By the way, if you haven't shown up in a while, you might want to check my update on the previous page, too.
Evening, Twilight, and Dusk
2nd Day after Arrival
Out of forest and on plains and Crossroads south
The day passed slowly with little interruption, leaving the riders to occupy themselves with nothing beyond their thoughts and imagination, interspersed with sleeping. It was getting late in the day by the time we fully emerged from the forest onto the plains of Gaellus, still travelling west. There was no sign of the turn inland to Corazon even as supper came and went, though the road verified its path along the coast by occasionally winding close enough to see the ocean. Aeth steadily grew more concerned with the route as time marched on without bringing and promising sights of journey’s end.

By unspoken consent, Gamet drove the horses beyond a full day of riding as the sun fell constantly toward the horizon. Soon long shadows were draped across the plains and the sky was painted a variety of warm, yellowy hues as the sun finally completed its journey from horizon to horizon. I watched the setting sun indirectly, recalling Waterton, and the pictures I took of the sunset.

“Whoa girls,” Gamet hushed, for not the first time that day. It was coming to be a background sound, almost. “Whoa now.” He fell quiet again.

Inside the carriage, Aeth announced that he had given up on any hope of reaching Corazon, and sought only to make it to the turn off at least, if only as a landmark. Obviously they took longer in the forest than anticipated. “The sun sets on another day,” Lady Emerita commented, looking out the window. Aeth looked at her, exchanging a glance, but said nothing.

With the eventual touching of the sun upon the horizon at the end of the Earth, and the subsequent passing of twilight, the land grew swiftly darker, while behind us a ruddy full-moon ascended into the sky. The sun sat indecisive when Gamet called out again, “Whoa girls, take it easy.” It seemed to me that the carriage had picked up speed slightly. “Somethin’ must have ‘em spooked, they should be exhausted by now. We should find a place to make camp soon, let ‘em rest.”

“I think we are going to have to call it a day while the sky is still light enough to see by,” Aeth called to Gamet in response. Though the sun was gone, the atmosphere still caught the rays of the sun, and was half day and half night. Gamet pulled on the reigns gently, and the horses dropped their pace at first, but suddenly started moving again, at a slightly faster trot.

“Whoa!” But this attempt to slow them is even less effective, as they didn’t even release their gait before unsteadily speeding up to a canter. “I don’t think we have a choice!” Gamet called back. The carriage had greatly sped up, and the former bumps and dips in the road rattled and tottered the carriage.

The moon paled in the east from rust to a more traditional silvery glow, unnoticed, as the carriage hurtled across the plains. “Nightfall,” Galen remarked, “A problematic twilight, it appears.” I was now fully alert, with the night’s cool wind in my face and the fact that I was just nearly unseated by a jerk of the carriage.

Inside the carriage Aeth took his sheathed sword in hand and watched the dying daylight. The foreigners tried to see what was outside their windows, but in the encroaching darkness they could only see small bits of landscape, with the shadowy spaces filled in by the worst their imagination could conjure. Aeth stood and stuck his entire upper body out of the window, but returned without saying anything.

Finally, with the majority of the light from the sun gone from the air, visibility increased greatly, as the reflective glow of the moon no longer needed to compete with sunlight. At this time two things happened at once, first, the long-awaited crossroads, forming a 'T'-shape with a left turn and a straight path, snapped into immediate view several metres ahead of us, and second, the horses progressed into a near-gallop. Unconsciously or intentionally, all of the riders gripped their weapons, from Aeth’s fine longsword to Raymond’s mighty stickclub.

On either side the carriage guards could no longer tell if they were spurring their horses on to keep up with the carriage or whether they were merely following panicked suit, until they entered the area of the crossroads, and all of the frightened equines suddenly jerked to a halt and reared up on their hind legs.

The figure that stood in their way was not human, though very likely was at some point of his life, or at least while he still lived. Now, however, freshly erupted from the disturbed earth behind him, his mostly bare skin was pale and covered with dirt, and was partially biodegraded. His entire wardrobe consisted of a loincloth and the sack and severed noose over his head and neck.

The presence of this unnatural creature in their way caused the carriage horses to loose their minds. As soon as their fore hooves touched earth again they tried to break off into a full on gallop, but it seemed neither of them could agree with the other which was the best way to leave, which wouldn’t have been half as much of a problem if they weren’t still inconveniently attached to each other. Instead they lost their feet and collapsed into a heap on the road, frantically trying to figure out where their feet were. Luckily, the guards’ horses were trained for more tense situations and were restrained from fleeing with some effort.

