Rangers of Shadow Deep – The Missing – The Deserted Village
Serrol woke up before sunrise. It had been less than a week since Lorenthia fell to the Shadow Deep. He thought he would have nightmares of barely escaping to Alladore, and watching as the Shadow Deep consume Lorenthia. He watched dozens of families fall into the darkness as the land collapsed just behind him, escaping with only his gear and his hound, Skitter.
But no, these dreams were different.
Dreams of a long ocean voyage to the frozen city of Felstad with two people who he did not recognize, but knew were friends.
Of delving into a ruined alchemical factory, searching for something important to him, something to protect the kingdom from the Shadow Deep. Of fighting an obscene monstrocity, of animated skeletons burning from alchemical oils, and of constructs spewing flaming oils.
Of finding a book with the secrets they needed.
Of sending his two companions with a stranger they met, to kill a dragon. He couldn't remember why they needed to kill the dragon, but they did.
And then of one of the companions returning with the news that the other died. The feeling of loss, as if this other companion was a close friend.
As he dressed, grabbed his gear, and went to train, he saw the Ranger Captain talking to several others. The captain looked up, and waved Serrol over.
"Serrol, I was just going to send for you. I know you're still healing, but we need every man. Three days ago, Ranger Aventine went out alone to investigate reports of an attack on a nearby village. He is overdue. All of our other Rangers are on patrol, and I am obligated to stay here. But we need to find Aventine."
"My lord Captain, I am ready."
"Good. Several newcomers arrived to join the Rangers; you have the most experience - granted, it was all in Lorenthia, but you are still the most experienced - so you will lead the mission."
Serrol kept his face calm. Even after all this time, some people of Alladore still held a grudge against Lorenthia. The Ranger Captain was apparently one of those people.
The others turned to face Serrol.
The dream.
Two of those in the group were in his dreams.
The Ranger Captain continued, "Serrol, this is Sakalas of the forest of Nar, Carovnik of the Cascades, and Hildr, Templar from the far northern realms."
Serrol bowed to the companions, his expression dark.
Sakalas bowed in return, but Carov smirked a roguish smirk. "Ah, Ranger Serrol of Lorenthia, known as 'the Beggar'. From your expression, you have had the dream as well. Very good. It is easier to avoid traps if one knows where they are. We shall just have to step carefully."
The Captain glanced at Carov, then at Serrol. "Yes, well.... talk of dreams can wait. You must depart to search for Aventine. Grab supplies, you leave immediately. It is an eight hour hike over difficult terrain."
And so the new team, some with old memories, gathered up what supplies they could easily carry, and set off. Serrol remained quiet, his focus on the mission ahead, and on the dream. A few hours into the hike, Carov spoke "What's really interesting, Ranger Serrol, is that I don't remember this from my dreams. I remember heading to the frozen city right when we met."
"So what do the dreams mean?"
"Ah, that's the joy of it. I have no idea!"
For the rest of the hike, they talked among themselves, Serrol finding that he recalled more about his companions Sakalas and Carovnik as they talked, although there were some things he recalled from his dream that were completely wrong. If they were sent to the frozen city, he would make sure they all returned.
As soon as they came within sight of the village, they knew something wasn't right. The woods should not be this quiet. There was no sound of man or animal, no movement except for the gentle swaying of the trees in the breeze.
Closer in, they saw bodies lying in the dirt, and the smell of death.
They moved together cautiously, alert and looking about, as if the village would soon be swarming with the hordes of the Shadow Deep.
And as they reached the center of the village, the horrible moaning sound let them know that it now was.
"Carov - you and I will search the southeastern part of the village. Sakalas - you and Hildr search the northwestern portion. We don't want to get overrun, so move fast, search around, and then we'll leave." The team agreed, and set out. As Serrol and Skitter head due South, Serrol fired his bow at a giant rat that emerged from one of the buildings. 
The shot struck the rat, pinning it to the ground. Carov moved straight East, casting a Magic Bolt spell at the zombie approaching from that direction, snuffing out whatever evil caused it to rise. "Rest well, villager." Carov said, his normal cocky attitude replaced by somberness. 
"Serrol - was this how it was in Lorenthia?" he shouted. Serrol did not shout his reply, but with the muffled quiet surrounding them, his voice carried nonetheless. "Much, much worse."
A zombie moved up to Skitter, attacking the hound, but Skitter rolled out of reach. 
A giant rat attacked Hildr, but its teeth could not penetrate her armor. 
