decide to force themselves in. The kitchen seemed ready for a party, food all around. Erasmus decided to peak into what was in the other room as the source of light came from there. Kelar sneak upon the food taking a pear and taking a bite.

Kelar felt nauseous and soon realized all food around them was rotten. Erasmus peaked at a room with a grand table. Three female servants were standing around serving there, while two male servants were enjoying a meal. One of them had a covered silver plate. She lifted the lid from the silver plate, revealing a head of a young man, white flesh covered in blood, a wicked cut stretched from ear to ear. Erasmus felt instant revulsion and horror at this scene, his first instinct to get as far away as possible from the scene. Both Kelar and him tried fleeing but the undead servants got to them. Erasmus was able to call upon his faith and instantly vaporize one of these creatures, but more were coming. Kelar lost the battle, becoming paralyzed by one of them. Erasmus was next to be attacked. Then a deafening roar made the creatures turn their heads to look. As lights went dark on Kelar and Erasmus, they remember a giant black bear viciously pawing and clawing at the undead.

The warmth of daylight wake up Erasmus and Kelar. They realize that shaman Brucian had been tending to them. They are in his humble house. Lillin is still there. In a corner, Norris is in bed, and Katrina seems to be highly upset and argueig with him as he stares into nothingness. 

Shaman Brucian gets between Erasmus and Kelar. "You were lucky that good loas wish to protect you from unnatural fiends. There's much to do now that we know that somehow the mansion was attacked by undead."

THE LICORICE MURDERS

FULL MOON INN

Henrietta provides breakfast and some gossip. Over a week ago, Fracois, a local fellow, fell dead right there in the common room of the Inn. She was taking a break in the kitchen, then a sudden stench, like of rotten meat, filled the air. She went out to see what was causing that stench, in time to see Francois taken out in a sheet, probably taken to the church. She had forgotten about the foul smell until days ago that old Fiora mentioned she smelled it too.

Luc eats his meal, but Kelar asks a question about his brother and Luc goes back to being catatonic. Duncan was passed out in the table.

Kelar thinks he heard something outside, and tells Moonfox. Both decide to check outside. Henrietta warns don't stay too late, she will close the door very soon.  

CRIME ON STREET

Kelar and Moonfox meet Constable Grelim. He's wary of them but explains what he's checking.

There's a big stain on the floor, seems there was a big amount of blood. Red licorice at the center of it. 

BAKERY AFTER HOURS

Kelar and Moonfox sneak up to the bakery, get in and as they approached the inner door the owner comes out ready to hit them with a baking roller. Seems she was ready for sleep. She was in a very foul mood, but sells them bread and answers questions about the red licorice. The people who buys them the most are the carpenter's kids, Mordu the town eccentric and Jean Tarascon the town's leader and owner of the plantation. After this, Kelar and Moonfox return to the Inn and decide to close the night.

EARLY BIRDS

Moonfox and Kelar get up early. They get their breakfast. Duncan D'Lute is having oatmeal in a corner, Luc is awake but in a trance, still. 

DEATH STENCH

Odor of death fills the air. Jerald, and Henrietta feel nauseous as they smell the putrid odor, Lillin cannot hold it in and vomits. Kelar starts feeling dizzy and becomes very weak, falling to the floor almost as if out of breath. Moonfox smells the putrid gust of wind, but holds himself in place.

Duncan D'Lute gets a fatal disease almost instantly. He gets red spots that starts covering his body, somehow making his skin break and melt. Screaming, his skin gets greyish and eyes get out of sockets. Kelar gets so horrified that he cannot stand being in the same place, developing an instant aversion to the visage. He instantly runs as far away as possible from the scene. Moonfox fights undead Duncan as it tries biting him, first targeting core and arm and then targeting the rest of the core with magic missiles. Duncan lays on the floor in a pool of blood, flesh and bones, in pieces. 

Henrietta and Lillin seek refuge in Jerald's arms, horrified with the death of Duncan. Luc remained in his trance during the whole event. 

Kelar placed himself outside targeting the entrance of the Inn. At the moment that the door opened, he uses his crossbow but misses. Moonfox feels the arrow as it gets stuck on the wall behind him. He goes to Kelar to check what was wrong with him, and from there they decide to get the constable.

CHURCH, COFFIN, BURIAL

Constable Grelim was sleeping in his office, but gets ready and goes to check the Inn, followed by Moonfox. They wrap the remains and take them to the church, where shaman Brucian takes care of pronouncing a ritual that should help Duncan's soul. The constable and Moonfox go to the carpenter's home to get a coffin, and Kelar joins them on the way.

The carpenter's kids play outside their home. The carpenter receives the constable rapidly offering a coffin. Kids outside offer red licorice candy to Moonfox and Kelar. The trio leave the carpenter's home with the coffin. When reaching the church, Kelar goes to get Pierot the Caretaker so he can help opening the gate of the cemetery and bury Duncan. In the meantime, Duncan, Gremin and Moonfox place the remains in the coffin and nail the top. Pierot directs them to the cemetery, opens the iron gates and leads them to an appropriate mausoleum. 

Upon departure, Moonfox questions why they don't burn the bodies. Brucian doesn't take that idea lightly, and says the culture demands 4 days of celebrating and mourning the dead and then burying the body. The flesh must be ready, put to rest. the vessel cannot be destroyed intentionally... it is against traditions and beliefs in this region. 

BACK AT THE INN

All has been cleaned. Norris and Katrina eating in a table, Luc in stasis in another table. Halfling alone in one table, looking bored. Barmaid Cinthia tells Moonfox that the barmaid that opens did not arrive at all. Kelar and Moonfox decide to check where she lives, so Cinthia gives them the directions.

INVESTIGATING KHALA's HOME

Two rooms, Lillim lives here with Khala as roommates. Khala is not here. Kelar and Moonfox goes to check the house, find Henrietta and Jerald cleaning the kitchen/living room. Lillim is in her room, scared and mourning Khala, who is now missing.   

Kelar found some tracks outside of the house. He tells Moonfox and they decide to check. Tracks passed two abandoned houses and a small wood area. Upon checking the second house, they notice that night was creeping upon them. Clouds were really black, like storm clouds. They decide it would be best to return to the Inn.

MADMAN KILLER

Suddenly, they hear a scream that shatters the quiet afternoon, echoing through the village streets. Both Kelar and Moonfox identify the source of the scream and run towards the location, arriving in time to encounter a black-cloaked attacker. His hood concealed his face completely. He had just stabbed the young woman once. Upon seeing Moonfox and Kelar, he drops the barmaid and flees through the village.

Kelar stays with the barmaid, Lillin. He makes sure to give her healing potions after tending to her would. She tells him that a dark figure leaped out of the shadows above her. She screamed as she felt his dagger stab her... and she remembers nothing else. She just wants to go back to her mother, Henrietta... whom she had defied. She had sneaked out of the Inn, as Henrietta did not want her to stay in the house where the other barmaid got attacked... 

Moonfox followed the attacker through some houses and then through a small wooded area. He lost the attacker by the end of the woods. The attacker left 3 red licorice candy pieces in the floor where the woods ended.