"Is it alright if we seek refuge as well?" Spriggy inquired. He assumed the answer would be yes, but it was still a good idea to be polite. "Is there a good reason everyone is staying off the streets? Will Gelnien be alright out there on his own? We passed him on the road a while back..." He figured name-dropping a local might add to their credibility a bit.

"But what about your pony?" Kharla hooked a thumb toward the Dwarf's cart.  She hadn't noticed anything amiss so was a bit slow to appreciate the woman's level of concern. "I can help you stable it if you like."

"It's alright, we can take care of it. You should go in, you have much to talk about I'm sure."

The woman looks at your group, realizing you're not part of Brom's assistants. "Yes, come in... I'm Arund, owner of the Sword Stone. Who are you?" When Spriggy mentions Gelnien, she sighs. "Oh, he should be fine. He only comes around to trade for some drinks. He has a cabin on the river's side further south-east. Nothing..." She hesitates, leaving her phrase unfinished.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:16, Fri 05 Feb 2021.

"...Nothing's going to attack him there?" Istvan guessed.

"Hmmm...." the thief frowns at Istvan's comment, clarity of the situation having slowly dawned upon her, "Lady Arund, we are members of the Phoenix Blades, sent to understand and assist as we may in Chestnut Hollow's plight.  Perhaps you could further explain the situation to us over a mug of wine?"

With a quick look up and down the street, Kharla enters the Sword Stone and finds a seat.

She flinches at Istvan's comment, but breathes a sigh of relief when Kharla explains why you're here. "Oh thanks Zohlkahn you're here... Please, take a seat, I'll bring you something to drink."

Brom and his dwarves sit at another table, far enough to avoid accidentally eavesdropping on your discussion. Not that Arund seems to care, as she sits with you and offers you a pitcher of beer. "It all started five days ago. We had a bad collapse in the mine, and lost eleven miners. After we gave them a final wake, we went to... bury them." She pauses, but seeing no reactions, she continues. "When we went to our graveyard... we found the dead had tried to dig themselves up."

She pauses to take another drink. "Some of us thought it could have been done by some wild animal, but we didn't find any tracks. We decided to bury them again... but it happened again the next day. At that point, we decided to send a call for help. It's happened every night since. The dead never fully unearthed themselves... but we're worried it could change..."
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:17, Fri 05 Feb 2021.

"Wait, hold on. 'Tried' to dig themselves up? I mean, obviously, if you noticed, that means that they got as far as the surface... So what exactly did you find? Half-buried corpses? A skeletal arm sticking out of the ground? Has anyone kept watch at night to see what happens...?"

"Half-unburied would be a better way to put it... A few limbs poking out of the ground, some getting as far as part of their torso." She says. "As for guards... the worst we have to deal with in these parts are the occasional bear getting too close to the village. Whatever is causing this... it's not something anyone in town is ready to deal with."

"Hm. But they're unmoving and acting-dead (as opposed to undead) each time you actually find them? Hm. ...But... Is this just the new 11 miners you buried? Or were the previous dead already trying to, er, exhume themselves when you took the unfortunate 11 to the graveyard? If so, are the new 11 additions also trying to un-bury themselves?"

"Bodies digging themselves up but not fully reanimating? This reminds me of something I read about once..." Spriggy commented. He tried to recall what exactly he knew even as Arund shared her own knowledge. When the lady finished answering Istvan, Spriggy shared his own insights about the situation.

---

Spouting Lore:
13:49, Today: Spriggy Glompgut rolled 10 using 2d6+1 with rolls of 6,3.  Spout Lore - self- exhumed bodies.
On a 10+, the GM will tell you something interesting and useful about the subject relevant to your situation.

Kharla nods as she listens to her companions then offers, "The sun has not yet set.  If we wish to know how the bodies are unearthed perhaps we should build a large fire in the graveyard and keep watch tonight?"

It is clear in the tone of her voice that she is not thrilled by the idea; only dedicated to resolving the mystery.

Arund sighs. "We couldn't bring ourselves to harm the bodies to test them, but they showed no signs of being animated when we re-buried them. And the dead miners only reanimated after we buried them. The rest of the our cemetery was also affected."