---

(Wow- five 20’s rolled in initiative, and one whose modifier took his up to 20; one of these 20’s was rolled as a re-toss between two people who rolled 20 and had the same modifier >.<)

(Alright, those inside the carriage know we just stopped suddenly, and hear the screams of the horses, but the fact of battle is something that is only just coming to light for them. This first bit shall count as a surprise round involving Ben, Galen, the guards (who are settling their horses), the zombies, and I. Inside, Jeremy, Ian, Ray- you can still dictate your up-and-coming action ahead of time, for when the battle starts proper. Just remember (except in Ray’s case, who never knew) the zombies who are currently rising on either side of the carriage—you’re just not allowed to react to them until you see them (for the surprise rounders at least; the inside of the carriage will see them before they enter battle).

--By the way, I was thinking of moving these after-post OOC comments to the Q&A, just to force you to actually look at it once in a while. I still occasionally get someone acting startled when they hear of its existence.--

EDIT: Oh yeah, by the way, I should remind you that surprise rounds only amount to 1 standard action, which of course may be substituted with a move action. Feel free to post several planned action if it suits you, by the way. Id est Ben could say that he leaps off the carriage, then draws his sword while moving up to the zombi and begins to try to hack its limbs off, even if he can only so far jump off.

EDIT ad nauseam: Oh yeah, it might interest you to know that the zombi is ~30 or 40 ft away from the front of the carriage (-10 ft from that range= how far away from horses)

The crash of the horses brought a sudden deceleration, and with it, I braced myself against the railing to keep myself from sliding too much on the polished wood roof. Before us, cast in the bright silver light of the full moon, stood the pale and partially rotted zombi, and behind him, on the side of the road, a patch of disturbed earth. At the sight I scrambled to my feet, with the words to a destructive spell leaping to my tongue.

Beside me Galen also got to his feet, but he quickly judged the distance to his target beyond the range of his magic, and looked to get off the carriage, which is why he saw it first. Personally, he only saw two zombies on the shadows of the left side of the carriage, but judging from the sight in front, he made a justified assumption. “We’re surrounded!” The words to his lightning magic are drawn out in his mind as he shouts.

The two corpses under his survey, one decapitated and the other sporting a similar noose as the one in front, if not the same kind of sack headgear, rose slowly to their feet and into full view of the occupants of the carriage. On the other side a second pair did the same, equally noosed, though one here had an ancient and rotted appearance. The strange, low guttural moaning that they made seeped in through the open door windows of the carriage.

Meanwhile, Ben and Gamet leapt off either side of the carriage, though with very different motives. When his their feet touched the ground on either side of the carriage, Ben drew his sword and pivoted to face the monster beside him, while Gamet pointed in the other direction and ran to his horses, not provoking an opportunistic attack from the headless zombi, who never knew of his existence.

The guards restrained their horses and reached for their weapons. In the final seconds before the fighting started in earnest, the first zombi in front of the carriage stumbled forward a step and proved to the world that the weave on his sack helmet was not tight enough to completely limit his vision. He leaned back, drew his arms up and formed his hands into claws as he mindlessly drew upon the energy invested in him. Dark energy formed in his hands without words or gesture and he threw his limbs forward, aimed at the human standing foremost in the group, Gamet. The teamster flinched back and tried to duck the missile, but was struck full on and nearly thrown to the ground. (Gamet -5, very Red Status)

The zombi’s magical attack, however, was only a flash of energy in my peripheries, as I had chosen a new target. I raised my hand and brought those words to the tip of my tongue again as I targeted the emaciated zombi next to Ben.

(Begin combat)

Rejoice! There is a Map in the Q&A... now you just need to navigate the obscure and twisting path to the right page. Good luck.

(EDITED so that I don't again forget the Ben drew his sword at this time)

The sudden pick up in speed of the carriage forced Ben from his habitual nap. He held on to whatever he could so that he would not fall off by accident. As the horses suddenly jerked to a stop at the crossroads he alerted himself towards any danger that may have come to them. To his surprise zombies began to rise from the ground. He recalled an old horror movie that had almost the same theme. He let out a sigh and jumped down to engage the undead that blocked their passage.

“We’re surrounded!” he heard from Galen.

"That would seem to be the case, don't panic, pick them off one at a time!"

He surveyed the situation and drew his weapon, quickly attacking the decrepit zombie standing closest to him, while trying to get himself into an advantageous position should the guard nearby assist him.

Galen had to blink a couple times. While it was true that he generally was more active at night than during the day, he had already resigned himself to sleep just a few minutes earlier, and so was groggy..

But then something caught his eye, and woke him up. Well, actually it was two things. First were the two strange corpse-like bodies below him that his eye had happened to stray upon. Second was the burst of energy visible from a magical effect striking the driver Gamet...

That was enough for adrenaline to kick in. A quick assessment told him that what was happening on one side was likely happening on the other, so he shouted a quick alert.

