Azmerai shouts:" Have oil in chest. Don´t like, but maybe only choice!"
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Polonius hugs the child to his chest as hard as he can. Before he knows it his own tears are flowing freely and he begins to wonder who is comforting whom.
The stillness is suddenly broken by Azmerai shouting up the stairs, causing the gnome to jump in surprise.
He looks into Kaiya's eyes and says.
Sweetheart, my friends are in trouble. You don't need to worry about them, they're good people. I need to go away, ok? Just for a minute, just to help. But then I'll be right back. Unlock the gate for me but then lock it up right away ok? I'll be back. I promise.
You've got a history of breaking promises though don't you Polo? he thinks sullenly.
He removes a bomb from his belt and waits for Kaiya to open the gate.
Kaiya nods, then moves as if in a trance, stepping quickly to unlock the gate for Polonius. She locks it again after he passes through, and slumps to the floor, still staring into space.
Shomari pulls his quarterstaff out and steps between the rats and the stairs, taking a swipe through the mass of them.
Turrey runs at the call for help, fearing the worst. He pulls out his sling as he runs, and freezes when he gets to the top of the stairs, seeing the swarm of rats below him.
With a lump in his throat, he loads his sling and prepares to try to take out a rat. But sweet Tender of Dreams, there are so many!...
The rats chitter and squeal as Azmerai's halberd cleaves through their ranks, though they are mighty blows, only a few rats were caught in their wake, and he retreats towards the forge, shaking off those aggressive rodents that were trying to climb up the polearm itself.
Shomari's rigid techniques with his quarterstaff are a little more effective, crushing several rats with each swing, but even the mighty hobgoblin is overrun as the swarm surges past him towards the stairs.
He grits his teeth as hundreds of tiny clawed feet scritch and scratch over every inch of him, along with several bites in the more exposed areas of his armor.
For one moment happy, that the rats don´t follow him, Azmerai drops his halberd to grab his "club". Though beaten and well used one can guess that it once was just a post in some rich traders fence. Hate meat that bites first. Can make good rattatoule!
He jumps to Shomaris (D6) aid swinging his club wildly in booth hands.
With a satisfying crunch many rats are broken and flung away, spraying Lillith with gore.
Polonius continues bounding down the stairs as well as he is able. He only just heard Azmerai call for help, he could not make out the specifics of the threat and in his heart he hoped it was Kaiya's mother finally returning from wherever she had been.
It was scant hope.
Instead, as he rounds the spiral staircase he is greeted with a frothing, gnawing tide of filthy rats. He watches in disgust as they crawl over Shomari's legs, nipping and scratching the big hobgoblin as they go.
His first instinct is to reach for one of his bombs. He knows the blast would decimate the horde of rats but he is wary of catching Shomari in the blaze. Instead he purposefully aims too far and hopes that, just as they are fleeing the fire in town, they will instinctively flee his own alchemical flames and disperse!
With a growl, Shomari smashes the quarterstaff into the swarm of rats and steps away, shaking himself like a dog to get the creatures off of him.
Turrey tries to pelt the rats with his sling, but shooting from the cramped stair throws off his aim and his bullet bounces far afield of them.
Grimacing, he makes a mental note of where it seemed to roll so that he can recover it and then loads his sling again.
A combination of quarterstaff blows, fencepost bludgeoning and alchemic fire puts an end to the squealing mass of fur and pointed teeth, and the swarm disperses just as it was about to flow up the stairs. The remnants, half a dozen rodents or so, scatter to the dark corners of the basement, though you note none of them return from whence they came, through the barred door.
The last vestiges of the bright flames of Polonius' concoction wink out, leaving you bathed in Lilith's light alone.
All is quiet once again, you can hear the pounding rain on the shutters still, but somehow it doesn't bother you as much as it did a few minutes back.
Polo quickly checks that Shomari is ok before running back up to Kaiya and knocking on the gate.
Katya is where you left her moments ago, crouched down and slumped against the metal grill, staring in to space. You note she is now clutching the yellow blanket, hands subconsciously tracing the flower embroidery, the crossbow lying on her lap. The Key is still in the lock, and it is easy to slip your hand through and unlock it should you want.
Azmerai notices that his eyes are getting heavier.
He adresses others:""Think can keep eyes open for two more hours. You go to sleep. Will watch"
Shomari looks a little green and sits down heavily on the steps.
Polonius returns to the little girl upstairs and just sits quietly with her for a while.
He watches as she traces the image of the flower with her finger and says;
Look at this. he untucks his amulet from under his shirt and hands it Katya. The design is similar to your blanket. My wife gave this to me, did your mum give that to you?
