Greg and company flew up and out of the fog, becoming visible to the soldiers in the street.

Cleric General Ymar sneered as he watched the companions fly over the rooftops.  "I knew that Aren's way would never work." he muttered, his deep voice muffled by the helmet that he wore.  "You have sealed the fate of this town!" he growled at the companions, his voice magically enhanced and clear as a ringing church bell.  "I will destroy everything that you touch until you are bowing at my feet!"

He nodded over at the soldiers holding the townsfolk.  The soldiers gripped their swords, preparing killing strikes.  The captive townsfolk screamed, yelled and shrieked in protest.

Charles held on to Greg tightly until something in the street caught his eye.  "Momma!" he shouted and reached out towards a group of townspeople that were being held by Soldiers.  "Mommaaaaa!"

Dan remains unseen on the rooftops, everyones attention being pulled up towards the flying cleric and friends.

Greg was so distraught and angry, she was afraid she'd hurt little Charles by accidentally squeezing too hard.

Was this a sign from Fharlanghn to stop and surrender, or to keep going?

That was the problem with "asking for a sign", Greg mused.   You can never know exactly what it means.
As she tried not to think about the genocide that she was allowing, Greg remembered, inexplicably, the old joke about divine intervention.


An old woman in the path of oncoming flood waters refused to move when men in a Jeep asked her to evacuate.
The Lord will save me.   She had insisted.
Then the waters flooded the streets, and men in a boat came to get her.  She refused again.
The Lord will save me.   She repeated.
Then the waters rose so that she had to get on the roof.  A helicoptor crew came for her.  She waved them away.
The Lord will save me.   She said a third time.
Then the waters covered the house and she drowned.    In Heaven she took God to task for his "mistake".
I told everyone You were going to save me!  What happened?
God was indignant.
What?  Are you serious?  I sent a Jeep, a boat, a helicopter.......


Well, the elven priestess thought desperately, do I turn myself in to save that boy's mother, or do I keep going to make sure that at least he's a living orphan, and not a dead child?

Fharlanghn, Beloved Grandfather, you told me to come back to your temple.   I don't know if Charle's pain is a temptation for me to disobey, or a sign of you changing Your mind.     I'm going to continue.  Please, Wanderer, please.   Give me the strength to keep going.  To do what MUST be done, instead of giving in to guilt and dooming us all, and our world.

This, Greg thought, was NOT a decision that the old Greg would have made.   The Gaming Store clerk was too easily rattled and panicked by hard decisions to be considered for the Store Assistant Manager job that his boss had wanted to give him for months now.

Wow, if only Rachel could see me now, eh?
Actually, the old Greg always called her Ms. Green.  She'd HATED that.

Dan wasted no time it shooting Ymar. The man needed to have a bullet in his brain but firing an arrow into him would be satisfactory as well. He utilised their ignorance of his position to nail the man while his wasn't looking, aiming as best he could before loosing the arrow and hiding flat on the roof.

"... screw this."

Sarah glances around for the quickest way out of the area...

I'm not going to risk my life for people I dont know, who probably dont even really exist...

Ymar was about to drop his hand to give the order to his soldiers when Dan's arrow struck him.  He grunted in pain and annoyance at the shaft of wood sticking out of his chest.  His armor had blunted most of the force of the arrow but it had still drawn blood.

He grabbed the arrow, yanking it out of his chest and snarled, his eyes scanning the rooftop for the archer.  "Kill Them!" he snarled, his arm gesturing to the held townsfolk.  The soldiers reacted almost immediately, plunging their swords into the peasants necks.  Five bloody bodies fell in the dirt of the street.

The soldiers grabbed five more from the crowd.

------

Sarah had refused Curins offer of a lift and hid in the uneven rooftops.  From her vantage point, which was limited in view by the conjured fog, she could see soldiers lining the front street and the back street.  There was the sound of heavy boots coming along the rooftop behind her.  With soldiers behind her and to both sides, the only clear way was along the rooftops towards the stone chruch.

