(036) The Remains of the Day

[waysoftheearth]

heartless wrote:

The Second Vault
(Dieter, Olaf, Pelenwin, Desmond/Mondes, Wibert, Ulric)
...
Ulric re-appears in an open passage way to find the company outnumbered two or three to one, and hails his companions to fall back toward him. With the jerking dead overwhelming the vault, the remainder of the company are only too happy for an option to retreat. Pelenwin and Wibert make a dash into the new passage,...

Pelenwin and Wibert are already into the cold passage. The others can (hastily) determine who goes in which order.

Wibert quickly goes down the passage searching for a path to escape. "See if there is any way to block the passage to stop them coming. I will look down here for a path to withdrawal", says Wibert as he shoots down the passage.

[waysoftheearth]

waysoftheearth wrote:
The First Vault
(Dorgan, Gustave, Highbough, Guntram, Josiane)

Dorgan and Gustave hew into the enemy again, while the others maintain their positions.

(initiative is rolled: 1d6; Gustave=1, Dorgan=1, Enemy=1) !

The dead are reluctant to advance due to Josiane's mantra, but they are happy to tear at anything that approaches them, and do so now.


(1d20; Gustave=8, Dorgan=7, foe versus Gustave=1, foe versus Dorgan=2) among all the stabbing, slashing and thrusting blades and claws, only Gustave connects, stabbing another enemy (2dd=4,6) through the throat for 8 hit points, so that its head dangles perilously upon its punctured neck. It does not seem inconvenienced by this, however...

Highbough spies, down blow in the dark, something else is ambling toward the base of the stair... could it be yet more of them??

[waysoftheearth]

doctorx wrote:
O.O.C: Uh-oh... [img]images/smiley/sad.png[/img]

[waysoftheearth]

waysoftheearth wrote:
The Third Vault
(Wibert and Pelenwin)

Wibert, followed by Pelenwin, burst from the passage into another underground vault; the clanging echoes of battle left behind for a moment.

They both catch their breath a moment as they come to a stop, and gawking at the content of this next place. It is another cold, lifeless burial chamber. This one is perhaps 60ft wide, but the far end can scarcely be seen by the dim light of Wibert's torch.

"By the Seal!" grimacesPelenwin.

Arrayed about the walls of the chamber are dozens of upright sarcophagi, each with a fell knight graven into the face of the stone casing. Some few of these are leaning sideways, or fallen over entirely. Others seems to have been left or broken open. In all the room is a great disarray.

But between the sarcophagi are heaped and stacked pots and coffers of coins that glimmer in the torch light!

[waysoftheearth]

mushgnome wrote:

Highbough spies, down blow in the dark, something else is ambling toward the base of the stair... could it be yet more of them??

Are they wearing metal armor by any chance? [img]images/smiley/smiley.png[/img]

Highbough readies a flask of oil and waits for visual confirmation that the approaching creatures are, indeed, more of the super-zombies (and not our friends coming to rescue us).

[waysoftheearth]

waysoftheearth wrote:
The Second Vault
(Desmond/Mondes, Olaf, Ulric, Dieter)

The company abandon the overrun vault to the awful dead, and retreat down the passage way, hoping that Wibert will lead them to relative safety...

Dieter grimly takes the rear guard -- not expecting to live, but over his shoulder Ulric has other ideas... the dead come on!

(Initiative; Dieter=3+1, enemy=5)

The fiends are desperate to tear Dieter down (2d20=19, 8) and despite his swordsmanship there are simply too many of them closing all about him as he retreats into the passage (1dd=3) and he is clawed for 3 hit points (unless he sacrifices his shield).

Dieter replies in kind (2d20=14,5) hacking back at anything nearby (and there is plenty of that) and contact something (2dd=6,3) hard in the chest for 8 hit points, dropping it, but there are so many more!

Meanwhile, behind him Ulric draws forth a new sorcery, incanting the reptilian syllables that will draw forth The Comburent Phlogiston, and just as Dieter backs into the passage he unleashes it!

There is a sudden, hot and fierce light that is copper and blue, which shoots past Dieter's head as an arrow, momentarily illuminating the staggering throng of corpses in the vault. But almost instantly therein it explodes into an impossibly bright, hot fire that fills the chamber entire, purging everything in it by scalding fire!

(3d6+3=20!!)

Two heart beats later blackness returns. Dieter's dazzled eyes, and Ulric's satisfied ones, see blacked and still-burning corpses collapsing into smouldering heaps of ash and char...

The stench of burned flesh is appalling. But nothing now moves in the vault.

[waysoftheearth]

mushgnome wrote:
The hairs stand up on the nape of Highbough's neck, as though sensing a massive discharge of magical energy nearby. "Impressive..." he mutters to no one in particular.

(OOC: Nice shot Ulric!!!)

[waysoftheearth]

waysoftheearth wrote:
The First Vault

Dorgan, Gustave, Highbough, Josiane and Guntram all see an impressive flash of green/blue light from yonder passage.

In its momentary glare, Highbough sees that there is but one additional corpse shambling awkwardly up the stair from the sunken floor. None of them wear any armour.

[waysoftheearth]

sulldawga wrote:

The First Vault

Dorgan, Gustave, Highbough, Josiane and Guntram all see an impressive flash of green/blue light from yonder passage.

Dorgan pauses for a second to watch the pretty, pretty lights. Then he shrugs.

"Let's hope that's a good thing."

And with that, he's back on the attack!

[waysoftheearth]

tonneau wrote:
Gustave suppresses a grin at the way his armour (at least, those bits not already soiled with clingy scabs of rotted flesh and black, oily corpse bile) gleams momentarily in the glow of the not-as-distant-as-he-might-like pyrotechnics.

Somewhat refreshed by this, he refocuses his not-meager mind on the task at hand. He whips his blade from the neck of his present opponent - which opens its foetid maw, sending forth a wave of even more putrid air - and aims a second blow intended to completely remove the stubborn and offensive noggin.