"There is much anger in the city towards the creature, but Pharasma guides all into the afterlife. Your investigation is well warranted, and cleansing the area of all undeath is a noble goal in our Lady's name. Please, come with me." The sister, who introduced herself as Sister Temperance of the Immaculate Order of the Lady of Graves, led the party into the chambers at the rear of the chapel.

It was a narrow area with small cells and rooms with humble furnishings. Temperance led them down a corridor and into a small examination room. A whiff of formaldehyde and saltpeter gave them the uncomfortable impression that this was not used primarily for healing, but for embalming.

She examined Shade thoroughly and chanted a couplet in ancient Varisian. Light and warmth seemed to flow through Shade, although the feeling had an uncomfortable, austere purity to it. When the feeling passed she felt the sinking, draining feeling lift from her.

"Our order is a peaceful one, but if the need is dire we can send word to the grand cathedral in Caliphas. They can dispatch an investigatory committee, and if necessary a unit of Our Lady's paladins to cleanse this corruption."

An option, to be sure, but certainly not one that would yield results in the next six hours.

---

Sister Temperance will outline the services available at the temple.

For a donation to the temple you can purchase divine spell casting, the cost is Caster Level x Spell Level x 10. Because you are dutifully pursuing and purging undead she casts Lesser Restoration on Shade twice for free.

Up to level three casting is available to the general public, and with a demonstration of great need (such as yours) up to 7th level spells are available from the abbot himself.

They also sell a number of magical items:

Strand of Prayer Beads (lesser) - 9,600 gp
Incense of Meditation - 4,900 gp
Wand of Cure Light Wounds (26 charges) - 390 gp
Wand of Lesser Restoration (18 charges) - 2,160 gp
Scrolls of divine spells up to 3rd lvl

Shade bowed her head in respect as the healing prayer wiped out the drained feeling.  "Thank you, Sister, she says, getting up with better verve than she had sat down.  "If... if there are any of your Order or parishoners who need healing, I would be happy to do it, for your kindness."

After she has spoken with Sister Temperance about their own business, she rejoined the conversation about the wraiths, accepting any aid Sir Godalming could give her.

"The paladins would be welcome, but we need to prove, as soon as possible, that the wraith was the cause of the childrens' deaths, not the Beast.  Because if the answer is too late, then the Beast will die for something it didn't do."  Shade growls in frustration, Nook echoing her.  "I would go back and help the rest of you against the wraiths, but I'm not sure what I can do to put them down that wouldn't risk me ending up a ghost of myself.  The spells I have left are for solid enemies.  The healing energy I can do might hurt them, but I'd have to get close enough to touch them."

Adrin nodded at Shade and bowed to the priestess, "that was most welcome. Thank you Sister Temperance."

"As to what we can do now... perhaps we have done it, or perhaps if we have an additional witness of the wraiths from the church, even if we don't fight them?"

"What is the church's view on speaking with the dead to gain their knowledge? I have heard of such magic, though I cannot do it directly with my abilities. Sir Constantine, do we know where little Elisa was buried after her death? Perhaps we can have a cleric of the temple help us by speaking with her and submitting her own testimony as a witness? Hopefully for the beast and not against it."

SCG shakes his head

“Thank you sister Temperance we appreciate your restoration for Shade, she has faced true terror and is no fraidy cat.  I intend to have her begin her rest immediately.”
SCG casts the keep watch spell on Shade...and himself

“Shade prepare your spells and do not exert yourself for the next eight hours and you should have your magic again and be rested.”

SCG feels the magic wash over him as well
“Let us discover what other information we may gather and report our findings to Kaple, so he may submit our evidence to the court.  If the court will grant a continuance we might be able to do more...”

The sister shook her head sadly.

"Yes, those killed violently or in great distress often arise as ghosts or wraiths. If the child died at the Best's hands she would more than likely return as a wraith.

We can send for clerics and paladins from the Grand Cathedral if you wish assistance delving into the mysteries at the village, although none of the sisters here will be able to accompany you."

Her prim mouth drew down into a frown when Adrin mentioned speaking with the dead.

"All such things disturb the natural order of life and death. Those who pass into Our Lady's embrace ought to remain there, their peace undisturbed."

