The Survivors (The Open World)

[Slave Xaccheus]

There isn't much to really be said here. You've been camped at the rubble of your old lair for about three days, kept warm by using ruined support beams for firewood, still-standing parts of the keep for shelter from the mountain's storms, and melting the snow on the mountain to use as a water source. Your food came from a less honorable source: Your master, cooked nicely from his own conflagration, has helped to feed you during your planning time.

But, today, after your wounds have healed, your master's corpse is beginning to decompose from freezer burn. Soon, your food supply will be completely destroyed. Out of force of necessity, you will need to depart from your old residence.

The town your master besieged lies to the foot of the mountain, while the range continues on to the south. You know from experience that caves dwell about 3 miles away from your current location, populated by an enclave of dwarfs deep within the recesses. The east and the western directions are open plains for miles, with the occasional hill or small clutch of trees here and there. You can see the ocean on the horizon to the west, and to the east, you see great, forested hills begin to rise.  

[Raganui Minamoto]

Great wings stretching, with a shrill yawn the griffon took a couple steps. "I will explore and see what I can find out. I'll check the town then the caves and be back by nightfall at latest. Though hopefully much sooner. You all prepare, pack up everything we can salvage from the hoard."

With a few strides, the great beast soon took to the air, circling a few times to get height before heading off to view the town first and see if any other 'adventurers' may be heading their way, to try to monopolize on the fact that something just exploded and both the first group and the dragon might be rotting carcasses.  

[serketcity]

Alaric rose from the pile of rubble, an empty bottle in his hand. This was more difficult than it seemed, as whatever he had decided to sleep under had decided to crumble when he'd slept. Funny, he thought. Why did I fall asleep here? He squinted his eyes at the sun and rubbed his head. Hung over, again. Then tried to take a draught from his bottle, which only confused him more, before realizing it was empty. That's when Alaric remembered the collapsing tower and the roving band of heroes. Killed his boss.
Bummer. Now he'd have to find a job. Unless... he scratched his beard. What had the griffon said? Something about scouting? Ah, well. He shouted to the rest of the camp, loud enough to wake them up unless they were at least as drunk as he typically was.
"Hey, everybody up! We gotta get packed and moving. Ugh, my head..." He clutched his head, hung over, and tried dimly to pick through the rubble for his pack.  

[Slave Xaccheus]

Mehecuiatl descended from an overhanging web, coming to alight on the ground. Twisting her head in a full circle and stretching her ten limbs in a spread-eagle fashion before surveying her area. Tim was scouting the area already, and Alaric was hung over as usual ever since the dragon had died. She looked over at his soon-to-expire, cooked corpse.

"Well, the village is probably unsafe right now, especially for people coming down from the mountain that didn't go up it. If we're going to infiltrate, we'll want to take the long way, possibly coming around the mountains and doubling back. If we can get inside on friendly terms, we can probably get information on the surrounding area. The sooner we're off this mountain, the better I'll feel."  

[Plainsfox]

Mirqos scratched behind Windrazor's ear as he pondered the gigantic corpse. "Mmmhmmm" agreed the Druid. "The real question is...'Where do we want to be?'".

With a wave of his hand, the Half Drow set several swarms of centipedes on the dragon that had bullied him into assisting his "experiments".  

[Slave Xaccheus]

Mehecuiatl glared at Mirqos, "Well, we want to be somewhere other than here, but we also need this place to be left alone so we can salvage the hoard and anything else this keep is good for. To do that, we'll need a few guards. So, do me a favor along with everyone else.

Call off the centipedes; the dragon's corpse can be reanimated to serve as a guardian, along with everyone else up here who didn't make it. I'm sure you'd enjoy the dragon, who cowed you into helping him create undead, being turned into your servant in a twist of irony."  

[Plainsfox]

"No. I'm rather sure I'd enjoy his remains fertilizing the ground here, so that something useful may grow from him. Perhaps a middle ground though. Does your abomination need it's flesh?"  

[Jacior]

Seaorin poked at the fire with the remains of axe-haft, staring into it like it held some great secret. He looked up at the two who were coming out of their respective piles. "As you've probably guessed, it's morning. Do you always have to be drunk, Alaric? Cuiatl, I don't think I'd be on friendly terms with anyone, ever. Just not good with people I guess." He says, snapping an old finger bone in half.

