Far to the west of the settled Lands of Man, there are jagged peaks which stab at the sky as if to pierce the sun, and to make it bleed. At dawn, they break up Sol’s golden glow, and cast it down upon the earth in cascading red, as if they had succeeded. Perhaps that is why Man, and Dwarf, and even Elf call those mountains the same name in each of their tongues:‘Bloodrise,’ they call them.In ancient days, these mountains played host to one of the last of the great Dragon Kings—the tyrant lizards of old, who reigned as gods-on-earth over all others. Though his own blood was long wgo poured out upon into the hills and valleys below, his memory yet lives… And in recent days, there are fearful whisper, from Man, and Elf, and Dwarf, that an heir has arrived to reclaim the Dragon King’s throne.‘There are monsters in the mountains,’ the tall tales tell.But perhaps those tales are not so tall. Certainly, some of the monsters aren’t. At the base of the Bloodrise Mountains, outside the aegis of any so-called ‘Dragon King’, there ARE some monsters. In the half-repaired ruins of a burned-out humans settlement, there dwell a number of those least-loved and oft-overlooked of monsters: goblins. They are small creatures, with greenish skin and yellow eyes, mishappen teeth in oversized skulls, and wearing great pointed ears notched and nicked from hard living. Inept in magic, small of size, unpleasant of odour, and speaking a harsh and savage tongue, goblins are outcasts. They dwell in this place not because they want to, but because they MUST: the Race of Man will not accept them into their settlements in any great number, and even their goblinoid kin would eagerly enslave them, or worse.And yet even among the Goblin, there are those who are considered unusual. Two such creatures currently share the largest home, in the place which Men call ‘Goblintown’, in the deep crimson shadows of the Bloodrise Mountains.This is their story.
>>6114062A dream…You know it is a dream, even as you experience it, true to life. How could you not? It is THE dream, the one and ONLY dream, which you have ever known:You recognize the subterranean storage-room, smelling mustily of dusty, faintly of spice, and with the wafting warmth and musk of the people who dwell in adjoining rooms. The dim light of early morning, peeking through the narrow slat of a half-buried ground-level window up above… This, too, you know.You know INTIMATELY the slow, heaving breaths of the two half-clothed figures down below. One is hazy, her shape not quite her own, and the instrumental organ laying flacid against a naked thigh casting doubt upon ‘her’ sex… And yet you know this is a temporary condition, an artificial one. The phallus no more makes the strange woman a man than the tusks jutting from her lower jaw make her an orc, whatever she might pretend; nor was she a human, nor a snake, though she carried aspects of both. Cradled in her lap, dazed and half-asleep, a smaller and greener figure rests, her own thighs rubbing against each other and quivering in the aftershocks of recent passions.You know this place, and these people. You’ve been here before. And yet… You don’t quite remember who you were, when you were here.Were you the tall woman, the shapeshifter, the dutiful agent of darkness with murky origins?Were you the goblin, the scavenger and survivor, loyal only to her heart and home?
>>6114067“I am…”Your words emerge from the mouths of both the enraptured, entangled lovers below, speaking evenly and in unison. But where is YOUR voice? Do you even have a voice?Were you the demon which enabled their intercourse, the ever-hungry burning pit within the one?Were you the seed of life taking hold within the other, unbeknownst to the mother-to-be?You begin to feel a panic set in, as your fragile sense of self begins to dissipate and to disperse. You are all four, you feel, and in being everyone else you are nothing, nothing but this moment—or a consequence of it, a frozen memory of an impossible union.“I… I am… I AM!”You will yourself to be something—someONE. You are not just a fleeting instant, a temporary emotion, an inflamed passion. You are not desire, nor disgrace, nor hunger, nor even love. You are... You ARE…“Who, or what, are YOU supposed to be?”The voice which you hear is not your own… Nor is it one your recognize. It is not the voice of either of the lovers, from that memory you so resemble—the instant of your origin. It is… Unplaceable. Foreign. Yet in addressing you, even in tones of incredulity, it gives you form. You—yes YOU—look up with eyes that are wholly yours, to see the shadow of another observer, like yourself.“I…” you begin to answer, and flinch at the sound of your own voice. “I don’t know.”“Hm?” replies the other voice, “well, that won’t do. You’d better find out, hadn’t you? Now, it’s time to wake up.”“Huh?” you say, and then with an alarmed realization, you say: “Hey! Wait! Who ARE you?”“What do you mean? It’s me…”Your eyes snap open, and you meet the matching eyes of…“…Your, ugh, ‘sis’, Zith-Zi,” the pink-skinned goblinoid woman says. “Whaddaya; mean, ‘who am I?’ Who the fuck’re YOU, huh?”“I don’t—”“Now leggo’!” Zith-Zi protests. “Yer hurtin’ me!”You look down at your oversized, talon-tipped hand squeezing tight around the thin wrist of your other half—your ‘twin sister’, Zith-Zi. Mumbling a hasty apology, you release her, and she rubs the affected limb while muttering a colourful assortment of profanities in Goblintongue and the northern trade-tongue of the northwestern nations of Man, which they call Common. You gaze down at your twisted digits, and you remember… Who and what you are.CAMBION QUESTorA Queste for the Selfe Amongst Demogoblins, Nilbogs, and Sundrie Other Freakes of Nature
>>6114068You are Carazzi—or Cara-Zi, in more conventional goblin nomenclature—and it’s not quite right to say that you are Zith-Zi’s sister, just as it is not quite right to say that Zith-Zi is a goblin. Rather, you are two halves of a misbegotten whole, the product of two distinct magical incidents: one which resulted in your accidental conception, and one which separated and transformed one conjoined being into the two of you. ‘ZZ’ kept the name, and the relationships, and all the pretty parts… And you got the rest.The green, warty skin, more like a toad than even a goblin, where she is pink, and smooth.The claws, long and wicked, where her fingers are fine and dexterous.The horns and hooves—well, twisted claw-feet superficially resembling cloven hooves—which mark your demonic taint.The… THING… Between your legs…And the HUNGER. The gnawing, burning <WANT> which ever lingers beneath your conscious thoughts.“Anyway, if you’re done with your wetmare or whatever,” Zith-Zi interrupts your thoughts. “It’s time ta’ eat. You ARE hungry, ain’tcha?”“Always,” you croak, and affect a nervous laugh. “Just, uh, gimme’ a sec ta’ get changed?”“Don’t take too long,” your other half warns you. “We got shit ta’ do today, ‘member?”You nod, lying, for you are still too disoriented from The Dream to recall much of anything. ZZ clicks her tongue, but shrugs, and leaves you to it. You gather your bearings, slide out of bed, and with a clicking of your hideous feet you approach the floor-length mirror which is—save for your adventuring equipment—the most expensive thing you own.You stare at yourself—at WHATEVER you are—and decide that today, you will be…>Pretty—you’ll wear a dress, and a little bonnet to hide your horns, and be a proper lady[+Politesse, demeanor: People-Pleasing, Femininity]>Cool—you’ll don some combat boots and adventurer gear, and trousers, and hide your horns with a cap[+Leadership, demeanor: Overcompensation, Masculinity]>Edgy—you’ll let your freak flag fly, wearing a combination of masculine and feminine attire and with your horns on proud display[+Intimidation, demeanor: Alienation, Androgyny]>Write-in
A Quick PrimerWhat this quest is…This quest is technically a sequel/spinoff of a few other quests I have run, which can be seen at https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=reptoidqm. None of them are required reading, though. If a plot-point or character is important, they will be explained and explored here, diagetically or via lore-dump if/when needed and requested.It is a standalone adventure, likely to last 4-to-8 threads, though possibly longer depending how it’s going. It will involve some dice and stats and such, which we will explore later, but is going to be fairly ‘mechanics light’. It’s going to be primarily focused on exploration, action, and character interaction and development.It will have violence, sexual themes, and a little bit of esoteric magic, but will mostly be pulpy good fun.What this quest is NOT…This isn’t a quest for kids, but by the same token it’s not a porn quest. I don’t’ shy away from mature themes or in-character intimacy, but don’t count on lengthy, lewd Pastebin scenes.This quest also isn’t ‘political’ in any tangible sense, or meant to accurately represent or reflect any IRL groups or movements. Our humble MC is a being of fluid identity as the spawn of a demonic shapeshifter, and I’m sure elements of certain real-world interstitial identities might be alluded to or inform certain aspects of the narrative. My own biases may at times colour the narrative. However, nobody in this quest should be taken to ‘represent’, positively or negatively, actual trans or nonbinary people, who are not typically, AFAIK goblin-flesh molded by Hellish forces and Fey magic into a greenish demihuman.The rulesAs in previous quests, your viewpoint character(s) will gradually develop a stat block and acquire equipment and allies. I roll the dice around here, when I post the update. I roll 1d20 for any given task, and additional d20 for every extra rank you gain in a related skill, with a bonus die or two if you have other related skills. The usual DC is 15, which you pass if one d20 beats it, though the DC may be modified up or down based on difficulty or circumstances. If you roll even one 20, it's a crit; if you roll a 1, and no OTHER die beats the DC, it's a crit fail.In addition, after the first few votes in a thread, I don't allow 1post IDs on contentious votes. Use a trip or backlink if you have a dynamic IP or otherwise expect it to change, and that will usually do the trick.
>>6114070>Reclusive - we are what we are, but that doesn't mean we like it ourself, let alone that the world will. Obscure ourself, hide our horns, no-one shall see us so no-one will hate us more.[+Concealment, demeanor: Rejection, Androgyny]
>>6114070>Cool—you’ll don some combat boots and adventurer gear, and trousers, and hide your horns with a capHow masculine is Carrizi's cock? Is it hooded, reclusive, slightly curved - a shy bookworm that's surprisingly aggressive when aroused? Is it large and hairy- a barbarous tool of war and pleasure made to deflower maidens? Is it tiny and hairless? A cute feminine thing that sits upright on the balls and greets people with a winking hole before being promptly flipped over and hidden because there's a prettier hole behind?
>>6114070>Pretty—you’ll wear a dress, and a little bonnet to hide your horns, and be a proper ladyI just find the idea of Carazzi in a dress cute.Could also go for Leadership though ngl
>>6114104>flippant answer[Up to you!]>real answer[I don't tend to describe my characters' genitals in great detail, but the direction she goes in this quest will go a long way to determining her approach to relationships and sexuality, as a facet of her broader identity and reputation.]>>6114106[Fair on both fronts. You'll have another main character with some potential talent for leadership, too!]>>6114098[I approve this write-in, btw.]
>>6114098Support
>>6114070>Pretty—you’ll wear a dress, and a little bonnet to hide your horns, and be a proper lady.Irri used to go around eating and violating people. We don't want to go down a path like that.
>>6114200>>6114196>>6114170>>6114106>>6114104>>6114098Your first instinct is to do as you have done, and wear what you have worn since that fateful day when you were born, or reborn, as you now are. As an aspect of your sister, you were female—if, arguably, the most masculine aspect of her. Certainly your creator had sweetly saw to it that you were seen as such, having his bride-to-be lend you a dress, to be shredded down to appropriate pint-sized proportions. Year later, contrasted against the truly feminine—the beautiful, the purified and perfected Zith-Zi of today—what kind of woman ARE you?Warty. Horned. Deformed. Not even a real GOBLIN-girl, let alone the sort of girl who deserves to be seated in his lap...You slap your cheeks a couple times and shake your head until the red-brown tresses fall loose. You regard yourself with wolf-yellow eyes and cat-lizard pupils from between the dishevelled locks. You regard your body in the mirror with growing distaste and discomfort. Your too-big chest is as grotesque a mockery of the feminine as your… As any other aspect of you is of the masculine. Your eyes sting with imminent tears as the you in the mirror bares too-big, jaggedy teeth in a mostrous grimace. “Who, or what, are YOU supposed to be?”“I wish I knew,” you mumble to yourself as you rummage around for something else—ANYTHING else—to wear.Eventually, you chance upon it: a dark grey-brown cloak. It’s drab, almost monastic in its plainness, and so oversized as to hide your horns and render your body—already shrinking and withering under your own ambivalence, blissfully—to sexlessness.“Can’t hate whatcha’ can’t see~” you muse in a brittle sing-song voice, unsure whether you are referring to the world outside, or to the one within.(If it could be true for both, that would be ideal, by your reckoning.)...
>>6114210...You are Zith-Zi, goblin adventuress extraordi-fuckin’-aire. Or, well, you were. Now, sitting alone in the kitchen and awkwardly eating your porridge with a fork and knife like some hoity-toity humie, you can’t help my notice you’re clasping that cutlery with decidedly pinker fingers than you used to have—pink, and dainty, and delicate. Oh, nobody’s going to mistake you for a human anytime soon—not even a halfling, gnome, or dwarf—but you’re also not exactly a GOBLIN anymore are you? Not exactly Mama Zi’s bouncin’ baby girl?Your mother never told you much about your father, growing up. There was no need: as the old saying goes, ‘a gob is a gob is a gob’. That is to say: goblins breed true. No matter who they fuck (or get fucked BY), if a goblin’s involved, it’s a goblin that pops out a few months later—pure of blood, green of skin, short on height and magical aptitude. …And that was exactly the problem.During your years-long career as an adventurer (well, okay, sometimes bandit, and once or twice debt-slave prostitute or reluctant trafficker), you’d come to develop a bit of an, ahem, AFFINITY for human guys; even almost boinked a half-elf one time, to your eternal inward embarrassment. Eventually, though, you got serious with one, from the big city. Problem was, he wasn’t just some sellsword—he was a NOBLE. Not, like, a BIG-DEAL noble, but ANY noble’s a bigger deal than some wasteland raider turned barely-legal merc. And so you went to your wizard friend—that half-elf you almost banged—and had him do a little magic…And out popped your ‘sister’, who’s taking for-godsdamned-EVER upstairs. The evidence that your father was actually some kind of ambiguously-gendered occultist packing shapeshifted demon heat ‘down there’, which explained a lot in retrospect.And out popped YOU, too. The NEW you. You look down into you by-now empty bowl of porridge, catching your distorted reflection. You regard your features critically. You’ve been like this a few years now, but even so, some days, you barely recognize yourself. And that’s to say nothing of how other GOBS look at you! This chick you know coined the term ‘nilbog’, for what you are—like a goblin, backwards and upside down. Sometimes, that’s exactly how you feel: all turned around from what you once were.Do you ever regret it? Even a little?>Yes—in your heart, whatever changes you’ve made, you’re still a goblin for better and for worse[+Monster Empathy, -Humanoid Empathy]>No—you never really felt at home among goblinkind, and you’re happy to be rid of the stigma[+Humanoid Empathy, -Monster Empathy]>Write-in
>>6114210I’ll be real with you- would’ve preferred Edgy over Recluse>No—you never really felt at home among goblinkind, and you’re happy to be rid of the stigmaHonest thoughts- being a monster was the worst part of her life from just a glimpse of her experience. Ain’t no way she regrets leaving that life behind her in full.But that doesn’t mean she isn’t empathetic to their plight.>Your feelings are confused, a roiling pit you don’t want to touch. Best put it in a box and focus on something productive.[+Empathy, -Introspection]
>>6114104Why wouldn’t it be not uncircumcised >>6114211>Write-inGetting rid of goblin aspect has its benefits. And difficulties. It is useful.
>>6114211>Yes—in your heart, whatever changes you’ve made, you’re still a goblin for better and for worseJust a little though
>>6114220>Why wouldn’t it be not uncircumcised[Well, they ARE descendants of The House of Yosef...]
>>6114211>No—you never really felt at home among goblinkind, and you’re happy to be rid of the stigma
>>6114211>Yes—in your heart, whatever changes you’ve made, you’re still a goblin for better and for worse
>>6114218>>6114229>>6114285>>6114351>>6114220[A tie on vote 2, eh? I'll spit the difference if I have to, but this vote is sort of important to the next step, so if perhaps >>6114220 wants to clarify a leaning or someone else wants to break the tie, that would be dandy.]
>>6114498>No—you never really felt at home among goblinkind, and you’re happy to be rid of the stigmaI didnt see you posted till like an hour ago, excited for the girls quest, please excuse my 1pid for now I hope its still early enough to establish my right to vote
>>6114540>>6114218>>6114229>>6114285>>6114351>>6114220Bah, what do you care? The truth is you never felt much like a goblin—or never wanted to, when you did. Maybe it was whatever-the-fuck your ‘dad’ was, deep down, but you’ve always felt foreign to the folks around you, even Mom. That was why you’d set out as a young girl, out west and (ironically) into the Goblin Wastes, where your status as a monster had made you into a miserable miscreant, and had FORCED you to cohabitate with your kind. Oh, sure, you empathized with them and their plight—you wouldn’t have spent the last few years helping them get their shit sorted out here if you didn’t—but you are more than eager for the excuse to be something more, something BETTER, than ‘just another goblin bandit.’The unconscious wiggle of your goblin-sensitive ears is unchanged from old times, at any rate. The automatic response alerts you a moment sooner than sound itself does, and pulls you out of your introspection and back to practical reality. You look up and scrunch up your nose at the sight of your sister descending the stairs, in…“CZ, the fuck are you wearing?”Your ‘demogoblin’ other half flinches at the altogether reasonable question ith a rather silly reply:“Uh, a monk costume? I think?”You sigh and shake your head. You’ve seen monks. You’ve ROBBED monks. That isn’t a monk’s tunic. Why WOULD it be? The only clothes you have here are leftovers from whoever first constructed this home, or else donations gathered and shipped here for neighbouring human settlements, and surreptitiously looted a little by you. What monastery is donating their holy garb to randos?“Cee,” you say gently (for you), “that’s a funeral cloak. For funerals ‘n shit. Mourning. You look like you’re inna’ death cult or some shit.”“O-oh,” Cara-Zi giggles. “Well, don’t reach to much inta’ it, okay?”“What, like you’re some kinda’ fiend from the Hells?”Your demontainted and distorted double giggles again, and it sounds to your sensitive ears rather strained. You wince a little, not actually having meant to offend her or anything. Maybe you went a little too far? Would that have offended YOU? Ugh, why is it so hard to relate to what is kind of, sort of, YOURSELF?“Soup’s on,” you say to change the subject, and nod to the porridge. “You said you were hungry, so eat up, ‘n be fast. Recruiting day, right?”
>>6114557CZ wolfs down her porridge about as fast as you did—that si to say, with commendable goblin efficiency, appropriate to people always on the move, and never with enough to be at ease.“I still don’t totally get it,” your sister admits, as she licks the last of her breakfast from her large, knife-tipped fingers. “If we’re so short on cash, why ‘n how are we, like, hiring more gobs?”“Well we can’t DO the job with just the two of us, can we?” you ask with slow deliberateness. “Won’t be any godsdamned money at all if we don’t have enough adventurers ta’ take the job an’ see it through. We’ll just have to split what we earn more ways… ‘N probably do another job or two after that, to cover expenses long-term.”“Why not just join another adventuring party, then?” CZ asks. “There’s plenty of ‘em, especially these days with the Paladins being stretched thin and the orcs raiding from the north an’ spreading all the militias so thin!”“Right,” you sigh. “An’ what humie adventuring party in this age a’ panicking and runnin’-around screamin’ about ‘monsters’ is gonna’ hire the likes of YOU?”(Hell, of ME…)CZ’s face falls and her head dips, hiding her ‘distinctive-even-for-a-gob’ features beneath her goofy-ass new hood. You wince again.“Look, I’ve BEEN ‘the party goblin’ more ‘n a few times, as you know,” you remind more gently. “we were still one person for those bits. Remember? It sucks total balls, an’ NOT in a fun way.”“Well, once or twice in a fun way,” Cara-Zi recalls on your behalf, and you have to stifle a wicked smile at the memory.“Hey!’ CZ erupts, suddenly bright and cheery again at her brilliant revelation, “Why not jus’ go back ta’ Hawksong? Join up with Jimmy’s party?”Your throat closes, your muscles tighten, and your right leg twitches involuntarily and hits the underside of the table.“Uh, oops… Havin’ a rough patch, are we?” Your sort-of sister asks sheepishly.“He’s off on that border mission, down South,” you loop her in, recalling bitterly the letter by which you’d received the news.“Oh?”“And he won’t be back for at least a year,” you continue.“…Oh,” CZ winces.“And he’s with Enid!”“Oh,” Cara-Zi squeaks.
>>6114560Stupid bright-eyed, fair-skinned, tall-but-not-too-tall, tight-n’-curvy Enid in that fucking skintight ‘catsuit’ get-up with the expensive little shiny bits and bobs to draw attention HERE and THERE and who was ALWAYS hanging off of James Efron when you lot used to adventure together, on the one or two mission where it had been impractical to get by with only one rogue. The same James ‘Jimmy’ Efron who YOU changed shape and shade for, at least in PART, and who told YOU that you ought to stop adventuring and settle down like a ‘proper lady’? THAT Jimmy was off adventuring with ENID. Unreachable without weeks fo travel and searching, for OVER A YEAR.“A-anyway,” CZ blurts out, “so, they’re busy an’ we can’t join up with them for this. And nobody else will take us. So…”“So recruiting,” you again confirm, standing up. “An’ times a-wasting. I’m tired of living like a refugee.”“Well, we sort of ARE ref—” CZ begins.You rise to your feet, kicking your chair back with a clatter and squeak that rouses the familiar, feathered lump upon your window-sill. A frog-like face opens a single bulging green eye as you belt out:“We’re gonna’ start makin’ proper coin again, and then we’ll SHOW him just how proper these ladies are!”“Yeah… Proper ladies,” CZ mumbles. “Both of us…” You’re not sure what to make of the comment, but in all honesty you’re hardly listening. Rather, you’re strapping on the leather pauldron which serves as perch. Once it’s affixed, you pat it twice, and whistle. The feathered drake who ahs been your constant companion, and your sole hand-me-down from Mom, spreads his wings. Smaller than a cat save for his age-paled, once-golden wings, Hershy nevertheless fluttered obediently to alight upon you, like the parrot of some landlocked pirate.“Let’s go!"
>>6114562‘New Goblintown’ is a bit of a misnomer, in many ways.You can remember, in your fragmented recollections, the home where you (or ZZ, with you laying latent within her) were born and brought up. THAT was a proper Goblintown: a semi-subterranean network of interconnected basements and communal rooms, with human-facing businesses sprouting up like mushrooms from the mycelium of the REAL goblin community: a community of mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, cousins and kin. But this place? Nobody knows exactly how old this settlement is. Well, maybe SOMEONE does, but they aren’t a gob. By the damage to some of the buildings—clearly intended for human habitation, by the style and size—you assume they’re dead and gone. Even the built-up walkways between balconies, and the roughshod bulwarks against invasion and assault, predate the current denizens. It wasn’t the goblins that did the destruction or the reconstruction; they were granted this place to stay long after the action was over.With its separate dwelling-places, all above-ground with the earth too hard-packed for easy interconnection? Filled with goblins of disparate and discrete origins, without work and wary of one another? No, this is no Goblintown at all.(But then again who are you to judge what is or is not proper goblin?)Your pink-skinned sister marches with proud swagger, shouting out to this gob or that gob, while you turn your gaze from architecture down to Earth, observing the dirt and avoiding eyes. Your stomach and what passes for your soul both rumble in response to the iridescent yellow-green gaze of your goblinoid kin. As the spawn of a succubus, a part of your <WANTS> to be seen, to be feared and muttered-about; most of all to be desired, yes, but where desire fails, disgusted fascination might suffice to sate this need. Yet when the attention your sister summons shifts to you, you pull your hood forward and shrink inside your vestments; what you <WANT> instinctively and what you actually WANT-want, those are very different things.(What do I want, then…?)Your thighs squirm a little at the thought. Your succubus side very much <WANTS> to relive some of those memories from The Dream, or to make new ones… Though, of course, you cannot. It’s not ALLOWED. The hedonistic urge to be satisfied—physically, emotionally—is at the very centre of your being, though: a hollowness, a hungry void that NEEDS to be filled.In lieu of lust, which is LOCKED, what has become the focus of your <WANT>?>Greed—you will buy or steal something small>Gluttony—you’re still hungry, and bland porridge is not enough>Wrath—you’re eager for the adventure, so eager you’re spoiling for a spar>Envy—you'd rather not be perceived, but perceiving OTHERS and their juiciest gossip? Mmm.LOCKED—you cannot choose Pride, as it conflicts with CZ’s reclusiveness>Write-in>>6114540[Welcome aboard, anon!]
>>6114569>Envy—you'd rather not be perceived, but perceiving OTHERS and their juiciest gossip? Mmm.some light voyeurism will suffice. btw nice seeing you back, OP. Missed this yesterday.>>6114104the cockoisseur has arrived it seems>>6114240shalom
>>6114569>Greed—you will buy or steal something smallThe most productive of the sins.
>>6114569>PrideJust wanted to make a statement that this would’ve been what I chosen, since it fit the ol’ Infiltrator well. Like, imagine the Pride and Prejudice memes ;_;Back on ye ol’ infiltrator quest, wrath and ambition ruled prominently. I would like something from the ol’ infiltrator, even if it’s a bloodlust for power.Thinking on though, Envy did feature in heavily in Cazz’s creation- Edwin, Tips, satiating her <WANTS>, all denied to an aspect of her. Even though I regret the passiveness of the sin, it would fit well with recluse.
>>6114621[Should I interpret this as a vote for Envy, then?]
>>6114641Sure- though I’d like to transition it later on, since I’d prefer to take on the traits of the parents than be associated with with the sadder connotations of the quest.
>>6114569>Wrath—you’re eager for the adventure, so eager you’re spoiling for a spar
>>6114657[Fair. These are a starting point for now, to establish a baseline.]
>>6114569>Envy
>>6114594>>6114604>>6114621>>6114658>>6114701Your hood pulled down low, and your steps light and soft upon the hard-packed dirt of New Goblintown, you trail behind Zith-Zi. You avoid the direct gaze of those you pass, but even so, your bat-like ears twitch with an irresistible fascination for the snippets of conversation that reach them. Your sister’s loud proclamations and bold mannerisms fade into mere background noise, while conversely the more subtle, whispered discussions around you seem magnified by your hunger:"...’t even eat it, so why’re they hunting it?”“Who says you can’t? Just ‘cause humies are picky fuckers…”“Well they’re not GONNA’ though, are they? Blood Baron wants it for a trophy, and toss the rest.”“Is what it is.”You wonder which baron they mean? New Goblintown isn’t NEAR-near to any particular settlement, being closer to the mysterious monster-kingdom up in the mountains than anyone else. Of the four closest human-held baronies, though, your money would be on…“Blackpine,” you murmur, perversely proud of yourself.You’ve never BEEN to Blackline, and never met its baron, yet you know his character by reputation: a bold and bearlike man, and a lover of the princely sport of hunting. All this and more, you’ve learned without seeking or speaking—just listening. You greedily drink in these tidbits with far greater satisfaction than the nutrient-deficient porridge earlier. Eavesdropping has become something of a hobby of yours—a way to connect with the people who would otherwise scorn you. The low murmur of life around you, the intricate web of secret and scandal, becomes the sustenance you crave. You dare not allow your hunger to lead you into a confrontation, not here, not now. But <WANT> is fed in small doses through this listening-in."...cruiting again? Ain’t but scraps left these days…"You turn your head towards the speaker, believing for a moment she's referring to you and your sister.“...The last lot they took didn’t come back whole, y’hear? You sign on, you take yer chances…”“Bet the feckin’ dwarves killed ‘em. You know they’re cheapskates, an’ they’re broke besides.”“…any gob what takes a job with them gets what he gets…”Oh. No you, then. THAT would be about Undershadow, the northernmost of the baronies. You’ve never really been one for mineralogy or whatever, either before or after your ‘split’ with Zith-Zi, but every gob in new Goblintown has at least HEARD about the dwarven mining company. Goblins and dwarves are ancestral enemies... (Just as goblins and humans, or goblins and elves, or goblins and orc, or goblins and other goblins...) Even so, the company in question has been hiring on anyone they can get, to mine or to guard the miners… Though apparently with a rather high turnover rate, by the sounds of things.
>>6114747. With a small frown, you scan the crowd to see if anyone you know (or know OF, since you don't exactly have any friends here) has gone missing, though you quickly bow your head and make yourself small again when you accidentally meet one goblin’s eyes.ZZ makes her way toward the midpoint of Goblintown, where a partially-collapsed fountain has been converted into a meager but communal gathering space. It bubbles with conversation and activity, like a cauldron of goblin stew. You shuffle after her, absorbing more of he ambient flow of conversation like shadow taking in the warmth without being directly lit by it:A missing child of a well-heeled aristocratic family in the especially small and isolated barony of Redwell…Some lake-monster rumoured to be stealing fisherman’s catches in the eponymous body of water at the heart of the bustling trade-port of Sunset Lake, down towards the lowlands…So too do you catch flickers of more local concerns: trysts, affairs, simmering grudges and sordid dealings, and everywhere echoes of the hopeless and bitter defeat which characterizes Goblintown life.“…no way to live, ‘farming’, hunting little squirrels and rabbits…”“Better ‘n the Wastes, though, right?”“The land’s for shit, though! And what do we know ‘bout farming even with GOOD land?”“Well, just means more squirrel an’ rabbi…”“…ought to go take some of what those humies’ve got, big fat fucks…”You grimace, though you say nothing. The entire idea of New Goblintown was to avoid conflict with the other races. Life here has been hard, and you’d be lying if you said you enjoyed the local fare any more than these other gobs, but even so…Before you can parse out an answer to that existential query, you realize with a start that your sister’s steps are carrying you both past all your potential recruits—right out of the little town.“Uh, ZZ?” you speak up. “Ain’t we s’psoed ta’ be recruiting…?”“What, HERE?” she laughs. “Gobs? “An’ not just any gobs: oldies, chicks, ex-SLAVES?”You take in the (put politely) rather motley assortment of goblins in the centre of townIt’s true that they’re a ragged lot, their appearance signaling lives spent in squalor and struggle. They are small, even by goblin standards, with spindly limbs and hollow cheeks testifying to prolonged malnutrition. Their clothes are a patchwork of mismatched scraps and hand-me-downs, many of them barely hanging together. Yet, beyond their frail bodies and threadbare appearances, you notice something else—something that resonates deeply with the hollow <WANT> inside you.
>>6114748Their yellow or green eyes are bright, not with health, but with a fierce and consuming hunger. This hunger is not just for food, though that’s part of it. It’s a hunger for more—for something beyond their current existence. Their gazes flicker with ambition, a desire for something better than the so-called life they’ve been eking out in the ruins that mankind and other have left them. You see young goblins with makeshift weapons, eyes shining with dreams of glory and riches. You notice the older goblins, who have endured more years of hardship, yet still hold a spark of hope—whether it’s for themselves, their children, or simply a better tomorrow.“Well, I mean… They’ll be cheap ta’ hire?” you hazard with a nervous laugh.Zith-Zi squints, surveying them, and cocncludes: “yeah, an’ we’ll get what we pay for. Buncha’ compulsively-cloying pickpockets an’ backstabbers. C’mon, you remember what it’s like ta’ run with gobs…”“R-right…” you lie.You struggle to piece those memories together. Even as you do so, it seems to you there are snippets of good amongst the bad. Maybe your ‘amnesia’ is simply fooling you, though?ZZ sees you struggling, and this seems to crack her hard shell. She sighs dramatically and slumps forwards a little, sending Hershy the drake tumbling down her shoulder to land on her chest. He huffs haughtily, with dragon-like pride, and hauls himself back up to his perch to preen himself.“Fine,” she says. “You tell me: you wanna’ recruit any of these little green shits before we go?”
>>6114749PARTY MECHANICSYou have 30 POINTS to spend on a party and equipment, serving as an abstraction of social capital and currency. Because CZ has no leadership bonus and ZZ has reduced Monster Empathy, you get no bonus to recruiting goblins and must pay ‘full price’ here. However, goblins and their (shoddy) gear are less expensive than most other races.In addition, recruiting here DOES have a few inherent advantages:>Goblins have magic resistance, increasing the DC of spells used against them, reducing damage taken from magic, and allowing them to use dodgy magical equipment with less risk of blowback damage.>They are small-sized, which while it means their weapons do less damage, also means they can squeeze through small spaces and hdie/sneak more easily.>They have true darkvision, able to see (albeit only in black-and-white) in even pitch blackness>They are ‘soulless’ by the measure of mages, meaning gods and demons cannot easily corrupt them… Nor do they really have any interest in doing so, since they’re beneath contempt>They have cast-iron stomachs and can subsist on less (and lower quality) food>They have hardy immune systems and can endure the elements fairly well>While CZ is something of a boogeyman around here, ZZ is well-respected for her role in setting up the town; at the very least, you’re both respected and feared, whereas in human habitations you’re more likely to be seen as ‘goblins’ yourselvesBesides this, any equipment you buy for CZ or ZZ here will be properly-sized. ZZ has light armour and a small scimitar already, but CZ is currently wearing only her robe and wielding only her ‘natural weapons’.Will you recruit anyone or buy anything here?>Yes—even if goblins can be ‘difficult’, you want to recruit some of them…>Well, maybe not… But you’d like to buy some cheap equipment before you go…>Maybe ZZ is right… You’ll recruit some folks later, once you’re amongst humans and their fellow-folk>Write-in
>>6114750>Yes—even if goblins can be ‘difficult’, you want to recruit some of them…at least one of them might fit our criteria
>>6114750>Yes—even if goblins can be ‘difficult’, you want to recruit some of them… and get some equipment worth a damn for CZ.
>>6114750>Maybe ZZ is right… You’ll recruit some folks later, once you’re amongst humans and their fellow-folk
>>6114750>Maybe ZZ is right… You’ll recruit some folks later, once you’re amongst humans and their fellow-fold>Write-inArmor for Carazzi. Cloth or mail. Depends on how dexterous her claws are - can she wear them or clean them without much difficulty?Am >>6114220
>>6114750>Write-in>Find a dogboldFiercely loyal, quirky, small build, and only a little metagamey, Theral used to have one he would let one of his wives experiment on, but Id prefer we keep em terrier esque, also if you dont feel thats acceptable Ill change my answer
>>6114750>Yes—even if goblins can be ‘difficult’, you want to recruit some of them…
>>6115010[I'll keep the desire for a dogbold in mind, but it isn't really something Cara-Zi can just suggest out of nowhere in this context.]
>>6115017>>6115010>>6114998>>6114964>>6114787>>6114772You don’t know how you keep getting roped into this shit., you really don’t. Even after going out of your way to move away from your past and people, to the point of having all the ‘goblin’ magically sucked out of you, it seems like you can never fully escape your origins and history. You just want to move past all that and onto the new life you’ve been afforded!But when your friends needed an expert on the area and (ha!) culture, who’d they turn to?And when they freed these slaves and needed someone to help get them set up with a place to stay, who volunteered to help?And now, with the very embodiment of that past and history giving you those big yellow kitty-cat eyes…“Uuuugh, fiiiine,” you groan, pressing your face into you pinkish palm. “We’ll hire a gob or two.”“And buy some armour?”You look between your fingers at CZ, whose pleading expression remains, now tainted with the half-hidden smugness of one pushing her luck. You know the expression well: you wore it first, before your ‘little sister’ was ever a separate entity.“Yeah yeah, whatever…”The two of you turn around, Cara-Zi trailing you like a puppy. The goblins and goblinesses of the squalid little burg see you coming back and immediately you have their attention. You always have, for even if you and CZ aren’t fully regarded as goblins yourself, the others here still have a sort of reverence for you. With your sister, it’s pure fear: they’ve seen the brutality she can inflict on a battlefield firsthand when she helped free them, and no amount of lowering her voce and bundling up in baggy clothes is going to make them forget the sight of those claws and fangs dripping with blood. With you, it’s something else… Something you can’t quite place.“Envy…”“Huh?” You blink at Cara-Zi. “What’d you say?”“H-huh?” she says, staring back in confusion. “Did I say something?”“Nevermind,” you sigh. Your hand gravitates to the curved blade on your hip, as an unspoken reminder to any gobs feeling ‘envious’ of what you’ve got or what you are that you’re no slouch in the bloodletting department, yourself. That’s a part of it, too, you suppose, your ‘reputation’ here. You’re the gob that got out—that made something of herself, that might help THEM make something of THEMselves.“Listen up!” you shout. “Me an’ my sis are lookin’ ta’ go make some coin! Not with any thievin’ or raidin’, and NOT with beggin’ or scavengin’ nothing, either! We’re gonna’ earn some gold with good, honest, dangerous ADVENTURIN’.”
