War of the Lost Kingdom

"Back ta the doorway, let's not fight'em on wet stone." He gestures for everyone to get back, trying to herd them towards the doorway so that the skeletons have to go through it one at a time to get to them. "Move it!" Keeping his attention on the undead, Ian makes sure he's the last one through.

While standing by Zifu, Doc hears Greta's call and moves swiftly into the murky water to join them. He casts a blessing on Greta, Finn and Ian and prepares for retaliation. The room is darker now without Palmer's torch but he hears the rustling of bones and splashing sounds coming from further in the darkness
"How many??" he asks

"Why are we not taking the other hallway through the officers' quarters?" Zifu asks. She takes a few steps through the near passage, letting her lamp illuminate the way while she sends Hu further down to scout.

"Is it open? Cause if it ain' that's just a death trap!" Ian keeps himself between the two who have no armor and the skeletons, no matter what. "If you wanna roll those dice, I'll try ta hold'em off but I'd rather have the sure thing."

Zifu says over her shoulder as she splish-splashes lightly, "You mean the sure thing with the other skeletons breaking through the other side?"

Zifu herself did not sound confident that the unknown hallway was any better.

"Yup. Just think. If y'd been nicer ta me, it might actually mean somethin' that I'm standin' b'tween you an certain undeath." He grins sardonically, "Too bad y'hate somethin' so poetic, huh?"

"Nicer?!" Zifu says, incredulously. Indeed, the shock of the word coming from Ian's mouth made her stop in her tracks to turn around. "This from the man who yelled at me like a mongrel dog? That made demands of me like I was a serving girl? I have seen nothing about you that deserves nice!"

Axu looks between the party going down one hall, and the party going down the other. She ends up going to assist in defending against the skeletons. She weaves a pattern around herself, which seems to formalize into a sort of barrier around her. Then in a blink, it disappeared.

Axu finishes her trek toward Finn and Greta. She slides to a stop in the water, then holds her staff up.

The staff's aquamarine glows, and she twirls the tip in a circle. It sparks initially, then a bright blue jet of electricity crackles violently from the gem.

It arcs down the hall, slamming into the right-most front skeleton in her view. The electricity lances into the creature, causing light to spill from its eyes and in the porous deterioration of its bones. It began to shudder violently, seeming barely able to hold together. It seems a breeze would knock it over. The electricity continues pouring into it relentlessly.

Ian glances over his shoulder at Zifu with a broad, ferociously pleased grin, "I do love that negative attention . . . Quick, tell me how you'd never be willingly seen in public with me so I feel confident in'the face of the undead."

He sighs as the sounds of combat start to reach him, "I'm sorry, but are we -tryin'- ta fight these things? Greta, please collect that stray. We're gonna bottleneck 'em in this corridor.". He gestures for Zifu to follow, "Y'got anything that can blast at'a distance?

Greta holds the torch aloft, its flickering light barely pierces the stygian blackness to reveal the grim spectacle of shambling skeletons sloshing in the flooded hallway towards the group. Squinting in the gloom, she tries to count the animated dead as they move towards her.

Greta curses in her native tongue and then barks at Axu and Finn "Back up!" though she holds her ground, not moving until her companions retreat.