The Ashabenford Arms:

Perelia, Roen, Doroga: The great light issues forth into the blackness, at first creating only a small puncture in the arcane shadows. The three of you have the strange sensation of seeing a three-dimensional hole in darkness, somehow lit slightly from the sunlight spilling hungrily into the room from the hallway. The emanation then begins to eat away at the greater bulk of the stubborn darkness.

The room is illuminated in an inky blue-grey that begins to clear up into more natural light... you can make out the forms of three undulating, black bodies, vaguely humanoid, all terminating at the same small sphere of utter black on the floor. Around the plum-sized trinket emanating the three shadow creatures, shards of broken window lie, almost invisible in the receding gloom.

As the spell takes full effect, the creatures squeal, undulating around their source like pain-wracked snakes tied together at the tail. Sheets of shadow-stuff peel from them and flicker into nothing, making them seem less substantial. They turn to the door, screeching rage in hallow tones, tiny eyes of pure white pinched in demonic frenzy. They stretch from their source beneath the broken window toward the door, like raving fingers of sheenless obsidian.

Herlam lies on a bed in the left third of the room, motionless. Now that the gloom is lifted you can tell that his eyes are open. You cannot say whether he yet lives or is dead. You have bigger things to worry about...

OOC:
Perelia, Doroga, Roen: Will roll initiative early-ish tomorrow before I go to work. If you get a chance before then, feel free to roll your own!

Everyone: Just a note/warning: this combat won't be a protracted, important battle. A couple rounds at most will likely do it. Want to keep things moving. The important bit of this is what happens after the fight with the shadow creatures.

I know it's bad to metagame for your players, but I did so this time in the interest of assurance that things are moving along.