With no further undead in his vicinity, Thorion began to seek out a new target. Amongst the chaos, he found himself torn between healing the primate and fending off the undead that most assuredly would overwhelm Neltji. The thought of losing another person who had been close to him, to the undead, became more than he could bear. With his focus now oriented on the skeleton threatening Neltji, Thorion decided to move up and engage the abomination.
The priest’s scythe began to spin from side to side as he and the blade both picked up momentum. Once in reach, he used the momentum to bring the curved blade into a powerful two-handed side-long swing.
Neltji’s cry of success quickly turned to horror as the skeleton she tried to hex shrugged off her abilities and laid into Mischa. Both claws hit as Neltji’s friend fell to the ground bleeding out. Not sure what o do she see Thorion come to her succor dropping the skeleton attcking her. Free to do what she can she moves over to Mischa away from the skeletons and tries to stop the blood pouring out of her.
Stabilize check DC 15
Hang on Mischa. Thorion and Caine will save you!
Caine hears Neltji's call but he's still worried he won't be able to save himself, much less Mischa. But, game to fight, he shifts a step toward the cluster while continuing to wage a defensive fight against the skeleton still clawing at him.
Thorion flanks with Neltji and a sweep of his scythe slices the skeleton in half.
Neltji moves over to Mischa to try and stabilize her (and in the process flans with Caine).
Caine seems to know right where to hit and his other skeleton quickly falls (thankfully to Neltji's flank).
Knowing that his weapons are no match for the skeletons, seeing that two of his companions are down, knowing there is still a chance, Munkustrap comes to an abrupt stop in the sand. Raising the branch Munkustrap tries to buy his more marginally minded allies sometime.
He crouched down and waits for the skeletons to approach him.
Mischa barely has time to grin as she destroys a skeleton before two more skeletons drive their claws into her stomach and tear. She falls to the ground, torn open and bleeding...
Munkustrap buys his companions some time by taking on his pursuers.
One of Mischa's skeletons tries to attack Thorion and the other Neltji.
Munkustrap's skeletons are in no rush and continue to close.
Hoping Cainedoesn’t mind Neltji steps back away from the skeleton and begins castin* a spell in the hunter.
5ft back and cast enlarge person as 1 round @ction
Having just recovered from the momentum of his last attack, Thorion found himself a little off balanced when the next skeleton advanced on his position. In an attempt to reposition his scythe into another side-long swing he choked up on the weapon and then drove it forward with all his strength.
“We need to check on Rii-Chi. He has been down a long time and might be bleeding out.” Thorion stated while recovering from his latest attack.
Caine moves forward to step in and prevent the skeleton from closing in on Neltji again (at least not without being contested) and strikes at it. He fails to land a telling blow.
Neltji steps back and casts an enlarge person on Caine. Thorion and Caine both miss in their attacks.
Munkustrap eyes his shambling opponents as his companions continue to fight for their lives. He slowly backs away keeping his defensive posture.
Munkustrap takes a step back and keeps an eye on his foes.
One of Mischa's skeletons tries to attack Thorion and the other Neltji.
The two skeletons step up to Munkustrap.
All of the skeletons miss.
With relatively few skeletons left and an opportunity to smash things harder with his larger size, Caine turns from focusing on his defense to offense. He gives one of the skeletons a vicious pounding.
Completing her spell and Caine doubling in height Neltji gets a small grin of satisfaction as the large sword decimates one of the remaining skeletons. With only 3 left Neltji finally breathes a small breath of hope for herself and her companions. Hurrying onward she moves to flank with Thorion as she tries to place a hex upon that one as well.
Misfortune dc 15 will resist and flank for Thorion.
Still taken back by the pressing skeleton, Thorion attempted to formulate another attack. His long curved blade circled high into the air as he brought the weapon down into an axe-like overhead chop.
Munkustrap's sides lather as he lopes around the beach. His breathing only slightly elevated his grins as he thinks about his shambling adversaries plodding through the sands towards him. He knows that this game of cat and mouse could be his last, only one solid claw could send him to the sand with his lifeblood pouring out of him.