It was clear that the Church of Pharasma took a dim view of undead and necromancy of any sort, even the relatively benign speak with dead. The court did not, however, and such spells could be used to call witnesses from beyond the grave. This was an extraordinary circumstance and would require a court order, but given the nature of the case Adrin was relatively confident that such permission could be acquired without delay.

He flipped through the casefile and quickly found what he was looking for: Ellsa had been buried in the Hergstag chapel cemetery shortly after her death, before her grieving family moved far south to join with relatives.

---

Constantine, travel and investigation count as strenuous so if you wind up heading back to the village that casting is pretty much expended right away. If you would prefer you can hold off and have that spell slot back. It will remain effective if you stick around town doing non-strenuous things like resting, research or preparing for the case.

"Perhaps then Cain and I can hire a couple of strong backed people and some shovels to help us go retrieve the body of poor Elisa. So long as it is daylight and we remain outside, I think we should be ok from the wraith, right Sister?" he said with a look at Cain and a raised eyebrow.

"You two recuperate here, relay what we've found to Kaple, and do some digging as you can on the village or the next case we have to defend?"

Cain considers Adrin's proposal. "That is an option, yes. From what we learned wraiths should stay away from sunlight. Provided we have enough time to dig the body out and leg with it before sunset, and are able to find someone willing to risk going there for a handful of coins. We could even grab the body of Mikkel Kahnvald if it is there as well."

Then another thought occurs to him. "But will this spell even work here? If the ghost of a dead child is now a wraith, wouldn't we have to destroy the wraith first for the spell to work at all?"

Trying to answer my own question, likely unsuccessfully.
14:20, Today: Cain rolled 11 using 1d20+6.  Spellcraft.

Adrin shrugged, "I don't know the spell, so I don't know the specifics of how it might act with a wraith of the child. Perhaps we slew the wraith of Elisa since it was in the church? I don't know. If the spell speaks to the soul, you are probably right. If it speaks instead to the history of the bones, then we may still be able to do it."

"As to bodies, you can hire bodies for anything if you pay the right amount."

With their course decided our heroes thanked Sister Temperance and made their way from the chapel, making first for the rougher side of town abutting the river and the docks. The longshoremen that they approached seemed happy enough to do a days labor for a days wages, but as the details of the job were explained the majority of them turned it down. Most were unwilling to brave the haunted village. A few of the more discerning laborers were uncomfortable with the prospect of grave robbing, even for a court sanctioned investigation.

In the end only two stayed through the entire pitch, a pair of swarthy, villainous looking brothers named Holger and Dansk. They were shaven headed, thick necked, and covered head to toe in scars and tattoos, in particular several that Cain identified as indicating gang affiliation. Holger eyed Adrin's fine cloak and demanded ten gold pieces for the work, an outrageous sum for simple labor. Dansk spat through a large gap in his teeth and leered unsubtly at Shade.

Shade was teetering on the edge of exhaustion, held only temporarily at bay by Constantine's blessing, and that made her short-tempered and unwilling to suffer fools.

"It's simple work and good pay, and we keep our word. But keep respectful eyes and tongues in yer heads, or I can make certain people cross the street rather than look at your face," Shade says, glaring.


OOC: 21:31, Today: Shade of Lonwood rolled 29 using 1d20+12.  Bluff check.

Adrin smiled at Shade's cool handling of the swarthy pair.

"I think you take the lady's meaning. We'll pay you a fair wage for the dangerous work, but not that exorbitant amount. Part now, but the rest when we're back."

22:00, Today: Adrin Prescu rolled 20 using 1d20+8.  Aid Another - Bluff.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:13, Fri 01 May 2020.

The brothers stiffened at Shade's tirade and pulled off cloth caps to turn them around in their gnarly hands.

"Yess'm." They both mumbled, not meeting her eyes, clearly cowed. They seemed a little more inclined to argue with Adrin, but agreed to a gold piece each. Still more than fair for a day's labor, but hardly the gouge they had suggested before.

Our heroes had no more trouble from the hired help as they piled back into the carriage, which by now was a bit crowded. Holger wound up riding on the driver's bench next to Constantine while Dansk stood on the footman's perch with an elbow hooked through the lantern bracket to keep himself steady. It wasn't the most comfortable of accommodations, but it seemed preferable to them over sharing the cab with Shade's ire.

