Wraith Inn (Part 2)
The bar is still smoking slightly, though it's damp now with the water that Merek summoned. No, it's not going to catch fire again, but it looks much the worse for wear. You don't have time to worry about that though; or the fact that the surprise on the innkeeper's face is growing quickly into ire. You have someone else to save from these strange incorporeal elves. You move fast out of the inn and toward the Crofter's farm. It seems to take far too long, but you know you're only moments behind the thing.
You reach the farm as quickly as you can and head immediately to the house that stands on the property. You knock on the door, but there's no response from inside. Furthermore, the door to the house is surprisingly locked.
GAME: Murder rolls strength: (1)+2: 3 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Merek rolls strength: (8)+1: 9
Walery looks up at the call to go to the neighbors' house, and he'll scramble out to chase after the wraith. At the front door, he looks alarmed at finding it locked, and looks around for another way in. Windows, or like that?
The Gobbo rushes up to the door of the place, and tugs on the handle, huffing in frustration. "It's locked!" She takes a few steps back and runs at the door, jumping to kick beside the handle. The door is unimpressed and unmoved, and Murder crumples into a heap, holding her foot. "Ooowwww.", she complains.
Merek takes a moment to think about it, then he takes a moment to place a hand into alchemical paint, then he draws a sigil upon the door, while he motions a bit, "Stand back," he says then to Murder, nodding when Walery is looking around. If the Gobbo is moving back, since neither of them can open it by hand, he then throws a trigger for that blast rune also.
GAME: Walery rolls perception: (19)+10: 29 GAME: Murder rolls perception: (15)+13: 28 GAME: Merek rolls perception: (3)+9: 12
The explosion is more than enough to take the door out, and could have woken the dead... but not apparently the inhabitants of this house. Because there's no sound of stirring. Which leaves you with no idea of where to start looking. Except... There! By the door to one of the rooms you see what looks like an arm floating /through/ it. It disappears quickly however. You rush as one to the room in question and find yet another one of those things perched over a teenage boy drawing blue light from up out of his mouth and into its own. The sight is just as disturbing now as it had been watching it happen to the innkeeper.
GAME: Walery rolls 1d20+11: (13)+11: 24
Walery sees what's going on, and he activates his titan armor. A targeting reticle slips over his eye, and plates shift out of his backpack. There is a crackle of ozone as he shoulders his death ray and fires at the ghostly apparition, a bolt of raw fire spurts out and strikes the target, such as it is.
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+6: (3)+6: 9
With a soundless howl the creature jumps up off the boy and leaps toward Walery, but the man neatly evades its wild swing.
GAME: Murder rolls strength: (18)+2: 20 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+6: (14)+6: 20 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d6: (6): 6 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d6: (1): 1
The Gobbo moves around Walery when he stops to shoot at the wraith. It misses its wild swing at the man, but manages to catch her as she tries to slip past the creature. She squeaks when it claws at her, and she wobbles. But she is able to pull the boy from the bed... unfortunately she crumbles under him with another squeak. With a grunt, she's able to lift him, and begins to abscond with the boy towards the door.
GAME: Merek casts Searing Light. Caster Level: 5 DC: 16 GAME: Merek rolls ranged: (6)+5: 11
Merek walks up with the others, then he lifts up his palm to use the searing light of the holy plane to be put upon the wraith, although it looks like the creature will dodge it also.
GAME: Walery rolls 1d20+11: (1)+11: 12 (EPIC FAIL)
Walery's next shot is spoiled by Murder scrambling past him and trying to haul the kid out. He raises the weapon so as not to accidentally catch one of them, but when she doesn't get the kid out, Walery has to find another angle to take his shot. He doen't, though, and his shot, while clear of Murder and the kid, also misses the ghost.
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+6: (3)+6: 9
The ghostlike elf continues to flail wildly at Walery, howling soundlessly in his face but failing to make any sort of contact.
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+6: (12)+6: 18 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d6: (3): 3 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d6: (3): 3
Murder squeaks as the beam scorches the ceiling above her head, and she ducks down a bit more, stumbling out into the hallway and unceremoniously falls to the floor. Grunting noisily as the boy falls on top of her. She raises up a hand and smacks him in the face. "Get up. Go get your family out. The wraith was sucking your life away."
