"I know ye're tryin' ta help, Kaz, but douse the light. If whatever did this is still out there, most likely it kin see in the dark just as good as a dwarf."
Harek takes a position by the door, axe and shield ready.
"See anythin', big guy?" He asks Ordrud.
perception, Darkvision 60'
"Let him illuminate the dusk... Many creatures fear light."
Rask will move out, weapon in hand, checking the blood trail he expects is outside the church...
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Sirasa will help the wounded to the back wall, then once situated, look at Myharl and the others, "What manner of things attacked you? I can tell there were more than one type of creature, possibly fairly powerful cold magic too."
Sirasa will purposefully look around, then look back at the wounded, "There are a lot of common folk here. They are likely not equipped to handle what attacked you. We need to know, as best as you can, what we are dealing with here."
Ordrud continues to stand vigil near the center of the cathedral. He didn't see these newcomers in his dreams, so he was puzzled. They appeared to be who they claimed, but what they claimed was a bad omen.
I don't have anything either. The Elf says in response to Myharl's ask for help for the companion that was turned to stone. He will help Myharl and his companions to the wall and then turn to Juriendor, Is there anything else I can do to help?
"Got anythin', Rask? Signs of more foes?"
Looking outside the cathedral, Rask finds the back trail of the four adventurers heading off into the darkness, most of it shuffling gait. There are no other fresh tracks, just ones of the villagers coming into the cathedral for the ceremony.
Myharl responds to Sirasa, "they were very small humanoid creatures, and some kind of small animal. I have never seen anything like them before."
Juriendor calls to all, "please, please, come back inside and sit down. The ceremony must start again. It must be started over and worked thru to completion." He and his acolytes ensure that the four adventurers are comfortable sitting against the back wall, and then head back to the front. Mayor Igor opens the interior door and asks Rask and the others standing there to come back in.
"Small folk wit' ragged knives, sneaky attackin' in the dark with some critters? Sounds like ye got gobbos hereabouts."
Harek waits until the door is closed and everyone is inside again before relaxing slightly. He drops his pack and stands near the door, axe by his feet and a javelin leaning against the door jamb. He specifically does not stow his shield, keeping it at the ready.
Ordrud moves to the backwall of the cathedral and prepares to stand vigil for the ceremony. His longsword and shield stand on edge on the floor in front of him.
Lothalian uneasily retakes his seat waiting for the ceremony to re-start. The strangers talk of being attacked has the Elf warily watching the ceremony, the strangers, and the door-concentrating on none of them.
Kazmir can't believe what he is hearing. Someone was attacked...turned to stone?! And they were not going to do anything expect due to the ritual over? It was crazy and he was about to open his mouth to say so but he sees everyone just wander back to their seats. Shaking his head on confused bewilderment the halfling takes his seat as well.
These humans are a weird bunch. He thinks to himself, as he watches his staff gutter and stop glowing.
Rask will remain next to the door, peeking outside from time to time.
Lothalian and Kazmir head back to their seats, while the rest of you stand guard over the adventurers, and the back door. Juriendor and his two acolytes walk back to the front of the temple where the flames in the brazier on the altar burn brightly.
Finally Juriendor once more holds the moonshard aloft and with a powerful chanting sends a massive blast of bright energy throughout the cathedral that flows back to the moonshard and forms a glowing blue gateway centered upon the stone. Through the portal two orbs emerge—as soon as they enter the room, all normal light patterns warp and are drawn towards them! The attracted glow forms into a swirling pattern around the spheres before being absorbed directly into the dark floating orbs. Judging by the gasps and screams of panic erupting from the crowd, this does not normally occur during the Vigil for Light ritual. The orbs begin to circle around Juriendor, spinning wildly, then begin to lash out with cold, cloying bolts of darkness that send him to the floor! The moonshard falls to the ground and then through a crack in the boards to somewhere deep below. You can almost feel the frigid, lifeless grasp of some ancient evil slip its fingers around the artifact as it is dragged out of sight through the cracks. The High Priest, prone, seems frozen in place as the orbs assault him. “Juriendor! No!” one of the villagers calls as he charges forward, pulling a short, metal candle holder from its bracket at the end of a pew. He swings the makeshift weapon and seems to hit one of the creatures. The orb is unaffected and before you can step forward it strikes the charging man with a ray, the effect of which forces him to his knees. Screams erupt from the crowd of villagers and, as one, they panic—suddenly people are running everywhere, towards both sets of stairs and outside into the darkness of the blizzard.
Mayor Igor Leonid steps up to quell the chaos, calling out, "unsheath your blades, stout fellows, and let us rain ruin upon whatever these fiends are within the grounds of the cathedral!" He hefts his great glowing maul and moves toward the front doors. Sage Yuri Statel appears from within one of the storage areas, a pair of what look like ice crampons strapped around his forearms to make cruel-looking claws. He exchanges glances and a nod with the mayor then rushes out the front door with many of the villagers in tow; as they pass outside into the snowstorm they are suddenly surrounded by a mob of walking dead. The mayor turns to your group; "You’ve shown yourselves capable. Please, save the clergy—most are little more than untested students—and protect the cathedral. I'm off to defend the rest of my village!" He races out into the storm to confront the undead, the congregation grabbing various solid-looking items from around the cathedral while you're left in charge of the situation within the rapidly-emptying building.