------

Charles squirmed in Greg's arms, crying out as he did so.  "Momma!!!" he called, and to Aliana's dismay, his call was answered.  One of the women who was now threatened by a sword tip on the back of her neck shrieked his name in reply.  "Charlie!  Run!"  She was quickly silenced by a mailed smack to the back of her head from another soldier.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:53, Sat 31 Oct 2009.

Greg's large elven eyes teared up and she had to blink rapidly to keep going.   She HAD to keep going.  Her GOD had told her to come back to the church, that the world, both worlds, depended on it.

On the one hand, the elven priestess could feel her soul dying as the peasants did.

On the other hand, their deaths, ironically, strengthened her resolve.    Not only did it remind her of the evil that the cultist represented  (she, perversely, wondered how Ula was feeling, right then) but if they turned back, then the people who died would have died for NOTHING.
At least, that's what she kept telling herself.

It was the truth, but it felt like an unconvincing lie.

She squeezed Charles tight.

Don't look, Charles.  Your mother wants  you to leave with me.  We have to go.
It's MY fault that Charles is here, because of my "brilliant" idea to use him for a messenger.  Then again, if he wasn't here, perhaps he'd be down there being threatened by those bastards.

Please.  Please, Fharlanghn.  Please don't let me make the wrong decision.

Dan closed his eyes in anguish as he heard the townsfolk's cries silenced. He slowly edged away from the roof he was on to another remote roof. Clearly is weapons were going to have no effect on the villians, and as clerics they probably have some great magical defence. There was only one option left for the group at this time; hide or dash. Greg and the others were heading towards the church, but Dan still doubted it. He'd had enough of all these gods, he wasn't going to trust some deity to get him out of this mess.

Dan attempted to get as close to the city walls as possible without being spotted. From there, he would determine exactly how well the city had been surrounded. He could probably escape the city, seeing as how even if they were magical and super-powerful, they still had restrictions on their mortality. It was unlikely they could occupy the city and keep a complete perimeter around it at the same time without heavily dividing forces.

OOC:  I'm assuming that Cassander is flying with Curin.

Cassander watched the bloodletting in the street with a mix of disbelief and horror.  It was easy to be detached from such violence when you were talking about imaginary names and hit points on a scrap of paper, to actually see it was something else completely.

Cassander cursed softly and wriggled slightly in Curins grip to adjust her body position.  She still couldn't unload that mother of all fireballs that she really wanted to explode in the middle of that cultist army, not while they were holding hostages.  Her second instinct was Magic Missile, mostly because that was a spell that Magic-User noob Cassander could remember, but Tizona had other ideas.

The sorceress stretched out an arm and chanted a few quiet words or power.  Bolts of electricity arced around her outstretched fingers until it coalesced into a bolt of lightning.  She aimed the bolt at Ymar hoping that it would also arc into the soldiers holding the townsfolk.

Dan and Sarah look for a more sane method of escape that doesn't involve cowering in a stone temple.  The streets are filled with Soldiers and Clerics looking for them.  It doesn't take any great stretch of the imagination to see that Nymuriels followers are taking their task of capturing the characters very seriously and have put a lot of resources towards the task.

While Soldiers and Clerics prowl the streets, outside of the city walls, groups of horsemen patrol the open land between the walls and the surrounding countryside.  It might be possible to elude them and escape.



-----

Cassanders bolt of lightning struck Ymar, knocking him back on his horse.  The electricity then jumped and sliced through the five Soldiers that were holding the townspeople before they could drive their swords into this batch.  Ymar cursed and pointed at the sorceress, screaming orders at the soldiers around him.  Spells started to fly from the Mages and Clerics in the streets near him.

Cassander suddenly twitches and spasms as divine magic hits her.  She shakes for a moment and then suddenly becomes very stiff.  Curin drops down to the roof top as a divine spell of negative energy hits him as well.  The two clatter into a roof top with little grace.

