Chloe tried to conceal her embarrassment about not being as proficient at the wide range of spells her companions seemed to be able to muster. Instead she cast her light spell again while not as effective as the lantern it was bright and extra light would always be helpful. After reading her spell she looked to see if any blood trails led to a possible path Jen may have taken.
Casting
Light (Utility) Lvl 1 [Provides a simple light source, allowing the caster to see up to twenty feet away.]
Chloe: HP = 76, PP = 65, EP = 25/75, Status = Fine, Light
Ashley: HP = 49, PP = 66, EP = 15/45, Status = Fine, Locate on Jenn
NPC stats
Tesnya: HP = 65, PP = 55, EP = 95/110, Status = Fine, Energy Blade X = 11
Jenn: HP = 0/52, PP = 69, EP = 0/47, Status = Dying
Charles: HP = 81, PP = 75, EP = 46/60, Status = Fine, Eldritch Lantern
Nina: HP = 35, PP = 50, EP = 43/55, Status = Fine
As Ashley released her lantern and concentrated on locating Jenn, Chloe brought up a simpler light while Charles conjured another lantern of his own. Tesnya maintained her energy blade and gazed about warily, while Nina looked like she was about to throw up. Ashley's spell pointed her to the right and forward, but overall it seemed to be pulling her more to the right, and so that was the way that they took. They moved as quickly as they could through the tight corridors with Ashley in the lead and Charles following close behind, forced to stoop by the low ceilings even as he held the magical light up over his head so that Ashley could see. "Be careful Ashley," he muttered quietly into her ear as they started down the right hand path, the smell of rotting meat heavy in the air from the very moment that they had climbed down into the cellar.
They passed by no less than three walls that the lantern revealed as illusions along the way, but Ashley's spell continued to pull them in the direction that Jenn seemed to be. Nina huddled against Charles' back, while Chloe took up the rear as she was the only other one who'd conjured a light spell, even if it wasn't of the type that dispelled illusions. They turned left at one junction, and then right at another, and all the while the oppressive walls of the earthen corridor closed in around them. The foul smell varied in strength, ranging from overpowering to only just barely noticeable. They began to hear Jenn's whimpers, or at least they assumed that the terrified and pained whimpering was Jenn's, and as they made the right that put them more or less in line with the water mage they heard her emit another loud scream from just up ahead. "Run!" Charles spat quickly, unable to keep the fear from his voice.
They started moving forward more quickly despite the cramped environment, and Ashley could taste how dead and stale the air was down here, and Nina clung even more closely to Charles as the stench of death filled the air. As they moved forward, all five of them realized that the magic present in this area was lighter and weaker than it ought to be. There was less energy present for them to draw upon, and doing so would require greater concentration and stamina than it normally would. Even Charles' lantern could barely pierce the thick gloom that shrouded them as they hurtled through a downward sloping corridor towards the sound of Jenn's screams, but when they breached into a wider (but not higher) chamber it pushed through enough of the foul miasma that surrounded them for them to see what lay within.
Several corpses in varying degrees of freshness hung from hooks suspended from the ceiling, droplets of rotting blood occasionally dripping from their oft exposed innards. The room itself was barely more than thirty feet across and was more or less square, and they come in from one of the corners. In the opposite corner was Jenn, and standing over her was a hideous amalgamation of dead bodies. This time it didn't have an axe, but the entire thing was covered in worms and maggots and all manner of other vermin. Jenn was staring up in horror at the thing as it dribbled its foul cargo onto an open wound in her belly. The cut was deep enough to expose the girl's entrails, and she was shivering and gasping in horror. Her physical wounds were not the only reason for that, however. All of them were able to sense the energies of other living things in one manner or another, and as they watched each of them could feel chunks of Jenn's soul being torn away from her as if she were being mauled by some sort of rabid animal.
The homunculus spun toward them as they entered and stepped aside to partially block Jenn's prone form from view. It was shorted than the others had been, barely more than five feet tall and headless, but it made up for the lack of height in girth. Two thick legs supported a body seemingly composed of several human torsos, as the hideous thing had no less than seven arms sticking out from its body in various locations and angles. Only two of them seemed to be fully articulate, but the rest clutched at rusty kitchen knifes or old wooden boards as weapons, while the two fully functional arms seemed to have been torn from one of the alien creatures. Ashley was in front, but if she entered fully into the room Charles and Tesnya followed immediately, followed by a somewhat reluctant Nina and, if she so chose, Chloe. They had it cornered, and they had found Jenn still alive, if just barely. Patches of frozen flesh indicated the she had tried to defend herself already, but on her own she seemingly hadn't been able to stand against one of these things. If they could kill it quickly enough, they might be able to save her, but there seemed little chance that this creature would go quietly.
