Just as it looks like the bomb is going to land over her shoulder, the bomb spins oddly in midair and bounces off her shoulder, detonating on her. Fortunately, it means what would have been a miss becomes a hit, and the flames seem to be much more damaging than they should have. Unfortunately, it causes the tanglefoot component to splatter behind her, leaving her unaffected.
The crawling hand scrambles after Ulysses, hell-bent on strangling the gnome. It rips at his neck again but once again fails to gain purchase on his throat.
The mummy shrieks in pain and anger, stumble-running toward Ulysses. As soon as it comes within 30 feet, a wave of horror and despair washes over the alchemist.
Fear. Fear. Oh gods. Mummy. Real mummy. Towering over him. Can't. Can't move. Oh gods. Melech. Nevai. Someone. Someone save him. Gods. Gods. Help. Help....
Nevai and Ulysses hear a sound even more terrifying than the exploding door: the door to the west unlocks. It swings open with a low, long crreeeeaaaak...
ROUND 8
BOLD may act.[color=green]
Nevai (30/30 hp, staggered 1 round)
Ulysses (37/42 hp, paralyzed 1 round)
Melech (55/57 hp, hastily donned)
Hand 4 (0 dmg)
Amadjawet (15 dmg)
Something Wicked Behind the Door (0 dmg)
Ahtep (6 hp, prone)
Hamapetra (-2 hp, unconscious and dying)
Armor Helper Guy (?? hp, paralyzed)
Maru (0 hp, disabled, buried [50 lbs])
Namaru (6 hp, buried [400 lbs])
Khammayid (5 hp)
[/color]
Nevai considers his weakened state, then raises his holy symbol and utters a prayer to Horus. "Blessed Pharaoh of Pharaohs, bring your light to this darkness!"
A burst of sunlight flashes around him blasting the mummy with it.
Amadjawet manages to duck her face away from the worst of the blinding light, but it still burns and sizzles against her undead flesh under her bandages, and her blank eye sockets give the strange approximation of blinking.
Melech sees Ulysses go rigid and curses to himself. He has to hope he has removed enough weight from Maru that she won't die immediately. He drops the scimitar, pulls the spear of the watchful guardian from his back, and moves through the door.
He lunges at the mummy with the spear.
Melech sees Ulysses go rigid and curses to himself. He has to hope he has removed enough weight from Maru that she won't die immediately. He drops the scimitar, picks up his falchion, and moves as close as he can get to the mummy.
Melech feels the wave of terror and despair wash over him, but he manages to fight it off.
One round is enough to make life miserable for Ulysses.
The crawling hand finally rips at the flesh on his neck and actually gets a hold on his throat.
The mummy shrieks in rage and slams Ulysses, causing two awful things: first, something cracks in his chest that sounds important . Second, something shifts into the wound, something awful.
The mummy then shuffles toward Nevai to engage him in combat.
Then the blighted, bone-white corpse of Beni shuffles out of the western door. His head is basically caved in, but he shuffles toward the dying form of Hamapetra.
ROUND 10
BOLD may act.[color=green]
Nevai (30/30 hp)
Ulysses (20/42 hp)
Melech (55/57 hp, hastily donned)
Hand 4 (0 dmg)
Amadjawet (28 dmg, dazzled 3 rounds)
Dead Beni (0 dmg)
Ahtep (6 hp, prone)
Hamapetra (-2 hp, unconscious and dying)
Armor Helper Guy (?? hp, paralyzed)
Maru (0 hp, disabled, buried [50 lbs])
Namaru (6 hp, buried [400 lbs])
Khammayid (5 hp)
[/color]
Ulysses can't breathe but the mummy is the priority. He won't die in the next few seconds.
He pulls out another TF bomb and tosses it at the mummy.
Melech hopes that Ulysses and Nevai have the mummy handled because he can't let Beni (or what was once Beni) kill Hamapetra. He rushes over, mumbles a prayer to Pharasma to allow Beni's soul to pass on, and swings his falchion.
