Suffering shook himself from his reverie as he found himself approaching the river. The sight he saw almost caused him to stop flapping his wings altogether: all of his companions had fallen, with the undead standing over them, arms raised to finish them off. With a roar, he flicked his hand, sending a blast of energy at the zombies, incinerating one of them completely. The other started shambling over, not realizing the difference in height would cause a bit of a problem. Suffering kept flying around, sending blasts of energy to try and finish the last zombie off, but was barely able keep its attention. A few long moments passed, with each breath sending the others closer to death's door. All of a sudden, there was a flash of motion as young Billy ran forward, having followed Suffering. The boy started to pull the unconscious bodies of the adventurers from the water, doing what he could to stabilize them, thumping their backs until they coughed up water. The zombie saw a target it could actually hit and turned to shamble back towards the boy. Seeing his opening, Suffering landed directly behind the undead creature and blasted him point blank into the back. The creature flew forward smoking, struggling to rise but fell, the magic animating it finally giving out. "Shit..." Suffering ran over to the figures on the ground and helped Billy pull the rest free, "Nothing left but to wait for them to wake up....if they wake up. We'll set up camp here and in the morning, head back to see if the cultists left. Maybe we can find some kind of clue." Billy nodded, seemingly cried out. His short cropped brown hair was spiked with sweat and he looked tired and sad. Once camp was laid out and they set out to sleep, the three unconscious tended to, Suffering was surprised to find Billy scooting up to sleep next to him. Shrugging, he closed his eyes and tried to get some rest. The next morning was a wet one. Luckily, the worst of the wounds was Glory, with a pounding headache that would soon be taken care of with a few swigs from an unmarked dark bottle. With a slight grimace after a long pull, he spoke, "So, kinda got our asses handed to us. Figure it would be smart to head back, or should we just call it quits and find a nice tavern somewhere? Maybe somewhere with some cheap drinks, I seem to be running a bit low." He forlornly shook his now empty bottle with a look of disgust. Swifttail shrugged, not caring where they went, "I am interested in this ability to make the dead walk." Andar chuckled and punched the young pirate in the arm, "Nay, we can do this. For the boy, right?" They all looked at Billy, sitting on the far side of camp, looking out at the surrounding trees sadly. He hadn't spoken much since they had woken, barely mumbling thanks to Andar for handing him a piece of rabbit that he had caught earlier. "Fine, but if it all hits the fan, I just want the record-" Glory got cut off by Suffering, "Shush....did you hear that? It sounded like a...voice of some kind." Everyone listened intently, but no one else heard anything, "Huh...I must be losing it..." Glory and the others let it go at that, but Suffering still looked out in the distance, almost as if he was still listening to something. They crept along slowly through the trees, picking their way carefully and watching everywhere for signs of the undead. The morning was muggy, and soon enough, everyone was jumping at imagined sounds. The cottage was bare timbers. Almost nothing remained of the young boys home. There was no one in sight, but there was a light flickering from a fire inside, and murmurs could be heard of conversation. "What should we do?" Andar muttered in the gloom, "Frontal assault?" Suffering shook his head, "No....we can sneak up. They don't seem to be ready for anything.... maybe I can fly through the new hole in the roof while Glory sneaks up." Swifttail grinned, his teeth shining white, "Just be sure to leave one alive." They waited a while longer, letting the night grow long and the cultists inside lazy and tired. The moon hung low in the sky before they struck, Swifttail kicking the door to splinters while Suffering dropped in from above. The cultists didn't have a chance to respond, and the fight was over before it started. Of the four cultists who had been making camp here, only one was left. He was bruised, tied up and gagged, looking nothing but sullen at his lot. Swifttail grinned, a terrifying sight for anyone to see, "Leave him to me, will ya? I can take care of this real quick." Andar stood, grabbing Billy by the hand, "I don't think the boy needs to see this. I shall wait outside with him if that's okay with everyone." Without waiting for a response, he shouldered his way through the narrow door and disappeared, dragging the confused looking boy with him. Suffering shrugged, looking at Glory for a response. Glory shrugged in return, "Works out for me. Didn't want to break into a sweat anyways. Go ahead big guy." Almost before he had stopped talking, Swifttail was at the bound guy, filling the man's vision. Quick as thought, the man's foot was between the lizard's teeth, disappearing with a crunch behind the razor-sharp fangs. The man screamed so loud through the gag, the night went dead silent. Suffering looked like he was holding back the contents of his stomach, "Really man? You didn't even give him a chance." He almost held it together, but when Swifttail grinned back at him in response, teeth now blood smeared. The sight was somehow even more gruesome, and Suffering was quick to follow Andar into the night. Glory shook his head and sighed, "Weak stomachs. Well, don't just stand there. He's gonna bleed out. Stop the bleeding and I'll get started on the questions. We have a long night....well, he does at least." Two hours later, the two of them emerged from the rundown shack, both covered in blood. Swifttail had something clutched in his hand and was using a small bone to pick at his teeth. "What have you got there? Did he have something on him?" Suffering asked, trying to get a closer look. "No, I wouldn't if I were you!" Glory tried to step in front of the hooded figure but wasn't quite in time to stop Suffering from seeing the handful of fingers and toes that the lizard held closely as if clutching a prize. He pulled one from the pile as the warlock watched, popping it into his mouth with a satisfying crunch. While Suffering retched a little more, Andar shouldered his way into the small circle, "Enough of this. What did you learn? Where did that man and his two gray robed friends go?" Glory nodded, deciding