Magnus watched the bird, Sadda, out of the corner of his eye. He knew that it likely knew that it was his new target,but for that, it still needed to get past him and the others if it wanted to continue to torment then another day.

He circled just a bit, and moved his weight from hoof to hoof, biding his time, waiting for his chance.

Finn grits his teeth.  The measure of a man isn't his minute by minute successes and failures but his perseverance.  His tenacity.  And Finn has immeasurable buckets full of that stuff.  He lunges forward once then twice at this stubborn undead thing.


OOC:
Ah, the pains of working a 6 day week.  I have a nice big post in my head but I lack the free time to write it.  So I will throw up this so I dont hold the game up.

Finally seeing his own skeleton fall in a heap of bones, Gustav presses forward his attack, slashing out his sword on the skeleton farthest up the passage which even now swipes its heavy club at Finn.  The sword catches the abomination in the shoulder, crashing downwards through rib and spine before the whole thing collapses into dry bones and dust.

Judoc takes the moment of brief respite to dash forward, bumping a shoulder against Finn as he dives just behind Rondald and the last skeleton standing.  Taking a moment to gather mana around him after his dash, Judoc reaches forward with his staff, thrusting all of his healing power into Bjorn, who staggers forward and back, clashing the black sword off his shield and returning his own strike against the massive tower shield of the monster before him.

Rondald, Gustav and Finn, all three swipe their weapons at the last standing skeleton, though the thief and Rondald miss just barely, Gustav manages another significant blow into the monster's back, severing three or four ribs which clatter to the ground.

At the edge of the room, Magnus eyes the demon bird intently, waiting for the demon bird to drop low and close enough to get a hand on it.

OOC:  Everyone roll again for fatigue for the extended combat.  Success against HT (with fit bonuses) and no FP are lost.  2 more rounds of combat this post.  Rondald has re-readied his axe such that it is facing backwards so that he is attacking with the flat, rather than the blade of the weapon.  Last round was a miss however due to a successful defense.  The skeleton now is in close combat with Rondald (putting your attack at -4) though Finn and Gustav are behind it at range 1.  Terri has also made it to her feet and how has her knife back in her left hand.  Bjorn and the massive skeleton have now seemed to fight to a stalemate, each blocking the other's attacks with relative ease.  Judoc's healing spell against Bjorn was successful, and though the Northman is not fully healed, he is in significantly better shape and no longer in danger of passing out.  Gustav is facing NE, Bjorn SW, Judoc SE, Magnus N.

This message was last edited by the GM at 22:54, Sun 29 Dec 2019.

Rondald swings again, though it is not so effective as he tries to manauver past the last one to help Bjorn...the tower of bone needs to be brought down, and he would like to have a shot at that bird with his crossbow if he can get a chance...
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:03, Mon 30 Dec 2019.

Magnus, as much as he wants to do his part against the lethal giant of bone and blade, feels better having more or less cut off Sadda"s main avenue of retreat.

Now it was just a matter of finally finishing this.

Whatever he was planning, he did not move from where he had planted himself. And if anything seemed to puff himself up to take up even more of the entryway.

Seeing an opening in the fighting, Judoc takes it, and darts forward to heal Bjorn. However, the mage has put himself in a dangerous situation, with one skeleton on one side and the other skeleton, a truly massive specimen, on the other. Now that he is so close in proximity to the monster, Judoc begins to second-think his earlier decision. With Sadda hovering nearby, Judoc knows that much can still happen in this battle.

OOC: Attack the large skeleton.

He again hacks the skeleton across it's torso then makes another attempt but misses due to the skeletons actions

Razzel is a social creature.  One of the joys of his life is sitting around a fire swapping stories.  But its more than the tales.  The stories are a vehicle to form a connection with other people.  A bond.

Finn grew up on the streets.  He wasn't orphaned as many of his street friends were.  Nor was he banished from his home by unloving, cruel parents as some other of his friends were.  No, Finn was born into a mostly loving and caring family.  His parents were overly simple people.  A carpenter and a potter.  They were very content with scraps.  Eeking out an existence and almost starving through every winter.  The mage-thief realized at an early age that he wanted more out of life and that he was more than capable to deliver the goods.

As a young man Finn spent many 'a nights in the common rooms of such seedy taverns as Orc Belly's and Witch's Brew.  He would go fishing for interesting stories but usually his 'net' came back empty.  One such conversation would go:

Finn:  “So Clem, aint seen ya in awhile.  What'd ya do last week?”

