Defending the Defense
The Soldier's Defense is bustling with activity. The plague and the refugees have filled this place with people. The number of refugees has gone down significantly since word of the plague, but there still the desperate. Still those who have no other place to go and need the aid of those here. There are just as many clerics, paladins, and other volunteers running about on various tasks, all of them in various stages of looking harried.
Mask over her nose and mouth... not like a robber... well okay sorta like it. It's a cloth she soaked in some water when she had a customer who collapsed after trying to buy -something- from her little ramshackle shop on wheels. Anyway, Alaryn wrapped that about her face and then helped to heavy the guy up and carry him here. It's weird seeing the skinny little girl carrying the big overweight guy but... that's precisely what she does.
"Little help!" she calls out as she staggers in carrying her bourdon. She searches for the nearest place she can unload the package she's carrying and sets him down as quickly as she can.
Felicia makes her way into the defense herself. She'd been frequenting there more often since she got word of the plague and had been working as well as she could to find a cure.
Moms. They are the worst.
Stena is making her way along from the Soldier's Defense fter picking up a particular medicine (or two) for her parents. Transmuter specialist wizards for parents can be very demanding when they need medicines.
Okay, make that any parent.
Stena is grumbling about this the whole time.
Seanait moves over towards Alaryn as she hears the cry for help. The monk doesn't seem to be too concerned about the plague itself, as she reaches over to help support the burden Alaryn carries, "Here, let me help you."
Strike, tapped as a runner, returns with a large bundle of linens, generously laundered by volunteers through the district. She sets her burden down on a free table on direction from someone she knows is staff, then turns make her way also toward the cry for aid, a few paces behind the Elgarin.
Ennis looks somewhat out of place as this slender cavalier of mere 5'3" stature strides through the place in evident search for someone, or something. His remarkable dexterity is fully deployed in keeping his exquisite rapier, embroidered cape, and feather-bedecked hat from getting in the way. As he encounters a certain healer with pointy ears protruding from her long, silky, blonde hair, he begs a moment of her time to ask, "Has anyone considered the ritual of Faroth-fea to try to ascertain the plague's source?" <sildanyari>
Ennis is a swordsman. Cutting straight to the heart of the matter is his way.
Felicia looks over to the blonde that walked in....and not understanding a word of it....goes back to her work.
Lying the guy down, Alaryn backs away as Seanait moves in to help. "He just collapsed on the street. I thought it'd be better to bring him here than to just leave him lying there." she says, rambling in her half-panic.
Felicia makes her way over and gets on the opposite side of the bed than Alaryn. "Just collapsed, huh? Hmm..." She then gives the guy a look over
Seanait nods, "Could be the plague, or even just exhaustion, but I'm no healer." She glances back and forth, then looks over at Felicia.
Seeing that Alaryn is being helped by not one but two people no one else from the Defense rushes to her aid. They are very busy after all and two people to help is more than most are getting around here. Meanwhile the elvish woman that Ennis approaches looks at him in confusion and says smartly, "Aye?"
That's when there's a muffled sound from the back of the Soldier's Defense. A rustle of people moving. A LOT of people moving. People pressing against one another and /running/ away. Those in the front don't seem to know /why/ they're running but it's clear after a moment. There's an explosion from the back. Then a man is running naked toward you, leaping on one of those fleeing and tearing at their body with his arms and teeth... There's a spray of blood from something vital and the person who had been running and they fall to the floor. The man in question looks up from his victim and immediately leaps to the nearest person to him. The woman that Ennis has been talking to. She screams and flails as she's attacked.
Strike doesn't seem particularly thrilled to be around sick people, but, she was convinced to 'help'... so she'll 'help'. To that effect, while the pair manage to settle the corpulent fellow down, and the woman seems to be somewhat panicky, starting to ease toward her when public relations sour near the back wall.
GAME: Strike rolls ranged +3: (11)+4+3: 18 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+0: (16)+0: 16
As someone obviously very hot, and very hungry demonstrates terribly poor impulse control, Strike turns and starts to weave between neutral parties interested in being anywhere but in his way. A practiced hand plucks a small pouch from her equipment belts as she gets nearer and she deftly flicks it at the man, producing a brilliant flash... and likely just made him mad.
GAME: Stena rolls 1d20+6: (11)+6: 17
"Whoa, whoa! What the hells?!" Stena leaps into the fellow, trying to grab hold of him and wrestle him to the ground. If we're honest, she's off to a good start.
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+4: (7)+4: 11
The woman is screaming, bleeding profusely from where the man managed to bite and claw at her. Meanwhile the man tussles with Stena, trying to bite her but far less effectively than he had been able to attack the woman he originally set upon.
