How we got Sixteen Cows

Dear Diary,
 
We’ve arrived at the chapel where the zombie tracks led, hoping to uncover the source of the Kyuss worm infection plaguing the hamlet. The chapel is ancient and crumbling, its gate hanging loosely on rusted hinges. Dadroz carefully checked for traps or locks but found none. With a gentle push, we opened the door and stepped inside. The interior was a mess—broken chairs and pews littered the floor, but there were clear signs of recent habitation. Scrolls and scraps of parchment were scattered about, and the air was thick with the scent of decay. As we entered, a faint scratching sound echoed from a dark corner, like a swarm of small creatures scurrying across stone. Before we could investigate, a door creaked open to our right, and we immediately drew our weapons.
 
A sickly elf emerged, his body covered in bloody wounds and his coughs rattling through the chapel. Alistan and Liliana stepped forward, but the elf backed away, his hands glowing with necrotic energy. He cast a spell, and a wave of dark magic washed over us, draining our life force. Before we could recover, a zombie burst through the door and swiped at Alistan, its claws scraping against his armor. Then, from the basement, a swarm of crawling undead hands surged forward, overwhelming Gael and crawling over him with foul necrotic energy. The swarm quickly moved on to Liliana, leaving Gael battered and struggling.
 
I acted quickly, casting a spell to drain life force from the wild grass poking through the chapel floor and channeling it into Gael to revive him. Gael, now back on his feet, turned into mist and retreated from the chaos. Meanwhile, Liliana called upon her divine might to smite the swarm attacking her, dispersing it with a burst of radiant energy. Alistan seized the opportunity to rush the elf, knocking him down and slashing at him with his sword. The elf retaliated, summoning more zombies to overwhelm us and hurling bursts of arcane energy at Alistan, who deflected them with his shield.
 
The zombies were clawing at Alistan and Liliana, hitting mostly shields and armor. Alas there was little I could do for them, as any explosive spell I could cast would hit the De la Roost twins as well. Instead I turned to help Dadroz, who was now under attack by another swarm of undead hands. I lobbed a firebolt at them, but as I did, I noticed from the corner of my eye that Liliana was overwhelmed by the zombies and went down. A worm began burrowing into her, but her divine purity caused it to die almost instantly. I distracted the zombies with psychic mind blasts while Hayley sent her raven to heal Liliana. Hayley then signaled me to prepare my most powerful spell. I began the incantations as she warped space to pull Liliana out of the fray. Once Liliana was safe, I unleashed a massive fireball into the center of the zombie horde, blasting them apart. I only hoped I hadn’t hit Alistan, who was lost somewhere in the chaos.
 
Liliana, despite her injuries, yelled for her brother and pulled herself up, running back into the room. The heavily injured elf limped out of the room I had just exploded, casting two spells that instantly took Dadroz out of the fight. Reacting quickly, I unleashed a barrage of magic missiles, perforating the necromancer elf and finally bringing him down.
 
The fight was over, and a strange calm descended over the chapel. We moved outside, just in case there were more zombies lurking about, and took a moment to catch our breath. My sister cast a soothing spell of rest to restore our stamina and handed Gael one of her signature healing potions. After a short rest, we headed back into the chapel to sift through the papers and scrolls scattered about.
 
Among the debris, we found a jar containing a Kyuss worm and a handbook on how to raise them. It was clear now—this elf necromancer was behind the plague. His notes detailed the surrounding farmlands, the cows that grazed there, and even the flight routes of nearby wyvern nests. It was chilling to see how meticulously he had planned this. Curiously, we also found a creepy nursery rhyme dedicated to someone—or something—called the Old Mother, next to a small demonic statue. The iconography was unfamiliar to me, and it left me with an uneasy feeling. Who—or what—was the Old Mother?
 
We searched the elf’s body and found several potions of healing and water breathing, as well as a magical lantern of revealing. Eager to test it, we activated the lantern, but it revealed nothing invisible in the chapel. Slightly disappointed, I put it away for later. We divided the potions among ourselves, knowing we’d need every advantage in the days to come.
 
By then, it was late, and we decided to head back to the hamlet to rest before chasing after the infected wyverns the next day. The evening had fallen by the time we returned, but the village was still bustling. Gael called everyone together to explain what we had found in the chapel and to ask if anyone else had symptoms. My sister examined the villagers, diagnosing a few more cases. We also found about sixteen cows showing signs of infection. It would have been nearly impossible to cure them all, so we made the difficult decision to buy the cows from the peasants to have them slaughtered and burned, eradicating the disease from the area. We each contributed 8 gold to purchase the cows, a small price to pay to stop the plague. As we set about dispatching the cows, Liliana and Hayley felt sorry for them. So they worked together to try to save two of them, their combined efforts a small beacon of hope amidst the grim task.
 