Clem:  (rolling his eyes and sighing)  “Well one 'a my pigs got the fever, and then another and another so I spent half the week separating 'em.  And all that rain we had, the fields are flooded.  So took me and the boys three times longer to plow.”

Here and now the situation might look dire to the untrained, or those lacking the proper faith.  While he struggles to be the martial juggernaut of Bjorn or Magnus Finn nonetheless dances around with an unflinching smile neatly framed on his face.  For he knows that not only will his group of friends conquer the day here but he'll have some fantastic stories to tell.

His minds eye conjures him sitting in the tavern common rooms of Azer.  All are quiet, every eye and ear trained unconditionally upon him.

Patron:  “So Finn, I heard you did some'in special last month.  Tell us 'bout it?”

Finn:  (beaming)  “Well, I already told' ya 'bout going down south 'cross the river to kill a bad wizard.  This time we was sent to kill his student.  But, get this, the student, he gone an' made a deal with a deamon!  And 'fore we could kill the deamon it summons a ten foot tall bone monster!  Well you know 'ol Finn...”
This message was last edited by the player at 17:00, Tue 31 Dec 2019.

Sweat and blood flies as swing after swing crackles off of bone and shield.  Bjorn smashes his axe downwards though the blow is swatted aside by the massive shield - just a few feet away however, Gustav and Finn both connect with their blades, smashing the last remaining skeleton into a pile of entangled bone.

But Sadda takes the moment of distraction to strike itself, launching downward into a dive straight at Judoc's face!  The mage notices the demon just in time, bringing his staff to bear and deflecting the foul beast with a meaty thunk!

The king of bones attacks too, his black sword thrusting out in a cutting attack towards Bjorn, and the barbarian raises his shield to block again... but at the last second the attack sways, thrusting out in a cross body attack that targets Judoc instead!  Only a hair's breath separates Judoc's flesh from the weapon as the razor edge cuts a thin gash across the side of his armor - his body stumbling away from the monstrosity.

The staff having sent his small body veering off course, Sadda whirls around again, gaining height in the small room as he prepares for another attack, only barely does he notice his own assailant, Magnus, who drops his mace and shield, grabbing out towards the demon with both furry hands!  The black thing rolls midair, and for the briefest of moments Magnus feels the tough scaly skin of the demon slipping through his fingers, though he cannot keep the hold, and Sadda whirs upwards again and out of reach.

Crash! Bjorn's axe slams through the leg of the sovereign shattering two or three separate femurs that run the course of the appendage.  Still the thing stands and worse, the bones shift again morph again, spewing still more skeletons in nearly every direction!  Though it does not seem that this task has no cost... for while the sovereign once stood two or three heads above Magnus, the thing now seems to be dwindling, if it can be called that - merely making seven feet or so off the ground.

OOC:  I didn't include all the action, though I promise I accounted for every action.  Gustav has turned and is now facing SE after Rondald's skeleton was smashed.  Judoc barely managed to defend against the black blade with the use of a hero point, though both of your attacks were foiled.  Magnus had a 'successful' grapple, though Sadda managed to defend despite the use of the deceptive attack, and you are now standing with your buckler on the floor and your mace hanging from the strap on your arm (unready).  The five new skeletons are all unarmed.

Let's do 2 more rounds of action.

Blocked from the giant bone thing, Rondald brings up his loaded crossbow, checking the bolt is still in place and dropping his axe back onto his belt once again. He aims high, targeting the blackbird this time, and biding his time for a clear shot.

[OOC: Changing back to crossbow will be 2 actions, unreadying the axe and readying the crossbow, after which, Rondald will target the bird to help out Magnus. He will time his shot, not shooting if there is a chance to hit a friend but holding his aim until it is clear. With changing weapons, this will probably happen after this go]
This message was last edited by the player at 07:03, Fri 03 Jan 2020.

With his ever present smile Finn ducks and bobs around the skilled swordsman and finally breaks out to the freedom of the large room.  He hops and dances his way around bone shards to get closer to the action.


OOC:
Move out of the tunnel into the main room.  Do my best to move to attack one of the newly formed skeletons while keeping space behind me to Retreat.

