Thunder999999

Rerun: Blackguards!

Viktor

Viktor returns the necromancer's nod as he finishes animating his knights.
Quite the interesting spell there, though with the need for the original soul, not one he could see himself using even if he learned it.
The conversation is certainly informative, it seems these individuals think their god awaits them in death, perhaps that's how this god-king is so powerful, a whole nation worth of souls is a great deal of power.

He then replies to the pyromancer, "Oh they'll last as long as wish them to, it's surprisingly easy to preserve animate bone."

The reanimated wyvern gives him an idea actually, it won't be nearly as swift or comfortable as his palfrey, but he is not walking for five days like some peasant.
It takes a moment to find a sufficiently intact horse, and perhaps more importantly, one with a still functional saddle, but once he does it turns out to be little different than animating men, he has his knights tighten the straps aroudn the creature's bone, then they kneel as a makeshift platform and he climbs aboard his skeletal steed.

"We'd best be gone soon then, and if it's going to take days of travel, we should check Ricon's cache first, I doubt we'll have chance to return."

It's a gamble, the man's information is outdated, but these soldiers carried little of value and the locals will no doubt be far more helpful with a little bribery, Viktor knows well how much one can convince the lower classes to accept with the clink of coin.

Reborn in a Fantasy World, This Time I Shall...!

Vrelenor

Metal Bird Forest

Ah, it seems just putting 1 point in dex isn't enough to hit a flying target, unfortunate that, once they handle this, and Vrelenor isn't actually acknowledging the idea that they could fail, he really needs to figure out what those numbers are worth.

Now though he acts. Before the beast can get out of reach he thrusts his staff forward, a jet of cold air rushing from the tip as he unleashes the magic he'd been building up, he aims for the base of the creature's right wing and a layer of rigid ice forms around it. He also notices himself starting to feel a little weak, there's no obvious mana bar, but he's clearly starting to run low.

@Crusader Lord @Expendable @Crimson Paladin @pkmnb0y

Reborn in a Fantasy World, This Time I Shall...!

Vrelenor

Metal Bird Forest

"If you insist!"
As the metal bird closes in Vrelenor does in fact shoot it, he aims his staff swifts and fires a trio of ice-javelins, towards the creature's head, time to see how well ice magic handles armour! "If you insist!"
Despite the danger he's a little excited, he'd have preferred something less dangerous looking, but what sort of fantasy adventure doesn't involve heroes gloriously slaying monsters, plus he really wants that xp.
As the projectiles close the distance he gathers more magic, cold air gathering around the tip of his staff, if the projectiles don't work, maybe he can try cold instead of ice, sap the thing's body heat, but the same way he knows how to do magic at all, he knows that that'll have to wait until it's closer.

@Crusader Lord @Expendable @Crimson Paladin

Rerun: Blackguards!

Viktor

Viktor places a confident smile upon his face, despite the coward's dramatic exclamation of doom, he'd already gained much from that fight in knowledge and souls, but the bounty is far from spent.

"Oh I wouldn't expect anyone to disturb us quite so imminently, if anyone did see that light, they'll be a long ride from here, I expect those corpses were the most mobile force in the area."

With that he approaches their former enemies. "We need supplies and we'll be all the quicker claiming them with more labour."
First and simplest are the flayed skeletons of the reavers he slew, their equipment wasn't impressive even before the slaughter, but they're large and strong. With practiced expertise he moves his dagger, carving a small rune into an empty spot near the back of each skull, then holds his hands out, a faint light enveloping their forms. They jerk, red light glowing in empty eye sockets, then grasp their fallen weapons and kneel before him like men-at-arms before their lord.

He then approaches a few Sulfreyans, picking those with the most intact corpses, these he strips of flesh with the same flaying spell he used earlier, indeed this why he originally chose it. He begins the process of carving runes while others talk.

Rerun: Blackguards!

Viktor

That giantess is rather rude, but it seemed she had a point. The Sulfreyans had helpfully driven them here, alas the foreigners didn't seem at all greatful for the help in crushing the reavers.
He makes a mental note of the necromancer's unexpectedly varied abilities, and her focus on the grimoire, oh he'd like to give that a read.
Viktor is briefly concerned by whatever that shouting wyvern rider did, some sort of foreign spell no doubt, but then the dagger hit their leader. Viktor hadn't even seen that thrown, clearly they had some sort of assassin among them, not ideal, such men are inherently treacherous, much better to handle things personally, but they are out to assassinate a king.

They need to act fast, no doubt the enemy shall soon be routed, with their commander dead the ogre crushing the wyvern's skull their morale won't hold much longer. Most military treatises would say this is a good thing, but this band of Blackguards lacks the cavalry necessary to chase down fleeing horsmen, and secrecy dictates that none leave this place alive.

