Lhienne rushes to support her friend.
Initiative
Zukhan 16
Necromancer and Hound 12
Zombies 8
Djal, Xar, Lhienne 6
Unchained 5
Iliberos 4
Round 1
Zukhan launches an arrow into one of the zombies, piercing its neck as he withdraws. The Necromancer blinds Xar with a spell while the hound under repair bites Iliberos. Outside, the zombies surround the Unchained and begin pummeling him.
Djal, even while poisoned, manages to strike a solid blow to the mage while Xar attempts to bring down the tent.
The left side of the tent crumples around you after Xar knocks out one of the supports!
The Unchained and Lhienne, always a team, hack apart one of the zombies.
But despite the grievous injury, the thing refuses to fall!
Inside the tent, Iliberos fires an orb of multi-colored acid at the necromancer!
Iliberos' acid attack strikes him squarely, bypassing the spectral armor momentarily visible as the orb strikes him. The necromancer grits his teeth through the pain.
Zukhan darts in, drawing his scimitar and slashes at the undead wall.
Initiative
Zukhan 16
Necromancer and Hound 12
Zombies 8
Djal, Xar, Lhienne 6
Unchained 5
Iliberos 4
Zukhan hacks at the zombie, but unfortunately catches the iron collar around its neck. He dents the blade of his scimitar, spoiling the edge.
He punches the undead with his claw gauntlet, ripping out a gout of intestines.
The necromancer runs past Iliberos and out of the tent.
Djal's jab misses the mark but Iliberos catches his opponent with a glancing blow while he runs out the door and chants a spell, conjuring a skeletal hand which reaches out to grab Lhienne.
Lhienne narrowly avoids the spectral grasp and the hand disappears- empty handed.
The hound on the operating table attempts to take another chunk out of Iliberos, but bounces off of his magical protections.
The zombies continue their assault- two on the Unchained, one attacking Zukhan and the last trying to club Lhienne. One of them is practically falling apart before your eyes, yet stubbornly keeps moving.
The zombies almost in unison strike out at the party- Zukhan takes a blow to the stomach while The Unchained is pummeled around his head and chest. Lhienne takes the worst of it, taking a punch straight across the face. The halfling falls to the ground, unconscious.
Iliberos attacks the Hound.
Longsword Attack - Damage
Lhienne lies broken upon the floor, though at least she yet breathes.
Round 4
Djal shakes off the poison thrown into his face and jabs the Necromancer once more, the wizard grunting with the pain.
Xar, still blinded, tries to stab the spellcaster himself.
The priest's short sword catches the necromancer in the stomach and he doubles over in pain, but retains consciousness.
Nestor, who had followed the group at a distance, runs over to the fallen halfling and digs out her healing potion.
The Unchained deals a grievous blow to one of the zombies and it slumps, held limp in a standing position by its chain gang companions.
With the blade of his sword, Iliberos cuts apart the hound on the table and it goes still- permanently this time.
Initiative
Zukhan 16
Necromancer 12
Zombies 8
Djal, Xar, Lhienne, Nestor 6
Unchained 5
Iliberos 4
Zukhan decides to take a shot at the Necromancer hoping that would take out the zombies.
(Disadvatage for being close to the zombies)
Zukhan's aim is spoiled by lazy swipe of the zombie attacking him- the arrow flies into the tent, slaying it.
"You- you haven't seen the last of me!", the necromancer gasps before incanting another spell. In the blink of an eye, he's transformed into a cloud of bone dust and begins wafting slowly toward the closest rocky wall.
The zombies continue their attack, pummeling Zukhan and the Unchained.
While distracted firing his bow, Zukhan is slammed in the sternum, knocking the air out of him. The two left clawing at The Unchained only manage to scratch the half-orc hero.
The Unchained launches another blow.
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Djal's rapier pierces the cloud and the Necromancer coalesces again from the dust, falling to the ground bleeding.
The Unchained deals a vicious blow to one of his undead foes, rending it in twain.
And it slumps over, dragging its two remaining comrades down in a heap on the floor.
Nestor attempts to stabilize Lhienne.
The escaped slave manages to stop the halfling's bleeding in time and her breathing stabilizes.
Stumbling forward, Xar attempts to stab one of the downed zombies.
And though blinded, the priest manages to put the tenacious zombie down.
With only one fallen zombie remaining, Iliberos and Zukhan manage to chop it to pieces until it goes still. A hush falls over the ravine, broken only by the buzzing of flies attracted to the carrion.
