"Already on it," Nevai replied as he caught up to the others and scuttled past them. He approached as close as he dared before releasing a wave of healing energy that just barely reached the woman.
Marnarius follows the priest, ostensibly to guard him from the creatures but also positioned so that the channel takes care of his last remaining wounds from the previous evening.
"Those are Esoboks, a vicious predator caste of psychopomps. They patrol as feral hunters, hungry for undead flesh. Typically these creatures are summoned and do not appear naturally, so I wonder what drew them here? Perhaps the temple summoned them to help?"
"In any event, do not get near them and do not draw their attention to yourselves. That woman should be in no danger from them, though her head does seem to be bleeding quite a bit right now."
This seems like an act of desparation, summoning such beasts into the city. They devour the undead for sure, but disregard the living and even are a thread to us?
"Not everyone reacts rationally when panicked."
The woman's wound closes and she stirs then finally wakes, looking around in horror. The creatures snap their attention to her and begin to growl. One looks ready to pounce.
Leto steps in between the Esobok and the poor woman.
In the name of Pharasma, i cannot let this pass beast!
He points in direction of the besieged door.
Go over there, countless undead are awaiting you to be feasted upon! Go, before they break through and feast on the living!
Almathea readies to attack the Esobok if it makes a move at the woman or Leto.
One of the creatures pounces on Leto.
Another pounces on Marnarius as he steps in front of Nevai.
The last moves around Marnarius to attack Nevai, but is fortunately unable to pounce on the priest.
"Damn it, you should be attacking the dead, not us!" Nevai cried as he drew his blade and defended himself.
,
Well, no way to avoid a fight now...
Thea tosses some acid at the creature grabbing Marnarius .
Thea will toss more acid on the same one.
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"Protect the woman!" shouts Nuru as she moves to position herself between the woman and the nearest esobok. With a quick prayer to Pharasma, Nuru strikes at the creature.
That's a lot of pouncing...
Erei will ready his spear and begin singing.
Almathea's acid splashes against the creature holding Marnarius in its jaws. It growls and the half-elf cleverly slips out of the Esobok's grasp.
Nuru steps forward and slashes at the Esobok attacking Nevai, putting a large gash into the thing. Nevai's attack swiftly follows and the creature looks nearly finished.
Leto slams his fists into the Esobok holding him.
The Esobok attacking Leto continues to claw at him.
The other that had Marnarius tries to catch him again.
The last continues to attack Nevai
Round 2 Initiative 9
Argh. Help! Can´t take those claws any longer!
Seeing Leto in distress, Almathea lets loose missiles of magic at the creature holding him.
"I'm a little busy, just a second..." Nevai replied as he hacked at his attacker.
,
Erei will try to move to catch the creature attacking Leto in a glitterdust. If he can catch others without hitting allies, he'll do that instead.
If he cannot do that, he will cast Blur on Leto instead.
"I'm coming!" Nuru shouts as she engages the creature attacking Leto.
After another attack, the Esobok attacking Nevai falls to the ground. Shortly after that the three creatures disappear.
Leto, battered and bruised badly, raises himself from the groung, wiping cold sweat from his brow.
That was just in time. Were they called somewhere else or why did they vanish so suddenly? Who sets such ferocious beasts free in the city?
He looks at the blood trickling down from his scratched sides and shakes his head.
With the vicious creatures sudden disappearance, Nevai sheathed his blade and offered a hand to the injured woman. "Are you all right ma'am?"
While Nevai sees to the woman, Marnarius motions to Erei and Almathea. "Do you have any idea how long those creatures could have been summoned for? Their caller may be close by." Struck by the thought, the slayer examines the ground for the esoboks' tracks.
"They were moving with great speed. Might not be that close. Should better summon them outside the gates into that horde though. "
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I...what? I...no, no I have no idea why those things attacked. The woman stutters a response as she looks around at what remains of the zombies that had attacked her before the Esoboks.
Almathea replies to Marnarius: "Perhaps a minute or two depending upon skill level. Certainly no more than that."
"What are you doing out right now? We can escort you to the Church of Pharasma where you should be safe for the night, as that's where we're heading."
I...I was trying to find my family. My husband went out earlier and hasn't returned. And then...these things surrounded me. She points to the torn up remains of the zombies. I...the church sounds good. Yes.
As they led the woman back to the church, Nevai continued to talk to help calm her. "What is your husband's name? If we see him out here, we'll tell him you went to the church so he can come find you."
"The church would be as safe a place as you can find... perhaps, you'll find your family there as well. Many are gathering there," Nuru adds as they escort the woman.
Yes, yes, the church is probably the safest place. Unless... well it´s the safest place. Let´s get moving!
