As the North Gate collapses, Lui starts to panic more and more. Are they going to die here, at the hands of Skeleton Hordes? And what about Dani? Was he still alive, or did he meet a fate that she and Aelih were likely to soon meet?

Lui's train of thought is soon interrupted however as Aelih seems to spot something, and picks up Lui, running off while carrying her. While she didn't like being picked up so suddenly, she understood Aelih's reasons quite well. "Alright... count on me! I'll teach those bony bastards!" Lui shouts, flinging a few fireballs at the horde.

Though the fire itself doesn't really harm the skeletons, Lui's simple attack makes the spellcasters in the hostile horde a bit more cautious. After all, getting set on fire tends to hurt.

Then, Lui hears a rather familiar sound. A sound similar to one she's heard before. "Is that Dani?" Lui asks Aelih, since Lui herself can only look around in so many directions now that she's flung over Aelih's shoulder.

---

Aelih quickly glances behind to see the orc from before alarmingly closer, although luckily it ”He?” seemed to be friendly. Or at least anti-skeleton.

Aelih gave a quick nod to Dannisus, who had just howled a moment earlier “I think so, yes.”

That said, Aelih returns to the higher priority of running from the skeletons towards the West Gate, managing to fish out a belt knife with the arm not carrying Lui. Not the ideal weapon, but better than nothing if something managed to get close.

Dannisus released a heave and nodded to the big green creature, while keeping close as more skeletons began to amass behind them. He didn't thank Corc. There wasn't any time too say much of anything with the horde beginning to amass behind them. "Keep running," He blurted out, suddenly. Dannisus glanced at Fauve, and then back to Corc, before pointing forwards. "Don't stop for anything!" His warning delivered, Dannisus began to pick up his pace, quickly outrunning Fauve and Corc in order to catch up with Lui and Aelih. He felt a little odd, using Corc as a barrier and than promptly abandoning him, but there would be plenty of time to chat once they weren't surrounded by monsters.

He closed the distance quickly, passing Aelih up a little while later and offering his acquaintances a friendly little wave. "Hello again," He chirped, flicking his tail towards the ground. With one thumb, Dannisus pointed back to Corc and Fauve, who were lagging less than 50 yards behind them. Part of him hoped they followed them to safety. That giant green thing seemed awfully friendly, and useful to have around at times like this. "Friends of yours?"

Aelih gives Dannisus a one armed shrug as he asks if the orc was a friend or not.

“Apparently. We should focus more on running now and talking later, if that’s fine by you” Aelih says grimly in response. One last look around, and the only skeletons, or bones for that matter, were the ones being actively crushed by the orc. A handy one to have around, him.

That said, Aelih returns to running at a steady pace, making sure not to sprint and tire more than necessary, taking even, almost rhythmic, breaths to keep the circulation of oxygen steady.

Though the attack struck the beast, it took a moment for Jack to realize it had little or no effect on it, aside from attracting its attention; it swung theleg he had assaulted into him, delivering a swift kick. From his position, Jack only had time to raise his makeshift shield so that it would absorb most of the impact. Even then, the strike from the beast launched Jack back, tumbling through the air and skidding to a halt across the ground. "Damn...." Jack cursed as he got up, winded but otherwise mostly unharmed.

The attack had been futile. The flail- which he had lost his grip on, along with the tavern door, mid-flight- had been completely ineffective against the beast, and Jack doubted his fists would do any better. "Dammit..." Jack cursed again as he glanced back at the others nearby, who were insiting on retreat. As much as Jack hated running from a fight, he could tell when a situation was hopeless, and fleeing was better than death- especially since he had no reason to die for this forsaken town. He looked at the boar one more time before turning and regrouping with Gabriel, Ren, and Devlin, punching his way through any skeletons that got in his path.

Observed: @tex
Interaction... I hope: @Jensoman



Contrary to what was assumed, Fauve hadn’t kept running. She had stopped on approach to the Tavern (which she had previously shown interest in) when the Myti pounced down from somewhere above. While Corc turned to greet the cat man, Fauve gave the orc a slap on the butt to let him know she was heading inside. She didn’t have time to shoot the breeze.

