Act 1 - Chapter 14 - A Knife in the Dark - Part 2 - Report

General Summary

As the Hunters rescue Aoife and Saoirse just in time, they regroup and plan their next steps.  Leaving the staked body of Natasha the Flayer with the sisters, and a small contingent of soldiers with them for backup, the group takes their remaining raiders and moves on to recapture the town, and figure out exactly what is going on.  Through clever use of stealth they surround and recpature Trig's tower, gaining powerful alchemical explosives and a triage center for their wounded.  With this, the Hunters prepare to take on the Quarry, to find Hrunndar, and push forward for more answers.   With clever planning, unconventional use of one of the explosive barrels, a ramp, overwhelming shock tactics, the Hunters clear out the Quarry of a large horde of dangerous Undead, and manage to find Hrunndar, who has finally donned his armor and take up his Champion Oaths once again. In a stunning victory over the Zealous Uunvar the Undying, the group not only defeats him and his minions, but manage to immediately stake the vampire in a Heroic, and honestly lucky, series of attacks, reacting quickly enough to prevent the vampire from turning to mist and escaping.  With the vampire staked, its minions return to death, and the Hunters remove Uunvar's head and annoint it with Holy Water, putting an end to the Undead Zealot.   With the Eastern side of town safe, and Hrunndar and the Sisters found, the Hunters turn their attention to the Lumber Mill, and the Western side of the river. The Mill, being barely held by Svati and a few other shieldbearers and archers, was beset on all sides by undead.  But the Hunters pushed forward in great numbers, forming a Shield Wall and pushing their way across the bridge, with Finbor and a few other skilled hunstman in the shallows to kill any stragglers.  With the bridge taken, and the Lumber Mill being cleared out, victory seemed well within reach.  Yet, the Hunters were being fooled, and only with some keen insight at the last second, the group managed to bring their wits about them and mount a defense, as Svati and his troops had been secretly Dominated by the vampire enchanter Edvarr the Emerald Eyes.   Just barely managing to avoid being Dominated themselves, and finding the slippery undead wizard quickly, the Hunters managed to kill the vampire, once again just barely managing to stake them before they turned to mist, and destroying Edvarr's body through decapitation and Holy Water.  The threat dealt with, and luckily freeing all the dominated townsfolk without killing any of them, it seemed the town was near to being safe.  And with apparent reinforcements on the horizon, as an armored man and a small contingent of soldiers made their way through the Western Pass, clearing skeletons as they went.  The man was Ser Karsten, apparently the newly appointed leader or Fljot, and came to discuss this with the Hunters, apparently just in time.  But Gus has an eye for when things appear too good to be true, and the man's mask just barely slipped, and the Hunters could see him for who he truly was.  Another powerful Vampire, and from the look of things, perhaps the one who coordinated the attack, only to come in at the end as a savior and an ally.     But, the Hunters would not suffer such deception, and not play along, as Tyrus ignited Ser Karsten with a spell, and bloodshed seems all but a guarantee.