In the town of [[Baey Bluffs]] once ravaged by the mighty dragon [[Quixus]], the party of valiant adventurers who were his demise came together on the three year anniversary to mourn the death and celebrate the life of their friend [[Valos]] who died in the legendary battle.  A motley assortment of adventurers who from many walks of life they each had their own ambitions but had realized that their weaknesses were covered by others strengths.  Sitting down at the tavern they learn from some townsfolk that a great earthquake had recently disturbed the town and destroyed the graveyard.  The group worried about what could have caused this and anxious to ensure their friend’s soul was still at rest decide to begin the walk up to the graveyard.  They do not walk quickly, each feeling burdened by a sense of responsibility for the demise of Valos.   As they ascend towards the graveyard they begin to notice the damage that was described by the townsfolk.  Things are shifted and thrown askew and as they approach the gate they realize that the graveyard has been locked tight and yet looking in they can see someone who appeared to be attempting to clean up some of the mess. “Hey,” shouted [[Fae]] a powerful druid, “can you please let us in?”  “No, cemetery’s closed” replied the groundskeeper. Fae walked up close to the gate and said to him, “we’re here to see our friend, surely you can let us in to pay our respects to a fallen hero?” “Cemetery’s closed,” responded the groundskeeper. “What’s your name sir,” asked Fae to the recalcitrant groundskeeper.   “Drel,” replied Drel. “Well Drel we intend to visit our friend, our friend who is on the other side of this gate, our friend who was one of the bravest warriors in this land, who sacrificed himself to save this godforsaken shithole from the dragon Quixus, so how about you unlock the gate so we can see our friend?” pushed Guinevere “[[Gwen]]” Coco a half elf rogue. “Yeah Darrel,” shouted Dave Barbarian the human Barbarian to the visibly annoyed Drel (who’s name is not Darrel).  With a look of all consuming exasperation Drel walked slowly over to the gate, unlocked it and allowed the group to enter while saying, “you may briefly see his grave and then leave.” The group walked into the cemetery and started walking towards their friend’s grave.  They walked by a fence where they could see several dogs fighting over something.  When they finally crested a small rise they looked down and saw several zombies walking towards them.  Surprised, they all leaped into action. Gwen fired a bolt from her crossbow and as it slammed home into the first zombie and she turned and started sprinting away. Forrest the human wizard immediately darted to the side and hid behind a gravestone.   Dave started sprinting out from the group straight towards the zombies.   [[Lilith]] Bean the Tiefling Ranger and Monk pulls out their bow and fired another bolt at the front zombie and it landed deep in the chest cavity of this undead monster. Maxwell the Half Elf Druid repositioned himself so that he could view the oncoming zombies. Clarel the Wood Elf Cleric fired another arrow at the front zombie and he looked brutalized.  [[Brocc]] the powerful half-orc paladin channeled the energy of his deity and then rushed forward into the fray. Fae grabbed her spear and charged straight forward following Dave and [[Brocc]]. The zombies advanced forward coming within spitting distance of Dave, [[Brocc]], and Fae.  Shortly before they could hit them Gwen turned on her heel, ran back towards the group and fired a bolt killing the first zombie with an arrow through the tattered remains of his genitalia. Seeing the first one fall Forrest steps out from behind the gravestone and holding his small golden focus in his hand a blast of ice cold arcane energy shoots across the graveyard slamming home in one of the zombies as his body is coated in frost, though not fully stopping him Dave in a rage turns to the one closest to him and swings his great sword first once and then again as chunks fly from the undead. As he is doing this the other zombie reaches out towards him and tries to bite into [[Dave]], but in the commotion he is unable to find purchase.  Unabated he tries again and succeeds in taking a chunk out of Dave’s arm.  [[Brocc]] and Fae both seeing this happen turn and both strike down on the one that has just attacked Dave and knock it off and have it on the edge of death. Suddenly two bolts fly from above from Lilith and Clarel as the zombie that Dave had attacked falls.  [[Maxwelf]] who had been sneaking up this entire time strikes the remaining zombie with a smooth movement into his genitals. The party glanced out nervously unsure of their surroundings and more curious than ever about what has happened in this town.   “I guess all we can do is go check on Valors’ grave,” said Lilith. The party began walking through the cemetery they had been in countless times before, but the earthquake had upended the ground and left everything feeling askew.  However, the group was still able to find their way to where they expected Valos’ grave to be.  However, the ground was torn up and they all had the deeply unsettling feeling that Valos was not at rest. “What the hell happened here?” Dave asked the group. “Something has gone terribly wrong. We need to find Drel,” Forrest answered. The group set off back through the cemetery trying to find the groundskeeper in the hope of gaining a better appreciation for what has happened here.   They finally found Drel puttering around near the small temple on the grounds, between the temple and the mausoleum.  