Vala strides into the house, determined that the evil that lingers here in the form of a ruined mockery of childhood be put to rest.
Success
WHite light fills the wraith when she lays a hand upon it and though it shivers as if caught by a sudden chill, the blackness once again returns.
Zed raises his hand and fires a bolt of positive energy at the wraith!
Vala (got it out for you for some reason)
and
Fail
The small shadow stamps it's foot as if in a terrible tantrum and sweeps it's hand through Vala, chilling her to the soul!
It then scampers away through the wall to the west.
Seeing the wraithling begin a retreat, Vermundr brings his blade around for a second blow.
Constantin unleashes his blast of mental energy.
(DC 15 Will save for half)
Vermundr slashes out at the shadow child and tears a strip of black flame from it but it manages to scamper away and through the wall of the ruined house. There it encounters the rest of the group and, nerves on edge from the earlier encounter Constantin stands ready.
As the wraith-spawn appears through the wall the psychic reaches out with his mind, sending a spear of pure mental energy lancing through the thing which explodes once again in a burst of black hornets that drift away on the breeze.
"I have a feeling that there will be more."
"Four more", Vermundr says returning to the rest of the group. "Let's hope they don't try attacking - or 'playing' with us - all at once."
"Indeed. I can try the spell to hide us from them again, but it's inconsistent against intelligent undead."
Vala shakes her head, "No, not hurt at all. Slightly short of breath, perhaps, but not injured in the slightest. If I didn't see those wraiths actually touch me, I wouldn't even know they had." Though Vala seemingly bears no mark upon her flesh where the chilling undead have grabbed her, the color in her cheeks is gone and a pallor seems to be settling over her.
HP: 22/22 (max reduced by 5 due to Con drain)
Negative Energy Resist 5
AC: 14 (10 T / 14 FF)
CMD: 13
F/R/W: +3/+1/+8 (+2 vs death effects, energy drain, negative energy, & necromancy)
Monstrous Insight used: 1/7
Wand of CLW: 14/50 remaining
Healing Hex targets:
Current Wandering Spirit: Life
Channel Energy (3d6) used: 0/5
Prepared spells
Orisons (4) | DC 14: dancing lights, disrupt undead, identify, read magic
Level 1 spells (3+1+1*) | DC 15: inflict light wounds [ ], know the enemy* [ ], magic missile [ ] [ ], produce flame (CL7) [ ]
Level 2 spells (2+1+1*) | DC 16: glitterdust [ ], lesser restoration* [ ] [ ], spiritual weapon [ ]
Level 3 spells (1+1+1*) | DC 17: lightning bolt [ ], locate object* [ ], speak with dead [ ]
Ongoing Effects
Con damage: 2
"Four more", Vermundr says returning to the rest of the group. "Let's hope they don't try attacking - or 'playing' with us - all at once."
Vermundr's words are almost prophetic - much to the group's dismay.
From out of the darkness of one corner another wraith-spawn appears this time rushing toward the warrior. It glides through the wall of the house without hesitation and skates along the floor as if it were on ice before reaching out and draining some of the northerner's vitality.
Confirmed
and
As it does so it does something neither of the others had, it unleashes a horrific screech almost so high it pierces your eardrums. One of the old panes cracks in the windowframe and the shriek echoes across the valley.
That is not good! Kazamir thinks as the wraith-child's shriek echoes through the abandoned town.
Then his thoughts harden, and he sends a volley of magic missiles at the wraith attacking Vermundr.
Kazamir's hail of psychic force blows clean holes in the small shadow. He has hardened himself against the thought that these were once children - and all the better that he had.
As the shrieking wraith jerks with each impact of Kaz's magics, Vala slips up beside Vermundr and reaches out for the creature as well.
