The Eye of Anubis: Book Seven

[Nathan of the FoS]

Charles is vastly relieved when someone (who? Oh, Tomas. Good chap, always been fond of Tomas) relieves him of his hanger-on. And then the cannon fires, and something Kuzan said percolates into Charles' brain...Cut the head off the snake and it dies.

Everything snaps into place with rather alarming speed and clarity. The deck has been cleared, the crew is occupied with the cannon, there's a direct line to the point where the ship is broken up...but how to...wait! Ezra be praised, Andre is right there to discuss matters. "Andre! We need the captain down, yes? Make me invisible. I've got the horse, and the speed, he'll never know what hit him." He grabs Shadowfinger from where it was scabbarded behind his saddle as he speaks.

Andre grinned a moment, a sly grin that would've been completely out of place on him weeks before, but now looked perfectly at home. He nodded to Charles, then looked to Remy. "And for my next trick, I shall make Charles Martel...Dissapear!" And with but a touch and a word in a language ages dead, Charles...vanished.

So, a split-second later, did his horse.

And by the time Khalil tumbled past Tomas, Charles was long gone.

Greater Invisibility from Andre (thanks, YV!), invisibility on Kejser, Kejser takes a full round action to run to W14, Charles dismounts into W13.

[DocBeard]

"Vas!" Tomas exclaims, because it sounds foreign and bitter despite not being much of a swear word. Only Otto'd know for sure anyway, so!

"Really, I know I'm handsome, but one at a time, please!" Tomas pleads with the undead horde, his sword swiping with supernatural speed, biting twice to the right in an attempt to fend the beasts off, before Tomas spins around in the air and hacks the zombie in front of him in two!

(OOC: Darn damage rolls. Full attack, all hit. First one is at the guy to my right, does 14, second's to the diagonal one, does 15, and third is to the frontsie, and does 21. All of this is after the DR, natch.)

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Lia beats her wings strongly, then crosses her arms in front of her chest and chants: "Sagittae magicae, omne errore vacuae, volete." Five darts of blue energy fly shrieking from the Wizard, and split up in mid-flight. Two of them strike the zombie closest to her at Tomas's side -- and tear its husk asunder. Two of them strike the zombie at Tomas's side that is a little further away -- and render it into so much shattered flesh and bone. The fifth dart flies further away, punching the Ghoul currently engaged in battle with Khalil.

Lia drops down into the saddle, wings neatly folding under her cloak as she quickly takes the reins up and settles her camel down. "Tomas," she says, her voice slightly bland, "I might suggest helping Ishaq and Khalil. Are you in need of healing?"

(Casting Magic Missile. Zombie BJ12 gets 9 damage, is down. Zombie BI12 gets 8 damage, is down. Ghoul BE16 gets 5 damage, status unknown. Dropping back down into my camel's saddle, Ride check 22.)

[The Whistler]

--Contingency alpha inactive contingency beta active aid in withdrawal position self speak translate <Small-Star! Loup! On my mark...HERD!> move calm move calm supervise look supervise--

OOC: Sorry for the series of shortish posts--internet's been acting up, so been trying to get these off as quick as I can for the time being. Helping Fassahd with the Handle Animal (11 on the Aid Another roll), and enlisting the two doggies to do the same, with the intent of getting the camels to retreat backwards as orderly as possible.

[Kaitou Kage]

"DIETER!" Kuzan shouted as the cannonball exploded. When the flash and dust cleared, the priest let out a relieved breath that his friend was still alive. Quickly, he reached into his mind and pulled out his healing power. The power flowed so naturally, but something about this time really made Kuzan feel good. He grabbed Dieter's hand and poured the life-giving power into him, then patted the Lamordian on the back.

"Be careful!" he said, "We only got one medic and I can't be everywhere at once." The priest flashed Dieter a mischievous grin, then turned his camel about and rode back.

Cure Serious on Dieter.

17 (dice) + 10 (caster level) + 6 (augment) = 33 healed. Almost good as new!

Riding back up to the same place I was at last round.

