Moving much faster due to Eostre's spell, it takes Evelyn no time at all to reach the farmhouse's front door.
"មិនដឹងថាមានអ្វីនៅទីនេះទេប៉ុន្តែសូមរកឱ្យឃើញ!" She places her hand on the handle and pulls the door wide open.
The sickly women follow the party into the house as the slavering of more ghouls draws near.
The inside of the farmhouse is even worse than the outside--the common room of the farmhouse could be better described as an abattoir. Mutilated human bodies lie strewn about the floor, some of them sitting propped up in the chairs around the central table like some demented tableau of a rural family dinner. The cutlery & dishes before the seated bodies are clean of blood & gore, but it does little to quell the reek of death in the air.
"Do you like my master's work, little morsel?" A rasping, wet voice asks from the stairway leading upstairs. Standing on the stairs is a gaunt, emaciated figure that resembles a ghoul, but with an ear missing and an odour that's even worse than the rank, coppery stench in the air. It's dressed in well-polished scale mail and some manner of holy symbol hangs around its neck, with a dark black cloak hanging from its shoulders. It points a finger at Evelyn and grins. "It's a good thing you arrived--I almost thought dinner would be cancelled."
"This is no ordinary ghoul, but a ghast...powerful." Ekan mutters to the others and in a clearer voice, "And she serves Norgorber, the many named-Blackfingers, the Reaper of Reputation, the Grey Master, and Father Skinsaw, an evil and foul god indeed. "
This ghoul's holy symbol is a pitch-black shield with a white starburst on it. You recognize this holy symbol as being one of Norgorber, the only evil god among the Ascended. He is known by many names--Blackfingers, the Reaper of Reputation, the Grey Master, and Father Skinsaw.
Once everyone's inside, Evelyn makes sure the front doors are closed behind them.
The creepy thing appears on the stairs and starts talking, but Evelyn has no idea what it's saying. Neither does she have a clue what the thing is, safe for creepy. Neither does she have an idea what Ekan's saying.
When the thing points a finger at her, Evelyn figures it won't bother the vulnerable women if she herself moves to the front. So, raising her buckler, Evelyn closes most of the distance between the undead and herself.
"អ្វីក៏ដោយដែលអ្នកមាននិងអ្វីដែលអ្នកកំពុងនិយាយអ្នកច្បាស់ជាគួរស្អប់ខ្ពើមដែលមិន គួរមាន!" she shouts defiant.
Raising her empty hand into the air and clenching it into a fist, Evelyn summons the positive energy within her. She brings her hand down like a hammer, pointing her index finger at the undead as the energy explodes from her body. "អំណាច Desna បង្ខំអ្នក! ចាប់ផ្តើម, ព្យុះ!"
Conner rocks his head from side to side, popping his neck. "Another day, another monster to cut down to size." He readies his shield and adjusts his grip on his sword.
Eostre tries to avoid vomiting at the sight of the common room.
"Why do our enemies insist on setting up art pieces like these?!" she exclaims in disgust. "It's not deep or thought-provoking! It's pretentious and disgusting!"
She collects herself and casts her screaming spell at the ghast.
The ghast blinks as Evelyn channels her divine energy before sneering at her. "គាត់បានប្រាប់ខ្ញុំជាច្រើន។ ការទាស់ទែងគ្នារបស់អ្នកគឺគ្រាន់តែជាផលិតផលនៃថាមពលនៃជីវិតប៉ុណ្ណោះ។ វាអាចត្រូវបានកែដំរូវ។."
"Wow, they just get uglier and uglier, don't they?" Nicat asks his companions. "Lucky us..." he adds dismissively, as he moves to one side to ensure a decent shot at the ghast.
The ghast cleric unlimbers his unholy symbol and points at Nicat & Conner. "Fall." He rumbles, and his unholy symbol ripples with black energy.
Nicat & Conner are suddenly compelled to fall face first to the floor--and in response, Eostre lets out a magically-enhanced shriek!
The ghast's ears start to profusely bleed and he hisses in pain, clapping his hands over his ears and reeling!
Seeing two of their best fighters, well, their best fighter and Nicat go down to their faces is a bit disturbing. Ekan strives forward with his kama and swings hoping to act as a barrier between the spell casters and this unholy creature.
He says in Aklo, realizing that Evelyn understood not a word,
Evelyn seems thoroughly confused by Ekan's words. "នោះហើយជានាង?!"
She takes another look at the thing on the stairs and blinks twice.
"នរណាខ្វល់ខ្វាយ?" វាបានស្លាប់អ្នកនឹងមិនអាចដឹងបានទេព្រោះផ្នែករបស់វាត្រូវបានរលាយ! " Eostre replies.
The ghast cleric flinches when Ekan's kama gets past its guard and wobbles, groaning from the pain in its head.