After that, he leaned over the side of the carriage, forefinger and middle finger already poised in drawing the circle in the air. It was a swift movement, and the words he uttered were near incomprehensible from a combination of both low volume and unknown language.

Although, if one was really paying attention, the words vaguely sounded akin to 'togwr hq iijnpivgn, gtkmru yop!'

With those motions however, a sharp crack resounded through the area as another miniature bolt of lightning descended from Galen's fingertips.

(Electric Jolt on the zombie closest to me... pretty easy to figure out ^^)

Ian started at the sudden stop of the carriage. Trying to see whats going on he looked about, his heart skipped when he saw the four humans stand up just outside the windows. Aeth jumped out of the vehicle to fend off the zombies and Ian hopped out following Jeremy out the other side, drawing out his sword as he got out.

Ian’s stomach turned when he got a better look at what stood in front of him. The headless body tottered slightly in it's place. “Oh my–!” Out of first reaction Ian curls back in disgust. He swung his sword towards the zombi, aiming to slice open his foe’s abdomen.

My battle prowess is less then most, and though I believe in our perseverance over our obstacles, i know that I cannot go on the offensive in this situation. These undead are apart of the mindless hordes. That means I am unable to bend their will to my own cause. Instead, I decide that I will let fate take over, and guide me in what actions I should take by revealing those of my enemies. I focus for a couple of seconds, closing my eyes. When I tap into my intellectual powers, that darkness turns to a faint purply-pink. I open my eyes to see something like that of an after image with anything that provokes an action, such as when Lady Emerita moves to do something to protect herself. What is interesting though is that this "after image" comes before the actual events proceed. In this manner, I can actively defend myself better by dodging and weaving attacks.
With a slight smirk at the active use of my new powers, I draw my club... knowing that it will do little versus a zombies dead flesh, but its better than nothing.

Overview:
Activated Defensive Precognition (standard action, +1 AC/ST)
Drew Club (move action)

There are five states you can find a person in for which CPR won’t do anything to help them. D.R.I.E.D.: Decomposing, Rigor Mortis, Incinerated, Eviscerated, and Decapitated. From my vantage we had at least the first two letters going.

I cast my magic missile and formed another invisible shuriken, outlined with bluish energy. I threw my weapon of force in a beeline for the zombi next to Ben, causing it to jerk as the spell mini-detonated on impact. (3 damage Right Front Zombi)

The guard on this side of the carriage rode forth and drew his steel on the other zombi. The corpse’s instincts of self-preservation were apparently intact after reanimation, and it jerked out of the way of the glancing blow, turned harmless by the layers of dead, expendable flesh. At just about same moment, however, Aeth landed next to the zombi with his sword in hand. He took the weapon two-handed and struck the zombi in the torso, digging deeper than the guard had. (6 damage Right Back Zombi)

Another slightly echoing and clearly non-English string of syllables sang quietly from the carriage top, almost masked entirely by the screams of the horses in front. These words, though, instead spoke of the force of lightning as Galen channelled a spark of deadly electricity into the stump-neck of the headless zombi on the left as it groped the side of the carriage. (3 elec. damage Left Front Zombi)

Captain headless was apparently offended by this action, as it subsequently drew back its fists and pounded them into the wooden side of the carriage, fruitlessly. The other zombi on this side of the carriage, the one with functioning sensory apparatus, targeted the immediate closest moving life. The horse, however, was quicker than the zombi’s arm, which might have something to do with the stiffening of rigor mortis, and avoided the blow.

Ben prepared to dodge the obvious attack of the decrepit zombi as it jerkily swung back its arm, but was entirely unprepared for the angle of its attack, expecting an obvious arc, not a direct punch. The decaying zombi displayed a surprising amount of strength in its punch. A guy of lesser fortitude would have been staggered by the force of the blow to his chest, but Ben merely hurt—a lot—and swung back for a return favour. (-8 Ben [7/15]) The other zombi meanwhile clubbed Aeth in the ribs shoulder as he was pulling his sword back from his attack. (-3 Aeth [Green Status])

Behind the carriage, the spare horse had more problems to deal with, as the two zombies not spied from up top closed in. It knew they were there, but could only catch slight glimpses of them. It tried to move out of the way, but the harness holding it too the carriage inhibited it. The poor beast wasn’t fast enough to move its hindquarters away from danger and the zombies bore down on its flank. (-3, -3 Spare Horse [Yellow Status])

Inside the carriage Jeremy took to action, weaponless as he was. He leapt to his feet and took the left door out, landing between the two zombies there. Spying an opportunity, he descended on the leg of the headed zombi, which was turned and tried to knock him away, but failed to strike the elusive blond before its foot was removed from a safe position supporting it from underneath it. The zombi simply could not balance against those odds and fell prone on its back, awaiting the crushing retribution of the horse.

