Suddenly the group hears a whinny of pain coming from outside, more than likely signifying the return of the shadow creatures from before. As those who pushed leaving begin their "I told you so's", the creature within the fresco appears equally alerted by the equine scream. It smashes through the fresco with abandon. As it pushes it's way out into the light, you can see that it's nails are hideously long, and a long leathery tongue lashes about wildly.
Rhune turns toward the exit and listens. She is startled when the creature breaks from the fresco and hurriedly draws her sword. She stands back alert for her chance.
"The Horses!" Augustus shouts, and he turns to run back up the passageway, as the creature breaks through the plaster fresco. Turning to see the ghoulish creature, he shouts, "Great Jebohah, protect us!"
Augustus brings his cross forth in an attempt to duplicate his earlier feat. The creature does not even appear to notice, turning toward Ullar whose back is toward the coffin chamber.
"In the Name of The Father, and The Son, and The Holy Ghost...foul creature...get thee hence!" The young priest shouts, holding forth the silver cross, his gray eyes seeming to blaze in the flickering light. When it has no effect and the creature sinks it's foul maw into Ullar's neck, Augustus vomits onto the stone floor.
The two large warriors bring their huge swords around to attack. Ullar, however, is trembling so bad from the sight of the beast coming after him that he can hardly hold his sword. Forte has no such trouble, smashing his great blade at the creature's head. His blade bashes against the creature's shoulder, bouncing off and doing very little damage, though the blow should have been mortal.
Xania, seeing that the creature is quite dangerous, throws her spell out at the creature, keeping it fanned at it and toward the fresco so that none of her companions suffers it's ill effects. However, the color does not even annoy it, and it continues it's attack of Ullar, rending at him with it's claws and foul sharp teeth. Amazingly, though, Ullar's feeble attempts to defend himself keep it at bay.
Seeing an opportunity, Dakath and Rhune push past Forte as he withdraws his great blade, attempting to stab it in the back with their weapons. Ullar, meanwhile, backs up toward the tomb, with Xania and Augustus backpedaling behind him. Ullar sweeps his sword at the creature's head in another attempt to push it back, and this time manages to make contact, but the creature appears magically strong, as the blow only opens a small cut on it's scalp. Dakath's magical dagger is unable to penetrate the creature's leathery hide, and Rhune is only marginally able to cut it with her longsword.
Seeing her chance, Rhune darts past Forte and tries to slip her longsword into the creature's kidneys. She sighs when she sees only a small wound appear.
It appears to be almost invulnerable. Fortunately, it does not appear to be terribly intelligent, leaving the opponents at it's back while it continues after Ullar. This time it grabs hold of him with a nasty clawlike nail and bites his neck. Ullar is frozen at the touch of the creature, who then leaves him still and advances after Xania and Augustus.
Seeing the effect of its touch on someone, Rhune tries desperately to hit at it while staying out of its reach.
All are quite terrified at the ease with which it dispatched Ullar, and flee backward from it toward the coffin chamber, where hopefully the other party members might be more assistance. As they dash off, it turns with relish and chomps a hunk of muscle from Ullar's shoulder before dashing off after them. Once again, frustrated, neither of the inept rogues is able to take advantage of their skills. They run off hurriedly after the ghoulish creature.
Reaching the chamber with the crystal coffin, Xania and Augustus turn to try and defend themselves with the meager means at their disposal, hoping that the more open area will allow the others in the group to help. Xania thrusts with her dagger, but only finds herself stepping in front of Auggie's staff, ruining his attempt to strike it. This makes him vulnerable, and the creature takes advantage, lightly clawing his chest, which in turn paralyzes him as well.
As Augustus swings his staff at the creature, he pulls back to avoid striking Xania. The creature claws at Augustus' chest, rending the priests robes. A cold fire lashes across Augustus' chest with the creature's strike. The young priest looks down at the wound and knows no more...
Rhune and Dakath take yet another opportunity to backstab the creature, but fail miserably once again. Forte and Asif run in behind them and move them out of the way.
