Izera unleashes a pair of devasting attacks, and the monster seems to shrivel even further.
The figure stands tall and tries to pummel Izera, despite the glowing pain brought on by Danea's sanction.
Tinker pauses in the fray to make some minor adjustments to himself, repairing some of the damage he has taken. At the same time, he sends a small automaton scuttling toward Phenia, which injects her (slightly painfully) with a restorative formula. Finally, Daria, the hammer, frees herself and hovers next to Tinker.
"Thank, Tinker."
Phenia shoots him a grateful smile and turns her attention to the oncoming zombies behind Garret.
Phenia immolates a zombie in white fire, bolstering Garret, and then the wave of darkness comes.
Garret steps back next to Phenia (how he did that in one step, who knows) and unleashes another burst of light on the zombies.
Four more zombies explode from a gesture by Garret.
The huddled figure backs away from Phenia and stares intently at Danea.
Once she is drawn closer, it tries to pummel her.
Danaea falls to the ground before the huddled figure, her eyes unfocused and wandering, due to the severe beating. She hastily raises her sword high in the air, the blade moving about unsteadily in her hands, and calls upon the creature. "You will not break me!" screams Danea shrilly as she unleashes her divine mark upon it, searing it with holy light. With the few moments it buys her, she quickly catches her breath and utters a brief litany of thanks to Bahamut, giving her the strength to carry on.
Danea does her best to recover and she burns her enemy with Bahamut's challenge.
The last zombie from the alley lunges at Ashlynn.
The other two zombies pounce on the downed Danea.
Ashlynn swings back at the zombie.
Izera glides forward, keeping pace with the strange creature. "I'll return you to the Queen's embrace." she says.
The creature seems to pay no attention as Izera glides past, but apparently it was paying enough to just barely dodge her sword swipe.
Tinker moves to what might be a more advantageous position, and returns to his favored lightning attack versus the bloodied creature.
The huddled figure, preoccupied with Danea and Izera, takes the ball of lightning full in the back.
Garret wipes out the zombies on Danea and let's the blast clear before coming closer.
"Duck, Ashlynn"
Phenia backs away and tries to get rid of the last visible zombie.
Phenia throws a ball of flame through the last zombie.
The huddled figure puts a shoulder into Danea before sinking into the cobblestones. A dull rumbling and slight raising of cobblestones betray the path it burrows, and it pops up behind the south barricade.
The blast of necrotic energy evaporates Tinker's hammer.
Danea gets pushed, but avoids rolling into the well.
Danea crawls out of the well, still weakened by the creatures blow, and continues to crawl closer to the barricade. "Come back and face me!" screams Danea at the huddled figure as he is engulfed in holy light.
Danea eventually manages to stand on her own, clearly winded by the challenges they have faced, but still manages to kneel in prayer, whispering her thanks to the Platinum Dragon for watching over her and her companions...
Izera looks satisfied at the work the group has done. "We've sent a lot of abominations back into rest today." She cleans her blade, then keeps watch as Danea rests.
Phenia looks across at the newcomer, Ashlynn.
"There wasn't really time to introduce ourselves. Are you alright? Can we help you? And what in the wide world is going on in this town?"
The woman wipes soe of the bigger chunks of corpse from her armor. "I think I'll survive, thank you. I am Ashlynn. I and my companions are called Lightbringers. We slay undead wherever we can find them. We'd heard Barovia was thick we the horrors."
She begins to clean her sword as she continues, "Had you not arrived when you did, I doubt I could have held this last wave back. The zombies never breached the barricade before."
The door to a building on the south side of the squares opens up and a burly young man in a leather jerkin comes out. Sparse light gleamsfrom gaps the boarded up windows of the building. A sign over the door creaks on its hinges, proclaiming "Bildrath's Mercantile".
The human rushes over to the breached barricade ad begins to hastily reassemble it. Meanwhile, a mutter of voices, a clatter of dishware, and the squeal of a poorly played wind instrument usher from the rambling building on the north side as the door opens. A sign hanging precariously askew reads "Blood on the Vine Tavern." Two grim looking men come out and begin assisting the first, giving your party a dirty look before starting.
Upon ending her prayer, Danea turns to Ashlynn and says, "Apparently so, there seems to be more of the undead then living here. From what it sounds like, these attacks are a regular occurence. We came here by request of Kolyan Indirivich, do you know where we can find him?"
"You're welcome."
Phenia takes a critcal look at the building and the barricade. "We should set up wards here. It may not hold them off forever, but it might slow them down."
"I don't know where the burgomaster is, but his son, Ismark the Lesser, is in the tavern drowning his sorries," she says pointing to the buildingto the northeast.
"I'm here with two companions, Thendrick, a faithful servant of Pelor, and Mathilda, a fighter of great renown. They went to check out the church to the northwest. The townsfolk believe that's where the zombies arise. Everyone told them to talk to Madam Eva first - she's some sort of wie woman who lives west of town, but they wouldn't listen... the arrogant clods. They went to the church, confident they could handle whatever they found without needing advice. That was three days ago. I haven't heard from them since, and I haven't been able to venture beyond this square."
"If you're here to destroy zombies, our aims likely coincide. Will you help me find my companions and talk to Madam Eva? The townsflok also say she would know the most about the existence of the Sword of the Risen Sun, an artifact I am questing for. It is a mighy weapon against evil, especially undead, and most potent against vampires. It fell out of history long ago, but I've determined that it was last seen and used in these lands."
As Izera listens to Ashlynn's tale, she helps reconstruct the barricade. "Is it wise to leave the barricade unmanned? We could check out the church, while you stay here and keep the people safe."
Danea nods thoughtfully at Izera's comments. "We should check the church for Ashlynn's companions...although I fear that they may be lost...", says Danea solemnly. "How are your supplies? Do you have enough food and water to survive, and are there any injured or dying within the tavern?"
"Let's not make the same mistake. We'll talk to Madame Eva first - if she's still alive, of course."
"That sounds good, Phenia. I'm going to go speak to Ismark the Lesser to find out where his father is."
"Right. We want to know as much about all this as we can."
"Anyway, I'll go talk to the burgomaster's son with you. Better than just standing here, in any case."
Ashlynn replies to Izera first, "I think the barricade will hold up fine, as long as there isn't anybody out here tempting the zombies. They seemed to gather any time somebody tried to leave, and this was the first time in 3 days that they broke through. Protecting the innocent is not a waste of time, so if you'd prefer I can stay and guard the square."
The two men from the tavern try to give Izera a wide berth as they work. And the strapping man from the other building goes so far as to slowly ask her, "Are you sick?"
Ashlynn turns to Danea, "Nobody in the tavern is injured. There are about ten local families in there, along with the owner, Arik, and Ismark." She lowers her voice and gestures at the two men that had come from the inn. "And there is another one of them inside, Vistani."
"I'm not sure how much food they have stored, but at least they don't seem worried about that yet. At least, not more than they fear the undead."
Danea turns to Ashlynn before she seeks out Ismark, and says, "Ashlynn, someone should stay here to protect the townsfolk, would you stay while we seek out Madame Eva?"