Quest Start
Loose ends:
Participants: Saorie Tylmae, Taro, Tarah Nirimaya, Tamiko Sato of House Miyagawa, Murphy
Location(s): Unekawa's Reach, Roanokae Camp, Unexplored Continent
Full report:
The party set out to the continent to aid Roanokae with the threat of Undead, only to find themselves wrapped up in a rather different situation: a Unknown farmer (Raun) from a neighboring village, who was campaigning feverishly for the camp to help liberate them from a segment of the Republic army that had stormed in seemingly just for fun, a task Ajan insisted the camp could not spare the resources for. Accordingly, the party opted to see if they could help, despite doubts of their ability to outfox the Republic soldiers.
Dusk fell as they arrived and set up camp, and as most could not see in darkness, the group opted to wait for first light to investigate, only to see winged Skeletons descend on the town and make haste to deal with them. After the ensuing fight (closed out by the heroics of the villagers themselves), they found to their astonishment that the Republic camp was deserted, and wasted no time before looting their meager remaining stores and evacuating the village. On their way back to Roanokae, they were chased by a giant skeleton, which they faced down and swiftly destroyed. Upon returning, they made to rest and have a journal left by a Unknown lieutenant translated; they learned that the Republic soldiers had set up post for supplies and morale, but had also left to investigate their missing scouts, including the lieutenant's lover.
Their sleep was once again disrupted by the arrival of wisps possessing the bodies of Horde soldiers, as well as a powerful Unknown. After a great struggle to even affect the latter, the village was visited by two Undead riders, who demanded Damin for a duel in exchange for the villages' safety. They were convinced to postpone the duel, albeit relocated to their territory, and after a bit more rest (including Murphy recalling to warn First Landing) and some preparations (most notably acquiring steel shields from camp blacksmith Sildu), they journeyed to the confrontation, suddenly joined by an upbeat Gnoll Bard from the camp, Tryz.
They arrived at Unekawa's Reach to find the lone Dullahan and Wight, the former challenging them on foot. A terribly precarious and fierce battle ensued; Tarah and Taro swiftly dealt with the Wight, but the party could hardly affect the headless knight, only emerging victorious by several very close calls. They didn't have long to recover or celebrate, as a horde of Zombies made their way closer in the aftermath. They sped away to Roanokae, stopping only for a brief sleep, and reported their success against the Dullahan. Once again, they prepared (Sildu's services employed for Tarah's Elven Curved Blade this time) before returning to deal with the approaching horde: three legions of Bugbear Zombies met them, but were quickly cut down by their hit-and-run tactics and deluge of spells. Now truly spent, they reported this last success against Merry's forces before recalling home.