Cadas stabs at the prone undead, revulsion showing on her face.
She then returns to normal size. If the creature has been killed she will begin to advance towards the farmhouse. If not she will step 5' forward so as to be ready to strike again next turn . Either way she points south and calls out a warning There is another scarecrow 20 yards to the south. It may very well be another ghoul.
Scarecrow - Round 2 - concluded
Between the crossbow bolt from the wizard and the trident smash from an enlarged trident the thrashing ghoul is stilled, ending the fight.
End of Combat
The sight of the ghoulish scarecrow steels the party, setting them on edge for what comes next. While enlarged Cadas could see another scarecrow some distance away, and Marcellano's familiar spied a small group of them leaving the farmhouse and barn which like to the southeast. That group continues to shuffle towards the sounds of the fighting, but has not arrived yet.
Cadas and the celestial wolf summoned by Marcellano guard the southern flank and start to push down the road to the southeast towards the farm house.
As they approach the other scarecrow, you can see it also struggling against its bonds. The form cries out, not in the inhuman howl of the ghoul, but in panicked Varisian. "Help me! I am stuck and they are coming. Oh Pharasma save us, they are coming!"
Who put you up there? Cadas asks as she casts Shield of Faith on herself and moves to help the man.
As the great glowing wolf bows its head to Marcellano and vanishes, the wizard sighs. Watching Cadas and Robin untie the man, he mutters to Narcizia, "Fly up and warn us if any of the undead get close." As Narcizia takes wing, Marcel pulls a scroll out of his leather case.
"I had created this against a different eventuality, but given the nearing undead and my own exhaustion, it seems wise to use it now. This will provide us with some protection against them."
The man continues to struggle against his bonds, but he answers Cadas' query as best he can. "The hungry dead tied me here. I don't know why. I am afraid they are coming back for me." The abject terror in his voice and features indicates to Cadas that he is telling the truth as best he can. The man has scratch and bite wounds on his body that are still fresh.
Robin cuts the man down and he falls sobbing in a heap to the ground.
The celestial wolf vanishes to the plane he came from. Marcellano sends his feathered familiar up to scout the area again. She reports that a troop of ghouls, half-dozen or so in all, is loping toward the group approximately 3 minutes or less away.
Bending to examine the man and to begin to treat him Cadas confirms what she feared. He has been bitten and is likely infected with the fever of the ghouls. I can help him but not completely before we deal with the oncoming enemy. Let us prepare as best we can for their onslot. I shall take position in the front line. As she says this she casts Barkskin on herself and offers a ring to Qetsiyah. Wear this for this coming fight. Its abilities do not add with my spells.
Shield of Faith - 5 minutes AC +2 from Deflection
Barkskin 50 minutes AC+2 from Natural Armor
Current AC is 25
Marcellano relays Narcizia's information. "We had best get ourselves ready...and regrettably I have nearly exhausted the spells I prepared for today," he says grimly. He holds the scroll ready.
Kizzy takes the ring and slips it on her fingers as she draws her falchion and stands at the fore of the little group. "Let them come," she mutters under her breath, "I am ready."
Narcizia caws loudly indicating that the walking dead are nearly upon the group and Marcellano reads from his spell, passing around resistance against evil creatures.
Just as he finishes reading, a pack of ravening ghouls breaks out of the high corn in front of the group. There seems to be 6 in all, and they look quite hungry. They begin to encircle the group looking for the right space to attack.
Ghoul Pack Attack - Round 1
20 White Ghoul
19 Green Ghoul
17 Red Ghoul
15 Kizzy
15 Yellow Ghoul
14 Robin
11 Blue Ghoul
10 Marcellano
10 Purple Ghoul
10 Cadas
White, Green, and Red Ghoul all begin to move in different directions, acting like a pack, trying to encircle teh small party.
Kizzy will have none of it, hefting her two hander, she moves forward and strikes at Red Ghoul, but her powerful stroke is easily evaded by the lithe undead.
Yellow Ghoul also advances along the road, ready to attack in the next round.
Ghoul Pack Attack - Round 1 - continued
Robin has an opportunity to act quickly, but chooses discretion over valor and waits until the rest of the group has acted before choosing his own course.
Blue Ghoul advances filling one of the gaps in the line.