HP: 22/22 (max reduced by 5 due to Con drain)
Negative Energy Resist 5
AC: 14 (10 T / 14 FF)
CMD: 13
F/R/W: +3/+1/+8 (+2 vs death effects, energy drain, negative energy, & necromancy) (-1 fort due to Con drain)
Monstrous Insight used: 1/7
Wand of CLW: 14/50 remaining
Healing Hex targets:
Current Wandering Spirit: Life
Channel Energy (3d6) used: 0/5
Prepared spells
Orisons (4) | DC 14: dancing lights, disrupt undead, identify, read magic
Level 1 spells (3+1+1*) | DC 15: inflict light wounds [ ], know the enemy* [ ], magic missile [ ] [ ], produce flame (CL7) [ ]
Level 2 spells (2+1+1*) | DC 16: glitterdust [ ], lesser restoration* [ ] [ ], spiritual weapon [ ]
Level 3 spells (1+1+1*) | DC 17: lightning bolt [ ], locate object* [ ], speak with dead [ ]
Ongoing Effects
Con drain: 2
Constantin lashes out with another ghostly mental blast at the screaming horror.
(Will save DC 15 for half)
Vermundr groans in pain before winding up for another uppercut with his two-handed blade.
Zed growls. This is going to be a long fight. He fires another bolt of energy.
Success
Fail
The wraith spawn howls with every strike the group lands. Vermundr's uppercut slash cuts into it whilst Kazamir and Constantin blast it with mental force. Vala's light once again engulfs it but though the black flames sputter, they still burn.
Miss
More cautious now, Vermundr dodges aside from the shadow's cold grasp.
.........
Something catches Kazamir's keen attention through the cracked window of the ruined house and he spins on his heel, the boards creaking loudly beneath his feet.
In the rising moonlight he can see another small child-shaped shadow scampering from pool of darkness to pool of darkness - headed toward the house. But it is the shape on the hill south of the village that draws his gaze and strikes terror into his heart. A mass of hundreds of what appear to be red eyes, surrounded by writhing black smoke and a cloud of wispy flying insects that swarm around the thing.
Every one of it's red eyes fix upon the detective at once and with terrifying speed and deliberate purpose, it barrels straight toward him!
Kazamir tears his eyes away from the oncoming...swarm?...and pulls a flask of holy water from his coat. Pulling the cork, he steps toward the wraith-child they are fighting and tries to splash it.
"Another child approaches....and something else. Their master, I assume, but it is like nothing I have seen or heard of!"
At Kaz's warning, Vala frowns. Turning to Zed, she hurriedly offers, "Zed, if we find ourselves surrounded, you may want to try to keep some distance between the two of us. I don't want to hurt you while I'm trying to hurt these cruel mockeries." As she shares her worries, she brings a bit of her restorative touch to bear for Vermundr's sake.
HP: 22/22 (max reduced by 5 due to Con drain)
Negative Energy Resist 5
AC: 14 (10 T / 14 FF)
CMD: 13
F/R/W: +3/+1/+8 (+2 vs death effects, energy drain, negative energy, & necromancy) (-1 fort due to Con drain)
Monstrous Insight used: 1/7
Wand of CLW: 14/50 remaining
Healing Hex targets: Vermundr
Current Wandering Spirit: Life
Channel Energy (3d6) used: 0/5
Prepared spells
Orisons (4) | DC 14: dancing lights, disrupt undead, identify, read magic
Level 1 spells (3+1+1*) | DC 15: inflict light wounds [ ], know the enemy* [ ], magic missile [ ] [ ], produce flame (CL7) [ ]
Level 2 spells (2+1+1*) | DC 16: glitterdust [ ], lesser restoration* [ ] [ ], spiritual weapon [ ]
Level 3 spells (1+1+1*) | DC 17: lightning bolt [ ], locate object* [ ], speak with dead [ ]
Ongoing Effects
Con drain: 2
Vermundr performs protective sign, conjuring a small disk of protective force.
"Do we know anything about their master?" he asks as Vala mends the blackened flesh left behind by the wraithling's touch.
