A pair of half elven twins were among the youths helping with setup. Amethyst, a Paladin trainee and follower of Torm the True, was among the first to volunteer, seeing it as her duty to help her community. Her sister, Emerald, had somewhat less noble motives, viewing the grand affair as an opportunity to con unwitting partygoers out of their hard earned coin. While cleaning and preparing the city lamp posts, they were both brought aside by an aide of Napraeleon and asked to help with a special project.
Nearby, a Silver Dragon born named Ice was helping the bakers prepare the frostings and dressings for the various cakes and sundries that would be sold to vendors and workers outside of the party itself. A dragon descendant with sorcerous talents, she happily took up the call when the promise of cake was offered. Unfortunately for her, she was also brought in for Napraeleon's mission, postponing her cake.
Two unlikely friends, a Druid named Moana and a shield maiden called Peni, also joined in the preparations. They were suspicious, but excited for the adventure of Napraeleon mission.
The five were brought to the foyer at an affluent mansion near the center of Roscommon. Not yet knowing what the mission entailed, they waited impatiently as an aide lined them up along the wall of the foyer. Emmy had only just began planning on which items to pilfer from the estate when their host entered.
The elder Napraeleon appeared tired, but commanded the room with his mere presence. He quickly scanned the five teenagers before nodding his casual approval to his aide. After his employer left to tend to more important details, the aide quickly explained the "Special Mission".
While the Thurdan family worshiped Lathander and Moradin, the prospective groom was a devout follower of Helm and asked for a blessing on the wedding. With only one temple of Helm in the entire city, and only one capable of giving the blessing, it should have been a simple matter. Eris the Kind, the temples lone leader, was out of town, visiting his home town of Small Town, about a days journey on foot. With so much to attend to, the group of young women were asked to deliver a summons to the Paladin and ask his return for the wedding. Offered pay for their service, the group eagerly accepted the mission.
Though they knew each other from around town, the girls used the journey to get to know one another better. Amethyst, whon the others called Amy, felt more comfortable out front, but her sister was very chatty with the newly formed group. While trying to chat up Ice, the Silver sailed girl froze a butterfly that happened by and crunched on it happily. Emmy decided to talk to the OTHER girls instead.
Near dusk, the group approached Small Town, but proceeded with caution when they saw no torches or other signs of life. A single hovel stood outside the town, and with darkness quickly descending, the group decided to hole up until morning. They cautiously walked to the house and noticed an old lady sitting on the porch. She wasn't moving, and was slouched over in her chair.
Peni called out to the woman, but she did not stir. Amy moved closer and raised her voice to get her attention. The woman moved slightly, but didn't look up. Peni knocked on the door while Moana suggested looking through the window to see if anyone else were home. When Ice lost her patience with the old woman, she tried to shake her to see if it would rouse her.
The old woman lunged at Ice, moaning and staring at her with white, sunken eyes. While the other girls seemed indecisive, Amy thrust her shield between the woman and Ice, freeing the Dragonborn but getting her shield grabbed instead. The girls were screaming at each other, trying to decide what to do. Getting this close allowed Amy to realize that the woman was undead, so she kicked the woman's chair trying to dislodge her. Unfortunately, the old woman was strapped to the chair, which forced all of her weight to act as a pivot on the shield and the woman fell forward onto Amy and her shield. The other girls did not help at first, as they didn't realize the woman was a zombie, but once Amy yelled that was the case, Ice quickly cast a ray of frost that froze and shattered the frail zombie's body.
With dusk giving way to night, the motionless town of Small Town set against the backdrop of a massive volcanic crag that blew out over the town like a stone wave suddenly became menacing. The teens propped the old lady up, surmising that someone may have placed her there as a warning, and began to barricade the home. It only had one door and one window, so it was a simple matter to use the bed as a brace against the window and an old table against the door. While four of the girls managed this, Emmy searched the old woman's kitchen and found three silver hidden in a pot. She pocketed these without telling the group, laughing to herself. All of the girls prepared their bedrolls, while Peni prepared for the first watch with Moana.
First watch was uneventful, as was second watch when Amy and Emmy took it up. Amy volunteered to stay up with Ice for third watch, and it wasn't long before the dark, motionless night began to move. Amy, who could see in the dark due to her elven heritage, noticed the movement first and whispered to Ice, who planned to quietly wake the others. Her attempt at silence was short lived, as her tail bumped a counter and several pots and pans clanged loudly to the floor.
The lone figure became two, the two became four, the four became a dozen, and the girls were now panicking and scrambling for a plan. Amy proposed the group use the door as a bottleneck, and try to fight them off one by one, but by now the zombies had circled the front of the house and began to bang on the walls and door. Ice and Peni were discussing who would kick in a part of the back door so they could escape, but Moana smartly deduced that the structure would not support the strain. The group then decided to torch the barricade and simultaneously smash in the back wall. The threw their torch, lowered their shoulders, and leapt through the dilapidated wall as it collapsed into a flaming heap behind them.
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