But to live in fear of death is no life at all. He accelerates away from the skeletons, pivoting back towards his capable friends just as an enlarged Caine destroies another undead.
"Be ready, I return with gifts that you would like to give back but cannot! We may yet live after all." he yells ahead of him.
With Caine's increased size, he easily defeats a skeleton. Neltji flanks with Thorion and casts misfortune.
Munkustrap returns with two skeletons on his tail.
The skeleton tries to claw Thorion.
Thorion watched as the abomination before him began to hesitate in its assault. Neltji’s magic had some effect on the undead, yet he was unable to discern the exact impact. The skeletal remains of someone’s past life staggered forward. Then it hesitated, which was not something that he had seen before. The hesitation gave Thorion pause just before the undead unleashed another barrage of attacks. One of the skeleton's bony claws tore at Thorion’s armor and then glanced away harmlessly. The skeleton’s second claw found a crevasse between his shoulder and arm. It didn’t hesitate to drive its sharp bony claw deep into his flesh. Thorion winced in pain and then let out a deep exhale. The pain was staggering, which left him trembling as blood trickled down his arm and into the sand.
Past moment flashed through Thorion’s mind as he considered what would likely be his final moments. Memories of death, darkness, and fear engulfed images of his mother laying helplessly beneath his bedroom loft. Crying for help as she slowly succumb to the relentless undead that showed no quarter. He remembered the sound of her flesh being torn away and the final moments when the sound of her last breath echoed endlessly through the room.
Thorion’s momentary lapse in focus quickly returned as he forced the past images from his mind and once again reoriented on the task at hand. His life hadn’t concluded yet, and he intended to go out fighting. After having experienced the difficulty of forcing his weapon’s blade through the hardened bone of the skeletons, he decided to attempt a different approach. With his hand already choked up on the weapon's haft, he flipped the Scythe upside down and swung it like a two handed club. The improvised weapon was imperfect in many ways, but the haft of the scythe presented an option to smash the skeleton’s bones apart, where the large curved blade of the scythe would likely continue to glance off.
Neltji had spent too much time among sailors as when the skeleton successfully hit Thorion she let out a few uncouth remarks. She maintains her position though as she tries to present a flanking or toner for Thorion in the hopes that he drops the skeleton.
Looking behind her she sees Munkustrap returning with 2 skeletons tagging along. If 1 is within range she targets that one with her misfortune hex as well.
Will save dc 15
Caine steps over to the point where the skeleton is within his increased reach (and in an effort to flank with Thorion) and chops down at it with his longsword.
Munkustrap see both Caine and Thorion destroy the skeletons in front of them. He quickly runs up to them with his driftwood club.
"Form a wall you two." he cries to Caine and Thorion as he hopes Neltji won't let her bravery overcome her intelligence and stay back. He skids to a halt next to them. "Two left. Think we can take them?" he asks as he moves back slightly hoping that Caine and Thorion will be a more attractive target for the skeletons.
Thorion and Caine destroy the skeletons they are facing and then form a line with Munkustrap.
The remaining skeleton steps up and tries to claw Munkustrap.
As Munkustrap stands shoulder to shoulder with his new friends, he holds his club warily. He knows that he can do little to harm these unthinking bones, but he is smart enough to know that they react to him and they are not smart enough to discern a real threat from a fake threat.
He drops the branch to the sand as a dagger appears in his hands. He swings wildly at the nearest skeleton hoping to make it easier for his companions to end the threat once and for all.
Caine takes advantage of Munkustrap's distraction and hammers the skeleton hard.
With the others taking a stance to protect her and Rii-Chi Neltji quickly tries to check on the downed monkey-man and see if he is still alive. If so she will try and stabilize him as best she can.
heal check dc 15
Calling to her companions as they fight the last skeleton, Rii-Chi lives! He is stable for now! As long as we put that last skeleton down we should be able to restore both him and Mischa!
