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<blockquote data-quote="barsoomcore" data-source="post: 1870131" data-attributes="member: 812"><p>Breath exploded out of Ana as she crashed down, flat on her back, onto the tiles of the roof.</p><p></p><p>And bounced.</p><p></p><p>Fragments of tile flew around her, dusty and choking and smacking against her, and she tumbled down the slope of the roof, plunging over the eaves to crash headfirst into a gorse-bush. Trying to disentangle herself only made things worse, and sharp thorns dug into her bare skin, clutched at her rather disarrayed clothing and held her firm.</p><p></p><p>She could hear dark moaning, not far off. And getting closer.</p><p></p><p>*****</p><p></p><p>Quinn stared, horrified, at where Ana had been perched. The sound of her impact with the roof below made he and Balck and Dras wince, but they could hear her yelling and so knew that at least she wasn't dead.</p><p></p><p>All three of them turned to stare at the dripping undead monster that had just chased their friend off the roof. It followed her, plunging off the side of the tower.</p><p></p><p>"No, you don't."</p><p></p><p>Quinn leapt after it.</p><p></p><p>Dras and Black looked at each other.</p><p></p><p>"This mortar seems poorly made, lad. Let's see about levering out a heavy stone or two, what? Could be we'll need the ammunition before this night is through."</p><p></p><p>*****</p><p></p><p>Quinn, launching himself downwards, landed on the roof at the same time as the zombi, only closer to the edge where Ana had fallen from. He let himself slide off and landed on his feet next to the bush where Ana struggled. He drew a knife and slashed away at the vines, only to look up at a shuffling above.</p><p></p><p>The stinking, foul creature stood directly above him, a little battered from its fall, but still intent on ghastly destruction. It leapt from the roof, plunging straight down at Quinn.</p><p></p><p>Who stepped sharply to the left, and watched the thing slam face-first into the packed earth next to him. It shuddered and then fell apart into stinky sludge, giving a slight sigh and realising a foul stench. Quinn returned to slashing up the gorse-bush, and soon Ana stumbled free.</p><p></p><p>More shambling things came towards them through the garden. Quinn lifted Ana by the hips and gave her a mighty shove on the backside, propelling her up onto the roof, then leapt up and clambered onto the tiles himself. They scrambled across the loose roofing, avoiding holes and making their way to where the rope Ana had earlier tied up still hung.</p><p></p><p>"Go, go!"</p><p></p><p>Ana started up the rope as Quinn knelt to reload his pistol. He heard a couple of gunshots from above and knew Dras and Black where standing guard.</p><p></p><p>"Come on, lad, they're coming from all sides! Ana's up, climb, lad, climb!"</p><p></p><p>Quinn did not wait. He leapt for the rope and pulled himself hand-over-hand upwards, his feet kicking against the rough stone of the tower. At the top, he slung himself onto the top of the tower wall, finding himself perched on a narrow circular ridge of stone.</p><p></p><p>That Black and Dras seemed to be determinedly tearing to pieces. Quinn watched for a second in puzzlement as the burly Englishman and the slender mulatto tore up the mortar with their knives, setting aside the heavy stones of the tower. He risked a quick look down. The tower was surrounded by shambling creatures, some of whom had reached the roof of the house and all of whom were clawing at the stones, dragging themselves upwards.</p><p></p><p>Dras leaned out, sighted carefully, and dropped a head-sized stone. It plunged downward and punched straight through the water-logged skull of one of their beseigers, who fell back from the wall in a lovely spread-eagle, crashing into the ground and disintegrating.</p><p></p><p>Quinn started digging away at the nearest vein of mortar.</p><p></p><p>*****</p><p></p><p>The problem with using the wall you were sitting on as ammunition, Black quickly realised, was that the more volleys you fired, the less of a position you found yourself defending. The height of the tower had decreased by several feet as he and the others dug out stones to drop on the army of undead monsters clambering towards them. But no matter how many they knocked off the sheer sides of the tower, more kept surging upwards, hissing and spitting bile and seawater.</p><p></p><p>And meanwhile every stone they dug up and threw down lowered the height of their position.</p><p></p><p>Dras was exhausted. It seemed like hours they'd perched up here, flinging down rocks into the snarling faces of their inhuman enemies. The foul creatures were reaching higher and higher, even as the moon passed overhead and sank towards the west. And now a couple scrambled upwards, as if aware that the night was slowly coming to an end. Dras hurled a rock and a curse at one, sending it flying off into darkness, but the other reached up with its clawlike hands and grabbed hold of the top of the tower wall, right between where Quinn and Black were sitting.