Duty Session 479: Spooky Scary Skeletons

Its a spooky time of year. Ghosts and ghouls and races, oh my! The concentration of Dark energies about lends to some less-than-favorable monster situations that the Hunter's Guild puts requests out for. This is one such quest. In the Westlande Desert there has been undead spottings. Normally these critters would stick to dungeons, so the walking dead is a concern. Carl, the guide, informs the group as such when they arrived. "The largest concentration seems to be towards that thar oasis," he says, pointing out into the desert sands. Guide you there? Oh no. He is staying right where he is.

Soujiro is wearing a little less than normal for the trek out into the sandlands. His samurai cloth are of a softer fabric that let him breathe. The red armor itself is coated in fire resistance oils to reduce the impending heat. He takes a drink from his prepared canteen of wonderful green tea. Ahh. Refreshing. "Great. We know where they are, now its just a matter of removing the threat," he says with a voice that is equal parts friendly as it is encouraging. It befits his kind eyes and warm smile even in the arid landscape.

    June is ... well June, poor impulse control incarnate, and well she's good at punching undead so she joins into a party to do just that. The mousey woman looking to test out her newest scripture invention Ultima Scripta her engraved cestus. She doesn't say much but she does give Riz a frienly thump in the shoulder with a fist... which requires a bit of jumping, small women have to work harder at physical bonding gestures with talk folks.

    The warm desert sand crunches between the toes of Rizadoman as he appraoches the guide known as Carl. Compared to most names it was a rather unique name as he looks about the endless desert. "It's been a while since I've been to the desert." The giant lizard takes a deep breath enjoying the warmth for another moment before he grips his shield. This is infact all he seems to have on him. In fact the entire walk here there would have been whispers and comments about a giant lizardman going around in nothing but a loin cloth. These rumors seem to be describing Rizadoman as he currently stands here, wearing just the loin cloth and shield. "Ready to go."

The desert is hot. It is one of those obvious things like 'an ocean is wet' or 'a snowfield is cold'. This desert holds up to the climate reputation as an arid wind blows against the party. It brings with it a little something acidic on the wind: a hint of death. Even at a distance is it easy to spot the wandering figures in the desert. Shambling ghouls have made the area more dangerous for travelers. The weather has dried them out and turned them into desiccated variants of their dungeon dwelling selves. They look as if they originate from the usual races as their dry skin clings to the bone like so much over microwaved pizza cheese. Some of the creatures drag along, thier organs dark and being pulled around like rocks along the sand. Hollow eyes peer out mindlessly. They groan mindlessly. Some have an open head and present themselves mindlessly. No matter how mindless they appear to be, they respect agro rules. Getting too close to them would cause them to attack, as would any undue sound. It is possible to just sneak by this group or, if talented enough, round them up so they cannot harass future travelers.

Soujiro the Samurai is thinking option: Cut them in half. As he approaches he notices how poor of a fight that would truly be. He keeps his katanas sheathed in their sayas as he presents sound gamer logic of what their agro radius is and begins to navigate around them. The covert part should at least be a challenge.

    June is, well she's small and she's a Godhand so despite the slightly pudgy librarian auntie look she has high agility and some decent stealth skills. The woman in her Red Sonja getup just goes to ground and slinks along avoiding ghouls for the time being. No need to kill everything when you can hunt down the root cause and then punch it in the face... there's always a root cause for undead infestations.

    Rizadoman looks at the group of undead and wrinkles his face at the smell, "Undead in the desert is the worse smell." Taking a step forward he begins to move towards the undead doing his best to dance around them. That is to say he simply keeps walking through the crowd of undead , only putting the effort to avoid any vital or critical hits. Either the large lizardman isn't built for evasion and sneaking or he isn't really trying, probably a bit of both.

Souji is able to keep outside of the agro radius of the ghouls as he advances, as does June, as they advance around the undead. It is made rather easy to do when Riza walks in a straight line and pulls agro for most of them an opening the size of a swimming pool. "Is it," Soujiro asks with sincerity to Riza's statement. He sniffs the air, noting, "It really is. Smells horrible to me, I can only imagine how bad it smells for you." He has normal nose sensitivity and could only fathom what enhanced senses would be like here.

