Vegard flirts with a beholder, Erik gets KO’d by Hans, and the party is tackled by drunks in a brawl with a tentacle-faced eyeball tree. Somehow, with a little fire, faith, and lucky townsfolk (shout-out to Randy and the human catapult maneuver), they win. Beer flows, secrets slip, and then—twist: Salithius owns a fucking summer home here. So long, Tickle Bay. The gang gets a boat and sails off while the mayor preps for the town’s quiet, catastrophic exit.
Erik’s heart hardens as he delivers final death to his undead father, then descends with his companions into the unnatural calm of the Garden of the Rising Moon. Spores choke them. Statues watch them. And tracks of the squid-headed plague creatures lead them deeper. Through a hidden portal, they discover a study sealed with the name “Salithius”—not just a necromancer, but something more. His presence here feels ancient and global, hinting at a sickness older than the outbreak in Egersund. They don't know it yet, but others far to the south have also begun to speak his name.
The city falls. Erik, once carefree, watches Egersund unravel as undead horrors swarm the streets. He cleaves down a corpse that still crawls, watches Mari’s mother shatter through a window, and helps burn her family alive. Dolf’s holy fire can’t cure the infection. Hans’ hammer is the only mercy. Amid blood and ash, Erik begins a journal—because everything has changed, and no one is ready for what comes next.