Finchley peered around the corner and gasped aloud at the sight of an undead hand choking Cat. She looked for Lif and called out, "Lif! Is it them? The Unsealed?" A horrible sinking feeling grows in the pit of her stomach. If this is her fault...
The corpse’s hand tightened further on Cat’s throat, the soft voice whispering more urgently. “Please…I have grandchildren I wish to see grow..please…die for me…”
Well placed arrows from the rooftops struck the cobblestones, seemingly to keep the others away from Cat and Greg's hiding place amongst the coffins.
The hand, seeming aged but not decayed, tightened around Cat’s as a quiet voice explained from within the pine box. "I am sorry dear, you seem very nice,...but you have to die."
Xandilif looked around, the fact that no arrow was targeting anyone, just keeping them pinned down, seemed confirming something to her. She shouted to Edu. "They are definitely going for the Barfly and her pet boy. Try to get an angle on that rooftop, someone must be controlling that wight....”
Gwyn turned to look at where Cat and Greg were trapped in horror. "No... God dammit... Never hide near coffins..." she muttered to herself before the arrows stopped her from moving to help.
Finchley bit her lip and peered out from where she was taking cover under the archway. What could she do? She couldn’t shoot arrows or see better than anyone else could. She looked around the wall to where Cat was struggling with the undead hand about her neck and took an experimental step in that direction, and an arrow nearly stuck into her boot, causing her to tumble back.
Isolated from help, Catalinna reached both hands up to pry the hand from her throat as she choked out, "I.. have no plans.. on dyin' today."
She was able to keep the hand from tightening further, and as she struggled she spied an eye looking at her from inside the box, slightly filmed over but looking a bit regretful. The voice was still soft but seemed more insistent. "I'm sorry, but I want to see my grandchildren grow....please die."'
Off to one side, Sablelinna drew her bow back to her cheek and scanned the rooftop desperately seeking the ones shooting at them. She saw a flash of red near a chimney, held her breath and released the bowstring.
On the rooftop, the arrow caught an unseen figure, spinning it around and giving them all a glimpse of a figure in a blood red robe, clutching an arrow in his shoulder before losing balance and falling heavily down into the square. A snap echoed as the figure landed at a bad angle and lay still, a bow near his outstretched hand.
Eduwiges meanwhile ignored Lif's request and dived for the girl the elf had started calling “Barfly” as soon as the arrows paused. She grabbed the arm of the thing choking her and with her other hand she raised her dagger and slashed downward, cutting deep but drawing no blood. At the last moment she heard cracking sound behind her as twin small hands burst out of a second coffin, grabbing for feet before she danced back.
Gregwald was trying desperately to keep the wooden coffin lid he was holding up to protect them both from any more arrows as he tried to kick the wooden containers further away from them with his foot, but they wouldn’t budge. He called out to the rest fearfully, not realizing he was stating the obvious. "We got magic going on here!"
A long pause, and now that the archer was laying in the square, the arrows had stopped, but now there was sudden movement up on the rooftops, a crackling red glow shining from behind a chimney.'
With the Archer down, Xandilif saw her chance and ran across the courtyard, looking for an easy way up onto the rooftops, pulling herself up to a landing.
Finchley also saw the pause in the rain of arrows as her chance. She ran over to where Cat and Greg were and immediately tried to pry open the fingers about Cat's throat. Regardless of how this dead person had come to life she still had respect for the dead and pleaded with them. "Please, please, let go. C'mon..."
A snapping of aged bone echoed and she bent a finger backwards. The hand released Cat but the voice continued. "NOOOOOO...please...die for me.....you have so little to live for....'
Catalinna gasped in a breath now that she was freed and stepped backwards to move away from the hand. Her brow quirked at the words and she shook her head. "Beg all you want, but if it's you or me, that's an easy choice..." She reached to unfasten the greatsword across her back just as a wave of dread stole the courage from all of them. Their minds were filled with dark thoughts of defeat. After all, life was transitory, why struggle for a few more years and endure all that pain. All were frozen in despair and hopelessness.