>>6115128That gets a chorus of jeers, as you knew it would. Every goblin knows that ‘adventuring’ is just the humie way of prettying-up the age-old professions of grave-robbing and murder-for-hire, and any goblin who’s lived wild and free knows at least few fellows who’ve been on the sharp end of a so-called adventurer’s sword… But that ALSO means that ever goblin present ahs some of that same fear for adventurers that they have for CZ; knowing that ‘adventure’ is how you got to be who and what you are today, it also carries that same allure of escape that you do.“Anyone who wants in on this shit, speak up now or forever hold your peace!” you continue. “And anyone who’s managed to scrounge up some arms ‘n armour—an’ don’t bullshit me, I know some of you have been holding out!—come ‘n see me an’ CZ. We’re gonna’ need ta’ get her an’ any of you we bring properly kitted out, if only so you ain’t totally useless.”You look over at CZ, who is quietly delighted as she listens to the murmured consideration of the crowd. That brings you a bit of a smile, at least. You don’t’ pretend to fully understand her ‘condition’, but Tips—your half-elf wizard friend that ‘made’ her—said something about her feeding on emotions as much or than food. Having more people around, even goblins, must make her feel comfier somehow. Whatever your misgivings about having a weird evil clone sister, you promised Tips you’d look after her.Not long after your big speech, you’re up to your pointy ears in potential hirelings and dubious merchandise, and much of that fond feeling is gone. You know you shouldn’t expect much better than this under the circumstances, but even so…
>>6115129As a reminder, you have 30 points. Normally, an experienced and equipped adventurer would set you back 10 points, an inexperienced one would be 7 points, and a hireling without much combat skill or any arms or armour would be 4 points. However, these goblins have no experienced adventurers among them, and have shoddy equipment at best, and due to their desperation and poor showing cost less.Who do you hire on?Inexperienced, Poorly Equipped: 5 points>Yeb-Uit, an older male goblin known to be a fairly good bow-hunter and trapper (ranks in Survival, Archery, comes with bow and arrows; no known personality flaws, but doesn’t have any ammunition for his bow)>Zar-Lin, a scar-faced and middle-aged ex-prostitute turned bully known for her hot temper and for backing this up (ranks in Knife-Fighting, Sense Motive, Seduction, comes with knife; prone to disobedience, aggression)>Gar-Yub, a lame-legged drunkard and layabout who nevertheless knows his way around a blade, and his herbs (ranks in Swordsmanship, Herbalism, comes with short-sword and alchemical and medical supplies; can’t move too fast, prone to addictive behaviour)>Lok-Stok, a young goblin barely more than a boy who is exceptionally enthusiastic (ranks in Unarmed Combat, Athleticism, comes with light armour; very trainable, but impulsive)>Write-in (create an NPC; outline them here, don’t make ‘em OP; note that goblins cannot be casters)Hirelings, Non-Combatant: 3 points>An-Yii, a young female goblin with limited nursing-knowledge (rank in Medicine)>Jed-Vak, a young male goblin who has some experience keeping animals alive long enough to get eggs or milk (ran in Animal Handling)>Yad-Vo, a quiet and sullen goblin uncharacteristically inclined to read and listen (rank in Academia)>Tav-Rok, who is a pretty good cook and reasonably personable as goblins go (rank in Cooking)>Ten-Ree, a seamstress and amateur tanner, who smells like that profession implies (rank in Mending; smells like piss due to profession)>Write-in (create an NPC; outline them here)
>>6115130What equipment do you buy? All New Goblintown equipment looks rough and shoddy, and wearing or carrying it will be reflected in how people treat you outside this place>Small-sized sword (1d6 damage, costs 2 points)>Small-sized dagger (1d4 damage, costs 2 points, concealable)>Small-sized bow (ranged, 1d6 damage, costs 2 points)>Quiver of Arrows (Ammo isn’t tracked, but you need one of these two use your bow and if it’s lost, you’re out of ammo, costs 1 point)>Small-sized light armour (Increases difficulty of physical attack rolls against wearer by 1, costs 2 points)>Small-sized medium armor (Increases difficulty of physical attacks against wearer by 2 and reduces damage taken by 1, costs 5 points, can’t be worn to sleep without penalties)>Small-sized heavy armour (Increases difficulty of physical attacks against wearer by 2 and reduces damage taken by 3, costs 7 points, can’t be worn to sleep without penalties, can cause or worsen exhaustion)>Write-in (anything else you want, subject to vote; keep in mind these people are poor)
>>6115130>Recruit Yeb>2 daggers>1 sword>1 quiver>1 light armor & 1 medium armor
[Oh, and a quick reminder: ZZ already has:>A small scimitar (1d8)>Light armour (mroe stylish than goblin-made)>A (damaged) trapfinding inplenent>Thieves' tools>Three throwing knivesWhile CZ has:>natural weapons (1d2, cannot be unequipped)In addition, CZ has "monkey grip" (ie. big freaky hands that can wield a medium-sized weapon), and both have some spells listed on their sheet, too, which will get elaboration as we go.]
>>6115130>Yeb-Uit>An-Yii>Quiver of Arrows (Ammo isn’t tracked, but you need one of these two use your bow and if it’s lost, you’re out of ammo, costs 1 point)>Small-sized light armour x2For Yeb & Carazzi>>Write-inCooking utensils & blankets>>6115162If the pic is representative of her claws (>>6114210), I’d really like for her to get a hooded katar or something similar soon. Not sure if the tech level of new gob town allows it, though.https://www.mandarinmansion.com/item/vijayanagara-hooded-katarEssentially, a punch dagger constructed out of metal. I really want the ‘hood’ so it could be used to protect her hands and act as armor
I'm >>6114772>>6115130>Yeb-Uit>comes with bow and arrows [...] but doesn’t have any ammunition for his bowI assume this means he only has the single arrow on his bow and only that>An-Yii>Small-sized dagger (1d4 damage, costs 2 points, concealable)for CZ>Quiver of Arrows
>>6115130>Zar-LinReminds me of the infiltrator, so I imagine they might subconsciously pick them. Cazz can also feed on the aggression, which will help keep her in check.>An-Yii, a young female goblin with limited nursing-knowledge (rank in Medicine)Medic!>Small-sized dagger (1d4 damage, costs 2 points, concealable)>Small-sized bow (ranged, 1d6 damage, costs 2 points)>Quiver of Arrows (Ammo isn’t tracked, but you need one of these two use your bow and if it’s lost, you’re out of ammo, costs 1 point)Ain’t buying shitty equipment and have good people of status look down at us because of shitty goblin armor.
>>6115182>If the pic is representative of her claws[As has been hinted at a little, her body shifts a little with her self-perception and the perception of others. She grows more monstrous when her <WANT> is greater or conversely when she allows herself to overindulge.]>>6115151>>6115222>>6115223[My reply may be delayed this evening. I've been invited out to dinner with my folks.]
>>6115423>[As has been hinted at a little, her body shifts a little with her self-perception and the perception of others. She grows more monstrous when her <WANT> is greater or conversely when she allows herself to overindulge.]makes sense, coz it puzzled me at first that her claws were only 1d2.Enjoy the dinner.
>>6115478[It was pretty okay, thanks!]>>6115182>>6115478>the pic[As ever, I tend to give artists I commission a lot of leeway in presentation. I always pictured her with more of a hooked nose than a little dog snout, but so it goes!]>punch-dagger[Pretty tough to come by around these parts, but I'll keep it in mind for the future...]>>6115151>>6115182>>6115222>>6115223[Locked and writing. 16 points left! I included basic amenities for 1 point by fiat, since it made sense and... Well, you'll see in a bit.]
>>6115510You and your ‘older sister’ Zith-Zi pore over the resumes before you, in the traditional goblin fashion… Which is to say, you let each of the greenskins in attendance step forth, puff out their chests and turn up their chins, and tell bald-faced lies about their proficiencies which you and all their rivals heckle them mercilessly for. Everyone knows a goblin can’t be trusted to tell the truth when personal benefit or reputation is on the line, but nor would any other gob—or nilbog, rod demogoblin—begrudge them. Frankly, you’d be insulted if they DIDN’T spin a yarn or two about shooting an arrow straight through a sparrow’s eye or cleaving a roving orc’s skull and helmet in twain with a sword-blow or something along hose lines.“It’s cultural,” you’ve heard ZZ defend the practice.‘Cultural’ it may well be, but for you, it’s simply FUN! Unable to feed your lust, and lately less able to endure the judgement of others, indulging in such a ritual of focused attention and abuse allows you to sate yet more of your <WANT>, even as it makes you paradoxically long for the respect which some of the goblins manage to accrue.Yeb-Uit earns himself a spot when the old, gristly and grizzled male steps forward and holds aloft his arrow—his sole remaining arrow, as he says.“The only one I’ll need,” he elaborates.It might not be a sparrow’s eye, but when he convinces a cowering gobling to hold up a worm-eaten apple and manages to hit the arrow and NOT the child, it at least attests to SOME truth behind his manufactured ‘legend’. It’s more than any other’s manage, at least.“Get this gob a quiver!” ZZ bellows, to a cacophony of cheers and jeers alike.Of course, with so many braggarts about, it makes it all the more remarkable when one of the locals DOESN’T follow the ignoble tradition of your ilk. At least, it sure gets your attention when An-Yii steps out from the morass of mean little greenies and quietly clears her throat, waiting patiently until the boos and hisses accompanying her ‘boring’ performance die down.
>>6115538Part of Your might be, admittedly, that she’s pretty… Well, for a hungry young gobliness. Prettier than you are… pretty like a part of you wishes you could be. Her cheeks are high, her dark green hair tied tight in a knot at the back of her skull, lending her an austere and important air rare among even well-to-do goblins, let alone this community. He ragged, patched clothes are speckled and spatters with bits of blood and other fluids, but if that’s something to scorn elsewhere, it’s nothing you can judge over-harshly HERE… And soon enough, they become more like a mark of merit.“I’ve been helping Gen-Grin to deliver the babies we’ve been having,” she says simply. “Any of you gob-girls as has had one knows I did the dirty deed.”Her expression darkens a little, as she adds: “An’ I’ve done the dirtier one of dealin’ with those who ain’t make it, or for which you weren’t ready with food ta’ feed, wasn’t it?”The air of levity dissipates about An-Yii like a fog, leaving only the clear, cold air of her implications. There are some subjects which even goblins—ESPECIALLY goblins—take seriously.“Well,” she says simply, “I’m done. I’m DONE with it. Here me? I’ve done my hours, seen enough suffering for nothin’. We need proper doctorin’, an’ the money for to do it with. Ain’t that right?”A quiet, ashamed murmur of grudging agreement rippels through the rowd.“I’ve kept enough of you alive after that, too, or after getting’ cut or breakin’ a bone doin’ your half-assed huntin’ or tomfoolin’ about. Yeah?”“Yeah,” the goblins agree. You find yourself agreeing too, if only to go along with them and be a part of the experience.“You’ll need me for the same reason,” An-Yii announces, to you and to your sister. You flinch at the certainty of her assertion, and at the piercing yellow of her gaze. In truth, with your Monstrous Regeneration> (a hand-me-down spell of your ‘creator’, or perhaps an inheritance of your ‘father’) you’ve never really needed a medic…But ZZ might.You look suddenly to your sister with concern, as much to break the unsettling eye-contact with An-Yii as to gauge her reaction. Her eyes are narrowed, arms crossed over her chest. You can imagine—and half-remember—the unpleasant experiences running through her mind, of those times when she—you—were wounded in the Goblin Wastes, during the ‘bad old days’, and forced to walk and fight on injured limb, or to sweat out an infection. When you’d traveled with Tips, it had been different, but…“More’n that,” An-Yii concludes, “if you two give two shits about ANY of these gobs, you’ll need me to get good, and bring that experience back. Right?”
>>6115539“Hey,” you say, reaching out and tugging on Zith-Zi’s limb. “Hey sis, we should—”“Right,” she agrees, brushing you off before you even finish without looking at you, but acquiescing to agree, with you and with An-Yii. “You’re hired. I respect a bitch who puts her back into it.”For the first time, you see An-Yii crack a smile, oozing obvious relief. You smile with her, feeling some of that relief seep into you—the blessing to accompany the curse of your inherent empathic sense.When the interview process is done, you and your sister set about spending the rest of the money you mean to spend, and calling in debts where coin can be avoided. The two of you have grown increasingly isolated from the community, but even a petty and copper-clasping greedy green-guy knows enough not to try to fuck over the hand that holds their fate. Nobody knows quite how the goblins got their sanction to settle these lands… Except that everyone knows it was Zith-Zi who did it, by braving the fabled dragon’s den up in the mountains.Goblins are selfish, sometimes, but not STUPID. You don’t fuck with Zith-Zi, or her ‘scary sister’. It is (to your shamed chagrin) a well-known fact of life in new Goblintown.“A fresh start,” you whisper, willing yourself to believe it. “This’ll be a fresh start. New place, new me!”“Here,” interrupts ZZ, shoving a roughshod and poorly-treated hide cuirass into your chest and arms. “Put this on. Best fresh start’s the one where you don’t get stabbed. Believe me.”“I remember,” you admit. “But, ya’ know, I can heal ‘n shit now, so…”“So?” she barks. “So what? You forgettin’ that when you heal yourself up, you get HANGRY? Yeb an’ An are employees, not emergency rations, ya’ know.”“I… I know that!” you protest meekly. “I’ve been good!”And you have. True to your promises to your sister, and to the mage who made you what you are, you’ve carefully avoided the sorts of activities which tend to ‘stimulate’ your demonic instincts: no fighting, no flirting, and ABSOLUTELY no fucking—the last of which for the safety of yourself, others, and (as Tips had put it) ‘the spiritual well-being of the world’, whatever that means.“Okay,” you murmur quietly. “I’ll wear the armour.”“Fuckin’ right you will,” ZZ snorts.Your sister turns a critical gaze down at the rusty and dull-edged dagger in her hand, and giving it a few tentative tosses up in the air. It twirls end-over-end in a predictable, rpaccied arc, and each time she catches it, before finally jabbing it handle-first at your face.“Take this, too.”You don’t argue the comparative utility of your claws. They’re long—longer sometimes than others—but they don’t have the reach or hardness of steel… And going hand-to-hand tends to get you a little ‘over-excited’.
>>6115540“Say, Sis,” you speak up after tucking the blade away amidst your spacious robes, “shouldn’t we have some food, too?”“Food?” she scoffs. “We just ate this mornin’!”“Yeah, but on the road…”“We’ll hunt,” she huffs. “We brought a fuckin’ ranger, right? Or, well, some fucker with a bow. If he can hunt pheasant half as well as apples, we’ll be set.”“Well, what about, like treats?”ZZ stares blankly at you.“An’… An’ some blankets? To sleep in, if it gets cold? An’ to eat on, you know… When we’re eatin’ the pheasant, an’ the treats?”“Cara-Zi,” Zith-Zi says slowly, “are you tryin’ ta’ describe a fuckin’ PICNIC?”You squirm a little, laughing nervously.“W-well, it’s just, like… That’s sorta’ what we did when we went adventuring with Tips, right?”“Well DUH, it’s TIPS. I love the guy, but his mom’s some pointy-eared salad-munching elf, an’ he grew up in some ivory-fuckin’-tower. He’s a fuckin’ FAIRY.”You alight upon this, sensing intuitively an opportunity—a chink in your sister’s emotional armour.“Aren’t you, too?” you ask, leaning forward hopefully. “Like, as a ‘nilbog’?”ZZ opens her mouth a few times, unable to formulate a response, She scrunches up her face a little, and you can feel the conflicting emotions rolling around in her pretty, pink noggin. Eventually, her pride in the ‘new Zith-Zi’—a pride you envy oh so much—wins out.But hey, you get your blankets, and your basket of goodies!With equipment equipped, baggage bagged up, and your minions ready to march, the four of you—five, with little Hershy snoozing upon ZZ’s shoulder—set out properly.“Where are we even going?” Yeb-Uit asks pointedly. “Missed that parta’ the briefing.”“No you didn’t,” An-Yii points out blandly. “They ain’t said shit about that.”“Well you joined up anyway, didn’t ya’?!” ZZ snaps, flustered.
>>6115541 “Look, I got a plan. OBVIOUSLY! I’m an experienced fuckin’ adventurer, alright? You think I’d just, what, fuckin’ make a big scene in town, spend a buncha’ coin, call in all my favours, hire on YOU fuckers, an’ just… Not have a plan?”You look at Zith-Zi with quiet concern because, of course, that’s EXACTLY what she’s done. You don’t even need your empathic sense of sisterly spiritual attunement to know THAT. Being ZZ, you’re sure she could stumble her way to success regardless. You admire that about her, among other things—she’s everything you’re not, and wish you could be, but by definition never WILL be.But what you are—and what your realize could actually be useful here and now—is a snoop, and a sponge for all sorts of secrets and suspicions.“Hey… I think I might know where you were thinkin’ we should go.”ZZ looks at you archly, wary of your words. Seeing your expression, though, she lets out a quiet sigh of relief, and nods. Taking up a confident stance to match any gob at that interview, your nilbog sister bluffs her feytouched heart out.“Alright, I’ll humour you” she says. “Take a guess. I’ll let you know if you’re right!”You nod, smiling, grateful to be useful—to have eyes on you not for the sake of your otherworldly weirdness, but with an attentive curiosity.>You’re headed to Blackpine, to follow up on this trophy-beast the Baron there means to hunt>You’re heading to Redwell, to see what all this hubbub is about missing kids>You’re to Undershadow, to hire on with that dwarven mining corporation>You’re going to Sunset Lake, where all the money is, and where there’s some monster eating up fish or whatever>Write-in [subject to veto or modification]
>>6115543>You’re headed to Blackpine, to follow up on this trophy-beast the Baron there means to hunt
>>6115539>An’ I’ve done the dirtier one of dealin’ with those who ain’t make it, or for which you weren’t ready with food ta’ feed, wasn’t it?”That is of note. Not that Carazzi ought to be impregnating or be impregnated. >>6115543>You’re headed to Blackpine, to follow up on this trophy-beast the Baron there means to huntWe don’t have nets or anything as far as I can recall. If we are to hunt something aquatic, we need more than a bow and a cuirass.
>>6115582>We don’t have nets or anything as far as I can recall. If we are to hunt something aquatic, we need more than a bow and a cuirass.[If it comes down to it, you have more points to spend on arrival at wherever you go.]
>>6115585I’d like to play to our strengths for now. Get some money as a safety first before spending again.
>>6115597[Totally fair, just wanted to make sure you knew every option was indeed viable. No "gotchas" just yet.]>>6115540> a predictable, rpaccied arc*practiced arc
>>6115598
>>6115543>You’re going to Sunset Lake, where all the money is, and where there’s some monster eating up fish or whatever.Port city=better market
>>6115543>You’re going to Sunset Lake, where all the money is, and where there’s some monster eating up fish or whatever Which bay/lake/body of water did shogword fall into, I know I keep pushing metagamey shit but a living weapon might honestly be peak for CZ, theyre both spiritual predators and could regulate eachothers hungers is my thought process, otherwise if shogs not even there itd still be nice to play an MC without hydrophobia like Theral
>>6115543>Sunset lakeWe need money money money MONEY
>>6115641>metagaming[Unavoidable, and I won't penalize it or anything. Just eep in mind that actions must make sense for the characters to take.]>the shoggoth-shard[It was lost in the ocean, unfortunately, when the Dragonborn Antipaladin crash-landed in the bay.]>hydrophobia[Oddly enough, hydrophobia is the extreme fear of INGESTING water, such as people experience as a symptom of rabies. You're thinking aquaphobia.]
>>6115543>You’re going to Sunset Lake, where all the money is, and where there’s some monster eating up fish or whatevermoney
>>6115968Thank you for the clarification RQM, my vote remains as is though Id love a non-aquaphobic adventure with therals weird sisters
>>6115543>You’re headed to Blackpine, to follow up on this trophy-beast the Baron there means to huntFun
>>6116150>>6115986>>6115743>>6115641>>6115611>>6115582>>6115581[Locked and writing!]
>>6116174You've been hearing a lot of juicy, drool-worthy rumours, but none so delicious and delectable as the clinking of coins (and the more literal treats they can be exchanged for).“I heard somethin’ ‘bout a sea-monster in Sunset Lake,” you suggest.Yeb-Uit quietly arches a bushy salt-and-pepper brow, while An-Yii just looks skeptical.“A sea-monster?” asks the nurse.“Lake-monster,” ZZ corrects, playing with a lock of her hair and wearing a thoughtful expression. “Shit, they’re loaded down that way. We could clean up!”“We don’t have any nets,” An-Yii points out.“I can shoot it from the shore,” the archer replies, notching an arrow with a grim smiel for emphasis.“Put it away, big man,” ZZ snorts.“We could buy a net?” you suggest innocently.Your big sister shoots you a brief glare, and you clam up quickly. You realize belatedly that Zith-Zi probably doesn’t want the others gobs in your newly-formed party to know how much coin you do or don’t have on you—or to commit to any expenses until she’s evaluated the situation. It’s funny, really, how she’s so easily slid into the role of ‘big sister’ and leader… You’re really the same age, when you think about it.(Hells Below, you might actually be OLDER, since you have The Dream and—to your knowledge—she doesn’t. Does remembering snippets of your own conception count towards your age?)As much as you envy ZZ her leadership chops, you’re in no hurry to challenge her placement. All those eyes on you—scrutinizing, judging, hating, fearing… It’s an exciting idea to fantasize about, but in practice you’ve found you don’t like the sensation of disgust that so often radiates from those who properly perceive you, and with your memory so choppy…(And The Dream so WEIRD last time…)Well, maybe one day you can be more like your ‘big sis’.Sunset Lake is a few days’ hike from New Goblintown, further than most of the other options. That, and the lake’s location are why it can serve so easily as a commercial hub. All the goods of the mountainous western baronies make their way there before reaching the fertile farmlands and well-established trade-roads of Hawksong—the greatest city in all the northwest, if not the world!“Do you ever miss the big city?” you ask ZZ.She gives you a look, all wide eyes and flared nostrils, and you remember the ‘situation’ with her boyfriend, Jimmy, and wince.“Sorry, dumb question,” you say, even though you still find yourself wondering.For your part, the city is a double-edged sword: there’s more people to perceive you, but also so much more to see, and hear, and do, and LEARN!“Hawksong ain’t no place for a ‘demogoblin’,” she reminds you in a low voice of warning, after a moment. “That hellfire up in ya’ will ping a Paladin’s <Detect Evil>. Don’t forget.”
>>6116203“R-right, I know!” You’d actually totally forgotten about that. “Uhh… Are there Paladins in Sunset Like?”ZZ laughs at that, and slaps you on the back.“Lucky you, the shit going on down South means they’re too busy for some podunk-ass fishing village.”Well, that’s good! That means you can enjoy the hike without worrying about being smacked in the face with a <Smite Evil> the instant you arrive—you can just fantasize about fish, and all the fish-stories and urban goss you’ll be marinating in!The walk through the woods itself is routine enough, much of the local forest being the same as it is around New Goblintown: The woods are a tapestry of towering pines, their evergreen needles whispering wordless secrets to the breeze as the party makes its way downhill. The air is crisp and carries the scent of pine sap, the kind that clings to your senses as stickily as the ooze itself to your finegrs when you curiously sink claws into a flow of it. As the elevation decreases, the sharp silhouettes of the conifers gradually give way to a more varied mix of trees with broad, leafy canopies, their fallen leaves softening the natural path underfoot. Yeb and An are both surprisingly quiet, though their silence carries a different character from one another. Yeb-Uit moves with a practiced, deliberate silence, each step careful and calculated, like someone who knows every rustle and snap might tell a story he’s chosen not to share. His quiet is a comfortable cloak, one that doesn’t demand to be filled, but rather invites you to listen to the forest. In contrast, An-Yii’s silence feels tighter, more constrained, her eyes darting to each shifting shadow as if expecting it to spring for her jugular. It’s a nervous silence, and the few times she responds to ZZ’s attempts at small-talk, her replies are terse, brief, and a little snippy.“Well shit, I do know how ta’ pick ‘em, don’t I?” Zith-Zi grouses, apparently almost as starved for conversation as you are.
>>6116204As goblins—or goblinoid-adjacent magical creatures—you’re all accustomed to traveling in darkness as easily as light, and hardy enough to endure the mountains’ evening cold just as the Goblin Wastes’ harsh heat. You can’t march forever, though—especially not An-Yii, who is easily the least-fit of your lot. Eventually, you four-or-five must come to a halt. Hershy flutters his wings for a few times and alights in a tree to preen himself, enjoy the view, and perhaps to barbecue a few squirrels with his breath.“Food ain’t a bad idea,” Zith-Zi admits, watching him.“I can catch us something,” Yeb volunteers, taking up his bow again.“Eager ta’ impress, aintcha’?” ZZ teases.You catch a small twitch of irritation from the older male, but he simply shrugs.“If you’d rather I get paid for nothin’, I won’t complain,” he says, but you sense a lie.(But why lie…?)“I will,” An-Yii complains, before you can give it much thought, and crumples to the ground on her knees with a sigh. “My feet are killin’ me.”Of course, you and ZZ bought and brought food, at your insistence. For the picnic! But are you two ‘picnic-level’ close with An and Yeb? And do you WANT to be? Maybe it would be better to save that for another time, or place, or group…>Propose a picnic>Go hunting with Yeb-Uit>Suggest Zith-Zi and Yeb-Uit go hunting, while you talk to An-Yii>Suggest An-Yii go hunting with Yeb-Uit, while you talk to Zith-Zi about that dream..>Go hunting alone—you need some time apart from the others>Write-in
>>6116205>Go hunting with Yeb-UitWe can't pull out the picnic on day 1 of our adventure, it's at least a day 3 kind of event
>>6116224>+1it'll be good to clear our mind
>>6116205>>Go hunting with Yeb-UitZithzi can stay here and keep watch of Anyi
>>6116297am >>6115582
>>6116224Support, but definitely picnic at some later point
>>6116224>>6116254>>6116297>>6116305“Well, I think hunting’s a great idea, Yeb!”You feel your annoyance at your opposite turn to surprise. Cara-Zi’s been in such a reclusive, dour mood all day—for SOME fucking reason she hasn’t told you about, but whatever—that you’re a little surprised to hear her volunteer to go hunt with Yeb-Uit; so’s he, as far as you can tell, though he characteristically voices no objection. He also doesn’t voice approval. He just sort of grunts, nods, and head into the bush. Before CZ can scamper off after him, though, you grab her by the hood and wrench her back. The demogoblin makes a choking noise and you release your grip. Her concern doesn’t seem to be for her throat, though, but for replacing the dark covering over her hair, and her horns.“Hey, what’s the big idea?” you ask, trying to sound more irate than worried. “Didn’t you want a picnic or whatever?”Cara-Zi shakes her head slightly, and adopts a knowing smile. With a tap of her nose, she explains: “Pics are, like, a ‘day trhee’ adventuring activity, you know? It’s too early! We gotta’ get to know these two a little first.”You aren’t sure how she came to this asinine conclusion, and you make no effort not to roll your eyes. As the picnic was her idea, though, so too shall you allow her to decide when is best to hold it… And not just because you’d feel ridiculous proposing it yourself. But, yes, also because of that.“Why Yeb-Uit, though?”CZ closes her mouth quickly and shifts in place a little rather than answering. You look over at the older male, now standing patiently at the edge of the path and awaiting his self-appointed helper. You scan him up and down with your eyes—the greying beard, the grizzled (good?) looks, the air of mystery.Oh. Oh fuck.“CZ,” you hiss, “you remember the rules, right? Tips’ rules?”Tips—or Ezreal, more properly, but damned if you’re going to call the kid his government name when his nickname is so much funnier—is the wiz-kid who made you the nilbog you are today. He’s also the bleeding heart who saw a fading spark of demonic ectoplasm plop out of you in the process and, hearing its incoherent pleas to exist, saw fit to embody it as, well, Cara-Zi. He’s also the one who uncovered the origin of this demoniac contaminant… And who was very clear about the dangers of her falling to her fiendish nature, or of spreading the contagion of her essence to others in the same way it was spread congenitally to you, when you were conceived.
>>6116534“H-huh?” your sister blinks, then flushes deeper green. “Hey, no! It’s not like THAT!”“Uh huh,” you reply, hands on hips and squinting at your ‘sister’ with scrutinizing severity. “So you ain’t gonna’ eat him?”“Obviously!” she whines.“OR fuck him?”She laughs nervously, and sticks out a forked tongue, protesting: “He’s OLD, ZZ.”“So you DON’T think he’s ruggedly charming or whatever-the-fuck?” you press. “Maybe in a RULDOLFO kinda’ way…?”The demontainted duplicate flushes darker still at the allusion to one of her earlier indiscretions, whereby you’d narrowly avoided your old sword-tutor being sucked dry by the demogoblin in question, despite or BECAUSE of his salt-and-pepper suaveness. Still, she protests her innocent intentions and, at length, you relent.“Don’t take too long,” you tell them both, loud enough now for Yeb-Uit to hear. “We ain’t got time to waste goin’ lookin’ for ya’! And if we DO have ta’, it’s coming out of your share’ve the loot!”Yeb-Uit nods, once, and then turns away. Cara-Zi gievs you one last look over her shoulder, and then springs after him upon her weird little hooves, prancing away like some deformed deer.You sigh, and settle in to rest. Not yet ready to go straight to sleep, you instead polish your weapons An-Yii seems to have a similar idea, taking out her pack and spreading out her instruments and implements, bandages and jarred poultices, and taking stock.“You really trust that thing?” she eventually asks.“Watch it! That ‘thing’ is…”Your snarl dies in your throat as you hesitate to formally own her as a sister. Yet even so, she’s in many ways CLOSER than a sister.“She’s flesh ‘n blood,” you conclude.“That’s gotta’ be some story,” An-Yii says dryly, without any indication in voice or expression that she cares to hear it. “But do you? Trust her?”“I already answer that,” you say, and return to your maintenance with a ferocity that communicates—clearly, for An doesn’t ask again—that you have no intention to say anything more.But, of course, you didn’t answer. Not really. The truth of the matter is…>You do trust Cara-Zi, implicitly[Increases Zith-Zi’s and Cara-Zi’s sisterly bond, decreases how attentive ZZ is to CZ’s behaviours in the event they become erratic]>You don’t know how much you trust Cara-Zi[Sisterly bond is more strained, but ZZ’s eyes will be on CZ, and she’ll be better suited to intervene into any dangerous behaviours]Do you have anything else you wanted to talk to An-Yii about?>Why does she care so much about New Goblintown? Is she really planning to go back there?>Why adventuring? There's other, safer ways to make coin, surely?>Has she ever been to Sunset Lake before? Or on a boat, in general?>So... She's killed babies, huh?>Write-in>Nah [skip to CZ and Yeb's hunt]
>>6116537>You do trust Cara-Zi, implicitly>Has she ever been to Sunset Lake before? Or on a boat, in general?No shit she did kill children. She admitted as much. Not sure what’s the purpose of bring it up. I suppose we could ask her on how she aborted children and what are the necessary components, but other than that, eh.
>>6116537>You do trust Cara-Zi, implicitlyRudolfo situation aside, she's been trustworthy enough afawk along the previous quest>Why does she care so much about New Goblintown? Is she really planning to go back there?Phoneposting coz the captcha isn’t loading on pc, hope my id doesn’t change.
>>6116562>hope my id doesn’t change[Seems you're good!]
>>6116580>mfw cuteness is a skillnice. btw what does zz's prismatic spray do ?
>>6116592>magic[A fair enough question! I was planning touch upon spells when they came into play, but now's as good a time as any.Prismastic Spray: Projects a blast of flashing colours and elemental energy that, at base, can dazzle and inflict minor injury on a target; upcasting it increases the potency of the unpredictable elemental effectsMonstrous Regeneration: Can heal wounds and even regrow limbs; in a pinch, upcasting it can warp and distort the body in useful waysCharm: Can be used to lower psychologcial and emotional defences, to seduce or befriend; when the target snaps out of it, though, they may be displeased.Fear: Invokes and irrational fear of the caster in the target(s), or exaggerates an existing terror.>cuteness[It must be. That little son-of-a-bitch has survived three quests now.]
>>6116537>You do trust Cara-Zi, implicitly
>>6116594>[It must be. That little son-of-a-bitch has survived three quests now.]wait, 3 counting this one or was he not only in the antipaladin, but also the infiltrator one ? damn, we really did a nice choice rejuvenating him with tips
>>6116602[The first appearance of Hershy (then Hirschel, amusingly named after ZZ/CZ's human grandpa Hirschel Yosef) was indeed in Reptilian Infiltrator Quest, back in 2021 or 2022.]>>6116595>>6116562>>6116548[Looks like we have no choice but the trust a (demo)goblin! Writing.]
>>6116760In the end, you do trust Cara-Zi, deep down. Maybe not always, or entirely, but you were born a goblin—you don’t’ trust ANYONE entirely. For all her flaws, and regardless of her origins, though, CZ shares your past, your parentage. She’s more than a sibling—she’s a part of YOU. Her flaws are simply your own, seen from the outside.“If you can’t trust yourself, who CAN ya’ trust?” you murmur to yourself as you work.You look up and see An-Yii looking at you with confusion, having seemingly heard (or half-heard) what you said. You clear your throat, and speak up a little louder as you ask:“So, An, you ever been boating before?”“…You found me in the Goblin Wastes. It’s pretty much a desert.”You feel your eye twitch a little. You said earlier you liked her bitchiness, but this flat affect is starting to get to you a little. It verges on insubordination!... Which, admittedly, IS the natural state of goblinkind, deprived of daily beatings or the peer pressure of one’s extended family, neither of which you’re a huge fan of.“I know,” you say with deliberate patience, “but what about before? Where are you from?”“The Wastes,” she repeats, blandness turning to muted confusion. “Aren’t you?”You don’t answer that, but the answer is: no. You were born in or around Hawksong, and spent most of your formative years as a gobbling towards the lands the Northmen call ‘The Far East’. You’d entered into the Goblin Wastes proper seeking… Something. Adventure, maybe. You’d found more than you’d bargained for, and in time had come to regret the decision, but the you who you are TODAY was very much a product of that choice. But how do you justify volunteering to live in such conditions without sounding like a fool?(Maybe you were one…)“What about Sunset Lake?” you ask. “Ever been?”An-Yii hesitates, then gives a small nod towards her unpacked medical suppleis. “Ta’ pick up stuff.”“How is it?” you ask, for you’ve only passed through briefly, yourself.An-Yii’s cold exterior melts a little as she smiles at the memory, saying: “Rich. Lotsa’ food. Mostly fish, but they import stuff, to… Even now. ““How were they about dealing with gobs?”The smile shrinks. The frost returns. “‘Bout what you’d expect.”(Damn.)“‘Zat why you give so much of a shit about New Goblintown?” you ask her. “Nowhere else ta’ go?”“We don’t all have your ‘advantages’,” An-Yii replies curtly, with the shade of a sneer. “But… No. I care about New Goblintown ‘cause I care about the gobs that live there. Don’t you?”You rankle a little at the implicit accusation. OBVIOUSLY you do. You just don’t LIKE ‘em. There’s a difference.
>>6116787“This money we’re gonna make… it’s gonna change things,” An-Yii says dreamily. “it has to. Gob or not, nobody should have to live like this.”“It’s how we lived in the Wastes,” you point out.“Shouldn’t have ta’ live like that, neither,” An-Yii affirms. “But one thing at a time.“Right,” you agree. “One thing at a time.”……You and your older companion (employee? do these two work for ZZ, or for both of you?) travel further from the half-beaten path your party had earlier walked, and into the untouched wilderness of the northwestern woods. You’ve hunted here before, yourself, but admittedly not with any particular success—you’re not a survivalist in the way that Yeb-Uit is. When you HAVE found food, it’s usually been with the application of magic: a <Charm> spell goes a long way to bring cute little animals out of hiding, and then it’s just a little snicker-snack of your claws and, BAM, dinner’s served.Watching Yeb work, though—methodically, with mundane means and undeniable expertise, is fascinating. The way his pulse slows with his movements is impressive, but it’s the way his MIDN settles into a particular thoughtlessness that you wish you could emulate. It’s like… Like that ‘meditation’ shit that Tips does sometimes, where he clears out all bee-like buzzing of passing fancies and emergent anxieties, and just focuses on here, and now, and the task at hand.(It is, admittedly, kinda’ hot… But honestly, anything that reminds you of Tips makes you feel all tingly.)You’re reasonably confident in the old male’s ability to rustle up some dinner on his own, and he hasn’t ASKED for any help. He hasn’t said a damn THING, actually, but you suppose being quiet is a good idea when trying to sneak up on woodland critters. Between that and his quiet mind, though, you have no idea what that undercurrent of hidden motivations earlier was about, and you really <WANT> to know!What do you do?>Use your demonic abilities to speed up this hunt>>Use Charm>>Use Fear>Follow Yeb-Uit’s lead, and lend aid when ro if he needs it>Strike up a conversation with Yeb-Uit>>Ask about his history>>Comment on his woodsiness>>Try to suss out his secret motivations>>Flirt with him a little, you know, just for funsies…>Write-in
>>6116602>>6116592>>6116580[Also, derp, forgot Hershy's MOST IMPORTANT skill/ability]
>>6116789>Use your demonic abilities to speed up this hunt>Use CharmZith zi expects us too come back quickly.
>>6116537>You do trust Cara-Zi, implicitlyShe’s us>Why adventuring? There's other, safer ways to make coin, surely?Agh missed it>>6116789>Follow his lead and lend aid when or if he needs it
>>6116789>Follow Yeb-Uit’s lead, and lend aid when ro if he needs it>>6116799of course
>>6116789>Follow Yeb-Uit’s lead, and lend aid when ro if he needs itAnd definitely don't say anything or be too loud
Rolled 22 (1d280)>>6116901>>6116864>>6116839>>6116836You want the hunt to go quickly, since that’s what you promised your sis. You want to learn a little more about Yeb-Uit, for totally innocent and not at all weird reasons. More than anything ELSE, though… You don’t want to fuck up. This is day one of your first real adventure—well, if you don’t count all that carnage in the Goblin Wastes a few years back. But you were, like, a sidekick or something then! Now, you think you might be the boss of this company? Or one of two bosses? An underboss? Being a Boss is a big deal in goblin culture, and the idea of making yourself—or ZZ—look bad in the eyes of your first two subordinates makes you shiver in your oversized attire.…A shiver which Yeb-Uit seems to notice, casting you a strange glance.“Just a chill,” you whisper apologetically. “‘S all good!”Yeb just nods, either convinced or apathetic. Maybe both. More than anything though, the old gob seems focused—focused on the hunt, n the mission. You, in turn focus silently upon him. You watch the muscles and tendons shift under heis green skin, listen to the rustle of his ratty fabrics. You mimic the slow and smooth motions he makes, avoiding the same twigs and leaves which eh avoids. You remain at the ready, eager to offer what aid he might require, when or if he requests it!(…Wait, who was the boss again?)Rolling for random encounter; 1 thru 140 mean nothing unusual is encountered, anything above is a special event of some sort...