The group has entered an area of low magic. Any spells cast will cost EP and require a casting check as if they were one level higher. In addition, spells from the Wind, Nature, and Fire elements are even more difficult to cast down here, raising their costs and casting DCs by an additional spell level.
Chloe wanted to retch at the sight of all the bodies and blood but thankfully the brave part of her won out. Moving as fast as she could while focusing on a spell Chloe moved to the right as to not block any of her allies spell effects and to hopefully get a view of Jenn. Chloe stopped only long enough to fling an offensive spell at the abomination before continuing on her way.
Casting:
intensified Bone Grinder lvl 4 (Bolt) at the creature. (2d4+7)*7
Ashley didn't bother with talking once she saw the scene. They had faced one of these before, and the only thing they had to do was take it down as quickly as they could. Telling anyone that would just be wasting time. She started drawing in her power to blast the thing with wind, stepping off to one side so that the others would have a clear shot without getting in her way.
Fortunately, she did spend the time to think. She could feel the weak local magic and her own near-depleted reserves, and the way that the air seemed reluctant to move. With an effort of will she shifted mental gears and reformed the gathering magic into a different spell. It was hard, harder by far then even the double spell she had pulled off against the first of these monsters, thanks to the aura of weakened magic. Hard enough that she wasn't sure the spell wouldn't fizzle. But the bolt of purple power she intended to hurl at the thing was not only the most powerful spell she had a hope of completing at this time, but also her best bet to restore her own reserves of energy. There would be a cost even if it succeeded, but seeing what the thing did to Jenn made it the right choice even so.
The air mage released even the subconscious effort that she usually spent keeping the air near her from forming into an aura, and bent her entire will to the task at hand. There would only be one shot at this.
Here goes nothing...
Mana leak; Arcane level 5. 10 MP, DC 50. Casting should be at 47 (52/2+8(concentration)+10(focus in arcane)+3(lucky)). 90% chance of success. >.<
(2d4+9+2)*5 damage, caster regains 1/3 of damage dealt as EP.
Chloe: HP = 76, PP = 65, EP = 14/75, Status = Fine, Light
Ashley: HP = 5/49, PP = 66, EP = 18/45, Status = Badly Injured, Locate on Jenn
NPC stats
Tesnya: HP = 55/65, PP = 55, EP = 87/110, Status = Lightly Injured, Grappled, Energy Blade X = 11
Jenn: HP = 28/52, PP = 69, EP = 0/47, Status = Wounded, Unconscious
Charles: HP = 37/81, PP = 75, EP = 40/60, Status = Injured, Eldritch Lantern, Strength (+24 Body 2 EP upkeep)
Nina: HP = 35, PP = 50, EP = 33/55, Status = Fine
Enemy: Taken 136 damage.
Rolls
Ashley attacks with Mana Leak, level 5 Arcane spell treated as if it were level 6 for the purpose of cost and casting DC.
Casting: Success.
Attack: Hit.
Damage: 1 + 3 + 11 = 15 * 5 = 75/2 = 38 damage. Ashley regains 38/3 = 13 EP, for a total of 3 EP net gain.
Chloe attacks with Intensified Bone Grinder, level 4 Body spell treated as if it were level 5 for the purpose of cost and casting DC. Total 11 EP spent.
Casting: Success.
Attack: Hit.
Damage: 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 + 7 + 2 = 19 * 4 = 76/2 = 38 damage.
Charles casts Strength, level 3 Buff to increase his Body stat.
Casting: Success.
Charles gets a +8 * 3 = +24 bonus to Body.
Jenn bleeds and has bugs squirming around inside of her, surely a wonderful feeling!
Nina casts Way of Nature, a level 4 Bolt Spell meant to heal Jenn, treated as a level 6 spell.
Casting: Success.
Attack: Hit.
Healing: 2 + 2 + 8 + 2 = 14 * 4 = 56/2 = 28 HP restored.
~~~~~~~~~
Hunter Claw Attacks:
Attack (one on Charles, one on Ashley) : Both Hit.
Damage: 11 + 10 + 23 = 44 damage.
