The... thing in the lead looked back at the others. Walther could see no obvious signal or command given, but the others began to spread out. Those that didn't already have weapons out drew them. The leader began to walk slowly towards him, hands held out slightly, but not in an aggressive pose. "Who's there?" He... it called out, obviously directing the question to Walther.

Beetle and Teion were further back. They saw the creatures spreading out and heard the lead one call out. It didn't seem like the things had noticed the two of them yet.

 The rain seemed to be driving down even harder outside the city. The ground was already saturated and water was beginning to accumulate. Lonna headed north. She hadn't traveled far when a lightning bolt illuminated the area and revealed something moving a little ways off. Seconds later a second bolt lit up the sky and she got a good look at it. There were five or six creatures padding through the storm, heading east. They were a lot like a large dog. Perhaps a little bigger than a guard dog with long forelegs with finger-like clawed toes and a short snout. Their short, stiff, brown fur was matted down with rain. Lonna realized exactly what they were and just how dangerous they were. They were trotting along at a fairly slow pace and either hadn't noticed her or didn't care.

All around them once dead bodies were moving, standing up and starting to walk off. Moonlight glinted off of blood soaked armor and blades held loosely in rotting hands. There was at least a score of them scattered around Walther, Beetle and Teion and from the sounds of it, many more in the darkness. 

Walther had been moving tactically towards the wagons when the first of the dead rose up, just to the left of his path.  He turned sharply and looked for new cover but all he found was more of the dead rising around him.  His hand went for his sword but stayed its completion when he realized that the dead were not interested in Beetle and him.  A quick look to the west showed that Teion was equally uninteresting.

A map of the Vatril Republic and most the contested lands. Anaheer are in royal purple, Vatril in regal red. Solid colored lines indicate the borders. The area between the borders is not well defended by either side. Includes a handy green arrow pointing to the city of Ettermoor, with the swamp just to the left of it. All cities included are major cities. Locations are approximate. North is up.

The map is quite large. Travelling by foot from the eastern edge to the western could take a month or more.

A map of the Anaheer Kingdom. Solid colored lines indicate the border. All cities included are major cities. Locations are approximate. North is up.

The map is quite large. Travelling by foot from the northern shore to the southern border could take a month or more.

Somewhere to the west a wolf howled. It was dark. Lonna was alone now. The others, including that charred man, were leaving. Lonna turned north and began to walk towards the forest. She made sure to keep a watch behind in case the other mage tried something, but they quickly vanished into the darkness without incident. She was already at the far end of the battlefield, so it wasn't long before Lonna left the carnage behind. It wasn't far to the forest.

As a child, Lonna had often snuck into the forest when she thought she could get away with it. She loved the peacefulness she felt there. But she had never come so far out alone nor had she ever been out in it alone past dark. Now she felt none of the peace of her childhood.

Walther, Teion and Beetle continued walking down the path towards Ettermoor. They had left the healer and the seer behind with the injured Vatril soldier. It was just the three of them now. The dishonest, treasonous even, ones had fallen away, leaving only those truly loyal to Anaheer.

There seemed to be fewer and fewer bodies the further they went. They were still quite a ways from Ettermoor and the Anaheer army. It would be a long night's travel to get there.

Walther took stock of his shortened column.  The troll trainer, Beetle, had been a real trooper and performed his duties well, something for which the officer was grateful in the face of the others' intransigence.  He was someone Walther felt could be counted upon, come what may.

A wolf howled in the distance as the odd group of people crossed the battlefield. The night turned the bodies of the dead were turned into mere shadows, mounds rising out of the darkness. Rank and allegiance were lost in the shadows. Only the occasional glint of moonlight on metal distinguished one from another. Countryman or foe, it mattered not in the end. They were all dead. The path from the remains of the Vatril camp was a rough beaten road made by the regular traffic of soldiers and supplies to and from Ettermoor. It was relatively straight and clear enough that it could be traversed easily, even in the dark. However, signs of the battle persisted even here. Bodies were strewn along the path, cut down while they tried to run.

Still looking, but I really liked this image and it felt right for the game.  Minus some of the facial markings, of course.  ...and of course, the eyes aren't green like they should be.

Credits: Cleopatra_by_Corpsebride (www.deviantart.com)

This came up recently, so I figured I'd spell it out for all of you. Anyone with a magic stat can attempt to counter a spell. Having practice with spells in general, knowing what spell is being cast, and knowing how to cast that spell yourself, all make countering the spell easier.