Do you want to meet my friends? he asks eventually.
Turrey crawls around on the basement floor until he finds his sling stone, which had rolled under one of the shelves.
"Lilith and Amzerai, thanks for offering to take watch. I'm happy to take a turn too."
Rubbing his eyes, he adds, "As far as what's behind locked doors goes, I'm inclined to check in the morning."
Shomari shakes off the sickly feeling that's creeping over him, thinking it is simply another effect of the fatigue.
"Armor," he says to Lilith. "Aye, I wouldn't mind some armor. Stop a few zombie from biting me."
@Turrey, there is also a door behind the counter on the ground floor. Combat maps are all still available for you to reference :)
@Polonius, Kaiya nods, but continues staring in to space. She is otherwise unresponsive. Your healing experience tells you she's in shock. After a few minutes she falls asleep sat there, who knows how long she's been awake waiting for someone to come?
@Lilith, there is a gnawed gap in the bottom of the basement door, maybe a ragged two inches of wood eaten away, now with tufts of rancid fur scattered around. The smell from beyond is worse now.
Polonius quietly moves away from the Kaiya and tucks the blanket in under her chin. He uses his own cloak to cover the body of her brother.
He creeps back downstairs to the others, seeing Shomari looking ill and Lenneth already asleep.
What a day...
He is still wary of Shomari. He has always known hobgoblin to be cruel and unpredictable creatures. But you don't choose your friends when the world has ended.
Want me to take a look at that? he dresses the wound as well as he can and cleans it with a solution made of herbs and sugared water.
With what I have, I can't clean out the infection but this should help anyway.
I'm wary about not checking this door behind the counter before we sleep. Kaiya wasn't able to tell me anything about this place. Her mother went looking for supplies but didn't come back and be brother passed just a few minutes ago. Poor girl. She's asleep now but I don't think she'll get much rest...
Azmerai will push his chest in front of the door so that the gap is blocked. "Many tired. Dangerous maybe. I keep watch!"
Little children up. Not a good place for children. We have to get to tribe!" "What do with children. We have to guard them, too!"
@Polonius: Yes I'm afraid so, unless a humanoid has met a violent end that would prevent re-animation, a dead body will rise again as a zombie within a few hours. No way to know exactly when though, as time varies dependent on unknown factors.
You all know this as a common, sad and above all, dangerous fact of your current lives...
You get the sense that he knows you had a powerful dream, but he ignores you completely if questioned.
Polonius looks at the little boy, pale and still. He knows that before long he will become like all the others, a frothing, gnashing nightmare of endless hunger. And that is perhaps the worst of it all, that innocence can be destroyed so utterly and corrupted into something to terrible.
He takes out his dagger and kneels beside the boy.
If this was my son... I would want someone to pay him this kindness...
The thrust is quick and straight to the base of the skull. He immediately takes his one spare shirt and, ripping a strip from it, plugs the wound. The last thing he would want is Kaiya seeing her brother in a pool of blood.
After the grisly deed is done he returns to the others, locking the gate behind him just in case.
He slumps in a corner behind a stack of shelves beside Kaiya, nodding to Azmerai and Turrey as he goes. They have seen enough death on the road to know what was going to happen to the boy but Eventhough he feels sick to his stomach, somehow he felt it was his responsibility.
Azmerai will look for a spot close to the forge. There should be enough would in here to lit the forge and give us all a warm place.
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After 10 minutes of magical mending Lilith is done with the first set of armor. There. Almost good as new. she says and offers the armor to Shomari. I'd even sleep in this Shomari. Its weight and discomfort should not prevent a good night's sleep. She yawns, but sets to work on the second set of armor.
After completing the second set she tries to give it away to whoever will take it. If she gets no takers, she will wear it herself. [b]I've had nicer pajamas. she notes. Lets all bed down on the main floor. That way those on watch can easily watch over everyone. she recommends sensibly.
Shomari grimaces as Polonius dresses his wounds, but he knows the risks of infection from rat bites, and voices no objections. When Lilith has repaired the first set of armor, he pulls it on and walks around the room, taking practice swings with his sibat and drawing his bow several times to get the feel of it. After half an hour or so, he nods to himself.
"Good," he says. His lip twitches as he adds "Thanks," to Polonius and Lilith, still uncomfortable with the idea of being indebted to the soft people.
"Wake me for the middle watch," he says.
