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<blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 601943" data-attributes="member: 6294">&quot;Hooberan's Stockade&quot; by Wicht&nbsp; - Part 8Sirdros volunteers for the job of investigating the cellar, and makes his way cautiously down the stairs.&nbsp; These creak slightly under his weight, but seem reasonably sturdy, despite the noises.&nbsp; Reaching the bottom of the steps, the elf glances about, then shakes his head.&quot;My light spell has ended.&quot; He calls back to the others. &quot;I will need someone to bring the lantern.&quot;After a short - but nonetheless heartfelt - discussion amongst the others, Twinkle warily edges halfway down the stairs, holding a lantern aloft.&nbsp; The light splashes across the room, creating several dark pools of shadow, but also revealing a pile of bodies near the far wall.&quot;Four dead down here, maybe more.&quot; Sirdros relays the message via Twinkle, &quot;No exits that I can see.&nbsp; Most of it looks like storage space.&quot;The remainder of the group moves down to join the elven cleric, who gestures to the pile.&quot;We should give them last rites.&quot;&quot;Good idea.&quot; The Padre claps him on the shoulder, &quot;Check them for valuables while you're at it, eh?&quot;Sirdros gives the other cleric a surprised look, then shrugs and moves to comply.&nbsp; Stormstrider, curious about the identities of the slain, follows.&quot;There are six of them.&nbsp; The two on top are dressed in rags - could be servants.&quot; The ranger calls back over his shoulder as he gets closer to the bodies, &quot;Four adults, two - &quot;The uppermost corpses suddenly leap to their feet, biting and clawing at the two elves.&nbsp; Both adventurers reel back, trying to defend themselves as best they can.&nbsp; Even so, the creatures' attacks have some success, and both elves begin to bleed from fresh wounds.&quot;Zombies!&quot; the Padre struggles to draw forth his holy symbol.&quot;Too fast!&quot; Mantreus disagrees, &quot;These are something else.&quot;&nbsp; He takes two steps to the side, trying to get a better view of the creatures, then gestures and speaks a word of command.&nbsp; A thin beam of pale energy leaps from his fingers.Unfortunately, the novice sorcerer's aim is off, and the beam strikes Stormstrider in the back.&nbsp; The ranger feels a slight warmth from the ray's touch, but is otherwise unaffected by whatever magical energy the spell contained.Sirdros steps back a few feet and raises the sun god's symbol.&quot;Back, foul creatures!&quot; he cries, and Pelor's light streams out.&nbsp; The monsters seem unimpressed, however, and continue to surge forward toward the adventurers.&quot;St Cuthbert smite thee!&quot; the Padre has more experience than his elven compatriot, and his voice is filled with the roaring power of the god of retribution.&nbsp; Both of the undead creatures scramble back from the divine energy, cowering fearfully against the wall.&quot;Now we've got 'em!&quot; Elspeth raises her swords, eagerly.&quot;Hold back!&quot; the Padre warns, pre-empting the ranger's charge, &quot;You must not get too close or the charm may be undone.&nbsp; Make use of your bows!&quot;The others naturally see the wisdom in this strategy, and soon a barrage of arrows, sling stones and crossbow bolts are flying across the cellar.&nbsp; Several of the shots are embarrassingly inaccurate, but the sheer volume of fire overwhelms the two undead and batters them, lifeless, to the floor.&quot;Ghouls.&quot; The Padre pronounces, once he has had a chance to look at the creatures more closely.&nbsp; &quot;We were lucky that Sirdros and Stormstrider were the ones attacked.&nbsp; The ghouls' touch could have paralysed any of the rest of us.&nbsp; Well, except Elspeth.&quot;&nbsp; He looks surprised, suddenly realising how many elves are with the company.&quot;What do you think happened here?&quot; Twinkle asks.Mantreus frowns, looking at the bodies,&quot;I have a bad feeling the disease killed the Hooberans, and their servants started eating them ... and turned into those things.&quot; He opines.&quot;I doubt it.&quot; Elspeth has less macabre sensibilities. &quot;There's plenty of food upstairs.&nbsp; No reason for the servants to eat anyone.&quot; She looks daggers at the sorcerer, &quot;And it would be more likely to be the rich eating the servants, anyway.&nbsp; They're used to living off the blood and toil of others, after all.&quot;&quot;I think the ghouls came from outside the town.&quot; Stormstrider - perhaps unwittingly - averts the imminent socio-political debate.