...Little Knife, are you recovered enough to join me?"
Kelly flexes her legs a bit more, then tries standing. "Yes, I think so." She retrieves her knife from where it is stuck in the floor. "Let's go."
Bahram steps outside the tavern and surveys the scene that greets him, looking and listening for signs of survivors or food/water stores. He heads off down the nearest street if he senses nothing, headed in the rough direction of the market.
Iomenna follows Ik-Ha-Thruun and Dragz back into the tavern after meeting them in the stables. As she enters and sees the place in nearly the same state it had been in the night before, a sense of mixed joy, sorrow, and fury crept into her heart. Unable - or unwilling - to process the emotions at the moment, she joins Ik and Dragz in moving the rubble into the inn to help fortify it. She leaves her armor in one of the rooms upstairs, but keep her hammer and sword with her, but hoping that she won't have any need for them.
As they work, Iomenna introduces herself to Ik-Ha-Thruun, "I'm Iomenna bet-Melkiel by the way," she says as Ik hands her a large piece of rock to carry back to the inn. I don't think we've met before, but I'm glad to meet you now." As they walk back toward the inn's entrance, she continues chatting with the aasimar, puzzled by his strange manner of speech, but glad to have another strong defender at her side. We're going to need all the help we can get.
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Dragz, who is a little butt-hurt that the nice lady hadn't seen him, turns to Iomenna. " I'm Dragz by the way... you may find me a better converser than Ik here" Dragz smiles, showing his orcish tusks slightly protruding. His scars on his face stretch and makes him look more monstrous than he wants to at the moment.
Ah! Very nice to meet you as well, Dragz. I remember you vaguely from last night, but I don't believe we had the opportunity to speak. That's quite an impressive grin you've got by the way!
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Ik-Ha-Thruun smiled and laughed as he patted Dragz on the back "Friend Dragz, you do good, bring smile to face. Right you are though, words not my best strong suit.
Looking towards Iomenna, he cocked his head to the side before joining her as if puzzleing out what was going on, " Freind Dragz not bad person, him only make jokes that sometimes not get laughs. Remeber I do that night, good night it was. Woke this morning to Freind Wizards work to make this place safe for one day. Doing best can now, to fortify, this place. Once Fortified will begin the hunting for soldiers, will need more men to guard place as we raid surrounding sections of city. Destroy demons as we can, save people if can, but as Ragathiel says "Revenge!" will be getting that as well."
Rolling another stone from outside the circle he cocks his head, listens then shrugs as he hears chilling and evil sounds surrounding them. "Many people will need Vengeneance before the day is out, but first, first must make place safe, looters will start pouring in, must be able to protect spot long enough for the Armies of Gods to show.
Flexing his wings, he wipes swear from his near naked body, having stripped down to a set of shorts that he wore under his arming doublet. It was going to be another hot day, and he was going to be working the entire day to make this place strong, strong and safe for soldiers.
Merlin takes a look at thier progress. Satisfied he smiles.
Ok who is first?
@Luci slams home a powerful blow and the zombie staggers, then falls.
Behind it, in the alleyway, she sees a small huddled group of four survivors with a baby and a dog. A ragged cheer goes up from them.
"You're from the Eagle Watch, aren't you?" asks a dirt-smeared young woman with the group of survivors. "Is there any chance we can get out of this alive?"
Kimroth, the innkeeper, says with a shrug, "At this point, it's gonna be all we can do to survive for a few days. I 'spect there will be looters, demons, undead, the whole bag. We can barricade the doors and windows, but if any of you can fight, we probably need guards. These poor fellows have been on their feet for hours already." He gestures to the two guards and the priest. "We haven't been willing to break away to get any supplies - not enough of us in here to risk leaving the door unguarded for even a minute. We'll need some more lamp oil up here and I'm sure these guys could use a bite to eat."
"Sorry, not Eagle Watch - just trying to get my friend some medical attention," she explained as she sheathed her sword, hoping that the admission wouldn't dampen their spirits too much. "That horn before was from a friend of mine, sounds like it came from the Defender's Heart. If he's there, then there may be others. Safety in numbers, right?"
