Riverveins

[Computer +1]

Are you a priest? Yarl asks dubiously. I don't care how big your dog is I ain't getting torn apart by those fuckers....

[hedgeknight]

The man gives Yarl a once-over and says, "I am a surgeon, young sir. I cut away disease and infection. My methods are...effective if somewhat gruesome. I am not fatigued or faint of heart when it goes to doing what needs to get done. If there are zombies in the basement, well then, lead on! Jarro can handle his own, that you should have no doubt about."

Another young man appears, this one most obviously a priest of some sort. "Erm...did I hear someone shouting for a priest? I am Tobias and...oh! Hello again," he says, recognizing Yarl. "Is something wrong?"

Tobias Danforth.png (181.09 KiB) Viewed 808 times

"Zombies or something in the basement, so he says," the surgeon pronounces impatiently. "Now, young Rat, you have a surgeon AND a priest. Can we get going?"

[dmw71]

"Where is Chalk?" Oak asks reflexively when he runs into the two hospital employees dialoguing with Yarl and Judas. "Anyone seen him?"

Then, when he hears mention of the alleged zombie sightings, panic begins to set in. "She -- Iris -- mentioned sending him down to the hall closet in the basement for bandages."

"I fear..." he stops. "Just be on the lookout," he adds.

Oak waits to learn the plan of action before deciding his own next course of action. The last thing he wants is for Cookie to wake and for him to not be there -- again.

[Computer +1]

Yeah something is wrong, you got the undead in yer fucking basement! Yarl starts moving cautiously down the stairs. He says quietly to JudasYou stick to the back. This goes South, you get the fuck back up here and get ours ready to move. To where, I have no fuckin' idea.. Yarl takes notice of Oak. Come on Oak, we need more fucking hands. If the shit from downstairs gets up here everyone is fucking dead.

As they move downstairs Yarl's nerves cause him to chat more than usual. This kinda thing happen often? The dead coming back?
I ain't never seen anything like it. Faithless outside and the fuckin' dead inside. The gods must fuckin' hate me. Fer fucks sake...

[dmw71]

Oak initially hesitates at Yarl's urging to join him, then quickly realizes he will have company in his task to locate Chalk.

He instinctively finds his hand reaching for the hilt of one of his daggers and makes sure to linger in the back of any party that assembles to descend into the basement.

Being unfamiliar with the hospital they now find themselves in, he pays close attention to any progress they make, hoping to memorize the path back to their current location -- and from their current location, back to Iris and Cookie.

[hedgeknight]

There Be Zombies...

Frowning at Yarl's foul black tongue, Dr. Killem and Jarro lead the way down the hall and down the spiral staircase that ends in the basement.Yarl and Oak, along with Tobias make up the group, and no more have they turned into the hallway, than they see the predicament the hospital is in:

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Seeing the hall of zombies, Jarro gives a menacing growl and Dr. Killem grabs a lantern off the wall and raises his hacksaw. "Shall we?" he says in a tone bereft of emotion. Hurling the lantern at the zombie on his left, he whistles and Jarro attacks!

Tobias holds forth his holy symbol and utters a prayer to Ilmater, the God of Suffering...to end the suffering of those they now face. Eight of the zombies turn around and push their way through the others, trying to escape the power of the prayer!
The rest surge forward.

Actions!!
There's enough zombies to go around

[Computer +1]

Yarl wants no part of fighting the undead but he wants to be eaten by the undead even less. He doesn't rush into fight, he waits for a target to close to him and he makes sure that the way is clear behind him to run. His palms feel sweaty and he feels more scared than he can remember...

When a zombie closes he slashes at its head with this short sword



and follows with his club

[hedgeknight]

Eat Me!!

Zombies are everywhere in the hallway! There must be at least two dozen and more seem to be coming through the doorway at the end of the hall. Blood is pumping in Yarl's head and he vaguely can see Dr. Killem hacking with his hacksaw, and hear Jarro barking and snarling as they tear into the zombies. Several of the creatures are fleeing from Tobias, and yet several more are trying to eat him!
He slashes at one with his sword, lopping off an ear and the side of a face, and then clubbing the same zombie popping it's left eyeball completely out of its socket! And still the fucker comes at him!
With a wild fist, the zombie smashes Yarl in the chest, knocking him back a step and shuffling forward, mouth agape, hands trying to reach him!