Marcellano grits as the undead advance, glancing warily from one to the next. "I have little left in the way of magic...guess this will have to do!"
Taking aim at one on which he has a clear shot, he sights down his crossbow and looses!
Sadly, with his nerves, it goes ludicrously wide...
Cadas eyes the purple ghouls as if expecting it to act...
Ghoul Pack Attack - Round 1 - continued
With little magic left, Marcellano settles for an old-fashioned crossbow bolt, but the shot is wide of the mark and flies past the ghouls harmlessly.
Bringing up the rear of the group, Purple Ghoul moves forward to the crossroads, completing the skirmish line.
The cleric of Gozreh 5' steps up and casts Burst of Radiance catching the western most three ghouls. She then grows to large threatening the nearest of the three and seems ready to take an attack of opportunity on any that close within 10' of her.
Shield of Faith - 5 minutes AC +2 from Deflection
Barkskin 50 minutes AC+2 from Natural Armor
Divine Favor
Current AC is 25
Ghoul Pack Attack - round 1 - concluded
Moving forward a bit, Cadas release a burst of brilliant and holy light that sears the western part of the pack of ghouls. The burning light wounds all three ghouls severely leaving two fully blinded and one simply dazzled. All three seem quite staggered by the attack.
dazzled
blinded
blinded
End of Round 1
Ghoul Pack Attack - Round 1 - concluded
Robin tries, but fails, to draw the attention of the ghouls, making an attack by the larger size Cadas easier. His antics are distracting, but the hungry dead don't seem to notice.
End of Round 1
Ghoul Pack Attack - Round 2
19 Green Ghoul
15 Kizzy
15 Yellow Ghoul
10 Marcellano
10 Purple Ghoul
10 Cadas
14 Robin (delayed)
Staying well out of the reach of the large cleric, Green Ghoul rushes to attack the soft-skinned wizard looking for an easy meal, biting the wizard hard on the neck.
Kizzy lunges forward swinging her falchion at the ghoul as it comes forward. The mighty blow from the Varisian cleaves the undead ghoul killing it instantly.
Marcellano screams in pain, then freezes, rigid, as the ghouls' venom sinks into his muscles.
Ghoul Pack Attack - Round 2 - continued
As Marcellano feels the teeth of the flesh-eaters sink into his shoulder, he cries out in pain. The cry is stifled as the nerve-stopping paralysis common to ghouls passes into the wizard. He feels the numbness spread from the wound on his neck through his limbs and soon he is immobilized, right in the face of the hungry dead.
Insidiously, the microbes that cause ghouls to rise also pass into the bloodstream of Marcellano. Though there is little obvious effect, the infection starts to wipe out his immune response slowly but effectively.
Slavering maniacally, Purple Ghoul leaps at Kizzy also trying to take a chunk out of the Varisian fighter. Kizzy is able to keep the hungry ghoul at bay with her shield and blade.
Wtih
Robin's help Cadas comes to Marcellano's aid. She moves adjacent to the creature and drives her trident at the undead threatening Marcellano. After she strikes she returns to normal size to bolster he armor class and present a more tempting target to the ghoul.
Shield of Faith - 5 minutes AC +2 from Deflection
Barkskin 50 minutes AC+2 from Natural Armor
Divine Favor
Current AC is 25
Ghoul Pack Attack - Round 2 - concluded
Darting in and out of the reach of the ghoul, Robin distracts the undead so much that it never sees the trident from super-sized Cadas coming. The forked weapon caves in the chest of the ghoul, dropping it and rescuing Marcellano for the time being.
End of Round 2
Ghoul Pack Attack - Round 3 - concluded
15 Kizzy
10 Marcellano (paralyzed 4 rounds)
10 Purple Ghoul
10 Cadas
14 Robin
Ready to end the fight, Kizzy steps up and drives her falchion at the last pack member. The bodyguard's blade strikes true once again, and soon the fight is ended.
End of Combat
Cadas turns her attentions to Marcellano, casting a healing spell and examining his wound.
Is anyone else injured?
