Azrin's questioning turns up no new information.
The village of Hergstag lies some 10 miles northwest of Lepidstadt. The farmland has fallen to ruin, and even the previously well worn paths are hard to follow. The corn has grown tall, and blocks visibility.
Ezekiel and Steef manage to stop Azrin from walking right into a bear trap not long after they arrives. It appears the villagers laid some traps should the Beast return.
"The Beast said he was living in the swamp when he saw the ghost. It might still be there."
He sighs. "Along with the ghosts of those children it killed."
He leads the party toward the swamp while casting Detect Undead.
Azrin leads the party to the Beast's Hermit's Tangle. The tangle of willow trees that made up this little hideout have been scarred by fire. Judging by the spent torches on the ground, the villagers burnt it once they drove the Beast away.
Nothing of use remains, though the burnt remains of a Taldan poetry book peek out of the fire. None of the words are legible.
From a distance, Azrin spots what seems to be a scarecrow lying on the ground.
On closer inspection, it is the body of a man, leg caught in a bear trap. He still carries soem valuables on him.
-A piece of turquoise (worth 100 gp) on a leather thong.
-14 gp in cash.
-A small silver pocket knife worth 25 gp.
-A set of Masterwork Thieves' Tools.
Other than that, there is nothing else of interest.
A small whitewashed timber building stands in the center of the village, surrounded by gravestones.
This appears to have been the Chapel. It was dedicated to Desna, but it already shows the signs of its abandonment. Within, the simple chapel is falling victim to rot, its pews are already overgrown, and some of its windows are smashed. Mice nest in the altar, the holy water in the font is turning green, and the once-beautiful frescoes depicting Desna and the heavens have begun to flake.
Nevertheless, the water in the font IS still holy, and there is enough to fill 5 flasks if you desire to do so.
Also easily noticeable are the graves of the children, all marked with gravestones. Of course, only Elsa and Karrin's bodies are actually here; the other bodies were never recovered.
This is Karrin's house. It appears to be in better condition than most others in the village, and its door are shut and barred.
Azrin fills five flasks with scummy holy water.
"I hope the ghost isn't too concerned about hygeine."
Once everyone is ready, Ezekiel will knock the door over.
Ezekiel busts the door down. The house is empty throughout, though Karrin's bedroom holds some clues. They're hard to see, as night has fallen as you searched, but Ezekiel, Steef, and Bulldozer have no problems.
Karrin's bedroom window has a sturdy lock, and latches from the inside. It is entirely undamaged. A quick peek outside also shows that the wall is steep and smooth, making it nigh impossible to climb the 15 feet up to the window, much less somehow open the locked window without damaging it, clamber inside, and kill the child.
Karrin was murdered in her bed. The chances of the Beast killing the child are exceedingly tiny.
As you head back to the front door everyone can hear a voice cry out from behind the house.
"Help! Please! Someone help!" comes a cry.
Azrin bolts out to the back of the house, holy water in hand.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" a piercing scream comes from the corn field behind the house. You see a flash of motion off in the distance, but it's too dark to make out what it is.
Bulldozer moves in to investigate the corn fields, readying to swing his Dorn Dergar if necessary.
Bulldozer walks off into the swamp, following the sound. He notice a patch of odd ground and stops himself right before he walks into it. It appears to be quicksand.
Azrin casts Light on his dagger, then looks for a safe path toward the screaming.
Azrin sees nothing for the moment.
However, a few moments later, he catches a glimpse of something rising from the ground out of the corner of his eye.
"You found me!" it cries, in the voice of a little girl.
"Wanna play?"
Ezekiel (23)
Steef (MIA)
Karrin
Azrin (7)
Bulldozer (5)
"I think you're up past your bedtime."
Azrin channels at the spawn.
Bulldozer raises his Dorn Dergar above his head, putting all his might down onto a Power Attack.
"It's done! YOU'RE DEAD."
Ezekiel double moves in.
Karrin turns her attention to Azrin, the most immediate threat.
"Hold my hand, papa!" she says, then reaches it towards Arin.
But Azrin narrowly manages to avoid it, and unleash holy light on the Wraith Spawn, who takes the full brunt of the blast.
Bulldozer likewise slams the broken child with his Dorn-Dergar.
Ezekiel swings at the Spawn.
The spawn screams in pain.
"Why are you hurting me!?!?" she cries in anger, and then swipes at Azrin with more fervor.
Azrin feels his vitality being sapped, flowing into the wraith, becoming visibly more sickly.
"Why am I hurting you? Because I bring the pain!"
Bulldozer swings again, opting for a more focused, accurate attack.
Azrin takes a step away from the Spawn and casts Ghostbane Dirge on it. The snarky retort he had prepared is lost in a fit of shivers from its chilling touch.
The spawn unfortunately shakes off Azrin's Dirge.
"Things don't look so well, for you I mean."
Bulldozer gives another quick swing with his Dorn Dergar.
So, I had a post, site went down, got et, I was a doofus and forgot to paste it to Notepad before I copied something else, post is gone.
TL;DR:
-Bulldozer misses, wallows in abject shame.
-Ezekiel hits, spawn disperses. She's very sad.
-Combat over. Where to now?
-Karrin's corpse is now a valid target for Speak With Dead if you want to use that as evidence in the Trial. Note that if you use it now, you can hear the story before the Trial, but can't present it in court since Speak With Dead only works once a week on a corpse. So it'll be less solid evidence, but you'd know what it was before she tells it to everyone.
Azrin casts Bless and Communal Protection from Evil on the party.
"There'll be more...try not to get touched."
-Karrin's corpse is now a valid target for Speak With Dead if you want to use that as evidence in the Trial. Note that if you use it now, you can hear the story before the Trial, but can't present it in court since Speak With Dead only works once a week on a corpse. So it'll be less solid evidence, but you'd know what it was before she tells it to everyone.
He relays this to his allies while casting Gentle Repose on Karrin's corpse.
"I think we should find another spawn. We can ask one here, and bring the second one to the trial."
He shivers. "Not that I'm looking forward to having my life force drained more, mind you..."
Bulldozer readies his Dorn Dergar for a power attack.
"You all better find somewhere good to hide because Bulldozer's here!"
Azrin starts looking for other wraiths.
Azrin can barey see 10 feet away from him in the dark, much less spot intangible creatures with the superficial appearance of black smoke.
Azrin casts Light on his holy Pharasma symbol.
"You guys can see in the dark, right? Let me know if you see any semi-transparent kids up past their bedtime."
Bulldozer takes a look.
A rotting scarecrow leans on a scythe at the top of this low hill. Its pumpkin face is carved with a leer and a sheep’s jaw hangs flaccidly below.
Bulldozer manages to sniff out a small cave (really more of a slight indent in the ground) below the scarecrow, only 10 feet by 10 feet.
Inside lay the skeletons of 4 children.
Not long after Bulldozer notices the "cave", the sickly sweet smell of rotten honey permeates the air, and a droning buzz begins, growing louder with each passing second.
"Too old...too old..." comes a voice from the darkness.
"But you'll have to do, I suppose..."
Red pinpoints of light appear in the darkness, one after another, until a full shape is made.
Alongside him is another small wraith, cringing behind the hooded form of its master.
Bulldozer (20)
Azrin (17)
Elsa (16)
Brother Swarm (14)
Ezekiel (8)
Azrin Quick Channels and attempts to Turn the wraith and his minion
Bulldozer goes in for a Power Attack at the little one.
"Hey, did your buddy tell you I was coming? Oh wait, he can't because SHE'S DEAD."