If the ceiling is high enough to string his hammock above the reach of any zombies, he will. Otherwise, he will set out his bedroll on the floor and fall asleep quickly, his exhaustion curing any mistrust he might have for these people he's found himself with.
@Polonius: Kaiya does not wake up as you carry her downstairs, she is wrapped in the dirty yellow blanket and cuddling her crossbow like it was metal and wood teddy bear.
@Azmerai: There's no wood or coal in the nearby storage bin. It does occur to you that the shelves around you are made of wood, but they have been roughly painted, so might not burn very well or may even give of poisonous smoke.
@Lilith: You mend both sets of leather armor. They are mundane AC +1 sets of leather armor, both dark brown with an insignia burned in to the chest piece. Your magic brings out the best in the armor, and you can see a stylised dragon's head roughly where the heart would be for the wearer of the armor.
@Shomari: The armor fits fine after a couple of adjustments. You notice the dragon head emblem on your chest too. The beams in here are too low to string the hammock in safety with any success, so a bedroll in the corner suffices.
You have successfully survived the short introduction scenario, Chapter 0.
As such you may now advance your character to level 2. Please flick me a PM if you're doing anything other than advancing in your current class.
Well done :)
Chapter 1: Castles in the sand
The rest of the night passes...uneventfully. You wake early morning having had a reasonable night's sleep, compared to your experiences on the road it is like a palace here, with four sturdy walls around you.
The incessant rain has stopped, and the morning is even feeling a little warm, it is slightly stuffy inside with all the conflicting unpleasant smells of rot, death and smoke. The sunlight lances in through tiny gaps in the shutters, and you watch motes of dust dancing in the air, flickering in and out of sight. It is very quiet, more so than you ever remember it back before the red harvest. The birds still chirp, but quieter now, as if they dread attracting too much attention to themselves.
Everything is as you left it last night. Kaiya is still asleep, wrapped up in her blanket.
Your stomachs rumble.
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@Lilith: You mend both sets of leather armor. They are mundane AC +1 sets of leather armor, both dark brown with an insignia burned in to the chest piece. Your magic brings out the best in the armor, and you can see a stylised dragon's head roughly where the heart would be for the wearer of the armor.
Feeling refreshed but still a bit hungry Azmerai thinks about things to do today Check Hideout. Its a good hideout with good doors. Get food. Maybe fish. Get wood for Forge.
He is running. Somewhere. Nowhere.
The corridor is endless grey stone and his small legs carry him down the eternal expanse as his chest heaves and sweat pours from his brow.
He knows that Ben is behind one of these doors and if he could just find him everything would be alright. It doesn't matter what's happening in the world - somehow everything would be ok.
Ben! he calls over and over as he rips each door open to reveal just another endless corridor
His trial goes on for ever before he finally tears open one of the doors to see a gnome with bright red hair - his mother's hair - standing there. He is smaller than Polonius, but wider in the shoulders and the hands by his sides dance with sparks and flames. He is standing with his back to Polo but the alchemist nearly breaks down in tears at the mere sight.
My boy! My son! I knew I'd find you. I knew you were ok!
As he places his hand on his son's shoulder, Benvolio spins around in a blur of grinding teeth, the skin of his face rotten and sliding off, his eyes just two black pools of empty evil. The ever hungry teeth rip into Polo's throat, sending great sprays of blood lancing into the air---
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BEN! he cries, waking with a start and instinctively grabbing at the small bundle beside him. Mercifully Kaiya doesn't wake, she is too exhausted to even stir, but Polo pulls himself into a sitting position and hugs his knees. His body is wracked with shivers and it is a few minutes before he is able to stand and see if the others were disturbed by his outburst.
Only Azmerai appears to be awake, and he is already busying himself with the forge, so Polo regains his feet and goes to help. To at least do something.
Azmerai. he whispers. Did you sleep well? If we can get enough wood do you think you can get this working? We should think about food as well. We might be here a while but our stocks are dangerously low. There might be fish in the river and game in the woods. I think between us we could fashion some poles and maybe a snare or two if we could find even the most basic supplies. That's not to mention what we find in here and the rest of the village of course. What do you think?
Clearly surprised to be asked by the clever gnome Azmerai shyly replies:"Have fishhook, think river is good. First check door downstairs. Then upstairs. Check next houses for food and wood. We need food, lots."
Polo watches enviously as Lenneth chews on her trail rations.
I know this is disgusting... he says to Azmerai and the two spell casters. But what about the rats we killed yesterday? We need to clean them up anyway, it's not sanitary to leave them down there. But if we get really desperate for food.... Well I'm just saying it's an option. he finishes somewhat miserably.