Oh good. They aren't bugs. Laknir charges skeleton A after activating Combat Expertise.
The foul undead barely has enough time to utter a wordless rasp of alarm before Laknir is at it's door step, swiping at the skeleton’s leg in an attempt to sever it entirely. Sadly the keen blade isn't quite sharp enough to sever solid bone, but it does manage to leave a sizable crack in several places. Thankfully, Braena follows closely behind him, tucking into a roll to avoid an errant short sword. If a skelton could think, it wouldn't have known what hit it when Braena struck it upside the head, sending the skull careening into the passageway the group entered from.
Meanwhile, The rest of the party was having similar results, with Frank’s bolt catching the other skeletons attention long enough for dwarven made steel to end it's miserable undeath.
The flames from the destroyed skeletons began to die down, briefly returning darkness to the small chamber, before two more fires crackles to life. Their owners, two more skeletons, shambled to life, though this time they were joined by emaciated skeletal figures that dripped with what appeared to be blood.
The blood skeletons, like the previous pair, were outfitted with enough blades to fill their four grasping talons, while the other two were armed only with their bony claws. The two closest to Braena converged on her location, malice burning in their glowing red eyes. They began to attack her visciously with their weapons.
Both blade and claw were parried in a stunning display of finesse from Braena, yet even she could not stop them all,and two rustly swords left gashes in her armor. Korim and Frank, the chosen prey of the remaining two skeletons fell victim to a similar onslaught though they had more time to prepare themselves.
Frank managed to block the blood skeletons sword with her crossbow and Korim easily batted aside the clumsy swipe from the other.
"Xabu dis-" Fran begins but even before the words are off her lips Xabu is skittering into action. The bug rapidly moving about the room and running under the various creatures feet.
"Well alright then." the human drawls as the scorpion does what it does best.
The skittering creature then makes a disconcerting screech at the flaming skeleton.
Fran sighs and looks at the crossbow before shrugging. "Jeeves pull out my longspear I've no chance of hitting in this melee, put away the crossbow." With that the human moves away from the skeleton and its knives meaning one of the skeletons harrying Braena with the weapon.
When the reinforcements appeared Laknir sidestepped, placing him beside the burning horror that was assaulting Korim. He tried to land a solid blow with his rapier but the blade merely scraped along the skeletons ribcage.
Braena, meanwhile, ducked between her enemies in an attempt to surprise them a swing of her mace from the other side, but the skeleton was surprisingly quick, managing to bat aside the weapon before it could gain enough momentum.
The fact that Xabu’s stinger catches fire seems to benefit the arachnid more than anything, as the light it creates serves to aid in catching the skeleton’s attention during his trip around the room. The undead attempt to claw at this newfound source of irritation, but thankfully they are far too slow to keep up with the little familiar.
Elsewhere, Korim fells another skeleton, it's feeble defenses being no match for his intense hatred of their kind. Frank, realizing that the dwarf has the situation well in hand, takes advantage of Xabu's diversion to aid Braena in her struggles. Her spear tip lances forth, grazing the undead’s shoulder and successfully catching its ire.
The skeletons surrounding Korim seem not to notice Laknir, instead choosing to clumsily throw themselves against the ranger’s defenses, though they are no more successful this time than they were the last.
Again the two skeletons surrounding Braena commence raining blows, and though she valiantly staves off most of their advances, she can't possibly hope to stop them all. A burning claw gains a swipe across her side, distracting her long enough for a pair of rusty blades to sink into her stomach. Braena gasps in pain, her face losing color as her mace drops from her hands, followed soon after by her own descent to the stone floor where she grasps futily at her mortal wound.
Korim, it's guard is too high! Laknir shouts out one of the many pieces of combat advice he recalls from his training.
PleasedontdiePleasedontdiePleasedontdiePleasedontdie...
While freaking out internally.
Frank frowns as she sees her female ally drop to the skeletons concentrated blow.
she swears and pulls a scroll, burning its magic. I can't help her if I'm dead.
" I have a spell that can hurt them but you are all in the way. Xabu, they are going to roast you if you stay in here. Get out of the way."
Xabu chitters in annoyance rapidly retreats from the room and its burn-y burn-y fire damage.
Laknir’s blade is a blur, a wall of steel that passes through bone as if it were butter and leaving a crumbled corpse, where once there was a walking one.
Korim, however, fared much worse and in his belligerence he had difficulty focusing on his foe. He did find a moment of clarity when he saw a fierely orange glow emanate throught the pile of bones Laknir had created. “Hit the deck!” he cried out, and Laknir must have caught on, as the two of them dived to safety just before the bone pile exploded in a ball of magical fire. Fire and washed over the pair briefly, but thankfully their quick thinking and agility saved them from the worst of it.
Braena’s assailants, not content to stop at one kill, converge on Laknir. Claws brimming with fire and blades soaked with fresh blood rain upon the diminutive knight.
Stunned as he was by the magical blast, Laknir had difficulty fending off the sketons assault, even allowing a rusted blade to slip past his defenses which embedded itself in the kobold’s shoulder, though it thankfully missed a mortal strike.
Korim’s opponent, seemingly undeterred by the fireball, pressed its attack once more on the vulnerable dwarf.
However, despite his precarious position, Korim soldiered on, deflecting every swing that was sent his way with dwarven steel and no small amount of determination.
Laknir grows silent as his thoughts turn to survival.
2 Panache remaining.
Fran sighs as the pair ignore her comment and looks at the battle in progress.
"Well nothing for it then. Jeeves a vial of acid for Xabu. Xabu lob it at the flaming one."
Fran drawing a wand and stepping closer to the flaming skeleton, hammering it with divine power
Laknir attacks skeletons= miss
Korim attack B= hits/dead
Cleaves to A= hits/3 damage
Jeeves throws acid at C= miss
Fran touch attacks C= miss
Laknir’s attempts at retaliation prove futile as the skeletons take full advantage of their placement, leaving the kobold with little time to focus on one target. Further the aggravating the situation is the continually burning flames that careess Laknir’s skin, leaving horrid burns in their wake.
Enraged at the direction the fight has been moving in, Korim resolves to end it quickly, cleaving through one bloody skeleton so hard that he actually manages to carry his momentum into its brethren, disrupting its attention on Laknir.
Out of the darkness, a vial of emerald fluid arcs forward, propelled by the surprisingly strong claws of Xabu, and crashes messily all over the burning skeleton, acid further eroding it's already rotten bones. Meaning to take advantage of her familiars impeccable aim, Fran strides forward, wand extended to deliver a spell, but by that point the undead had already recovered and was able to bat aside the implement.
The skeletons make one final, pitiful attempt at the parties lives, but by this point Fran and Korim have become proficient at negating their sluggish attacks. The burning skeleton however, manages to slip past Laknir and places itself directly in front of Frank in an attempt at burning her alive.
Fran tries again to touch the burning skeleton with the length of wood in her hand, tip still humming slightly with contained magic.
Laknir decides to hop behind Korim to flank against the bloody skeleton and strike it, moving away from the fire.