Donnus Atesso is the only survivor of the mysterious undead rising which destroyed the village of Kheldell. He was a farmer who lived a simple, colourless life until disaster stuck his village.
First Encounter with Donnus[]
When Donnus first arrives at Phandilin, he is weary, bruised and starving. He escaped Kheldell two days earlier and has traveled non-stop since then to reach Phandilin in search of help. He rode his horse to exhaustion, left him for dead on the side of the road and continued the journey on foot. When he staggers into the town, he goes immediately to the inn, opens the door and collapses. All he is able to say before collapsing unconscious is "Help! Kheldell ... under attack ... dying".
The adventurers can then choose to go to Kheldell on this information alone or wait 2 days until Donnus wakes from his coma and is able to tell them more. They can also come back from Kheldell after investigating to talk to Donnus further.
Donnus' Story[]
I am a simple farmer and I was coming back into town after a hard days work in the field. As I was approaching the town, I heard a commotion coming from the town square near the tavern. As I approached, I saw Jeremiah writhing in pain. It was horrible. He was screaming and holding his head and just writhing on the ground. His wife was screaming for help not knowing what to do and the rest of the villagers were just staying in shock. And then suddenly he just attacked his wife. It was the strangest thing. And then he turned on his children clawing and biting at them as well. A number of men jumped in and tried to constrain him but he had strength beyond his capabilities and they were unable. Rather, he managed to attack them as well biting and scratching them as well. And here is where it gets really strange. His wife and children behind him started going insane and attacking other people as well. In fact, everyone who was attacked started going crazy. It was madness. I just stood their shocked and once I realized what was happening I just ran. I'm new to the village and I had no family so I just got out of there as fast as I could. A couple of the... the people, if I can even call them that saw me running away and started chasing me but I jumped on a horse and got out of there as fast as I could. As far as I know I'm the only one who managed to escape. I can here as quickly as I could because I'd heard about what you've done. And that's about all I have to tell.
After Kheldell[]
A number of things may not happen before the PCs return from Kheldell and Donnus can take different actions to prompt them to the Wraith lair
- They stay the night but don't go to the Wraith lair - Donnus offers them the towns treasures, buried in a place near the town in a spot that he knows, if they destroy the Wraiths.
- They don't stay the night and therefore, don't see the Wraith's create the Specters. If this is the case, the specters, along with the wraith, attack Phandalin.