At Karactus's signal, Bognus wasted no time. Almost before the motion was finished, he launched into action with a roar that was as much laugh as challenge, flinging himself fist-first at the nearest guard.
Ulmah will cast howling agony on all of the enemies .
Karactus waited until the others had begun their charge and then calmly moved into the middle of the room, bringing a terrible quiet with him.
Greater Magic Weapon +2(adds +1 on mace)
Magic Vestment +2(adds +1 on breastplate)
Heroism +2 morale bonus on attack rolls, saves, and skill checks
Freedom of Movement Free movement?
Heightened Awareness +2 perception and knowledge(dismiss for +4 to initiative)
Magic Circle against Good +2 deflection and resistance bonus
Using his invisibility to maneuver the room while his allies prepared to charge, he was already in position to take his surprise on a guard as they were distracted by the horror of the vampire and Karactus.
A powerful blow to the back of the head catches one unaware.
Returning the vampires sign with a mirthful smile, Nuandis put her palm against his chest, keeping him trailing her as she creeps behind Karactus into the room, ready to enjoy the carnage.
Chaos ensues! The villains stride into the room as if they belonged there, turning a once peaceful lounge into unorganized fray. Bognus lets out a might roar as he tears into one of the screaming guards by the western exit; Seth slams into the other as his attention is drawn to the vampire. Karacus and Nuandis move into the center of the room, causing young men who scream with no voice rush in to them, two of them ending up on the floor before they even make it close enough to attempt a swing. A few more of the men move up to flank Bognus and Seth and one rushes to Ulmah.
With a casual wrench, Bognus slammed the screaming fool's head into the wall and hauled his neck down to his waiting fangs, latching on to the man's throat and spilling his precious blood wantonly down the dwarf's face, staining his beard with red for the first time in days. He smiled through the mouthful, a terrible wet red gash through the sodden hair, and held the man in place with one arm as he reached across to do the same to the poor luckless bastard who'd moved up behind him.
"There's plenty o' room for ye too, lad!" he laughed. "Come dance with ol' Bluebeard!"
Karactus hovered above the floor, looking much like a prison guard possessed by some kind of shadowy demon. On the walls around them his true self stalked through trees which weren't there and sowed fear all around.
The Nightmare Lash reached out like a living thing to yank the legs from under the guard attacking Ulmah.
Ulmah spends a point from her necromantic pool to add keen to her kukri, then casts chill touch defensively and swings her kukri at the prone man three times.
plus
plus
plus
plus
To her skeleton friends, Ulmah simply says, "Defend me." They move up to make a semicircle around her, and several of them swing their swords at the prone man if he's not already dead.
...etc.
Nuandis finds herself biting her lip again; for as often as she did it, it should be disfigured by now. The excitement of the bloodshed suffused her with elation and ecstasy. There were so many of them, and she wanted immensely to own them all, force their weapons from their hands....
But, if there was only one thing in the world Nuandis enjoyed sharing with those she thought worthy, it was pleasure. Her new companions appeared satisfied with their savagery: she perished the thought of being in any danger.
However, she couldn't resist the urge to play, if not just a little.
Tilting her head down and gazing up at the guard nearest her with sultry, lustful eyes, she outstretched her hands as if begging...
A warrior lay at Ulmah's feet, writhing in agony from his strength leaving his body. He climbs to his feet, only to have his weapon knocked from his hands. As a last resort, he retrieves a wooden stick wrapped in leather from his belt and swing at Ulmah.
Another happily offers Nuandis his sword, than immediately regrets the decision and tries to knock it from her grasp, but fails miserably.
The rest of the guards clustered near the tables either stand, for those knocked down previously, or rush in on Karactus and Nuandis. Most of them find themselves knocked to the ground. Only one of the group managed to make it to Karactus and swing, only to have images sprout from Karactus.
Bognus's tag team partner opponents attempt to break the grapples.
A guard slides between Nuandis and Sethirom to help his friend flank Seth. They both proceed to swing at him, causing mirror images to surround Seth.
