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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 652956" data-attributes="member: 6294">"Hooberan's Stockade" by Wicht  - Part 11The next house proves to be empty of anything dangerous.  The group finds several more corpses, and many more rats, but none of the dangerous variety.  The vermin scatter as soon as the adventurers approach.Their search of the fourth - and final - house of the row is similarly uneventful, and the group moves across the muddy road to a circular wooden building."It's locked." Mantreus reports upon trying the door.  There is a note of surprise and excitement in his voice.  His next words confirm the way his mind is working.  "They must have wanted to keep people out of here for some reason - might be something valuable inside.""Or dangerous." The Padre has a more pessimistic theory."Hey, there's some kind of face up there." Twinkle points into the eaves of the building.The group follow the direction of her pointing finger and spot the face she is referring to.  It looks like that of a satyr or other woodland fey, and is formed of leaves that have been carved into the wood."Looks like a religious icon." Elspeth glances at the Padre, "You recognise it?""Some kind of nature deity.""Imagine that.  The leaf-faced guy is a nature god." Mantreus is sarcastic, "I'm so glad we had you along to clear up that little mystery."Whatever response the Padre might have intended to make, it is interrupted by a low moan, which emanates from inside the building.Perhaps some adventuring parties would have rushed to open the door, their minds on the possibility of survivors, barricaded into the shrine to protect themselves from the undead and plague rats that roam the village.  The Company are not that kind of party, however."Everyone fall back into a semicircle!" the Padre calls. "Get your missile weapons ready.  Twinkle, you open the door, then run back toward us.  If anything dangerous comes out, we'll be ready for it.""Why me?" Twinkle wants to know."You're smaller than Mantreus.  If there is something dangerous in there, it'll be easier to shoot over you than it would be to shoot around him."Although it is clear that she doesn't find this logic any more appealing than the task she has been asked to perform, Twinkle moves forward and crouches at the door, her tools at the ready.Reluctant or not, the gnome proves an adept locksmith, and within a minute the door there is a click as the lock springs open.  Twinkle scrambles to her feet, gives the door a quick shove, and then sprints back toward the others, arms wrapped over her head for fear of being shotFor a moment, nothing stirs in the darkness within the building.  Then, with another long, low moan and a series of slow, shuffling steps, a zombie appears in the doorframe.  There are more of the creatures behind it, and soon no less than five of the walking dead have spilled out into open.Mantreus is the first to attack, loosing a crossbow bolt that strikes one of the zombies in the arm, half-twisting the creature to the side with the impact, though doing little appreciable damage.  The Padre, who had his own crossbow at the ready, sees the limited results of the attack and swings the weapon down, raising his holy symbol instead."In St Cuthbert's name, get back to the grave!"The Padre's voice rises and deepens as he invokes his god, until the last words fall like a clap of thunder.  For a second, there is stillness - and then every last one of the zombies disintegrates in a shower of dust and bones.The group stares at the space where the zombies were, then turn as one to look at the Padre, who rather smugly lowers his holy symbol back to his chest.  Hefting his crossbow once more, he turns to Mantreus."That is why I came along."</blockquote>

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