The hunger of the dark, round one
(this is followed by round two)
A shift of air, a whiff of decay, or some sixth sense alerts
Ember to the fact that there are
things coming toward her in the dark: silent, scurrying,
fast. She has moments to act before
they are upon her.
OOC:
@WhtKnt - Ember cannot see the creatures, but she can still attack with DISADV (or use a spell that affects an area). Of course, she doesn't have to stay there; she could fall back to join the others in the room (the things are not adjacent to her yet).
@matmaisan - Myrtha is also going to act before the things reveal their presence, and she too can't see them in the dark.
It is time for Ember and Myrtha to take their turns.
Everyone else can post their turns now, or wait to see what the "Hungry" do first.
falls back as
Myrtha cries
"Ember! Get behind me!" and rushes forward, shoving past
Arya in the narrow tunnel just as a
corpse springs around the corner. While this is clearly a dead humanoid, it is unlike any undead that
Myrtha or any of the others have seen previously. Unlike the priests of the New Dawn that
Aanbo and
Theran had encountered in the
Forest Temple, this thing was clearly not magically preserved from aging, but at the same time it is not desiccated or decayed like the undead of the
Dim Forest. This thing seems paradoxically
vital, and exhibits a crude cunning as it lunges for the doughty human warrior.
Myrtha's spear plunges at
the creature as soon as it appears: the point pierces the leathery desiccated flesh and
the thing bares its teeth, the remains of a face contorting into a silent grimace of pain.
The monster takes 9 piercing damage!
Then
the undead attacks her in turn, grasping and slashing with clawed hands.
Myrtha is taken aback by its ferocity as it pulls itself forward on the spear to get at her, and the claws reach over her shield to gouge her face.
Myrtha takes 9 slashing damage and must roll a DC10 CON saving throw!
Aanbo moves up to
Myrtha as
Arya moves back, fervently gripping her hammer.
"Fall back a bit," the monk advises,
"Let them get stuck in single-file while we flank the entrance!"
Seeing the thing clawing at
Myrtha's face,
Morton opens himself to his
demonic patron, and the power of fiendish hellfire flows through the conduit he creates, erupting from the elf's outstretched hand in a wave of projected force. The blast ruffles
Aanbo's hair and blows past
Myrtha's ear to catch
the monster in the cheek.
The ravenous undead takes 2 force damage!
Nearby,
Lyrel stands at a solid wood door that had been barred with a beam. The beam has been removed, and it is a simple matter to open the door and proceed into the packed earth tunnel beyond. Stepping in,
Lyrel can hear muffled, agitated conversation coming from the southeast tunnel, but the packed earth deadens the sound and she can't make out the meaning of the words.
Theran moves up behind
Arya until he can lay eyes on the thing attacking
Myrtha. Drawing both upon the nightmares of his past and his connection with the fungal engine of decay in the packed earth all around them, the haunted druid forms a ghostly hand in the air in front of him, which then flies corkscrewing through the air, weaving in and out of the spaces between his companions until it latches onto the
monster's ghastly arm. The hand sends ghostly mycelium tendrils into the
monster's flesh, draining more of its abominable health from its body.
The hungry creature takes 5 necrotic damage!
"Ember take the torch." Chase hands the flickering torch to
Ember, then strings his bow as he steps up behind
Theran. Through the flames of
Arya's torch, he can just see
Myrtha struggling with something there, and calls out to their defender:
"Myrtha - keep falling back so I can get some shots off."
For her part,
Mother Arkon prepares to soothe
Myrtha's wounds, but can't get through the press of people to reach her.
23 - Ember (9/9)
17 - Myrtha (8/18)
17 - The Hungry (-16, DISADV to attack Theran)
16 - Aanbo (27/27)
16 - Morton (9/9)
15 - Lyrel (9/9)
13 - Theran (18/18)
10 - Chase (14/14)
6 - Arya (10/10)