[Computer +1]

DIE YOU FUCKING CUNT!! Yarl screams as he chops with his short sword at the zombie before him



DIE DIE DIE he screams while swinging his club at the zombies head.

[hedgeknight]

Plenty of Zombies to Go Around!

DIE YOU FUCKING CUNT!! Yarl screams as he chops with his short sword at the zombie before him. Pieces of rotted flesh fly off the walking corpse, but it keeps reaching for the kingpin.

DIE DIE DIE he screams while swinging his club at the zombies head, which basically explodes with the force of the blow! This time it drops to the floor...even as more shuffle forward to take its place.

Through the ringing in his ears he can still hear Jarro growling and fighting, along with the measured grunts of Dr. Killem as he hacks his way through the zombie horde, trying desperately to keep them from reaching the upper floor.

Tobias summons divine power and there is the sounding of a bell as necrotic energy forms in the air around one of the zombies, wracking its decayed body. One of its arms drops off from the magic, but it keeps coming.
The young priest shudders visibly after casting the spell and hollers, "We have to retreat before we are overwhelmed! We can fight them on the stairs where we have advantage!"

Actions?

[Computer +1]

Get the fuck back to the stairs then!!! Judas cover for the priest! he yells. Yarl quickly Disengages from the fight and moves back towards the stairs away from the slow moving zombies.

Edited to update the new fancy DISENGAGE action!

[dmw71]

The zombie apocalypse has Oak thankful he's wearing his brown pants as his lack of bravery rears its ugly face.

"Uh, no..." he says flatly after several prolonged moments of stunned silence.

"Yarl, let's go!" he urges in an uncharacteristic moment of decisiveness. Without waiting to see if Yarl or Tobias, or anyone else actually follows, the cowardly half-elf dashes for the stairway to make a hasty retreat from the overridden basement.

[hedgeknight]

Brown Pants Much Appreciated!

Yarl commands Judas to protect their withdrawal, while Oak nearly runs over him to get away from the walking dead!
Dr. Killem and Jarro also disengage and do a fighting withdrawal, taking out a couple more of the zombies. "Where did these fell creatures come from?" Tobias asks, hanging back near Yarl and Oak.
"We can presume...(hack)...they were summoned by...(slash)...someone within the hospital! But who?" Dr. Killem says calmly, even though he keeps hacking away at his undead pursuers.

"OAK!" comes a shrill voice, and the Half-Elf wheels about to see Cookie hobbling down the hall toward him. "What is going on? I'm frightened!"

[dmw71]

Oak immediately moves to Cookie's side, wrapping his left arm around her protectively. "Just stick with me," he says, attempting to keep the nerves out of his voice. "Let's just back away from the basement..." he says, guiding her away from the entrance leading to the lower level.

He instinctively reaches for the hilt of his blade with his free primary hand, just in case.

[Computer +1]

Yarl tries his best to get a count of the still moving zombies before him. This place may be more defensible but he isn't planning on dying here.
If any thing comes in range he tries his best to make them deader.

[hedgeknight]

By Death's Cold Hand!

"Fall back! Fall back!" hollers Dr. Killem, his long apron covered in goop and gore; the hacksaw in his hand is likewise dripping with the flesh of the undead. His faithful hound, Jarro, heeds his master's voice and limps up the stairs to stand near the top, growling at the zombies which are beginning to ascend the stairs.
Judas stands just behind the good doctor, his teeth bared, his rusty sword gripped by white-knuckled hands.
Next is the young priest, Tobias, his face covered in sweat.
At the top of the stairs stands Yarl Blacktongue, the kingpin of the Rivington Rats. He is counting the undead, and is somewhat relieved to see only four on the stairs, and none in the landing...wait! Who or what is that?