[NeoTiamat]

Southern Outskirts of the Jackal's Ruse, Sebua
July 13th, 761, 7:52 PM; Day 118 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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PC Actions
Charles casts invisibility on Kejser, rides up the map, prepares for Suicide by Ghoul Lord
Andre casts Greater Invisibility upon Charles
Ishaq kills a ghoul
Otto Aids Fassahd with the camels, gets Loup and Small Star to do the same.
Kuzan heals Dieter up to full.
Lia casts Magic Missile at two zombies, killing them, and a ghoul, wounding.
Khalil kills two zombies and badly wounds a ghoul.
Tomas smites one zombie and nearly kills two more.


Fassahd seemed to have lost his usual nervousness, yelling and swearing at the camels like a madman as Loup and Small-Star barked at his feet. The small Akiri man wasn't so much trying to calm the animals down so much as he tried to get them to stampede in the direction he wanted them to go. Away from the cannons and the ghouls and the zombies.

Rather amazingly, it worked.

"My uncle, he was a camel driver for merchant in Muhar." Fassahd al-Muharin said with a deep satisfaction as the pack animals moved away, picking up speed from their traditional amble to a more frenetic pace.

"Less chatter, more running, please." Samael muttered, turning his own animal to follow.

===============================================

In the cavernous interior of the gun-deck, ghouls and zombies pulled back the first massive cannon, straining on the half-rotted ropes. Others loaded a cannon with powder and a bag of shot, carelessly, swiftly, but with great strength. This was not the cautious operation of a true naval ship. This was the maddened firing of a crew of a feral crew, caring not the least.

The second great cannon was rolled forth in its tracks, pushed by zombies with little intellect but much strength. At a word from the ghoulish captain, a torch was lowered to the firing hole, and..... a great force hit the top of the cannon's muzzle, knocking it downward. The cannon fired, the shot burying itself harmlessly in the sand, falling far, far short of its target.

===============================================

"I've always been considered skilled in telekinesis." Professor Pelletier noted mildly at the wild shot.

Cannon!

Ghouls and Zombies aim the Cannon at square CA-15, again. Would normally hit CE-11, but due to Professor Pelletier's tampering, hits BS-11 instead. No one being there, no damage.

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Fassahd makes his Handle-Animal roll, in no small part to getting a +6 bonus from Otto and the Doggies. Retreat is proceeding downward. Another round or so and you guys can start getting the Hades out of there too.



Notable NPC Actions: I'll keep it brief. For the sake of ease-of-writing, NPCs either kill a zombie or they wound it (10 HP lost), nothing in between.

NPCs spend most of the round getting the camels under control and maneuvering.
Professor Pelletier casts Telekinesis to screw up the next cannon's aiming.

Enemy Actions:
Ghoul moves and attacks Tomas, misses.

Zombie attacks Ishaq 3 times, misses
Zombie attacks Ishaq 3 times, hits once for 4 damage
Zombie attacks Ishaq 3 times, hits once for 7 damage
Zombe attacks Khalil 3 times, hits once for 4 damage

Zombie moves and attacks Ishaq, misses
Zombie moves and attacks Ishaq, hits for 4 damage
Zombie moves and attacks Ishaq, misses
Zombie moves and attacks Tomas, misses
Zombie moves and attacks Tomas, hits for 8-1=7 damage
Zombie moves and attacks Guy, misses.
Zombie moves and attacks Andre, hits for 6 damage.

Anyone who is hit must make a DC 5 Ride Check to avoid falling off their camel. If you fail, you fall off and must make a DC 15 Ride check or take 1d6 damage.

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Expedition Overview: Bless (+1 Attack, +1 vs Fear), Dark Knowledge (+2d6 on Weapon Damage vs. Zombies, Ghouls)
Kuzan: -16 HP
Tomas: -20 HP, Haste
Otto:
Charles: -15 HP, Haste, Greater Invisibility
Lia: -8 HP
Ishaq: -54 HP
Khalil: -38 HP
Small Star: -21 HP
Andre: -6 HP, Haste

Professor Pelletier: Greater Invisibility, Haste
Professor Carter: -4 HP
Professor Devereux:
Professor Marchand-Renier: Haste

Samael: -6 HP
Lily:
Fassahd: Haste
Mary:
Remy: Haste

Guy: -4 HP, Haste
Loup: -4 HP, Haste
Michel:
Harris: -49 HP
Sarari:
Dieter:
Jervis: -18 HP

Monster Overview:
I am not going to bother tracking the HP of every single monster here. I've not the room. As such, I'll simply tell you the AC, HP, and DR here, and only list zombies that aren't fully killed.