Looking over they could also see what appeared to be a large opening torn into the crypt.  Walking towards Drel, Dave is the first to confront him. “Yo Darrell, what happened here? Where is the body of our friend?” Dave said with a bit of anger infusing his voice.   “I have no idea what you could be talking about, and my name is not Darrel,” replied Drel. “You see Darrell, I do not believe you.  I think you do know what is going on and are trying to hide it from us, “Dave said as he got so close to Drel that Drel could smell the cabbage on his breath. “I cannot tell you exactly what has happened.  It appears to have come from the crypt and several of the graves appear to have been disturbed.  Beyond that I cannot tell you anything,” Drel said while trying to turn his head to avoid Dave’s breath. “There was that so hard,” responded Dave while handing him a cabbage from his bag. “Thanks,” Drel said with a look of visible confusion and perhaps even disgust. The group walked a short distance away from Drel who appeared to quietly go back to cleaning up the disturbed messes to discuss their next move.  “Well it seems like it came from the crypt should we head down there,” Brocc asked the group. “I am curious about that oddly undisturbed mausoleum.  I think we should check that out first.  It may gave us a clue as to what we may be dealing with down in the crypt,” Forrest answered. “Mausoleum sounds smart to me,” said Fae as she absentmindedly kept creating little flowers in her hand. The group walked the short distance towards the mausoleum, but were frustrated when they came upon a locked door to the entrance.  Without saying a word Gwen surreptitiously pulled her thieves tools from her bag and with two clean movements picked the lock.  As the door swung open they looked upon a large marble room with inset drawers in the walls and a coffin on a dais in the middle.  The room was lit with dim torches, but instinctively several of the spell casters reached down and cast light upon items on their clothing and the room became flooded with light.  The group all looked around trying to find anything that gave them clues in the room, but did not find anything.  They eventually congregated near the coffin and no matter how hard they looked, it continued being a beautiful marble coffin that provided no other clues.   “Well I guess we need to open this up,” Lilith said as they braced her shoulder against the heavy lid and begins pushing.  As it grates and moves suddenly a crossbow bolt flies out from the coffin and slams home into their chest.   “Who has disturbed my rest?” came the question from the woman who sat up from within the coffin brandishing her crossbow about. “We come in search of whatever has caused this damage to the cemetery and to the time, and now with the goal of helping our friend’s soul find peace,” Forrest answered.  He appeared visibly calm, but a keen observer would see his right hand settle into his pocket and then form a fist around his small golden coin, the focus for his arcane casting. “Ahh, you have come to fight the darkness that has invaded my cemetery.  The one who raises the dead and wrecks havoc on my peaceful abode,” she intoned. “Wait a second, who the heck are you,” Lilith said as they cleaned the wound from the crossbow bolt that had pierced their chest. Clarel was helping use her divine energy to clean the wound and ensure that Lilith would be okay. “I am Sasha, protector of this cemetery, vampiress of Bae Bluffs, and curious why I have been awaken.” “Well because you haven’t done a very good job at the protecting part and so now we are here,” Dave answered.   “You are right that I failed to stop these necromancers, and my son Drel is little help in anything more vigorous than a light jog.  Perhaps, with your help I could extinguish this evil and restore my home to its previous comfort.” “Wait Drel is a vampire,” Maxwelf exclaimed. “Well a half vampire, a mistake early on with a townsperson shortly after I had been turned.  A story for another day perhaps,” Sasha answered. “Well are we off?” Lilith asked, their wound much improved thanks to the divine energy of Clarel. As the party entered into the tunnel that led down into the crypt they saw two half way dressed guards at the base.  The party quickly leaped into actions, with Sasha, Lilith, Gwen, and Clarel loosing arrows down at the two of them who were still struggling to put on their pants.  Forrest fired a blast of ice cold arcane energy at one, and Brocc, Fae, and Dave worked together to eviscerate another finally running a sword from his genitals to his throat.  Maxwelf standing at the entrance to the cave began to chant and move his hands as magical vines came from the walls and wrapped up the remainder, and Fae turned to him and immediately charmed him.  The party approaches to interrogate him. “Who are you and why are you down here?” Fae says as she got in this guy’s face. “Oh I was paid to guard the crypt, me and my best friend…” he trails off as he looks over and tears begin to well in his eyes as he sees his deceased friend.  The spell nearly breaks freeing him from his charm. “Who paid you,” Fae demanded. “Hmm, not sure but they gave me a nice bit of gold to do it! 50 gold pieces between my friend and I,” he looks over again and again reality almost sets in. “Focus on me,” Fae insisted, “what else is in this crypt?” “Well dead bodies of course!” he said with a chuckle. Brocc tiring of this incessant conversation that went nowhere signaled to Maxwelf to release the vines and then disemboweled him starting at the genitals and working up. The party advanced further into the tunnel until they entered a room where they saw more coffins along the walls.  