Two figures, confident now that their spell had had the desired effect, climbed insolently down from the rooftop, each wearing red robes. They stepped casually over the dead body of their comrade, as one gave a command to the other. ”We require the flame haired wench and the dark haired boy...let the slaves you raised feed upon the others.'
At the edge of the square, an elven woman of great majesty and dignity had heard the clash from afar. Her curiosity, and the overwhelming reek of dark magic in the air drew her attention. She sat upon the saddle, just out of view in the corner, assuming the group had the situation in hand and she had no need to interpose. Yet as she felt the dread wash over her without effect, she dismounted. Smiling a little and stroking the steed, she whispering something to it in Quenya, before drawing her two blades, which immediately lit up in a warm silvery glow in the presence of such evil. She approached the robed figures without care and spoke with a loud voice. "I know not who those are you seek, but you shall have neither. Depart, and be spared my wrath"
The elf’s arrival seemed to disrupt the dread, which shattered like glass as all of their heads cleared, however now the stacks of coffins had begun to shake. One of the two men in red continued to cast a spell while his commander drew a dagger and turned to face the ancient elf.
Finchley looked up at Cat when 'flame haired wench' was mentioned, assuming that they had meant herself when they said “dark haired boy” and wondered as the haze of dread passed what they could want with both her and Cat. She turned and called out Lif's name, reaching out for her almost automatically in the face of despair and confusion but she hesitated for only a moment before placing herself bodily in front of Cat. They wouldn’t have her and they certainly wouldn’t have Cat. "I won't blame you if you want to run," she whispered behind herself, wiping at her leftover tears. "Whatever they want you for, if it is for a similar reason to what they want me for, then you don't wanna get caught by 'em."
Catalinna's sword dropped as her resolve somewhat faded upon looking at the coffins stirring around them and knowing now that she was their target. However, her courage, and even more so her stubbornness seemed to return just as quickly as they had faded; she shook her head at Finch to show that she's not going to run and then gave Greg a quick glance to be sure he was alright. Bracing herself she then she stabbed the point of the greatsword through the coffin near where she thought the heart would be of the one that attacked her. "You had your chance and life already ended for you.. it's not my time yet."
The sword slid into the frail chest of the dead man with the ease of a fork into roast chicken, but did not seem to affect him. The corpse flailed at Cat with it's now grotesquely maimed hand, the voice growing more shrill and demanding, as if he were asking her to get off his lawn. "Please...my granddaughter is only four...she needs me...noone needs you, no one even likes you….you are harsh and bitter and live for yourself alone...your death would affect no one...please....'
Cat grimaced as the avoided the hand. "Thanks a lot! You aren't exactly encouraging me to help you out with that talk."
Sablelinna turned back to the coffins and pulled two fire arrows from her quiver. However as she took aim, the thing that had grabbed for Edu previously, a slightly decayed hobbit with a bad headwound laughed happily as if just discovering a untouched pie and sank its teeth into Sable's Calf, throwing off her aim.
Seeing the woman’s situation, Eduwiges pulled Badu druit from her back and charged towards the red headed archer, her sword raised high and ready to strike the disturbing hobbit ghoul.
Not missing the look Cat had given him, Greg stepped out of her way in time for her to stab into the coffin and followed by whacking the thing with the coffin lid he was holding. A snap echoed as he broke the corpses neck, it's head lolling backwards, but still talking. "You are both so, so selfish.....' However the coffin lids were shaking faster as the sorcerer in the square gestured more wildly and a low moan could be heard from beneath the burning embers of one of the destroyed homes. Greg called out to Cat as he ducked back amongst the coffins, “The pale men in red..this is their doing!”
The ancient elf seemed more amused than threatened by the dagger the red robed man held against her. She inclined her head and gave her sword a twirl, before pointing it towards the robed figure. "Strike at me, and and you'll have cast your life away in vain. I shall give you one last chance to surrender, one last chance to run away before your life will become forfeit."