One Dot Zombies: Wounded (9 HP left)
Four Dot Zombies: -17 HP

Ghoul Lord: -17 HP

Zombies: AC 16; HP 19; DR 5/Slashing

Hollow Camels = Dead Camels
Dotted Camels = Wounded Camel with 6 HP left.



Key! Going from the top, roughly:
SS - Small Star
Kh - Khalil al-Atim
Mc - Mary Collins
T - Tomas Eisenwald
F - Fassahd al-Muharin
I - Ishaq Rafiq
L - Liability Mournswaithe
C - Charles Martel
A - Andre Theroux
O - Otto Schultheiss
L (Green) - Loup
Mr - Sebastian Marchand-Renier
R - Remy Lessard
K - Kuzan
G - Guy Benoit
P - Jean-Jacques Pelletier
Li - Lily D'Envers
C - Thomas Carter
M - Michel de Angelis
D (top) - Charles Devereux
S - Samael Maleagant
Sr - Sarari
H - Edmund Harris
D (lower) - Dieter Haulfstead
J - 'Jervis'

PCs are the red circles.
NPCs are the green circles
Zombies are the letterless blue circles.
Camels (and Kesjer) are the brown ovals.

[Kaitou Kage]

Kuzan snapped the reins of his camel and rode forward, a deep, ominous prayer rumbling from his throat. His voice resonated in a way it never had before, and it sounded as if he actually spoke with the voice of divine authority from above. His intonations gained strength as he neared the battlefield, then he stopped next to Carter. With a loud cry of "OM!" he thrust his hand to the sky.

A flash of light flickered around him for a moment, then something smashed into the ground amid the ghouls and zombies at the front line. An imperceptible, but amazingly powerful force that ripped the undead asunder.

Lightning crackled in Kuzan's eyes, the dragon breath inside him waiting for release. He watched the aftermath of his spell. That should help matters some.

Blasting some undeads with HOLY SMITE!



17 damage to everything that's not good-aligned in that blue circle. Also, all creatures caught in the effect are blinded for 1 round.

Will save DC 19 reduces damage to 8 and negates the blindness.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Lia sits still as Kuzan's spell takes effect. Words start to form in her mind, and are abandoned. In the end, she says nothing to comment on the priest's power, but simply launches her own once more: "Sagittae magicae, omne errore vacuae, volete." Five bolts of power shoot forth, each unerringly striking a different target.

(Firing a Magic Missile at: the zombie at BJ16 (4 damage), the zombie at BJ17 (2 damage), the zombie at BH17 (2 damage), the zombie at BH18 (3 damage), and finally the ghoul at BG18 (3 damage). Nice spell on Kuzan's part!)

[steveflam]

Ishaq grunts everytime a Zombie hurts him. Cuts, bruises, bites and other damage can be seen as well as felt by the big burly barbarian. That doesn't stop him from killing off more undead. Once Kuzan and Lia are done with their spells, Ishaq moves forward and swings his mighty blade at the Ghoul there. Needless to say the Ghoul, after having passed through Kuzan and Lia's spells, doesn't survive. It crumples to the ground, to its final resting place. Ishaq brings his sword around and slashes at the closest Zombie, totally destroying it.

Attacking Ghoul at square BG 18. Okay 1st attack is a 19 so that gives 31, a hit. Damage rolled is a 19 for 33 total on the Ghoul. Thank you for flying on Buh-Bye airlines, Mr. Ghoul. BUH-BYE!

Attacking Zombie at sqaure BG 19. Rolled a 15 for a 22. Damage rolled is 16 for 30 damage. Zombie joins previous Ghoul on Buh-Bye airlines. Oh yeah am now at square BH 18, sorry about that.

[Nathan of the FoS]

Ducking off Kejser as they near the ship, Charles slaps his flank. Herd instinct should do the rest; Kejser is not exactly friendly with his camel compatriots, but he is intelligent enough to prefer them over zombies. And ghouls.

Why Charles isn't intelligent enough to show the same preference is a question that will have to be addressed later.

Slipping forward with the eerie speed of Professor Pelletier's enchantment to lend wings to his feet, Charles winds between the advancing zombies and into the broken belly of the ship, where he pauses to take stock of the situation--and to mutter another spell. Thus fortified, he prepares to make his ascent topside...

