Dreya winces as she sees her arrow nearly skewer Elwood in a rather sensitive place. "Sorry!" she whisperes up to Elwood. Standing, she reaches past Elwood's side while trying to remain mostly behind him to thrust her hand in Orc #1's face, calling upon nature's aid to cast light in the bastards face.

At receiving the zombie's bite, the blood in Cole's body turns to ice as memories from long past crash through his brain. With a vicious, guttural growl of outrage, one is not certain it came from him or some feral beast, Cole violently stabs toward the zombie that dared sink its teeth into his flesh with every intent to eviscerate the living-dead abomination.

Heartened by a bit of luck with his dart, Anthony emerges from behind one of the other party members long enough to fling another at the orc that he hit before! He then ducks back behind his fellow-party-member, very conscious of just how dangerous these many foes are!
This message was last edited by the player at 22:16, Mon 19 Dec 2016.

Hugh grimaces as the zombies break through the ranks and begin clawing at him. He defends himself as best he can, but he is now outnumbered and has still not achieved his primary objective--take out Ol' Man Zeke, aka Specks.

The monk steels his mind and attacks the leader again. If he can take out the leader, it's possible the zombies will scatter. At least one can hope.

OOC: Attack orc leader

The battle has not been going well, at least not for Elwood, as the bleeding gash at his side attests.  He failed to turn the zombies, and his his attacks against the orcs in front of him have have glanced off harmlessly.

But in this latest round, he has effortlessly deflected his attackers' blows. And although the druid's errant arrow almost made him a eunuch, it still did miss him.  His deity, Flyspamon, is obviously protecting Elwood so that he can carry on in battle.  Bathed in the warm glow of Flyspamon's blessing, Elwood attacks his nearest enemy with his heavy mace.

[OOC:  Use 2 luck points on Elwood's To Hit roll]
This message was last edited by the player at 20:52, Tue 20 Dec 2016.

Dreya mutters magical gibberish and Orc #2's eyes begin to shine with arcane light.  The poor orc immediately begins slashing wildly (but ineffectively) as it is blinded.

Cole rips his arm free from Zombie #6's filthy jaws, then slashes at the undead bastard ruthlessly.  The zombie drops having taken 10 points of damage.

Anthony begins to get cocky after his vicious dart throw at Orc #5 last round.  Unfortunately, he cannot repeat the feat and his dart sails wide of its target.

Hugh screams as his fist pounds into the unconscious Specs's face.  Teeth spray out either side of Specs's mouth as his face is crushed.  Specs will not be waking up.  Unfortunately, the monsters do not seem deterred by the orc's death.

Elwood is finally getting warmed up.  He spins his mace over his head a few times before bringing it crashing down on Orc #1's skull.  He is exactly lucky enough to get a hit.  The orc's skull is crushed and it crashes to the ground in Corpse Mode.

Seline (run as an NPC this round) hurls her dagger at Orc #5, but the orc bats it away with his short sword.

Zombies 1, 2, and 3 slash and grab at Hugh.  The monk slides past as many of their attacks as he can, but eventually Zombie #3 manages to slash across the monk's chest for 6 points of damage.

Zombie #4 slashes at Elwood's face with its deathly claws.  The shattered nails rake across the cleric's face for 7 points of damage.  Elwood cries out in pain, then drops to the floor unconscious.  Blood begins to flow from his face across the floor.  The zombie's unholy eyes look straight at Dreya with a desperate hunger to consume the living.

Orc #5 and Zombie #5 take their best shots at Cole Hiller, but come up woefully short.  The ranger survives another round.

Situation Report After Round 3:

Hugh has suffered 13 points of damage with 5 left.  He is being attacked by Zombies 1, 2, and 3.
Dreya is unharmed (for the moment).  Zombie #4 has its infernal eyes set on her.
Elwood has lost all 14 of his hit points and is unconscious and slowly bleeding out.
Cole is down 7 hit points with 15 left.  His AC is temporarily bumped up to 17 by the effects of Seline's Dragon Armor spell.  He is being attacked by the cyclopean Orc #5 and Zombie #5.
Anthony is unharmed, but down 2 darts.
Seline is unharmed and operating as an NPC until her player posts another action.
Bless, Color Spray, Dragon Armor, and Light are still operating.
Orcs 6, 7, and 8 are unconscious on the floor under the effects of the Color Spray spell.  Orc #2 is blinded by Dreya's Light spell.  Orc #5 is blinded in one eye and has suffered 3 points of damage.  None of the other surviving monsters are injured.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
16:33, Today: Castle Keeper, for the NPC Zombie 5, rolled 6 using 1d20+2.  Attack Cole.
16:32, Today: Castle Keeper, for the NPC Orc 5, rolled 7 using 1d20+1.  Attack Cole.
16:30, Today: Castle Keeper, for the NPC Zombie 4, rolled 7 using 1d8.  Damage to Elwood.
16:29, Today: Castle Keeper, for the NPC Zombie 4, rolled 18 using 1d20+2.  Attack Elwood.
16:27, Today: Castle Keeper, for the NPC Zombie 3, rolled 6 using 1d8.  Damage to Hugh.
16:26, Today: Castle Keeper, for the NPC Zombies 1, 2, and 3, rolled 3,11,20 using d20+2,d20+2,d20+2.  Attack Hugh.
16:25, Today: Castle Keeper, on behalf of Seline, rolled 10 using 1d20+1.  Attack Orc 5.
16:21, Today: Castle Keeper, on behalf of Elwood, rolled 5 using 1d8+1.  Damage to Orc 1.
16:21, Today: Castle Keeper, on behalf of Elwood, rolled 13 using 1d20+5.  Attack Orc 1 with 2 luck points.
16:19, Today: Castle Keeper, on behalf of Anthony, rolled 10 using 1d20+3.  Dart attack on Orc 5.
16:17, Today: Castle Keeper, on behalf of Cole Hiller, rolled 10 using 1d8+2.  Damage to Zombie 6.
16:17, Today: Castle Keeper, on behalf of Cole Hiller, rolled 15 using 1d20+4.  Attack Zombie 6.
16:13, Today: Castle Keeper, on behalf of Cole Hiller, rolled 5 using 1d6+1.  Damage to Specs.
16:12, Today: Castle Keeper, for the NPC Monsters, rolled 5 using 1d6.  Initiative.
16:12, Today: Castle Keeper, for the NPC Party, rolled 6 using 1d6.  Initiative.

