VAN wrote:Filbert closes his eyes for a moment and then opens them still trying to focus. Looking at his companions peprlexed faces he just says:
"We aren't in Endier any more, we are in Elf hill near the place we have seen at the map. Don't ask me how, but we did cover the distance is short time, it's faster and safer than shadow travel. Just don't mention it to others, people often don't understand how these abilities work and things might get messy."
Facing Safana continues:
"Neither to Caine if possible, I know you have to give him a report but please leave this detail out. He doesn't need to know how we got here. And if he insists just tell him that was a halfling ability which is also true. He knows that halflings can travel in shadowrealm."
Seeing the dust trails he continues:
"I think we should go that way, something is happening up there and I think this is where we need to be. Just better avoid the cloud."
FILBERT leads his little party on...
They draw near the spot where they had first seen the cloud.
Looking about, Filbert spots some peasants resting in the fields nearby. These men seem intent on the Hill, a suspiciously regular mound with a ring of standing stones on top--the stones only barely visible in the shifting black cloud.
There's something off about all these guys loafing about the fields...
Peering at the nearest clump, Filbert realizes that they are all armed.
A woman in appears on the far side of the mound and heads out across the barren heath, running full speed with her coat flapping in the wind.
She seems to be headed towards one of the clumps of armed peasants.
Her screams draw Filbert's attention.
Meanwhile the inky cloud has begun to blow off from the hill top.
What neither the Halfling nor his companions notice in time is that as the cloud melts away across the near slope of Elf Hill, something comes out from under it.
A swarm of maggots as big as sheep.
Termelan and Safana may still escape by abandoning the Halfling, but Filbert is too slow to get away from the rolling mass of overgrown vermin.
As the things flop and writhe ever closer, the Halfling and his friends (if they remain by his side) see that the wormy things have faces like human skulls. Pus-dripping, yellow eyes stare out from the sunken orbits. The mouths mumble and whisper in some alien, blasphemous language. Six of them converge on Filbert...
MEANWHILE
Gunnar's men , and the other militiamen, are stunned by the horror crawling down Elf Hill.
But Gunnar's men, at least, recover quickly.
Spaced out at a safe distance, the gathered force does not quite encircle the entire area of Elf Hill, but watches all likely approaches.
So when the half-man , the woman, and the man hike down a slope near Elf Hill, Gunnar's men spot them straight off.
Not sure if they are seeing friends of foes, they neither fire arrows nor call out warnings.
Where did these people come from?