Pascal, seeing that the candles didn’t have too much of an effect on the skulks besides making them visible, is going to charge a blast in his throat! With a loud pulse, a detonation of energy streaks toward the Allip!

Chaos Bolt! Attack: 9 Damage: 14 + 4 thunder damage. Aw. And that was such good damage.

Welp, that’s my turn. 
Initiative: 8
d20s: 17, 15

Quote from Quasimodal >>

Quote from Guiltysparc >>

With a great roar, Jorin breaks out of the stun and swings his axe wildly into the Allip.

• Bonus Action: RAGE

Jorin tries to "Hulk-out", but is unable to get to that next level of berserker.

(OOC: He used rage in the trading building post 1406, and in the library upstairs post 1609, so he is gassed out... If you had something else in mind for your Bonus Action, you can change it. Or you can role-play him being philosophical about not reaching the anger he wants.)

Whoops, must have missed marking it off on my sheet, apologies!  He will not rage, but instead swing is other axe. Attack: 15 Damage: 9

Subtract 2 from my first damage roll (9-2=7).  I'll keep it reckless to keep advantage and we'll roleplay that up as Jorin being enraged that he can't rage.

Since its on the other page, the first attack was a 21 for 7pts of damage (de-raged).

(OOC: I am going to manipulate the order of the die rolls a bit, because I want to have some fun with the story... Hope no one is offended.)

The Allip, being worn down by the hail of blows, reaches out its arms to the right (Jorin, Quillary) and its left (Pascal). Sounds are uttered, the Whispers of Madness. This requires a DC 14 WIS save, which Pascal makes (15), but Jorin (13) and Quillary (6) do not. Pascal feels the urge to stab Drusk with his dagger, but his Lizardfolk brain is able to analyze that urge without acting on it. "Fascinating."

Using their reactions, Quillary strikes Jorin (without the critical damage) in the chest for 8 magic clubbing damage, while Jorin hits Quillary in the back with his battle-axe for 6. They both glare at each other. But the headache caused by the 6 points of psychic damage from the Allip's attack reminds them who is really to blame.

Quillary strikes the Allip with her magic club (5 damage). Jorin recklessly attacks, striking twice for 7 damage (after the 7+9 were reduced by resistance to non-magical weapons). Hildigrim's arrow connects for 9 more magical damage.

The spectral image of Andras cries out as the blows tear apart its wraith-like body. It crumples to the ground, grasping its head as it turns its haunted gaze in search of a last victim. It stares at Pascal. Pascal gives a slight shudder, which causes his Chaos Bolt to miss its target. But the shockwave from the thunder damage is enough to dissipate the smoke form of the Allip into nothingness. Andras' struggle is over.

(OOC: Combat is done.)

Seren is sobbing at the fate of her son, but then angrily goes to the desk and starts examining the tome and the papers that Andras was using.

In the back of the room, Drusk asks Pascal, "What are you doing?" Pascal blinks, unaware that he was carving words into stone floor of the cellar with his dagger. Drusk reads aloud the words written:

An eye turns in the mist as dark blood boils and churns.

Vengence and rippling death will quake through the noblest fey.

Endless shadows will howl as reality unbinds,

crying to the darkness that waits in veiled lands.

The rattle of chains reminds Hildigrim that there are two skulks still in the room. He looks over with concern. "We still don't know what he was doing," the halfling says to the room at large. "Trying to destroy them? Trying to free them?" Seeing Seren going through the papers and books on the desk, Hildigrim approaches her. "Anything?" he asks the elf tentatively.

Quillary smiles at Jorin with a respectful nod, then turns to Hildi's question. "It would seem he believed that the people of this town could be brought back, or barring that, these wretched souls," she indicates the chained skulks, "Could be redeemed, or freed. Neither is the case, I believe." She tilts her head and murmurs in her odd language, probably to herself, then raises an eyebrow at Jorin.

She will burn her last two 1st level spell slots on Healing Word for Jorin, for 4 healing, and for herself, for 7 healing.

Quote from Mingofaust >>

She will burn her last two 1st level spell slots on Healing Word for Jorin, for 4 healing, and for herself, for 7 healing.

Counter-offer: Drusk should use Channel Divinity. That is 15 HP worth of healing, except it can only be used up to half the maximum HP. (I haven't checked how the party is doing.) After that, Quillary has the option of using her remaining spell slots.

(EDIT: My suggestion is 2 points for Drusk, 2 for Quillary, and 11 for Jorin. If I got it right, that puts the party HP at: Drusk 12 now / 24 max; Hildigrim 14/21; Quillary 10/21; Jorin 15/30; Pascal 14/26.

Quillary can then heal Jorin to 19/30, and herself to 17/21.)

