Dura's summoned blade slashes through, and the attack hits the tiny wraith. The creature shrinks back from the pain, and hisses at the strange attack. Following its leader's example, the spawn rushes at the creator of the spell, swiping at Dura with withered hands. The grasping claws sap Dura's energy as the hungry wraith attacks.
The third creature doesn't hold back. No doubt spurred on by its leaders will, it rushes at Rufus and attacks, grasping on to the living target's arm and beginning to extract the very life out of the flesh
Leeoli studies the wraith next to Dura and unleashes a studied strike with his magic rapier. Leeoli spins and prepares to parry any attack.
Zazaria winces, but manages to contain a shriek - she refuses the wraith that satisfaction - as fatigue, pain and a touch of despair wash over her. She has succeeded in making herself a target, as intended. Now to survive your folly, peasant girl. She prepares to unleash as much of Pharasma's might at the horror as she can possibly wield.
Zaz! Leeolie shouts in concern. [b]But seeing her remain upright, he focuses on the fight.
Rufus's nostrils seem to fill with cold, wet grave dirt when the creature touches him. He manages not to gag, keeping himself between the unholy child and Gur. In the corner of his eye, he sees Zazaria confronting something...larger, but they seem so far away now.
He swings furiously at the creature, his blade touching only air.
Summoning up every memory of loss and win in her long duel with death, Zazaria focuses deep within, before howling Pharasma's name - sounding more like an animal in unspeakable pain than a human - and smashing at the great Wraith and its spawn with Pharasma's mighty power.
Gur steps in to help Rufus.
Dura cries out in surprise as the claw rips into her and she feels weaker.
She spins her mace again at the master wraith.
Meanwhile, her spiritual sword pursues the wraith slashing at him again.
Unable to bear this creature's presence, and not really getting that it probably won't hurt it, Daniel attacks as well.
The wraith seems to steel itself against Pharasma's might, but its spawn are not so lucky. They hiss and whine with otherworldly sounds.
Dura swats at the potent wraith as he flies past, and her mace actually seems to hit the form. Her return swing, however, does not. Her spiritual weapon again slashes through the shimmering form, damaging the creature even further.
Daniel senses the terrible danger to Dura and lashes out, but its claws slice only air.
Leeoli watches the wraith, tracking its movements and patterns even as he readies his blade. When the time is right, he strikes, and his work pays off as the blade sinks into the form.
Rufus swats ineffectually at the spawn, and it seems emboldened but it defense, until Gur steps into place and slashes through the creature, his mighty weapon seeming to separate the creature like parting mist.
The smaller wraithspawn to the north, having just suffered at Gur's might, moves to the south, putting Rufus between it and the frightening orc. It attacks Rufus!
The other spawn, either seeing Dura as a softer target or perhaps spurred on by seeing its master under duress, attempts to latch on to his attacker, Dura.
The wraith continues to attack Zazaria, its hateful gaze locked on to the one who would call upon the Lady of Graves in its presence.
Leeoli studies the form for a moment and unleashes a studied strike against the child-like wraith..then prepares to parry its attack.
Zazaria utters a gentle sigh and falls - perhaps gratefully - into oblivion.
Dura puts her shoulder into her attack in an attempt to finish this wraith (I hope).
Her spiritual weapon lashes out as well.
Daniel roars in frustration and rage at the insubstantial creatures.
Rufus swings again, trying to draw attention.
Gur adjusts around his friend, putting Leeoli on the other side of his target.
Leeoli thrusts his blade through the wraith spawn near him, and the strike is true and centered. The little creature lets out a wail and its eyes expand into a fiery orange infernos, taking over the entire feature of the wraith's head. It continues to expand until the creature seems to implode, and it dissipates into nothing.
Gur moves around and cuts down again, and the wraithspawn simply dissappears under the assault, its already incorporeal form falling apart into black ashes that fly on the night breeze.
Dura attacks the larger wraith, and hits the creature with her mace, though the weapon conjured by her misses its mark. The wraith takes the damage, seemingly actually bolstered a bit by the energy that it seemed to suck from Zazaria's form.
The wraith turns then to its next victim, having vanquished the pesky priest. It reaches for Dura. It hisses as its swipe misses its mark. Upon missing, it flies backwards, eyeing the group for another target.
Gur smashes into the large undead foe like an avalanche of steel and anger."GET OFF HER YOU FOUL BEAST!"
Leeoli takes a quick moment to attend to the ghostly figure, then charges forward aiming his magicked rapier into the center of the apparition. Again, Leeoli prepares to parry and strike.
As the wraith flys back, Dura connects with a rather solid hit to its non-solid form.