Flailing Limb Attacks:
1d4 + 1 = 3 attacks.
Attack (One on Ashley, one on Chloe, one on Charles) : All three miss.
Blood Ooze Attack:
Attack (On Tesnya) : Hit.
Tesnya has been grappled.
Powerful Embrace Damage: 5 + 5 = 10 damage.
Tesyna is drained 2 + 1 + 4 = 7 EP.
Three rays of light streaked out from the assembled mages as they faced down the abomination that stood over Jenn. From Ashley, a violet burst of energy that not only carved a hole in the thing's body but ripped off a chunk of its spirit and carried it back to her, more than paying for the spell she'd just cast, though perhaps not carrying back quite as much energy as she would have liked. From Chloe, a bone white orb of magic reached out and sunk into the thing's side, causing that half of its body to cave inwards as her magic reduced the bones in that area to little more than dust and shards. And finally, from Nina, a ray of green light, dimmer than the other three as it was an effect requiring a connection to nature, an element with which they could only open a very tenuous connection at best, reached out not for their foe, but for its victim. The ray of verdant green struck the tortured water mage and wrapped around her, a soft green glow signalling the magic's success as it knitted her wounds together and expunged the horrid carrion creatures from her body.
The monster noticed none of them as far as they could tell, though that wasn't much of a surprise. It was difficult to read the expression of a thing with no head. There was little hesitance now that it knew their intentions, and it surged across the room, its bulk pushing aside several of the hanging corpses and causing them to swing about, limbs flopping wildly. When it reached them it suddenly spun, all of its limbs reaching out at them to strike with claws or rusty, maggot covered weapons. Tesnya and Charles stepped up to try and block it, the former still holding her glowing energy blade and the latter glowing softly while magic worked to enhance the efforts of his muscles, but neither of them were prepared for the horrific spinning thing. The sickening crunching noise coming from it as it moved suggested that the monster had somehow detached its spine, and that theory might have been confirmed by the fact that it didn't stop spinning even after several complete turns.
One of the spinning alien claws struck Ashley fully in the face, ripping savage wounds in her flesh and half blinding her with blood. The other tore into Charles' chest and opened up a line of bloody gashes in the man's flesh. "Guhh! Ashley!" He cried out in pain, but only as it spun forward and cleared the line between him and her did he see what it had just done to her face. The thing's other arms flailed about wildly, one clutching a kitchen knife very nearly slitting Ashley's throat as she peeled away from the first hit she'd taken while another almost did the same to Charles. One of the ones holding an old piece of wood with a nail sticking out of one end swung at Chloe's head, but she managed to sidestep the blow, and the last one simply flailed through the air without menacing anyone.
Tesnya darted into a gap in the monster's spin and slashed at its midsection, attempting to bisect the thing at the waist with her magical blade. That finally stopped its spinning at least, as they watched it cleave the thing in half horizontally, but that was about where the good news ended. The thing's top half toppled forward as if it were about to fall off, but rather than collapse to the floor it simply hung their, its human arms to flailing about wildly while clutching at their weapons, before what looked like a mass of jellied blood suddenly reached out from its wound and grabbed Tesnya. The horrible mass slid over the eastern girl's body like a slime might, but unlike the animate goos they'd glimpsed among the invaders there was clearly no rush of arousal rushing up Tesnya's spine if the look on the girl's face as any indication.
The group has entered an area of low magic. Any spells cast will cost EP and require a casting check as if they were one level higher. In addition, spells from the Wind, Nature, and Fire elements are even more difficult to cast down here, raising their costs and casting DCs by an additional spell level.
Ashley shuddered as she felt her expended energy come back, with a little extra carved from the visitor. It wasn't the most pleasant feeling in the world, but given how close to collapse she had been before it was certainly a welcome one. Less welcome was the fact that it had only given her a little more than she had spent. She had expected more, much more. The creature had some sort of protection, physical or magical, that had hampered her spell once cast, in addition to the difficulties of casting it in the first place.
That wasn't good, but now that she knew about it, steps could be taken. Unfortunately, the first step was to dodge the thing's counterattack. Even more unfortunately, it's manifold limbs each tipped with razor-sharp claws or holding weapons were too much for Ashley. One clipped her face. She touched one hand gingerly to her forehead, and dizzily realized that it had done a bit more then clip. She couldn't see out of one eye, and had to hope that it was just the blood.