Eastern Gate - Defenders Heart in sight
As Sario starts to slow down she can see Defenders heart off in the distance. She slowly puts the children down, the smallest looking up at her.
Boy I have never run so fast EVER! You could even beat my dad I bet.
Sario looks from the small boy to his bigger sister who has not said much at all. You have not said much little one, I lost my parents to the demons as well. I will get you to safety and maybe even out of this area. Do you have family else where?
The girl looks down at her feet, then back up to Sario No one that I know, we came from Last Wall a few years back and have been here to long I guess. She motions for Sario to bend down I just want to be brave for my little brother but I am terrified. I am terrified myself but right now I can't show that.
Sario smiles and take both the kids hands. Lets be off quickly, we will get you safe then I will find that bad little man and make him pay.
Iomenna wipes the sweat from her brow as Kimroth explains the plight of those who had been holding up in the inn before she arrived. She turns to the guards and calls to them, "Tell you what, fellas, give me a few minutes to run upstairs and get my armor back on and I'll relieve one of you for a few hours so you can eat and get some rest. I'm still relatively fresh. At least enough to give you a bit of a break." Without waiting for a reply, she hustles up the stairs and dons her armor, then heads back down and slaps one of the warriors on the back, telling him to take a load off. She soon strikes up a conversation with the remaining guard and he cleric about how long they've been with the crusades.
As enough of an opening is cleared, those below see a powerfully built woman in armor, her hair fanning out like red flames as a golden halo hovers above her head radiating light down the steps. Moving toward the hole she extends a hand, "C'mon up, I've got you."[/b]
As Bahram turns a corner he spots a beautiful woman guiding two disheveled children by the hands straight towards the inn.
Not little Miles though...
"Ho! Lady, head for the inn. Are there more left behind?"
He calls across the street
Uh ok. Hi. Umm lets get these folk out of here. Step right up one and all and get a glimps of an angel!
Merlin smiles and winks at Darya....
Sario sighs in relief as she sees a man in black leathers, recognizing him form the night before. As she gets closer she picks up the pace a bit more.
None that I could find but there is someone out there preying on those in distress right now. Once I get these children in and settled would you join me in finding more survivors and this nasty little man?
Sario reaches the Inn and hands over the supplies she gathered to Bahram. Taking the children inside she leads them over to a bench sitting them down and wrapping the girl in her cloak the little boy in the blanket she found.
I am starving, all that running and you two protecting each other must have made you hungry as well. Lets see if we can get some bread and something else to fill our bellies. Sario turns and walks over to the bar, she opens her coin purse and pulls out some money. bread and milk if you have it, water if not. I have 2 children with me and I need some lodging for them, how much will that be?
@Sario offers to purchase food for the children, but the one-armed innkeeper waves her purse away. "Charging money to feed children in a disaster? I'm not some monster," he says. "Here. Let me get some bread and milk and we've still got some stew from last night, it's a hearty venison and I'll warm it up for you." He hustles to procure food for Sario and the children.
@Ioanna returns to the common room after a few minutes. One of the knights helps her to finish adjusting her armor, then thanks her for her volunteering. "To be honest, I was about to pass out," he says grimly. "I was in the thick of fighting for perhaps four hours. I saw the silver dragon fall out of the sky, and it's been all I can do to stay on my feet here in the face of this total devastation."
The cleric says, "I just followed these knights. Honestly I'm just an acolyte - I was only invested last week! I don't know how much my meager divine pleas will help when there is so much destruction all around here!"
@Dragz is given a metal flask by the one-armed innkeeper before he goes into the kitchen to get food for Sario and the children. "Have a bracing drink or two. I know I needed one to keep me going," he says with the voice of a man who has seen some horrors.
@Ik Ha Thruun is watching the perimeter, trying to figure out what the wizard friend intended, and spots a small group of stragglers heading up the road toward the main door of the inn. As they approach he realizes that they are shambling like the undead. There are perhaps a dozen of them... for now.