It was a little after three in the afternoon when the investigators arrived back at Hergstag. Once again the unmistakable feeling of being watched pervaded the place, and even the dull longshoremen seemed to pick up on the dangerous mien. Every nook and cranny seemed to hide ghosts, and the black slits between window boards radiated menace.

They made their way to the chapel and the cemetery at the rear.

Being outdoors, it was more dilapidated than the merely abandoned and boarded over interior. A quick check inside the church itself showed no threats, and no return of the ghostly presence that had haunted it. An examination of the graveyard showed groups of stone and wooden markers laid out in orderly fashion and clustered into family groups. The two newest, smaller, and carved on weathered but finely cured oak planks, were the graves of Ellsa Torean and Mikkel Kahnvald.

Holger's resolve was wavering, but Dansk seemed to have little concern over engaging in skulduggery and got to work right away with a spade.

---

It will take a bout an hour to exhume both bodies, or half that if you only want one. If you intend to roll up your sleeves and dig as well you can cut that time in half but it's sweaty work. You'll need to make a DC 10 Fortitude save or be Fatigued for 1 hour. Otherwise the brothers will handle the dirty work.

Before leaving the city Cain makes a stop at a halfling pawnbroker he has heard about to pawn off some of his gear. He leaves the shop without his shawl, morose about the loss of his favorite accessory, but he cheers up a bit after visiting a couple of magic shops. There is a is a case stuffed full of scrolls at his hip when he finally rejoins the party.


Btw, can I use Twist Away on this saving throw? There are no limitations in the description of the feat, but I'm unsure how it would work in this situation. "Your quick reflexes and dexterous movements make up for your lack of stamina." Sure, but how?
This message was last edited by the player at 17:49, Tue 05 May 2020.

SCG watches the work unfold and notes that thief is enough to secure the bodies whether wrapped or in coffins back to the town..

@Shade
“Remember the potion to hide from undead, that might be a good option even in the middle of things, your healing touch can aid us whiteout you being at as much risk.”

@All
“We must stick together as we face these foes; the last time I was too far away dealing with the child like wraith, when the other came through the wall.  Had we been closer I could have turned my blade upon either or after vanquishing one immediately attacked the other.  The child spirits are weaker so we try and get the other four? first and then the main wraith.  I intend to smite the ugly thing but cannot smite them all.”

“Shall we now leave these men to work under the safety of the sunlight and proceed to explore the remainder of the village?”

"There is something to do with that hillside, though in the light I don't know that we'll get anything happening up there. I will take some of that balm for my crossbow bolts, Cain," he said as he pulled a handful from his pack.

"We're going to have to go indoors to find them..." he then chanted a spell that pulled up a field of magical protection about himself.

OOC: Adrin pulls out 10 crossbow bolts and casts mage armor (unless it's still up from before? CL5 = 5 hour duration)

spell slots: 1st [2 or 3/7], 2nd [5/5]

"I'll remember the potion, thank you.  But if I get a chance to try to finish them off with blessed healing, I'm going to do it.  I can hurt them badly, but I can only do it once, so I will pick my moment with care."

Cain gives two magical balms to Adrin. "Here. Just wait for the last moment before applying it, it tends to lose potency quickly. Anyone needs magical protection?" He asks as he rummages in his scroll case.

Got some Mage Armor scrolls, not yet sure how many until I work out the details with the DM. Also not sure my own Mage Armor is still active or not.

They workmen toiled through the early afternoon, digging down to the small coffins and then raising them up on straps to keep them respectfully level. They were simple pine boxes nailed shut, the wood just starting to grey, although they had remained intact in the months since the funerals. They were laid out side by side in the churchyard and it was the action of a moment to pry them open.

The diggers grimaced and took a step back. Time and decomposition had taken their toll, and the two small corpses were an unlovely sight. There was still desiccated flesh clinging to childlike skeletons, eyes sunken, lips pulled back in decay. Shade made a brief examination and determined that neither corpse had any wounds or other obvious causes of death.

The coffins were nailed shut and loaded back onto the carriage. Gingerly, after a sharp word to the brothers.