Ulysses' bomb strikes true, planting Amadjawet in place and causing her to bellow in rage.
Melech cleaves a deep gash into Beni; it doesn't destroy him, but it does draw his attention to Melech. He swings out at Melech but glances harmlessly off the flippin' sweet new armor.
Amadjawet takes out her fury on Nevai, smashing past his shield and onto his sternum, cracking several ribs.
Something feels... wrong... with the wound.
The hand on Ulysses' neck tightens its grip, but Ulysses' neck is so slippery that it pops off like a bar of soap in the bath flies out of slick hands.
Outside, the rubble shifts, and begins crushing the two women trapped under it. The moans of Maru are cut short as she succumbs to unconsciousness.
ROUND 11
BOLD may act.[color=green]
Nevai (16/30 hp, feeling like an uh-oh)
Ulysses (20/42 hp)
Melech (55/57 hp, hastily donned)
Hand 4 (0 dmg)
Amadjawet (45 dmg, dazzled 2 rounds)
Dead Beni (18 dmg)
Ahtep (6 hp, prone)
Hamapetra (-3 hp, unconscious and dying)
Armor Helper Guy (?? hp, paralyzed)
Maru (0 hp, 3 non-lethal, unconscious, buried [50 lbs])
Namaru (6 hp, 6 non-lethal, buried [400 lbs])
[/color]
Ulysses barely notices the hand fall away from his throat. He preps another bomb.
Melech studies poor Beni, then swings again.
Nevai brings a battered hand to his chest and casts defensively to try and heal his wounds.
Yet another bomb rips across the mummy's body, blasting off pieces of her. But somehow she's still standing. In her rage, she looks as if she wants to turn her attention to the diminutive figure that has been blowing her apart. Unfortunately she's stuck to the ground, so she slams Nevai again, but this time he manages to just barely deflect it with his shield.
The hand tears at Ulysses' throat again but cannot find purchase.
Melech whiffs hard on the wight, and it returns the favor by glancing its claws off his armor's chestplate mere inches from his neck.
Armor Helper Guy finally manages to shake free of the paralysis and bolts up the isle to escape. Amadjawet clotheslines him hard as he passes, and with a hideous , AHG's head snaps so far back that the back of his skull hits his spine. His body stumbles and falls back, dead before he even hits the ground.
Hamapetra looks like she's no longer in danger of immediately bleeding out, but you're not out of the woods yet.
ROUND 12
BOLD may act.[color=green]
Nevai (22/30 hp, feeling like an uh-oh)
Ulysses (17/42 hp)
Melech (55/57 hp, hastily donned)
Hand 4 (0 dmg)
Amadjawet (73 dmg, dazzled 1 round, entangled)
Dead Beni (18 dmg)
Ahtep (6 hp, fleeing)
Hamapetra (-3 hp, unconscious and stable)
Armor Helper Guy (-15 hp, dead)
Maru (0 hp, 3 non-lethal, unconscious, buried [50 lbs])
Namaru (6 hp, 6 non-lethal, buried [400 lbs])
[/color]
Hey guess what? Bomb-diggity.
Melech grunts and swings again.
Nevai steps up and hacks at the hand trying to strangle Ulysses.
Ulyesses detonates the mummy in spectacular fashion, sending flaming toilet paper in about twenty directions.
Similarly, Melech cuts Beni's corpse in half at the sternum. He twitches once and stops moving.
The crawling hand fails so spectacularly, it leaves itself open to counterattack from Ulysses.
Nevai swings at the hand and misses terribly.
ROUND 13
BOLD may act.[color=green]
Nevai (22/30 hp, feeling like an uh-oh)
Ulysses (17/42 hp)
Melech (55/57 hp, hastily donned)
Hand 4 (0 dmg)
Amadjawet (95 dmg, dead)
Dead Beni (38 dmg, dead… again)
Ahtep (6 hp, prone)
Hamapetra (-3 hp, unconscious and stable)
Armor Helper Guy (-15 hp, dead)
Maru (0 hp, 3 non-lethal, unconscious, buried [50 lbs])
Namaru (6 hp, 6 non-lethal, buried [400 lbs])
[/color]
Nevai scowls and tries again.
