Continuing on to Nordarno

After burning the dead, including the Skeletons, we traveled on using the remaining daylight. The night was uneventful, if cold. Traveling for another day we did not find quite enough shelter. The wind howled while we tried to sleep, though we were all hardy enough to shrug off any discomfort. The next day we found the weather starting to turn worse. We stopped to discuss what we should do, then decided to push on. Gabriel led our small band of budding adventurers onward into the blizzard. Soon, it became apparent we were lost in the white-out conditions. We decided to set camp. As we began to pull out our tents Rubani & Tetsu spotted a structure in the distance. They led our group towards it. Arriving we knocked & were greeted by an Ulfen woman. She quickly invited us in, introducing herself as Hulda. She and her 2 daughters, Signy and Thora, were anxiously awaiting the return of her husband, Somerled, who had gone out earlier looking for a great white bear they had seen periodically in the last little while. The bear had started to appear "odd" & look sick lately. She fed us a hearty meal while we waited for the storm to pass and her husband to return. After a few hours the storm did indeed die down. We offered to go look for her husband & headed out to do so. Gabriel led us in a meandering line to the north. After some time we spotted a Bear pawing at a cliff side ahead. Most of us could see blood on the Bear, some could tell it appeared to be rotting... We prepared for battle and advanced, until Devon took a longer look at this Undead Polar Bear and suggested caution. He recognized this was likely a very powerful foe and suggested they find a way up to the top of the cliff, where they could rain attacks from above. By the time the group found a safe way up and got there the Bear had wandered off. The group chose to backtrack to get back to the cave, rather than take the quick way down the rock face. We all squeezed into the small cave opening. We soon heard scratching coming from ahead. As we advanced we were attacked by a large Badger. We defeated it with minimal effort. Unfortunately, we found the body of an Ulfen man further in. He had died sometime earlier in the day. We recuperated for a bit and then bundled up the body, before heading back to the home of Hulda. She identified the body as her husband. She asked that we help with building a pyre for him, then help them get to the nearby village of Tuv. We readily agreed.
Hulda helped Gabriel find a good spot to camp that night. The following day we continued on to the village. As we approached a small group of buildings on the outskirts we heard some odd banging coming from them. We asked Hulda & her children to stay back, but fairly close to the group. As we approached the 3rd house we found the banging was coming from there. A wagon had been tipped against door. We called out to see if anyone was in need. A woman called back that she was trapped & asked for help. Runia and Tetsu leapt into action, pulling the wagon aside. Unfortunately, once the door was opened, it was clear that the "Woman" was some sort of Undead. She smiled with an evil grin and thanked the adventurers for their help. In the shadows behind her we could see more shapes moving. This turned out to be a Ghoul, leading half a dozen Zombies. Once again, the melee worked through which end of their weapons to hold. They seemed to be starting to figure it out... The back line was again very helpful while the melee kept them clear to cast their spells and throw their bombs. We searched the house the Undead had come from, finding nothing special. The other 2 houses were locked. We left them alone and continued into the village. We were met by the village leader, Thorson. He welcomed Hulda and her children. They offered us a pouch of gold for our help with the Undead. They were the ones who had trapped them in the house & were glad to have them destroyed. They offered to let us stay with them for the night & fed us well. We explained that we were on our way to the next village, Nordarno. We told them we planned to make contact with them and offer aid to anyone we could in getting back to the city. We also explained that if they felt overwhelmed here at any time that they should make their way back to Nyksund. They would be welcomed into the city. Thinking back on our fight, Vinia and Tetsu recognized the lead Undead as a Ghoul. This led Vinia to recognize that Alyva had been infected with Ghoul Fever. Vinia tried to help her fight it off, but with limited success... Alyva got worse the next day. Vinia again tended to the disease. Alyva again got worse... The rest of the party helped where they could around the village in the meantime. This continued for several days with Alyva sometimes getting better, sometimes worse. After the 5th day we talked it out and decided to borrow the sled from Hulda and pull Vinia through the day while she rests, so that she can tend to Alyva during the night. We hoped this would work out so that noone would be fatigued & Alyva would, hopefully, have the benefit of being tended to. This worked well for about a day, then suddenly Alyva took a turn for the worse. She got so we could not even wake her with healing. With Vinia's help though, she was able to turn it around and shake it off after a few more days. We got to the point of starting to build the funeral pyre, but were glad to be able to leave it behind, unlit!