stonegod's Expedition to Castle Ravenloft: Ch. I [IC]

[DEFCON 1]

"Jarrith, can you heal yourself?"

As the haze of darkness breaks and Jarrith's eyes slowly open, he hears the voice of his Brother above him. The pain in his body is excrutiating, and he can feel the burning disease travelling through every muscle and vein. Suddenly, the sounds of battle come into focus, and Jarrith realizes there is still some fighting to be done. "I'm fine... yes... you go..." he croaks out through a constricted throat. He then watches as his Lumin Brother rushes off to join another battle.

Frustrated that his concentration broke as he attempted to heal himself last time, he takes extra-special care to make sure every syllable and every hand motion is correct when he casts his spell again. (Lose Deific Vengeance / Spontaneously cast Cure Moderate Wounds on self)

 

[stonegod]

Street Encounter Round 7

Frustrated that his concentration broke as he attempted to heal himself last time, he takes extra-special care to make sure every syllable and every hand motion is correct when he casts his spell again. He also stands. The warmth of the spell infuses his body, and while he still feels the sickness, he feels better prepared. [12 hp]

It is also during this time that Jarrith notices the fading grey tone to his flesh. That was not there before he fell.

Selase calls out, "The power that holds back the undead will wane soon!" At the same time, she fires a bolt at the one cowering in the doorway. The bolt finds it mark, but the unsteadiness of Selase's hold and the deadness of its flesh weaken the blow. [AC 18 hits; 6 hp before DR]

The remaining zombies, held by Selase's Power Within, continue to cower.

Marot dismounts and stalks towards the zombie behind the corner, power gathering around him.

Seeing Jarrith tend to his wounds, Khensu stalks the zombie behind the corner. But the haunting image of his friend's unnaturally deadened flesh distracts him, and he misses. [AC 11 misses]

Daellin continues his volley. This first hits cleanly and drops the zombie at the doorway. He then quickly dashes down the street to get a clear shot at the one at the corner. [AC 23 hits; 12 hp before DR; target drops]

Irked by the elf's interference, the army of Jani storm forward. With a toss of her hair, Janis bares her teeth and plies the cowering zombie with another bolt. She is rewarded by a satisfying sizzle as a good portion of flesh is stripped off. [14 hp]

Street Encounter Round 8

J: 21 (14/26 hp, sickened, cat's grace 10 rounds, 4 turns checks left)
S: 18 (28/36 hp, sickened, 3 rebukes left)
Z: 18 (K5: -22 [severely wounded], K8: -89 [dead], M6: -75 [dead], M10: -65 hp [dead])
M: 16 (M7: -53 hp [dead], L8: -79 hp [very dead])
M: 15
K: 11 (26/47 hp)
h: 11 (34/44 hp)
D: 7
J: 6 (mirror image 24 rounds)

Map Key: D: Daellin, d: Edi, h: Horse, h: Luminous, J: Jarrith, J: Janis, K: Khensu, M: Marot, M: Huge Maggots, S: Selase, V: Flying Heads, Z: Plodding zombies
Conditions: Mist grants concealment to creatures 30' away. Cyan Border: mirror image, Green Border: sickened, Red Border: Rebuked 3 rounds, White: unconscious, Transparent: Dead, White Border: Paralyzed.


Please indicate your actions for round 8.

 

[James Heard]

Janis continues, as always, to lay waste to the undead with her stormbolts.

 

[stonegod]

Lets finish this off.

Street Encounter Round 8

The last zombie had no chance. Under the combined assault of Janis' fury, Khensu and Marot's faith, and Daellin's dedication, it quickly fell.

End of Combat

Corpses of their foes strewn about, sickness pumping through the veins of two of them, the Thaloist Six paused to catch their breath and determine their next course of action.

 

[GwydapLlew]

"Jarrith? Your wounds!" Sir Khensu moves over to Jarrith and kneels, examining the strange discolorations around his injuries. "Have any of you ever seen anything like this?"

 

[stonegod]

"Jarrith? Your wounds!" Sir Khensu moves over to Jarrith and kneels, examining the strange discolorations around his injuries. "Have any of you ever seen anything like this?"

The odd grey tone that was so strong moments ago has now faded. Jarrith is a bit flushed from the sickness and his exertion, but that is all.

Selase shakes her had at Khensu's question. "I have not heard of nor seen a disease like this. But, if what you say is true, it seems to accelerate as the body becomes weaker---with the Divinity Within weakened, it finds easier prey." She looks pensive a moment. "Best not to test that theory."

 

[GwydapLlew]

"How...odd." Khensu carefully cleans the gore from his axe. He looks over Luminous and examines the horse's wounds as well. The shifter looks to the others carefully before taking Luminous's reins and preparing to continue down the main road.

"I think it would be best if we are all on our guard from this point forward. Flying demons, giant maggots, and incredibly tough zombies - something is amiss here."

 

[stonegod]

As darkness finally falls, Selase empowers her shield with light. In the wan glow, the mists seem even more foreboding.

OOC: Areas to explore: West into the heart of town (the direction you were traveling), North at the road branch, various boarded up or not buildings. There is also the corpse you first noted in the middle of the intersection.

 

[DEFCON 1]

He looks down at the odd grey discoloration of his skin, and begins rubbing his left arm with his right hand in order to do... something? He doesn't know what will happen, but he does it anyway... like he's trying to get blood flowing through his veins better or something. The shifter comes over and says "Have any of you ever seen anything like this?" Jarrith shakes his head, then tries to take a few tentative steps to his feet.

"It's like... like... my body is rotting from within." He looks down concernedly again and sees that thankfully his color is returning to it's normal color. He takes a loud sigh of relief, then begins flexing his fingers. "These dead infect us all. A few more seconds and I think I might have become one of them." He walks over to his Lumin Brother and puts his hand on the big shifter's shoulder. "Promise me that if I die, you destroy my body utterly. I do not want to rise again as one of these foul things. My soul should rejoin the Flame."

He picks up his rapiers and cleans them off, then resheaths them on his belt. Glancing in all three directions, he nods to the west in the direction they were travelling. "We still should continue into town to see if we can find this Burgomaster. Or at the very least, see if we can find anyone who is still alive or at least an inn of some type so we can rest unhindered for the night."

 

[James Heard]

"I think I could learn to like it here. Plenty to do, interesting weather, and even the dead crawl out of their graves to welcome you."

"Shall we see what other exciting and interesting scenes the town has to offer? Perhaps some necromancer has found his way to a slaughterhouse, or an orphanage? I've always wondered, myself, how a creature made entirely of the corpses of circus clowns stitched together might perform as, and if they would naturally attract undead monkeys to turn the cranks of tiny organs," Janis mused with flushed excitement.