Shadows and Fog: Round 5
"Lîhti," whispers Ingrid, and the head of her mace starts glowing with holy magic, casting a light around her, dispersing the gloom and the fog. She moves forward to meet Vodarte.
Vodarte dashes to Ingrid's and Mouser's side, partly out of breath.
"Just a pleasant walk in the woods," he grunts. He lifts his arm and sends Milah back skyward, then draws his bow and fires at the creature on his trail (
Z42).

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One arrow misses and the other merely nicks the living carcass! Its mouth continued shrieking beneath baleful, haunted eyes.
Hearing the shouts just beyond them, Vodarte’s face creases with worry.
"Any casualties?" he asks.
"Just my sling," quips Mouser.
Long Bo takes off through the woods in the direction that he last heard Telkis shouting.
“We must help our little friend! TELKIS! TELKIS! WHERE ARE YOU! SHOUT IF YOU CAN HEAR MY VOICE!!!” Bo’s cries were muffled and scattered by the all-smothering fog.
Grothnak joins Bo in the chase for Telkis.
Pelias keeps his sword drawn and joins the half-orc and Bo in their search for the gnome warrior.
As they ran through the disorienting, moonlit, fog-cloaked forest, they were suddenly beset by a fearful, agonizing howl from the direction of Telkis. The terrified shriek was not of any undead creature!
Most southern of the three rescuers, the druid has the shortest distance to travel through the dense, dark woods. Bo comes into a small clearing where he sees a horrifying sight: an undead abomination, soaked in fresh blood, devouring a fresh body!
The body is that of Tobits, Telkis' donkey.
The horrendous horror feeding upon Tobits looks up at Bo’s sudden arrival. Bo saw that the dead flesh of this walking corpse (
Z44) serves as host to the living: a festering, body-wide colony of mold, fungus and slime.
Two others are nearby in the clearing!
Telkis Brassfang is one of them, and he ferociously swings his Morningstar down onto the mossy monstrosity’s skull, exploding it in a wet thud of rotten bone shard and brains, ending its unnatural unlife, and avenging the death of his dear friend Tobits.
At Telkis' feet lay unmoving another of the undead Red Cloak goblins (
Z45).
The other nearby thing is a nauseating, rotten-faced revenant (
Z43) that lunges at Telkis with monstrous, hungry hands; reaching, clawing, grasping!
The disgusting carrion grabs Telkis, crushing his throat with inhuman strength, strangling him! (
-2 hp)
Meanwhile, to the north, Hoom Feethos stands guard for the horses with short sword drawn and eyes fixed on the west, insuring they didn’t meet the same ghastly fate as poor Tobits.
The Grey Mouser scatters caltrops 10' in front of Vodarte then draws into the newly lit woods for concealment. He waits for the deathless terror.
The loathsome, screaming carrion (
Z42) closes with its quarry, stalking through Mouser’s trap, unknowing and unaffected. The little thief has seen these unholy profanities missing hands, arms, even skulls! …completely unfazed.
Cursing softly, Mouser lunges out from behind the bloodless ghoul with two-fisted steel! Even with Ingrid’s beacon, the thief backstabs the unthinking horror, barely catching it with Cat’s Claw!
The soulless gaunt (
Z42) lurches on, relentless. The fanged abyss of its voracious maw plagued by a hunger that could never be quelled. The frightful corpse plunges at Vodarte with its teeth, missing badly and leaving itself wide open for a counter attack! (
please see DM notes)
To the south, near Telkis and Bo, another unliving cadaver (
Z46) suddenly appears from the fog, also drawn by the shouting. This one had been a young girl in life. Her clothes are hideously provocative, no more than a harlot’s undergarments, revealing too much of her creepy, grey, dead flesh. Her young red mouth, stained with blood, hisses ferally at Telkis and Bo.
Actions?!

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DM Notes:
Status:
Elden Vodarte, Human Ranger 2: AC 3, HP 20/20
The Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 1/2: AC 4(5), HP 10/10, Spells: 0/1 1st lvl
Grothnak Uthglukh, Half-Orc Fighter 2: AC 4, HP
7/17
Hoom Feethos, Elven Magic-User/Thief 1/2: AC 3, HP
5/8, Spells: 0/1 1st lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 2: AC 3(1), HP
9/12, Spells: 0/4 1st lvl
Long Bo, Human Druid 2: AC 6, HP
5/15, Spells: 2/4 1st lvl and 1/2 2nd lvl
Pelias Blanchflower, Human Paladin 1: AC 2, HP
4/11
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 2: AC 0, HP 14/19
Magic:
Entangle (Bo): Any creature that is dark green is entangled for 6 more rounds (Z36, Z34).
Light (Ingrid): 2” radius globe of light on Ingrid’s mace, for 7 more rounds.
Protection from Evil (Pelias): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Pelias.