Pasha did eventually join us at White Widow after the battle against the orc assassins. She arrived in the last hours of the night, with Immin, a mercenary of the Watch as her companion. My comrades greeted her with some suspicion and hostility; AppleRabbit in particular seemed to hold Pasha responsible for the attack on us and specifically for the death of Ecgbert. To my ken, Pasha seemed surprised and more shaken than I have seen her before: it seems this attack had caught our usually unflappable employer off-guard. She bade Mariah dispose of the orc bodies, and we made to secrete Ecgbert's body in my shack until his people could claim it for their rites. Then Pasha forestalled any explanation, calling us to follow her as me made haste out of town first.
After we made a small camp at a wayside not too far down the Crespin Road, Pasha told us that the orcs were ThistleMen, a band of assassins for hire. She seemed impressed that only Ecgbert had been killed, for these were well-trained and competent killers. It was Pasha's guess that the Thistles had been hired by Stryker Malm, the captain of Nackle's Guard. It appears the corruption and deceit in Grelsh goes even further than we had been led to believe. Even as Nackle holds off the DuChamp "diplomats," his own people - not just the priest, Releford - are conspiring against him. Pasha did not know what strategy that Malm is pursuing, but swore he was the only one to know that we were at the White Widow.
We apprised Pasha of the results of our expedition into the swamp, including the outcome of the attack on the piggy caravan, our intelligence-gathering with Iris, the content of the witch's dreams that described the death machine, our encounter with the Lizardkind, and our subsequent combat with the DuChamp agents and possession of The Reaper. We showed her the alchemy bomb that had inaugurated the attack on us and shared what we knew of the ancient magicks that seemed to empower the bomb and The Reaper, as well as the Nil Engine.
Pasha was thrilled that we had The Reaper: apparently, the DuChamp representatives in Grelsh were waiting for the delivery of this very artifact and were planning to stay until its arrival. Our possession of it meant that their stay could be extended indefinitely, allowing Pasha to put into play a dangerous plan.
She intended to feign death by use of a poison, arranging that her body would be found and transported to the place where she was sure the conspirators - Releford, Helion, Malm, or whoever - were transforming corpses into undead killers. She thought that the irony of abusing her body in this way would be too much temptation for the villains to resist. She gave Rorick a scroll of finding with the idea that once Pasha had been transported, we could locate her and the necromantic laboratory and assault it. Revealing the perfidy of the traitors would strengthen Nackle's position and allow him to deal with DuChamp without distraction.
With corruption so widespread, we outsiders were the only ones she could trust with this mission - along with this ranger Immin, who was himself from wild Anwar and who had no particular allegiance in the town.
To put the plan into place, we needed to obtain this death-disguise poison from one Aristeed. He was a ranger and alchemist, a specialist in toxins, and a former lover of Pasha. He had left her and forsaken human company for love of the daughter of Ipaphan, leader of the Wood Elves. His new mate had died while hunting for poisons with him; as a result of Ipaphan's grief he was estranged from Elvish society as well, and lived a hermetic life in the forest. Immin would guide us to this place to obtain the poison.
With this charge accepted by all, after some grumbling and argument, Pasha left us as dawn came. We took a short rest, and began the long journey while it was still morning, skirting well east of town to intercept the traces that would lead us off to the northern forest, arranging our travel to avoid the regular Watch patrols through the area as well as any curious eyes from town. As it happened, the journey took us through that selfsame farmstead that had been the site of our first adventure together, before Rorick joined the group, where we fought the Rashemi witch and her ensorcelled bodyguards. Even as I mentioned this and we recollecting the event, we heard
screaming coming from the interior of the property.
AppleRabbit was off like an arrow, shouting something about Eli, the young boy from the farm in whom she had taken an interest. Immin tried to hold her back and stay with the mission, and I agreed with him - we were duty-bound now, and getting involved in mischief this close to Grelsh would not be good. Urik, always ready to feel or inflict pain, was at Apple's heels and eager for trouble. When Rorick and Zinna were swept along by the general drift of action, Immin and I had no choice but join the response.
We encountered three of the undead creatures that had been described to us: cut and marked with arcane symbols, symbols that we had begun to recognize as the ancient alchemy. They seemed charged with lightning, as a ship's mast will sometimes get during a storm; when Urik charged them we learned that they could discharge lighting as a weapon and that their touch - active or passive - also dealt a powerful shock. So powerful were their attacks that Urik was rendered hors de combat
almost immediately. It was easy to see why it had taken twenty watchmen to subdue one of these creatures; here we faced three.
As Urik withdrew, Rorick once again enlarged his person and waded in a giant in size and strength; his blows were effective but he was taking injury with each engagement. Zinna and Apple were similarly thwarted in their attacks. Immin stayed well back and peppered the creatures with arrows; though his aim was good, I am afraid the effect was slight. I hoped C'Hallah would somehow be immune to their attacks, and sent him into combat.
It was not the case. He too, was shocked, again and again, and soon rendered unconscious as the battle raged. I magicked some stones, hoping to cover the ape's retreat after Apple managed to revive him, but as nimble as he is - was - he could not withdraw without being attacked. All three monsters surrounded him and unleashed their fury.
His death - His destruction was complete and utter.
...
I choose to believe it was too quick to be very painful.
...
Ngabulala umngani wami kuphela.
I abandoned my sling, took out The Reaper, and leapt into the fray. I recall getting one good blow in before it all went black. I awoke to find that it was the next day. My comrades had pulled me from the combat after I suffered grievous injury, but it had taken all night to restore me to some semblance of health. After I had fallen, they had eventually overcome the zombies, and AppleRabbit was said by all to be instrumental in saving my life. I made to thank her, but the witchery of Iris's ring has her manifesting monkey traits today, it was more than I could bear to relate to her.
It seemed the zombies had ravaged the farm - which I recalled to be Nackle's - killing the occupants and leaving the boy Eli an orphan. Immin had used some subterfuge with the regular Watch rangers to have him taken care of, and the party had moved north as far as possible, dragging me along.
Today, we will make a fast march, hoping to make up the lost time we spent at the farm. Immin is determined to make our goal - the lake near Aristeed's hermitage - by nightfall. I believe that Urik and Rorick are working together to summon some magick mounts for at least part of the journey. In fact, the ranger is calling us to our feet; we must be off.
C'hallah is dead.
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