He stood up and stretched his spine and limbs popping and cracking after having sat still so long. "I hate watch. It's always so du-" He starts before the Druid sets his centipedes on the corpse. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?? I have plans for that, you know. And I am going to start now!" He yells.

Picking up his pack he flips it open and begins pouring black stones out of it. "Move." He commands the Druid, and begins speaking in a languange that seeps of horrid torture and rent souls.

((Casting Greater Animate Undead, with the option to restore flying to skeletons. Making all skeletons, 64 HD worth))  

[Plainsfox]

"I hear those incantations you utter, Seaorin. You need not flesh for a Skeleton. Give the earth some due and I will give my aid. Forget her due and do without."  

[Jacior]

Seaorin finishes his incantation, grinning as the light darkens and the moaning begins. "You'll have your due, pest. Watch and learn what a true Magi can do!" The stones reach their crescendo before many of them turn to powder and an unnatural wind floats to powder to the corpses that lay about, many still buried or half buried inder the rubble.

"And for your information, I need not your help in these matters. The dead listen to me far better than any other I know."

((I don't know how much I am getting, so I figured I'd start with the dragon first and go from there.))  

[Disciple of Sakura]

Ugh. Bickering already. Such little rabble. Honestly, what ever did they gain by going on and on like this? Kaidahthuan sat in her degrading hovel, sifting through all her spells and finalizing her transformation. Each spell would take a minute or more to recuperate from, but it would ensure that she was ready for anything, and as invulnerable as ever. For the moment, she decided to avoid casting the Repulsion field - the griffon wouldn't be able to even come back after he had wandered off.

Lumbering out of the ruined cavern, Kaidahthuan's red dragon form emerges and surveys her current compatriots. She'd been debating what to do now, and suddenly everyone was arguing about what to do with her former employer. It was a corpse. Not even a terribly useful corpse. Honestly.

"Just let the necrophile desecrate the body as much as he likes. Tools are useful things all around, and there's plenty of other corpses littering the ground if you really want fertilizer. We could always just use the town down below for fertilizer, if you would prefer a larger bounty. I'd rather we just make them our vassals, though..." Kaidathuan's telepathic voice echoed within the minds of everyone within one hundred feet of her.  

[serketcity]

Alaric laughed, smiling at Seaorin. "Well, why do you always have to be sober? I bet you're fun drunk." He grabbed for another bottle and took a slug. "Besides, I've been told I fight better drunk. And who am I to argue with that. Just the way of these things, friend." He scratched his beard thoughtfully as he thought of their options, his pack sitting next to him. He looked at Mehecuiatl, then pointed off towards the mountains.
"My vote's toward the dwarves, actually. More isolated, less mages to deal with, plus better booze." He laughed, then pointed to his former boss. "He might not fit, though. Still, Seaorin, he could guard the fortress while we go. Right?" He gestured wildly with the bottle. He was most coherent in the morning after a few drinks. And the years with the monks made him a reasonable thinker and strategist if he wasn't totally smashed.  

[Plainsfox]

Mirqos will sigh and give his best 'whatever' look. "Not all weregild need be payed with blood. Look. I'm going to go down and see if there really are any reserves heading towards us." Mirqos's face would turn into the most elf like of the red dragon's attackers. "If it means anything, I agree with Alaric. Dwarves often stray from nature's balance. Bringing them within it could be entertaining."

OOC Using A Thousand Faces to mimic an attacker. +12 to disguise. Total: 31  

[Mongooseh]

Mechano begun to hear voices but they were muffled due to the ice covering him. His eyes flickered with the arcanic power which drove him and he saw alot of things conversing with each other.

Standing up he broke the ice which had encased him from being still and then listened to the murmurings and plotting which were happening. They seemed to finally be discussing the possibility of leaving.

"Three days... Three days and only now have you decided to leave" his voice was tinny, deep and booming. Mechano never said much but when he did you couldn't help but listen. He did a quick check on all of his joints to clear the of ice before carrying on.
"Point me in a direction."