5. Adventure - The giant Bat and the Reaper

The group has returned to Iverbent to check out how much time has passed and how the world has changed.
Finding a wide field filled with remains of a previous battle, the group discovers the city to be have only minimal signs of life. Much of the city is in ruins and the group has only dared to sneak inside when the group carefully checks out the city's inside. Oxton himself has done so by letting his fluffy familiar run ahead, seeing through its lovely rabbit's eyes while being carried by Sable, the walking armour. It was an interesting experience for Oxton to have himself be carried and tell his group what his familiar sees, acting as a scout while he is carried behind. On the bright side it taught him how to fully utilize his bond, growing the distance he can hold with his familiar, training to handle with having two sets of senses at the same time. Maybe he would never need it, but to be able to know and experience what his familiar knows and experience wherever it is, is nevertheless a fun trick for him to possess.
As his and the group's scouting mission reveals a number of survivers living in a shut and barricaded city centre, the group enters the survivor camp through either the roofings or housings. Once they finally made contact we discovered approcimately 25 years have passed since we entered the underground tunnel and Serendipity has touched her icosahendron. The city has barely survived its attack and siege by an enemy army, leaving only little survivors, minimal food, and ruins. Those who remain are lft with a heavy, depressing atmosphere, fighting to survive every day. To make matters worse the party's goal to gather information is thus hindered because most of the city's recordings, like the library, are destroyed. To make matters worse, the city's hospital is overflowing with badly injured people., many of which show signs of being mauled or clawed by some beast. Of course, Oxton being unable to ignore such distress and agony, immediately sets out to heal and treat as many people as he can, be it with magic or with his hands. Stitching up gaping, bleeding wounds, rightening broken bones, treating those sweating and breathing heavily in their fever dreams, and cleaning out those wounds that appear as if someone tried to eat them alive. Time and time again, for an entire day, only resting when he would collapse otherwise and only drinking when his throat hurts, Oxton has tried to heal them.
But it is all for anught. For every person he saves it feels like two more die. For every wound he stitches up, injured with three more wounds arrive. The situation appears hopeless. It is... frustrating. Not that he would openly say it or start attacking those inncocent just to get it off his chest.
"Where are all these injured comming from?"
When he inquired the locals about this they told him the all come from north-west. An unknown beast has been terrizing the survivors which try to procur food. The best way to help them would be to hunt down the monster that has been terrorizing the city. Everyone in the group viws it similar. The solution is simple. Find the beast and kill it. With that plan in mind the group visits the hopsital the next morning to gather intel about the beast. As luck would habe it, a woman carrying a deeply injured man rushes in, having seen the beast. It is a amonstrous, black, flying thing, attacking those alone on their way in and out of the city. Knowing what they have to deal with, the group quickly procurs nets to throw on the beast, to keep it from flying away and head for the north-western part of the city. Once on our way north-west Oxton's familiar and Nabi spot a small shadow, that might have just been an imagination, up in the sky. Following the direction their group members think they ave seen something, seeing as they have nothing better to do, the group enters the city's ruins, crawling over rubble and broken housings. Because of the difficult terrain, the party slowly distances itself more and more from each other. To prevent a complete split, Nabi and Cid wait for Serendipity and Oxton, climbing the buildings and watching the city. It is at this moment a massive monster with leathery skin, leather wings, arm like legs and a teethless maw lands on a building next to the main street. What follows is probably one of the most chaotic fights Oxton has ever partaken in.
The enemy turns out to be an undead with unclear intentions, riding a giant bat-like monster. It had proven itself a worthy adversary, and for the first time in his life Octon was hesitant to heal his partners during the fight.
After all, every bit of his godesses divine healing energy he is going to spend here on minor scratches and bruises will be power he will miss to heal those heavily wounded in the hospital.
Despite being a healer, Oxton suddenly found himself in a fight where he was not allowed to heal.
After a chatoic fight against a giant bat with an undead skeleton rider wielding a scythe, we chased it away, killing the bat that turned into black smoke, leaving its rider to fall down, cutting up Serendipity in the process, only to die itself soon after. Left with little hints, Nabi decided to peek into the weave of faith to discern what had brought this plague upon these people. Shockingly, the darkness that was the rider, long tortured, losing its identity, grabs what could be described as Nabi's purest self. Cold, cruel darkness assaults the half-orc monk, almost leaving her drained of all life, just as she manages to pull back out from the weave.
Rattled and losing almost half of their party members, the group has beaten their foe but left in dire need of a long, looooong, rest.