Rhune dismounts taking her backpack and her bow and quiver with her. She ties her horse to branch. Following Asif and Tag she looks around alert to anything odd and out of the ordinary.
As Asif crosses into the circle of barren soil, the world around you suddenly becomes as dark as night. Ahead, the pillars which flank the entrance into the mound are glowing, bathing the area in a weak, shadowy, green light.
"What the--!?!!" Forte responds, craning his neck in every direction, hoping to see *something*.... He reaches for his sword, drawing it as quickly as possible.
Asif yells at the top of his voice.
"Oh by the great light of Aten, what dark heka is this at work?"
Asif reins in his horse, his ears straining to catch any unfamiliar sound. Sensing the fear in the air, he pats the flank of his horse as much to reassure it, as himself. He draws his scimitars nervously as he whispers quietly:
"Steady Desert wind, Steady my boy. Rhune, Ullar, Xania are you there? Speak for Aten's sake I wish not to be alone in this dark place."
"Yes I am here," Rhune replies though her voice is a bit shaky.
Xania focuses on trying to remain upright, and does not answer.
Augustus shouts out in fear, as Rosinante rears up, threatening to dump him out of the saddle. "Jebohah protect us!" he shouts as he crosses himself.
The group looks about in something of a panic as the lights go out. Scrambling to bring some light onto the scene, Tag brings forth his trusty lantern. It's light shows several dark flitting shapes darting about the group. Two have moved toward Asif and one each toward Xania, Ullar, and Forte. Each feels the chill in the air as the things pass them, but they make no sound.
Forte shivers, but remains motionless with sword frozen in hand, too petrified to do anything except control his bladder.
Xania feels a bone-chilling touch of insubstantiality which makes her want to scream out in agony, though no physical trace of the contact exists. She feels somehow weaker after the contact.
Xania screams, then slumps in her saddle, "Bastard," she mutters weakly, looking at Asif. "Get us all killed."
She tries to fight off the enervation. "Something's attacking me, taking my energy," she gasps out. "Why do you have to do this without thought for the rest of us?," She looks angrily at Asif, but her anger is muted by a wave of weariness that washes over her. If she was not a decent rider, she'd have fallen from her horse.
Tag screams "Aii...spirits from the netherworld. I am coming princess." He crosses himself again and leaps to Xania's defense, waving the lantern about as if to ward off the creatures and drawing his rapier. If one of the creatures comes close he slashes at it with the blade.
"Back foul shadows. Dio!, lord Jerboha protect us..." He mumbles a silent prayer. "Magic maybe the only thing to harm these creatures, Si."
Xania pulls out the dagger Rhune gave her. "This is magical," she murmurs, sliding listlessly down from Noir and trying to defend herself with the small blade.
All standing in Ullar's neighborhood hear the warrior gulp. A quick glance of anger towards Taglio is his next action. Ullar is holding his breath and drawing his sword, ready to protect himself and anyone near him if any of those spirits try to attack him.
Crying out in startlement at the sudden change, Rhune steps closer to Asif, immediately drawing her sword. She looks around nervously at the dark, shadowy shapes and shivers. Seeing the one pass by Xania and her sudden scream, Rhune heads toward her and the shadowy figure. She helps wherever she can in battle.
The wraithlike creatures continue to flit about their intended targets. Taglio charges to assist Xania while Rhune does the same for Asif. Before they get there, Asif's horse stumbles, whinnying in agony, and he leaps clear. He draws his flashing blades free and looks about for a target. Rhune joins him. Even Asif's speed does not enable him to strike the phantoms, though, and only the purest luck enables Rhune to make some contact. Certain that the enchantment upon her sword (which she purchased so long ago) will enable her to harm the creature, she is sadly dismayed to see this is not the case, as her blade passes through it as if she were attempting to strike the wind. It darts back toward them, but the speedy pair are able to keep it from making contact with them.
The shadow targeting Xania caresses her with it's frigid touch once again. She withstands it better this time, but sees her arms begin to go numb as her strength begins to leave her. Taglio charges up swinging his lantern, which appears to drive the thing back for a moment, but only a moment, as it dodges away from him to the other side of Noir, and once again rests it's touch upon Xania. She feels her very life essence slipping away, and draws her magic dagger out to attempt some sort of defense.