The air-mage stumbled a step backwards, and saw the butcher's knife held in another limb pulling back from her neck. Her other hand went to her throat, but came away dry. This had to end, fast. Her bloody left hand reached out towards the thing and she summoned another bolt of arcane fire, this one with the spin that would let it go through most armor like butter.
Eldritch Fire; Arcane level 3, treated as level 4 for casting/EP. (2d4+11)*4 damage, ignores armor.
Chloe's spell had hit dead on but its effect seemed dulled. She could feel the lack of energy in the room but that just made it harder to form the energies she needed not reducing the effect of her spells anyway. Puzzled she still managed to dodge a half hearted attack meant for her head. The others however where not so lucky glancing at her wounded allies it seemed that Ashly had taken the blunt of the trauma and during the confusion Nina had managed to get a healing spell into Jen. Feeling her own reserves of energy draining fast Chloe decided to through a healing spell at Ashly and hopped the storm mage had an ace up her sleeve.
Casting Healing Bolt lvl 2 for 45 hp healing. 8 (2d4 maxed from physcian) + 7 *3 (2 base +1 from healer)
Chloe: HP = 40/76, PP = 65, EP = 10/75, Status = Injured, Light
Ashley: HP = 49, PP = 66, EP = 12/45, Status = Fine, Locate on Jenn
NPC stats
Tesnya: HP = 2/65, PP = 55, EP = 71/110, Status = Badly Injured, Grappled, Energy Blade X = 11
Jenn: HP = 28/52, PP = 69, EP = 0/47, Status = Wounded, Unconscious
Charles: HP = 37/81, PP = 75, EP = 38/60, Status = Injured, Eldritch Lantern, Strength (+24 Body 2 EP upkeep)
Nina: HP = 35, PP = 50, EP = 27/55, Status = Fine
Enemy: Taken 241 damage.
Rolls
Ashley attacks with Eldritch Blast, a level 3 Arcane spell treated as level 4 for the purpose of casting and energy cost.
Casting: Success.
Attack: Hit.
Damage: 3 + 1 + 11 = 15 * 3 = 45 damage.
Chloe heals Ashley with Healing Bolt, a level 2 Body Spell treated as level 3 for the purpose of casting and energy cost.
Attack: Hit.
Damage: 4 + 4 + 7 + 2 = 17 * 3 = 51 HP restored.
Tesnya tries to cut that bitch again.
Grapple: Enemy wins. Tesnya's action fails, and the blood ooze gets an attack on her if the thing doesn't die this round.
Charles attacks with Flurry of Blows for a total of five attacks. -32 to hit and -20 to damage on each attack.
Attacks: 1 attack misses. He only needed a 2 to hit. ;_;
Damage: 4 + 6 + 19 = 29/2 = 15 damage per hit, total of 60 across four attacks.
Nina casts Touch of Time, a level 2 Nature Spell raised to level 4 for the purposes of etc etc.
Casting: Success.
Attack: Miss.
Jenn snores.
~~~~~~~~~
Hunter Claw Attacks:
Attack (one on Chloe, one on Charles) : Misses Charles, Hits Chloe.
Damage: 6 + 7 + 23 = 36 damage.
Flailing Limb Attacks:
1d4 + 1 = 2 attacks.
Attack (One on Ashley, one on Nina) : Both miss.
Ashley's burst of magic tore through the thing's body like butter, very nearly hitting both Tesnya and Charles on its way out as her abominable target flailed wildly at them from within their midst, but it didn't stop. She felt the pain of her wounds suddenly fade away, her flesh mending as Chloe completed her spell and sent it out to heal the wounded wind mage. Charles kicked one of the things legs hard enough that the snapping of bones could be heard over the other sounds produced by their battle, following by two punches that sunk several inches into the abomination's pliant flesh, and then another kick against the same leg that caused it to bend inwards. He attempted a fifth strike, an open palmed slap against the monster's midsection in the clear hope of toppling it over, but he was forced to avoid the clubs of two of the flailing human limbs before the strike could land.
Tesnya was trapped within the blob of blood that exuded from the bisected homunculus, and though the others could see her struggling her motions barely registered. Her lower half and the hand from which her energy blade was manifested were still outside of the foul ooze, but the other four were helpless to watch as her mouth, which had up until that point been clenched closed, was suddenly wrenched open from within. There was a sickening squelching sound, and though it was difficult to tell in the chaos of the melee the blob of jellied blood seemed to be shrinking slightly.