Greg is flying with Charles when the Divine magic of Nymuriel strikes her.  She can feel dark energy flow into her in the form of a curse, causing her to spasm and ache, almost dropping the still crying Charles.  Then she feels her flying spell give out and she falls towards the roof top.

As Dan looks over the outside of the city, he feels unnerved. The cultists creeped him out beyond belief but this was different; a sort of silent presence looking down upon them. It sent a chill up his spine even more when he could not sense it beyond a lingering little detail in the back of his mind. He was so close to escaping the city, but his mind edged him not to. Regretfully, he turned from the wall, attempting to find and move towards the church Aliana had spoken of.

"Aww, screw it... I hated railroad plots..."

Sarah makes her way towards the temple, sticking to the rooftops and attempting to stay unseen. She makes good use of Silene's natural agility and ring of jumping on the way.

Greg's Ring of Feather Falling, which she was SOOOOOO glad she chose for her character, allowed her to land safely, if clumsily, with Charles, without the boy getting hurt.

The cult spells had HURT!   Even with adrenaline pumping through her slim elven body, she ached like an athlete who'd run too far the day before and had muscle cramps all over.
She was angry.   Furious with the evil of the cult bullies.   Enraged with the almost smug way they seemed to be toying with them.

The priestess racked her brains for divine spells that would target the evil cultists, but not the townsfolk scattered among them.
She decided to stick with what she knew, but with a twist.  She held out her holy symbol.

Great Wanderer.   Your humble servant asks for the very earth of the Road to rise up to defend her Traveling Companions.   Let the soil and mud of our Journey be our weapon!

It was another summoning spell, but not for owls this time.

She was summoning an Earth Elemental, a creature of rock and mud, to rise from the very streets that now flowed with innocent blood.  To strike back at those responsible.
It wasn't a huge elemental.   Greg didn't have THAT kind of power, unfortunately, but hopefully it would distract the spell casters long enough for them to escape.   She focused her anger and rage into the monster.   She made it a focus for her thirst for vengence.

Grabbing Charles, she fled towards the Temple.

Cassander tumbled on the roof with an almost embarassing lack of grace.  It was not surprising though, those spells hurt.  It felt like her every muscle was trying to contract and expand at the same time regardless of whether it was meant to and now she couldn't move.  Her body felt sluggish and heavy, a stone weight trying to move through a sea of molasses.

Well what did you expect?  Thanks for the lightning bolt, have a nice day?  I'd be pissed to.

She tried to turn to look over at Curin, trying to see if the swordsman was feeling like she was.

Cleric General Ymar scanned the rooftop area where the flying ones had fallen as he absentmindedly ran a mailed hand over the hole from Kenjinns arrow and the burnt mark from Tizonas lightning bolt.  These people that his god demanded that they bring to him were putting up a good fight.  Ymar smiled wickedly as he ordered some more soldiers to slay the second group of townspeople.  Finally, some prey with teeth.

"You there!" He pointed at a nearby mage.  The robed woman quickly lowered her head obediently.  "I want a fire set to those buildings there and then drive it towards them.  We'll smoke them out."  He allowed himself a small cruel chuckle as he watched flames leap from the mages, quickly starting one of the buildings ablaze.  On the other side of him, the five townspeople screamed as blades were driven into them.

"Please, your lordship." A large, fat man in well tailored clothing ran up to Ymar and tugged at his leg.  "We've done nothing to warrant this treatment.  Please spare us.  I beg you."  the man was on the verge of hysterical tears.

Ymar sneered down at the man that, if he remembered correctly, was the mayor of this town.  "That's right.  You've done nothing.  You've fed off of Nymuriels followers and refused to join us."  He swung his mace up and over, caving in the mayors skull.  "Pathetic, simpering fool.  I will burn this town to the ground if it pleases my lord."