The trek towards the oasis has the trio climbing over a large dune. The sands shift with the wind and with that howling air comes a different sound. It is a deep thrum to a metranome. Drum beats in the desert? At the top of the dune they all see them: skeletons. The group of rattling skeletons march together in time. The steady footfalls of their bone feet against the sand find a rhythmic melody that is pleasing to the ears albiet creepy. Spooksy. They are likely using this sound to keep in time with the march. It appears that these skeletons were once a military regiment in life. They wear the tattered remains of Westelande colors in places.

The moment the party gets into range of the skeletons, they clank into action. The back linges begin grabbing pieces of bone from their bodies and hurling them as makeshift projectiles. They didn't really /need/ those rib bones, anyway. The bones make a strange woop woop woop sounds as they sail through the air. The front line of the skeletal fighters rush towards the advantures through the hot sand. They lack weaponry and lash out with hand and heel once within reach.

For those musically inclined there appears to be a pattern to their attacks. Disrupting it would have a devastating effect on skeletan coordination.

Soujiro does not have a musical inclination. He enjoys music, yes. It is a beautiful thing to his ears. Performing it? No. Music besides, he aches for a good battle as he walks towards the approaching skeletons. The ground itself lends to him, causing a wave of sand and force to rip towards the skeletons in a swift iai strike from a freshly drawn katana. After the sand ripples forward he draws the second and is primed for some (un)Mortal Kombat.

    Rizadoman steps up and protects his head with his shield as the bones clank against it before the lizardman lets out an echoing roar. Stabbing both his hands into the ground he pulls up a large chunk of earth and throws it as hard as he can at a few of the skeletons. "From the earth you came and from the earth you shall return." Rizadoman continues to hurl his improvised earth like projectiles at the best of his ability as they continue to progress.

    June isn't really good with music... she's trying to learn song for some of her research however and well... if you're trying to screw someone else up musically nothing works quite so well as being off beat or off tempo. The godhand starts to dance (poorly) but then as each foot hits the ground there is a booming of the earth like she's dancing an earthquake into being. The ground shaking and the rythm just off enough from the skelletons that any band leader would be trying to fire the new drummer. Of course any bony boy who gets close enough ends up with enhanced strength punches smashing metal 'boxing gloves' into their bony faces.

The sandstorm from Souji does little more than cause the other desert inclined skeletons to eat a bit more desert. They chew the sand between their teeth. Nom nom. Unlike sand, actual chunks of earth are effective. They wreck through the skeletons like they were dried tree branches against a truck. The quake of the earth rattles several more apart and reduces the skeletal forces to sparese shambles to clean up. The melee that follows sweeps up the front line of the skeletons and gives the back line little time before they are scattered like bowling pins.

It isn't long after the encounter with the skeletons that the group spots the first hints of structures within the desert. Ancient stone boundings seem to have been buried here. They have been etched way by wind and sand, eroded by time. Any identifying marks of what these buildings once were have been claimed by the desert. All they serve now are waypoint markers that guide travelers like the trio towards the oasis.

The forgotten locale is not without its own guardians. Skeletals hands push up from the sand and drag mummified bodies out of their slumber. Besides the linen wraps, they all wear noticible bettle scarabs around their neck. They are faster than their ghoulish brethren and make quick movements towards the Adventurers. Dry, dirty hands grasp out with sharp fingernails hoping to find exposed flesh they can rake into. Dark, gaping teeth open wide to take a bite, just for taste, as the dark magic lingers behind their eyes for their hungering.

The samurai in red armor waits for the mummies to get close. Soujiro's blade glints with a white light that follows the arc of his blade in a clean counter-offensive swipe. It drives his motion forward, coming in a series of light-saber like slashing that always sends him forward, towards his foe, and through them.

    Rizadoman is attracted to the ancient structure and begins to look at the words and markings, "Hmm it appears that it is talking about an ancient creature, a warning if you will. Know This: This Creature Is The Bringer Of Death. He Will Never Eat, He Will Never Sleep, And He Will Never Stop. Death is only the beginning." Whatever goes on behind him he continues to read, "Oh looks like there is a spell to dismiss the creature but I can't make out this last symbol, looks like a bird."

