"Yeah...I got'cha" Magnus assured Finn as he hovered near the agile human and looked about for any sign of danger. "Couldn't catch him if I wanted to, weighed down like this..." his voice betrayed a feeling of frustation.

True his armor had helped him weather the brutal melee practically untouched, but it would not let him move at a full on sprint for more than a few hundred feet, if he gave it everything he had.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:47, Wed 05 Sept 2018.

Finn makes some haste back over to his two fallen comrades, leaning over both of them to assess their wounds.

Though the situation is grave, it is much better than Finn had originally suspected...  Both of the fighters are still breathing though the breaths are shalow and slow.  Rondald's arm (the only wound not covered by armor and clothes) seems to have already clotted, the blood congealed in a great mass on the back of his bicep without even the slightest hint of continued flow.  Still, it is hard to imagine at the size of the wound that the appendage is not broken.  Rondald's chest wound too, is concerning, though again a thick mat of dark brown is splotched and hardening, with little evidence of any further bleeding underneath.

The same is the case with Giles...  His chest armor is split open at the sternum, surely with several fractured ribs, but his shirt underneath the armor is the dark brown of a scab rather than the bright red of new flow.

All the same, Finn knows there could still be ongoing damage under the surface and he takes steps to ensure there no further harm is caused.

He weaves his magic first for Rondald, pressing his hands against his uninjured arm as he whispers his words of power.  Rondald sputters as his eyes flutter, a groan forced from his lips as his body contracts slightly and he rolls over to his uninjured side.

Encouraged by the success, Finn tries with Giles, though the process does not go nearly as well, after two attempts at the spell, Giles hasn't really made any progress to show for it.

Taking a pause to regain his composure, Finn turns as he hears the sounds of footsteps on the stairs above, though it turns out to only be Judoc.

"Shit...  I didn't mean to leave you in the lurch."  Judoc says, his face still pale and his footsteps sluggish.  "Thought I would have made it down in time for the fight, but seems as I've missed it."

OOC:  Rondald, welcome back to the action!  The good news is that you are back awake and I've put you back into the main and your previous thread so you can read through what happened.  The bad news is that you have a fractured right arm and your injuries put you in a state that any real physical exertion will put you in danger of immediately passing out.  Judoc has also joined you, though is being NPCed at the moment.  Gustav is still unconscious several stories above (and alone) and Giles is still unconscious (though it doesn't seem in immediate danger of death).

"It's alright" Magnus replied wearily, the  fur around his face still damp with sweat and threatening to leave behind salt stains after all this was said and done.

"He went that way, the Arab" he gestured towards the staircase the man had fled down with his mace. "I don't know what hope we have of catching him though"

The Minotaur unstrapped his shield and slung it beside his pack "I'm gonna try to get these guys back behind the barricade, before anybody else shows up"

The thought of the stairs alone was daunting, much less trying to carry full grown men bedecked in the panopoly of war up them. But it seemed preferable to being caught in the open, or leaving Gustav alone with things like that vulture about.

If the others go after the Mage Magnus will try to "fireman" carry the wounded one at a time. Otherwise he would work with another to go the arms/legs method
This message was last edited by the player at 17:09, Wed 05 Sept 2018.

As Finn kneels beside his two companions bathed in blood as they are a small wry smile forms across his mouth.  He breathes a sigh of relief as his keen eye notes that the two are in no imminent danger.  Then suddenly Rondald's eyes flutter open.  ”Welcome back sleepy head.” Razzel spouts comically.


OOC:
Finn is in rough shape.  He is lightly wounded and down enough fatigue to have his move and dodge halved.  So he will not suggest chasing after the fleeing arab but if the group wants to go he is happy to come along.

If no one wants to run down the fleeing man Finn thinks Magnus and he should delicately carry Giles upstairs and we should all rest together.  We can take turns watching out, or even someone can look for a new place to hide in case the fleeing man comes back.

