Candle In The Dark Campaign - Session 1: Dead by Dawn

The Cast:

• Enid, half-elf cleric of Bahamut
• Nashgar, dragonborn paladin of Bahamut
• Leilua, tiefling warlock
• Corrin, halfling barbarian

We begin our tale with our travelers meeting up on the road to Restwell Keep.  Three of them met in Fallcrest, and upon learning that their destination is the same, they decided to travel together.  The fourth was met on the trail, having recently left his tribe in search of a way to make a better life for them.  As the group travels, the winter weather begins to wear on them, as the icy drizzle and waning daylight begins making  the journey miserable.  Luckily, the group comes upon the Goathorne Inn and as they enter they are greeted by the proprietors and a room full of other travelers.  As Nashgar and Leilua are strange sights to the folks, they do get stares, but eventually the folks return to their meals and conversations. 

After ordering rooms and being brought food and drink, a disturbance occurs as one of the serving girls attempts to wake a guest.  When they go to investigate the screams coming from the guest's rooms, they find the serving girl being attacked by the elderly guest.  They manage to kill the man and heal the girl before her grievous wounds killed her.  According to the proprietor, the man is an annual guest from Restwell Keep who has never behaved in such a manner and is very advanced in years, so not even sure how it was possible. 

Before the matter could be discussed further, alarms are raised by the other patrons who spot dozens of shadowy figures emerge from the surrounding woods and begin to converge upon the inn.  Upon closer inspection, the people appear to be walking corpses, and from their attire they seem to be soldiers that have arisen from the various battlefields that the heroes passed en route to the inn.  The zombies and skeletons shamble towards the inn and an unearthly voice emanates from all around saying "I hunger.  I smell your blood, taste your flesh.  Death comes for you, carried by my children that I have sent to end you.  They come for you, come to end your miserable lives!"

The heroes act quickly, ushering all of the patrons into guest rooms and then using the tables and chairs to board up the windows and doors.  Initially, this is not sufficient, as a zombie and skeletons break in and have to be fought off.  But eventually, the team manages to secure the inn.  During this time, Leilua finds a ritual in the old man's belongings that seems to have something to do with what is occurring and tries to improvise the ritual.  Eventually, however, she and the priest Enid manage to perform the ritual correctly and the undead begin to recede back into the darkness.  The unearthly voice claims that it will return again at the next winter solstice.

Once they are convinced that it is safe, they let the patrons out, are thanked by them all and are given free rooms for the night.

The following day, the four travelers leave the Goathorne Inn and resume their journey to Restwell Keep.  A few other travelers from the inn headed in that direction accompany them.  The travel, though uncomfortable due to the chilly winds, is not as bad due to a clearing of the clouds and the reappearance of the sun at times.  For another 5-6 hours, the group travels on the worn trails and by late afternoon they see the keep come into view.