---

Seeing Elwood fall, Dreya drops to cover his unconscious form, hugging him tightly.  "We all have to get out of here!"

Then Dreya thinks of a space above outside not far from the entrance to the cabin, and wills herself there while clutching tightly to Elwood.

(OOC: Dreya should be able to transport all she carries up to 500 lbs with her secret ability.  Should that not be feasible, she will burn a hero point to transport Elwood and herself to the spot she envisioned.  If she doesn't have to burn a hero point for the dimension door, then she will burn a hero point once she and Elwood are above ground to either cast Good Berries right away and feed them to Elwood, if this is possible to do with an unconscious person, or First Aid to stop his bleeding if Good Berries is not an option.)

Seeing her dagger clatter helplessly to the floor, she looks at the Orc #5 and casts Dragon's Image, intending to attack Orc #5 with it.



(OOC: If Seline is able to influence the color of Dragon she assumes in this case she would assume the form of a black dragon)
This message was last edited by the player at 00:22, Thu 22 Dec 2016.

Elwood bleeds and groans incoherently.

[OOC:  If allowed, Elwood will use up his Hero Point to get to 1 hp]

Anthony wastes no time--he grabs Elwood and drags him back to the wall and then, holding onto Elwood, touches the wall...

Running away!

Hearing the call to retreat, Hugh looks around for an escape route. If none are readily apparent and he is hemmed in by the zombie throng, the monk will turn his attention to fighting his way through the zombies.

Seeing his comrades leave one after the other, Cole senses his chances of survival dwindling rapidly. "Seline, retreat!" Cole shouts as he tries to disengage from battle and attempt his own escape.

(Cole will attempt to retreat, however, if he is unable to do this because he is currently in battle, he will attack the zombie who is attacking him.)

Cole and Hugh can get to the back wall and touch it, but the monsters fighting them will get a free swing at them.  Still want to break for it?

Since he is hemmed in, Hugh will fight in an attempt to free himself of attackers.

In reply to Hugh (msg # 205):

I'm not sure I understand what Hugh is doing.  He has the ability to run away from the monsters and touch the wall if he wants to.  This would be a hasty disengagement under the rules.  He is not hemmed in in the sense he can't get away.  However, running for the exit will open him to attacks as he flees.  The monsters currently fighting with him would each get an attack on Hugh with a -2 penalty to his AC.  If the party loses initiative, this could result in the involved monsters each getting two attacks on Hugh this round.  If Hugh spends his hero point (I believe he still has one, but have not checked), he would escape the dungeon unharmed.

Hugh could also try what is known as a fighting disengagement.  This would allow him to back away from the monsters carefully and move one-half of his normal movement rate toward the exit.  He would not suffer an AC penalty, but would not be able to attack (all of his attention would devoted to defending himself and slowly backing away).  He would almost, but not quite, reach the back wall by the end of the round and could easily touch the wall the following round.

Finally, he can continue to simply fight with the remaining monsters until they drop or he does (or he could do something unpredictable like kiss one of the zombies, surrender, run further into the dungeon, etc.).

Please clarify what Hugh is doing.

Hugh circles around for a moment to assess the situation and tumble rolls between two of the zombies nearest him, comes to his feet and sprints towards the wall. Extending his hand as he has seen others do, he passes through the secret door, leaving the throng of zombies and other foes in his wake.

OOC: I never used a Hero Point and should still have one.

Cole takes the risk of getting swiped and races to the back wall to leave with Hugh.

Round 4

Orc #5 stabs at Cole, but isn't even close.

Dreya tosses herself on top of Elwood and the two of them suddenly disappear.  Zombie #4's claws rake through the space where her unprotected head used to be.  Dreya and Elwood materialize in the clearing outside the hunting lodge.  D'what?!

