Moving into the cave, it quickly gets dark, and opens into a small cavern. The darkness presses in tight around the bubble of light you carry with you, but those who can see in the dark see two openings off of the chamber - one ahead, and one to the right.

Then, as soon as you have all stepped into the cave, you hear a voice - a young one. A girl, perhaps ten, whispering plaintively. "I don't like it here. I want to go home."

There is no sign of a girl, just the voice.

Hester peers at the little girl, wondering whether she recognises her.

As they neared the mouth of the cave, Bristle took a moment to cast a spell, gifting Hannah with some resistance to her skeleton's flames. She then cast it again on a second target. She directed her skeletons to walk side by side near the front of the group, but left a large enough gap that Caleb could retreat back behind them without getting singed if the need arose.

"Do we want to take the path forward, or the path to the right?" she asked her fellow adventurers. Specifically the ones gifted in tracking. She did her best to ignore the disembodied voice of a child, as she was assuming it was some sort of trick until proven otherwise.

---

Before going too far into the cave, Bristle will cast Resist Energy (fire 10, 1 hour) on Hannah and one other. Probably herself, but someone else can claim it if they think they might fight alongside the burning skeletons. (You take fire damage just from standing directly next to them.)

"Path to the right first." Arell said immediately, "If there is anything in there, I don't want to be flanked by it.

After everyone has moved into the cave, but before you can start down the passageway, something...changes. The light, already dim, nearly dies away entirely. The air is bitter cold even right next to the flaming skeletons. A sobbing sound fills the cavern, and then pale, misty arms reach up from the ground, cluthing at you, clinging. They bear with them a deep and eerie chill - not a natural sensation, more the cold of the grave made manifest.

Fortitude saves, please. Bristle, Ralla, and Arell instantly recognize this as a haunt - a manifestation of negative energy, somewhere between a true undead and a more generalized energetic impression. It is caused by suffering, by events so dark that they stain the world for their passing. Bristle, with her particular expertise, knows that the signs preceding the haunt's manifestation, as well as the form the energy takes, are invariably linked to what happened to bring it about. Additionally, she knows that while positive energy can disrupt a haunt's manifestation, often the only way to purge it completely is to resolve the dark history that led to its creation.

Caleb opens his mouth to answer Bristle, but whatever words were forming were replaced with harsh and loud cursing as the arms sprang up from nowhere. Wrenching himself free from their grasp he falls back, shivering slightly as he brings his crossbow up and aims it at the arms, ready to fire, if he thought it would do anything.
"What in the hell are those?!" he says, looking to Bristle and Ralla

Arell stomps at the hand trying to grab him.

"A Haunt," he barks, "Probably the reason most people don't bother with this place."

OOC:

23:21, Today: Arell Kirkwood rolled 27 using 1d20+11.  Fort Save.

Hester rolled 13 fortitude save

Hester stepped on the path behind the others half on a daze, thinking, thinking.  That voice. Who was it again? So long since she'd been in this place. "Annabelle, Annabelle Ravan", she said, "She lived in the place where Caleb found the coins and the knives, at least she did five years ago before I left..." then louder,after a beat.... "Did you start all this Annabelle?"

13:06, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 23 using 1d20+7.  Fortitude Save.

---

Bristle held her shield in front of her as she faced the grasping arms (not that it would do any good), then did her best to weather the unnatural cold of its grasp. The cleric of Death's instinct was to strike at it with a spell, but she resisted the urge. Hester seemed interested in trying to communicate. And since she seemed to know who the Haunt used to be, maybe it would even work...

"Positive energies should be able to disrupt it if words fail to work," she said hastily to the group. "At least for a time." She held her Positive Pulse spell at the tip of her tongue in case it became needed.

"I'm cold," the disembodied voice calls softly, a whimper. "I want to go home..."

The hands fade, leaving an aching chill behind where they touched. The cave's atmosphere returns to what it was before - dark, cool, but without the unearthly qualities.

Down the tunnel to the right, there's a short passage before it opens into another small chamber. In this one, there's a corpse lying on the ground. It's monstrous, a humanoid frame with fur and claws, and a wolf's face - it can only be a werewolf. Written on the wall above it in what looks suspiciously like dried blood is the word HUNGRY. Another passage opens off the chamber to the left.

Bristle's eyes went wide when she saw the werewolf. She quickly scanned it with her Deathwatch glasses to make sure it was in fact truly dead. And if it was, she approached to see if she could figure out the cause of death and how long ago it happened. (Heal +20)

"That storybook we found yesterday is starting to feel more like a history book," Bristle commented. She pulled the book from her pack, flipping to the story about the wolf that would eat kids who wandered into the woods at night. "It may be related to what we need to do to alleviate the conditions that lead to the creation of a haunt."

"I don't think it was Annabelle alone", suggests Hester, "Nor for that matter the werewolf.  There's a third element somewhere and between them they create  perfect storm."