Exhausted, we finally went to bed. The next morning, we woke to find the villagers had prepared a large breakfast to thank us for our help. It was a touching gesture, and one that reminded me why we do what we do.
 
We set out early, heading toward the wyvern nests. The journey through the forest would take all day, and we expected to reach our destination by evening. As we trekked, I couldn’t help but notice how different this forest was from the Lorewood near Keralon. It was well-maintained, with old trees promptly removed and far less overgrowth. The atmosphere felt less oppressive, less dangerous, and the path was much easier to navigate. It was a welcome change, though I remained wary—forests, no matter how tame they seem, always hold secrets.
 
Somewhere in the afternoon, I spotted a rocky hill rising just above the tree line. It wasn’t marked on any map, but its prominence made it the most likely location for the wyvern nests. We adjusted our course and continued toward it. As we moved through the forest, we noticed several humanoid figures watching us from behind the dense foliage. At first, we thought they were scouts or hunters, but as we kept our eyes on them, we realized they were perfectly still. Liliana approached cautiously and called back to us—they were statues. A collection of woodsmen, frozen in defensive poses, as if they had been turned to stone mid-action.
 
My mind immediately went to basilisks. Their petrifying gaze was the most likely explanation, though I had no idea if such creatures roamed this forest. Gael searched the area and found large, lizard-like tracks that could belong to basilisks. He estimated they were a few hours old, which meant the creatures could still be nearby. Not wanting to risk an ambush, we decided to set up camp downwind, hoping to avoid drawing their attention.
 
As we searched for a suitable campsite, we stumbled upon several small ruins. The structures were ancient, most of their walls no higher than a meter, and fairly nondescript. But as I sifted through the rubble, I found pottery and other small objects adorned with dragon iconography. It was fascinating—we surmised that these ruins might be remnants of an ancient precursor to the Draconic Empire, dating back to before the creation of the World Tree. The discovery added a layer of history to our journey, though it did little to ease my nerves about the potential basilisk threat.
 
We retired for the night, setting up a cold camp to avoid drawing attention. No fires were lit, and I used the dim light from my new magical lantern in its hooded mode to provide just enough illumination without risking detection. The forest was quiet, but the stillness felt heavy, as if the trees themselves were holding their breath.
 
The night passed quietly, and we woke early to continue our journey to the wyvern nests. After about an hour of walking, we finally spotted a group of winged creatures circling the hills in the distance. We decided to sneak closer, though Alistan grumbled about the lack of honor in such tactics—despite the magical assistance Gael provided to help him move more quietly. As we approached, it became clear that this area was once the heart of the ruined city the forest had grown over. The hill was crowned with the remnants of an ancient castle, its stone walls crumbling but still imposing.
 
Despite our best efforts at stealth, it seemed the creatures had noticed us. However, they made no move to attack, instead ignoring us entirely. My sister Hayley sent her raven familiar, Fiachna, ahead to scout. Fiachna reported back that the ruins of an old fort were indeed a nesting site, with about a dozen of the creatures making their home there. Surprisingly, none of the creatures showed any signs of the disease. Still, we decided to investigate further.
 
The hill was steep and difficult to climb, so we circled around to find an easier path. Eventually, we discovered a set of weathered stairs, though they were nearly as treacherous as the hill itself. We began our ascent, moving as quietly as possible. Two creatures landed ahead of us, but they seemed more curious than aggressive. As we got a closer look, we began to suspect these weren’t ordinary wyverns. Their features were strikingly similar to the small dragon-like creatures we had encountered in Ravensfield. Alistan tried speaking to them in Draconic, explaining the plague in the nearby village and our concern that they might be infected. The creatures simply stared at him, their expressions unreadable, before scurrying away.
 
After about half an hour, we reached the top of the hill. As we rounded a corner, we found the two dragon-like creatures waiting for us. Alistan tried speaking to them again, but before he could finish, a roar echoed through the air. The creatures took off quickly, and we looked up to see three wyverns flying overhead. Alistan, who had clearly taken a shine to the dragon-like creatures, urged us forward to try to save them. We ran ahead and soon came upon a grim sight: one of the draconic creatures lay dead, its body being torn apart by the wyverns.
 
We readied our weapons, preparing to engage the wyverns in case they were infected. The tension was palpable as we moved into position, the fate of the remaining creatures—and perhaps the entire region—hanging in the balance.