OOC: I already tried 'moving at speed' to avoid them and that failed miserably to the tune of over half my remaining hit points, but what the hey. Post edited, I'll go help Thomas out. ^_^

OOC: are the zombies both armed against me?

Karl scrambles over to assist Thomas.

21:19, Today: Karl Borensson rolled 20 using 1d20. Staff Attack (14).

(NPC'd)  Kjaelos raises his left hand and points it toward the two creatures attacking Adonis.  His fingers begin to glow.

[First two rounds got rather mixed up so will extrapolate to end of round two]

Rael catches his opponent another blow to the leg but in doing so loses his balance and falls to he side.  [Next round you can defend but not attack].  A moment later Eldor's second arrow finds its mark in the same leg and it topples to the ground.  Next to it the other zombie crouches and reaches for Rael's throat.

Thomas blocks a blow from the club of his first attacker and sinks his sword into the second.  In return he takes a heavy blow which his armour which pushes him onto the back foot. .  Karl has a perfect opportunity to attack from behind but at the last minute he trips and barges into a zombie.  It turns quickly and smashes Karl's staff from his hands.

Adonis old sword strikes his armed attacker, and the other's fists do little against the steel of his armour.  Kjaelos lets out a stream of flame which catches the creature on the back and sets it aflame.  Burning, it staggers to embrace Adonis with unnatural strength]

From the houses to the east you hear shouts.

[actions/rolls for round 3, please]

 OOC: Uhhhh, that wasn't what I was doing... I moved to engage the enemy Thomas was fighting in order to try and concentrate our efforts.

Cursing under his breath Rael tries to scramble backwards away from the reaching claws keeping both his blades up as a barrier.

15:38, Today: Rael rolled 17 using 2d10. Dodge.

[Adonis: look at the map.  You did intend to engage Thomas' foes but you were distant from him (due to merry dance) and have your own foes to deal with.  If you want to disengage from them you can, but they will likely follow you.  Perhaps a fighting retreat might be better]

 OOC: I did, that's why I picked Thomas' foes rather than those on Rael, my original targets, because they're only half as distant, however far that might be. Since fighting two competent opponents is a mugs game in Dragon Warriors, I'll give up my attack to move back towards Thomas with greater speed. How long will it take me to be able to engage them?

Realizing how tough these creatures were Eldor quickly knelt down and spread his fingers out into the earth.

"My friend the earth spirit I call on you to help my friends in their hour of need I ask that you take back into your warm embrace those that defile the natural order and walk the earth when they should be slumbering the ever lasting sleep."

With that he pushed all his earthly essence into the ground as an offering to the spirit of the earth.

Thomas concentrated his attack on the same one he wounded a moment ago but his staggered condition kept him from connecting. He kept his attention split evenly between his foes trying to keep from being wounded. His armour saving him from true injury...so far.

---

OOC: split defense evenly between zombies

Rael struggles desperately to free himself from the Zombie's grasp but its strength is terrific.  Its hands close around his neck and he begins to feel blackness at the edge of his vision.

Thomas strikes again and hits his closest foe with another solid blow.  It staggers momentarily but appears otherwise undeterred.  To one side, the Zombie distracted by Karl attacks him as he scrabbles desperately to pick up his staff, but it is slow and uncoordinated.

To the south, Adonis turns backwards and to his left and begins to retreat towards Thomas.  The empty-handed attacker follows him but, concentrating on defence, the knight has little difficulty holding it off.  The one which was set on fire by Kjaelos appears to have little control of its muscles now and is unable to turn fully, stepping off blazing into the night at a tangent.

Then the ground ripples and trembles disconcertingly under your feet with a dull roaring sound.  You all crouch instinctively to keep your balance.   The downed zombie near Rael, and the flaming one to the south, dissappear into the earth.  The others' feet sink into it up to your ankles.

[Everyone who is standing up, make an evasion roll against speed of 11 or you fall over too.   If you keep your feet, you may either run away from the Zombies while they clear their feet from the soil, or attack them with a +1 to your ATTACK and DEFENCE for next round only].