Though there is a burning temptation to chase the foreign man, to be complete with their mission once and for all, the undeniable truth is that none of them are really in any condition to fight just now.  Even Magnus, the great battle tank, has fur matted with sweat, his great nostrils dripping with accumulated perspiration.

The four agree to get back to the safety of upstairs, and to get the whole group back together.  Even this though, proves to be more difficult than envisioned.  Rondald can barely move, and is lightheaded each time he tries.  Giles too is still unconscious, and the combination of Magnus fireman's carrying Giles while Finn props up Rondald under his good shoulder only lasts for a single set of stairs before everyone needs a rest.

Judoc makes the entire process much easier, casting a healing spell upon Rondald that makes him well enough to move himself at his normal pace, and now with three (somewhat) healthy bodies, moving the heavy Giles becomes vastly easier.

All told, it is a matter of about a half an hour before all of our adventurers are returned to the wizard's workshop, the room with the large pentagram inscribed on the floor.  Everyone lifted safely over the golem barrier, Finn and Magnus sit down to rest while Rondald provides some semblance of a watch, his massive shield gripped in his only working arm.

Judoc casts his spellwork on Gustav and Giles, putting himself back into a state of utter exhaustion, but now at least, the whole of the group is conscious, though many of them are still nursing serious wounds.  Gustav especially seems in a rough spot, for even as he wakes he is rolling about the floor moaning in pain, unable to get comfortable.

It is in this condition that our adventurers are visited by the same blackbird they had seen just over an hour ago, flying about the courtyard, though it is clear now that the thing is no natural bird...

In a flutter of bat-like wings, scaled like the hide of a lizard, the thing alights awkwardly atop the highest of the golems, surveying the scene with its solid red eyes.

"Hold your weapons."  The thing speaks in a heavily accented Anglish as it sees Rondald preparing to bash him off his perch with his shield.  "And listen if you wish to live.  You are tired, injured, barely able to continue further on.  Your magics are weak, and yet you have dealt with my sentinels by a streak of sheer luck.  No longer.  You cannot imagine the work I am conducting within this tower, and I will not let you spoil it.  Therefore I will give you one chance.  Leave, immediately.  Walk down the stairs and out the door of my tower and I will not waylay you.  Hesitate, even one moment, and I will send my whole forces to attack you here where you sit."

The thing lapses into silence, it's frozen red eyes still scanning the room from face to face.



OOC:  It is now 0715 and all of the characters are back in the workshop area on the 5th floor of the tower.  Welcome back to the action Gustav.  You are suffering the effects of Nausea Per B.428 not to mention at half move and dodge with a broken right leg.  Everyone's condition is in relative shambles.  Finn and Magnus are fatigued, but probably in the best condition.  Judoc is completely drained from spellcasting and at half move and dodge.  Rondald seems to be well enough to move at a normal pace, though he has a crippled right arm.  Giles is still heavily injured and at half move and dodge.  Judoc can keep healing, though he is now at a significant penalty for everyone that is hurt.

Gustav comes to in pain ... his rolling around stops quickly as it registers that rolling around hurts a lot!

The day was already the longest Magnus had ever endured by a wide margin. It seemed that their pre-dawn assault had been ages ago, when in fact it had merely been a few hours. So much had occurred, so much had changed and so much yet hung in the balance.

The fact that all of their band yet lived sustained his will to fight, as did the fallen enemies they had stacked into some semblance of a wall, but he was exhausted. He yearned to be someplace cool, to be out of his armor, and to drink his fill of cold water...but it was not to be. The groans and winces of the wounded, the heavy breathing, the general stink of them all...Magnus's musky animal scent foremost among them all contributed to the general atmosphere of misery.

He sat there, his shield on his lap, his chest rising and falling steadily as he struggled to keep his eyes open when the enemies servant came among them.

It was hard to say exactly what he was thinking of the offer, with his inhuman face and big black eyes. He looked to the Templars it seemed for leadership, as if he acknowledged his junior position in the group.

Would they cut their losses and return in defeat? To report their failure to the powers that be?

