The Plague (IC Thread)

[tigerusthegreat]

A run of bad luck has left you stranded in Souford with an army surrounding the city, and the gates sealed. The city is beginning to fall into anarchy. Those that are sick, or even presumed sick, are locked up, or in some cases outright killed. Most of the inns have shut down for fear of contagion. Adventurers and travelers like yourselves have been left largely with no place to go. Many have set up camp in one of the larger parks in the middle of town. This is where you have ended up. It is hardly a defensible place. There are all manner of folks around you. Allies might be useful to surviving this situation. Now you have to decide how to survive in the city, or how to defy the quarantine.

[darklink_shadow]

Joshua walked around the camp for a few minutes. Unlike many people, he had chosen to come here. He had a purpose to remain, and had actually snuck into the plagued areas, rather than out of it. Recruiting an army had not gone well. Joshua had not realized his utter lack of people skills was going to be a problem. We have to kill them all, you know. Joshua said loud enough for people nearby to hear him, but not to anyone specifically. If we want out, we have to kill the plagued creatures to be free of this place.

[draconomial]

Artifact stands, unmoving, before a bonfire in the center of a campsite in a park.
Hours ago someone has asked for his help with setting up a camp, and Artifact began setting up rows of ten by ten tents, centered around a fire pit, just as he had many centuries ago. Many people had come and gone, asking Artifact to set up something, or if they could take a tent, or if he would take care of something. Two thirds of the tents had been claimed, and Artifact had cooked a ten gallon pot of stew.
Now he waited for another task to complete, or a responsibility to take care of in the camp.

[Yas392]

He was here. She is sure of it. Just where had he gone?! Great, she wouldn't be having freaking weapons thrust in front of her face if he know his directions. Trixie, the glittering queen of beauty stranded on this ugly festering land full of morons. What city had she gotten into that was so important that they have to barred the exit as well? His face is there taunting her with a frivolous fitting uncertainty. Her fault again? Nonsense, she is always tact.

She flies, her batlike wings vibrates those annoying swooshing sounds. Normally, she zips around with stealth without those sounds, she is careful not to do it unless clouded by emotions. Now she's too sensitive to care. And why are there so many people at the park? Is it some kind of invasion happening? Not that she is clueless. The whole fiefdom of the fey'ri had been cleaned when she was rescued by that idiot. It was some kind of mutate feral of an aberration. That face, she would never forget as her shackles unlatched and she was carried out of her home.

The campsite formation surprises her. There are ten tents set up. There is a nice fire. There is an unmoving statue. Wouldn't hurt if she stay near the fire. It's getting chilly. She hears the futility of a dragon man trying to raise the morale of the scattered loiterers around him. Not worth her time. The statue is more interesting to her as she affixes her bewitching cyan irises to it, maintaining a poker face.

[Tychris1]

Adrian stared deep into the fire, his arms wrapped around his legs as he rocked back and forth slowly. His eyes were squinted tight, twitching nervously every second or so. Raising a trembling hand, Adrian gripped the side of his face, pulling and moving his skin this way and that as the fire flickered and danced like a smoldering enchantress. His eyes opened slowly, taking in the sight of the giant metallic man standing infront of him. Drifting away from the sight of the metal man, Adrian's eyes glazed over, though his lips proceeded to move, slowly reciting a dead memory from long ago.

"I see, a bad moon arising.....
I see, trouble on the way......
I hear, earthquakes and lightning.....
I fear, bad times today....."


Perform:[roll0]

[DoctorFaust]

Shiran had been stalking his most current prey through the camp for many hours before he noticed the Dragonborn seemingly trying to rally the people in the crowd to fight the creatures of the plague. "That won't work," he mutters as he crosses the clearing around the fire pit. "These people are scared and untrained. And if you have fought the disease bearing creatures before, you should be as well. For every one they gain, we lose two."

Seeing the flicker of a red cape out of the corner of his eye, he spins, drawing his rapier with a flourish. "But if you'll excuse me, there is a man I need to meet about my old mercenary company."

[dethkruzer]

Deidrick had stayed well away from the main group, instead only keeping his own strange posse in tow. He stared from the shadows, garbed in pieces of scrap cloth for clothing, with what was obviously an bed sheet sraped over his form as a makeshift mantle, concealing, somewhat atleast, his tentacles and crown of chitin. All this could not coneal the sparks of light that were his eyes.