As Rhune fails to hit, "Damn..," she exclaims in elvish, frustrated by her lack of accomplishment here. She feels Asif and Forte pushing them aside and steps back so they can attempt to do something.
Apparently not thinking of Xania as any danger (a sexist ghoul?), the monster turns to face it's new opponents. As Asif raises up his twin scimitars, the creature ducks low and rakes at both of their legs, lightly touching them. Asif leaves the blows unmade as he freezes in place. Forte, however, manages to shake off the effects of the unholy touch. He swings his massive blade at it, but it's duck is underneath the swath, and it is unharmed. Xania manages to muster up her courage and slams her dagger hilt deep into the creature's back. It is yanked from her grip as the thing howls in agony.
Asif his eyes wild with fear inspired by this apparition summons his faith to stand against the creature and seeing Rhune in danger leaps forward to do battle. A single slash tears through his guard with an speed unseen by Asif. Before he can scream with the pain of his injury a more terrifying wound lays him low. An unnatural wound which paralyses him, but allows him to watch the rest of the battle frozen as if in a nightmare. His eyes nearly burst from his head with the effort to release himself, an effort never more frantic as he sees Rhune suffer the same fate as he. Unable to speak aloud he screams in his head.
"(ATEN Save us!!)"
"AAGghhh......Asif!!!" Her purple eyes swirling like twins jewels Rhune sets about hacking and slashing at the creature.
Seeing her precious Asif in danger, Rhune throws herself with abandon into the fray, as Dakath does the same. Rhees and Tag attempt to get close enough to help, but cannot for the moment. The creature reaches for it's back, attempting to draw forth the knife within it, but is unable to. However, it's mad thrashings keep any of you from being able to attack it again.
Tag moves in alongside Xania to help her while Rhees waits for the inevitable opening. The monster reorients itself and lashes out with a claw at Dakath, scratching his ankle. Dakath, however, proves able to resist the thing's magic as well. As a group, the party begins raining blows down upon the creature, with several hitting, but it is amazing how strong the creature is, standing up without hesitation to the attacks of all five party members. It lashes out again at Dakath, biting at Forte at the same time, and hits both, now dashing about on all fours like an animal. Dakath freezes up this time, though Forte once again resists the foul effect.
As Rhees throws himself into the hole created by Dakath, the wild combat continues. Rhune finds herself frozen next to her armor by a casual slash from the creature's filthy nails. None of the return attacks nets any result. The group begins to fear that this creature alone will prove their doom.
Standing there, her sword raised in a downstroke, Rhune feels helpless as she watches the creature go after her friends and companions...She fervently prays to Erevan to do something to aid them, as she tries to fight off the paralysis of her body.
Xania, having grabbed up another dagger, attacks the creature again with results, and it appears to be weakening. Forte smashes his great blade into the creature's head once again, and this time it carves into it's skull. Unfortunately, as the creature falls, it brushes up against the large man's thigh with it's claw, and this time Forte does not manage to resist the foul effects, freezing in place.
Xania continues to stab into the leathery creature, in fear and rage. She finally stops, checks on Dakath and Forte. Then, remembering, she runs to where Ullar was so badly injured and attempts to see if his wounds were mortal or not.
Ullar's injuries are rather severe, but the beast appears to have missed the artery in his neck, as the blood less is not as bad as one might have expected. He does not appear to be in mortal danger.
Forte watches in horror as the beast falls to the ground, hoping it is down for good. He's not sure if his eyes are riveted to the foul creature, or paralyzed along with the rest of himself.
Careful to avoid the touch of the creature, Tag assists Xania in dispatching it. "Ecco la fiera con la coda aguzza, che passa I monti, e rompe I muri e l'armi! Ecco colei che tutto 'l mondo appuzza!," He exclaims.
OOC: Translation (again from Inferno canto 17) BEHOLD the monster with the pointed tail, Who cleaves the hills, and breaketh walls and weapons, Behold him who infecteth all the world.