Or would they press on to some other end?

Rondald scowled. He raised his crossbow, leaning it on a table to support its weight as he readied it to fire with his left hand.

"Nice offer, but why should we believe you?"

He was glad he had left it on his back loaded and cocked, but the effort to pull it round into position was painful. At least he had one good arm...

[Sorry, took me a while to catch up on all the reading!]
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:21, Sun 09 Sept 2018.

When the fight is over and victory is theirs to drink in like a fine wine Finn Razzel pats the big brute on his well muscled shoulder and smiles.  Good words are exchanged, warm celebrations are soaked in and in that moment everything seems right with the world.  Just then Judoc comes down the stairs and after briefly formulating a plan Rondald is back with them.  Despite the effort of lugging their armored leader up several flights being more difficult than imagined it all goes off without a hitch.  Soon after Judoc works more magic and both Giles and Gustov are back with them in spirit.

But a darkness creeps in during this time.  A darkness of the mind.  An annoying notion which Finn had been ignoring to deal with more pressing matters. But now like a swarm of ants ruining a picnic its presence returns with a vengeance.  What of the black bird not of this world and the rumored town of supporters?  Every minute that passes brings the exhausted and wounded group ever closer to the inevitable confrontation which is surely to come.  And when it does, what will it look like?  Will a mob of angry death lovers storm the tower?  Will his companions be staked to death by pitchforks and burned alive by torches?  Finn looks around at those resting and takes comfort that Giles is once again on guard, he will command them in a direction in unison with the fort leadership.  Finn closes his eyes and rests.

Time passes, how much he is not certain but Finn is still far from rested.  What stirs him is the return of the big unearthly daemon bird.  Now it speaks their language and talks as if it is the master of the house.  Everything about this moment sends a shiver down his spine.  Finn listens, he ponders the creatures words.  Odd they seem.  He turns the offer over and over.  This team, this motley crew has invaded his laboratory, his sanctuary and to date robbed him and destroyed all of his magically created guardians.  And his response upon his arrival back in his tower is not to squash the invaders like roaches under a boot but ask us to leave?  Why?  Does he truly possess deep rivulets of compassion and doesn't wish to destroy us?  Or is he bluffing?  Razzel is no stranger to Thimble-rig, Niddy Noddy and Fox and Geese.  You have to get up early to fool 'ol Finn.

The plucky thief-mage listens to Rondald talk and waits for the grotesque blackbird thing to respond.

When neither Judoc nor Giles speaks Finn clears his throat and comments.  ”I can imagine a lot.  Like the pile of silver and gold we were told littered this place.  But your work must involve charity since I don't see any.”

Though each member of the group has thoughts rolling about in their head, weighing the balance of the choices offered, it is only Rondald that speaks at first.

"Your belief is of little concern.  Leave now or I will send all my forces to attack - it is that simple."

Finn too adds his own thoughts, trying to bait the monster to reveal something of further information.  The thing swings its head towards Finn, eyeing him up for a moment before it cracks a corner of its mouth, displaying a wide row of sinister and jagged teeth.  "Would you like to know of my work?  Perhaps, soon enough you will see."

Giles shifts himself in his sitting position, keeping a hand near to the still tender wound slashed through his mail shirt.  "You know, I think you're right Rondald, the chance is tempting, but if we have to fight I think this is the best place to do it.  If we just walk out of here, still carrying our injured, we'd be sitting ducks against just about anything he'd throw against us."

"I can see you choose your own destruction."  The demon bird says, glancing upon Giles before turning about on its perch.  "Then prepare to die."

Barely spreading its wings, the bird swoops down the stairwell into the darkness...

"Well,"  Judoc murmurs.  "I suppose that answers that.  Better make any preparations we can before the swarms come up."