Melech studies the hand and hacks the s$%# out of it.
Ulysses can't believe that Melech just missed. He steps away and tosses his last bone burn at the thing.
Melech is clearly having trouble with his new armor. The heavy plates are far more restrictive than he's used to.
Ulysses has better luck, dousing the hand in bone burn. The crawling hand erupts in greenish-purple flames and disintegrates.
There's still two people trapped in rubble, but Melech and Nevai working together manage to free them without issue before the rubble causes them more damage.
Nevai helps the two battered women into the relative protection of the Canny Jackal and washes everyone with positive energy.
Afterward, Nevai sinks into one of the chairs. "What in the Hells is going on?"
After doublechecking everyone to ensure that they only lost poor Beni and the boy who was helping him with his armor (he makes a mental note to learn what his name was), he returns to Nevai. "I don't know, but it's a sure thing that it has to do with reopening The Necropolis. Nevai, please help me finish getting my armor on." He turns to Ulysses. "You should get your new armor on too."
Ulysses nods his thanks to Nevai, then taps himself a couple times with the wand.
"Does anyone else need healing?" After tending to the others , he finds someone to help him with his new magical chain shirt.
Nevai nods, helping Melech with the last couple pieces.
In the middle of helping Melech with his armor, Nevai suddenly projectile-vomits blood onto the floor, and hideous bluish-purple patches of skin necrotize before your eyes. Nevai looks awful.
Both Melech and Ulysses know what's afflicting Nevai, but Melech knows little about it aside from folk tales. It's a common misconception that those who die of Mummy Rot return as mummies themselves, but that's far from the case. In fact, Ulysses knows that when someone dies of Mummy Rot, they immediately wither and desiccate, rapidly turning to dust over a handful of seconds, making it nearly impossible to resurrect those who have died of the disease short of divine intervention.
Making things worse, Mummy Rot is no ordinary disease. It's also a curse, meaning even saving against the disease will not save you. It merely holds off the effects for a day. In order to remove Mummy Rot, the victim must first be subject to remove curse, followed by remove disease within the next minute.
The Four Lanterns finally come in, covered in blood and bite wounds. Atherton holds his broken forearm. "This country is insane," he says shakily. He's panting, and his eyes are wide with terror. "We're getting the hell out of this place right now. I'm done with adventuring."
He shoves his satchel into Ulysses' arms. "Take this. Take it all. I don't want it. I'm out."
Inside the satchel are a few standard adventuring goods (50ft of hemp rope, a small steel mirror, chalk, and some inkpens, ink, and paper) as well as four scrolls and a magical dagger. Nevai scans them with his magical senses and sees it is a +1 dagger and scrolls of color spray, grease, burning hands, and shield.
Nevai growls at Atherton, "So you are simply going to slink off into the night? This is your fault! The only place that mummy could have come from is from your supposedly empty sarcophagus! Two people are dead because of you!"
Willem turns away from the nearby window, hand instinctively moving to the short sword at his hip. Atherton looks both panicked and angry. "It was empty! We didn't do this! It was... whatever that energy wave was! That made undead appear! We didn't do a damn thing!"
Ulysses swats his hand in the air, as if waving the conversation away. He takes Nevai by the arm. "We need to get you to Sebti, now. This is mummy rot. Melech, let's go."
Melech tosses their old equipment into the haversack and leads them out of the auction house, toward the Grand Mausoleum.
Nevai shakes his head and holds up a hand. "Wait. We cannot leave these people here. What if there are more undead roaming around? We should take them with us."
He gathers the surviving people of the auction--the ones that haven't fled, and brings them along.
