The Winterhaven Graveyard

Sul, Lharvion 22, 998 YK (Day 8). Morning.

In the morning, Zil'dejin, Tam'elanath, Morgue, Lythanis and Mikhal quickly break camp - Winterhaven has remained safe for the night. Their duty in protecting the town for the immediate future has been fulfilled, and so they set out for the graveyard.

The path to the graveyard creates something like a fork on the Old King's Road, going directly east from Winterhaven and turning north into the shallow foothills of the Icetop Mountains. It is a short trip from the town; they arrive after about twenty minutes of walking. Wrought iron fences enclose the cemetery. They push open the iron gates and proceed inside, seeing nothing as yet.

Inside the graveyard, the tombstones are very densely packed. Three mausoleums are present besides the gravestones, and some of the soil surrounding the tombstones seems disturbed. A sickly bluish glow pulses from somewhere near one of the mausoleums.

Seeing nothing, the party chooses to investigate one of the mausoleums, and they progress into the cemetery, walking slowly. Morgue moves quickly ahead, and as he proceeds about halfway into the graveyard, the ground breaks open all around them and the dead emerge, poised to attack. Morgue seeks shelter from the inevitable onslaught of the first wave - an army of skeletons with bows and swords and four undead hounds - by pushing open the door to the mausolem. However, inside he does not find the sanctuary he sought; instead, the mausoleum plays host to a green-skinned woman with warped flesh, carrying a strangely curved bow that is designed to accommodate her unusual build. Morgue has just enough time to see her emerge before she lays her left hand on him, and is not able to dodge in time. He falls backwards, his mind a storm of nightmarish  and horrible visions.

With Morgue thus occupied, the hag turns to Tam'elanath and takes careful aim with the bow, muttering something to herself and firing it with great speed. The arrow slams into Tam'elanath, piercing his armor and injuring him severely - the party notices the hag's focus appears to have been sharpened on Tam'elanath.

Meanwhile, the skeletons advance. Mikhal prepares a sacred circle to help protect the party from the advancing horde. The graveyard becomes a battlefield. Zil'dejin whirls his Lifedrinker around, charging into skeletons and smashing them to bits. Tam'elanath is able to recover from his injuries and steps back to fire arrows on the hordes. Morgue continues to battle with the nightmarish visions and now, his overwhelming injuries. Mikhal struggles to keep the brunt of the attacks off his allies while simultaneously fending off skeletons, and Lythanis takes advantage of a newly-acquired ability he refers to as Burning Flux, which twists and warps empty air into a burning mass that burns anyone caught within.

The skeletons fall one by one, but their presence and the pressing attacks of the gravehounds lead the party to forget about the hag for the time being. They find themselves surpressed by the hounds and their hag leader, though all the skeletons have fallen...