Seth continues to lay into the pathetic soldier with fierce blows.
In an instant's work, Bognus tightened his hold on the throats of both guards in his terrible grip and began to mercilessly slam them about as if they were rag dolls. One after the other, he bounced the helpless guard's skulls off of each other and their companion to the northeast, inflicting terrible damage even as he continued to drain them of their sweet lifeblood, guffawing silently all the while.
Not enjoying the idea of having a sword through her gut, Nuandis decided it would be in everyone's best interest if the guard that made it to her would go play with Karactus instead.
Karactus hovered with his head near the celing and continued his rapid assault with the lash, taking the legs out from beneath the hapless guards and pulling at their weapons.
Once again, I'm tripping people who move more than 5 feet, and disarming people who are prone and try to stand.
-Bognus grabs the two young guards, using them as weapons to smash a third to death, leaving him with only one live guard in his grasp behind him.
-Turning his attention to the guard between he and Nuandis, Seth proceeded to gut him through a series of smashes, but the bite to the jugular finishes the job.
-Ulmah, her skeletons and the guard they surround continue to struggle, though Ulmah's opponent only manages to defend himself.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Though terrified, most of the guards stand their ground and hold to their duties, though one seems rather infatuated with Karactus. Running to him and with the intention of leaping up and securing a meaningful kiss, he finds his legs pulled forward mid jump by Karactus's lash, not only denying him his desire, but landing him on his back on the floor.
The most unfortunate of the group around Karactus has his weapon ripped from him as he stands, quickly pulls the baton from his belt and rushes around the group to get behind Karactus, but is tripped up again. Another is disarmed as he stands.
The remaining outside his reach move in to surround Karactus. Two finally manage to swing at him, only to have mirror images sprout.
.
Bognus's living weapon flails against him, still unable to free himself.
Karactus was a whirlwind of chaos, tearing weapons free and whipping the legs from beneath hardened soldiers. Normally his goal was to terrify, to drive enemies to run and hunt them down. There was more than one way to hunt though. Now, he was a living snare. He drew them in and laid them low until they could be slain at leisure.
It had worked perfectly, but now it was time to turn the tables on them.
He gave the guard filled with strange carnality a sidelong glance, momentarily unable to fathom what could have inspired such thoughts in the middle of a brawl, then he saw Nuandis' laughing stare and could not help but give a silent chuckle himself. She was proving to be a surprisingly entertaining mortal.
Beginning to enjoy himself. His lash reached for the neck of the guard in front of Ulmah as Karactus drifted out from the center of the pack of guards.
Same as before. Moving guys get tripped. Standing guys get disarmed.
The young woman sighs in disappointment, she gave him one simple task and he couldn't even carry it out. Worthless guard.
"Oh, company! Since you're making yourself useful there..."
Fingertips trickle down Karactus's shoulder, causing his figure to shift and distort.
Ulmah closes her eyes and her arms hang limp. A chair nearby starts moving on its own and attacks the nearest guard.
I don't really know where my skeletons are at the moment, but I'll just roll a few attacks for whichever ones can reach enemies.
Bognus dragged his last victim over to his newest, slamming the one into the other and bringing his other arm around in a monstrous clap, gathering them both in a macabre bearhug.
Seth smacks the daylight out of them with mace and shield.
A whirlwind of attacks from Seth ends with another fatal bite and a corpse at his feet.
Bognus too, ends on a similar note: with his first victim dead and a second in his clutches.
Meanwhile, a whip, a table, and a trio of skeletons all focus on one victim.
The guard between Seth and Karactus climbs to his feet, leaving himself open to an attack from Seth. [/ooc]No real effective combat maneuver for you to take, if you'd like to make an attack, use the last roll you made[/ooc].
The guard furthest removed stands up. Karactus fails to remove his weapon, but as he circles counter-clockwise around the group, he is tripped yet again.
The remaining guards use short steps to position themselves, then begin attacking various targets.