She pauses to remove her sleeves and rapier, placing both inside her handy haversack so that she is no longer overburdened despite the loss of strength.  With sleeves removed, her 'disguise' is gone and it becomes obvious that she is wearing a black robe with ragged sleeves over grey leather armor. Her silver hair and black, whiteless eyes remain unchanged though.

"Can we really end the haunt by removing one of the elements?  Would it help if somebody performed burial rites on this werewolf?"

While the others were talking about things that were in all honesty mostly going over his head, Caleb had stepped forward and jabbed the werewolf in the side with a bolt to see if it truly was dead.
"So a haunt is what, ghosts? How do we get rid of them then, kill the witch that made them?"

"Careful," Bristle warned Caleb. "That werewolf is registering as both dead and undead in my glasses. It keeps switching between the two. And shouldn't it be reverting to its human form if it is dead? This is definitely a... complex situation. As Hester suggested, there is almost certainly more to this Haunt than we are aware. For instance, this werewolf surely died long ago from something that left no wounds, but it looks as though it only keeled over moments before we arrived." Bristle leaned in cautiously to get a better view of the creature. The magics at work here were fascinating! Dark, dangerous, and weird, but fascinating!

"And yes, haunts are similar to ghosts in many ways, but I would say they are more complex. And the best way to get rid of them for good is to resolve the dark history that led to its creation. The signs leading up to a haunt's manifestation are closely linked to what happened to bring it about in the first place."Bristle rubbed her chin with her unshielded hand as the contemplated the entire scenario. There was a lot to consider.

"Do you want me to try doing some standard burial rites? Or maybe sprinkle it with holy water? Have my skeletons incinerate it? Try to raise it as undead myself?" Bristle shrugged, mostly indifferent to which option was chosen. "Or does anyone see any clues as to who this once was? I am half-expecting it to be that hero Halson from long ago that used to protect these woods from monsters. Except maybe he was the monster the whole time!" Bristle chuckled uneasily at the absurdity of her claim. But now that she said it out loud, it kind of fit. Especially when combined with the children's story they had learned with the ripped out pages. "Is this the hungry wolf from the folk tale? The one who devoured children who wandered in the woods at night? The one that was eventually tricked into a pit by a clever girl? Are we standing in the "pit" right now?"

Arell looks around, face hard, "Logic dictates the girl's problems are the ones causing the Haunt.  Werewolfs--the more wolf-y ones anyway--don't have enough soul to linger, or enough innocence to make their death a tragedy.  Therefore I say focus on the girl."

His eyes flash amber as he checks the room for lingering evil.

OOC: Ah not-sucky Detect Evil, how I've missed you!

Basically scanning the corpses and/or objects for lingering evil.  SOMETHING has to be generating this haunt and in theory this should help pin down what.

Caleb takes a moment to try and puzzle things out with what he's seen and been told.
"Well, I'd say bringing the weird dead and undead werewolf back up probably isn't a great idea. I'm just gonna put forward burning it in case it decides to get up and sneak up on us when we leave this room. As for the story, what I'm thinking is that the "hungry wolf" in the story is this red haired witch we all dreamed about, and she snatched kids and whatever else she could manage. I can't imagine that they'd be able to resist whatever magic is at play here. Maybe the clever girl was a kid that somehow managed to slip free, that Halson fellow hears about it and comes out here, and he manages to trap the witch but not kill her. Could be the witch is undead, it would explain all the necromancy crap going on in here. Either way, the best way I can think of to find out is to keep looking around. Let's keep going this way, a dead body on the path usually means there's something interesting at the end."

Arell hisses as his eyes glow, "It's worse than I thought...this place is almost consecrated in evil.  Like a temple.  And it's growing..."

He points to a wall, with a word scrawled on it. "There!  Get ready!"

He raises his sword in a defensive stance, eyes and ears peeled for any incursion from the darkness.

OOC: EDIT Initiative is 9
21:30, Today: Arell Kirkwood rolled 9 using 1d20.  Initiative.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:30, Wed 01 Apr 2020.

Bristle's mind was still preoccupied with whether or not she wanted to burn the werewolf or not when Arell's voice told them to get ready. Unfortunately, it took a moment for his warning to register.

---

16:12, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 4 using 1d20-1.  Initiative.

When Arell shouted, Caleb reacted without thought. In the time it takes to blink he had spun around and leveled his crossbow at the wall, scanning for any sign of danger.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
16:06, Today: Caleb Miller rolled 22 using 1d20+7.  Initiative.

---

Hester, still conscious of the werewolf, drew her only silver weapon, her dagger as soon as she heard Arell shout.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
11:04, Today: Hester Darkeye rolled 12 using 1d20+7.  Initiative.

