You have encountered a hoard of Early-Rising Undead! Mini-Boss Rules:
Only a maximum of three trolls may fight this boss. This is a mini-boss! Unlike regular boss battles, the mule will not be posting new rounds, and players can simply post as fast and often as they want, taking turns to attack one at a time. Players who have trinkets or abilities may also post to use one directly after posting their attack, giving them a maximum of two turns for that round. When each troll in the fight has had a turn to attack the mini-boss once and use one power/trinket, a new round begins. At each new round roll the standard 2d6 and use the table below to see what damage you've taken. As always, the first number is what you should check for your damage, and the second is the amount done to the mini-boss. Once the mini-boss or all players fighting it reach 0hp, this can be counted by all trolls participating as a battle rp for growth. If you have any questions, please PM the mule!
HORDE STARTING HP: 100/100
You're pretty confident at judging when it's light enough to go inside, shut the door, and drop the bolts. Here in the dark of the swamp, with treetops clustered so close overhead, you'd assume that there would be little to few undead, and definately not now. These creatures relied on sunlight to live, didn't they? So what was this medium sized hoard doing, shambling towards you? Questions would have to be cut short, as the moans from behind you indicated that you were surrounded.
If you rolled a 1, several of the creatures surround and pin you down. They tear at you with surprisingly strong hands and rake you with still sharp teeth, despite the mould and decay. Take 4 dmg and deal no damage.
If you rolled a 2, you get body-hugged from behind. The thing holding you is cold, wet, lifeless, and surrounding you in a choking embrace. Take 3 dmg and deal double damage.
If you rolled a 3, hands grab at your feet from below. Looking down, you see a torso with no legs, fastening onto your feet and trying to pull itself up. Take 3 dmg and deal double damage.
If you rolled a 4, one lands on top of you for a moment, wet dead air forced from it's decaying lungs into your face from the impact. You quickly kick it off. Take 2 dmg and deal double damage.
If you rolled a 5, suddenly one displays a terrifying burst of speed, charging towards you. It grabs onto your front as it's legs disintegrate and it topples into the muck. Take 2 dmg and deal double damage.
If you rolled a 6, you look around, trying to find a place where you can at least get your back against something solid. There is nowhere to be found, they are all around you. Take 1 dmg and deal triple damage.
*damage multipliers should be applied before age/weapon bonuses*
When the mini-boss or all trolls have reached 0hp, please look in the spoiler below.
Mini-Boss at 0
You have managed to cull enough of the hoard to dart through the shuffling crowds and break free of their waving embrace. Still, you won't be able to survive out here for long. You should probably continue pressing north, or retreat back south to the safety of Four Fronds.
You must keep rolling 2d4 in the main thread, the swamp is swarming with undead! If you have not won a prize from fighting this boss before, you can now roll 1d100 in their next post. If you get a multiple of 3, one of the undead your troll brought down had a 3 use novice trinket, pinned to the front of their rotting clothes. If you get a multiple of 5, one of the undead your troll brought down had a 3 use adept trinket, pinned to the front of their rotting clothes.
The multiple of 5 overrides the multiple of 3. Always take the larger prize.
Players at 0
The hoard is overwhelming, unrelenting, and unstoppable. You can't stay here - you must either continue pressing north, or retreat back south to the safety of Four Fronds.
You cannot stay in the swamp anymore, it is too dangerous! Swamp ORP must be wrapped up and your troll may move to one of the two final ORPs, depending on their side.
Keionx slammed her sheild into an approaching zombie, moving back bit by bit. The hope was to gain enough ground to flee them, but with a charge to rescue, that was very difficult.
A deluge of water suddenly poured onto both her and Miache from above, cool, clear, freshly rained water that had collected in the leaves. The zombies sputtered, and she took advantage of that to move a good distance away, enough to figure out how to use a sword and shield with a teenager draped over her shoulders...
Miache squawked indignantly, flailling about on Keionx's shoulder. He tumbled off but managed to right himself quickly by grabbing at her arm, terrified of falling into a fresh pond of mud. Of course, when he realized just who he'd grabbed he snapped his hands off her, staring in confusion. What just happened? How did he get there? And where did she come from? Hell, where was that demonic child? All he remembered was her scornfully sneering at him....and everything went black.
His attention snapped forward when he heard the groans of the undead and he started anew. "Wh-what are those?!" he shrieked, reeling away from them. They were......grotesque! They looked so....misshapen and FILTHY! Oh gods....what had she gotten him into? "What in the hell is going on here?!"
