Two new players joining us, both named Chris, I gave a quick recap and the characters introduced themselves.
The dog guide provided by Roxyannna the Wise women headed North, which puzzled the group who looked at the map provided by Birhuk and concluded that the better way was to follow the road east and then north to a ford in the river then cross and come back West. It would be longer, but quicker and easier.
So that way they went, attempting to seize their canine guide, who inexplicably turned into a Raven (yup, they have Ravens in the area) and flew north. The group looking to Dirya, daughter of Roxyanna for some sense of why it wanted to go the difficult route, but she shrugged.
The road was eerily quiet. No people, no animals until they saw some crows wheeling over what proved to be some corpses, from different areas to the north by the patterns of their clothes, hacked and bitten, The crows flew off when the group came. They had not risen through the demon infection, but, lacking time to do much more, the group beheaded the corpses. And managed to avoid any mishaps like coming too close in contact with any source of the cursed infection.
Continuing to the ford, Jushur acting as scout, they saw the village by it inhabited, at first glance, by corpses only. They decided to travel swiftly, staying in the open lest they be surprised, and caught the sound of a rhythmic thumping. That proved to be a wounded leather worker, who told them a little of what had transpired. He received some of Roxyanna’s médecine and Dirya’s healing, enough to stabilise the man.
The ferry was disabled, but with Jushur’s tenacity, and with the assistance of a safety rope and inflated goat skins, they were able to recover the ferry and get it working again. But, as they got themselves together, a few, sickly crows came to attack them. Smaller than humans, they seemed to succumb to the curse faster. They were dealt with without much threat to the group, as the effects of the curse seemed to impair them. From Gunion’s studies, the curse in humans kills them over three days, turning them into mindless killers as it kills them, before they rise under the control of a demonic hive mind. These crows were dying, and now they are dead, will they rise again?
They found their guide, who they need more for the last stage than the first, as they have to get to a specific place. The raven seemed disgruntled, but flapped over before turning back to a dog.
Proceeding on, they came across rising smoke and investigated, finding Banuk a trapper who had been hunting pelts in the north. He is from the village at the ford, Vasvarh, but his family are in Irbuk, if the group will take his cargo, he thinks an old dugout canoe he used to use might be enough to get him back over the river and he can head for Irbuk and let them know of the wounded man in Varsvarh. He gave them a name, Babsoryeh, headwoman of the village of Dalbeh, and a distant relative, who might be able to help him.
And there we left it”,