Rask UP
Rask moves towards the orbs while drawing his longbow, and fires at the north one.
A perfect shot, true aimed at the center of the creature, bounces back without making any harm to it.
Rask looks worried.
"They are immune to my arrows!"
Harek moves closer to the floating enemies, taking cover and maintaining a defensive position.
Kazmir watches in dismay as Rask's arrows bounce off the strange floating creatures. Could they even hurt these strange creatures? The halfling knew his best spells would be of little help against flying beings.Still, he knew he could have to get closer, to provide any aid.
Seeing the danger, Ordrud hustles toward the altar readying longsword and shield along the way and threading through the escaping villagers.
Lothalian will move to the fallen Juriendor to see if he is still alive.
Rask shoots an arrow and even though he hits one of the orbs, it does not appear to do any damage to it. Lothalian moves up to Juriendor, who went down from the initial assault, and checks him. He is alive, but knocked out at the moment. Sirasa moves to the side of the cathedral and starts to cast a spell, while the rest of you start to move up.
The four adventures that you helped stand, and move towards the front of the cathedral, the gnome wizard pulling a wand from his pack as he moves, and the others drawing weapons.
One of the orbs fires its ray at Juriendor, dealing the cleric more damage, while the other floats to the floor and then disappears from sight.
Rask UP
With a straight line of the center aisle in front of Ordrud, he dashes toward the acolyte.
Rask don't know how to do, but he knows what he won't do... escape.
He charges forward, dropping his bow and drawing his waraxe...
Lothalian will drag the stunned and wounded Juriemdor out of the fray. Help Me! he will shout to the acolytes.
Ordrud, Rask, and Sirasa move forward. Lothalian yells to the acolytes to help him move Juriendor out of the way. Both of them bend down to help but the orb looses a ray of light dropping the other, while Lothalian and the other acolyte move him back twenty feet.
The gnome wizard shoots a magical missile from the wand and it hurts the orb while the other three men move up to help defeat the orb.
Rask UP
Rask, Waraxe in both hands, keeps double moving forward.
Still unsure what good he can do the druid moves forward, dodging among the pews until he is next to Rask.
"Be careful" he calls to the dual-armed Dwarf.
Ordrud slows down to move in close. He sweeps his longsword through the strange floating orb. Right as the blow connects with the glowing orb, the blade flashes and glows brilliant gold while it slices through the orb. When the longsword exits the orb, it stops glowing.
Now that Juriendor is out of harm's way, Lothalian will rush up to the fallen acolyte and cast rebuke death.
Rask continues to move up, while Ordrud calling upon his abilities as a paladin, smites the orb and it dissolves into nothingness. Everyone continues to move up, and Lothalian quickly goes to the young acolyte and ensures that she does not die.
Juriendor and the acolyte stand, and he exclaims "the moonshard. Where is it?" When you explain that it fell between the cracks in the floor he is about to say something, when you hear from the rear of the church, "help! There are creatures in the bell tower and they are lighting it on fire!" as another acolyte, his clothes singed is yelling as he is coming down the stairs on the north side of the cathedral.
"I must find the moonshard or the village is doomed. Please head up to the bell tower and help my student priests; most of them are untested in situations like this, and it seems someone—or thing—is determined to disrupt our ceremony and threaten Rybalka's well being. Now go, please, for me!" Juriendor presses a vial of thick green liquid into the hands of Ordrud, then moves the altar revealing stairs and charges down the stairs.
At the rear of the cathedral, one of the villagers throws open the doors and yells "we need help out here, please!" Myharl, the apparent leader of the adventurers you helped, looks to his men then says to you, "you take the tower, we will help those outside" and he and the three others head outside weapons and spells at the ready.
"What is this?" Ordrud asks Juriendor about the potion, then continues, "Shouldn't some of us go with you? Another one of those glowing orbs went down there, too."
"Yes, but we need to help the acolytes in the tower."
Rask go back to his bow and picks it up.
"Three doses of Cure Light Wounds potion. No, if the bell tower burns the whole cathedral collapses and all is lost. I can handle below. Please, help my student priests." replies Juriendor as he heads down the stairs.
Harek heads up the stairs to the tower, axe and shield at the ready.
"What in the nine hells were those thungs? Arrows did nothing, but your sword cut right through it, Ordrud. We gonna face more of them?"
"Thank you. May your path be clear." Ordrud reverently replies to the priest. Then, he turns to follow the dwarf toward the tower with longsword and shield ready.
"Dunno what that thing was. Maybe it was magically protected from arrows." Ordrud offers to Harek.
Task follows them up, bow ready
Kazmir, still shaken by the floating eyes (and Ordud's powerful blow) also follows the group, keeping a sharp eye out for anything else. he sticks close to Rask, who seems to be a tough guy.
Lothalian will check quickly to make sure the female acolyte is alright and the check on the singed acolyte and if both are alright, will follow the rest of the group up the stairs.
You reach the second floor and see a hallway in front of you with two doors on the left side and one straight ahead. The hallway then continues to the left.
Lothalian will also follow the others ready to heal any more wounded acolytes that they come across.
Kazmir will follow behind, wondering what they are getting in to.