Figure southeast of Seth.
1 mirror image remains.
Southeast of Bongus
A clean cut leads to an overconfident stroke
Unit east of Karactus.
Unit southeast of Karactus
Bognus snarled at the guard who had the gall to strike back at him despite his grip and started to throttle the man into submission, attempting to sink his teeth deep into the guard's neck. At the same time, his left arm shot out, the dwarf not bothering to look up as he takes ahold of the guard threatening Sethirom.
It was time now. Karactus caught Sethirom's eye and indicated to him to guard the door.
Then he reached into the minds of the soldiers and showed them what they truly faced...
This round's AoOs are focused on tripping runners.
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Karactus's display only served to excite Nuandis more. She contemplated if magical fear would override her magical commands, but was determined to enjoy the show without too much interaction.
Ulmah slams again at the nearest guard with her possessed chair.
And her skeletons will continue to attack, probably pretty inconsequentially.
Chaos ensues. A cluster of guards bumping into each other, dropping weapons and bodily excrement alike in terror. At one point, more legs are in the air than heads. Between Karactus and Nuandis flinging them to the ground, and Bognus's realization that he is yet again grappling a corpse, there is little left to the group of soldiers that was only a few moments ago enjoying a hot meal. All that is left is the smell of hot irony blood as blood covers most of the center floor.
Karactus dismissed his spell of silence as soon as the last guard fell and spoke with Nuandis. "Summon your pet from upstairs. We need information. The guard rotation. Their numbers. The location of the armory."
Then he went about expanding the ranks of Ulmah's horde.
Bognus, his battle rage ending along with the exciting part of the fight, caved in the last guard's skull with one last bored slam into the wall as he nodded along to Karactus's suggestions. "A good idea, that. Could also stand tae avoid any nasty little traps they might 'ave set up. Patches o' magic sunlight, wards against tha likes o' us, that sort of thing."
He stood up, blood dripping from his hands and mouth, and looked over the guard's equipment with a critical eye. [b]"Oy, one o' ye spellcastin' types. Afore we get movin' too far, there anythin' worth our time tae snatch up on these lads?"
"Do we really need all of that? I'm enjoying not knowing who we're going to kill in the next room!"
She verbally protests in the middle of doing as asked, playfully calling for her new friend from the bottom of the stairwell. Once descended, she leans her hands against his shoulders, smiling up at him as if she were family.
"My friends and I just love your little prison here, but we're so curious to know more..."
Ulmah awakens from her possession-focus and sees the carnage, smiling. "Oh, you all are just a riot, aren't you? Karactus, would you mind leaving one of them alive, please? Injury would be preferred. And could you cast that lovely spell that uses blood to power other spells?"
Ulmah calmly walks over to the proffered guard, stands behind his kneeling form, and slices his throat clean through. She then mutters a few arcane words, cuts her hand on the kukri, mixing the man's blood with her own, and mutters even more arcane words, shoving her fingers into his eye sockets and ripping out his eyes. The body's flesh melts from it quickly, though some blood and gristle seems to remain and stick to the bones in many places, seemingly randomly.
"Thou dost mistake me for a witch. I am not." Karactus rumbles.
The guard saunters down the stairs, clearly not himself. He sighs, looking over the corpses of his fallen friends but does not protest. With a basic line of questioning he explains that the prison is a well-oiled machine, run in tandem by Sargent Thomas Blackerly and the Warden Mathias Richter. A small retinue of Knights of Alerion are permanently stationed here, and usually remain in the gatehouse.
The guards who work the inside of the keep know little about the rotations of those who work outside on the wall or in the gatehouse. The do this in case a prisoner manages to escape and capture someone.
What he can provide is:
-He and the other guards on shift won't be relieved from duty for another six hours.
-There are probably another 20 guards inside the keep.
-Knights of Alerion are in the gatehouse, as well as Blackerly.
-Richter usually stays in the tower on the opposite side of the gatehouse.