The strigha suddenly breaks through a 2nd floor window and grabs one of the PCs, choking them against the wall. I show them a picture of it and describe its hideous form. At this point the players are nervous cause this creature is a big unknown, there's been a big "creepy" factor to their investigation, they're not supposed to use lethal force, and they need to protect this terrified family.
Fortunately, the quick thinking invoker blasts the strigha through the window it entered from with a lance of radiance from his rod. They hear a loud crash, thump! Looking out the window they see the strigha scamper around the side of the manor. They're not quite so scared, but they're wondering where would it attack from next?
The justice begins to panic and makes plans to get his family out of there, asking his guards to go through the front door. Adamantly opposed, the PCs intimidate the guards to stand down. Right then, the strigha attacks again, leaping through through the hearth! In a shower of soot and shattered brick, she grabs the justice's leg and bounds toward a window with him, slamming the swordmage and a guard into the wall as she goes by.
Thinking quick the swordmage teleported in front of the strigha, barring her escape route. The PCs unleashed a ton of hurt on the creature, freeing the justice and sending his family downstairs as the rest of the PCs came up the stairs to join the fray. Surrounded, the strigha unleashes a blood-curdling roar and, scrambling across the walls, she attacks the lanterns in the room, plunging the PCs into darkness momentarily.
When they get light back, they don't see the strigha though a trail of her blood leads to a window. They think they've driven her off, but the invoker invoker warns everyone to stay vigilant and the bard goes downstairs to guard the family. Just then the bard sees the last two guards panic and unbolt the front door to flee. The strigha leaps down on the guards and bites one's face off. With a quick spell the bard slams and bars the door. The screams of the second guard fill the night as his body is slammed against the door from the outside.
Gathering downstairs - save for the rogue who peered out the upstairs window to keep a lookout - the PCs nurse their wounds and set up quick defenses to protect the family.
* * *
The Attack, part 2
The breeze picks up outside and clouds pass over the faint crescent of the moon, and several lanterns outside the manor go out, save for one which a guard outside dropped, leaving a small fire near the front of the house. That's when the rogue notices the mauled dead guard upstairs convulses and his eyes begin to film over, and a gasy voice says one word "betrayal." The strigha creeps through the 2nd floor window, unnoticed by the rogue, grabbing her and throwing her into a statue across the room; bounding after her, the strigha lunges for her face, knocking her back... and they both hit the rogue's trap.
In a last ditch attempt, the rogue grabs the edge of the splintered floorboards, but the strigha plummets to the first floor with a shriek.
Springing to action, the PCs set up a series of killer combos which bloody the strigha. Then the rogue leaps down on the strigha's back and backstabs for a ton of damage. Raging, the strigha hurls the rogue off her back. As the creature staggers backward, the PCs notice the black blood on their blades turns red. In a mirror for a moment the bard glimpses an image of the princess reflected from the strigha. The strigha lets out a plaintive cry at the cowering justice.
A moment of hesitation costs the merciful bard as the strigha lunges for his throat, dropping him to 0 HP, grabbing him and scrambling out a side entrance, blowing the door off its hinges. Chasing after their dying ally, the PCs manage to get her to drop the bard and stabilize him, but the strigha escapes into the night.
They were much more confident about facing the strigha again, but they were pretty shaken by the suspense and horror of the whole situation.