OOC:  I made a tactics roll on Giles's part, which I figured was only fair despite the fact he is being NPCed.  Finn asked a question in PM which I thought might be relevant to everyone.  The original mission was to kill a necromancer who had been plotting attack on the southern counties of Megalos, or perhaps something more sinister.  The information came not only from Giles's mission, but from a captured informant who was also a complete zealot.  He confirmed that Haj Umr ibn-Hussein abd-al-Rahman al-'alim Takali (the necromancer) was indeed hostile at best to the Megalan state and that an attack on that front was imminent, though he was rather scant on details.

Let me know what preparations you want to make for the oncoming battle.  As a reminder, Finn still has two unknown potions (a salve and a vial).  You have an erected barrier just next to the stairs that should be at least a hindrance to anyone trying to get over.  The tables are massive, and could likely be pushed over to form cover if you want to try that.  Additionally, those with magical learning will realize that the pentagram in the center of the floor will provide some protection of a magical means.

Gustav attempts to reach any of his weapons in reach without moving his leg.

After the decision had been made an odd sort of calm settled over Magnus. Here they were, far far from home, surrounded by people who likely did not speak their language, being threatened with death by a man who commanded the likes of clay men and winged creatures. But he had known most of this when he signed up to fight for the Empire. He had expected to face the desecrated dead, or worse, and so far they had not seen any. He had expected some casualties...but they had not yet taken any.

"On it" Magnus grunted in reply as he hauled himself up. He felt a little better, still dog tired, but his breathing was steady and regular now, the salt from his sweat dried into a fine crust around his nostrils.

His first task was to exchange his golem battered shield for one in less danger of shearing apart, and to stack the extra's in a place where they would be easy for himself and the others to grab. His second was to try and organize the others to move one of the tables, turned on one side of course, to bolster the golem wall. If they came with Billhooks or other means with which to bring down their grizzly construction, a second barrier with a more even edge would be welcome.

His third, if he had time, was to bust apart the large skeletal crocodile that hung in the north western corner, utilizing the pole from the observatory to bring it down if possible. The last thing they needed, if this man truly did have dominion over the dead, was that thing springing to life on them suddenly.

There was plenty to be done, and he set about it with a purpose.

If anybody goes to try and scavenge the rooms below before the enemy shows up, he would ask that they grab that extra shield and specifically the axe the last golem dropped.

In reply to Gustav Du Meseries (msg # 326):

"If I could get this arm going again, I can ensure that the crossbow can pick off individuals coming up the stairs. A table on which I could rest the crossbow would help. Perhaps ons it's side to act as cover as well...but we should be ready for an attack from above as well."

He prepares as best he can, getting ammunition ready and trying to overturn a table in the middle of the room, to allow for one person to come up the stairs, but no more.

I may be able to cock the cross bow, Rondald, but can't do much else, and can't do anything from here. Gustav's Voice isweak and raspy from his mouth being so dry.

Finn grimaces as he looks about the room taking stock of their assets and liabilities.  The blackbird did not exaggerate, they are tired and hurt.  With Giles, Gustav and Rondald gravely injured the small group is in dire straights and any edge they could gain from the monsters lair could mean the difference between life and death.  Razzel darts to one of the bookcases frantically tearing at containers hoping to find something flammable.  He frowns when none is found.  He turns to the room.  ”Oil.  Who has oil?”


OOC:
Finn got a crack at Scrounging for oil to dump on the stairs.  He missed.  Maybe someone else could look?  Or has someone brought some?

So per the GM doesn't look like tipping the tables and dragging them to the edge of the stairs is feasible because they are so big and heavy.  Given that the blackbird might fight and we might want to fight in the pentagram maybe we should try to trap the stairs and shoot and fight from behind the table inside the circle of protection?

I am the only one I think moving at Full Move.  I should go retrieve stuff while others set our defenses.

Finn will give Giles the salve and vial and ask him to try to determine their uses.  If he cannot determine what they are I say we take the risk that they are beneficial and Giles tries applying the salve at the beginning of the battle.  If we're lucky it'll either be healing or something else good.