The Unchained rushes to Lhienne's side. "You will be alright. You have to."
Lhienne's breathing is shallow, but steady- given a little time, she should be back on her feet. The necromancer is likewise on the ground, unconscious and bleeding out.
Inside of the necromancer's large partially-collapsed military tent there is a cot with a bedroll on it, a small table and an operating table along with a folding chair. Several censers for burning incense hang around the tent and a lantern rests next to the cot.
There is a trunk full of spare clothing, his spellbook, several sacks full of coinage (1200 cp, 1300 sp, 120 gp), a small bag containing several gems (2 hematites, 2 blue quartz, a moss agate, a turquoise) and two healing potions. In a small metal box, there are two dozen cones of incense.
Iliberos heads out from the tent with the potions in hand, "There are a few healing potions here. Lhienne, Unchained, I think you'll need these the most".
Iliberos shrugs at the Necromancer's bleeding body, "Do we stabilize and question him?" In the meantime, Iliberos leafs through the book, curious as to what it could contain.
"End him quickly. We are not sadists."
The spellbook, a tome bound in leather the color of red wine, contains:
Cantrips: chill touch, light, mage hand, minor illusion
1st level: alarm, expeditious retreat, feather fall, mage armor, unseen servant
2nd level: blindness/deafness, darkvision, detect thoughts, ray of enfeeblement, spider climb
3rd level: animate dead, gaseous form, phantom steed
Lhienne looks around at unchained and Djal, "Alight I'm not dead yet." remembering where she is a disturbing thought occurs to her and she quickly checks to make sure she isn't actually dead and raised in a mockery.
Xar-Nixx goes to cut the Necromancer's throat, but Nestor steps in. The mute slave holds out his hand and Xar shrugs, giving him the knife. Nestor cuts the slave-taker's throat, letting him die quickly. He spells out, Let's burn the bodies. Can't come back that way. Suffering ends.
Iliberos nods to Nestor as he slips the claimed spellbook into his backpack, "Wise advice indeed".
Nestor wrinkles his nose at the suggestion, but doesn't say anything.
"Lhienne, you sure you ok?"
Silent Nestor begins the gruesome work of gathering the bodies and body parts for a pyre, starting with his former chain gang escapees.
Xar-Nixx covers his nose.
"Having second thoughts here. Nothing good happens on land, it seems..."
"I've been better to be sure, but I'm still breathing and moving. 's not my first beating." she helps drag the bodies to the pyre. "If we're burning them, I'm not sure I relish the idea of staying here breathing them in. Plus it'll likely attract some attention."
The Unchained smiles, "You gone right ahead with the others. I'll take care of the dead."
Lhienne tenses up as Djal reaches for her, but doesn't move aside. She relaxes as the healing magic flows through her. She gives him a smile "Sorry, don't like being touched, my problem not you. Thanks, that does feel better."
"If we stay here, the fires will no doubt attract some attention, we must be on guard..."
"Guard in pairs."
Zukhan nods to The Unchained. "Good idea. This ravine has been full of surprises."
You spend the rest of the day clearing bodies and making the ravine a less awful place to spend the night while you recuperate. Xar grouses about the misery of being on land again and makes it clear that he's striking out on his own for the coast after his own watch shift.
During his watch with Zukhan, The Unchained leans on a tree to keep from being attacked from behind. He suggests the same to Zukhan.
Brother Theodor
You've been hustled from one place to the other by your superiors- first from Fangsfall all the way up to Creagfort, the very edge of civilization on the peninsula and now out of Creagfort into Devil's March in pursuit of a group headed for the Chasm of Flies. After your poor horse broke its leg in one of the many holes marking the broken landscape of the March, things started to look decidedly worse for your excursion and finding some kind of friendly aid has become top priority: this is no place to be traveling alone.
It was in the afternoon that you saw a plume of smoke rising from the rocky badlands in the distance- the only sign of passage that could possibly signal the Divine races in the area. And so, lacking few other options, you set out to find it. You're picking your way through a narrow ravine littered with the bones of long-dead birds and blood stains- recent blood stains. You can hear the sound of voices ahead.
The Party
You're burning the bodies, covering your mouths and noses and using what blankets and sheets the necromancer had to fan the smoke away from your camp when you hear the sound of booted feet and crunching bones from the narrow entrance to the ravine.