Kawrock will keep his distance, glad that he doesn't have to approach another one of those fake stick people.
Wren holds up her hand, pausing the group for a moment.
"If you give me a moment," Wren asks, pulling out a book and opening up to a well marked page, "I'll prepare a spell to deal with this beast."
Wren puts her book away and draws her wand of acid arrow, her other hand is free. She indicates she is ready to move on.
"Twenty gold says th' wraith's hideout is around tha' scarecrow. "
Wren shakes her head.
"It would surprise me if the birds tolerated the undeath that is the wraith. They would not likely sup together, but I could be wrong."
"A pretty lady I once rescued from a horde of minotaurs told me crows have a tendency to hang around, what she referred to as, 'creepy ass s+*#'," Eldon shares while looking at the scarecrow and the birds.
"It wouldn't surprise me at all if that would turn out to be the case. Though even I, with all my knowledge, wisdom, intelligence and experience, cannot say for sure if what she said is true or false."
Arval halts the moment Wren told him so. After she is ready he steels himself and moves towards the scarecrow.
Lena scores a solid hit on the scarecrow. Some straw falls out. It otherwise does not seem to notice. Arval walks all the way up to it, and still it does nothing.
Kawrock hangs at the back of the group. "Hit it with something bigger.....or or set it on fire." The Tengu offers nervously.
Wren walks her way around the hill, looking for anything out of the extraordinary while the rest focus on the ordinary scarecrow.
Perception
Arval lets out a long sigh as nothing happens as he approaches the scarecrow.
"Now what?"
He asks sort of relieved.
Whiskeyjack stumped up the hill once it was clear that Arval wasn't finding anything. He began to look around for any signs of disturbance. "Look around. If'n this be th' hill, then there must be some kinda signs."
Kawrock will start looking for clues, as long as they don't take him near the scarecrow.
The group begin scouring the hillside, looking for some sign of the 'master wraith'. It begins to seem fruitless, when Wren suddenly vanishes with a shriek, plummeting through the grass!
You land somewhat inelegantly in a hard cave, which was completely obscured by the overgrown wheat crop. The area you're in is around around 20' by 20' with a passage leading southwest into the darkness. There is practically no light thanks to the growth over the cave entrance, but thanks to your elven eyes you can make out the immediate area at least.
It is here you discover to your horror that the dessicated, shrivelled corpses of four children lie in this cave. This faces are contorted into a final scream and it appears that their very lives have been sucked out of them. As you adjust to this horrific discovery, you hear a sound. Down the cave, to the southwest, you hear the droning of hornets. It gets louder and louder.
"My conversational partner!" Eldon exclaims as he runs over to the spot where Wren disappeared.
With a quick mumble and a wave of his hand Eldon summons four dancing lanterns, which he sends down the hole.
"Miss Wren, how are you doing?!" Eldon yells down the hole. "I hope you didn't land on that hurt ankle of yours?!"
Wren doesn't even bother to stand...her wits too slow to gather.
"Miss Wren, how are you doing?"
*squawk!* Wren answers before her senses come to her.
"I'm fine...but ooh...this...uh oh..." Wren replies, her voice getting more shrill. Her hands reach to her feathered armor, pulling out a soaring eagle's feather. She intones words of magic, unlocking the magic of the feather and using it to imbue herself with flight.
Wren ascends straight up 30' into the air (20' above the ground, I think), squawking and pointing at the cave that she bravely discovered.
"The children are down there...and...and...something comes!"
Like a gaily-coloured firework shooting into the sky, Wren explodes from the ground, almost bowling Eldon over as she nopes as fast out of the cave as possible. Wren now hovers 20' over the ground, pointing down at the cave.
The group distantly hears the drone of hornets from within the cave.
Arval's eyes widen at Wren and the sound of the hornets.
"That's bad... Real bad..."
He glances at Whiskey.
"Think your fire will work here?"