Spriggy recalls... "When the Dark Elves unlocked the secrets of necromancy, their favorite tactics was to use their prodigious magical powers to raise entire armies at once. Of course, the strongest necromancers died long before the rise of the Ghostwalk. Before long, the most they could manage were a squad of undead at the time...
But if the spell breaks before the bodies can unearth themselves... This screams of failed incantation."

"Dark Elves? You think Dark Elves could have done this?" Arund seems unsure whether to be happy or worried... "Well, the sun is setting... If you're willing to wait near the cemetary, I can offer you some lamps. The path leading up there is discreet, but I can show where it is."

Spriggy looked to the other two. "I think we should take her up on that offer. If someone is out there trying to animate a squad of undead, we should probably try to catch them in the act." Spriggy had been looking forward to a night in a nice soft bed for a change, but this was what they were here for. And if they waited an extra night and the potential spellcaster figured out the shortcomming of their spell... Well, they could have much bigger problems than a night of missed sleep.

"Sure. What if someone's trying every night? And what if this happens to be the night they get it right? Whether it is or not, I think we should be there to stop them.

I am curious about that mine collapse, though. Makes me wonder if maybe someone dug in the wrong spot underground... When you retrieved the poor miners' bodies... did anyone see anything else suspicious in that area? Weird glowing runes that said NOW YOU'VE DONE IT or a big glowing sign saying YOU HAVE BROKEN THE SEAL or a creepy glowing skull that whispered TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED, or anything? ...Glowing or otherwise?" Istvan was a big believer in evil magic (arcane, divine, or otherwise) being glow-y, but he didn't want to rule anything out.

Gathering a few lamps, Arund leads you out of the inn, and toward a trail you would never have seen in the dark. "If they did... they didn't live to tell us about it. The victims were in a new side branch they started digging. It collapsed on them midway-through. We managed to dig them out, but no one tried crawling through what was left of the tunnel. We were more concerned with what was happening in the graveyard."

The trail twist through a small wood, until it reaches a depression between the hills. Ahead, you see the rows of crosses marking the burial sites, an imitation of the old tradition of leaving a sword jab into the ground to mark the place a warrior died.

Arund shivers as she looks at the graveyard. "If you don't mind... I'll wait for you at the inn. I'd rather not be here when whatever is causing this arrives..."

"Understood," Spriggy replied to Arund as she excused herself. If he hadn't been here for this specific job, Spriggy would have probably been right behind her. But as it was, they had a mystery to solve.

After making sure his lamp worked properly, he said to Istvan and Kharla, "I suppose we should try and search for clues before we lose the last of our daylight. Unfortunately footprints probably won't be much help, since they have been reburying the bodies daily, but it doesn't hurt to be vigilant anyway." Spriggy began pacing through the graveyard, taking note of how many looked to be disturbed. Or which ones were NOT disturbed, if it seemed relevant. He also kept his keen elven ears and nose tuned in to any hints of magic in the air.

---

Discerning Realities:
20:58, Today: Spriggy Glompgut rolled 10 using 2d6+1 with rolls of 6,3.  Discern Realities - graveyard clues.
What here is not what it appears to be?
What should I be on the lookout for?
What here is useful or valuable to me?

The red-head stood pondering, eyes searching the rows of markers.

"If I were trying to raise the dead....where would I do it from?"

She began her stroll, looking for any sign...

Spriggy has already succeeded so no need to roll to asssit

As Spriggy said, the dirt of the graveyard is trampled and overturned. But by carefully checking the edges of the graveyard, you can see the villagers always entered the graveyard from the path you took. Outside of that well trodden path, the earth remains soft, with no signs of tracks.

The sun is now well set, and Spriggy pauses to gaze at the moon, the vessel of the elven god Dirthspar. As the god of meditation, most elf spellcaster participate in the god's worship. Spriggy himself attended many such ceremonies, and as he watches the moon above, he can still hear the chants that accompanies those rituals...

Wait. That's not a memory. You can hear a strange, distant chant. It sounds like an elvish song, but it's... distorted somehow, making it impossible to understand what is said.

You have little time to ponder it though, as the earth around you starts to move...

