Book II - Chapter X: Stormfront

[uberwulfx]

Crystal was hot on Rey's heels, though her friend pulled away to give the warning.

Damn it-- I should have been out here with the others at the onset. Nothing for it now, time to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Crystal didn't have the entire lay of the land to know if there were going to be more people joining the fray, or who was 'in charge. What she did see were zombies, and people menacing her allies. After focusing one of the people she saw recovering from attacking Cerys, it was in the center of that group that she pointed Raziel so that a split second later, a loud crashing sound erupted in the group of obvious foes.

"Citizens, clear out unless you have a crossbow," she called over the din, "in which case, defend your block!"

((Action: Shatter, affecting opponents indicated in 10-foot radius sphere. DC15 con save; 16 Thunder damage if save is failed, 8 if passed.

Invoking Heart of Darkness, just in case there's anyone nearby with a weapon that she can't see, that can be mobilized to attack/defend. ))

[Ancelas]

Crystal's eyes became pools of darkness as she cast her spell, and her voice echoed with an unearthly resonance that inspired the Wachovians to... flee quicker.

The force of Crystal's blast was enough to blow two of the rotting zombies apart, chunks of gore flung in all directions. The fresher zombie, restrained by the vines, rocked back as pieces of his flesh were torn free, but remained standing, jaw torn away, bloody muscles exposed on its arms and chest.

The ragged cultist struggling through the broken street raised his hands to protect himself as the blast tore through his clothing and ripped tears in his exposed face and hands, but he stood defiantly in the wake of the echoing thunder. His companion behind him, however, was blown off of his feet as the concussive blast caved in his chest. He fell to the ground, twitching, dead.

Curiously, the blast brought forth a burst of smoke in one corner of the broken street, unveiling the dagger-weilding assassin as he rose from a braced cult, his invisibility disrupted by Crystal's power.

[CautionCat]

Vincent moved forward, getting more zombies into his range, before casting Turn Undead. He lifted a holy symbol- a stylized sun shaped pendant, and called out a phrase in Aegien. He would then cast healing word on Cerys for 14 points.


(channel divinity: turn undead, range 30 feet. Wisdom save DC 15, failure the undead must flee from the caster for 1 minute or until attacked. Level 5, CR 1/2 or lower, if failed, undead is destroyed.)

[Ancelas]

Vincent held up his pendent and light spilled from the icon, spilling across the street. Beside him, the dead man arched his back and shrieked, his body dissolving to ash, just like the decrepit zombie caught in the broken street - it had only taken moments for the man to transform into the living dead, but Vincent's actions had kept him from rising against them.

Of the other two zombies, the nearest one turned and began to flee away from the raised icon, moaning in fear, while the other continued to struggle to free itself from the vines and rubble binding it in place.

---

Further down the street, the crowd of zombies that had been shambling away from the encounter began to split, drawn by Cerys' presence. Two continued down the street while three moved toward the enormous wolf, only two making it close enough to attack her. The more decayed of the two flailed ineffectively at Cerys while the second, freshly turned creature lashed out at Cerys with its claws, missing one swipe but striking her with the other ((19 to hit, 6 Slashing damage. Cerys, please make a Constitution saving throw - you can post regardless of the result.))

---

In the wake of Crystal's explosion, the dagger-wielding assassin had been revealed, and now sprinted forward to lash out at Vincent. As he drew near, Vincent felt a sudden chill go down his spine and wrap around his heart as it suddenly beat faster, the man's presence bringing a palpable aura of murder with him. His blades flashed out, finding the chinks with Vincent's armor, drawing blood with each piercing strike. ((Aura of Murder: enemies in 5 feet gain Vulnerability to Piercing attacks. Two attacks, 24 and 25 to hit. First attack 18 piercing, second attack 12 piercing - Vulnerability already applied. 30 damage total.))

Flicking blood from his daggers, the figure drew a quick sigil in the air between himself and Vincent, drawing shadows up around him for protection against retaliation ((Bonus Action: Sanctuary cast)).

Further down the street, the older man that had struck at Cerys raised his free hand toward her, a ray of sickening green energy boiling through the air to strike at her hide, withering her fur on impact. ((Ray of Sickness: 16 to hit, 5 poison damage. Roll a Constitution save to avoid being Poisoned, DC 13))

[redcoat]

((Con Save: 14))

Cerys was happy that she had managed to keep some from escaping into the city, at least as best as she could. She was hit though- and a lot. She felt the hits, the bits and slashes into her thick hide, making the form impossible to keep up.

