Witches.

Violet's heart chills at the thought.  Devil-ridden sorcerers, freely giving their spirits to their lord for power; that is, at least, her knowledge of such things.  Granted, she muses, perhaps things are different in different places; perhaps it is as Qvar says, and she should leave that in the hands of Zertin and his own knowledge of satanic practices.

Not an entirely comforting thought, but at least she holds some trust for the sorcerer in their midst; enough, at least, to admit that even if his power arises from the devil, he seems to at least attempt to use it for their support.

She could take the rear...but while that position requires some ears and eyes, anything coming from behind must perforce <I>catch up.</i.>  Something in the front need only wait, hidden, for them to march into a killing ground.  It's with fatalistic acceptance that Violet concludes her own place to be in the front of this line  of people.  "First," she quietly states, readying her bow, arrow on the string but not drawn.  Then the young woman carefully paces forward to take the lead, keen eyes and ears struggling to pierce the everpresent murk.

"Exercise, Zed?" Qvar grins at his brother.  "I hope we're not In danger of working up a sweat!"  He gazes appraisingly up at the top of the hill and finds himself agreeing with himself that Zertin is likely to be of more use than himself.  He stays close to Zertin to keep him safe and mop his brow.

When Violet steps past to take the lead, Qvar touches her arm as passes and speaks a brief prayer  "Let Pelor guard your climb."  He smiles reassuringly.

Leaving Randal behind with Hammer, you set off.  The climb up the hill proves not so arduous as Zertin and Ashlyn fear ... indeed, Violet, warded by Pelor's light, at the fore has little trouble, even with her bow at the ready in her hands, her feet finding suitable purchase on the sleep but not-unforgiving slope.

The burned out tower is a husk of a building, with only the west and east portions of its twenty feet tall outer wall still standing.  Your approach is from the east, the nearest point to the road, though as she draws closer, Violet angles to the south, leading your around the crumbling but still substantially intact wall that blocks your way to a place where it has collapsed entirely.

Within the bounds of the outer wall, shorter stone walls, but ten feet in height, delineate the chambers of the ancient site, while piles of rubble choke much of the open space.

Violet carefully picks her way forward, Ashlyn to her left, Caesius to her right, while behind the three Seiko wards Ireena and Qvar likewise watches over Zertin. 

As you regard the ruined tower, a hideous mass of glowing spirits, like a roiling cloud of pale mist bearing dozens of silently screaming faces, rises up from the ground.  The tortured expressions of the faces in the mist speak of undying torment and mind-numbing terror. 

OOC: Map of the proceedings updated ...
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:47, Sun 11 Apr 2021.

Qvar watches the cloud of faces evolve, fascinated more than horrified.  "I have no idea what that is."  Puzzled, he walks forward 10' to stand in front of Caesius, where he can still protect his friends but see the cloud more clearly.  There he raises his worn wooden Sun symbol but speaks a simple prayer to Pelor, "Sunfather, reveal where darkness lurks." before attempting to turn the evolving cloud.

OOC: ...just adding a little character flavour from last night's rest at the burgomaster's mansion (in this case burnt offering flavour).

Qvar does not need to sleep and was happy to keep watch while others rested, even dimming his glow to night-light level.  During the evening he borrowed a sewing kit from Ireena and repaired his homespun robe of the damage done by the nymph's fireball, cutting away the singed wool and darning it back together.  His own burns were also minor and fully healed by morning.

As the party woke he greeted each one with a nice cup of tea and a sunny smile.

"I believe I do." Caesius growls, "And if I'm right, then our weapons are of no avail."

He seizes the symbol of Heironeous which hangs around his neck, and calls out "In the name of Heironeous, the invincible Valorous Knight, I command you begone!"

Zertin stands at the back of the group, scratching his chin.

"Hmm, fascinating. Undead, clearly, but I don't recognise it either, Q. But you do, C? Weapons will not harm it, you say? You hope to turn it and drive it away instead, which means it would likely return later to threaten us again. So, should I do what I can to weaken it now while I have the chance? Yes, I think I should."

