The Battle in the Valley

We were ambushed. I have no idea how they knew we were coming, or where from, but they jumped us. Dozens of cultists (alive this time) charged our party, surrounding each of the small groups we had formed. Aerilyn, K, Cordelia, and Noelani ended up trapped ahead of me, while Borris, Urthan and I were quickly surrounded. It was hard keeping track of Kahla, as he was being stealthy. Knowing what I know now, he was up on the cliff just west of us and was later joined by Noelani. I tried to run ahead to help the others, but once Borris was surrounded and Urthan was struggling to help him, I had to go back to make sure they were alright. It was all a blur. I saw flashes of magic brighten up the darkening sky, cultists screaming, and the iron smell of blood filled the air. Borris and Urthan took a beating and were left barely standing by the time we managed to cut our way out. The moment we broke free, I heard a massive explosion above us. All I saw was heaving earth, then dirt filled the air.
 
Once it had cleared, we slowly regrouped, licking our wounds. Kahla had managed to find a weak point in the rocks of the valley, leading to a cascading earthquake that had destroyed the remaining cultists. If he hadn't done this, I fear we would have been overwhelmed. I never imagined there were so many cultists. There were around forty of them in all, give or take. If we keep heading north, I'm nervous that these battles will only get bigger and in turn more dangerous.
 
We also found out after the battle that these cultists were alive, and even worse, they seemed to be brainwashed or charmed. And even more horrifying... I'm not sure it matters to me anymore. They were trying to stop us on our mission to save the entire world! We had to kill them, or else we would have fallen ourselves. Chauntea protect us, we had no choice... right?
 
Right?