GAME: Merek rolls 3d6: (6): 6
Merek steps back a moment, and he channels the holy plane again within his palm, which he uses to heal all those the wraith was feeding upon. Then he notices that it doesn't affect it, so he calls to the others, "Wait, hold!" he calls back to Walery and Murder also. Calling them not to assail it.
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+6: (13)+6: 19 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d6: (3): 3 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d6: (6): 6
Finally the elf manages to sink it's incorporeal hand inside of Walery's chest, the cold chill of the grave in its hand as it tugs on his very life force. Blue light emanates from where their bodies touch; like the blue light that rose from the boy's mouth and into its.
The boy meanwhile startles awake suddenly with a gasp, sitting upright. He stares at the ongoing fight and grabs Murder by her shirt. "Wait! It's not a... whatever you think it is." He looks totally afraid, but he struggles to his feet, letting go of Murder and then... bolts off to wake up his family.
The Gobbo stands up on shaky legs and peers at Merek. Then she squeaks as the boy yanks at her shirt. "What is it, then?", she asks of the boy. "WAIT! WHAT IS IT?", Murder yells after him!
GAME: Merek rolls melee: (4)+4: 8 GAME: Merek rolls melee: (4)+4: 8 GAME: Merek rolls knowledge:arcana: (19)+7: 26
Merek moves forward to try and take the floating ball by hand, but it moves a lot, then he calls to it, "Hey Dreamer, this way!" He hopes that it recognizes him to be Elunan and goes after him, then he speaks to the others, "This is not a wraith, it's a combination of magic spells weaved together, there is likely a Dreamwalker that resembles the elf sleeping it into creation."
GAME: Walery rolls 1d20+11: (5)+11: 16
Walery shakes himself free of the ghost and glares at Merek for asking him to hold. The ghost didn't hold, and Walery grunts at the pain, doubled over and stumbling a step as he backpedals. Ugh, that hurt! He pulls up his death ray and squeezes off a panic shot, but his shot goes wide. "I don't care what it's not. I thought you were going to do something useful," he complains.
GAME: Murder used a Wand. GAME: Murder rolls ranged: (13)+10: 23 GAME: Murder rolls 1d6+5: (3)+5: 8 GAME: Walery rolls 1d20+11: (20)+11: 31 GAME: Walery rolls 1d20+11: (3)+11: 14 GAME: Walery rolls 3d6+5: (14)+5: 19
The Goblin pulls a small stick from a pouch attached to her belt. She eyes it warily, and then gestures with it. Immediately, her other hand catches fire, startling her. She huffs and gestures at the Elf-thing. Then she waves her hand hard... and a small ball of fire careens into the room, hitting the Elf and causing a burst of flames to engulf it. Murder stares at the stick in her hand, and then the flames licking at her fingertips. "THIS IS AWESOME!" Her eyes flash red and she sports a very toothy grin.
Walery pulls a lever on his death ray and a brass slug, slightly glowing, pops out. He replaces it with a new brass thing crusted with runes and cycles it home. He shoulders it and fires as fast as he can, and he scores a square hit this time, and the thing ... sort of vanishes. "Well. That was good, I think...?"
Merek steps back as the flame hits the magical creature, then he motions a bit to Walery, "Actually, it was useful, because this needs to be fixed from the source of the magic, or we could be fighting them all night also," he says. He then motions a bit, "We will need to look for him probably."
Murder bounces about, cheering. "WOO! I killed it! Bwahaha!" She stares at her hand... which is still on fire. "How long does this last, I wonder?" She looks to the others. "Perhaps we should check the other farms? Maybe if we destroy the thingy that's sucking the life out of people... maybe whomever is doing it just starts up another?" The Gobbo wobbles. "I also feel a bit woozy."
Walery looks to Merek, and says, "What does that even mean? You wizard types never say anything plainly." He's looking around, though, cause if there's more things?
"Basically, there is an elf somewhere creating this while he sleeps, might be unknowingly, might be knowingly, he'd have to be somewhere around here, in fact," Merek motions a bit, "Let's look outside, if another comes, we'll know what direction to look, otherwise we should sweep the farm."
