The Birds

A huge army of undead is marching on Aubastia. Comes Elias realizes that he cannot hold the town against this horde. Thus, he sends out scouts to look for the enemy's weak point.

The scouts fail to return, so Elias calls for Ulveblod and Raph.

"Our scouts are missing. We assume they've been taken by the enemy. However, I ordered them to note any findings and hide the notes under rocks. We need you to find those notes."

Ulveblod and Raph head across the plains and over the hills east of Aubastia.

They don't go far before they run into trouble - man-high, ill-tempered, carnivorous birds.

Our heroes see a scrap of paper under a rock. They try to retrieve it, but one of the monster birds attacks. Its razor-sharp beak rips into Ulveblod's armor and draws blood. He retaliates, swinging his massive great sword. The blade slashes through the bird's neck, severing its head.

Drawn by the blood, more of the monster birds converge. Ulveblod and Raph dodge and duck the vicious avians. They slash and hack, their swords drawing blood and leaving a pile of bird carcasses.

"Look! Another scrap of paper!"

There are more scraps scattered across the field. Our heroes rush madly back and forth, trying to gather all the scraps. Meanwhile, more birds chase them, pecking at them and causing additional wounds.

They finally gather all the pieces and return to camp.

Deciphering the notes, they realize that they need to find a temple that lies southeast of Aubastia. There, they need to destroy a totem. Presumably, this will break the Dark Magi's control over the undead.