Tide of Shadows

[Rogue 9]

Bartel snarled and stepped back. Clearly, this "Joseph" needed dealing with first. "In the name of the Cudgel, stand where you are!" He held forth the ruby-studded sunburst imperiously as he channeled the spell.

[Hold person, DC 16 Will save to resist.]

[Academia Nut]

Joseph just kept cackling before he took a few steps back into a deeply shadowed area and vanished, his laughter slowly fading to echoes that were overwhelmed by the stampede above.

Meanwhile the newly 'born' wraith hissed and lunged at one of the sick and weakened patients, feeding off the life force and trying to spawn another of its kind.

[Rogue 9]

Bartel held up his holy symbol again, golden light radiating from it. "GET THEE BACK TO THE GRAVE!" He shouted the invocation nearly at the top of his lungs in frustration as the light flashed, flooding the room with positive energy.

[Turn undead again.]

1d20+4 = 1044231083

2d6+9 = 245240095

[Academia Nut]

Once more the wraith shrieked out in pain and rushed off, disappearing into the walls and floors, out and away into the general population of the town, where it would eventually shake off the effects of the turning and be free to spread pain and mayhem away from meddlesome priests.

Almos meanwhile broke down into sobs and cried out in confusion, "What's going on?"

[Rogue 9]

"Joseph was causing all of this, Brother. There's no time to discuss it; if we don't hurry, the refugees will trample each other. Follow me."

With that, he bounded up the stairs, taking them two at a time in his haste to reach the sanctuary.

[Academia Nut]

The scene at the top of the stairs was one of utter pandemonium as people struggled to escape, running over the Ceridwen in their haste, who managed to curl up and avoid the worst of it but only just. Most had already exitted, but there were those who were left behind because they could not move with the human stampede. Broken and bruised bodies lay on the floor, trampled and shoved in the panic. Some would get back up again one day. Others... particularly the young, old, and ill... would not.

Almos, addled in the head already by whatever foul forces were at work, upon seeing the bloodstained pews and his congregation so devastated, completely snapped and broke down bawling, collapsing to the ground, rocking back and forth, clearly no longer capable of handling the pressure.

[Rogue 9]

Bartel's eyes opened wide with shock, healing magics already coalescing at his fingertips as he rushed to save those he could.

[Cure light wounds on the first living victim he finds; proceeding from there until either something else happens, he's out of survivors, or he's out of spells.]

[Academia Nut]

As Bartel went to find those in the most need of healing and attempted to cure, or at least stabilize them, Ceridwen pulled herself out of her turtle position after having been run over by the crowd. They had emptied out of the church quite quickly once they got going, partly because they had smashed open the door frame with the pressure of their need to escape.

In the streets of Ashvale over a hundred people ran about in a panic that slowly decreased as they got out of the dense pack and away from the sources of their fear, but if they diffused their fear, they did so by spreading it to the rest of the population. Rumours had been spreading for the past two days, and long standing resentments between the locals and the immigrants, especially over who was in which category, had started to simmer, getting dangerously close to boiling over. Many people were staying in doors, but all that was needed was for someone to start something and there existed the possibility for a much larger riot.

And there were still the two wraiths to deal with.

[LadyTevar]

"Gods-dammit! What happened in here!" Ceridwen bitched as she entered the church, finally. She was dusty and bruised, but otherwise better than those poor people left inside. Like Bartel, she started using her limited healing knowledge to bandage the wounded and try to stablize the worse cases. "Bartel? Was it another allip?"

[Rogue 9]

"Worse. The one causing this, he's here. He managed to escape, and left a pair of wraiths to run loose," he said grimly. "We need to get out there and calm this mess, not to mention track down the spirits. I drove them off before they could kill more patients in the sick ward, but that won't last long."

Having done what he could for the victims, he rushed to Father Almos. "Brother," he said gently to the sobbing man, "There was little you could have done. We need to do what we can to help those who are left. Come with me."

[LadyTevar]

Ceridwen stopped and stared at Bartel. "And just where did these TWO wraiths go?!" she asked in sudden fear for the town.

[Rogue 9]

"Into the floor. They could come out anywhere, and there's not a lot of time."

[LadyTevar]

"Great... just... great," Ceridwen muttered, risng to her feet. "I'll get the rest of the group together and go Wraith Hunting. Can you handle this here?"

She had totally forgotten about the cobra, who was probably listening in and informing his master even as they spoke.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Ophidian had indeed been listening by proxy. He had prepared his undead detection spell just in case this happened. He sent a mental message to his snake. It would be a bit before he managed to get there.

Naja got the message and started drawing with his tail.

He drew stick figures of a robed man with a cone shaped emanation from his hands, putting little rays of light around ghosty figures. He hissed loudly to draw attention of the paladin and bartel toward his little work of art informing them that his master would be more than capable of assisting in undead detection.

[Charon]

Eight's arrival did not help with the panic that had begun. After what they had seen, a battle ready, near seven foot tall behemoth of metal did not assuage their fears at all. The construct took quick stock of the situation and roughly pushed his way through whatever crowd got in his way until he reached the door to the chapel.

The creature looked inside and saw Ceridwin and Bartel at work. Clanking loudly inside, the construct said nothing yet, but his presence was certainly noticed.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Ophidian came in just after the construct, using his Wake to gain access to the doors

"Well it looks like Naja's work went both noticed and unnoticed" he said referring to the throng, and the stick figures.

"I have a spell that will help in the hunting." Ophidian noted before he slipped into a trance and let the magic take him.

He reached into a pouch and pulled out a bit of grave dirt. Muttering over it for a second before it disappeared in a a puff of smoke. When he opened his eyes, they glowed with an unwordly light.

"I should be able to see them even through walls so long as I concentrate. However I am defenseless while I concentrate on the spell"

[LadyTevar]

Ceridwen looked at Ophidan oddly ... and then looked to his cobra. "What the familiar knows, you know, eh? Good, I don't have to repeat all of it." the Paladin said grimly. "Volemack, Eight, Fehl, we have two Wraiths that escaped into the city. If Ophidan can spot them, we have to find a way to trap them away from citizens and destroy them."

"I can damage Undead with my blade, even if they are disembodied. That's an advantage. The problem... Both they and their master fled into the city."

[rhoenix]

Eight was a very handy crowd-breaker. Fehl himself didn't look quite as imposing as his large metal friend, even with his greatsword - but that was one reason the two had become friends. Friends help one another after all, he thought, as he followed right behind Eight through the crowds, and into the church.

Fehl had heard all of Cerdiwen's words, and nodded to himself as he entered. "Well, I can't hit them very easily in melee if they're incorporeal, but I can bring down hell on an undead if its corporeal," Fehl added in the silence.

"If they're in the city now though, then this sounds like a hunt to me," he added with a smile.

[Charon]

Eight almost seemed to sigh. "I cannot harm Incorporeal objects. My services are best deployed to remain present." It was not Eight's voice that spoke, but his mindless-golem voice.

[Academia Nut]

As the groups split up, one group staying behind at the church, the other going to hunt in the city, it quickly becomes somewhat easier for the hunting group to track their prey.

All they had to do was follow the sound of screaming.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Ophidian spoke through his spell trance "This should be fun" he he said and then walked quickly toward the sound of screaming

"remember, I am defenseless in this state so once we see them i will either need to break off the spell, allowing them to potentially escape, or will will need to be defended. Your choice"