An amused smirk slowly spread across his face as he continued watching. Two in particular caught his eye, the dragonfolk who was trying to rally the townsfolk, and the huge man who was reciting... poetry? A body like that would no doubt serve the swarm well. "Aah, sweet irony. To think one such as myself would end up locked amidst those who I otherwise would seek to dominate. And more so we probably would have to work together to survive this... Ordeal." He mused to himself in a near-silent whisper. His small group stood behind him, standing far too still to seem natural.

[darklink_shadow]

Cowards. Fools. Joshua muttered. I've fought enough of them to know they are not as fearsome as you've been led to think. But fine, rot and die in this park, cold and alone. I'll skew your numbers, little warrior, by taking out a legion before I die. But not by their hands, I'll slay myself before they can get their claws on me. Realizing his efforts were futile with such a pathetic lot, he sat next to the fire, just far enough away that his scaled flesh barely reflected the light of the fire.

A grim, angry expression held his face, and he radiated bitter annoyances and disappointment. If someone else would take charge, and lead them into battle, Joshua would gladly follow, but he was surrounded by cowards and fools. It would be better for them to just die. All of them. At least then they wouldn't feed the plague. He wished he had enough power to demand that those who would not fight would be slain on the spot, but he didn't.

Despite the beauty and grace of his new body, Joshua had never gotten used to it and still saw himself as a hideous mongrel, and he acted like one. He kept a hooded cloak over his head and wore a thick set of dragon scales over his own, weaker scales.

[DoctorFaust]

Shiran pauses midstep as the dragonborn speaks, turning to face him with his eyes beginning to glow like cinders. "Are you calling me craven?" he asks.

"I have been polymorphed into an amphibian. I had to climb up to the crows nest of a ship during a firestorm off of the coast of Ipsina Fola. I have been shot in the face by a crossbow. And I just got back from killing five of my closest friends and climbing out of a box canyon with no gear because some filliken intentionally sold our company bad information and got everyone but me..."

He glances around, lowering his voice before he continues, saying,"Infected with this plague. So don't you dare question my courage, scaleface."

[Yas392]

Cowards? What are you daft, dragon flyer? Some of us have more concerns to worry about than fighting the plague. Look at their limbs. Look at their faces. Their eyes are full of fear from trapping here. You shout them out, they cower more.

Trixie bites back with much rudeness as she can possibly embed into her retort, stirring her momentum away from a period of stagnation. That's payback for making her jump when all she wants is peace and quiet.

You can beeline straight to nine hells for all we care and die gloriously for oh, your Lord Bahamut. Yes, I read about your kind from the archives. So what if we don't want to fight with you? You are not nice. You are rude, arrogant and incorrigible.

[darklink_shadow]

Joshua exhaled with annoyance. Moving over next to the hulking fighter, Joshua spoke, Maybe not everybody here is a coward, but those who would rather hole up here forever than fight are. And people who would rather bitch about someone demanding they fight and then die, rather than just die. Facing Trixie, he ignored her insults at first, and replied to the meat of her comments before getting to his retort. Concerns greater than fighting the plague? There are no greater concerns here, only people too disillusioned to realize that there is only one escape. I know it's frightening, but starvation is a worse death than claws or fangs from the plagued ones. I may be crash, but I didn't learn people skills while I spent every day of my life fighting and training to fight. So anyone who won't fight is a coward and a fool, and anyone who won't fight with me is just a fool. You don't need nice to win a war, you don't need polite to kill a monster. I'm not arrogant, I'm not bragging. As for incorrigible, I have no idea what that word means, so I might be.

He is incorrigible, though.

[DoctorFaust]

"It is quite obvious to the rest of us that you believe the plague to be the most important event thus far in history. But look at it from their point of view. Food is running out in the camps, and no one can get in or out of the city for trade. So, right now, starvation is a much more immmediate threat to these people than a disease."

Turning to Adrian, Shiran asks, "And what of you, my overlarge friend? What do you think of all of this? Or do you simply think that punching the disease to death will work?"

[Tychris1]

Adrian continued to softly sing to himself, glazed eyes unaware of the world around him. His voice hauntingly hollow and haggard.

"Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise....."

