Sharien casts disrupt undead at the last head, hoping to take it out.
Unfortunately her ray goes WAY wide.
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The screaming head attempts to slam Blackheath:
, ,
The bard takes a whopping 2 HP of damage on a crit!
The Lopper swings at Grog with a gleeful smile on his face:
,
The undead thing's long limbs are too hard for the ranger to avoid, and its ghostly axe makes contact with its target, again.
The half-orc takes 7 HP of damage as his neck continues to bleed profusely. At the last blow, the lopper severed a minor vein or artery and there's a teeny tiny fountain of fluid gushing from Grog's wounds.
The party is up!
Sharien will actually step back 5 feet just to give her allies room to move.
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Faria breathes easily as the final restless spirit is sent on unwillingly to the afterlife. Ignoring her companions for a few moments, she says a long prayer to Pharasma, thanking her for the fortitude and wisdom the priestess was gifted with that enabled her and her companions to overcome the evil surrounding Harrowstone.
After doing so, she helps to calm Grog's bleeding, her divine magic exhausted for the day. Wearily, she smiles at all the others. "Perhaps we won't be so hated in Ravengro any more. At any rate, it couldn't have been better timing...we are due to return the books to Professor Lorrimor's associate soon."
Before they leave the prison, Faria returns to the chamber they found Vesoriana in, ensuring that she has retired to her long-deserved rest, as well.
Sharien grumbles "those people in town had best appreciate all we did here..."
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Faria checks the room where the party found Vesorianna Hawkran. The room feels "empty" somehow--despite being filled with all manner of detritus. It feels "clean". No. It feels "peaceful". At rest.
As she turns to leave, Faria notices some of the rubble gently arranged to spell out the words: "Thank you."
The priestess blinks, and somehow the rubble doesn't seem to spell out anything. Perhaps, it was just her imagination...
The party heads back to town. To whom do you wish to report your success first? The town council? The sheriff? Father Grimburrow?
If the PCs fail to cleanse Harrowstone of its haunts in time, eerie cold blue light erupts out of every window, door, pit, and crack of Harrowstone as the spirits of dozens of violent criminals escape, transforming into full-fledged ghosts. In this event, many of the ghosts sweep down into Ravengro—how this plays out is left to you, but you should have the PCs confronted by both a fair number of possessed townsfolk, minor prisoner ghosts (most of whom were 1st-level fighters or rogues in life), and at least one of the five key spirits that they haven't yet defeated.
Then you'd have, essentially two choices: (1) flee or (2) TPK. Either way, Ravengro becomes a literal "ghost town!" LOL!
Sharien will be willing to contribute some gold toward removing Blackheath's curse if necessary.
Attuned?
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"Greetings and good evening to all of you. What a fine evening it is indeed. As we watch the Dawnflower set in the west, let us be welcomed and embraced by her healing light."
"My name is Gravleon De La Sangre, Leon for short, and I am new to talengrade. I bring with me my loyalty, my talents, and my willingness to serve. As part of that service, I will be holding these discipleship meetings here at the inn periodically. These meetings will hopefully lift you up and bring light into the dark corners of our spirits that we all have. Yes, we all have those."
"I used to be terrified of the dark. I hated it. I always wanted more light and to be able to see what horrible monster was going to crawl out from under my bed or was up in the rafters. Somehow, seeing the monsters made it better. There was a comfort in the light. My brother Latrell, whom I shared a room with, always wanted it as dark as possible in the room we sleep in."
"Are you a light person, or do you prefer dark?"
"In Sarenrae’s holy text, The Birth of Light and Truth, there is a parable to help people understand their spiritual lives within the darkness around them. Let’s begin with a little background of the Empire of Kelesh."
"The people of Kelesh have been without a great king for twelve generations. War, famine and pestilence plagued them for the entire time. They have been looking for their prophesied leader for over a hundred years. They are praying and waiting for the one who would deliver them from the darkness in which they live."
opening the book, Gravleon reads
"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned."
"This is speaking of a crucial time in the history of the nation of Kelesh. They are between the period of the monarchy of Aldaphar and the prosperity of the nation under the Padishah Dynasty. Now the kingdom is crumbling and they are looking for guidance. The text points out that they are being heard by Sarenrae and that they are going to be delivered from this time."