Both Sadda and the giant target Judoc, who they must suspect Judoc is the most dangerous of the combatants. The mage is pushed to the limits of his defensive abilities to avoid being completely run through. Despite Judoc’s skill, the giant bone creature very nearly slices Judoc into ribbons, and the mage stumbles back. Too close to cast spells, and too many enemies in his face, Judoc opts for a more defensive posture.

OOC: All-out Defense.

He steps to the hex closer to Sadda and attacks the Skeleton to his Front, but fumbles the move and attack.

Frustrated with being penned in by the small hallway, Finn dashes forward, ducking behind Gustav who smacks away a tormenting skeleton with the side of his shield.  His knife ready in his hand, Finn jabs in at the nearest skeleton, scoring a thin slash against the thick of its humerus.

Gustav makes his own slash as well, although he does not realize that the heat of the battle has affected him so... his palms sweating and the grip of his broadsword worn, the blade slips in his grasp, missing the skeleton completely and tumbling down to the ground below him...  Gustav curses, kneeling down to grab his fallen blade as he raises his shield.  The skeleton ahead of him seeks to take advantage, throwing himself bodily at the swordsman, though Gustav leans just enough for the thing to miss, and the animated bone hits the floor with a clatter though it is already beginning to push itself back up...

Magnus too finds himself in a bad situation, his grab of the demon foiled and now facing two of the undead who stumble towards him, open hands gripping at his flesh, with neither shield nor mace readied, the minotaur attempts to make the best of what few weapons he has about him for the moment.  Picking up one hoof, he moves to rake the edge down the shin of the closest of the abominations... though his timing is off, or the skeleton's shove is just enough and instead of snapping bone, Magnus finds himself off balance, his arms cartwheeling backwards to try and stay upright though he crashes backwards towards the floor!  Both skeletons dive on top of the minotaur, though panicked, Magnus throws himself to the side and both of the abominations miss!  He pushes himself to a knee, his mace still hanging from the lanyard attached to his wrist...

Towards the other side of the room, Bjorn smashes his axe through the closest of the skeletons, turning the thing into shards of bones that scatter backwards, raining down on the floor with hollow plunk!s as the Northman readies his axe for the next strike.  He swings again at the next skeleton in line, though this blow barely skims the arm of the next one, barely moving the arm as it reaches out to grapple at the barbarian.

Judoc, meanwhile, holds his staff with both hands, his concentration split between the massive skeleton king and the demon which still flits overhead.  He prepares himself totally for the next coming attack, though somehow, that attack does not come.  The massive undead instead strikes out towards Gustav, his black sword missing by the narrowest of margins as the swordsman stumbles to the side...  and again the sword swings wide, and Judoc steps back to remove himself from the way, though this swing is destined for Bjorn, who does not notice the attack in time!  The black blade savages the Northman's mail again, slashing deeply through the ringlets and ribs, causing blood to fly in a thin stripe across the room.  Bjorn stumbles backwards, his back hitting the ground with a crash and a grunt though he still somehow tightly grips his axe.  Judoc's eyes go wide now as he finds himself the only fighter standing up against the behemoth!

Towards the front of the room, Rondald spends his time putting his axe into his belt, his wife hurtling herself past her husband, her knife gripped in her left hand which she slashes at the skeleton on the floor nearest Gustav.  "What are you doing!"  Terri shouts, the ire in her voice obvious as she holds her broken arm close against her ribs.

Overhead, Sadda continues to circle about the ceiling...

OOC:  I forgot to add Sadda to this map, but he's somewhere around where Magnus is kneeling just underneath the top of the cavern at 10' or so up.  3 critical failures from the good guys on that round, which I would have helped out with a hero point if anyone had one :/.  Gustav is in a kneeling position and he may ready his sword and stand on this turn (though not attack).  Magnus is also in a kneeling position after I took some liberties and had him kick rather than ready his mace...  a decision which I regretted after rolling a 17, though the good news is that the two skeletons who tried to tackle you after you fell to the ground both also missed and both are prone.  Magnus you may also ready your mace this turn as you stand if you wish, though you must wait until the next turn to attack.  Bjorn was badly slashed after a critically failed defense and stumbled back against the back wall.  He's back in danger of passing out at any moment.  Rondald has put his axe back in his belt after two seconds of stowing it away and you may ready your crossbow on your next turn.

Lets do 2 more seconds of action.