    June looks at the skelletons... "What did you do Benny!?" she announces before producing her Offuda case "Kadeesh mal Pareed Oos!" she says even as she writes something on a seal and throws it at a mummy, then another and another. The woman's seals when they land disolve in a flare of white before detonating in a blast of holy magic. Never mess with a Godhand who is also the greatest scribe in the world.

The light imbued strikes from Souji's katanas cut through a mummy, causing it to break apart into monster dust and loot upon its defeat. Several more are offuda'd with undoing banishment that partners up with Riza's commentary on the faded structure.

The party continues into the lush oasis landscape by leaving behind the ruins at its edge. The water here allows for growth that is otherwise absent in the desert. Leafy plants sway in the hot, desert air, but something is amiss. There is no evidence of animals here. Given the greenery and water, there should be some around. It is an ideal watering hole. The monsters are the likely reason for this scarcity as a prime candidate makes itself known: A Reaper.

A faintly glowing undead monster floats in patrol around the edge of the oasis waters. The monster lacks legs. It is a being that flies as a floating ribcage with arm and head attached above it. It makes an eerie sound as it moves as if there are faint screams of the damned in its wake. It wears a tattered hood to hide the face made of bone beneath. Red energy radiates where eyes should be. It stops during its patrol, looking for new souls to harvest. It finds them. A bony hand reaches out to summon the reaper's token scythe. The large obsidian weapon flies through the air with remarkable speed, seeking to cut the Adveturers down to size!

Soujiro can hear those voices from the Reaper. None were spared. Men, women, and children. To a reaper its as natural as harvesting wheat. The blue eyes of the samurai darken in vengeance. Both blades come up as it is his turn for the Scythe, sparks flying as he bats it off its trajectory. He advances while deflecting, not waiting for the return of the Scythe as he rushes to the front of the battle with both swords out. A foot plants as he launches upwards, a double slash through the creature that has him vaulting in a backwards arc, landing against a springy palm tree to vault for more mayhem.

    June looks at the floating creature the in English announces "Don't fear the reaper." she snorts, shifts into her iron clad cow girl form and charges. If the undead before found fighting a Godhand to be a punishing experience... well now she's a mini minotaur covered in dark iron scales as she starts in with complex martial arts that include using her horns and iron hooves.

    Rizadoman looks at the Reaper for a moment before he steps in and his scales take on a blood red coloring. " I will take the hits you two do the damage. " Once the comment is made the lizardman does his best to make it a reality. Every hit, every attack, Rizadoman tries to make sure he is there. Almost like a living shield, he isn't about to let the reaper do any more damage to those around.

The reaper didn't stand a chance. The World Ends With You, buddy. Its health goes dangerously low after the persistant assault by the experienced party of adventurers. Instead of fighting to the last, it performs an escape. A cry that sounds like the screams of many people and animals howls from its hooded skull. It floats away from the part and over the water of the oasis. Then, curiously, it crumbles like dust as if it had been snapped out of existance.

There is a brief respite over the crystal clear oasis. Not even wind disturbs the surface giving it a glass-like texture. Suddenly there is something different in the reflection. A pulse of green light is seen deep in the reflection that ripples to the top of the surface of the water. As if pulled from the underworld, a new enemy appears with an even larger health bar. It has billowing robes and magic crackling at its feet. It inspects as a Lich.

The Lich raises one hand and sends out another green light pulse across the landscape. It seems to resurrect many of the same undead that the party had /just/ defeated. All that work, undone, with the sand rising them back up to engage with the party once more.