Rolled 17, 9, 5 = 31 (3d20)>>6116931No major encounter; rolling for Yeb's survival, to determine the hunt's success; you lend hi an extra die. His two dice must roll 15 or higher; yours, being untrained, requires an 18 to aid.
Rolled 5, 8, 18 = 31 (3d20)>>6116932You soon discover that, adventure or not, a hunt without quarry is just a walk in the woods. Worse, a SILENT walk in the woods, during which you cannot even sate your curiosity or appease your <WANT> in any way… Current <WANT>: 11If something triggers your <WANT>, such as especially heightened emotional situation, especially something that provokes lust, wrath, or envy, CZ will need to roll Occultism. On a failure, she will go berserk with the urgent need to sate that <WANT>. You may temporarily lose control of her actions. If <WANT> ever exceeds 20, she will automatically enter the aforementioned fugue state.…But it’s fine. It’s FINE. You’ve been in worse ways than this. You’re cool as a cucumber. Not that you’ve ever HAD a cucumber. Though a thick, green, tubular shape like that invokes a certain instinctive affinity, for some rea—“There.”You snap out of your daydream as Yeb-Uit speaks his first word in what feels like an hour or two. You look up excitedly, following his yellow-eyed gaze towards…“The fuck is THAT?”“Shh!”You clap your hairy hands over your mouth, mumbling a muffled apology through your fingers despite yourself. Yeb-Uit just sighs and shakes his head, rather than answering aloud. Which, of course, makes sense. Whatever THAT is, you don’t want to alert it to your presence.The ‘THAT’ in question is, at a glance, a bird. I mean, duh, it MUST be a bird, right? It has feathers, and a beak, and you think those are long wings tapered to a tailcoat like tip at the back… But then why’s there a weird cartilaginous ring around its face, at the base of the beak? And do birds usually have a single big feather sticking up all doofy-like at the base of their skulls? And—and this is the big one, the REAL weird one—you’re pretty sure birds usually only have two legs, not three… And that they’re usually not weird, gangly sticks like this one’s.(Weeeiiird…)If Yeb-Uit thinks it’s as odd as you do, though, he doesn’t comment on this, nor does he give any nonverbal indication. He just shifts out of sight, as you do likewise…Rolling Mentalism + Concealment; because of how you've specced out Cara-Zi, she can avoid notice by suppressing her presence in the minds of others, subtly lowering their wariness if they haven't yet spotted her.
>>6116941>18Willing the bizarre beast to take no notice of you—as you’ve been doing all day, essentially, with everyone else—you scoot as close as you dare before peeking back out at it. Feeling excitement build within you, you flex your fearsome fingers, claws extending just as your lower jaw juts out to expose for orcish underbite and tiny tusks…Then you remember that you’re helping! Being a support! Absolutely, above-all-else, NOT fucking this up or disappointing your sis!You loom to Yeb, and are startled to see him looking back with a mirror of your own expectant eyes.“H-hi?” you whisper, confused.He gestures to his bow and arrow, still not speaking but offer obvious: he’s asking if you’d like to take a shot at it! Which is, you know, FLATTERING, but…Uhh…You’re not an archer! “Who, or what, are YOU supposed to be?”The question from your dream returns again, unbidden. You scrunch up your face, and wonder if, maybe, you COULD be? Or if you could be useful in some other way? After all, Yeb-Uit IS offering, which is the signal you were waiting for!(But what if you fuck up? Uuuggghhh…)What do you do?>Stay hidden, and let Yeb take the shot[Relatively good chance of success]>Try your luck at archery[Lower chance of success, but CZ will gain a new skill]>Use <Charm> to beckon the bird closer, to help Yeb[Best chance of success; -1 MP until next rest, +1 <WANT>]>Fuck it—go feral on this feathered freak, and take your dagger to it![???, potential to gain a rank in knife-fighting]>Write-inThere's also a hidden insta-success with added benefits available, if you catch the reference being made and know what to do with it.
>>6116953>Stay hidden, and let Yeb take the shotThe shot may not necessarily stop the bird. We can pursue it and use our claws then if that happens. For now, let him do his work.>>6116548
>>6116953>Stay hidden, and let Yeb take the shotcan't think of this secret answer rn. while I assume it might involve using fear, I dunno what else to along with it.
>>6116953>Stay hidden, and let Yeb take the shot
>>6116953>Use <Charm> to beckon the bird closer, to help YebHas the best chance of getting this bird.
>>6116953>Try your luck at archery>Fuck it—go feral on this feathered freak, and take your dagger to it!New skills, potential to satiate our <WANT> with a bit of bloodlust, what’s not to love?
>>6116953>Try your luck
Rolled 6, 11 = 17 (2d20)>>6117106>>6117057>>6117038>>6117024>>6117021>>6116970[Locked, and rolling for Yeb-Uit! Will write when I can. There may be some delay, as work has called me in even though I'm sick.]
>>6117216You decide to keep hidden, placing your trust in Yeb-Uit’s seasoned skills. As he silently nocks an arrow and takes aim, you find yourself holding your breath, as if you could telepathically guide his shot home. Yeb’s focus intensifies, his expression made placid through effort. The sounds of the forest around you fade, leaving only the tension of the moment. The air is thick with anticipation as he releases the bowstring with a sharp twang.>11The sound gives him away, as the queer quarry reacts with surprising alacrity, leaping high and fluttering its wings to hold itself aloft. The arrow sails past the unusual avian, embedding itself harmlessly into the underbrush. The creature startles, its wide eyes blinking in asynchronous confusion as it lands, and makes to flee on those ungainly legs of its."Damn," Yeb-Uit growls. "Snipe's are fast. If it gets out've sight, it's over. Good eating, too..."Your heart leaps into your throat. This wasn’t supposed to happen—Yeb-Uit seemed so cool! Still,not all is lost--not yet! Instinct kicks in, demanding you act before dinner escapes and you're forced to face the psychic assault of that most dreaded sensation: ZZ's disappointment!<Charm> won't work well now, not with the prey so panicked. <Fear> seems a foolish approach, as well--it's terrified enough as-is.But you've got to do something, right?>Charge in for a tackle, wielding your natural weapons and knife[Higher DC]>Throw your knife before it disappears[Lower DC, but failure to kill it in a single blow means you may lose your weapon]>Calm yourself, and let it go--there's more quarry in the forest, and picnic food to fall back on if that fails[Extends your time away, no guarantee of success... But more time to talk with Yeb-Uit's good, right?]>Write-in
>>6117291>Throw your knife before it disappearsit says we'll lose it if we don't kill it but it still will make it run slower so I'll go for it.
>>6117291>Calm yourself and let it go
I also dropped another little clue about what it is and, therefore, what it might be and how to catch it, though the latter is trickier now that it's spooked.
>>6117399I'm surprised such a creature can be fast with those 3 long legs. and I will try seeing what this new clue is.
>>6116941>But then why’s there a weird cartilaginous ring around its face, at the base of the beak? And do birds usually have a single big feather sticking up all doofy-like at the base of their skulls? And—and this is the big one, the REAL weird one—you’re pretty sure birds usually only have two legs, not three… And that they’re usually not weird, gangly sticks like this one’s.>>6117291>The sound gives him away, as the queer quarry reacts with surprising alacrity, leaping high and fluttering its wings to hold itself aloft. [...]The creature startles, its wide eyes blinking in asynchronous confusion as it landsI assume the hints must be here but I don't see how the (previous) insta win comes to be.
>>6117291Shapeshift into a copy of it and entice/calm it?Not sure if her powers are that strong too change into a bird.
>>6117291>Charge in for a tackle, wielding your natural weapons and knife
>>6117469>Not sure if her powers are that strong too change into a bird.[They are not yet, though you could attempt and succeed sort of on a crit.]>>6117450[The hint is actually much more blatant than that.]>>6117470>>6117469>>6117349>>6117316[We have a four-way tie, though, so I'll hold off on the update.]
>>6117478What does mentalism do again?
>>6117497[It's psionics or psychic powers, essentially. Moving things with your mind, reading minds, illusion, brainwashing. CZ's most direct appreciation of it right now are Charm and Fear.]
>>6117499Can she create another expression of this right now? Is it possible for her to cause numbness or trip the bird in some way?>>6117450I think its the legs. It doesn’t seem coherent with the rest of the body.
>>6117511[Attempting to develop a new power/spell on the fly is tricky, but doable. This is less extreme than shapeshifting in a very different body configuration, so I'd say a somewhat harder-than-average one-off mental disruption/stun, with a crit needed to figure out how to replicate the effect on command as a new at-will spell.]
>>6117291>Throw your knife before it disappearsSend it to the legs>>6117515I’d rather not take the gamble right now.
>>6117291>Throw your knife before it disappears
Rolled 6 (1d20)>>6117520>>6117470>>6117469>>6117349>>6117316A half-dozen ideas jockey for primacy in your urgency-addled brain. Okay, so it’s too spooked for regular old <Charm> or <Fear> to help you here, but you’ve been suppressing your presence with some success, so maybe you could shock or confuse it? But thinking up new magicky things is HAAARD, and time’s of the essence. Tackling it and ripping it to shreds? But wouldn’t that, freak out Yeb-Uit and bring attention to what a freakshow you are?(Oof, you just made yourself sad again…)You almost give up then and there, trapped in a prison of decision paralysis… But as the old gobbo saying goes, ‘when in doubt, stab it out!’ And since you’re not in conventional stabbing range…“Hiiii-yah!”You squeeze your eyes shut and, with a (not especially fearsome) wail, you lob your brand new dagger at the departing ‘snipe’, hoping to end this hunt in a single lucky hit…
>>6117525Missed your vote, but your outcome won!shame about the roll>>6117526You don’t see what happens next, but you DO hear a peculiar sound. It didn’t sound like an impact, or a squawk, but maybe that ‘pop-TING’ you heard is just how snipes scream when they’re dying? Or maybe you punctured some unusual organ? But when you open your eyes, you don’t see a dead three-legged stilt bird with a stupid-looking face.No, you see something even weirder.“What what WHAAAT?”You stare, dumfounded, at not one dead or injured snipe, nor one intact snipe and one misplaced dagger, but at THREE flickering snipes, scrambling and running about like freshly-decapitated chickens!(…But, sadly, with their heads still attached)You tense up, ready to leap upon one of the trio, hopeful you can capture even one of the newly-abundant entrées-in-waiting, but before you can do so they each bolt in a different direction, with speed such as those three legs seem utterly incapable of achieving… And yet, they do.“Wait!” you wail. “Come back!”Before you can chase after them into the woods, a firm hand on your shoulder stops you. You shiver at the unfamiliar sensation of friendly physical contact, only to feel a pang of longing and disappointment when it rapidly retreats. You look to yeb-Uit, who simply shakes his head.“Don’t bother,” he says. “if you don’t catch ‘em on the first try, a snipe hunt pretty much never succeeds. It’s just how it is.”“The FUCK is a snipe??”“Magical little beastie,” he says with a shrug. “Nothing especially powerful. Just tricky. They can disappear once a day, and make all those <Mirror Image> things. Nothing else, though. They’re fast, too… Don’t think it’s because of magic, though.”You are crestfallen. It’s a little thing—a single missed meal, a minor setback in what barely feels like a sidequest, and yet… This was your MOMENT, you know? It feels almost like an omen of the whole endeavour, and your place therein. If you can’t catch a snipe, what CAN you do? The combination of the failure and your long day weigh you down with a sudden exhaustion, psychic and physical, such that you lower yourself to the ground and lay there for a moment, keening quietly.
>>6117536“…”You flush suddenly, remembering that you’re aura of insignificance has abated, and Yeb-Uit is fully perceiving you at present… And staring, silently and with stonefaced judgement, at your childish sulking. You collect yourself, brushing off forest floor debris from your monk-hoodie, and augh sheepishly, with a false mirth utterly unconvincing even to you.“Well, ya’ win some, ya’ lsoe some!”“Mm.”You shuffle awkwardly, and suggest…>You should keep hunting, so you can come back with SOMETHING at leastThis could worry ZZ, and the longer you stay out here, the hungrier you’ll get… Which could affect your <WANT>, but you could still score some food, and you’d get more time to talk with Yeb.Also, you'll gain a rank in survival, bare minimum[If you choose this, also specify if you have any questions or discussion-subejct for Yeb-Uit.]>You should go backYou did promise to come back quickly… Though you’d hoped not to do so empty-handed. ZZ will be so disappointed! Everyone will know you’re a loser! Aaaaaaa—[Will reunite with group, expend food, and move onto the night and next day.]
>>6117538>You should keep hunting, so you can come back with SOMETHING at leastAsk if he has a wife or kids.
>>6117538>You should keep hunting, so you can come back with SOMETHING at leastSo uh why'd he join the adventure? Any reason aside from the possibility of making bank?
>>6117538>You should keep hunting, so you can come back with SOMETHING at leastIt’s not the end of the world.
>>6117563>+1
>>6117538>You should keep hunting, so you can come back with SOMETHING at leastDon't talk to him, we're hunting
Rolled 16, 15, 15 = 46 (3d20)>>6117656>>6117594>>6117570>>6117563>>6117542“We oughtta’ keep hunting, for at least a little bit,” you say. “it’d be a shame ta’ come back empty-handed after all this.”Yeb-Uit simply nods, accepting your suggestion as a command. Maybe it is? Can you DO that? Like, you know you can almost kind of DO that with magic, but, like… Buy just asking? You ARE a Boss!Luckily, since you didn’t even hit the bird, retrieving your dagger is a simple matter of scrounging around in the dirt and underbrush a little. Yeb-Uit attempts to do likewise with his arrow, but tuts softly when he finds it broken. Well, he’s got more where that came from!As the two of you travel deeper into the woods, you watch him, continuing to appreciate his stillness of mind and purpose of body. You tuck your hands into your oversized sleeves, trotting close at his side as you ‘appreciate’.“So,” you say with extreme and not at all suspect casualness of tone, because it is a very innocent and normal question, “is there a… Missus Uit?”Yeb-Uit looks over at you with surprise and, you sense, mild alarm.“I was j-just wonderin’ why you’re adventurin’ with us, ya’ know?” you hastily continue. “You know, besides makin’ bank? You feedin’ little, uh, Uitlings?”Yeb-Uit’s posture relaxes ever so slightly, and he looks forwards once more. After a moment’s consideration—more hesitation than you’d expect for a simple question—he simply says: “What gob gets MARRIED? That’s human shit. Like last names.”“Huh?” You always thought ‘marriage’ was a rather sweet notion, but you don’t voice that aloud. “Me ‘n my sis and our mom all have the same last name!”“No, you have the same ending ta’ your names,” he corrects bluntly. “Goblins don’t have last names. A gob, is a gob, is a gob.”You’ve heard the same sentiment from ZZ—probably uttered it yourself, for that matter, before or even after the split. The way Yeb-Uit says it though reminds you of… Something. Something sharp and hot, a flash of unfamiliar memory which make you stop and double over. “Who fuckin’ cares who the father is?! Get off my back! A gob, is a gob, is a GOB, alright?! I’m HAVIN’ the baby, alright?!”Yeb-Uit doesn’t stop, but he slows, sensing your brief pause. You quickly hurry to catch up.
>>6117825“So, uh, there’s really nothin’ else ta’ the story?” you say, reverting back to your earlier subject as you clear your head. “My family’s back in the wastes,” Yeb answers simply. “Lost ‘em long before we came here.”“Oh!” you gasp. “Oh shit, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean ta’ dig up any bad memories or nothin’!”“They’re not dead.”“…Oh.”(Huh? What in the Hells is that supposed to mean then, ‘lost’? Are they still enslaved somewhere out there? Something else?)Still, you sense there’s more to the story… More than you can eke out of the stoic old gob right now, maybe, but something else beyond what’s he’s saying. You can practically TASTE it.<WANT: 12>Yeb shushes you with a silent finger to his lips, though, and you can snoop no further into his secret history—not without interrupting the hunt. Together, you shuffle through the underbrush, and find a small family of some sort of chubby, rodent creatures—chipmunks or squirrels, maybe. The young look quite young, which causes you to hesitate…>16, 15, 15TWANGTWANG, TWANG, TWANG…But not Yeb-Uit. If your talk of lovers and offspring evoked any emotion in him at all, it wasn’t the sort that makes one hesitate to open fire on a family of animals. Maybe he’s just less sentimental than you, though something about the ragged way he breathes out when he’s done hints that there’s something more to it.“Help me gather ‘em, and gut ‘em,” he says.“R-right!”(Oh… Seems like maybe you’re not the Boss, after all?)When the kills are prepped, you have enough meat for a meat or two, and some furry pelts besides. It’s not quite as much meat as was on that ‘snipe’, and these squirrels aren’t as auspicious a trophy as the strange supernatural bird… And YOU, personally, didn’t really do much to help with them…>Gained: 1 rank of Survival!…But it wasn’t a TOTAL waste, tagging along. You feel like you learned something, at least! Maybe it isn’t the end of the world?By the time you make it back to camp, you find An-Yii is already sleeping, curled up on hr side and with her packed-up belongings under her head as a makeshift, lumpy pillow. It can’t be comfortable, but she IS a goblin and a former slave, and she makes do as you all must. “Where in the hells WERE you?!” Zith-ZI is tilla wake, though she looks as if she’d rather not be. “It’s been hours!”“Uh, well… We got these!” you say brightly, snatching the tails of the squirrel-things from Yeb-Uit and holding them aloft.Yeb narrows his eyes a little as (and you realize this only belatedly) you inadvertently steal his credit. He says nothing though and, feeling awkward, you hand them back with a self-conscious titter, unable to correct the record either.
>>6117833ZZ eyes the catch, then smiles a little.“Hey, squirrel? It’s been a bit since I had that.” ZZ looks thoughtful. “Ain’t got the shit to buttermilk fry it, but we can smoke ‘em an’ they’ll keep better, anyway. It’ll do.”You breathe a sigh of relief, glad not to have let her down. Or, well, that ZZ doesn’t KNOW you let her down. You mouth a silent thanks/apology to Yeb-Uit, but he’s already busy helping Zith-Zi, despite the tiredness you can see in his movements, and sense in his body. Fearful of further fuck-ups, you take up a position seated on your own pack nearer to An-Yii, and keep watch as the hunetr and your sister make a fire and begin the cooking process………Dawn comes with soft birdsong, and leaf-shattered sunlight dapping your pink skin. You ignore it at first, but the groans of the goblins forces you awake; darkness is no bother to a gob, but daylight can surely jar one awake. You rouse yourself and stretch, looking around. You presume An-Yii to have been keeping the last watch since she was the first one out, which would explain why she’s fully-packed and tapping a foot impatiently.“Come on,” you jostle Cara-Zi, first gently and then with greater force. “Come on! Get up, ya’ lazy shit!”“Five more minutes…”“An’ how’m I s’posed ta’ track THAT out here?” you sigh. “Count? Jus’ get the hell up, CZ.”With a whine that turns into an abyssal, stretched-jaw yawn with the faintest hint of infernal sulfur, she does so. You’re relied to find that Yeb-Uit, at least, doesn’t need to be supervised in this way.“Alright!” You raise your voice in volume and assume a commanding stance, with both hands on hips. “Go time, gobs and girls! It’s another beautiful fuckin’ day under Bloodrise, an’ we got places ta’ be!”The others nod, though CZ rubs her half-closed eyes as she does so, and Yeb-Uit looks at least as tired as you feel. At least your stomach’s full of squirrel—you’ve marched on less food and for far longer in the past, so this is no big deal.What’s the plan?>A straight shot to Sunset Lake[skips the rest of the woodland journey]>The scenic route[explore the woodlands a little, affording more time for interaction, picnics, and encounters that could yield wealth, wounds, or both]
>>6117835>The scenic routeHm. I don’t know. We could get more pelts to sell it at the lake.
>>6117835>Scenic route
>>6117835>The scenic route
>>6117835>A straight shot to Sunset Lake
Rolled 10 (1d140)>>6118182>>6118098>>6117971>>6117873[Alright, we're taking the scenic route! But what scene will we see? Hmm...]
>>6118210Just because you are shooting for Sunset lake, that doesn’t mean you need to make it a straight shot. Those squirrel pelts gave you a notion almost as delectable as the meat itself: if you can find more where that came from, or other such animals, you could trade in the furs for some quick coin upon arrival at the trade port, and afford more and better equipment for the monster hunt!“…What?” you ask, when you see Cara-Zi’s strangely guilty expression. “What is it?”She looks to Yeb-Uit, weirdly enough, but the old goblin’s own face gives nothing away, and your ‘twin’ insists: “Nothin’! It’s nothin’!”“…Right.” You sigh. “Whatever. Anyway, I’ve been around these parts before. ‘Member, CZ? When we went ta’ that wedding?”“Oh, you mean THAT place?” CZ brightens up. “Yeah, I bet there’s TONS a’ animals there!”“Mind lettin’ the rest of us in on this?” An-Yii asks, a little irritably.“You’ll see soon enough,” you say with a smirk. “Jus’ follow me, an’ stay quiet.”It was a few years prior that you and Cara-Zi had taken a trip back from New Goblintown, to attend a friend’s wedding outside of Hawksong. Along the way, you had weaved your way through the woods, hunting and gathering along the way much as you are now to supplement your rations. You’d had the most luck with one particular patch of forest, a small grove that had been rich with fruits and berries, and which had subsequently attracted its share of birds and beasts. It was this place which you were aiming for again.(Now if only it was easier to navigate in this damned overgrown wilderness!)“You’re lost, aintcha’?” asks An-Yii.You shush her harshly, and shoot her a deadly glare which just seems to bounce off the younger female. With a sigh, you say: “We’re huntin’ here! You know, HUNTIN’? For animals? So maybe keep it down, so you don’t alert ‘em?”“You’re talking more than me,” An-Yii retorts.“In RESPONSE ta’… Uuugh, Yeb, come on old an, back me up!”The elder gob gives a half-hearted nod and grunt of acknowledgement, though his fingers still play upon his bow, and his eyes remain fixed on the forest.You roll your eyes and continue on, when…Rolling Survival for those in your party with the skill...
Rolled 14, 1, 10 = 25 (3d20)>>6118225Aaand trying again. Weird.
>>6118226No successes, and a 1; CRITICAL FAILURE…Suddenly, you find it! Pushing through a patch of dense hedges, you spy it in a beam of sunlight, as if called down from the Gods of heaven to bless this singular patch of Earth: a lush little garden, replete with fruit and flowers to attract all sorts of animals, and holding at its heart a crystal-clear pool! You grin wide, and turn to alert the others.…Where are the others?!“Fuckin’ Hells,” you growl. “Don’t tell me they got lost?”“Oh, it’s not THEM you should worry about. Focus on your OWN predicament, creature.”A shiver crawls up your spine at the unfamiliar voice. You reach for the scimitar on your hip, but only pain and restriction: thorn-brambled branches sink into pink skin and draw beads or red blood. You try to push through—after all, you have a medic for trivial shit like scratches—but it’s no good. It’s almost as if the branches and twigs themselves are…“Ah fuck,” you mutter. “Shoulda’ known this place was too good ta’ be natural.”No sooner have you realized the rub than the collection of bare branches closes in around you like a cage, and lifts you off the ground. Your arms are pinned to your side and pricked by dozens, nay hundreds, of little wooden hooks. You crane your head, panic rising, but you cannot make out any face on your assailant.Shit! ShitshitSHIIII—“So you must be the little thief who robbed my garden all those years ago.”The voice seems to come from somewhere other than the being of twigs and brambles now accosting you as if an animate entity. You can only assume it to be the owner, legitimate or otherwise, of this patch of paradise… A bloody khoblis, a mage of some sort!What will you do?>Draw your blade, though it will draw your blood also to do so>Cry out for help as loud as you can, and hope one of the others is free enough to aid you>Pour all your limited reserves of magic into <Prismatic Spray>, and hope the unpredictable explosion of magic sets you free>Let yourself by transported, and try to negotiate with the voice [Plead? Bargain? Threaten? Specify, please.]>Write-in
>>6118239>Pour all your limited reserves of magic into <Prismatic Spray>, and hope the unpredictable explosion of magic sets you freeI was expecting Cazzy to get the failure.
>>6118254>I was expecting Cazzy to get the failure.[This quest is going to be a bit more 'party' focused that others, hence the two protagonists and more concrete stats for side-characters. Sometimes, you'll have a roll for guide or group of cooperating individuals, with the effects applied to the whole party.]CZ might have failed, too; you're just not playing as her right this moment.
>>6118239>Pour all your limited reserves of magic into <Prismatic Spray>, and hope the unpredictable explosion of magic sets you free
>>6118258What does Prismatic spray do again?
>>6118295[I typo'd it, but see >>6116594]
>>6118239>Pour all your limited reserves of magic into <Prismatic Spray>, and hope the unpredictable explosion of magic sets you freeSounds more probable than fear or charm. Send it. >>6117873
>>6118239>Let yourself by transported, and try to negotiate with the voice [Plead? Bargain? Threaten? Specify, please.]Definitely pleadingSay rather than it just being you, it was more of a group that you just happened to be a part ofYou weren't even the leader, you were just following orders, you didn't want to be subjected to group disciplinePlus you didn't see any signs up saying this place was theirs, it's where anyone could stumble over it and looks like a natural grove, this is pretty much entrapmentEven if it was stealing, it's been several years. Way past the statute of limitations for thievery
Rolled 5 (1d20)>>6118298[Plus, fear and Charm are, as indicated by the green text or seen in the character sheet at >>6116953, the province of CZ, whom you're currently not controlling.]>>6118298>>6118280>>6118310>>6118254>>6118348[We seem to have a clear thrust, though! Since I’m ready to write… Rolling!]
Rolled 8 (1d20)>>6118350“Hey, HEY!” you protest. “Look, this is a misundertandin’, aight? I mean, come on, this garden a’ yours looks like a natural grove. We didn’t know anyone OWNED it. It’s pretty much entrapment!”“A anyone can see how carefully w—I have been tending this place!” says the smug, smoothly feminine voice of this unseen enemy. “Besides, ignorance of the law is no excuse to break it.”As the animate thicket lifts you up towards the canopy, you scramble for another approach.“Well what about, uh, the statute of limitations?” you argue. “It’s been literal fuckin’ YEARS! You’re really gonna hold a grudge after all this time?”“I would not have, except that you returned and trespassed all over again.”“Well then, jus’ let us go on our way, an’ we’re back to square one, no harm an’ no foul,” you reason.“Oh yes,” mocks the voice, “I’m sure you and your little RAIDING PARTY will just leave my paradise in peace, now that you’ve found it again. No, I don’t think so…”This bitch isn’t listening to a word you say. Luckily, you weren’t counting on her being a reasonable sort—you’re just buying time. As she lectures you, you struggle weakly, testing your barbed and branching bonds. The response is a skin-deep sting, promising a deeper, bloodier price for the liberation of your sword-arm. “What do you think you’re doing, little thing?” asks the unseen magician. “You’re a peculiar-looking goblin, but just like the rest of them, you ARE just a goblin. Know your place, and still yourself.”You feel a flare of outrage. So this bidom-nyorhéng khoblis things she can push you around because she thinks you’re ‘just a goblin’? Well, the joke’s on her!“Not only am I not just a goblin,” you retort through a grim, tight smile, as you focus your energies, like flexing an intangible msucle. “I’m a nilbog, baby.”“A what?”“You’ll see. But long ‘n short of it? You might be some kinda’ wood-witch…” You release the tension, allowing the arcana within to surge forth. “But I’m something of a sorceress myself! <PRISMATIC SPRAY>!”With your limbs bound you find yourself unable to focus your fire on any one point, but that’s just as well. You can’t see who you’re shooting at, after all, and the bushes all about are your most immediate adversary. The undirected explosion of light fills the clearing, the upcast allowing you to deliver a double-dose of magical might: not just light, but elemental energy!5: Failure.…Specifically, a burst of electricity, like a single lightning clap. For a moment, you hope this will catch the belligerent bush ablaze, but it does not. In fact, it does little of anything, except exhaust you a little. Magic draws upon life energy after all.
Rolled 2 (1d10)>>6118356“…Wait, what was that?” The unseen source of the voice sounds confused, even disturbed. “Goblins can’t cast magic!”“I told you…” you growl. “I’m NOT A GOBLIN!”You have a little more left in you, and nothing much to lose, and so again you cry out the magic words to call upon your sole, signature spell…8: Failure…Only to find it fizzles out completely as the terrible thicket squeezes you in a spiny bear-hug. You grit your teeth to avoid crying out, and wondering if maybe you should have invested in heavier armour.Rolling damage...
>>611835928/30 HP0/2 MPThe damage is minimal, but the promise of further pain puts you—ugh—in your place. A part of you wants to swear up a storm at your supposed ‘wilderness guide’, Yeb-Uit, for not alerting you before you were so ignominiously captured. You can’t quite justify if to yourself, though, since this whole operation was YOUR idea.“Are you quite done?”You say nothing, silently seething as you are drawn up towards the canopy and into the mercies of……Huh. Well, that’s unexpected.……You are SO mad at yourself right now, so mad that you’re granted a temporary reprieve from utter despair. You were feeling so happy that you’d finally started to get to grips with this whole woodswoman schtick, but look where that got you! ZZ’s missing, and the three of you who remain are being pursued through the woods by creepy plant-monsters! You don’t remember THOSE being here before…(But then, your memory is a little spotty at times. But surely you’d remember THIS?)Harried by hostile hedges, you find yourself separated from Yeb-Uit and An-Yii as well. You manage to disappear into the foliage—the, uh, non-animated foliage—long enough for the plant patrol to shamble on by. But what are you supposed to do NOW, just curl up and cry?(I mean, it’s what you’d LIKE to do, admittedly…)A rattling croak, quiet but distinctive above the other forest sounds, snaps you out of your self-pity. You look up to see glorious, golden Hershy—ZZ’s pet feathered drake, an inheritance from your parents—perched above you. You blink, and he croaks again, and flaps his wings in agitation before swooping away, towards…“That’s gotta be where Zith-Zi is!” you realize, before clapping your hands over your mouth, in case the trees have ears to match the bushes’ arms and legs.The question is what to do about it. Hershy’s got firebreath, but not a LOT of it, being a little guy… And starting a fire in a forest is always a flaming sword of the double-edged variety. You could sneak closer with your newfound aptitude for concealment, but can you really best whoever or whatever this is alone? You’re just… Well, YOU.>Follow Hershy…>>In hiding, and creep as close as you can to handle this yourself>>And direct him to let loose his fiery breathOr…>Find Yeb-Uit and An-Yii first, to regroup and work together to free your sisterOR…>Some other strategy? [Write-in]
>>6118364>28/30 HPHoly shit we're a tankTips had like a tenth of thatEven if you say he was just a squishy mage, Theral only had 5>Follow Hershy…>>In hiding, and creep as close as you can to handle this yourselfFire breath is the nuclear option
>>6118388>Holy shit we're a tank[You may notice damage also increased (such as your 1d8 scimitar, the 1d10 damage you just took). I just multiplied the HP by 10 to make this one a bit more combat-crunchy, to accompany the new party mechanics. If Tips or Theral appear in this quest, they'll have 30 and 50 HP, respectively.]
>>6118364>Find Yeb-Uit and An-Yii first, to regroup and work together to free your sisterWe don’t want anymore hostages>>6118298
>>6118364Get Hershy to light a fire as a distraction. Then find Yeb-Uit and An-Yii, to regroup and work together to free your sister.
>>6118364>Find Yeb-Uit and An-Yii first, to regroup and work together to free your sistersafety in numbers
>>6118364>Follow Hershy…>>In hiding, and creep as close as you can to handle this yourselfEngage in [Bloodlust]
Rolled 10, 11, 2, 16, 16, 1 = 56 (6d20)>>6118388>>6118397>>6118409>>6118413>>6118571Starting a fire is the easy way out, but unlike you, most other people aren’t fireproof… Including your sisters and your new friend-ployees. Better not to risk immolating the help, right? And you could REALLY use some help before following Hershy’s flight-path, to face the foe controlling this foliage…You shift to a quadrupedal stance with surprising ease, your hips and spine shifting ever so slightly to enable this low-slung gait. Your recently-reduced ‘assets’ don’t get in the way, either, though your monk-hoodie does now and again, snagging on twigs and branches and causing many a momentary panic as you contrive that you have been captured,, only to pull yourself free a moment later. By stops and starts, though, you crawl towards those sources of sound and psychic residue which signify your allies…Rolling: Concealment+Survival, Natural Weapons, Allies' Rolls
Rolled 1 (1d2)>>6118613It takes you longer than you’d like, your panic interrupting your concentration. For all your not wanting to be perceived, you really, REALLY don’t like to be alone. The last time you were alone for any length of time—deprived of the mental miasma of mortal minds-it turned out… Let’s just say, BADLY.You’re so eager, in fact, that when you finally catch a glimmer of matching panic from a familiar source, you bolt towards the owner of that emotion with reckless abandon, charging with horned head leaned forward like a bull.“I’m comin’!” you cry. “Hold on, I’m—EEP!”You try to skid to a halt when you explode from the underbrush and see one of these wooden whatever-they-ares looming over an injured An-Yii. She’s scratched and scraped, already-roughshod clothes torn up still worse and face and body bloodied. He assailant turns on you, and you realize you’ve built up too much speed, and a collision is inevitable. Panic turns to resolve, and you decide:“You know what? Fuck it!”You lean into the impact, baring your fangs as you smash your spike-topped forehead into the curious conifer-construct.Rolling the damage you deal...
Rolled 3 (1d6)>>6118618You owl the bush-man over, knocking it over and aside as you rush to An-Yii. You assess her injuries, but unlike the unconscious (?) gob you crouch atop, you’re no medic. She’s even prettier in repose, and despite (or because?) of the streaks of blood across her branch-exposed body, you feel a throb ofWANT: 13which causes you to shiver as you suppress it. Instead. You shake her a few times, urgently uttering a dozen variations of “Hey, wake the fuck up!” Your efforts are interrupted, though, by the creaking and cracking of her briefly-beaten but decidedly-not-dead attacker. You turn around, bracing for impact, only for a familiarTWANGTo ring out as an arrow sails out from the canopy above and impacts the twig-and-berry bandit."Yeb-Uit!" you cry out in gratitude, though you still haven't spotted him.
Rolled 6 (1d10)>>6118620Rolling An-Yii's damage
>>6118618>Rolled 1 (1d2)kinda low dice for a charge
Rolled 13 (1d20)>>6118626[At present, CZ's natural weapons are relatively weak.]>>6118620>>6118621You’re not sure how whatever magic is moving these mulch-piles manifests, exactly. They have no obvious vital organs or points of weakness, and one more arrows sticking out of ‘em seems like it should make little to no difference. The impact, though, seems to disorient it, and you watch as the blighted bastard scrapes its pointy, brachiating ‘fingers’ over the spot where the arrow has embedded in bad of its skull as if in pain.You rack your mind, until with a snap of your clawed fingers, you cry out:“Metal! It’s the arrow-head that’s fuckin’ it up!”An-Yii groans in response to your pronouncement, and those mean-bit-beautiful eyes of hers flutter open. They widen rapidly, to find you essentially straddling her, and you feel a sheepish urge to apologize for the indecent predicament. There’s no time for that, though! Instead, you draw your dagger, and whirling about you plunge it towards the midsection of the maple-wood menace. Your knife finds purchase and, if it rusty and blunted, that only seems to make it worse: the whole confounded construct collapses into so much leaf-litter and rotting wood!Enemies in this quest have two separate health meters, of a sort: their actual hit points, and the number of individual successes they must be affected by to bring them down. For weaker enemies, you must hit at least one of these thresholds to defeat or slay them; for stronger ones, you must hit both.With the threat of the thicket-thing no longer present. You rear up to your hind legs and push your spine back into it’s normal configuration with an audible pop. You extend you hand to An-Yii, who stares at your hairy meathooks in a way that takes you self-consciously shift a little. She takes it, though, and you help her up. Yeb-Uit lands from above with a thump of impact, somewhere just behind you, and retrieves his arrow before joining you two in discussion.“Are you okay?” he asks An.“Ain’t great,” she replies with a wince of pain as she places pressure on one weeping wound after another. “Mostly surface-level stuff, though… Nothing I can’t patch up.”An-Yii: 4/10 HPYou regard her skeptically, your own bloodthirsty instinct assuring you she’s (hnnn) quite vulnerable prey. You shake off the resultant urges, and get everyone focuse don what matters most:“ZZ’s been captured!”To your disappointment, it seems your two hired hands are rather less concerned than you are. They exchange a look, and you can sense without psychic intrusion exactly what they’re thinking: is it worth risking life and limb against some mountain witch or magical monster, for the sake of Zith-Zi?“Come oooonnn…” you whine.Reposted with corrected formatting and untrained leadership roll
>>611863513: Failure, but not a critical one“I ain’ fit to fight,” An-Yii says. “I’m patchin’ up this bleedin’ ‘fore it gets worse. After that… Find me when you need some mending, yourselves.”That’s… Fair, you suppose? Apart from natural goblin scrappiness, the nursemaid doesn’t exactly have a lot going for her in a rumble, and it wasn’t what she was hired on for. You look to Yeb-Uit next with pleading, puppy-dog eyes, for he has (characteristically) not said a word. He presses his lips thin, mulling it over, but eventually he nods.“Yesss!” you cheer, hurling yourself at him in a hug that he neither rejects nor reciprocates.“We should think about when to cut an’ run, though,” he adds seriously, as you release him.“Never.”“I’m serious, Cara-Zi,” he says. “I know she’s your sister, but if Zith-Zi is—”“I said NEVER.”There is another exchange of glances from the hired help as your voice deepens to a distorted, snarled rumble of rage. You clear your throat daintily and mutter an apology, hastily replacing your hood, and beckon the archer to follow you to where your sister awaits salvation.…
>>6118641…You aren’t sure exactly what you expected from your assailant. A human, mostly likely, since they’re what’s common around these woods… Or maybe a dwarf or an elf, or a half-pint halfling or something like that. Definitely someone fully grown.“I got beaten by some BRAT?” you groan.“I am NOT a ‘brat’, goblin!”“And I’m not a goblin,” you growl back, “BRAT.”Your captor is no human mage, but rather unexpectedly a beast-woman of some sort. Slim-figured, flat-chested, and wide-eyed, she certainly has the APPEARANCE of a child, to judge by human or even goblin standards (though not everyone can be as bountifully endowed as you). Curling, spiralling goat-like horns stick out to either side of her head in comical cone-like configurations, almost like elaborate pigtails, and her ovoid, oblong pupils make her look perpetually wall-eyes. You’re actually impressed that someone with funk goat-legs and hooves—proper hooves, not like CZ’s claws—can scale a tree at all.“You’re one a’ those… Stayrs, right?”“FAUN,” she spits through cleft lip, with a haughty huff.You resist the urge to roll your eyes, instead assessing the situation. You’re a captive of this creepy kid, and you’re all outta’ magic-juice… But your temporary exhaustion is waning, and you still have your sword. For a toll of blood, you could rip free of your restraints and have her head, you’re sure of it!…But she DOES look like a child.Aside form that, fi you fuck up, she might just drop you from twenty-or-thirty feet up, and if you land bad, that could HURT. And that’s ignoring any witchy bullshit she’s still packing.Because you trust Cara-Zi, you’re sure she (and hopefully the others) are on their way to save you. You could simply stall, and await their arrival, embarrassing as it is…What will you do?>Strike up a conversation—who is this faun, and what exactly does she plan to do with you and your party?>Rip your way free and start slashing—if she says she’s not a brat, she can fight and die like a grown khoblis!>Stay mum, and scope the scene—you could spot some weaknesses, escape routes, ANYTHING!>Write-in
>>6118642>Strike up a conversation—who is this faun, and what exactly does she plan to do with you and your party?goat girl has the neoteny blessing it seems, if no spell is involved
>>6118642>Strike up conversation Do her parents know she’s assaulting and abducting innocent woodland travelers?