[Map below - small x means a defunct baddie, big X an active one]

    x                        El
 Ra X



                        Kj


   Th X
       X Ka

          Ad X

                      x

Thomas was caught completely unawares by the shaking earth and lost his balance. As a consequence, he swung wildly with his great sword and missed miserably.

Eldor staggered to his feet after expending so much essence into the earth.

Shaking his head to clear it some he rushed over to he prone Rael and and drawing his short sword set about taking the arm off the creature clamped to the young warrior's throat before the lad expired.

11:42, Today: Eldor Leaf-fall rolled 10 using 1d20. Sword attack.
11:43, Today: Eldor Leaf-fall rolled 6 using 1d8. AP roll.  = 3 points damage
This message was last edited by the player at 10:43, Tue 31 May 2011.

The world was turning black around Rael and he could feel his lung burning from lack of air. The undead grip felt like stone and he feebly tried to hammer his hands to break the hold on his neck but with to no avail, he would have better chance shattering iron with his bare hands.

13:45, Today: Rael rolled 20 using 1d20. Escape hold.

Amazingly Karl remained standing, he managed to swing with all his might at the zombie in front of him.

14:50, Today: Karl Borensson rolled 9 using 1d20. Staff Attack (14).
14:49, Today: Karl Borensson rolled 8 using 2d10. Evasion.

Real loses his last air in the zombie's grip and is only saved by Eldor's intervention.  Eldor's sword almost takes one arm off at the elbow.  The zombie does not flinch and continues to squeeze with it's other hand.
[ Rael is conscious but dazed, he may not attack next round.  Elder from his position cannot miss so only needs to roll ABR]

Thomas misses his stroke and in return the zombie clubs him with it's fist, without penetrating his mail.  Nearby Karl lands a solid blow on his foe, and Adonis who has now closed up, slashes it in the leg.  The zombie which was tailing Adonis is now stuck with it's feet in the ground and flails after him uselessly.

From the direction of the hamlet you hear cries of alarm and a group of torches approach.

Karl changes his momentum to swing the staff back the opposite direction on the zombie.

17:22, Today: Karl Borensson rolled 13 using 2d10. Evasion.
17:22, Today: Karl Borensson rolled 2 using 1d20. Staff Attack (14).

 With no breath to spare through the red haze of agony filling a body that has been shredded, torn and burned in recent days, Sir Campbell gives voice to no battle cries this time, but instead concentrates on short, machette-like hacking blows that are intended not to kill a living for, but rather dismember a dead one,  starting with the legs and progressing up the body in workmanlike fashion.

 ---

 10 to hit, 2 to bypass armour.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:26, Fri 03 June 2011.

Eldor curses and puts sword to rotting flesh once again.

OCC:07:58, Today: Eldor Leaf-fall rolled 7 using 1d8. ap roll.= 3 damage

As the last of the flesh falls away Eldor grabs the young warrior under the arms and drags him clear.

Sitting him up the Elf gives the lad a few good slaps on the back to get him to breath " Breath my young friend today is not your day to meet whichever maker you pray to."

He gave Rael a few moments to catch his breath before helping him to his feet, all the while keeping an eye out for any other zombies that ventured to near.

Even for an Elf Eldor was starting to feel the heat of the battle in his joints, first the expenditure of so much essences had taken a lot out of him then the energy needed to remove the arm from around Rael's neck and drag his dead weight  to safety was starting to tell too.

Taking deep breaths he tried to calm himself and surveyed the battle to see if he could use his bow from a distance to help his companions and at the same time try to get his second wind.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:05, Fri 03 June 2011.

Rael was coughing and spitting blood. At first he thought someone else was attacking him until his vision cleared enough to see the elf trying to slap him back to life.

He lift his hand to block the next slap shaking his head rolling over and standing up regaining his breath as much as he could.

