Towards the middle of fall, Laurel arrived with a shipment of supplies, simply taking a short break from her examination of some Creo vis at Rochehaut.
The second evening of Laurel's visit, Anna and Karl were awakened by some noises outside in the valley. They went to investigate and all hell broke loose. The grog on guard was dead down the valley and even as they stepped out of the cave to see what was going on, another grog was being beheaded by the dead Chieftain from the barrow and his companions.
The alarm was raised and a hellish battle fought. The spells of the Magi seemed to have little effect on the dead men, pila of fire evaporated as they struck, even Umberto's bolt had no effect - at least it had no effect until he flew down to the end of the valley where the aura was strongest, there his magic was sufficiently enhanced to take effect on the lesser dead men, although the Chieftain was still relatively immune.
The battle was not going well, though, another grog had fallen as had Karl who had been unable to take on wolf form. The Chieftain had a crushing grasp which served to paralyze his foes, and this caused the magi much trouble. On the good side, one of the dead men had been decapitated by a strong ax blow from one of the grogs. Still, the odds did not look good, and the Chieftain and one of his companions were closing on the Magi.
The magi and Smells Strange beat a retreat to the roof of the wellhouse just ahead of the angry Chieftain. In frustration he saw that the magi were beyond his grasp, for other than his paralyzing grasp the dead men seemed to have no ability to harm at a distance, and sounded the retreat.
He and his remaining companions twisted in a vile way and where they had been were only large serpents who rapidly wriggled away. This transformation suggested to the magi the use of the holes which riddled the plateau where the barrow had been found.
More Violence erupts at Val Du Rillion!