Acumin Under Attack [Private - Noll, Larien & Ilmryn]

[Lichen]

The windows in the tavern shattered suddenly, and as they broke, so did the relatively peaceful evening. Len Gio, Nemista and Noll were standing next to one particular window - which was very close to the spit that Len had been eying earlier - when it shattered and something that seemed to be a decaying giant came through it. Len, drooling over the meat, was batted to the side as the undead giant charged forward. One of the rotting eyes, half of it crawling with maggots, rolled in Nemista's direction, and that's where the giant headed. It carried a huge axe, the blade of which was easily the size of the human girls head and thee hilt of the axe was probably taller than Noll. It was this mighty axe, clenched by the partially decayed hands of the 16-foot walking corpse, that arched through the air towards Nemista's head.

In the meantime, more undead poured through the window, screaming in inarticulate undead rage. Most of the noises were gurgled as many of the animations didn't have throats or tongues. One such mute creature launched itself at the lutran. A great dog, its throat decayed beyond recognition, leaped at the Lutran, snapping it's great jaws. But this undead hound was no ordinary dog, even if it had been living still. This powerful beast, at 7 feet long and 4 feet tall, was a necrotaur. And its jaws were aimed directly at the Lutran's throat.

[Len Gio]

Lenny smiled at the Necotaur dog. "Friend! Hi hi hello how are you?" He attempted to wave the creature back. "Good boy! Good doggie!"

If the creature was not instantly charmed and dazzled by Lenny's sheer adorableness, the Lutran would have no choice but to consider other options, though only with great reluctance. It's very sad not having my own private army, mystic powers, and the strenghth of a Planetar or two to draw upon, Lenny though to himself as he realized he was inches away from becoming kibble.
Why do people like that always stand around streetcorners like some kind of missionary freaks, and leave all the hard stuff to adorable Lutrans like myself?

Unable to truly contemplate the wiley and wacky ways of the beings that controlled the heavens, Lenny glanced around and noticed the hot spit that he'd been eyeing earlier. "Perhaps this will buy us some time," Lenny announced to Nemista and Noll, giving them a moment to come up with something. He attempted to grab the spit and pinion the Necrotaur's already open mouth with it, trying to jam the mouth open with each end of the spit touching either the top or lower palate. At worst, if it turned sideways it would make a metallic bridle bit, buying them a few moments anyway.

Either way, Lenny was very put out that he had lost his chance at a roast-beef sandwich. He hated fish. That was his secret. He couldn't stand salmon. Didn't like tuna. Cod... just not happening. Grouper... not on the menu. Just as his friend Kagome hated sushi and rice or or chicken tempura, so too did Lenny find the thought of seafood nauseating. And now his supper was gone.

He hoped his sacrifice was worth it, and that Nemista and Noll would come up with things as well, or they were all goners for sure.

[Noll]

ooc: roll call! halfling here!

ic: the halfling looks at the creature looking for any weakened limbs due to decay (where only bone shows and the skin has fallen off) if there is none the halfling takes a look at the axe trying to determine if it is wood handled and how old it is.

[Lichen]

OOC: Looks like Nemistas not going to post anytime soon, so we'll move on without her.

IC: While Len didn't manage to convince the Necrotaur not to eat him because he was adorable, he did manage to fend him off all the same. For when Len grabbed the spit, he managed to forget one important thing... the roast beef was still on it. The stick was too big to hold open even the undead dogs massive jaws, but the dripping roast caught the hungry creatures attention. Unlike other undead, necrotaurs could exist without necromancers resurrecting them. They were not truely of the living, but they were not truely of the dead either. And this one was more hungry than truely angry. The roast caught and held the dogs attention, and the beast roared appreciatively, snatching the meat off of the spit and running over to the cornor to eat it. The sounds of it ripping flesh from bone weren't really reassuring, but at least it was cow and not lutran it was eating.

Noll did not experience the same sort of success that len did, however. As he stared at the giant, sizing him up for weaknesses, the axe swung past Nemista and thunked solidly into Noll's arm. As the giant hit him with the axe, the tiny halfling was knocked over, freeing himself from the blade and falling to the floor. Fortunately much of the giant's strength was gone... as long as Noll could stop the profuse bleeding that began as the axe was drawn out, and later managed to resist infection, he'd keep his arm and his life. In the meantime, the giant turned to bigger and better things, and both Len and Noll were given respite from the attacks for a few moments... enough time to regroup themselves and possible stop the halflings bleeding before he passed out.

[Len Gio]

Lenny breathed a long sigh of relief. He might day at any second-- certainly they were a long way out of the woods-- but that was merely the threat of danger. He was no longer in danger of being instantly killed, and that was a good, good, fine thing. Whatever else happened now, he had cheated death once at least, and if he died and went to the great Lotholdt in the Sky, he'd be a warrior hero like none other.