Eldor's second blow severs completely the arm of Rael's opponent.  Rael manages to roll free and the creature, its feet stuck in the earth, scrabbles uselessly with its remaining arm.

Thomas takes a blow from his opponent, then he, Adonis and Karl all strike it together and it crumples twitching to the ground.   The other zombie swings wildly with an old hoe and misses.

A moment later the torch-carriers reach the field - half a dozen peasants armed with clubs and digging tools.  With their aid you make short of the remaining creatures, though the peasants appear shocked by the experience.

They drag the bodies to their hamlet, and while an old mother tends to your injuries, they lay each one out and stake it to the ground.

Then their leader turns to you with a worried expression "we are glad of yer assistance - we have lost two of our folk to strange things in the night these last few weeks, and nivver had the courage to venture outside.   Now we know what we are fighting - men turned into fiends.    One of these bad souls was a young lad who would steal sheep from time tae time - but he would nivver kill a man!  Summat has got hold o' him and turned him foul.

In the morn we shall take you to the castle and you noble folk shall bear witness, no-one would believe us otherwise.   Only... dinnae say that ye slay these creatures, only that ye drove them off.   For we shall burn these bodies but the practice has been outlawed by the Jarl. "

If you accept their proposal, they offer you a warm bed of straw alongside their animals for what hours remain of the night.  You are all exhausted and the villagers seem genuine.

[The old woman is surprisingly skilful - anyone wounded in THIS fight may take +1 HP, and will start healing naturally tomorrow.  Remember that you heal at RANK HP per day (ie 2 for 2nd rank, 3 for 3rd etc)]

 "Well struck good villeins!" Sir Campbell states as the peasants come to the aid of the beleaguered group, rolling over the remaining members of the walking dead with simple agricultural weapons and slash them to pieces, the battered and near-dead knight rallying somewhat in order to try and present a suitably respectable front for the lower orders (brave and undeniably worthy though they are!).

 The goodwife's treatment he gladly accepts in due course, stripping off his blood-spattered and frosted armour and soaked-through undergarments in order to let her at his burns, claw-wounds and blade-cuts while in something of return he advises the shocked peasant mob on the Handling of Corpses, particularly praising the tactic of working in pairs with a pitchfork to hold one at range and a billhook to lop off limbs, not to mention the notion of using well-woven wicker cattle barriers to serve in the role of shields able to hold off a wandering corpse-creature - nothing of course that would serve against a well-organized militia let alone a force of armoured men on horseback, but more than suitable against a small number of minimally armed dead folk.

 And then in due course... desperately bone-tired and aching in every part of his body... the trusting, and not entirely bright (but brave!) young knight sleeps.

Sir Thomas also accepts the aid of the villagers. His new wound and exhaustion made it so that he really had no choice. One thing sank in to his mind which made no sense. The Jarl would be insane to not want to slay these things. Once his wounds are tended to he passes out rather quickly succumbing to slumber.

You awake a little after dawn, the villagers having been hesitant to disturb your slumber, and certainly feel refreshed by the first warm and relatively soft billet you have had for a while.

[Refresh any magic points and apply natural healing].

You break your fast on some kind of barley broth that once had a distant encounter with some meat, and then a couple of men from the hamlet accompany you on the last few miles to the castle.

As you approach, you see that the castle looms on a rocky headland which is naturally defensible.  Below it, a sizeable village, larger than Athelsham but rather more haphazard, has sprung up which seems to be thriving - although on the outskirts are several very recent-looking hovels - it appears that many people have moved here recently.

Your guides point you to the entrance gate of a bailey which sits on the lower slopes of the castle hill, directly overlooking the village.  The gate is open but guarded by two alert-looking spearmen.  Your guides seem rather feart to approach it themselves but suggest that "noble folk" such as Adonis, should not have any trouble.  They say they have other business in the village and will hang around until late afternoon, should you wish to speak to them again.

[You may restock on the supplies in the village, or simply march straight up to the gate and announce your business.  If no-one posts, I will assume the latter].