Animated by the strange alien worms, Riddel's corpse stumbles forwards until it stands amidst Bründir, Thurston, Valaith and Vark. It raises its arms and masses of swarming worms erupt from within, overwhelming all except Vark, who leaps away in time.

Simultaneously, the swarm that has emerged from Faldric's corpse hurls itself at Aiden, seeking gaps in the cleric's armour as the worms work their way inside.

Disgusted with the sawrm of worms that falls upon him, Thurston takes a step back and raises Rikkazarik above his head, smashing the ground. 
A thunderous wave crosses the battlefield, and the norscan hopes that it will destroy and throw away the worms and Faldric's animated corpse.

Val swings her hammer wildly in an attempt to remove one of the aberrant men from the battlefield, but the worms swarming all over her body was too much of a distraction and none of her swings connect!

As the swarming insects washed over Brundir, he swatted at them in vain. Eventually, a flash of clarity hit him. He clenched a fist, and his gauntlet began to shimmer, "Get off yer filthy bastards off me, ye damned, unholy shite!" The dwarf slammed his fist on the ground, and a brilliant flash of light erupted from his armour. The light scorched the swarming insects, washing them away like dust in a strong wind.

The torrent of wind billowing from Vark remains, and Val is once again swarmed by the worms he turns the gale towards her once more. The disgusting little creatures are easily flung off, but this time Val is pushed back by the force as well. Still, there is enough distance between the swarm and the giantkin for Vark to begin blasting into the aberrations with his arcane bolts.

Aiden grimaces as the worms swarm over his body. He can feel them eating at his flesh even as he conjures a thunderclap to smash into the remaining abomination. "Kill him and then get these things off of me!" he shouts.

Taking Faldric's bow from his back, Matteo points it at Riddel, Jex's muscle memory guiding his hand as he lets an arrow fly. He ducks back down into the rocks.

What is dead, cannot die.

Jex's arrow connects with Riddel's cold flesh with a dull thump and is soon consumed by the swarming worms that emerge from within.

The larva clinging to Aiden continue to struggle to find gaps in the warrior's armour. However, as Riddel's form begins to lose cohesion from the Acharnost's continued onslaught, the former cleric reaches outwards Bründir, thrusting an arm dripping with alien worms towards the Dwarf's head. Yellow and purple light swells within Riddel and Bründir's one remaining eye slowly clouds over to a milky white.

Thurston sees how the devious magic of Riddle takes hold in his friend. The Norscan doesn't hesitates and throws Rikkazarik against the aberration that was once a man. The mighty hammer hits it in the chest, sending it staggering backwards and his attention turns to Thurston.

"You... " The hammer flies back to his master's hand as he runs towards his enemy " ...leave him..." grabbing the hammer on the run, Thurston jumps, raising the hammer over his head and jumps and fall over Riddle. ".. ALONE!!" 
Thunder and lighting smash the creature as the paladin falls upon it. It disolves in a swarm of putrid worms but Thurston smiles to Bründir as he blinks and regains his own counscious. 

Val rushes over towards the swarm of fleshy worms and begins to slam Rook into the ground over and over again, the massive head of the hammer splattering them in droves and sending bits of mush and earth flying in all directions. "I hate this!"

Val rushing by Brundir gave him just the opportunity he needed to slip away from the swarm nearby. With Aiden still struggling against the writhing mass, it seemed the best course was to help him withstand the blasting winds Vark had summoned. The prayers that followed were now becoming more and more natural since Brundir had accepted his role as a divine instrument. A wash of vigor flowed through him, then he stretched a hand out to grab Aiden's arm. The feeling of power spread from the dwarf into the human, transferring a sense of overwhelming might. "Blow'em away, Vark!"

Vark nods with gritted teeth to Brundir as he now turns the gust towards Aiden. The worms flick away in clumps a dozen at a time, but just as the last of them is forced from Aiden's body the cleric goes sliding back towards them, pushed along by the wind as well. With a growl Vark shoves a hand forward, aiming to finish the disgusting things once and for all. The growl rises into thunderous primordial and resounds in a rumbling thunderburst that rocks the ground mere feet from his friend. The close call is worth it though as the bulk of the aberrant worms are left splattered by the concussive force, only a handful still wriggle before the Acharnost can thoroughly stomp them into oblivion.

With the immediate threat dispatched, Vark ceases his gust and his eyes take on their luminous glow once more as he scans their surroundings for any more traces of Marcellus' magic.

Thunder echoes between the mountains before fading, until only the howling of the snow-laden wind remains. All is still.

Brundir laughs as the last swarm erupts in a pile of goo. He moves among the three fallen messengers, stabbing what little remains with the tip of his sword. "Lookit these bags o' worms! That's all Marcellus is! Smoke n' mirrors, lads, jus' magician's tricks." Brundir scoops a fallen robe, limp with the loss of its squirming host, and props it on Dumdrengi like a feeble puppet. Bouncing it around, he boasts loudly so everyone within a stone's throw can hear clearly, "Ooooh, look, I'ma scary sack o' worms from some lord's cursed arse. I'm gonna wiggle 'bout an' make yer boots sticky." The dwarf's bold taunts grow to echo across the near canyon walls, "Oi, Marcellus! Archarnost's got their war-faces on an' ready fer more!" He waves the flapping robe about once more, giving a mock warcry to the dwarf's imaginary audience in the darkness.

As Vark casts his eyes about the mountainside he can see the purple aura slowly fade from the ruined mess of worms that litters the snow. All is quiet, but for the wind that howls between the peaks.

"I just hope that he cannot do this to all of his men or we are going to have a hell of a fight having to kill them twice! " says Thurston 

Brundir gives a shrug and flicks his puppet from his sword, "S'pose that depends. Who were these ones? Somebody said somethin' about killin'em before? Maybe they're special, maybe Marcellus can do th' same with more, but weaker?"

“These are the leutenants we killed earlier this night. I hope we are wrong but it is good to be ready for it now that we know it’s a possibility. We should go back and rest. Tomorrow will be a long day” 

"This witchcraft is not smoke and mirrors," Aiden says from a kneeling position, examining one of the spent corpses. "This is powerful magics." He rises and looks at the others. "This threat should not be taken lightly. Tomorrow will be a long day. It could be our last if we are not prepared...though how to prepare for this, I do not know."

Brundir turns a glare to Aiden at his warning, "Nothin's taken 'lightly', friend. If I hadn'a been saddled with an army, I'd've been there when y'all put'em down b'fore, an' I'd call this bastard out again fer it if I did! His piss-ant creeps took my home, an' we buried'em fer it. Now they're comin' again, an' I'll give'em hell fer it again too. If ye ask me, mornin' can't come soon enough." The dwarf paces in clear frustration, his mind spinning in the memories of seeing the ruined and smoking Sheercleft, "Smoke an' mirrors. They lie, they hide, they work in shadows. They bring pets," He shoved a finger toward the lifeless rags scattered about, "I'm callin'em out fer the coward he is. I lost my gods-damned eye to a f***ing goblin who had more balls than Marcellus."