A Heth of a Time
Good news, everyone!
It's time hunt wights! Despite the best efforts of the nationns bordering dragonier, the occasional band does in fact find a way through the net and into the surrounding countries. Sometimes, even as far as Alexandria. Like the ones you're hunting now!
They were spotted in the farmland northeast of the city, causing a whole lotta panic. If true, and it seems likely, they need to be dealt with before they can make more of themsleves.
That's why you've hit the road and are now in the area where they were last seen according to the farmers you've spoken to thus far.
Sora hates walking but then if there is a large group its usually the best way. She adjusts the straps on her mithral breastplate, and flexes her artifice arm before looking around to the others, "Ready for this?" she asks as she keeps her eyes open for wights. She doesn't seem to have a weapon.
Arynel says, "I will be. give me ONE moment."
Chay holds the sketch of a map in his claws. A map drawn no doubt by shaking fingers, and one filled by rumors and fears. "...they wrote 'Here be Monssters'," he says. He can find humor in it, does Chay. A dark one of a sort.
Kore has done something unusual, for those who pay attention ther actons. She pulls on a pair of simple white gloves and then flexes her fingers, testing her range of movement in the gloves. The tiny monk is largely silent, her wide eyes solemn as they study everything surrounding her. She pulls out her holy symbol briefly, holds it up so that she can study the burnished silver, and thenn lets it fall beneath her collar once more. A soft sigh follows and then Kore rises on to the balls of her feet. "Ready as I can possibly be." Like Sora, she is unarmed. Unlike Sora she also lacks armor. As one might expect of a Monk of the goddess of Death.
Lucy is dressed in her travelling gear, her sword belted at her waist and a short spear in her hand. She also wears a sling tucked through her belt. "If we catch sight of them before they get close, we can set up a 'withering fire' against them!" she announces brightly to the others.
"Withering fire? What iss that?" Chay asks the gnomewoman. "I have never heard of it." He walks with care, and consults the 'map' now and then. It rests tightly in his claws. Its writing, added by terrified farmers, is barely legible. Just great.
GAME: Deak refreshes spells.
GAME: Arynel refreshes spells.
GAME: Arynel casts Mage Armor. Caster Level: 5 DC: 16
"...one knowss little about wights, ssers. But one could tell you sstories," he says. Chay throws a haunted look over his shoulder, and then determinedly, looks forward once more. "In Charn, the nobless threaten their sservants with them. Ssa, ssa, the rich chuckle! 'I'll put one in your room, and watch you run, if thiss ale issn't perfect.' They ussed them for ssport in the pins. Terrorss in the closset. ...wightss drain life. They're hungry beassts. I don't know if they're ssmart, or sstupid, but the sslaves who were trapped with them, never came back. One undersstands why the farmerss are afraid."
Arynel touches her amulet and translucent armor appears over her robes. "I'm ready...." She then looks to Chay.
Deak walks along with the others and says in a reverent tone, "Aye. I've yet to encounter one, but they sound awful from what I've heard."
"They left hussks behind. Hollowed-out eyess, ssers. Be careful of getting too closse." Chay crouches near the ground then, to check their route. As best he can anyhow, from the map's tear marks.
GAME: Sora rolls perception: (4)+6: 10
GAME: Chay rolls perception: (20)+9: 29
GAME: Deak rolls perception: (14)+5: 19
GAME: Arynel rolls perception: (3)+9: 12
GAME: Kore rolls perception: (13)+12: 25
GAME: Deryn rolls perception: (18)+0: 18
GAME: Sarcis rolls perception: (20)+11: 31
Upon the lush farmlands of northeastern Alexandria, you are hunting.
Hunting wights, it seems, thanks to the Guild of Explorers mercenary contract you've all signed. With a crude map of the last part of the land they were sighted on, you've been trying to find some sign of them. This has gone spectularly poorly so far with little to no sign of the supposed pack of undead . With Chay having told you all that they're some sort of life-draining undead monstrosities, no doubt having slipped from the efforts to contain their presene in the fallen nation of Dragonier, you've been especially on guard.
Just as you're about to finally give up on the hunt all together as fruitlass, you pass through a particularly barren orchard and Sarcis identifies a series of tracks that have given you a fresh lead. Roughly four to give sets of foorptints, grouped together and shuffling to the east.
