Death Comes Knocking
Arian's last accounting.
Looking at the group of survivors, the adventurers weren't sure what to do. The vampire and wraith had been turned, but for how long? It was obvious that the villagers would not be able to help in a fight, not even Bruf, for all his blacksmithing muscles. They had to get them out -- and past the ogre.
"Mirna, you and the rest, stay behind us. There's an ogre outside the door we need to take care of," said Arian.
Mirna nodded, a trace of fear in her eyes.
"And," added Arian, "any that can hold a weapon, it wouldn't hurt to be ready, just in case, though we pray it does not come to that."
A few of the villagers picked up some of the weapons the skeletons had dropped. All looked scared.
Thibault, taking a deep breath and little suspecting what would happen next, opened the door. "Hello Orgry!" he declared.
The ogre zombie stood just outside the door, hefting its club and looking as annoyed as something can when half-decayed.
Eamon attacked first, making a quick strike and then retreating. Gorlock followed with a quick eldritch blast that caught the ogre in the chest. They all took aim at him in turn, firing crossbow bolts and fire bolts and whatever they had at the beast. He stumbled and reeled as everything hit him, but it was a final eldritch blast from Gorlock that did the trick -- he disintegrated into a mess of goo and muck and bone shards.
"Run home, kids!" shouted Greeba at the survivors and they did not hesitate, moving as quickly as they could out the door.
But, in the sudden quiet after the battle, they heard an ominous sound: double doors to the north being opened, and many clattering feet.
"Bruf, carry someone if you must! You're strong enough!" called Arian after the fast retreating villagers.
They paused for a moment, wondering whether they should just flee or try and buy time for the survivors. But then it was too late -- the doors flung open and a horde of skeletons came pouring into the room they had just left.
Eamon hurriedly wrapped his sword to turn it into a weapon fit for bludgeoning. He joined Thibault by the door. Gorlock blasted one and Wisteria cast Toll the Dead. Arian concentrated and brought down a ring of moonbeam to fill the door, hoping it would slow their advance with its bright, cleansing light. She cast a bit of healing on Greeba.
"'Twas little, but every bit counts! May the shining light of the moon burn their undead flesh!" she cried.
"Well said, sister!" said Wisteria, beaming.
They looked to have stopped the rising tide of undead...until the wraith drifted through the wall and came for them. It reached for Arian, who was concentrating on keeping the moonbeam spell active. The wraith's ghostly hands chilled her to the bone and all her strength fled. She fell to the floor and the moonbeam disappeared.
Wisteria let out a cry and healed Arian. She awoke, groggy and in a heap on the floor, the wraith hovering near her. She stared uncomprehendingly at the thing's feet. What had just happened?
Xarius moved away to try and escape the wraith and get a better shot and would have perhaps dropped himself if not for a hastily erected shield spell.
The skeletons, no longer stopped by the moonbeam, began pouring out. There was a flurry of attacks on both sides and, at first, it seemed as if things might go their way as the skeletons were missing more than they were hitting. But then the vampire, no longer turned, appeared.
Arian, still lying dazed, managed to shapeshift into her arctic wolf form. She tried to take a bite out of the wraith, but missed and got only air.
Eamon brought down a skeleton, but more kept coming. Trystan was successful in damaging quite a few of them with a well placed Shatter spell, but still they came.
Ignoring the prone wolf, the wraith concentrated his attacks on Thibault, though the first one missed. They were spread out around the area now -- some having run after the villagers, others having stayed to try and stem the tide and been caught up in it. The villagers, for their part, were screaming in fear as they scattered.
Gorlock's last eldritch blast, though from a distance, seemed to pull the ire of the wraith. It's empty eyes stared at the warlock as if it were marking him. Meanwhile, the horde of skeletons were taking their toll on Thibault. He was bloody and battered and barely standing.
Arian finally managed to get to her paws and attempted to attack the wraith again, but it managed to evade her. She growled at it in frustration.
Wisteria healed Thibault just enough to awaken him while the wraith moved away. Arian bit at it again and this time managed to get a mouthful of ectoplasm. She spat it out. But the bite wasn't enough to stop the creature -- it flew towards Gorlock.
