Continuing their investigation (KA06. The Corrupted Forest), the party looked through the bodies that they found at the attack site. Elias Minch searched the remains of the wagon; though he did not find any indication of the missing wood, he was able to find a hidden compartment that contained several potions. More importantly, he was able to find some evidence that the attack on this particular shipment had come from the north.
Meanwhile, Arc investigated the bodies. She found that they had been partially devoured by the beasts that the party had killed, but she was able to identify that they had originally been killed by a combination of bladed weapons and arrows. The arrows were the same kind that the party had found in the shipwreck. One of the bodies had a bite on it, with the veins around the bite-mark looking green and poisonous.
Continuing on, the party eventually reached the Stirk Lumberyard just as dusk fell. Weary from their week on the road, the party was met by Draken Lightstep, son of the head lumberjack Vance Lightstep. They headed to the small inn while Draken Lightstep went to fetch his father for them. They were greeted warmly by the proprietor of the Woodcutter's Rest, Holly Brackenhalt, who brought them food and drinks. Eventually Vance Lightstep arrived, and the party discussed the current situation. Vance Lightstep was not complimentary about the orcish druids led by Grall, but offered no particular insight into the situation.
The party did learn some details about Fort Duskdale from Draken Lightstep, who had been reading up on the history of the area. The fort had been commanded by General Leto during the Last War, and had been the site of several battles against forces from Aundair. On his death, the southern entrance to the fort had been turned into Leto's Tomb. Meanwhile, Holly Brackenhalt kept plying Bludak Mal K'shaar with drinks, and tried to strike up a conversation with him about their plans for the morning, but Bludak Mal K'shaar was not forthcoming with details.
It was a stormy night, but the party eventually arose at dawn to head off. They decided to head to the second attack site that was on the Map of Stirk Lumberyard Area. However they were stopped at the bridge over the river; it had been partially destroyed. Just as they were assessing the bridge to find a way across, a large creature that appeared to be a shark with legs charged at them from the forest behind them. The party took cover in the ruined watchtowers around the bridge; Arc cast Fairie Fire on the creature to aid her new companion's attacks, while Bludak Mal K'shaar bravely acted as bait. They quickly damaged the creature to the point where it tried to run off to the south; they followed, each jumping over the gap in the bridge. Bludak Mal K'shaar and Arc easily made the jump, but both Elias Minch and Smith struggled and nearly fell into the water. The creature was cornered on the other side of the bridge, and Arc got the killing blow with her rapier.
The party continued on to the second attack site. This one was similar to the first, but several of the guards were wearing Karrnath uniforms; those guards had been killed more savagely than the others, and had the word 'Traitor' smeared in blood on their armour.
With their best clue being that the attacks seemed to come from the north, the party turned around and decided to head to Leto's Tomb. They arrived at the graveyard there as dusk fell, only to be attacked by the ghouls that roamed the graveyard. The party suddenly realised that they had bitten off more than they expected, as three strange runes on the ground lit up and caused more of the ghouls to rise. Arc was able to use her arcane knowledge to dismiss the nearest one, but the battle was far from over...