Ian followed his defenceless companion, drawing his short sword. As he flew out of the carriage he quickly leapt past Jeremy while keeping himself moving too quickly to be hit by the zombies, though he quickly realized why one of them wasn’t attacking him. The headless creature before him provoked a recoil. “Oh my—“ He didn’t both finishing the phrase as he attempted to be rid of the creature, drawing open a wound just above its hip. (2 damage) Though the nervous system of a corpse is not exactly functioning, particularly with the brain missing, the animating force had enough sense to flip the ‘front’ part of the body to face Ian.

As Gamet continued his valiant attempts to calm his horses, Ben’s sword was carving a path of destruction through sinew, tissue, muscle, and flesh, slicing open the meat sack of a zombi from stem to stern. The sensation of drawing his blade through flesh was as simultaneously sickening as it was exulting to drop the corpse back to full death. It could only be likened to chopping up an extremely large raw chicken for preparation for some foods class. (11 damage on a zombi that had only 2 hp left, you monster XD)

The only two remaining inside the carriage were the Lady Emerita and the philosopher Raymond. Emerita slid over to the window for a better look at the battle while Ray manifested his psychic power to predict incoming attacks seconds before they in-came. As his sight shifted into before-images of the world around him, he saw the Lady recoil as a before image to her actually flinching back from the window. He raised his branch to defend against any offenders attempting to crawl into the carriage and harm the Lady.

The spell-slinging zombi in the front stiffly drew up another parcel of magic to activate, but the other guard took it upon himself to save the driver and horses. He spurred his horse forth at the abomination and drew his sword back. The zombi jerked to the side as the blade met layers of non-vital dead flesh and glanced off.

The zombi continued to devote its attention to drawing up the magic invested within it and allowed the guard next to it to score a free shot, which he did. With more careful aim Barig slid his sword into the gut of the corpse, which simply could not continue to ignore him in this manner. Whatever magic it was trying for was lost. (5 damage)

Out back, the horse sidled up against the back of the carriage for protection and reared up on the prone zombie, stomping on it with both hooves, impacting its stomach and fracturing a piece of its hip bone. The crushing blow to the stomach had little effect, however, on a creature that does not get winded, though the damage to the hip would stick with it. (2 damage)

Meanwhile the carriage horses kicked and screamed under Gamet’s attempts to soothe them and coordinate their rise. They struggled to stand and even at times almost succeed were it not for the other’s sabotage in its own attempt to stand, attached as they were by their harness.

Raymond 7/7
Ben 7/15
Jeremy 9/9
Ian 11/11
Owen 5/5
Galen 8/8

Aeth – Green
Emerita – Uninjured
Gamet – Very Red
Ruiel – Uninjured (though sick)
Barig – Uninjured (though sick)
Spare Horse – Yellow

Front Zombi is going strong
Left Front is still headless and going strong
Left Back is going strong
Right Front is toast Right Back is going strong
Back Left is uninjured
Back Right is uninjured

I would do a second round of stuff, but I don't have enough information on several people to even guess what they might try for next round. (I realize that often there are things you might do entirely depending on what happens right after your turn, but if you're just going to make a melee attack except in a very specific set of circumstances, I think it wouldn't hurt saying 'I keep attacking until it's dead, then move over to the next in line'. Anyway, that's just another little rant about multiple combat rounds.

Also don't worry, after this you won't have to fight around several NPCs for likely a long time. A very long time if things keep at this pace.

I turn to Lady Emerita with my new vision. I am extremley paranoid that she might be getting herself into danger if she decides to get to close to the windows.
"Madame, please get away from the windows, its dangerous." I then move to one side of the door, and prepare myself to hit whatever enemy might come through.

5 foot step if needed (move)
Ready an attack (standard)

The third guard’s horse that was still tethered to the back of the carriage startled me. I practically forgot about him. Or at least I thought it was a him—mares and geldings were more realistic mounts according to what I’d heard. She or the past-tense version of he was being forced up against the back of the carriage by two more zombies. I glanced; Ben was close, Ian and Jeremy were closer, but I was the only one in a position to do anything about it.