All internal musings halted rather harshly, the feeling of something so vile crawling up his leg. A zombie that'd been lopped in half was making its way up his leg! He inhaled sharply, unable to muster another indignant shriek so soon and instead slammed down his staff, first shoving the creature off before smashing it repeatedly until it stopped moving. There was blood and mud caked on his staff......he was feeling light-headed....but he had to press on! Wherever they were going had to be better than this! HEll if he was lucky he'd even find somewhere to remove his shackles! While he could manage his staff, it wouldn't be easy.
Keionx reeled, suddenly unbalanced, as Miache fell from her shoulder. She gave him a look of frustration and consternation as he grabbed her. If he hath been able to walk this whole time, Keionx grumbled internally, Why did I have to carry him?!
Not that she was incapable of carrying someone around with ease, but still! It seemed to be awfully lazy of him.
One of the daywalkers grabbed her leg and she kicked it away. ”Daywalkers.” she said dryly. Free of her burden, Keionx drew her sword, ”Thou hath missed much.”
Her abdomen screamed at her, unhealed tissue protesting this latest fight, but she knew sanctuary was just around the corner. ”So I shall fill thee in. We are fighting. Hope is near, so fight. And perhaps thou wilt tell me why you were in such an odd...” she blocked a zombie, ”Situation.”
His brow furrowed as he watched her struggle. She probably had a good few bruises that were from him....he knew he wasn't guilt-free....he had started the fight with her and she had recieved further injury after. He didn't like that.....this time it was only honourable to stand beside her and fight off the menace, she couldn't do it alone, not with this mess. But daywalkers....what in the hell was a daywalker? He really had missed a lot....was this a common thing for her to run into?
The cold, clammy embrace from behind startled him, making him nearly jump o ut of his skin. Instead he reeled his head back, slamming it into the undead face behind him. Once it let go he wound up and slammed it with his staff. "I couldn't..." he broke off, fending the uncertainty from his voice, "I wouldn't subject three wriggles to that fate..." he said firmly. "They knew no better....I wouldn't stand by and watch them..." he broke off again. He knew the empress wouldn't be easy on children.....they were young. They had barely crawled out of the trials....culling them would just be too much.
”What fate?” asked Keionx. She was interested, though she was somewhat distracted by the fight.
Sword in hand, Keionx was far more ready to deal with the hoarde. Well, as ready as anyone could be for the walking dead. She slashed the nearest daywalker apart with an impressive maneuver – three strikes in quick succession. And, with a flourish, she cut off the head of the one the Miache had knocked away. ”This way.” she called, moving further down the path.
Miache glanced at her sternly. "The exact fate you--" he was cut off as a (what he'd THOUGHT was) lifeless corpse threw itself at him, barreling him down to the swamp. He couldn't even panic about his once perfect attire and hair as the daywalker shredded his vest, eager for flesh underneath. Several others jumped into the fray, baring down on him with claws and teeth, tearing his arms and neck as his hands were still too trapped to effectively protect himself. He shoved the first off, kicking it away and rolled away from the others, hardly registering the mud that the rain persistently tried to wash away. Oh damn.....there was so much blue in that puddle....that was his, wasn't it? ******** badly injured was he? His arms stung, they had been unprotected by his several layers of clothing.....and his neck.....he could see the collar of his pressed, white shirt becoming discoloured with blue.....s**t, how bad was it? He couldn't worry about it now though....he had to get back up.
Keionx had no time or space to puzzle over what he might have meant. She cut down another one of the daywalkers and, noticing that the blueblood was in serious trouble, she sheathed her sword briefly and began to tear what daywalkers she could off of him. ”Get up!” she demanded, pulling him forcefully up in a momentary lull. She let go of him and drew her sword again, ”I thinketh we have to run!” she achknowledged, gritting her teeth as the hoard moaned and howled, seeking their living flesh.
And just whose fault was it they got caught by such a hoard?! He bit back the comment and stuck with just giving her another stern look. He grunted as one dropped from a sagging tree, again struggling to shred his layers of clothing before Miache threw it off. Escape didn't look like the easiest route.....they were really stuck for it. "We'll get out of here," he said firmly, he was winded and his neck sore....but his voice came out just as decisive as ever.
"This way!" he snapped, grabbing her arm and pulling her further from the hoard. As they ran to catch up with the two again he swung out his staff in a wide arc, pushing several back and taking a good chunk of a few midsections. "If I am to die it will NOT be in this wretched place!" he hissed, eyes narrowing at the thought.
Keionx had no intention of dying in this filthy swamp, not alone and not like this. Preferably, not for a long time. He held her sheild arm in what she felt suddenly was a mockery of Stryke's hold. This was nothing like how it had been when she had fought with Stryke. There was no unity, no goals gloriously aligned as one. This was just necessity. This was just plain strange. She gave him an odd look, and was uncomfortable, but she understood the necessity.