It was moments after she entered the tavern that Corc defended the Myti against the ensuing group of undead. This, Fauve wasn’t aware of, since she was already on her way upstairs to the second floor where she commenced to frantically searching the nearest room for new clothing. There really wasn’t a lot to choose from. She quickly settled on a sleeveless calico pullover tunic to take the place of her torn shirt, but had no time to find a new pair of shoes or a replacement for her shredded trousers before the sound of more trouble was heard growing outside.

Looking down from the window of the room she was in, she saw the pussy running away up the path toward the West gate. Apparently he was feeling a little skittish from the oncoming horde of hostiles, and had decided on leaving the fighting up to Corc. Quite the honorable cat he was. She wasn’t, however, really sure if Corc was about to run in the Myti’s footsteps or not, and she didn’t have time to watch on from above to find out.

Feeling oddly indebted to the orc for what they had been through together, Fauve raced down the stairs fast as her legs would take her. She snatched a roasted lamb thigh from a hook in the kitchen then raced back up the stairs and launched herself out the window without first looking to see if Corc was still down there. For one reason or another, she was just kinda taking a leap of faith that he was still there and ready to catch her. Clutching the lamb cut under one arm, she yelled out the orc’s name as she plummeted fast to whatever awaited below….

Corc was happy to learn that Dannisus seemed okay, albeit stressed out judging from his response. It made sense, especially considering the situation they were in. The giant continued on his sprint, not slowing down for a moment. Despite already knowing that the enemy was closing in on them, he still took Dannisus's warning to heart. He had no intention of dawdling for too long. Corc felt Fran's slap as she bolted away. Corc glanced over at her direction, slowly realising that she was the one who slapped him. She had entered the tavern already. 'Fran very fast...' Corc thought.

When Fauve hopped through the window and shouted his name, Corc was caught off guard. The orc looked up, his eyes widening as the woman fell. He rose his hands immediately, catching her before she hit the ground. "That crazy!! Even for Corc!" He shrieked, sighing in relief that she'd landed safely. He turned his attention towards the meat within her hand though. "COOOOOOORRRRRCCCCCC!" He sung happily, while he kept running away from the horde. "Corc place Fran down now!" He cried, waiting a moment for Fauve to regain her balance before slowing down slightly and moving to put her on the ground beside him. He continued on his fast pace afterwards, doing his best to keep heading for the west gate while staying out of range of the undead horde assuming Fauve would follow. He followed closely behind Aelih, Lui and Dani.

Lui smiles as she both spots and hears Dani. She'd been worried aobut his fate, but fortunately he seemed to be alright.

"Dani! Hi!" Lui says happily, now able to actually hold a conversation. "I... don't really know them, no. And I don't think Aelih does either, but they seem like good... people... to me. At least they're decreasing the skeleton-to-non-skeleton wherever they go."

"So, how have you been doing anyway? Did you narrowly escape death or something?" Lui says, flinging a fireball at a skeleton that was approaching Corc, knocking the skeleton's head off of it's ribcage and causing it to collapse.

Foeldar saw the woman gesturing to him from the church, whom seemed to be trying to get him to look towards three others in the area. Why did she want him to look there? Maybe she wanted him to help the others out? A volley of fiery arrows cut Foeldar's thoughts short, however, as pain sprinkled his body. This time there had been many more archers than before, and many more of arrows found their mark. GET THEM. He could feel the heat spreading out over his body. MAKE THEM PAY. He let loose a blood-curdling roar, a strange sounding mixture of ferocity and fear, and swatted away at the arrows dotting his form.

Much to Foeldar's dismay, the flames persisted, growing stronger by the second. In the time it took him to pat out one source of fire the others had grown too much. "Come on, Foeldar! Hurry!" Her voice called out, and he turned to see Lily standing further down the street, waving for him to follow as she ran to the church. He heard the clattering of bony feet approaching, and whistle of another volley. But it was too late. Just as he took a step forward the volley landed, covering more of his body in pain and arrows as other skeletons came closing in. I can't follow you...