---

As Arell speaks, the air grows hot in the small chamber, and close, and red. The word HUNGRY, scrawled upon the wall of the cave, is no longer in dried blood, but fresh, and dripping. It has a terrible significance about it, as though it has a meaning to it that is horrible and unnatural. You feel famished, starved, as though you've not eaten for days. As though you'd gladly fall upon the werewolf's corpse and devour it.

But you can't, because it's moving. Its limbs jerk into some hideous semblance of life, pulling it upright. It stares with empty, milk-white eyes past you, and it snarls. It lunges on all fours, like a beast, and snaps at Arell, teeth closing on his leg. They are unable to penetrate his armor, though, and he is unharmed.

"Wow, I hate this place even more now. I'm not getting paid enough for this." As he spoke, Caleb brought his crossbow to his shoulder and opened fire, intent on ventilating the thing in front of him. His hands were a blur as he loaded three shots in succession, each bolt thudding into the werewolf.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Burning a point of grit to resolve against touch ac, attack rolls are 20, 22, and 27. Assuming they all hit, damage is 15, 12, and 14, all from a +1 piercing weapon, total damage assuming no DR is applied is 41

---

"Crap!" Bristle spat as she brought her free hand up to invoke a spell. Holding out her Unholy symbol of Death, a burst of positive energy coalesced over Arell and the werewolf, bringing the undead back closer to real death, and bolstering her ally.

Even before her spell had fully resolved, she yelled to her skeletons, "Surround the werewolf! Destroy it!" She didn't bother directing them away from Arell since she had already given the man protection from their flames. Under normal circumstances she would have tried to gain control over the undead werewolf, but destroying it felt like the right move right now. Bristle decided to follow her gut instinct.

---

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Sorry for the wall of text. Bristle cast Positive Pulse on Arell and the werewolf: https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/p/positive-pulse
The werewolf needs tom make a will save or take 1d6+3 positive energy damage. "Haunts manifesting in the spell’s area also take this damage." Arell gets a +2 bonus on saving throws against death effects, energy drain, negative energy, and effects directly caused by haunts for 1 round.

After casting, she ordered her 5 burning skeletons in for their own attacks. I'm not sure how many will be able to surround it, but here are attack rolls for all. The werewolf should take 1d6 fire damage at the start of its turn for each skeleton it is next to, and for each time it attacks one with an unarmed or natural attack. Oh, and the skeletons explode when destroyed, dealing 1d6 damage to adjacent targets.

Burning skeleton attack rolls (I'm assuming they all have flanking bonuses from Arell/eachother)
Large 1: 2 hoof attacks.
22:24, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 16 using 1d20+4.  large 2-hoof attack.
22:30, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 7,6 using 1d6+2,1d6 with rolls of 5,6.  Potential Damage: Large Skeleton.
Potential Damage: 7 bludgeon, 6 fire

Medium 1: 2 claw attacks.
22:25, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 20 using 1d20+4.  Medium 2-claw attack 1.
22:32, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 6,5 using 1d4+2,1d6 with rolls of 4,5.  Potential Damage: Medium Skeleton 1.
Potential Damage: 6 slashing, 5 fire

Medium 2: 2 claw attacks.
22:25, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 7 using 1d20+4.  Medium 2-claw attack 2.
22:34, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 5,4 using 1d4+2,1d6 with rolls of 3,4.  Potential Damage: Medium Skeleton 2.
Potential Damage: 5 slashing, 4 fire

Small 1: 2 claw attacks.
22:26, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 12 using 1d20+4.  Small 2-claw attack 1.
22:36, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 5,4 using 1d3+2,1d6 with rolls of 3,4.  Potential Damage: Small Skeleton 1.
Potential Damage: 5 slashing, 4 fire

Small 2: 2 claw attacks.
22:27, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 18 using 1d20+4.  Small 2-claw attack 2.
22:37, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 3,2 using 1d3+2,1d6 with rolls of 1,2.  Potential Damage: Small Skeleton 2.
Potential Damage: 3 slashing, 2 fire

---

Hester begins moving toward the werewolf only to find it surrounded by burning skeletons before she can reach it.  She moves as slowly and silently as she can to attempt to attack it from behind if and when the skeletons are done.

The undead werewolf collapses in flames, but even as the fire devours the body, the hunger fills you, a need for food. You're famished, with supernatural intensity, until Bristle fills the room with a burst of white light.

The hunger fades. The room is just a room again, the werewolf naught but a smoldering corpse, and the writing on the wall is just a word. There's one passage out of the room.

Continuing down it, you soon reach an alcove in the tunnel - a small chamber cut out into the stone of the cavern wall. In it, a large slab of stone has several skulls, candles, and knives on it. The wall above the slab and the slab itself are covered in scrawled glyphs, harsh and jagged looking runes, cut into the stone or smeared in dried blood. [Language unknown: Ieie antughlin pepl p Liaiss, ate ivurec n ec ainredter me ie tomiut ort Thepreous ne ers she t ntiul eraveroutortint. Mo undme urcknd ei cehaplinti hepema on on.]