Malera takes a step back and fires, her arrow taking the zombie near Harmini in the skull. Its form falls to the floor with a thud. Nimaethep draws her sickle and cuts the zombie circling behind her, severing the neck to the bone. Three zombies have now fallen.
The zombie horde continues to press its attack on Nimathep, one slamming at her again but still unable to connect.
Teos moves into the fray, his sword slashing at another undead monster, trying to keep them away from Nim.
Attack:
Damage:
Teos pushes forward into the horde bringing his sword around to take down another zombie. The excessive gore from his first blow makes his hand slip slightly, turning the blade around. What seems like a mighty blow becomes more of a swat and the zombie seems oblivious to it.
The crowd continues rushing out the front doors. The stern ranger that Malera spoke to is heard shouting from outide. "Damn, the monsters continue out here as well. Stay inside for now, I will clear the path." A few of the others pause at the door, waiting for it to be clear for them to flee. From the sound of it, the horde continues outside but others have it under control. For now.
Another of the horde swings at Nimaethep but misses wildly.
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Excellent shot, Malera!
Harmini proceeds with stabilizing the remaining injured guest in the same manner as the other one.
This seems to be worse than it first appeared. Best get ready for more.
She then produces a crossbow from behind the folds of her gown. A long strand of her hair suddenly springs loose, escaping it's meticulous bondage and comes to rest gently on her shoulder. She sighs.
The zombies aren't the only things that can't stay put! Ugh!
Harmini's magic appears to staunch the blood flow of the other unconscious guest and she then prepares to help eliminate the zombies.
The individual members of the horde continue there attack against Nimaethep, her reflexes continuing to keep them at bay while occupying them as well.
”More of them? What in the hells is happening here?! Quickly, stay inside! We’ll secure the building!” Malera exclaimed to the citizens as she moved herself closer to Harmini, seeing as she pulled out a crossbow to aid. With the swiftness and grace of a true warrior, she quickly pulls another arrow and fires it once more into the head of the (green) zombie!
Malera moves closer to Harmini, her holy presence seeming to sharpen Harmini's senses. She then fires another arrow into the horde, and the closest zombie drops limp as the arrow pierces its skull with ease.
Nimaethep continues her fluid motions as she continues to avoid the zombies. She only glances momentarily at the green zombie as it falls to the floor, a feathered shaft suddenly sprouting from its head. She doesn't turn her attention away from the danger of the remaining corpses. She didn't need to know who had fired the arrow, only that they were assisting in dispatching the undead.
She blocked the orange zombie's wide sweep with her forearm. With a quick twist she bound its arm with hers as she slashed at its exposed neck with her sickle before releasing the abomination.
Nimaethep cuts the zombie deep but the head remains firmly on, the zombie still struggling against her. The other remaining zombie pushes the assault and tries to batter her as well. Her attention still on the zombie she is struggling with, this other one connects with her shoulder and her grip on the other zombie slips.
Teos slashes at the (purple) zombie attacking Nim.
Attack:
Damage:
Teos continues his assault on the horde, bringing down another zombie. The last remaining zombie slams at Nimaethep as if determined to drive her down like those caught in the initial attack. Nimaethep dodges easily as the clumsy blow falls short.
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Teos and Nima seem to have this under control. We should check on the guests outside. I heard someone else fighting out there for certain...
Harmini takes a few moments to ready herself. She loads her crossbow with a cold-iron bolt and casts a defensive spell. She then looks over to Malera.
These two guests will live. We should see if our help is more urgently needed elsewhere.
The horde still presents some threat but as Harmini is preparing herself more action can be heard out front. Basif can be heard shouting from outside and several of the patrons head out cautiously.
"Clear a hole!" Basif calls out. "Open a hole, and the others can escape!"
Heeding Basif's advice, Malera decides to move towards the entrance to help outside as well, but wishes to open up a hole for more people to escape and expertly fires another arrow into the skull of the brown zombie!
Malera fires an arrow which hits the zombie but seems to have left it unharmed. The horde presses its assault.
The blow was glancing, but it would leave a bruise. A reminder that despite all her training there were limits to her skills.
However, the role of guardian was still hers whether she was protecting the mortal remains of the deceased or the well being of the living. Part of that duty was to suffer injury so that others would not have to if need be.