Were it up to Adrian, that would be his entire life. Sitting in front of this campfire, eternally unchanging, frozen in his current state. Like a snow globe, a perfectly preserved moment. But of course, nothing in life is that easy, and sure enough he is dragged back into reality by the questioning of some new stranger. Taking his time to grow acclimated to his current state of mind, Adrian spoke in a gruff whisper. A dark yet melancholy tone, directed at the fire in front of him instead of at any one specific person.

"You think you've seen monsters? You think you've seen terror, pain, tragedy? Destruction and blood and screaming, nothing but screaming and laughing. You think you've seen war?"

Adrian laughed to himself, though even as his lips moved to imitate laughter, only the phantom pangs of emptiness escaped his throat.

"Plagues and starvation? That's nothing, you want to see true monsters? Look around you, look into their eyes, and realize that when it comes to it we'll rip each other apart and destroy everything in a far more destructive way then can be imagined. It's not a sickness, or a shortage of food you have to worry about,"

And with this, Adrian turned his eyes to Shiran, finally full of some sort of drive or energy, and having lost their foggy quality.

"It's ourselves."

[darklink_shadow]

Joshua nodded. Ah, yes, Mr. Behemoth. That is precisely what I want to avoid. If we cleanse this plague we can trade and get food. Hell, if we just make considerable progress, maybe they will give us food to keep up the fight. I think they'd much rather have us kill the plague ourselves, then them. Or worse, if we all die to the plague and start attacking the quarantine itself as plague bearers.

I can understand that food is running low, and that trading is impossible. But our situation won't improve unless we improve it. I'm willing to do more than my fair share of the work, but I can't do it alone.

[Yas392]

Trixie spends her time reading whatever comes from Adrian's facial contours. Her face softens to his lamentation. She lunges to hug him and cries in a capricious way. That is soooo sad!

After hanging onto the muscular man for a comforting moment, she trials Joshua. Well, aren't you a prodigal spokesman? You were decadent moments ago; a scalie spitting dino breath of a lizard shepherd. What has changed? Why are you so gentlemanly? Why are you so protective now? And since when are you a dingy wiseman? SO CONFUSING!

[darklink_shadow]

Joshua frowned at the confusing creature. What? was all he could say as he attempted to process the words being hurled at him. By her tone, it was clear she was upset, but he didn't grasp her line of questioning. I never shepherded lizards. Or... ate dinosaurs? I'm not a chicken, or overly wise. Look, lady, all I want is for everyone is realize that we must fight to survive. And now I also want you to stop saying so many things to me.

[dethkruzer]

Deidrick felt like he could watch this forever, as it only seemed to strengthen his opinion on how utterly pathetic the huddled grop was. The Swarm were the apex predators, and he led the pack, and all those frightened people there, like lambs for the slaughter. As gratifying as indulging in his (possibly misplaced) sense of supremacy was, there were nonetheless other tasks that needed his attention.

His tentacles twitched and writhed excitaedly as he took of his backpack to quickly lok through what supplies he had. Food was the concern here, and while he had enough to feed himself for a few days, he had more than one mouth to feed. He turned his gaze to what of his swarm was present with him. The goblins seemed normal enough, except for the enlarged jaws and a contant acrid smell they secreted. The was tall and spindly, thin even by elven standards, frail looking arms terminating in wicked talons, and a pair of muscle-ringed holes on tthe backs of the elbows, the tips of hidden spurs just peaking out. And the the bugbear, and it was barely recognizable as one, it's body enlarged and bloated, a large sack-like growth on it's back, forcing it to hunch forward.

Deidrick returned his expression to more neutral readings before tossing his backpack back on. Come now, let us find you something to eat." He said, turning his back to the crowd, and began walking toward the edge of the park. Hopefully he could find some surviovrs or uninfected livestock, preferably ones that were alone.

[Tychris1]

As Trixie takes a hold of Adrian, the brutish man tenses up, his hands locking in place as he dares not move a muscle. His eyes, now wide as saucers, slowly turn to lock on to the very touchy women. If awkwardness was worth monetary value, Adrian would be the Grand Poobah of economics. He gulped softly to himself, stuttering and stumbling over his words as he tried to get out of this situation.

"P-p-p-please, d-d...... Don't touch me, m-m'am."

