Besieged by Bones

kinem · Oct 3, 2012

You see Sir Rand, Dame Winter, and Steward Wingate also being roused. The former two don their armor and head out to the wall, while the Steward (being no warrior) heads downstairs. Sir Sam Ram, as his room is on the lower level, is no doubt already out there.

The keep is a bustle of activity, as recently sleeping men don their armor and servants, most with little idea what to do, gather and chatter.

The outer wall at 30' tall is almost as high as the 35' tall guard towers.

The moon is a slim crescent, when the clouds don't block it. From your journey here, you know that the new moon was about two days ago.

Each guard tower now has 6 archers in it.

You let your eyes adjust, and soon you can make out figures around the keep in the dim light. When Weiss tosses his stone, it illuminates a small area. The figures seem to be skeletal or at least very thin from what you can tell, and they keep a distance from the keep of at least 500', though if they are also in the woods some may be closer on that side. There are hundreds of them.

An archer explains "They came out of the woods. At first we shot at them, but that didn't seem to do much, and it's dark and they keep their distance. We decided that it was a waste of arrows, at least until daylight comes. They have not shot back."

SelcSilverhand · Oct 3, 2012

Rollen shivers as a chill sweeps over him. The undead never failed to send waves of fear into him. All the nights of hiding out while hordes of zombies and skeletons searched the woods and town seeking anything still living to feed upon still haunted his dreams. "What could have roused so many of them, and where did they lie to spring up all at once?" He shakes his head and tries to recall anything he had heard about raising the dead.

Sensing the worry and fear in the men guarding the walls, he begins to move among them offering words of encouragement while seeking Weiss to consult with.

OOC
[SBLOCK]
I'd like to encourage the men at the walls. I'm not sure if you want to call it a perform(oratory) or diplomacy. Untrained +4 or +9 respectively.
[/SBLOCK]

Deuce Traveler · Oct 3, 2012

Diego says, "This is all very strange. How does such a large army of undead come against us without discovery from our scouts? Does anyone have any word in regards to the fate of the local townsfolk?" After a moment of consideration he adds, "I doubt burning oil will do much against skeletal undead as they lack skin to burn, but we might want to begin collecting piles of large stones for our soldiers along the outer walls to lob when these creatures rush forth. We should focus our defense on the weaker points, such as the entrance ways. If this was an uncontrolled force they would have charged our walls and gates straight away and indiscriminately. That they have stopped short implies a greater intelligence in control."

kinem · Oct 5, 2012

[sblock=Rollen]Skeletal undead are usually animated by powerful spellcasters. However, any spellcaster capable of controlling so many would have to be very powerful indeed, much more so than the skeletal army itself.

Sometimes undead arise spontaneously, but those stories usually involve ghosts.

You recall from the legends about the ancients that they had secrets of magic that have now been lost, including strange necromancy.[/sblock]

The archer says "Stones, sir? You think that would be more effective? Yes, sir, we'll try it. Also, we do each have a handful of blunt arrows, meant to give us a not deadly option. That's much less than one for each of those things, though, and at this range it's no easy shot."

ooc: [MENTION=2795]Mark Chance[/MENTION]: What is Cáel up to?

Deuce Traveler · Oct 5, 2012

Diego nods to the archer, "Don't waste ammunition. Try the blunt headed arrows when you are sure the skeletons are in range. Don't waste your piercing arrows on them unless someone has an idea on how to safely soak some oil in the arrowheads and light them aflame. Continue to collect stones for when they press against our walls. We'll get farther against such enemies with fire and blunted attacks. Also, we don't know what else is out there and may want to save piercing arrows for something with more meat to it. Pass the word."

Mark Chance · Oct 7, 2012

Cáel arrives, equipped and determined. He squints into the darkness.

"Have there been any signs of refugees?" He notices men gathering stones. "Make piles of them. Those swords will be less useful if those are skeletons and they manage to get over the walls. We need clubs, maces. Blunt weapons."

Mark Chance · Oct 7, 2012

Cáel arrives, equipped and determined. He squints into the darkness.

"Have there been any signs of refugees?" He notices men gathering stones. "Make piles of them. Those swords will be less useful if those are skeletons and they manage to get over the walls. We need clubs, maces. Blunt weapons."

SelcSilverhand · Oct 8, 2012

Not immediately spotting Weiss, Rollen instead sees Cael and Diego upon the wall and heads directly for them. Once there he relays his thoughts on their origins, keeping his voice low to avoid worrying the men. "Some great disturbance must have caused these things to rise, or they were raised in ancient times and now released. I doubt a necromancer of modern times raised them as it would take a truly powerful individual to control this many. Are there other preparations we can make to hold out until morning? We will need the light to assess their numbers."

Deuce Traveler · Oct 8, 2012

Diego answers. "Well, I've already suggested focusing the men on our weaker points, such as our gates, and hauling up loads of stones to drop down on the invaders. Cael was wise enough to suggest setting them into piles and arming your swordsmen with clubs. That should help against skeletons. I would also start reinforcing our gates with barricades. What do you think about trying to light the woods around us aflame? It may help against the rotted undead and clear away some of their cover. Also, has anyone heard any word on the villagers? I fear for the loss of life, but I'm also afraid that if they are slain, they'll add to the numbers of our enemies."

kinem · Oct 8, 2012

The archer speaks up. "Clubs we have, sir. We use them in some of our combat training exercises.

There's only the one outer gate. The portcullis is down, of course.

I don't see how we would light the woods, but it sounds dangerous to me. We hunt deer there, you know.

As far as I know, there was no warning messenger from the village."