Xania leans back against Noir, barely able to stand.
Dakath half jumps half falls from his horse, preferring his feet to be on the ground during a battle. He glances round watching the shadows flit back and forth, for once he is unsure as to what to do, he has never encountered anything like this before. It's only when he sees Xania drained by the shadow's icy touch that he draws both his long sword and dagger before moving to aid her.
Ullar slashes wildly with his greatsword and cuts a clean swath through his opponent, but that does not appear to cause it any consternation, and Ullar in turn feels the frozen touch, draining the peak of his considerable strength. Ullar knows that if this continues, he will not be able to wield his ineffective blade any longer. Completely unable to come up with a better plan, he swings his sword once again, and once again manages to contact the wraith, dealing no damage. He is gifted in return with the chilling touch, making it painful and difficult for him even to keep hold of the massive blade.
Squeezing his eyes shut, and then opening them as wide as he can, Forte tries to hold on to his sword.
Forte has better luck protecting himself, as his great blade appears to distract the phantom for a moment. He then wields what should be a lethal blow to the thing's head, but it ignores the blow completely and shares it's dark energy with Forte as well. Feeling similar to Ullar, he does not know what to do.
Augustus shakily draws forth his cross, realizing that the party is in desperate straits without his god-given power. Having never faced such creatures before, he tries hard to remember the lessons he learned, and raises the cross, mumbling the Latin Exorcising phrases taught so long ago.
"In nomine de patri et filii et spiritus sancti," the young priest begins, holding out the Holy symbol of Jebohah. "In the name of the Father and The Son, and The Holy Ghost...It is not I who commands thee, but The Master...Evil spirits, get thee hence!"
The shadows cease their attacks instantaneously and begin rushing toward him as he rushes to get through the incantation. They do not reach him, however, as his voice becomes preternaturally commanding, and suddenly night becomes day once again, and the shadows vanish completely, as if they had never been.
The party looks thankfully at the humble Brother, assessing themselves. Xania and Ullar both still feel the nasty effects of the cold touch, but bear no physical injuries. Forte feels only slightly weakened. Asif's horse is in ill condition, though, and he realizes that he will be unable to ride him until he recovers from the foul magic.
Augustus says, "I think that these creatures are easily frightened, but I fear that they will return in time, and I am uncertain that I will be able to summon the strength to drive them away again."
Looking over at Augustus, "Thank you, my friend," Rhune says with a smile of thanks.
Augustus, clearly shaken, looks at Rhune. "Y-you are most w-welcome..." He appears to collapse on the ground where he stands...it appears for a moment that the priest has lost consciousness, but you hear his fervent prayer as he rises to his knees.
Taglio looks down and realizes he is drenched in sweat, but otherwise unharmed after the horrifying attacks of the wraith like creatures. He turns and runs quickly over to Augustus, his arms extended, he embraces him lifting him from the ground and kisses him on both cheeks. He then backs away rather abashed.
"Pardone, brother I forget myself, I am just so relieved and thankful that the lord has protected us through you. Surely Jerboha has not deserted us after all, Si?"
"Does anyone else bear weapons of magic?," asks Xania. "If not and there is one that can use a dagger, perhaps it would be better served in the hands of a warrior. At least here. I wonder, can we leave? Or are we trapped in this spirit world for all time?"
Dakath grins, "Alas I own nothing of magical worth and I am no warrior, but in my defense I am fairly handy with that type of blade," he winks at her.
Xania hands the dagger to Dakath without qualm. "Then it would be best you use it."
Dakath looks the dagger over, "Hmmm, it's got good balance, I shall be sure to make the best use I can of it," he looks up from his inspection and smiles at her. "Perhaps it will prevent further injury to me?"
Xania looks at him. "Rhune gifted me with that when I joined the group as it is the only type of weapon I can use. Someone mentioned that only magic may hurt these...shadows. Perhaps you could use it to keep them from hurting me as well," she only half smiles.
Dakath returns her half-smile "I shall do my best. Let us hope it doesn't come to that though, We should get moving."
"Not I," says Forte glumly, the thrill of a massive hit during battle somewhat tempered by the fact that the hit did no damage to the nether-creature. And the fact that he still feels the chill of the vile creature on his arm. He did, fortunately, manage to retain control of his bladder; a small victory in a failed fight against phantom fiends.