”Somebody deal with the big guy!” Judoc yells, his voice higher pitched than he would have liked, with a touch of panic. Swear runs down the young mage’s face from the spell-casting. How much longer can he push himself?

He should have let well enough alone, stayed toward the read rather than making a mad dash to here, right in front of the giant skeleton—okay, not quite as giant as before, but still big. His eyes warily on the creature, he mutters another healing spell as he steps toward Bjorn. This could get ugly very quickly.

Concentrate. Side step towards Bjorn.

Rondald readies his crossbow with a concerned look at Terri.

"I am dealing with the real threat. That bird is behind this skeleton... notice how quick they went after Magnus when he went for the bird. You are a good shot, too, you would be better off bringing it down that fighting the bone..."

He loads his crossbow with a silver bolt...just in case.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:56, Sun 05 Jan 2020.

Magnus may have been a far more veteran fighter than he was when he had first joined their eclectic assemblage, but he was still quite young, and still quite mortal.

The kick, well he was not exactly sure why he had kicked out like that. If he was being honest with himself it had been a primal reaction, and an embarrassing one. He had gone through great lengths throughout his life to try and distance himself from the comparison if a stupid wild Bill, but in this case it had seemed very natural to try and crush own of them with a kick. Much like an ape might try to tackle something and beat it to death with overhand hammer blows.

He had very, very little to feel embarrassed however, and in a matter is seconds he was clambering back to his feet, his mace retrieved with a circling motion of his hand, before he took to the task of reducing the skeletons before him to dust like a pestle in a mortar.

Gustav grabs his word, which is a long reach away, then tries to stand in one motions and loses his balance, ending up bent over with his sword in hand, on the ground, keeping him from face planting, his shield on the legs of the skeleton with his weight on it, and his feetsplayed out so he can't stand ... next turn he moves a foot up and tries again to stand, this time he rises to his feet.

Razzel almost fights as if in a daze.  This whole thing is so surreal.  The prison.  The corrupt elves, now wasted insane cannibalistic creatures.  The mad wizard, his madder apprentice and the deamon who seduced them.  The blind zealots from the village who were willing to end it all for a fanatical cause, turns out a cause master minded by an evil spirit.  That irony is delicious.

Mixed in there too are thoughts of later.  How he will be treated when he returns.  What kind of treasure will they be able to scrape from this horrid place.  How long will it take to find the other animals.  What was the name of that red head he slept with last year.  The one with the penchant for squealing while she made love.

As his mind drifts from the rough battle in front of him to esoteric things, while his vision is focused on the here and now he notices something odd.  So strange is the sight that at first Finn doesn't believe it.  It must be some trick of the daemon's he thinks.  But the image is too real to shake.  Magnus, Gustav and Bjorn have all suffered some setback.  And then Judoc's voice cracks through the din of clanking metal and the pained groans of combat.  ”Somebody deal with the big guy!”   Immediately the plucky mage-thief knows his eyes are not deceiving him and more so he knows that the mage is in trouble.  The last place any mage wants to be is facing down a beast without the aid of his full strength.  He ducks his head and charges into the frey!

OOC:
Move to the boss and attack!

The fresh set of skeletons cause havoc despite their lack of weapons, though it seems the initiative turns as some of their number fall to the ground as well.

Finding an easy target in front of him, Magnus swings his mace into position before hurtling it downward on one of the fresh skeletons just getting back to his knees.  Unprepared for the blow, the skeleton shatters into an explosion of bones and shards which scatter over the ground below.  The other skeleton makes its way to its feet, rushing the minotaur in an effort to grab him, though Magnus even without his shield manages to evade the attempt, jumping backwards as he pushes away an arm with his empty hand.

Gustav too finds his target an easy mark.  Grabbing his sword off the floor, the swordsman takes a moment before bringing it down in a devastating blow, hacking off the things leg which sends it tumbling back to the floor.

Rondald takes the demon as the biggest threat, swinging his crossbow into place by pulling on his strap and gripping it with his left hand - though the weapon is still cocked, the bolt has fallen out some time ago during the fight... likely when Rondald was trying his best to avoid attacks from the skeletons.  Chastising his wife for her short-sightedness, he eyes Sadda, who gains height above as he continues circling over the fray.

Terri, for her part, does not seem to think the comments are well placed.  "MY ARM.  IS BROKEN!"  She spits as she swings wildly with her knife using her left hand, leaving herself wide open for counter attack, though the skeleton (his leg freshly severed by Gustav's blade) seems to have little opportunity to take advantage.  The blade makes narrow cuts against the chalky white monster, though the damage does not seem to be significant.

