Duty Session 318: Totally Typical Tomb

    As if like clock work, graveyards spawn totally typical tombs and in those tombs are totally typical undead creatures. The Hunter's guid has sent out another mission , requesting people to travel to the graveyard and wait outside of it for the full party. Once everyone has arrived, brave the tombs and clear as much as they can. So Rizadoman was pacing outside the tomb, why was he here because some elf decided he needed to get out of the library and not scrap the third revision of his new book. Instead something about healthy exercise. So here he was waiting, looking into the graveyard and wonders what is to come.

Yeowang would never disparage healthy exercise, and takes plenty of it, herself. Standing by with her long hair gathered atop her head in a bun to keep it out of the way, she stands patient and ready, poised almost, as if ready to strike, even if the undead appear here, where we're waiting. She has a critical look as she glances around, as if the place was found wanting.

Shrugging her shield from her back to her arm, Ayame plucks her wand from her pinned-up hair and spins it, muttering, a weak glow coming from the crystal at the tip and spreading a little light on the scene "Exactly how typical" She asks in an undertone "Is this sort of thing?" With a certain wry resignation as she looks over the graveyard with a sigh

Prophylaxis is taking a break from doctoring. Or rather, he's taking a break from Official Doctoring. After a highly successful project in developing life-saving medication, the Doctor of Tolbana is feeling a little worn out and needs a distraction from his usual fare of seeing patients and curing their ails. "Exactly as typical as a trumpet-playing skeleton aught to be," the doctor answers cheerfully, tapping his staff knowingly against his noggin.

Kaydon has never actually run these undead tombs, despite all he's done to battle the undead. So that's why he's come up to the tomb today, in order to try to keep their numbers down as best he can. The were fang is pacing around a bit, near the entrance. Waiting for the others to arrive, and giving a nod hello to the people who've already shown, "Haven't actually done this." He muses to Ayame.

"Good day, folks," Eliza says as she approaches the group. The recent wave battle had been quite an ordeal, but she feels ready to take on another fight today. This one isn't nearly as big a deal, at any rate. "Clearing out the undead, are we? That's good. Graveyards really should be peaceful places for people to mourn the dead... they shouldn't have to worry about getting attacked by them," she observes.

    "I believe the records in the Hunter's guild shows this being a typical occurence for the last five to six months. " The lizardman says as he looks back at the group and then back to the graveyard. Sniffing the air Rizadoman grins and his eyes shine as if he smelled something wonderful. " Beneath here are ancient artifacts of old, tombs, books, legends~ " With a eagernes he is done waiting and moves in to the graveyard, thus starting the typical cleaning of the typical tombs.
     So how does one normally clean tombs? First one must start with destroying the vermins, and vermins are everywhere, undead vermins. That is right from the graves at the entrance rise an army of skeleton rats , planning to eat more then the cheese in people's ration packs. Perhaps they will chew on that wonderful soul. It is time for Melee & Magic to lead as they rats have to be dealt with. However they are just rats, and what is a fantasy setting if one can not entice rats with music.

"Nor I" Ayame tells Kaydon cheerfully "But I assume it can't be too bad. Though how effective I'll be, I have no idea" She chuckles gently, and shrugs, adjusting the grip of the rune-edged shield and moving to the front of the party.

Where she looks at the oncoming rats, and sighs. She snaps an incantation, brightening the glow from her wand and winding glowing script into the exterior, warding the undead from approacching too closely

Yeowang is not great with rats, but at least they're not bugs. She's bad with bugs. Rats she can sort of handle. With a swift kick, for preference, and she punts them clear of the immediate area. They scuttle back, but they can be kicked again. Every now and then one surpasses it's HP threshhold and vanishes in a puff of data rather than getting punted.

Eliza considers the situation with the skeleton rats. "Living animals like it when I sing, so maybe..." Leaning on her shepherd's crook she starts singing gently to the rats, some of which seem to become absorbed in her song and cease attacking.

Rats! Prophylaxis is not a fan, except when they're someone's pets and that someone does a good job of keeping them clean. Skeletal rats are even worse! They don't even need to worry about not being disease carriers, because they're /dead/! With a grimace, the doctor sweeps his staff at the swarming rodents, a barrage of prismatic missiles sailing lazily into each one before bursting into flashes of many colored lights.

"Oh cool, undead and rats. Definitely not a combo I absolutely hate or anything." Kaydon is, after all, never not snarky. However he can at least take out his frustrations on fighting a combo of things he despises by whipping out his sword and going to town. He is absolutely just tearing through them with reckless abandon, showing no signs of stopping until they're fully cleared out.