"When I bought this mighty sword," answers Ullar, drawing his sword from it's scabbard, "I was assured that it would be magickal. However, I did manage to hit those creatures, but it seems that I couldn't do them any harm."
"I'm uncertain whether it is true that magickal weapons are able to cause them any damage," says Ullar, looking at Taglio for an answer, as he is the one who mentioned it (first) to the group.
"I'm not sure if we did any damage to them with our weapons. But I did notice that for just the briefest of moments, one shied away from the light. Perhaps if we had torches lit," Rhune replies thoughtfully.
He looks at Ullar, and shrugs at his question.
"I agree with Rhune, let us all bring out our torches and each carry a lit one into the tombs. I think we should go to the right entrance now, so as not to disturb those creatures again, and the fighters should be at the front, Si, with any magic weapons we have."
"I have no torch," Xania murmurs.
Looking up from her position next to Xania, "I think we should wait for just a bit. Then perhaps we will see," Rhune says not sure if she wishes to continue or not. Part of her does and part of her does not.
Forte nudges El Esqueleto closer to Xania. Shivering again just at the memory of the, the...the whatever it was!, he asks, "Are you all right? What were those things?"
"I don't know. They seem no more than shadows," The mage shudders.
Asif collapses to the ground beside his horse, taking the creatures head in his arms. He calls gently to the injured horse, willing it to fight for life.
"Desert wind, be strong my faithful companion. It is gone and we are safe. Aten's light has returned to this place. The darkness has been banished!"
Before going over to see if Xania is alright, Rhune watches her friend with his horse. She reaches out and gently touches him on the shoulder, "I am sure he will be alright," she whispers to him. She then heads over to Xania.
Asif gently coaxes the horse to regain its feet, his voice gentle and reassuring. Succeeding in this he turns to his companions.
"By Aten's light this place is foul and not for the like of the living. As the living should not walk in the realm of the dead, neither should the dead walk in the realm of the living. Here the two realms cross and I like it not. Without the light of Aten to guide me here, I feel little desire to remain here."
Looking up at him, "Perhaps you are right. Perhaps we should leave this area and soon. But..." Rhune lets the thought go as she eyes the barrows. "Friends are more important," she murmurs.
"I'm also feeling rather unconfident of exploring this place further," says Ullar, while rubbing his cold sword arm.
"We knows what lays inside?"
"On the other hand," the warrior continues, "I still need some armor. Even Zephyr is heavier armored than I am," speaks Ullar, while patting his horse on his neck, assuring the animal that everything is alright.
"Armor won't do you any good if you're dead," responds Forte. "How on earth can we defeat such creatures? And what if that was just a patrol?" He glances over at Augustus, asking, "What if there are a hundred more inside?"
"We don't know that, but I guess that's just the thrill of adventuring," responds Ullar, the adrenaline still floating through his veins.
Breathing hard, Rhune looks to Asif, "You are alright?"
Asif nods.
"I am fine, one fears an enemy one can not see. Such a thing as this is beyond my experience. I assume you too alright?"
"Yes I am fine. They did not touch me. Thank you," Rhune says with smile and a sigh of relief. Once she has made sure Asif is alright she crosses over to Xania, "Come, sit down for awhile. Rest for a bit. Then we can see what can be done about getting away from here for the moment," she says to the obviously affected mage.
It is a sign of just how weak Xania is that she allows Rhune to lead her. "My horse," she looks around. "We must keep Noir nearby."
Rhune looks at her friend with worry as she leads her off to the side, "We will keep him safe. Don't worry," she says sitting her down. Going back over to Noir, "Easy boy," she says softly as she takes a hold of his bridle and leads him over to where Xania is. She then sits down next to her and just stays there for a while.
Dakath looks around at the group "Is everyone one alright?" he says before moving over to check if Xania is alright. "If Augustus is right it may prove prudent for us to move some distance away from these mounds until tomorrow."
He then turns to Xania "Are you alright?"
"I don't seem to be physically injured," Xania responds, confused, "But I feel as if my very life essence has been tapped. It is most unnerving."
Rhune simply sits near the young mage not really saying much of anything. She just hopes that her presence is comforting to her.