Moving to the foot of the ladder in O8 and casting cat's grace.

[yalenusveler]

Andre cursed, but managed to remain on the camel "I am NOT on the Menu." He intoned rather forcefully, his words blending right into a prayer, positive energy coursing through a hand, which he thrust towards the Zombie. When he connected, there was a bright flash from his hand, positive energy coursing through the undead.

Passed the ride, Casting a Cure Serious defensively, Touch attack on our zombie friend, hit, he gets a will save for half of 17, and Amulet of Tears up, 3 charges.

[lostboy]

Seeing the camels finally move off certainly provides a ray of hope in Khalils day, however the corpse next to him trying to claw out hsi eyes provides an equally dampening experience.

Thrusting his blade into the corpses throat, the desert guide looks at the corpse for a seocnd before whistling sharply and calling forth some feathered retribution, as Karsh screeches in and rakes the zombie's face.

Satisfied Khalil leaps around the zmobie and performing a gavity defying no-handed cartwheel, lands with both feet on the dead camels body and brings his off-hand round in a thurst to the zombie behind Ishaq. Pirouetting he slashes into a third walking corpse.

[Phirazian] "Some help perhaps my friend?" he shouts at Ishaq as he squares up next to the barbarian.

[OOC: dervishing BL15 / BK16 / BJ17 / BK18 / BJ19
Attacking Zombies at: BK15 / BJ18 / BI19
To hit: 22 / 35 / 22
using 1 charge of deathstrike bracers
Crit confirmed with a 38!
Damage: 16 / 29 / 19

Dodge ac bonus aginst zombie at BJ18

Karsh attacks zombie at BK15
To hit 26
damage 6 ]

[DocBeard]

"Arrrgh!" Tomas shouts, as he's actually bitten in the side of the neck by one of the damn things. He kicks it off, takes a swipe at it, and another clumsy swipe to the left...the lousy swing kicking up a mess of sand that flies back into Tomas's face and grinds into his open wounds, causing the Lamordian to let out another tight scream of pain!

And then, the Ghoul.

"I'm not having this!" Tomas exclaims, wiping his face off with the corner of his coat, ducking forward, and attempting a hip-to-shoulder bisection of the ravenous beast in front of him!

(OOC: Full attack. Missed both zombies. Used Smite Evil on the Ghoul, which I believe hit. I dunno if the ghoul has DR or not, but hopefully I still did something in the neighborhood of the 31 points of damage I rolled.)

[The Whistler]

--contingency beta successful move sprint reinforce front lines reload reload reload--

--Hold it, hold it, hold it.

Wha-- ...Kind of in the middle of something here, understand? Now--

Yeah, that's the problem. Biggest hunt in weeks, and I get left out in the cold. How's that strike you as fair?

Oh, for the love of-- What do you call that trick with the camels and the other two?

Yeah, I call that hijacking my language to pull off a classic human gimmick. You give me a choice between herding those things and eating them, which do you honestly think I'm going to go for? Meanwhile, I'm twiddling my paws the whole time you're on offense, and--

Fine. Fine! You want some action? You want to participate? You have three seconds. Knock yourself o--

Hah! Now we're cooking with naphtha. Now, how do you light one of these--

--WATCH IT!--

>KRA-BOOM<

OOC: Moving to BL12 and throwing a bomb at BH12 with an attack roll of 30 to do...7 damage to all the baddies around that square. :-/ At least it didn't hit Tomas or Guy...

[NeoTiamat]

Southern Outskirts of the Jackal's Ruse, Sebua
July 13th, 761, 7:52 PM; Day 118 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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PC Actions
Charles gets ready to commit Death by Ghoul Lord.
Andre attempts to kill a zombie. Damages it for 8.
Ishaq kills a ghoul and a zombie.
Kuzan lays down the Holy Wrath, blinding and damaging 8 zombies and 2 ghouls, and damaging 2 zombies.
Lia finishes off four zombies.
Khalil and Karsh kill three zombies.
Tomas smites the ghoul for 31 damage.
Otto finishes off a ghoul and wounds another one.


"Funnel them through." Professor Pelletier said calmly as a curtain of fog narrowed the battlefield yet again. Say what you will about the old mage, but he was not given to panic in battle. "And let us prepare to fall back."