Just let go. Another pained roar as the forest golem stumbled and fell, crushing another building. His body was slowly being engulfed in fire as he writhed in the debris. Help me, Lily. He kicked his legs, smacking a few unfortunate skeletons to pieces and sending their bones flying across the street. He threw his arms about wildly, crushing a few more of the undead pawns to the sound of hundreds of bones cracking at once. The remains of the house set fire as the flames dancing all over Foeldar's body began to wither, I need to get out of here! His limbs smashed into the ground in a thunderous symphony, his legs moving quickly to gain traction before finally he shot out from the debris into a full sprint. A low roar escaped his throat, his sights set on the skeleton horde that had caused him so much pain. You want to kill them all.

Foeldar trampled through the soldiers in front of him, using his arms to whack a few shield-wielding skeletons into nearby walls. You want to make them pay. He lashed out with vine-like appendages, which wrapped around a few more undead soldiers and flung them through the air. One by one those vines were cut, until none were left. You're not strong enough. Now lodged deep within the ranks of the undead horde, Foeldar found himself withering slowly. He anchored his roots into the earth and tore out a chunk of cobblestone and dirt, flinging the mass of rock around at the undead archers which still sat a comfortable distance away. YOU CAN'T AVENGE HER IF YOU'RE DEAD. Or, rather, it had been a comfortable distance until a mass of dirt and stone crushed roughly half of them. Utterly un-phased, the remaining undead archers released yet another volley of arrows that dug into the tree-beings plant-flesh, prompting yet another roar. GO BACK.

"Foeldar, get out of there!" Lily cried, but the once gentle giant didn't listen. SHE'S CALLING YOU. Foeldar kept smashing his way through the endless hordes, ignorant of the flower's plea. Lily turned to Devlin, tears welling in her eyes. "He's going to die if he stays out there! Please, do something! Anything!" She cried, but all for naught. YOU CAN'T BRING HER BACK. Devlin wouldn't be able to see nor hear the girl. She wasn't there. Lily wilted, dropping down to her hands an knees. "STOP IT!"

"Narrowly?" He chortled, "I wouldn't say that. I was investigating something peculiar, when this started up." He gestured over his shoulder again, pointing back at the encroaching undead hoard. A quick glance showed Corc and Fauve lagging behind quite a ways, but that giant orc was a lot faster than he looked. It seemed that they were making headway in catching up, even after being held up. Dannisus shook his head quickly. No, let's all find ourselves absolutely engulfed by the living dead, that will mull over quite well, Dannisus thought to himself with sarcasm to spare.

He turned back to Lui and forced a smile despite the nasty situation they found themselves in. "I think there are people still trapped near the center of town, in the church. Going in there- Well, that was out of the question!" He fixed his eyes forward once again. "I'm glad to see that you two weren't swallowed up by those beasties. Quite glad." Part of him expected Aelih to turn around and brave the horde. It was a part of himself that he wanted to assure otherwise. Most of the anxiety that he'd been dealing with since the beginning of this whole ordeal, hell, since he'd stepped foot in this dingy old town, had finally gone away. But some of it still festered, and it wasn't because of the skeletons. Still, it probably wouldn't be long before they met something else at the western gate. Those skeletons seemed more coordinated than a few rogue undead. Their numbers hinted at a necromancer's work, or perhaps, something even more insidious than some angst ridden psychopath with far too much time on their hands. Either way, this whole ordeal was starting to feel very similar to the stories he'd heard about monster attacks all across the island. If there was any relation...

"I'm intent on escaping," Dannisus blurted out with a slight cock of the head, "Just to be clear." He interrupted his own line of thought rather abruptly. Curiosity would not best his better judgement today. There was a fine line between investigating a cursed gem, and besting the countless hordes of undead behind them, or anyone who may have been responsible for that matter. That was somebody else's problem, preferably somebody more qualified for ridiculous acts of heroism. "We're not too far from Sylsashia. I know these forests quite well. Once we're free of Nadska's walls, I could guide us to freedom through the forest- Avoid the roads... Stay clear of anything intent on gutting the living. It's the least I could do." There wasn't much sign of remorse in his offer. The dozens, perhaps hundreds that fell behind them were of little concern. If Aelih or Lui showed any desire to turn around, he wouldn't be spending any more time with them. People with an inclination towards Heroism were dangerously stupid, and dangerously stupid people had a tendency of putting anyone near them in just as much danger. He glanced over his shoulder again.