The big metal globe upstairs.  Is there anyway we can rig an Indiana Jones thing?  Cut its strings and have it roll over our enemies?  Even if we rearrange stuff to pin ball it in the direction we want?  Is it remotely possible?  If we cannot get it to roll down the stairs, what would it take to bring it down on our level and then at the right moment roll it down the stairs (assuming our foes would ascend the stairs and could be bowled over?)

I assume Judoc doesn't have a telepathic link with  Aiah, so we wont get any intel until she returns?  Is there a window we can just look out of to get a rough idea of what is coming to kill us?

One idea Finn had was setting a trip wire on the stairs.  If we're facing undead they wont see it most likely.  But to set that trap we'd need thin metal wire, spikes and a hammer.  Anyone have anything like that?



This message was last edited by the player at 18:28, Tue 11 Sept 2018.

In reply to Finn Razzel (msg # 330):

I have 2 daggers somewhere ... should be able to wedge them into he cracks.

He takes time to look around the room carefully for Lamps, any container to fill them or anything else that might be useful.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:56, Tue 11 Sept 2018.

In reply to Gustav Du Meseries (msg # 331):

OOC: Rondald has bolts, but perhaps a rug on the stairs, with the bottom fastened with nails/bolts. Apart from that, he has only the two gold tiles...and a couple of files, a first aid kit and bandages, lanyard and mortar and pestle.

As the blackbird glides away, each of the group begins their own preparations, Magnus shedding his own shield, which has several small gouges across the face, and replacing it with one of the golem's which still seems mostly serviceable.

Finn too, stands abruptly, tossing the salve and potion towards Giles to see if they can be of any use.  Giles first sips the potion but doesn't seem to be any better off for it...  But when he rubs a bit of the salve across his wound... "Ohh..."  The groan that escapes his lips seems indecent and he does not delay grabbing the whole glob of the stuff and spreading it across his chest.  Within a matter of seconds, the angry red wound is knitted with new skin and stretched tight with barely a scar to mark the location of where the axe nearly took his life.

Finn meanwhile scrambles back to the alchemy cabinets, rummaging though jars of plant material and vials of multicolored liquids, searching for some small bit of oil or other flammable material to use against their foes.  Gustav too, comes over to help, though his motions are slow and uncertain and he uses his spear as a sort of crutch to keep from having to put any weight on his bad leg.  Though it takes a few minutes, Gustav eventually picks out a stoppered bottle that holds maybe a cup of thick, green tinged liquid that he thinks should work for what they need.

Magnus moves on now to the large table on the left side of the room, thinking at first to move it over against their bulwark of golems that already stands at the top of the stairs.  It becomes evident very quickly however that the thing is far too heavy to scoot across the room.  Changing his game plan to pushing the thing over on its side, it still takes Giles's help before Magnus gets so much as a single leg off the ground.

Finally, with an earsplitting Crash! the table totters over on its side, creating a barrier to shoot from behind that rises up to Magnus's lower ribs.

OOC:  Ok gents, I moved along with some of the preparations for the fight but I didn't want to waste too much of your time if you had other things you were looking to accomplish.  Gustav managed to find a small portion of some exotic oil among the alchemy ingredients and Magnus and Giles together managed to push over one of the tables (the one on the left) to make a barrier.

Let me know who is going where at this point.  Finn, you've mentioned a couple of ideas at this point, heading downstairs to collect stuff or upstairs to try and rig the amillary sphere.  Both are possible, but as you haven't tried moving the amillary sphere yet, it's hard to know if it's fixed to the ground or mobile.  If you can get it to move, you only have to lift it up over the golem wall to push it down onto whatever minions the necromancer sends up to you.

Yup, no info from Aiah at this time, for whatever reason.  Looking outside both the eastern and western arrow slits doesn't glean much information, there doesn't seem to be any army massing out front, though you don't have a good angle into the courtyard below.

Gustav moves to where Giles was and tries to get whatever salve he can from the container Giles used, to rub on his worst wounds.

Can Anyone fix my leg? Potion or whatever?

