“Enough! I’m done with your lies. This is your last warning. Get into the holding cell, all of you.” The clerk began coming around the boxes in front of him, still keeping his distance from the party, but attempting to force them all to move by closing the distance between them and the potential explosion. 

Uthal stands fast, dropping the door and waving everyone else away. "Listen to me. If you use that you will die. And likely only kill me. If the undead are in the building you will be dooming your sergeant to die. And likely attracting more undead just to make sure he is really dead. Once this is all over I will gladly come to the Arbitrator with you but until then we have a common enemy to defeat. No matter how bad you think I am it's currently the living against the dead in this city and killing the two of us will only give the living less help."

"You say you are here to defend the city? Who is more dangerous right now, one goliath or a swarm of undead?" He holds his hands out to the side, showing his empty palms. 

"You complain about us 'laying hands on you', but if we meant you harm we could've laid steel on you. Yet you're the only one who's drawn a weapon."

Uthal Persuasion: 16

”F-Fi-fine,” the clerk stuttered, in response to Uthal. For the time being, the Goliath convinced him that there was at least a bigger threat than some politically differentiated foreigners (with the very slight chance that they were wanted by the law), pilfering the barracks of food and towels. However, this was no means a sign that he necessarily trusted the group. The clerk let his arms drop to his sides, still holding the ingredients of destruction.

“I won’t lock you up, or kill you, right now. But if your goal really is to defeat the undead, like you say it is. Leave the barracks and do it. I want you all out now. And when this evil has all passed, then the Arbitrator will decide your fate. Unless you prefer my original plan!” He once again raises his hands to show he was serious. His duty was to the city and kingdom, but self preservation was just as strong a motivator, and there was no way he’d be able to stop the undead on his own, especially if the south Midgar guard had just as much trouble.

Uthal turns and begins to go see what Anearis was talking about before seeing Kel go up the stairs and going to stand beside him. "First we see if all your shouting has brought them inside." 

Ura didn't stick around after Uthal waved her off.  For one, the boy was still holding a stick of boom in his hands, and she was certainly not going to be anywhere near it while he was waving it around like a dagger.  Besides, Anaeris was gone.  Again.  She knew she had to find him before he ran into even more trouble.  Making her way down the stairs, she looks around carefully for Anaeris,

Perception: 10

while trying not to make any noise,

Stealth (tiptoeing only): 15

...this is why I despise the North... Kel completely ignored the young clerk and his threat, he would die before going into a cell on empty charges considering the circumstances. Upon reaching the second floor, he took stock of potential barricades. If they could force the undead to funnel he could potentially dispatch some at range with his pike, the others however would be forced to fight at a closer range unless they wanted to attempt to fight with some of the polearms the young clerk was holding hostage with his explosives. ...no idea how to use those but they would be handy... Uthal commented about shouting and Kel wasn't exactly sure if he was sticking it to him or to the clerk in explosive hysterics but it hardly mattered.

"Uthal, move some of the empty beds to block to stairwell on both sides by turning them on their side. Reinforce them with other beds or the chests so they just don't slide away." Kel glanced up the other stairwell. "If you can find something on the third floor, perhaps have something in place to block that stairwell should we be forced to retreat..." He sighed, his mind made up after all. "Have the others help you with these endeavors."

He didn't wait for a response, he descended back down the stairs took a position once more at the armory the young clerk was holding hostage.

"Boy, this may be the last time we talk before the undead arrive. This gear is needed to defend this barracks. What are your demands?"

“Demands? Demands for what?” The clerk was obviously confused, in more ways than one, about the current position he had gotten himself into. “I..I demand that you leave the barracks as soon as possible, and go find out what happened to the guard at the priory. That’s what I demand.”

A loud audible crash came from the south-western corner of the barracks. Only Anearis could have been able to predict exactly that the sound was the destruction of the door between the western entry way and the main room which held the large desk with the city map. However, everyone who heard it could logically know, it meant the undead have gotten one step closer.

The clerk obviously heard it as well. “Those. Those are my demands. Now what are YOUR demands?” The clerk held fast to the torch and dynamite, as he attempted to toughen his tone, while asking a question that didn’t actually make sense, given the situation.

Uthal nods to Kel and moves around, setting up a barricade. He leaves a small space open for everyone downstairs to get up and then goes to set something similar on the upper stairwell. After he's done he begins to check over the pouch of rocks he has for his sling, turning stones as big as Ura's hands over to inspect them and setting those he seems best on top. 

Anearis, though not as physically strong as the half-giant, tried to assist with the barricading. He wasn’t sure that making a stand was the wisest decision, but he couldn’t just leave on his own. He would fight with his companions if that was the plan.

As you all prepare to build barricades of some sort, in the stairwell, unorganized lumbering shuffles and thuds sound from the other side of the door to the main room. With the party still attempting to formulate their exact plan, some standing around, others rushing up and down the stairs; the only thing actually separating the party from an undead swarm, was only an inch or two of flimsy wood. 