"Was that necessary?" Aren asked calmly as he approached Ymar.  "The man could have been convinced to serve Nymuriel rather than feed the worms."  The High Cleric called for his horse and rose up into the saddle when it was brought to him.

He looked around at the damage that Ymar was ordering upon the town and its people.  He wore a detached look upon his face.  "If you just let me speak with the townspeople, I'm sure that I can bring in some new sheep to Nymuriels flock.  I can't do that if they're all dead."

Ymar grunted something in response and moved his horse away from Aren.  Typical.  Ymar had all the subtlety of a rabid dog.  There was no better man to have in a fight but once he got into his mind the need to trample all of their gods enemies he was difficult to stop.  This whole town would burn, which was a pity.  Aren had hoped to recruit more of the townspeople into Nymuriels ranks.  All they needed to see was how terrible this world was and that Nymuriel would promise something much, much better.  He could bring them to paradise, if Ymar left any alive.

Ula stood in the street, gazing wide eyed at the activity around her.  The whole thing seemed so chaotic and destructive that she couldn't quite believe what it was that she was seeing.

She ran up to Aren, the one man that she knew would be a calming influence in this turbulent morning.  "High Cleric.  I don't understand.  Why is the...the...eekk...the Cleric General killing these people?" Her question was one that a child might ask a parent.  Her tone was soft and frightened.  "They are not bad people..."

Aren looked down at her with a tender expression on his face.  "My dear...Ula wasn't it?  There is much going on here that may seem scary but it is all necessary to save our people."  He paused for a moment as if slowly coming to a realization.  "You spent the evening with the Chosen did you not?  Tell me about them."

Gregs spell caused the ground to tremble slightly, as the earth rose up into a vaguely humanoid form.  The Elemental proceeded to cause some disorder in Ymars men as it lashed out, stony arms knocking soldiers around like dolls.  Ymar was yelling more orders as he directed some of his men to deal with the elemental.  The townspeople, seeing an opportunity, broke and ran in all directions.

Charles was no longer calling his mothers name but shrieking it, his little arms stretching out towards the fallen body of his mother.  Her head lolled and her eyes met Charles or Alianas, it was difficult to tell, for a moment before the life left them.

Greg, Charles, Sarah and Dan make it to the last building in the row.  Across the small street was the little stone temple dedicated to Fharlanghn.  So far it seemed to have escaped the destruction that was hot on their heels.  Attacks against them slowed, mostly inaccurate blunted arrows.  The building was two stories up from the street, and its uneven roof provided some temporary cover.

Curin and Cassander were a little ways back.  Curin was shaking his head, his eyes having trouble focussing from the torrent of spells that were thrown at them.  Cassander was still paralyzed, her body resisting any attempts on her part to move.

There is some shouting from several rooftops back, near the Inn.  The soldiers that had climbed up onto the roof to pursue the group now realized that there was a fire behind them.  They moved forward with a little more urgency but were not the most graceful.  One of them disappeared as a hole opened up in the roof beneath him, the weight of the mans heavy armor weakening the roof.

Greg's tiny elven heart was pounding with fear, anger and hate.   She didn't want to escape.   She wanted to FIGHT!!!

Her fault.  It was all her fault.  If she'd turned herself in, perhaps the townsfolk wouldn't have died.   If she hadn't roped Charles into helping her, perhaps the boy and his mother might have been somewhere else when this had happened.

Running to the edge of the roof, the deceptively strong arm muscles of a trained elven warrior easily holding the screamng, sobbing boy, Greg jumped.     Her ring slowed her descent enough to make it easily to the ground unharmed.
She didn't even bother to warn Charles, the distraught boy was probably beyond noticing such trivial things as falling off a two story building.

Once on the ground, the lithe elven woman sprinted for the temple.   She had to find Brother Yoseph.

Dan kept up his quick dash across the rooftops, seeing the others arrive there as well. He smiled knowing they were safe and flipped from the rooftop onto the streets, running towards the temple. This better work He thought to himself.