GAME: Alaryn casts Shield. Caster Level: 3 DC: 15
Eyes widening at the growing... situation, Alaryn steps forward two paces while reaching down to the pouch she has prepped just for this effect. She plucks out some finely wrought silver cord. Okay, it's more like silver thread.. that happens to have four small crystals embedded init. Each crystal is glowing dimly... but she touches the center of it all, one last crystal that has a bright glow to it.... then tosses the whole thing into the air.
Once it's up there, the energy floods from the central crystal, out through the thread to the other crystals... which float out to form the corners of a rectangle that provides a force based defensive shield before Alaryn. "Get behind me." she says to any mobile patients.
As Alaryn pushes her way forward, Felicia does as well, using an actual physical shield to do the same as Alaryn.
GAME: Ennis rolls Weapon2: (18)+7: 25 (THREAT) GAME: Ennis rolls Weapon2: (20)+7: 27 (THREAT)
Ennis springs at the sight of sudden gore into sudden action. After all, it wouldn't do to let this healer be torn apart, nor would it do to get blood on his clothes. In a moment, Ennis draws his blade and feeds it to the naked man, perforating his belly with a "Ha, knave! Take THAT!"
Seanait cocks her head at the sound of the explosion, and sprints rapidly towards the back of the Defense, pushing through the scared people as she's the only one crazy enough to run /towards/ the danger.
Adventurers. Go figure.
"...no! I almost had him!" Stena tells Ennis when he pulls his blade free. She was sure she could have restrained him. She's on her feet, though, now moving to the injured woman to haul her up and get her moving out of the way and into the arms of care. "That way, that way. You're gonna be fine..."
GAME: Strike rolls perception: (12)+10: 22 GAME: Strike rolls melee: (18)+4: 22 GAME: Strike rolls 1d6+2: (5)+2: 7 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+0: (20)+0: 20
Strike watches the wildman get tackled, pinned and skewered in short order with some open surprise, particularly when a certain azure luminance about his body catches her eye. She shouts, "Get away from the corpse!" before she turns to move at a surprising clip toward another fashion renegade and she drives a half-closed fist into that tender area between the chest and abdominal muscles. While he doesn't keel over as intended, he does make a particularly odd noise as he tries to cry out and breathe in at the same time…
GAME: Aftershock makes Stena roll +roll reflex:(2)++2: 4 GAME: Aftershock makes Ennis roll +roll reflex:(14)++7: 21 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d6: (6): 6 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+4: (3)+4: 7
There is a muffled explosion from the corpse of the man that Ennis slew, and bits of the body go flying in every direction. Stena takes a heavy blow from the explosion and one of those running takes a shrapnel piece of bone to the leg and falls down screaming. Meanwhile the patients are safe behind the blockade created by Alaryn and Felicia.
The man that is struck by Strike scratches febly at her, his mouth open soundlessly as he tries to bite her. Meanwhile other people running are being struck down by these... nude individuals who are clawing, biting, hitting without any regard for whom they're taking down. Somewhere there's another explosion and more screaming.
GAME: Alaryn rolls ranged+1: (1)+4+1: 6 (EPIC FAIL)
Hey. Alaryn hasn't fired her staff with the shield effect in place. She whips the weapon around and clips the corner of the force rectangle as she triggers the firing stud. The crystal discharges lightning into the wall of the place, far off target... and Alaryn sucks her teeth. "Right. Need to add a gunport to the shield." she says.
GAME: Stena rolls 1d20+6: (5)+6: 11
Stena sees more naked people.
Really. Naked people.
"When did the transmuters guild get here?" she asks, dryly, before she's aiming herself to tackle another person and try to bring them down. They side step. She hits a wall and falls on her butt.
GAME: Seanait rolls 1d20+7: (1)+7: 8 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Seanait rolls 1d20+7: (6)+7: 13 GAME: Seanait rolls 1d8+1: (7)+1: 8 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+0: (18)+0: 18
Seanait throws a couple of punches at one of the people, managing to land one hit that rocks the person back a step.
GAME: Ennis rolls Heal: (20)+1: 21
Ennis is relieved to see that the healer is mostly alright. He chivalrously guides her to a bench and caressingly wipes some blood splatter from her forehead as he speaks soothingly to her. Just then he seems to have a sudden realization because he stands up straight and declares to the room in general, “The naked ones aren't actually breathing!"
GAME: Strike rolls 1d20+3: (19)+3: 22 GAME: Strike rolls 1d20+3: (4)+3: 7 GAME: Strike rolls 1d20+3: (14)+3: 17 GAME: Strike rolls 1d6+2: (1)+2: 3 GAME: Strike rolls 1d6+2: (2)+2: 4 GAME: Strike rolls perception: (1)+10: 11 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Strike rolls reflex: (13)+5: 18
As you join combat several paladins join you, punching the naked individuals to subdue them long enough for most of the escaping people to get away. The body before Strike explodes, sending bits of itself everywhere. Namely on her. Meanwhile behind Alaryn and Felicia the man that was brought in earlier begins to start coughing and hacking as though he himself is dying. Black ichor pours out of his mouth. His eyes roll back in his head and suddenly his skin starts to turn dark. Dark and darker.
