Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jon Potter" data-source="post: 2597665" data-attributes="member: 2323">[PLAIN][Realms #321] A Dark Day[/PLAIN]Hoping to draw the thing's attention away from Morier, Karak kept at the skeletal warrior's flank, slamming his enchanted longsword against his opponent's legs, but it was no use. Even with a magical blade, the undead thing's armor was thick and not easily pierced, and Karak's inexperience with a longsword showed in his ineffective attacks.Feln barely waited for the body in front of him to fall to the ground before he stepped over it and squeezed his bulk through the doorway. To his left was a spellcaster of some sort - probably a priest judging by the vulgar symbol of Aphyx hanging around her neck - to his right was a man with a sword in one hand and a dagger in the other who regarded him with evil intent. Arrayed beyond them were three others: one woman who merely stared blankly as if unsure where she was and two men armed with the familiar sword and dagger combination favored by so many warriors they'd faced in Miller's Pond. There was no sign of Lela, and a finger of fear touched Feln's heart. In a dark corner of his mind he allowed himself to picture the little sprite washed in a wave of flame and burned away to nothing... He actually had to shake his head to remove the image from his mind's eye and get himself back to the task at hand.Spellcasters were unpredictable, Feln knew, but he judged at a glance that the opponent on his right was the greater immediate threat. The cleric began to call on divine aid and the half-ogre took the opportunity to punch her in the chest. She sagged under the blow as the wind was driven violently from her lungs. Instantly, the hall darkened as the candles and lamps set along the walls tried and failed to compete with the evil shadows that suddenly grew in the spaces between. From them leered grotesque faces ravaged by plague; unwholesome limbs that were riddled with disease reached outward menacingly. Behind it all, stood a woman who was both beautiful and horrible with piercing red eyes, enormous leathery wings and a rat's tail and claws. She groaned in displeasure and black corruption spilled from her lips and drooled down her naked torso. [1]Of those who beheld the horrible vision, only Feln and one of the warriors near the back had the presence of mind to look away. Huzair, Lela and all the enemies in the hall were stunned by the horrible glimpse of Aphyx.Under the circumstances, Feln reconsidered his earlier assessment and decided to kill the spellcaster first. She went down with her head hanging at an impossible angle.Morier took the momentary distraction offered by Karak's attack to step away from the undead thing and imbue himself with Bull's Strength. The power filled him, making his muscles distend with strength, but even so, it was not enough to fully offset what had been stolen by that initial blow from the mace."Thou shouldst have stayed in thy borrow beneath the mountains, dwarf," the skeleton was saying. "This land will once again be my Lady's realm and all the folk in it will be as cattle before the slaughter!" He reached down and brushed his withered hand along Karak's arm, draining a bit of the dwarf's life away.Karak tried to retaliate, but again his blows were frustrated by his opponent's armor.The one warrior who had resisted the stunning effects of the divine image staggered forward, shaken but still intent on dispatching Feln if he could. Unfortunately, the half-ogre's reach allowed him to strike the man before he could even get within sword range. He fell to the floor, knocked unconscious by the blow."Wizard, can you fight on?" the half-ogre called to Huzair. "Tend to that bubble! I'll let you know if anyone is coming." There was no response from the mage, and Feln turned toward the swordsman on his right, kicking the stunned man fiercely in the crotch. It was enough to make the warrior double over in pain, but not enough to drop him. He blinked his eyes as if trying unsuccessfully to return himself to the fight.Morier moved reluctantly into a flanking position. He was injured, but Karak was dead if Morier fled. "We could use a little help here!" he shouted as he swung his greatsword at the monster's back. It rebounded harmlessly from the heavy plate armor."There is no help for thee here," the skeleton taunted, "only death at my hand and an eternity as my slave!" He brushed his hand almost lovingly against the albino's cheek and Morier felt an icy tug as more of his soul was burned away by the negative energy that coursed through the undead thing.He cried out in despair, and it was answered by a battle cry from across the room as Ledare charged in from the side door with Ravager held high. She brought the black sword down mightily onto the skeleton's shoulder, and the saw-toothed blade bit through the armor there. The undead warrior shrieked in pain.Heartened by the arrival of aid, Karak swung his own sword once! Twice! Opening two additional rents in the creature's armor and hewing into the bones beneath. The thing swayed unsteadily on its feet, clearly injured by the VQS' assault."Begone! Blasphemous pit spawn! Your presence is an affront to Flor!" Hildegunna said from the doorway, her holy symbol held firmly in one bloodied hand. Despite the fact that she could barely stand, she pulsed with power as she called on her goddess' divine hand to turn the mockery of life.It had absolutely no effect and the undead thing began to laugh.Huzair recovered from the stunning glimpse into Aphyx's realm and immediately began casting a spell. "Magicus telum!" he intoned and pointed at one of the warrior's visible through the doorway. Two ruddy missiles of pure force arced from his finger, evaded Feln and sizzled into his chosen target's chest.Lela recovered at almost the same moment and imbued herself with some much-needed healing energy, easing the pains of the burns she'd suffered. Spotting the glow of divine energy, Feln smiled. Then he snapped the neck of the man to his right."Little Sprite!" he called as a simple mantis kick downed the combatant that Huzair had just injured. "Are you okay?""I'm hurt," she confessed. "But I'll live."It might be better for you to withdraw now," the half-ogre suggested. "I cannot stand to lose another comrade!"Unfortunately for Feln, the choice was out of his hands.Morier again slammed his sword against the undead thing's back, but again his sword did nothing to it, but cause a dent that healed as soon as the blade was withdrawn."Thou may have beaten me, Florian!" the skeleton seemed to sneer at Ledare. "But there is no victory for thee here! Only death! Even in defeat I strike at thee!" It gestured and a blast of abyssal fire detonated in front of Ledare, filling the room with unholy fire.It wasn't Karak's destiny to be immolated by the devastating fireball, and Shaharizod's hand guided him to a place protected from the blast. He dived behind the undead creature and found safety in its shadow; once the instantaneous ball of fire disappeared, he stood miraculously unhurt behind the charred remains of the death knight. No one else faired as well. Ledare and Morier had both fallen and weren't moving. Hildegunna had been reduced to a pile of smoldering ash.--------------------------[1]Another of the Ronin Arts "Lost Spell" effects.</blockquote>

Verification