"Now Adalan Padishah IV has arrived. He is teaching about Sarenrae, healing the weak and sick, and talking throughout the kingdom. Some people are beginning to believe that maybe he could be their promised King. He is in the middle of teaching when he says this:"
“Do you bring in a lamp to hide it under a cask or a bed? No, instead, you put it on its stand? For whatever is in hidden is meant to be revealed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has eyes to see, let him see. But consider carefully what you cast your eyes upon. For, the darkness can be deceiving.”
"Let’s look at this passage for a few observations and then look at how we live this out in our lives. The lamp is King Adalan who represents himself here as light. He is, in a veiled way, acknowledging that he is the king promised by Sarenrae. He is also pointing out that the time for him to be revealed is at hand. Adalan cautions everyone to carefully consider the claims he makes. Over and over again he uses the phrase if anyone has eyes to see, let him see. It means, if you are looking with your heart and your soul, you will understand the claims of Sarenrae."
"So, if we understand the claims of Adalan, and we choose to follow them and be obedient to them, what will that look like in our lives?"
"It is written:
Let your light shine before all people, that they may see your good deeds and praise Sarenrae."
"What does that look like?
If we become exposed to the light of Sarenrae, we will be changed. It means that our thoughts, our actions, our words, our attitudes, our behavior, and everything about us will be different. We are called to be children of light, not of darkness."
Gravleon looks around the room and into the eye of everyone paying attention
"One last verse:
Our lives are to be lights to the dark world around us."
"Are you living in darkness or light? Would anyone know that there is anything different about you based on the actions, attitudes and words that come out of your mouth?"
"We, as followers of Sarenrae, must always strive to shine her light into the world around us. We must be willing to take a stand, to be different and to make a difference."
Gravleon closes the book to indicate that his sermon as concluded.
"If anyone would like to stick around and discuss what I just talked about, I'll be here for a bit longer. Otherwise, have a great day and be safe. "
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News of the party's success spreads quickly. The town of Ravengro, one and all, greet you as the conquering heroes that you are! They hold a banquet in your honor. The ruling coulncil gives you the keys to the town. The sheriff makes you honorary Deputies. The day becomes a holiday in Ravengro: The Day that Harrowstone was allowed to Rest.
Gravleon's sermon, given weight by the party's myriad accomplishments, wins him several converts to the Sarenite faith. Alongside their Pharasmin neighbors, they pledge to work together against undead and evil.
Faria chats with Kendra and discovers:
Judge Daramid lives in a fine townhouse surrounded by art in the center of Lepidstadt. She is well respected for her even temper and fairness.
She is a human, in her sixties.
Sharien is my #26. I have way too many characters!
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In the days leading up to your departure, the party researches their destination. You discover:
For years the people of Lepidstadt have feared traveling the lonely roads surrounding their secluded city at night, for in the dark hunts the Beast of Lepidstadt, a devil who preys upon the innocent and unwary. Over the years, dozens of murders have been attributed to the Beast, and hundreds of sightings have painted ever more terrible portraits upon the canvas of public fears.
But the Beast of Lepidstadt, as told of in folktales and urban legends, is more myth than monster. While the Beast truly does exist, it has slain fewer than 10 people in its 20 years of existence, and been sighted only a few dozen times at most. The legend of the Beast dominates local nightmares, but the people of Lepidstadt are far more adept at stirring their own fears and telling tales of the Beast’s predations than the creature is at murder and mayhem, so it serves as both bogeyman and scapegoat for all the wrongs, accidents, and unexplained crimes that plague a city as large and old as Lepidstadt.
The Beast was recently caught breaking into the antiquities department of Lepidstadt University, where a grotesque statuette of murky green stone known as the Seasage Effigy has now gone missing.
The Beast of Lepidstadt has finally been captured, and the entire city is in an uproar over its upcoming trial. It is almost a foregone conclusion that the Beast will be found guilty and executed for its many crimes. But one of the three judges presiding over the trial is Embreth Daramid.
Being a fair judge, she is probably looking for a way to gather reliable evidence—to prove either the Beast’s guilt, or its innocence...
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In the meantime, the town celebrates you like the heroes you are. On the eve of your departure, they throw a great feast. You depart with plenty of food and wine for your trip. (And a few proposals from some of the marriage minded commoners.)
The party sets out, heading north towards Lepidstadt.