"Haw! No, this tin can gets too hot when cooking a proper feast!"
Jominda sits down in frustration and gets a trail ration out of her backpack. Listlessly she chews on the not very tasty food.
As Herm mentions a butterfly and a temple Jominda asks curiously "What's a temple of Desna doing out here in the middle of nowhere?" before she takes another bite off the leathery ration.
"She is known to have temples all over. Is this the power you felt Kendra?" Herm says.
"Hard to tell. I didn't check the kind of magic, but it would make sense. How about we search the whole building for more clues, what makes this temple of Desna - lets assume it is one - so special. Shall we?" Kendra replies.
"Do you think those werewolves will give us the time we need or will they go back on their word?" Herm asks
Herm burns off 8 charges of their wand before looking at everyone else.
"As long a no backup arrives here at the tower I believe they will stay true to their word. But we have to hurry anyway if we want to catch up to the Whispering Way later."
"Shall we start our search at ground level? I'd like to give the wolves some space and time to tend to their bruised egos." Kendra suggests.
"Probably for the best, then we can search well and not be bothered. I think once we hit the upper levels we will have to move quickly." Herm agrees
Down the stairs it goes again. Carefully all go down the endless stairs around the tower and then down the plateau to the ground. Below there is still the amphitheater, full of bones and gore. The way further into the lower level leads to the already investigated room with the dead Whispering Way agent and the other room where Estovion first attacked the group. In this room there are a few loose stones in on wall.
Removing these stones shows a short crude passage, one could climb through.
On the other side of the thick wall is another room. A partition of iron bars divides this chamber. To one side, rows of shelves lined with bottles and beakers filled with strange fluids and jars containing powdered reagents and herbs surround a long stone surgical table. Another shelf holds a selection of tarnished surgical tools. On the far side of the bars, a 10-foot-deep pit sits in the floor of a crudely chiseled cave. Rusted manacles lie scattered about the floor near the edge of the pit.
The surgical tools in the room are all made of solid silver. A cursory look around discovers a locked iron strongbox.
But before anyone could investigate things further a familiar, but unwelcome sight arises from the pit. The vilkacis. It attacks Herm with a ghostly touch.
Herm grunts at the spectral hand passes through his armor and leaves a smoldering mark on his body.
"I thought you fled but I see you came here." Herm says Disengaging from the creature. [b]"Will non magical weapons Harm this Miss Kendra?
"I don't think so. But you could channel holy energy to wound it, as it is an undead creature." Kendra suggests.
Jominda drinks a shield-potion.
"Is that a ghost?"
"Kind of. A Vilkacis. Best way to hurt it would be a magical silver weapon." Kendra explains.
"My sword is silver but not Magical, can you augment that Miss Kendra?" Herm asks as he gives ground
Kendra casts magic weapon on Herm's silver sword.
Yilgwi proudly brandishes his holy symbol. "Begone, stomachless abomination!"
The vilkacis follows Herm and keeps attacking him.
Herm blocks one of the beasts blows, the other spectral hand penetrates his defenses. "Yilgwi if you can heal me I can deal with this beast." Herm says before swinging out with his sword.
"Roger that, boyo!" The healing warmth of the feast fills Herm.
"I'll support that." Jominda tells over an explosion that spreads a goo, that somehow clings to the incorporeal creature.
Kendra searches a spot far away from the wolf ghost and behind her companions.
Herm cuts into the were spirit. The silver weapon rips huge bits of the essence away. Jominda blows parts of his essence away.
But the vilkacis furiously keeps attacking.
Yilgwi chants and his eyes glow like a bonfire as he casts Communal Protection from Evil on his allies.
Herm blood pouring form his body swings again at the ghostly creature a head of him.
"retreat I will hold it here." Herm says
Kendra casts disrup undead. It's not much, but it's all she can do to help here.
Jominda mixes another explosive to add to the removal of this evil spirit. Jominda downs an extract of Cat's grace. Seeing how Herm struggles to hit the ghost wolf, she doesn't want to take any risks with the few explasives she has left.
The vilkacis is hit badly by Herm again, but at this rate Herm will give in to his wounds faster than the spirit. Kendra misses the spirit by far, but at least the spell hasn't the potential to hurt someone else.
The wolf spirit claws the last resolve out of Herm, making him fall unconscious. Then it turns on Jominda and sends a painful chill through her bones.
"Herm!" Kendra shouts in panic. She casts another disrupt undead. But she is so out of her mind, that she fumbles it.
Herm falls to the ground his wounds finally getting the better of him.
"Not done yet, Herm!"
Herm falls to the ground his wounds finally getting the better of him.
The ghost uses the opportunity the reckless action of the priest opens to attack the priest.
Jominda mixes another explosive to add to the removal of this evil spirit.
"Begone, pesky ghost thing!"
Herm wakes with a start a gasp of air escaping his mouth. "By Iomedae's grace I thought I was dead." Herm says before seeing the creature still a head of him.
The wolf ghost fades away under the barrage of attacks. You see the fine translucent thing move abck int the whole, before it disappears completely.
Herm collapses on the floor, his breath coming quickly as he tries to catch is breath.
"That wsa not what I was expecting, I thought we would be on the clear." Herm puts away his sword standing up and pulling out the wand of Curing.
Herm breathes a bit easier once the wand has knitted his wounds, Herm looks around the group to see if anyone else needs any healing.
"This is no fun." Jominda tells as she downs one of her alchemical extracts.
"We need to find the Vilkacis canopy stone, or it will reappear in a day or two." Kendra comments from the back. "We can pause a bit, but I think we should take care of that right away."
Yilgwi nods happily.
"How will we know what it looks like?" Herm asks Kendra
"Ooh, good question!"
"I haven't seen one myself. But I guess a canopic stone will not be too large. It might be a polished stone, or a vase, or soem other shape, but I'm sure it's made of stone or clay."
"But maybe it can be found by searching for magic, or evil, or undead, or something like that."
"I can look for evil signatures if you will look for magical ones and Yilgwi if you can look for something maybe we cannot then we will find this quickly." Herm says once everyone is ready to go they will head out.
The dwarf shrugs ...and blushes? "The Blythe Spirit ain't blessed me with powers of detection, I'm afraid."
Withhin the magic and evil spectrum it is not hard to get a clue. It radiates from the hole the valkacis came out form and disappeared into. The issue to search there is the iron bars and the rusted lock in the door that once allowed entrance to the other side.
We could bend them if we all put in some effort and work together." Herm says.
Yilgwi puts some elbow grease into it.
Jominda decides to cheer the two on, while they try to make a way through to the other side.
She drinks an extract of reduce person, and shrinks to half her normal height. She slips through the bars to the other side turns towards Herm and Yilgwi and calls "You can make it! You'll bend that iron to your will!"
After a minute or two Herm and Yilgwi have rattled the door open. Some rusty parts of the lock finally give up and the hinges of the door break off.