That orc was frighteningly quick.

@Jensomanand@Valkon@Dartbored Fairy@tex



Fauve liked that. Being caught in the orc’s hands and let down to the ground in such a gentle manner confirmed her trust in him, but more than that, it established that Corc had a variety of honor rarely found in the world lately. He was in her good books now, and that was also a rare thing.

“This is yours!” She confirmed, and slapped the leg of lamb against Corc’s rock hard abs. Assuming he then took the food off her hands, she commenced to following at his side in direction of the west gate, fighting off the random, tailing undead assailants along the way. In the near distance ahead, she could see the Myti and another couple from the tavern the night before. Ain’t it just a small world and all that.

She really wished she had of found the time to salvage replacement trousers and shoes, but shoes were more the issue. It’s not like running around barefoot was going to cause any major problems, and sure she usually presented herself as a feral bitch anyway, but shoes were much more comfortable to be traipsing around outdoors with. While she ran alongside her new friend, she kept an eye out for any dead bodies that might have been wearing her size footwear.

As for her butt cheek hanging out and the shredded condition of her pant legs, well, she doubted anyone really gave a damn anyway. Besides, Corc would have no doubt had a good feel of said butt cheek when she landed in his hand. In addition to the meal she provided him, maybe it provided him another reason to be happy. Nothing wrong with a little discrete joy on the side.

Pretty soon, the unlikely couple were drawing within comfortable calling distance of Lui over Aelih’s shoulder and Dannisus running on ahead:

“Have any of you three seen the guy with the kick-ass gauntlets and the other human I was talking with earlier in the Tavern? They have a certain map that, under the current circumstances, I feel inclined to take a second look at.”

A dance of chaos was all that Ren could see. As a golem from the hearth of the woods joined in on their cause, Ren discovered a bubbling emotion welling up from within his spine. A hot scalding touch which strangely enough sent cold tingles shooting through each nerve and fiber in his body. It was a feeling which became increasingly familiar as the musician tasted iron on his tongue: one was of fear, and the other was of fury. The sight of the increasingly battered golem on their side as well as Devlin's sorrowful visage pushed Ren over the edge of passivity. Ren breathed out a silent prayer once more as his body pushed itself past the limit of sanity. Cells flooded through every crevice of his system, righteous anger guiding his blows as he picked up a steel bar from one of the shattered remnants of what was once a house. Every principle, every moral in his mind screamed at him to stop-- that these monsters were once humans who Ren could have met in his travels. Every piece of rotten flesh, every fragment of decayed bone used to be a part of a unique human life.

His gaze hardened on the archer beside him as he asked Ren a question about these fiends. It was common knowledge in Ren's travels that no true power could bring back the dead. They were just puppets, being pulled on by strings as the puppetmaster watches from the sides.

He lifted his hands at the archer, inverting his index and middle finger before making a scissoring motion over it with his other hand. They were nothing but dolls sent to slaughter them. However, at this moment, they needed to work together to bring back Devlin and that damned golem.

He began to sign to the archer as he motioned for him to continue covering Devlin and the golem before Ren looked at the incoming wave of undead rushing at the three of them.

Ren's hold on the steel tightened. These were just empty, desecrated husks of the once beautiful soul that rested within. They were empty, hollow. And, they were making his comrades bleed.

His mouth tore open in a silent shout before he swung his weapon with a clumsy might, echoing a sickening crack as the steel collided with the cadaver's skull. The dead flew a few good meters with half of its head torn apart from the intensity of the blow. Meanwhile, adrenaline pumped within Ren, his eyes taking in the sight of the coagulated blood dripping from the steel bar. A rush of anxiety pierced at him, threating Ren to drop his weapon and run for dear life. He was afraid; truly, he was scared of the pain when he saw his fraternal monks getting torn to pieces by the wrath of the undying. He just wanted to... rest; he craved nothing more than to just sleep this nightmare away.