Dakath frowns, "Then perhaps it's best if we get away from here as soon as possible. Can you ride?" He still holds the dagger Xania gave him in his right hand.
"Yes, I think so. Felt it would be better to fall from the ground instead of from Noir. Could you give me a leg up?" she asks.
Dakath grins glad to see some of her humor returned, "I always find the nearer you are to the ground you are the gentler the fall," he bends over and offers her his hand.
"Something I never had to practice until I joined up with you," Xania says sweetly taking his hand and, with his assistance, mounting Noir. "Of course, we still don't know if we can get out of here so this may be a moot point."
Dakath leans close to her mount he talks in a near whisper, "I beg to differ, if this begins to get too dangerous I plan to get out of here. Make sure you stay close if that happens. I don't plan on dying today."
"This is dark magic. Necromancy, I think it is called. I have never studied that part of the art, though I can see its allure and the power it can wield. At least I can now. You may not have a choice, Dakath. Though I can assure you, I will stay close. After all, you have a magic weapon." Her familiar mocking smile takes its place on her face.
"Hmmm," Dakath seems to be musing things over. He looks down at the dagger in his hand, "Yes you're right I have a magic dagger now. Now if you can lend wings to my back I would be even more grateful. I'm no coward but I'm not about to fight creatures I can't kill."
"But with that dagger, my dear Dakath, I believe you can. The trick is, to kill them before they kill us," Xania can't help but laugh at the look of dismay on Dakath's face.
"I do believe that was the first thing I was ever taught," he grinned "So far so good my dear Xania."
"As for the wings thing, give me a bit more time and knowledge. Then I'll work on that. Though I am not picturing you as an angel for some reason."
He smiles sweetly at her "Oh I don't know, I have heard that some religions hold to the belief of fallen angels. I could get used to that idea," he chuckles to himself. "On second thoughts I've heard of mages being able to become invisible, I rather like the idea of that. It would prove invaluable to me."
"We're back to that falling thing again," Xania laughs.
"Yes, invisibility would be of interest to me as well. Probably almost as good as being blindfolded," she smiles wickedly.
Dakath grins, "It would seem every time I talk to you the conversation always turns to falling to the ground. While the prospect has, what I suspect, interesting and enjoyable possibilities I believe you've just hit on something infinitely more daring and enjoyable," he grins at her. "Perhaps at a more relaxing time we could test your hypothesis?"
"Perhaps," Xania replies, eyes twinkling.
Seeing that Dakath is here to comfort her, "I will go back over to Asif, now. I hope you feel better soon, Xania," she says standing up and returning to where Asif stands comforting his horse.
Dakath smiles at Rhune as she leaves Xania's side to go be with Asif. "It's positive torture for her to be away from our mysterious Eastern friend isn't it?" he says to Xania.
Dakath chuckles.
Xania nods, "Whereas he seems to have some sort of thing, for his horse. Can a woman compete with a horse, Dakath?"
He grins at her, "I think you're asking the wrong man, perhaps Asif could better answer that question, I have only known the joys of a woman and so can't comment on the pleasure of horses."
"I have heard stories..." Xania's voice trails off as she looks back toward Rhune and Asif. Standing some distance away from the mounds, Augustus lends his healer's touch to those affected by the shadow's touch. By rubbing the affected areas for warmth, he is able to restore the feeling, though none of the actual strength. From looking, though, he estimates that the enervation is a temporary effect, only deadly if continued for some time. Rhees follows behind him, attempting to lend a hand, and when Auggie's rubbing fails to enliven Xania's body, Rhees lends a bit of magical assistance. His attachment to the natural world appears just the remedy to these creature's unnatural energy, as his spell lifts Xania's spirits and totally restores the lost feeling. However, she remains very weak, barely as strong as a child.
Xania is clearly displeased to have Rhees' assistance and stiffens at his touch--at least as much as she can. Once he is finished, she bites off a quick, "thank you," as if the words hurt her, but she is trying to be polite.
Sensing how difficult those words were for the proud young woman, he nods slightly and replies quietly, "I'm glad I was able to help," before moving on.
Deciding she would not be the best warrior to represent the party, Xania turns over her magical dagger to Dakath, who takes it humbly as always.