The Liberation of Peregrine Point

The snows had finally ceased, and the wagons of the caravan were ready to leave Ackley Point. I joined Aelfric, Beorna, and several of the other warriors to scout ahead of the wagon train, hoping to head off any trouble.
 
We were not but a few hours out when we heard screams from a nearby thicket. As we entered the copse of trees we saw an older human being set upon by boars. Despite the wood witch Caellana's pleas we slew several of the beasts. We tended to the stranger's wounds and he revealed his name as Hansel. He told us that he was the lone emissary of the nearby hamlet of Peregrine Point, attempting to reach Ackley Point for assistance with local bandits. What luck! These knaves would surely set upon the caravan if given the chance, but this was our opportunity to set upon them first. Glory and the liberation of their ill-gotten gains would be ours!
 
We bade Hansel guide us back to whither he came, and we pressed on through the encroaching dark, our thoughts on warm beds and perhaps a mug of cider or ale before we hunted our quarry. Alas, as we neared the hamlet, we saw that even in the dead of night, an unnatural quiet lay on the houses, and nary a lantern or candle lit for even a modest watch. We saw no livestock, and heard no snores. Only the wind creaking through trees and eaves. Along the perimeter we spied bodies, and as we neared saw they had been strung up and gutted like beasts for slaughter. Cordelia set about looking for tracks as I decided to investigate the modest tavern for any survivors of what was apparently the bandits' latest attack.
 
Unfortunately, the few surviving locals had been driven mad. As we attempted to open the tavern they opened fire with crossbows, injuring Hansel and Cordelia. We attempted to pacify them through speech and spell, but they would have none of it. More spilled from the houses, and it became apparent that they had been ensorcelled to view us as monsters, not men.
 
They set upon us with bladed farm tools and crossbows, and though we did our best to subdue some, we were forced to defend ourselves and felled several of the larger, stouter hands. Amongst their number however were two armored warriors. They did for poor Hansel, and we avenged him. As we examined their belongings, we notice they had a map of nearby hamlets, including Peregrine Point. We surmised that these were some of the bandits that had plagued the township, now driven to the same madness as their prey.
 
We awoke one of the subdued villagers, her head cleared by Caellana's magic. She told us that a local hermit had dealings with some vile necromancer, and so we set out to purge these lands of their foul magic. Near an old ruin we found a strange man poisoning the village well. Here lay the root of their corruption, and we dispatched this blaggard to answer the lords of Hell for his sins. We then demanded the hermit account for himself. He was indeed a wizard, though this curse was not of his doing. Former associates were attempting to relieve him of a relic, a strange stone I surmised to hold great power for enchantment. We took custody of the stone and bade this wizard and the survivors of Peregrine Point to join the Westbound Star for greater safety and better fortunes in the south.
 
On the morrow we shall see these desperate souls safely to the caravan, and then we shall investigate these marked points on the bandits' map. Either we shall save more lives, or avenge more deaths. Either way, the Lion's Claw shall answer for the blood spilled at Peregrine's Point.