Kerruk hefts a spear, ready for throwing when the Ghouls emerge. His face takes on a look of unholy concentration and his eyes glimmer as he inwardly girds himself to wield a hex.
Belliott doesn't like ghouls, he gets angry just thinking about them (entering rage before 1st round). He is ready to SMASH
Jack grits his teeth, as he nervously watches Tap's flaming arrow arc through the air towards the tent of horrors. Scourge, I'm going to kill you when I return.
Belliott narrows his eyes and grips his ax. I hope those damned things burn quickly
The trap works surprisingly well, with Tack scampering along the tree branches like he belonged there...which he did. He dumps all of the oil onto the tent, then retreats back towards the group, even as Tap raises his bow.
The arrow is lit and quickly takes to flame, then Tap launches, his aim true. The arrow hits the tent low, and the flames immediately begin to take, and spread. Within seconds, a horrendous keening sound can be heard from within. Dark and hideous faces appear from the shadows - long slick tongues lashing out from rotten mouths, eyes black and wide with hunger. The faces, covered in the gore of their last kills, coalesce into five ghouls, four of them in fine, if torn dresses, and the last a man with no shirt.
The tent flaps, under duress now that much of the makeshift shelter has burned, fall in on the group, and they frantically whack away at the flames, their urgency to get out...and to their next meal, evident in their actions.
Ignoring the the horror of their approach, and pushing down the unwholesome thought of his someday joining them in their empty hungry existence, Jack crouches, his blade ready to strike quick and hard.
With a great cry, Kerruk flings his spear at the first Ghoul to come within 20 feet, but his throw goes awry. Snarling inwardly, he steps back 15 feet and assumes a martial pose, all the while steeling himself to deploy a Hex.
Rush would like to step up to Big Belliot and cast magic weapon on him, granting the +1 enchantment bonus to his weapon.
[ooc]ooh...watch out Belliot is superstitious, buffs might not work.[/ooc
Tap fires two arrows at the ghoul that Jack attacked..
Then tap takes a 5' step back.
Belliott will step back as well after attacking. The goal is to stay in front of the others as best he can.
C'mon Belliot. Make Ghoulash
Tap ducks.
After Jack's attack, Jack takes a 5 step backward.
The ghouls rush from the burning tent, driven by their insatiable hunger as much as the stifling heat. They run at the group, full speed, their claws slashing the air and their teeth clacking as they sense a meal.
The first ghoul rushes at Jack, and directly into the path of his slashing sword. Jack leaves criss-crossed gashes on the diseased abomination's chest, and it stumbles as its dried guts tumble out into the short grass.
Tap finishes it with an arrow into its right eye socket, and the former whore topples over, lifeless. Tap fires another arrow at the onrushing creature, but their speed is too much to properly gauge, and the arrow flies wide.
Rush's incantation takes to Belliott's blade, and the big man glances down in confusion, then wide-eyed wonder. He tests his blade as if checking to see if it still worked, then nods to Rush with a grunt. Turning, he cuts into, and mostly through a ghoul whore, sending two pieces of her falling, tethered together by only a layer of thin tissue. The creature feebly crawls at the ground as it dies.
Kerruk's spear flies past a ghoul, and the beast snorts, then hisses in anger.
Jack smiles, satisfied with himself, and unleashes a fierce attack on the nearest ghoul, to his right.
Tap follows Jack's flashing blade with arrows to try to finish the thing off. Tap then takes a 5 foot step back.
HERMMMMM?
Jack takes a 5 foot step back.
Rush continues to rely on his magics since this fight looks pretty well in order.
Trying to stay behind Big Belliot, Rush heads the warnings of the rest of these new strangers and cast guidance on Jack.
Trying to get Belliott's attention, he begins asking questions completely inappropriate to the time.
What are you so afraid of? Is it magic? Magic users? Arcane dabblers? Did you have a bad experience? Wanna talk about it, buddy?
Jack feels a tingle in the back of his neck, and flinches.
Angrily, Jack glances back behind him. Rush is smirking.
What ever the hell you did, ask first next time!
Quit it Jack. Tap growls behind Jack's back.
GRUMPHHHHHHH. MORE FIGHTY LESS TALKY
it's still the same axe. It's still the same world. Just weird just weird, that's all
You all asked for magics, you're getting magics. Either trust me or kill me, either way just stop complaining and kill these things.
Rush is no longer smirking. He has a looked of pissed off concentration and seriousness as he feels the group isn't putting their attention where it ought to be.
Rush is going to fit right in. Tap grins as Tacktack hands him two arrows.
Kerruk drops the idea of a hex - the need for it seems less pressing. Instead, he hurls his second spear at the last Ghoul standing.
Jack slashes the abomination at his right, forcing the thing to turn in a macabre pirouette. Then, Tap's arrow hits it in its rotten temple, the flesh yielding to the arrowhead like butter to a knife. The ghoul goes down in a heap, quite dead...again.
Tap's second arrow, as well as Kerruk's spear, flies wide of its mark, and the ghoul's hiss in anticipation of their feeding. With a hunger terrible to behold, they attack!
The ghouls rake and claw and bite, tearing into the flesh of the living. Jack is hit with a claw along his arm, sending searing pain through the limb. Belliott is rent with slashes across his chest and soon is slick with blood.
Tap is taken aback at their ferocity. We killed some of them, but these things are brutal
Belliott is troubled by the pain, but more driven by his red hot rage directed towards these monstrosities. He swings heroically back at them, almost as if he had never been slashed at all.
Tap move west 10' and north 5' and fires two shots at the ghoul that had just slashed Jack.
Jack and Belliott are a lucky bastards
Jack screams in pain, as a claw rakes across his arm. Jack's response is immediate; with a swift movement, he deftly knocks the claw away, and thrusts with his blade deep into the ghoul's arm pit, twisting round, and ripping it through its gray appendage!
Once upon a time, Tap, you were the finest of singers!
Belliott's great axe slams into the diseased head of the creature, cracking skull as it settles half way through. The ghoul's system seems to shut off like a candle blown out, and it falls to the ground, where Belliott works to yank his axe back out.
The last remaining ghoul goes down amidst a flurry of slashes and arrows, its system not being able to withstand the massive trauma, even in undeath.
Rush is somewhat daunted by the onslaught only to be surprised that all the remaining ghouls go down in a blink.
Well.....that was.......brutal. Good job and thanks for saving my life. Fair warning, I recognize some of those bodies, but not all of them. So there may be more ghouls on this island.
Rush looks at his new "friends" and thinks to himself, I'm glad they didn't take exception to me. I don't think I could have even outrun them.
Out loud, Alright, some of you look hurt. Who wants some help with that?
Belliot is badly hurt, but it may not be safe to approach him when the battle rage is still upon him. His blows are mighty! Glad am I that he is our ally.
Jack turns to Rush. You have my apology; I am too quick to anger, perhaps, and am now suspicious of all strangers. Indeed, most of us here, are here because we were too trusting of strangers, and took drinks with and from those whom showed open friendly smiles and good cheer. Nay, for that too liberal trust, we woke up with the boot of a pirate on our neck.
I suppose Rush should know that the frying pan awaits him outside the fire. If we have you on board, know that a pirate you will become, and under a cruel hand. They are better than these ghouls, though I'm not sure Jack would agree.
Tap looks around, sees Tacktack scurrying back to him. Ah there you are little friend. Good work there on that tent. Speaking of which should we take a look at the remains of the tent?
Tap looks up and judges the light of day to be waning and we should be making camp. I'd say continue through the night, sleep be damned, but we ned the rest.