A concerned-looking Narcizia also flaps down to poke at Marcellano, but after about thirty seconds the wizard slowly starts to twitch, then gains full control of his limbs again. "I'm...I am well, thank you, Robin. Thanks to your timely interventions...thanks for the cover, and for the healing, Cadas." He swallows, looking pale. "Although I can't help worrying...ghoul fever is an infection spread through their bites. I had best get myself some sort of cure or protection, if I don't want to succumb." His eyes are a little wild--clearly he's still rattled from the close call--but he swallows again and steels himself. "I'm in no immediate danger. We should continue, and see what we can learn at the farmstead."
Once Marcellano regains his mobility and Cadas has fully examined his wound she will search the undead bodies for both clues and anything valuable, casting Detect Magic to aid her.
Cadas examines the wound on Marcellano's shoulder and neck carefully. She can see the necrosis already starting to spread around the edges of the bite. Knowing that ghouls spread their disease through bites, she is concerned for the mage, but remembers a poultice recipe that might help Marcellano fight off or slow the infection until more appropriate help can be brought in. She mixes the poultice and places it over the filthy wound, easing the pain somewhat. A cure spell mends the pain and restores the mage's vitality, but the necrotizing infection still persists.
Once her patient is cared for, Cadas looks for any magical dweomer on the bodies of the ghouls, but none is evident. She does note that all the ghouls are dressed in the raggedy remains of clothing belonging to simple farm folk. Workclothes, heavy boots, and simple dresses of the countryside still cling to the now fully dead corpses.
The bite is infected. Cadas confirms, not sugar coating the truth. But I have cleaned it well and done what i can to strengthen your bodies ability to fight the disease. If you have not beaten it by morning I can memorize a spell that has a good chance to remove it magically. She stands and prepares to depart. We need to keep moving.
The man in question has wounds, like those suffered by Marcellano, all over his body. He looks in a bad way, and is slowly deteriorating. He speaks between moans as tears run down his face. "At the farmhouse...it's terrible...the pack runs wild...but it is worst of all..." Most of the rest of what he says is broken gibberish as the foul infection starts to take over his brain.
We need to put him down before he fully rises as a ghoul. Cadas prepares to do just that if no one stops her.
Marcellano grits his teeth at Cadas's diagnosis. "Thank you for the poultice...hopefully that helps." He's pale and still looks deeply worried, but he's steady on his feet.
Marcellano looks shocked at Cadas's ruthlessness when she suggests killing the diseased man. Though perhaps I shouldn't be surprised...god of the natural order and all that. "Is there really nothing we can do for him?" he asks, racking his brains.
Always taking the practical side, Cadas dispatches the ghoul-infected farmer, sparing him the horror of rising again as the hungry dead.
The bodies of the other fallen lie scattered about and the high corn blocks vision immediately, but Narciza told you the farmhouse was to the west or southwest.
Turning away once her unpleasant task was complete Cadas says We need to keep moving. The farmhouse is that way. If we can put this threat to rest then we can send people back here to bury these bodies.
Marcellano gives a wan smile. "The ability to fly makes it much easier to ignore the threat of the walking dead, it's true," he says. "It sounds like we want to head southwest-by-west, but if you'd give us some more precise direction...?" The last query is directed to Narcizia, who gives a curt nod and flaps into the air, circling above the party and occasionally dropping back down to murmur course corrections once the group sets off.
Following the directions of Narcizia, the group moves through the paths between the tall corn for maybe a quarter of a mile before the fields part and a house and barn standing in the clearing. The barn is constructed around an interesting feature. A 12-foot high stone head, canted slightly to the left makes up one of the side walls of the otherwise wooden structure. Moss has grown over most of the features and the details are hard to discern but it looks to be an ancient Thassilonian relic to Marcellano's trained eye.
The house is a simple farm cottage, not much to speak of. The faint smell of death and decay seems to emanate from the dwellings, getting a bit stronger the closer you get. No movement is seen in either the house or barn from where you stand.
Marcellano shakes his head with a low whistle. "Varisia truly is a remarkable place...to have such significant relics as that just lying about, used to build cowsheds..." he sighs. "There's so much to do and see here."
Slinging his crossbow to his front and making sure it's loaded, he says, "Let's check the farmhouse first--if there are survivors, they're likeliest to be there."
Cadas nods an agreement. But lets approach so that anyone in the barn does not see us. No sense in meeting all the occupants of this place all at once if we do not have to.
Cadas will cast some buffs if the group can get to the front door without entering a combat.