"...predator," Chay says beneath his breath, when Sarcis joins them. The sith-makar looks at her with wary, haunted eyes. He slows, of course. Slows, so that the oruch ends up in front. Then he hefts his bow, and follows with clawed foot, silently after the others.
With another hand, he makes a Sign of Warding over his chest.
Deak looks around, searching his memory of the local area from any visits he may have made to minister to the faithful in these parts.
"Found some did you?" Arynel says softly before gesturing for Chay to take the lead. "Just.....warn us before we come upon them. I wanna check to see if they're undead first. I mean.....don't want to make a mistake."
For the most part, helmed and armored up, Deryn has remained silent for the bulk of the walk. He trudges along by the side, keeping his two-hander propped on his shoulder, with the occasional drink from his canteen. "It's easier to cut first and check later," he grumbles to Arynel, "What sane sort stays about these parts otherwise?"
Arynel says, "Because.....we're not monsters. So I'd rather make sure they're not living before we cut them down. Now...if they're dead and still walking, by all means, hack them up.""
Deak suggests, "I suppose we should follow the trail. Unless someone wants to scout ahead, which if they do, I might have a potion to help them keep their presence undetected by these foul creatures."
Shrugging indifferently, Deryn falls back quiet.
"Thiss hunter will be taking rear-guard," Chay says to Arynel, tersely. His tail flicks and he waits until the party moves ahead. Then, he follows after. "I will look. I will keep my eyess open." To Deryn, "Not by choisse. Never choisse. One ssuspects, it iss jusst hard to move a farm, even when your neighborss change. Perhapss they make the wrong choisse? Thiss one doess not know."
Sarcis walks along, not really in the front but definitely in front of Chay as she looks toward him and gives a slide of a smile - a crinkle of her nose - then back to looking at the tracks. "Well, I mean, I don't mind if you want me to track these creatures. And I'm not against checking if they're living for not, but I'm not about to risk my skin either - you know what I mean?" She pulls the bow free from her back and strings it as well.
Arynel says, "Just let us know if it goes in a different direction....." She says with a sigh."
"We'll easily overtake them if we keep the pace." Kore opines after hearing the news of the tracks.She traces her foot against the ground and then nods once, taking a deep breath. "Four of them could be rather dangerous. Please be as careful as you might." Somewhat selfconsciously she adjusts her gloves by tugging at her gloves once more.
GAME: Deak casts Detect Undead. Caster Level: 4 DC: 14
The oruch, Sarcis, is given two upwards fingers in response to that look. A rude gesture but also one that mimics the horns of a demon. Chay checks the map again, and, "Towardss the right, here." On the map are scratches, and tear stains. And the farmers, lacking reference for such things, really did scrawl, 'HERE BE MONSTERS'...not unlike an ancient map of the sea.
Except, well. Heth. One could argue his wights are a sort of sea.
GAME: Deak rolls knowledge/religion: (15)+9: 24
Deak says, "The light of Telmentar does not reveal the unliving to me here. If these tracks are left by them, they haven't been here so recently as to leave a trace that I can sense." He keeps concentrating.
"Well, looks at least interesting." Sarcis says, a light laugh from the gesture that Chay gave her - even a blown kiss - before turning to look in the direction the tracks lead. Her hand moves back, grabbing at an arrow and knocking it, there's no reason to be unprepared - not when even the map proclaims that the monsters are here. Then again, farmers do have very active imaginations.
Deak nods about being prepared and grabs a mismatched pair of vials from his bag.
Chay uses the map as an excuse not to look towards the oruch. He folds it presently, and slips it inside of his coat. The long duster bears the trace of armor stitching, these days. Slowly, doggedly, the sith-makar claws himself up in the world.
Perhaps though, a Sign of Warding may be made. Against demons, of course. Also, other v. smelly creatures.
He looks towards their priests then. The far-away, but focused looks of theirs gives him pause. He creeps along quietly as he might, along the trail designated to them.
Creep, creep, creep.
Let's be honesty. There's really no stealth in this party moving through this area. While the sun might be beginning to set this evening, there's just no way a group with this many people, especially this many tall Oruchs and such, is going to be able to be stealthy.
