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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jon Potter" data-source="post: 2352620" data-attributes="member: 2323">[PLAIN][Realms #313] Southward, Ho! part 4[/PLAIN]"Ho, there!" Ledare said again. "We mean no harm! We seek parlay!" She and Morier advanced at a cautious pace on the three armored men. For their part, the armored men advanced as well, drawing daggers to complement the bastard swords they all three carried. They fanned out slightly as they came.To Huzair, the men didn't seem in a parlaying mood. He drew some powdered rhubarb and an adder's stomach from his component pouch and began to cast. "Acid sagitta!" he shouted as he cast the powder into the air where it transformed into a vitriolic missile. The bolt of acid flew true, slamming into the middle warrior's breastplate with a hissing splash. "Yes!" the wizard cheered, raising his fist in victory."Stand down!" Ledare barked over her shoulder before turning back to the men in platemail."What?" Huzair yelled back. "I hit him, didn't I?""I apologize for our wizard. We're really just looking for the Speckled Band. Have you heard of them?" Ledare asked the advancing warriors. Their answer was to spread out into an obvious attack formation. 'That's about how this whole day's been going,' the Janissary griped to herself.Starday, the 20th - Moonsday, the 22nd of Goodmonth, 1269 AEMellona had warned them about the rumored troubles in Miller's Pond, so the zombies hadn't really been any great surprise.It had been the better part of two days since they'd left Floxen when they reached the summit of a low hill. There, a worn, stone marker with faded etchings indicated that Miller’s Pond was but one mile away. The trail had wound its way down the steep hillside ahead and as they descend into the shadow of the hill, the air became damp and chill, hinting at the cold winter that would come to this southern region all too soon. After a bit more travel, the trail reached the valley floor and began to level out, the forest ahead thinned, and they could catch glimpses of the sun shining on the opposite hillside. When they reached the edge of the tree line, they had seen a typical farming village spread out before them. Fields and farmhouses surrounded a small village which has been built on the edge of a large pond.The first dwelling they had passed heading towards the village was a small farmer’s cottage with a livestock pen. The yard was completely overgrown with weeds and the door to the cottage stood ominously ajar. They had stopped and listened, but the only sound that came to them was the creaking of a wind-blown shutter and the distant cawing of a flock of ravens. The direction of the wind shifted slightly, bringing with it the unmistakable smell of death.In spite of this, they had pressed on and when they reached the edge of the village, the usual sounds of activity associated with an active community were conspicuously absent. Moving down the dirt street, the only sound that had broken the silence was the scuff of their own boots and the creak of their leather gear. The houses and cottages that lined the street showed no signs of life and no livestock could be seen in their pens.As they had neared the center of town, Feln thought he'd heard the distant sound of a door closing. As they turned to determine the direction from which the sound came, Lela also caught a glimpse of movement through the darkened window of the nearby mill. They had moved closer to investigate when the muffled sound of breaking glass from the chandler's shop behind them caused them all to freeze in their footsteps. Apparently, Miller's Pond was not completely abandoned and whoever, or whatever was still there was hiding all around them.They had to start somewhere and so they started with the mill - easily the largest building in town and obviously the focal point for the settlement. Not surprisingly it contained a zombie that tried vainly to attack Lela after she squeezed in under the door. But it was slow and clumsy and Lela could fly. Once Karak and Feln had battered down the door, the zombie didn't last long. The mill had also contained bodies - two of them, both dead by violence. They were several weeks old, with both decomposition and the predation of scavengers making anything more definite about their deaths impossible to tell. Not that they had much time to sort through the evidence; a whimper from Wolf alerted them to the presence of more walking dead. Five of the zombies were lurching at them from the rear.Peering out through a boarded up window on the opposite side of the mill confirmed another three approaching from that direction.</blockquote>

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