Adrian slowly looked around, trying to find someone to help him out of this uncomftorable situation, and ultimately resigned himself to weathering it out. He raised his arms and held them around Trixie as if to hug her. But instead of actually wrapping around her and creating contact, he merely hovered his arms over her body an inch or two, imitating the image of hugging someone in a strange and jerky way.

[draconomial]

Artifact has a thought, though his metallic face makes no expression. He very deliberately takes a few steps back, away from the fire. With his right hand he reaches into a hole in his waist and pulls out a fist-full of something. "Qe tenpiswo," Artifact barks out in Draconic, and throws a pinch of crystalline red dust into the air where he had been standing. The crimson dust swirls about and coalesces into the form of an odd creature.
Looking like a cross between between a tiny dragon and a winged lemur, this bizarre creature is only about 9 inches from its black nose to its barbed tail. Its neck is short and its head is round, while its body and tail are long and sinuous. Downy fur covers its body, and its wings are feathered. It hovers five feet off the ground in front of Artifact, its back to the fire.

[DoctorFaust]

Sliding his rapier back into its frog with a sigh, Shiran reaches over to pull Trixie off of Adrian. "Come on, angelface. Let the big man go. He seems to be of the kind that doesn't appreciate women."

Letting go of her momentarily as what he though was a statue begins to move and speak, he barks in reply, "Wux vi vorastrix? uUsv shilta wux filki renthisj lae si tir?", barely finishing the last syllable before a homunculus begins to appear in a cloud of smoke.

"Well, it appears that answered my question," he laughs. "But now that you've summoned that demon, how do you expect to get it anywhere without the guards being alerted of its presence?"

[Yas392]

Hey, Hell Eyes. Back off. If you come any closer, you will be killing me.

Trixie warns the fire elf reluctantly.

Shh, shh, I know you are sad and hurting. I am just here to take your load off.

Trixie senses Adrian's uneasiness and assures him with a soothing tone. She unlatches from the suffering brute. Like a surge from a champagne uncorked, she launches to the air. She rolls her eyes at Joshua's justification.

No, of course you aren't but I can say that you are properly descended from one who does that kind of thing.

Trixie raises her eyebrow in question.

Demon?

[tigerusthegreat]

One of the groups of men is starting to talk excitedly among themselves. They each take up torches from the fire and begin to move towards the buildings around the edge of the park. "We burn the whole city, no city, nowhere for the infected to hide." Some of the others hear this, and take up torches too, but the rest just ignore them. An old man near a campfire looks at the group, then begins picking up stones from the ground.

Spellcraft 22 to open
The man is casting fire trap over and over again.

When not arguing with one another, another group, several with holy symbols of different dieties, can be heard arguing. "It is a poison. It acts far too fast to be a disease, and once afflicted, none have recovered."

"It is a disease. Poisons are affected by certain magic, and this was not phased at all by."

"Proofs against disease do not work either. Three of my best temple knights were transformed by it. They have divine protection from diseases. It is something new altogether."

[darklink_shadow]

Joshua leapt up. Yes! Burn the city to the ground! Joshua raised his head and light up the sky with dragon fire. No plague, no poison and no disease can survive the all consuming flame! Whatever it is, fire will destroy it! Finally, some people with sense rose to his call.

I uh... carefully aim to not ignite any trees, as well

[Yas392]

That's not a demon. That's an extension of the steel man's self.

The angelic fairy corrects the fire elf's mistake. Her eyes dart around, locking on the old man picking up stones.

What are you...

She tries to identify what he is doing but dismisses it with a shrug of her head, however positioning herself away from him. Then, the draconic zealot just takes the lead in the avocation of the masses. As much as she disagree with their tactics, she wants to get out of the city as well, sarcastically remarking to their protests.

Sure, burn those who caged you in. They are also infected!

[DoctorFaust]

"Heh. Hell eyes. I like that one."

Standing back with his arms folded as the riot begins, Shiran shakes his head in disdain. "You will not get far armed as you are. The guards will slaughter most of you, and the plague will take the rest."

[darklink_shadow]

No! Fight only the infected! They are the cause of this mess! The guards will help us once we kill the infected! Joshua calls out again. Fight from a distance when you can, and fight with fire! Burn the diseased to ashes!

[Yas392]

Are you sure the guards are not infected? Seems to me they want us in here so they can feast on our flesh. Trixie covers the bottom half of her mouth as she speaks the last sentence.