"We've got it on the ropes! Keep it up!" Eostre says. Then she stops and facepalms.
"យើងមានវានៅលើខ្សែពួរហើយទុកវាឡើង!" she repeats in Aklo for Evelyn's benefit, an embarrassed look on her face.
Evelyn casts a powerful cure spell and holds it, her free hand now brimming with a bright green light. She moves up to the undead, circling Ekan to avoid provoking an attack, and tries to touch it to deliver the spell.
The ghast flinches as Evelyn touches it, but her divine magic doesn't seem to have taken as firm a hold as she hoped. It growls and shakes its head, shaking off it's dazed state.
Nicat grunts in frustration at finding himself on the floor, scrambling to his feet as he says, "You got lucky there, but Lady Luck always smiles on us!" He nocks and looses an arrow at the ghast!
"You don't get off that easy!" Eostre barks, before casting the screaming spell a second time.
The ghast hisses when Nicat's arrow strikes its knee, but it appears to be ready for Eostre's screaming spell this time. It blinks, but stands tall.
Conner heaves himself up, annoyed he keeps having to deal with magic like this, and advances on the...ghast, they said? Better get it's attention away from the others. He brings his sword down on it, hoping to at least draw it's focus.
Conner forces himself to his feet and advances on the ghast, who sneers at him.
Ekan tries once more a blur of striking, "Fall...Fall"
Ekan punches and punches, but to no avail. His last punch almost connects with the ghast's face, but it tilts its head to the side.
"Go ahead and kill me. I have delivered my message--and then some." The ghast growls before its unholy symbol turns a deep black. The room becomes much colder, and a burst of black, ice-cold power erupts from it!
The two afflicted women with the party shriek and sob in pain as their flesh blisters & cracks, and their cries of agony turn to choking and gurgling as they both collapse to the floor, blood pooling beneath them.
Eostre screams and doubles over in pain.
Evelyn clenches her teeth and takes in the pain, both hers and that of her allies.
As the women behind them crumble, Ekan cries out.
Eostre turns to where Ekan is looking as the pain fades and begins screaming anew, this time in horror.
Evelyn clenches her teeth and takes in the pain, both hers and that of her allies. To enable herself to take one more such hit, or worse, she weaves a cure spell that heals most of her own wounds.
The ghast chuckles, then snarls and lunges at Evelyn! Its claws turn a dead, flat black, and a chill sweeps into the room...
...and Evelyn is able to leap back in time.
Curiously, the noise outside has died down.
"NO YOU BLOODY DON'T!!!" Eostre screeches at the ghast as she launches a telekinetic fist at it.
The telekinetic punch strikes the ghast in its outstretched arm, and there's a violent *CRACK* of bones breaking as the limb is suddenly wrenched to the side. It hangs limply at its side, and the undead priest stares at the broken limb.
Finally able to fight this damned this, Conner brings his sword down hard in a diagonal swipe
Fury fills Ekan and he strikes another set of blows, but this time unable to mask his outrage
None of Conner's or Ekan's strikes land on the ghast--what blows it doesn't dodge it lets impact on its pitch black armour.
Nicat aims a shot and fires!
The arrow lodges itself in the ghast's eye, and sticks its corpse to the wall.
"Evelyn! Help these girls, quick!" Eostre says in a panic.
When Evelyn does so, Eostre turns to Nicat.
"That was a good shot."
Evelyn positions herself in the middle of everyone present and focuses, channeling a wave of positive energy that engulfs and heals all living creatures present inside the room.
She hurries over to the two women and inspects them.
The two women gasp for air as Evelyn's healing energy closes their blisters and heals their wounds. "Oh, Desna's tears, that was horrible!" Katarina cries as she sits up.
The ghast priest was carrying:
--1 suit of masterwork chainmail
--1 silver unholy symbol of Norgorber
--1 green potion
--1 ochre potion
--1 black cloak
--2 rolled up slips of paper.
Evelyn placed a hand on Katarina's shoulder. "It was, but don't fret. We'll get you to safety and make sure you'll recover from your disease."
"Not sure what the green potion and cloak do, but the ochre potion's one of magic fang. Ekan, you should take it. It will enhance your unarmed strikes with magic, for a limited time." Evelyn holds out the potion to him. "It may prove useful versus some foes."
Evelyn takes the slips of paper and unrolls them, curious to learn if anything's written on them.
The slips of paper are spattered with old blood, but the writing on them can still be understood.
TAKE THE FEVER INTO YOU, MY LOVE. IT SHALL BE BUT THE FIRST OF MY GIFTS TO YOU.
More blood. More ashes. More 'innocents' you could not save. A taste of the fate we have in store for you.
Evelyn shows the notes to the others. "Sick and twisted, like the previous messages..."
"Shall we check outside, to see why the sounds have stopped? I'm really curious about the rest of the undead. Or worried, rather."