She cut down the rat with her mighty axe, then moved towards the oncoming zombie, which took an arrow from Sakalas' bow, but did not fall.
Serrol engaged the zombie with his sword, ending the threat. Sakalas' second arrow dropped the zombie near Hildr, as she moved to investigate some strange tracks on the outskirts of the village. 
"I have seen many undead in my time in Felstad, raised to serve their necromantic masters, but these - these zombies look different, and these tracks resemble that of giant spiders."
"Spiders?" Sakalas replied. "I'm not fond of spiders, but I have heard stories of spider venom that could animate the corpses of those they bite, but I thought those were stories told to scare children."
"We are not children. But I will admit that the thought of these spiders does not please me."
Carov continued to move East, to an odd shape he had spotted in the brush. He cautiously approached, ready to lash out with his magic if it was a threat, but instead he found a villager, still alive. He quickly rendered aid and helped the old man stand. "Thank you, stranger", the old man said, "I owe you..."
His voice trailed off as more zombies shambled into view, one rising just next to Carov and the survivor.
The fight continues, Hildr dropping two more zombies, and Serrol and Sakalas damaging others. The zombie that rose next to Carov swung its decaying arm at Carov, striking him. "Bloody walking corpse, I will burn you". The survivor moved up and struck that zombie with a shovel, damaging it. "That's Arthur the shopkeep. He was a good man."
Skitter leaps at a zombie that has approached Serrol, but the zombie struck Skitter with a clawed hand, smashing the hound to the ground. 
"Skitter!" Serrol shouted as he swung at the zombie - his blade struck the zombie, but the zombie batted his sword wide. The zombie grabbed Serrol, injuring him.
The survivor swung his shovel at the zombie next to him & Carov, missing. However, the zombie was able to grab the survivor, killing him. 
Carov swore, swinging at the zombie with his sword, cutting it down. "Rest easy, both of you. I'm sorry." he said as he moved towards one of the houses that needed to be searched.
Hildr, continuing her rampage, cut down another zombie.
Another zombie crawled out of the undergrowth, standing up right near Serrol. He was quickly getting overwhelmed. "Sakalas! I could use some help here!"
Sakalas shot and killed a giant rat that was approaching Hildr, then turned and ran to support Serrol. Hildr cautiously approached one of the nearby houses.
The door was locked, so she smashed it open and saw a satchel on the floor inside the house.
Serrol, already wounded, continued to fight the zombie next to him, but the zombie was relentless, and smashed him to the ground. Carov continued to move to the house he planned on searching, staying out of line of sight of the zombies, so he did not see Serrol go down.
With a thunderous crash that caused the team to jump, a barn near Carov collapsed. Thankfully, none of the team were inside. "What caused that?" "I don't know, and I don't really want to."
After watching Serrol go down, Sakalas took a few steps back, launching an arrow at the zombie that dropped Serrol, striking true and dropping it. Hildr grabbed the satchel, took a quick look inside and saw that it contained dried herbs. She tucked it into her belt, then left the house in case it, too, collapsed.
A giant rat leapt at Sakalas, who shot it at point blank range, killing it.
Carov reached the door of the house he wanted to search, and with a quick incantation and a shove, forced the door open. Inside, he was able to make out the corpse of a Ranger, probably very recently dead. He moved inside and confirmed that it was Aventine. Carov noticed that his sword, which his corpse still gripped, glimmered with magic, so he grabbed the sword "Sorry, friend", he said to the corpse of Aventine, "I think we need this more than you."
Hildr started to move towards an odd lump on the western edge of the village as more zombies started to approach. She dodged a zombie and discovered that what she found was a small pile of gold and jewels. She was going to reach for them when the zombie attacked. She cut down the zombie, but then saw a small horde of zombies approaching. "We have to get out of here!" she called, as Sakalas dropped a zombie that attacked him.
The survivors made a dash to the south, which appeared clear of zombies. On the way, they grabbed Serrol and Skitter's bodies, so that the zombies would not feast on them, and made it to a safe campsite.
There they found that Serrol and Skitter were merely unconscious, and would recover.
"What now?" Carov asked. "We circle around and search for the tracks that Hildr found", Sakalas said. "The stories I heard say that the spiders don't travel far, and they may have taken survivors to feed any hatchlings."
Carov qickly used his magic to heal Serrol and Skitters. After explaining what they found, and their plan, Serrol agreed, and the team set off in search of the spiders, and hopefully survivors.