She pressed her attack against the last zombie, trying to finish the task of removing its head from its shoulders.
"Theo, see what is happening outside. I can put this restless corpse back at peace and the people out there may have more need of your blade. I will join you as soon as I can."
Teos moves forward to take a position at the doorway, sword and shield at the ready.
Nimaethep's sickle savages the last zombie, dropping it to the floor with the thump. The room is still for the moment but there is more action outside from the sound of things. Teos responds to the noise by heading to the doorway and examining the scene.
Outside a few patron fight off further zombies and things seem to be in chaos. The fight seems to be going in favor of the living though and within seconds the last of them fall. Other patrons seem to be ready to flee now that there is a gap in the fight.
To get a better look outside and to make sure she can protect any of the civilians rushing out, Malera makes her way out the doors and loads her bow with another arrow, aiming towards the outside area, ready to fire should any more zombies come at them.
Nimaethep bathes in the warm light from Harmini, the ache from her bruise fading. "Thank you Harmini, these people have you to thank for their lives." She pulled back her mask and offered a hand to the woman who had just a moment ago been felled by the initial zombie attack.
As she did so she looked to Malera who had just rushed to the door.
"That was a remarkable display of archery. I didn't even think that a zombie could be felled by arrows. She motioned for any other civilians to gather around "We need everyone to stay together so we can ensure your safety."
Nimaethep asked Theo and Malera "How does it look out there?"
"Looks like it might be over for the moment, although people are still running about. I do not see any more zombies."
The giant man takes a rag and cleans the undead gore off his weapon while keeping an eye on the goings on outside.
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After seeing the immediate threat neutralized, Harmini looks to her companions. Alabaster's central blue gem glows faintly as it tries in vain to restore its master's hair to order.
I can see that my confidence in your abilities is well placed. However, I must admit that I did not expect a demonstration so soon. The borders of the necropolis are typically guarded well against the undead in the city and zombies are not known for their intelligence... I am forced to wonder: where did they come from?
Harmini reaches down to assist the nearby fallen man to his feet and ease his escape (assuming he is conscious).
Harmini's way of healing brings the two fallen patron around. Their wounds still open some, but they can be brought to their feet and helped out of danger. Harmini and Nimaethep see to them while Teos and Malera see what is happening outside.
The fighting outside seems to be coming to a close. A few fallen patrons lie there but most seem at least on their feet. The zombie horde though seems to be dealt with for now. As Malera passes Teos to see outside she pauses.
The young paladin heard the praise from her comrades, but was so focused on making sure that everyone would be safe that it flew over her head. As she moved outside, she spotted the faulty scaffolding and quickly takes a step back in reflex, yelling, "Move back inside! Quickly! It's going to collapse on you if you stand there!"
Heeding her call, Teos also moves out of the way, bellowing at anyone else in the area to 'Move yer ass!'
Hearing the urgency in Malera's voice Nimaethep moves quickly. With an agile step she moves over to the door and grabs the woman closest to it, pulling her out of harm's way.
With the momentum from the same action she prepares to shield the other woman within reach from harm.
Malera shouts for the people to move and they seem to awaken from the cloud of panic they were in. The turn back and rush back into the building, Malera and Teos following them in. Just as Malera clears the doorway a heavy crash is heard behind her and the doorway is blocked by the debris of the falling scaffolding.
Nimaethep lifts the woman at her feet and pushes her in forward as Harmini begins shouting for the rest of the patrons move to the back of the building. She follows quickly behind as they head for the stage.
A second passes and one of the patrons looks out the door a begins to shout. The thin man turns as he is assailed by what appears to be a decaying hand scratching at his throat. He pushes it off and as it lands on the floor it immediately begins to scramble for him again. Other hands press through the rubble and seem to be intent on strangling any living thing.
Malera sees the debris block their exit out from the building and grits her teeth in frustration. "Come on, we can clear the debris out of the wa--" she begins to yell when the man screams out as the hand begins to assault him.
"More undead fiends! She grabs her bow once more and aims at the hand on the man. Her hand shakes for a moment and she decides against shooting an arrow that could possibly hit him instead of the hand, so instead she calls out, "May the Dawnflower burn them away!" and channels positive energy again to harm undead!