EVERYONE AT DEFENDER'S HEART hears the shout as the signal is raised that the undead are approaching the south side of the fort! But, as people assemble to ready defense, a lone figure pushes through the ranks of the zombies. They don't seem to care about his presence. He is a handsome man with smoothly tanned skin, well-defined musculature, wearing leather pants and a simple vest that shows off his athletic body. His hair is dark and long, his eyes similarly dark but they have a hint of red that flashes at certain angles. He walks right up to the edge of the burned circle in the grass, smirks, and stops there. Then he says, "Looks like we are at an impasse - for the moment. But things will certainly become interesting once the wizard's last gasp fades away to insignificance. Much as he will."
As @Merlin and Darya help the refugees out of the cellar, they blink against the sudden influx of sunlight. "It's worse than we thought!" says one of the men. "The whole town is wrecked! What are we going to do?"
@Luci tells the refugees that she met that she isn't a member of the Eagle Watch, and they look crestfallen. "Well, is there anywhere safe?" asks the dirty young woman. "We have to find the Eagle Watch, they must be trying to protect the city!"
One of the men leans down to pat the dog and says, "We've seen more of these zombies - the demons have desecrated the town, dead are rising all over the place. It's not safe outdoors but most of the buildings are wrecked."
One of the other men in the group, a younger one than the fellow with the dog, says, "Your friend there looks to be in a pretty bad way. If she dies out here, she might turn into a zombie too!"
"The best course of action at this point would be to get to somewhere that could be fortified, like the Defender's Heart inn." Darya replies. Turning to Merlin she looks at the man. "The light I saw from below seemed magical. I have a friend back at my house, she's injured too badly to move. There's another who is staying with her to protect her but....I need to get back to them before nightfall. Can you heal by any chance?"
The strain in the paladin's strong voice is clear.
Sario smiles at the Bar keep, "Is there some way in return that I could repay you? Some item or someone you need found? I will make sure to get whatever supplies I can find to restock your store room."
At the sound of the Signal horn Sario whips around spear in hand, she runs over to the child. " Stay in here you will be safe for the time, I am going to see what the signal is for."
Sario then leaves the children with the milk and rushes to the south side of the fort, standing in line with all the rest of those willing to give their lives. As the man approaches the line Sario becomes very tense never really facing undead before and not liking the stink that comes with them.
After the man turns to leave Sario looks down the line as each person visibly relaxes. "they were all willing to give their lives, maybe we have a chance" " What wizard was he referring to?"
Dorian glances around at all the complete devastation. His eyes water a bit from the smoke and ash, falling around them.
This is worse than I felt!, he whispers.
Merlin looks at the angel. A pained expression crosses his face. He begins to open his mouth, but suddenly his vision blurs. A soothing, calm, sensation begins to warm his body. He feels...pulled.
Staring directly into her eyes; his watery blues delving into her soul.
Lead me to her., he states.
Taking a deep breath to steady herself and contol the reaction to simply rush off, Darya takes in the collection of rescued townspeople. "Okay everyone, gather what you can carry. We're headed to gather two others, one of whom is badly wounded, and then we're going to get everyone to the Defenders Heart. Stay close, keep your eyes open and help each other." she says leading the way.
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"I wouldn't rely on the Eagle Watch riding to the rescue - they've probably got bigger problems. And when you can't rely on the knight in shining armour, you settle for the one who's run out of polish."
At the mention of Azura possibly reanimating if she dies, Luci turned to the young man. "It's why I'm heading to the Defender's Heart - that was Dragz's horn earlier and it came from the tavern," Luci explained as she picked up Azura, "it's a solid building, would make for a good defensive position. And if people are there, they'll have already started barricading the place. If anyone's got a better idea of where to go... Either way, I won't abandon you guys out here but I have to get her to safety."
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Ik-Ha-Thruun walked up to the taunting person without getting close enough to be struck by sword of long spear.