Her conjured weapon streaks after the undead.
Dura then turns quickly to her downed companion and casts a healing spell on her.
Dura's strike splits off more of the creature's form, and her spiritual weapon slashes through the form as well, forcing out a hiss from the flying spirit.
Leeoli rushes after the figure, not wanting to let it escape. His strike once again hits true, forcing the creature's form to shimmer slightly in response.
Gur charges towards the creature with a roar, and slams his weapon down at the form. Incorporeal as the creature is, even it cannot withstand Gur's powerful strike. The wraith shimmers and splits apart, floating away in separate ashen pieces on the night air.
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Zazaria wakes from a dark dream of the Boneyard, illuminated by Groetius' leering moon and filled with the jeering mockery of bodiless spirits. For a moment, she scrabbles desperately at the earth, as if trying to dig her own grave with her fingernails, then stops,sobbing with remembered horror.
Dura kneels down and puts her hand on Zaz's shoulder. "Grroo..." She clears her throat. "Easy, Zazaria. It'll be okay. Let's get back to town and get some rest." As the others come back over, she says to Leeoli, "We also need to find a powerful healer. These wounds are beyond me, and I dare say, beyond her as well."
"We should make sure that was the last of them... I lost count, are we missing one or two of the smaller ones?" Gur pulls his axe from the ground where it came to rest, fatigue dragging out his ragged breath.
"At last!" Rufus sighs with tremendous relief. "Hopefully with the destruction of the primal shade, its progeny are also vanquished. Still, we musn't tarry a moment longer than necessary. What is left to see?"
"Four bodies, four shades. And the wraith that made them. Well, as horrible as this whole experience has been, we can definitively say it was NOT Charlie that did this."
Zazaria droops in relief and despair, then rallies a little, sitting up. There is nothing I can do with such unholy wounds. We must hope for assistance in Lepidstadt.
Exhaustedly, she hauls herself to her feet and stands shakily. I wish never to come close to such a death again.
Leave the bones of these children to rest here...for now. Tomorrow we will instruct the court to journey here and record this site into evidence. But first we should inspect their remains to uncover the manner of their death. If it is not physical in nature, it is less likely to be by the Beast of Lepidstadt, we can argue.
Leeoli carefully inspects the remains for signs of blunt injury.
Wearily, Zazaria ambles over to assist Leeoli in his prognostications.
I am so tired...drained...can't think at all.
(for how they died, although I suspect they died by having their essence drained by the undead)
Rufus runs a gloved finger over one of the skulls in a sterile, detached manner. Clearly, he is accustomed to seeing skeletons.
The remains of the children show no signs of trauma; though their skin has long since decayed, the bones are whole and undamaged. They lie there simply as if they were skeletal things that had gone asleep.
"If something like Charlie had killed them, we would see major trauma. MAJOR trauma. Hell, even if he just sat on them by accident."
"So, we have our answer. I hope it is enough to convince the court."
Sighing heavily, Zazaria straightens her shoulders: there ought to be some among the clergy of Lepidstadt who can conjure speech from these unfortunate children, that they may tell their own tale... But here, not in a court. I am not taking the bodies of dead children into a court room.
[b]Taking the remains to court as evidence would be most direct, but may offend sensibilities. Despite that, it still may be the most prudent course of action in terms of the trial. If not, if we are worried that the remains will be disturbed? If so, I can remain here on guard until the court may send other official witnesses.
Oh and this Leeoli holds up the book of poetry.
He can't stay here alone...but the idea repels me. Nonetheless, it must be done. Zazaria purses her lips to a tight white line, and her eyes are dark as a moonless night.
Then we must take them back, though I loathe the thought of further desecration. I will perform the necessary rites.
With pain-taking care, you prepare the bodies for travel, fashioning something out of wood and spare fabric to keep them from being folded up and damaged. Rufus and Leeoli carry them in between themselves as you make your way to the south and back to the city. A few hours of travel put you well into the night, and the city is mostly silent when you arrive, skeletons in tow - probably a good thing.
It may be useful to our case if you two still look like you just fought a wraith and nearly. On the othe hand, it would be a shame if you died.
Zazaria.
"You're no good to anyone deceased," Rufus confirms. "We can question Charlie and report what little he has to say. In the morning, we can meet and confer before court is in session."
Just ribbing Gur. Let us head back
You head back to the Lepidstadt courthouse, and the night guard on duty seems none too happy to see you as he stifles a yawn. Thankfully, he knows who you are, and the paperwork to get in is minimal. The defense is not here this late, so it's just you and Charlie, and the night guard, who watches from a distance.