A message has been working its way around the city - with no subtlety in the slightest. It has been plastered on posters in every seedy location in Rastaban. It has been on the lips of every grubby urchin in the Barrens. It has even somehow made its way to the more reputable parts of the city.

'I need some strong, combat-capable people to help with a REALLY URGENT job in the Barrens. I CANNOT STRESS HOW DANGEROUS THIS WILL BE. Compensation will be good. Meet at the pub on the border: the Underwhelming Swallow. WEAKLINGS NEED NOT APPLY.’

It is rumoured that this message comes from Thief Laird Flavia of “Rom”: prominent Conflict Weaver, leader of the Blazing Bolts gang, and known associate of Tyrant Aphra.

This will be a Mid-High adventure. It will be of particular interest to any PC with a stake in the political situation in the Barrens, anyone with ties to Conflict or Connection, or to anyone interested in the state of life and death in Rastaban.

• Knives - Florence
• Iri Voronaya - Anna

The players go to the Underwhelming Swallow, as advertised. Here, they encounter a number of battered, disillusioned-looking thugs: low-ranking members of Flavia’s crew, the Blazing Bolts who are often called upon to “audition” outsiders Flavia has hired. Iri and Knives sweep through this encounter with ease; impressed, Flavia gives them the job.

It is clear that things are not well in the “Rom” of the Barrens. This district is caught up in a civil war between Tyrant Aphra, currently in hiding, and Maximus, a Rod Paladin in charge of the True Outlaws gang. Whilst Aphra stands for the old ways of honour amongst thieves, Maximus stands for an abandonment of all rules, and will happily attack other thieves.

The party is ambushed by a group of True Outlaws, who are eager to take down Flavia, an Aphra loyalist. The party begin to deal with them, but the fight is interrupted by the appearance of a shambling seeming-corpse who lashes out at everyone indiscriminately. A couple of the True Outlaws abandon their fellows, terrified, but their Rod Paladin remains. The party take down the zombie, and extend a hand of friendship to the Rod Paladin, who is allowed to go in peace (much to Flavia's chagrin). The party ensure that none of the downed True Outlaws are left to die.

Flavia explains that this is the problem they have been hired to deal with: the dead have inexplicably started walking, and attacking. The zombie they just dealt with is the tip of the iceberg: there are worse ones to come.

She explains that all started when she built the Battle Club Stadium, a large warehouse where anyone in “Rom”, regardless of their standing in the civil war, could hold a friendly fighting tournament. They need to go back to the Battle Stadium so that she can impart vital information.

Of course, the Battle Stadium is surrounded by hungry zombies. The player party elect to deal with these, whilst Flavia runs away from the fight. It becomes clear that these zombies are going to be tough customers: they seem to have a number of powerful fighting moves, and will often recover from being executed on the floor. Eventually, the players manage to make their way into the Stadium, although Knives has to go through a one-on-one fight with a zombie in order to do so.

Inside the Stadium, a couple of decidedly unenthusiastic Blazing Bolts members show the players what Flavia wanted them to see. It's a zombie in a cage. Obviously it's a zombie in a cage.

The players experiment with different ways of killing the zombie. Iri, much to Flavia and Knives' confusion, keeps asking if Flavia wants the bodies intact. It turns out that the zombie will only fully stop attacking if it is executed twice whilst on the floor.

After a brief discussion about the nature of these zombies (Knives said she saw them created; Flavia says, suspiciously, that this cannot be true - and then stops), Knives suggests that they be henceforth known as 'Dariuses'. Iri and Flavia approve.

Armed with new knowledge, the players leave to deal with the Darius hordes. They do so with great success, until they are eventually cornered and downed by a group of the undead.