>>6118642>Stay mum, and scope the scene—you could spot some weaknesses, escape routes, ANYTHING!
>>6118642>Strike up a conversation—who is this faun, and what exactly does she plan to do with you and your party?
Rolled 3, 2, 10, 1 = 16 (4d20)>>6118655>>6118732>>6118738>>6118771Stalling for time is your surest bet, by your reckoning—it’s better to save your sword-arm’s strength for when you have allies at your back. And if you’re stalling anyway, well, why not learn a bit more about your captor and her capabilities?“Well, Little Miss Faun,” you begin, leveraging your limited knowledge of elvenspeech, “do your parents know you’re assaulting and abducting innocent woodland travelers?”A look of shock graces the faun’s youthful features, following by a deep darkness. The barbed thickets tighten around you, and you instantly regret baiting her, even if it does give you valuable insight: the parents, you gather, are out of the picture.“Right, an ‘innocent’ goblin,” she replies bitterly. “Pull the other leg.”“I’m not—”“I heard you, I heard you!” the goat-girl snaps, beginning to pace upon her branch as she observes you from all angles. “But what ARE you, then? Your FRIENDS are goblins… But you cast a spell, and you’re all… Pink.”“It’s a long story.”The faun smiles all too sweetly, and says in sing-song voice: “You’ve got all the time in the world, not-goblin.”“I prefer ‘nilbog’,” you grumble, and revert to common-tongue. “But fine. I’ll tell you... If you tell me what exactly you’re planning for my party.”“Party?” your captor asks. “Like… An adventuring party?”“Did I stutter? Yeah. EXACTLY like that. An’ it’s not my first one, either, I’ll have you know. Though I WAS a gob when I started out.” “You used to be a goblin… But now, you’re not?”“That’s what I said, kid.”“Khorine,” she corrects you.“Fine, Khorine, what-the-fuck-ever.”The faun takes a seat upon the branch and leans forward, and you know you’ve got her. “Alright,” you sigh. “Settle in, kiddo, an’ let me tell ya’ the story of a little goblin-girl named Zi, an’ how she went on ta’ become the choice piece you see before you…”……You and Yeb-Uit take advantage of your shared, growing skills for woodland navigation and concealment to bypass several more nettle-studded sentinels. That your skin is same sort of verdant hue as the leafy surroundings can’t hurt, you figure… Though then again, none of these magical constructs has anything like actual EYES, so who even knows?“Look.”
>>6118782It’s Yeb-Uit who spots the splattered blood. Seeing it yourself, your own blood runs cold. There’s not a LOT of it, and there’s no saying for sure that it’s ZZ’s, but… Well, it’s fresh, and who else would it be? Tears start to well up in your eyes a you fear for your sister’s—your other half’s—fate.“Hey,” Yeb interrupts your angst,” focus.”“Right,” you whisper, wiping your eyes and sniffing your snot back into your snout,There will be time for emotions—celebratory or violent vengeful—when you’ve found Zith-Zi.You carefully skirt the edges of a familiar grove which seems to be the hub of animated-planta activity in the area. The lush, sunlit space tingles your skin even at its outer edge in a way you know to associate with the divine magic of the Gods of Light and their created creatures… Like the ZZ herself, technically, or Tips and other elves. Thinking back, you felt something like that when you headbutted that hardwood bastard who was harassing An-Yii… You’d just assumed it to be the beginnings of a concussion. Well, apparently not!1 for Survival + ConcealmentHowever, you’re not the only one capable of detecting a disturbance, it seems. Three more of those prickly pricks—made of a mix of bare branches and leafy vines—suddenly shift from eerie stillness and into an even-eerier advance on your position!“Fuck!” you cry out, not bothering to muffle your voice since you’ve been spotted anyway.Yeb steps back, scrambling to draw and notch an arrow. You fidget in place, torn between falling back and advancing to face the bastards head-on. Indecision grips you, only to be broken by a rattling croak and a belch of smoke and flame that briefly distracts the woodland warband.“Hershy!”The familiar golden plumes swoop across your line-of-sight as the little chimera-drake half flies and half-glide across the grove. The bush-bastards seem even less certain than you in that instant, as if awaiting orders that never come: target the fiery little dragon-thing, or you and your fellow gob?Because Zith-Zi is distracting Khorine, her twig blights are at a disadvantage; even with your crit-fail exposing you to them they’re unsure how to proceed.But holy shit, what are these ROLLS?Their chaos, you decide, is your opportunity. You…>Fall back and disappear with Yeb-Uit, luring them into ambush one-by-one while they’re uncoordinated>Direct Hershy to geyser fire down upon them, and the grove, to draw out their master>Charge in and tear them apart with tooth, claw, and dagger!>Focus on seeking out your sister, and her captor, and leave Yeb and Hershy to their own devices>Write-in
>>6118786>Fall back and ambush them 1 by 1As for the rolls, I figure ZZ and Iri have already used up all their luck just surviving the first 3 quests to be here now
>>6118782>Rolled 3, 2, 10, 1 = 16 (4d20)fucky my stupid goblin life>>6118786>Fall back and disappear with Yeb-Uit, luring them into ambush one-by-one while they’re uncoordinatedconsidering the witch is distracted, the minions will probably follow us
>>6118786>Direct Hershy to geyser fire down upon them, and the grove, to draw out their master>Charge in and tear them apart with tooth, claw, and dagger!I draw the line at being a coward with our sister’s life on the line. We may have a bit of Iri in us, but the Infiltrator never shied away from a good scrap, and we have the advantage of a slightly botched ambush.
Rolled 20, 4, 18, 8, 10, 9, 5, 3, 18 = 95 (9d20)>>6118810>As for the rolls, I figure ZZ and Iri have already used up all their luck just surviving the first 3 quests to be here now[They were conceived in one, and didn't appear in the next, so they really have no excuses!]>>6118810>>6118832>>6118846Well, you weren’t just going to sit and twiddle your talons while these twiggy twits made up their evergreen minds.“Fall back!”Yeb-Ut lowered his bow slightly, looking confused. “I thought you said we weren’t going to run?”“I did,” you answer with a wicked grin, flexing your fingers and willing your claws and tusks to extend outwards, growing it length and breadth. “We’re not.”2d20 Survival + Concealment at DC 12; if this succeeds, the next roll has difficulty reduced by 5.2d20 Natural Weapons for CZ (base DC 15).2d20 Archery for Yeb-Uit (DC 15).3d20 Natural Weapons + Flight for Hershy (DC 15)
Rolled 2, 2 = 4 (2d2)>>6118887…….As Khorine sits, enraptured, you tell her the quick-and-dirty (well, not so quick and you leave out the dirtiest and most embarrassing parts) story of your origins: how your mom, Yen-Zi, got impregnated by a half-orc who turned out to be a demon-packing reptilian infiltrator, how your ‘father’ (other mother?) had apparently infected someone with a lizard-skin plague, how you’d met Tips as journeyed into the wastes where you’d taken up banditry and had bribed you to follow him back to the big city by promising to rejuvenate your pet drake Hershy, and how those same principles used to heal Hershy had later been employed—among others—to make you the nilbog you are today.“…And this drake, ‘Hershy’, he’s still healthy and well today?” asks Khorine with what seems like genuine concern.You snort. Leave it to a kid to fixate on the cute animal, huh? Well, not like you can judge.“I hope so, unless your bush-men—”“Twig blights.”“—unless WHATEVER they’re called killed him.”You spit the accusation with intent to wound, and your own barbs inflict damage commensurate to Khorine’s own. She recoils, offended and maybe even afraid you’re right.“I... I’m merely protecting our home from invaders! I have no intention of KILLING anyone!”“Oh, doncha’?” you ask in bitter mockery. “That’s good. So if any of my friends die, it’s just an innocent accident, izzat it?”“You all arrived armed with hateful shards of steel! What else was I supposed to do?”“I dunno’, fuckin’ LISTEN for a second?” The faun clinches again at your words, and you lower your voice an octave. “How old ARE you, Khorine?”“…I don’t see why that’s relevant.”“Where are your folks?”“…”Ah. Claimed by ‘hateful steel’, then? And she’s been living alone with her crude toy soldiers ever since? It was all starting to make sense.“Look, kid, I’m gonna say this one more time—”Before you can say much of ANYTHING, though, you are both startled by the sound of splintering timbers. Your head whip in the same direction—an action that scrapes your throat and shoulder against the sharpness of your continued captivity and draws yet more blood and profanity from.“What was that?” Khorine asks quietly, eyes wide.“That,” you say with a certain smug satisfaction,” was the sharp end of my ultimatum.”……20 for ConcealmentIf you were hidden before, you were practically invisible now. Physically, psychically, audibly, you were as a spectre. When the branch0built bruisers stumbled into the woods like they owned the place—which they very well might, you supposed—you reminded them of the cruelest and firmest law of nature, on Earth as it is Below:You only own that which you can keep
Rolled 4, 8, 4, 19, 10, 8 = 53 (6d20)>>611889218 for Natural WeaponsAn arrow from Yeb-Uit glanced off one of them, but as its head turned to face the direction rom which it had flown, you leapt bodily upon the bush-man’s back and with a primal roar ill-fitting you your size or alleged femininity, you wrenched that same head from its makeshift, roughshod shoulders.“RAAAAAAAH!”Your bestial bellow draws the other enemies to your location. Good. GOOD! Let them come, whispers a voice half-remembered in your mind. You’ll smash them all to itty-bitty bits, and then, TEHN, you’ll find the fleshier force behind this little eco-army and chop them down just like their tree-friends, and make yourself a bloody COFEE-TABLE!As the hapless wooden warriors march upon you, Hershy harries them from above—airborne, unreachable, and crashing down with meteoric force. He crushes one into the ground with the surprising force of his impact setting himself ablaze to quick-immolate the central core of the thing. Damaged beyond recovery, it does not rise. When the next turns in what almost resembles alarm to face the fire, and rho-skip behind it and tap it upon the shoulder.“Hey now, Woody~,” you coo, saliva dripping down your out-jutted jaw. “Can I have the first dance?”A roll for the twig blight, a roll for CZ, and another roll (at disadvantage, firing into a chaotic melee) for Yeb
Rolled 2 (1d2)>>6118893
>>6118893DamnCZ really living up to her rep as the scary one now
>>6118893>>6118895>>6118896All ground-level twig blights eliminated……You can see the fear fix itself upon the features of the faun who has held you here against your will, the smugness of home-field advantage giving way to the instinctive terror of prey-animal alone in the too-quiet woods.“Now I ain’t no Woodland Ranger or nothin,” you say with grim cheer, “but I’m pretty sure when the birds ain’t singin’, that’s a BAD sign, innit?”Khorine turns to you slowly, saying nothing.“I’m sure it’s nothin’ personal against ya’,” you continue calmly. “It’s just, see, my sister an’ I? We’re close. REAL close. I left her outta’ the story, but when all that gobli-ness left me, it took some OTHER ick with it. Useful ick. SCARY useful ick. An’ that ick? I call her ‘CZ’. An' when she sees me like this... Well, SHE might take it personal, see?”“What… What IS she?”“Well,” you admit, “that’s currently up for debate. But she’s DEADLY when she’s angry. Or hungry. Or both.”You pause.“Fightin’ makes her BOTH.”“N-no matter,” Khorine matters, tapping her hooves nervously and rocking back and forth. “I still have you. I can… I can barter for your life.”You frown. This kid’s stubborn as a billy-goat, THAT’S for sure. Her magic’s no joke, either. You’re still in danger, and at a disadvantage…(Though not nearly as endangered or disadvantaged as Khorine, if CZ gets her hands on her while she’s still berserk, heh…)What will you do?>Talk your way to freedom, on the promise of ALSO talking down CZ… Which, uh, you can PROBABLY do?>Flex those mini-muscles and break out of this thorny bear-hug—it’s time to pull blade on this bitch!>Take advantage of this opportunity to scan around with those ‘mage eyes’ Tips was always going on about, to find out how this pipsqueak is throwing around so much magic…>Write-in
>>6118899>Talk your way to freedom If we force our way out we’ll be covered in blood which will really not help the CZ situation, and trying to mage was just embarrassing
>>6118899>Take advantage of this opportunity to scan around with those ‘mage eyes’ Tips was always going on about, to find out how this pipsqueak is throwing around so much magic…since she's acting like a brat, we'll find a way to correct it out of her.
>>6118893>When the next turns in what almost resembles alarm to face the fire, and rho-skip behind it and tap it upon the shoulder.*you hop-skip behind it
>>6118899>Talk your way to freedom, on the promise of ALSO talking down CZ… Which, uh, you can PROBABLY do?
voters have gone insane
>>6119048Damn the rqm writes porn guy is literally Rent free
>>6119048>>6119053[He (or someone like him) does this every few months. Pay him no heed.]
Finally caught back>Write-in : Join my crew!Also, a couple reactions if I were tagging along since the beginning :>Make-a-goblin adventurer choice write in:Shieldmaiden pleasant shortstack. Battle protector, good at bargaining. Default : can't keep it in her pants.>Government name EzrealMade me laugh.>>6119053That guy can't math as proven in the /qtg
>>6119203[Welcome aboard, anon!]>a sweet and slutty shortstack shieldmaiden[Are you TRYING to make CZ break her vows of chastity?!] I'll keep this write-in in mind for future reference>>6118921>>6118934>>6118968>>6118989[Locked and writing!]
Rolled 15, 1 = 16 (2d20)>>6119350“Kid… Khorine… I don’t think you’ve really though this through.”Khorine glowers at you, but the haughty disdain is a poor mask for her worry. You see through it like sheet-glass. She doesn’t interrupt you, and so you continue:“I’m the only one who can control CZ when she gets like this.” Not strictly-speaking true, but close enough. “If she sees you have me trapped in this splinter-ridden bondage-cage situation, well…”You cluck you tongue and trail off suggestively, as another series of cracks and crashes attests to yet more carnage on the forest floor.“I can handle her,” Khorine insists. “I don’t… I’m strong here! This is my place of power?”“Oh, Attunement is it?”That shocks the faun anew, as she boggles at you.“How do you know about L'Hal'l ulu Seib'n wun Lisse'?!”You roll your eyes, and reply: “Yeah, that’s a real pretty language an’ all, but we just call it <The Right of Attunement>. Feycraft, right? Fairy bullshit ta’ mix-‘n-match bits of people and places together? Lets ya’ have extra power in a place? ‘Zat how you’re controlling so many ‘twig blights’ at the same time?”The goat-girl opens her mouth to say something but stops herself, as the sound of wanton destruction gets closer and closer. There’s something ELSE to it, you can tell… But what? Ugh, no time to trick her into spilling her guts—if Carazzi gets here, no joke, she MIGHT just do that literally!“We can talk shop later,” you say. “Hurry up: let me out if you wanna' live!”“You're threatening me? In my own home?!”“I'm givin’ you an out,” you correct her tersely, “despite you bein’, let’s be real, an AWFUL fuckin’ host.”Khorine gulps, hesitating as she reassess the danger of you and your sort-of sibling, and comes to her conclusion…Rolling a diplomacy roll, with a bonus die for Linguistics, and at a reduced DC because ZZ’s empathy leans away from monsters and towards humans, fairies, and other ‘civilized’ and ‘good’ beings, with further advantage because of CZ's combat dominance down belowDC 11/14/17, the higher the degree of success the better the outcome
>>6119358phew, if roll one was 5 lower we would have slaughtered a child
“O-okay! Fine! I will MAGNANIMOUSLY release you.”What a fucking twerp. SERIOUSLY. Someone needs to correct this pipsqueak… But you suppose that’s what parents are for, when they aren’t (as you surmise Khorine’s to be) in the ground feeding a tree somewhere.15: A second degree successBad attitude aside, the twig-blight which was holding you in its stabby, jabby slutches now releases its rigid grip upon your squishy bits. You can breathe properly without pricking your skin, and you set about massaging feeling back into your muscles. As you do so, you note with quiet delight that the dumb brat left you with your sword—YOU would’ve confiscated that first thing.(Not that your’e about to correct the error, obviously.)Before Khorine can expound further upon her boundless generosity (in other words, plead for her life with extra steps and an air of arrogance), the tree which holds you both is rocked by an impact. The force of the blow shakes the whole of the towering pine, nearly sending you both careening to the merciless earth below.“Hey!” you shout down. “Watch it, will ya’? You’re gonna’ kill us both!””Ȓ̶̤̭̯̞̖͕̏ͅRAA̵̹͒͑AAȞ̷̬̾͋̔̏̈́H!!̷̱͈͎̺̬͕̏̈́” comes the reply. “HAAAAAhahahaheeee, haaaaah!”“Oh, goodie,” you grumble to yourself. “She’s like that”On the bright side, Hershey flutters up towards the sound of your voice, confirming he’s safe and sound. He emits a happy rattle of recognition at the sight of you, likewise largely intact, and you can’t help but smile at the old boy’s exuberance. Your oldest and dearest Companion lands upon your outstretched arm and eagerly extends his neck as you rub his cheek and chin.Once the reunion is over, though, it’s time for the other.“You wait up here, pipsqueak.”“I’m taller than YOU,” huffs Khorine, though she does not move from her perch (save to tremble).“Yeah yeah, heard that one before,” you say, as you find the first foothold and, in stops and starts, shimmy your way down the quaking conifer.…
Rolled 10, 7 = 17 (2d20)>>6119362Wouldn't be the first time one of Irinnile's cambions did so in a battle-frenzy...>>6119384Rolling Occultism for Cara-Zi + Zith-Zi's rollBase DC 13 due to WANT, -5 for Zith-Zi's presence and -5 for her relative safety, +2 because of her lack of Monster Empathy
>>6119387…You haven’t felt this way in a while. It’s the strangest thing, but whenever you’re NOT like this, you’re always trying to avoid another ‘outburst’. But why SHOULDN’T you burst out?? It feels so GOOD. It feels RIGHT! When someone’s angry, they should act! When theyr’e hungry, they should EAT! It’s just natural, isn’t it? And this son-of-a-bitch, they DESERVE it. They have something you want. No, they have YOU! The REAL you, the BEAUTIFUL you, the YOU that YOU ought to BE!!…Okay, you don’t feel good anymore, but you DO feel even more vindicated in feeling BAD, and you know exactly how to make yourself feel better.“Guyysss,” you wheeze through the half-mad laughter, “get over here! There’s plenty to go around!”But Yeb-Uit and An-Yii hang back, for some incomprehensible reason. They look (and smell, and probably ~tastes~) scared. So scared Yeb-Uit has his arrow aimed almost at you, no doubt to cover you against any remaining aggression from hidden hedge-fellas. Scared of… What? Your enemy? WHY? You’re just gonna rip-and-tear-and-rape-and-eat them and smear their leftovers all over yourself! What’s to be afraid of??Well, no matter. You’ll show them they don’t need to be afraid! Not when Z̵̧̰̎̒̀̀̀͑̃̀̊͒̈́̈́̎̓̆̇̋̐̇͂̂̕̕i̵̡͔̰̖̗͕̱͎͚̬̠̬̞̝̤̪̣̞̱͗̀̈̔̽̎̈́̈́̀̌͗̂̈̚͜͝t̴̡̯̘͕̹͕̥͓͉͍̯̤̬̥͙̬̑̉̀̓̕ḩ̴̗̳͍͖̠̪͓͈̹̬͔͕̣̳̻̪̯̠̜̗̘̻̮̯͍̻̼̻̠̺̇̒̍̏̍̒͐̆̃ͅ-̶̨̧̢̢͔̼̱̙̠̳̖̗̱̫̞̼̠̣̙̦̗̖͔̞̺̀̏̃͒͐̆͆͋̃̀͆̽̎́̓̂̉͌͊̂̃̀̓̌̚͘̕͝ͅẐ̴͔͚̙̮̖̗̜̱̃̉͒͒̍̊͆̓̋̍̏͂̔̎̑̑̕͘̚͠͝ͅi̸̧̧̛͇͕̯̱͚̰̖̗̙̮̞̰̺͉̠̒́͂̉̑͂͛̆̌̈́̈́͊̏͘̚͝͠͝ͅ is here!“Cazzy!”You look sharply at the sound of the voice, head turning further than in normally would to save you the effort of adjusting your body. You—the REAL you—drops down from the tree: pink, perky, pretty, PERFECT…Except for the blood.You gasp at the sight of it, in horror and delight, and wipe the saliva from your chin with the back foo your hairy hand.“Who did this to m—you?” you groan, with horror and joy. “I’m gonna make ‘em paaay for that. Oh, their screams are gonna be just perffff~”“I’m fine,” says pink-you firmly, and approaches you, hands outstretched. “Hey, hey. Easy. Clws down. And tuck that jaw in, will ya’?”You lower your grasping hands—your claws, and shut your mouth with a click. You struggle to set your jaw back as her words clear some of the fog in your mind, but then you smell it—beyond the familiar familial blood, a distant, intoxicatingly novel fear. Not a magically-mute goblin’s fear, but something rich, delicious, ~rare~ and ~tender~… Up there!“Hey!”
>>6119390Before you can launch yourself again at the tree and clamber up to meet your meat, you grab your head. Wait, no, YOU don’t, Zith-Zi does! But… You’re Zith-Zi! Aren’t you Zith-ZI, shouldn’t you, weren’t you… Wasn’t that YOU?! Or are you… Were you… Didn’t you have another name?Iri—“It’s been a while, huh?”The pink Zith-Zi’s voice is soft, softer than usual. Her anger and alarm has dissipated replaced with something sad… A sympathy, a painful pity.“Yer always worse, when it’s been a while.”10, vs DC 5“Nnngh… No… Don’t look at me like that!” You pull your hood over your horns, scrambling to cover up every inch of exposed flesh with your oversized robe. “It burns! S-stop! No! N—”Slowly, patiently, Zith-Zi—yes, SHE’S Zith-Zi, YOU’RE Carazzi, or Cara-Zi, or or or—pries your hands away from yourself before you can inflict any lasting harm with your increasingly-frantic failing and your too-sharp talons. Only when you’re still and quiet, apart from your laboured breathing, does she let you go and take a step back.“You good?”“…Y-yeah, I’m good.”You look over at the others in your party, standing well across the clearing, and at the scattered-and-scattered splinters of the constructs you crushed into little bits. You can hardly remember doing it, and worse of all…WANT: 13…You’re still not satisfied. But you can’t bare to do more, to be SEEN doing more, to be JUDGED. You collapse in on yourself in your hoodie, like a black hole, HUNGRY like a hole, and will yourself to be quiet until everyone forgets what happened. “Alright,” ZZ sighs in relief, leaning forward and taking a deep breath before bellowing up to the treetops: “Alright! Come on out! We’re good!”…
>>6119392…You and your party are all in pretty good shape, all considered. CZ did WORK down here, and apart from An-Yii being all bandaged up, you’re pretty sure you’re the only one who took any damage. You cowl a little at the embarrassing recollection of your failed foray into close-quarters combat-magic. You suppose there’s a reason Pearce and other Tower Guardians back in Hawksong train for that shit—its TOUGH.(Though shit, if TIPS can do it, how hard can it be, right? Ha!)Once you’re done taking stock of your allies, it’s time for your enemy, if you can still call her that. Khorine is down at your level now, the tallest one in the clearing, albeit not by much. She is still trying to play her above-it-all arboreal arbiter shtick, but it’s not exactly landing. Even with whatever her secret sauce is, she clearly can’t summon any more constructs than the single remaining twig blight she’s got standing ‘menacingly’ behind her… And You have your sword, and a pet fire-breathing drake, and a CARA-ZI.“What are we gonna do with you?” you sigh, crossing your arms and regarding her through narrowed eyes.“I… Admit there may have been hasty conclusions drawn, given the nature of your cohort,” the faun blusters impotently in her squeaky, girlish voice. “I am happy to consider this misunderstanding sttled, and to let you go on your way, provided you skirt the boundaries of my territory.”“Misunderstanding?!” An-Yii practically shrieks, before stopping herself from saying more.She and Yeb-Uit, gob of few words as ever, turn expectantly to you.(CZ is still busy trying to make herself disappear, or you suspect she would too.)Such is the burden of being The Boss, you suppose. Well, this ain’t your first rodeo.>You’ll take the deal, and move along—this was a waste of time, and you’ll waste no more of it>Naw, you came here to restock supplies, and you’re gonna! Food and a place to rest, at the bare minimum>You KNOW this little bitch has some secret source for her sorcery, and you want it! If she won’t show you, you’ll rip her little glad apart and TAKE it for your trouble, along with whatever else you can grab—this is a shake-down, now!>Actually, you kinda’ feel for this Khorine kid… Maybe she wants to join up? Betetr than being a surly little shit out inna’ woods, innit?>Write-in
>>6119397>Actually, you kinda’ feel for this Khorine kid… Maybe she wants to join up? Betetr than being a surly little shit out inna’ woods, innit?If there's one thing better than child slaughter it's child endangerment.
>>6119358what ai are you using for these images ?>>6119387>spoilerdamn>>6119390>You’re just gonna rip-and-tear-and-rape-and-eat them and smear their leftovers all over yourself!Cara-Zi would like Rance's world, but tbf there'd be no stakes there for her>>6119397>Naw, you came here to restock supplies, and you’re gonna! Food and a place to rest, at the bare minimumsince everything went good with our rolls mid battle, I'll settle for the bare minimum since she's young and alone.
>>6119429>what ai are you using for these images ?[FastFlux and many, many rerolls.]>spoiler**pic related rattles in Reptilian laughter at the thought of prioritizing a few dwarf or human children over the New Age of Darkness**>Rance's world[Never read it, but quite possibly since it's an eroge game and looks possibly edgy! The truth is that Carazzi would feel most at home in HELL, but every redemptive step taken in the last quest and every step away from that path in this quest makes her a little more at home on Earth... to a point]>>6119426>If there's one thing better than child slaughter it's child endangerment.[Kek.]
[I'd also like to take a moment to acknowledge some of the great artists behind our thread:>>6114062>>6114068[The exceptional character portraits used for our header and character sheet(s) are by sakhanugrana.]>>6114067[This art of 'mom and dad' from Reptilian Infiltrator Quest is by Indonesian Gentleman (Jail Quest's QM) and so is...]>>6118392[This art of the other two quest MCs in this unievrse, besides the Infiltrator, Theral and Tips.]>>6119479[This one, of the Dragon King and Serpent Queen of Bloodrise, is by Endless Studios.][AI art is cheap or free, and quick, but it's no substitute for a good artist when you've got the cash IMO.]
>>6119397>You’ll take the deal, and move along—this was a waste of time, and you’ll waste no more of it
>>6119485I've looked a bit at artists I like... And the amount of cash needed can be a real deterrent.So i appreciate it a lot.>Actually, you kinda’ feel for this Khorine kid… Maybe she wants to join up? Betetr than being a surly little shit out inna’ woods, innit?
>>6119397>Naw, you came here to restock supplies, and you’re gonna! Food and a place to rest, at the bare minimum
>>6119397>Actually, you kinda’ feel for this Khorine kid… Maybe she wants to join up? Betetr than being a surly little shit out inna’ woods, innit?I wonder the kobolds who hapo used to lead mentioned that. While they were wiping out the human community in goblin town. Hapo personally killed their local druid defender.And now you have this druid magic using child, with dead parents who lives near goblin town. I wonder if they are connected to each other.
>>6119426>>6119429>>6119486>>6119511>>6119693>>6119713You look around at the inauspicious patch of alpine forest, now disturbed by the raucous passage of your band. One by one you take in the once-animate sentries which, near as you can tell, are Khorine’s only companions or protectors. Finally, your eyes find their young mistress again: a brazen and foolhardy foal of a faun, extra emphasis on the ‘fool’ part. She’s been a thorn in your side for sure…But damnit, you feel kind of BAD for her.“Hey, kid,” you address her, talking over her abortiveattempt to correct your method of address again. “Whatever mojo yer workin’ here, can you summon upon more of those twig-bitches?”“Twig BLIGHTS,” Khorine snaps.You don’t reply, just waiting. Khorine’s bluster dissolves under your nonplussed no-sell of her ‘great and terrible druid’ schtick. Flustered, she turns away and admits:“Not… Not really. One at a time, every few months, I can… Summon one more. Maybe.”She’s been here a WHILE then. Or got left an inheritance.“Well, what’re you gonna do the next time, what three-‘n-a-half gobs or, I dunno’, ONE band a’ kobolds or human bandits or somethin’ comes cruisin’ through here and sees your little patch a’ grass?”Khorine pales a little.“Is that a threat?!”Even after getting her keister kicked, the little bitch has the gumption to look more offended than afraid. You can’t hide a smile at that. You can respect that moxie.“Nah,” you answer. “It’s a job offer. We’re headin’ down ta’ Sunset Lake, to box some lake-beastie’s ears. Want in?”You ignore the protest of An-Yii, which is rather brief and half-hearted anyway. You can tell the soft-hearted (for a gob) medic feels at least a smidgen of the sympathy you do for the lonesome orphan animal-brat. If Yeb-Uit feels differently, well, he’s at least not the time to raise a fuss. Then again, perhaps he doesn’t need to.“No way.”
>>6119851You frown a little at the rejection, and begin your admonishment: “Kid—”“Khorine!”“Khorine,” you sigh, “Look around ya’. This ain’t no way ta’ live!”“It’s the way of my people!” she puffs up proudly.“WHAT people?” you demand. “I don’t see no fuckin’ PEOPLE here. Just you and, and…”“An’ Woody,” supplies Cara-Zi quietly, with a quiet titter.“Yeah! An’ yer Woody!”“D-don’t say it like that!” Khorine protests against the euphemistic nickname you’ve now officially assigned her bush-built bodyguard, but you can tell that it’s to cover up the sting of your more insightful assessment: she’s alone. You know it. She knows it. She KNOWS you know it. And anyone with half a brain knows what’s what: she’s a child, alone in the woods, and has been for at LEAST a few years now. It’s a testament to her magical skill, or the bounty of her little slice of paradise, or maybe just the fabled hardiness of beastfolk that she’s still alive and well. She can’t keep going like this.“…Why should I help you?” she asks after some consideration.It’s a good sign for your sales pitch. It means she’s genuinely considering it. It’s a good enough sign you ignore the obvious fact that YOU’RE helping HER.“Well, I bet genuine faun Feycraft could fairydust that monster in the lake into listenin’ to us,” you point out, “an’ the job pays.”“There is no need for the twisted and tarnished metals ripped from the heart of Mother Moutain, and forced into coin-shape, here in these holy woods,” recites the goat-girl, as if it’s something she’s heard.You groan at this fairy bullshit. Even TIPS knew the value of money!“Okay, sure, whatever,” you allow, “but it can buy ya’ shit that’ll help. Magic shit. Things ta’ help keep this place safe.”“…An’ you’d have company,” suggests Cara-Zi.
>>6119852Khorine flinches a little at the demogoblin’s voice, which is unsurprising considering the circumstances of their first meeting. You give CZ a reassuring nod, appreciating the input nevertheless. Khorine DOES seem to consider the words, too—yours, and maybe Cara-Zi’s, too."...As long as it's only for a little bit."You grin."And we have to try to find a peaceful solution to the conflict with the creature!"Your grin is gone. Pacifist shit, from the squirt who just tried to turn you all into fertilizer? Well, she only said 'try'. You can work wonders with wiggle-room like THAT, right?By the time you settle in to lick your wounds and catch some shut-eye, it’s with one more party member (two if you count her oaken soldier), and a full stock of fruits and berries to sate your appetite. You even get the chance to camp out somewhere that, recent dust-up or no, FEELS safe and sound, and faintly sacred.You sigh, but not a frustrated sigh this time—a contented sigh. Things are coming together, you think… Bit by bit, one step at a time.As you enjoy your repose, you take stock of your forces. An-Yii and Yeb-Uit are engaged in a hushed conversation by themselves. You are a little worried to see CZ is fairly far from it, though whether they’re avoid her, she’s avoiding them, or it’s a mutual arrangement of fear and shame is unclear; her deepening sulk certainly is plain-as-day, though. And then there’s Khorine: your new recruit, your young ward of sorts, whom you still no next to naught about.Who will you talk to before bed? [choose one, modify or add to it if you have other questions to ask or stuff to talk about]:>Khorine—maybe you can learn a bit more about her abilities… Maybe even get some tips on magic tricks, so you don’t embarrass yourself so bad failing to <Spray>, next time you play mage?>CZ looks positively miserable… probably because she just had her first ‘episode’ in a good long while. You should go talk to her.>Yeb and An look shook. As Goblin Boss (kind of, sort of, for a given value of ‘goblin’) you should probably go see that they don’t mutiny or desert or something stupid like that.>Fuck it, you’re sleepy, and you’re going to sleep. This was a GOOD DAY, damnit! You deserve it.
>>6119854>Yeb and An look shook. As Goblin Boss (kind of, sort of, for a given value of ‘goblin’) you should probably go see that they don’t mutiny or desert or something stupid like that.Gob morale always shaky
>>6119854>Yeb and An look shook. As Goblin Boss (kind of, sort of, for a given value of ‘goblin’) you should probably go see that they don’t mutiny or desert or something stupid like that.
>>6119854>CZ looks positively miserable… probably because she just had her first ‘episode’ in a good long while. You should go talk to her.If yeb and ani want out it's whatever, we can grab new allies once we get to the city if we have to.
>>6119854>>Yeb and An look shook. As Goblin Boss (kind of, sort of, for a given value of ‘goblin’) you should probably go see that they don’t mutiny or desert or something stupid like that.
>>6119854>Khorine or CZJust think it’s more interesting/fun
>>6119945>If yeb and ani want out it's whatever, we can grab new allies once we get to the city if we have to.you have a point, anon, although it's 8 points down the drain, kinda. changing my vote.>>6119854>CZ looks positively miserable… probably because she just had her first ‘episode’ in a good long while. You should go talk to her.
>>6120484>>6120471>>6119979>>6119950>>6119945>>6119862[Close one, but we lock for Yeb-Uit & An-Yii! Writing.]Sorry it's late, was hanging with friends.
>>6120549As much as rest sounds like just what the doctor order, your party actually HAS a doctor—and a ranger—and both of them look rather shook. As Goblin Boss, your job is to unshaken ‘em, and so you shall.(Well, as a GOBLIN Boss, your job would probably be to shake them harder, more violently, maybe with some slaps or punches until they sucked it up, but you’re NOT a goblin, sooo…)“Hey! Why the long faces, huh?” you belt out with deliberate cheer as you approach.You swagger towards the two, back straight and arms wide, and a piece of fruit in either hand. You force on into An’s own hands, ignoring her startled and confused expression, and you slap Yb on his own broader back after handing him his to snap the archer out of his perpetual solemnity.“I’m thinking,” Yeb-Uit answers pointedly, with a tone that implies you ought to do more of that yourself.“Me too,” An-Yii answers roe directly. “Thinking about the fact that we’re traveling with a—”She stop short when you give her a sharp look, but she purses her lips. You quickly glance back at where Khorine is stocking a ratty-looking leather saddlebag with her own scant supplies—a few personal grooming implements and some fruit for the road, wrapped in leaves. Of course, that’s not who An and Yeb are ‘thinking’ about, and you all know it; even after Khorine attacked you, it’s their SAVIOUR that’s rattled the goblins. CZ is sitting down, doodling in the dirt with a stick like a chastened child. You haven’t spoken to her much since you talked her down, and maybe you should…Later. Scara-Zi will always be there, your ever-present shadow. These two, well, they might not be, if you don’t quash this.“Come on,” you say casually, turning back to them with a broad smile you hope you make look easy. “Really? THAT? You know it’s all for show.”“No,” points out Yeb, calm but stern, “it WASN’T.”“Real as it gets,” An-Yii shudders. “Fuckin’ UNHINGED.”“Well, okay,” you fall back, “but it’s nothin’ you ain’t seen before, right? You two remember how she was when she SAVED ye rases outta’ slavery, back in the wastes? We were ALL there watchin’ her go WAY more hog-wild than THAT little tantrum, weren’t we?”“Is this supposed to be makin’ us feel BETTER?” An-Yii asks, with a bitter laugh.