&nbsp; &quot;Their clothes are rags.&nbsp; They must have been wearing them for weeks.&quot;&quot;Right.&quot; The Padre agrees, &quot;Now, I guess the next thing to do is take a look upstairs.&quot;</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Capellan, post: 601943, member: 6294"] [b]"Hooberan's Stockade" by Wicht - Part 8[/b] Sirdros volunteers for the job of investigating the cellar, and makes his way cautiously down the stairs. These creak slightly under his weight, but seem reasonably sturdy, despite the noises. Reaching the bottom of the steps, the elf glances about, then shakes his head. "My [i]light[/i] spell has ended." He calls back to the others. "I will need someone to bring the lantern." After a short - but nonetheless heartfelt - discussion amongst the others, Twinkle warily edges halfway down the stairs, holding a lantern aloft. The light splashes across the room, creating several dark pools of shadow, but also revealing a pile of bodies near the far wall. "Four dead down here, maybe more." Sirdros relays the message via Twinkle, "No exits that I can see. Most of it looks like storage space." The remainder of the group moves down to join the elven cleric, who gestures to the pile. "We should give them last rites." "Good idea." The Padre claps him on the shoulder, "Check them for valuables while you're at it, eh?" Sirdros gives the other cleric a surprised look, then shrugs and moves to comply. Stormstrider, curious about the identities of the slain, follows. "There are six of them. The two on top are dressed in rags - could be servants." The ranger calls back over his shoulder as he gets closer to the bodies, "Four adults, two - " The uppermost corpses suddenly leap to their feet, biting and clawing at the two elves. Both adventurers reel back, trying to defend themselves as best they can. Even so, the creatures' attacks have some success, and both elves begin to bleed from fresh wounds. "Zombies!" the Padre struggles to draw forth his holy symbol. "Too fast!" Mantreus disagrees, "These are something else." He takes two steps to the side, trying to get a better view of the creatures, then gestures and speaks a word of command. A thin beam of pale energy leaps from his fingers. Unfortunately, the novice sorcerer's aim is off, and the beam strikes Stormstrider in the back. The ranger feels a slight warmth from the ray's touch, but is otherwise unaffected by whatever magical energy the spell contained. Sirdros steps back a few feet and raises the sun god's symbol. "Back, foul creatures!" he cries, and Pelor's light streams out. The monsters seem unimpressed, however, and continue to surge forward toward the adventurers. "St Cuthbert [i]smite[/i] thee!" the Padre has more experience than his elven compatriot, and his voice is filled with the roaring power of the god of retribution. Both of the undead creatures scramble back from the divine energy, cowering fearfully against the wall. "Now we've got 'em!" Elspeth raises her swords, eagerly. "Hold back!" the Padre warns, pre-empting the ranger's charge, "You must not get too close or the charm may be undone. Make use of your bows!" The others naturally see the wisdom in this strategy, and soon a barrage of arrows, sling stones and crossbow bolts are flying across the cellar. Several of the shots are embarrassingly inaccurate, but the sheer volume of fire overwhelms the two undead and batters them, lifeless, to the floor. "Ghouls." The Padre pronounces, once he has had a chance to look at the creatures more closely. "We were lucky that Sirdros and Stormstrider were the ones attacked. The ghouls' touch could have paralysed any of the rest of us. Well, except Elspeth." He looks surprised, suddenly realising how many elves are with the company. "What do you think happened here?" Twinkle asks. Mantreus frowns, looking at the bodies, "I have a bad feeling the disease killed the Hooberans, and their servants started eating them ... and turned into those [i]things[/i]." He opines. "I doubt it." Elspeth has less macabre sensibilities. "There's plenty of food upstairs. No reason for the servants to eat anyone." She looks daggers at the sorcerer, "And it would be more likely to be the rich eating the servants, anyway. They're used to living off the blood and toil of others, after all." "I think the ghouls came from outside the town." Stormstrider - perhaps unwittingly - averts the imminent socio-political debate. "Their clothes are rags. They must have been wearing them for weeks." "Right." The Padre agrees, "Now, I guess the next thing to do is take a look upstairs." [/QUOTE]

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