Decision made, Zertin plucks a tiny ball of bat guano and sulfur from a pouch on his belt, recites an incantation and flicks the tiny ball at the misty nightmare in front of them. The tiny ball bursts into flame and streaks toward the undead then explodes out from the centre of the misty undead into a fireball 40 feet wide.

OOC: Zertin rolled 22 using 7d6.  Fireball damage. (Reflex save DC19 for half damage.)

Somewhat more confident with Qvar's prayer in her ears - heathen or not, the priest clearly carries no evil and whatever spirits to which he prays are no-doubt those of light - Violet lets out a slow, silent sigh of breath, and continues with a touch more positivity.  That lasts just as long as it takes them to arrive at the tower.  There, she once again grows cautious, spotting first the curious, circular pattern on her left...before making the rather easy catch of the satanic manifestation boiling from the ground before them.

Sickened at the sight of the bilious cloud, she swallows heavily to keep the bile from her mouth.  The words of her companions fall upon her ears - consideration and a prayer from Qvar, half-prayer and half-command from Caesius (and oh, how she wishes the damned souls will listen to his words!), and curious stream of consciousness from Zertin.  Un-dying?  If the sorcerer is correct...and why would he not be, these are clearly un-housed souls of the damned...perhaps the group should seek some kind of sanctuary.

"There's a circle in the ground," she begins quietly, pointing.  "Over there -"

A streak of light and fire from the sorcerer's fingers blossoms into a hellish inferno the likes of which Violet has never seen, never thought to see.  For an instant, she stands transfixed as the roaring flames fill her vision; then the young woman silently dives behind the closest wall, her scream locked away in her throat by a tightly clenched jaw.  What choked sounds escape from between her teeth are no-doubt lost in the volcanic howl of Zertin's sorcery.

OOC - Soooo...I guess that's a 5' step to the wall next to her.

Qvar had been unsure whether the cloud was some figment or indeed undead, but his companions' actions confirm his suspicion.  Once again taking his lead from Caesius, he raises his wooden Sun symbol and calls Pelor's power, "Light of the Sun, banish this darkness!"  Sunlight flares momentary in the wake of Zertin's fiery blast, adding light to heat. 

Qvar peers at the cloud and around the ruins to see if more undead approach.  He spots Violet where she wisely takes cover and smiles reassuringly.  "Yes, it's a sacred circle.  We should test that later, it may yet hold some power over the darkness."

Saeko frowns, staying between Ireena and the cloud.  "Weapons are all I have," she states, drawing them despite their purported ineffectiveness.  She tilts her head a little as Zertin's fireball explodes, but it snaps over the moment Violet dives away, watching her with concern, but only for the moment.  She turns away, and away from the horrific cloud, instead casting her eyes about to make sure it is alone.

If something apparently composed of dozens of entities can ever be alone.

"Let's hope that between us, Caesius and I have turned it, even if only long enough for us to search this ruin."  He smiles brightly at Zertin.  "If not then you've made a nice start on the alternative!"

Having spent more time in these lands than all but Ireena, Ashlyn cannot believe that such a horror as you now face will be so easily banished.  Stepping forward to stand besides Qvar, she plucks a ceramic flask from the pouch at her hip, and hurls it towards the roiling mist.

The young woman stifles a scream as she stares in horror at the anguished faces in the mist, managing but a step back as Saeko moves to ward her, her feet transfixed in terror at this manifestation of evil.

Qvar is not daunted by the horror before him, stepping forwards in fascination, mouthing an orison as he seeks to understand what he sees ...

... but Caesius fears that he already knows.  Boldly presenting the symbol of his god he demands that the the cloud leave this place.  Taking his cue from the Paladin, Zertin attempts to flay it with fire to hasten it on its way, summoning a ball of furious flames that engulfs the cloud in a fiery conflagration and hastens the collapse of the crumbling walls within the tower, adding more dust and debris to the destruction.