Wizard Freind do much to keep you out, and would want me to tell you something. I is however not as smart as WizardFreind but I know that you are wrong, evil, and shall die from pain and suffering one day. Wether I be the one that shall push a knife through eye-hole, or you die another way will not matter. Spitting on the ground, he made sure to miss the marks, before looking the man in the eyes, his Saphire blue orbs flashed with a chill that would have made the Mammoth Lords realm look like a tropical refuge. The air chilled around him and his wings flexed and flapped slightly working through sheer will, or perhaps it was hate that called to them, either way they were flexed behind his back now and made him look regal, as well as slightly more intimidating.
"Run now and pray, because when I find you i'm gonna bring the whole f+&#in' diseased, corrupt temple down on your head. It's gonna be biblical."
Ik-Ha-Thruun eyes the man up and down before sweeping back his cloak and moving back towards the Defenders Heart, picking cupping his hands and altering his vocal cords to sound like the horn that Friend Dragz had used summoning back everyone in the area if need be.
Ik-Ha-Thruun walked up to the taunting person without getting close enough to be struck by sword of long spear.
Iomenna's face remains stern and still throughout the perverse man's speech. Her hand rests casually on the hilt of her broken blade, though she has not intention of drawing it--better that the enemy thinks the sword is whole.
As he makes his comments about the wizard, Iomenna will sneer in reply and move a step forward. "If anyone here will be forgotten by history, it shall be you. Your name, your deeds, your very existence will become no more than a smudge on a page." She turns to face her comrades--old friends, new acquaintances, brothers and sisters in arms--and she slaps a hand to the scabbard at her hip, rattling the cold iron within to rouse them to their task. "The dark did come in the night, and much that was once great and beautiful has been brought low. But still we shall live, and still we shall fight." She turns again toward the stranger, a look bordering on a divinely-inspired madness starting to glow in her eyes, "AND THE LIGHT SHALL NEVER DIE!"
Leading the way back to her home, Darya approaches calling out to warn Lucianna that the noise was her. "Luci, it's me! I'm coming in."
Unsettled at the silence she heads in, going through first only to find no one in the bedroom. Quickly checking the house, her pulse racing as she does, she finds the note, though it takes her a while to decipher it.
If possible Luci’s handwriting’s gotten worse. she thinks shaking her head as she squints at the chickenskratch.
Turning to Merlin she looks at the Oracle. ”She was worried about Azura getting worse, so she’s taking her to the Defender’s Heart, at least that’s the best I could make out. Pretty much everyone in the area heard that signal horn, it belongs to a friend of mine and came from that direction. If there’s any safe place it’s there. If we move fast we might catch up to them before they run into anything bad.”
Merlin nods.
Should be a fun outing.
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@Darya and @Merlin head toward Defender's Heart. Fortunately, they are able to catch up with Luci, who is shepherding a small group of survivors along with Azura's limp body.
Once you pass to the other side of the alley you can see Defender's Heart sitting on the grassy hill within reach! But blocking the entire southern side of the building is a row of zombies that seem to be waiting for something.
Bahram joins the other Heroes of Kenabres as they stand proud against this new foe, he joins beside Sario
"This is nasty little man maybe? will enjoy ending him when time comes"
Drawing his scythes he eyes the undead warily
Seeing Luci carrying Azura, Darya lets out a sigh of relief, quickly heading towards them. "Thank Ragathiel we found you." she says putting her arms around Luci and giving her an emphatic hug before checking on Azura, brushing her hair away from her face, the pallor of her complexion worrying. "I see you found a few people, me too, and Merilin here may have some level of healing ability." she continues, filling her in on what happened after she left.
"Damn, you're hurt. Have him take a look at you." she says glancing back over her shoulder at the young man, he had to be a teenager. "Once we get to the Defender's Heart he can take his time with Azura but out here we need you......healthy......" she trails off as the row of zombies comes into view.
"$#!+"
Luci was glad to run into Darya, hearing about the young man's healing ability she nearly chastised herself for running off and potentially delaying Azura getting medical attention. She stopped herself by remembering that, if she'd stayed put, she wouldn't have been able to save these people from that zombie.