Ura, coming back up the stairs after seeing Anaeris has left to rejoin the others, also climbs back up past the barricade.   "Well, this is going to be fun," she say drily, pulling out her weapons and getting them ready.  "Normally, I'd be all for abandoning this building, but Sergeant York is still fast asleep upstairs, and it'd be hell to move him."  She specifically doesn't mention needing to save the clerk boy out of spite.  "So I guess we have to hold the line here and see if we can survive whatever's coming.  Ugh, I could use a nap after this though," she mutters.

Kel slow blinked. His care for this human dwindling only combated by his sense to do right by the Watch and by extension the Arbitrator. "I agree to leave as soon as I am possibly allowed with all manner of haste upon my feet." He turned his head to the noise of the door smashing inward, sheathed his greatsword and then continued swiftly, turning to face the young clerk again. "My demands are you either get your scrawny arse up the stairwell and defend this house or run and hide. I'm taking these." Kel moved to grab two polearms from their resting place.

Kel didn't look to see if the clerk followed, he moved swiftly back up the stairs and tossed the pair of polearms on the floor. "Assuming someone can use one of those." he muttered before unslinging his pike and readying it against the barricade. "Move this into position." Kel assists in moving the barricade to close it off to the stairs. "The undead will ascend the steps and we should be able to kill them at reach, like fishing with a spear. Those of you with shorter weapons standby to assist with those undead against the barricade. Assuming they have the same effect of the black mist, you will be subject to the miasma so take care." Kel sighed and focused, drawing a deep breath. "Should this barricade fall we will have to retreat to the third floor and should that defense fall perhaps the doors to the ramparts..." he grit his teeth. ...should we survive this, someone is going to cough up some coin... Kel readied himself for the assault.

"May the First Fire grant us victory..." he spat. "...and death for the others." 

“You can’t take those! Those armaments are property of the North Midgar guard!” The clerk protested, but did nothing to stop Kel from taking the polearms. His only move was brandishing the torch and explosives once again, but he kept backing away to maintain a distance from the tiefling, as he did. So it was less of a threat and more just the expected normal stance for the boy.

As Kel left the room, and walked towards the staircase, the boy poked his head out the door frame after him. “I said, you can’t take those.” His words obviously falling on uncaring ears.

Following from a distance, until the entire party had ascended the stairs, he looked up towards the makeshift barricade. “What do you think you’re doing? That furniture is Notth Midgar guard property!”

Ander joins the others holding the line at the barricade, shield raised.

Uthal looks down at him. "And right now it's being used to make sure some of North Midgar's survive this night. Now get up here and put some of your training to work. You may not like us but your sergeants life depends on us right now." 

Even with the walking undead only feet away in the other room, the clerk insisted of focusing his attention on the party's misuse of the barrack's belongings. He was a clerk, and his responsibilities lay in ensuring administrative order in things.  It was not a crucial task, but it was the only one in which he had control, so it was without some twisted reason, that the boy's tunnelvision completely tuned him out to perceiving the sounds coming from the other door.

While the previous two doors required continuous brute force to smash through, the next and final door did not require as much effort, as it was not secured. By simply bumping it, the door was opened, and the undead figures began pouring in.

Clerk Dex: 8

"Stop this, stop it right now. I am the only guard official currently active here. I am in char...AAAGGGHH!"

Still in the ill-fitting armor, and paying no attention to the door immedietely behind him and to the south, when the undead filtered into the hall, the boy's failed reaction resulted in him falling to the ground, against the northern wall, flat on his ass. However, as clumsy and ignorant as the clerk is, he did manage to still hold onto the torch and explosives.

Initiative:

• Clerk: 10
• Z1: 8
• Z2: 13
• Z3: 10
• Anearis: 9
• Ander: 16
• Uthal: 6
• Ura: 12
• Kel: 10

ORDER OF COMBAT:

• Ander
• Z2
• Ura
• Z3
• Kel
• Clerk
• Anearis
• Z1
• Uthal

"Get rid of that damn bomb!" Ander leaps down the stairs and lays into Z1.

Attack: 21 Damage: Unable to parse dice roll.

Damage: 15

Rushing headfirst into combat, Ander’s blade cuts cleanly into the Zombie. Though just like those from earlier that night ((or yesterday, depending on how you look at it)), a puff of ashy mist spurted from the creature’s open wound.

Ander CON save: 18

Clerk CON save: 2

However, short of putting a bad taste in their mouths. Ander and the Clerk were unaffected. 

Z2, a well to do dressed thin human, or at least prior to death and a lengthy snooze beaneath the surface, focused on the living meat that was within view when he stumbled in, the clerk. The zombie attacked with his meaty club like fist.

Attack: 19 Damage: 5

But as luck would have it, the clerk did in fact do one smart thing, equipping the ill fitting armor. The attack hit the armor and stopped there, preventing any harm from coming to the boy, yet.