"Talmore!" Leo stares at the image of his fallen master and brings his shield up to protect Sir Lawrens. "Sir Talmore, cousin, it's me. Leofric! Your squire!"
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Back in the tavern, Deerslicer says to Gracie, "Don't know why d'ose guys are out d'ere stumblin' 'round in da dark cause o' some crazy ole knight guy. We goblins, we know how to deal wit' da crazies. Got lots o' dem. You don't go round treatin' 'em like da stuff dey seein' is real. You just whacky 'em on da head a few times, til d'ey shut up 'bout it."
Gracie blinks at Deerslicer and then licks his face.
Simon recognize the creature as a ghost. The ghost is an ordinary person who believes they died unjustly, usually due to foul play or betrayal.
He knows that such creature can stray only a short distance from where it was killed or the place it haunts. A typical limit is 120 feet. Some ghosts are instead bound to a room, building, item, or creature that was special to it rather than a location.
As an undead creature, Simon also knows that it's susceptible to positive energy and that magic weapon are more efficient against such particuliar creature.
Leofric have no idea in what his cousin have been transformed into!
"Clench your buttocks! This is going to be a challenge, but we've been challenged before!" Gamble encourages the others. "Now, if there are any other spirits in this house who might want to pitch in and help us out, we would be very appreciative."
He makes an arcane sign with his left hand. Then various unattended objects around the room begin flinging themselves at the ghost.
"Oh, watch out. They don't have the most discerning aim," he cautions.
As his comrades take defensive action, Gamble prefer the offense! After encouraging his comrade in the fight to come, he cast a spell.
Then, debris from all over the place hover in the air, then hurl themselves at the ghost in a chaotic flurry!
But the ghost avoid most of them and the rest don't seems to affect him. With his dead absent eyes he looks down at each of you and open his mouth.
A long, senseless moan get out of his mouth, stopping the sobbing of Sir Krent who covered in fear and filling the heart of the others with despair.
Then he flies toward the impudent who attack him and strike whit his ghostly hand, hitting the impudent who dares to attack him!
Leofric moves to try to interpose himself between his former master and his allies. "Sir Talmore! Cousin!" he barks trying desperately to hide the fear he has for the image of his kinsman. "How do we help you? Are you stuck outside the boneyard? Do you yet live? How do I save you?"
Unwilling to strike at his teacher, Leofric raises his shield and offers a silent prayer to Iomedae through the wooden holy symbol Talmore had bade him to carve during their journey north to what was Lastwall.
"M'lords! How do we help him?"
As Leofric's body starts to shake from the dreadful moan, he remembers clearly the voice of Sir Arthur Lake, his teacher in religion class in Vigil. The only way to put to rest a ghost for good, is to know his story and why he has transformed in such pitiful creature. For example, If he was betrayed by someone dear to him, then, the betrayer must, alone, apologize truthfully for what he did to the ghost. Only then the ghost will find peace and his soul will be able to be judged by Pharasma...
Simon knows that ghost are resistant to all damages, but even more to non magical ones.
"Ah! That's a wicked sting!" Gamble laments as the ghost's hand passes through him. He draws his sword and slowly moves around to flank the apparition. "It is a cruel realization that Sinan would have no problem laying this soul to rest."
@Simon
Simon, too shaken by the what's happening, is unable to understand what the ghost want.
Sir Talmore doesn't answer Simon's question and continues to attack the one who dares to attack him, Gamble. The ghost attacks three time but only his first one connects and takes a little more of the Ulfen's life.
"Urgh! That's taking a toll," Gamble says with a pained expression.
Anger in his eyes at the recognition of Sir Arthur's lessons, Leofric turns to Krent and pushes the older knight against the wall to pin him.
"By the Inheritor, Sir Lawrens, what did you do? For Talmore to haunt you , and this place... it means you are somehow at fault! WHAT DID YOU DO?"
He raises his shield to protect them both from Talmore as he waits for Krent's answer.
