Fable - Ask Crypticism on the River Sayve

A roleplay which may be open to join but you must ask the creator first
Alarm bells were ringing in the head of the necromancer as he laid eyes on the monster before them, he didn't have a name for it but his mother was diligent in teaching him of the more dangerous things to avoid, and this was high on the list. He knew only two things about them, they had a relation to vampires in some way or another, and if they got hold of a magic user then it was going to be difficult for another mage to be of use in the fight against them for a while. These two things in combination meant that he had to be smart about how he went about helping the group, though as the creature leapt and started tearing people apart, Lazarus would see his shields dwindle one by one.

"Damn..." keeping further back from the group, almost still in the doorway, Lazarus would look from Alisande to Hugo and onward to the monster that threatened all of their lives. Having prepared for this beforehand a bit, he would retrieve a bottle of a thick red liquid, viscous in nature and clearly not just some wine he had corked for himself. Sprinting over to the downed vampire, he would place the bottle at her feet wordlessly, not even sure if that would be of any more use to her than simply leaving her be, but he had to do something. Continuing his sprint towards the corpses, he would begin gathering more of that necrotic energy that seemed to infuse every bit of air in this room, sliding to a halt once he got to a pile of bones. "Right, time to give the mantis a group of ants to fend off..."

At great danger to himself by simply opening the wound, Lazarus would take the knife like bone from his robes and stab it into both forearms, letting the blood drip down his arms to coat his hands. "I compel you, all those whom my blood comes to fall upon, rise from your slumber and be at my beck and call. Take back from this monster the very thing it took from you, I implore you, allow my blood to engrain in you life once more." Tossing his arms out towards the piles of bones, he would imbue his blood with the necromantic magic, the droplets splattering across the pile in a smattering of bullets. For a moment the blood soaked bones would be still, but after a held breathe they would begin to rattle and rise, combining to for skeletons from the bones available until they were mostly whole. A group of four of them would start shambling forward towards the armored slaughterer before another group of bones clattered about, following the same process.

Lazarus would continue this process as long as his body would allow, for each pass of his arms over the pile would send less and less blood, his body stitching the wounds closed even as he wished for it not too. While he was already feeling light-headed from the loss of blood, he knew it would take more than that to drop him, begrudgingly thanking the curse on his body while despising it for how it limited his abilities for spells such as this. In total he figured he could bring about maybe twelve or thirteen skeletons, none of which had weapons, but all of which would want to clamber towards and onto the monster, grabbing and tearing at whatever they could get their boney hands on. He knew all too well that a single swipe would take them out, but it was all he could think to do in the moment, as he stumbled and felt the world spin around him from the blood loss, hands shaking and fumbling to find a trinket in his robes to be ready for whatever may come next.

Alisande Hugo Farlance Carmelea Nosfir Mordrith Nightbrae Victoria O'Connor
 




Slaughter. It almost felt like war again, that bygone feast. With every bite into mortal flesh, every splatting of blood from sword to maw, the creature moved quicker, stronger.

Those who cried out in fear were slain first, while those who quietly prepared went ignored--or unnoticed--until the they too charged into the fray. The blood that spilled from a mercenary held high in it's claws sent a rippling shiver through the monstrous form and elicited a delighted chitter from the starving guardian.

It abruptly snapped to attention then, facing directly at Sten who had called for Hugo.

Sten moved quickly, his blade finding purchase deep in the now shrieking beast, but not as intended. With lightning reflexes the monster had intercepted with it's own wrist, mercenary steel slipping through tendon and exposed meat with ease. However, a sudden stop and sickening crunch revealed it would not pierce the beast's chest so easily. Though chipped, Sten struck chitinous plates of living bone which protected it's chest and back.

His face went pale when the shrieking beast threw it's meal aside and lifted it's good hand to swat.

This was his end, he knew.

A sudden yelping shriek pierced his ears and he opened his eyes to bone clambering bone.

They came like a tide; reanimated skeletons who bore everything from peasant's rags to rusted armor, all united in the immortal hate of souls departed too soon. They hooked boney fingers between organic plates to climb and even pull. Amidst the struggle, three of the undead managed to rip an exo-skeletal plate from the monster's back, to which it cried out and began swinging wildly at the oncoming horde.

Three were reduced to scatted bone fragments in one mighty slash.

