<TIAMAT> *Nash and a bunch of his buddies are down in one of the larger dungeons-turn-classroom, just getting the party started when the door is flung open with a slam and Charity, head of the necromancy department, storms in, looking livid. She knew about their prank (though she probably didn't know Gulzak hired them to do it) but she didn't participate, herself.

<TIAMAT> *Charity: What is the meaning of this!?

<JETMODE> <Nash> *thoroughly intimidated look* What do you mean? We were just pullin' a little prank.. *peers at her* I thought you didn't care --

<TIAMAT> *Charity glares. "I said I didn't care -- as long as no one got hurt! Why are your undead attacking!?

<JETMODE> <Nash> *flabbergasted* Attacking?! We never gave any command to attack -- what's going on? *he spins to face his comrades, who look universally blank*

<TIAMAT> *Charity: I'll tell you what's happening, Nash -- your horde of skeletons and zombies are up there waging war against the arena!

<JETMODE> <Nash> That CAN'T be --

<TIAMAT> *Charity: Yes, Nash, I assure you, it can.

<JETMODE> *Nash looks a bit sick to his stomach. "Let me.. just hold on a minute." His eyes go slightly blank (blanker than usual, anyway), and he reaches out to his minions. He gives a jerk when his attempt is slapped back at him. "Th-they're -- something's wrong."

<JETMODE> *The others in the room glance at each other uneasily and try a stab or two at the undead they summoned. No luck. One even shrieks and collapses.

<TIAMAT> *Charity, the whole while, appears to be doing some probing around of her own. She opens her eyes after a while, ignoring the necromancer writhing around on the ground. "Your horde...is being controlled by a much stronger force than any here possess.

<JETMODE> <Nash> *looking even sicker* Wh..what?

<TIAMAT> *Charity, looking grave: Jajara.

<JETMODE> <Nash> But -- he's not even -- he LEFT! He -- why would he --

<TIAMAT> *Charity: I have no idea, but we don't have time to waste ruminating about it. We need to inform someone now -- specifically, Teal. *she turns to leave.

<JETMODE> *Nash makes a strangled noise. "B-but --"

<TIAMAT> *Charity is suddenly upon Nash, fangs bared in his face and hissing dangerously. "Or perhaps you'd rather wait until Jajara himself returns after his new horde finishes devouring our main forces!? There's no time for your gutless hesitation, Nash, and since this whole party was your idea, I think you should be the one to tell Teal! *she drags him, forcefully if necessary, out of the room and upstairs.

<JETMODE> *Nash shrieks like a ninny for a couple of minutes, but he manages to compose himself before they get where they're going. This whole thing went far beyond his intentions.

<JETMODE> *It's messy upstairs. Very messy. There are bits of undead littered everywhere, and even bits of people on occasion. Blood, mess, and of course, the sounds of fighting.

<TIAMAT> *I'm betting the dungeons and training grounds are fairly well under control, since most of the guards bunk on the lower-levels. There're still a few guards tussling with the last of the lot, but mostly, the ground floor is empty, sans all the body parts and a few people running around screaming and a cleric or two tending to the wounded.

<JETMODE> *Nash stares at the mess in fascinated horror. He clearly had NO idea what was going on.

<TIAMAT> *Charity is disgusted, both at Nash and the mess, though not in a sense that she's going to be sick over any of it. In fact, she looks fairly indifferent to the whole thing -- she's fairly used to dead people, being both a vampire and a necromancer.

<TIAMAT> *Charity halts at the bottom of a set of stairs leading up to the first floor and turns to Nash. "It gets nasty after this. Teal's got the ground floor taken care of, mostly, but the rest of the arena is a battlefield."

<JETMODE> <Nash> *swallows* I -- I really didn't mean for any of this to h-happen M-miss Charity -- it was just supposed to be a stupid prank am I going to get expelled or thrown in jail or or --

<TIAMAT> *Charity glares. "Shut up, Nash, and get ready to fight. We still have to find Teal -- it's up to him what happens to you. *she starts up the stairs, readying a spell.

<JETMODE> *Nash swallows a moan and gets a spell ready himself -- not that it will be terribly effective, given his shaky mental state.

-- cut to Genoa --

<TIAMAT> *A couple hours ago, the guard in solitary abandoned his post, screaming something about undead running amok, and she probably hasn't heard or seen anything since.

<TIAMAT> *However, if she's asleep now, she'll probably wake up to a loud clanking outside her cell door.

<JETMODE> *Genoa was dozing -- she tries not to sleep too deeply or too often -- but at the sound she sits up sharply. "Who's there?"

<TIAMAT> *No answer except for a considerably violent smash from outside, followed by incoherent moaning.

