Part 1 - Night of Deadly Stars

The family explain that their transport was attacked by shambling figures not an hour since. The young girl, Virelda, explains that she thought they may have been zombies so her and her brother Tobas and little sister Jenna, hid in a secret compartment in the caravan until such time as they were sure you were not bandits, then crept out.

Hosford is keen to keep moving to Candlefen. "We can take these children with us. The town elders will provide better hands for these babes to be held by than anything which lurks in the night in Dragon Wood."

She harnesses two Marsh Drakes to the harnesses on the caravan, looks you all up and down and asks: "So what say you all, do we go onwards?"

As your curious ramshackle group of travellers continues into the Dragon Wood, the road becomes progressively worse and more difficult to traverse. As night falls, you hear the sound of a stream up ahead which grows louder with every step you take. As you round a bend in the road you become aware of a small, ramshackle bridge over the stream.

While this catches your attention, it doesn't grab it as much as the sight of an eerie glowing face, lit by a lantern held out at arms length - there is someone on the bridge, and not just one person. Behind the lantern bearer stand two shambling figures, although from the distance you stand they are merely shadows.

A wispy female voice breaks the awkward silence - "Good evening. To where do you travel? Maybe we can accompany you if our paths point in the same direction".

Rather than detect criminality, you detect an awkward nature to the ladies two companions. Criminals would never be this lacking in confidence or style. One of the ladies companions appears to be shuffling it's feet in a strange little nervous dance while the other shrugs it's shoulders continuously, despite no question apparently being asked of it.

They don't smell so good and by really straining your eyes, you'd swear they were slightly past their sell-by date.