hahaha!!! That's the dastardly device indeed! When the survivors were finally wiped out (perhaps 8 encounters later) and I was returned to the town, I had my priest Grûin (lvl 13 Dwarf, and the only member of the starter party I didn't delete.. I did remove his items, though!) use Full Raise.. only two didn't make it. Rose, a promising Halfling priestess [lvl 8] and Gortuk, a strong Orc priest [lvl 9] and expert healer (a Light Heal scroll that didn't break until just before his death). Tragic, yet such is the way of things.
At least the monsters didn't loot the staff (they likely thought it was hilarious), so I believe revenge will be in order. Well, once I have a few new priests. =/
- Gio