The necrotaur was busy eating Lenny's dinner and the giant-- having wounded Noll-- was off looking for other people to bother.
That gave Lenny an opportunity to maybe get to Noll's side and drag him to safety before they were all eaten alive.

Most people did not know this about Lutrans, but they were exceptionally strong for their dimunitive size, as their bodies were built to handle and withstand the gravity and pressue of the ocean floor. Lenny decided he would grab Noll and race outside. If all of Acumin was being overrun they were doomed anyway, but if it was just the tavern they could at least find a place to hide and plan.

He ran over to Noll. "Hi hi hello, I am here to rescue you! Shhhh... Don't say anything! Where does it hurt?" Lenny began prodding Noll in different places. "Does it hurt here? How about here?" Then he grabbed Noll by the ankles. "Ok, enough chat, time to drag you to safety! Ready?"

[Noll]

ooc: of all the luck... at least it couldn't cleave too deep and adrenaline should kick in to allow me to take care of the wound before I feel it I hope

"Ouch Ouch hey stop that! Don't poke there! My arm is hit not my legs so I should be able to walk" the halfling said quietly as he was poked without shame or hesitation. Applying pressure to the wound the halfling decides to take his advice and urges nemista to do the same. Acrobatics required to pull this off would not be easy now that one of his arms is out of commission... the halfling looks for a mainly boarded up building with all the walls intact at least so that they can fend these things off if need be better than this tavern. After hopefully securing a safe place to hide the halfling says while taking off his chainmail and leather armor "I'm gonna have to pick up some new clothes after this one... " as he tears out another strip of cloth from his shirt to bind the wound temporarily, the halfling was right though... from what looked to be a full doublet was mostly in tatters and the shirt looked to have been used for this type of thing before. It wasn't dirty... just really torn up. With that taken care of the halfling tenderly replaces the armor that had been taken off and readies his crossbow not bothering to poison it because if it was undead it wouldn't work on them anyways.

[Lichen]

The lutran poked haphazardly at the wound, curious and well-meaning but not terribly helpful. The wound was bleeding profusely, and the furry fingers poking about in it didn't help. Blood oozed out of the wound like a river spilling over the river bank, dark and painful. Noll's hopes were fulfilled, however - the adrenaline kicked in promptly, and soon the pain was muted to something that, in these situations, he could ignore. Meanwhile, Noll didn't sit around and wait for attention to be returned to him - he attempte dot quickly strip off his chainmail and leather armor. There wasn't much in the way of a secure storage place, but judging by the hack-and-slash tactics of the undead opponents... they were merely here to kill, not to loot or pillage.

The pain was still horrid as he removed his armor, and his injury meant that Len was forced to help him strip. The action caused the wound to bleed more profusely, and by the time they'd managed to get the armor off of the halfling he was sweating and his skin was pale. His head was starting to feel a bit spinny as well... but he could still concentrate enough to attend to the wound. The shirt underneath had sweat stains and was far from clean, but it was cloth. Though Noll had no skill in first aid, he'd been in many a battle before and had experienced much first aid, both first hand and from watching others receive the same treatment. His shaky hands tried to rip the fabric, the movement causing yet more blood to gush. The lutran moved to assist him, and together they ripped the fabric and managed to stop the bleeding... at least temporarily. There was no guarantee that such unprofessional medical care would hold, but it was good enough for the moment.

Unfortunately, Noll wasn't strong enough to put his armor back on, Len wasn't graceful enough, and attention was turned back to them. The undead hound had finished it's feast... the spit rolled away from it with a metallic clang, and its half-rotted eyes turned to the duo. It seemed to be sneering at them, but with that level of decay it was hard to tell... could be the lips simply weren't there any longer, and thus the dog couldn't help but reveal its teeth. Sniffing the air, the dog licked what remained of it's lips with a great, nearly fully preserved tongue. Despite the rather disgusting half-rotting appearance, the dog actually seemed to be in fairly decent condition. In fact, it seemed to be in better condition than it had been before... though of course, that could have been the distance talking. Rotten meat looks far more degenerated up close, where as now Len was 4 feet away from the powerful hound that sat before him, staring at him, apparently trying to think of it's next move. They would have to move quickly before it attacked if they wanted to escape it... well, unless Len wanted to add Halfling to the Hound's dinner menu.

[Noll]

ooc: bloody 'ell you'd think it would go for the nearest target eh? ah well I guess it can smell blood...

