The Father of Waters

Game Master Fighting Chicken

Istiel stares at the basket for a while longer, but she can't make heads or tails of its use. In fact, the entire area seems to be beyond her comprehension. Perhaps this is for metal-making? Everything else in these tunnels has been for making metal.

She shoulders her new pickaxe, turning to the others as they discuss leaving. "We cannot leave the ogres. The maker of the undead. The captives said it was behind the door near them. " Istiel says strongly, her speech becoming impassioned.

"It is our duty to ensure the safety of the Flight. This threat is aware of us. We took its stock. We must end it before it is aware of the Flight. These tunnels will remain until we return."

Oios sighs. Then we go to where the ogres are. We will see what this 'Master' may be. But if this evil is too much for us we will retreat, end the Nargun threat outside with these new weapons, and try to collapse the entrance so this evil is contained, at least until the Flight moves past.

Sounds like a reasonable compromise I think

You move back into the barracks, but the Mountain Men hang back. The man who had his back to you when you first met, a large man with abstract scars across his scalp and a noticeable limp, puts his hand up, the universal sign for 'stop.'

Imix is reluctant to leave "This is a place of power. Whoever is below, they will come here. Eventually they will need to make another offering."
"Collapsing this entrance is pointless. In a day or two we could use these axes to carve a path through a yard of solid stone." He argues, but accepts Oios' decision.

"They need to come with us" Imix growls through inhuman mouth when the Mountain Men spook.

A generous choice. Drazan says in his native tongue, spinning the Axe head of Bane in the idle wait before a response. Because you lot are nameless and willing to earn repentance, you'll have weapons and you're up front until we return to this point. Should you have any thoughts on taking action against your sworn oaths or us... Just remember to not lose your heads.

Drazan kneels to unsling or unpack his spear, branch, and one of his kukris and distributes the three randomly. Spear. Branch. Kukri. Now up front with you.

The three Frozen look to each other, and then Limpy shrugs, grabbing the spear.

The others follow suit, and take the front. Back through the barracks you go, then into another hallway, this one a mere thirty or forty feet. Istiel's torchlight bounces off the gray stone walls, casting the Darohm lair in a sickly yellow light as the first of the Frozen steps through the doorway. Immediately, he starts stumbling as if drunk. The next stumbles too, and looking down, pushes into the first in near panic. At the edge of your vision, you can just see that the floor of this room has been carved out, and the Frozen walk upon bones, compacted into a shifting mass over time. In the edges of the torchlight, corpses scramble from the bone pile; Frozen, likely the rest of the survey team, all the life sucked from their bodies.

COMBAT MAP

Move back! Oios orders in his native tongue as well as in Abyssal. If they are mindless make them chase us into the last room. Better them in the hallway than us!

Seeing that most of those in front of him are not moving Oios grunts with frustration and slips his way to the front. Standing beside the leading Frozen Oios brandishes Telowo's staff, blazing as it is in the presence of undead and readies an act to withdraw.

Better to prepare if they do not follow. Drazan says pulling the closest mountain man with him as he pulls follows Oios's plan.

Imix sighs, but does as he is ordered, double moving back. "Come then. We need a few seconds to set ourselves."

The dead men surge forward, scampering across the bonepit effortlessly, as if on solid ground, howling as they come for the two exposed Frozen. Before they can grab him, Oios winks out of existance and back into the hallway, but the Frozen are not so lucky.

The first two are overrun before they can even react, rended and bitten into the beyond. Two zombies stoop to each corpse, and savagely gnaw on the mens' faces, obliterating all traces of their features in a matter of seconds. Another dead scampers over the corpses and lunges at Lightning bolt, who squeals, high and trembling, as the dead man sinks his yellow teeth into Bolt's forearm, ripping away flesh even as it wrestles Bolt to the ground. Bolt swings his kukri at the dead man, swinging wildly before squirming free from the dead man's grip...

COMBAT MAP

Istiel watches the two Froen get torn apart with a grimace, the flickering torchlight only showing bits and pieces of their gruesome death. Disappointing. I thought they would be useful against the ogres. I was wrong.

She draws a javelin from over her shoulder, stepping to the side to let Drazen and the lightning-scarred Frozen through. "Go!"

Well, let's see if they can exit the room.

1st Action: Draw Javelin

2nd, 3rd action: Ready action: Throw javelin as soon as Drazen and Lightning Bolt move out of the way.

Javelin throw: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

javelin damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

After pulling the surviving mountain man back into the room with Imix, he prepares with with a prayer for protection and strength. Just as his words finish, his body transforms into a mutable stones made up of the surrounding earth though it appears scales have been carved painstakingly into each rock.

Oios lashes out at the zombies as they close in around him, gnashing his teeth in frustration as his attempts to provide cover for their prisoners seems to fail.

Then he goes into total defense, trying to keep what happened to the Frozen from happening to him.

Even in the urgency of battle, Nat doesn't hurry. She assesses the situation and prays; her whole body glows with sunlight and there is for a brief moment, just on the edge of hearing, the sound of marching feet - as if the ranks of Heaven were coming to give battle.