Constantin sends out more darts of etheric force into the current threat and says, "Whatever it is, it is no doubt evil and dangerous, and if it killed these children, we must persevere and find a way to stop it!"
"It's also the only thing keeping these smaller wraiths weak. If that larger devil is undone, any wraiths it spawned will grow in power and willfulness!"
This horrific creature is a true Wraith. Wraiths are undead creatures born of evil and darkness. They hate light and living things, as they have lost much of their connection to their former lives.
They are incorporeal and their mere touch is deadly, draining a victim's vitality in seconds (1d6 con drain) and can detect life all around it as easily as if it could see them (Lifesense)
Vermundr's blade makes a sound like it is cutting cloth as it sweeps through the wraith spawn and Constantin's volley of missiles blast the thing into smoke.
Zed gives a grim nod. "I'll keep that in mind. But if you must channel, do it. I can take care of myself." Zed moves to slip into the shadows to ambush the oncoming threat.
"It's their master - their murderer," Kazamir hisses over the fading shriek of the undead child, "The true wraith!" he points at the swarm of eyes.
Very deliberately not looking at Zed, he says "They can sense the life as keenly as sight...but I do not know if their senses will catch all of us"
The shadow child disappears from sight for a moment as it dashes between an overturned wheelbarrow and through a patch of grass left to grow unhindered in the months since this place was abandoned.
Then it comes drifting through the wall of the farmhouse as easily as if it were not there at all and tries to lay a hand on Hazel.
Hit
and
The weakness washes over her immediately, as if she had walked ten miles in an instant.
The storm of eyes drifts across the distance between it and the party in mere moments, it's advance silent and terrifying. And then suddenly it is there. The sound of it's eldritch hand snaking out is like wind on dead leaves and it strikes out at Zed as though the Inquisitor were not hidden at all.
and
Fail
Zed too feels a brush with death, his vitality draining away. He has a shocking thought that this must be how true vampires feel when bereft of the blood of their victims and even that tiny pang of empathy sickens him more than the wraith,
Kazamir sends another volley of magic missiles at the wraithspawn.
Zed steps away from the wall and taps his tetsubo on the ground. Your attacks won't work on me, creature. This is your final hour. Zed crooks his fingers, palm glowing white.
As the larger, hideous wraith rushes into their midst, Vala calls out for Petros' aid again. A moment later, his shimmering swordcane pops into existence just behind the smaller wraith. It bobs in the air once, as if offering a respectful salute before a fencing match, then darts forward in a rapid advance.
HP: 28/28 (max reduced by 5 due to Con drain)
Negative Energy Resist 5
AC: 14 (10 T / 14 FF)
CMD: 13
F/R/W: +3/+1/+8 (+2 vs death effects, energy drain, negative energy, & necromancy) (-1 fort due to Con drain)
Monstrous Insight used: 1/7
Wand of CLW: 14/50 remaining
Healing Hex targets: Vermundr
Current Wandering Spirit: Life
Channel Energy (3d6) used: 0/5
Prepared spells
Orisons (4) | DC 14: dancing lights, disrupt undead, identify, read magic
Level 1 spells (3+1+1*) | DC 15: inflict light wounds [ ], know the enemy* [ ], magic missile [ ] [ ], produce flame (CL7) [ ]
Level 2 spells (2+1+1*) | DC 16: glitterdust [ ], lesser restoration* [ ] [ ], spiritual weapon [ ]
Level 3 spells (1+1+1*) | DC 17: lightning bolt [ ], locate object* [ ], speak with dead [ ]
Ongoing Effects
Con drain: 2
spiritual weapon: 1/5 rounds)
Constantin moves to stay near Kaz (F7) while launching another set of psychic bolts into the wraith-child by Hazel.
Wordlessly Vermundr steps forward to join Hazel's attack.
Zelda buzzes erratically overhead, looking for signs of additional threats.