Drusk will cast Cure Wounds on himself for 13 points (21/24). He still has 2 2nd-level slots, if more healing is needed later.

Quote from DirtyDogP >>

The rattle of chains reminds Hildigrim that there are two skulks still in the room. He looks over with concern. "We still don't know what he was doing," the halfling says to the room at large. "Trying to destroy them? Trying to free them?" Seeing Seren going through the papers and books on the desk, Hildigrim approaches her. "Anything?" he asks the elf tentatively.

Seren slides the tome to Hildigrim. It is well aged, and mold seeps through the pages, making them difficult to turn. No one took the time to mend the cover when mildew reached it long ago, likely due to the corrupt nature of the tome. It holds references to primal spirits and the Moonwells. Andras wrote on the pages, trying to fill in the details of dark secrets that have been lost in the book due to disrepair.

Seren has more luck with the other notes and papers, as she is used to his speaking style. Seren looks around the room with some revulsion. Skulks can only been seen if the viewer is a child, in the reflection of mirrors, or with special lighting. Andras made the candles from the fat of unidentifiable corpses he found in the woods and imbued them with arcane essence. In the notes, he claimed it was the only way to truly see the skulks.

Andras believed the souls of his fey comrades are trapped within the shadow corpses, cursed to live out a hollow and colorless version of their lives. Andras claimed that the Ritual of Solace can help those cursed by the Howling Disease. He did not believe he was powerful enough to cure or reverse the damage inflicted, but he wanted to aid the souls in their escape from the shadowy tombs that trap them.

The glow of the corpse candles light Andras’s workstation in an uneasy hue. Glancing over the scrolls and texts, it is apparent his ritual was near completion. It may even be close enough to solve yourselves, should you find it worth the risk.

Seren says she will finish what Andras started, even if you will not, despite her lack of arcane knowledge. And Pascal feels a curiosity to see the end of the ritual, while he absent-mindedly scratches words into the stone columns next to him. (The same words that he carved out earlier.)

Unfortunately, Hildigrim is the only one in the party proficient with Arcana, so the burden of doing the ritual correctly is probably on him (although anyone can make the check).

Hildigrim is able to figure out parts of the tome, that had eluded the crazed Andras. You won't have to worry about turning into an Allip, but there will still be unknown negative effects for mis-casting the ritual. These are the ground rules, if you decide to do this:

• Requires several successful Arcana checks. (I won't say how many, or what the DC is.)
• Each failure increases the DC by 1.
• If someone volunteers, they can be in contact with Hildi during the ritual. If there is a failure, the penalty can be sent to this helper instead of Hildigrim being affected.
• In addition, anyone can take the Help action, to provide Advantage on the ability check. But if they do that, they will also share the penalty of a failed check.
• Drusk can cast Guidance (add d4 to ability check).

Quillary will step up to help, without hesitation. "I have already seen my death, and lived past it," she says cryptically. "This is more journey than I expected."

(As for the healing, I'm cool with whatever gets the party closer to full rattle. So Quillary is at 10/21, and has no 1st level slots left, right?)

Jorin face darkens as he remembers the last time he was put under mind control, which also led to his axe biting his friends. He meets Quillary's nod, but his eyes drop a little before saying,  "I am sorry.  Sorcerous beings tend to do that to me." 

He spits after the word "sorcerous" before looking back up to her, "You know, the spitting, it doesn't seem to work...but then again, I did not spit, as i should have, when Andras revealed his ghostly form.  Yes, that is why it did not work.  I will need to be more vigilant in my warding."

"You took quite a blow, and returned one in kind.  I hope you stay with us a little longer, after this task is finished." 

After he listens to Seren and Hildigrim detail the ritual he adds, "We could also just kill cut the threads of these two skulks and be done with it.  Though, I suppose there are all the others in the town.  That is a lot of threads to cut...but I do enjoy cutting threads."

Quote from Mingofaust >>

(As for the healing, I'm cool with whatever gets the party closer to full rattle. So Quillary is at 10/21, and has no 1st level slots left, right?)

(Drusk uses his ability, and then she used her spells like you said in post 1710. So she is at 17 hp.)

Quote from Guiltysparc >>

After he listens to Seren and Hildigrim detail the ritual he adds, "We could also just kill cut the threads of these two skulks and be done with it.  Though, I suppose there are all the others in the town.  That is a lot of threads to cut...but I do enjoy cutting threads."

Seren: "This land would still be cursed, and the villagers' souls would still be in torment, even if they no longer walk among the living. I would see Andras' work completed."

Quote from Guiltysparc >>

Jorin face darkens as he remembers the last time he was put under mind control, which also led to his axe biting his friends. He meets Quillary's nod, but his eyes drop a little before saying,  "I am sorry.  Sorcerous beings tend to do that to me." 