    Ayame's magical incantation seems to pause the hoarde long enough for the others to start to whittle them away. Yeowang goes in for the kick , scatter bone fragments of broken skeleton rat across the ground . The rats on the outskirt of the mob decide, after hearing Eliza sing, to go home and try for foood another day. The prismatic missiles rain into the center of the crowd around Yeowang and Kaydon. Meanwhile Rizadoman is in the back trying to generate some light magic to cleanse the land, and really its more like a few sparkles of holy light and then nothing. However by the time the group is done so are the rats.
     As they move forward the group they hear a mix of rattling bones and rattling armor. Eventually the source shows itself as large skeletons nice and armored appear with large rusty axes. They click and clack to each other before pointing at Prophylaxis and making a throat cutting motion before the pair charge in to do battle with the group. They are really going hard after the doctor too, hopefully people will go to defend him or at least move quickly in dealing with them before Tolbana needs to look for a new head for it's medical department.

Yeowang advances on the skeletons. This is more the sort of opponent she's used to. Well, person-shaped rather than animal-shaped. Fighting people is a thing she's been honing her skills at for years and years. Ten years before she started the game has put a fine edge on her skills, and she leaps seamlessly through various kata, striking, twirling clear, and striking another target, always a step ahead, always with a fist or boot connecting with a crunch. It's like she's a shadow among them, they can't seem to touch her, and she gets everywhere.

These skeletons seem to have a grudge! But why!? What did the good doctor of Tolbana do to piss off so many spectacularly angry skeletal soldiers? Could this be a result of his 'please do not menace the landers with skeletons' policy? Or is it just that they sense a healer amidst the party and their combat AI has made eliminating him a high priority?

Well, as long as Prophylaxis knows they're coming, he can at least do something about them.

"Little help?" He asks, sweeping his staff in wide arcs to conjure barricades of solid stone to obstruct the approaching skeletons. When they get too close, they are instead intercepted by glowing arcane barriers and precise parrying blows. At least one loses his axe when a strange metal tendril snakes out of the doctor's wrist and snatches the weapon out of its skeletal grip. Still, he's no tank, he can't keep this up forever!

Ayame sweeps in behind the Doc, but really only stops him getting surrounded. Her shield up, bashing with it against the skeletons, and muffled swearing under her breath as she continues bashing against them "Decided" She says, lifting her voice as she barely avoids one blow "I hate tombs" She offers up with a snap of annoyance

Kaydon is good with his sword, but sometimes he likes to be good with other tools as well. Noticing how shoddy the skeletal armor is, he puts his blade away and instead pulls out a one handed sledgehammer. Well it might be two handed for most people, but he can wield it with one.

He moves rapidly between each of the skeletons, smacking them with the hammer in just the right spot to make their armor fall off, leaving them very exposed for the others to clean up.

Eliza now finds herself confronted by enemies that... weren't going to be quite as receptive to her song as the rats. As they swing their axes in the doctor's direction, Eliza puts out her crook in an attempt to block. She struggles against the skeleton's strength before finally forcing it back with a well-aimed crook strike.

    The team really comes together to protect the healer. Ayame, Eliza, and Prophylaxis manage to handle keeping the axes from finding their target while the others go on the offesnive. Kaydon smashes through their armor, dropping their defense as Rizadoman and Yeowang move in to deal the actual damage dropping them to the ground. Looking at Ayame Rizadoman just comments, "This isn't to bad, I mean there could be some horrible flesh golem that smells of death."
     Finally the party reaches the Mausoleum, in the center of the graveyard and the party can easily descend and waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs into the mausoleum is a girl dressed all in white. Well an undead zombie girl, but stil. When it spots them it points at them and lets out a blood curdling scream, it is calling for help and help is coming. If the group doesn't end this quickly she will continue to call more and more zombies down upon them all.

Yeowang can't get to melee the undead screamer, not in the amount of time it'd take to quiet those screams. And that seems like the important thing, so she hauls out her shortbow, nocks an arrow, and lets fly. And she hits it. Surprised, herself, she does not let that stop her from nocking another arrow, loosing, and repeating the process now that she's ranged in her target.

"Why do I get the feeling, when you say that, you're speaking from experience?" Ayame asks Rizadoman with an amused look. She continues to duck behind the shield, and reels back once the screamer begins "Oh, can anyone make that stop?" The sylph asks, her ears laying flat and a shocked look on her face. She moves to cover the doors, blasting and trying to hold them back

Unfortunately for the good doctor, his MP bar is looking a little bit slim after the crush of skeletal soldiers. A screaming zombie is... Not something that he has the resources to deal with at the moment. But that's what the rest of the party is for!

So instead Prophylaxis hangs back and chugs a few potions. The rest of the team can probably handle themselves for a minute or two, right?

Syx doesn't really use a shield, instead moving himself in between the others and the screamer. Using his sword as a shield, however, he is able to provide more than adequte defense for them, "Hurry up and take this thing out!" He yells at the rest of the group, "I don't know how much I can hold it back!"

