Chapter 32: The Ledger

GRYM

6:21 A.M

Grymlop's body begged for at least thirty more hours of rest. The master dwarf was getting too old for this nonsense. If it hadn't been for Agrit's request, he would have sent one of his younger comrades. He was thankful that the group he'd been paired with was at least competent.

Mika moaned softly as she still slept, her face scrunching as she moved into a more comfortable position. She had defended him earlier, and Grym was ever grateful. Mika reminded him of his late daughter. She was fierce, too, but her willingness to protect her friends is what got her killed. Grym rubbed his eyes and stretched out his body. He lifted Mika's shirt to check her wound. All was fine. The bruise was still there, but he stopped her bleeding. He took a deep breath and reached for his pack. He had a little water left, along with a few more rations.

"We have plenty of water." Alek comments. The perpetual rain had only slowed but a moment before picking up again. The roads were now heavily flooded and were now entering the house via the entry hallway and the gaping hole in the roof from earlier that morning.

Grymlop Stonebottom eyed the deceptively young magus. Before, he was suspicious. Now he was just curious about him. Most of the others dhampirs he'd met in his journeys were selfish or evil like their progenitors. Alek's head rested back against the wall. His long legs stretched before him as Kana rested with her head in his lap. She managed to heal him a little before exhaustion overtook her. Most people of her order would frown at her harmful energy spell, but Grym knew when to keep his mouth closed.

"We should wake the women," Grym said, much to his displeasure, as he rose to his feet gingerly.

Alek lifted his head and looked down at the young female in his lap. He gently lifted his head and slid from beneath her to rest her head on the floor. He shook her lightly, calling out her name. As she started to rouse, he moved away from her, grabbed his pack, and left for another room. Kana stretched and looked as he'd felt earlier.

"Morning, Mistress Hearten." Grym supplied with a warm smile.

Kana cleared her throat. "Morning."

The dwarf shook Mika awake, who woke with an abruptness that scared him and Kana.

She moaned aloud, rubbing her stomach. Kana reached into her pack and grabbed her water, handing it over to Mika. She drank quickly and went to her feet as if her organs weren't bleeding a few hours before.

"Where's Alek?" Mika asks, looking around. Taki pads over to rub himself against her leg. She reaches down to pat his head.

"I'm here," he said, entering the room.

"Gather your things. We must make haste." Grym states as he slowly opens the door and peeks out his head. Dozens of zombies litter the ground. The water was just past their ankles now. Grym prayed for rain to lessen the sun's sweltering heat while traveling to Trunau. I guess I prayed too hard. Grym sighed to himself. Partially trapped and floating off to the side was a half-torn rag doll. One eye hung on by a single thread.

The group makes their way to a building with the sign Wayland's Yard: General Goods and Supplies plastered above the door. Inside has been hastily looted. The retail room held only leftover rope, nails, a few pints of oil, and a small barrel of fresh water. Kana and Mika left for the kitchen while Grym and Alek went into a small bedroom past the kitchen.

Grym checked a few of the drawers but found only clothes and undergarments.

"Look here," Alek says, retrieving a small chest from a side table drawer and placing it on the bed. Inside are two lesser antiplaque vials and a bottle of alchemist fire.

Taki begins to hiss at something moving in a shadowy corner of the room. Mika enters, shining a light in its direction. Quietly, a mangy cat sits staring at them, its sharp eyes never leaving Taki's. The scruffy gray cat licks a paw covered in dirt. When Kana moves to try and offer the feline some food, he sprints up to a shelf.

"Leave it be, Taki," Alek commands.

The group moves back outside, where the gray tabby follows. Kana places a piece of ration down, and the cat tentatively walks over to partake selfishly.

"The poor thing must not have eaten for a while now," Grym says.

They splash through to the other side. Rainwater from the road is dumped into a nearby spring that feeds through the village. In the middle is a body floating. The bobbing corpse snagged onto something underneath, preventing it from flowing downstream.