He spits after the word "sorcerous" before looking back up to her, "You know, the spitting, it doesn't seem to work...but then again, I did not spit, as i should have, when Andras revealed his ghostly form.  Yes, that is why it did not work.  I will need to be more vigilant in my warding."

"You took quite a blow, and returned one in kind.  I hope you stay with us a little longer, after this task is finished." 

She looks up at him, quirking her strangely patched face, then smiles as some small bug crawls across her forehead. "Our minds span a wider space than that between our ears... at times they wander, and slip into another's grasp. Those are dreams, too. Yes, you must see to your wards, we each have ours," and she reaches up to caress a finger along the cat skull in her hair/headdress.

"I will gladly keep your company, Jorin of the Bodt," she winks again. "After this task is finished. If this task does not finish us, first." Then she turns to Hildi's task, listening, and offering her assistance.

Without looking up from the tome, Hildigrim says to Quillary, "After the completion of this task, I wish to hear of how you witnessed your final demise and now survive." He then glances at Seren. "Let us begin."

Let's get this party started! Tell me what to roll. Quasi, if you want to do the rolls, that's fine. Remember to add "ro1" to them to account for halfling luck.

Sounds like Hildigrim will be the lead singer in this act. Question is, does someone want to Help, and does someone volunteer to be a "lightning rod" in case of a failure?

(Drusk is casting Guidance, so cannot do either of those acts. It will be up to Quillary, Pascal, and/or Jorin.)

If 2 people step up for those positions, then Hildigrim (or I) will make an Aracana check with advantage. And add a d4 for Drusk's Guidance.

If that goes well, then do several rolls in the next post. (Assume that Hildi keeps going with successes, but stops as soon as there is a failure.)

Quote from Mingofaust >>

Then she turns to Hildi's task, listening, and offering her assistance.

This sounds to me like she's assisting. I don't know if anyone else will step up as a "lightning rod", but I'll go ahead and roll with advantage. Not sure how many rolls "several" means, but let's do 10. In a spoiler to keep anyone considering being the lightning rod from letting the rolls persuade them either way:

Yeah, Pascal already has magic blood, might as well throw some more on there. I volunteer.

Confirmed, Quillary will offer the Help Action for Advantage. 

(OOC for behind-the-scenes explanation by the DM.)

Hildigrim is able to finish the ritual. There is sweating and struggling to get out the words and perform the movements properly, but with the help of the party, he makes it through. (If Jorin thinks he is left out, he is in the corner keeping the skulks quiet, so their chain rattling doesn't distract Hildigrim.)

A spectral fire illuminates over the fallen creatures as the spell is cast and the torment on your mind ends. There is a sigh that echoes from within their still lungs, a relief as their souls are released from their dreadful shadow prisons.

Seren inhales sharply, pausing to compose herself before letting her breath release. There is a tremor in her hand, but she hides it well. “Thank you,” she says in an quiet voice. “It means a great deal to me that you finished his work. I will never hold him again, but at least I know his efforts were not in vain.”

Your party is battered and tired, to the point that even Pascal is willing to eat some cold rations rather than take the time to make a satisfying meal. You make it back to the inn, find the rooms on the second floor that are in decent condition, and collapse for a night's sleep... But not before locking the door and gazing into the mirror to make sure you are alone.

(OOC: You can pick up the action the next morning at breakfast. But before you do that, take a Long Rest, and advance to Level 4. Don't worry about using Hit Dice. You have time to get back to full health.)

Jorin would have been delighted to keep his distance from the ritual casting while also keeping the Skulks quiet with his axes.  

OoC - woo! Level 4!  Time to pick a barbarian path.

Jorin was up as soon as the sun crept through his window.  If others were still asleep, he would have quietly (Stealth: 7) slipped away to where the barrels of ale are stored and rolled one back to the inn’s main room.  A good night’s sleep, and the dissipation of the curse, seems to have brought the barbarian’s humors back into balance.

At the breakfast table, Jorin arranges a handful of mugs, at least one for each of the group, and fills them with the breakfast ale.  He had rolled the sleeves of his tunic up when moving the barrel exposing more of the light blue tattooing that runs the length of his arm and up to his neck.  On his forearm, just believe the pit of his elbow, there is a new mark.  Its edges flow into the blue tattooing, as if they are apart of them, but the mark itself is ruddy brown, more akin to the color of dried blood.

Jorin sits comfortably in one the chairs, enjoying his morning ale and waiting for the others to gather for breakfast.

The mark looks like this (without the bullet points):

• __     __
• __\  /__
• __/  \__
• |  |  |  |  |