Somewhere in the back you can just faintly make out the sound of one last explosion before it grows deathly silent.
Given a spots-blinking pause by the straightened lightning bolt that >zots!< it's way between her face and her assailant, close enough that her hair stands comically on end, Strike has just enough time to catch the fencer's warning. She changes tac, then, hooking a closed fist into his ribcage, then thrusting a palm strike toward his nose. He jukes his brainbucket out of the way, but the hand snaps tightly shut and folds back as her body torques, slamming the point of her elbow into the base of his skull, sending him to the floor like he was mounted on a hinge... BOOM!
... and then she was covered in chilli.
GAME: Felicia rolls knowledge/religion: (3)+10: 13 GAME: Felicia casts Detect Undead. Caster Level: 5 DC: 14 GAME: Ennis rolls acrobatics+charisma: (15)+9+3: 27 GAME: Ennis spends ONE point of PANACHE. GAME: Ennis rolls Weapon2: (13)+7: 20
Felicia turns around as the man moans and....dies. As he turns dark, then black, Felicia watches...and even uses a spell. "YOU!" She points to Ennis with her mace. "You like to stab things...get on the other side of this guy, and if he turns hostile....do so!"
GAME: Ennis rolls 1d6+1: (3)+1: 4
Seeing that there remains work to be done, Ennis says to the healer, "Pardon me," then jumps over a few people, sticking an impressive landing beside Felicia and quickly inserts the tip of his rapier deep into the Not Dead Man. He starts to say, "Take TH...", but switches to "Eww. "Now I'm going to have to get my blade sanitized. NOBODY BESMIRCHES MY BLADE!" Ridiculous though he may sound, he acts convincingly with all the cheesy melodrama of Errol Flynn in the old Robin Hood movie, a true romantic hero!
GAME: Stena rolls 1d20+6: (13)+6: 19
"...augh," says Stena as she rams into the black-oozing fellow. She tackles into him, yes, trying to get a grasp on him and its getting all over her oh god noooooo.
She actually says that last part out loud. "Oh gods, noooo."
GAME: Strike rolls melee+2: (11)+4+2: 17 GAME: Strike rolls 1d6+2: (5)+2: 7 GAME: Strike rolls reflex: (9)+5: 14 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d6: (6): 6 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+11: (3)+11: 14
Well, at least the fluffiness is taken care of. Strike's viscera makeover mattes her hair chunkily to her face, partially obscuring the mayhem over by the coughing fit. She does see the paladins trying to get the naked people under control and she rushes to the aid on one in particular, thrusting a fist into the small of the naked man's back as she starts to say, "Be careful, they-!" BOOM!
.. cough-hack, "BLAUGH!!"
The man whom Stena tackles starts to deform. His body warping into a different shape. Something like a squid is what she actually hits, full of tenticles that writhe around in every direction. The body of the thing he's turned into is soft and squishy, and doesn't seem to mind at all being grappled by her. In fact it starts to wrap all around her as if sucking her into itself.
GAME: Felicia casts Bless. Caster Level: 5 DC: 14
"STRIKE...GET YOUR ASS BACK OVER HERE AND GET STENA OUT OF THIS THING!" Felicia's really barking out orders now....even though she's still mostly standing near the....mass. Her attention turns back to Ennis. "Slash...not stab. We'll worry about your blade later. We've got a lot of defenseless people here. By the Maiden of Battle...WE'LL STOP IT!" That's when the divine radiance begins to glow from Felicia's shield.
GAME: Ennis rolls Weapon2+2+2+1: (6)+7+2+2+1: 18 GAME: Ennis rolls 1d6+1: (1)+1: 2
Ennis seems content to take orders because he does exactly as he's told, but the strike has minimal success.
GAME: Stena RAGES!, gaining +2 to melee attack/damage/Will saves and 4 temporary HP GAME: Stena rolls 1d20+8: (12)+8: 20
"...are you kidding me?! THIS AGAIN? MOM, IF THIS IS ONE OF YOUR PRACTICAL JOKES..." It's not, but Stena can't help but comment on it. Which is weird enough as it is.
She manages to grab the blob by the psuedopods -- it's solid enough -- and proceeds to slam it back down into the ground with a wild look in her eyes.
GAME: Strike rolls melee+5: (9)+4+5: 18 GAME: Strike used a Holy Water. GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+11: (16)+11: 27 GAME: Stena rolls Fort: (3)+5: 8
Hearing the call to act from the other side of the room, Strike, still sloppy from having two men explode all over her, and bleeding from the last one, turns to rush the amorphus assailant. As she crosses the distance, she draws a flash of holy water from her pack and, once in range, SLAMS it against the creature, and accomplishes some surface ripples and mostly making it wet. At least she's in a position to help, though.
