As the pack of howling ghouls circled her amid the wild melee, Lucille menaced them with shield and mace, feeling the adrenaline of the fight surge through her! Outnumbered as she was, this was the kind of battle she'd trained for...To smite the minions of Evil with the Hand of Light!<br/><br/>"Begone, things of Evil! Back into the earth, beneath the sight of the pure!" she bellowed, a full-throated shout, her mace flaring with wild tics of lightning as she swung and smashed- Her shield was a weapon, too, as she sliced with the rim and bashed with the face, barging the nearest lurching undead back, then shattering it with a sledgehammer blow. All thought faded as, for a long, endless moment, there was only the precise, lethal swings of her bladed mace, and the grinding effort of each parry-<br/><br/>Then a roar, a shattering blast of hideous sound sent her reeling, as the hideous, fleshy abdomination- Warped bodies fused together in a hideous embrace- died in violent, thrashing spasms, vile black shadowstuff spilling up from the seeping wounds. Someone staggered towards her, in a lurching gait, and she raised her weapon on instinct...Only to see it was the priestess, limping now, exhausted from the mighty feat!<br/><br/>There was a lull in the combat, as the once-dead fell on the bodies on the twice-slain, even as the writhing tendrils of darkness surged, sucked into a decaying cadaver of a man; His leopard pelt oddly vividly amid the carnage, he *grew* with each breath, expanding in grosteque lurches...<br/><br/>Her eyes flickering between the lesser undead and their apparent leader- Now bloated with tangible, reeking corruption- Lady Lucille moved to interpose herself, a tangible barrier between the woman and danger. Dimly, she realised- Though gore drenched her fancy gown, and the scrapes and cuts of nails and dead fists ached- the armored priestess was *wounded*, far worse than her merely physical injuries.<br/><br/>"Can you stand?" The knight's voice was the quick, curt grunt of battle-argot, belying the flash of real concern in her eyes. She considering offering healing energies- Only to conclude that a novice like herself could do more harm than good. "Rest; We have a moment, before the foul leader's upon us- I'll strike..."<br/><br/><em>Whoomph</em>, and flame blossomed in a eye-searing burst, glass splintering as the smell of smoke- And burning alchol- filled the air! Fire? Was there someone still *alive* in here, beside them? A crimson glow glimmered somewhere in the moiling chaos of capering undead, lending a hellish illumination to the scene-<br/><br/>A quick glance at the priestess, an urgent "To the *door*," and Lady Lucille strode forward, toward the hulking beast, as if she wore full armor- Ready to meet the shuddering abdomination toe-to-toe, at least until the woman was clear! "Abdomination! Face me!" the lady knight called, a clear challenge in her voice, carrying across the common room to the creature's ears!