The dancing skeletons approach in lock-step with the shambling ghouls that rise from the water. The question can now be answered what ghoul smells worse: wet or dry. The Reaper's skeletal bones begin to reconstruct along with a new fancy bone scythe to use against the party. The mummies rise once more, launching their bandages at the players, trying to crowd-control them down for the others to injure. Not only is this an undead threat, it is a coordinated one. This is certain to be a hard fought battle as the combined undead wade upon the group. The Lich follows up its own necromantic abilities by raising a green gemmed staff. Green light begins to draw from all living things nearby. That means you three. As it sucks away the life, the Lich restores its own in a lifesteal

Soujiro isn't worried about the return of the horde. It makes the human grin. This is exactly the kind of fight he was hoping for out here. Waves upon waves of enemies, varied ones, with an ever present pressure of his life ticking down from a menacing caster-type. He fights through the adds first, drawing a samurai's challenge to pull groups of them away in a rhythm so the group as a whole can cycle through clearing adds and focusing on the main big boss. He gets his own turn on the Lich too, which he engages in with sharp jubilation.

    Rizadoman stands at the site the reaper fell and pops a health potion to recover the damage he took , his wounds diappearing in red pixels. It is only then does he notice the green light along the water. "This isn't over." The lich appears and Rizadoman glares at it. "So this thing rises agsain, well then..." With a challenging roar Rizadoman's shield breaks into a pair of twin blades and he points one at the Lich in declaration of combat. Charging forward he slashes once, then twice and then bringing both down for a vertical slash as hard as he can , causing fire to erupt at the end of the slash. "Burn in hell you accursed thing."

    Finaly, what June has been waiting for a chance to do... Punch the source evil in the face. Ahhh yes. The iron clad cowgirl laughs... she laughs at a boss fight. She punches her fists together, the metal shells over her metal fingers start to glow, the script engraved over the metal bursting into holy light. "Ultima Ratio... the last argument of Kings... Violence!"

    She leaps into battle... Sleeping Kinghts, the have this urge to fight bosses but more so to be the BEST and she is the best scribe in the world and the punches she throws show it, the scripture covering her fists flare with white light and the words leap forth in arcs ofholy power. Battering and blinding those foes that they slam into, again and again she throws barrages of these long range punches, almost like she's shadow boxing only the blows land in lines of holy burning scripture.

Soujiro gets fairly banged up in the prolonged fight against the additional monster spawns of the undead. His health and equipment isn't close to what it once was before the expansion, though he never gets so low that he is at risk of being taken out before he kicks back a potion or draws into a recovery stance. The health of the boss plummets much faster during the rotations when Riz gets flame erupting slash damage against it. The flares of June's holy assault bring the battlefield back to balance as if battered by the BEST scribe out there. Because they are. Progress is hard to track as the fight continues on. It seems like an endless cycle since the Lich continues to restore their hit points from draining the party's.

Finally the pattern diverges. The next rotation against the boss has the Lich's gemmed staff shattered under the assault. The remaining undead in the area fall to the ground as if their strings had been cut. This gives the Adventurers the chance they need for an all out attack. Their strikes land true upon the Lich's robed body as its health quickly plummets. Soon afterwards it cries out, shuddering for a moment before bursting into points of light for a boss-level destruction. As the body shatters, dark clouds that had once gathered overhead are cleared. The region is saved from this dangerous foe. The gem that was once encrusted upon the necromantic staff lands before the Adventurers and shatters into equal pieces for them.

"Now that was a good fight against a bad foe," Soujiro says with a satisfied look on his face as if he could do that again. And again. And... he probably shouldn't but would do it one more time just to push the limits. A hand wipes the sweat and dirt from his brow as he heads over and claims the treasure of the hard won loot.

    June grins when the lich finally falls "Test of Ultima Ratio... successfull." she says "You've done good work today Junie, kicked ass, proven Scripture is a power to be feared. You go." she grins, the words all spoken in Elvish as those who know her have come to understandt that means she's speaking 'internally'. She pulls a mug of beer from her inventory and takes a long swallow, good beer after a big fight the way to do things.

    Rizadoman looks over the remains of the lich for a moment before retrieving from his inventory a potion and tossing it to the samurai. "Top up your health. It would suck to get caught by palace landers on the way back. No need to spend a night in the church." He then retrieves a couple of more one for June and another for himself before looking out into the harsh desert. "Well I shall be preceding on into the endless desert for a bit. I appreviate allowing me to join in the hunt of the undead." With that said the lizardman travels towards the setting sun deeper into the desert, where he goes off to now who is to say.