"If you don't come in, I don't tell you anything."
"These are... wraith... ssspawn. That's the word I was looking for." Kendra says.
"They're what the big wwraith creates when it kills people. They're weaker than the actual wraith, until we kill the actual wraith." Kendra explains. She looks pained as she finishes: "Instead of dispelling all the little wraiths, which would be great, all the spawn become full wraiths themselves."
"At least we know the children cannot have been killed by Thomas." she sighs.
"If I can study my spellbook for a few minutes, I can cast detect undead. This will prevent us from stumbling into any wraith. But I can only sustain the spell for four minutes."
Looking around Jominda tells "Within four minutes we might as well still be stuck in the corn. But why does it insist we come in? Is it bound to the house?"
Checking for were to move on Jominda draws a blank.
"I believe they can't stand actual sunlight." Kendra says. "We should really be done here before the sun sets."
"Oh! That could become an issue. We don't know what we search for and can't find a path, but we're on a deadline." Jominda replies.
Looking at her comrades one after another she finally asks Herm "Herm, would you give me a leg up to check where the next house is?"
Once she got an overview she points in direction of the chapel she saw. Well, she thinks it's a chapel as it has a small steeple with a pointy roof. "That way!"
Kendra smiles a half-smile, agreeing with Jominda that this is not good news.
She then sets off in the direction Jominda pointed, making sure to stamp the rows of corn flat so to have an obvious exit route.
After fighting through about 350 feet of corn you reach the chapel. A small, whitewashed timber building stands in the center of the village, surrounded by gravestones.
Reading the Gravestones: Most of the stones are old and the engraving tells the most people who died here died at a reasonable age.
But you also find a row of more recent graves.
Maarten *12.Saerenite AR4701 +23.Calistril AR4710
Allen *26.Erastus AR4703 +28.Calistril AR4710
Karen *17.Arodus AR4699 +10.Pharast AR4710
Rachel *30.Kuthona AR4702 +19.Calistril AR4710
Gaard *5.Arodus AR4703 +17.Calistril AR4710
Ellsa *22.Abadius AR4702 +7.Pharast AR4710
"Look there is Ellsa." Jominda tells pointing to a headstone.
The village’s chapel 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. And on one of the pews in the front sits a shadowy figure.
"Those must be the children who died here. Six in total... Again with the number six. This means there's six wraithspawn here as well."
Kendra looks to see if this shadowy figure also has the shape of a child, or if this is a different kind of shade in any way than the one previously encountered.
She places a finger on her lips to indicate everyone to be silent.
The shadow is probably another child.
"Maybe we should just burn the building down, cut the disease out and put the children to rest?"
Herm moves to the threshold of the building.
"Good day child, what shall we call you?"
The shadow child comes running at Herm.
"Tag, you're it." and turns to run away again.
Herm doesn't realize how close he is till the child comes and touches him, the cold hand of the child passes through his armor connecting solidly with his skin.
"By the Inheritor that is cold, I was foolish to get so close." Herm steps back out of the threshold into the light.
"The town is abondoned, should we just burn it down?"
"Not until we check it for evidence." Kendra says. "We need all we can get to exhonorate Thomas. The Justices did not seem impressed this morning."
"I prepared something this morning..." Jominda tells with a wide smile, getting out a vial and a pill with a metallic look on Herms suggestion about burning everything down. "Oh. Then that has to wait." she adds on Kendra's objection and puts the vial and the pill away again.
"Something seems off here, though," Kendra says while still looking at the row of new gravestones. "There is Ellsa indeed, but it isn't the latest victim. Didn't the townspeople drive Thomas off after he had returned with Ellsa's body? Look, this girl Karen." Kendra points at the gravestone and the date of death.
"You mean besides the fact that the children are obviously killed by a wraith?" Jominda comments, rolling her eyes. "But by what you told we should find some wraith who is not one of the six children right? Where are we going to find that one?"
"Well this chapel would be my first guess, as it's not someone's home. But it seems it's not here, so... any other communal building? A cave - which of course would not be common around a swamp. Anywhere where it can hide from the light of day."