The glow expands out from her, diminishing before settling on the group's weapons: Oios' spear, Drazan's axe, Istiel; outlining them with a gentle haze.

Two of the dead set upon the fallen Frozen. Distracted by the dead men, they pay the living no attention.

Oios is quickly surrounded, grasping hands bringing bruises, gnashing teeth sinking into the The Shadow's unprotected flesh. The remaining Frozen fares little better. His scream throttled by one of the zombies, the Lightning Bolt falls to the ground. The closest zombie reaches down and grabs Bolt's head, intent on finishing the man...

COMBAT MAP

The glowing totem shining around Nat flares briefly, as she sends healing light in a stream toward the gravely injured Shadow of Damballah, closing his wounds and lending him strength.

Istiel takes a step back towards Nat, still facing the room full of undead. "Go. We will follow." She remarks to the priestess, not wanting her to be left in the hallway alone.

Shrugging at the panic and inevitable fall of the prisoners, Drazan shrugs at their deaths, they should have not asked for weapons. Stepping over the fallen Bolt, Drazan attacks with bane and his elemental body hoping to fell the death-born guardian and allow Oios room to slip out of the room.

Imix, now alone, looks back and sees no-one coming.
'Once again no-one is following the plan.'
Sighing, he heads back.

Drazan steps over Bolt, who still lies, breathing shallowly on the floor, and swings his axe forcefully into the dead man pulling on Bolt. The Man From Fire Peak's axe momentarily sticks in the dead man, and when Drazan pulls it free, the dead man explodes in a horrific miasma of putrid blood and offal, covering everything nearby.

Pivoting, the gore-slicked Drazan puts another solid axe-swing into the next dead man, who lurches towards the Man From Fire Peaks.

Fort Save: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10

Taking the opportunity afforded by Drazan Oios steps his way back to safety.

Fodder, feh. Drazan spits.

Two more of the living dead stumble forwards, clawing and biting at Drazan. Their attacks are largely ineffectual, bouncing off of Drazan's rocky scales, though one slips under the Man from Fire Peak's magical ward, drawing blood.

Bolt stops breathing, shudders, and starts breathing again, stable...

==============
New Round
==============

"If you give me a gap." growls Imix to Drazan. "I can hurt them all. Maybe kill them.

Just do not get surrounded. Oios says to the Suriname as he pants. Damballah will your magic ends their foul existence

Nat ceases to concentrate on maintaining the totem of light, which vanishes abruptly, but not before streaming towards the fallen Bolt, restoring him to health.

She then moves away, following the plan.

Drazan tends off the dead born swarmers while grabbing Bolt by the wrist and dragging him back to perceived safety.

Bolt sputters and coughs blood, his eyes rolling wildly in his head, as Dregan drags him backwards towards the barracks, opening a spot in the front. The dead's attacks glance feebly off of Drazan's rocky skin.

Imix charged forward, shield held high. The eyes of the shield, and of the Suriname, glowed as he strode past Drazan and Bolt. The connection to the Well of Life was weaker here, underground, but there was something else. Something closer. Desperate he pulled at it, linking it to the Symbol of his Order as he thrust the shield forward past the gap Drazan had made and all but into the face of the oncoming Dead. "BACK!" he grunted in the language of Stones, as the energy burst from the shield.

As Imix's energy flows down the hallway Istiel pulls back into the barracks, following behind Nat.

Oios retreats as well. Drazan, help Imix retreat. Drag him back if need be.

The zombies smoke and burn as Imix's power washes over them, one even bursting into flames and collapsing. The other zombies rush towards the hallway, only to run, clawing and biting, into Imix's shield, turned aside by the Suriname's protections.

Bolt stumbles to his feet and runs down the hallway, stopping at the edge of the torchlight...

============
New Round
============

COMBAT MAP

Istiel moves into one of the spaces between the bunks, waiting to pound the inevitable flood of undead. "Drazen! Across from me." She points to the cubby opposite to her with the javelin still in her hand. "We will crush them between us."

Oios backs away as well and looks at the others, Is anyone injured?

After letting go of the mountain man, Drazan shifts into the alcove across from Istiel, and readies himself against what will likely be a bath in zombie gore.

Seeing that he himself is by the most damaged of all of them Oios grips Telowo's staff to him and mutters a prayer to Ayida-Wedu and Loco. But their blessing comes weakly to him.

Safely away from combat, Nat prays again, and the shining totem of Ayida-Wedu reappears, bolstering the group's weapons.

The zombies charge at Imix pushing against each other, teeth gnashing, claws slashing, but the small hallways constrain them. The first runs into the Suriname's shield, smashing into it like a veteran of the Palenque fields. One of the creature's ragged fingers finds its way under Imix's helmet, gouging the Suriname and drawing blood.

==========
NEXT ROUND
==========

COMBAT MAP

Istiel drops her javelin as the undead slams into Imix's shield. Her fist is thrown over Imix's shoulder and into the zombie's decaying face as many times as she can manage.

Nat grits her teeth, maintaining the totem by force of will while she directs the healing light to flow towards the injured Suriname.

Beads of sweat start to appear across her brow and at the nape of her neck; she's never had to channel this much power before.