[DoctorFaust]

"And how are you going to tell the infected from the healthy, minty breath? And of more import, how are you going to stop what you have set in motion if it moves beyond controlling?" he asks. "Not that I truly have much against the city burning. Fire is always pleasant, and a riot gives me chance to keep my skills sharp, maulkir pluvt vur shio."

[draconomial]

Artifact opens his mouth to interject a few times, but says nothing. He grunts an affirmative to the winged woman. Then he remembers to pretend to breathe, as he was once advised to seem more alive.

The creature flaps its colorfully feathered wings, propelling it a couple hundred feet upwards in a few seconds. It hangs for a moment, and then begins flying towards the southern wall. Artifact watches through the creature's eyes as it soars over the city.

Metal rings as Artifact claps his hands together to get attention. He raises his voice. "Burning my tents will not be permitted. You are permitted to camp in them, he pauses for a few seconds as his gaze goes around. "Who is hungry now? I will cook. Come close."

[tigerusthegreat]

Some in the crowd stop and gather around Artifact, clearly more interested in food than burning the town. Others have reached a small home nearby, and are lighting the thatch from their torches.

Speaking of guards....they are noticeably absent. You can't recall the last time you saw one.

[Yas392]

That's great, Handy Man. I'm getting starved.

Trixie bumps into the front of the line before others get there.

Speaking of guards, it's strange like they had disappeared into thin air.

She adds some observation input as her spoon scoops up whatever Artifact cooked up, placing her buxom on the unused and sealed essentials as she got her food.

[DoctorFaust]

"Well, if you are eating, then I am going to stop the riot. I look forward to what ever resistance they can muster." With a predatory smile and a flip of his cloak, Shiran walks off towards the group trying to set a house a flame with his weapons drawn, gesturing and yelling at them to stop in languages he hopes they will not understand. "Nadal, nar thos! Lie thel dostaae lie cari!"

Stop, no sack! You will burn if you do that!

[tigerusthegreat]

Diedrich and his possee get very lucky. Three peasants flee down their alley, trying to escape the mob burning things down. They are among his minions before they know what is going on.

The mob clearly doesn't understand Shiran. Two buuildings are now on fire.

[darklink_shadow]

Joshua joins the people burning things, and uses his dragon fire to ignite buildings.

[DoctorFaust]

Shiran walks among the rioters, laying about with the flat of his blade. "Stop this madness," he hisses, landing a particularly vicious blow to the back of one of the commoner's heads.

"If you're going to set a fire, set it right."

[Tychris1]

Looking around, Adrian watched the arsonists go on a rampage, lighting buildings on fire and destroying anything they can get their hands on. He felt his blood boil, his body twitching violently. He could hear it now, the screams, the pain, the forgotten wailing pleas of an orphaned child dashed to the winds. His muscles tensed, preparing him for the incoming slaughter, and his fists began to tighten as they formed his bloody meat hammers.

"No. No, no, no, no, NONONONONONONONO."

He screamed within his mind, jerking his arms up and pulling them away from heir bloody desires. Opening his hands, he covered his ears and curled into a ball, silently whispering to himself over and over again.

"Stop stop stop stop stop stop."

[Yas392]

Trixie is almost done with her supper when muscle man suddenly lapses and drops down in fetal position. She monitors him convulsing from a picturesque trauma. She sighs, flying up high and yelling at the highest volume she could muster.

STOP BURNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Yas392]

(OOC: Forgot to roll scariness)

Intimidate - [roll0]

[tigerusthegreat]

Trixie's shout stops about half of the burning party in their tracks. The other half are unphased. Four nearby buildings are burning, there is screaming coming from two of them.

Diedrick's minions kill the two weaker humans quickly, and restrain the third. His attack renders it unconcious, and bleeding badly enough that he won't survive long without treatment.

