Move 152:  More Fighting in the Mines

The Garlstone Mines—Afternoon, 2 Eleint 1374 DR

Blacky finished off the remaining zombie attacking him.  Ranchefus cast another spell, targeted at Blacky.  When he finished, the fighter stood immobile like Arachne and Daelen.  The priest began moving easily toward the edge of the web.

Etienne was unable to withstand the red-haired man's onslaught and collapsed, bleeding, to the floor of the cavern.  Renn took a swing at the swordsman but missed.  The swordsman returned the favor by missing as well.  Renn was hit again by a zombie claw.  Aloysius drew a dagger and slashed the green outlined zombie.

Echo stabbed the zombie facing her with her dagger.  The zombies on both Echo and Aloysius missed.  Jana took down one of the zombies facing her and nearly finished off a second, although she was slashed by a zombie again as well.

Ceth took another small wound from the zombies facing her.  She failed to connect with her quarterstaff.

Aloysius took another frantic stab at the zombie he had just wounded while trying to dodge the attacks of both zombies facing him.

Echo stabbed at the zombie on her again.  She tried to watch Ranchefus out of the corner of her eye, "Damnit, he's going to kill us all if someone can't keep him from casting."

Renn mumbled under his breath as he jumped back away from the melee, he sheathed his sword and took a chance on getting a spell cast.

In spite of all manner of evil thoughts and ill wishes coming from Blacky's frozen form, Ranchefus did not keel over.  Both the zombies and the swordsman moved too slowly and ineffectively to keep Rennirolas from casting a spell to silence the dark priest.

Jana cut down the injured zombie, leaving her facing one, which failed to injure her.  The red-haired fighter picked her as his next target.  His attack with his bastard sword was blocked by her shield, the force of the blow sending shock waves up her arm but doing no damage.

Echo and "her" zombie engaged in a standoff, leaving neither of them closer to falling.  Aloysius managed to wound the previously injured zombie facing him.  Neither zombie hit the mage.

Things were not looking good for any of the five Cethyrans, however, as she misjudged her swing against the zombies and slammed her quarterstaff into the cave floor, cracking the wood between the shodding.  The constant attacks from the zombies were beginning to wear her down, and possibly worst of all, Ranchefus, now unable to cast spells, took flail in hand and headed in the direction of the melee between the elf and the zombies, apparently intent on joining in.

Over the din of the fight in the cavern, the sound of chanting came from behind the webbing in the tunnel.  Anyone with the time and the gumption to take a glance in that direction could see the web spell dissipate and more zombies, followed by a tall dark haired woman wearing black robes and a fine blue cloak and a balding man in robes, begin to move toward the cavern again.  A halfling trotted in front of the undead, close to one wall of the tunnel.

Aloysius took yet another hack at the same zombie, certain that, if he could only live for another hour
or so, he could take the undead beastie down.

Ceth paused in her ineffectual attacks and turned, seeing the woman and man in robes, muttering something she clutched at her holy symbol and released a spell at the two.

"Way to go, Renn!" Echo cheered.  "Take that, you bastard!" she yelled at Ranchefus, only because he
probably couldn't hear her.  She kept at the zombie with her dagger.

Renn's face twisted in anger as he drew his sword and pulled on the chain at his neck.  His
holy symbol freed, Renn growled, "Begone from this place creatures of the night, this
servant of Corellon demands it"  as he circled to turn as many of the zombies as possible.

Ranchefus closed the distance between himself and Ceth before she could utter her prayer, catching her in the silence effect centered on him.  He swung at one of her images with his flail and it promptly disappeared, leaving four copies.  The zombies were unsuccessful in their attacks.

As the zombies and the two humans closed the distance to the melee, Renn ordered the zombies back.  This group of zombies with these two proved more agreeable than Ranchefus' crew as six of the ten stopped moving toward the group.  The others kept shambling towards them.  In spite of his inattention to them, both zombies and the swordsman somehow failed to hit him.

The dexterous dagger-wielding duo of Aloysius and Echo each wounded a zombie further and managed not to get hit.

Jana cut into the remaining zombie on her although it did not fall.  She fiercely attacked the red-haired fighter, giving him a grievous wound, one that looked as though it might slow him down some, across the midriff.  He groaned at the force of the blow but returned a successful attack anyway.

The four unturned zombies made their way into the cavern followed closely by the priests.  The man began to utter a prayer but stopped with a rasping cough.  Now that he was closer, it was easily seen that he was an unhealthy sort, pudgy, middle-aged, and balding.  The woman, on the other hand, was attractive by most standards with long curly dark hair and bright green eyes.  The halfling looked to her for instruction, which she promptly gave, "This is the group.  No prisoners.  Kill them all.  Inseridek," she mumbled at the end and began floating into the air.

The halfling pulled a lethal looking dagger and headed in the direction of held Arachne and Daelen.

Ceth cast a wild gaze around her, but realized she could do little to help within the zone of silence, waiting until after Ranchefus attacked, in hopes that it would make it harder for him to determine which of her was real. She then struck at him with her staff.

"Nay base villain!" exclaimed Aloysius.  Abandoning his quest to whittle the zombie before him into tiny pieces, he moved to intercept the halfling, taking care not to expose his back to the zombies if at all possible.

Seeing Aloysius go after the halfling, Echo stopped her attacks on the zombie.  She tried to wait until
one of the newly arrived priests started casting and threw her dagger.

Renn continued to press his luck, he slowly backed up and began another chant.

Ranchefus dissipated another of Ceth's images.  The elven woman held her attack until he did so, swinging at him with her badly damaged quarterstaff and failing to make contact.  One of the zombies gave her another minor wound.

Aloysius intercepted the halfling right before he got to Daelen.  The two of them exchanged dagger attacks, both of them taking wounds.  The two zombies Aloysius had been fighting trailed after him and were joined by another just entering the cavern.  Arachne managed to do her "ghost trick" on herself, but she remained held even so.

Echo waited until the dark haired woman began casting to throw her daggers. Both of them hit, one of them sticking into the woman's right hand.  The woman pulled the weapon out and floated a little higher toward the ceiling.  The balding man began to cast but once again interrupted himself with his coughing.  Two of the zombies coming into the fight went after Echo.

As Renn began to chant his prayer, he was hit by the swordsman and lost his spell.

Jana took another fierce swing at the red-haired man, dealing him a near fatal blow.  Once again, he groaned in pain but returned the blow.  The final zombie joining the fray went after Jana.  The attacks of all the zombies aside from the one that hit Ceth were ineffective.

Not wanting to take the time to stop and change weapons, Ceth merely continued to attack with the damaged staff.

His arm no doubt growing quite fatigued, Aloysius took another stab at the halfling.

Renn grunted as he was dealt another blow, and brought his arms up and chanted once again.

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