The group has entered an area of low magic. Any spells cast will cost EP and require a casting check as if they were one level higher. In addition, spells from the Wind, Nature, and Fire elements are even more difficult to cast down here, raising their costs and casting DCs by an additional spell level.
Ashley shuddered as the healing spell knit together her face. It didn't get rid of the blood, but she wiped it away with one hand to restore her depth perception. She could feel it already starting to congeal in her hair, and just had time to desperately wish for a bath before she focused back on the fight.
It was going... well, it was difficult to say. Charles was doing well and seemed to be hurting it, but Chole was hurt, Tesnya was in serious trouble, and of course Jenn was still out of it. But what more was there to do? Ashley could feel the strain as she brought up her will for another spell, identical to her last one. There wasn't much left before she'd stuck with her pistol, unlikely to be terribly much use against the beast. Of course, she could try her original spell again - even if it wasn't the well of energy that she had hoped, it still more than broke even. But that was assuming she could pull it off again, which was less than certain.
No. The thing was injured now, it had to be getting close to defeat, and she couldn't risk blowing the last of her magic on a fizzled spell. She hurled another bolt of piercing purple energy, carefully aiming away from her allies, particularly Tesnya.
Eldritch Blast; Arcane level 3, treated as level 4 for casting/EP. (2d4+11)*4 damage, ignores armor.
Note: as an evoker, I should be doing level 4 damage on this level 3 spell. Also, the same was true last round. >.>
Chloe reeled from the blow but kept her focus doing her best to not to panic she began to cast the same exact spell only this time her target was Tesnya. Even though it was risky she counted on the fact she was a tough girl and good take one more hit... she hoped.
casting same spell as last round target is Tesnya.
Chloe: HP = 40/76, PP = 65, EP = 6/75, Status = Injured, Low on Energy, Light
Ashley: HP = 49, PP = 66, EP = 6/45, Status = Fine, Low on Energy, Locate on Jenn
NPC stats
Tesnya: HP = 53/65, PP = 55, EP = 70/110, Status = Badly Injured, Grappled, Energy Blade X = 11
Jenn: HP = 28/52, PP = 69, EP = 0/47, Status = Wounded, Unconscious
Charles: HP = 37/81, PP = 75, EP = 36/60, Status = Injured, Eldritch Lantern, Strength (+24 Body 2 EP upkeep)
Nina: HP = 35, PP = 50, EP = 27/55, Status = Fine
Rolls
@thetwo's note: derp, added an extra 15 damage before doing anything this round.
Ashley attacks with Eldritch Blast, a level 3 Arcane spell treated as level 4 for the purpose of casting and energy cost.
Casting: Success.
Attack: Hit.
Damage: 1 + 4 + 11 = 16 * 4 = 64 damage.
Chloe heals Tesnya with Healing Bolt, a level 2 Body Spell treated as level 3 for the purpose of casting and energy cost.
Attack: Hit.
Damage: 4 + 4 + 7 + 2 = 17 * 3 = 51 HP restored.
Yay~ Gain 4 more experience. Also, you may reposition yourselves however you see fit. At the moment, Charles and Tesnya are in the middle of the room, while Nina and Jenn are in the back of the room. Also, don't worry, these are just mooks, not powerful enemies like the ones you've been fighting up until now.
With one final burst of energy, Ashley tore another hole in the abomination's body, and this finally proved too much for its inhuman endurance. It's torso toppled off of its legs, and the liquid jelly that had been holding Tesnya suddenly shivered before losing all of its solidity, dropping to the floor like so much goo. The eastern girl that it had been holding in its horrific embrace only moments before collapsed to the ground along with, coughing up waves of blood before vomiting onto the floor, the contents of her stomach mixed with blood as well. As they hadn't eaten in over a day now, most of it was bile, but Tesnya remained on the floor, dry heaving up whatever her insides would offer in order to help clear out the remaining gore that had been literally forcing its way into her body even after Chloe's spell healed the majority of her wounds.