Another cannonball flew overhead, sending a spray of shrapnel at Kuzan and Carter. More undead were charging from the ship. Now was the time to escape, before things got even uglier.

My imagination is dead right now. Cannon!

Ghouls and Zombies aim the Cannon at square BM-15, again. Hits BQ-19 instead. 31 Damage, Reflex DC 15 for half.

Both camels make their save, take 15 damage. Carter does not make his save, takes 31 damage. Kuzan, you also need to save.

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PCs and Combat NPCs may begin withdrawing. If you can reach the bottom of the map, go for it.



Notable NPC Actions: I'll keep it brief. For the sake of ease-of-writing, NPCs either kill a zombie or they wound it (10 HP lost), nothing in between.

Guy kills a zombie.
Carter kills a blinded zombie.
Sarari kills a zombie.
Michel wounds a zombie.
Professor Pelletier casts Shadow Solid Fog

Enemy Actions:
Ghoul five-foots and attacks Tomas twice. Hit once for 6-1=5 damage. DC 15 Fort Save or be Paralyzed for 3 rounds.
Ghoul then attacks Guy once. Hits for 7. Guy must make a DC 15 Fort Save.

Zombie attacks Ishaq 3 times, hits twice, Rends, deals 21 damage.
Zombie attacks Ishaq 3 times, hits once, deals 5 damage.
Zombie attacks Andre 3 times, hits once, deals 5 damage.

Zombie moves and attacks Michel, misses
Zombie moves and attacks Tomas, misses
Zombie moves and attacks Guy, misses.
Zombie moves and attacks Guy, hits for 3 damage.
Zombie moves and attacks Ishaq, misses.
Zombie moves and attacks Ishaq, hits for 4 damage.
Zombie moves and attacks Ishaq, hits for 6 damage.

Anyone who is hit must make a DC 5 Ride Check to avoid falling off their camel. If you fail, you fall off and must make a DC 15 Ride check or take 1d6 damage.

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Expedition Overview: Bless (+1 Attack, +1 vs Fear), Dark Knowledge (+2d6 on Weapon Damage vs. Zombies, Ghouls)
Kuzan: -16 HP
Tomas: -25 HP, Haste
Otto:
Charles: -15 HP, Haste, Greater Invisibility
Lia: -8 HP
Ishaq: -90 HP
Khalil: -38 HP
Small Star: -21 HP
Andre: -6 HP, Haste, +19 Temp HP

Professor Pelletier: Greater Invisibility, Haste
Professor Carter: -4 HP
Professor Devereux:
Professor Marchand-Renier: Haste

Samael: -6 HP
Lily:
Fassahd: Haste
Mary:
Remy: Haste

Guy: -14 HP, Haste
Loup: -4 HP, Haste
Michel:
Harris: -49 HP
Sarari:
Dieter:
Jervis: -18 HP

Monster Overview:
I am not going to bother tracking the HP of every single monster here. I've not the room. As such, I'll simply tell you the AC, HP, and DR here, and only list zombies that aren't fully killed.

One Dot Zombies: Wounded (9 HP left)
Four Dot Zombies: -17 HP, Those at the battle are Blinded
Two Dot Zombies: -8 HP

Ghoul Lord: -17 HP

Zombies: AC 16; HP 19; DR 5/Slashing

Hollow Camels = Dead Camels
Dotted Camels = Wounded Camel with 6 HP left.



Key! Going from the top, roughly:
SS - Small Star
Kh - Khalil al-Atim
Mc - Mary Collins
T - Tomas Eisenwald
F - Fassahd al-Muharin
I - Ishaq Rafiq
L - Liability Mournswaithe
C - Charles Martel
A - Andre Theroux
O - Otto Schultheiss
L (Green) - Loup
Mr - Sebastian Marchand-Renier
R - Remy Lessard
K - Kuzan
G - Guy Benoit
P - Jean-Jacques Pelletier
Li - Lily D'Envers
C - Thomas Carter
M - Michel de Angelis
D (top) - Charles Devereux
S - Samael Maleagant
Sr - Sarari
H - Edmund Harris
D (lower) - Dieter Haulfstead
J - 'Jervis'

PCs are the red circles.
NPCs are the green circles
Zombies are the letterless blue circles.
Camels (and Kesjer) are the brown ovals.