Tolvan casts Protection from Evil and moves forward quickly to deliver it to Anna.
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The ghostly creature locked eyes with Anna and time seemed to slow. She saw its rage, its feral malevolence in those eyes that threatened to overwhelm her. She fought -- it wanted inside but she resisted at first. The bestial fury battered against her mind, yet she pushed it back. Fear, she was familiar with, but rage? She rarely lost her cool and preferred staying clear-headed in combat. It was working, until she heard a familiar voice in the animal snarls. Professor Lorrimor? she thought. A small lamp, the one he lit every time to start his lectures, the one she pocketed before leaving his estate, appeared in her vision. It was lit, with a small, red flame.
Suddenly, that red flame was everywhere, inside her mind. She heard fierce howling echoing everywhere. It hurt her head, and she wanted to make it stop, to cover her ears, but her whole world was snarling, red-rimmed with rage.
She lashes out at a shape moving toward her, all the while that horrible bestial howl ringing in her ears, tinting everything red and black. She sees its throat and wants it torn out, hot blood gushing into her mouth. She launches at it
Then with a gentle touch the raging, howling fire retreats into the lamp inside her. She blinks in the deafening silence that follows and looks up at Tolvan, bleeding. She tastes coppery wetness in her mouth and shudders.
"Oh, gods."
Anna's back arches as her head snaps backwards. She screams silently as the vilkacis pours from eyes and mouth. In an instant, it is floating over the table next to her and Oathar.
It turns its gaze on the paladin, its face dripping with Tolvan's blood. The spectre locks gazes with him...
For a moment it tries to work its will with Oathar, but is rejected by the man's faith. It screams in frustration and rage, claws flexing with deadly intent.
Oathar incensed that this thing would try and possess him launches a series of quick attacks:
Just like that, it was out of her. Whatever had forced it away had made it leave her. She wanted to scream, cry and find someplace safe to crawl away, but she couldn't let it happen to anyone else. She saw it rebound from Oathar, and suddenly a real fear that it would go after Tolvan next. She scoops up her mithril dagger and jumps on top of the table behind the apparition and slashes at it furiously.
[dice=Monster Lore(Ex) on vilkacis weakness (other than silver) and pssoession ability]1d20+14
The silversheen on Oathar's greatsword and Anna's mithril dagger seem to be particularly potent against this creature. It howls in agony as they assault the apparition.
Writhing and twisting in pain, the vilkacis fails to avoid the attacks from Oathar and Anna. With a final howl of rage, it fades to nothing.
Tolvan is surprised by Anna's quick response to his touch and fails to get away without receiving a serious bite. Holding one hand to his collar bone where he bleeds he prepares to cast Magic Missiles but he creature is felled before he can act.
He shoots Anna a reassuring look that seems to say all is well and maybe even "I always wanted a mark on my body from you." After the briefest of moments the relief of the creature's departure flees from Tolvan's face and he reminds We still face Estovion. I believe he either teleported or dimension doored away.
Danica interrupts the love scene by Tolvan and Anna. "This is not the end of the creature. A person bitten by a vilkacis or by one possessed by a vilkacis can be afflicted by lycanthropy. Also, the only way to truly destroy a vilkacis is to destroy the canopic stone associated with the creature. Otherwise, it will restore itself at the point where it was created within 48 hours. This creature will return." Danica looks at Tolvan's bite mark with suspicion.
[dice=Monster Lore(Ex) on vilkacis weakness (other than silver) and pssoession ability]1d20+14
** spoiler omitted **
Tolvan touches the bite again. Kimberly, can you look at it and perhaps treat it? Can you tell if I have been infected?
Though it felt like she was swinging at nothing, the creature was clearly harmed by her dagger. When it faded after her and Oathar's attacks, she looks pleadingly to Tolvan. He was trying to reassure her, clearly, but she still had the taste of his blood in her mouth.
She crosses the floor and hugs him fiercely. "I'm so, so sorry! I couldn't-- It was too strong!" she pleads, voice muffled by his clothing.
When Danica says more about the vilkacis, she looks up at Tolvan, horrified. "Oh, NO!" she shrieks, turning to look at Danica. She immediately turns back to Tolvan and puts her hand on his wound. "Oh, no, nonononono," she mutters over and over.
She sees Kimberly approaching. "Please, help him! I didn't mean to!"
[dice=Monster Lore(Ex) on vilkacis weakness (other than silver) and pssoession ability]1d20+14
** spoiler omitted **
Kimberly finally makes her way up the stairs. after stumbling and practically getting bowled over by the big folks. (well not actually)
it doesn't take long when both Tolvan and Anna start are all over her for help.
Anna does not seem injured, so she turns to Tolvan. alright, alright, sit down. she instructs him.