</p><p></p><p>Quinn slashed with his knife, but the creature saw the blow coming and let go with its right hand.</p><p></p><p>Just as Black cut off its left hand. </p><p></p><p>The Englishman's bark of triumph was shortlived, however, as all eyes and eyesockets turned to the manor house roof where one zombi stood with its hands outstretched.</p><p></p><p>It cried out in a voice that rolled like deep breakers, churning with silt and the dark mud that lies at the bottom of the sea.</p><p></p><p>"Dagon! Deep-Father! Ruler of the Abyss! We cry to thee for vengeance!"</p><p></p><p>All movement ceased on the island. Even the waves seemed to pause in their relentless pounding. The thing pointed up at where Dras, Ana, Quinn and Black perched so precariously.</p><p></p><p>"The skull! Our mistress sends us for the skull of Lel-Za-Bol! We come to claim the rightfu--"</p><p></p><p>His voice cut off with a wet smack as a chunk of basalt struck him square in the forehead and blew his skull into fragments.</p><p></p><p>Four voices cheered.</p><p></p><p>Dras jumped up to balance on the top of the tower wall and bowed.</p><p></p><p>"Papa Agwe rules the Abyss, you degenerate walking corpses!"</p><p></p><p>At those words, the waves all around the island suddenly reared up and crashed against the rocks as one.</p><p></p><p>And again.</p><p></p><p>And with each thunderous boom, the water seemed to surge higher. It rolled across the thin grasses, crashing against the half-ruined walls of the compound in a sudden, violent spray, rolling around tree trunks and up against the house itself, sweeping aside loose branches, chunks of shattered boards and, with terrible finality, dragging writhing, struggling undead corpses from the stones of the tower.</p><p></p><p>As Dras and the others watched, stupefied with amazement, great waves like liquid claws reared up out of the roiling mass to suck the clinging, shrieking zombis down into the maelstrom that now roared across the island.</p><p></p><p>The waves retreated as quickly as they had arisen, leaving the island cleaner, wetter, and considerably quieter than it had been only moments earlier.</p><p></p><p>The four survivors clung to their insecure perch, staring without comprehension at the suddenly empty scene below them.</p><p></p><p>The moon sank below the horizon and the sun was beginning to cast its glow opposite before Black managed to speak.</p><p></p><p>"Well. I was hoping to get more sleep tonight."</p><p></p><p>Dras kissed the nearest stone.</p><p></p><p>"Just be glad I'm as good a cook as I am. Whoever this Dagon fellow is, he's clearly not someone to stand up to old Papa Agwe."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="barsoomcore, post: 1870131, member: 812"] Breath exploded out of Ana as she crashed down, flat on her back, onto the tiles of the roof. And bounced. Fragments of tile flew around her, dusty and choking and smacking against her, and she tumbled down the slope of the roof, plunging over the eaves to crash headfirst into a gorse-bush. Trying to disentangle herself only made things worse, and sharp thorns dug into her bare skin, clutched at her rather disarrayed clothing and held her firm. She could hear dark moaning, not far off. And getting closer. ***** Quinn stared, horrified, at where Ana had been perched. The sound of her impact with the roof below made he and Balck and Dras wince, but they could hear her yelling and so knew that at least she wasn't dead. All three of them turned to stare at the dripping undead monster that had just chased their friend off the roof. It followed her, plunging off the side of the tower. "No, you don't." Quinn leapt after it. Dras and Black looked at each other. "This mortar seems poorly made, lad. Let's see about levering out a heavy stone or two, what? Could be we'll need the ammunition before this night is through." ***** Quinn, launching himself downwards, landed on the roof at the same time as the zombi, only closer to the edge where Ana had fallen from. He let himself slide off and landed on his feet next to the bush where Ana struggled. He drew a knife and slashed away at the vines, only to look up at a shuffling above. The stinking, foul creature stood directly above him, a little battered from its fall, but still intent on ghastly destruction. It leapt from the roof, plunging straight down at Quinn. Who stepped sharply to the left, and watched the thing slam face-first into the packed earth next to him. It shuddered and then fell apart into stinky sludge, giving a slight sigh and realising a foul stench. Quinn returned to slashing up the gorse-bush, and soon Ana stumbled free. More shambling things came towards them through the garden. Quinn lifted Ana by the hips and gave her a mighty shove on the backside, propelling her up onto the roof, then leapt up and