OOC: Dirthspar has been added into The World of Arete thread if you want more information.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:47, Sun 07 Feb 2021.

Istvan suddenly remembers oh yeah, he can turn the undead, right.

He asks Noric for a little protection...

(12:35, Today: Istvan Vanoson rolled 8 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 3,3.  turn undead?)

Noric comes through. It's not the most powerful job of turning that Istvan has ever pulled off, but it'll still work...

"I appreciate their punctuality," Kharla grins, her dagger and shortsword suddenly in her hands, "Now for a little puncturing of my own!"

The thief begins to lay about her with abandon; targeting any head that breaks the surface.

18:35, Today: Kharla rolled 9 using 2d6 with rolls of 3,6.  Hack and Slash.
- oooh I didn't ask if they were vulnerable as they were emerging, could have been a backstab instead

Well IF they are up for a backstab then Harley will use that and choose 1: You deal your damage+1d6
Otherwise just Hack and Slash for 1d6 but: On a 7–9, you deal your damage to the enemy and the enemy makes an attack against you.

18:40, Today: Kharla rolled 11 using 2d6 with rolls of 5,6.  Damage for Backstab or Hack and Slash.
- Either 11 dmg for Backstab or 5 for Hack and Slash
This message was last edited by the player at 14:50, Mon 08 Feb 2021.

"That chanting. It sounds... familiar. Yet I cannot parse out the words..." As Istvan began turning the undead, Spriggy moved closer to the cleric with his rapier drawn and stood back to back. When Kharla began her stabbing, Spriggy's gaze was not drawn to the obvious threats around them, or even to the carnage Kharla was inflicting. Instead, his gaze was drawn toward the moon. His finger traced the edge of the treasured songbook that hung off his belt and words of the elven moon deity sprang to the front of his mind.

Softly, and with a calmness unwarranted by their current situation, Spriggy released the poetic words from his lips:

"The silver sand falls grain by grain,
Casting light upon the sane.

Patience pools and light shall wane,
Only time can soothe all pain.

~So sayeth Dirthspar"

Spriggy wasn't sure why, but he could feel a touch of magic in the poem. It pulsed patiently into his companion's weapon of choice, giving a touch of magic to the blade's next strike.

---

Used Arcane Arts to give Kharla +1d4 to her next damage roll (not intended to boost her current damage roll).
23:51, Today: Spriggy Glompgut rolled 8 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 5,1.  Arcane Arts: boost Kharla's damage.

On a 7-9, your spell still works, but you draw unwanted attention or your magic reverberates to other targets affecting them as well, GM’s choice.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:56, Mon 08 Feb 2021.

Kharla starts slicing the limbs as they dig themselves out, but there are a lot of them, reaching up from the ground to grasp her. The whole cemetery moves, except for a small island of peace where Noric holds back the creatures.

As Spriggy's word echoes around you, the distant chanting seems to fade... only to grow stronger and more distinct as the moon shines on Karla's blade. It's difficult to tell, but you get the impression that the chant comes from the direction of the mountains.

But now is not the time to admire the scenery, as a horde of half-buried zombies reach out for you, pushing back against Istvan's prayer!

"There's too many," Kharla frowns, before looking to Spriggy "But didn't you say before that if the spell were disrupted the bodies would return to their rest?"

"To that chanting, quick!"

She expects to see Spriggy and Istvan rally with her and will be surprised if they do not.

Being Chaotic Kharla is ready to jump in without a plan.

Are we in a position where we could break for it or do we need to make some rolls?  If so what would be appropriate?

You'll need a roll. Either Hack and Slash to cut your way out, or Defy Danger using either DEX or STR to avoid or push through the limbs.

"Only if we disrupt the spell before the bodies fully emerge from the ground. Let's hurry! That way, I think." Spriggy pointed in the direction of the mountains, where he thought the sound was coming from. He did his best to avoid the grasping hands of the half-undead as he navigated the dark cemetery. He was eager to get unchurning soil beneath his feet once again.

---

Defy Danger with Dex:
15:09, Today: Spriggy Glompgut rolled 7 using 2d6 with rolls of 5,2.  Defy Danger + Dex, navigate graveyard.