The children continue to ignore the image of Prochorus.
"If your friend wants to play in the water with us, why doesn't he come out from behind the shed?" says the middle child.
The young child says, "Your doctor is wrong, come play in the water and your toe won't hurt no more."
The oldest child just goes closer to the ghost and taunts her, "No momma, we won't come home, we'll keep on playing in the river. After all, you can't protect us from our new dad, so why would we want to go home."
This last part makes the ghostly woman collapse in tears, pleading between sobs that she loves her children and didn't want them to get hurt.
Prochorus steps out and starts to play his drum and chant. He casts aura of rightful authority on the oldest child. Level 20, total 29 plus 3 playing, plus 1 gestures, so penetration 13 before aura and die.
"Look what you are doing to your mother. Get over here. I am your father now."
As the real Prochorus steps forward and starts speaking, Japik backs away a few yards and silently orders the image to back off as well in another direction where it will be well out of the field of vision between the boys and Prochorus.
Japik then stops and watches the boy's reactions to Prochorus. Ready to take action if needed.
Prochorus proceeds to cast authority at the other children. If he has trouble making eye contact, he bangs loudly on his drum and shouts: "Children! Come to your new father!" If it doesn't work, he puts them to sleep with the call to slumber instead (pen 14 before aura and die) .
You have trouble making eye contact with them, as they are concentrating on their older brother. As soon as you start casting a new spell, they plunge into the water of the river, vanishing from sight.
The older brother looks from the river, where his siblings vanished, to you. Hesitation is obvious from his stance.
The woman cries her anger and anguish when she sees her children leave, and moves towards Prochorus, really acknowledging his presence for the first time. "What have you done?! My children are gone because of you! Why did you hurt them?"
The oldest child (who looks to be about 10 years of age) takes one step towards you, then another. It looks like a struggle, as if he is trying to overcome some barrier. The next step has one foot leave the river and lands on the rocky ground bordering the river. Another pause, and a rictus of pain as the child tries to follow your order to come to you. Another step.
As the child completely steps out of the river, the water dripping from him flows in a narrow tendril, extending into the river. But soon, that tendril becomes smaller and smaller. "Father?" the child says in a voice full of pain. His skin, pale and greyish so far, starts to change.
A dark network of veins begin to show through his skin, everywhere that skin is visible. A thin mist seems to evaporate out of the boy as the network darkens and spreads. As it does, the skin tightens and dries out. The child, with a cry full of pain, falls to his knees on the stony ground. He shrivels and collapses to one side. Before long, all that remains is a small mummified corspe.
Pain explodes in Prochorus as the ghostly woman hits him with a rock in a crazed attack, yelling, "You killed my children! You killed them!"
(You can't simply turn away and run while engaged in combat. Essentially, Prochorus needs to disengage from combat first, otherwise the ghost will just keep attacking him as he moves. See ArM5 p.173 for those rules. He must generate a Defense Total based using his Brawl score + die roll -- a dodge specialty does not apply to this total -- which will be opposed to the ghost's Brawl Attack Total. You can make your own roll for this.)
(I'll also wait to resolve the actions until I to see what Japik does when he sees the attack happening.)
When Japik sees the ghost woman attack Prochorus he takes a few steps towards her but still some way apart, and shouts at her "Hello it's not his fault. I killed your children. It's me you should be angry at."
Meanwhile he sponts a Muto Mentem effect that tries to change the object of the woman's anger to himself.
(Base 3 for making a major change to a target's emotion, +2 for Voice range. Mu +5, Me +4, Sta +4, so +13 total before aura and die.)
Prochorus reflexively pushes the ghost away from himself as he tries to disengage from her crazed attack. Strangely, although his hand feels like it goes through empty air, the ghost seems to be indeed pushed away. Prochorus turns and run, and does not see what happens next. Japik, who had been casting a spell (rolled a 5 for that), does.
The ghostly woman trips and falls down heavily on the ground, her head hitting a rock with a sickening sound. She lays there unmoving as a puddle of blood quickly spreads from her head unto the ground.
After a moment she fades away, leaving only a large bloodstain on the ground.
(Japik still loses one Fatigue level for the spell he cast, even though its target no longer can be affected by it.)
Prochorus looks over his shoulder after a while and sees the ghost for a second before it disappears. He walks back.
"Well. We know what happened, at least. Ugly. Maybe it doesn't come back. What should we do if it does, though? Get rid of the other children like that? God knows I would rather not."
Japik stands astonished after seeing the woman collapse to the ground, hitting her head and then slowly fading away after her blood and brains have left her body. He looks up at Prochorus when he comes back.
"Ugly, yes. That was grisly." he pauses to collect himself. "We have to wait and see what happens. If any of them comes back we know what works against them. They are already dead so it doesn't really matter what we do, but I understand your feeling. Come, lets have some breakfast."
Japik will try to Perdo Vim his image as it has Sun duration but if it's too difficult he will try to move it somewhere where it's unlikely for someone to see it until it disappears by sundown.
(You would need a level 10 PeVi to dispel your level 25 spell without relying on a high die roll. You'll probably have to park that image in your quarters for the rest of the day, to keep it out of sight.)
(Are you leaving the back yard as it is right now? There is the bloody rock, but also the mummified body of the boy.)
Japik parks the image in his quarters then for the day.
As for the boy he calls for Hjalmar to help him carry the body somewhere where it can be buried. He explains to him that it is one of the ghost boys that is now freed and put to rest for good. Yulia and Dietlinde might pour some water on the rock and scrub it with a brush.
(Nothing significant. Small cut on your head from where the rock struck you, and a few scratches on your face. You'll be bruised and tender for a couple of days. I'll treat this as a Long-Term Fatigue Level until the next day.)
(Does Prochorus concur with Japik's plan of action for disposing of the blood of the ghost and the small body of the child?)
(Actually, no. He sponts a life-linked perdo corpus to dispose of the corpse. Base 5, +1 touch, PeCo 5 + 1 stamina + 3 playing + 1 gestures = 10 before aura and die. No need for the grogs to know.)
Prochorus gets his kantele from inside and plays a solemn little song.