DoA|Chapter 0|Part 1: Cafley, Medrekk, and Wetzel
General Summary
Wetzel and Cafley Youngshout journeyed to the Thunderstep Estate north of Doilea to see their friend Medrekk Thunderstep to celebrate their "friendship anniversary", as it had been a year since they'd met in Masca. Under the cover of the Withering's eternal darkness, on Daith 14th, 1 PR, they trudged through the snow to greet Medrekk and insist that he return to Doilea to enjoy their company.
Back in the settlement, the three reminisced over their first meeting, enjoying food and tea at the Broken Brazier. Their celebration was cut short when guards came into the tavern strongly advising that everyone in the tavern return home immediately in preparation for a severe blizzard that was expected to blow through the village.
Cafley and Wetzel walked Medrekk back to his estate, but as they drew near to the home, they heard Medrekk's goats in a panic. Upon investigating, they found one of the goats with grievous, violent wounds in its side, with small withing parasitic worms—like black and purple maggots—writhing in the wound. The goat was still alive, but struggling, so Medrekk put it out of its misery while Cafley and Wetzel followed bloody, shambling footprints away from the barn and toward the back of Medrekk's house. There, they saw a half-elven man in a contorted stated, his spine bent at an unfathomable angle and his face covered with blood and gore from the goat he had been chewing on. Upon seeing them, the sickly man lunged toward them, stumbling and falling as he did.
Cafley and Wetzel called for Medrekk to hurry and get to the house while they fled their pursuer, the half-dwarf rushing to meet them after ensuring his living goats were properly secured. Medrekk barely made it into the house after Cafley before the half-elf was pounding on the door from the outside, grunting and moaning incomprehensibly. Cafley tried to reinforce the door with spare nails and blocks of wood, but the being burst through the rickety old door nonetheless. Before the party could react, the invader bit down on Wetzel's arm, his teeth scraping against metal. Wetzel saw the little black worms wriggling on his robotic limb, struggling to find purchase, and brushed them off before refocusing on his attacker.
Most of the attacks dealt by the three did little to harm the man, who appeared inhumanly strong and resilient. Eventually, it was a hurling of eldritch energy from Medrekk's staff that finally compressed the bizarre assailant's head, stopping him completely.
While Wetzel focused on cleaning up the mess, Cafley and Medrekk worked to get the body outside, dragging it out to the pasture to burn with the corpse of the goat. Shortly after setting the corpse ablaze, however, they heard a voice calling out to them through the high winds.
"Anyone there? Hello? We need shelter!"
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