She swept out with her sword at the impending hoarde, only to have many bony, decaying arms rake along her own, gripping her quickly and tightly as their teeth bit into her. Bright blood dripped from new wounds, and her sword fell from her grasp as she screamed defiance and wrenched herself away. She managed to retrieve her sword from the muck before they moved on, running as fast as they could.
It was just nonstop! He swept his staff out and pummeled the daywalkers that had grabbed Kei. Right now....she was his partner. If one survived they both survived. It was a battle of neccesity, not any kind of reliance or fondness for one another. He was uncertain if he still blamed her for this....sure she got them into some sort of trouble....but this much.....this much she couldn't be held accountable for.
As another daywalker clawed at his suit he stabbed downwards with his staff, almost feeling numb to the sickness he'd felt when they first touched him. The adrhenaline made it easier to forget just how filthy both the two trolls and the daywalkers were. "Where are we even going? The others were headed back to Four Fronds from my understanding!" he paused, looking utterly shocked a moment. "Oh.....or rather....where the other royalists..." he trailed off, suddenly taking a rather harsh his to his certainty. He wasn't with them....he was with the rebels right now. He would recieve all their punishment when he was found by the royalists....and not only that, anyone that recognized him for fighting their leader and ally wouldn't take kindly to him.
Where were they going? Keionx had no idea, other than it was AWAY from the daywalkers and towards some specie of sanctuary that the Pheonix Initiative had hopefully found. Keionx grunted, and bashed away some of the daywalkers with her sheild. It bought them some more time as they crashed into the trees with wet, squelching splatters, enough to really pick up their feet. Soon, she knew, safety awaited.
”Thou canst try to go if thou wantst.” she said nippily, her voice hoarse with exertion and past injury – the acidic gas had done a number on her throat, and her recovering voice had been used a great deal already. Too much.
It would be complicated to bring him among rebels, for sure, but unless he decided to act very stupid, she would bring him to their safety. Before them, in the assumed direction of the Fronds, lay a sea of daywalkers and a long expanse of twisted swamp. That made her comment sarcastic, and she knew it was unlikely he would try to go that way. She certainly would not, and if he did, she thought she might just let him go, hero or not.
"I can't......" he trailed off, mouth hanging open in horror. He couldn't go back to the royalists. Tamiya knew him. That aweful blueblood would recognize him....she had his number. He had no where to go! He hadn't thought this through in the slightest! The sarcastic tone hadn't even registered as he glanced over his shoulder. "They know me....they'll recognize.....s**t.....I didn't think this through. I made a mis..." he broke off, mouth still hanging open. No. It wasn't a mistake. He would've done the exact same again given a second chance. It wasn't....proper, a gentleman never threw children to the wolves, he protected decency...even if it got him killed or injured. "No.....I'll figure something out." He grit his teeth. He didn't know if he was convincing her or himself. No looking back. If he had to run from the rebels he'd do just that. The kids were safe, all he needed to worry about was getting himself and Kei to safety, and they were already so close! He yelped as another daywalker latched onto him, ripping at his throat and chest, leaving blue raked across his skin. He slammed the end of his staff into the thing's gut to force it off, pushing himself to move forward as he held his neck. Oh god....that felt like a lot of blood. Was it that bad? He wished he could see himself...but he knew if he saw how filthy he was that would add a new layer of panic.
Figure it out? Whatever. Kei found herself fairly far from caring. So long as they were not torn up by the hoarde, she would accept that as a victory. Currently, the hoarde was thinning, and she swore that, behind them, in the direction they were going, she could see lights at a glance. Lights. Safety. Hope. She pulled him out of the way of a lunging daywalker and sliced it in two, kicking away it's still-writhing halves. ”Hurry!” she urged, they were almost free!
Another daywalker jumped at him, latching its teeth onto his leg, tearing a good bite in. He slammed face-first into the muck and curled in on his leg. s**t.....everything was going dark. Was it the blood loss this time? Ugh...he couldn't tell...maybe his neck was worse than he gave it credit for. He heard something crashing around him....but his mind was too detached, he couldn't see anything, he couldn't even worry about his skin, clothing, and hair coated in muck and blood.
What he hadn't seen was his lusus barreling through the brush, finally finding him after he'd first taken a tumble into the swamp. The raptor grabbed his limp body with his teeth and dragged him across his back. Raptordad keened, nudging at him with his muzzel before moving further from the horde, staring expectantly at Keionx.