"Is that it this time? I don't know if we've got the steam left to kill another one of those things...." Charles muttered darkly as he observed the remains of the monster that they had just finished dealing with, which was even then starting to come apart at the seams. Nina, meanwhile, proceeded immediately over to Jenn, examining the girl for a moment before calling out; "She's alive! She's still alive! It looks like she'll be alright!" Charles sighed with relief before asking, "Can she be moved? Can you wake her up?" Nina quickly replied, "I don't think we can wake her, she's still very weak. We should be able to carry her though!" Charles then promptly heaved Tesnya to her feet, startling the half-naked amazon out of her dry heaving spell, "We'll have time for that when we're out of here and back at the Academy! C'mon, lets get the fuck out of-"
He was cut off by the rattling of chains, first from one body and then another, until every one of the half corpses hanging from the ceiling was rattling. It only took any of them one glance to figure out why, as the bodies were flailing wildly, their mouths open in silent moans. One by one they reached up and grabbed their chains, pulling themselves up until, with a wet schlick sound, each of them came off of the hooks holding them up, and then a chorus of dry thumps echoed through the narrow halls as the bodies fell to the floor. Each of them started clawing their way towards the nearest member of the now surrounded group of mages, most of whom were too horrified to respond. Of course, being stunned while surrounded by a dozen mobile corpses was likely to end well, but it seemed to be up to Ashley and Chloe to do something to get their comrades to spring into action.
The group has entered an area of low magic. Any spells cast will cost EP and require a casting check as if they were one level higher. In addition, spells from the Wind, Nature, and Fire elements are even more difficult to cast down here, raising their costs and casting DCs by an additional spell level.
Chloe was running out of reserves and wished greatly she had held onto that makeshift club. Moving in an attempt to regroup Chloe let loose with with one of the most basic spells she could conjure. Normally it would have taken little effort on her part but this place seemed to inhibit the flow of magic around.
Casting Level 1 missile storm trying to get as many of the corpses in its effect as possible.
Missile Storm (Ball) [Automatically hits all enemies within its Area of Effect but deals -2 damage.] 1d6 +8 -2
The situation was dire. Jenn was totally out of it, and of the others only Nina didn't bear wounds. And on top of everything else, there was the oppressive feel of an area mostly drained of magic, making every spell that little bit harder. Ashley felt the strain her last spell had caused, and knew that she was reduced to cantrips, with even those giving out before long. Running didn't feel right, staying to find the cause of these horrors and end its existence felt right. But given the group's current state, that might be suicide.
"We... we have to push through! Clear the ones back towards the stairs!"
Ashley drew in her will again, silently cursing how little magic she could still draw on. She hurled it at the foes between them and the direction they had all come from as she moved towards her unconscious friend, letting it split into a separate ball of sputtering white energy for each nearby foe as it moved. As she reached Jenn, she mentally verified that her location spell was still pointing towards the fallen mage before dropping it for the tiny relief that would bring to her strained reserves. She had perhaps one more spell in her, then it would be down to her pistol. Better that she should be the one holding Jenn, rather then someone who might still contribute meaningfully to the fight.
Chloe: HP = 40/76, PP = 65, EP = 4/75, Status = Injured, Low on Energy, Light
Ashley: HP = 49, PP = 66, EP = 4/45, Status = Fine, Low on Energy
NPC stats
Tesnya: HP = 5/65, PP = 55, EP = 69/110, Status = Badly Injured, Energy Blade X = 11
Jenn: HP = 28/52, PP = 69, EP = 0/47, Status = Wounded, Unconscious
Charles: HP = 12/81, PP = 75, EP = 34/60, Status = Badly Injured, Eldritch Lantern, Strength (+24 Body 1 EP upkeep)
Nina: HP = 35, PP = 50, EP = 23/55, Status = Fine
~~~~~~
Attacks (Zombies) : Tesnya is hit twice, Charles is hit once.
Damage: 4 + 10 + 10 = 24 damage per hit. Jesus the dice hate you guys! >.>
Though they were surrounded, there was a small subsection of the room in which Chloe and Ashley could unleash their two storms of energy bolts without fear of hitting any of their allies in which five of the crawling corpses were clustered closely together. The bolts of energy hammered into the dead creatures, and all five went still with a dozen or more holes torn into their rotting forms. Charles and Tesnya snapped into action immediately, the former stomping his foot down upon one of the zombie's heads while the latter took the head from one of them with her energy blade. Nina sent a quick burst of energy at one of them, half crushing one of its arms, but it continued to scrabble towards the nature mage even as she helped Ashley get Jenn off of the ground, taking her under one of her shoulders while Ashley her by the other took the other.