Yet as a dozen more joined the battle--conjured from Lazarus' near infinite supply--it's sword arm piled into the floor beneath a building tide of skeletons.






 
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"You are certain the expedition is already well within?"

Petrus would idly ask Drystan after a moment's pause to hold aloft the artifact that had recently come into his possession and, more pressingly, set his messenger on the trail of this little outing in the first place. Drystan, for his part, rose from a crouch aboard their own vessel and idly spun a small, sharp piece of metal between his fingers. Something between a sewing needle and a spike, as it were, before he gave his Lord a genial smile and nodded.

"Naturally. Though as expected there has arisen a minor complication that might be worth your attention."

Petrus would let his deep, amber eyes drift from the fragmented crown half-embedded, half-placed, into the skull in his hand and gave a silent nod to order Drystan to continue. Which the messenger happily obeyed.

"Another vessel, in the fog, hired captain and... other staff. No one saw me, of course, but I'm fairly certain we're dealing with Lady O'Connor. Queen of Grey Rock."

Petrus would turn the skull in his grasp a bit, considering for a heartbeat, before correcting Drystan.

"One of the Queens of Grey Rock."

Drystan would purse their lips, brow furrowing in thought, before he clicked his tongue and tapped the side of his head with the spike.

"Can't believe I forgot that part. Which one is she again?"

Petrus would raise his eyes to the fog-shrouded waters parting before them, the faint shadow of Victoria's vessel coming into view as he grunted, his voice unamused at repeating petty gossip.

"The one they call a dog-fucker."

Drystan snorted more out of surprise and reflex than true amusement. Only to make a disgusted face after a moment's consideration.

"The red-head?"

A nod from Petrus, a grunt from Drystan, before the messenger sighed.

"Right, well, despite her meager holdings appearances must my Lord. Do you wish me to go ahead and ensure her safety?"

Petrus would shake his head, only once, before beginning to walk toward the gangplank of the swampaire's vessel. The Merchant Lord of Alliria had not come alone, and not even with just his messenger. Several armored, magically equipped knights of the house accompanied them, along with a few druidic acolytes. Said forces were the first into the murk, muck and gloom before the tomb. A perimeter of steel and spells set up out of mercilessly drilled routine instead of any true estimation of danger. Though, once before the tomb, that estimation may have changed for some as the broken crown atop the skull began to writhe. A pallid green light bursting forth from the skull's eyes as it murmured to Petrus from within his mind, a cacophony of voices, insistent and hushed, conspiratorial and bold, the soul bound spiritual mass of necromancers within the crown bid the skull's mouth to open and open it did.

Petrus, for his part, watched with academic interest before holding the skull just a bit aloft and nodding.

"Very well, commit to your demonstration then."

Drystan would arch a brow, not having heard what the skull had told his Lord, but that aside the young man would simply cross his arms behind his back... and wait.

From within the skull's depths the power of the damaged artifact would surge forth. Not in any physical sense but, instead, acrid tendrils of black-green magic would lash out at the tomb like a sudden mass of vines exploding from the underbrush. The soft, desiccated earth would be burrowed into, the ancient stonework wound about as if in coital bliss by a swarm of serpents, though no longer at it's height the artifact that had once shrouded an island and conjured a localized hurricane now bent it's necromantic knowledge to use. The gestalt that comprised it's being conspiring with itself as it began to drink the necromantic power from the tomb, tasting of the heart of the magic there just as a vampire may sample an artery.

The crown specialized, and did specialize currently, in countering and absorbing hostile magicks. Which was what made it such a pain to acquire to begin with and nearly lead to it slaying Petrus outright in the process. But for now it obeyed. Of course none of the necromancers bound to the crown were ancient, none were on their own a power to shake the world, but quantity was a quality all its own and their disparate knowledge of the arts arcane let the artifact begin to worm and burrow its way toward the magical heart of the tomb. A roiling chorus of voices joined as one, bent by a greater will, to see just what of value could be prized from this fetid place. If anything.

This would likely have little impact on the battle raging far below, for now, unless the guardian was linked to the greater magics of the crypt itself or could otherwise feel, or be effected by, the siphoning and chipping away of magic from the ancient edifice.

Carmelea Nosfir Lazarus Jeager Victoria O'Connor Hugo Farlance Alisande