What a Day

I got into town a day before Mid Summers Eve, and decided to stay for the festivals. Later that day as I was eating dinner in the only inn in town, the Green Griffin Inn, I noticed several others enter that, like me, weren’t from this town. What seemed to be a couple of barbarians, one male and one female, were sitting at a corner booth and I guess they were kinda bored. The male decided to fling potatoes and a female gnome who was at the bar. I guess the gnome was a spell caster, because a large potato with arms and legs appeared. The really funny thing was that instead of being afraid of the potato the barbarians started tossing salt on it and attempting to cut it up for food. The gnome came over and told it to go away after which the barbarians appeared disappointed. I was thoroughly enjoying the show with my dinner and decided to buy some fried potatoes for my entertainers. The male barbarian then flung a potato at me, I tried to catch it, but without luck. That’s about the time Amber, head of the town guard, came in and sat down next to a dwarf who also appeared to be a traveler. I had another drink and retired to my room.

I awoke to a startling crash as my door flew open. I know I locked it and not knowing what was coming after me I rolled toward the wall, off, then under the bed. I smelled death in the air as I reached for my bow. This rotting hand came through the bed at me, I just barely moved out of the way. Then the male barbarian from earlier appeared and tossed my attacker out of the room and into the hall. I emerged from under the bed, with no time to put on my armor or gather my things; I said, “I owe you a beer” then shot at the creature realizing two things as I did. One: these attackers weren’t alive anymore, that is they were undead. Second, my aim was off and I hit the guy who saved my life. The next thing I knew there was a loud bang like thunder, then a moment later the sound went off again. I stood for a second wondering what that was and seeing the female barbarian run down the stairs, followed by the dwarf and the male barbarian. In seconds the upstairs of the inn was empty so I went down to the street to see what was going on. I was joined only a moment later by the female gnome. I saw both barbarians and the dwarf take down a zombie as I soon realized what they were, and seeing many more I immediately started shooting them with arrows. The inn keeper said there was too many of them. Then Amber showed up and mentioned a more easily defensible area. The dwarf and both barbarians held the zombie horde at bay as I launched in arrows giving the towns people time to escape. The female gnome went with the people to keep them calm so they don’t trample each other getting to the shrine.

After what seemed forever the line of defenders in front of me backed away, and I followed lodging arrow after arrow in the rotting flesh till I was out. The male barbarian tossed several flasks of oil on the horde and as soon as we were in the shrine someone tossed out a torch to light the undead. Once inside, the doors were closed and barricaded and we had time to get to know each other. The barbarians were as I suspected a couple Charzth and his wife Nosila. The gnome is called, of all things, Sprocket. Bryrgar is apparently a dwarven cleric, unfortunately he didn’t have much luck turning undead earlier.

Come early morning the horde moved slowly back to the graveyard. I was able to convince a local shopkeep to allow me to buy the last of the arrows he had in stock for my sized bow, even though it was no where near opening time. I then went back to the inn, put on my armor and gathered the last of my things. Meeting up with everyone just outside of the graveyard I was just in time to see this one zombie place his hands on either side of a still live villager’s head. There was this green light and the villager dropped to the ground. I immediately hit this one with an arrow and the battle was on again. It didn’t last as long though, I was standing behind Nosila when suddenly she was behind the head zombie and Sprocket and I were left facing 3 zombies with no cover. Not being one to get into melee combat i backed up and sent an arrow into the zombie in front of me as Sprocket’s strange stick made a thunderous noise. Then all the zombies fell and I saw this green light shoot off into the distance. Found out seconds later that it came from the head zombie after it fell. The five of us are going after it, but not till tomorrow. Right now I need something to eat, a beer, and some rest.