I flexed my magic and raised my arm, but instead of casting my unerring missile again, I saved my energy and preserved my only chance to aim at the zombies without worrying about the horse. As before, the words to the spell leapt to my tongue when I called in my memory for them and a blue ray of frigid air freezing water droplets, condensed out of the air, leapt from my two fingertips. I’m sure that the ground was indeed very cold for a few moments after my spell shot past the zombi and formed tiny crystals of ice where it struck. Damn. I knew what I did wrong, I aimed with my eye, not with my arm, and missed. Back to missiles. (Teh zombi ate my 20 for its Touch AC roll)

Inside the carriage, Ray was getting worried by the Lady’s endeavouring attitude toward watching the fight. “Madame, please get away from the windows, it’s dangerous.” Meanwhile Ruiel turned his horse and urged her around to the other side of the zombi. He didn’t quite stop there, and flanked directly along side the reanimated corpse, provoking the mindless brute to swing out at him, to little effect on his scale mailed side. Then, with a jerk on the reigns, both he and his mount reared up and struck. His horse kicked the same monster I had only seconds ago missed in the ribs, jolting it, while he sheathed his blade in the dead flesh of the one he was now flanking. (1 damage by the horse (BR), 7 damage by rider (RB)).

The only man with hair long enough to contest Galen’s, Aeth the personal guard, buried his elegant blade in the hanged man’s body again. “Return to your rest and leave the living be!” he commanded as he drew his sword back to swing again. This zombi seemed particularly stubborn for the number of gashes and gouges now occupying its body, but it was beginning to show signs of failing. (5 damage)

Galen heard the grunt Ben unleashed as he was struck and saw the pained expression that flashed across his face. His options weighed, it seemed like a better idea to go chase Ben down, since his clear target at the headless zombi disappeared as first Jeremy then Ian burst out of the carriage. He slid down to the driver’s seat of the carriage and from there dropped to the ground. At a wary thought, he drew his short sword and ran over to Ben, wisely avoiding the proximity of the zombi’s thrashing. With his magic call he drew a shimmering disk of pure creative energy into his palm and released that energy to flow around Ben’s body and concentrate on his chest, where he was seriously beginning to wonder whether or not there was a cracked rib mending there. (+11 Ben [15/15])

At about the same time, Aeth mostly dodged a blow by the zombi that was turned harmless by the layer of metal links beneath his tunic. In the back, only one of the two zombies closed in on the spare horse, the other apparently offended by Ruiel’s horse, which kicked its chest. Jeremy’s tripped zombi rose and with it, the spare horse reared up again in a small hop to crack its skull with another kick. (2 damage) Ian saw a chance to attack and quickly swung at the zombi while it was in no position to defend itself, but he struck only a superficial blow, and then it hit him. The headless zombi swung blindly in the direction that the sword came from and struck lucky, winding Ian. (-5 Ian [6/11])

While the sighted zombies were busy missing, Jeremy was preparing to remove the footing of his companion again. As it jerkily rose to its feet he was crouching again to strike. This time, however, he was less lucky as he lunged for the zombi, and it clubbed him painfully between his shoulders. In spite of the pain, he still managed to get a hold on the zombi's cold, dead leg and yank it out from under him. (-5 Jeremy [4/9]) Ian, next to him, saw his plight, sucked in his breath again, and stepped over to help him, putting him out of the reach of the blind zombi. He struck for the fallen undead, but in his haste he put the point of his sword in the ground. With little effort he was able to pull it back out, having thankfully not buried deep enough. (auto-miss, no fumble)

Gamet continued, in spite of the grievous pain caused by the magical attack, to rescue his mares. Unlike his horses, however, he knew the limitations of his body and worked slowly so he didn't put too much strain on his body. To push himself too far would be useless to himself and to the horses.

The young noblewoman Lady Emerita caught a glimpse of Ben slashing on of the zombies but turned away when Ray spoke. She glanced back and saw his swing cut into the monster as she drew back from the window. (5 damage) She held out for a second longer, showing an aloof side for a moment as she seemed to consider ignoring him. It took no more than a second’s thought before her face softened and she agreed, pulling back from the window. "You are right," she said. Ray, satisfied, looked back out the carriage for any potential enemies while he prepared to greet them with his branch.

In the front, Barig continued to slash at the spell slinging undead who stood illuminated pale by the moonlight. From horseback he bears his blade down and cuts a superficial wound on its arm as it prepares to cast again. The magic it draws up takes time, however, and during that time it is vulnerable to the guard's blade. Barig continued relentlessly to try to strike the masked dead man, to bring him down before he could release any more evil into the world, and missed the creature with his quick attempted interruption. A black aura grew around its pale hand and it reached out to share the spell with Barig. He tried to dodge, but wasn't quick enough to get away. He gasped when the hand touched his shin guard and an icy coldness spread through the limb. He shuddered as he felt his life being drained from him.

And again, the spare horse in the back again rose up to kick the unliving monsters cornering it, straining on its tethers to rise, and stomped on the skull of the felled zombi that Jeremy was harassing. The skin on its forehead split open as a crunch reported that the blow had cracked the reanimated cranium further (2 damage). Meanwhile, its less valiant sisters continued to struggle to gain their feet with pure blind terror overriding their mental faculties.

