Red colors the tiefling's cheeks briefly. "Irony, thy name is Rand," he mutters, and shakes his head with a wink at Sautekh.
He hunkers down, slipping a set of small, thin metal tools from his belt pouch, and slides the goggles on his head down over his eyes. He adjusts a small dial around one of the lenses, and an iris closes slightly, narrowing his vision to focus on the lock. His long, thin fingers take up the tools and get to work.
Randall grimaces and peers into the key hole. He pulls out a pair of slinder metal tools from his belt and inserts them into the keyhole. Pausing a moment, he looks up at the paladin, and shrugs with an apologetic expression. A quiet click and the reformed rogue revels in his emphatic success.
With a small flourish, the tools of his old trade vanish back into his belt pouch, and he steps back to his original position, making a sweeping gesture at the door and a small bow.
Muraisa nodded to the rogue and shoved the door open, careful not put enough force into it to send the door flying open and banging,and scanned the inside of the room.
Sauktekh nods at Randall in return, as the door is opened by Muraisa, he steps in. He knew his skills at searching for things were lack lustre, so he might as well just do what he does best. Step into the line of fire of who ever may be hiding in the shadows
Initiative
It all happens quickly. The barbarian thrust open the door and the stench of death wafts out of the scriviner's shop. A pair of tousled desks sit upon the western wall littered with papers, and a wooden cabinet stands between the two, its doors ripped from the hinges. ground is cluttered with debris.
When Sautekh steps in he immediately senses the undead. A hunched humanoid with its back turned to him, looks over its shoulder. Its dull, red eyes light up at the sight of the paladin. Sautekh vision shifts slightly south as he picks up the movement of another just barely in sight around the corner.
Kayin shuffles toward the waiting door and peers in past the shifting bodies of those in front. He can make out two forms further within, clearly no longer alive, but nothing about them is distinctly recognizable to the oracle. Still, they don't look terribly threatening to the likes of Sautekh and Muraisa, so the oracle unsheathes his rapier and splits his attention between watching the street and the developing fight, ready to assist in either direction as needed.
Randall recalls the old stories told at the temple which would suggest that zombies are resistant to slashing blades, but one look at the grey, loose flesh of these creatures and you know that not to be the case here.
Randall smirks and slips into the room with an inhuman grace, drawing a dagger as he goes. With a near-silent thwip, he tosses it at the nearest of the walking dead.
S
Muraisa grunted as she moved into the building, raising her axe. It wasn't like she had other options when it came to dealing with the undead beyond 'hit it with an axe' and 'run away while dragging an axe'. Teinntean was too heavy to be dragging around without a purpose. With a grunt of effort she swung the massive weapon over her head as she walked towards the undead, intending to literally cut the creature down the middle.
Bjorkus huffs in agitation but remains within the doorway.
Randall slips into the room much to the chagrin of Titan, who lets out a groan and readies his bow to fire at any undead that may come out of the building. The monk channels his inner rogue, pulling out his shiny dagger and hurling it at the nearest zombie. The weapon embeds itself deep into the zombie's skull. It turns and glares at the tiefling as Muraisa moves into the room.
The zombie with the red robe swings its right hand at the barbarian, but Muraisa easily avoids the slow arching attack, but her movements take her directly into the path of the other arm. It slams into her head, momentarily disorientating her. It her confused state the zombie wraps its arms around her torso and holds her tight.
Without hesitation the southern zombie with the tattered blue shirt ambles forward and attempts to bite Muraisa, but her armor proves too well made for the creature to find a gap large enough to draw blood.
Shocked at the site of the zombies' aggressive swarming of Muraisa, Randall eyes widen and he glances about the room just as another zombie attacks the monk from behind. With a quick dart, the tiefling avoids the slow moving blow.
Sautekh, knowing these are undead, moves up to the closest one, his khopesh ready as he swings it at the undead
"I'm sending you back to the after life lost one"
Sautekh races forward then the thrid zombie attacks Randall from behind. With a masterful stroke with his khopesh, he slices open a gaping wound that oozes a black fluid. The wretched smell from the foul blood is distracting to say the least. Randall's eyes wander to the splattering of the zombie blood on the wall of the stairwell, but the reality of the situation pulls him back to the present.
