Gwen leaned against one of the posts propping up the main gate just at the edge of town. In her hands she held a report from her current, albeit temporary, employer; Rune Knight Marwin Awedin. According to the report, and even Gwen had to admit that it was quite a flimsy report to begin with, a few scouts had come back with tell of zombies popping up around town. The report stated that Gwen was tasked with taking a look into the nature of the reports in order to see if there was any credence to lend towards the truth of the claims. The Rune Knight had come prepared in her finest combat attire, though one could hardly tell thanks to the massive winter coat she had equipped thanks to the season.

Tucking the orders into her coat, Gwen began her slow trudge into the woods just outside town. As the moon rose across the cloudless sky, the illumination caused the snow covered ground to shimmer like a beautiful painting covered in glitter. Even despite the abundance of light that was able to shine through the tree cover of the forest, the moonlight still made the wood seem alive in some way. If nothing else, Gwen could appreciate the sight of winter around her, but the cold and various weather effects often left her more on the grumpy side of things when it came to the season. Still, the peaceful walk through the empty wood made her feel a bit more at ease than she normally did, and left her time to think about things she had put off for a while. She had made sure to get quite a bit of sleep before pulling off the request. She had learned from her mistake during her work as a caravan guard, and now made sure to always inquire as to the time the job would be taking place before staying up the rest of the day.

As the moon rose ever higher into the night sky, Gwen slowly found her determination to continue along with these rather unfounded reports fading. She had been walking for a good two hours in what felt like circles, and nothing had presented itself to her. No hint of zombies, ghouls, geists, or any other form of paranormal creatures could be found in the woods on this quiet night. As all hope began to dissipate from her heart, something came to mind. The mage considered the consequences of giving up so quickly despite the lack of evidence. If the reports of zombies did turn out to be real then she could be placing Era in danger by not finding out the truth and reporting it before an attack came. She couldn't, no wouldn't, let something like that happen while she could still prevent it with just a little bit of work on her part. Besides, she got payed whether or not she found anything, so there was no harm as to being thorough.

After just about another hour of searching, something did finally manage to catch Gwen’s attention. A faint light just to her left pulled her away from her current path. On a cold night like this it was unheard of to find someone out in the middle of the woods without good reason, and that alone gave Gwen cause for suspicion. Drawing closer to the light, she realized it was not just some fading lantern or torch, but rather a blazing bonfire. The flames danced around the base of a great statue depicting a figure Gwen did not recognize, but given the various figures surrounding the statue in black robes she had reason to believe it was some manner of deity. The flames illuminated a great number of the robed individuals, and at their head directly in front of the statue stood one such figure holding a massive tome. Gwen’s eyes widened as she realized what she had come across. A single cursory glance could inform anyone what these people were up to in their strange worships deep within these woods. Between the circle of cultists shambled a massive throng of risen dead. From zombies and ghouls to skeletons holding on with bone and sinew to what remained of their ancient weaponry. Such evil was something Gwen had to keep herself from charging into. She was not hired to fight these cultists and their new army, and she actually had doubts that she would be able to take them all on.

Knowing her mission, Gwen carefully stepped away from the strange ritual taking place. As soon as she was far enough away to where the cultists would not hear her, she took off in a sprint back towards town. The path was not a straight one, and for quite a while she was relegated to making twists and sharp turns through the now far more imposing forest. Shadows seemed to have grown longer, the trees more crooked, and even the moonlight above her appeared to have dimmed far more than it should have. After a while, Gwen finally broke free from the confines of the forest and made a break for the gates of town. The lights of Era seemed to welcome her back into their embrace, and for once Gwen felt welcomed by this place.

Back at the gates, Gwen pounded on the door of the guard house. When the wooden panel of a door was opened, Marwin himself stepped out to meet her. "Gwen," He said, "I did not expect you back until morning. What happened?" Gwen held up a hand as she caught her breath. After a moment she stood up straight. "The scout reports were correct, Marwin. I found a cult deep in the woods gathered around some statue. They were raising the dead. They have an army." Marwin pensively nodded his head, and a look of grave seriousness came over his normally joyous face. "I see, then I will have to respond at once. Thank you for your report, Gwen. I'll have your reward sent to you posthaste. Keep up the good work and you’ll rise through the ranks of the Rune Knights" Gwen nodded, still a bit out of breath. The two then went their ways, with the Rune Knight mage left wondering just how things would turn out now that the truth was in the hands of those who could fix the problem.