Warned that weapons are of little use here, Violet looks towards some markings she has spotted, inscribed on the rubble-strewn stone flags to the south west quadrant of the tower that appears to be the remains of a sacred circle ... but follows her instincts and takes shelter behind the ruined remains of a wall as Zertin's spell erupts.

Like his brother, Qvar follow's Caesius's lead, adding the strength of his faith to that of the Paladin in an attempt to banish the cloud, as Saeko thrusts Ireena behind her to ward her from the evil, casting her gaze around in case there is aught else that would dispute your presence here. 

But as the flames die away, the ghostly cloud remains, unmoved by prayer and barely touched by fire, and starts to move towards you, hungrily ...

With a practicality born of harsh experience, Ashlyn hurls a small flask towards the creature.  The bottle breaks as it strikes the stones before the cloud and flares with a flash of brilliance akin to pure daylight that drives it back, for the moment.

OOC: Map of the proceedings updated ...
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:57, Mon 12 Apr 2021.

Explosions of sorcery.  Flares of brilliance.  A cloud of malicious spirits, no doubt intent upon assuaging their hunger.  Terrified, Violet risks a single glance and, with weary horror, confirms her ugly prediction: the gyre of spirits advances upon them, undaunted by fire and light.

Running seems the best option to her shocked mind.

But run to where?  The sacred circle, verified by Qvar, seems to be a likely place; Violet has witnessed the efficacity of heretical beliefs in this hell, and part of her yearns to seek shelter.  Another part of her resists; the circle resides in a corner, and should it prove no barrier against the unholy vision before them, she will have nowhere to retreat.

Prudence takes precedence over optimism, and the young burglar bolts from her corner, slipping past the group to grip Ireena by the arm.  She gives the woman a shake - not unkindly - and places herself between their charge and the horror.  "Look at me!" Violet cries over the chanting, the shouts, and the crackle of flame.  "Get your head about you!"

Her friends seem well and able to retreat if need be, but this untrained villager is frozen in fear.

Zertin scowls in frustration that his glorious fireball had such little effect on the ghostly cloud.

He points his favourite wand at it and speaks the command word to hurl a string of five magic missiles to rip into its insubstantial form.

Zertin will move back with the rest of the party if they start to retreat.

OOC: How fast was it moving toward us before Ashlyn's flask drove it back?

Zertin rolled 20 using 5d4+5.  Magic Missile damage on undead cloud.

Qvar also feels frustrated that turning had no effect.  "And that really was the very best that Pelor could do through me..." he mutters to Caesius and Ashlyn.  He frowns in a moment of regret as he glances back to where Ireena stands and carries Violet's great gift, then smiles and waves when she catches his eye - he's glad that she's safe, and Saeko and Violet are there to protect her.

Increasing his soft glow to a fierce eye-catching glare he turns back to the cloud, takes another step forward, and raises his hand. "A little ray of Sunshine has come into the world."  A ray of sunlight blasts from his open palm towards the cloud.

12:16, Today: Qvar rolled 18 using 1d20+5.  ranged touch with scorching ray.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:58, Sun 18 Apr 2021.

Violet's intervention rouses the young woman.

"I can hear them," she tells Violet, turning her gaze towards the rogue, her eyes now focused, though horror still etches her features.

"Your ward!" Violet's presence before her and the examples of Caesius and Qvar stir her to reach into her pockets to pull forth the phylactery.  Holding it up by the leather cords in a shaking hand she commands the cloud, "Begone !  In Lathander's name, begone !"

Hearing Ireena's words, and sensing the power of the phylactery being called upon, Qvar's hopes of turning the grotesque cloud rekindle.  He adds his own voice and Pelor's light to aid her effort.  "Pelor's light be with you, Ireena!"
OOC: aid another, turn undead as a swift action.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:50, Mon 26 Apr 2021.

Caesius backs towards Ireena and Violet, the symbol of Heironeous still held before him.

It might not have driven off the undead abomination but it could, backed by the God's will, still cause the thing to hesitate if it tries to reach the two women.