Back in the village, the most prominent building sits in the center of town. Bloodstained barrels and crates are stacked on each other to make a defendable wall—a large hole indicating it wasn't good enough. A broken sign floats near the front door—the Pick and Pint. Entering, Mika finds two lanterns, one fallen over the glass broken, but the other still intact with oil. Lighting from the lantern illuminated the room enough for Mika's human eyes to see. One side held a modest stage and a bloodstained bar. Tables and chairs were flung about the room or shattered. Other tables were used for the windows and doors.

"Judging by the stack of dishes and clothing, I'd say many villagers sought this place for refuge," Grymlop said. Drag marks from the pile led to a sinkhole in the back corner of the room.

"Looks like the hole we found yesterday." Kana states.

The hallway to the next area is blocked by several barrels and crates. Tapping in the room beyond catches Mika's attention.

"Hello?" Mika calls out, starting to move around the debris.

Taki and the scrawny tabby screech in protest. She stops.

"Last chance to answer," Grym calls loudly from behind her.

Something slams into the door several times before a thump and groaning. It happens again. Slam. Thump. Groan.

"Let's just leave that, shall we?" Alek offers.

Grym and Kana head out back to a stabled pasture. Two horses lay off to the side, their stomachs ripped open, pieces of their entrails missing.

Grym leans down to examine the bite marks. "Human," he says absently.

Alek and Mika join them. "Some tracks lead to that shed."

Mika adjusts her shield. "Looks promising." The small building looked completely unscathed by what they assumed happened to them last night. She slowly opened the door. The closet was filled with cloth, linen, toiletries, and other needs for the guests at The Pick and Pint. Grym picks up a book left on one of the shelves.

Entry 116: Town party went off without a hitch

Entry 121: Found a mauled body. Possible animal attack

Entry 125: Four more bodies found. Curfew established until animal is caught

Entry 132: Supplies are low. The end is coming

Kana touched the book. Flashes of people running and screaming assailed her. Her breathing came heavy.

"He kept writing, hoping someone would find this ledger," Kana said between calming breaths. Mika rubbed the young oracles back in a soothing fashion.


ALEK

7:32 A.M.

On the other side of town stood the graveyard. Not exactly the place one wanted to go, given the circumstances. The mausoleum wasn't anything special, but the simple beauty of the delicately etched stone made it pleasant to the eyes. "Lady's Hill," Alek whispers as he reads the engraving of the chapel's name. Fog covers the graveyard as if the whole town wasn't chilling enough. Fiorna's Faith wasn't a place he was likely to forget anytime soon.

"Pharasma." Grymlop states as he points to the spiral symbol on the chapel's sign.

Mika opens the doors leading the way. Much to their surprise, many of the larger candles are still lit. Pools of hardened wax are dispersed all over the room. High above chandeliers now empty creak and sway from the wind penetrating through a little, partially broken stained-glass window.

Three pews sat on either side of a carpeted aisle, which led to a small altar. Attached is a stone basin filled with holy water. Beside it is a silver cup with encircling birds etched into it.

"The chalice should fill with holy water when activated," Grym says as Kana places it in her pack.

Back outside, the adventurers enter the graveyards. Alek turns up his face to smell the air. Heavy of dirt, rot, and blood. The only thing this town was good for now. Alek snorts. Kana looks at him questioningly. Rain runs down her face as she does. She's fallen asleep on his lap last night. When was the last time he had a woman do that? When was the last time he had a woman at all? Most of his time with the opposite sex was short and to the point. Some want nothing to do with him beyond that. Others begged for more than he was willing to give.

Most of the graves were disturbed. Mika bent down to rub the dirt between her fingertips. "This was done recently." She points to the bottom. "And more dug up holes."

Alek's head whips around to look at the building next to them. Movement catches his eyes. A light cough. Just loud enough for his heightened ears to hear. "Someone is in there."

"Undead?" Mika asks. Her sword and shield at the ready.

"Not unless they can clear their throats."