"Do you have magic to contact Thomas? He would know. He said he fought the black ghost man. And he for sure didn't in the village, but outside." Jominda suggests. "Someone good at climbing? Maybe one can see more from the top of the building."
Kendra frowns. "I should have looked in his memory. That would've been able to help us a lot."
The chapel doesn't offer itself for climbing. The walls are harled with lime and sand leaving nothing to use as hand of footholds. One could stand on the roof if being careful but getting on top without a ladder is near impossible.
"I have another idea. I can study for a moment or two, and prepare a command undead spell. It would allow me to talk with the child wraith spawn as a friend. It might well tell us where it was killed."
She looks around the group
"What do you think?"
"You can try it yes, but we must hurry." Herm turns to Jominda, "You think the creator of these spawn is hiding somewhere close?"
"I will hurry. This place is creeping me out even in daylight." Kendra sits down and takes out her spellbook.
Jominda takes a seat behind Kendra and throws small pebbles at the building. Creating permanent 'klick' noises. "Are you done already?" she asks every two minutes.
Kendra spends 15 minutes studying her spellbook, and then nods at Jominda. "Here goes, she says."
She walks up to the chapel, but not inside. "Hey there, little one." she says to the wraith. "Could you come out here for a moment?"
"No, the old man is. He has to catch me first." the shadow replies.
"Do you know where he is now?" Kendra asks. She may not even have to use the spell to get the information she needs. "We could distract him for you, so you can hide in here a bit longer."
"He is to slow anyway to catch me. Are you quicker? Wanna try?" the shadow replies.
"Oh no, I fully believe you to be very quick. I'm sure you're the quickest around!" Kendra smiles. "If you're so quick though, you don't need to hide in here, do you? You can outrun everyone, even outside."
"What is your plan here?" Herm says quietly.
"The wraiths can't attack while in daylight, so we're safe outside. I'm trying to coerce this spawn to show us to the big one - that's likely where the murders have taken place, and likely where we will have the biggest chance of finding more evidence."
"I don't like the outside at day. But if you seek brother swarm you just have to wait until it's dark and I'll sow you." the shadow tells.
'Ok, this has gone on long enough' Kendra thinks.
After waving her hands for a moment and speaking a word of power, she continues her conversation with the child inside the chapel. "We can't stay until after dark, we need to be home by then. Can you please come out and show us now?"
"Where are you hiding? I'm going to catch you!" Jominda tells just before Kendra starts casting. "Oh, you have other plans." she stops short of going after the shadow.
"No, I don't wanna." The shadow tells.
"Can you then tell us where to find brother Swarm?"
Herm begins to grow impatient with the undead creature, "Just tell us what we need to know child, we will talk with this brother swarm and set things right. You will not drain us as you tried to me a few moments ago, we seek to help you."
"Haha, I don't need your help!" the shadow replies. "Go to the scarecrow up on the hill. There you find him. And soon you'll be playing with us in the shadows."
"Thank you child' Herm motions with his head to go away from this place.
"I'm looking forward to it," Kendra answers the wraith.
She follows Herm. "I can see the hill there, to the south. I would venture that the scarecrow would be there."
Looking up the hill to the south east you see something that could be a scarecrow. Climbing up the hill. 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. But no trace of a wraith.
Herm will draw his hammer, taking the lead as they mount the hill, scanning the area for any evil creatures that might be present.
"Brother swarm they call it, I wonder if that name is actual or just a name.?" Herm muses out loud
Herm scans the area.
Herm moves over the hidden spot, pulling back the Growth.
"I found where this Brother Swarm may be hiding."
"Oh good." Kendra says sarcastically. "A cave, what could possibly go wrong?"
"Wait one moment, Herm." She casts two spells who look earily similar.
"Alright, let's move down slowly. If you take the lead, I'll go second, see if I can command it. After I cast a spell on it, don't attack it or it will break the enchantment. Unless it keeps attacking us after I cast the spell, because that would mean it failed."
The cave is small. But it is not walking in. It would be climbing down. Sticking your head in you see in the little light that gets in a flying cloak full of eyes.
Kendra immediately grasps her amulet as she points a finger at the creature.
"Halt! Back!"
The wraith moves to the farther end of the cave.
Inside the cave, the skeletal remains of four children lie where they fell.