Thorion breathed a little easier knowing that both Rii-Chi and Mischa where stable. Standing firm, he prepared himself for another club like attack on the remaining skeleton, when out of the blue, Caine’s abnormally large sword came crashing down on top of the undead. The impact was grievous, which caught Thorion a little off guard and caused him to stumble back slightly.
With the last of the undead destroyed, Thorion began to help Neltji pull their two fallen companions together. After relocating both into a comfortable position on the beach, he began assessing their condition.
“I can tell that Rii-Chi is breathing comfortably, which tells me that he is unconscious and will likely recover. Mischa’s condition, on the other hand, is difficult to read. I currently have one healing spell left, which I am willing to use on either of the two. The other, unfortunately, will need to be tended. That is unless someone else has access to healing magic.”
After completing his last statement, Thorion stepped back from the situation and waited for any indication on which of the two he should apply his healing magic.
Neltji looks downcast as thorion asks if anyone has healing magics. I am sorry Thorion. I did not ask Anthony to prepare such healing spells today. I will do what I can though to help out with my limited healing skills.
When asked who should be healed Neltji points to Mischa. Since you do not know the gravity of her condition then I suggest healing her first. With some long term care or taking longer to treat his wounds perhaps I can get Rii-Chi awake without magic! It still might tak all night though.
Thorion looked over at Neltji as she reasoned out the situation and noded. “I believe your reasoning is sound,” he stated with a calm and uncaring look on his face.
After cautiously moving beside Mischa, Thorion placed his hand softly on her shoulder. His shoulders dropped slightly as he assumed a more comfortable posture. Soon he began whispering words of divinity bringing about the warm divine energy granted to him by Pharasma. A faint blue hue slowly formed around his visage just before he released the energy into the woman.
“May Pharasma sooth your soul Mischa.”
Mischa eyes flutter open, and she sits up, surprisingly calm. But as the last of the blue energy leaves her she looks around, then gasps.
"Rii-Chi! Are you okay?"
Seeing him unconscious beside her she quickly uses up her last healing spell of the day...
With Rii-Chi safe, Mischa smiles, then looks at Thorion. "Thank you." she tells him seriously.
Then she turns to look at the others. "Is everyone else alright?"
Rii-Chi's eyes open as the blood, mostly, disappears from his fur.
"Ahh, thank you Mischa-friend. Did we win?"
Flipping to his feet he examines the numerous skeleton corpses and nods approvingly. "I am sorry I was not helpful. I will be faster next time!"
Thorion nods with understanding to Mischa's gratitude and then staggers over to a nearby stone where he carefully sits down.
While looking out over the shore line, he takes a moment to consider the groups worsened condition. "In our current condition, It would be unwise to press forward. That being said, I don't believe we should abandon the quest either." After taking a look around the area he continued. "Perhaps we should set up a camp, search the immediate area, and then continue forward in the morning."
Caine surveys the scene. "Wise advice, Thorion. Let's get a little distance from these old bones though, then set up a camp to rest from this ordeal." He does not immediately set to finding a good camping spot - rather he spends a few minutes looking about the places where the skeletons popped up. Were they actual graves or just spots where someone had died and then been covered by the forces of nature?
As Munkustrap regulates his breathing after his sprint across the beach, he looks up incredulously at his new companions. "You all want to stay here?" he waves his hand at the many red splotches of bloody sand, much of it his. He looks at Thorion. "How do you know these ... bones won't reanimate? Do you have some holy water, some prayers to your death god to concentrate his area? Unless you are totally sure that won't happen, what is a day back to our shelter? We are stranded here on this island for the foreseeable future, and we spent so much time and effort to build it. We have watches step up, and defenses. This place is so .. so open. But what do I know, I am just a cat." he hisses and extracts his claws before walking a pace away from the group.
"Is everyone else alright?"
"Yes Mischa, I am a bit wounded. A slice here, one there, and look at my shoulder, it is stiffening already."