Approaching the building, a small figure scampers across the window inside.

"Please," Kana calls out. Her voice calm and soothing. "We don't mean you any harm." she pauses a moment before continuing. "We are here to help you."

Mika opens the door to a wooden shack that had seen better days. Most of its wear and tear not appearing to have come from the town's recent events. Huddled in the corner was a muddied halfling female. The halfling's clothes are torn, and she mumbled softly to herself. As the companions stepped closer, she eyed them with fright. Kana pushed past Alek and squatted in front of him, her hands displayed in a non-threatening pose. The young woman looked her over, her eyes darting across Kana's body frantically. Kana slowly turned around in a full circle so the halfling could access her. "No bites. It's safe."

"No," she said. Her body trembled. She looked hungry, tired, and wet. "Not safe. They come from below. They get me too. Wait and see." She rubbed her face twice. "You can't leave too dangerous. Too dangerous." She mutters something too faint to make out. "Do you hear it? The ground is crying." she gasps, looking off in the distance.

Alek keeps his mouth closed. Her seeing his fangs was the last thing they needed. He bends close to Kana's ear. "Ask her to take us to the cries."

She nods. "What is your name? I'm Kana."

"Lacera. Lacera Thimbledown."

"It's nice to meet you." Kana smiles. "Lacera, could you take us where you heard those cries?"

Her eyes go wide with pain, but she nods, ' yes.'

The house she leads them to is to the north—the farthest part of Fiorna's Faith. The building mostly collapsed due to a fire. Half of the roof was intact. Alek is the first to hear the cries. Mika and Grym step onto the broken wood of the house to get closer. A pile of timber shakes as a figure emerges, emitting green flames and pungent vapors. Lacera runs away before Kana can stop her. A good thing Alek says to himself. He would see what he was, and that could frighten her more.

Mika charges in with her shield, knocking the creature back to fall over wooden beams. It rises once again to its feet. Debris smashes into its body, ripping its skin as more vapors float around it. Grymlop hurls a lance, but the zombie falls through some of the wood and doesn't graze it. Kana tries the same move with better success. The creature approaches Alek, and Grym grunts, touching Alek on the back. The animal pivots and walks past the dark magus towards Mika, its slash deflected off Mika's shield. She bashes it again, and it falters backward but doesn't fall. Acid splashes over the zombie, and it writhes and moans loudly. They moved back. There was very little sunlight, and the rain did nothing to slow its fire or the ever-consuming smoke. Kana lances the creature with positive energy, and its vapors and flames dwindle. The zombie moves closer to Alek and lunges. Alek jumps back but is still clawed in the stomach. Alek seethes with fury and pain. His belly burned, and his shirt singed at the affected spot. Two beams of energy shoot the zombie. One from Kana, the other from Grym. Mika shoves her sword through the zombie's chest almost to the hilt before pushing it off with her shield. Alek always let the anger he felt fuel his fights. This one was no different. The zombie tried to swipe at him again. The vapors and flames almost entirely abated. He jabs his blade into its face, and the body collapses to the floor.

Energy pulsed into him from behind, and Alek turned to see Kana's outstretched hand performing a spell that would get her in too much trouble, were the elders to find out. Mika eyed her wearily.

"Kana," Alek said softly. Her hands trembled as she used the spell. She knew what it meant for her to use it. Mika was a champion of the light. She was compelled to tell the order of Kana's disruptive magic.

She ended the spell. "It's the only negative energy spell I know," Kana says to reassure her companions. Mika opened her mouth to say something, but Kana interjected. "If you have a negatively healed companion, how the hell do you expect him to survive if you can't use the proper spell to heal him?"

Mika laughs, soon followed by the chuckle of the master dwarf. Alek shakes his head. "Guess there's no arguing with that," Mika replies and wraps her arm around Kana's shoulder.

It was then that Alek realized how tense he was at the mere notion of a confrontation between his good friend and the beautiful oracle.

8:30 A.M.