Grunting in annoyance as the zombies slammed into the side of her head, Muraisa attempted to get the creature off her and attack it back with an axe blow. She really needed to make sure she had clear lines of attack next time to avoid this sort of thing.
Seeing the larger of his allies getting piled on by a pair of zombies after taking a head-rattling punch--which he acknowledges he likely wouldn't have shaken off so easily--Kayin sighs and pads cautiously around the doorway into the shop while uncoiling his whip. Not a weapon he's terribly familiar with, it's nonetheless his best option for what he's about to try to help Muraisa out of her current situation. And to further that effort, he makes use of his patron's blessing to briefly gain enhanced insight into the best way to trip a foe.
Seeing the barbarian locked in a tussle with one of the zombies, Randall rushes to help, doing his best to avoid the wrath of the zombie next to him...
... and slides up to the zombie to try and drop it, as he calls, "Try and lure them outside! We have a bear and a bow waitin' for 'em out there."
As Kayin slips through the door, Randal tumbles away from the zombie at his back, punching one of the zombies attacking Muraisa in its nose.
Hearing his master's call, Bjorkus thunders inside the shop. With a roar he slams a huge clawed paw into one of the zombies harassing Muraisa.
Bjorkus lumbers into the shop and rakes his claws across the legs of the undead. The zombie roars and turns upon Bjorkus, bashing the bear with the back of its hand the grabbing the bear much to its surprise.
Muraisa struggles, but maintains her grip on the zombie in the red robe. Across the room, the zombie attacking Sautekh slams the paladin in the chest knocking the wind from him and cracks several ribs. As he writhes in pain, the creature grips the paladin's armor and takes control of him.
Randall does his best to move over the random junk in an attempt to achieve a flanking position with Muraisa, without drawing the zombie's ire.
In a more advantageous position, Rand seeks out the kidneys and goes for a hard jab with his knuckles. He doubts it will have the same impact on the undead, but at this point he's desperate. You're forgetting your training, dope, he chides himself, but there's no time to correct his form just now.
B
Kayin's jaw drops in shock as the zombies proceed to unflichingly and successfully manhandle most of his allies, including a damned bear. Still, he doesn't let the surprise keep him from acting, and he advances just a bit more, then allows the whip in his right hand to uncoil and snap forward to wrap around the left leg of the zombie gripping Sautekh's armor. Judging the leg firmly secured by the length of bladed leather, the oracle takes a breath, sets his feet firmly, and gives the whip a hard pull back.
Struck by the zombie's flailing limbs, Bjorkus growls in pain.
Not at all amused by the dead thing's attempt at play-wrestling, the young bear huffs indignantly. Bjorkus slashes at the opponent clutching his leg with dagger-like claws and follows with a vicious bite before the zombie can tighten its grip.
He grunts in pain as he feels his bones crack under his armour, not to mention the fact that the lost one grabbed hold of him
Through the divine grace of Selefahn, the attack to his body could not take hold.
"Grant your servant respite from his wounds! he calls out as a black glow surrounds him briefly before he attempts to break the hold of the zombie
Randall leaps onto the desk, placing his right foot on the edge and somersaulting high above the zombies reach. Coming down between the scriviner's desk and the cabinet, he strikes the creature in the back of its head.
Kayin's whip snaps out and lashes itself on the zombie's leg. Yet, when he gives it a tug, the whip unwinds and fails to bring it down before Sautekh. The paladin doesn't seem to take note as he quickly heals himself and break free from the zombie's grip. His pure aasimar blood is unaffected by the foul disease the creature carries.
Bjorkus lets out a ursine bellow before gouging the zombie's face with the sharp claws of his paw and biting its neck. His friend, Titan, leaps from the rooftop wrenching his knee before running into the fray.
Muraisa released the zombie. She could grapple, but it wasn't her preference. Despite a couple of false starts, now, she hoped, would prove her worth. Yanking out a vial of something from the bandolier, the Barbarian popped the lid and knocked back the drink with a grin before returning her hand to the Tienntean's long haft. The massive weapon swung, dust sizzling in the air as it did.