The silver lightning bolt blazes as the symbol reflects Qvar's brilliant light.

Saeko flashes a sudden quick smile towards Violet, there and gone almost too fast to see.  She makes one of her dance-like, half turning steps out of Ireena's way, first facing her, nodding in encouragement, and then shifting to stand at her side, facing the creature before them.

Though she glances towards the circle thinking it might offer sanctuary, Violet cannot stand by while Ireena is in need.  Abandoning what cover the ruined wall provides she moves swiftly through the rubble, attempting to rally the young woman, even as she wards her.

While his ball of flame may have had no effect, Zertin does not despair - indeed the volley of mystical globes of energy that he summons through his wand fly through the air to strike the creature true, adding a fresh note of pain to the already torment-etched faces that churn within the cloud.

Seeing the creature was stopped in its tracks by the light from Ashlyn's flask, Qvar summons Pelor's divine might to send a ray of searing light into the roiling mass, the light that surrounds the Priest glowing even brighter, the mist now seeming torn and ragged as if it were made of but common cloth that might be spotted and burned.

Roused by Violet's words and actions, Ireena attempts to copy Qvar and Caesius, holding forth the phylactery that the young woman bestowed upon her.  Though it is obvious that she has no inkling of its correct use, she is sincere, her confidence bolstered by the Priest's words ... though the cloud pays no more heed to her imprecations than those of the others. 

Caesius steps closer to the two woman, the symbol of Heironeous glowing certain that faith and the power of his God will protect them ... while Saeko prefers to rely on her blades, moving lithely to take up position at Ireena's side, both ready to face what may come.

Ashlyn turns back, nodding as she sees the young woman warded, then steps forwards to Qvar's side, ready herself to raise her sword in defence of the Priest.

The glow seems to give the cloud pause and it advances slowly at first, pushing tentatively at the edge of the radiance ...

A surge of energy seems to explode from the cloud with concussive force, battering Ashlyn and Qvar, the rubble lying around them being blown back, though the weakened stone crumbles, and the dust that whips at those behind the pair stings but does no harm.

OOC: Map of the proceedings updated ...

Zertin frowned at the concussive blast from the cloud of tormented spirits. He pointed his wand at it once again and repeated the command word to launch another volley of magic missiles to blast the incorporeal undead.

"Pull back everyone. We don't need to be close to fight it. We need only a brisk walking pace to outrun it, as long as we don't let it knock us down with those blasts. Keep yourselves safely out of its reach and I will whittle it away soon enough!"

Zertin does not hesitate to follow his own advice as well, retreating 30 feet back down the hill away from the undead.

OOC: Zertin rolled 19 using 5d4+5.  Magic Missile damage on undead cloud.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:49, Mon 03 May 2021.

It's too much - the sorcery, the satanic apparition before them replete with the tortured faces of the damned, the explosions and chaos.  Gripping Ireena by the arm, Violet attempts to draw the other woman down the hill, away from the manifestation of evil.  Clearly her bow and arrows are of no use here; better she find a way to bring the other woman out of danger, if possible.

Part of her hopes that Zertin is correct, and the malevolent cloud is as slow as it first appears.

Part of her fears its sluggishness is merely a ruse.

"Oh, good try Ireena.  I felt that!" Qvar beams encouragement at the young woman, appreciative that she should try to stand up to the horror before them.

He nods his understanding and agreement towards Zertin.  He has prepared poorly for this eventuality, but time enough later for a shame-faced apology.  Right now the best he can do is stand between the cloud and those he cares for.  "Don't worry about me Zed, I'm made of sterner stuff than I look.  Pull back, all of you, follow Zertin."

For himself, Qvar pulls back only 5', just enough to stay out of reach without giving in to it... he hopes.  From there he calls out a prayer and a challenge, letting the wooden Sun symbol swing from the frayed rope at his waist and instead beckoning with his bare hand.  "Come closer you miserable souls!  Let the heat of the Sun warm you!"
This message was last edited by the player at 06:58, Sat 08 May 2021.