But, one fading glance at the selfless golem who stood in front of a barrage of arrows as well as his injured friend facing down Hell's legion, Ren knew that sleep was only for the dead. And, he had no intention of kidding himself, there was still a lot of life left in him.

With his resolve set in stone, Ren engaged any and all ghouls who stood in their way towards the safety point. Though every swing was foolish, every thrust was careless, the lad believed that as long as the hands that held it were true, it would always bring them towards whatever god forsaken goal there was. As series of ghouls clawed at him, Ren shoved against them even as a rusted sword from an undead soldier dashed through his stomach. Blood spurted from his mouth, causing Ren's knees to buckle before he raised the steel ever higher. With a defiant voiceless roar, the musician brought down his weapon with the strength of a crescendo. The steel bar rived the soldier's head into pieces as it twitched one last time before expiring. Ren grasped at the sabre embedded into his body, pulling it out forcibly as he now armed himself with it as more of the undead wave advanced on them. Ren gripped the hilt before diving into the breach once more until the path leading to the western gate was momentarily cleared.

Ren trudged onward as he approached the cleared path of the dead that Devlin slaughtered, the claw marks and piercings inflicted upon him quickly stitching back into healthy flesh as his body regenerated him at a cellular level. He looked at Devlin once more, the mere sight of her steeling his resolve once more as he gnashed his teeth through the pain. The best they could do was try to hold on tight as they made their retreat, but the golem who refused to budge might spell a disaster for them. With Devlin being too attached to this creature, it might prove troublesome to pry her off of it. But, Ren decided, that if this golem remained in its frozen state, he would rush to at least get Devlin to safety. Her electricity shield be damned, he'd risk a singe or two just to make sure she was safe.

With the warrior and the archer a few meters ahead of them, Ren continued to gaze at Devlin and the golem, ready to charge should Devlin need his aid, or ready to flee once that blasted golem got the proper sense to know when to choose a battle.

Lui nodded as she listened to Dani. The large amount of undead didn't look like good company in any kind of way - unless you were suicidal - so Lui didn't want to go anywhere near them.

"I'm with Dani on this one, let's not go back into the town. I much prefer staying alive over joining those creepy skeletons." Lui said, sighing. "We'll just have to build a small memorial or something to whoever doesn't make it out alive."

Then, Fauve caught up. Lui had only seen a glimpse of her in the Tavern, and she didn't really like her, given how noisy she was. Still, she did bring some interesting information. Something about a person with a map. What could be on that map? "I haven't seen them, sorry. Are sure they're still alive?" Lui replied. "I don't think it's very safe to go looking for them now."

Then, Lui had an idea. If there were still people trying to escape, then maybe it was worth waiting for them.
"Hey, I have an idea that may or may not be bad. Instead of going back in, how about we wait at the gate? If more survivors come we could help them get out. If not, we can always make a quick escape. Plus we could potentially even close the doors on those Undead, keep them temporarily trapped. It's far safer than heading back in, don't you think?" Lui suggested. It wasn't the best of ideas, but Lui was proud of it. She didn't often have such grand ideas.

---

Aelih sprinted the last of the way to outside of the gate, taking the time to deftly sheath the belt knife again. Setting Lui down gently onto the ground, Aelih pulls out the metal spear again, spinning it once in a single hand, then watches behind the rest of the ones approaching the gate, in case of undead and whatnot.

"Good idea, Lui. While we have time..." Aelih traces a finger over the spearpoint again, doing the earlier chant once more, then shivering once when the process is complete "Don't think I have enough energy for a third time at the moment..." With that done, Aelih simply waits for things to approach, be them people or undead. The first could pass, the latter would find themselves with a spearpoint in somewhere vital.

Corc happily accepted the meat that Fauve handed him, munching happily on it. "Corc, Corc, Corc....Corc, Corc, Corc-" He sung, while holding the piece of meat with one hand. He appreciated that Fauve took the effort to get the meat for him. "Fran really nice!" He blurted out. As he and Fauve began to catch up to the trio before them and Fauve mentioned two people with a map, Corc shrugged. "Corc not sure where go next...so map useful!" He commented. "...But Corc thinks heading back to tavern to find them is bad plan." He added.