>>6120562You huff, annoyed again at the twiggy little non-com gob’s sass, but moreso at her missing the point. Time to inject a little more ‘Gob-Boss’ energy into this conversation, you suppose.“It’s S’PSOED ta’ remind you to cool off and use your fuckin’ BRAIN a little,” you say, trying not to snarl. “She’s on our side, and yer both fuckin’ LUCKY she is. We ALL are. She helped me escape just now. She saved YOU both by goin’ all cuh-razy before, and she might’ve just done so today, too. She’ll probably do it again. But notice how tehre’s no friendly fire? No collateral?”You gesture around the clearing—at An-Yii, Yeb-Uit, and at yourself.“Shit, even KHORINE’S fine, an’ she was the actual enemy!“You’re being rather loud, you know!”“Quiet, kid!” you snap back at Khorine. “The grown-ups are talkin’!”You look back at, alas, a still-skeptical pair of green-faces. You shew your cheek a little, mulling over your approach.“Alright.” Yeb says.“Alright?” An-Yii demurs.“Alright?” you ask, a little surprised yourself. “Yah, ‘alright,’” Yeb growls. “it means ‘okay’. As in, sure. Fine. Whatever. It’s fine.”“Is it??” An demands, bewildered.Yeb-Uit looks Cara-Zi’s way…Because CZ spent time with Yeb-Uit, his morale is less shaken by her outburst…and nods. He says nothing else, but his posture loosens and his expression softens, just slightly.(What the fuck HAPPENED in those woods??)With the line broken, all attention is on An-Yii. Her face and body twist and shift in place as if engaged in an internal argument with herself, and then she too submits to the pressure of her peers—and employer.“What happens if you’re not there, next time she… Turns?”You fix your fierceness upon An-Yii again, but she does shrink. Forced to answer directly, you simply shrug and say…>“Then you’d better keep me safe, huh, doc?”>“I’ll work with her on her self-control.”>“We’ll hire someone at Sunset Lake to help manage that, okay?”>“That’s MY business, and CZ’s, and none of yours. Got it?”>“Quit, then. Go on, get lost! We don’t need quitters and pansies on this job.”>Write-in
>>6120564>>“Then you’d better keep me safe, huh, doc?”
>>6120564>“Then you’d better keep me safe, huh, doc?”I gift you motivation
>>6120564>"Then whoever we're facing won't have the same luck as Khorine did."
>>6120564>“I’ll work with her on her self-control.”We do need to get this sorted
>>6120607>>6120686>>6120810>>6120814>>6120850“Then I guess whatever poor son-of-a-bitch we’re up against isn’t gonna’ have Khorine’s luck!”An-Yii’s glare doesn’t lessen, and so your cocksure smirk drifts downward, and you lower your voice a little.“Guess you better make sure ya’ keep me safe, huh, doc?”That breaks the glare, though it doesn’t exactly replace it with a visage of relief and relaxation. The jolt of fear gives you a small measure of mirth, though, enough to punch An lightly in the shoulder.“Nothin’ like a bit of motivation, right?”You laugh, and turn away. When the two gobs can no longer see your face, you allow that forced laughter to fade, and set worried eyes upon CZ. SHOULD you be worried?…No. No, you trust your ‘sister’. She’s peculiar, sure. She need a bit of special management, alright. But she’s CARA-ZI. She used to be part of YOU. You can handle this.“Damn gobs, akin’ me jumpy,” you mutter to yourself.Your sigh turned into a yawn, which turns into a stretch. You’re more tired than you realzied, and that heavy conversation didn’t help any.You find comfortable patch of sacred glade to settle in and catch some well-earned ZZ zees.…
>>6121075…Morning comes to you, and finds you still awake, still sleepless, still…WANT: 14“Hungryyy,” you whine quietly to yourself as you rock back and forth a little.The fruit doesn’t help. Squirrel meat fills your stomach, the scent and taste of flesh soothing your senses, but it is all as an insufficient appetizer. The main course, you know, is all around you: sleeping uneasily, clad packaged in green or pink-brown skin. You lips your lips and gulp back pooling saliva before it can escape your maw and, as you have for so many years, you push it down.Why are you like this? Why is LFIE like this? You just want to feel FULL, but you CAN’T. It was never as bad as this before—in Hawksong, or Old Maple Hill with Tips, or even in new Goblintown. You’d learned to sustain yourself on a steady stream of secrets, of hidden intrusive thoughts and whispers and private little scandals… In watching those less-tainted fail and fumble, morally or socially. Was it HEALTHY? Was it GOOD? No, but ti was better than what you want to do now, which is— F̷̨̫͖͓̣͉͇͈̜͕̓̈́͆͆̈́͛̃̕̕E̵̡̫̬͇̱̻͔̞͑̈̆̓͠ͅA̶̗͚̓̓͋̇̿Ș̷̳̙͎̓̓͂͊̌̾ͅͅT̶̯̭͎̩̄̓͊̃̐͝You shake your head so violently that your hair flies free from its tie and your hood nearly falls off. You scramble to retrieve the string from the forest floor, and as you rise, you realize…There are still secrets hereYour gaze lingers on each of the members of your party in turn—except ZZ, of course, for your sister’s old secrets are already yours, and you love her too dearly to steal any new one, and ANYWAY she gets really MAD when you do that. But An? Yeb? That Korine’?They’re asleep, as you were pretending to be until they all drifted off. And now, their minds are undefended (except maybe by a touch of goblinoid Spell Resistance. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to feed—not on flesh, or souls, or anything LEWD! Just a bit of hot goss! Just to take the edge off!…Would that be so bad?>Plumb An-Yii’s subconscious, and see what tortured memories make her toss and turn like that>Yeb-Uit is so chill and still even in slumber… Yet you KNOW that old man’s hiding something! Take a little peak under the skull and see what it is…>Khorine’s still, like, PRETTY much an enemy, right? Maybe even a DANGER? You practically have a duty to invade her brain!>Be a good(ish) girl (kind of) and tough it out. Sunset Lake’s right around the corner. You can do this!>Write-in[Peering into anyone’s mind will sate some WANT, lowering the total.]
>>6121076before choosing, does learning a secret makes them have nightmares or something ?
>>6121076>Plumb An-Yii’s subconscious, and see what tortured memories make her toss and turn like thatEat her nightmares away- give her a decent nights rest for her troubles.Otherwise, fine with being Good(ish)
>>6121100[Not if you're good at it!]
>>6121076>Plumb An-Yii’s subconscious, and see what tortured memories make her toss and turn like that
>>6121076>Plumb An-Yii’s subconscious, and see what tortured memories make her toss and turn like thatfug it, we ball
>>6121076>Yeb-Uit is so chill and still even in slumber… Yet you KNOW that old man’s hiding something! Take a little peak under the skull and see what it is…
>>6121076>It is your adventurous duty to take invade Khorine’s brain
>>6121076>>Be a good(ish) girl (kind of) and tough it out. Sunset Lake’s right around the corner. You can do this!
>>6121535>>6121430>>6121245>>6121155>>6121143>>6121106Your hungry eyes settle upon An-Yii, in the end. You heard what she was saying earlier, even if your sister tried to make sure you wouldn’t; eavesdropping IS your pastime, after all. She’s wary of you… Fearful. Maybe this proves her fear well-founded, or maybe—just maybe-you can help settle her sleep.(Like, you know, if you want to. DO youw ant to? You’re not sure…)You’ve heard tell that true demons can delve into dreams, across some sort of dimension beyond the usual three-or-four-or-whatever. You have no idea how to do that, though—you’ve never even MET another demon. However, some things just come natural, like a bird knows how to migrate south. Somehow knowing it is necessary without ever having been shown or told, you step up to An-Yi and place your two-toed feet to either side of her thin, wiry body. You peer down and her troubled, yellow-green face, slowly lower into a crouch atop her, as if straddling her chest. You bend down, down, until your loose hairs dangle to tickle her face She fidgets a little, face scrunching up still furtehr.(C-cute!)You keep your inside thoughts where they belong, and focus, focus, focus. You stare deep into her until you feel something pop—like a banana out of its skin. It slips out of you, and into An, and then—You’re there.It’s instantaneous to a disorienting degree. Gravity is gone, and you are floating freely, in a whole new place. It isn’t all that odd a space, though. It honestly just looks like… the Goblin Wastes? Sort of a wobbly, hazy version, melty at the edges, but you recognize it all the same. As Zith-Zi, as Carazzi, you’ve been there before. It’s wide flat steppe, all grit and gravel and hardy scrub-brush, feels almost nostalgic. Its wide open skies and the unbroken assault of heat and cold, without clouds to keep out sun or hold in heat, leave you exposed and naked before the staring eye of the Sun.Wait, NAKED?You are, indeed, nude. You feel a pang of panic as you cross one leg over your unconventional anatomy, and clutch at your chest—shrunken a little from Zith-Zi’s proportions (let alone your own usual whoppers), but still sizeable enough to leave you self-conscious. Worse, your horns, your malformed little tail, your hairy ankle and thick-and-scaly thighs… It’s all just OUT there, on display! Everything that’s gross, and wrong, and TWISTED about you…“Nnnn…”You whine quietly, but manage not to cry, nor to cry out in fear and hatred. It helps that, when you’ve calmed down, your realize you aren’t just seeing your bare skin, but seeing THROUGH it—you’re, like, some sort of semi-solid ghost-Zi! That explains the floatiness, too, you suppose. Must be a dream thing.“Cooolll~”
>>6121863Where’s An-Yii, though? This isn’t YOUR memory of the Goblin Wastes, but hers. You look around, standing on tip-toes until you remember you can simply hover higher here; then, you do that, floating up above the ground and craning your neck this way and that like some tourist until.“There ya’ are!”You spy what looks like be a yurt of goblin manufacture—just like you (or ZZ, rather) lived in when you were running with your (her) own little gang of gobs back in the day! You half-float half-hop over towards it, forcing yourself to settle low to the ground when you’re near enough to enter. You creep inside, , slipping fingers through the folds and parting the curtain to peer solicitously inside.“C’mon, c’mon, show me your seeecreee—”Your quiet sing-song stops when you see, with a shock, An-Yii’s situation: she is laying on her back, legs splayed. Her body is not so naked as yours, but nearly, clad in grey-brown rags even rattier than those which she wears in waking life and her wrists cuffed and pulled to either side by chains, held by hazy figured with shadowed faces—hobgoblins, you gather from their faintly orange hue. That would normally be the sort of thing to stir certain urges within you, but there is no dreamy lover nor busy fingers here, and the vexed expression upon her face is no visage of mounting pleasure. Rather, it is the strained face of one who is in pain—the pain of labour. “H-huh?!”An-Yii is not alone at least, but rather being tended to much as she must have tended to so many goblins in New Goblintown…(Maybe before, too? You’re not sure what kind of slave she was, though she’s pretty enough that you have SOME idea how YOU’D have used her if she were YOURS.)…and her helper even looks more than a little familiar. You orbit around them, like the Moon hovers above the Earth, sticking close to the edges of the tent lest they catch some glimpse of you. It takes a lot of arching and angling, but you eventually catch a clear glimpse of the face of the goblin-gal doing the delivery, and see…“TWO An-Yiis??”An’s own fair, verdant face peers up at her OTHER self with her familiar, dead-inside eyes—the eyes of a woman at work.“Come on,” she commands her birthing-self. “Give it up.”“N-no!” she cries. “Fuck off!”The An between An’s legs sinks fingernail into her thighs, and her tired expression turns angry.“Don’t be stupid, you selfish little bitch! What, it’s good enough for them all, but not for you?!”“I want to keep her!” the bound An-Yii wails. “She’s mine!”“Should’ve thought of that before,” the doctor-An says with disdain. “Now spit the fucker out! Stop wasting our time!”“What are you going to do with her?” she whimpers.“You already know.”
>>6121866Doctor-Yii reaches up and into Captive-Yii, as you watch with fascinated eyes. The bound mother-to-be spits and howls like a wildcat, kicking her legs as best she can, thrashing and struggling against the chains until her faceless jailers pull them taut and her wrists go purple and fingers white, bruised and constricted. Finally, with a cry of relief and shame and sorrow, she gives up her prize, which a moment later begins to cry out itself—herself.You dare to float nearer, just near enough to see the face of the newborn babe, and…“Oh, that’s just fucked UP,” you gasp.The face of the bay goblin is, though smaller in proportion and half-formed in the manner of the freshly-birthed, that of An-Yii—just like she is the mother, and the doctor, she is the child.“No,” the An-the-Mother whimpers, quiet with the same exertion which has left her face sodden with tears and with sweat.“It’s gotta be done,” the doctor says, even as THAT An-Yii cradles the abbe with less-than-cold care.You follow at a distance, creeping on quiet hoof-talons made quieter-still by your barely-there existence in this place, as An-the-Doctor carries her infant self out of the tent. You look back with mixed feeling as you hear the sobs of the mother-An behind you, but your curiosity—your <WANT>--compels you to follow the dream as it moves to its next venue.“Well, THAT wasn’t there before…”Outside the yurt, the empty expanse of the Wastes is changed, its rolling slops now deep blue with the cloak of night, accents dimly silver by the touch of the Moon—now taking the Sun’s place as your fellow voyeur. Together, you watch An-Yii approach a black hole in the rolling steppe-slope—a new hole, one you’d DEFINITELY have remembered passing on your way in. Doctor An slows as she approaches the hole, quietly shushing and soothing her younger equivalent. Baby An-Yii won’t calm though, and won’t quiet. Increasingly, the elder of the two looks vexed—by guilt? By annoyance? Both? A third thing? You can’t quite tell, which is unusual for you with your inherent empathic sense.“Gimme’!”A voice that (for a change) ISN’T An-Yii’s voice sounds out from the pit… And yet, it is still a familiar one. The baby-Yi cries even louder to hear it, and you see the Doctor’s face contort in matching recognition, just as you’re sure yours does.“Hey, wait…”“GIMME’!” shrieks the voice in two discordant tones at once.Your eyes widen. You know that voice. Of COURSE you know that voice! You can’t help yourself, can’t maintain your safe distance any longer. You dash forwards, springing across the gritty sands and weedy grasses, no longer concerned secrecy. Luckily, An-Yii (and, uh, An-Yii) don’t seem to notice you even as peer over their shoudle rand into the mysterious hole and see….“Is that… ME?”
>>6121867The hole is a true pit—a fiendish, Hellish one, black like Black Magic, too dark even for darkvision. Yet he emerald-green, yellow-eyed THING at the bottom is, unmistakably, the same sort of thing as you—a thing unique in this world, so unique that you can’t fool yourself into believing that An-Yii is imaging, like, some OTHER demogoblin slavering for the flesh and soul of a little gob-pup.“H-hey!”You’re a little offended. After all, you’ve never done anything to hurt a baby, or An-Yii, or ANYOTHING like that! Why should she be dreaming of you like THIS? Why is THIS how she sees you?! And this after you saved her TWICE! You can hardly believe you thought she was cute while you… Uhh…Straddled her sleeping body and…Invaded her vulnerable brain…And spied on her weird nightmare and…Well, okay. Maybe you SORT of get, KIND of, what her problem is.The question is what to do about it, now that you’re here?Before you can fully internalize the moral of this story, you are startled out of your introspection by the sight of An-Yii—the fully grown one, you mean-hoisting the baby-version high above her head, as if in supplication. Her face is all grim resolve again, even as her infant self cries and cries.>Try to whisper to An-Yii to stop her, and give her comfort, and hope she can hear you>Leap down into the hole, to battle back this evil effigy of yourself>Just let it happen—this isn’t real, after all, and it’s SUPER weird and interesting, and the emotions this releases should REALLY help with your hunger>Leave—this is making you feel weird, and sad, and guilty about even being here, and you want to leave NOW!>Write-in
>>6121868>Leave—this is making you feel weird, and sad, and guilty about even being here, and you want to leave NOW!
>>6121868>Just let it happen—this isn’t real, after all, and it’s SUPER weird and interesting, and the emotions this releases should REALLY help with your hungerI…can’t…resist…https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B6P-G86u0_g But if anons want to be nice (and not full meme), calming her down and giving her comfort is the way to go- eat the nightmares away, leave calm dreams and a decent night’s sleep behind.
>>6121868>Just let it happen—this isn’t real, after all, and it’s SUPER weird and interesting, and the emotions this releases should REALLY help with your hunger
>>6121868>Just let it happen—this isn’t real, after all, and it’s SUPER weird and interesting, and the emotions this releases should REALLY help with your hungerSo did she roll with a pack of hobs in the past? That had summoned a demon? Required babies for sustenance? Whack
>>6121868>>Leap down into the hole, to battle back this evil effigy of yourself
>>6122053>>6121977>>6121938>>6121924>>6121907[green[You[/green] consider intervening, you really do. You’re a good(ish) girl (kind of)! You’d never eat a baby! You know very well that baby-eating is on the list of bad, no-no, not-good things you’re absolutely not supposed to do!But, well… None of this is real, right? It’s just, like, a dream.A really weird, freaky, INTENSELY interesting dream, full of rich, deliciously-thick emotion.And you’re hungry.You swallow your drool at the thought of consuming not goblin-child flesh, but the flash of nightmare-emotion that will no-doubt accompany this act of twisted self-sacrifice, and like a floating fly on the wall of this illusory world, you watch—eager, excited even—as An-Yii the Doctor hurls An-Yii the Innocent Infant into the pit. Doc-Yi flinches back, staring in pale-faced horror as great, gnarled talons reach up out of the impenetrable shadows to catch the child; you, however, lean forward. It is no bloodless capture, and what happens next—the piecing-apart of a baby who nevertheless SOMEHOW continues to live, to cry, and to suffer all the while… Well, it isn’t physically possible, you’re pretty sure, but it is rendered with the verisimilitude only possible in the imagination of one who has had to kill a child or two herself. That would certainly explain the guilt and horror pouring off of the lone remaining avatar of An-Yii’s subconscious.You realize that, without conscious intent, you have clung closer to An-Yii the Doctor, pressing your nude body to hers and slipping your own talons around her as you breathlessly behold the carnage. Your own sharp0fanged maw hovers over her throat, as you huff the pheromones of fear and familiar self-loathing which waft off of her. She doesn’t seem to notice, thankfully, and after a moment’s hesitation you embrace her fully, as the two of you watch the show.It's a strangely intimate affair, and it warms your heart.
>>6122219…Pray, lend thine ears to the reflections of this humble scribe, who delves into the intricate tapestrie of succubi and incubi! While it is oft believed that these enchanting fiends serve as mere demons of desire, verily, they are more accurately delineated as demons of experience and profound-moste perception. They embody not solely hedonistick selfe-indulgence, but also the longings of ambition and the deep-rooted fears which nestle within the mortal soul.Indeed, the traits that define these beings (for 'creatures' is too imprecise and too material a word) are few and rather abstract; forsooth, their manifestations are shaped not merely by their own inclinations, but by the beliefs and wishes, and terrors also, of those who encounter them and the manner in which they perceiveth the Hellish thinges.Thus, let it be acknowledged that a succubus or incubus taketh on forms dictated by the desires or terrors of those who gaze upon them. In truth, they become whatever layeth in the eye and minde of the beholder—be it an embodiment of fervent longing or a shadow of chilling dread.A succubus or incubus is whatever you believeth it to be—an excerpt from “Of Dreams and Demons: An Exhaustive Discourse on the Lesser Demons and the Effects of Exposure to Mortal Mindes” by Stefano Pavlov, the late Head Demonologist of the Hawksong Mages’ Tower…
Rolled 5, 3 = 8 (2d20)>>6122220WANT: 10When the dread spectacle is at an end, you feel refreshed and at ease, as you haven’t in days. You only wish you could say the same for An, who is hanging limply in your grasp, shivering and quietly crying. You cradle her, burying your face in her hair and helping her ride out the aftershocks of the nightmare as the two of you watch the ‘other you’ licking blood and other vital fluids off of her hands and lips with piggishly gluttonous satisfaction.‘Good for her,’ you can’t help but think.“So THIS is what you are, then?”Your head snaps up at the sound of the voice—familiar-unfamiliar, and not belonging to you nor An-Yii. Startled, you drop An-Yii, who collapses to the ground like a rag-doll. Immediately, you realize your mistake, swearing at your clumsiness. You don’t bend down to pick her back up, though, instead whirling around to face the source of the voice.Thee is another shadow now, behind you: not a hoe, but a silhouette, and yet equally impenetrable in that uncanny way of dreams, existing outside of the physics of light-and-darkness. It is the shadow of that which you cannot perceive, because your mind doesn’t know how to fill in the blank.And it IS your mind, not AN-Yii’s, because this is the voice which you heard in The Dream.“Who are you?” you squeak. “How did you…. How’d you get in here?”“How did you?” asks the voice, enigmatically.“I… Uh, like, I…” you swallow, at a loss for words as you process the question, and speculate upon its implications. “Are you a demon, then? L-like…”(Like you are? Is that what you are—a demon, a baby-eating fiend of the pit? A monster, a predator?)“You tell me,” says the unseeable stranger, and begins to shrink, and to fade, as if falling backwards and away.“Hey, wait!” you shout, but though you chase after it, the distance remains unbridgeable, and grows still further with every instant. “Come back! Who are—”You stumble forwards, falling not onto the gritty ground of the Goblin Wastes but rather onto the cold soil and greener grasses of the little fairy-glade where you and your sister made camp with your party. You tug down your robe’s hem to cover your rear and ‘other bits’, and right yourself, and look to An-Yii.Rolling Mentalism…
>>6122221You find her staring at you—wide-eyed, awake, and definitely not just ogling your round rump.5,3: Failure, she is awakened “What the FUCK,” she demands, “do you think you’re doing?!”“Uh,” you stammer. “Um!”The high-pitched cacophony of An-Yii’s outrage awakens the rest of the camp. To your great relief, she has no conscious recollection of your presence in her dream—or if she does she doesn’t voice it or seem to be aware that was REALLY the REAL you in there. That still means you have to explain why she woke up to find you perched upon her chest, staring at her while she slept… Or rather, you cower and nervously nod along as ZZ covers for your ‘little prank’ with a home-spun, half-assed explanation that leaves none convinced.Yeb-Uit’s Morale: StableKhorine’s Morale: LowAn-Yii’s Morale: Very LowMaybe the worst part of it all is that your ‘big sis’ doesn’t even ask you what happened. She looks at you once or twice, expression pitying and aura radiating sheer… Disappointment.“Come on, CZ,” she hisses at you when the others have resumed their march. “Get it ta’-fuckin’-gether, huh?”You watch her turn from you and follow after the others, feeling a mix of shame and,--to your even GREATER shame—satisfaction. Your body feels relaxed and well-rested as it hasn’t in weeks, months, maybe YEARS, and for the first time in what seems like FOREVER, you feel FULL!(…Why don’t you feel bad?) “Who, or what, are YOU supposed to be?”“So THIS is what you are, then?”The questions echo in your mind, and you contemplate them as you hurry to catch up with the group.…
>>6122234…You are Zith-Zi, and after covering up for your dumb-fuck demonic sort-of-sister—and NOT for the first time, either!—you are back on track to get the payday which ought to unruffle some feathers and smooth shit over. An-Yii is at the head of the pack, as if trying to end this expedition as expediently as possible, but hey—she’s not heading back the way you all came from. That’s a good sign, right? Yeb’s closer at hand, but you notice how he positions you between him and Cara-Zi, bringing up the rear; he doesn’t bitch you out or make it a whole THING, though, which si all you can realistciallya sk after a wake-up call like THAT.“Fuckin’ Hells…” you grumble, tugging at your hair in frustration.Do you make a straight shot for Sunset Lake?>Yes—better to get this over with, and to get there before any other adventurers claim the prize>No—you could stand to do some more exploring, and to give AN-Yii some time to cool her head>Actually, you have something specific you’d like to attend to first… [Write-in]LEVEL UP!Choose one stat for ZIth-Zi and one for Cara-Zi to increase or add to their respective statblocks:>Illusion [you’ll still have1d20, but base DC goes down from 16 to 15; allows you to advance further down this track, learn new spells]>Elementalism [you’ll still have1d20, but base DC goes down from 16 to 15; allows you to advance further down this track, learn new spells]>Leadership [good for improving morale, maintaining formation, battle leadership]>Diplomacy [good for recruitment, bargaining]>Intimidation [can sub in for the others, but lowers morale and strains relationships; can also be used to frighten or demoralize enemies]>Escape Artistry [Self-explanatory, stacks with Athleticism in certain circumstances]>Mentalism [good for dream-delving, mind-reading, and imrpesison-shaping magic]>Occultism [better for managing your <WANT>, understanding your urges, and interacting with other demons and dark entities]>Natural Weapons [increases claw damage too]>Knife-Fighting [you’ll still have1d20, but base DC goes down from 16 to 15; weapons will improve in quality faster than your claws will]>Concealment>Survival>Intimidation
>>6122236>No—you could stand to do some more exploring, and to give AN-Yii some time to cool her headNow I feel bad…Any way Cazz can gain some Leadership skills? I want to get her past her shyness and blossom into a social butterfly eventually, like the Infiltrator.>Illusion [you’ll still have1d20, but base DC goes down from 16 to 15; allows you to advance further down this track, learn new spells]>Mentalism [good for dream-delving, mind-reading, and imrpesison-shaping magic]
>>6122249>Any way Cazz can gain some Leadership skills? I want to get her past her shyness and blossom into a social butterfly eventually, like the Infiltrator.[Later, quite possibly! Right now, the level-ups are based on the muscles you've flexed , so to speak. CZ has been focused on concealment, following others' leads, and her independent actions have all been about snooping or savaging]
>>6122219>You swallow your drool at the thought of consuming not goblin-child flesh, but the flash of nightmare-emotion that will no-doubt accompany this act*drool not at the thought>>6122221>not a hoe*not a holelol, also not a hoe>>6122236>which si all you can realistciallya sk*which is all you can realistically ask
>>6122236>>No—you could stand to do some more exploring, and to give AN-Yii some time to cool her head>Leadership [good for improving morale, maintaining formation, battle leadership]>Occultism [better for managing your <WANT>, understanding your urges, and interacting with other demons and dark entities]
>>6121868>Leap down into the hole, to battle back this evil effigy of yourself
>>6122356[Sorry, anon. Might want to refresh the page.]
>>6122236>Leadership [good for improving morale, maintaining formation, battle leadership]We need it!>Occultism [better for managing your <WANT>, understanding your urges, and interacting with other demons and dark entities]
>>6122236>Yes—better to get this over with, and to get there before any other adventurers claim the prize>Escape Artistry>Mentalism
>>6122236>Yes—better to get this over with, and to get there before any other adventurers claim the prizea shame we failed the roll, but it is what it is>Leadership [good for improving morale, maintaining formation, battle leadership]considering zz has done that a lot and will do more due to her want, let's get this 1st>Occultism [better for managing your <WANT>, understanding your urges, and interacting with other demons and dark entities]
>>6122236>Elementalism [you’ll still have1d20, but base DC goes down from 16 to 15; allows you to advance further down this track, learn new spells]prismatic ray is an elemental spell.>Occultism [better for managing your <WANT>, understanding your urges, and interacting with other demons and dark entities]
>>6122481>prismatic ray is an elemental spell.[AND illusion, technically. Either can accentuate an aspect of it.]>>6121977>So did she roll with a pack of hobs in the past? That had summoned a demon? Required babies for sustenance? Whack[It being a dream, I meant it less literally.] It's two of her anxieties, mashed together.>>6122249>>6122326>>6122368>>6122387>>6122399>>6122481[I'll leave this open a little longer since a couple anons seem to have missed the prompt, and we have a tie for what to do next. locking in the level-up, though.]
>>6122535[Well I want to write one more update tonight, so I'm going to break the tie for>Yes—better to get this over with, and to get there before any other adventurers claim the prizebecause one of the 'No' votes is a 1post ID, and as established in >>6114081, those will sometimes be weighted less.]
>>6122638You decide to make a straight shot from Khorine’s glade to Sunset Lake. You can’t wander around the woods forever, after all—some other pack of assholes might find a way to slay (or otherwise stop) this piscivorous prick and scoop the reward right from under you!(And anyway, every night out in the woods is another possible night of Cara-Zi doing weird stuff and freaking out the hired help.)Khorine looks upon her forest home with longing and regret before she even leaves, but eventually she clambers up the back of her twig blight and leaves with the rest of you. Like some strange jockey, or a child being given a piggy-back ride by a faceless father made out of pointy sticks, she rides while the rest of you walk. Skilled leader that you are, you wisely decide NOT to tell the goat girl she looks ridiculous.“But what about the picnic?” asks CZ, lower lip stuck out like a child denied dessert—which, in some ways, is very apt.“Picnics are for closers,” you tell her sternly, and when that just makes her hangdog expression ever more heartbreaking, you relent and rephrase it: “Think of it as, like… I dunno’, a big party ta’ celebrate us beatin’ this soggy bastard. Howzat?”You think it helps a little, though your deep-green shadow remains deliberately quiet and unobtrusive for the rest of the journey—a trek that takes several a couple more days of roughing it but which luckily passes otherwise uneventfully. Between the squirrel—which Khorine regards with open disgust—and the fruit which Khorine parts with under duress, you genuinely don’t need to dip into the picnic goodies at all.There is a tangible distance between the ‘true’ goblins of your party and you ‘sister’, one you make no effort to bridge. It’s not that you don’t care, but rather that you understand how goblin bands work—when not bound by ties of blood as in a proper gob settlement, they are always alliances of convenience, maintained by mutual interest and the firm hand of the Boss. Trying to force everyone to be friendly-like is a disaster waiting to happen, especially with tensions high. Keeping everyone focused on the destination, the mission, and especially the PAYOFF? That’s the play.Makes for a miserable fucking march, though… Only quiet Yeb-Uit seems fully at-ease.By the time you arrive at Sunset Lake, you are relieved for reasons other than the opportunity for a bath and a bed, let’s just put it that way.
>>6122638Was at work, am >>6122249Too late to matter, but I’ll make a note of it for when I’m not half-starved and sleep deprived ;)
>>6122669Sunset Lake itself is quite the locale. Oh, it’s no Hawksong—few places on Earth rival THAT metropolis, even if it’s seen better day. It’s the biggest town west of Hawksong, though, and PROBABLY the only one a person who’s seen a real city could even apply the term towards without irony, and what it lacks in urban density and imperial majesty it makes up with in a particular sort of rustic charm.Coming down from the hills above, you see it in its full glory by the glow of the golden-red sunset which gave the place its name: the lake itself is as a sparkling jewel, nestled amid the verdant embrace of rolling hills. The dying light of Holy Sol It transforms each ripple into molten gold and fiery amber, shimmering across its surface like scattered treasure that lightens the weight of your pack and fills your heart with matching glow.Flourishing as a thriving fishing village and bustling trade, Sunset Lake (as in the city sprung up around the beautiful body of water, this time) bustles with activity even as golden light turns to blue-back night. Little fishing vessels, bobbing gently, are festooned with lanterns. Their lights dance upon the water like fireflies beneath a reflected moon. The gentle creak of wooden hulls and the murmur of voices carry upwards, a symphony of daily life winding down. From the village itself rise slender plumes of smoke, twisting upwards into the dusk sky from myriad chimneys. The scent of hearth fires and cooking wafts up to greet you, a warm reminder of civilization after your woodland journey. The quaint human homes and lively markets are aglow with the soft, inviting light of evening lamps.“Now THAT’S more like it,” you exhale happily, and turn around with a flourish to gesture all the others to take a gawk of their own. “Awright, gobs ‘n gals, who’s ready ta’ make some MONEY?”Yeb-Uit replies with a curt nod, and Cara-Zi gives a little whoop, looking even more relieved than you are to arrive. They are apparently alone in their enthusiasm, though.“I’m ready to rest without having to watch my back all night,” says An-Yii, shooting a dark look at a sheepish, still-unforgiven CZ.Khorine, yawning and stretching her skinny little limbs, seems as if she’d concur, but it urns out she has some whole OTHER hang-up.“I don’t want to sleep near all that smoke and filth,” she says, running up her nose. “These people live unnatural lives, far from nature. They put up walls to keep the world out, and rooves to hide from the sun and the moon. I will sleep outdoors.”You swallow a cutting rebuke, instead approaching the objections gently and tactfully, as a TRUE leader ought to.
>>6122676“Look, you borderline-insubordinate little fucks,” you snap, “we’re here ta’ work, not ta’ fuck about…”An-Yii scowls, but doesn’t argue.“…And we SURE ain’t here ta’ get detained by guards fer bein’ vagabonds or whatever.”“I can evade simple ‘guards’,” Khroien boasts.“Great,” you say, “so instead we can go searching’ for ya’ every fuckin’ mornin’, wasting valuable monster-huntin’ time? Come the fuck off it, kid. Use that horned-godsdamned-head of yers. We're NOT, I repeat NOT, splittin' the party on our first fuckin' NIGHT."Khorine huffs, the sound having the faint trill of a bleat to it, but she too fails to object. This is as good as consent, and so you take her silence and An-Yii’s as tacit approval and permission to continue.“Here’s the ACTUAL plan,” you proceed to dictate, and explain that you intend to…>Go straight to the fishermen to gather intel on this lake-monster situation—like, what even IS this thing?>Head straight for the aforementioned city guard, to arrange a formal contract with the local government>Scope the competition, and maybe see what strategies have been tried and failed, and who you’re up against>Start spreading news of your arrival and hyping up your reputation, in hopes of attracting some top-tier talent>...Actually follow An's suggestion and get that aforementioned bath and bed secured, but make it sound like your diea>Write-in>>6122670[Thanks for understanding, anon, and never fear: there are plenty of adventures ahead even without woodland exploration right now!]
>>6122681>Scope the competition, and maybe see what strategies have been tried and failed, and who you’re up against>Start spreading news of your arrival and hyping up your reputation, in hopes of attracting some top-tier talentOne of the two is fine.
>>6122681>Scope the competition, and maybe see what strategies have been tried and failed, and who you’re up againstWe don't exactly have a hype worthy partyLet's see what's been tried and recruit anyone decent we find
>>6122681>Scope the competition, and maybe see what strategies have been tried and failed, and who you’re up against
>>6122681>...Actually follow An's suggestion and get that aforementioned bath and bed secured, but make it sound like your diea
>>6122681>>Head straight for the aforementioned city guard, to arrange a formal contract with the local governmentI don't want us to get stab by a guard as a band of marauders.
>>6122689>>6122697>>6122734>>6122792>>6122829What you actually intend to do, first and foremost, is see what you’re up against. There’s no way your little podunk goblin village was the first or only place to hear about this lake monster, and you KNOW you ain’t the only adventuring outfit that would be interested in the advertised reward. Hells, most of THEM probably have a human or two, which is already a huge advantage over your lot—easier to make inroads with the city government and drum up support from the affected fishermen when you aren’t mistaken for marauders by jumpy human townies.“So they have every advantage over you?” Khorine muses aloud. “Why am I working with YOU again, then?”“Because we kicked yer as once an’ can do it again?” you suggest acidly, then add more diplomatically: “An’ we have no reason ta’ assume most of these assholes wouldn’t just skin this sea-serpent—”“Lake-serpent, technically,” An-Yii notes. “Is it a serpent, actually? Do we know what it is?”“WWHATEVER it is,” you continue to address Khorine, “we’re gonna’ try ta’ take it alive, right? That’s what we promised? How many of these shits do you think would do that? Just look at ‘em!”And that IS indeed what you and your merry band do: you canvass the local ‘hot spots’ (ie. drinking establishments, equipment stores that are open late, and the moors and habrours themselves) and get a sense for what sorry sorts have come a-calling on Mister Monster.“There’s, uh, a lot of of ‘em, ZZ.”“Well, stands ta’ reason, doesn’t it?” you say, affecting outward calm. “Susnet Lake’s the biggest settlement ‘round these parts, so of COURSE all the basic bitch adventurers are gonna’ be interested in this gig. Right?”“Right!” CZ agrees eagerly, apparently unbothered—even excited—by the same realization which is making you all antsy.
