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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jon Potter" data-source="post: 2456807" data-attributes="member: 2323">[PLAIN][Realms #316] Welcoming Committee[/PLAIN]"Oi, and I was worried about facing more zombies. We have serious necromancy afoot 'ere!" Karak grumbled, spitting at his feet for emphasis. He looked from the advancing bag of flesh to the unnatural bird-headed thing and back again. "I do nae know which be worse, the walking dead or chaos.""Wolf doesn't like either of them," Leala twittered as she did her best to handle the animal's fear. The dwarf nodded, sharing the wolf's feelings on the matter."Lass, why nae take Feln and Huzair to the face o' maggots whilst I, Morier and Lela take the buzzard beastie," the dwarf suggested to Ledare. "Lela do your thingie. Huzair try not to light your own hair on fire. Ha!" The bald wizard gave the dwarf a withering look and reached into his spell component pouch."You!" Karak commanded, pointing his axe at Hildegunna. "You, tall drink of water, see if your Goddess grants ye the power to turn or smite these foul things." She nodded at the dwarf, clutching her holy symbol.Ledare caught the woman's eye as she stepped in front of her and saw that, despite her abrasive facade, she was keeping her fear barely in check. "Stand back, but help as you can," the Janissary instructed, and assumed a defensive stance.Karak turned away from the undead abomination, drawing with ease but not flair the longsword they'd liberated from Sir Brin. He looked up at Morier as he passed and said, "You might want to give me breadth in there, White One, it's been a while since I used one of these long pokers." The albino reached out a hand and stalled the dwarf's advance, gesturing to the undead thing which had closed to within twenty feet."Let's take this vile beast from both sides," the eldritch warrior said with an unfamiliar air of command in his voice. Something fundamental had changed for Morier within the Grove of Renewal and he embraced it now. "Karak, Ledare - you take the right flank; Feln and I will take the left. Lela - anything you can do from above to aid us would be much appreciated." The faen saluted and shot up into the sky. "Huzair - do what you usually do - stand back and try not to get your hands dirty with any actual fighting."Huzair was preparing components to cast a spell, but he spared a moment to sneer at the albino. "Hey Morier, instead of giving orders, how about using some of that magic Uncle Appie taught you?""Way ahead of you!" the eldritch warrior grinned, activating his own innate magic without the use of components. "Taurinus corroboro!" he intoned and his body swelled with the strength of a bull.Huzair's scowl deepened. "Didn't anyone ever tell you to buff before battle!" he chided just as another otherworldly howl split the air from somewhere nearby - perhaps just to the other side of the building behind which they had gathered. It gave the wizard quite a start, but had no noticeable effect on the vermin-filled abomination that was their closest opponent.It shambled forward toward the nearest enemy - Ledare. The Janissary steeled herself feeling a strange sense of calm come over her moments before she found herself enveloped by the stinking cloud of flies that buzzed around the thing. Several of the fat insects found their way into her mouth and down her throat, making her gag uncontrollably even as the sack creature itself tried spread its arms as if to hug her. Reflexively, she raised Ravager and the bastard sword easily slashed through the thing's stitched-together torso, spoiling its grapple. It also opened a gap in the monster's skin, spilling a torrent of steaming maggots onto the ground beside it.Feln took a single step onto the foul creature's flank and swung his quarterstaff in a massive arc that caught the creature's torso midswing. The blow lifted the creature off its malformed feet, rupturing its numerous seams in the process and causing the deflated skin to flutter obscenely through the air amidst a wet cascade of maggots. It landed messily some distance away and did not get back up."Yay!" Lela cheered, but the excitement was short-lived. The thunderous pounding of feet signaled the charge of the bird-headed thing. It moved with unlikely speed, closing the distance between itself and the VQS in moments."Flammifer sphaera!" Huzair shouted, casting iron dust onto the ground. The earth burst suddenly into flame and coalesced into a flaming sphere that followed the wizard's direction and rolled directly into the aberration's path. The creature wailed in surprise as the ball of flames struck its legs. Its cry was answered from the east as another of the creatures appeared from the alley beside the familiar mill. It barreled at them across the square.Ledare spit the dead flies out of her mouth and grinned darkly at Huzair as she passed him. "There's nothing upstanding about these Miller's Pond citizens," she quipped. "Have at them!" The mage gave her an annoyed look."What do you think I'm doing?" he retorted, keeping his attention focused on controlling the Flaming Sphere.Hildegunna wove her hands in an intricate pattern before her, light seeming to trail from her hands as she plucked expertly at the Weave. A swirling mass of color sprang into being between the two bird-headed creatures, its hypnotic pattern mirroring her hands' motions. The newest arrival on the battlefield skidded to a stop, its attention riveted to the intricate pattern of light that filled the air beside it. The beast that was being immolated by Huzair's ball of fire paid the pattern no mind."Now, Ledare, I know you have your own Goddess now, but I say this: you've lead us all this far, and you'll keep it up. I do know it," Karak intoned, drawing on his god-granted ability to Inspire his Allies. "The white one, the faierie, and I will keep up our end, you lot see to yours. If you need help, just ask Morier. He can dish it out. Ha!"Lela was getting an aerial view of the battlefield when she felt the uplifting benefit of the dwarf's words. There was a third of the monsters on the other side of the building that guarded the VQS' left flank and the thing would be upon them in another few moments. But perhaps more troubling was the solitary man she spotted running as fast as his two legs would carrying him toward the road leading up to the manor. "Wolf!" she commanded, pointing in the direction that the man was fleeing. "Seek!"The animal pricked up its ears, cocked its head and then took off around the far side of the building. As soon as it rounded the corner and spotted the runner, its hackles bristled and it poured on the speed.Bolstered by Karak's words of encouragement, Morier hefted his greatsword and charged the nearest of the creatures. His silvered blade opened a three foot gash along the thing's meaty thigh. It howled again and almost collapsed under the savage onslaught as its dark blood soaked the packed earth of the square.Of course, Morier's advance left an opening in their ranks that was suddenly exploited by the third of the monsters making its presence known to all. It rounded the building and went for Huzair who stood slightly apart from the others, concentrating on his spell. The creature's beak slashed without warning into the wizard's head, nearly severing it. The mage was built of sterner stuff than he at first appeared, however, and he managed to avoid the killing blow by instinctively rolling with the attack. Even so, the thing's curved beak slashed open a ragged flap of skin from his scalp, painting the wizard's face at once with steaming blood, and revealing  a swathe of the white bone beneath.</blockquote>

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