Wisteria cried after it, "Foul abomination! Myrkul comes for you, to restore the balance!" and cast Sacred Flame, but it dodged the brilliance and kept going. Xarius was a little luckier, managing to blast a hole in its body, though it quickly filled in again.
With the rest gone, the remaining skeletons as one moved to surround the wolf. Arian growled at them; so many bones, and none to chew and no escape. Their swords rose and fell, leaving her white fur matted with blood. She whimpered in pain.
Unwilling to fall while in another form, she shifted back to her normal self, though still wounded in that form, at least she had a chance. The vampiress grinned at her evilly. "Surrender, sweet child, and join us!"
Arian made no answer except for the casting of an Ice Knife. Though the initial shard missed, the shattering of it cast cold upon the area and damaged those that were near.
"Sweet winter's child, join me..." the vampire spawn was practically purring, her blood red lips pursed in a permanent smile. She grabbed Arian in a dreadful embrace. The druid struggled in her grasp, leaning away from the vampire's hot, iron-smelling breath.
Trystan again cast Shatter, destroying two of the skeletons outright and causing cracks to appear in the bones of others. But there were still so many. The vampire was wounded as well, and Arian felt her body shake, but still she did not let go.
Angered, the wraith attacked Trystan and nearly managed to fell the bard, though it did not wipe the smile from his face nor the will to succeed from his heart.
Gorlock and Xarius kept up their blasts while trying to stay out of the wraith's way and the skeletons kept on attacking mindlessly. Even though the vampire spawn held her fast, they still stabbed away at Arian, while more of them went after Gorlock.
Arian tried to break free, but could not.
"Stop struggling, it will hurt less..." said the vampiress and with that little warning, bit her. She drank deep of the druid's blood, leaving a trickle of it to drip down her neck, dark red against her pale skin. As the vampire drank, a bloom of health seemed to come upon her and the few wounds she had taken closed up.
"Thibault," cried Eamon, "we must go!" He ran, not even minding the attack made upon him as he dashed away. Trystan, horrified at what had happened to Arian, cast Invisibility upon himself and ran after the monk.
Greeba managed to get in a good smash upon the wraith. Provoked by this, the wraith reached a spectral hand at the half-orc, reaching into her chest and grabbing at her heart. The barbarian froze for a moment and then fell with a resounding thud to the ground.
Wisteria immediately reacted with enough healing to get the half-orc to her feet, but the wraith had drained so much life out of her that it was but a fraction of her normal strength.
Xarius used Misty Step to put some distance between himself and the wraith. He cast a fire bolt, but only managed to put a tiny hole through it.
The skeletons were relentless. They attacked anyone they could reach, two of them managing to fell Thibault again.
Seeing him go down, Arian at last managed to break free of the vampire's grasp, elbowing the still grinning fiend in the nose, but the creature laughed it off. "I do like to play with my food."
Arian hesitated a moment, taking a quick look around. She was gravely wounded, as were most (if not all) of her companions. She would have to dodge three attacks to even make an attempt at running. There were still so many enemies around. Thibault had already fallen, his battered body bloody and still on on the ground. Only Eamon and the invisible Trystan seemed to have any hope of escape.
She turned to the vampire and held out her wrists in a gesture of supplication. "Please, take me and let my friends go. I will not fight any longer if you let them go." It was all she could think to do. She didn't want to die, but if she could but sacrifice herself for them then she would hope for something better in her next life.
The vampire seemed to consider for a moment. "Oh, very well! I do want you for my pet, not ripped apart by these bony wretches! Minions, let them go!"
The skeletons paused in their attacks and, without even bothering to give them another look, turned away and began filing back into the mausoleum.
The others seemed to hesitate. Arian held up her hand, willing them to go, to be safe, to carry on. She had failed, perhaps, in this life, but she hoped the Forest Father would not find her completely unworthy. She had done her best for her friends and it was all she could do.
* * * * *
Meanwhile, Nathia Truthfist was fast approaching Fort Skulnar after many days worth of travel, having followed Arian's trail through the druid grove and then on to Cumin Inn. The goliath was excited; at least, as excited as she could be, though no one would be able to look at her and tell. It had been many days since she had seen her only friend, many long nights at a campfire by herself.
Nathia touched the thin plait of silver hair she wore around her wrist as a bracelet. It wouldn't be long now.
Amazing tale, what heroism.
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