<JETMODE> *She leaps to her feet, heart hammering -- not that she'd ever admit it -- and vaguely remembers a guard shrieking like a ninny. "Lovely." She readies a spell.

<TIAMAT> *Well, anyway, if she cares to look out the window, she'll see a small horde of undead cluttered around her cell, and in the lead is a rather large, zombified troll, and it's bashing against her cell with its club. The next swing leaves a large dent in the door.

<JETMODE> *Spell still at the ready, Genoa stumbles away from the door, looking a little paler than usual.

<JETMODE> <Genoa> *darkly* If you come through that door, I won't even bother asking you politely.

<TIAMAT> *The troll zombie blinks stupidly at her and groans, then swings again, caving the top part of the door in. Genoa had better get out of the way.

<JETMODE> *She backs off hurriedly, stumbling all the way back to her cot -- which she gets on top of, as if that will provide her better defense. She feels a momentary stab of relief that the guards all ran away already.

<TIAMAT> *There's a pause, in which Genoa can probably make out the rattling of skeleton bones, then a booming roar as the troll body-slams the door, causing it the fly off its hinges and slam against the back wall. The undead slowly start to shuffle in.

<JETMODE> <Genoa> *gathering all the bluster she can muster* I warned you. *and she lets fly the spell*

<TIAMAT> *Well then! Genoa might be surprised to see the Troll give an unearthly roar and suddenly collapse in a pile of dust.

<JETMODE> <Genoa> Eh? *looks at her hands, then looks up again*

<JETMODE> *The spell never did THAT before.

<TIAMAT> *Well, the other undead are still approaching and not giving a flying hoot about what happened to the troll.

<JETMODE> *With the success of her first spell, she decides to try it again. If it works, it works!

<TIAMAT> *Oh, it does, my dear, believe me. With frightening effectiveness, too -- the first spell only took out the troll because it was so large, but the next one takes out the whole first wave of zombies and skeletons that were advancing on her.

<JETMODE> <Genoa> .. *forehead creases* .. *hops to the floor* Well.

<JETMODE> *This time, she's smiling when she sets the spell off. Mmm. Power.

<JETMODE> *And she's marching steadily toward the open door.

<TIAMAT> *By the time she's done, there's a fun heap of dust scattered in her cell and out in the hallway, thought that's about all there is -- the rest of solitary is silent and deserted.

<JETMODE> *She looks up the hall, puzzled. "Hello? Are any of you idiots still alive out there?"

<TIAMAT> *No answer.

-- cut back to Charity and Nash and the undead hordes --

<TIAMAT> *Charity and Nash have, after an hour or so of hacking their way through the swarm of undead, finally found Teal, trying to clear and stabilize the second floor (the first was left in the hands of one of his lieutenants.)

<JETMODE> <Nash> *finishing off his frantic narrative* I didn't think -- the DRAGON would be involved -- I mean -- it was just a silly -- stupid -- oh GOD.

<JETMODE> *He clutches his head, REALLY wishing he hadn't gone along with Gulzak on this.

<TIAMAT> *Teal whacks the head off a goblin zombie, then turns to the two necromancers, looking worn and extremely ill-tempered. "So you're telling me, you can't control ANY of the creatures you summoned?

<JETMODE> <Nash> *weakly* None of us can.

<TIAMAT> *Teal sighs and looks at Charity. "Isn't there anything we can do?

<TIAMAT> *Charity tenses. "Except hold our own ... the priests should be able to exorcise them easily enough--

<TIAMAT> *Teal shakes his head. "Their spell, what do you call it -- Requiem -- it's completely ineffective against ... well, everything they've tried it on, so far.

<JETMODE> *Nash is aghast. "Requiem won't work?!"

<TIAMAT> *Charity curses under her breath. Teal glares at Nash slightly. "That's what I said. *back to Charity. "Isn't there some way you can ... communicate with the dragon?"

<TIAMAT> *Charity sneers a little. "Communicate with Jajara? You'd sooner find a necromancer using white magic. *pause* However...Genoa--

<JETMODE> *A crackle sizzles through the air, tense with magical energy. All at once, the undead pause in place, uttering a collective moan -- it would sound celebratory if it wasn't so chilling.

<TIAMAT> *Teal, sharply: What's going on?

<JETMODE> *Then the moan cuts off and silence falls, only to be broken by a scream from below.

<TIAMAT> *Charity: Jajara--

<JETMODE> *Before much more can be said, a few soldiers come scrambling up the steps, followed by a veritable wave of undead. Not just the minor creatures they've been fighting now -- large, ugly monsters of much greater power.

<TIAMAT> *Charity curses loudly and readies one of her more powerful spells while Teal charges, swinging a huge, double-bladed two-handed sword. And leaving Nash all by his lonesome.

<JETMODE> *Nash shrieks something about being left behind and runs for cover.