In reply to Gustav Du Meseries (msg # 334):

"Yeah, that salve looked pretty impressive. A little on hois leg and my arm might make a big difference."

He looked around to see if he could set up or move another table to a more helpful location, using some salve on hos arm if offered any.

Magnus seemed to have been debating inwardly about making the dash downstairs to retrieve the axe that the Golem had been holding, and after spending the table he made up his mind.

"I'm gonna run downstairs and grab that axe" he declared as he shrugged off his pack and set it against the wall along with the other items he had set aside from the fallen. "Might come in handy"

With a slight pause to see if anybody else was coming he took up his mace and shield in hand then vaulted the barrier with a stiffness in his bones borne from what had already been a long hard day.

Finn's eyes light up as the young mercenary scrambles about the room grasping at whatever odds and ends can help them in the coming fight.  Not knowing anything about one's opponent typically unnerves soldiers but Finn is no ordinary soldier.


OOC:
So as I understand it one of the tables has been flipped on its side to form a kind of rough wall for us to fight behind?  Also, Giles tried the salve which turned out to be Healing which he used on himself.  How hurt is he still and I assume there is none left?  And by my last count our biggest wounds are Gustav's leg and Rondalds arm?  So if we want to heal our wounded its up to healers who are mostly exhausted and at penalty for repeated castings?

Magnus is going downstairs to retrieve an ax and he has replaced his shield with a new one?

The big sphere is what, one flight up?  I imagine getting it into position at the edge of the stairs would take some considerable time if possible at all.

This is Finn's plan.  Since you mentioned it we'll try fighting in the necromancers drawn pentagram and hope it provides a protection against magic.  I think the table is already there?  Finn will go with Magnus and let him grab the axe and whatever else the minotaur wants.  If he has free hands he will ask that he help carry what Finn is after.  I saw chairs and tables on the map on various floors.  I want to bust the legs, break then off if they are rounded and not square with corners.  My idea is to pour the oil we have on the top few steps of the stairs leading to the pentagram room, and then lay down a few of these sticks.  If they are what I want they are essentially tiny logs.  If someone doesn't see them and steps on them, with the benefit of oil hopefully it will cause people to fall.  I'm not so concerned about damage as I am buying us time to fire or throw missile weapons.

If we do these things and still have time I will investigate the possibility of bringing the sphere to the edge of the stairs to roll down on our foes.

With their preparations near complete, Finn and Magnus think that their next best course of action is to secure some of the weapons left on the bottom floor from their fight with the golems.  The two vault the small barricade and disappear into the stairwell beyond.

Giles's face immediately falls into a mask of guilt as the other two injured ask about the paste.  He walks to the nearly empty jar over to Gustav, who reaches his fingers in to sponge out as much of the healing salve as possible, though the stuff doesn't seem to have the same effect on his burns as it did on Giles's axe wound.  Rondald too, attempts to get some of the stuff on his own injuries but by this point there is so little left that his skin feebly clings together at the wound, but there does not seem to be any further aid to the damage done within.

"Don't worry."  Judoc says, still sitting on a chair in the corner of the room, his face regaining some semblance of color after his many exhausting bouts of spell casting.  "We'll have you right as rain as soon as I have the energy...  Just a bit longer..."

The seconds pass on into minutes, Giles trying to make up for his selfishness by adding whatever he can to their defenses.  He gets one of the small seats by the tables for Gustav, setting it up behind the barricade to give him a view and a position to lob weapons from at least.  He helps the soldier onto the stool, putting a shoulder underneath his bad leg, and letting Gustav hold his spear in his off hand.  Then he puts a shoulder against the large table, pushing against it with all his might and moving it perhaps a few inches towards the center of the room.

"Whew!"  Giles exhales, nearly collapsing as he rests an elbow on the side of the table, resting his weight on top of it.  "That is heavy!"

Rondald, meanwhile, has gotten his arm in a sling with the help of Judoc, and cocked his crossbow back, letting the sling take the weight as he tests out aiming it with his off hand, using the side of the table as a brace.

