The Calm Before the Storm

[Girnobi]

Newt had planted his feet, steeling himself to get a chomp taken out of his anatomy when the wave of holy light washed over him and vaporized the lurching Ghast. He stood still for a moment blinking after the sudden flash of light before looking around. A wide grin spread across his face as a wave of post action adrenaline rushed through him and he pumped a fist into the air.

"Not bad! Hells yeah! Ooooh! Aaaah! Who's a badass? Newt's a badass!" He kicked his knees up to his chest and made odd, winglike motions with his elbows as he strutted around in a small circle. "Did you see that kick? He was all like rawr! But then I was all "NO!" and then Mr. Magic here...oh." He stopped his ridiculous looking victory dance when he caught sight of Drayken and Zordlon being attended to. He rushed over and bent over them, crowding in over Angriff's shoulder.

"Are you all right?" He asked them. "Are they all right?" He asked Angriff. "C'mon Spook, speak to me!" He demanded of his mute companion that had seconds before had his throat torn out.

[Cypher]

Drayken's eyes were blurry with pain. His ears rang with battle sounds, blending into each other until nothing could be pulled from the din into reality. He couldn't breathe, and every breath he forced himself to take slowly filled his lungs with blood. Then, he suddenly could breathe, and his neck itched with reformed skin. His vision returned, and to his surprise he found Newt standing directly over him shouting at him.

"...Spook, speak to me!"

Why is he still calling me Spook...? He took a deep breath, and started coughing violently as the blood in his lungs stirred. He coughed up most of it, spitting out the remainder, then, stood slowly and shakily on unsteady limbs. He didn't know if it was from blood loss or if the ghast had paralyzed him like it had Zordlon, but he turned directly to Newt. "I have a name, and Spook is not i..." The words flew elegantly from his tongue, as if he had stolen it from a bard. He stopped in mid sentence, and rubbed his neck, still raw from the forced restitch. Has the little one repaired his voice box on accident? Or had it also been damaged, and reknit itself in this fashion?

He turned to Angriff, and put a hand on his shoulder as he tended to Zordlon. "Thank you, you've given me so much more than my life back. How is the bowmage?"

[Jeeeeoker]

Zordlon grunts first, his diaphragm the first thing to begin responding to his nerves. He flops his arms a bit, then finally pushes himself to his feet.

"Thank you, Angriff.", he states, still looking at the ground.

He snaps his head up to look around at the trees. "Should have seen them...", he remarks ashamedly, and then immediately chants the verbal components to a Detect Magic spell, followed by Mage Armour a few seconds later.

Then he gazes at the trees a piece at a time, as soon as he's able.

[Icedaemon]

Dragvit walks up to the two paralyzed blokes, clutching the shoulder where the skeleton's notched and rusty but clearly effective blade had circumvented his chainmail. Glaring at the strutting human, his demeanour in regard to humans, especially of this northern sort, diminishing even further due to the day's events.

"You kicked a ghoul. As in, a critter just about everyone's heard of as a thing whose touch tends to paralyze folks. What you should be happy about is that you were not affected, unlike the other poor bloke who for some insane reason tried to beat that thing bare-handed."

Turning towards Angriff, the rogue manages to bow despite the really not all that comfortable wound. He smiles. The respect he has for the priest has increased even more. While he is still rather sure that the fellow is a bit too naive and helpful towards random and potentially dangerous strangers, the cleric's abilities are quite noteworthy indeed.

"I was slightly nicked a bit as well. This'll teach me to make light of what was our only front-line warrior running off. I just bloody well stood there like a twat. Would you kindly ask if Torag is willing to forgive this lack of heroic acts and let me heal perhaps a slight bit faster?"

[CJ]

Angriff works his magic, while Matthew looks around wearily. "I dont think we're alone..." he whispers, for he heard the hissing too... surely something lurks about still!

Zordlon and Drayken quickly regain their health, though armor and clothing remain torn and covered in blood. Matthew bites his lip. "Vampire bait?"

He then sighs and turns away, as he cant help Dragvit at all. He makes a cautious step towards where the skeletons emerged from, his sword held up but his hand shaking badly. "We shouldnt stay here," he speaks.

Zordlon feels the soothing protection of his magic surrounding him after casting his spell. His Detect Magic shows the enchantment on Vimsha and Erisa, as well as something glowing faintly from one of the dustbone piles. As for his inspection of the trees and the surroundings, so far, nothing comes up.

OOC : Zordlon is back to full health. Drayken regains 7hp. For those who have been sickened, the effect still remains.

[Szar]

Angriff merely nods as the two elves thank him, smiling slightly. Then Dragvit speaks, and the dwarf winces. "I shoulda noticed," he mumbles in apology, inspecting the wound. "This is serious," he says after a moment, and he begins casting a spell once again, closing the gash in Dragvit's shoulder.

Once that is done, he looks around. "This forest... Something's wrong with it," he says, somewhat hesitantly. "My... attack... should only have harmed the undead, but something reacted when it was touched by it." For a long moment, he studies their surroundings, then he shakes his head. "You're right, Matthew," he says quickly, "we shouldn't stay here. Is there anything valuable in what remains of the undead?"

OOC: Converting his last first level spell to another cure light wounds.

[Officer Aggro]

"We'll only be here a moment," Vimsha says, though he looks at no one when he speaks as his attention is focused outward towards the surrounding forest. "Just long enough to recover."

"The ghoul's paralyzing effect only works when it gets its teeth or claws into your flesh," the elf adds in Drayken's defense. "Merely touching it does nothing."