Leto helps the woman stand up and then shoes everyone into direction church.
Before the party moves on, Marnarius gives the zombie bodies a quick check to see if any are recently dead (and thus possibly the woman's husband, come to a bad end).
The bodies seem like most of the others. Some are recently deceased corpses that have risen up, others appear to be slightly older. But none belong to the woman's husband.
You make your way back to the church with the woman and the priests take her in order to care for her wounds. As you enter the main part of the church, Ptemenib rushes out to meet you,
Peace be upon you! I'm glad to see you've returned. We...we have a problem. You must come! The normally stoic priest seems quite disturbed and doesn't wait for a response before turning and leading you to Sebti's office. As you approach you hear shouting:
Esoboks! How could you! What could you be thinking?!, you hear The High Priestess yell.
I was thinking that we're under attack. What are you thinking using mercenaries...foreigners...to save our people?
Your psychopomps will kill those very people, Nakht.
Yes, some may die. But we need to find the source and eradicate it or they will all die. Your methods just prolong the death of this city. Sometimes healthy flesh must come with the diseased to get rid of the sickness. It is our way.
Do not quote doctrine to me, Nakht. These people deserve better than to be treated as a sacrifice.
Ptemenib ushers you into the office as the argument continues. Both sides seem rather heated and it doesn't appear a resolution will be reached anytime soon.
Marnarius looks a bit ill at the discussion. "The Voices called up the esoboks? Are they insane? Ptemnib, the gate needs to be reinforced quickly, or they'll do it again when the undead there break through."
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The slayer stops, struck by a thought.
He clears his throat. "Right now, there are dozens of the undead massed at the gate to the Necropolis. If you turn loose the Lady's hounds on them now, none of the living will be at risk. But you'll have to move quickly."
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Leto enters the room with Marnarius, giving him his support.
While you argue about questionable methods which are not even directed right, there´s a gate under siege by a horde of undead with nearly no guards left. Whatever you think of us or any others who weren´t born here, we will all die the same if we are overrun! Yo better gather your wits quickly and do the right thing! Help us reinforce the gate. If you have to summon some more monsters, then do it there, right into the undead horde! There´s no time to waste!
"We left the gate shortly after defeating a pair of shadows that managed to kill one of the guards and turn him as well. The gates were still holding back the corporeal undead when we left, but there's no guarantee more shadows haven't passed through yet."
The armored man turns towards the group with a sneer, Marnarius, standing with these...mercenaries. I hope the gold is good. His sneer turns to a dark smile. Massed dead, you say? See, Sebti! This is exactly why we need to let them loose. Nothing less will cleanse this city!
Sebti pales slightly, And once the dead at the gate are gone...what then? You can't control them once they've been unleashed. They will kill everything, the dead and the living! She sighs, We must reinforce this gate, and push back the undead. The Esoboks will destroy the gate, the undead, and everything else in their path.
The commander of the Voices shouts back, Enough of this! We must find the source of this plague before everything falls. And the only way to clear a path is with these allies. There is no other way.
Sebti slams her hand on the table in an uncharacteristic sign of frustration. We can send guards to the gate. There must be another way. A safer way, to find the source in the necropolis.
Releasing yet more monsters onto the city certainly is everything but safe. There are other ways. We can venture into the necropolis and find out what caused this and then stop it.
"Did any of the other groups that explored the necropolis report anything that might be used to cause something like this?"
No, of course not. If we knew where this were coming from, we'd have gone there already, Nakht almost snarls. You? Go into the necropolis? You'll simply add to the undead numbers standing against us.
Sebti, eyes wide in sudden revelation, responds, Yes! That's it! They could go in! A small group of capable individuals will do far less damage than the wild and uncontrollable force you want to unleash.
The Commander sneers, Again, using your mercenaries. How can I prove to you they are worthless? If we send them over that wall, they will only come back to haunt us. Literally. He crosses his arms and frowns. Fine then, I cannot stop you and I clearly cannot convince you. But, before we use these people, I want proof of their prowess. Prove to me they are capable.
The High Priestess' eyes narrow and she frowns, Very well, she says as she turns to you. Do you accept?
"We have already explored the necropolis, patrolled the streets, and quelled numerous undead threats. What more proof do you require? I do not see you volunteering to attack the source, instead you prefer to stay here where you are safe and simply release uncontrolled beasts that are as much threat to the living as they are to the dead."
Nakht frown turns into a growl of anger, Safe? I've been out with my knights since this started. Do not speak on things you know nothing about. I'm trying to solve the problem while you've been out there handling the symptoms. He waves his hand dismissively, Enough of this. You will prove yourselves, or I will go ahead with my plan. Just as I have no authority over Sebti, she cannot stay my hand either.