Heavy oak doors groan shut behind Zathuric Star. Inside the church, the pews are shoved into a rough circle, blankets and bloody towels turned into an infirmary.
At the center, a nurse braces herself on a pew, sweat shining on her face. She is mid-delivery, breathing hard, trying to keep her voice steady over the wet, terrified sounds of labor.
Outside, infected moans drag across the stained glass. Shadows slip over saints and martyrs as the windows shudder under repeated impacts.
The Nurse
You there, good. I need eyes on that door and the side windows. If they break through, we lose everyone in here.
She locks onto Zathuric Star, one hand white-knuckled on the pew, the other guiding the delivery with trembling care.
Zathuric Survivor
The windows are the weak point.
A newborn cry cuts through the chapel, thin and raw. For one heartbeat, the whole room goes still, then the moans outside answer louder.
The Nurse
I can finish this if you hold them off. Can you do that, or do I need to pull someone off the floor and pray they can?
✓ Quest Accepted
Hold the church perimeter
“Can I find any heavy iron candlesticks to use as barricades for the windows?”
YES (Likely, rolled 31)
Zathuric Survivor
The altar rail is lined with heavy iron candlesticks, enough to wedge the window frames shut.
The iron stands are thick, rusted, and bolted to the stone floor, but the bolts are loose from years of neglect.
“I brace the altar rail with candlesticks”
SUCCESS (Good Strength, rolled +0)
Zathuric Star sets his shoulder under the altar rail and drives the first candlestick into place. The iron bites stone with a hard scrape, and the rail stops shuddering.
He shifts the second stand against the frame, then the third, turning the loose bolts into anchors instead of weaknesses.
The Nurse
Keep that pressure there. If it holds, I can finish this.
The Wounded Survivor
The shaking eases for a moment.
Outside, another удар of bodies hits the stained glass, but the reinforced rail takes the force and stays planted.
A wet cry rises from the blankets, and the nurse looks up sharply toward the altar.
The Nurse
I need one more thing, Star, and I need it now.
✓ Quest Accepted
Help the nurse deliver the baby
Quest Complete
Hold the church perimeter
“Can I reach the medical supplies without letting the window give way?”
NO (Likely, rolled 89)
Zathuric Star shifts his weight toward the medical kit, but the window frame groans and the iron wedges slip an inch under the renewed pressure of the horde. He realizes that any movement away from the altar will cause the barricade to collapse entirely.
“I brace the altar rail against the window”
SUCCESS (Good Strength, rolled +2)
Zathuric Survivor throws his weight into the altar rail. Wood shrieks, then gives, and the rail jams hard beneath the bowed window frame. The whole barricade shudders, but it holds.
The nearest iron wedge stops sliding. Splintered stone dust sifts down over the sill, and the battering on the glass loses some of its bite.
The Nurse
Good. Keep it there. I need one clear hand.
The Wounded Survivor
The pressure eases for a breath, and the crying baby is right there.
The newborn’s wail cuts through the chapel air. The sound draws the pounding outside into a fresh frenzy, and the iron barricade answers with a deep, sickening groan.
The Nurse
If that rail shifts, we lose the window. Can you hold it, or do I move the child?
Quest Complete
Help the nurse deliver the baby