Kimbery looks over the wound. on the surface it seems pretty superficial. pulling out a small box she opens it and starts pulling out some bandages and ointments and sets to work on her patient.
"Any ideas where we might find this stone to destroy it?"
Anna steps back and lets Kimberly look at Tolvan's wound, heart in her throat. When Oathar speaks, she looks at him, and her face hardens. She picks up her mithril dagger and draws her thumb along its edge. A deadly look is in her eyes when she says, "Yeah, Estovion. I'm going to enjoy getting answers out of him. And he's got a lot to answer for."
While being treated Tolvan has a hard time holding still and casts Detect Magic to completely scan the office. Someone go out to see if Estovion is perhaps in the yard or stable. He suggests. I suspect he did not go far.
While being treated Tolvan has a hard time holding still and casts Detect Magic to completely scan the office. Someone go out to see if Estovion is perhaps in the yard or stable. He suggests. I suspect he did not go far.
After some thought, your pooled knowledge would tell you that a canopic stone is created by someone who wishes to summon and control a vilkacis. It generally requires a focus point for the summoning, a place of power, a place that would be associated with the moon. If the vilkacis were to re-manifest - which it will - it would be at this place.
Danica assists Tolvan in looking for the canopic stone by casting Detect Magic; looking within the room. Also, she begins to look around in the office; desk, shelves, etc.
While being treated Tolvan has a hard time holding still and casts Detect Magic to completely scan the office. Someone go out to see if Estovion is perhaps in the yard or stable. He suggests. I suspect he did not go far.
Anna gets a far-off look in her eyes. "Stairs."
She blinks and looks at Tolvan. She scratches her arm, the memory of hastily scritching notes from the Warden's journal coming to her. "The Whispering Way attacked the Stairs. Estovion found a spirit at the Stairs. There's supposedly a shrine to Desna in the Shudderwood called the Stairs of the Moon."
She hoped it was simple deduction. She hoped it was just piecing together clues that they had uncovered. She really hoped it wasn't some link with the Vilkacis that still remained. But she was sure Estovion was going there. "That's where he'll be."
Danica assists Tolvan in looking for the canopic stone by casting Detect Magic; looking within the room. Also, she begins to look around in the office; desk, shelves, etc.
[dice=Perception, Searching the office]1d20+18
There is no sign of the stone, or anything that would seem to be a canopic stone.
She blinks and looks at Tolvan. She scratches her arm, the memory of hastily scritching notes from the Warden's journal coming to her. "The Whispering Way attacked the Stairs. Estovion found a spirit at the Stairs. There's supposedly a shrine to Desna in the Shudderwood called the Stairs of the Moon."
She hoped it was simple deduction. She hoped it was just piecing together clues that they had uncovered. She really hoped it wasn't some link with the Vilkacis that still remained. But she was sure Estovion was going there. "That's where he'll be."
"Let is ride to the stair then. To horse!"
Kimberly finishes off binding Tolvan's wound. I don't see any signs of infection, but I would like to keep an eye on it for a few days, just in case.
she lays her small hand on the wound, with a gentle touch her hand glows with a slight black light.
"There is nothing left here to do. I'll trust your intuition Anna. Off to the "Stairs". If we have time I'd like to question that gnome of a servant to Estovion. He reeks of the same evil. Danica moves down the stairs, with purpose, hoping that they can lay to rest the beast-like spirit. Her mind and spirit is heavy as she ponders if her mage friend is infected with lycanthropy.
Kimberly, perhaps you should use this Belladona to treat me like I do have the condition. I seem to recall the sooner the treatment begins after exposure the better it will work.
Anna presses a hand to her head, suddenly feeling weary. "Even if I'm right, we still need to find out where the Stairs are. And I like the idea of talking to Belik first, and making sure Tolvan is okay." She sheathes her dagger and draws close to the wizard.
"If your right about not seeing that thing for 48 hours, then we have a little time. We should travel through the forest during the day."
It doesn't take long to find local maps in the reading part of the library. While you are searching a commotion breaks out in the hall. Apparently the bodies of the guards have been found where they fell. Voices start out hushed, but soon begin to raise in volume. Demands for Belik and Estovion can be heard from the other side of the door.
"Shall we let them in?"
Before Danica gets a response from her friends she begins to cast Detect Evil directing it through and past the door.
Tolvan tucks the appropriate maps into his robes and responds Better have our story strait before we do. The truth? He shoots Anna a smile, knowing that she is likely to object on principle.
Anna is unable to muster her usual sarcasm, so her words come out bitter and haunted. "They already think I slaughtered the Margrave. So why not tell the truth that I got possessed by a werewolf?"