With a quick nip of the good stuff, the barbarian brings her massive axe down upon the undead, splitting its head and spraying a thick black fluid into the air with a burst that is felt by Muraisa and Randall . Surprised by the burst, Muraisa inhales the black cloud and begins to cough.
The zombie wrestles the bear into position and sinks its teeth deep into his flesh. Bjorkus reels in pain, but his constitution supresses the disease with ease. To the north, the last zombie flails its arm at the paladin followed swiftly by a second more effective strike.
Once again the Paladin is forced to call aid from his patron, needing to seal the wounds the undead has caused.The black glow lingering a bit longer than last time.
He then strikes at his opponant once more
Bjorkus is savagely bitten by the tattered zombie. Bloodied now, he savagely bites right back.
Seeing his old friend struggling, Rand rushes back to Sautekh's side to help.
Unfortunately, there's no way to get into a flanking position on the creature, but he lashes out as best he can.
B
Seeing Muraisa and the bear now both in dire straits, Kayin drops his rapier to dangle from the cord binding it to his wrist and begins to chant loudly while gesturing with the emptied hand, even as he steps forward a few paces. The chanting and gesturing both end just as he comes into arm's reach of Bjorkus, and he lays the empty hand along the bear's right flank. Immediately, the worst of the injuries inflicted by the biting zombie heal themselves as the curative spell takes hold. He then quickly reels in his blade and takes hold of it.
Spluttering as the black...stuff...invades her lungs, Muraisa's face contorted into one of anger and annoyance. Slipping another vial out of her bandolier booze stash - at least in part to wash the stuff out of her mouth - and swung the axe again sideways, hoping to obliterate its skull.
Sautekh lays his hand briefly on his chest before regriping his khopesh and bringing the blade back across the chest of the zombie. Its black blood covering the blade.
Titan's bow loosens an arrow that penetrates the zombie's skull while his ursine companion flails at the creature ineffectively with its claws. The undead moves too quickly and the bear misses each strike, before leaping up and sinking its teeth deep in the creatures neck. The pair fall over and the zombie explodes in a burst of black ichor. Again the bear's resilience overcomes the disease of death.
Kayin steps up, healing the bear as Muraisa turns chops the last remaining zombie to pieces. The burst of gore causes the trio surrounding the zombie to stumble backwards. The tiefling takes it the worst, gagging and coughing as he wipes the black fluid away from his face.
As the group surveys the room, the undead have all been put down. The danger is gone for now.
Breathing heavily, he bows his head in prayer
"Selefahn, I send these lost ones to your embrace, watch over their souls as they go on"
With the undead down and the immediate threat removed, Kayin recoils and stows the whip--which he notes, with a slight glare, he needs a lot more practice with--and begins to heal the worst of the injures caused by this unexpectedly vicious fight. He quickly presses a hand to Muraisa, and then to Bjorkus a second time as the pair suffered the worst injuries. Then, after some visible internal debate, he sighs and presses his hand to Randall as well, while giving Sautekh a shrug along with his explantion for not healing the canine-headed being. "I've noticed that you're not looking quite so battered as you should, so I'm guessing you've the means to look after yourself as far as mending goes."
The oracle frowns and considers Muraisa and Randall then. "I don't know what happened when those bodies came apart like that, but the two of you seem to have gotten good shots of that crud. You might want to keep an eye out for signs that it's doing something." Kayin considers the room, and the stairs to the side of the entrance, then looks up briefly. "We'll clear the upstairs, which I think might be safe, since we kicked up a good, attention-drawing fuss down here and nothing came down to investigate. But I think that should be it for our work this day, because I've got nothing left with which tend any further injuries." The last few words are said with a distinctly sour tone of voice, with an expression to match, as Kayin knows he'll have to resort to actual rations tonight if he means to eat.
Still, that's as must be, because keeping his allies alive keeps him alive, a matter of no small interest to the young man. And developing a reputation for giving his all could be useful, while a reputation for holding out and looking out for himself--even if it's true--could hurt if it got out. And on the subject of looking out for himself, the oracle decides to take a quick look around while he waits on the others to settle on a new course of action. Dipping into his magic, he opens himself to it and examines the shop through the filter it adds to his perception. He also examines the spots where the undead fell, hoping for the tell-tale signs of essence among their foul remains.