Eliza wasn't quite sure what to expect from the white-clothed figure, but a piercing scream wasn't at the top of her list. Bracing herself against her crook, Eliza called up a shield to protect the others from the zombie attacks- though it looked like many of the others had the same idea. But hey, maybe a good enough defense can be a good offense, or something like that.

    Rizadoman looks at the screaming zombie as he makes his way down the stairs and picks up a stone off the ground. A magical third eye appears on his forehead as he states, "Ancestor's guide my aim. " With that he throws the rock at the zombie putting it right in her mouth, slowly the screaming for a moment. This is followed up by Yeowang putting her fist through the screamers head. Really if it is just focused on this one moment it seems rather simple. However it is only simple thanks to Ayame, Eliza and Kaydon shielding and handling the called zombies who are now no longer coming and easing picking. As Rizadoman walks by the doctor he looks over at the potion, " You doing ok doctor? Not to tired already right?" With a grin he continues on.
     Eventually as they progress through the mausoleum they come to a pair of doors. Two simple doors, blocked by twisted undead shield wielding creatures blocking the path. One of the abominations points to a say that says 'One of us tells only lies. The door is on the left. The devouring beast is on the right.' Thats it, solve the riddle or else.

"There are times people suggest using other tools" Ayame muses "Personally, I'm finding a heavy slab of wood edged in metal is a fairly effective one" She grins as she taps her shield against one held by an abomination, then holds it horizontally a moment, looking expectantly at the undead thing "No? Too slow?" She asks with a shrug "Beast's on the right? Okay, then" Hefting the shield and peeking through the right hand door.

The sylph is somewhat literal minded at times, it seems.

It seems Kaydon's shielding skills are not quite as up to par as they were against the zombie. However he's still managing to hold his own as he assists Ayame with defending against the traps while they try to work their way through, "I'm gonna murder that thing.." He mutters to himself

Well, if the door is on the left, as the skull says, then it's the left door we want. A devouring beast on the right is all the more reason not to go that way. Right? And if the skull is the one that tells lies, then it's lying about being the one that lies, then .... then the whole setup is suspect. Well, easier to fight, Yeowang thinks. "This is kind of goofed up, it seems."

"Bah, it's nothing," Prophylaxis huffs and quaffs one more healing potion. "It's a shame we don't have a proper tank to stand in the way of the things that want to kill me. Ah well, what can you do?"

And the team has little trouble dispatching the monster anyway, so it's fine! It's all fine. But then they come to a crossroads. Or rather, a fork in the road.

It's a puzzle. A riddle. Prophylaxis looks to the sign being indicated to by the undead. He frowns, then fixes the two zombies with a look. "The sign says one of you only lies, but the other one hasn't said anything yet. Heck, you just pointed, you didn't say anything! I'm calling shenanigans. You have thirty seconds before I set the two of you on fire to remedy my complaint."

That aught to do it!

     Eliza looks a bit impressed at Rizadoman and Yeowang's efforts in finishing off the screaming zombie. She keeps her guard up with her crook as she follows the rest of the group, before reading the puzzle. "...I've read stories with riddles like this before," she muses. "But this one seems... a bit too vague. I mean, one of those skulls' jaws fell off, it can't exactly tell truth or lies that way." Some of the others seem to have their own reasons for picking one door or the other. So, she just goes along with whichever choice the group agrees on, preparing to get out of the way of any traps that might come up.

Rizadoman looks at the two and then the sign and then looks as Ayame tries to open the right door and tentacles and a roar and Rizadoman quickly slams the door. Looking over at the undead creatures and then Prophylaxis he shakes his head, " Neither of them said anything. It's likely the sign is not lying." It appears Ayame's literal approach was the right one so the lizardman opens the left door and ushers everyone through. Before Prophylaxis vents his annoyance in the typical SEA fashion. Flaming skeleton knights would only be harder to kill. In response to Eliza as they move down a path Rizadoman adds " Even the undead can make mistakes, perhaps a bone head simply didn't think it through."
     Down this path the group find no monsters, nothing of worry until they reach a large chamber. In the center of the room is a throne, with what appears to be some sort of imp with ruby eyes and diamond teeth. Rizadoman squints at it for a moment and then the others, " Is that the reward? I mean certainly seems like a worthy reward for all this trouble , but how will we split a single reward like this six..." He doesn't get a chance to finish as the Imp begins to sling spells and attacks like a boss, which is appropriate as he is the boss.

Ayame looks at the imp boss, having gone shield first the whole way through this. Her flickery little wings buzz excitedly, and the touches the rim of her shield.

And the runes begin lightning up, starting at the top and, one by one, flashing into a vivid blue light, as she takes cover behind the circle. The runed circle.