He briefly turns back towards the party, a slight look of urgency on his face. "If someone is going to search those piles of bones and rusted weapons, then be swift."

He obviously shows no interest in doing so himself.

[Jeeeeoker]

"Search that one", Zordlon says, pointing at a specific pile of dusty bones while still mostly looking out at the forest, "If there is a magical presence, it must be outside my cone." Zordlon forgets that his wizardly jargon might not be understood by all.

"They should by now fear Angriff's power, so they would wait in hopes we'll walk into another ambush where they can paralyze him first. Be careful about moving. If need be, I can summon a horse to walk point. But I was hoping to save that spell for our exit. Or I can light up some arrows and watch for shadows."

[Icedaemon]

For a moment, the dwarf currently called Dorian clenches his teeth. As the flesh within and around his wound rapidly knits, however, he smiles. Segueing into the old and proud language of dwarves, he speaks a few short sentences.

"Don't fret about it Angriff. You are the man of the hour."

This is not to say that he does not pay attention to the words of the others, especially Vimsha's description of the ghoul's paralyzing attacks. While not one to proudly declare his own deficiencies, Dragvit would be quite willing to admit that his knowledge on topics related to the undead is not all that much more impressive than that of many commoners.

"I'll help the search. Zordlon is right, Angriff, you should keep your shield at the ready and stay near the centre of the formation, alongside the spell casters."

Having said that, the dwarf moves closer to the front of the group, his eyes peeled and his mind set on noticing the next opponent before it notices him.

(Periodical stealth + perception checks, please)

[Ryieahna]

Erisa was stunned. As soon as the battle had started, it was over before she had even gathered her wits. She listened to what was going on, having also been to slow on moving to the other dwarf to heal him. Maybe she would hear it before they got to them. She also moved in closer to the main portion of the party. "Perhaps those who are bloodied should stay close to us, so they aren't picked off scouting on their own." She motions her head towards the dwarf moving towards the front of the party. "Then again..." she said as she wondered if that was the brightest idea either.

(listen check pwease?)

[Girnobi]

Newt dropped his arms when Dragvit told him off, tucking his hands in his pockets and slouching over towards the piles of ash.

"Sure, maybe I wasn't quite as spectacular as Professor Holy over here. But at least I hit one of the damn things. As opposed to, oh, I don't know. Standing around and getting sliced up." His words weren't humorous but weren't exactly hostile either. He sounded closer to sticking his tongue out at the dwarf than baring his fists at him.

He walked to the ash pile Zordlon had indicated and poked through it with the toe of his shoe, hands still in his pockets. When the party started forming up again he filed in towards the front of the casters where his increased speed would let him get out front towards Dragvit if he got jumped or back into the party if they got ambushed again. Their meat shield had run off and Newt figured he was probably the closest thing they had to a physical defender.

[Jeeeeoker]

Zordlon picks a bone off the ground and casts Light on it. Then he chucks it out maybe 60 feet in front of the party and quickly returns his hand to his quiver to draw an arrow.

[Szar]

Angriff flashes a grin nearly hidden by his beard at Dragvit. "Thank you, Dorian," he replies, also in dwarven.

He protests when Dragvit suggests he walk in the middle, however. "I'm the only one wearin' plate!" he says, emphasizing his words by banging a gauntleted fist against his chest, then winces slightly at the sound. "If anything, I should take the lead."

The dwarf raises an eyebrow in Newt's direction when he refers to him as "Professor Holy", but he does not comment.

[CJ]

Dragvit receives divine healing from his fellow dwarf, immediately feeling better, but he is still sore and tender where the blade sliced. (5hp).

Newt is the only one heeding Zordlon's words and bothering to check the pile. As he tosses the bone dust around with his foot, he feels something light and round that most likely doesnt belong there. With the rest of the party focused on their surroundings and getting a move on, no one notices the monk as he kneels and checks his boot laces. (private:girnobi)

Erisa heard nothing out of the ordinary. There was nothing but the noises the party made, as a matter of fact. Even the breathing was no more. There was the occasional hiss in the distance, however, almost a wheeze.

Zordlon's torch bone lights up a good area of the forest and Dragvit, his eyes peeled, can see several... somethings withdraw quickly into the darkness, well away from the light. Apparently, keeping light around them would be well-advised.

The group, surrounded by light, keeps going, until they reach the end of the tracks. Their way is punctuated by various hisses and groans, creatures of the night staying clear of the adventurers. Before them is a tower that seems to be mostly in ruins, but who knows what lies beneath? A quick look shows that its only door has been used recently, the leaves and dirt moved and pressed on the forest floor.

Matthew gulps. "So... this is it, then..?"

[Icedaemon]

As they approach the tower, Dragvit withdraws to the bulk of the group, for a moment. He speaks quickly and in in hushed tones.

"The locals appear to be afraid of light, or at least the smallest minions gave that impression, running away from that glowing bone Zordlon tossed. If another one could end up in Newton's hand, I'd appreciate it. I'll take a peek into the keep, then double back. Be ready to face something nasty, the smart money would say that there is someone unfriendly living in that tower."

Having said that, he makes his way to the tower's door. He is moving silently and carefully, as to not alert potential enemies of his position, while at the same time doing his very best to notice any of the above-mentioned potential enemies. He makes to further moves until the wannabe-Van-Dammes are close behind and the ranged combatants prepared to toss assorted party favours into the tower, however.

(sneaky + perception it is then)