It just doesn't work.
As you follow the tracks, they definitely seem to get fresher, as is the withered corpse of a deer you passed. Certainly fresh, it seems.
Largely becasue of the four equally withered, pallid, stretched-tight humanois crouched above it, 'feeding', soaking whatever last energies might be pulled from it.
Here be...here they are. Chay takes a deep, steadying breath that seems too shallow.
Hiccup.
Steeaaaaddy.
He raises his bow, drawing it back towards his shoulder.
Sora pulls her belt from her waist and grips both ends with her real hand and her artifice one and it shifts and changes turning into a greatsword, which is almost bigger than she is, "Is that what we are looking for?"
Still keeping quiet save for the occasional grunt, Deryn lightly bounces the ricasso of his grey steel two-hander against his armored shoulder. He sees what appears to be the enemy, then stances himself. He doesn't approach, though, just waiting for the buggers to come.
Deak gasps at the horrifying sight and immediately covers his mouth with both hands as his adrenaline amps up.
Arynel says, "It looks like that's them." She then begins to walks her way BEHIND the bigger people. Obviously, she's not one of the front line people."
Chay isn't the only one, Sarcis sees them, a little raise of her crafted eyebrows as she considers them and her hands lets go for a moment to sweep back her hair. The string is slid between her fingers once more, the nocked arrow between index and middle, and she draws it back to its full extent, a little exhale and she waits for the others.
Lucy tugs her sling out and then places a small round stone in the cup. She steps up next to Chay. "Time for us to find out what withering fire is," murmurs softly.
Kore lifts her holy symbol form her shirt, wrapping the leatherl acce from which it is hung around the knuckles of herl eft hand as she holds it up. "Look lively," the woman murmurs as her right hand draws a handful of shuriken from a pouch. "At least we're not going in circles." She glances about briefly. "...It's a pity about the poor deer."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ATTENTION -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Whirlpool has dropped a TIMESTOP!
Please +init, then cease all roleplay and actions immediately and wait for Whirlpool to instruct you further.
For in-combat commands, type: +thelp.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
GAME: Arynel casts Haste. Caster Level: 5 DC: 18
Once she's behind the larger people, Arynel touches her amulet and says a couple of arcane words before holding that hand out....and making other people's perceptions of time look.....slow.
GAME: Kore rolls Ranged+1+1: (19)+7+1+1: 28
GAME: Kore rolls Ranged+1+1: (2)+7+1+1: 11
GAME: Kore rolls Ranged+1+1: (12)+7+1+1: 21
GAME: Kore rolls 1d3+2+1+strength: (2)+2+1+2: 7
GAME: Kore rolls 1d3+2+1+strength: (1)+2+1+2: 6
Kore lobs the two shuriken she'd drawn, arching an eyebrow as they lodge themselves deep inside of one of the liches. Judging by the way it shambles this is not much of a deterrent for them. Kore winces faintly, "...A different tactic might be preferable. It's a good thing I brought my gloves, I suppose."
GAME: Sarcis rolls BowPBS: aliased to Weapon5 +1: (11)+0+1: 12
GAME: Sarcis rolls BowPBS: aliased to Weapon5 +1: (13)+0+1: 14
GAME: Sarcis rolls weapon4 +1: (4)+9+1: 14
GAME: Sarcis rolls weapon4 +1: (1)+9+1: 11 (EPIC FAIL)
Sarcis lets go of her first shot and it zips by the wight with a hiss, another grab back to grab at a second arrow. She nocks it, lines up, lets out a breath a-a-a-and... releases to watch it follow the exact same path as her first one. A slightly bewildered look crosses her brow, this was a bit confusing for her.
GAME: Whirlpool rolls 1d20+6: (13)+6: 19
Sora holds back, greatsword held ready, but doesn't want to run in front of those shooting.
Truth be told, there wasn't a lot of ways you could have seen them earlier. With the grounds being largely wooded at this point and the sun setting, not to mention their silent nature, you're lucky you got as much space between you and them as you did.
Having had shurikens embed in his flesh, this poor creature that was perhaps once a half-elf, if the ears are anything to go by, rushes at Kore and swings his leathery, rotting fist at her. he does not connect.
Thankfully.
