Kythorn 12, 1491
The Zombies continued to pour out of the tower. Some moved to attack Ara, but he quickly cast a moonbeam spell on them and transformed into a giant spider, climbing up the tower wall. Finder blasted radiant energy from the sky upon the undead, focusing on those who were not under the effects of the Faerie Fire spell. More zombies piled upon Farooq, their weight and numbers dragging him to the ground several times, but he heroically stood up again each time, blocking their attacks from every direction. Three zombies headed south to engage Nash, who switched to his sword and battled valiantly, felling another zombie. Keeper stood upon the tower firing down into the mass of writhing, groaning walking dead with deadly effect.
Applying damage to the zombies seemed to have little effect upon them unless they were great hits, cutting deep, as they did not feel pain or worry about loss of blood. The battle went on for 5 rounds, with some hits being scored upon the PCs and some zombies being felled. Concentrating on zombies with the Moonbeam spell was particularly effective. Strategic webbing from Giant Spider Ara was very effective at immobilizing several of the zombies. Farooq moved south to help Nash with his zombie problem, shrugging off all of the attacks of opportunity along the way. On the fifth round, a red robed wizard stepped forth from the tent demanding to know what was the meaning of this fighting.
The wizard called for an end to the fighting and commanded the zombies to stop, and stop they did - hands at their sides and staring off into space with their milky eyes. Keeper shouted that they were undead and must be destroyed as her and the rest of the party continued attacking the motionless zombies. The mage grunted "So be it" and blasted bolts of energy into Keeper. The wizard now became the focus of attention as Farooq moved north to battle the mage and Nash broke away from the zombies he was engaged with.
Besides a nick or two, the mage stopped most attacks with a shield spell quickly thrown up before him. Just as Farooq prepared a deadly blow and keeper shot her arrows, the wizard vanished in a flash. From the corner of the ruins a fireball raced in, blasting the majority of zombies and all of the PCs except Nash with deadly fire. Terribly wounded, Farooq moved north to attack the mage, as did Nash. Both Finder and Keeper fell dying from the top of the towers walls into the tower. The remaining zombies moved to attack but Ara was quick to move into place to help heal his fallen comrades.
They were all wounded but continued to fight as Nash, Finder, Keeper and Farooq rushed forth to deal with the mage. The mage had cast blur upon himself and dodged most attacks against him. He broke away a short distance and once again let loose a fireball which dropped all the PCs save Nash. Nash desperately moved to apply good berries to his friends, but the future looked set in stone. The wizard asked for surrender, and they reluctantly conceded. There was no way they could win this fight. Ara fled to find a hiding spot down the well nearby, perhaps hoping that if he survived, he could help them.
The red robed wizard demanded their weapons be piled up before him, especially the two magic items - sword and shield. He demanded their wealth as well and they looked on forlornly as Nash gathered their things up. The mage gloated and mocked them for attacking him and his minions. Had they had more open minds about things he would have parleyed with them. Now he set about burning the pile of items, except the magic gear and the treasure.
Thinking that there was no way this wizard was going to let them live, and the thought of her brother being brutally killed and turned into a zombie, set Keeper into motion. She was horribly wounded and near death, but that didn't matter. She would kill this wizard or die trying. She leapt for him and slashed a gash across his face with her claws. He moved to grab her by the throat and drain her life force, but she avoided it. Having enough, the mage moved to get some distance to cast another final fireball that would destroy the party for certain, but that was not to be the result.
Keeper lashed out desperately at the retreating mage and scored a massive hit on his face again, this time cutting so deep that his eyes were destroyed and his nose lay torn and hanging to one side. The wizard screamed the most horrible scream as he clutched his face, trying to hold what remained of it in place. He staggered a few paces and fell to his knees in agony, dropping the blur spell he had activated.
Farooq rushed forward to finish him off, Nash hit him solidly in the side with an arrow which shook him. Keeper, with the scent of her prey and his suffering before her, slowly walked forward, mustering as much strength as she could, and with satisfied purpose slid her rapier's point down through the back of his neck, through his spinal cord and out his front near his collarbone. The wizard could not turn his head fully due to the blade in his neck, but he twisted slightly, turning the gory remains of his face towards keeper and twisted his lips into a gurgling scowl of defiance. Keeper pulled her rapier out of his body as it toppled lifeless to the side - blood steadily pooling under his form upon the ground. She had kept her promise to always protect her brother....
Next week - Treasure, XP and next steps. Congratulations to the group on a very tense situation. Well done.
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