- Askelon fires a Necrotic Bolt into the zombie he previously hit with the Chromatic Orb, ripping half of its rib cage off. As the gore falls out of the undead creature, the Necromancer moves to a position north of Hjalgrimm, toward the melee with the Wraith. He gathers his best will power and attempts to persuade the Zombie to come to him. The Zombie turns toward Askelon. The Specter by Rhyna reaches out and grabs her, causing necrotic damage but failing to lower her health maximum. Skeletons and militia continue to fire arrows at each other ineffectively, but one of the militia drives a spear into the specter they're engaging with.
- Tenktovie calls on Save K'Nor to spurn these undead abominations. Both seem to be affected by the channeled divinity. The priest then offers up a Word of Healing to Rhyna. A skeleton's arrow seriously wounds one of the militia women. Rook hurls his Claws at the specter, drawing its attention away from Tenktovie. One missed, but one hit hard. He then cast Veil of Shadows to partially hide himself and Rhyna. The wraith of old Crone Jofford turns and flees away from the commanding presence of Tenktovie, passing through the fence and heading north. Over to the east, Hjalgrimm hacks one of the Zombies in two, gaining a Bukrai point and refilling his temporary hit point pool. He turns slightly and slams his blade into another Zombie. This one, however, is different, and a cloud of ash explodes from the undead creature. Hjalgrimm manages to avoid choking on the ash cloud. Two militia fire at skeletons, and one of them hits, destroying the target. Rhyna draws on her Second Wind to restore some health and swings the Zurinda Striker at the specter. The swing misses. She spins around and slams the striker into the specter, tearing a large part away. The other specter grabs the throat of a militia by them and the poor soldier withers and dies. One of their companion militia tears off another chunk of the specter with their spear. Faelon attacks one of the skeletons, but misses with both Dragon and Phoenix. Weyliri moves in Faelon's direction and unleashes a Guiding Bolt into the skeleton. The Ash Zombie returns Hjalgrimm's blow with a solid punch. Hjalgrimm keeps his concentration. The militia coordinate multiple attacks to seriously damage the specter that killed their friend. The skeleton near Faelon swings his short sword and misses.
- Tenktovie moves down near Weyliri and Faelon and draws on his diving power to turn the remaining undead away. Two skeletons crumble in pieces to the ground. The specter, though badly wounded, seems unaffected. Rook slams his Blue Claw into the specter, destroying it. Hjalgrimm destroys the last Ash Zombie, once again avoiding the effects of the choking cloud of ash.
At this point, all of the undead are destroyed, except for the wraith that fled north. Weyliri and Tenktovie immediately set about checking on the fallen militia and town folk. Hjalgrimm rushes to join them. The three manage to save the lives of two of the militia, but the one militia woman who was killed by the specter cannot be saved. At least half a dozen town folk are beyond saving.
The sounds of horse hooves clatter from the west, and from the north. From the west, a group of men in armor with halberds approaches in military style, followed by four mounted knights and a nobleman on horseback. These are Lord Baron Tarmas Verdreth's men from Ternua Keep. The group from the north soon show themselves to be half a dozen Laranian knights and squires followed by three mounted knights. One of the knights wears a rank denoting him as a commander of the local temple. The Baron calls for Sir Chelrik to have his men stand down, as this is official business of the Barony. Chelrik protests that one of his lieutenants has been missing for two days, and the Baron retorts that so has his daughter! "Is that a coincidence, sir knight?" Chekrik halts his men.
The baron snaps "Sergeant, report!" One of the militia steps forward and slams his closed fist on his chest. "Sir, it appears that something disturbed the dead and they arose from the graveyard, led by what appeared to be the ghost of old Crone Jofford. We count six dead town folk and one dead scout. If it were not for the bravery and support of our visitors here" - he gestures to members of the party - "there would be very many more dead." One of the militia steps forward and offers "They healed my wounds when I thought I was gone for sure, m'lord!" Another steps up and says "The same with me, my lord. I am grateful."
One of the town folk screams and points north. The Crone Wraith is flying at high speed back toward the people, still more than one hundred yards away. Sir Chelrik immediately orders his men to intercept. The Baron echoes his command. The Laranians sprint into the courtyard of Jofford's Rest, followed closely by the Baron's men. They intercept the wraith and combat ensues. The party is taking their time to lend their aid. Until, that is, they notice that the majority of the combatants are unable to harm the wraith. The Laranian commander is connecting, but none of the others are. Then they witness Jofford's wraith raise one of the slain Laranians as a specter. They quickly calculate that this will go badly very quickly if they do not intervene. The party joins the fight, with Askelon and Hjalgrimm careful to not show any signs of Morgathianism, and Rook relying on his pair of +1 enchanted daggers instead of his Dekejis Claws. They make quick work of the wraith and specter.
By this time, Christina and Christopher Jofford have emerged from the Inn and have witnessed the destruction of their mother - again. They are actually relieved that she will never haunt them again. Christina tells the Baron that the party will be covered for lodging, food, and drink with the Baron's permission. He wholeheartedly agrees, and tells the party that they are welcome to join him and the town council for a lunch on the morrow. For now, however, his people need to attend to the wounded and dead. He thanks the party again for helping strangers when they had no call to, and bids them a pleasant sleep.
The party retires into the inn, where Christina shows them to their rooms on the third floor. She shows them to the Adventurer's Hall and explains that both baths are drawn and hot. When the party convenes, they realize that Askelon and Hjalgrimm are not with them. They check their rooms and find them empty. Tenktovie retires to his room. The rest of the party settles in to clean and repair their gear and bathe. After about an hour, Askelon and Hjalgrimm return. Rook and Faelon insist on a group meeting.
[group discussion. Head produced.]
The Party retired for the evening. In the morning, they all felt refreshed and more powerful (Level 5). Breakfast is waiting for them on the ground floor of the inn.