to also ignore the antics of the odd winged man, "About a day or two to the northeast. Seems like he made himself a little camp, most of the cultists are still out in search parties. Pretty much just left a skeleton crew, from what I understand." Swifttail looked up from his musings and grunted, "Did he mean....actual skeletons?" Glory looked like he was about to deliver a scathing response but stopped, a puzzled look on his face, "I'm...actually not sure. Those were his words exactly, and I didn't think about it. Huh.. Oh well, I guess we can see when we get there. A little late for it now, isn't it?" Swifttail's only response was a loud burp, followed by yet another crunch. He then mused aloud, "I wonder if I can keep these chilled somehow... tasty!" Suffering retched again and turned away, one hand covering his mouth. Andar turned and spoke softly to Billy, "Listen, kid. We are going to go after the man who attacked you and your family. We will make him pay. But first, we have to figure out what to do with you. Do you have other family members somewhere who can look after you?" Billy looked almost deadpan, and he shook his head, "There's no one left. My parents..... can't I come with you? I promise I won't get in the way!" Andar sighed, "It's not that. When we find this guy, things are gonna get hairy. And trust me, you're growing up fast, but you do not need to grow up quite that fast. This is for your own good." Billy's face hardened as his will resolved, and his next words were spoken without a waver, "No....I'd like to see him. I'd like to be there when you... He needs to suffer." Swifttail laughed, clapping the boy on the back, "I like it! I say come with us, we will take good care of ya. You want a finger?" He offered one out to Billy, but the boy turned him down, a little green around the eyes. "Listen. I know vengeance seems like such a good path-" Glory stopped Andar midsentence, "It's fine. We will take care of you until we find you a place to stay. Whether that happens before or after we find the man who attacked your farm will be determined, and not debated. We will see." '"Fine," Suffering rolled his shoulders back and popped his knuckles, "I think it's about time to head to bed. It's late, closer to tomorrow than today. And tomorrow will be long, we should get some rest. Glory, you got first watch?" Andar stepped forward, "I will not be able to sleep for a while. I will take first watch." "Works for me. Wake me in a few hours." Glory unrolled his sleeping pad and curled up, nursing a small brown bottle occasionally, "To help me sleep." Billy hesitated while everyone prepared to sleep, then walked slowly over to Swifttail. "Thank.....thank you. For what you did. And sticking up for me. I want you to have this-" He holds out a small blue river stone, sparkling like a diamond. "It's nothing special but... it's all I have left." Swifttail looked at the boy, then at the marble, before nodding. "Yes. I understand. This, I cherish of thee." They both stood there a long moment, before also turning in to sleep. Andar, who was listening from his watch post, felt the moment ring true in his heart and vowed himself to Billy. Morning came, and it wasn't a pretty scene. The burnt out shack behind them, and the smell of death and smoke hanging everywhere around them, the beat up party set off grumpily into the woods, following the sun for direction. Andar went first, his sure steps setting a rough pace. All the while, Billy refused to speak unless spoken too, shellshocked from everything that had happened, just trying to process his new lot in life. Glory grumbled, trying to shield his eyes from the early morning sun. "The part they never tell you about going on an adventure. It really sucks. I think there's a stone in my shoe, and we haven't even started walking yet!" He spent a few moments looking around, "I don't even see any rocks!! What the hell!" Suffering chuckled and groaned a little as well, "It's a little too early for you, Glory. In fact, don't you think that its a little too early for that as well?" Suffering was referring to the little brown bottle that was disappearing into Glory's pack. "Naw. It's never too early for this. Helps make the world go round. Only way I know it's spinning." Suffering stared hard at the back of Glory's head for a solid minute, his face a deadpan expression. Finally, he broke the silence, "You know, I'd love to say I knew you were joking, and laugh, but honestly, I'd believe it. But enough of that. The cultist said it was somewhere between a day or two travel, but they were also going the pace of the dead. I think if we push ourselves, we can get there by nightfall. Maybe scout it out and attack tomorrow. Any objections? No? Good, let's get a move on." He took off into the air, leaving Andar shaking his head, "What I would give to have wings like that." Swifttail started to hiss, what was presumed to be a chuckle, "Need giant wings. Look funny. Heh." Andar frowned, "On second thought... I think I will make do with my feet." Glory clapped him on the back, "Look on the bright side. Less trouble too. I was wondering, you think he cuts the holes in his shirts himself, or does he have someone else do it for him?" "Just because I'm flying, doesn't mean I can't hear, ya know. It isn't that noisy up here. Especially with your loud mouth." Suffering looked back over his shoulder, flapping in place, "And I cut them myself. People don't usually like getting close enough to me to take measurements. But thanks for reminding me." They walked until noon in silence, only broken by Billy's stomach trying to claw its way free. They settled down for lunch, a simple meal of dried meat and stale bread. Andar mumbled, "Sorry guys. I really thought my trap would have caught something." Swifttail shrugged, popping his last finger into his mouth with a crunch, "Lots of people running around. Animals scared. It happens a lot. It's why the swamp is so much better. Less people. Less fingers too though..." He trailed off, his face twisted as he tried to figure out which was worse, people, or the lack of their "finger foods". "Ugh. Time to get up again," Glory started to stand, but he staggered to the side, his words starting to slur. Andar jumped forward to catch him, "Damn it Glory-..."He caught the pirate but stumbled himself, falling to one knee, "What....is happening?" He turned to look, but everyone else was already laying down, sleep overtaking them. The last thing he saw as he drifted off was Suffering snap awake, eyes filled with terror as he started to scream.