GAME: Whirlpool rolls 1d20+6: (7)+6: 13
The second wight comes charging away from the deer, glad for the chance at fresh meat! Or life force, really, in this case. As a former Lucht, she lunges straght at SArcis' knee, trying to tackle her. She doesn't connect, instead plowing face first into the earth at her feet before righting herself.
GAME: Chay rolls 1d20+6+1+1: (18)+6+1+1: 26
GAME: Chay rolls 1d20+6+1+1: (3)+6+1+1: 11
GAME: Chay rolls 1d8+4+1: (2)+4+1: 7
Chay lets loose the arrow he'd held and thanks to Arynel's magic, fires a second! The second goes wide, just as the wight charges him. He jerks sideways. Its fetid breath could make his scales stand on end. "Ssa!" is all he can say.
GAME: Whirlpool rolls 1d20+6: (6)+6: 12
The third wight, a human man that might once have been on the pudy side if the loose skin is anything to go by, rushes towards Chay. Propeflled by the evil magics animating him, he reaches out towards the Sith-makar but fails to latch on./
GAME: Lucy rolls weapon3: (10)+12: 22
GAME: Lucy rolls 1d4+12: (4)+12: 16
Lucy drops her spinning sling as one of the wights suddenly charges. She draws her rapier instead and turns to a sideways fighting stance, rapier pointed at the wight with her free hand raised behind her for balance. As Chay avoids the attack Lucy extends her front leg and sword arm, and stabs the wight through the chest. Just as quickly she yanks the blade free and returns to her original stance. "These things are a lot faster than I expected!" she informs the others.
GAME: Deak casts Bless. Caster Level: 4 DC: 14
Deak mutters, "First, the basics, then we get specific" as if chanting a mantra. Then in a bold voice of priestly authority he invokes the Blessing of the Compassionate One upon his company.
GAME: Deryn rolls 1d20+11: (10)+11: 21
GAME: Deryn rolls 1d20+10: (10)+10: 20
GAME: Deryn rolls 2d6+10: (6)+10: 16
GAME: Deryn rolls 2d6+10: (5)+10: 15
Though likely unbecoming of most of his kin, Deryn's patient enough to wait for the things to come close. He sets his sights on the nearest one, cutting great big gashes in its back as it recovers from its leap towards Sarcis. Quickly, he backsteps, timing his recovery wtih a huff.
GAME: Whirlpool rolls 1d20+6: (10)+6: 16
Sensing Deak's divine powers, or perhaps merely a random stroke of luck, the second human of the four wights charged in, throwing itself at Deak. His long-nailed fingers come within scant milimeters of the living human's face.
GAME: Arynel used a Wand of Magic Missile.
GAME: Arynel rolls 1d4+1: (3)+1: 4
Tugging out a wand, Arynel points it at the wight that goes after Chay. Keeping her distance, she fires a bolt at the wight to do just a pittance of damage.....
GAME: Kore rolls BAB+Dexterity+1+1: (1)+3+4+1+1: 10 (EPIC FAIL)
GAME: Kore rolls BAB+Dexterity+1+1: (6)+3+4+1+1: 15
GAME: Kore rolls BAB+Dexterity+1+1: (4)+3+4+1+1: 13
GAME: Sarcis rolls Weapon4 +3: (8)+9+3: 20
GAME: Sarcis rolls Weapon4 +3: (9)+9+3: 21
GAME: Sarcis spends ONE use of BANE.
GAME: Sarcis rolls 1d8+4+1+2+2+2d6: (7)+4+1+2+2+(7): 23
GAME: Sarcis rolls 1d8+4+1+2+2+2d6: (4)+4+1+2+2+(2): 15
Sarcis gives a dance back as her eyes narrow in on the small lucht in front of her, "I swear, these things..." She reaches back and snags an arrow, a nock of it and she draws back. "Is there somewhere you're supposed to aim with these?" She looses her first shot - the arrow sticking into it's neck making it stumble. "Oh, maybe not." She says, bemused as her next arrow is drawn. She draws back, a little shift up - a wait for it to stand up and right itself - and then she releases with the arrow hitting it hard in the side of the head.
"I hate undead." Sarcis sighs, watching it crumple down on the spot, she gives Deryn a crinkle of her nose instead with a side smile.