With more than half of their attackers destroyed, they had a clear path to the way out of the horrible room, and Charles shouted; "Ashley, Nina, get Jenn moving! We'll keep you covered! Chloe, you too! Get out of here!" And the two of them did just that, trying to ward off their foes as best they could and providing a path for the other four to move through. Unfortunately, as Ashley, Chloe, Nina, and Jenn moved through the corridor that Charles and Tesnya had carved for them, the mobile corpses clawed and scraped at them hungrily along the floor. Claws tore into Tesnya's calves, and one reached forth and sunk its teeth into the muscle of her leg, tearing a chunk of flesh away before the eastern girl could pull away from it. Charles managed to avoid that, but one of them threw itself upwards and managed to tear into his lower abdomen with its bony fingers. Neither of them were doing well, but they were still standing and had bought the rest of them enough time to escape the room.
The sensation of their constrained magic upon passing by the threshold of the door vanished, giving them full access to their magics once again. Unfortunately, they had both already used so much of their energy that they might be able to manage a single spell each before they were reduced to cantrips. Tesnya and Charles backed into the corridor behind them, the latter blocking for the former as she limped after the others while Nina and Ashley dragged Jenn in the front. The sound of claws scraping against the ground followed them, but numerous thumping footfalls could be heard from up ahead in the narrow corridor as well.
Chloe was hurt but Tesnya was hurt more not to mention the Ninja/monk was a far better at melee combat than Chloe could ever be. Focusing her healing magic once more into ranged bolt she was glad that the sapping effects had disappeared and let lose with a healing bolt targeting Tesnya.
Healing Bolt lvl2 body augmented with physician and healer: 45hp healed if successful. ((4+4+7)*3)
Ashley felt herself let out a sigh of relief as they passed the threshold and the veil of magical energy returned to its normal strength. But the fight wasn't over yet, and she'd nearly exhausted herself in the previous fight. That left her with few options on how to help, now.
Her first instinct was to help Charles and Tesnya, who didn't seem to be faring well against those animated dead still behind the group. Now that they were out of the room, Ashley could throw around the little missile storm cantrip like... well, like it was a cantrip, and it had done well enough for the most of the other zombies. But then she heard the footsteps in front of her, and reflected that with two people already focused on those behind, perhaps her efforts would be better spent clearing the way.
She only had enough energy left for one significant spell. Well, not that her cantrips weren't powerful enough to qualify as significant, but one more significant spell. And there was an obvious choice at this point, between her burden and the fact that her foes weren't yet visible. Ashley murmured an enchantment, and focused on strengthening her muscles. Jenn would be easier to hold, she would move faster, and she would even improve her aim if it came down to using her gun.
Chloe: HP = 40/76, PP = 65, EP = 2/75, Status = Injured, Low on Energy, Light
Ashley: HP = 49, PP = 66, EP = 2/45, Status = Fine, Low on Energy, +18 Body (Lesser Strength)
NPC stats
Tesnya: HP = 50/65, PP = 55, EP = 68/110, Status = Injured, Energy Blade X = 11
Jenn: HP = 28/52, PP = 69, EP = 0/47, Status = Wounded, Unconscious
Charles: HP = 72/81, PP = 75, EP = 33/60, Status = Injured, Eldritch Lantern, Strength (+24 Body 1 EP upkeep)
Nina: HP = 35, PP = 50, EP = 19/55, Status = Fine
Casting (Nina) : Success.
Healing: 1 + 5 + 14 = 20 * 3 = 60 HP restored on Charles.
~~~~~~
Attacks (Zombies) : no hits.
As they slowly crawled forward, Ashley and Chloe both expended the last of their major magics for the day, the former by casting a spell to enhance her strength and the latter by sending a bolt of green light that healed the badly wounded Tesnya. Nina shifted back and did much the same for Charles, who moved to take the lead. "Stay behind me," he grunted stoically, while the reinvigorated Tesnya kept the crawling zombies at bay from behind using her energy blade. A squad of shambling corpses came from up ahead, their arms outstretched if they still had any, as many had sizable chunks taken out in various places. Charles hammered the first one to reach him in the chest with a thunderous kick, sending it flying backwards and knocking back the ones following it.
That bought them a little breathing room, but the way ahead was clogged with the living dead, and there were still a half dozen of them coming from behind. Tesnya managed to keep them all back by using the one that she decapitated as a shield, but that wouldn't work forever. Of course, now that she was in back the spirit wielder might be able to unleash her full power, but at the cost of her energies which they might need later. Whatever she was going to do, the Eastern girl kept it to herself, not even throwing a glance at Chloe in thanks after the exhausted mage healed her.