Most impressive however, is Bjorn who lies on his back, with the monstrous creature of bone standing above and hacking down with inhuman strikes.  Despite his horrific injuries, Bjorn still fights on, his shield propped against his forearm as he catches one blow after another, sending the black iron into the cave floor, causing sparks to spray up into the air.  Bjorn makes no move to reposition, but gives thought only to his defense, forgetting the last skeleton who jumps onto the Northman, gripping both shoulders as it presses its rancid face up against his!

Seeing his comrade in dire need, Finn charges forward, slashing out with his knife against the exposed backside of the bone king.  The blow is significant, cutting deeply between two vertebrae of the spine, though it will take many more such blows to take it out of the fight!

OOC:  Sorry for the lack of a map this time but I am short of time.  Judoc, you successfully healed Bjorn for 3HP and did not need your all out defense on the second turn.  Rondald has his crossbow in place and can take the next turn fast drawing a bolt and putting it into place, and you can fire (with no aim bonus) on the turn after.  Gustav, no DX roll was necessary to pick up your weapon and stand (I treated it the same way as a stand and attack) so I had you attack randomly on the second turn.  Your skeleton is back on the floor with a hacked off left leg.  Magnus, you have destroyed one of your skeletons and are in close combat with the other after his grapple attempt.  The last skeleton has jumped on top of Bjorn.  Finn has moved 2 hexes to the right and the bone sovereign is now standing in the hex the Bone Sovereign was previously in - the sovereign has moved to the hex next to Bjorn, and Judoc has moved to the partial hex next to Bjorn (just up from where the Bone Sovereign is now).  Sadda continues to circle overhead.

2 more rounds of action please.

Gustav moves to attack the Bone Monster in the rear ; on arrival he makes an all out attack (+2 Damage)  into the vertebrae under the rib cage.

Hearing Terri behind him saying her arm is broken, Judoc cannot help but be awed. She fights on, even as badly injured as this? And here Judoc is, quailing before one undead monster. The woman shames him. The realization hits him that she is braver than he. Time after time, Terri has demonstrated a courage and resilience that Judoc himself lacks, for all his bluster. Now is not the time to fear. It is time Judoc started acting like a man rather than a churlish schoolboy.

His vigor renewed, he focuses his attack on the skeleton currently trying to chew on Bjorn. "Get off him!" Judoc yells, swinging his staff.

OOC: Attack the skeleton attacking Bjorn.

Finn was a rogue.  A con man.  A mage.  A friend.  Apolitical.  A capitalist.  A healer.  But above all, a strategist.  He loved the game of Shatranj because success relies so much on a well developed and calculating mind, which Razzel prizes above all other things.

And so in this moment true to form Finn calculates his options, weighing each one and its potential outcome with lightning speed.  He could reach out and grab hold of the bone monsters weapon arm.  But how long could he hold something clearly larger and stronger than himself?  Then again holding it isn't his aim for the nimble thief-mage knows his strength on the field of battle is not getting hit.  Or he could wiggle his fingers and move the very rock that this creature stands upon.  Given enough time he might mold it up and around its arm, fixing the black weapon in place.  But he is already taxing himself magically and this venture might not pay off.  Yet another possibility is to simply jump on the things back and try to off balance it.  If the towering nightmare fell over then it would give Bjorn plenty of time to get to his feet without the burden of moving his shield to block that deadly black blade.  But this kind of manuever works best with two free hands and Finn has lost enough weapons today.  In no time as his sharp mind processes his options he makes his decision.


OOC:
Shatranj is the Arabic version of chess.  While Finn learned it in Azer he learned it by its Arabic name.

Magnus felt the impact travel up his arm as the skeleton buckled and shattered under the blow. Then, before he could recover and bring the mace around, he felt the odd sensation of being tackled by a a creature without any muscular that he could see.

Disgusted, and confused, he jerked back and attempted to push the thing off in an effort to make enough room to bring his weapon to bear.

Rondald sometimes did not understand his wife: she criticized him, then got defensive when he responded to her criticism. But there were greater problems. After loading a silver bolt, he aimed carefully at the flying demon but waited to pull the trigger until the right moment...
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:38, Fri 10 Jan 2020.