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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Galfridus" data-source="post: 97176" data-attributes="member: 119">Lonnenham farm, March 7, LE 654The Lonnenham farm is a couple hours off the main road to Leston, in an area of low hills and light forest. The path all buts fades into nothingness as the party follows it into a thick wood. The snow is light under the trees, and most of the ground is bare. After a time, the party can spot a clearing up ahead that looks to be the farm. Magnimiliar sends Malagen to fly over the farm.At the same time, Alamar invokes his Figurine of Wondrous Power. The small tree spirit comes to life. "Ask, and the trees shall answer," it says in a tiny but deep voice."Has anything evil happened at this farm?" asks Alamar."There has been much evil here.""Is there any evil there now?" he asks."The leaves sense no evil; only the roots."Alamar thinks for a few seconds before asking his third question. "Is anyone dwelling there?""Humans live in the farm." As Alamar considers this answer, the tree-spirit stiffens and returns to figurine form. Alamar puts it away in his pouch and makes sure the others heard his questions and its answers.From the air, Malagen spots three buildings: a long, low farmhouse with smoke rising from the primitive chimney, a second squarish building, and a circular stone tower which is in ruins. Other than some hens in the yard, he can see no sign of activity. Magnimilar waits for Malagen to return, then casts Invisibility and moves ahead to scout himself. He leaves Malagen behind to communicate what he is finding to the others. At first, he sees nothing beyond what Malagen described: three buildings, one with smoke rising. The stone tower appears to have one story left intact. The snow around the farm has been walked on and trampled, so Magnimiliar's footsteps will not be noticed as he sneaks around. He starts with the main building. All of the windows are shuttered, and the door seems to be barred from the inside. Around back, he finds a second door, also barred. The second building looks to be stables. Between it and the tower is a small yard, where several chickens roam. He puts his ear to the door and can make out two voices: a man and a woman. Thorald (through Malagen) suggests trying to make out what they are saying, but Magnimiliar decides to investigate the tower first.The large double door to the tower is unlocked. Magnimiliar opens it a crack and peeks in. The entire floor is one large room, with a wooden floor. Other than a few stacks of hay, the room is empty; but he cannot help but notice a strange spicy odor that he cannot place. He steps back and casts Detect Magic to make sure nothing is amiss, but gets no readings from any of the buildings. He opens the tower door a little wider, slips inside, and begins searching. As he moves toward the back wall, he hears a small "snick"; before he can react, the floor collapses!Magnimiliar falls a good thirty feet onto a solid stone floor bristling with metal spikes. His tumbling reflexes take the worst out of the fall, but several spikes dig into him, and he feels a wave of nausea as something enters his blood. The smell of spice has given way to the reek of death...and he realizes he is not alone. Eight rotting figures lurch toward him, groaning with the pain of unlife. Though Magnimiliar is invisible, the blood he has spilled is not. He stands and quickly moves against a wall, but he brushes against two of the zombies, who turn to follow his retreat. In his mind, he can hear Malagen screaming at the others for help...but they are hundreds of yards away. He readies himself for death."Fall! Fall! Help! Come now!" screeches Malagen. The others need no other prompting; leaping onto horseback they begin galloping desperately toward the farm. Jonetello and Alamar take the lead, with Thorald and Tiesa some distance behind. In the pit, Magnimiliar manages to cast Shield, granting him almost complete protection from the zombies. He is planning his next move when he spots a figure standing in the doorway, thirty feet overhead. The figure tosses a torch into the pit, then begins casting a spell. To his horror, Magnimiliar sees himself becoming visible! He spends a few desperate seconds fending off zombies before remembering: he has a scroll of Invisibility to Undead! He produces and reads it...but nothing happens. At that moment, the poison from the spikes catches up to him, and he sags to the ground. As he lapses into unconsciousness, he hears a low thundering sound: hoofbeats?Malagen flies beside Jonetello, warning him of the man standing at the tower's entrance. Jonetello sees a man dressed in farmer's garb, and charges. The man winces as Jonetello's rapier pierces his side. Alamar dismounts and casts Hold Person; the man freezes in place. But before anyone can capitalize on this, the rustle of paper followed by strange chanting sounds from the trees, and the man moves again. He runs away, heedless of the parting blow Jonetello lands, then casts Invisibility. As he retreats, Magnimiliar vanishes from sight. Alamar runs to the edge of the pit and summons forth the power of Ehlonna. In a twinkling, the zombies collapse, decaying rapidly into dust. Jonetello descends into pit to help Magnimiliar. He also spots several bodies, including one skeleton still wearing leather armor and buckler, and carrying a book and a blade. He draws the blade forth, and recognizes it as the Frost Blade, carried by Lewis Longbons. He lowers his head for a moment in silent memorial.Alamar immobilizes the figure in the forest with an Entangle spell, but before a long a young woman dressed in peasant's attire thrusts her way free of the clutching branches. Thorald, just arriving on the scene, manifests Control Body, and holds her still long enough to tie and gag her. About then, Tiesa arrives, panting. "Did I miss it?" she gasps.Jonetello goes to the back door of the farmhouse, and finds it open. He spends a few minutes searching and finds a trap door in the middle of one of the two rooms. He opens it briefly: a brick-walled passage leads down about twenty feet, a wooden ladder affixed to one wall. He closes the door and puts a heavy wooden table on top of it.Alamar casts a Cure spell on Magnimiliar, but when he does not awaken, takes a closer look and recognizes the bluish tinge to his skin as a symptom of blue whinnis extract. After a few minutes, he concocts a brew that awakens the rogue. Magnimiliar screams in terror before realizing that he is now safe. The group ungags the woman and demands some answers. She refuses to give her name, or that of her companion, but freely admits they are followers of Nerull. "The master of death will claim you all, in time," she says. "Then you will not mind meeting him now," says Magnimiliar, raising his weapon. The woman flinches and looks desperately at the group."If you promise to free me, I have information for you," she pleads. "Sure, I promise," says Jonetello glibly, but it is good enough for their prisoner. "Malefice is not the only priest of power," she begins. "It was Kutumno, the master, who plotted the downfall of your Count. Had he not been betrayed, all would be at peace now. Malefice usurped his position. I follow Selve, apprentice to Kutumno, who will soon rise over Malefice and bring the gifts of Nerull to all your lands!" "Sounds great," says Magnimiliar, "but not worth letting you go for." The party debates what to do, but in the end, no one feels the least bit sorry about killing an admitted worshipper of a death god. Alamar raises his crossbow to her temple and looses one fatal bolt.</blockquote>

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