clambered onto the tiles himself. They scrambled across the loose roofing, avoiding holes and making their way to where the rope Ana had earlier tied up still hung. "Go, go!" Ana started up the rope as Quinn knelt to reload his pistol. He heard a couple of gunshots from above and knew Dras and Black where standing guard. "Come on, lad, they're coming from all sides! Ana's up, climb, lad, climb!" Quinn did not wait. He leapt for the rope and pulled himself hand-over-hand upwards, his feet kicking against the rough stone of the tower. At the top, he slung himself onto the top of the tower wall, finding himself perched on a narrow circular ridge of stone. That Black and Dras seemed to be determinedly tearing to pieces. Quinn watched for a second in puzzlement as the burly Englishman and the slender mulatto tore up the mortar with their knives, setting aside the heavy stones of the tower. He risked a quick look down. The tower was surrounded by shambling creatures, some of whom had reached the roof of the house and all of whom were clawing at the stones, dragging themselves upwards. Dras leaned out, sighted carefully, and dropped a head-sized stone. It plunged downward and punched straight through the water-logged skull of one of their beseigers, who fell back from the wall in a lovely spread-eagle, crashing into the ground and disintegrating. Quinn started digging away at the nearest vein of mortar. ***** The problem with using the wall you were sitting on as ammunition, Black quickly realised, was that the more volleys you fired, the less of a position you found yourself defending. The height of the tower had decreased by several feet as he and the others dug out stones to drop on the army of undead monsters clambering towards them. But no matter how many they knocked off the sheer sides of the tower, more kept surging upwards, hissing and spitting bile and seawater. And meanwhile every stone they dug up and threw down lowered the height of their position. Dras was exhausted. It seemed like hours they'd perched up here, flinging down rocks into the snarling faces of their inhuman enemies. The foul creatures were reaching higher and higher, even as the moon passed overhead and sank towards the west. And now a couple scrambled upwards, as if aware that the night was slowly coming to an end. Dras hurled a rock and a curse at one, sending it flying off into darkness, but the other reached up with its clawlike hands and grabbed hold of the top of the tower wall, right between where Quinn and Black were sitting. Quinn slashed with his knife, but the creature saw the blow coming and let go with its right hand. Just as Black cut off its left hand. The Englishman's bark of triumph was shortlived, however, as all eyes and eyesockets turned to the manor house roof where one zombi stood with its hands outstretched. It cried out in a voice that rolled like deep breakers, churning with silt and the dark mud that lies at the bottom of the sea. "Dagon! Deep-Father! Ruler of the Abyss! We cry to thee for vengeance!" All movement ceased on the island. Even the waves seemed to pause in their relentless pounding. The thing pointed up at where Dras, Ana, Quinn and Black perched so precariously. "The skull! Our mistress sends us for the skull of Lel-Za-Bol! We come to claim the rightfu--" His voice cut off with a wet smack as a chunk of basalt struck him square in the forehead and blew his skull into fragments. Four voices cheered. Dras jumped up to balance on the top of the tower wall and bowed. "Papa Agwe rules the Abyss, you degenerate walking corpses!" At those words, the waves all around the island suddenly reared up and crashed against the rocks as one. And again. And with each thunderous boom, the water seemed to surge higher. It rolled across the thin grasses, crashing against the half-ruined walls of the compound in a sudden, violent spray, rolling around tree trunks and up against the house itself, sweeping aside loose branches, chunks of shattered boards and, with terrible finality, dragging writhing, struggling undead corpses from the stones of the tower. As Dras and the others watched, stupefied with amazement, great waves like liquid claws reared up out of the roiling mass to suck the clinging, shrieking zombis down into the maelstrom that now roared across the island. The waves retreated as quickly as they had arisen, leaving the island cleaner, wetter, and considerably quieter than it had been only moments earlier. The four survivors clung to their insecure perch, staring without comprehension at the suddenly empty scene below them. The moon sank below the horizon and the sun was beginning to cast its glow opposite before Black managed to speak. "Well. I was hoping to get more sleep tonight." Dras kissed the nearest stone. "Just be glad I'm as good a cook as I am. Whoever this Dagon fellow is, he's clearly not someone to stand up to old Papa Agwe." [/QUOTE]
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