As they crossed the threshold 4 more zombies appeared from within the coffins.  In the close quarters they immediately felt in danger.  Forrest muttered an incantation under his breath and then his body was bathed in a protective arcane energy.  Fae started sprinting towards the first zombie she saw with her spear out ready to stab and sunk the spear deep inside of it, then suddenly became a direwolf with hunger in her eyes.   Gwen sneaking along the wall and using the massive direwolf as a distraction sneak attacks the zombie next to Fae with her daggers absolutely brutalizing it.  But it remained standing with classic undead stubbornness. Lilith, Clarel, and Sasha in unison pull back and unleash arrows and bolts into one of the other ones until it is barely hanging onto life as Brocc and Dave charge straight towards another. Dave with absolute fury swings first once and then again lopping chunks off the zombie as Brock winds up and swings down straight for the head with his battle-ax barely missing. Maxwelf pulls out his weapon and charges towards the untouched creature and takes a chunk out of it with a powerful swing.   The zombie close to Fae turns and tries to strike at her, but the natural agility of the direwolf is too much.  The one by Brocc and Dave and the one struck with arrows turn and both try to strike Dave.  Dave avoids one attacks, but is slashed by the other.  The one by Maxwelf tries to strike him, yet misses. Sasha, Lilith, and Clarel again pull back and absolutely eviscerate the zombie they had fired on before.  Dave swings at the one close to him and decapitates it. Maxwelf and Brocc swing on the one by Maxwelf and leave another zombie with no genitals. Fae jumps in the air and cleanly bites off the head of the one remaining.  The party spins around with weapons drawn, but sees their foes rotting even more than before on the floor.  Their breath is ragged in their ears, yet as it slows they look around and see only a single exit that appears to lead deeper into the crypt.  Wordlessly, and with a sense of impending doom they continue deeper into the crypt. The group walked into the final room and saw two gnomes standing on top of pillars in the back corners.  A rushing river runs behind the gnomes.  As they walk in a mummy comes out between them and two zombies in front of them.  The mummy locks eyes with Sasha and tries to make her submit, it fails and in response it gets a bolt to the chest from her crossbow.   Fae in her direwolf form charges towards zombie and tries to bite it.   Clarel, Lilith, and Gwen each fire arrows.  Lilith and Gwen both strike the gnome necromancer in the back right, but Clarel is distracted when she sees the direwolf streak by her.   Maxwelf starts running towards the closest zombie and then becomes a toad. As [[Forrest]] is preparing to let a blast of glacial frost free from his hand he is targeted by a blast of arcane energy from the necromancer he barely avoids.  He starts walking towards the necromancer and strikes it with a blast of arcane energy. The other necromancer turns and strikes Fae temporarily confusing her and sapping her life force.  She lets out an earsplitting howl. Brocc and Dave the dueling dynamic damaging duo charge forward at the mummy and as it sees them it turns its attention to Brocc and befuddles him and in his confusion he lets the axe fall and accidentally cuts his own forearm.  Dave continues onward and strikes it twice with his great sword.   Forrest realizing there is a zombie coming towards him and reaches out his hands as a cone of arcane energy burns the zombie to a crisp.  Turning back to the necromancer he finds himself struck by a sudden and painful magical slash.  Disorienting and confusing him. Sasha turns towards the mummy again and looses a bolt at it which strikes it again. Clarel with her focus again fires a bolt at the necromancer on the right and then begins moving towards Forrest. Lilith targets a zombie again and strikes it with another shot. Gwen starts sneaking around the walls hoping to get a sneak attack on the one by Fae.  Unfortunately she is detected before she can strike it. Maxwelf hops towards the necromancer in the back right and attempts to bite it.  He leaps in the air and bites onto the gnome.  The other necromancer seeing this attempts to cast a magical attack on Maxwelf to help his friend but fails. Forrest having burned the closest zombie to a crisp, reaches out his arcane focus and sends a blast of freezing cold energy towards the necromancer held by Maxwelf.  Carefully sculpting the magic to avoid damaging his friend. The mummy again tries to mind attack Sasha and fails, but receives a deadly bolt in return as it collapses to the ground. Fae bites the head clean off the zombie closest to her and starts running towards the necromancer that Maxwelf has bitten.  Gwen realizing she has no one close to her to sneak attack fires at the necromancer held by Maxwelf and strikes him. Clarel starts healing the injured Forrest as Brocc and Dave start swinging wildly sending up zombie guts everywhere. Lilith calmly fires an arrow at the grappled necromancer.  He perishes as the arrow pierces his genitals. The other necromancer panicking jumps off his pillar and into the river.  Maxwelf immediately hops to the river and looks down it but he is already gone from sight.  As the necromancer disappears down the river, the remaining undead collapse.