"See, the other good thing about a shield" She grins back conversationally "Is that it's a large circle, surrounded by metal, with runes. Or, to put it another way -" As a barrage of lightning bugs pour forth from the shield directly at the boss "A summoning circle"

When the imp starts slinging spells, Yeowang leaps into the fray, literally, though she doesn't have to jump particularly high to kick it right in the head. Between the momentum of the jump, her powerful legs, and years of training, well, where she went to school, the Chuck Norris jokes didn't star Chuck Norris. Landing on one foot, she spins, kicks again, and when he turns to attack her, she darts forward, past him, then spinning back-kicks him in the back of the head. One step ahead and martial-arts-mayhem well in hand, she's a whirling storm of destruction.

"Hrmph, the undead don't need mandibles to speak," Prophylaxis says with a grunt. "If they did, skeletal monsters wouldn't be able to make mouth-sounds at all! They're just slacking, I'm sure." Maybe he's just feeling salty about having been focused down by a bunch of skeletons a few minutes ago. But then...

The party finds... a skull.

With gems for teeth.

"Ah fuck," Prophylaxis- long-time fan of very old and obscure games- immediately recognizes the kind of monster they're dealing with, and is already on the move even before the spells start flying. "Demilich! Don't let it hit you with too many spells, or it might literally TURN YOUR SOUL INTO A GEM."

But it has to kill them to pull that off, so Prophylaxis focuses instead of bolstering the party's HP with potent regeneration spells. That it also infuses them with life essence capable of improving their resistance to death spells is also a helpful side effect.

Kaydon has been looking for a good excuse to break out the weapon that he has created. He's worked hard on getting the armored gauntlet perfect. As far as anyone could tell by looking at it, it was just a piece of armor. It had nothing going on. But once the Lich arrives, however, Kaydon springs into action.

He rushes at the lich, and once he's in range, instead of swinging with his sword, throws a wide left cross. Once his punch makes contact, that's when the mechanism in the blade fires, launching the hidden weapon from the back of the gauntlet and into the weak point of the lich at the exact moment of contact with Kaydon's fist.

"You're the one who's... disturbing!" Eliza quipped, as the imp rose to challenge the group. Feeling Prophylaxis' healing power flowing through her, Eliza raised her crook and aimed a simple nature spell at the demilich. Her spell just barely misses, but from the looks of things, it at least leaves an opening for others, particularly Kaydon, to strike hard. In the meantime she focuses on dodging attacks- she doesn't like the sound of having her soul turned into a gem.

    Rizadoman looks at the doctor with an expression that just shouts, 'Are you serious!' before the dreadnought runs in and starts taking what hits he can. Prophylaxis wants a tank, Rizadoman would show him a NAGA TANK!, though he isn't the best at it. Spells get targetted in other spots and he is to slow to take all the hits, but he took half. At least twelve percent. Which is kinda a litte a lot.
     Meanwhile the demilich is regretting his life choices. Whether it is the boot to the head, punch to the gut with the extra stabbing feature or the swarm attacking him. Somewhere in all this he feels he made a wrong decision with his life and just as he decides to turn himself around he burst into flames and pixels, leaving only a pile of bones behind.

Eliza plants the end of her crook in the ground triumphantly before looking over her rewards. "A bone? Probably not a good idea to use this to play fetch with a canin," she observes. "Maybe a zombie canin." She smiles around at the rest of the group. "Good work everyone."

"Could have gone worse" Ayame says with a quiet agreement. She smiles a touch to Eliza, nodding, and brushes down her shirt with her gloved hands "I think I need to clean up. Just in case there's an infection effects"

Kaydon looks at the reward for killing the demilich and hmms, "I'm sure we'll be able to figure out some use for it." Even if it's just selling it for money in the end, at least it'll be something, "Cleaning up after a fight like that is a good idea."

Yeowang looks at the bone skeptically before putting it into her inventory. She'll likely sell it, or somehow get some sort of gold out of it. It looks like a thing people would pay for, says her cynical view of the gameworld. As to cleaning up, she nods. "Yes, that sounds good." She smirks about the mission possibly going worse. "Yes, but luckily we are more skilled than that."

    Rizadoman looks around and is a little sad as he shakes his head, " I had hoped for a large library of ancient knowledge." With that said he does pic up the bone and then looks at an exit. " We should get out of here before anything else shows up." With that advice given he decides to lead by example and leave while the leaving is good.

Bones! Unfortunately, Prophylaxis has an abundance of those already. Sadness. "You did good," Prophylaxis reassures the beleaguered Lizardman and... slaps him with another healing spell! What a nice guy. "Though if you're looking for a library... Well! Sometimes these tombs have /extremely/ aggressive books in them. So just keep trying and I'm sure you'll find one!"