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: 668208" data-attributes="member: 2323">[PLAIN][Realms #207] Common Ground[/PLAIN]In which we return at last to our steadfast Companions crouched in the bushes as undead approach a mysterious cloaked figure... Finian started to rise, his hand going to his quiver, but Ledare put a hand on his shoulder, keeping him down. She pointed to her eyes and then to the scene unfolding in the clearing indicating that they should wait and watch. The Archer nodded and passed the message on to Ruze and Draelond. In truth, the two humans hadn't seen what the two half-elves had; they could perceive movement in the darkened clearing but that was all. They waited as the creatures advanced on the cloaked figure.Thankfully, the shambling things were slow. They had barely reached the midpoint of the clearing when the cloaked figure spotted them. She stood (for it was now clear that the figure was a woman, albeit a tall one) and her hood fell back from her red-tressed head in alarm. She was backing up even as she made a gesture with her left hand, flicking it out toward the nearest undead. They heard her shout a word in an unfamiliar language, "Valignat!" and tiny flaming sparks flew from her fingertips. Her aim was off, however and the fiery missiles landed some distance to the left and behind their intended target."Okay," Ledare whispered. "I'm satisfied." She raised her hand crossbow but before she could squeeze off a shot, Draelond stood and lobbed his vial of alchemist's fire into the center of the clearing. Considering the fact that he could see little of what was going on in the abandoned campsite, it was a somewhat risky course of action. It paid off however, as the flask struck one of the decaying creatures in the right arm, engulfing it almost immediately in flames. The undead to either side of it were also splashed with the sticky alchemical contents. It also succeeded in illuminating the clearing in a cheery orange glow, clearly revealing the five shambling undead and the red-haired woman. Three of the undead changed course, heading toward the spot where the four remaining Companions were readying their weapons.The cloaked woman blinked her eyes in the sudden brightness, distracted long enough for the lead undead to slam its rotting fist into her right shoulder. It was a solid blow and she cried out involuntarily as pain shot through her arm and chest. She reeled with the impact and nearly fell to her knees.Ledare aimed carefully and fired her crossbow into the creature that was attacking the cloaked woman. The arrow connected, but just barely, cutting an inconsequential groove into the back of the thing's head. An instant later, Finian's bowshot accomplished exactly the same feat, striking the thing's skull for minor damage. The walking corpse seemed to care little about the damage and continued to harry the cloaked woman."Vuthasjach!" she managed to shout. Immediately, darkness seemed to flow up from the ground, clotting around the walking dead like a net of shadows. It was instantly enveloped by the inky blackness and disappeared from view, but not before its fist was able to lash out again and thud into the woman's left leg. She fell out of the thing's reach, then, but was clearly suffering greatly.The three zombies that had turned toward the group - including two of the burning creatures - shambled forward as fast as they were able. That speed offered plenty of time for Ruze to stand up and present the holy symbol of Shaharizod. The firelight played across the twin crescent moons. "Behold foul creatures!" the Battleguard bellowed. "Let my light banish thee to the cursed earth from whence thou cameth."The holy symbol blazed with energy as Ruze channeled the power of his own faith into the advancing corpses. The three creatures immediately covered their heads and retreated as if they were burned by the light radiating from the Battleguard's hand. They moved away toward the woods at the opposite side of the clearing."Good work!" Draelond congratulated as he unsheathed Ravager and charged into the clearing. Ledare was following close on his heals. The undead that was not sheathed in magical darkness turned to face the warrior and slammed it's meaty fist into his armored chest, driving the breath from his lungs. He still managed to use his momentum to drive the point of his bastard sword deeply into his opponent's breast, the saw-toothed blade sliding messily between the creature's ribs. Stinking black ichor spurted from the wound, but the undead creature did not fall. It staggered backward from the impact, its weight braced on its left leg; that is where Ledare struck. Her longsword bit into the thing's knee, tearing away rotted meat from the bone and causing the thing to sway unsteadily.The Janissary looked at her sword, happy that she was able to at last cause some damage. "Good old reliable undead," she snorted.An