Viktor steps behind the convenient barrier that is the giantess and her ice, then raises his hands into the air, it takes a little longer than his last spell, but soon a great fog seeps into the battlefield, seeming to flow from unseens cracks in the air. The smell of sulfur is unmistakable, but for the riders and the mounts far worse awaits, the miasma seeps through armour and withers muscles on contact. They shall not have the strength to run.
His only regret is that he will likely not be able to claim most of their souls personally.

Rerun: Blackguards!

@Thunder999999@Abstract Proxy@BigPapaBelial@Lurking Shadow@Chrys@MrSkimobile@Vertigo

How's it going, friends? It's been a week since most of you posted. Almost two weeks for some. Are you still with us?

@Red Wizard

Working on a post right now, sorry.

Reborn in a Fantasy World, This Time I Shall...!

Vrelenor

??? - ??? Forest

Just when he was thinking this world might not be that dangerous and giant metal bird monster shows up, no way are a bunch of level 1s with literally 0 combat experience taking that thing down.

He whispers back to Jase "I don't think it's armour, I don't think a bird could fly with the extra weight and it might mess up however feathers work. More likely this is some sort of creature with naturally metalic hide, that sort of thing pops up in fantasy. Figured it's worth mentioning since armour implies people to forge it and strap it on. Do you think we could make it back to the forest if we moved slowly?"

@Crusader Lord @Expendable @Crimson Paladin

Reborn in a Fantasy World, This Time I Shall...!

Vrelenor

??? - Cliff-Forest

Vrelenor certainly doesn't have a better idea, he could try melting conjured ice in a pinch, but that seems unlikely to provide enough water for all of them, particularly as they don't own so much as a cup. Probably better to just try that pool in the cave.
Marking trees sounds easy though, just got to carve into them, he'd worry about angering a Dryad or something, but so far this place seems to be empty, so no more paranoia.

"We've got enough sharp objects to carve marks into trees with, but lets just stick to the cliff first, there was water in the cave so maybe there's some sort of natural spring serving as the source of a stream nearby."
Thinking again of the chest room he adds.
"Lets just go right, both ways seem identical to me."
No more delays.

@Crusader Lord @Expendable @Crimson Paladin

Rerun: Blackguards!

Viktor

It seems the pyromancer's information is out by an order of magnitude, there's barely fifty of the savages, a short sighted attempt to avoid fighting, unlikely, the many clearly relishes power and every military treatise he's studied indicates such a horde is the ideal environment for pyromancy. More likely they were in the Maw longer than previously thought, entirely believable, Viktor himself had little sense of time, likely a result of some mind suppressing magics. In that time the hordes have been broken, as the Warden stated. They shall be easy pickings for a group as dangerous as his fellow Blackguards.

As he was thinking the undead woman reveals something of her power, a sonic attack, not many creatures can do that, and yet she hides behind others. An exhausting ability, true fear, or an act?

Viktor wills himself into action, can't let those souls go to waste. He points towards the barbarians as they stumble into their former compatriots, his hands trace mirrored patterns in the air, identical demonic sigils appear on their foreheads and sink in with a spray of blood. A few of the reavers let out cries of pain as the demonic magic peels away their skin and muscle, within seconds a dozen reavers are but clean skeletons standing in a pile of gore.
That flesh rending curse is definitely one of his best 'purchases', the skeletons are in perfect condition for post battle reanimation.

Rerun: Blackguards!

Viktor

It's not a true escape, no doubt that thing can track them even here, but freedom with a time limit is still freedom and Viktor does not belong in any prison, let alone that place.
The mission sounds rather challenging, or the regicide does at least, are they meant to succeed, or just tie up Sulfreyan resources while the King builds up for war. He wonders what he could get for this god-king's soul, might it be enough to arrange his own disappearance beyond even the Warden's reach?
His new associates are an interesting collection, rather unsavory, not the type he'd socialise with, but this is business, and they're hardly worse than demons.

He quietly allows a few of them to speak, the pyromancer's initial actions may speak of instability, yet he's clearly knowledgable about their surroundings, as useful as he is dangerous. The ogre is clearly just a brute, shouldn't be a problem. Too early to judge the Giant, but clearly more to her than the ogre. As the plagueborn lets slip a connection to the King's church, odd that one of their own ended up here, and starts introductions Viktor speaks.

"Since we shall be working together in this matter, you may all refer to me as Viktor." A polite smile appears on command as he speaks. "This cache sounds most useful, though I fail to see why we should avoid these Reavers, their corpses could be a convenient resource, and one that won't be missed."
Yes, it wouldn't do to travel for days without some skeletons to handle the manual labour.