He says as he raises his shield, going all defensive.
Whiskeyjack shrugged. "Migh' as well give i' a go!" whiskeyjack reached out and touched Arval's blade, causing fire to spring from it once more. "This migh' help too." Whichkeyjack gripped Arval's shoulder and the young man felt a presence enter him, filling his mind with tactical options and maybe even a little prescience.
Watching Wren disappear then reappear with what sounds like hornets following causes the Tengu to shake his head. "Out of the bear trap and into the hornets nest." He clicks his tongue twice as he prepares for battle. "That's a human saying right? If not it should be."
Nothing emerges from the cave, although the drone of hornets gets a little louder before staying at a constant volume.
Wren squawks and squabbles, keeping away from the entrance of the cave. Stopping only to cast Light on a nearby stone so that others may see (not sure how late it is).
She doesn't have much more preparation, but waits 20' up and 20' away, watching and listening to the noise.
Wren bobs in the air, casting a quick cantrip as she keeps the hell away from whatever is in the cave.
After a minute or two passed Arval looks a bit doubtful to the others. He slowly makes his way to the edge of the hole and peers down to see what is happening down there.
Arval peers into the cave below, which is gaily lit by Eldon's dancing lights. He sees the dessicated bodies of four children on the floor, looking to have suffered the same fate as the man in the bear trap the group encountered earlier. A sickly sweet scent of decay wafts up, and the sound of hornets can be heard in the cave, from the south passage.
"If'n i' be th' wraith we be aftr, i' ain't gonna come ou' in th' daylight. We're either going t' have t' wai' until dark, or go in after th' ghoulie ourselves, Angradd guide us!"
Wren nods at the dwarf, flying down to pick up her lighted rock. She'll follow Jack and others as they move in.
"Can you fly too, Kawrock? Or are your feathers just for show?" Wren asks with friendly interest.
"For one that collects feathers you should know that they are for more then just flying, and no I can not fly in this form." Kawrock replies to Wren as he follows the group into the cave.
Eldon takes out his rope and ties it to the base of the scarecrow. He throws the other end into the hole and climbs down.
"Poor children," he says as the decaying bodies come into view. "They did not deserve this cruel fate..."
Kawrock takes in the remains of the children and does some quick calculating. "If Brodur was seen caring the corpse of his friend, and we count the body we found on the edge of the village. That means that there are at least six wraith spawn when you add these 4."
"Let's wait here for it to come out, better to surprise it than it to surprise us."
Arval replies as he takes a step back.
"Those children must have died a horrible death..."
As the group clamber down the rope into the cave and look over the bodies of the children, the buzzing sound of hornets, and scent of decay grows stronger. Eldon's dancing lights move a little southward, and finally the source of the noise is revealed.
A tempest of shadows given form, this wraith looks likd a cloud of glowing red eyes, with ghostly hornets buzzing among the dark shadows of his spectral body. The red eyes widen and shut, blinking and shifting along his form as he floats there. Beneath the drone of hornets the voices of countless children begin to sound out.
help me HeLp Me ple as e w on' t it's dark
it'scoldandwhereareyoutakingme
Lena (shield)
Eldon
---
Brother Swarm
---
Arval
Kawrock
Whiskeyjack
Wren (flying)
"Oh dear..."
Eldon coughs as he collects himself. He then takes a couple of steps forward and starts giving advice on how to defeat the wraith. "Lena, the magic you used earlier was very effective. You may want to use it again. Whiskey, could you use buffs to enhance Arval's blade again? Arval... Arval...? Ah, there you are. Why are you hiding behind me?"
"Everyone, do what we did earlier. The strategy I devised then worked out as perfect as I am! Meanwhile, let me inspire you with a tale about the time I fell down a hole much like this one. Except it was a rabbit hole, and I ended up in quite a different place..."
Lena casts her spell with a fury, and three pale darts fly across the cave, slamming into the wraith.