"Now wot?" Holger asked, leaning on his spade. "We take 'em back to town? Or yer' gonna take another turn around the town?"

---

---

After two hours round trip back to lepidstadt, a half hour to run errands, and an hour worth of digging you have about an hour and a half left on your mage armor, Adrin. Plenty of time to investigate the town, if perhaps not enough time to take 20 searching each house.

You're currently at 6 on the map, the chapel.

Adrin speaks up, "I suggest we start at pour Elisa's house then?" He took the balms from Cain and tucked one away while the other he held in hand with a handful of sling bullets.

With his now free hand he chanted another spell and slipped a little bean into his mouth. His pupils dilated and he sucked in a big breath as he finished the casting. "There, now I think I am ready."

Cast Heightened Awareness (50 min duration), +2 Perception and Knowledge checks, can expend remaining duration to gain +4 to an Init check

Check the case file for where in town Elisa lived relative to landmarks?
This message was last edited by the player at 21:07, Mon 04 May 2020.

"Good idea, it's the most likely place to find her wraith. But do we know where she lived?" Before they start searching, Cain casts protection spells on the party members that need them.

Shade and Constantine need Mage Armor, right? Cain will cast it on them from the scrolls he bought. I got a couple of Protection from Evil scroll as well, if someone wants to hold on to them. I already have Shield scrolls to cast when the fight starts.

"Yeah, she lived on the East side of town, it's in the case file," Adrin replied and pointed vaguely to the east towards a building that is slightly ESE of their current position.

OOC: GM - can I use a half vial of the Holy Weapon Balm at a time on 5 pieces of ammo or do I need to use the whole 10 ammo at one time?

Our heroes made their way down the short lane to the next house in the small community, a one story home abutting an overgrown barley field. There were no hazards along the road, and with the sisters' warning and a little caution they were able to spot and avoid several rusty but still tensioned bear traps that had been laid should the Beast return.

The Torean home was a one story building with two wings, its windows and door boarded up just like the rest of the town. The party pried their way in and found themselves in a dark entryway, bereft of furniture, the walls were clapboard visible under flaking whitewash. The first wing of the house was a deserted kitchen and dining room. A large oak dining table the only thing left there, even the pot bellied stove had been taken away.

The other wing was taken up by two bedrooms, now empty, with bed frames but no mattresses. It was easy to tell which was Ellsa's. The bed was child sized, and there were faded drawings on the wall in once colorful chalk. It wasn't the random scribbling that a mother would tut about and clean up, they were a childlike mural showing animals and people playing together, the type that a precocious young girl would choose to decorate her room.

A search of the house was easy, there was little there to hide clues, but there didn't seem to be anything to find.

And then Cain's sharp ears pricked at the sound of giggling and whispers from beneath his feet. There was something down there. He dragged the table away from the center of the kitchen floor to reveal a trap door descending into a root cellar. It was unmistakable now. There were hushed voices down there, whispering to each other excitedly and tittering with anticipation. It sounded for all the world like excited youngsters hiding before a surprise party, ready at any moment to leap out.

---

Adrin, that seems fine given that you can apply it to individual ammunition.

Adrin looked down into the hole that Cain had uncovered and tried to listen to see if he could distinguish different voices to help figure out how many were down there right now, though he knew they needed to act and soon.

OOC: Peception 15, 17 if take 10 sets a base for you
13:47, Today: Adrin Prescu rolled 15 using 1d20+7.  Perception.

What are the light levels in the house - could they come up through the floor and attack us or is there still too much sunlight in here for that?

In the girls bedroom SCG inspects the murals closely looking for any hint of Solomon in the fanciful art as well if she has a dairy, books or any papers.


Once aware of the giggling
“Children! Elisa please come up into the light.  This is serious!  The great and gentle Solomon’s life is at stake!  You are his friend when others call him the beast!”

Sir Constantine Godalming rolled 23 using 1d20+10.  Diplomacy
This message was last edited by the player at 00:31, Wed 06 May 2020.

Shade waits behind Sir Constantine as he calls the girl and her friends up, hoping that childlike curiosity and possible concern for her friend would get through to whatever was left of the girl's mind inside the undead that claimed her spirit.