quote:

There is another swimming by, with coloured markings. You struggle to understand its movements.

(aIR)

Your feathers flare. It's there among the leaves, the predator; slitted eyes gleaming, ears up, advancing softly with claws dug into the branch. Its mouth opens for a moment and you glimpse its tiny, dreadful teeth. Directly ahead, in a wall niche, one of your kind slumbers.

You've seen others chased by this thing, and caught, their wings ripped off, their necks torn open. It moves fast when it wants to. This slow approach is only to get close. When it strikes, it will be too fast to stop.

Call an alarm.
Try to distract the predator.
Attack the predator alone.
Wait and take the wall niche.

ShootaBoy posted:

Keeshhound posted:

quote:

You call out for danger. The prey stirs, thrashing its wings as it sees the danger so close. It rises from the confined space. A little too far away, the predator hisses. A third bird comes to your aid.

(eARtH)

This is the end. The ground is soft beneath you as your killer approaches, the earth damp, open and hungry. A moment of pain, a last helplessness, and you will begin the long process of sinking beneath. The worms await, threading their hidden ways. They have the patience and they will devour.

Only moments are left to you now. Just time to look up, a last sensation—then its jaws are on you—

Pain slices through you, your quiet reflection torn away by the agony of departure. There is more to do here. It was not long enough, not nearly long enough—

quote:

You gasp and sit up, taking a huge gulp of air. It's cold. Your jeans are sodden with mud, clammy against your thighs. Fallen leaves have piled up around your ankles. Rain patters around you, soaking through your jacket. And the stones, the little memorials, are nothing, as empty and dead as the rest of the clearing.

The ground makes a thick, wet sucking sound as you pull your legs free and stand up. Dad stands aside, looking down his thin nose at your efforts. He makes no move to help.

Out of curiosity, you take out the humerus anyway, watching the glow taint your skin as you reach through it, feeling for the pets buried here. There's nothing. You're done here.

All the way home, you have a nagging feeling that you missed something important.

quote:

You make your regular trek to the grocery store alone. You could take a bodyguard, of course; but living with the undead all day, every day makes you value the moments you get away from them.

Drawing near to the shop, you see something has changed. The shutters are down and the door is bolted. The rusty van which is usually parked round the side is not there.

Of course, you've noticed people clearing out of town lately. But this could be a serious problem. You need to eat. You need to clean.

quote:

You slip down the side and check the back of the building. The rear door is a plain, metal panel and somebody has forced it open. The locking bar hangs loose and the door is open a few inches.

You peer inside. The only light gleams through the front shutters. But the shop looks undisturbed; maybe a little low on stock.

Get your usual shopping and leave some money on the counter.
Take as much as you can carry without paying.
Come back another time.

Stats posted:

A successful necromancer must manage an array of vital character statistics.

Control: 66%
Energy: 56%
Luck: 57% (-6)
Corruption: 4%
Humanity: 21%
You might as well have erected a sign on your house saying NECROMANCER BASE HERE.

Your undead army consists of:
Skeletons: 6
Zombies: 3
and it has killed 3 people in total.

Cry Havoc posted:

So how did we mess up with the pets?

Anyways, leave some money; we can always get more.

quote:

Yeah, you command the dead and terrorise a small town. But that doesn't mean you're a thief. You still have a few months of money left in your parents' bank accounts. You gather what you need, work out the total, and slip it underneath the cash register. As you hoist the bags, you feel a moment of ethical satisfaction.

As you step round the corner, something slams you in the face and knocks you back into the scrub. You taste blood in your mouth. Everything looks blurry. What just happened?

quote:

A shadow falls across you. You look up at a dark figure blocking the sun. Two other shapes step forward to flank it. Who—?

"Look for a glowing stick," the lead one says. "That's how she controls them."

No. Oh no. It's the Kendall kids. You're completely alone and out of sight from the street. Mikey and Denzil reach for you, grinning. The humerus is hidden inside your jacket. But they'll surely find it.

Kick them away.
Scramble back as quickly as you can.
Make a threatening bluff.
Huddle and try to summon the undead.

Stats posted:

A successful necromancer must manage an array of vital character statistics.

Control: 66%
Energy: 56%
Luck: 59% (+1)
Corruption: 4%
Humanity: 22% (+1)
You might as well have erected a sign on your house saying NECROMANCER BASE HERE.

Your undead army consists of:
Skeletons: 6
Zombies: 3
and it has killed 3 people in total.

Cry Havoc posted:

So how did we mess up with the pets?

quote:

You roll into a ball and thrust a hand inside your jacket to touch the humerus. You taste dirt and feel Mikey and Denzil's rough hands on your shoulders. With a desperate effort you try to throw a command through the humerus to reach your horde, several streets away at home. You only have a couple of seconds before your hand is dragged away and they turn you over. Did the message get through?

You struggle. While the other two hold you down, Sean advances on you, baring his teeth in a crackedy grin. You remember him sticking his knife into the soldier without a moment's hesitation.

Try to negotiate.
Make a supreme effort to escape.
Shout for help.
Stop resisting and wait for an opportunity.

Stats posted:

A successful necromancer must manage an array of vital character statistics.

Control: 66%
Energy: 54% (-2)
Luck: 59%
Corruption: 4%
Humanity: 22%
You might as well have erected a sign on your house saying NECROMANCER BASE HERE.

Your undead army consists of:
Skeletons: 6
Zombies: 3
and it has killed 3 people in total.

Oblivion4568238 posted:

I don't know the exact sequence needed, if there's some leeway etc., but I think Bobbin's got the right idea. Also we probably shouldn't have punched at the squirrel.