With astonishing speed, the wraith flies through the cave towards Eldon, and then reaches out to touch the halfling! Eldon feels the chilling hand of the undeath reach into his chest, sucking out his life force.
Arval
Kawrock
Whiskeyjack
Wren (flying)
---Round Two Starts---
Lena (shield)
Eldon (3 dmg, ? con drain)
---
Brother Swarm (11 dmg)
Whiskeyjack dropped down in with the rest of the team and once more lit Arval's sword on fire.
Arval walks forward, lifts his sword more for show than anything else and brings it down on the wraith.
"BEHOLD! MY FIERY SWORD!"
He yells as the sword connects.
Round 1, Init 10
Still flying, Wren hovers 10' up, trying to avoid the wraith (or keep others in front of her). She squawks, pulling a raptor's feather from her armor, unlocking the magics within. She sends 3 screaming force talons at the wraith.
She draws her wand of acid arrow.
HP: 31/31
AC: 17 (3 dex, 4 mage armor)
Arcane Bond: 0/1 used
Open spell slots: none
Left Hand: wand of acid
Right Hand: { }
Wand of Acid Arrow: 19 charges left
Kawrock casts a quick spell causing a ball of fire to appear on the wraith. "Hang in the Eldon, we'll have this thing taken care of in a moment."
Arval swings a mighty blow that would have instantly killed any man. Unfortunately, the only effect is a minor trickle of flame along the edge of the wraith. Wren's magic missiles fly in right after Lena's, hammering the wraith with more effect. Kawrock quickly conjures up a gigantic sphere of fire which bounces merrily on the floor. It tries to fly into the wraith, but the wraith manages to move out of the way just in time.
Lena (shield)
Eldon (3 dmg, ? con drain)
---
Brother Swarm (22 dmg)
---
Arval
Kawrock
Whiskeyjack
Wren (flying)
Eldon wobbles a couple of feet away from the wraith as he grabs hold of his head.
Is it just me, or is the air very thin here...?
While keeping up his story, Eldon focuses and tries to send his words into the enemy's mind. "So I asked the caterpillar with the silly hat if he could fabricate one for me, but he claimed he didn't have enough time and tea was to be had..."
Eldon quickly attempts a spell, but the undead mind of the wraith proves completely immune to it!
With Arval still in melee range, the wraith swipes out at him. The familiar icy grip of the wraith plunges into his chest. His skin pales. The cries of the children's souls consumed by the wraith continue to call out as the red eyes on it continue to shift, twist, and blink.
Arval (7 dmg, ? con drain)
Kawrock
Whiskeyjack
Wren (flying)
Lena (shield)
Eldon (3 dmg, 6 con drain)
---
Brother Swarm (22 dmg)
Kawrock drops his sword and places two closed fists together. After a few arcane words he slowly pulls them apart, revealing a blade made entirely of flame. Stepping forward he readies to attack the Wraith with his flame blade.
Arval turns completely white as the hand passes through him. He immediately steps back and throws up.
Whiskeyjack waded into the fray, swinging his magical ice warhammer. His blow lands true and the holy water comprising the hammer sizzles and pops as it connects with the wraith, though the
+
Another magic missile soars in, hammering hard into the wraith. It flails about as it is knocked directly into the flaming sphere, burning it terribly.
Finally, Whiskeyjack, empowered through his God, slams his warhammer into the wraith. A loud shriek fills the cavern as the wraith flies apart, the red eyes in it detaching and melting into the forms of pale white figures before flitting away. You hear whispered voices as the tormented spirits of Hergstag are given their rest.
thank you
End of Combat
Huddled in the corner Arval looks very pale and sickly.
"I feel so terrible..."
He groans against the wall.
"Wish there was something I could do right now, but that wraith touch is a nasty piece of work. Best to keep your distance if we find any spawn left in the area." Kawrock says as he heads deeper into the cave with his flame sword.