You have Hamapetra, Maru, and Namaru with you, and manage to find both Ahteb and the auctioneer on your way. With your retinue, you hurry across the Sunburst Market to the nearby Grand Mausoleum.
The streets of Wati are like something from a nightmare: hordes of zombies and skeletons make chase against men, women, and children fleeing in terror--mostly in the same direction as you, toward the Pharasmin temple. Few bodies litter the road, and you quickly see why: whenever the undead kill someone, the victim rises within moments themselves.
At the wide stone stairs leading up to the church, a line of Voices of the Spire stand toe-to-toe with a wave of zombies and skeletons, beating them back with spiral-decked shields and cudgels as a quartet of clerics behind them send out burst after burst of bright purple light. Wherever the light touches, the undead sizzle and drop to the ground unmoving. By the time you arrive, the stairs are clear and people begin flooding into the open doors in twos and threes. The Voices step aside to let your significantly larger group pass.
Just inside the doors, a steadily growing mass of terrified citizens huddle in the dim light of the expansive entry hall. Clerics move from person to person, checking for wounds and diseases. It nearly boggles the mind: less than five minutes have passed since the undead attacked the Canny Jackal, and in that time, well over three dozen people have already been accosted and fled to the Mausoleum. Up ahead, you see the form of Sebti the Crocodile, moving among the people casting healing spells.
Melech leads the group through the streets in a self-imposed daze. He has to keep his face forward and mind focused on their destination; if he falters for even a moment, he will go berserk on the hordes of undead and surely swiftly join their ranks. The threat of becoming the very thing he has dedicated his life to eradicating keeps him fixated on their goal.
Ulysses's fingers never drift far from his bombs; seeing the state of the city, he is suddenly extremely aware that he only has four bombs left for the day. He has plenty of other goodies, but nothing nearly as effective as his bombs; he even used both of his bone burns.
It suddenly occurs to him that the holy water shortage is about to get worse.
After they arrive at the Mausoleum, he spots Sebti in the crowd and points her out to the others.
"Sebti!" All notions of formality are tossed away in the crisis. He pulls Nevai forward. "We killed a mummy, but not before it cursed Nevai with mummy rot. Is this something you can cure? And have you seen Ptemenib? We lost track of him in the fray."
Sebti looks confused, then shocked, then notably worried. She gives Nevai a quick once-over and shakes her head. "I am fortunate enough to have a spell of remove disease left, but the curse must be broken first. I do not have that prepared. This will have to wait until tomorrow. As for Ptemenib, he has not shown up at the church since this began. He must be out in the city somewhere, but he is a skilled cleric. He will be fine." She doesn't look like she entirely believes the words.
Nevai digs out a roll of parchment. "The scroll that Falto left us. It is a scroll of remove curse. However, I do not think we have the funds to pay for a remove disease..."
Sebti rolls her eyes and snatches the scroll from him. "Oh stop it. I'll put it on your tab."
She reads off the scroll, waving her free hand in an incantation and muttering the archaic prayer.
The scroll disintegrates in a burst of silvery light, and Nevai feels its effects take hold. Sebti quickly utters the remove disease spell, but after a few moments, she growls in frustration. "I was able to suppress the curse, but I couldn't break the disease!" She looks around. "Do any of you have a remove disease spell left?" She looks ready to scream as the clerics inside shake their heads ruefully. She turns back looking pallid. "I'm sorry, Nevai. I fear I've wasted your scroll."
She looks around, biting her lip. "You should get some rest. I'll prepare the spells again tomorrow. In return..." She sighs. "I am sure Ptemenib is fine, but... if he doesn't return by the morning, will you go look for him?"
Melech nods. "Yes, of course. Do you have a place for us to stay here? We will help you with these people as much as we can."
Nevai is already moving among the people, spontaneously converting his remaining spells to heal wounds. Once done, he offers to take a shift with the priests and Voices of the Spire defending the entrance from any more undead.