(She took enough damage to drop her direwolf form)

She was in the thick of it, and there wasn't much more she could do but keep fighting.

She was fucked.

Slamming her staff onto the ground, she'd make the Earth Tremor, causing the earth to shake and the stones around her ten feet in every direction to turn against the zombies.

[opius]

Things were getting bad quickly. All the talk about altars, cryptic nicknames, the presence and control these people seemed to have over the undead- it began to feel real in the worst way. For a fleeting moment, Jinn's grasp on the situation wavered in the face of something truly preternatural.
Then from the shadows a figure appeared, and Vincent was stabbed. This... wasn't the will of gods, these were old men with knives. A gang fight with higher stakes than normal, but a gang fight none the less.
"Listen here you sons a' bitches-" Jinn growled, suddenly upon the cloaked figure as he threw the first suckerpunch. "If you wanna bend someone over an altar, you best start with a motherfucker who's afraid to die." Jinn's fist crackled with golden light as he took a wild swing at the robed cultist.

((Wisdom save, 18 vs Sanctuary. Unarmed strike- 19 to hit. 8 bludgeoning, 9 radiant from SMITE))

Teeth clenched, he growled, "Cause old fucks like you only work on fear. It's the only tool in your shed- and it's mediocre." As Jinn drove into the fray, Vincent witnessed Jinn's righteous anger- a kind of defiance that only seemed to burn hotter by the moment.

((bonus action: Channel Divinity, Inspiring Smite. Vincent gains 16 temp HP. Extra attack: Grapple. Wis save 14 vs Sanctuary- Athletics check: 27.))

Without skipping a beat, that crackling fist grasped the assassin's hood and tugged down to disorient the would-be killer. Jinn lunged forward, dragging the assassin along toward the filthy rabble he'd thrown his lot in with. Twisting on his heel, Jinn positioned himself in front of Vincent to grant the holy man the briefest of reprieves- all while holding tight to the black-cloaked figure down. "There's new kids in town- and we're a hell of a lot angrier than you."


(using half movement to drag the cultist toward his buddies, positioning Jinn in front of Vincent. Maintaining grapple.) 

[Ancelas]

Cerys emerged from her wolf form and slammed her staff into the ground, cobblestones erupting from the street beneath the feet of the zombies encircling her. One fell prone as a stone, flung up from the ground by Cery's spell, slammed down atop its head, ending its existence. The freshest of the three zombies stagger and fell, bludgeoned but still dangerous, while the remaining animated corpse staggered and clutched at Cerys blindly, supporting itself and keeping to its feet. ((One zombie dead, one on its feet, one prone))

Meanwhile, Jinn let his fury empower him, sucker-punching the hooded assassin. He felt the man's jaw crumple under his punch and the assassin staggered, wavering on its feet. While the assassin was stunned, Jinn snagged the man's hood and dragged him backwards, stepping into place in front of Vincent and adjusting his grip to hook his thick forearm around the cultist's neck. ((Cultist is heavily blooded and grappled)).

---

"If you wish to die," snarled the the bedraggled old cultist that was still on his feet, "We can certainly help with that! Glory to the Seducer!" He raised one hand, fingers crooked into a claw, green flames twisting around his fingertips... but when Jinn turned his eyes upon the old man, eyes lit from within with righteous fury, the flames... flickered... and went out. The old man look stunned, and then immediately began to backpedal away.

[Kyt]

Well this was a whole fat wad of chaos. Rey just stared as zombies reigned and cultists tried to overrun her allies. With a swear, she fumbled her crossbow out, striding closer as things were already moving away at the other end. Lining up, she took a quick shot at the closest undead. It seemed to be an easy target, and not a major threat, but they'd need it clear to move forward.

((Assuming that zom is restrained, advantage on the attack is 23 to hit, 17 piercing dmg with sneak attack, otherwise 18 to hit, 6 dmg
Bonus Action Dodge in case anything comes her way))

[uberwulfx]

It was bad luck that Cerys was taken out of her wolf form, but she seemed to be handling herself damn well in spite of it. With her allies pushing the offensive and the citizens well cleared, Crystal aimed Raziel at the zombie trying to actively get away from the fray. Two bolts of energy cracked, whizzing past her allies' heads: [1] one to the upright zombie still tussling with Cerys, and [2] one to the zombie between them all, trying to run from the fray.