The one facing her hesitated, staying in a defensive posture but keeping his eye on that sword. Meanwhile the one behind him struggled to finish the spell and call all nearby corpses to their aid.
Feeling the magic approaching it’s completion, Xandilif screamed something that was mostly unintelligible but could have been in orcish and jumped off the roof, landing on the spellcaster with a distinct cracking noise. As the spell stopped, the coffins stilled.
Gwyndolith had been pulled, if not to her right mind then to a more animalistic rage at the words coming from the corpse. "We have our own grandparents to guilt us, Monster! What's dead should stay dead." She whipping out daggers out and slashed, cutting up the corpses face, it's head hanging down it's back by its broken neck though the corpse had now gone still. With a wet noise the now silent head pulled loose, falling to the bottom of the shattered coffin.
Finchley winced at the sound of bones cracking. She merely stared down sadly at the body in the coffin for a moment before looking for Lif, not surprised to see her currently atop one of the red robed figures, pummeling him with her bare fists, but unsure who the beautiful elf on horseback was.
Seeing that the corpse that had been attacking her was no longer animate, Cat nodded her head at Greg's words and then turnsed to walk past Finch and toward the red-robed figures. Wordlessly, she slid past the mounted elf and swung her greatsword at the man with the dagger, aiming to take his head clean off.
As he had been focused on the ancient elf, the man didn’t even see Cat approaching. While her blow didn’t take his head off, it cut deep. Blood was now fountaining from the gash in his throat.
Meanwhile Sablelinna saw that the dead hobbit was not moving anymore and she tried to shake the thing off her leg but those teeth were stuck in pretty good. “Well. Once one of the little folk get their teeth into a meal, they won’t let go for anything…” she muttered to herself.
However Edu Had not noticed the undead halfling was no longer moving and continued to charge. She screamed the old battle cry of the Mark, 'RIDE TO RUIN!' and finished her run with a swing, slicing the undead hobbit's head away from its body in a graceful move Xandilif had taught her on the way to Bree, sending it spinning in the air like a tennis ball. She gracefully pirouetted to a stop, sword held at ready for the next enemy. Her chest heaved and a smile crosses her face.
Edu realized was staring at her. She lowered the big blade, looked around and said, 'What?'
Gregwald poked his head out from his hiding place and stared at Eduwiges. “Was that REALLY necessary?”
The man in robes Cat slashed would still be alive however, Clothing his torn throat and falling to one knee he hissed at the woman. "My lord Desad slew your whore of a mother...he will slay you as well and your broken spirit will serve him for all eternity, as hers does, Witchspawn.'
Catalinna grabbed the dying man by the robe with one hand."What did you say? You know who killed my mother?"
The man laughed, a horrible noise as blood ran down his chin. "Yes and so do you and will know him better still as he thwarts the schemes of the Soulreaper. He waits for you with the shade of your spawn on a leash like a little dog, fool....'
Catalinna's brow furrowed in confusion, having no idea what he was talking about. She gripped the man's robe tighter. "I'm in no mood for riddles or mysteries... speak or I shall make your dyin' breath even more painful that it would be now."
The man laughed once more and whispered. "Have no fear, we will meet again..." and he slowly turned his head, snapping his own neck. As his head lolled back in death Cat realized there were at least two more scars on his throat, certainly fatal wounds. This was not the first time the man had died.
Meanwhile the spellcaster Lif landed on struggled to push the elf off of him, his face already a broken mess from her fists. In frustration the elf gripped him by the hair and slammed the back of his head against the road as the man’s booted feet kicked. “Stop…fighting….ALREADY…” His head impacted the cobblestones once, twice...then a third time until his feet went still.'
Xandilif looked up, face splattered with blood and brain, still holding the unlucky Sorcerer by the head and glared at the elf on horseback. "Who the feck are you?"
The dignified elf looked at The Banshee and craned her head to the right. It took her a moment to respond, mainly due to the fact she was unsure of the meaning of "feck", but when she did her voice was calm and serene. "Calm yourself, Child of Anerial. I am Aliandith and I mean you, or anyone here, no harm."