The Gobbo huffs noisily, and moves towards the door that one of the OTHER two blasted open. "Time is a wastin', chop chop, boyos.", she says in a scratchy voice. She again looks to her hand that is ON FIRE, and shrugs.. though she is careful not to touch anything in the house. Outside, though, is another story. "Wait... Elves don't sleep. So... this is what happens when they DO sleep?"
Walery follows Murder out of the house, and says, "If we find Sandy asleep under some tree, I'm gonna run til I can't breathe."
Murder cracks her knuckles. Blinks as the flames on her hand do not harm her. "If it's Sandy, Imma waking her up by smacking her."
Once you are outside you see the family of farmers arrayed in their yard expectantly. The adults thank you profusely, and while they're talking the boy pulls Murder aside to talk to her. The rest of you catch up to the conversation as the parents head back into the house with the younger children. "Look. I know that they're real elves. I should have said before but... I'm not supposed to go up by the gravesite."
The boy looks up as the rest of the group joins in on the conversation and shrugs. "You see, these farms were built on an elven burial site, but they moved all the bodies when we took the land. They're all buried now in the woods that way." He points. "Me and my buddies go up there all the time to see if there's ghosts. We never saw any but last time I went up by myself... I saw elves up there digging in the ground. Digging up the bodies. They were... eating them. Eating dead bodies! I recognized the one that came to my bed tonight from the forest. So they can't be ghosts can they? I saw him alive just yesterday!"
Walery ehs about ghosts digging bodies, and says, "Some folks'll do anything, son. But we'll take care of them, have no worries." And it's not Sandy, so it's probably OK.
Merek looks to the boy, then it is to Murder and Walery, "Well, it looks to be even crazier than I thought, we will need to take on the cult, if we wish for protecting the people," he says, while he nods a bit then to the others also.
The Gobbo listens to the boy as the parents leave, and her eyes flash red once more when he is done. She looks to Walery and Merek, and then back to the boy. "Show us where.", she growls. "And flee once we are there."
The boy looks like he's going to argue... but the red light flashing in Murder's eyes quiets his objections and he nods, motioning to them to follow him. It takes quite a long time to make it through the woods via the little deer path that leads from the farm to the site, and so it's almost dawn by the time you're there. The boy stops suddenly and then motions ahead of him and whispers in a quiet voice. "I saw them right through here. There's a little hill in the clearing where the bodies were buried. It's all dug up now, but you should be able to find them here." He nods again and then per Murder's orders - runs off along back home as quick as his feet can carry him.
Walery didn't quite plan on spending all night walking, that's after a day getting out here and getting his life sucked out by some not-a-ghost. He is feeling dragged out. He'll look out, though, to see what may be seen of these bodies that have been dug up. "Maybe re-burying them will be good enough?" he wonders. "If we kill the ghouls so they don't get dug up again.”
GAME: Merek casts Bless. Caster Level: 5 DC: 14
"We shall burn them, so that they cannot be used again for this purpose, and bury the ashes. Then we shall consecrate their graves. I have some holy water but I am no cleric." The Gobbo's fists are clenched hard, and have been for some time. At least the fire is out. For now.
"We'll need to be prepared for the undead, and we'll probably be dealing with mages," Merek offers, while he takes a moment to put on his gloves, then he places his palms together while he calls upon the holy plane, "Eluna, your servant calls upon you to forge a link! Those who use magic such as this for darkness will know the light of the Ethereal!" He then makes a motion with a palm like he were drawing a nice smile in front of him. Walery and Murder can feel the divine morale that is blessing them also.
GAME: Walery rolls perception: (18)+10: 28 GAME: Merek rolls perception: (3)+9: 12 GAME: Murder rolls perception: (17)+13: 30
As you gather around the gravesite, you realize that though it's been dug up there are no signs of the bodies that should be buried here. No bones or even scraps of cloth have been left behind. Nor is this messily done, someone carefully dug up these bodies with respect; exhumed them from the ground and then carried them off. This realization is tempered suddenly by the realization that you are not alone. You are in fact surrounded. Surrounded by pale-skinned elves with bows and dressed in leather armor. They do not in fact look terribly happy to see you.
"More trespassers on our sacred ground!" The voice comes from the most forward of the elves and the others speak up as well in a murmur of disturbance. "How dare you?" Strings on bows are drawn taunt. Ready to be fired.
-TBC