"Heads up!"


While the energy moving past Cerys was relatively mundane, the spell hitting the escaping zombie would spark and erupt on contact, rocking the alley with an explosion-- one that Jinn was unfortunately at the edge of.

(Action- Eldritch Blast: 14 for 3 dmg, 22 for 6 dmg. Bonus Action- Kiss of Mephistopheles (Fireball): Dex Save DC= 15, 30 (fail)/15 (save) fire dmg)

[Ancelas]

Rey's crossbow bolt struck the restrained zombie in its chest, where its heart once beat. Black blood oozed from the wound as it staggered and turned its baleful eyes upon her, still standing, but visibly having difficulty doing so.

As one zombie glared at Rey, a smoking bolt of red energy flew past it to slam into the head and shoulders of the decaying zombie facing off with Cerys, leaving only a smoking gap where body parts had once been. It slumped to the ground, unmoving, just as the street lit up and echoed with the force of a fiery detonation.

As deep red flames lapped against Jinn, a number of shrieks erupted from within the conflagration. It seemed to shrink in on itself immediately, fires shrinking and twisting into plumes of black smoke, leaving charred corpses behind - only one of which was staggering, its features unrecognizable in the wake of the fireball. It was not the one Rey wounded - that one was little more than a charred wreck on the ground.

[opius]

((dex save: 18 on die, 19 total. Let's. Fucking. Go.))
Reaction:
In the wake of the explosion, jinn was still standing. Backlit by flame, laughing with a crooked and unhinged grin, he called after the absconding forces. "You picked the wrong neighborhood!"

[CautionCat]

Vincent felt a coldness throughout his body, as he scraped death. His heart felt weak, and he was woozy for all of a few moments, before Jinn inspired him, and made his blood boil.

He snarled, gritting his teeth, the man who attacked him getting absolutely fucked before getting fucked up some more. "Thank you, Jinn... I appreciate the pick-up."

Taking a deep breath, Vincent cast Healing Word on himself, regaining some life that he had lost. Seeing the prone zombie near Cerys, he flicked out his hand holding his mace, casting Sacred Flame onto the foe.

(Healing Word: Gained 15hp. Sacred Flame, 10 radiant damage, dex save DC15)

[Ancelas]

The zombie Vincent had targeted erupted in flames of golden white as it pulled itself up to a standing position, sunken eyes glowing green. It had recently been a living man, but was now a hideous undead monster, and it flailed wildly at Cerys, the only creature in range that it could spend its fury on ((16 to hit, 9 damage, 13 to hit, 4 damage. Cerys to make a Con save if any hit.))

Meanwhile, the creature that had stood in the center of Crystal's explosion, the zombie that had been fleeing in fright, found its nerve in the wake of the fireball's detonation. Flames still curling about its body, it hissed and charged Jinn, claws reaching for the laughing man's face. ((22 to hit, 4 damage. 13 is a sure miss. Jinn to make a Con save if he takes damage.))

Further down the street, the last surviving zombies continued to shamble away from the fight, looking for easier victims to spread their plague to.

The old man that seemed to be the leader of the cultists surveyed the destruction the Lucky Hand had wrought, all of his minions dead, the zombies he had risen on their last legs. His diseased lips curled back from rotten teeth as he turned his gaze back to Cerys.

"You are marked," he hissed as he began to retreat. "You will share the fate of this city - all will be plunged into blood, plague, and madness. If we do not kill you first, you will fall with the rest of the chattle."

He then turned and ran, retreating ahead of the zombies.

((Enemies are on the edge of the board - if they survive until next turn, they will flee into the city!))

[opius]

((con save: 13))

[redcoat]

((Both attacks hit. First Save: 10, Second Save: 3))

She was broken and bleeding, but... what was death to her, at this point? She only had two options. Save herself, or try and slow down the escaping zombies.

"If ANY of you stop to help me instead of containing this, I will box your fucking ears!" She said, once more slamming her staff into the ground and summoning the vines.

((Entangle, DC15 strength save for the fleeing zombies.))