Amberfell

Church of Erastil

When the party arrives at the church, they will see a well-battered Colton in a desperate battle with several undead. He appears to be barely on his feet and is pressed hard by 4 undead. Father Ganter is lying on the ground, unmoving. When they are able to see him clearly, it is obvious that the priest is dead as it looks like the evil undead have been snacking on his head and shoulders. (Oh, the horror!)

The sounds of battle ring out from within the temple. Feral growls are met with battle cries and metal rending flesh. A stench of rot rolls out the doors, now the familiar sign of foul ghasts and ghouls. Taking in the room, you see the recently anointed town champion, Colton Romer fighting two-handed with his great woods axe while 4 undead slash and attempt to bite his limbs. He stumbles against a great stone altar and nearly falls but seems to be holding himself up with sheer will alone.

In actuality, the ID that inhabited Father Ganter for the past couple years has left the priest’s body and entered the unsuspecting woodman’s head, killing him easily since he was near death anyway. As the party is engaged in battle, the ID/Colton will attempt to escape out the western door through the priest’s quarters. He will allow the party to intercede and then mumble something like “The priest said there is a healing potion in here…” while he ‘retreats’ to the west.

2 Ghasts, 2 Zombies, 2 Ghouls

Details: Father Ganter has been partially devoured by the undead (directed by the ID) and part of his face and skull are missing – it’s very gruesome. If the party checks the body, they may also find (DC30 Med) that his body has necrosed and is being prevented from decaying by a spell of Gentle Repose.

Pursuing the Truth

The party will have to be quick if they want to catch the fleeing woodsman as his movement is 25 and he knows the area. If they get into combat with him, there is a good chance they will be killed by him or the ID which works out 😊.

Contingency: If the characters get too beat up and look like they are not going to survive until the resolution and discovery of the ID, Jana and Illendir will appear at the last minute and assist.

The ID’s goal is to lose himself in the forest and travel as far as he can until he reaches a new settlement or preferably a new host that no one can recognize. If the party pursues, they will catch up to him in the Amberfell Outskirts area map.

The party did pursue the ID as Colton to the outskirts of town and eventually destroyed the creature.

Epilogue

Once the party is done and if they survive (even if they don’t) they will find that the town is devastated. People are wandering in a daze, alternatively crying and wailing. The air of hopelessness is palpable. The timely arrival of Illendir and Jana saved the town from even more deaths, but the toll was severe.  They will finish off any remaining undead and then direct the townspeople to gather the dead into the central square where Jana will say prayers over the fallen and then use a Widened Cremate Undead (40’ radius) which will also heal the injured townsfolk.

Once the spell is complete, the town will begin the task of healing and mourning. But one unusual thing does happen. Two of the undead do not turn to ash upon the Cremation effect and are pretty much intact. Illendir will turn to Jana and say:

“Hmm, that is the same thing that happened with that half-elf girl in Galt.”

“You’re right, I’m sure the Lady will know what’s best. Bring them to the church and I’ll prepare the rites.”

Over the next couple days, the bodies of Boris and Seelah are brought back to the living. (Somewhere along the way the party lost another party member – Seelah. I think Steve started with Harsk and Dan with Seelah, then when Seelah died, Dan took over for Steve who couldn’t make the second game – hazy memory!)