Cassander felt a well of panic forming in her.  She must have been hit by some sort of paralysis spell.  A great way to keep a spellcaster from doing anything, but not when that spellcaster was her.  She thought back to the spell descriptions in the rulebook but couldn't remember any paralysis spells.

Tizona on the other hand knew the spell and she knew that it would not last long.  The Elven sorceress whose body Cassander was occupying had seen the spell used before.  Complete paralysis would not last long but it might be long enough for her to be taken by Nymuriels soldiers.

She looked over at Curin, her eyes pleading.  He was at least up.  If he could carry her...

The Soldiers in the street were not expecting the companions to be able to move so quickly over the roof tops so they were still a little disorganized when Greg and Dan dripped down to the streets.  Even so, a couple of them draw their swords and maces in an attempt to stop them.

They seem to be a little hesitant to simply charge in swords swinging.

OOC:  Feel free to rough up a few of them.  You'll have to each go through at least one soldier to get to the Temple.

Dan charges towards the building, whipping out his sword hidden in his cane and slicing at anyone that blocked his way. Hopefully the suprise of the hidden sword would be enough to get him past them.

Greg doesn't want to traumatized little Charles more than she has too.  Granted, most children in this sort of environment are going to get pretty traumatized as a rule, but Greg, as filled with anger as she was, was hesitant to kill a man in front of the child.   Plus, she HAD to get him inside the temple.  She HAD to make sure Charles was safe.   It was her fault, after all.

Instead of attacking with her elven longsword, she used the Command spell on the nearest cultist that was blocking her path to the Temple.   The one-word spell would, should her will prove greater then his, compell him to obey her instruction for a short time.

She pointed a delicate looking elven finger at the mace-wielding cultist.

FLEE!

If he does, she'll attempt to get into the church.

Sarah looks across the distance to the temple, then grins.

"Fun."

Kenjinns hidden sword cane does indeed take the soldiers by surprise.  Instead of expecting to maybe be beaten by a stick, Kenjinn had suddenly become something more dangerous.  He wasted little time taking advantage of this situation and stabbed at the nearest soldier.  The blade slid off the mans armor and into an unprotected joint.  The soldier yelled out a curse and dropped to his knees, clutching at the gushing wound.  A second soldier tried to come at Kenjinn but a few quick slashes made him keep his distance.  A third came at the Bard with a mace and nearly hit Kenjinn, and received a gash across his face for his troubles.

The soldier advancing upon Aliana froze as she uttered her spell.  She seemed to wobble in front of the elf for a moment before she dropped her mace and ran off down the street.  Charles clutched Aliana, his arms wrapped tightly around her slender waist.  She could hear him sobbing.

Seline watches the soldiers trying to surround Aliana and Kenjinn.  Her keen eye picks up on the slight nuances in their body language, the way that they hesitated and seemed to attack with some reluctance.  It seemed that they were a little unsure how to capture the two companions.  Killing them would have been easier but it appeared that they were a little unsure of just how to capture them.


It doesn't take much effort from the Elf or the floppy hat wearing Bard to make it to the heavy wooden doors of the temple.  The doors are closed of course.

Meanwhile on the roof, Curin shook himself to his feet.  Feeling a little wobbly on his feet but spurred on by the soldiers clambering over the roof towards him, Curin started to stagger after the others.  He caught sight of Tizona lying on the roof, not moving.  He hesitated.  Was she dead?  No she was breathing.  He took another step.  The soldiers were closing in and he had lost sight of Aliana and Kenjinn.  Carrying Tizona would slow him down significantly.

Still, the sorceress was a rather attractive elf and she was a friend to Aliana.  Aliana would probably be upset if Tizona were to be captured.  Moral dilemna resolved, he hopped back to Tizonas side and picked her up, hoisting her over his shoulder, and started to slowly make his way after the others.