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[Anastasia]

Looking into the cells then, I presume?

[Ebiris]

That was implicit, yes.

[Anastasia]

Inside the cells are people - or what were once part of one. Chests and bits of torso with a head, all hung with stout rope. Empty-eyed and twitching, breathing raggedly. Hunks of flesh that cling to life when they should not, mouths open and yet nothing but the barest gasps for air coming from them.

As you watch, in each of those empty eye sockets, you can see the endless stretch of nothingness, seeming to reach forever, yet held at bay.

[Ebiris]

None of these people look capable of managing the cries for help that she heard before... "They need more than I can give, but we saw this in Kesse and those victims recovered," she says via major image, maintaining her countersong as she uses her woefully insufficient cure spell down the line to at least stabilise them a bit before regenerate and hearts ease spells can be put to use.

[Anastasia]

Healers hurry in, checking them. After several moments, "The song," One calls, a half elf or an elf, you only get a glance of her. "It's holding something back from within them. Please, keep singing!"

[Ebiris]

Marie nods as she keeps exercising her vocal chords, having run out the Crimson Guard marching songs and moving onto gentle and uplifting Mystran hymns.

[Anastasia]

Soon enough, "We can't heal them, but something in them, stopping it. The song's keeping them at bay."

Oberuth scowls darkly, "Can we drive it out of them?"

"Maybe?" she finally says, "Powerful enough holy ground and dispel evil may do it."

[Ebiris]

Marie has her protective aura as far as anti-evil stuff goes if that's any help.

Would dispel magic do any good here? Knowledge checks of her own for ideas?

Spoiler: ShowHide

Marie: 537/608
Active spells: Extended superior resistance (CL 32), extended mind blank (CL 32), greater arcane sight (CL 32), extended repelling shield (CL 32), bibliotheca arcana (CL 32), extended nondetection (CL 32), epic mage armour (CL 32), sensual blessing (CL 32), extended jaela's teleport block (CL 32)
Defences: AC 94 (touch 36, vs incorporeal 69), CMD 78, spell resistance 46, energy immunity (electricity), energy resistance 10 (acid, cold), status immunity (petrification, polymorph, form-altering, energy drain, ability drain, ability damage, mind-affecting) protective aura, nondetection (DC 47)
Stat buffs/penalties: +11 shield AC, +15 insight knowledge
Perceptions: Darkvision 60, blessed sight 120, see invisibility, blindsight/tremorsense 60, scent, greater arcane sight, perception +71
Sorcerer spell slots: 6/8/10/9/8/9/9/8/7/6/0/4/2
Limited SLAs available: Limited wish, radiant assault, heal, meteor swarm, time stop

[Anastasia]

K:A and K:R.

[Ebiris]

[19:33] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+47+15 arcana
[19:33] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 69 > [d20=7]
[19:33] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+47+15 religion
[19:33] <Penuche> Ebiris invokes Penuche's magic: < 67 > [d20=5]

[Anastasia]

Looking carefully, you can see a shadow lives within all of them, using the bodies to survive. Like a linked infection, surviving and sustaining with in them. Only a great deal of holy power could drive it out.

[Ebiris]

What about positive energy?

Could she hit the shadows with magic missiles without hurting the hosts, or at least alongside the hosts?

What about using Crushing Hand to grab just the shadows and not the hosts?

[Anastasia]

Positive energy would be soaked up by the surviving bodies. The missiles would hit the bodies before the shadows. Crushing hand would grab the bodies since it's inside of it and that's obviously a problem.

[Ebiris]

Using major image to speak while maintaining her song, Marie says, "Holy power would drive them out, but what I produce would risk killing them as well. We'll have to take them out of here unless someone can use dispel evil."

[Anastasia]

"Get Eudard," Oberuth orders tersely. "How long can you keep singing, Marie?"