GAME: Whirlpool rolls 1d20+6: (14)+6: 20
It's a narrow miss as the feral undead lashers out again, seemingly unconcerned about the fall of its packmate. It narrowly misses raking Kore across the face.
GAME: Chay rolls 1d20+7+1+1: (6)+7+1+1: 15
GAME: Chay rolls 1d20+7+1+1: (16)+7+1+1: 25
GAME: Chay rolls 1d4+4: (3)+4: 7
The undead's in his face, justlikethat. Aeryl's missile goes over his shoulder, leaving behind it the smell of singed leather and undead flesh. Chay follows, striking with his fist the way his kin had taught him. The metallic wrapping shines, clipping the undeath's flesh. The sith-makar, still clutching his bow, takes a step back, panting.
GAME: Whirlpool rolls 1d20+6: (6)+6: 12
GAME: Lucy rolls weapon3: (2)+12: 14
Lucy steps to one side, torn between trying to circle behind the wight and attack it from two directions, or to stand next to Chay to prevent themselves from being surrounded. In the end she chooses defense over offense - it pays off to keep them from being struck down by the creature but doesn't leave her a clean attack.
GAME: Whirlpool rolls 1d20+5: (14)+5: 19
GAME: Whirlpool rolls 1d20+5: (17)+5: 22
GAME: Whirlpool rolls 1d20+5: (10)+5: 15
GAME: Deryn rolls 1d20+11: (12)+11: 23
GAME: Deryn rolls 1d20+10: (5)+10: 15
GAME: Deryn rolls 2d6+9: (8)+9: 17
Huffing, Deryn settles the twohander back into guard, watching the arrow pierce the thing's head as Sarcis scores the finishing shot. He eyes her for a moment, then nods once. "Think I like you better," he answers the fullblood, before stepping up to aid in dispatching another. High guard - then he cuts down and cleaves deep into the fourth wight's torso. It's likely not getting back up.
GAME: Whirlpool rolls 1d20+6: (9)+6: 15
GAME: Sora rolls melee+1+1+1+1: (3)+6+1+1+1+1: 13
GAME: Sora rolls melee+1+1+1+1-2: (14)+6+1+1+1+1+-2: 22
GAME: Sora rolls 2d6+3+2+6: (5)+3+2+6: 16
Sora moves over to engage one of the wights now and is a little off balance from the movevement as she brings that greatsword around that the first strike misses. She is able to keep her movement going though and get around for a second slash that cuts deep as the small lass dances with her big sword.
GAME: Arynel casts Magic Missile. Caster Level: 5 DC: 16
GAME: Arynel rolls 3d4+3: (7)+3: 10
Putting the wand into her other hand, Arynel snaps her fingers and throws three bolts at one of the wights....doing quite a bit of damage to it.....
GAME: Whirlpool rolls 1d20+8: (5)+8: 13
GAME: Whirlpool rolls 1d20+8: (7)+8: 15
GAME: Sarcis spends ONE use of BANE.
GAME: Sarcis rolls Weapon4 +4: (18)+9+4: 31
GAME: Sarcis rolls Weapon4 +4: (12)+9+4: 25
GAME: Sarcis rolls 1d8+4+1+2+2+2d6: (6)+4+1+2+2+(11): 26
GAME: Sarcis rolls 1d8+4+1+2+2+2d6: (6)+4+1+2+2+(8): 23
Sarcis looks at the Wights, with a raise of an eyebrow, her mouth pulls off to one side as she reaches back swiftly for an arrow. She snags it with her hand and draws back - an exhale as she looses it skewering the first one through the back of the neck. She starts watching it fall, but pays it little mind as she grabs her next arrow and nocks it. A turn to look toward the last remaining wight (with a blow of a kiss to Chay) as she releases her next arrow that spears it through the leg.
GAME: Whirlpool rolls 1d20+6: (7)+6: 13
GAME: Deak spends ONE use of CHANNEL ENERGY.
The last wight swipes out at Kore again, even as its grievously wounded.
Wights don't really seem to care about injury much. They go until they can't.