Ray 7/7 ---- Ben 15/15 ---- Jeremy 4/9 ---- Ian 6/11 ---- Galen 8/8 ---- Owen 5/5

Aeth – Green Status
Emerita – Uninjured
Gamet – Very Red
Ruiel – Uninjured and diseased
Barig – Uninjured, diseased and enspelled
Spare Horse – Yellow

Front Zombi is going strong
Left Front is still headless and going strong
Left Back is going strong and prone again
Right Back is nearing systems failure
Back Left is uninjured
Back Right has been kicked in the chest

Once again I drew up a greater amount of my magic to cast a magic missile. Shaping the energy was like using a muscle, and like any muscle so exercised, I could feel it was well worked when I released the second completed full-level spell. The bluish-outlined missile of force silently shrieked over the horse’s withers and dove into the chest of the back zombi. (4 damage BL)

Ruiel and his mare continued to fight together, with the horse cleaving hoofprints into and even once biting the other rear zombi, while the rider gouged the body of the stubborn one who bore wounds from all three Aeth, Ben, and himself. (0 hoof, 2 hoof, 4 bite damage BR) and (6 damage RB) Aeth tried to bury his blade in the same zombi for the finishing blow, but his attack went wide of the corpse.

Galen also took his sword into the melee surrounding the zombi, but he didn’t throw enough force into the attack to really cut through the rubbery, pallid chest. The zombi seemed to ignore the presence of the other three fighting alongside Aeth, other than to dodge their blades occasionally. It remained mindlessly focused on Aeth in its attack, barely landing a punch in his armoured ribs before the man could fully absorb the blow in his dodge. (4 damage)

Meanwhile, the twice tripped zombi at Jeremy’s feet either decided that the effort of standing up again was not worth the benefit, or its senses were so confused by being dropped twice in quick succession that they didn’t register its earthbound nature yet. Given the mindless nature of the undead in question, the creature was more likely just trying to punch its attacker, ignoring the need to stand for accuracy. It viciously flailed at Jeremy, who managed to hop back from the dead arm. Behind him, the headless one swung boldly into the empty patch of air that Ian formerly occupied. (It’s always funnier to see some one else fail their % chance to hit because there’s nothing to hit than it is to be the one shooting empty space. It’s even better when everyone else can see it, too, rather than the subject’s miss being obscured to everyone.)

The rear zombi bitten by Ruiel’s horse swung mightily at the man-and-mount duo but was even more mightily dodged by the rider. At the same time the other rear zombi, the one with the fresh magic missile wound, continued to harass the spare horse, who continued to toss his/her head while ferociously trying to fight off the undead abominations surrounding it.

With his first target staying down, Jeremy hopped away from it before it stood up again and made his way over to just by the headless zombi. He planned to do to this one what he did to the other, except what was there it could do to resist? He put his foot behind one of the cold, stiff legs and shoved the zombi over, though he was very nearly resisted.

At the same time, Ian kept at thrashing the first zombi that had fallen under Jeremy’s persuasion. He managed to gouge some flesh out of its side of the corpse. It was gruesome work, but he could quite literally die if he didn’t permanently disable the corpse. (3 damage)

Just as Ian did his work in defending against the ambushers, Gamet performed his trained-for task of controlling the wild draw horses. He could see that he just about had the girls sensible enough for them to get up without hurting each other or knocking one another over.

Back at the right side of the carriage, Ben drew back his sword and hacked the final blow, like the final nail into their zombi’s second coffin. Actually, considering that they were found half-naked with nooses around their necks and covered in dirt, they probably never saw anything so respectable as a coffin. Either way, the monstrous reanimation was ended with Ben’s attack. After he put the monster down he followed through over the body and past the two equines to attack the two rear zombies. (8 damage)

The spare horse kept up its valiant struggle, stomping on the same downed zombi that Ian was practically hunched over. It stomped on it once, successfully, but didn’t deal as much damage on the second kick. (1 damage)

Meanwhile the sparring match between the magical zombi and the mounted guard continued with the zombi dodging the guard’s blade and the guard being punched in the gut, as opposed to the spell he was expecting. The attack fully winded him for a second, and might have made him loose his supper had he been any less used to pain. (7 damage)

Back inside, Ray saw the carriage lurch suddenly, and reached to stabilize himself, so when the vehicle actually jerked forward, he was very ready to accept the seated position given to him. Gamet’s horses finally got their feet, but were by no means ready to stay still. By miracle, design, or similar instinct, the two horses both bolted forward and to the right around the obstruction—taking the carriage with them. My legs jumped underneath me and I collapsed, using the railing on the back of the carriage roof for support. I could see that the tethered horse was not enjoying being practically dragged by the carriage, but at least it was getting away from its assailants.