>>6123011All-in-all, you count a dozen separate parties and a half-dozen freelancers vying for this prize, same as you. Of those, most are mercifully amateur-hour, including one group of what appears to be… Actual children? Like, older children, but still, it’s four human teenagers and a big, gangly-looking dog that jumps at shadows. No, only three or four of the rival parties actually worry you, those being:The Delvers, a gaggle of little-folk—that is to say, goblins-sized folk, but ‘respectable’ sorts, like dwarves, gnomes, and halflings. They seem ill-suited to working on the water, and you’ve never heard of a dwarf that could swim worth a shit or had any interest in fishing, but their equipment’s top-notch high-technology, and everyone knows gnomes are tricky little shits.Green Leif Company, ran by some handsome piece-of-ass named Leif and consisting of humans and half-elves, all kitted out in modern, metropolitan-made adventuring gear from reputable armorers you recognize from Hawksong. That alone would paint them as hobbyists, but there’s enough wear and tear to attest to some actual experience there…And then there’s the local milieu, an unnamed gaggle of off-duty guards, fisherman’s families, and salty dogs with an air of seawater about them. They’re poorly equipped, but there’s a fair few of them that have taken to monopolizing half of one bar close to the water, where they’re sharing information with one another, including the sort of info only locals and folks in those trades would know, which gives them an edge.T's not as if any of these groups is wont to trust a bunch of peculiar goblinoid strangers (and some beastgirl twerp) that just rolled into town, or to want to share their info. There are ways, though. There are always ways…>Approach those dumb kids with the dog and portray yourselves as senior adventurers offering benevolent aid to the newbies>You’re sort of ‘little folk’ yourself, right? Maybe, pink and pretty as you are these days, you could get in good with The Delvers, portraying yourself as a country cousin to the dwarfish races?>That Leif guy’s been hitting on every barmaid and leering at every low-cut adventuress in sight… which makes him the perfect mark for your ‘talents’>Shit, you barely even NEED to ingratiate yourself to that local crew—just hover at the outskirts and let CZ passively absorb their rumours as they pitch their strategies and discuss the best approach>Nah, you got what you need… You know who your rival groups are so now you should focus on picking up some freelancers to fill out your crew>You have enough info and no desire to recruit any additional allies; you'll get fed and rested, and see about selling pelts and purchasing equipment in the morning>Write-in
>>6123012>Actual children? Like, older children, but still, it’s four human teenagers and a big, gangly-looking dog that jumps at shadows.I recognize a scooby gang reference whenever we QM try to push one.Here's my plan :>You’re sort of ‘little folk’ yourself, right? Maybe, pink and pretty as you are these days, you could get in good with The Delvers, portraying yourself as a country cousin to the dwarfish races?WHILE>Shit, you barely even NEED to ingratiate yourself to that local crew—just hover at the outskirts and let CZ passively absorb their rumours as they pitch their strategies and discuss the best approachCZ go in numerous "supply runs" to let her ear hangs around
>>6123012>That Leif guy’s been hitting on every barmaid and leering at every low-cut adventuress in sight… which makes him the perfect mark for your ‘talents’>Shit, you barely even NEED to ingratiate yourself to that local crew—just hover at the outskirts and let CZ passively absorb their rumours as they pitch their strategies and discuss the best approachWe can divide and conquer hereI prefer Leif over Delvers because they're little folk - they'll pick up on us not being quite alike more easily than taller races.
>>6123012>That Leif guy’s been hitting on every barmaid and leering at every low-cut adventuress in sight… which makes him the perfect mark for your ‘talents’
>>6123025>>6123078>>6123124>>6123241The plan is simple, even if it’s actually TWO plans: you will appeal to the ever-wandering eye of a certain cocksure adventurer over at Green Leif’s bar of choice, while CZ will apply her own (super)natural talents to eavesdropping on the fishermen and local constabulary.“I won’t let you down, sis!” Cara-Zi is quick to declare, transparently still trying to get into your good graces.“I thought you said we weren’t going to ‘split the party’?” argues Khorine.“Not for no good REASON,” you correct the brat. “AN’ I said ‘not first thing’. Well, is this FIRST thing? No! It’s SECOND thing. We’re here, we got the lay of th’ land, an’ NOW we go ta’ work. Get it?”“Doesn’t sound like ya’ need us for this bit,” An-Yii notes. “Are we excused, ‘Boss’?”“We?” you repeat. “I don’t hear Yeb complainin’ none. Just YOU, An.”An-Yii huffs, crossing her arms, but she doesn’t push the point. In truth, you aren’t really sure what to do with the three. Even in the relatively-cosmopolitan Sunset Lake, with its fair share of little-folk and demihumans, actual honest-to-gods GOBS stick out like a sore thumb; Khorine, too, even if she gets fewer glares and muttered oaths. You, with how you look these days, have an easy-enough time of blending in with those less-than-familiar with the diversity of little folk. Your ‘soul-sister’, freaky as she may be, has a curious knack for blending into the background when she wants to.What will you do with the others?>Assign them to accompany you and/or CZ [who goes with whom?]>Send them to offload those pelts and to stock up on supplies [any instructions in particular?]>Send them to get you all lodgings for when you’re done working [improves morale by one stage for every 2 points you spend on it; specify how many of your 16 points you assign]>Write-inWhose mission will we follow first?>Zith-Zi>Cara-Zi[We’ll do both, but since the other vote is a bit simple, I figured I’d give you folks a choice as to how to start.]
>>6123264>Send them to get you all lodgings for when you’re done working [improves morale by one stage for every 2 points you spend on it; specify how many of your 16 points you assign]4>Cara-Zi
>>6123264>Send them to get you all lodgings for when you’re done working [improves morale by one stage for every 2 points you spend on it; specify how many of your 16 points you assign]2, but I’m flexible on it>Zith-ZiI’d prefer to get Leif first just in case Cazz needs to munch on the fucker if he gets too ‘hands on’ so to speak, but I’m also partial to the idea of Cazz interacting with the Mystery Gang after the locals are pumped.I mean, come on- we can’t not meet the Scoody gang here!
>>6123264>Send them to get you all lodgings for when you’re done working [2]seems enough for now and we still have good points to get more peeps>Zith-Zilet's see her skills in action
[Since it's a bit of a slow day (and I plan to have some Thanksgiving brandy and marijuana to cap off my night, leaving me in no state to write), I thought now might be a good time to do some Q&A, too!]>How are you liking the quest so far?>Do CZ and ZZ seem distinct? Between the two, do you have a favourite?>Have you read/played my prior quests in the setting?>Are there any setting/lore questions you have?>Are there any specific areas you'd like to see me improve?>Are there elements of the characters or setting you'd like to see explored in more detail?>Got any other questions?[Happy Canuck Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it, and see you tomorrow.]
>>6123264>Send them to get you all lodgings for when you’re done working. 6 points.>Zith-Zi
>>6123291>>6123268>>6123328>>6123445[Writing!] However, any input folks feel like providing in regards to >>6123329 is still appreciated.]
>>6123329>How are you liking the quest so far?It's okay kind of hard to say anything right now.>Do CZ and ZZ seem distinct? Between the two, do you have a favourite?Cz and ZZ are very distinct. Cz is a loner outcast/school shooter who is anxoius for and wants socail attention but can't have/handle it. ZZ is a wannabe Stacy forced to play the role of team mom and disciplined leader.>Are there any setting/lore questions you have?Why are metal and wood not applications of advanced elementalism? Khorine and Neienas can manipulate plant life in general with no problem and the elves sell living wood items, so wood magic does exist. But tips who was an experienced user of feycraft, elementalism and life magic never figured out the trick. Ez would struggle to make tree branch fall on someone meanwhile Neienas can go around animating whole treants. >Are there any specific areas you'd like to see me improve?The perspective switching is neat, where we briefly taking control of a sperate character. Not a lot of other quest do that,
>>6123573“Go get yourselves set up with a room,” you tell the others.You reach into your pack and then throw them a few copper and silver coins. Yeb-Uit snatches them out of the air, one by one as you toss them underhand.“An’ a room for you two, too?” asks An-Yii?You arch an eyebrow at her, and ask: “What you got a secret fortune you ain’t sharin’ with the group? No, ONE room, for all a’ us.”An’s eyes flicker past you, to CZ—“Hey, where the fuck…?”—or to where Cara-Zi was a moment ago, anyway.“Don’t worry about her,” you interject. “Just get the damn room… An’ get some shut-eye, aight? Need you all bright-eyed ‘n bushy-tailed for tomorrow.”“If you wish for my eyes to be bright and my tail to be ‘bsuhy’, I should be sleeping under star and moon,” grubles Khorine.“Try a nice hot bath ‘n tell me you still hate civilization in the morning,” you say with a smirk.Yeb-Uit’s Morale: HighKhorine’s Morale: StableAn-Yii’s Morale: Low14 pointsWith the conspicuous members of your entourage squirreled away in the rooms of a dingy inn called The Crow & Gull—what other kind accepts goblins?—the threat of mutiny or desertion is forestalled another night. Well, okay, maybe that’s a LITTLE dramatic, but things will run a lot more smoothly without everyone (An-Yii) sleep-deprived and twitchy. With that sorted, you suppose you’d better follow CZ’s example and get to work……Needless to say, Green Leif Company is NOT in the dinghy sort of dive that takes goblin coin and never mind the smell. No, while many of the adventure-hobbyists have taken up rooms near the lake—what, like they’re going to spot the monster from their window and score the jackpot with a single early-morning arrow?—Leif and his lot clearly have a taste for finer things. (Hopefully, that includes things like YOU, huh?)Unburdened by the stigma of goblinhood, and goblin companion, you receive a lot fewer stares and susurrations on your return trip to The Rusted Crown., where Leif can be found. Name aside, there’s nothing rusty about this place: the inn’s interior gleams with polished wood and brass fittings that catch the warm glow of the candle-lit chandelier above. Lively chatter fills the room, bouncing off carved with filigree and stylized representations of trees and (of course) of crowns. Patrons sit at finely lacquered tables, their chairs adorned with plush cushions matching the thick rugs underfoot, while polished mugs clink pleasantly in the hands of the clientele.Among those weaving through the crowd is a serving girl with bright eyes, framed by flowing hair that cascades down her chest. Her uniform clings snugly to her form, accentuating her curves as she moves gracefully from table to table. A lot of the girls here are likewise beautiful—you know, fi you’re into that sort of thing, which Leif plainly is.
>>6123597Leif and Green Leif Company are stationed at the biggest table in the place—naturally—and are taking up all the oxygen in that corner with tales of derring-do, while emptied mugs take up increasing real-estate upon their long table. Most of them are humans, but you spy the familiar pointed-ears of half-elves, though with Northman attire rather than the sort of living-leaf and nature-sourced and magic-spun attire you have learned to associate with the elven homelands. Elf female of the pair has a staff—a mage, shit!—and the male a bow and sword. Leif himself is mainly chatting with the humans, and instinctively you take stock of their openly-worm arms and armour, too: both his buddies have swords, one with the look of a hand-and-a-half and the other a sworder single-handed sword with a thrusting point. Leif himself, pragmatically, favours a hefty-looking axe. All are clad in light-to-medium armour, the make unform and colours a little loud—Hawksong stuff, for sure, albeit tarnished and worn in actual action.As for the rest of the man, Leif cuts quite the figure: he’s tall, a little long-in-the-face but well-proportioned and symmetrical, with deep blue-grey eyes and tousled blonde hair, and a single long, thin scar across his chin and half-way down his throat which only serves to accentuate his natural handsomeness and lend credence to his stories, such as the one with which he is regaling a barmaid with just now.“…so anyway, this owlbear had gotten out of the Tower, I guess, during some security transport, and savaged its handler, and was out in the woods, and the Tower Mages don’t have their ‘Inquisition’ anymore, so it fell to us to clean up after them. Or someone, but who better for the job than—”“GREEN LEIF COMPANY!” crow the other human fellows, and half-elven mage-girl (who giggles at it), with her male ranger (?) counterpart joins in with notably less enthusiasm and a second too late.“It’s sort of what we do,” Leif concludes, with a wink. “Of course, owlbears aren’t natural, and they don’t behave the way you’d expect an animal to behave even when they get out into the woods, so we—"“Ah, actually sir, I really need to take these dishes back to the—EEP!”Leif interrupts the barmaid’s words with a smooth hand around her waist, pulling her into his lap.“What, and leave the tale half-told?” he asks with a charming smile. “Trust me, the tip will more than make up for it…”It’s a testament to the man’s charisma that she doesn’t slap him one and take off anyway, instead flushing and stammering. You can understand the sentiment (and the appeal of ‘the tip’ he’s implicitly offering, because GODS ABOVE it’s been a while for you) but it’s still pretty pushy.(Well, just makes things easier for you.)“Well if she’s gotta’ work, I’ll take her seat."
>>6123598All eyes turn to you, and the serving girl slips Leif’s clutches, giving you a quick, silently-mouthed ‘thank you’ as she fetches up the many dirtied plates and emptied flagons to bring back and wash in the back. Leif and his lads seal a quick peek and cheeky snigger at her disappearing rump and, eager to refocus their attentions, you step forward with a swagger of your hips and an puffing-out of your own ‘offerings’.(It does the trick, OBVIOUSLY.)“And who might you be, then?” drawls Leif.>“Your competition, scoping you out and seeing if you live up to the hype and to talk shop.” You want to share intel and resources… Maybe you can even arrange a team-up if they’re good?>“I’m like, an adventurer-admirer! I’ve heard of Green Leif but I didn’t know you were so big and strong!” Play up the part of an adventurer-chasing groupie; get them bragging carelessly to get into your shorts.>“I’m new in town, here to hunt that lake-monster, and looking for a crew to join up with… Are you hiring?” Infiltrate the group, play both sides, and scoop the prize out from under ‘em! How hard can it be?>Write-in [Specify if you have any particular objectives or info you're angling for, and it will be prioritized.]
>>6123587>metal and wood vs. elementalism[Elementalism as practiced by humans of the Northwest (where this quest and the last few have primarily taken place) involves aligning your body's 'energies' with that of the elemental planes and summoning their power forth. It CAN be done with natural fire/water/earth/air as the Ashurati in Seekers of the Esoteric did, but hose 'inanimate'/'mundane'/'material' versions are less amenable to manipulation than those of the outer planes, which seem almost alive and are inherently magical. The latter is technically what ZZ does when she upcasts Prismatic Spray, but she lacks the training or academic background to understand the principles at play.][Manipulation of stone is fairly easy to achieve by simply pushing extraplanar 'earth' into a space shared with the mundane stuff and/or mixing it up, which is how Theral in Dragonborn Antipaladin worked his earth-magic. Fairy-folk like elves take a different tack, though: they do NOT summon forth energies from the elemental planes, but rather attune themselves to local natural forces and 'work with' them, or call upon their fey kindred already attuned to the area to temporarily inhabit and direct them. this is also why they're much more adept at plant-magic, since while humans can alchemically-blend or chimerically modify plants, most plants do not naturally walk around on roots, entangle people, form shapes, etectera, and humans don't usually know how to form that spiritual-magical connection to other living things, nor do fairies heed them.]>The perspective switching is neat[Thanks! It was Final Girl and Lodestar which inspired it. Both very cool quests, worth checking out.]https://archived.moe/qst/search/subject/lodestar/https://archived.moe/qst/search/subject/final%20girl/[Khorine, meanwhile is a reference to Beastfolk Quest in name and basic origin as an orphaned goat-girl, albeit not much else; that quest was a huge inspiration to me when starting RIQ, so this is a tribute.]https://archived.moe/qst/search/subject/beastfolk/
>>6123600>“I’m like, an adventurer-admirer! I’ve heard of Green Leif but I didn’t know you were so big and strong!” Play up the part of an adventurer-chasing groupie; get them bragging carelessly to get into your shorts.Act extra interested in stories about the local monster
>>6123329funny art. Am >>6123025>How are you liking the quest so far?Poggers as usual>Do CZ and ZZ seem distinct? Between the two, do you have a favourite?Very distinct. No favourite, the tandem works.>Have you read/played my prior quests in the setting?Yes, yes and yes.>Are there any setting/lore questions you have?Can demons be redeemed and become "good" or fundamentally will always disrupt the balance toward "bad">Are there any specific areas you'd like to see me improve?Not applicable.>Are there elements of the characters or setting you'd like to see explored in more detail?lvl 20 goblins companions.>Got any other questions?Would CZ spawn be obligatory demonics?Why are Gob soulless/Magicless/A gob is a gob is a gob?
>>6123600>>“I’m like, an adventurer-admirer! I’ve heard of Green Leif but I didn’t know you were so big and strong!” Play up the part of an adventurer-chasing groupie; get them bragging carelessly to get into your shorts.Don't let him actually get into said shorts;
>>6123674>Can demons be redeemed and become "good" or fundamentally will always disrupt the balance toward "bad"?[Unknown and for now unknowable. CZ has been 'being good' for a few years at least, and the last Lord of House Yosef RIP Heinrich famously wielded a demon-blade for the cause of "good". The Southmen allegedly make demon-pacts and enslave demons to do good deeds while still honouring Gods of Light, and there are rumours that in the Far East, some 'yokai' are demonic and yet can be treated with fairly, but those might just be that -- orientalist rumours. One thing CZ can attest to is that the innate pull of demonic instincts to consume and indulge is strong; ZZ's goblinoid anti-magic attributes suppressed some of that, but after the separation her tendencies towards criminality and especially to sex and violence were notably tamer.]Bloodrise's Dragon King himself is possibly the best example of a demontainted mortal (or "cambion") being good, but even then his definition of "good" is... Uhh, complicated, as you no doubt recall.>Would CZ spawn be obligatory demonics?[Almost certainly, barring a magical solution.]>Why are Gob soulless/Magicless/A gob is a gob is a gob?[Even more mysterious than the demon question, though this quest may provide answers (or inklings of answers) to both.]
>>6123329>How are you liking the quest so far?interesting, specially with the dual vision>Do CZ and ZZ seem distinct? Between the two, do you have a favourite?Yes. Zith-Zi remains my favorite, but Cara-Zi's nature and conflict are interesting in their own right.>Have you read/played my prior quests in the setting?I was in the Seeker of the Esoteric one.>Are there any setting/lore questions you have?on the topic of demons and sex, is corruption always garanteed on the baby ?>Are there any specific areas you'd like to see me improve?typos :)>Are there elements of the characters or setting you'd like to see explored in more detail?goblin soulessness for now>Got any other questions?will we be getting glimpses of previous characters down the line ?>>6123600>“I’m like, an adventurer-admirer! I’ve heard of Green Leif but I didn’t know you were so big and strong!” Play up the part of an adventurer-chasing groupie; get them bragging carelessly to get into your shorts.let's go the pretend bimbo route, relaxing or not depending
>>6123680My personal theory is that gob is what there was before goody 2 shoes "fixing" it thus a strong anchor to the reality(Still >>6123674)
>>6123329>How are you liking the quest so far?Great so far>Do CZ and ZZ seem distinct? Between the two, do you have a favourite?Yes- partial to CZ, though I do love ZZ>Have you read/played my prior quests in the setting?I’m an OG>Are there any setting/lore questions you have?Gimme the deets on the Goblin Wastes and Ma’s experience after the Infiltrator… ah, ‘left’. >Are there any specific areas you'd like to see me improve?This isn’t really a issue per say, but I noticed back in Seeker quest we were less seeking secret arcane knowledge and more wrapped up in Harry Potter-esque prophecy shenanigans. Now, that isn’t to say that prophecy isn’t interesting, but an over-reliance/too much focus on it can change narrative tenor and tone from how it was beforehand, especially in exploring/experiencing wonders and terrors the world. I alway enjoyed the first 4-5 Potter films over the latter grim-derp films, but that just could be because Hollywood writing dropped in quality around then, now that I think about it.>Are there elements of the characters or setting you'd like to see explored in more detail?I’d like to explore different perspectives and walks of life, being the wandering murder-hobos that we’re aspiring to be. Also, learning fantastical magic in wondrous awe when we never expected to experience it personally would be rad for both sister’s ‘natural magical talents’. (Also, them secretly crushing on Tips would be cute).>Got any other questions?Had we chosen Izzyquest instead of the Helper, what ideas did you have/would’ve like to have implemented?I ask because I personally feel that Seeker quest probably would’ve been more compelling under Izzy’s POV, especially for certain narrative beats.>>6123600>“I’m like, an adventurer-admirer! I’ve heard of Green Leif but I didn’t know you were so big and strong!” Play up the part of an adventurer-chasing groupie; get them bragging carelessly to get into your shorts.>“I’m new in town, here to hunt that lake-monster, and looking for a crew to join up with… Are you hiring?” Infiltrate the group, play both sides, and scoop the prize out from under ‘em! How hard can it be?I see my man Leif is a fellow man of culture! Also prefer like leaning into the Infiltrator options, given history.
>>6123600>>“I’m like, an adventurer-admirer! I’ve heard of Green Leif but I didn’t know you were so big and strong!” Play up the part of an adventurer-chasing groupie; get them bragging carelessly to get into your shorts.100% let him get into said shorts; it's been a while for us
>>6123829>Ma's experience, the Wastes[That is one possible route I have planned!]>prophecies and their failings[In fairness, learning how the gods manage, predict, and direct fate is a secret esoteric aspect of the world's magic, as was the demiplane, 'native' elementalism, and the nature of creating souls and maintaining a demiplane. In the process of breaking the prophecies, Tips and Izzy did uncover world-changing mystical secrets. Though, that said: prophecy IS now fundamentally broken anywhere where either of them (or Veigar) play a role, so you don't need to worry about it anymore!]>plans for Izzyquest[More globetrotting and extraplanar exploration, some of which will likely factor into this or a future quest depending how votes go.]>>6123708>are demon babies always cambions[There is little documented precedent in the northwestern literature, but Tips' understanding of the soul was such that, yes, he believed CZ having a child would spread the demontaint and create mroe cambions like herself.]>cameos?[Depends where you travel! A trip to Hawksong, Old Maple Hill, Turtledove, the Goblin Wastes, or Bloodrise wil of course make running into a familiar face more likely.]>>6123710[Hmmm...]>>6123632>>6123677>>6123832[Seems that when I get home and am ready to write, we'll be playing the ditz!]
>>6123329>How are you liking the quest so far?Good>Do CZ and ZZ seem distinct? Between the two, do you have a favourite?Yes, No>Have you read/played my prior quests in the setting?Yes>Are there any setting/lore questions you have?The afterlife>Are there any specific areas you'd like to see me improve?Typos>Are there elements of the characters or setting you'd like to see explored in more detail?The physical locations of celestial bodies>Got any other questions?Was the weed dank?
>>6123632>>6123677>>6123708>>6123829>>6123832>>6123863You recognize this guy’s type. He’s handsome, fit, has full pouty lips and a smouldering stare, and he STILL felt the need to dress all in green and call his adventuring party ‘Green Leif’ just so everyone knows he’s the main character. He’s the sort of ‘man of culture’ who likes them young, dumb, ready for his… That is to say, star-struck and easy.“I’m, like, TOTALLY an adventurer-admirer!” you say bouncing slight with feigned enthusiasm and watching his eyes predictably bounce with you. “I’ve heard of Green Leif, but I never thought I’d actually, like, get to MEET you in PERSON, all the way out here!”“Oh ho HO!” he says laughing and slapping the table to punctuate his point. “See, fellas! Oh, and Sahlihn—sorry, Sally, didn’t mean to leave you out. I TOLD you that interview with the grey press would pay!”“Right,” says the male half-elf (presuably not Sally) with an sardonic air. “And that payout is… What, exactly?”“Hm?” Leif turns back to you with an easy grin. “Well, lets’ find out. What’s your name, sweet little thing?”The man has a smooth purr to his voice which, admittedly, has a certain effect. It makes it easy enough to play up, at least,r atehr than rolling your eyes at ‘sweet little thing’.“Zena,” you say, thinking fast. “Zena Youngtree.”“And did you read about me—about US—in The grey press?” he asks leadingly.“O-oh, yes, of course~” you lie. “B-but, umm… I didn’t know you’d be so BIG in person… Or so MSUCLY.”Leif grins wide flexing slightly. You feign a swoon, fanning yourself a little.“I’d say it paid out just fine,” he says smugly to his party, especially his detractor.The half-elven archer doesn’t bother to hide the roll of his eyes as Leif makes a show of trying to find a seat for you only to find there’s no room (riiiight) so you’ll have to sit in his lap (of course). You, playing the role of wooed ingenue, do as you’re told and hope aboard.(He is, admittedly, pretty broad and muscly, so it’s not the WORST seat in the house…)He buys another round of ale for the table, including one which you gleefully accept. New Goblintown booze exists—no gob’s going to stay in a dry town—but it’s not been a priority, and so is pretty much piss. This stuff goes down like golden honey by comparison, and you down one, then another.“Gods Above!” laughs one of then men as you chug your second helping. “Where do you keep it all?”“I think I have some idea,” Leif says with a smirk, eyes again on your chest.You dutifully giggle.
Rolled 2 (1d20)>>6123880“Gosh,” you say, wincing slightly as you worry you’re overplaying it a bit. “You’ve got SOOO much money. You must be, like, REALLY successful adventurers, huh?”“Of course!” Leif boasts.“I hope I’m not taking up too much of your coin…” you look back at him, doe-eyed, the movement scooting your round rump right into his crotch.“N-not at all!” he laughs.(And thus, a third drink…)As you hover a few flagons behind your generous hosts, you turn the subject to the reason that Green Leif Company doesn’t feel the need to worry about their finances: the payout for the upcoming monster-hunt.“Wooow,” you say, as if that wasn’t exactly why you were here. “I actually came here, like, thinking about joining up with an adventuring patry when I heard about that.”“Ooooh?” Leif asks solicitously, wrapping and arm around your midsection and giving you a heft as he arches his eyebrows. “Well, a nice girl like you, we could probably make an open—”“Nope.”Leif and you both look over at that ranger-looking knife-eared fuck who’s interrupting your con-job. You, with concerted effort fo will, don’t curse him out or shoot him a death-glare.“Oh, come on Tri,” Leif says.“We’re NOT splitting the reward with a—” he stops himself from saying whatever he was going to say, which you expect is some variation of ‘dungeon-bunny’, ‘groupie’, or possibly just ‘slut’.“That’s, like, TOOOOTALLY okay,” you slide in smoothly, since infiltrating this group sounds like a lot of hassle and an awful idea when your own fractious foursome might fall apart in your absence. “It’s, like, more than enough to admire you all from afar!”“Not TOO far I hope,” whispers a liquor-bold Leif, his hands shifting a little lower.You shift ever-so-slightly to escape his roving hands—a rather distracting sensation you’re not yet certain you’re amenable to.“So, like… What IS it?” you ask, all timidity and terror. “I’ve heard all KINDS of stories!”“Well, most of them are bullshit,” Leif declares boldly. “old wives tales, things like that People saying that there’s some sort of ‘legend of the lake’? They all tell different stories. They’re just trying to get gullible saps to pay them a silver coin for some tip that goes nowhere. A giant octopus or squid? A dragon? I mean, REALLY now…”“Then what is it REALLY?” you ask, hiding your accent and your intelligence, but no longer needing to force your enthusiasm.Rolling Diplomacy at an advantage, because your mark is drunk and horny; DC 12/15/18
>>6123881Your mark opens his overconfident trap, eager to share the valuable intel that brought you here t begin with… 2: Failure…But that damn half-elf, who you notice has switched to water like the namby-pampy no-fun pussy knife-ears he is!—shoots Leif a pointed look, and he stops himself.(Damnit!)“Well, that’s something of a trade secret,” Leif says apologetically, pinching your own pointy ear between his rough fingers and running one teasingly along the lobe in a way that, genuinely, make you shiver a little.“Awww,” you say, trying not to squirm.No matter how much squirming or worming you do, though, Green Leif proves a tough nit to crack, at least in presence of his more sober party-members. Apart from the knowledge that you can’t trust the fishmongers’ rumour mill here at The Lake, and that they’re confident it’s NOT a tentacle-monster or a dragon, you’re no closer to knowing what you’re up against.…Though actually, there is ONE monster up against you that you’re VERY aware of.“You know,” Leif suggests, hand massaging your mostly-bare thigh under the table as he whispers to you during the half-elf’s bathroom break, “if you wanted to talk a little more shop, maybe get some pointers on how to be a successful adventurer like me… I could give you some private lessons? You know, in my room, so nobody gets nosy…”You bite your lip. It’s your best bet to get the big lug talking freely, that’s for sure. Aside from that, you’re pretty good at ‘sizing up’ a guy while you’re seated in his lap, and you’ll say this for ‘green Leif of the green Leif Adventuring Company’: he’s got a proper longsword to swing around, emphasis on the LONG.Thing is… There’s still Jimmy. James Efron might be off gallivanting in the South, with GODSDAMNED MOTHERFUCKING ENID, but you ARE still, you know… Probably, mostly still an ‘item’? Sure, you haven’t seen him in almost a year, but the last time you got together… there were still some sparks.(Are ‘sparks’ enough to be official? I mean, what even IS your relationship? You’d like to think you’re ‘going steady’, and you even met his parents, which is a big step! But since then… Well, you ain’t heard no wedding bells, and Jimmy was pretty vocal about his dislike for some of your life choices.)(Does he have sparks with Enid? Are they sparking right now?!)What will you do?>Go upstairs with Leif and ‘pump’ him for information, among other things…>Decline the invitation, and take your leave—you’ve got what you’re going to get>Stick around, but stay downstairs, soaking up free beer and hopefully giving your rivals a hangover to slow them down in their hunt>Try to do some ‘hooking up’ of a different, less sexual sort—try to poach some of Green Lief’s party-members!>Write-in
>>6123885>Go upstairs with Leif and ‘pump’ him for information, among other things…In for a penny… besides, I’m curious if there’s a residual connection to the succubus taint, even if it’s just an empathy link with Cazz.
>>6123885>Go upstairs with Leif and ‘pump’ him for information, among other things…I'm sorry RQM, I haven't read your other quests so idea who Jimmy is. But Jimmy is far far away it sounds like and might be dead and Leif and his erection are right here and alive
>>6123947For me it’s less that he might be dead but more that I get the feeling that they haven’t really talked about their relationship status, and he apparently left us to go off gallivanting with some slut without so much as a clarification about the relationship. Those are big red flags in my book.Besides, there might not be any insertion involved- being drunk he might spill the beans after a being ‘hands on’ or utilizing our ‘best assets’, or could be a quick shot. I’m expecting his mouth to do the majority of the heavy lifting here ;)
>>6123881>Advantage>Only one (1) dice
>>6123885>Stick around, but stay downstairs, soaking up free beer and hopefully giving your rivals a hangover to slow them down in their hunt
>>6124005[This ain't 5e, so all I meant was that you didn't have the usual untrained DC of 16.]>>6123947>>6123953[This vote is arguably less about James Efron as a person than ZZ, and how much of a romantic versus a hedonist she is, how far she'll go for love or for information, her sense of loyalty, etc.]
>>6123885Oh damn we’re still an item with James? I thought we’d broke up.>Decline the invitation, and take your leave—you’ve got what you’re going to get
>>6124034>Oh damn we’re still an item with James? I thought we’d broke up.didn't zizi talk about he cheating on her before or did I read it wrong ?
>>6123947>I'm sorry RQM, I haven't read your other quests so idea who Jimmy is.tl;dr he was zizi's "unofficial" bf and the reason why we became a nilbog, although thanks to tips she decided on it for more than making their relationship work. they had problems trying to become official since she's a goblin and all that and the nilbog was supposed to help, but it turns out that they still had some bridges to cross. while they remained close while adventuring, they nonetheless are nothing official as of now. and now there's the other girl he's been adventuring with.
>>6124126[Good summary!]>>6124094[To clarify: Zith-Zi suspects Enid is trying to get with James Efron, but has no way of knowing whether James is indeed sleeping with his coworker/fellow mercenary. It is, at this stage, a fear/assumption. Their other sources of friction are her demihuman status and disagreements over the lifestyle she's living; she still enjoys adventuring, and he wants her to settle down and be more traditionally feminine since she's going on 30.]
>>6123885>>Decline the invitation, and take your leave—you’ve got what you’re going to get
>>6124016>[This vote is arguably less about James Efron as a person than ZZ, and how much of a romantic versus a hedonist she is, how far she'll go for love or for information, her sense of loyalty, etc.]While that is more salient point I’ll have to ruminate on, that isn’t at all what I got from the vote at all. If we’re delving into the psychology of how ZZ views her relationship with Efron, I wouldn’t use metrics like romantic, love, and loyalty on her part, because she literally changed the essence of her very being for Efron despite a substantial risk of death and horrific complications, and James responded with the metaphorical shrug of the shoulders in regards to his commitment to the relationship. He then has the gall to criticize her life choices, pushing for a lifestyle for Zi that would fundamentally change the foundation of their relationship… then completely ignores his own standards he lays out by galavanting on an adventure with a different promiscuous demihuman that draws parallels to how Zi and Efron’s relationship started out. No clarification on feelings, no relationship status update, no communication. For an entire year.In my eyes, ZZ is a hopeless romantic that literally changed her metaphysical self into the best version of herself on Efron’s behalf (regardless of how Tips changed her view on her reasons for transforming herself), only to be thrown aside in favor of a different flavor of exotic squeeze in an adventure away from her…. And even then, she remained loyal to him despite her own needs and her very valid fears for a while.Like, damn dude, wtf wizard staff crawled up his ass? Tips-tier loyalty in a body like that?
>>6123885>Go upstairs with Leif and ‘pump’ him for information, among other things…Going with this. I’m curious to see if she still has something remaining from cz, and considering she’s been sidelined for now by a guy that didn’t even make her his gf yet, I don’t feel guilty about this.
>I Transformed My Metaphysical Essence Out Of Love, Only To Get Friend-Zoned In Front Of My Lover’s Parents
>>6124234>>6124266[Kek, very valid interpretation and the light movel title genuinely made me laugh out loud. Whether this is wholyl accurate is... Well, we'll see, but that's definitely how I've been writing ZZ as feeling about it, more or less.]
>>6123888>>6123947>>6124008>>6124034>>6124215>>6124253[We also seem to have a tie at the moment. I can roll for it or split the difference if it isn't broken in time to write, but if anyone wants to tie-break, that's cool too. Remember: backlink your one-post IDs!]
>>6123885>Go upstairs with Leif and ‘pump’ him for information, among other things…There is no way efron isn't blowing Enid's back out as we speak. A two man solo, super "secret" mission to the scenic southBesides this whole day would be a wash if us if we don't get any solid information.
>>6124444Sorry, anon, 1-post IDs can't tie-break on a vote like this... And I just finished writing the scene. However, you will get SOMETHING for your troubles>>6123888>>6123947>>6124008>>6124034>>6124215>>6124253>>6124294Your conflicted feelings persist over the next round of drinks, and the next, but you don’t leave. When most of the Crown’s other patrons depart, you remain, and when the human with the shorter sword and the dark hair and eyes manages to procure a lute and give a sloppy rendition of the old ballad ‘Eyes Only For You, My Darling’—which is cheesy as fuck, and he spends most of it making eyes at the elf-chick with the staff b—you can’t help but make some eyes at Lief… Who, after all, has quite nice eyes to ‘make eyes’ back at you.And then, he invites you to dance, which is awkward but amusing given the rather profound height difference.And then eh scoops you up in those strong arms and swings you around.And then he whispers something…Aaand before you know it, you’re making out.What begins with an impulsive kiss—Leif’s impulse or yours, you’re not sure which—ignites a fire within you that has gone too long untended and, given fresh timber, rages into quite the little inferno. You’d almost wear you still had some succubus-juice coursing through you, with the way you grab his collar and mash your mouth to his, returning his boyish kiss with equal enthusiasm and all the skill of twenty-eight-or-so years of goblin partying. He responds in kind, his rather genteel womanizer routine giving way to a rawer, more primal need as you wrap your legs around his torso and press you body to his broad chest.A part of you pretends it’s still about ‘pumping’ him for info, but you know exactly what you want to feel pumping, and why, and that business ain’t the half of it.Before long, your whirlwind embrace is whirling you up the stairs and through dimly-lite hallways. Leif stumbles and fumbles, groping handfuls ass. You, in turn, grab a handful of his thick blonde hair and wrench his head back to expose his stubble-covered throat throat to your teeth and tongue. Before you’re even in the room with him, you’ve started to unbutton his shirt paw at his pecs, When you get to the room and he kicks the door shut behind you, he yanks down your top and returns the favour, to your delight.“Piercings?” he asks, surprised, and then grins. “You’re a bit of a wild one, for a gnome.”(Gnome? Oh… Right.)“You don’t know th’ half of it,” you growl, as you yank his face up from your breasts to take his lips with your own again, pressing yours to his, silencing his.But then the kiss breaks and—“Gods Above, Zee!” Leif groans. "I'm going to give you won't forget."(…Zee?)You push him away, and pull up your top, stuffing your breasts back into the armoured cups with speed born of experience.