An incident she was quickly reminded of when Darya started to trail off.
"When you said there were more," Luci remarked to one of the people she'd helped, "I was really hoping that was more the shock talking."
She turned back to the taller woman, "I don't know what your oaths say you should do here, but mine leans more towards protection than going all 'fiery vengeance' on bad guys. I'll see if we can circle around and slip the civilians in through the back, get them and Azura safe first."
"I'm good with that plan. Undead are pretty damn awful but in a situation like this, they're almost as much victims as the living. Worse in some ways." Darya replies. "Protection's just as important, and I'd rather no one here need avenging."
Looking at the assembled group of refugees, the two of them and a magical healer of some sort who was pretty smart, but a complete unkown as far as combat went she gets a resolute look. "That being said, if we end up needing a distraction while you get them through......." she trails off flashing Luci a reckless grin that she could tell was more bravado than full confidence.
Merlin stops to stare at the escotic warrior-woman.
Do they just grow beautiful women around here now?!
He then shuts his gaping jaw.
Looking at the still form of another beauty!, Merlin shifts his gaze at the tiefling as Darya mentions her wounds.
I may be able to...uh...I mean...that sometimes, I can...err...heal., he whispers.
He reaches out a tentative hand toward the tiefling woman's wounds.
I doubt anything will happen...
As his shaking hand touches the woman, Merlin begins to sense...a presence building inside of him. The sensation feels the same as before, except even stronger; more persistent!
Merlin looks amazed as her wounds begin to knit themselves back together.
As soon as the deed is finished, Merlin snatches his hand back, as if from a striking snake.
I am not a witch!, he murmurs reflexively, although his former venom seems lessen; without much conviction...
Merlin follows along, shepherding the wary townsfolk, as they come within view of the zombie blockade.
Drawing his scimitar and shield, Merlin moves up along side the two warrior-women.
Whispering, he says, If need be we could create a distraction, while they continue on to the tavern. We need only stall for a few moments, I hope.
Noticing their appraising looks, he smiles a bit in embarrassment.
I had some training in the military., he continues.
I also am...observant. I tend to pick up other techniques just viewing them once., he smirks.
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There were a few mild differences, but Luci recognised the energy Martin used on her. "People don't much care if you're a spellcaster or not around here, just what you use it for. Thanks all the same, though, I just hope you'll be able to do it again for her," she said, nodding towards Azura, "so you're not going to be running a distraction; we'll need any source of healing or medical aid we can, which means we can't afford you getting yourself killed. And as for you," she said, turning to Darya.
"No heroics - I know it's part of the job description but a horde that size is going to tear you apart. Lead 'em on a chase or something, but don't get bogged down fighting them. That injury he just healed for me? That was from one of these things landing a single good hit, gods only know what would've happened if there'd been more of them."
"Anyway, best we get moving before they start looking around, come on." she said before leading the group in a path she believed would keep them clear of the horde and get them to the back of the Heart.
Merlin nods at the tiefling woman.
Sounds like a proper drill sergant. I like her!
Merlin sheepishly glances at the injured woman.
Should I try again?
"Wait til we get inside, if there are any complications from that piece of wood in her, I want her to be somewhere safe. That being said, I want you ready to heal her at a moment's notice if things change."
"Yes ma'am. Darya replies with a little salute, unable to quell the grin at Luci's commanding tone, and the note of genuine concern underlying it. As the little spitfire leads the group around to a safer path, she moves into position to garner the attention of the zombies, should they look away from whatever it was they were focused on.
Merlin gives her a smart salute.
Aye, ma'am!. he whispers.
He repositions himself at the back of the group. He still carries his weapon and shield.
Luci wasn't facing either of them, but she still rolled her eyes at their remarks. Personally, she felt more like the protagonist of a series of novels she'd read about a blacklisted spy, not necessarily the methods he used, but the general attitude he had when dealing with changing circumstances.
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