"Keep moving!" Ashley could feel that she had spent the last of her magical reserves, leaving behind just enough to remain conscious. But at least she could maintain her enhanced physical strength and even keep throwing out cantrips as long as they stayed out of the area of reduced magic. It would barely take an effort of will to throw more bolts of arcane energy at the shambling corpses, for example, with the energy drawn from the world around them rather then from Ashley herself.
With a wave of her free hand Ashley did just this, hurling the bolts at the zombies blocking their path, hoping the others would deal with those behind. As soon as she was done she drew her gun, happy for the increased stability her enhancement spell would grant. Little could compare to this particular arcane spell when it came to groups of minor foes, but after the previous room the mage would feel better knowing she had cold iron to back up her magic if it came to it.
Chloe kept an eye on Tesnya and didn't blame the girl for sending a thanks her way after all she looked like she had more important things to worry about. Speaking of which Chloe threw one more cantrip out to help Tesnya with the swarm of undead that she was holding at bay. "Come on Tesnya I got your back!" Hopefully Chloe's words helped or at lest encouraged the eastern girl.
Chloe: HP = 40/76, PP = 65, EP = 2/75, Status = Injured, Low on Energy, Light
Ashley: HP = 49, PP = 66, EP = 2/45, Status = Fine, Low on Energy, +18 Body (Lesser Strength)
NPC stats
Tesnya: HP = 50/65, PP = 55, EP = 67/110, Status = Injured, Energy Blade X = 11
Jenn: HP = 28/52, PP = 69, EP = 0/47, Status = Wounded, Unconscious
Charles: HP = 45/81, PP = 75, EP = 32/60, Status = Injured, Eldritch Lantern, Strength (+24 Body 1 EP upkeep) Grappled
Nina: HP = 35, PP = 50, EP = 17/55, Status = Fine
Casting (Nina) : Success.
Attack (Entangling Vines) : Hit, hit, and hit.
Three of the remaining five zombies coming from behind are grappled by the vines.
~~~~~~
Attacks (Zombies) : both miss Tesnya, two hits and a miss on Charles. He is double grappled and bitten once.
Damage: 8 + 9 + 10 = 27 damage.
I really need to start rapid posting for you two.
Ashley's storm of energy bolts reached out and tore into the wall of walking corpses closing in on them from the front while Chloe's battered against the half dozen crawling along the floor behind them. Though the magic might have caused some harm, the dead didn't seem to notice the magical assault as they shambled forth, more and more of them appearing from the corridors in the basement ahead of them while the half dozen crawlers behind them made to ear into Tesnya once again. "There's too many of them!" Tesnya screamed urgently, but aid came in the form of Nina, who cast a spell that caused roots to erupt from the ground and bind three of the corpses to the ground. They continued clawing at the ground and opening and closing their mouths silently, but the plants were holding them fast and preventing them from moving on them.
The numbers of monsters that she had to deal with cut from six to three, Tesnya sliced the first to throw itself at her clean in half down the middle. Her palm smacked the next one down, causing it to rebound away from her, and the last she sidestepped as it sailed through the air towards her. The dead thing scrambled at the floor in order to flip itself back onto its belly before finding another victim, choosing mindlessly based on the one nearest to it. Unfortunately, that meant that its target was Chloe, who was the nearest to the foul thing.
"There's just too god damn many of them!" Charles shouted even as he snap kicked the next walking corpse coming towards him in the chest. Stepping into the gap that it created by way of knocking back some of its stumbling kindred, Charles was attacked suddenly from one that had seemingly been lying in what for someone to step into the intersection. "Shit!" he said loudly, his eyes widening with horror as he caught the zombie by the arm and shoulder, keeping its teeth and one of its hands from getting to him. Unfortunately, one of the other ones coming from the front was happy to capitalize on his moment of vulnerability as it lunged toward him, joining the wild grapple and grabbing Charles by the shoulder. Ashley could do nothing but watch as its head lunged forward, and its yellowing teeth sunk into the flesh of Charles' shoulder. He screamed as it tore away a chunk of skin and muscle, momentarily pausing in its assault as it noisily chewed on the meat before swallowing it down, and preparing to move in for another bite. Its comrades seemed to have similar intentions, and the scent of fresh blood only drove the walking corpses into a frenzy as they scrambled to close in on the cornered group.
