10. A Ghastly Experience

Having found all the items we each felt we required, we converged at the entrance to Balda Keep. Mhurren looked very out of sync with the world, and Eli was looking at a random guy who wandered off. Bren and Gordon seemed themselves, focused on their own goals and ready to talk to Lord Tallien.
As we walked into the Keep, it became clear that Balda was a House on the up. Upon entering I had immediately noticed a man I hadn't seen in decades standing guard, Drover Axehead. He and his brother had once been members of the Avalain Army, my instructors in many things. He wandered over and began talking to me, reminiscing about times past. He offered a drink with him at some stage, and I told him I would be interested in a catch up at some point.
Further into the place, there were more banners of House Balda, except this time with a white tree in place of the blade. Perhaps they were attempting to head in a new direction. On the wall of the entrance there were two paintings, one of a white knight facing a horde of creatures, the other of a blonde haired and blue eyed man, the plaque stating it was a portrait of Alexander Balda. One of the guards continued to walk us in, eventually leading the group to a waiting room. We spent a while cooling our heels, and were then instructed to make our way to the dining hall.
Once we arrived, we found a well laid out table, with a smaller one to the side where a small group of children sat. We spent the meal in quiet, polite conversation. Going over our journey so far, we found that Tallien had no plans to rebuild Apple Bay, as many similar towns had been faced with similar exoduses, and it was always more effort to rebuild than to just expand Balda. During this conversation, Tallien's wife, a fiery haired elvish woman mostly seemed to pay attention to her children.
Lord Balda didn't seem surprised when we mentioned Dardas, and even stated that Dardas had "the resources of a dangerous man."
Slowly the conversation moved on until Bren mentioned Dawnshine. Tallien immediately deflated, and one of his children said "That's Uncle Alexander's weapon." I felt slightly awkward, noticing how a sadness seemed to well up inside Tallien. The conversation moved on, and eventually the children were sent to bed.
Tallien turned to us, and began explaining the history of Dawnshine, how it was in theory first wielded by Gregory Balda, and how over time Alexander grew obsessed with finding the blade. How he murdered his father, robbed the family blind and was hopefully dead in a ditch somewhere far away. I could tell the toll that rebuilding Balda's funds had taken on Tallien.
Seeing this route of conversation had come to an end, I mentioned to Tallien that he had spoken of work in the area for us, preferably paid work.
Apparently there had been an increase in packs of undead roving the area, but where this increase would normally have an equal increase in reports of attacks, there were perhaps less than usual. Even though the guards had reported this, the House simply didn't have enough resources to look any further into the issue. All their men were needed to protect the people. So, Tallien offered us the job. Apparently, these issues had first started in Este, a town to the north of Balda. With the rise of Shadowcrossings, the undead gathering was deeply concerning. Tallien said that if these undead increases were due to a necromancer, and we managed to bring it's head to him, there would be 1000 gold for each of us. We decided as a group to take the job, and Tallien gave us a small stipend to purchase resources, which we did.
Leaving the next morning, with Eli passed out in their room for no discernible reason, our house took us in the direction of Este.
Some time into the afternoon, we noticed a small caravan of people on the road ahead, some in dark robes, others in travelling attire. The mutt and I made our way over, with the other 3 a little ways behind, and found them to be of the agnomic faith, serving in the Blood War, followers of Emakale.
We questioned them on their experience in Este, and the leader of the group, Zial, informed us that Este was empty of people and of bodies. The buildings were damaged, but no one was to be seen.
In an interaction I didn't see much of, Mhurren decided to leave our group, as the strange necklace he'd spent time with apparently bore the sigil of Zial's lord.
After a brief interaction with Bren, who gave them a strange bag for an unknown reason, the acolytes began travelling to Balda again, and we made our way to Este.
 
Upon arriving, it became clear that Zial had spoken the truth, and the town was empty of bodies. Except... looking at the marks along the ground, it wasn't that the people had left, as much as they had laid down dead... then begun walking again. The scale of this magic was far beyond the typical wizard or practitioner of faith, and once more hinted to a necromancer of substantial power.
The remaining 4 of us split up, with Eli and Bren heading in one direction and the mutt and I heading towards a building that seemed less damaged, and even had a cellar. As we began to open it, we heard an explosion in the distance. However, at the same time, the cellar door burst open and 6 ghasts began to attack us. My arm glowed red, and each time they struck at me, it pulsed and they seemed to recoil from the light.
Each time I took a swing, I felt the urge to vomit from the stench of the creatures, but managed to hold it in. The creatures surrounded Gordon and I but began to fall as we lay about us.
A more well-formed swordsman made its way out of the cellar, but was almost immediately struck down by Eli, who created a powerful lightning bolt from their finger tips.
The creatures briefly ran away as Bren brandished his blade, but eventually made their way back to us to die.
We killed them all with relative ease, aided by Eli's lion and other magics.
Feeling the need for a rest, we made our way into the cellar, but found nothing but partially devoured bodies. The head of the swordsman Eli had taken then spoke to us, saying "Your resistance is futile. You will serve, like the rest of us."
Around that time I stopped paying attention.