[draconomial]

Pushing it onward, Artifact feels the brightly colored wings push against the air as his homunculi picks up speed and flies towards the city wall. In a few seconds it clears four hundred feet, and then another three hundred. Its eyes look downward instead of forward, as it seeks soldiers and guards.
Artifact moves his alchemy cauldron filled with rice and broth off of the fire so he can leave it unattended. Indiscreetly glancing at the human breaking down, he wonders 'Should I do something about that Private?' He slowly stoops down to the human's level. "You want that fire put out? Sounds like there are civvies in there that need help."
It's "running" in a straight horizontal line at 400 ft. a turn.
Spot - [roll0] | Search - [roll1]

[DoctorFaust]

Shiran stops his current arsonous actions as screaming begins to emanate from a nearby building. "Damn," he mutters, tossing his torch and cape at one of the civilians that continued rioting after Angel Face yelled at them.

"Hold these. If you do anything to them, I'll hunt you down and skin you alive," he growls back at the group, before turning and running towards the nearest burning building with the sounds of people dying in flames coming from it.

[Tychris1]

Adrian begins to sink his fingers into his head, slowly clenching his forehead so tightly that it elicits a small trail of blood. It drips down his hand, warming his fingers and drawing him slowly back to what is real and infront of him. His eyes focus, pupils dilating as he looks at the Warforged before him. He grasps for words, trying to explain everything, and yet failing miserably to do so. As the ex-bard tries to express himself, he notices the blood on his hands and nearly breaks down into another panic attack. Staring the Warforged dead in the eyes, he begins to stutter apprehensively.

"Y-Y-Yes.... S-S-S-S-Sir.....

[draconomial]

Artifact smiles on the inside. "Stand up." He pulls a bronze bottle out from a hole in the left side of his waist. The hole closes after his hand exits it "I'm going to loan this to you. Here's how you use it. Take out the stopper, point the opening at the fire, brace yourself for the kick, and say 'geyser.' Get going, soldier." Artifact holds the bottle out to the man.

[Yas392]

Meanwhile, Trixie uses her big mouth to distract and lead the arsonist from the burning site. She flies down and begin banging her spoon against her plate.

YOU MUST BE HUNGRY, WE HAVE FOOD AT THE COURTESY OF OUR BELOVED COOK.

Diplomacy - [roll0]

[dethkruzer]

Deidrick looked at the humans bleeding form, tilting his head slightly. In his eyes reflected disappointment at how fragile humans are. "No no no, such frailty simply won't do." He spoke as he stepped closer, lifting up his right hand, the fingertips beginning to secrete a yellow goo. "Here, let me see if I can't 'fix' this issue." He continued, before thrusting his oozing hand into his victims fresh wound.

attempting to infest the human.
touch attack roll: [roll0]
if successful, target must make a DC 15 fortitude save to avoid infestation.

[Tychris1]

Adrian looed at the giant metal man, muttering under his breathe as he took the bottle in his hand. He was sniffeling now, his body still quaking and shaking violently. He trembled, slowly picking himself up as he wiped the snot from his nose, and quietly thanked the Warforged under his breathe. Walking forward, he began to clumsily work on the bronze bottle, taking off the stopper before fumbling with it and trying to avoid dropping it. Now properly secured, he looked at the burning building before him, ground his feet into the dirt, and aimed the bottle.

"G-g-g-geyser......"

[tigerusthegreat]

Shiran approaches a building that is fully engulfed in flames. Two figures are visible in an upstairs window, but the flames are so intense they are difficult to make out clearly. This appears to be where some of the screams are coming from.

The combined efforts of the rest of the group dissuades the group from continuing their rampage. It is clear these people are very afraid of the potential death the plague brings. Much more of this paranoia and the city will not survive.

Artifact's homoculous looks for guards, and finds them. A large group appears to be concentrated a dozen blocks to the south. They are engaged in a fight with a mob of people. It is hard to make anything out at the distance. They could be infected or they could just be a mob.

The bottle of water starts spraying (let me know which of the four houses in a row you are aiming at).

[DoctorFaust]

"Sh!t," hisses Shiran when he finally reaches the door of the burning house. "This is going to sting."

Flipping his punching dagger off of its belt hook, Shiran cuts the leather hinges of the door with three swift punches and ducks out of the way as a corona of fire emerges around the portal. "I'm coming to try and get you," he yells up, leaping into the house with his hair flying out behind him. "I might be a bit on fire by the time I get upstairs, but I will reach you."

[tigerusthegreat]

Shiran bounds through the door, flames all around him. He runs up the burning stairs, and they nearly collapse beneath him. FInally, he reaches the room the figures are in. The entire room is engulfed, and Shiran can feel the flames licking at his hair and clothes. The two figures are huddled on the floor near the window. Neither is moving very much.