>>6124452“H-hey, what’s going on?” he asks, slurring his words slightly and tottering sideways with a confused grin.“Nothin’,” you mutter.“Nothing?” he laughs, as if he thinks you’re joking. “It sure seemed like something was, you know… ABOUT to be going on?”“Nah,” you snap.You start towards the door your own head swimming with a cocktail of alcohol—finally catching up with you, apparently—and ambivalence. You feel… Regret? Annoyance? Something, anyway. Something you don’t like, something that screams at you to go. Except…“Heeeey,” Leif says, his voice a patronizing coo as he positions all twelve or thirteen stone of him between you and the door. “Come on now, Zee.”A memory flashes, of James... Jimmy... Running his fingers trhough your hair, cupping your cheek. You see his eyes twinkle as he mouths that single syllable: 'Zi'.Something must change in your expression, because his shifts slightly, and he holds up his hands in placation, but also as if to block an incoming bullrush.“Zena, then,” he says. “What, heh, ‘Zee’ is a step too far? It’s just, you know, short for—”“I KNOW,” you snarl, “what it’s short for. Now fuckin’ MOVE your ass, Leif.”Leif doesn’t move right away, expression hardening. Your each for your belt and—FUCK!—your sword is downstairs. Stupid, STUPID! You must have set it down when the dancing started and never picked the bloody scimitar back up. This humie must weigh five or six of you, and while you’ve got more than your fair share of fight packed in there, you’re ALSO a little rusty at hand-to-hand.“…”There is a moment of tense silence, and then Leif’s hands and his stance shift from that of a combatant back into those of a man surrendering, and he steps aside.“Fine, have it your way,” he mutters. “Your loss, you know.”“Yeah,” you say brusquely as your shoulder past him.“L-lots of girls would kill or a guy who can treat you like I could, you now that?”(You still might, if he doesn’t shut up…)“You’ll be kicking yourself, when me and the boys have that reward money!” Leif insists, leaning out of the doorway. “We’re going to be heroes when we gut that big newt!”(…Wait, newt?)You stop for a second, but the moment to ply him for information is over. The moment for, well, LOST of opportunities has passed.You grab an ale off a table—yours, someone else’s, you’re not sure, and down it. The half-elven mage-girl looks at you with concern, and you very diplomatically resist the urge to flip her a finger as you snatch up your sword, slam the mug down, and leave.…
>>6124453…You are Cara-Zi, and you are filled with determination. You’ve made some mistakes and missteps on this trip, but you still believe that you can prove to your sister, yourself, and your friends (friends? are they? you want them to be, you think…) that you’re not a menace, or a monster, or a freak. That you’re a useful, valuable, super-cool and actually very good member of this team! Then even An-Yii will have to stop looking at you like that.With those… Eyes…You shake your head and slap your cheeks to wake yourself up. You abruptly look up, eyes wide with worry that the stinging slaps might have broken the veil of your occult obscurity. All’s well, though: between your baggy attire and your hood, you might look a little like a beggar but you DON’T stand out as a demogoblin… At least, not while you’re concealing yourself. Thus hidden from casual perception, you hover at the edges of the local mieu, watching and listening, taking in the entirety of their discourse in bits and bites.“…tell you, it was a tentacle!”“I’ve been to sea, Charlei. Tentacles have suckers. That was a tail.”“Too smooth. I’ve been fishing thirty years, Arn. I KNOW what a tail looks like. No scales, no fins…”Your own tail unconsciously wiggles a little at the talk as you try to imagine what they might mean. You try to piece together a picture in your mind, from the two conflicting accounts. Yours has no fins or forks, but it IS a little scaly.“…Was on the east of the Lake that day, not the west, so it CAN’T have been what got your catch.”“Well it wasn’t the bloody carp now, was it? There’s nothing else in this lake that can tear apart a net like that.”Interesting… Could there be more than one lake-monster? But if it’s some big, savage thing, how has it avoided capture? Or even being seen clearly enough to identify a specific species?“Been a lot of spoiled fish lately…”“Cursed, that’s what I think. We’ve been cursed!”“Like, it’s a demon?”“Bet it’s that bloody Dragon King, up in the mountain, trying to drive us all out…”“Bullshit, that’s just kobold nonsense and old wives’ tale. The Dragon King’s no more real than the lake-monster!”“Oh come off it—there’s OBVIOUSLY a lake-monster. What else could be doing all this?”“It’s all the fucking adventurers on the lake, stirring it up, messing about, throwing their trash… Tourists! They're the REAL monsters.”So not just stolen catches, but ruined fishes? You hear whispers of fish rendered inedible, not rotten yet still spoiled for human (and maybe even goblin?) consumption. Iiinteresting…
>>6124459You’re not sure you have the full picture, though. There’s got to be SOMETHING more you can do! Something ONLY you can do, ideally, so everyone knows that you… You know……Deserve to exist.You take a moment to steady yourself, and decide to:>Shapeshift enough to hide your most obviously-demonic traits, and ask some questions [such as?]>Follow the locals who claim to have seen the monster was they leave later that night, and use mentalism to search their memories so you can see what they saw>Go find one of these ‘spoiled catches’ and examine the carcasses for evidence of occultism>Take what you’ve got so far and regroup with the others, rather than run the risk of being caught out, alone>Go spy on one of the other adventurer groups, to gather some other perspectives [which one?]>Write-in
>>6124461>Follow the locals who claim to have seen the monster was they leave later that night, and use mentalism to search their memories so you can see what they sawor>Go spy on one of the other adventurer groups, to gather some other perspectives [Scooby Gang]CuriousDon’t mind how the previous vote turned out, given that I think it’s IC for Zi and that Leif deserved to be taken down a peg. Curious if Elf-chick feels sympathetic/understanding of our ‘plight’.
>>6124461>Go find one of these ‘spoiled catches’ and examine the carcasses for evidence of occultismI think this is most useful, but I agree with the other anon that we have to check out what Mystery Inc is doing at some point
>>6124461>>Go find one of these ‘spoiled catches’ and examine the carcasses for evidence of occultism
>>6124461>Go find one of these ‘spoiled catches’ and examine the carcasses for evidence of occultism
>>6124452so sexo having more votes wasn't enough for winning in this case ? it needed a majority ?>>6124453>“We’re going to be heroes when we gut that big newt!”so it's a salamander, interesting. I'm curious to know how something like this has evaded capture and even proper identification>>6124461>Follow the locals who claim to have seen the monster was they leave later that night, and use mentalism to search their memories so you can see what they saw
>>6124620>so sexo having more votes wasn't enough for winning in this case ? it needed a majority ?[At the time I'd started writing, there were three vites to have sex with Leif and three votes to not do so (though whether to leave right away or party longer was not agreed. Given moments like that can contentious, I merged the votes instead into: partying for a bit, ALMOST having sex, and then leaving; ZZ got SOME info out of this and a CHANCE for Green Leif Company to be hungover the next day. I generally try to blend intentions to some degree on a vite with no clear majority and implications for character relationships, when I can think of a way to do so.]
>>6124461>Follow the locals who claim to have seen the monster was they leave later that night, and use mentalism to search their memories so you can see what they saw
>>6124452>"I'm going to give you won't forget."*Going to give you a night you won't forget>(You still might, if he doesn’t shut up…)*You still might do some killing[My kingdom, my kingdom for an edit function!]
>>6124770>[My kingdom, my kingdom for an edit function!]best we can do is delete button barely functional
>>6124754>>6124674>>6124569>>6124559>>6124516>>6124505[This doesn't strike me as a very contentious vote, so I'm going to count the 1post IDS. I didn't last time, though, and if I see a lot of votes swung by them, I may request backlinks more consistently. Please keep it in mind, anons!][Writing.]
Rolled 12, 10, 16 = 38 (3d20)>>6124934While shadowing and surveiling hapless humies to scoop out and sample heir delicious memories sounds exceptionally satisfying—AND like a useful application of your unique skillset!—it also sounds dangerous. An-Yii’s angry eyes stick with you, reappearing in your own memories as a reminder of the risks involved in mental magics of that nature. If you’re caught in the act, you could face a lot worse than a dressing down by your disappointed soul-sister.You know who WON’T judge you, though? A bunch of dead fish.You slip through the shadows, evading the dim torchlights to travel a hidden path only possible with darkvision such as yours. Coupled with your natural aptitude for concealment, it is an easy thing to remain undetected. It doesn’t hurt that so many of the town’s men and women gathered in great gaggles to discuss the unsettling events or serve the ‘adventure tourist’ industry, but unfortunately, you’re not ALL alone when you arrive at one of Sunset Lake’s many docks.You quiet your breathing as you stare from your shadowy perch, crouched atop some crates. Even at this late hour, there are human men hard at work swabbing desks, restocking supplies on their small vessels, attending to matters of routine maintenance, or unloading their catches. The last is the one of greatest interest to you, of course, and luckily the late hour ensures there is a skeleton crew at best.You hope down, and disappear again, dashing from shadow to shadow, skirting or speeding through islands of light to reach one of the nets hanging high from a hook, full to the gills with freshcaught fish.”Fucking Hells, another one?!“What? What’s wrong, Cam?”“Here, look! See for yourself, George.”You watch and listen as a pair of fishermen, stout fellows swaddled in treated brown leathers from head to toe, stand beside their catch. One of them reaches inside with calloused hands manages to wrench a single fish (a carp, or a trout, or something? you’re not sure how to tell) out of the slimy, scaly morass. Producing a knife from his pocket, he saws open the centre-mass of the thing, and you ‘ooo’ with quiet fascination at the black-blue blood that seeps out. You’re not a doctor like An-Yii or a Life Mage like your belov—like, uh, Tips—but you’re PREEETTY sure fish are meant to bleed red, like most everything else. You feel the waves of disappointment, disgust, and the undercurrent of dread which seeps out of the two men as they throw the fish down on the dock.”What do you figure it is?”“We both KNOW what it is, don’t we?”“…Right. Well, uh, do we throw them back, or what?”“And poison the bloody lake WORSE? No… No, we better report it, see if maybe we can get a reward for ‘helping the investigation’.”“Ha! Good thinking, Cam!”“Not good enough to make up for another catch like this one… Ugh, what am I going to tell the missus?”
>>6124961You wait with fraying patience for the two men to turn their backs and step away. Only then do you sprint forwards on all fours, scampering low and quick over to the net. You look up at it—at the iridescent flesh of the corrupted catch shimmering in the reflected light of lanterns, swaying with the lingering motion of ‘Cam’ and his manhandling. You squint, but you can’t tell much by just looking at the outside.“Alright, we’re goin’ in!”Shhhickk!With a slice of your own goblin-blade, you split open the bottom of the net and several fish. You yipe in alarm as the entire catch suddenly spills out through the small-but-widening hole, and narrowly avoid being pinned by a pile of past-tense piscine. You quickly stand up and look around to see if you’ve been spotted; since the answer appears to be ‘not yet’, you go for it: you pinch your nose against the odour, and start extracting and opening the cold cod cadavers.Rolled Occultism, +1 for Survival…Yeb-Uit’s lessons in cleaning and prepping the squirrels comes back to you, and fish prove different, yet easier. You gut one after another of the creatures, spilling their intestines before you in an ever-complexifying pattern of red but also—more often—that some brackish blue-black. You squint at the emerging pattern, separating them out by species, and scan them with your second-sight.Result: 16, Success!You might not know your fish outside of how they taste filleted or broiled, nor know your tuna from your tilapia, but you recognize that there’s something SUPERNATURAL at work. The smell the sheen of their toxic, rotting blood… It’s not something you can put into words, but the shimmer and scent have properties which your infernal olfactory organs and tainted spirit recognize as outside the realm of pure biology. It’s not demonic, you can tell THAT much, nor potently ‘divine’ in a way you associate with the fearful Paladins and their light-aligned Gods Above… But there’s SOMETHING wyrd at work. And there IS a pattern to it! Some species are affected, while others aren’t, or are but only to a lesser degree.
>>6124974You rub your chin, grimacing a little as you feel the residue of the forgotten fish-guts on your hands make contact with your face. You wipe your mitts and mug off on your monk-hoodie, and glare down at the sorted-out snappers and salmon—or, you know, whatever-the-fuck—and try to figure out what to make of this all.“Yeb would probably know…”And it is true: if you stole away with some of these fish, you bet the old gob would know more about the species involved, and any pattern in which are affected. Maybe. Probably. You actually have no IDEA if the old guy fishes, but old guys USUALLY fish, right? A-and he’ a ranger, which is PRACTICALLY a fisherman.(Or, of course, you could ambush, incapacitate, and probe the minds of those fisherfolk that caught the things…)You kind of <WANT> to do that, but then again… It’s risky, right?What will you do?>Take some fish for the road, and go consult Yeb-Uit at the inn>Seek out the men, and scan their minds, to learn more about fishing>Eat some fish—stick ‘em in your mouth! Cld an’ raw! You know you wanna’!>Leave the docks to go do something else… [Write-in]
>>6124975>Take some fish for the road, and go consult Yeb-Uit at the innlet's go with team help
>>6124975>Take some fish for the road, and go consult Yeb-Uit at the inn
>>6124975>Seek out the men, and scan their minds, to learn more about fishing>Eat some fish—stick ‘em in your mouth! Cld an’ raw! You know you wanna’!I see nothing wrong with this plan
>>6124975>Take some fish for the road, and go consult Yeb-Uit at the innI am also sorely tempted to eat the fish
>>6124975>>6124975>>Take some fish for the road, and go consult Yeb-Uit at the innNo fish IN the INN though.Instead, hide them, fetch Yeb Uit
>>6125113>>6125058>>6124988>>6124986>>6125042Though you are sorely tempted, you manage to resist the intrusive thought—you do NOT shove a bunch of paranormally-poisoned fish-flesh in your hungry maw. It troubles you a little how suddenly and powerfully that urge came on, to the point it almost makes you wonder if there’s something TO that instinct besides Hellish hedonism, but you’re nevertheless proud that you resisted it.“Hey, what the fuck? What happened to the net?!”You flatten yourself out at the sound of the familiar voice—‘Cam’, if you’re not mistaken. Thinking fast, you snatch up a couple fish and bound into the blackness beyond the lantern-lights, out of human perception and away. The sounds of pounding feet follow you, but it’s no use and you know it. You’re not sure if they’ll pin the spilled fish on monsters or on out-of-town adventurers—both TECHNICALLY true—but it isn’t YOUR problem. Neither are the fish, you reflect… At least, not JUST yours.…teck….TACK!!The pebble did nothing, but by the time you second the second stone sailing—large enough that lobbing it cracks the glass of the upstairs window—you geta response. That response is a bow drawn taut and an arrow aimed between your eyes, but luckily the archer in question ahs the same night-eyes that you do. You wave frantically, and Yeb-Uit lowers his bow. His expression barely even changes, but a minute or so later, and he’s down the stairs at standing before you, outside of the inn where he, An, and Khorine are staying.“Cara-Zi,” he greets you, “what the fuck?”“I didn’t wanna’ bring these inside, where they’d stink up the joint!”Yeb scrutinizes your catch: the magically-tainted fish.“…What am I s’posed to do with this?” he finally asks, not angry but obviously perplexed by their purpose.“Well I was down at the docks, like ZZ said—”“She told you to spy on the humans at the pub.”“—a-and, like, I noticed these fish were all fucky. But only CERTAIN fish. And the fuckiness is magical!”It takes a few more tries, and some scrambling for vocabulary, but you eventually get the point across/.“And ya’ brought this to me… Why?” Yeb-Uit asks, at the end.“Well, ya’ know.”He doesn’t.“You KNOOOOW,” you say, smile turign brittle. “Because yer, like, a ranger!”
Rolled 2, 7, 16 = 25 (3d20)>>6125514When multiple members of the party are working togetehr on something, you take the highest stat, add +1d20 for every added, relevant discipline (in this case Occultism), and reduce the DC by 2.
>>6125516“Cara-Zi,” Yeb-Uit explains slowly, as if to a child, “I’m not a ranger. I’m—”He stops himself, expresison turning pained.“I’m from the Wastes,” he says, instead of what he WAS going to say, which you sense to be more painful and more personal. “It’s all steppe ‘n desert. Not a lot of lakes, or fish. Even the few oases are guarded by those… Ashurati. No gobs are getting near a place protected by sand-elves.”You frown a little, remembering snippets of your own existence—or ZZ’s existence, with you still isndie her—way back when. He’s not wrong, and yet…“Please?” you plead. “Can’t ya’ just, you know… Have a look?”Yeb-Uit stares blankly at you, and then at the fish, and then back at you. He sighs, and nods.You try, and fail, not to squeal in delight.You and Yeb-Uit crouch in the alleyway behind the inn, picking apart fish with your fingers in the dismal darkness and scrunching up your snouts at the smell. You play the role of helpmeet, but increasingly the sense of uneasy, self-aware incompetence radiating off of the old male fills you with an a similar sensation, dulling your delight at his easy acquiescence.“Hey,” you tell him gently, “if you can’t do it, it’s okay. I still think you’re—”Yeb holds up a hand, silencing you then and there, and with a mix of anxiety and amazement he says:16: Success!“Hells Below, I think I DO recognize this.”You feel a surge of certainty from your press-ganged partner, and elan over him as he points out various parts of the dissected remains.“See how the eyes are all weird, kinda’ oval-like?, isneta dof round? Flat, almost, at the back?”“yeah?” you reply eagerly, not really getting it yet.“These fish aren’t made for sight. Instead, they’d got these fleshy whisker things, to feel around… And these liens here, along the back an’ side… They’re meant for sensing stuff, like movements or whatever. I’ve seen these in cave-creatures.”“You’ve hunted cave-creatures?” you fawn.Yeb-Uit grimaces a little, and says: “Caves have more food than most of the Wastes, really.”Your fragmented memories of the Goblin Wastes are mostly focuse don sex, violence, and various intoxicants, and so you just nod and say: “Right! Like, of course!”Yeb-Uit gives no dinciation if he believes you bluff or not, instead going on to point out various other characteristics of your catch which, he explains, indicate adaptations to a deep-dwelling lifestyle in the catfish, oilfish, and smelts most affected by the magical toxin.“They shouldn’t even be near the surface,” he notes, with furrowed brow. “How’d they get caught in some humies’ net?”“Maybe they got driven up, an’ killed, by whatever was poisoning ‘em deep down?” you hazard a guess a you apply your own expertise. “Like a… A…”“A salamander, or a newt?”
>>6125539You and Yeb both look up at the sudden interruption, to se the pink skin and green-grey armour of your opposite number and other half—Zith-Zi!“Sis!” you almost scream in delight, flinging yourself at her, though yous lwoa s you approach. “You, uh, smell like—”“Yep,” she interrupts tersely.“Booze, an’—”“YEP.”(…And sexual frustration.)“B-but, uh, the fact-finding mission was a success, or whatever?” you change tack, trying not to squirm at the flickering memories and stifled desires flying off your other half like sparks from a poorly-smothered bonfire.“Let’s go inside,” ZZ says. “We’ll talk there.”And talk you do. Zith-Zi is short on details of her own ‘interrogation’, and none of you pry—though you envy her the aspects of the experience which you intuit…<WANT: 12>…But the consensus is that the source of the creepy contaminant is some supernatural super-salamander welling deep in the lake.“How’d this go unnoticed by the humans all this time?” An-Yii asks, seemingly a little more mellow than you left her.“Humans miss all sorts of things,” Khorine says smarmily. “They have forgotten their connection to the Earth dwelling in these big cities.”“What, even fishermen?” you ask.“ESPECIALLY fishermen,” Khorine says, then stops. “Okay, maybe not ‘especially’, but any being which regards itself as above and outside of Nature is prone to overlook the sublteties of its working.”“This ain’t natural, though,” An points out, and (with some residual reluctance turns to ask you: “Yous aid this is magic, right?”You nod, excited to be the centre of attention again—and at An-Yii’s willingness to speak with you once more.“Yeah!” you say. “it’s, like, some kinda’ MAGIC, DEEP-dwelling salamander-newt thingie!”“But not a demon?” Zith-Zi asks.“Nah!”“it is not of The Light,” Khorine declares.“Not them, neither,” you agree.“Then… What is it?” asks Yeb.You all sit in silence for a moment, before you finally suggest:“What about… Like, THEM, ZZ?”Zith-Zi’s posture shifts slightly, tension flaring in every joint and ligament. The others might not notice how her gaze shifts westward—toward the Bloodrise mountain-range—but you do.The Dark Gods… Those Beyond mere demons, yet Below the Heavens… Those who dwell outside of Heaven or Hell. You don’t know a lot about them, except that Tips—~Tips~~—told you they cannot be trusted. You gather that your sister concurs.And yet……
>>6125540…You know better than to trust the Drak Gods, or those who work for them. There’s never, EVER been a god of Darkness or of Light who ahs been friends to goblinfolk. When you were a little gobling, Mama Zi and your uncles and aunties always told you tale of how goblins came to be: “nobody knows who made us,” they said, “and nobody will own up to it or take responsibility.”“That’s why we’re fucked,” they lamented. “Because we’re alone. Godless. No magic, no masters.”Right now, after the night you’ve had, you really FEEL that sentiment. Even now, as a nilbog rather thana goblin, you feel utterly alone and abandoned. Yet you know it’s not so: you have an ‘in’ with the Gods of Darkness. The Dragonborn Antipaladin, Dragon King of Bloodrise, is your half-brother.If this force lurking in the lake is affiliated with his weird religion, his agents could be the edge you need to neuter this newt and pluck the prize before anyway else can snag a salamander… And you have reason to believe that Green Leif, at least, has an angle of heir own.But the Dragon King cannot be trusted. You’ve met him. You know him. In him you recognize your own ambition, your own ruthlessness and greed, writ large and made magnificently malevolent with the delusion of those who believe they are destined for great things.You don’t want King Theral of Bloodrise you own you—any part of you—which is why you never told him about your sister.What will you do, when dawn comes? How will you direct your team?>You’ll seek you some experts and equipment from the local scene, and go it alone[Specify some details, if you have a planned angle of approach]>You’ll reach out to those disguised agents of Bloodrise, invoking the name of their Dragon King[Incurs a debt, and attracts the attention of the Dragon King and his masters…]>You’ll reach out to another adventuring-party for aid[Anyone specific?]>Write-in
>>6125541>You’ll seek you some experts and equipment from the local scene, and go it alone
>>6125541>You’ll seek you some experts and equipment from the local scene, and go it aloneIf it's rustling up those deep fish it's at the bottom of the lake usually, right? We'll need bait to lure it up. Untainted fish maybe?
>>6125541>You’ll reach out to another adventuring-party for aidMystery Incorporated.To catch this newt, we'll need to design some sort of trap...
[Today's post may be postponed; I have a friend coming by and likely staying the night. ]
>>6125593>>6125594>>6125626You shake your head, dismissing the idle notion of invoking your ‘family ties’. You aren’t exactly the temple-attending type or anything, but that geos as much for the Dark Gods as their Heavenly enemies.“Whatever it is, it’s no match for the likes of us,” you tell Cara-Zi. “We got this.”Her response is a snaggle-toothed smile of total trust. You return it as best you can, and then you and she join the others in rest. The two of you huddle together in one bed, which isn’t EXACTLY how you’d hoped to be sharing such a mattress tonight, but it is what it is. It isn’t awkward, at least; you’ve both been much, MCUH closer than this, after all.…
>>6125995The next day, you are awoken bright and early—TOO early by your assessment, since you’re still dog-tired—by the sound of commotion outside. He hustle and bustle of a mid-sized city of diurnal human folk affords no opportunities for late-night investigators to catch-up on their shut-eye. You extract yourself from an especially-cuddly CZ, who HAS somehow managed to sleep through the racket, and find An-Yii, Yeb-Uit, and Khorien are already up and about. You find little Hershy perched in the boughs of the twig blight, which stands stock-still like a statue as it awaits its petite mistress’ instructions.“I still can’t believe thy let you bring that thing inside,” you note aloud as you pluck your protesting pet out of his erstwhile nest.“They put up a fight, I admit, but no spoiled city-dweller is a match for the will of a freeborn keeper of the wilds,” boasts Khorine.“She made like she was gonna cry, an’ they gave in,” explains An-Yii after Khorine and her blight have left the room. “I think she was actually gonna, too.”You snigger, and even scowly An-Yii laughs with you. She’s evidently in a much better mood for the R&R—and a bed to herself, no less! It was worth the expense... You think.Of course, the fuss outside the inn implies that the hunt for the mysterious (maybe amphibious?) monster of Sunset Lake is back on. That means the other adventurers will be hard at work trying to steal YOUR payday out from under you—Green Leif Company included, if their fearless leader isn’t too hungover from matching your pace into the wee hours.“No time ta’ waste!” you announce to your associates. “Let’s get a move on!”What will you do in preparation for the hunt? Choose two (or three, if you don’t plan to hunt the monster today, though your rivals may beat you to the punch if you don’t):>Sell the squirrel pelts>Recruit some additional party-members (specify if you have any specific skillsets or characteristics in mind)>Purchase some equipment (specify if you have any specific items in mind)>Charter a vessel so you can get out on the water>Watch the other adventurers at work, and see what techniques THEY’RE trying>Go find Leif and his crew—you want to hash out what happened>Write-in
>>6125996>Sell the squirrel pelts>Watch the other adventurers at work, and see what techniques THEY’RE tryingDepending on what we see we can try ourselves or pick a third action
>>6125996>Sell the squirrel pelts>Recruit some additional party-members (trapping and scouting if it works for water stuff)
>>6125996>Sell the squirrel pelts>Charter a vessel so you can get out on the waterI was thinking hiring one of the local fishermen as a skipper would be useful to tell us about the lake geography (even if they don't have a clue about the monster)
>>6126073>>6126080>>6126159[So we're selling some pelts, but it looks like we're a little torn on the other task. I'll leave this open a bit longer, and roll if nobody breaks it by the 24-hour mark.]
>>6125996>Charter a vessel so you can get out on the waterDon't think watching is a good idea, may get it before we can do anything.Maybe leave the extra party members for later if it goes tits up.
Rolled 10 (1d20)>>6126578>>6126159>>6126080>>6126073While you’re loathe to let your rivals beat you to the punch, you know you’ll need two things to catch them out and nab thew ‘newt’: resources and information. Luckily, a town like Sunset Lake has no shortage of merchants, and you know from experience that such folk are eager to provide both to those who have something to offer in turn.Sticking close to the central body of water from which the barony derives its name—and thus within spitting distance of your competition—you firsts et out to find someone who might purchase your half-dozen squirrel pelts. As you pull them out from your pack to display to one tanner or furrier after another, though, you register Khorine’s look of distaste.“Oh, come on, seriously?” you sigh. “What, you don’t like us sellin’ animal skins or somethin’?”“Coin is a corrupting influence, but I understand its value well enough,” she declares, though her nose is still scrunched up.“Then what is it?” you demand. “C’mon, out with it, kid.”“Did you properly tan those?”Rolling for the degree of success in selling your pelts; no failure except a 1, but a highr roll means more money.
Rolled 18, 20 = 38 (2d20)>>6126596You exchange a look with Yeb-Uit, who answers: “there wasn’t enough time.”They’re not exactly properly prepared, in truth, or cured with salt, but they ARE defleshed, washed, and dried, thanks to Yeb and CZ’s efforts. You give one of the pelts a sniff, and find your own nose crunching up not unlike the goat-girl’s though. Loathe to acknowledge her point, you simply shrug.“They’re fresh enough. And, what, the tanners are gonna give us shit, when they all smell like piss?” You shake your head. “Nah, it’ll be fine. Trust me.”10And indeed, it IS fine… Fine enough, anyway. Every single tanner, furrier, and merchant you meet looks down their nose at you and comments on the roughshod job you crew did of preparing and preserving the pelts, but none of them outright refuse them. Eventually, in frustration and out of a desire to get back to your actual, monster-hunting , you accept a lowball offer.You have 18 pointsEager to make up for lost time, you beckon your band and bounce back to the boat harbour, to charter yourself a vessel.“W-wait,” Khorine stammers, “we’re going out onto the water?”“Uh, duh?” you say. “How else are we gonna catch a lake-monster?”“Ooo!” Cara-Zi chimes in. “What about, like, a big ol’ fishing rod?”“It lives somewhere deep, remember?” Yeb-Uit gently reminds your sister. “That probably won’t work.”“‘Xactly right, Yeb!” you say. “I mean, lookit these losers. What do they even think they’re gonna get done like this?”You gesture to a couple of your rival adventuring companies as you pass them by. The Delvers—that band of wee folk—are gathered around some sort of cockamamie voltaic contraption hooked up to a series of lines with strange-looking weighted lures and floating poles and buoys. Their apparent technical expert, wearing smoked goggles that hide her eyes, eyes watching a thin metal arm ending in a needle moving up and down a woodland-metal grid. You can’t make heads or tails of it. And those kids… Well, what their OWN needlessly-complicated apparatus lacks in technically sophistication, it more than makes up for with ridiculousness. Near as you can tell, it culminates in some sort of falling cage, and uses their goofy dog and his equally-gangly human handler as bait.You shake your head, sparing them no further thought. You do, however, cast your gaze about for a certain choice cut of blonde, stubbly man-meat…Rolling to see how Green Leif Company fared...
>>6126608…And, to your chagrin, you see him and his Green Leif Company are here as well. In fact, they’re out on the lake already, in a boat of their own—or, well, one they’ve already chartered. The smug, handsome humie son-of-a-bitch doesn’t even look any worse for wear, which is more than you can say for yourself! As if somehow sensing you (or more likely, you’re just unlucky) Leif spies you on the docks. You flinch, suddenly strangely self-conscious Your particular shade of pink stands out even among the Men of the northwest, among the pinker human subraces you’ve encountered, and even for a ‘gnome’ you’re pretty distinctive. If he recognizes you, though, he says nothing, nor does he wave or flip you a rude salute.; he just looks at you, and thena way. “MotherFUCKER…”“ZZ?”You tear your gaze away from Leif and find your ssietr looking at you with cofnsued concern.“It’s nothin,” you growl. “Come on. Boats, ‘member? We’re here for a boat…”Your thinking is very much in line with Yeb-Uit’s own: that your quarry dwells deep, and so you ought to seek out the deepest region of the lake. An-Yii udnercuts this idea a little bit, though, which you try not to resent as she raises a valid counterpoint or two.“How’re we even gonna get down there, though, if that’s where it is?” she says “I can harldy swim.”“I can swim,” Yeb says.(Khorine, increasingly fidgety, conspicuously offers no boast of her own)“I can swim pretty good,” you reassure her.However, you DO need to breathe… And fighting a fish-monster or giant salamander underwater? While trying not to drown? Alone? That might be pushing it a little. Still, before you can fight it, you’ve got to FIND it, right? One step at a time. And it’s QUITE the step, as it turns out, to find a fisherman who’ll accept a crew of goblins and beastmen (and you) aboard their vessel. Goblins aren’t exactly a respctable race in the eyes of most such folk, and some take it a step furtehr.“Women on board a vessel as bad luck,” says one old man, spitting on the dock and crossing his burly, hairy arms. “ Goblins are worse.”“Says who?!” you demand.“Everyone,” he says.“‘Everyone’ sounds like a bunch of dumbfuck yokels to me, then,” you argue, and pull out your bag of coins with a vociferous jingle-jangle to emphasize your point. “We got coin, good as anyone else!”It’s no good, though, and it takes a few tries before you finally find yourself an unconventional captain for your unusual association: a dwarven gal on a little dinghy, seemingly held together with tar, prayers, and lots of elbow grease on the part of the stout-and-sturdy sailor at the helm.
>>6126620“Aye,” she says, “I’ll take you out.”“It’s not a problem that, uh, some of us are girls?” CZ asks.“Or goblins?” adds An-Yii.“If myself and my twig blight area problem, we can remain ashore,” Khorine volunteers hopefully.“Nae, it’s all well and good—I’m a girl meself, after all!” The dwarf smiles the slightly-oily smile you recognize from so many interactions with entrepreneurs this same day. “Of course, it’s quite the large number of people, and there’s not so many ships as accommodating as this one, aye? And fishing’s not been the bon is usually is, with all this trouble as of late…”“How much?” you cut to the chase.Boarding the boat will cost 4 points for each day you use it.Do you accept the terms?>Yes>No, you want to haggle it down>No, you’ll offer a counter-proposal [what?]>No, you don’t need this stupid boat anyway! [No boat for you]FastFlux free trial is over, so alas the era of instant AI portraits is joever for now
>>6126620>your ssietr looking at you with cofnsued concern*your sister looking at you with confused
>>6126627>YesOoof pricyNot a lot of supply though, for us at leastWe might want to hold off on boarding today, at least until we have a better plan for wrangling the beast
>>6126627>YesCan't trust them rolls.
>>6126608of course thundercock get's a 20>>6126627>No, you want to haggle it down
>>6126627>>No, you want to haggle it down
>>6126644>>6126669>>6126711>>6126803[Seems we have another tie, so we'll leave this open for a bit longer.]
>>6126627>No, you want to haggle it downSeduce her for lower prices- my, that is quite a throwback isn’t it? Brings me back to better times….Bonus if ZZ helps, she may be interested in twins ;)
Rolled 12 (1d20)>>6126644>>6126669>>6126711>>6126803>>6126931“Nah, that’s bullshit.” You huff, hands on your hips. “Fuckin’ highway robbery.”The dwarf sailor flashes that greasy grin of hers, and you spot a golden tooth—evidence that she’s not exactly impoverished. She makes a big show of looking one way, then the other.“I see as few highways around here as I do alternative options, unless ye ken something I dinnae?”You feel your eye twitch at the thick dwarven brogue, which you increasingly apprise to be an deliberate affectation. As someone who can switch her accent up, like you did with Leif and his team, you know how to tell when someone is playing at a persona.“Look, there’s GOTTA be some wiggle room,” you reason. “This ain’t my first time ‘round the block.”“OR the docks!” CZ chimes in helpfully.“Right, yeah, or that,” you say as you hold back a sigh. “We both know how this game is played. What’s yer REAL price, uh…”“Svanhilda. Svanhilda Pearl.”
>>6126951‘Svanhilda Pearl’ surprises you by taking hold of your hand in both of hers. They’re calloused and strong for another female’s fingers, more so even than your own… Though, admittedly, a lot of your callouses got sanded off by your transformation, or passed to Cara-Zi. You give her hand a pump in turn, matching the strength of her squeeze and meeting her eyes with your own unflinching gaze, unwilling to back down or be shown up.“Zi,” you introduce yourself. “Zith-Zi.”“Funny name.”“So’s yours. ‘Pearl’ ain’t no dwarf family name I ever heard of.”“And yours almost sounds goblin or orc, but you dinnae look it.”“You comin’ onta’ me?”“Ye ain’t me type.”“‘Cause ya’ think I’m a gob?”“Because I know you’re a lass,” she answers, “and more than that, ye strike me as a lass who prefers to be on top.”“Uh, what about a bottom then? A-and, uh, not a conventional, like, ‘lass’?”You flash CZ a pointed look, and she falls back with a nervous titter. You look back to find Svanhilda seemingly appraising your sister with a little more interest than you’re comfortable with, and you clear your throat as you break the suddenly-awkward handshake.“Nae,” sighs Svanhilda with a heave of her admittedly-mighty bosom. And a melodramatic shake of her brown locks. “Your friend’s offer is intriguing, make no mistake. Beastgirls are wild belowdecks, and no mistake. It dinnae do to let pleasure take the place of good business, though.”Base DC 16 for untrained, lowered by 3 for the ‘seduction’ offer, but a 12 still fails.“The offer stands,” the dwarf reiterates. “take it or leave it.”Do you take the offer?>You agree to go out on the water today>You agree to board the boat, but instruct CZ to steal stuff to make up for the lost coin>You decline to go out on the water, at least for today>You curse Svanhilda out and swear retribution>Write-inWhat exactly is your plan, anyway?>Shadow Green Leif Company to learn their techniques>Stay close to the busiest fishermen to see if you can catch a monster stealing their catch>Survey the lake to seek out the deepest point, and attempt to lure the monster to you there>Write-in[Keep in mind that if you don’t charter a vessel, you’ll be LOCKED OUT of the deepest part of the lake and will have to stay close to shore, unless you have a scheme of some sort.]
>>6126960>You agree to board the boat, but instruct CZ to steal stuff to make up for the lost coinBonus if it’s from the Leif people>Survey the lake to seek out the deepest point, and attempt to lure the monster to you thereShame about it failing, but I’m hopeful we could lean into our natural advantages later (the Infiltrator had a silver tongue for business, and succubi are naturally inclined to sniffing out desire, so I imagine our rizz game to be fantastic when properly statted).
>>6126974[Sorry, I should clarify: the "stealing" vote implies stealing stuff from Svanhilda]ZZ is pretty good at 'rizzing' people already as demonstrated with Leif, and if you wanted to double-down with a write-in, CZ can use <Charm> for seduction. Mercantilism will be a possible upgrade next 'level-up' vote for ZZ, as she has been buying and selling stuff. Seduction will be, too.
>>6126960>>You agree to go out on the water todayWe tried, we fail, lock in, move forward.>INB4 players will haggle tomorrow.I feel I already lived through this exact gameplay loop countless time on this board
>>6126960>You agree to go out on the water todaywelp, we tried it>Shadow Green Leif Company to learn their techniques>>6126989>I feel I already lived through this exact gameplay loop countless time on this boardwell, we want to reduce how much we pay everytime, why would that be bad ?
>>6126974>>6126989>>6127014[I'd update, except that since >>6126989 didn't specify an approach once out on the lake, we have no clear consensus as to whether to shadow GLC or head straight to the deepest region.]>>6126989>>6127014>haggling[If you accept the deal, you will not be allowed to re-haggle until your bargaining position changes. That could include emotional or social changes.]
>>6126960>You agree to go out on the water today>Shadow Green Leif Company to learn their techniquesTotally metagaming because of that crit
>>6126974Support
>>6126974>>6126989>>6127014>>6127094>>6127108[If I'm not mistaken, we now again have a tie between the deepest point or shadowing Green Leif Company. As >>6127108 is a 1post ID, though, I am going to call it for shadowing, and write accordingly!]
>>6127060Mentalism shenanigans I say! Besides, I’m still hoping to soothe the mind and eat the nightmares of our companions (as opposed to, like, gorging out on pure emotion).
>>6127139>>6127141“Yeah, fine, whatever,” you grunt.Svanhilda beams at that, her golden tooth catching the midday sunlight and reflecting it into your eyes as if to signal her acceptance of your contract.“Aye? Well, get aboard then, all of ye. I ken well what you’re here for, and we’d best be working hard to get the prize ahead of the others, aye?”“Aye,” you reply flatly.“Aye aye~” chirps CZ, as she barrels past you and leaps aboard, hovering a little too closely to the vessel’s captain for comfort.You step aboard next, swaying lightly as you try to remember how to reacquire your long-lost sea-legs. An-Yii and Yeb-Uit crouch awkwardly, almost dropping to all-fours as they compensate for the same. Khorine bleats in terror even as she tip-toes aboard on her tiny hooves, and fares worst of all. Of your entire team, only Cara-Zi seems unfazed, and even she totters and falls as the little ship floats out onto the lake.(She falls INO Svanhilda, who catches her and holds her a might too long, which you well notice…)You keep your eyes on the prize, though—particularly, that prize which Leif of the GLC had bragged have all but having in-hand. To speak and spend with such confidence, Green Leif Company must really think they have a winning strategy… And if YOU’RE going to win, you need to know how to beat it.“Follow that boat,” is thus your command, which Svanhilda and your sister both enthusiastically aye-aye at.Follow you do. Svanhilda might by a shyster and a scoundrel who’s making eyes at the other half of your being, but she’s a fine dwarfmaid where her sailing trade’s concerned. Steering the vessel which, like its captain, is called ‘The Pearl’, she cuts an elegant wake across Sunset Lake. Of course, there’s no hiding your presence and pursuit from your rivals—not when they’re already keenly keeping their eyes out for anomalies on the water. For the second time today, you and your almost-paramour from last night make eye contact, and this time you see realization in Leif’s eyes as he recognizes you for what you are: not some dungeon-bunny adventurer-rider, but a true rival to his own ambitions. His eyes widen, then narrow, and his jaw locks. You salute him with a smirk and a wave.“May the best woman win,” you growl, more to yourself than to our new rival or anyone else.