The dawn slowly approaches, and after giving what aid they can, the BBC are given a small patch of ground with the rest of the refugees and make a bed as best they can. Soon after (too soon, it feels like) they awake from a fitful slumber. More people trickled in overnight, but reports from Voices and what city guard survived the first onslaught are grim: the streets are overrun. Word from the wall around the Dead City is even more horrifying, though not entirely unexpected.
The dead--all of them, by the sound of it--have risen in Wati.
The Voices are desperately trying to hold the gates against waves of undead. The only good news is that those undead who have been felled have so far not risen again.
Sebti approaches, eyes bleary and face drawn. She prepares to cast her spells on Nevai. "I can only spare one casting of remove disease. I must keep my other spells for the survivors, and the Voices who are defending the church."
Nevai rises from finishing his morning ablutions and nods to Sebti, giving her arm a reassuring squeeze. "I understand. It is generous of you to do this, regardless."
He begins uttering an invocation to Horus and channels thin strands of positive energy into his body, each strand jabbing at the curse's defenses to try and break through.
The magic fizzles and fades, with no discernible effect. Nevai closes his eyes and sighs. "Not today, it seems."
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Sebti sighs and pulls out a scroll. "You always did have the worst luck."
She casts remove curse off the scroll, but again, the mummy rot fights against it. Sebti looks ready to pull her hair out. "I have the spell memorized, as well. But it's going to mean a spell I do not have to aid the refugees. If I do this, you must do something for me."
She doesn't wait for Nevai's response--she simply casts the spell.
This time, the razor-thin strands of positive energy rip through the curse like it was paper, shattering it in a barely-visible ripple of magical energies around Nevai. Already the pieces are slowly trying to coalesce again around his body.
She then quickly utters another incantation, and the strands of positive energy pierce Nevai's skin in dozens of places around his body, trying to burn out the hideous infection running through his veins. Nevai clenches his teeth involuntarily at the waves of agony as the flesh under his skin feels like it's on fire.
Finally the strands of energy recede and fade, and Sebti looks him over. She nods wearily. "There. It's gone. The damage it has done will heal in time. Just... try not to get into any more fisticuffs with mummies." She offers a weak smile, which quickly falters.
"I need the three of you to join the fight. Nearly all of the Voices--and most of my clerics--have left to defend the wall around the Dead City. Most of the undead are pushing against the main gate, but there are more intelligent undead trying to climb the walls all over. They're spread thin. And what's worse, there are old smuggling tunnels into the necropolis all over Wati. There's no way we can find them all. Adding to all that is the fact that I've lost one of my best clerics. There is still no word of Ptemenib's whereabouts."
She rubs her chin for a moment. "Start with the Canny Jackal. That was his last known location. It's possible you can find a trail from there. Beyond that, patrol the streets, eliminate any undead you find. You have a safe haven here to return to when you need it. I will offer what services I can, but with the number of citizens arriving by the hour, we'll be overfull soon and further healing will be limited."
Melech listens to Sebti with a rapidly darkening expression. He has literally had nightmares about exactly this; hordes of undead overrunning a city, inexorably increasing their numbers until there is no hope for any living remaining. How do you fight a foe whose numbers increase each time your numbers decrease?
One at a time, he supposes.
He checks over his supplies, ensuring his weapons are all accessible, and then notes the distinct lack of a certain weapon that could be the most useful of all. "Sebti, is there any holy water? We will take all you can spare."
Sebti nods, sending an acolyte to fetch the last of the holy water. The young man returns with three vials. "That is all that's left," Sebti says apologetically. "The rest went with the Voices to the wall this morning. We will be working on making more, but the purified silver shavings required to make this is a finite resource. I can't promise I'll have more for you tomorrow. Use it wisely."
Melech takes the holy waters and slots them into one of his bandoliers. "Thank you, Sebti. We will find Ptemenib." He looks at the others. "Are you ready?"
Ulysses pulls out one of his ant haul potions and drinks it. "Now I am."