Much like the zombies before, these undead were mindless, likely to lash out at whatever living thing is within reach. With Theo and Malera on one side to assist those already accosted by the heinous things, Nimaethep moved to try and attract the attention of the other three before they were able to scatter and endanger anyone else.
As Malera's holy power once again bathed the undead in divine light causing their putrid flesh to burn in its purity, Nimaethep rushed among the rotted hands and made a commotion to get them to attack her. Sickle in hand, she slashed at the one in front of her, attempting to sever its fingers without which it would not be able to move or attack.
Malera steps back and sends forth the power of the Dawnflower's Light. The undead hands seem to burn with the energy, some more than others. The undead continue their assault but most seem weaker and more decayed.
The hands spread out more and move to strike those within reach. One springs at Teos and another at Nimaethep.
Seeing the crawling claws, Teos steps forward and slices at one as it comes near him.
Attack:
Damage:
Teos slices into the claw as it scrambles towards him. The khopesh cleaves it in half and it then lies still.
Continuing his forward motion, Teos moves towards the claws harrying Nim. He swings his khopesh at the undead horror, trying to keep them off the cat-woman.
Attack:
Damage:
Still in her defensive stance, Nimaethep brings her heel down in an arc on the claw, intending on crushing its bones as it scrabbled towards her.
Nimaethep stomps on the claw crawling at her and manages to snap off one of the fingers. It still comes on on scrambles up her leg, clawing at her. She manages to push it aside and avoids any real harm. It falls again at her feet and immediately scrambles again.
Teos strides forward and pulls the claw off of the frail patron next to him. As it falls he brings his sword down on it, smashing it on the floor.
The third claw near Teos claws at the woman patron who came back in with he and Malera. The claw scratches at her throat, drawing blood but failing to grab on. She screams at it but manages to keep it from choking her.
As Harmini moves up the crawling claws press on at Nimaethep. Two more scramble at her move up her clothes for her throat. Their clumsy attempt is easily avoided though and they again fall at Nimaethep's feet.
Malera sees the lady still struggling with the hand and on instinct, rushes in to help. She drops her bow on the ground and pulls out her scimitar as she rushes to her side and swipes at the hand on her to help free her!
Nimaethep was unsettled by these severed hands. The zombies had been one thing, with their lumbering swings and blank stares, but these hands skittered and leaped about. The fact that they were trying to crawl on her was somehow worse than the threat of a zombie's blow.
Steeling her resolve, she decided to try and make quick work of the things. With a flurry of movement, she struck quickly while never slowing her dance like movements trying to keep the things from finding purchase.
With that she nimbly stepped back, trying to stay out of reach of the creepy things.
Malera strides over to assist the woman being attacked by the claw, drawing her scimitar as she does. Her cut ends the threat and it falls to the floor with a thud.
Nimaethep scrambles to handle the oncoming assault of the claws. Her discomfort seems to get the better of her though and she fails to stop them. Still she moves aside in effort to prevent them from continuing to swarm over her. Unfortunately one of them follows immediately.
The claw gets past her quick feet and with deft moves it is upon her, scratching at her throat. It tries to get a hold but it seems weaker from the punishment Malera and Nimaethep both have dealt it.
As the undead claw attempted to assault Nimaethep again, she tried once again to stop it with a powerful stomp.
Unfortunately, the only thing she accomplished was to give the claw a convenient means to crawl on her.
Teos swings at the (green) claw trying to claw Nim.
Attack:
Damage:
Teos moves to aid Nimaethep, cutting down the claw scrambling for her. The two others that were swarming over her now split up. One launches itself at Nimaethep and the other at Teos.
Both claws fail to get a purchase on the heroes.
After killing the living hand that was attacking the woman, Malera made sure that she wasn't too hurt and gave her a small nod, saying, "I hope you are alright. Quickly, stay behind us."
As she turns to go and help her new companions with their own hands, Harmini yells out about the group of other adventurers possibly being in trouble. She sees Nim and Teos seemingly handling their hands and yells out, "I'll check it out!" She drops her scimitar and runs back to where she left her longbow, picking it up and ready for any new threat to emerge.