Ic: the halfling thinks for a second... taking a look at the shirt quickly to see if it had a large amount of blood on it... The halfling taking the (hopefully) bloody shirt and hangs it on the mantle of the fireplace letting the bloody part drape down in front of the fire to spread the smell of the shirt around and attempts to get behind an overturned table and out of sight of the hound near to the ale barrels so that they overpower the smell of blood of course dragging nemista and lenny along so they don't mess up the plan. Any attempts at questions made to the halfling will me immediately shushed untill he gets them all to the desired position which would be given the hoarse whisper of a reply "Just watch." while pointing at the hanging shirt so that only the other two would see it...


ooc2: let's see if that darned thing can withstand fire there it is now childized

[Len Gio]

OOC: Sorry, no dispensation's been given. Under the 'no stooging' rule, I need to vacate his honor's province. I'll finish this thread to make sure Noll isn't killed, then I'm gone.

IC:
There are those heroes who are born, regardless of circumstance, and pull themselves up by their bootstraps from simple Arium farmboy to Governor and beyond. Lenny. . . Lenny was not one of them.

He hid behind Noll, waiting to see what the hobbit's grand plan was.

[Lichen]

OOC: I'm sorry to hear that Len. We would have loved to have you stay. Noll, please edit out the Hell and D4mn3d from your post. As stated in the Rules, cursing is not allowed. Since I'm not certain as to where the guidelines are on this as far as the GDs are concerned, I'm going to go the extra mile and just outlaw it all.

IC: The two, Noll propelled by his injury and not sure as to what the hell hound's reaction would be and the Lutran spurred by his lack of heroic personality, sat there and watched the dog. And it watched back, great rotting eyeballs staring at them. Finally, after a few moments of the staring contest, the dog made a high-pitched noise that, had it been alive and had a full throat, would have been a whine. Bits of flesh began to fly out from behind him, and for a few seconds it appeared that he was being attacked from behind. It soon became clear that in actuality, the undead creature was wagging it's mostly rotton tail. The action was causing bits of it to fly off into the air, but the meaning was still clear... this one undead no longer seemed to be a threat.

However, despite their sudden new friend, all the other undead were still not feeling inclined to shake hands and call it a night. Noll and the Lutran, shoved nearly out of site down in the cornor, were hard to see but not impossible. Nobody unfriendly was paying them attention now... but that would quickly change if they were to linger.

[Noll]

ooc: gah nothing ever goes my way :P (poking fun at the gm nothing more )

ic: the halfling draws his scimitar for defense knowing that his adrenalin could give out at any second while trying to get lenny or nemista to crank his crossbow for him. muttering "Perf I hope I won't be joining you this time around." with a crack grin like somethimg morbid had crossed the halfling's mind. "may diana see fit to help us outta this one 'ere like last time eh?" and another grin the same as before.

ooc2: in other words... taking up a defensive stance behind the upturned table and staying out of sight...

[Roland Moonstar]

OOC: Sorry, Noll, you're on your own. I'll have Kalinda NPC Lenny's cowardly retreat, you might as well join up with Sab'rael or someone else:

Companion Second PC
Serale Roland,

It seems that you are roleplaying in the same province as your second PC, Len Gio. Can you please rectify this situation ASAP, be withdrawing one PC from provinces that the other inhabits?

Thank you

Caerydd

[Larien Gil'dae]

Shuddering lightly, the maiden pulled at the edges of her forest green cloak, snuggling deeper into the cloth as she gave her surroundings a wary glance. Unfortunately, despite the advice from the guard at the gates (if the wagons could be called as such), she was finding it quite hard to remain calm, which then resulted in her young brown mare to be a bit edgy as well. But what sane person wouldn't be in that place?! The Sooty Inn and Tavern... Judging that it was the only place left in the town, it wouldn't be all that hard to find, right? Chuckling softly, though it was rather forced, the young elven woman clutched at the reins of her mount once again, the knuckles of her slender hand showing unnaturally white.

Feeling the body of her mount tense beneath her, she tried to force herself to calm down. What could possibly happen, eh? Taking a deep breath, she then exhaled slowly as she tried to look on the bright side of the situation . . . of course, there really wasn't much of a bright side. Why did I come here in the first place? It wasn't as if sleeping out-of-doors again would have been all that bad. In fact, at that moment in time, the lovely maiden would have taken anything (robbers and cutthroats included) to the smoking town . . . Though, her curiosity got the better of her, and so, she continued onwards.

Lifting one of her pale hands to her face, she tucked a few of her wispy, brown locks behind a pointed ear as she squinted her light green eyes. There was the tavern, it was just ahead. Perhaps she could dance, sing, or tell stories for a room? Being on the road so much recently hadn't really left much time for earning some crowns, but it wasn't as if she were inexperienced in the entertainment business. After living with a bard for a few cycles, she had grown accustomed to embarrassing moments in front of large crowds where the man would ask for her assistance, though, she had benefited from it. At least she could remember a few of the bard's favorite songs and stories that she might be able to tell. Unfortunately, she never got to test out her skill.