arrow whistled passed the half-elf's ear, lodging deeply in the corpse's neck. It stood there for a moment, the dark energies that had animated the thing building within its body. For an instant it seemed to swell and then it exploded in a putrid cloud of stinking gore and hungry parasites. The blast caught all of the melee combatants within its radius, pelting them all with bits of sharp bone and flying slop. Ledare managed to deflect part of the shrapnel away from herself with her shield, but several bits of bone fragments still managed to tear into the gaps in her armor. The enshadowed undead staggered under the onslaught. The red-haired woman shouted out as she fell back against a tree and collapsed, unmoving. Only Draelond managed to avoid the damaging hail; perhaps his many recent near-death experiences had sharpened his sense of self-preservation. He dropped to the ground and the grisly explosion passed harmlessly over him.Ruze approached once the rain of undead flesh had subsided and held his holy symbol out at the shadow-shrouded opponent. "Look you unto the light," he commanded and his holy symbol flashed with holy light. The creature bathed in darkness seemed unaffected by his display, however. "It resists my power," he cursed and hefted his warhammer. "Lay into it!"Draelond did as directed and limped toward the darkness. His blade passed through the shadows without making contact. He heard the creature's fist pass harmlessly in front of his face, so apparently, it was having just as much trouble connecting as he was.Ledare stepped up to the opposite side of the be-nighted undead and stabbed into the mass of shadows, hitting nothing. "This is pointless," she cursed. "I can't even see to hit the thing."As if to dispute her claim, Finian fired another arrow. It disappeared into the darkness and they all heard it strike undead flesh. Emboldened by the Archer's success Ruze stepped up and swung his warhammer two-handed into the darkness; the blow connected solidly, but the thing hidden within didn't fall."Ruze can you not try to use your Queen's power again?" Draelond asked as he took another swing with his sword. Ravager bit into the undead flesh within the shadows and the creature rocked backward. Draelond felt the wind of the thing's fist as it passed within a hair's breadth of his nose."Even if we are able to defeat this thing by force of arms, it'll just injure us in death when it explodes," Ledare added even as she stabbed into the darkness and felt her sword connect with rancid meat.Finian loosed another arrow, but this one passed harmlessly through the patch of shadows and sank deeply into a nearby tree. Ruze glanced at the arrow and nodded, releasing his grip on his warhammer and taking up his holy symbol again. "Get thee from this realm, foul creature!" the cleric cried and this time, the darkness seemed to shudder under the onslaught of divine energies. The undead thing turned and fled toward the trees and as it did so, the shadows that had been concealing it melted away. It had reached the treeline when Finian put an arrow into its retreating back. It stumbled and fell forward against a tree before exploding in a shower of putrescence. Everyone was glad that they were nowhere near the thing when it went up.Which was not to say that both Draelond and Ledare weren't already gravely injured again. At least neither of them was in immediate danger of dying. "I wouldn't be surprised if those things carried a disease," Finian mused as Ledare wiped its stinking blood off of her face."Wonderful," she deadpanned."Look here," Ruze called. He was crouched over the unmoving body of the cloaked woman."Is she alive," Draelond asked as he limped closer. The Battleguard nodded."She's stable," he explained. "But I'm not sure what she is."They gathered around and Finian unsheathed his glowing sword to illuminate her form for the benefit of the humans. She was dressed in studded leather armor that was masterfully cut to look like pantaloons and a short-waisted jerkin. She wore a short-bladed sword with a basket-hilt at her hip, but seemed otherwise unarmed. Unless one were to look closely at her hands; her fingers ended in heavy reddish points that looked more like claws than nails. Her face was inhuman. Fine reddish scales adorned her cheekbones and the line of her strong, square jaw. Her hair was a fiery red color, pulled back in a single thick braid. There were two small, but unmistakable, horns set high on her forehead at her hairline. For all her inhumaness, she was very attractive."What do you think?" The cleric asked. "A demon, perhaps, or-"He stopped speaking as the woman's cloak moved and an owl appeared from beneath it. The animal ruffled its feathers and flew up, settling at last on a branch of the tree above. It cocked its head sideways and fixed the group with its intelligent yellow eyes but made no threatening motions.</blockquote>

Verification