Thorion sat quietly as Munkustrap began and ended his tirade. The priest presented no sign of care or concern with the Catfolk’s argument, nor did he show any sign of disagreement. He simply sat quietly and waited for the rest of the group to weigh in on the subject.
Caine keeps his own voice calm despite wanting to shout back at the fussy feline, "Yes, this place is open. But we'd be no less vulnerable walking back to our base camp after dark, which will be coming soon. I think we are better off hunkering down here, given our current state and the time of day."
Mischa considers everyone's words. "I understand wanting to be back at our camp with the others, but we're on a haunted, unsettled island. There will always be battles to fight and wounds to tend--whether by natural or unnatural predators--until we get off this island. If we are always returning to our camp we will not make much progress. And, although I am in no rush to get anywhere, we still need to work towards getting off the island. I think we should sleep near here for the night, and check out the wreck when we're rested."
She smiles gently. "I'm sorry, Munkustrap, but this time I think it's best to stay put."
Munkustrap sighs in resignation. "I see your point, though I might disagree, for the betterment of the group I will abide by your decision. And I thank you for hearing me out, even if my sentiments were delivered emotionally. It is rare for me to feel so ... helpless in a fight. It is not a feeling I wish to revisit. My thanks to you Caine and Thorion, really everyone but me, for your bravery back there.
"And to show there are no hard feelings, I volunteer for the second watch. Before we retire, does any here know the craft of weaponsmithing? I would like to turn this driftwood into a more formidable weapon, like a cudgel or club."
As the night progresses Munkustrap aids Mischa in the finding of a suitable camp for the night as he rejoins the group.
Neltji looks around at the scattered remains of the undead at the beach and then back at the others. Frowning she speaks her thoughts out loud. Perhaps we should inspect the area now before resting. what is to say that the undead will not rise up again tomorrow to attack us as we draw close once again. Perhaps we should should scout the area and if there is any threat then run for it. Munkustrap, you are the fastest here and stealthy. Would you care to take a quick peek?
"I will help investigate!" Rii-Chi offers, "I can climb and jump well if we need to!"
A quick search of the surrounding areas shows no other dangers-or complete skeletons.
Mischa finds a suitable campsite and Munkustrap now has a club!
When the area is deemed clear of remaining skeletons then Neltji smiles wanly and heads over to where Mischa was preparing a campsite. It seems like a good idea to rest as long as the skeletons don't return. If so then we will have to keep our eyes and ears open on watch tonight and be ready to flee. In the morning I can attune myself with Anthony and ask for some additional healing to help us.
___________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________
Content with Mischa’s choice of location, Thorion began to rummage through his pack for items to make the night a little more bearable. First he untied a bed roll that had been strapped to the bottom of his pack. Then he pulled out a blanket and began making what looked like a comfortable outdoor sleeping bed. After he finished setting up his sleeping arrangements, he pulled out some trail rations and began a simple meal.
The day had been restless, with little time for activities like eating or cleaning. Thorion was grateful for the opportunity to rest and was very pleased by the location that Mischa had picked out. There was little doubt that the woman was gifted when to came to the outdoors.
Thorion groaned as he slowly peeled off parts of his armor and exposed the wounds created by the skeletons. The damage was extensive, but not any worse than anyone else’s. Carefully, he poured water over a large gaping wound just below his left shoulder. The blood-mixed water ran down his chest and then soaked into the sandy ground at his feet. The treatment wasn’t perfect, but the filth covered wound needed to be cleaned. All he could do was hope that infection wouldn’t set in before he could heal the damage magically.
After strapping his armor back on, he made his way around the new camp and offered to tend the group’s wounds. His ability to create water made cleaning the wounds a simple task. Whereas dressing the wounds, without bandages, was a more difficult proposition.
"I will watch during the night Neltji-friend." Rii-Chi replies. "It is better to have little sleeps, like being on ship!"
"Thanks Brother Thorion." The vanara offers when the priest attempts to clean his wound. "My fur will help it heal. Maybe next time we try to find the skeletons coming, yes?"