Belle steps up to Garrosh and casts mage armor on him. Brodin, Tony and Garrosh prepare to attack the creature once it emerges as Reynaud drops his sword and drags Agyen back from the wall.
And a moment passes...
Belle looks at his backpack and decides she likes it better right where she's at.
Tony stays steady as a rock before telling Brodin, "Yeah, but it's probably waiting for one of us to slip first. Be careful in reaching for it"
Garrosh continues on the ready, waiting for the creature to come out of its hiding place - "Well Reynaud? How is he?"
Not looking good. Maybe if he were younger and more spry...
I'm sorry my friend.
At Belle's balking he stands up.
I'll get it. Eyes peeled, friends.
for negative energy damage (hp)
1 = Reynaud, 2 = Tony
for negative energy damage (hp)
Garrosh, Tony and Brodin stand at the ready while Reynaud grabs the backpack from where it lay at Garrosh's feet. As he returns to his position in the brush, he notices movement from Agyen and turns back to see a black, shadowy form rising up from his dead companion.
"Wraith!!!", he yells out, but his companions are on it. Tony's dagger flashes in the firelight, as Brodin's arrows fly. Garrosh steps closer to the fire to be able to strike. The undead spawned from Agyen's corpse shrieks, and lunges at Reynaud. The bushes provide no cover against the undead creature and it rakes it's insubstantial hand down the warrior's arm, the flesh shriveling under it's touch.
While everyone's attention is focused on the newly spawned undead, the other slips from the wall from the south into the tree between Tony and Belle. It lunges at Belle after it is safe within its cover, reaching into the wizard's gut.
Belle's innards go ice cold as she feels her energy being sapped away.
I'm confused. I'm looking at the map and that is NOT where I moved her. She was not next to a tree. She was next to Brodin. Something is off here. The reason she went where she did was so that it could not hide in a tree after it attacked her.
She still lives and breathes, and runs!
"I need to get away from that thing!"
Garrosh steps to the side, and attacks the wraith coming from Agyen's body - "The bastards got Agyen!"
"Belle, get behind Brodin!"
Reynaud pulls out the holy water and dumps it on the wraith formerly known as Agyen.
Mid-Round Update
One of Brodin's arrow pases through Agyen's wraith, as does Grrosh's bardiche causing it to dissipate! Reynaud retrieves the holy water, but with nothing to strike at, he readies an action to splash the wraith in the tree.
Belle does NOT get behind Brodin. She would rather be the one who dies than anyone else. She simply steps back 5' and casts mage armor on herself.
Tony is desperate to end this quickly, before the rest of the crew dies on him. He watches where the original wraith passsed by into a tree, ready to strike.
As the wraith lunges out of the tree at Tony, Tonys blade flashes out again, slicing through the wraith and deep into the bark of the tree. But as the rogue attacks, the wraith plunges into the man's chest, continuing out the other side and back into the rock wall. Tony gasps as the numbing cold takes hold in his chest.
If Tony gets next to her at some point, Belle will cast Mage Armor on him, otherwise she goes into total defense and grabs a +4 (21) AC.
Garrosh moves over closer to Brodin and Belle, to offer them some protection, and readies to attack if the creature passes close to him, or tries to get to his companions.
Its just a breeze, Tony shouts out in his mind as the wraith charges through him.
He quickly spins around and to take another swipe out of the specter.
Preparing for the assault they knew was coming, the group consolidated closer together to aid in defending each other. Soon, enough, the wraith emerges, flying straight at Tony with an unearthly shriek. Brodin's two arrows pass directly through, and Tony's dagger flashes in the firelight, slashing through the dark shadow. With a final shriek, the creature dissipates, and the wilderness is quiet again.
The moments stretch into minutes as you wait for more assault, but none comes. After several minutes, you begin to relax, sheathing your weapons, and stoking the fire. None of you are really tired, so you stay up for a while. One by one, though, you drift off to fitful sleep full of unsettling dreams, leaving only one or two of you to stand guard for the rest of the night.
Morning dawns, and you break your fast quietly, talking over what your plans for the day are. One thing becomes rapidly apparent. The night's rest didn't do Belle or Reynaud any good. They are still feeling sickly. You estimate you are about a day's travel from the coastal road.
Garrosh looks around at the sullen group - "That was a harsh night if I ever had one" - he nods - "And Agyen took the brunt of it" - then at the covered form of their companion - "In the hardest way possible" - shaking his head.
"We are still here though, so we need to shake it off and remember what we are here to do" - the half orc adds with a low growl - "First, let me take a look at the lot of you"
"That should make things easier"(/B] - he is pleased with the spell effects on his companions - [b]"I can see you already recovering some color. Wraiths are nasty business, we did very well, all things considered"
Then sets himself to healing his companions.
I don't feel anything. It doesn't seem to have helped.
See Drain/Damage. I think we need restoration for this in which case we are screwed unless we sell some major item.
CLW Wand Belle = 9
With the rise of morning, Tony rises refreshed as he greets the morning sun. A deep belch rises from his gut, he takes a wiff.
Uggggh, never let a ghost travel through you again.
He turns to his bedraggled party, and then to Agyen's corps.
"Will we be burying this one too...", he trails off, not really talking to anyone.
"We will" - the half-orc nods, picking up Agyen's body once they are ready to move out - "Let's head back then"
Belle is back to her quiet mood. She hasn't doodled in a day. Always a bad sign.
Garrosh wraps Agyen's body in his cloak and picks it up. You head out for the coastal road to the northwest. The day passes uneventfully, and your journey starts to head downhill. About an hour before sunset, you see the road ahead of you, about a mile off. About a quarter mile south, the flicker of firelight catches your eye, and you spy what looks like a caravan stopped on the side of the road. They look to be establishing camp for the night.
Then the sleep will restore her last HP. Belle will cast False Life on herself before they enter the caravan site.
Belle also casts Mage Armor on herself.
After spells are cast, Garrosh turns to the others - "Ready to approach the caravan?"
If the answer is a positive one, he will lead them there, with a raised arm to make themselves noticed.
Tony stares at the caravan in delight.
"Yes, a hundred times yes. I could use a pint after the last couple of days."
Reynaud pulls his shield out and keeps near Belle, silent.
You approach the caravan. As you do, a lookout calls out and you see several guards scurrying to grab weapons and turn to face you. One calls out, "Halt! Who are you and what is your business here?" In civilized lands, the greeting would be out of place, but considering the closest town is 4 days distant through trackless, bandit-filled wilderness, and the legendary temple of Orcus lay less than 2 days to the east, You are very lucky they didn't shoot on sight.