Just as she was within sight of the building, she saw something that she never would have expected. The breaking windows and the . . . undead flooding into the Sooty Inn and Tavern. From far off she heard a scream and it wasn't for a few moments before she realized that it had slipped from her own lips. Fear flowed throughout her lithe body as she felt a sudden pressure on her neck. Shaking her head violently to clear her thoughts, feeling quite the fool as she removed her own hand from her slender throat, Larien then set about to keeping Antiri calm, which didn't go over so well. How could she soothe a creature while she, herself was about ready to burst from fright?

It was as if she were living one of her worst nightmares . . .

Suddenly, a bit of sense leaked into her subconscious thoughts and she felt herself reaching around into her saddle bags and withdrawing Llywyn, the dagger that she had received as a gift upon choosing to leave her hometown of Natura. Not that she thought it would do her much good, considering that she had no clue how to use it . . . Buckling it about her waist with unsteady fingers, she glanced up once more, peering out at the scene from behind a curtain of her silken tresses, for they had fallen over into her face. She felt sick, utterly sick . . .

Fighting the bile that was rising in her throat she touched the hilt of the blade before unsheathing it, ignoring the way it shimmered red in the light from the setting suns. This was not happening. This could not be happening. Where was Stryder whenever you truely needed him? Oh please, help me.

[Lichen]

OOC: Ok, so the PCs involved in this thread will now be Noll, Larien & Ilmryn. I'll go ahead and post now, and next time wait for Ilmryn, and NPC out Len as asked. BTW, I'm Lichen, not Kalinda

IC: Lenny was a good lutran, but he wasn't much of a fighter. Helpful though he tried to be, he wasn't truely very good in a fight, and though he'd been lucky so far, he wouldn't be lucky for much longer. He took one look at the undead hound, then looked at the hobbit beside him, and ran for it. The otter streaked as fast as he could out of the tavern and out of the town, a blur of fur and fear as he raced away from the town and then even out of the province, leaving Noll and Acumin to fend for themselves.

Meanwhile, Noll tried to draw his scimitar. However, he was shaky from loss of blood... though he'd managed to pretty much stop the bloodflow from his arm, he'd still lost a lot of it, and he was begining to feel it, adrenaline or no. His head felt dizzy and spinny, and he was begining to sweat profusely. The undead hound whined and looked at him, pounding its tail against the ground. After a few seconds it got up and nuzzled the halflings, it's affections apparently switched over to the halfling since Len's disapearence. It's putrid breath swam past his nostrils as the necrotaur, in a gesture remarkably akin to that of it's living counterparts, licked the hobbit's cheek, no doubt leaving undead slimy saliva all over him. The hound seemed to have decided that Noll was his new master... and the hobbit could probably use his defense. The creature was huge... 6 feet long, and came up to about Noll's shoulder if not higher. Despite it's unlife, it seemed to be in pretty good condition, and would be a good ally in the fight to come... especially since Noll barely had enough strength to lift his sword.

Her long dagger pulled from it's sheath, Larien decided to take the route of attack and began to edge towards the action. She didn't have to enter the tavern to find it, however... as she began her approach, she heard a rustling in the bushes next to her and turned to see an ethereal form emerge from the bushes. It was nearly see-through, and it seemed to be formed from mist, it's outlines obscured and never quite anatomically correct. The creature was obviously a ghost, and as it floated towards Larien, she felt an almost undeniable urge to run. She'd never been so terrified in her entire life as she was the moment the barely formed cloud floated towards her, it's malovence evident even without defined facial features. As it closed in on her, she began to tremble uncontrollably with terror and fear and the ghost gave a howl that sounded not like the moans they were reputed to give off, but instead a high pitched whining scream that gave her goosebumps and made her want to scream in reply. She couldn't use her knife against a creature like this, and she couldn't move because she was so terrified that her legs were practically frozen in place. Even Stryder couldn't help her now, even if he had been here...

[Ilmryn]

Ilmryn walked slowly through the streets, a saber in hand, and the other still wrapped in the worn blanket.
A small glow lead his path towards The Sooty Inn and Tavern, hoping to find other's in the dreadfully quiet town. As he grew closer he hopes were dashed, hearing the sound of combat. The second saber was in his hand and the blanket rolled in a small gust of wind. Walking wearily closer he noticed it then. A few people were fighting countless others, who seemed to move in a weird walk.
He was still in the shadow, and decided his eyes were just not focused. His step picked up into a small trot as he ran towards the inn.