The Hordes of the Blight - The Adventure

As the last of the Blightspawn fall, the giant roars in triumph, perceiving that all of its foes have fallen.

Then the fire elemental's blade bursts through its chest. It lets out one last, confused bellow, before falling to the ground as a spontaneous cheer erupts from the guards.

For a few moments, the spear wall doesn't break, its defenders still wary of another attack. Then a surviving sentry on the wall calls out, "All clear!"

Zakhar puts his hammer back on his back. "This is good news. But, monsters attacking city? Is bold, even for them. Monsters not normally so organized. I wonder what incited them."

When Mitsuna came to, everyone was cheering. She struggled to her feet, and looked around; there were no living Blighted she could see. Evidently they had won. She checked herself; miraculously, she had remained in human form. She offered up a quick prayer of thanksgiving for the victory before going off to find her Nightchild, keeping an eye open for Lorez...

Perception:

"Well...that was fun." Aparix smiled. "Who wants beer? Not on me."

Bellator grinned wildly, laughing and waving his axe over his head triumphantly. "Their filthy, wretched queen felt that one, I'll bet, ah, ha, ha...! I told you, monsters! You'd all be dead long before me, eh, heh, heh...! Should've run while you had the chance!"
...He continued taunting the monsters in this fashion for a while. Truth be told, even he knew how close it had been, but delicate 'we did it somehow' speeches weren't his thing.

The guards are still tense for a moment longer, many half-expecting more monsters to come forth. But none do, and gradually the spear wall disbands. Meanwhile, various individuals run out onto what was once the battlefield, some to tend to the many injured, some to burn the Blighted corpses, and some to clean up the debris from the gate and stare at the wreckage, wondering how to get started on the repairs.

Crystalite wrote:

Perception:

Lorez is, in fact, pretty close to Aparix. She's visibly fatigued but otherwise in good health. She says, "A beer sounds good... wait, who's it on, then?"

"Nose goes," Aparix says, placing a finger where his nose would be if he had one. Which he does. Possibly.

Dusk Raven wrote:Lorez is, in fact, pretty close to Aparix. She's visibly fatigued but otherwise in good health. She says, "A beer sounds good... wait, who's it on, then?"

Mitsuna took a circuitous route to avoid the Lokira. Now was a very poor time for a confrontation. She made her way to Zahkar, who was thankfully a good distance away.

"And to think I wanted to be a guard. Are you okay?" She asked the Nightchild.

"I am fine. Was good battle. You fought well. I say we earned rest. Food on me," the nightchild replies.

Lapis-Lazily wrote:"I am fine. Was good battle. You fought well. I say we earned rest. Food on me," the nightchild replies.

"Fought well? I nearly died twice!" The Channeler snapped indignantly. She caught herself. "I'm sorry. Rest sound nice..."

"Are you dead? No. You fought well," Zakhar says with a chuckle as he leads the channeler back to the inn.

Mitsuna couldn't help but smile at the nightchild's blunt optimism as she followed him back to the inn, leaning on his arm occasionally to steady herself. She had another hacking fit along the way; but, thankfully, no more blood came up this time...

Fury of the Tempest wrote:

Skill checks:

Paladin is able to help with some of the worst of the injuries - there's quite a few - and along the way manages to spot the captain of the guard, who's mercifully still alive, though seems to be sporting a limp as he goes about organizing the repair crews.

As they approached the inn, Mitsuna felt her spirits fall a little as she saw the destruction around her. This wasn't the sort of life she wanted. How dearly she wished for a quieter, more prayerful life! Of course, even if the Blight left that very instant it wouldn't happen. She was a Therion, and no place was that safe for a Therion. It had been a long time since she had Meditated; perhaps it was time to do so today.

But first things first. "I think a drink might be in order too," she said bluntly, trying not to look to closely at the various dead that had not been cleared away yet....

"After fight like that? Yes, drink is good. Let us get drink. Then we will clean your wounds. perhaps with drink. Vodka is good disinfectant," Zakhar says as he opens the door to the inn for Mitsuna. "Drinks on me for job well done."

"Hmm..." the guard captain thinks for a moment. "Well, unless you've got skills in carpentry I don't think there's... wait," he suddenly appears struck by an idea. "You can help with dragging the bodies outside and burning them away from the walls and buildings." He glances at the fallen giant. "Except for the giant. I don't think that's going anywhere."

Meanwhile, the barkeep walks in behind Zakhar and Mitsuna, quiver in his hand and bow on his back, looking no worse the wear for his efforts in the fighting. "Vodka, is it?" He walks behind the bar and stashes his weaponry before bringing out a couple of glasses and a bottle of the desired beverage, pouring a shot into each glass.

Dusk Raven wrote:Meanwhile, the barkeep walks in behind Zakhar and Mitsuna, quiver in his hand and bow on his back, looking no worse the wear for his efforts in the fighting. "Vodka, is it?" He walks behind the bar and stashes his weaponry before bringing out a couple of glasses and a bottle of the desired beverage, pouring a shot into each glass.

Mitsuna sat down, taking the glass carefully and sipped at it - she had learned last time not to just down it at once. Her hands slowed down their shaking - which struck her as odd, as she hadn't noticed them shaking before. I would usually notice that, she thought to herself. She chalked it up to battle stress and took another sip.

A day passes.

By the next day, all seems normal again. Were it not for the gaping hole where the gate once was, one would never suspect that the town had been attacked. The Blight, it seemed, was a part of life in Outreach, perverse though it seemed.

The repairs on the gate were going well, and within the day the new doors would be ready. Until then, a double shift of soldiers stood watch over the entrance. The Guard Captain had declined to take possession of the giant's blade, stating that the town would have little use for it. The caravan leader, however, seemed to have an idea, and offered to pay Paladin and the others for it.

In the meantime, however, no one dared to leave sight of the walls. There was no telling how many stragglers still remained after the attack.

Later that day, the mayor called a meeting in the town hall. Once everyone who was going to show up was gathered, he began to speak, succinctly and simply. "As you all know, the attack yesterday was thwarted, but the captain of the guard believes that the attack yesterday was the tip of a much stronger force, which broke off its attack when they failed to gain a foothold at the gates. Thus we believe that a large number of Blightspawn are still out there. Thus, the captain is looking for volunteers to go on scouting missions, to locate the source of the Blight hordes, and if necessary, destroy them."

Zakhar steps forward. "I will do best to kill monsters. No town should live in terror of monsters."

Aparix grinned, lopsided, and scratched one claw against his unnoticedly uncomfortable robes. "Good on him, good man, good guy! That being said, we can't all be so altruistic. Or so pretty." One gets the impression that Aparix is raising his eyebrow at this juncture. "How much are you willing to pay us?"