Musings of a Future Baron - 16. The Roaming Dead

Starday 15 Desnus 4710

Davik Nettle. The name of the spectre who sent those dreams. I say spectre, he really is more of a wight. Undead, malicious intent giving him sentience, but the malice is aimed toward one man. The Stag Lord.

We made it to Nettle’s Crossing on the Shrike River in one day, only to find it burned down, the ferry destroyed. Upon inspection, we were approached by the wight, who pleaded for our aid. Nothing less than the death of the Stag Lord will let him rest in peace. As much as I wonder if the Stag Lord’s death is deserved- as someone who was made evil by the hand of his father, I have to assume he could be redeemed- Davik Nettle’s story, that of a ferryman tortured and slain by none other than Dovan, suggests that there is little hope for redemption for the Stag Lord.

Linzi was of a similar mind, noting how much of a pain it was when someone asked her to do something she was already planning to do. She even joked that maybe we should let the Stag Lord live, just to spite the wight. For some reason, the undead was not amused.

I told him I would kill the Stag Lord, and Davik smiled, as much as a bloated corpse can smile. He promised us a magic spear once the Stag Lord was dead, not much of a bounty, but then it wasn’t like the wight would have much to begin with.

We continued down the Shrike River a ways, until dusk fell. Camp was subdued, but we did have a nice meal of jewelled rice. With luck, we will make it to the Tuskwater tomorrow and find the fort.

Sunday 16 Desnus 4710

Success. After an obscenely early start, we managed to make it to the confluence of the Shrike and Thorn rivers. Crossing the resulting channel, we followed it south, locating the Stag Lord’s fort just before nightfall. Retreating briefly, we have set up camp in a secluded area. Tonight was spent formulating plans. We cannot hope to face the Stag Lord and his minions all at once. There are three, maybe four, lieutenants we will have to defeat before we can hope to face our foe.

What’s more, Tristian believes there are undead around the fort proper. We must end their cursed existence before we can even hope to breach the fort.

Moonday 17 Desnus 4710

We saved Kressle. I must admit, it feels good to be right. Sparing her, convincing her to really look at what the Stag Lord was doing, it helped. We met her outside the fort, and she agreed to help us fight.

I’m not sure I want her fighting. If she fell because of me, I don’t know how I could look Svetlana in the eye. But then, it is Kressle’s choice, and I have no right to deny her vengeance.

She mentioned that one of the former bandits following her had reported a veritable horde of zombies nearby, nearly thirty of the creatures by his count. Tristian took it upon himself to promise their destruction, and we were off.

It was one of the worst fights of my life to this point. Nothing we did seemed to have any major effect on them, save for Tristian channeling the power of Sarenrae. Without him, we would have been dead for sure. It took nearly an hour to slay the last of the undead, and we knew there could be no more fighting today. Our spells were exhausted, Amiri could barely lift her blade any longer, and Valerie seemed near dead in her suit of plate armour. We retreated, and joined Kressle for one more night under the stars.