GAME: Chay rolls 1d20+6+1+1+1: (9)+6+1+1+1: 18
GAME: Chay rolls 1d20+6+1+1+1: (14)+6+1+1+1: 23
GAME: Chay rolls 1d8+4+1: (2)+4+1: 7
GAME: Chay rolls 1d8+4+1: (8)+4+1: 13
"...deaddeaddeaddead..." Chay mumbles under his breath. Years in Charn's 'social scene' however, guide his hand, even in terror. He aims, firing twice in rapid succession thanks to the mage's magic. Both arrows land, thunking into sunken skin.
GAME: Lucy rolls weapon3: (9)+12: 21
GAME: Lucy rolls 1d4+12: (2)+12: 14
Even as the Sith moves back, Lucy lunges forward, catching the Wight in the throat. The enchanted blade stabs through the creature and emerges from the back of its neck, angled up due to the height difference between attacker and target. As the creature falls Lucy yanks the rapier free and straightens up, breathing heavily.
Arynel takes a deep breath. "Is everyone all right?" She says as she keeps a wand leveled at one of the wights.
Sora nods her head, "Fine here." she says and glances around, "Think it was just those?" she asks still holding her greatsword.
Chay bares his teeth, a hound with its incisors, at the oruch. He steps away then, his arms swinging and his heart hammering. The pale draw of a howl fades, that othervoice drawn from faith. So too with it, does the shimmer over his scales. "That wass good work. All of uss, we did well, together." ... "Perhapss we sshould head home." Read: I would like to go home. I would really like to go home.
Grunting, Deryn lowers his twohander as the fighting appears to cease. The blood still pumps and he is on edge, so speaking doesn't come to him immediately. Instead he produces a rag tucked into his belt to get the blood off the sword, seemingly to give his hands something to do. Then, "Is that all of them?"
Deak offers to heal any who may be wounded. Otherwise, he smiles a bit, but mostly pokes around.
Sarcis looks around at the others, giving a little sigh as she considers... then dismisses her idea with a shake of her head. "I'm quite alright." She says to Deak with a curve of her painted lips, a glance back toward Chay. "We did work well together, drawing from the strength of /what happened to us/." A wider smile and she'll turn to face back the direction they came from.
Arynel says, "Help me put these bodies on top of each other first. They need to be burned.""
Lucy slides her rapier away and nods. "I'm fine." She looks at the fallen wights and then back towards deer they were consuming. "Can anyone here read tracks?" She glances at the party members. "If we follow them back for a bit maybe we can make sure there aren't any others that split off from this group."
GAME: Sarcis rolls Perception: (4)+11: 15
GAME: Kore rolls perception: (18)+12: 30
GAME: Deryn rolls perception: (13)+0: 13
GAME: Arynel rolls perception: (20)+9: 29
GAME: Chay rolls perception: (13)+9: 22
GAME: Deak rolls Perception: (1)+5: 6 (EPIC FAIL)
GAME: Chay rolls heal: (4)+7: 11
GAME: Lucy rolls perception: (3)+12: 15
GAME: Arynel rolls heal: (15)+2: 17
GAME: Kore rolls heal: (7)+7: 14
"Vitch." Chay actually uses the word. He spits on the earth, to one side--as one would to place a ward. "One will never be like you, Ssarcis. I have sseen the liar," he says underneath his breath, even as he crouches to look at the tracks. "...beneath the sskin, too well to trusst you. ...I...ssa. I...yess. I sserved ssome yearss in hunter-casste," he says to Lucy. He shivers again, the shudder running up his tail to his shoulders as he crouches down. He doesn't want to be here. "And it tells me ssomething iss not right here, ssers." He draws away from Sarcis, his body language does. Of course, he doesn't really want to be around the undeath, either. That is called sane.
Arynel looks over the bodies. "Something's not right here. These aren't from Dragonier. These're recent. Fairly recent. These're months dead....not years." She then looks to Sarcis. "You see it too, hmm?"
GAME: Kore casts Know the Enemy. Caster Level: 3 DC: 14
GAME: Kore rolls Knowledge/Religion+10: (1)+6+10: 17 (EPIC FAIL)
"Is this what we were paid for?" Deryn asks. Priorities, clearly. He stalks off to peek at one of the dead wights, giving one of their heads a good kick. Likely while the others are trying to make sense of them...