There are several explosions around you as the paladin's fight off the undead. Meanwhile the black amorphous mass has swallowed Stena whole.
GAME: Ennis rolls Ranged: (1)+6: 7 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Felicia rolls 3d6: (12): 12
Gnashing her teeth as Stena gets enveloped, Felicia takes a deep breath and lets out a sing song note. Her shield begins to glow and everyone doesn't feel quite as haggard, and many of their wounds have healed.
GAME: Ennis rolls 1d6 fire: (2 fire): 2 GAME: Strike used a Flash Powder. GAME: Ennis used a Alchemist's Fire. GAME: Stena rolls 1d20+8: (15)+8: 23 GAME: Stena rolls Fort: (16)+5: 21
Ennis reaches into his cloak and pulls out a small ball of brittle glass containing a reddish gel. Unfortunately, the glass is also slippery, and slips out of the swordsman's grip, shattering at his feet, and igniting the moment the glass fractures. He exclaims, "Aw, fewmets!" as the floor at his feet catches flame.
And out stumbles Stena, forcing her way out of the blob. She's even angrier now, covered in horribleness.
"THAT'S IT," she roars.
GAME: Strike rolls melee+5: (16)+4+5: 25 GAME: Strike rolls melee+5: (17)+4+5: 26 GAME: Strike rolls melee+5: (13)+4+5: 22 GAME: Strike rolls 1d6+2: (3)+2: 5 GAME: Strike rolls 1d6+2: (1)+2: 3 GAME: Strike rolls 1d6+2: (2)+2: 4 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+11: (6)+11: 17
The ooze or whatever it is tries to pull Stena back in, but it misses her just slightly.
Fore her part, Strike lives up to her nomenclature, unleashing a hasty barrage of blows against the blob after it spits out the other woman, bits of supernatural salsa being flung from her limbs every which way.
GAME: Felicia casts Spiritual Weapon. Caster Level: 5 DC: 15 GAME: Ennis rolls Weapon2+2+1: (5)+7+2+1: 15
Felicia summons a lance to attack the blob with force, but she looks to Strike. "Keep it up. I think you're hurting it a lot more with your fists..."
GAME: Ennis rolls 1d6+1: (3)+1: 4
Ennis turns and says, "Let's see if we can pop this water balloon!" He stabs the blob with his gooey rapier.
GAME: Stena rolls 1d20+8: (1)+8: 9 (EPIC FAIL)
"RAGFH," says Stena, intelligently. Then her axe hits the ground in front of the blob. She clearly meant to miss.
(No she didn't.)
GAME: Strike rolls melee+3: (8)+4+3: 15 GAME: Strike rolls melee+3: (16)+4+3: 23 GAME: Strike rolls melee+3: (13)+4+3: 20 GAME: Strike rolls 1d6+3: (2)+3: 5 GAME: Strike rolls 1d6+3: (4)+3: 7 GAME: Strike rolls 1d6+3: (4)+3: 7 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+11: (14)+11: 25 GAME: Stena rolls fort: (14)+5: 19 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d6: (3): 3 GAME: Felicia rolls 1d20+3+3: (15)+3+3: 21 GAME: Felicia rolls 1d6+3: (6)+3: 9
With the assurances of the shieldmaiden, Strike invests what extra umph she has left and unleashes another rapid flurry of fisticuffs on the monster.
The quivering mass lashes out, striking Stena once more and sucking her into its body. There it shakes balefully, clearly pleased with itself in the way that only an amorphous mass can be.
GAME: Ennis spends ONE point of PANACHE. GAME: Ennis rolls Acrobatics+1d6: 9+(6): 15 GAME: Ennis rolls 1d6: (2): 2
Then when Stena is 'absorbed' again, Felicia ceases being the tank, and actually attacks. her mace smashes down at the same time the mace hits the blob....and it explodes in ichor all over the soldier's defense. "Yuck..."
Felicia sighs a bit as the ichor drips from her armor. "In a pond nearby I'm guessing." She then sighs and begins to clean it up. She helped make it after all.
Ennis jumps to avoid most of the icky splatter, but the lady healer wasn't so lucky. He approaches her and offers, "Oh, it looks like that filth got all over you. I'd be only too happy to wash it off of you."
That's the third, Strike! The halfbreed, now caked in the layered remains of three different creatures, probably, in modern terms, resembles Cousin It jumping into a leaf pile before getting dunked in a barrel of crude oil. The look on her face is best described as sour, but she says no a word before turning on her heel and proceeding toward someone on staff to then speak as to a "Bath. Now."
-End-