When Lui spoke up and mentioned her idea to wait at the West Gate, Corc nodded. "Corc thinks is good plan. Can still help people that way. May also meet Gauntlets man and other man with map when they escape!" He spoke. He was quite fond of the idea. He wanted to protect as many people as possible, and there wouldn't be as much danger as there would be if he were to charge into the undead horde carelessly. As the heroes continued onwards, Corc noticed that he was about to reach the outside of the gate. He grabbed his mace from his back. "Corc is ready!" He stated, preparing to stop in order to turn around and protect the civilians who headed for the gate.

Dannisus slowed himself to a halt as they they neared the west gate, but not because of their arrival. He stumbled slightly and spun around, stopping ahead of everyone else. Why were they stopping? Why would they even think of stopping? It was something Lui mentioned, that they should remain at the gate and wait for survivors. Corc and Aelih agreed on the idea almost immediately. There was also something about a map? Why the hell did they need a map!?

"We don't need a map," Dannisus remarked eagerly, while gesturing towards corc with his hands and eyes, "I can guide us- I could probably steer us clear of human hunting parties, let alone a few stray undead. There's no telling if any of the survivors will even be able to escape! It's unlikely enough as it is- And what if something even nastier is waiting for us to the west?" He spun around and scanned the immediate vicinity of the west gate, keeping his ears perked, and his nose sharp. His right her flapped, and he spun around. "There," He urged, pointing towards the center of Nadska, "I just heard something! Something big." He couldn't put his finger on it, but the sound of crashing rocks has to be related to whatever shook the ground earlier. He looked at everyone, granting them a moment to consider his offer again. "The way is clear for now, but how long will that- How long can we even hold out against those monsters if they reach this gate first?" He looked to Lui, Aelih, Corc and Fauve with a desperate fear in his eyes. Five of them versus hundreds of skeletons, and a likely entourage that carried even more danger? Dannisus considered making a run for it on his own, but a quick glance at the horde behind them showed a significant slowdown in their advance. Were they retreating? Or was something holding them back? what if...

It didn't matter!

"I for one, am against this idea."

@Dartbored Fairy@Zyngard@Jensoman@tex



Corc was adorable. Fauve laughed at his remark about the map.

At the gate, Fauve took a bottle of Spiced Potato Spirit from her shoulder bag and had few swigs from it while listening to the others state their piece. Her thoughts were leaning more towards the shoulder bag though, and how its pristine condition managed to be preserved through the fight. Everything inside was intact also. She then had a thoughtful scratch of her butt cheek while considering the other matters of conversation.

“Relax them whiskers there, kitty.” She spoke to Dannisus. “Corc and myself just did battle with a few legions of undead and came out relatively unscathed. Not bragging at all, but I’m doubting that a few bad guys reaching the gate is gonna present too much of a problem.” She gives the Orc a ‘well-done’ pat on his rear end. “My main man here won’t let any harm come to ya.”

She takes another swig of her wine to consider the series of recent events before addressing everyone: “The map I’m talking about isn’t what you mob might be think’n.” She has another scratch. “It’s a map of Nadska and immediate surrounding area. It was dropped by some running fool on his way out of town right before hell turned up. I’m guessing the fool knew what was about to happen, though, since the map he dropped had Nadska suspiciously marked off with a cross. I’ll give you one guess what that might mean.” She laughed and had another swig from the bottle. “It also had another section circled off in the nearby woods. I’m betting the circled area of the forest has some significance to the plight of this shithole town as well. I’m half inclined to go look’n for the circled area out of pure curiosity, but I was needing to make certain of the direction before I go.”

Feeling like she was talking too much and giving the false impression that she actually cared about anything other than her own self gain, her mind drifted from the moment. She really needed to find some shoes and new trousers.

“Now if you mob excuse me for the moment, I’ve gotta go searching for a change of clothes.” While walking off towards the tree-line, she gives her butt cheek a slap to highlight the reasons why. “I’ll be back momentarily! Try not to die while I’m gone.”

There had to be some Nadska residents hiding amidst the trees somewhere, perhaps injured, dying or already dead, who she could salvage some trousers and footwear from.