"This is bad."whispered Tenna. "Much worse than the watch told us." The petite cleric kept low, peeking over the ledge to the horrifying scene in the large chamber below
Nell did not answer right away. The paladin was staring out at the... horde? Yes that seemed an appropriate word, of various undead gathered in the cave. There was at least a hundred, perhaps two. Most were nothing more than animate humanoid corpses; zombies and skeletons, but there were a few larger, lumbering monstrosities of some sort, all being presided over by a skinny teenager in a black cloak. He was ranting as if the mindless throng cared or could even understand what he said. "How?" She breathed. "How did this... boy raise so many. More powerful necromancers than him couldn't raise a quarter this many."
"That staff he's holding I'd wager." Said the mage, Vi was it? "I'm no expert on artifacts, but the way he's holding it... it's almost like it's holding him."
"I agree." Replied Tenna. "Even from here it feels wrong."
Nell was only vaguely paying attention. She was more concerned about what she was going to do about this. The frantic orations seemed to indicate he was going to unleash the horde on the village tonight, when the sun went down. It would be a massacre. She could not let that happen. But there were too many for her to handle, even with Tenna and the other three. And this was the first time she'd.worked with them. She didn't know how much she could count on them. The soldier seemed solid. The rogue seemed flighty. And the wizard, she hadn't really gotten a bead on yet. The only thing she could say for sure was they were loyal to each other. But that didn't help the town. She let out a breath. "Ten, I think you're the fastest. Perhaps you should go warn the watch."
"She's not." Lunara, the soldier, said. "Vi could fly there in minutes, but it wouldn't do any good. The watch is too few. Without walls and this many shamblers, it would be a blood bath. Were going to have to halt them here. Maybe bottleneck them in one of the narrower passages?" She sighed and ran her hand through her mid-length brown hair. "Even then, this many would overrun the five of us in a right hurry."
"Agreed." Said Nell. She closed her eyes. She was not afraid of dying here. She was more afraid of dragging these others, and Tenna down with her. Of failing the civilians in the town. "Go. All of you. Warn the watch. I will hold the entrance as long as I can. Maybe you can make a line or..."
"Not leaving you, Nell." Tenna replied with a scowl.
"Either way might be a death sentence." Myx, the rogue said nervously. "Lu?" She looked to her companions.
"I know. You're not wrong. Unless..." The soldier paused. "Vi, did you bring it?"
The mage stiffened. "I did. I thought we weren't going to talk about that in mixed company. Especially not our new 'Pal'."
"Mitigating circumstances. We need to protect the town." Pressed Lunara. "You wanted a field test. This will be relatively private." The with a smirk, she added, "And I wouldn't worry about Nell. I've known some paladins into some really freaky shit."
Vi narrower her eyes. Then she rolled them with a half grin. "Fine." She said, shrugging of her cloak. "What kind of freaky shit?"
"One of my commanders liked being done up like a horse and ridden around his tent." Lunara replied. "Had a couple of the squad who'd help him out. And he was tame in comparison."
"That does make me feel a little better." Vi pulled the ribbon out of her long jet colored hair, before sitting and pulling at one of her boots.
"Oh, shit!" Breathed Myx with a grin. "Are we doing what I think we're doing?"
We are." Confirmed Lunara. "Myx, I'm going to have you stay with Vi. Move and aim her if necessary. Nell and I will be the front line. Ten, you can do some turning, right? Stay behind us and take care of any stragglers that get past. But if this works..."
"If what works?" Hissed Tenna. "Clue us in." The girl blinked as Vi got to her feet and began working to unfasten her tunic even as she tried to squirm out of it. "And why is our wizard stripping?"
"All right." Began Lunara. "A week or two ago, we did a ruin dive and found an old, hidden workshop. Most of what was in there was falling apart from age, but there was a big trunk in pristine condition. So probably magic, right? We popped it open and it was full of... we'll say stuff..."
"Kinky sex stuff." Put in Myx
"Yes, kinky sex stuff." Agreed Lunara, through gritted teeth. "All of it apparently magic in some way."
"And how does this help us now?" Asked Nell, her eye working not to drift to Vi, who was unwinding her chest wraps.
"Most of it is still in the trunk, uncatalogued, but Vi saw a leather case with a wizard hat and staff etched on it and sprang for an identify. It was a set of items that, when worn by a caster, lets them do spells without speaking, without using their hands, without their little doo dads..."
"Material components." Sighed Vi, now topless and unfastening her pants.
"And the last hovers her a few inches off the ground." Continued Lunara.
"So she can cast with a thought." Said Nell, with a furrowed brow. "Useful to be sure, but how does this help us against hundreds of undead?"