"Ah Dante, after this I fear I will have enough material to write my own chilling verse," Tag looks around a concerned look for his colleagues that have fallen. "Asif? Forte? Ullar? Augustus? Dakath? Are they dead? Their flesh is turned to stone I fear," Tag reaches out to touch the arm of Forte. "Can you wake mio, amico?"
Tag reaches down and picks up a burning torch from anyone who carried one and if any are still alight, gently placing his lantern on the ground. "If the shadows return, we will have little to defend ourselves, Xania, Rhees, Rhune, let us see how the horses fare, once we have seen to our friends."
Rhune does not respond as she stands there, sword raised in a downstroke. About the only thing that moves on her is her eyelids as they blink though slowly. You are not even sure she is breathing.
"Someone must stay here to guard them until they can move again," Xania says, still holding her dagger.
"Rhees, perhaps you should stay and use your healing arts to revive them, if it can be done, while Xania, Rhune and I see what has happened to our equine friends?"
"I would prefer to stay near them," Xania flushed slightly.
Nonetheless, Tag and Xania decide to go out and check on the horses and see if their way out has been blocked. You see that one of the horses, Asif's, Xania thinks, is stumbling about outside the tomb. The others have run outside the barren circle and appear to be in no danger, from what the flickering lantern light tells you, but Asif's horse appears to still be suffering some ill effects from the shadow's touch, and every time it gets close to the circle, it seems to be herded back in. You cannot see what is causing the fuss, but nor can you see any trace of the shadowy creatures near the mound's entrance. The horse seems to be in a state of near panic.
Inside the tunnel, Rhees deals with his injured comrades. He is mystified as to what to do for them, however, as none bears injuries serious enough to shock them, but nonetheless they remain frozen in place. One by one, they shake their heads and come to, making the problem much less serious than he had thought. Dakath and Ullar bear serious injuries, while the rest bear nothing but minor scratches from their wounds. It is not difficult to rouse them all up and gather them together.
Tag and Xania return to the main group, relieved to see everyone up and about. Now, however, the question exists; to try to take the mace and then flee, knowing that you face some danger once you depart, or count your blessings and run hard for the hills outside. You have no idea how far the shadows went, if they will attack again, or whether or not they could pursue you. Asif at least will have quite a bit of trouble regaining his mount, you think.
Dakath watches with some relief as the undead creature is destroyed. He can feel the rising panic within him as he tries to move his limbs. Forcing himself to remain calm, after all he's with friends, he concentrates on trying to move.
His relief is evident when he finds some movement returning to his frozen limbs. Once able to move fully he can't help but smile at his returned mobility. He begins checking on his injuries.
"You know next time we do something like this can we leave the religious and moral debate until after we've done what were going to do?"
Augustus shakes off the fuzziness in his head, and suddenly jumps up with his staff, wildly looking about the room for the creature. "Die, foul beast! Die!," He shouts, then, seeing the creature lying with it's skull split open, realizes that it has been destroyed. The priest looks around the room, quickly assessing which party members have been wounded the worst. Seeing Dakath and Ullar bleeding profusely onto the stone floor, he leaps into action, ignoring his own wound. Taking great care to clean and bandage his comrades wounds first, Augustus then casts magical healing on both Ullar and Dakath.
Augustus appears to be in favor with his deity after banishing the one evil and fighting valiantly against another. His magical healing works wonders. Ullar's arm where the beast grabbed him heals up entirely, while the throat wound closes up enough to promise no further risk. Dakath also is a strong recipient of the cleric's magic, as his wounds heal up completely, leaving no trace they ever existed. Augustus then tends to the rest of the group, bandaging and cleaning their wounds to avoid infection from the monster's filthy claws. He is able to clean and bandage all the wounds in the group, leaving everyone in excellent shape, though Forte still bears some nasty traces of the several attacks he received. Nothing serious, though, and Augustus deems that everyone is quite fit to continue on.