GAME: Sarcis rolls Knowledge/Religion +3: (3)+9+3: 15
Deak looks closer, too. His blanches at the thoughts going through his head.
Arynel says, "There's more to this, Deryn. A lot more." she says as she puts her wand away."
Sora stands quietly and lets the others do their thing, she will slash if there is something else to slash.
"Who said /anything/ about trust?" Sarcis says to Chay with a wide grin again, "You can see the results with your own two eyes." She isn't looking toward him though, she's looking back the way they came, then toward the ground, searching for something that doesn't seem to make sense. A glance toward Arynel and she nods her head, "I agree. You are right."
Lucy repeats, "Months dead? You mean these wights were created by other wights, who might still be running loose?" She tilts her head to one side. "How long does the guild think they've been walking to get here to our countryside?"
"That is likely," Deryn supposes to Arynel, squatting down nearby with a wrinkle of his nose. "That'd be another contract for me, though."
"It can mean they are sspreading, ssers. A ressent kill is one not from Dragonier, and oness past, grown beyond the border." Another shudder. Chay shudders again, and a third time. Sarcis' words do not help. He flinches, looking away. "Don't ssay I owe my sslaver more than I do my kin, demon. Don't. ...if you think that, then...what wass done to you?" This time, he does meet her eyes. He meets them and holds them, this rust-scaled sith-makar. Unlike her, he does not stand alone. There are kin there, invisible kin beyond that look--the gathering of caste and tribe. The strength of many, supporting just even one. "What wass done to you? ...I am ssorry, sser. I know what loneliness meanss. But thankss to the People, it iss never permanent. And they are my sstrength."
Sora turns her blade back into a belt and secures it around her waist. She looks around and keeps herself alert.
Arynel says, "Or there's something around here that is turning them." She says softly. "I'm really going to have to learn a few new spells just to keep up with this. Always feels so unprepared.""
"Who's up for drinks?" Deryn asks eventually. He rises from his squat, but the twohander remains bare steel just in case, his hands trembling just the faintest bit from the adrenaline. Still, when he looks back the way they came, he seems calm. "We could bait them with another deer next time. Or a cow."
Deak says, "I know what you mean, Arynel. I'm frankly a touch dismayed that my efforts accomplished so little. Drinks sound good."
Arynel says, "You did well, Deak. Just need more detection spells, I think."
Kore sighs heavily and then shakes her head once. She glances down at the white gloves she put on when they first began their search. "Well, my hands are clean. Good. At least I can take care of the- bodies. Mmm." She takes a deep breath and comes to her feet. First Kore rearranges the lich corpses until they are laying parallel to one another on the ground, their unseeing eyes shut regardless of whatever mayhem was wrought upon their bodies. Once this is done Kore crosses their arms over their chests.
Afterward the tiny Monk removes her gloves. She traces a circle in the dirt with a finger, clean hands caked in loam and soil ans she marked the boundary around the corpses. She sways slightly asshe moves, oddly silent for a religious ritual. Then comes the holy water. She pours it with her right hand whilst washing the left, letting the scattered droplets falling from her fingers anoint the bodies. They sizzle and steam as righteous opposition casts across them.
Once this is done Kore lays her holy symbol in the middle of what would be the Lichs' pyreand closes her eyes while the sizzling intensifies slowly.
A look over toward Chay with a smile still, a reach up to push back her hair behind a pointed ear as the Oruch considers the Sith-makar again, "The same as you, in a different way, with a different force, but the outcome all the same." A hum to her words, "And I'm stronger because of it, and I'll have justice done in time because of it too." She looks away from Chay then toward the others - listening in on it and observing the blessing.
She steps backward out of the circle and then nods to Deryn. "That sounds delightful. Who's buying?"
Deak smiles at Arynel, "Oh, the detection, well, That actually worked. I just employed it before we were close enough to the wights. What takes me by surprise is simply the idea that against the undead I was unable to bring sufficient faith to bear to affect them with the light of Althea. I must spend some time in holy contemplation. In any case, praise the gods, and our cause was victorious, but I can't help but feel the need to refocus my worship."
Arynel says, "That's where I need to focus my spells. On detection.""
Frowning, Deryn ponders for a heartbeat, then points a finger over at Sora. "Her."
Deak nods to Ayrnel. "I see."