"There's a set bonus." It was Vi who replied, now fully naked and rummaging through her pack. "When I wear all four pieces, I get exponentially more powerful. I can cast more spells, they are much stronger, I think I'll be able to sculpt them for a larger area. Theoretically, those guys will go down like dominoes." The mage pulled a leather satchel from her pack.
The Paladin and her companion shared a look and blinked. "So if this stuff is so powerful," Tenna finally said, "why aren't you wearing it already."
Vi's cheeks colored. "There are some... drawbacks. Kinky sex stuff, remember?" She replied, not meeting their gaze. "For one, anything I've worn with the set so far has disintegrated. And it does nothing for modesty. Third, well... there are a few more....issues" she extended the satchel toward Myx, "Help me get this stuff on and they'll see."
"With pleasure!" Grinned the rogue. She accepted the container and popped the catches. "Where you want me to start?"
"Arms first." The mage sighed. She reached out and plucked something from the satchel, before bringing it to her neck and buckling what turned out to be a black collar with golden trim and hardware around he throat. "Then the feet. Face last." She turned her back to Myx, and facing the rest of the party, cheeks still pink. She pushed her arms together behind her back and steadfastly avoided the eyes of Nell and Tenna.
No one spoke further until Myx started working a sleeve up over Vi's arms. "Oh, I get it. That's why she can cast without somatics." The girl made a face. "I can imagine the rest. Is this going to be ok? Taking her into a fight like that?"
"If this works like she's been saying," replied Lunara, " we'll all be safe. If not, she'll be no more or less dead than the rest of us. Anyway, I'm sure you both agree, we have to do something, and this is the best I could come up with that we'll probably all live through."
Nell watched as as Vi's arms disappeared into the sleeve, and thus forcing what the Paladin could not help but consider to be large and firm breasts outward. She could scarcely imagine a single wizard dealing with that many undead, but then she wouldn't have thought any one person could summon this many undead. She was somewhat relieved her new associates agreed to stay. But, now these three lives, she considered her responsibility. On top, of course, of Tenna's. "And you're all sure about this?"
"About staying? Yes." Answered Lunara. "We were hired to deal with the undead so that's what we'll do. About the magic part? Less so. This will be our first field test."
"I'm calculating the area." Put in Vi. "I'll start big to be safe, but we should be fine." She looked down as Myx closed restraints around her ankles, and, indeed, she lifted several inches off the ground. "I'll detonate biggest fireball I think I can manage over the top of the group closest to the chamber entrance to buy us a little cushion." Myx held up the last black/gold item, causing Vi to turn her face away. "Once this thing goes on, I'm following you, Lu."
"Right. Just kill as many as fast as you can." Nodded the soldier. "We'll hold as long as we need to."
"Vi exhaled and relaxed her head. "And you, Just don't rush them. Let them come to us. I don't want to hit yo-nulph..." He speech was cut off as Myx pressed a panel over the Mage's mouth, provoking a scowl. The rogue smirked in reply.
"I knew it." Huffed Tenna. "Cast without words..."
Nell remained silent. She was worried, of course, about the battle ahead, but there was also this new... distraction. She tended not to judge people based on appearance, in fact tended not to notice. But Vi was... out there currently. Difficult to miss. The clothes she'd been wearing were more for utility than aesthetics. Her unobscured body though, was... Nell had actually battled a full succubus once, and while the Mage was not on that level, she was well above average as far as appearance. Clear, pale skin, silky, dark hair, slim curves, and the aforementioned breasts.
More concerning, was the Mage's... predicament? That didn't seem to fit. Her arms were pulled behind we her and encased in the tight sleeve. Several straps around her shoulders kept in more firmly in place. Her ankles were clipped closely together by two black cuffs; perhaps a single link apart. Vi floated several inches above the cavern floor, and though her feet moved, she never changed position relative to the environment. Nell wondered if she even could. The gag covered he lower face from the nose down, and, of course, cut off her speech. The collar seemed almost superfluous until Myx hooked a finger in the golden ring at its front, and effortlessly maneuvered the helpless mage around like a balloon.
Ultimately, Nell was struggling to quantify how she felt about this. She was grateful for the help, but her feelings on Vi's situation was more mixed. She'd once been in a camp that suffered a surprise attack, and wound up fighting unarmed in just her underclothes. She still had some scars from it. Not a pleasant memory. Not only was the Mage fully naked, her arms and legs were bound. The Paladin found the thought a little troubling, but... she was oddly intrigued. She failed to suppress a shudder as she imagine herself fighting in a similar position.
"We all set?" Lunara asked, startling Nell from her thoughts.
There was a pause as they all exchanges glances. Tenna locked eyes with her partner. "Ready, Nell?"
