They look around at the devastation. Twisted trees cover the ground and the carnage they have wrought on the undead animals lies evident all around. Checking the perimeter reveals nothing further. Morlaf examines the bone alter and has a voices a hunch that it may reveal more. Osgoth steps up and whacks it with his sword before Morlaf can stop him; snapping bones releases hundreds of tiny spiders, scorpions and centipedes that bite and sting the two as they cringe away. They both jump back and the carpet of insects follow after them. Most of the party head back the way they have come but the two new members are cut off and have to flee in the opposite direction. Makfire follows their own trail and leads them back. They are set upon by a stray zombie dire boar but it doesn’t last long against Makfire and Osgoth combined. Large drops of rain find their way through the twisted canopy and it is only when they get to the cart they remember the horse they left in the clearing. They manage to move the cart with the horse they have left getting thoroughly soaked. Sleeping under the cart leaves Morlaf with a chill and he is unable to prepare any new spells.
Setting out in the morning the cart gets stuck a few times but they help the horse by pushing the cart and eventually arrive in Stripshire. Makfire conveys the mixed tidings to Yolkin while Morlaf heads straight to bed at the inn. Having stabled the horse and his bear Mafire joins Osgoth and Trixie in the bar; Hydrix however goes to talk to the stableman. For reasons of her own kills him outright with a Concussion spell and proceeds to gut the corpse and splays his entrails across the floor. The only witnesses are Yogi and the horses. After washing her hands in the trough she joins the other in the inn. When Makfire takes some berries out to Yogi and finds the body. He raises the alarm and there is soon a crowd. Hydrix bemoans the state of the times when you aren’t safe in a small village. Seeing Yolkin arrive Hydrix quickly heads back to the inn with Osgoth. Yolkin casts Speak with Dead and questioning the late Johnson finds that a woman from outside of the village had killed him. Yolkin enquires of Makfire the members of his team and find there are two women takes Makfire to the inn. The crowd follows. Soon Yolkin has Hydrix and Trixie sitting next to each other as he casts Zone of Truth. Trixie has been in the inn all evening and Hydrix resisting the spells effect is able to say the same. Hydix storms off upset that she is being implicated in a murder; Osgoth intimidates the crowd saying he will defend his mother’s honour. The crowd quickly disperses but Yolkin comes back shortly with Laklin. They insist that the interrogation continues but are persuaded to continue in the morning. Everyone goes to bed early and the bar closes as Osgoth has scared off the usual patrons.
Morlaf wakes up and they get the bar reopened while they discuss plans. It is decided that they leave as early as possible. On their way back to bed Trixie notices that the barman is sneaking out and trails him across the road to Laklin’s door. He spots her and bangs harder to be let in. Trixie shoots him in the back as he falls through the opening door. Trixie runs back to her room for safty.
The team are awakened by a bell ringing in the night and find the entire village gathering outside Laklin’s house. Laklin tells them all that the elf woman has shot the barman. He has a word with one of the younger farmers who saddles a horse and heads out of the village. The party are told to leave and everyone else is to stay under curfew until the rogue party have gone.
Once it goes quiet again Hydrix uses her Spider Climb spell to look through all the windows at the inn; apart from their own rooms the place is empty. She does the same at Laklin’s house and finds Yolkin praying over the prone barman. Going round the back she finds it is too dark on this site of the road so he casts My Light and Laklin is startled awake. She knocks him off the bed with a Concussion spell and after a few moments she sees a light approaching under the door. Hydrix also retreats to the safety of her room.
Sleeping in the hayloft of the stable Makfire is awakened by murmurs outside and sees villagers moving quietly from house to house; they are all heading to Laklin’s house once more. Taking another horse from the stable he readies the wagon. Alerting the rest in the inn then all get on the wagon except Yogi who now seems reluctant to be near Hydrix. They ride the cart down the road closely followed by Yogi. The village people watch them go from the safety of the elder’s house.
Not stopping at the deserted Borderdale they get to Shadton the next evening and when the gate guards tell them to see Henry the mayor’s aide they push past saying that it is late and they will see him in the morning.
As promised they enter the town hall bright and early. Seeing them approach Henry nods at a guard and soon they find themselves surrounded. Henry tells them that he has received reports from the north about them murdering villagers. Hydrix immediately uses her stomp spell to topple several guards and Osgoth wades in with his sword. The others back off and make no threatening moves. The guards are directed by Henry to concentrate on Osgoth as he demands that they all stand down. Yogi joins in the fracas and between them more than half of the men are cut down before clerics arrive and Yogi is slain. The clerics cast Bain and Hold Person but only Makfire seems effected. Seeing that the odds have turned Osgoth gives up his sword and those that were fighting are bound.