Gamble steps around the ghost with a glance at Leofric's rough interrogation. He hums a tune and gestures over his heart with his free hand and then asks, "Is that the most efficient way to solve this?"
Simon realized that having no body, ghost are not subject to precision damage and both his dagger and his rapier do no damages.
Sir Krent lets Leofric pin him on the wall but the squire gets only sobs as answers! But may be he remembers the story the Knight said after Gamble's song in the inn?
Then Gamble is happy to realized that ghost knight doesn't have kept their fighter's reflexes and no attack came from the cast of his spell.
"Good plan."
The squire looks to the assembled for a small moment. "Go, and drag Sir Lawren with you. I'll get the bag. I don't believe my cousin's spirit will kill me in earnest."
Leofric darts toward the discarded backpack, doubtless filled with wine and hardtack that they left in their haste to leave the first night.
As Leofric and Simon decide for a retreat, Sir Talmore continues to attack Gamble.
This time the Ulfen is not that lucky and the ghost hits him hard!
"Well, this was ill-fated," Gamble acknowledges as he retreats out the back of the house . Once on the outside, he speaks a quick rhyme and shields himself just in case.
With Simon's counsel, Leofric changes direction to pull Sir Lawren from the dilapidated house.
"We'll figure this out, Sir Talmore. he calls out to the spirit of his cousin as they make their leave.
The ghost of Sir Talmore doesn't pursue the adventurers!
Finding the others on the other side of the house, Gamble suggests, "Perhaps we should find more arcane or spiritual help."
"He abandoned him in battle to hide, which likely contributed to Talmore falling in battle. At least in Talmore's eyes," Gamble reminds Simon.
"Sir Lawren, Answer these men. If Talmore is somehow not in the boneyard, we must find a way to help him get there. Otherwise, you will never be free of his burden."
"I'm not sure how you're going to convince the ghost to work with Sir Krent," Gamble wonders. "And my illusions won't fool a ghost, either. I don't think any of us should be volunteering for the role of monster."
Sir Krent, starts shaking for head to toe and says Need a drink... and you need to help him gets on his feet as you walk back to Feedmil.
For the time, Sir Krent says nothing, only whispering I'm so sorry Talmore, I'm so sorry...
As you walk back, you try to understand what happened and how to deal with Talmore's ghost.
As you recapitulate the facts you know:
- Sir Krent left Sir Talmore fighting alone the undead and certainly took an object to remember him after he left his body on the battlefield
- Leofric has remembered a way to free the spirit of a ghost.
Leo still remembers about how to put it to rest, but hasn't been able to put it together specifically to what Krent might have taken. He knows full well that Krent is to blame somehow, but he's a little too flustered to make hide nor hair of it.
"No drinks, Sir Lawren. I need you to have your wits so we can make sense of this. There has to be a way to free you of Sir Talmore."
The wizard steeples his hands, tapping his index fingers together. "These poor spirits are bound by emotion, correct? The weight of an offense against them, or an offense that they committed, that does not allow them to pass on to Pharasma's judgment? It seems to me that Sir Lawren must ask the ghost to forgive him, without anyone else present."
As the companions have returned to the Feedmil and talk together of the recent event with Sir Talmore's ghost, Elendyr, the newcomer, is able to formulate a solution of Sir Krent's "problem".
In the meantime, Sir Krent have returned to his routine, and sat at one of the Feedmil's table, drinking turnip's beer after turnip's beer... mumbling They are here, here! Oh Talmore, I'm so, so sorry. Here! They are here! Following us! We need to fight them back!
What will they do?
Frightened by Simon's words, Sir Krent falls on his knees, begins to cry and lament on himself.
Sorry! I'm so sorry my dear friend Talmore. Please, please, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!
All the patrons starts looking at the scene.
Elendyr addresses the onlookers. "Come, haven't you seen a man saddened by drink before? Be of good cheer, and show him how it is done." He signals the barkeep. "A round of drinks on me!"
"Again, I am not certain browbeating him into an apology will work," Gamble says. "If you terrorize him too much, I fear he will just slink away to one of the abandoned homes and leave the town haunted."