Ray 7/7 ---- Ben 15/15 ---- Jeremy 4/9 ---- Ian 6/11 ---- Galen 8/8 ---- Owen 5/5
Defensive Precognition: Ray (2/10 rounds)

Aeth – still Green Status
Emerita – Uninjured
Gamet – Very Red
Ruiel – Uninjured and diseased
Barig – Yellow Status, diseased and enspelled
Spare Horse – Yellow

Front Zombi is going strong
Left Front is still headless and now prone, but going strong
Left Back is injured and still prone
Right Back is toasted! Back Left is strong
Back Right injured

I stagger and grunt at the sudden jerk of the carriage. I decide it is best not to curse when in the presence of a lady, especially when we are alone. “Are you alright Lady Emerita?” I ask, not knowing what could possibly have harmed her, but none the less worried about her safety.
After seeing to the lady's condition, I decide to check up on my newly outlawed friends (Galen and Owen), hearing his fumbling and mutterings on the roof. I open the window and call out to him: “Owen, Galen... whats going on?” I try in vane to use my purple vision to aid me in figuring things out, but to no amends. This power is not designed for that type of use. I try to get my wits about me and understand the exact nature of my predicament... whilst being distracted by a beautiful female that I happen to take quick glances at from time to time.

As the zombie in front of him fell at the stroke of Ben's sword, Galen's eyes did a quick check of his surroundings. There didn't seem to be any other zombies besides the initial ones that had appeared, but he cast a glance away from the others anyway, just to be sure. He was not one to take chances. Satisfied that there would be no immediate ambush by unseen unliving servants, Galen brought his attention back to the immediate conflict, and he quickly saw where he could be useful.

Ben had not stopped his swing, and had instead gone on to strike another zombie by him. It appeared there was also a second immediately next to him and poised to strike. Now, Galen knew that Ben liked to prove his worth against many odds, but given the situation, he was sure a quick slash by him wouldn't hurt. He quickly shifted his stance, shuffling along, until he was beside Ben. Finally, Galen brought his blade to bear against the zombie in front of him. A quick slash against the zombie's torso about 30º from the horizontal was decided upon, and so Galen swung...

“Owen, Galen, what’s going on!?” Ray called from the carriage window. I hadn’t noticed the doors shut from the forward jerk, but the windows were still open thanks to the warm evening.

“We’re moving!” Thank-you Captain Obvious. I thought about letting him know that it was just me out here, but words were few to spare, I had to make hay while the sun shone, as they say. More literally I had to made deadly missiles of force with my mind while the light of the full moon was still enough to give me a clear shot from this increasing distance. The hay story was better, I thought.

I dragged up my power and very briefly wondered if anything else I prepared today would work better. Without answering the question for want of time, I repeated myself for the third time, and unleashed a final bolt of energy. Or rather that's what I was expecting to happen. The motion of the carriage over the dirt road interrupted the inner serenity that spellcasting mandated. The unfocused energy I drew up harmlessly disappated. I supposed I was lucky--in the WitchCraft game, that loose energy would start causing serious problems. Tired from my magical exertions and drained from my defeat, I sunk into a kneeling pile on the roof.

Ruiel and his horse shifted to the side now that it was no longer necessary for the ride to attack a separate target. They maintained their routine of pounding hooves and sword. They rose, but this time of all, the mare drew herself too high. Ruiel felt the shift immediately as he gripped the reigns to remain seated. His horse kicked the air as she fought to keep herself from tumbling backward, and finally succeeded, clipping the zombi in the arm on her way back to earth (1 damage). The rider cleaved down with his sword, which the zombi side stepped.

Then, something of importance nagged at my conscience. I should try to do something about the horses—who else would if not I? We left the teamster in the roadside dust. I turned around, expecting complaint from my muscles. To my pleasant surprise, I realized that they responded with alacrity, which would make perfect sense in hindsight, as I only felt so fatigued thanks to my magic drain. I clambered into the driver’s seat and looked for something resembling something that I should yank on to slow the horses.

Meanwhile Aeth took stock of the remaining warriors. He left Ben, Galen, and his own hired guard to finish the two foes to the east, moving in to help the younger defender and the non-combatant (note that North is somewhere off the right of the map). He stepped in on the prone zombies and rescued Jeremy with a fell swoop that reminded the headless revenant not to try to get up again (7 damage).

Galen followed Ben deeper into the melee and decided upon a 30 degree angled strike. He was swiftly denied his chance to perform such a geometric attack, as the zombi moved to evade even as the youth snapped his arm back to swing. Instead he had to follow the zombi’s step back and swung with less precision than he had been trying for. As it turned out, calculation had its limits in the heat of direct combat, ad his blade failed to rend the dead human flesh.