(Note: You have taken 3 fire damage from the environment. You must make a reflex save or you will be on fire....you have succesfully saved this round, but if you remain in the fire you must save each round).

Diedrick sees his infestation take hold of the bleeding commoner. His struggles stop as he becomes a complacent drone.

[dethkruzer]

Deidrick looks down, smirking slightly, pleased with his handiwork. Yet he knew the physical chanes would require time to take root, and there was no quarantees that his victims will had succumbed as well, and most important of all, he had no time to wait around for something to happen. "The time for feeding will come later. You, grab the cocoon." He instructed his elf minion. "And you, grab the bodies." He commanded, addressing the large bugbear, before looking about the immediate surroundings, seeing if there was perhaps a tarp or similar item that could serve to cover up the gruesome produce of the little skirmish.

[DoctorFaust]

With three bounding steps, Shiran crosses the room and sweeps the family up in his arms. Two further steps take him to the far wall, where he throws himself out of the window with a yell of "This might hurt! Hang on."

[roll0]

[tigerusthegreat]

Shiran lands, safely rescuing the family. They cough and sputter on the ground, barely alive. The crowd doesn't seem intent on stopping the blaze, but the water bottle helps douse some of the flames.

Deidrick's minions cart off the bodies and the coccoon. Some nearby trash helps cover up the scene of destruction, but in a city tearing itself apart from the inside, who would notice?

[draconomial]

Artifact begins preparation to summon another homunculus. With red dragonshard dust in the air again, he says ",qe tenpiswo." And as his summon forms, Artifact looks away from it, towards the burning buildings.
The new homunculus looks similar to the last one. Furry, with feathered wings. Only its color is different, it being the color of charcoal and smoke. With a thought, Artifact gives the black homunculus an order to fly sixty feet overhead and hover there.
To the more colorful homunculi, he sends a command to keep flying until it reaches the wall.

[DoctorFaust]

Shiran rolls out his jump, dropping the family behind him as he goes to reclaim his cloak with his hair and fingers trailing smoke behind him. "Somebody get them a healer," he calls. "Then fetch me wine, women, and someone to fight. I want to feel alive."

[tigerusthegreat]

One of the priests that was arguing earlier walks over to the family, and tends to them. They seem mostly scared and suffering from smoke inhalation. Unfortunately no ale or prostitutes are brought.

Artifact's first homoculi eaches the wall. It sees a shimering wall of energy above the stone wall. It is a dome covering the entire city.

The second homoculi sees the edge of the crowd fighting the guards. It seems that the guards are falling back, and the crowd is getting closer.

Deidrick is very close to the fighting between the guards and the crowd. So close that it is likely he and his minions will be soon discovered.

[dethkruzer]

"Damnations." He uttered under his breath, stopping where he stood. "Turn back. Turn back!" Deidrick hissed to his minions, beginning to move away from the crowd, taking a few steps of a running start before taking wing. "Get the others back to the sewers. Dump the bodies if needed." He continues instructing the bugbear, hoping that the beasts empowered connection to the swarm would not fail him. He then struggled somewhat, trying to gain enough height to get on top of a house that wasn't on fire.

[DoctorFaust]

"No ale or wenches? Ah well," he sighs. "I can still go and fight someone." Walking off, Shiran approaches the conflict between guards and citizens, keeping his eyes peeled for anyone that looks like a challenge.

In case I see Deidrick

Spot:[roll0]

[tigerusthegreat]

Diedrick's minions reach the safety of the sewers, as he reaches a nearby rooftop.

Shiran nears the battle, and notices something odd. The crowd is only partially fighting with weapons. Many are clawing or biting at the guardsmen. The guardsmen seem in shambles, barely holding their own against the crowd.

[Yas392]

After leading the half that was dissuaded, she turns to the fire and try to help with the dousing. Wrenching out a piece of herself is always a painful process especially if it's one's belief that is the source of her powers. The spell is not a high grade spell so it will not hurt her and will take only one drop to the bucket of her mana. Pointing her index to the fire in gun like fashion, she yells with her heart.

Create Water!

Instead of creating water above and let it fall or let it erupt from where the fire spread, she chooses to release highly pressurized jet water from her fingertips as if using a hose.