The mood breaks quickly as hasty footsteps are heard upon the stairs below and everyone scatters for cover, but it is only Magnus who pokes his head over the bulwark of deceased golems, an axe in one of his hands and a spear in the other which he lobs towards the table before jumping over.  "They are coming!" he shouts as he hurdles the pile of clay and iron, making his own way back towards the upturned table.

Finn follows shortly after, the remnants of a broken chair in his hands as he turns over the small vial of oil behind him and leaps over the golems with the clatter of wood against stone ringing out behind him, the chair left littering the floor just short of the golem wall.

Just as Finn leaps behind the table, the next form can be seen cresting over the stairs...  that of a solid white skull, it's eye sockets empty, its form carrying a tatter of cloth and leather that hang about its shoulders and in it's hand a thin and browning sword.  As it reaches the top stair it places a hand on the golem wall, its whole head and upper torso now now within view.



OOC:  Please post 3 rounds of combat.

Ok gents, some fast forwarding done there, again apologies if anyone wanted to spend a little more time 'playing things out' but there really wasn't that much more time you had before the forces converged on you.  Finn and Magnus managed to make it back from downstairs, and I figured you'd take all the weapons, spear and axe.  If you wanted the shields you would have had time for that as well, though you have another one up here already that is mostly undamaged.

Gustav and Rondald, apologies, but there isn't enough salve left to heal your wounds as it is a one 'charge' item.  If it makes you feel any better, it wouldn't have done anything to help your crippling wounds, which will take at least a month to heal.  I had Giles use the salve, even though he was an NPC, for a couple of reasons, including that Finn gave it to him to test (no one else had figured out what it was) and that he was really the only person that could be wholly healed anyway (though at this point Giles must be fairly riddled with scars).

Finn, yes the giant sphere is up one level, though you doubt you'll have the time to try and bring it down now.  You did manage to spread the oil on the stairs as well find a chair with cylindrical legs, though you only got one of them to snap off prior to the hordes starting to catch up with you.  You did leave that leg on the stairs as a 'trap' along with the oil.

Please give me the description of what your character has in each hand at the start of the next post.  Finn, you start with nothing in either hand because of the close proximity of your foes, but you may fast draw normally.  Rondald, you have your crossbow cocked and loaded, though you find it takes much longer to recock only using your left hand.  You may either shoot it yourself (offhanded) or hand it to Giles, who also has the crossbow skill.

Battlemap is below.  Everyone but Magnus is behind the shelter of the overturned table, and everyone is within the protection of the pentagram.


Battle Map

In reply to Raddek (msg # 338):

Seeing the boney creature top the stairs, Rondald curses and puts the crossbow down, either on a table behind him if there is one, or on the floor.

"Crossbows seem to work better against the living. Magnus or Finn, if I could have one of those spare shields, it might be a better weapon..."

He looks to take one of the shields from those that have just returned and equip it in his good hand, equipping it as a buckler if possible.

Rondald: Magnus stacked the spare Shields in a place that would be easy to reach for the party. More than likely behind the table given that's where almost everybody is.

There was an odd sort of relief that tinged the revulsion that washed over Magnus as he beheld the desecrated corpse. At the very least they had the right place and the right person, as part of him had wondered if the rumor mill had gotten out of hand once he had seen the miraculous automatons.

But no, this was clearly black magic, and they had been clearly in the right when they had forced their way into the tower.

The Minotaur had elected to stay at the Golem wall, one because he still believed in the inherent strength of his blood against witchcraft, and second because he felt it was the strongest position available. He had kept his mace and set the axe behind the table with the others, hefting his looted shield in his off hand

On it came, the moment of truth to see if they would be able to outlast whatever force had been sent against them.

He raised his mace up, rested it on one shoulder, and as soon as the blanched limb reached over the wall to pull itself over he struck at it, hoping to shatter the relatively thin bones with the force of his blow. But given the magic involved, he had no idea how effective that might be.