Unfortunately, his attentions to the zombi were not unrewarded, as the mindless husk chose its new target to be Galen. It wound a brutal punch as Galen’s sword hissed past its side. Galen, however, saw the motions being prepared soon enough that his body could react and the punch passed harmlessly aside of him.

Horseman and equine also were untouched by the flailing of the dead. The last surviving prone zombi instead of fruitlessly attacking from ground level tried again to return to the full-upright position from which to launch his next assault. Ian saw the opening, and right as the zombi raised its head as it started to rise, Ian drew a cut down most of its dead torso. It jerked back to escape Ian’s harsh punishment only to find Aeth and blade come in under its arm to finish enough of the motor function off that moving again was less than viable. (7 damage from Ian, 8 from Aeth)

With those monstrosities returned to their peaceful rest—albeit a brutally violated and maimed rest—Jeremy felt that his part in the fighting had come to an end. Instead he followed the carriage with his gaze and, after a moment’s breath, then followed it with his feet.

Of course, still armed and with more enemies in sight, Ian stepped around the corpse he just helped put down and triply threatened the zombi that had now chosen Galen. Little did he know the advantages that he would have in such a flanking position as a higher level Swashbuckler. For now he would have to be happy with the regular advantage granted by those who couldn’t see in two opposite directions simultaneously against attackers coming from those directions. With a little luck and some enhanced skill, Ian slid his sword into the kidney region of the zombi, all but finally crippling it. (4 damage)

Knowing that his foe was nearly finished, Ben bore down on the zombi, but perhaps he was a little too eager to return the dead to lifelessness. His sword sang harmlessly past the nearly crippled zombi as it stumbled back to avoid him.

In the middle of the road, in pain, with his charges fleeing in terror, Gamet let himself be too overcome to stay standing. He knelt on the ground and watched the carriage go. “Don’t hurt yourselves you foolish fillies,” he told the retreating form with care.

Still sparring Barig and the mage zombi traded blows. First Barig severed some more important muscles, but this cadaver was still in good condition, with most of his sinews intact. (3 damage) Then the zombi came around and hit him back with a forceful punch in the ribs. (3 damage and this one is looking harried) Barig knew that between his sickness, that spell, and the solid fists of his opponent, he wouldn’t last much longer.

Terror bound, the carriage horses continued unfettered by their fatigue, galloping into the night, with their passengers waiting for their speed to finally decrease and hoping that such a decrease wouldn’t mean their death.

Ray 7/7 (4 PP) ---- Ben 15/15 ---- Jeremy 4/9 ---- Ian 6/11 ---- Galen 8/8 (O:4, 1:3) ---- Owen 5/5 (0 SP)
Defensive Precognition: Ray (3/10 rounds)

Aeth – still Green Status
Emerita – Uninjured
Gamet – Very Red
Ruiel – Uninjured and diseased
Barig – Red Status, diseased and enspelled
Spare Horse – Yellow

Front Zombi is holding out better than Barig
Left Front is still headless and fried Left Back is failing his 'stand up' checks Back Left is crippled and knocking on death's door... again
Back Right injured

EDIT: As Ray pointed out, I needed to concentrate to cast spells while in such motion. Also, an autofailure 1 means that whatever mod I have, I just screwed the spell up. The zombi that is attacking Galen is a little less utterly crippled than before, since it now has 3 more hit points than previously believed.

The adrenaline in his body was building up higher and Ben couldn't help but show a big grin to his enemy as it dodged his attack.

"No chance!" he yelled, sounding almost happy, he then looked to Galen whom seemed to have joined him, "go help the others, that guard back there is looking rather pale!"

Taking his blade in both hands he rose it above his head and swung down at his almost dead victim in a lunar arc. Ben seemed not to care about the runaway carriage, as he was having too much fun cutting down his undead foes. He would move to follow Galen if this one were to be felled.

"we're moving" I hear Owen shout from the top of the carriage. I think that this is a rather obvious statement, but I presume its because he has other things on his hands.
"Lady, emerita, I am going to see if I can get to the front and help slow down or stop this vehicle, brace yourself in the event that we fail." I really have no idea what I am doing... A moving carriage and zombies afoot: I am probably going to look like the world's biggest douche bag. But there is a time for thoughts and a time for actions! This was one of the latter.
"Owen!" I call out again, "Help me out here!" I reach out my hand for one of my closest friend's to grab onto. At the same time, I am checking my footing, hoping that we do not hit any bad bumps along the way. If I can get to the front, I might be able to aid Owen and Gamet with these horses.