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A hooded man appears upon the landing, amid the zombies which do not attack him. Instead, they seem to have some sort of affinity toward him. He glances up at those on the steps and speaks a simple word while lifting his staff. The eye sockets of the skull atop it glow vivid green and suddenly a ghostly, skeletal hand latches onto Dr. Killem and the surgeon sinks to his knees, howling in agony!
Tobias turns to look at Yarl, his face even paler than before. "Run and get help! We'll try to hold him off!"

Oak and Cookie are standing a few feet away...but they hear the screams of Dr. Killem and they see Judas take the top two stairs in one leap. The normally "tough guy" facade is gone; he looks like he's about to shit himself.
"Holy fuck! We need to get the hell out of here!" he says, grabbing Yarl by the shoulder.

[dmw71]

"What..." Oak manages to utter while fighting back his fear. He clutches Cookie's hand, probably too tightly, and retreats further into the hospital, away from the stairs.

If he finds an open room, he and Cookie duck into it and seek a place of cover. Complete cover, if possible.

[Computer +1]

Yarl is scared. Judas pulls at him and he half turns to go before he sheathes his short sword and draws and throws his lucky dagger at the hooded figure.


Its not much but maybe it will break the figure's concentration and give the doctor a chance.

Yarl watches the flight of the dagger as he moves away....

[hedgeknight]

By Death's Cold Hand...Running and Hiding!

"OAK!"
Cookie's scream echoes down the hall as he grabs her hand and pulls her along, seeking safety, seeking refuge, anywhere to get away from whatever is coming up from the basement. Tearing down the hallway, he spies an open door on the left and enters, Cookie running as fast as she can alongside him. The room is long and narrow with several beds and screens...and patients. Some are whimpering quietly, some are covered completely with a white sheet...spots of blood bleeding through. A lone acolyte stands there looking at Oak and Cookie. Her apron is bloodied, like all of the other acolytes and nurses he has seen.

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"Wh-what are doing here? Do you need help?" she asks, her voice not loud so as to not upset the patients.
The blood is pumping in Oak's head...he can still hear the screams of the doctor on the stairs.
"We need to hide!" Cookie says, her voice shrill with terror.
"Hide?" the acolyte asks, her voice quavering slightly. "Hide from what?"


Scared. Yarl is scared, but Judas is terrified, pulling at him, bolting down the hallway. Yarl turns to go, but then sheathes his sword and hurls his "lucky" dagger at the hooded figure. The dagger sinks deep into the left shoulder of the hooded man, who flinches slightly and then looks up at Yarl...and smiles.
Tobias begins casting a spell as Yarl moves away, slowly at first, and then faster. The young priest has a look of near panic on his sweat laden face. Yarl never sees what happens since he's too busy running. He watches Judas burst out the front door of the hospital and into the street...

Outside the hospital...

Judas bursts outside, gulping for air, on the verge of hysteria. "We need to get the fu--URK!"
A hooded figure grabs Judas around the neck and mouth and pulls him down. "Quit screaming like a fuckin' girl, Judas!" the figure hisses in his ear. He struggles to free himself and then realizes the "hooded figure" is Money, his lookout. He relaxes a bit but his eyes are still filled with fear. He manages a "What?" before Money whispers, "Sticks has fucked us. Me and True have killed at least eight of the Faithless...all sent to make sure we don't survive the night. Who knows how many more are out there? True is down to three arrows and I have two daggers...we haven't moved far to retrieve any. Fuckin' Faithless keep coming out of the shadows in twos and threes. And Judas...we overheard one of 'em holler something about the Den burnin' and the Rats being homeless. You don't think?"

[Computer +1]

We gotta .... we .... Yarl trails off as he realizes he doesn't know what to do. Every time he tries to keep everyone safe it all falls to shit. Die to the undead or die to the living? He shudders as he thinks of the figure in the basement who smiled when Yarl's dagger hit him. Smiled...

Whatever is out here isn't as bad as whats inside. The undead is coming... We gotta get the fuck outta here.