Orc #2 staggers around blindly swinging his sword randomly.  He's actually kind of dangerous to everyone, but isn't close enough to hit anyone this round.

Seline chants for a moment, then thrusts her hand toward Orc #5.  A black dragon explodes from her palm and speeds toward poor #5.  A glob of acid sprays from the dragon's maw and Orc #5 dissolves into a pool of glop on the floor.  The dragon, very much satisfied with itself, vanishes.

Anthony embraces discretion and throws himself at the back wall.  He disappears and reappears in the front room of the lodge above (Snarg told the truth!).

Hugh dives between the furiously slow movements of Zombies 1, 2, and 3 and escapes through the back wall after Anthony.

Cole makes a break for it as well.  Just when he thinks he is safe, Zombie #5's nails scratch down his back for 5 points of damage.  He gasps in pain and staggers into the back wall to (temporary?) safety.

At end of round, Seline is alone in the dungeon with 5 zombies, 1 blind orc, and several temporarily unconscious orcs.

Dreya can easily bind Elwood's wounds so there is no risk of him bleeding out.  He is at -2 hit points and stable.  Elwood may use a hero point to return himself to 1 hit point if he wishes or he can wait for healing (magical or rest-based).

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
18:40, Today: Castle Keeper, for the NPC Zombie 5, rolled 5 using 1d8.  Damage to Cole.
18:39, Today: Castle Keeper, for the NPC Zombie 5, rolled 17 using 1d20+4.  Attack Cole's fleeing backside.
18:33, Today: Castle Keeper, on behalf of Seline, rolled 4 using 1d6.  Damage to Orc 5.
18:32, Today: Castle Keeper, for the NPC Orc 5, rolled 14 using 1d20+1.  Save versus dragon image.
18:27, Today: Castle Keeper, for the NPC Orc 5, rolled 13 using 1d20+1.  Attack Cole.
18:24, Today: Castle Keeper, for the NPC Monsters, rolled 4 using 1d6.  Initiative.
18:24, Today: Castle Keeper, for the NPC Party, rolled 3 using 1d6.  Initiative.

---

Blinking back into existence, Dreya's gaze quickly flits around, trying to see if any of the others have arrived yet. Or if she and the unconscious cleric are about to befall yet more trouble.

But the body she is still clutching to is still. Too still. Alarm spikes through her. Sitting up, she swipes a few errant locks of hair from her face before quickly searching Elwood for his wounds to make sure she knows where they all are. Dreya even gives him a little smack across the face to see if that will jostle Elwood awake. When that yields nothing, she shrugs her backpack off and practically rips open the ties to dig amongst the contents within for bandages.

When she finally spots the wad of bandages in her pack, Dreya sets about stopping the seeping flow of blood and bandaging wounds.

"You," she grits at the unconscious human she is working on. "Do not die."
This message was last edited by the player at 07:40, Wed 28 Dec 2016.

Anthony falls on all fours, gasps and stands up. He looks about for the others.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:04, Sat 31 Dec 2016.

Upon hearing Dreya's command, Elwood blinks awake.  "Dying wasn't part of the plan today" he says as he slowly and gingerly gets to his feet.  He looks around, a little confused about his surroundings.  He then turns to Dreya and says "I offer you my humblest thanks.  No doubt you have saved my life, and I'll forever be in your debt.  I pray to Flyspamon that our companions have been able to get out safely."

[OOC - I'll use my Hero Point to revive to +1 hp]
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 20:15, Wed 28 Dec 2016.

Cole stumbles back into the lodge, blood dripping from his arms as anger boiled within and rage seethed just at the surface. Barely controlling the rage, he expends every effort to reign in his fury. Those undead creatures had sunk their grotesque teeth into his flesh! At the thought, a myriad of memories were threatening to rush at him, overtake him here and now, incapacitate all sense and logic. The urge to lash out violently clawed at the surface, only finely held on by the frailest of tethers. Out of the corner of Cole's eye, Vera glinted, the metallic blade glistening at the first ray of light trailing in from the battered windows of the lodge. Blood and flesh of those vile monsters coated the steel blade. At seeing Vera bathed in the remnants of his foes, a sense of calm superseded all other emotions. The promise of Vera's justice to those evil creatures may have failed this day, but there was always another day... Pushing the memories still clouding his thoughts back, he shut them out of his mind to assess the damage he incurred in that ill-favored battle.

(Cole will do a wisdom check to see if the bites and attacks he took from the battle are anything to be concerned about, particularly from the zombies. As Cole has a history with these creatures, he should be fairly familiar of any dangers and cures that might be needed, if his wounds require more than just the standard heal potion or rest type, etc.)
This message was last edited by the player at 19:15, Wed 28 Dec 2016.

Seline having heard the command to retreat hastily disengages from combat and heads for the teleportation wall to warp back to the cabin.

In reply to Anthony (msg # 211):

You materialize inside the hunting lodge next to the wall behind the flipped-up fireplace.  You do not see any sign of Dreya or Elwood.

In reply to Cole Hiller (msg # 213):

Let's handle this Dungeon World style: You tell me.  What has Cole learned about zombie wounds?  Is he at risk for some sort of infection or zombie transformation?