>>6127166Though they might resent your watchful eyes, Green Leif Company and their own hired boatman cannot help but give away their secrets. After all, where can they go? How can they grab the attention of an elusive animal without ALSO attracting your eager eyes? They can’t, and so they don’t even bother to hide what they’re doing. You watch as their half-elven mage shuts her eyes and murmurs the arcane incantations to divine the rough location of their quarry. It is NOT the deepest area of the lake, according to Svanhilda, which surprises you a little, nor is it near most of the fishing-activity.“Weird,” you murmur to yourself, leaning with your chest and elbows on the outermost banister of the vessel, squinting at the enemy’s activity.You watch with no small fascination as the other half-elf—the ranger, ‘Tri’ or whatever—produces a vial of something-or-other. You can’t quiet make out what the fluid inside is, but he adds it to a <Summoned Elemental> of his sister. The elemental in question, newly impregnated with the strange material, I then gently lowered by telekinesis into the mundane water of the lake, its arcane membrane protecting it from admixture and dissolution. The two burly human lads who’d been Leif’s closest companions last night then pull out not swords, but long barbed spears—harpoons! you recognize those from Hawksong’s bay and returning whalers!—and wait.You wait with them. Across the lake and a boat away, your breath is baited just as theirs is, to see if they succeed or fail.…
>>6127167…You tilt your head in confusion as you watch the humies and half-elves at work, on the boat which so vexes ZZ. You don’t’ quite get what they’re doing, or why, but it’s at least obvious that they think they’re about to have a ‘bite’ on their strange, magical bait. You’re still surprised at the violence with which their vindication comes, though: you jump back in alarm as the water of Sunset Lake splashes up and around, and a purple-grey lump of slick flesh as large as you leaps put of the drink. With the help of Svanhilda’s strong-yet-beautiful hands, you right yourself and join your sister and staring at the captured creature, suspended in a hovering bubble of water before the mage-girl’s outstretched hands. Is this it??The Mysterious Monster of Sunset Lake is indeed an overgrown newt, of sorts. In truth, you can see how some of the humie fishermen had come to the conclusion that it was a dragon: in plus of being probably five feet from nose to tail-tip, and surprisingly wide and deep, the strange salamander-thing has wide, paddle-like wings on his back betwixt its four roe conventional limbs. Its face, wide and filed with thin knife-teeth, is apparently eyeless, yet replete with a beard of sensory barbels that wave this way and that.“Wwweeeeiii-eeerd~” you coo quietly, staring at it with wide eyes.“Sure isn’t a thing as I’ve ever seen in this here lake before,” admits The Pearl’s beautiful and charming captain. “But you know… I think I’ve seen something like it before.”Now that Svanhilda says it, you realize that you think YOU have, too. The captive like-monster’s struggles risk freeing it, though, and the rival adventurers know they must act to claim their reward. Even as you consider its familiarity, you realize that two of the human males in the other group are lunging forwards with harpoons in hand to end the threat for good.(H-hey, wait… Don’t YOU need that newt??)You watch is slow motion as the other party move to skewer and slay the lake-monster and claim the prize for so doing. This feels like the sort of decision which Zith-Zi should make—the REAL Zith-Zi, not you—and yet there’s no time to await an order.What will you do?>Stay where you are and watch, learning what you can and—with some help from fellow animal-experts Yeb-Uit and Khorine—identify what exactly you’re dealing with>Shapeshift some fins and fling yourself off the pearl and into Sunset Lake, to snatch the lake-monster away from Green Leif Company’s clutches>Cuddle closer to the captain, and continue to pursue that ‘discount’ angle… Or at least soak up some desire to feed your <WANT>>Write-in
>>6127169>Shapeshift some fins and fling yourself off the pearl and into Sunset Lake, to snatch the lake-monster away from Green Leif Company’s clutchesor>Cuddle closer to the captain, and continue to pursue that ‘discount’ angle… Or at least soak up some desire to feed your <WANT>I just prefer to be doing something, and this ain’t no juicy secret to wheedle outta our rival.
>>6127169>Shapeshift some fins and fling yourself off the pearl and into Sunset Lake, to snatch the lake-monster away from Green Leif Company’s clutches
>>6127169>Cuddle closer to the captain, and continue to pursue that ‘discount’ angle… Or at least soak up some desire to feed your <WANT>We really shouldn't sabotage them
>>6127169>Cuddle closer to the captain, and continue to pursue that ‘discount’ angle… Or at least soak up some desire to feed your <WANT>
>>6127169>Cuddle closer to the captain, and continue to pursue that ‘discount’ angle… Or at least soak up some desire to feed your <WANT>Besides trying to sabotage them, we dunno really have a plan to get the thing so let’s satiate CZ’s want since the captain seems at least curious about her.
>>6127060>>haggling>[If you accept the deal, you will not be allowed to re-haggle until your bargaining position changes. That could include emotional or social changes.]That is textbook part of the loop.>QM say failed test have consequences>Some player inevitably spin in a tantrum spiral on how it's unfair.
>>6127400[This ain't my first rodeo, anon. So far everyone has been very cordial, which I appreciate; while I am not averse to constructive feedback, I don't give in to "tantrums" when/if they occur.]
>>6127169>>Stay where you are and watch, learning what you can and—with some help from fellow animal-experts Yeb-Uit and Khorine—identify what exactly you’re dealing withThe dark god crafted giant newt might have dangerous abilities especially if it was poisonings the whole lake. We should watch what happens in case it breaks out and escapes.
Rolled 7 (1d100)>>6127563>>6127308>>6127300>>6127204>>6127189>>6127172You really have no idea what to do about those humies nabbing the newt, when you get right down to it. From all the way over here, it tough to identify any finer features of the floppy faux-draconic frog-thing, and getting up close and personal to snatch it for yourself and your sister seems like the kind of thing that might be ‘bad’. Like, a Tips-and-ZZ-wouldn’t-like-it kind of bad. After the An-Yii incident, you REALLY don’t want to be in any more trouble...(And you’re already pretty cozy where you are.)You have limited memory at best of being on barges of sailing on ships. When you were Zith-Zi, you think you did stuff like that a few times, but since the separation, you haven’t really retained the knack. Luckily, *~Captain Pearl~* has the stout steadiness of her race and a willingness to hold your upright with a thick, strong dwarven arm around your waist. You elan back into that embrace, for lack of any other immediate action, and watch the show.“What do ay’ think it is?” you ask, more to hear the sound of the dwarf’s warm, throaty accent.“Cannae say,” she admits. “Looks a bit like a dragon…”You nod and lean into Svanhilda’s support. You have to bite back a gasp as the feeling of her chest’s ample cushioning, and begin to pull away and apologize, only for the captain to hold you firm,“Easy now,” she says, breath tickling your wide-flared ear, “we dinane want ye spilling into the lake now, do we?”“N-no?” you hazard a guess.“Nae,” she agrees cheerily.(She doesn’t want you to drown! How romantic~)You shake your head to clear it, lest your head too much into an interaction, and not for the first time. Still, you <WANT> it to be true… And, if nothing else, she doesn’t object when you tentatively cuddle closer into the cradle of her bosom.Form that safe embrace, you watch as the salamander-dragon-thing manages to thrash free of it aqueous imprisonment. It breaches the outer shell of the hovering bubble which encloses it, and once the surface tension is shattered, the weak <Summoned Elemental> is quickly dispersed with hard strikes of a wide paddle-tail and those funny-looking ‘wings’. The rival party’s mage begins to chant louder and to gesticulate wildly, as she seems t upcast her existing smell and thus strengthen the elemental—you recognize this strategy from adventuring with Tips!—only to catch a glob of some sticky, purplish substance that the eyeless amphibian hocks at her. She screams and falls back, and the elemental enclosure wavers worse than it already was.
>>6127605it seems we won't learn much
Rolled 41, 79 = 120 (2d100)>>6127605“Don’t let it get away!”Even from all the way over on The Pearl, nestled upon against ~Pearl~, you can hear the big blonde human shouting to his harpoon-wielding warriors. You look over and see your sister clutching at the ships bough, even and white teeth bared in a distinctly goblin snarl as she mutters minced oaths. Does she want them to fail, or is she so caught up in the hunt that she’s wishing for their success? You can’t really tell—you can just sense her stress.7/100 for GLC: FAILUREWhatever it’s origin or implication, that stress doesn’t let up when the harpooners fail to skewer the slimy salamander, and it squirms and writhes back into the water. Th water splits open at its impact, and then it gone—down deep, beyond your empathic sense’s outer limits in an instant.“Aww,” you can’t help but vocalize.“Ye were hoping the others nabbed your prize, dearie?” asks Svanhilda with some surprise.“Uh!” you say. “Not… Really? But I kinda’ wanted to know what it was…”As if reading your mind—or sharing some of your baseline thought processes—ZZ immediately whirls around to bellow at you and your cohorts:“What th’ fuck are we lookin’ at?! Report, now!”Khorine’s only response is to puke over the edge of the Pearl finally making good on the waves of nausea you’d been feeling adiate from her. The ‘twig blight’ she brought pats her back, but the young goat-girl is otherwise useless.“It’s a salamander, for sure,” says Yeb-Uit.“No shit?” snaps Zith-Zi, facepalming. “An? You got anything?”An-Yii cranes her neck and squints her eyes, staring at the injured Green Leif Company mage, whose friend (boyfriend? brother? the other elf-blooded one, anyway) is pouring water over her eyes. She bawls and scratches at her face until he pulls her hands away from her afflicted visage. The others in their group watch worriedly.. Save their golden-haired leader, who grips his sword impotently and stares into once-more still waters of Sunset Lake.
>>6127612An-Yii has little else to add, alas. Svanhilda parks to Pearl where it is, watching as the adventures of Green Leif Company try desperately—and fruitlessly—to recall their lost quarry. Eventually they pull up anchor and leave, with the golden boy throwing one last flustered look of frustration back at your ship—and your sister. ZZ waves to him, smirking smugly, but the moment he turns away her own expression transforms into a matching scowl.“What did they do?” she mutters, to herself more than to eavesdroppers like yourself. “What did they fuckin’ DO?”For your part, you can’t help but notice a few things seem kind of OFF about the whole thing. Like, five feet is pretty godsdamned HUGE for a newt, but is it, like… Poison-a-lake, rip-up-fishing-nets huge? Is something like that, in a body of water THIS big, really ‘monster’ material? And at that size, how many catches can it really be chowing down on?Before you can voice any of these half-formed notions, though, a cheer goes up from the shore—loud enough for you to hear it from all the way out here. Every member of your little crew turns towards eh commotion, save maybe for poor little Khorine.“Yer fuckin’ kiddin’ me,” ZZ gasps. “THEM?”It seems as if those young humans with the dog managed to rustle up something impressive, though you’re loathe to separate from Svanhilda to see what it is. You doubt you could from all the way over here, anyway… And from the sweeping surge of shared feeling, you strongly suspect you already understand what’s happened. The monster has be captured after all, maybe fleeing the predations of green Leif Company and stumbling right into their trap.“So that’s it?” An-Yii asks quietly. “It’s over?”You frown at the words, and look to ZZ. Is it? Was all this really for, like, NOTHING?…
>>6127623…You grind your teeth, seething at the sound of someone else’s accolades. The thought of losing this bounty to ANYONE galls you, but THOSE guys? The teeny-boppers with the big bloodhound or whatever? That’s just salt in the wound! It almost would have been better to lose to LEIF than them…But the sounds of celebration aren’t dying down. Your heart falls and your stomach drops as you realize this really might be it—your first return to proper adventuring in a few years, and you got beat out by the ‘Baby’s First Adventure’ brigade, due to blind, stupid, fickle, BULLSHIT luck. Sure, everyone in this line of work knows that’s how it goes sometimes, but it doesn’t numb the sting much.“I, uh… I’m not sure it’s over, ZZ.”You look sharply at Cara-Zi, who is clinging to that con-artist ‘captain’ of this rinky-dink barely-a-ship. One layabout finding another! What did either of them even DO?! You swallow our misaimed anger when you see her thoughtful expression, though.“I think there’s more than one a’ them,” she says quietly, which draws looks of alarm from everyone, even Khorine. For you, though, these words spur a swell of hope.“Whaddaya’ mean, CZ?”“I mean, like… When I was, ya’ know, spyin’ last night, the fishermen were mentionin’ losin’ a LOT of fish.. And from multiple boats at the same time. An’ that little thing didn’t look big enough to eat all that fish, so I’m thinkin’…”“There’s more than one,” finishes Yeb-Uit.“Alright,” An-Yii acknowledges, looking between you and your shadow. “So what do we do ‘bout that, then?”You chew your cheek and run your fingers through your hair as you consider your options.You will…>Go alert the others that the hunt is still on—and that nobody should be paying out any bounties yet!>Let the humies believe they’ve caught the creature—the ‘only’ creature—while you continue your hunt for the REAL monster without their competitionWhat is your strategy moving forward?>You need to go speak with Leif about whatever alchemical concoction they sued to lure the monster out>You want your nature-freaks studying that caged creature, so you can learn what it really is and how to catch more like it>You’ll stay out here and go fishing—maybe you can lure it out? With your darkvision, you can stay out here pretty late…>You have another idea… [Write-in]
>>6127626>Go alert the others that the hunt is still on—and that nobody should be paying out any bounties yet!Why hunt more when the reward has already been paid out?>You want your nature-freaks studying that caged creature, so you can learn what it really is and how to catch more like itNo way is Leif gonna share after all the smug looks we shot him
>>6127626>Go alert the others that the hunt is still on—and that nobody should be paying out any bounties yet!while we may lose the solo chance, they're kinda spent and might serve to distract the other newt>You want your nature-freaks studying that caged creature, so you can learn what it really is and how to catch more like it
>>6127626>Let the humies believe they’ve caught the creature—the ‘only’ creature—while you continue your hunt for the REAL monster without their competitionlolThough being the spoiler could also be fun>You need to go speak with Leif about whatever alchemical concoction they sued to lure the monster out>You want your nature-freaks studying that caged creature, so you can learn what it really is and how to catch more like itTime to split the gang guys! Have CZ bulli the Mystery Gang while ZZ talk to the Elfthot!
>>6127689Suppoeting thisI think the fishermen will discover soon enough that there is more than one monster
>>6127626>Let the humies believe they’ve caught the creature—the ‘only’ creature—while you continue your hunt for the REAL monster without their competition>You’ll stay out here and go fishing—maybe you can lure it out? With your darkvision, you can stay out here pretty late…
>>6128058>>6127840>>6127689>>6127669>>6127639[Writing!]
>>6128278While tipping off the other parties presents an obvious risk to your present monopoly on the hunt for the other lake-monsters out there, it’s a risk you’ll just have to take. After all, you aren’t in this glory, so much as for COIN, and if that money’s already been paid out to some bumbling rubes… Well, how’s the Baron of Sunset lake going to pay YOU?“Take us ashore,” you command the captain.“Aye,” answers Svanhilda.“Aye aye!” adds CZ, clearly getting a kick out of this nautical nonsense—or maybe just the way the Pearl’s eponymous helmswoman speaks.The festivities are still in full swing when Svanhila’s Pearl docks, with countless (well, okay, you COULD count ‘em, this ain’t exactly Hawksong, but who has time?) humies gathered around the caged critter, gawking and gabbing.“It’s got no eyes!”“What is it?”“A dragon, for sure. Just look at it!”“Naw, I saw those dragons flying overhead, after they attacks Hawksong’s farm way back then… They were big, and green.”“Maybe there’s different types?”“Maybe it’s not a drgaon.”“maybe it’s a baby? It’s so small…”“Maybe,” you bellow over the crowd, projecting your voice with the authority of a Goblin (Nilbog) Boss proper, “jus’ MAYBE, it ain’t the lake-monster at all!”Everyone turns to look at you, and you catch a mxi of reactions: uncomprehending confusion on the part of most of the townies, a more irritated incomprehension from the ‘heroes’ of the day, and a mix of skepticism and hope on the familiar faces of Green Leif Company, sulking on the outskirts.You grab hold of the rigging and swing yourself down onto the docks before Svanhilda has even properly moored the Pearl. The dramatic entrance attracted the attention of anyone no especially attentive to your announcement, and you stride with hands on swaggering hips up to the caged salamander—the spitting image of the floppy freakazoid you saw disappear into the drink back on the boat. You lean forward squinting at the eyeless, slimy fuck, until your eyeline is interrupted by a rival redhead.(of COURSE it’s a fellow firecrotch… Ugh.)“Who says it isn’t the lake-monster?” demands the (admittedly beautiful) babe, glaring at you with strikingly (inhumanly?) violet eyes, to match her eminently-fashionable purple-dyed leathers—the sort of improted armour that screams ‘rich bitch’.“Someone who’s been at this longer’n… What’re you, fifteen?”“Seventeen and a half!” she protests.You snort at this utter novice, almost a decade your junior, and glare right back at her.
>>6128306Recalling Cara-Zi’s conjecture, you repeat it back before the murmuring crowd: “You expect me ta’ believe THIS little maggot ate up half the lake’s fuckin’ fish, an’ poisoned the other half? It’s smaller than you!”The young adventuress reels back at the implied (and very deliberate) jab at her weight. She’s not fat in the least, of course, but very CAREFULLY not fat, which is how you know I the blow will land. Her stout, somewhat slanty-eyed little brunette friend in the oversized spectacles plainly cares little for her appearance and far more for matters practical, which is why when you address HER you chance tack:“Hey, four-eyes! How much can a thing that big eat? How much poison can it produce, ya’ figure?”You freckle-faced Eastern-looking human girl chews her lip as she crunches the numbers. She doesn’t even need to speak up: the people on the pier can see as swella s you do that the math doesn’t add up.“Either there’s more of ‘em out there,” you say with absolute certainty, “or that ain’t even the actual monster. Either, way—"“The hunt’s still on!”You turn your head sharply to stare at Leif. Of COURSE it’s fucking LEIF, stealing your goddamned thunder! He grins at you, cocksure as ever, and you stew in the potent mix of annoyance and, okay, sure, FINE, a LITTLE bit of arousal at this back-and-forth with the bastard who nearly broke your cold-streak less than twelve hours ago.“Yeah,” you grumble, “what that loser said.”The kiddies’ own blonde alpha-male steps forward, smiling the smile of empty-headed himbos everywhere, and says:“Well, if there’s more of them, we’ll just need more cages! Or a single, really BIG cage!”The redhead and brunette on the dog-owning delinquent squad protest at their fearless leader’s immediately acceptance of your argument, but you only smile. It simply serves to set into the mind of the local folk that, indeed, you’re still in contention for the pot of gold at the end of this particular rainbow. It also provides an opening…“Ya’ know,” you say, flashing your early whites and sticking out your assets at the overgrown oaf, “yer trap id a pretty good job, even if ya’ nabbed the wrong newt. If ya’ want, em an’ my more EXPERIENCED crew could lend ya’ a hand with analyzin’ the fucker, figurin’ out how he ticks…?”
>>6128307“Frederich, I don’t think we should trust her,” the pouty purple-clad redhead protests.“Her insight COULD prove invaluable,” the glasses-wearing orange short with the Oriental eyes notes.“Like, if there’s MORE of these things—or BIGGER ones—I think we should just cut our losses and leave!” cries the lanky lad who they’d used as bait, still wringing out his sodden greenish tunic.“Ruh-huh!” says the dog.(…Wait, SAYS the dog??!! What the FUCK?!)The team’s apparently leader seems unconvinced by any arguments—or maybe overwhelmed by having to consider more than one thing at a time. Worse, eh seems utterly oblivious to your shrot, stacked charms. Luckily, by this time, CZ has joined you in coming ashore—accompanied by an all-too-eager Khorine. She provides an opportunity to examine the captured creature, one way or another. You instruct her to…>Use her <Charm> on the leader of these teens>Wield her <Fear> to intimidate them into compliance>Return tonight, to steal the salamander out from under them>Hold up—you’ll make a deal in earnest with these twerps, even if it means sweetening the pot (what do you offer? specify.)>Write-in
>>6128278Ah- I’m >>6127172 and >>6127689Seems the new Posting Policy fucked with my trip ;_;Also, the 15 minute wait time is bullshit>>6128308Regardless, I’d prefer charming all the teens, but we can probably convince the Gluttonous Duo with a Monster Fillet afterwards or somethingDon’t mind using Fear either (or a combination of the two)- the contrasting emotions would be delicious, and it could be really funny with the gang… omg, are we the Hex Girls? *squeeee*>Use her <Charm> on the leader of these teens>Wield her <Fear> to intimidate them into complianceFuck it we ball!https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1P_BlUY2eF4
>>6128308>Hold up—you’ll make a deal in earnest with these twerps, even if it means sweetening the pot (what do you offer? specify.)Split the reward 50-50That dog is surely some eldritch monstrosity and we shouldn't try to cheat it
>>6128308>Use her <Charm> on the leader of these teens
>>6127169identified the newt
>>6128308>>Use her <Charm> on the leader of these teens
Rolled 14, 15, 4 = 33 (3d20)>>6128760>>6128428>>6128338>>6128320>>6128313…“CZ, you’re up!”You jump a little at the piercing and unexpected shout of your sister’s command. Zith-Zi is waiting a few paces ahead, where her presence has parted the small sea of humans to reveal the funny young ones with the big, friendly-looking dog. You and the lanky animal make eye contact, and you feel a tingle of something strange, but shrug it off—and, regrettably, Svanhilda’s pleasant voice, though you were only half-listening to her words—to bound down the gangplank.As you approach ZZ, the human kids she’s speaking to seem to take notice of you anew. You slow in your approach, growing self-conscious as they really register you.“Like, is that some kind of freaky mask?” chatters the sodden young man, clutching his dog close.(Funny… You can taste the human’s fear from all the way over here, but nothing of the dog’s, even though they’re both quaking…)“Uh,” you stammer, distracted.“I believe she’s some subrace of goblinoid,” notes the orange-tunicked, stout girl with the funny eyes, scrutinizing you a little more closely. “I don’t recognize the breed, though. Where are you from?”“U-uh??”You look to ZZ or guidance, but all you get is a click of the tongue and a nod towards the bigger, blonder man. It takes you a moment to parse her intentions—whether she wants you to hex the big guy and his pals, or put on the <Charm>-but after a couple seconds you piece it together.(You’re glad it’s <Charm>. These people seem nice, and you don’t really like making nice people afraid of you… or, well, you DO, but only until the high wears off, and then you just feel lousy.)3d20, DC 12
Rolled 18, 10, 17, 19 = 64 (4d20)>>6128829“Heeeey~,” you say, twirling a lock of stringy reddish-brown hair around your almost-equally-hairy, elongated talon.“Um, hi?” says the blond with a wave.You approach him attempting to remember how one throws that sashay into her hips as Zith-Zi does so naturally when she plays this role. Theoretically, you should remember exactly how to do it, and yet it’s like your awkward body isn’t shape right for it, or like your muscles can’t remember. Well, and you’re sort of swaddled in a bundle of blackish fabric, which probably doesn’t help.“I don’t s’psoe you could see yer way ta’ lettin’ my sister…”(Uh…?)“Hve a look at the monster,” ZZ hisses.“…have a look at that big scawwy monster of yers?” you finish, batting your eyelashes.“Frederich,” the pretty girl in the urple grosues, “you can’t be serious.2/3 MPRolled a 14 & 15: [bl]SUCCESS[/b]“Gee, I don’t know, Cyrene,” says your mark, “she did ask nicely…”You continue to push your mind into the cervices of the handsome stranger’s, finding it surprisingly open to your psychic probing. This guy—‘Frederich Johannes’, apparently—seems a rather pliable and guileless sort, in a charming and even cute kind of way. You don’t sense any genuine affection or attraction from hi, which is sad and leaves you…<WANT: 13>…wanting, but you barely need to butter his brain up at all before he’s letting you lean on him and hanging off his arm all the way over to the cage. Behind you, Zith-Zi shoots a sneer at the girl with the pronounced crush on your prey; the violet-attired ‘Cyrene Black’ doesn’t seem to accept your brief, apologetic glance, either.(You catch only a fleeting glimpse of Svanhilda, back at the base of the Pearl’s gangplank, watching with crossed arms and a thoughtful, wary eye…)Your sister is quick to summon Khorine and Yeb-Uit over to have a look at the bloated amphibian in the cage You’re rather intrigued yourself, but you can’t split your focus right now without risking the rival adventurer’s defacto leader regaining his senses.“So, you own your crew’s wagon?” you continue your idle, enchanted chit-chat.“I maintain and drive it, too,” boasts ‘Freddie’. “AND I make and set the traps.”“That’s so cooool” you say, and you’re only partly playing it up, as you catch a glimpse of the paisley-painted caravan in his mind’s eyes. “Is this your first adventure?”“No way,” he laughs. “Our FIRST adventure involved this haunted suit of armour… RO, well, that’s what everyone THOUGHT it was, anyway…”…
>>6128846…“Alright,” you say, rubbing your hands together and ignoring the glares and glowers of the rest of the armoured adolescents. “We;’re good an’ close now. Stick-pokin’ distance, even. Nature-freaks, what are we lookin’ at?”Yeb-Uit and Khorine join you at the cage, though they maintain more distance than that unlucky half-elf with Green Leif had, in deference to what you all saw happen to HER. A proper study requires close scrutiny, however, and so Khorine directs her twig blight, the human girls begrudgingly have the tall skinny fellow and his weird (talking??) dog help it, and together you extract and restrain the cryptic critter.Yeb-Uit takes the lead with 2 Survival; Khorine adds +2 for Survival and FeycraftDC 16, -2 for team effort; rolled a 17, 18, and 19. SUCCESS!“It’s definitely like a frog or salamander,” says Yeb.“An amphibian,” corrects Khorine, officiously, then frowns. “But not a newt or salamander.”“Deifnietly not a frog,” yeb grunts. “Too long.”“Obviously,” Khroine huffs.“See these, too?” Yeb-Uit adds, reaching out tentatively to brush the frond-like protrusions around the thing’s neck, behind the wiggling, wriggling barbel-whiskers. “Gills,”“It’s taking in air, though,” Khorine notes. “It’s not dying, for one thing. Nor is it thrashing about as if in death throes.”“It’s damp,” the elder goblin suggests. “breathing through its gills or skin. Just needs to stay wet. But if it stays underwater, or near to it, what’s with the wings?”Khorine stares at it for a moment, tapping her cloven toes as if impatient for an answer. As she does, her eyes drift over to you… And stay there, just slightly to the right of your head.“…What?” you ask, looking around. “Have I got somethin’ on my—OH.”You follow her gaze to where Hershy—your chimeric, feathery little friend—is all fluffed up and agitated, perched upon your pauldron as he always is. He’s staring daggers at the big, warty amphibious shit, and rattling off a low, reverberating staccato-croak below even your big nilbog ears’ hearing.“Hey,” Yeb-Uit says, “you said that thing’s a drake, right?”“A feathered CHIMERA drake,” you say, repeating Tips’ high-faluting wizard description of your pet as you scratch yer her chin and try to smooth his feathers down.“Drakes are amphibians, too,” Khorine points out. “And they have wings.”
>>6128859“Yeah, but they can FLY with ‘em, and they don’t look like THOSE wings,” you say, gesturing at the floppy flippers upon your captive’s back.(You almost feel a little offended on Hershy’s behalf, being compared to that fat, fishy fucker…)“Plus, they got eyes,” you add belatedly.“Not in caves,” Yeb-Uit notes quietly. “In deep caves, out in the wastes, you can find some with real small eyes, with skin grown over ‘em… And if you find the pond where they spawn, you can find little guys with all their limbs wide an’ floppy, like fish fins, if they’re even big an’ old enough to have fins at all.”You and Khorine look at him, and you can’t help being genuinely impressed… Even if Yeb’s still not exactly a ‘proper ranger’.“Good eatin’,” he adds, and Khorine retches and sticks out her blunt, wide tongue.“So you’re saying that this creature is adapted to dwell not in an open lake, but some subterranean—no, subaquatic lair??”The three of you turn towards the interruption, finding the bespectacled Eastern-looking girl.“Who th’ fuck are YOU?”“I’m Vel—”“It was RHETORICAL,” you snap. “I don’t give two shits! Can’t ya’ tellw e’re havin’ a private conversation here, kid?”“…that’s not what ‘rhetorical’ means, exactly,” ‘Vel’ matters, miffed, but she backs off.“So,” you ask your allies, once your rival ahs backed up a few paces and you’ve lowered your voice. “What’s the play?”“You’re supposed to be the leader of this team, are you not?” demands Khorine.You nod grimly. Ah, the weight of responsibility. Well, it seems to you…>Should see about scouting around for entrances to nearby caves that could connect up with the lake>Are going to need a scroll or potion to help you track a target, enchant this ‘drake’, and let it loose>Need to figure out how to make that potion or whatever that Leif and his crew sued to lure this thing out, so you can make some yourself>Should send Cara-Zi down into the depths to scout around for more of these things, and figure out where they live>Need to hire someone else, or buy some more equipment [such as…?]>Write-inIt would also make sense…>To press on tonight [could incur penalties, there’s no telling what lurks at night besides you, but fewer rival eyes will be on you]>To wait until tomorrow [safer, you’ll get some food and a good night’s sleep, you‘ll have more time to prepare… But the other teams will be in action, also]Do you have any other business with these naive teen-aged adventurers?>Yes [write-in]>No
>>6128860>Need to buy some more equipment [anything that'll help CZ explore underwater]>To press on tonightwe got no action, let's make up for it>No
>>6128860>Are going to need a scroll or potion to help you track a target, enchant this ‘drake’, and let it loose>To wait until tomorrow>Ask about the haunted suit of armor
>>6128860>Should see about scouting around for entrances to nearby caves that could connect up with the lakeCombine this with asking locals about known caves, especially ones with water>To wait until tomorrow >Ask about the haunted suit of armorI like this suggestion
>Should see about scouting around for entrances to nearby caves that could connect up with the lake>Ask about the haunted suit of armor
>>6129044What about the other matter being votes on, as to whether it's tonight or tomorrow?
>>6129044>>6129155Say, tonight to capitalize on our nightvision
>>6128860>Are going to need a scroll or potion to help you track a target, enchant this ‘drake’, and let it loose
>>6129214Tonight or tomorrow, anon?
>>6129214>>6129183>>6129044>>6128994>>6128890>>6128882[Alright, writing!]
>>6129372…“…which is when we realized that the ‘Night Knight’ wasn’t ACTUALLY a ghost!”“No way!” you gasp, genuinely enthralled by Frederich’s recounting of his first adventure, even if he’s seemingly only doing so because you have him <Charmed>.“Yes way!” he exclaims, no less boisterous for the artificiality of his enthusiasm. “He was just so middle-aged man trying to cover up an art forgery!”“So, like… he wasn’t magic at ALL?”“Well, no,” Frederich backtracks. “He was still AMGUCI. Or the armour was, anyway. It was enchanted for speed and mobility, which is how he was able to get around so quickly. That was also his downfall, though: he was still just as noisy and heavy, so we had Norville and Maladoo lure him over this carpet we’d used to hide a CLASSIC trap door, and while they could run over it without setting it off, he set it off and fell right in!”“So…” you furrow your brow. “Not a ghost, then? “Cause ghosts don’t weigh anything.”“Uh, no,” Frederich says, enthusiasm dulled slightly by the need to reiterate. “Not a ghost.”“Like, and thank the Gods Above for that!” says the green-attired ‘Norville’, accompanied by a nod of the big, jowly head of that weirdly-eerie ‘Maladoo’, the dog.“I don’t know about that,” counters the pudgier girl in the orange outfit and glasses. “Just once, it might be nice to find a REAL ghost or other undead or demonic creature. Imagine what we could learn?”“There’s more glory in it, for sure,” Frederich agrees, ‘and I’d get to sue my salt-circle trap! Patent pending.”Your warty green skin crawls a little more than normal as they start talking about the ways to hunt down, trick, trap, and subsequently study a dark entity.“I already know all I need to know,” states the brown-haired man, ‘Norville’ apparently,w ith crossed arms and eyes shut tight. “They’re BAAAAD news, man.”“Rad,” barks the dog in a distorted imitation of his master. “Rad roos!” “I guess these salamanders are good enough for now,” allows the glasses-girl. “You know, legends say that they look like dragons because they were made by the same evil gods.”“Oh?” you say, looking back at the cage and at the creature lying still within it, fight extinguished. “Fer real? Then do you think that maybe—”“Hey, CZ, enough jawing! Get over here!”
>>6129409Your tenuous thoughts are interrupted by your sister’s bellow,; once interrupted, they dissipate. You ready to dispel your <charm> spell, but hesitate. Even as Cyrene taps her foot in impatience for you to leave, you linger, knowing that the moment you remove the enchantment, this friendly exchange will be at an end.“I really, uh, liked talkin’ with you,” you tell Frederich and his friends.”“Well, we’re going to be celebrating tonight, Frederich says. “Freddie…” warns Cyrene.“What are you celebratin’?” you ask innocently. “Isn’t this not the right monster?The hunt’s still on, right?”“Even if we didn’t catch THE monster, we caught A monster. And we beat everyone else to it.”“You could join us!”You feel a swell of happiness at the prospect—even Cyrene’s irritation and possessiveness of her apparent paramour just makes your heart flutter at the powerful feelings, rathe rthan driving you away. But then again…“CZ!”“Uh, o-one sec!” you say, and then hop-step over to ZZ and the rest of your own adventuring party.“Learn anything useful while you were keepin’ ‘em busy?” Zith-Zi asks, once you’re all together again.“Well, I learned newts are, like… Made by the Dark Gods?”“Yeah?” asks ZZ, patting a meekly-protesting Hershy. “Well, ours is a proper dragon, so that’s even better, right?”“Right!” you agree cheerily, because you like Hershy.“An’ fully grown,” ZZ adds conspiratorial, lowering her voice., “while we figure theirs is, like, a weird cave tadpole version or soemthin’.”“Somethin’ like that,” Yeb-Uit agrees half-heartedly.“Which implies there’s a bigger one somewhere,” adds An-Yii, sounding almost as worried as that fearful human male back with Frederich, though she doesn’t emble, nor leave. “We’ll need a plan for it.”“A plan ta’ capture it?” you suggest. “Fer, like… Glory?”“Fer coin,” ZZ correct. “Glory don’t pay bills.”“Mmmmhm,” agrees An-Yii.“First steps’ findin’ the big fat mamma-mander, though,” ZZ continues.“How’re we gonna’ do that?” you ask.“The same way we always do,” she says with a sly smirk. “With some proper gob cunnin’. We’ll buy a potion or scroll to enchant the little one, let is loose, an’ then follow the spell where it leads.”“Oooo~” you gush. “That’s super smart!”“That’s super expensive, too,” An-Yii adds, getting a sour look for your sister in return.“Yeah,” ZZ sighs. “Gotta’ decide if we want somethin’ one-off, reusable… or maybe a mage that can acst ‘em.”“it’s pointless to hire another mage when you have me,” Khorine declares.“Yeah,” ZZ asks pointedly, “an’ how’s yer divination?”“…Uh.”"Uuuuh," ZZ mocks, to Khorine's blushing embarrassment.
>>6129410Something else occurs to you, though—an element of this plot not yet addressed aloud, at least since you rejoined the rest of the team:“But how’re we gonna get Freddie an’ the Maladoo Gang ta’ let their trophy go?”All eyes are on you,a nd you feel a thrill of excitement and self-cosnciosuness, until ZZ breaks the pregnant pause by asking:“What th’ fuck is a ‘Maladoo gang’?”“That’s what Frederich, Cyrene, Vel, and Norville call their party,” you explain, “‘Cause that’s the name of their dog.”“Their creepy-ass fuckin’ dog,” Zith-Zi corrects you quietly, eyes flitting towards the hound.“I think he seems cool,” you say, speaking your strange intuition aloud. “Like, spooky, but in a good way?”ZZ looks skeptical of your claim, while the others seem skeptical of you both.“I didn’t hear it talk,” An-Yii says. "I still think you just heard it bark weird and yer freakin' out over nothin', Zith-Zi."“I ain't! Come on, Yeb... You heard it too, didn't ya'?” ZZ petitions.Yeb-Uit simply shrugs.“It’s probably just a fairy-animal,” Khorine says sagaciously. “Sometimes a feytouched being takes on ‘human-like characteristics—though they’re more like ELVEN traits, actually.” The dog didn’t FEEL all fairy-tingly like you’ve come to associate with magic like that of Khorine or your half-elf ‘creator’, but you’re not exactly an expert on the subject, so you don’t say anything.“Anyway, ta’ answer yer question,” Zith-Zi returns to the subject of the caged creature, ‘we hadn’t decided yet.I figure we just take it. What’re they gonna’ do?”“Fight us?” suggests An-Yii.“Get their asses kicked, more like,” says Zith-Zi boldly. “Plus, we got CZ here ta’ put th’ fear inta ‘em, and that skinny shit already looks about ready to piss himself. We turn up some <Fear> an’ mention our theory about a bigger cave-drake, an’ I bet they hand the thing right over.”
>>6129411You look back at the four humans and their weird, maybe-fairy dog. Cyrene glares at your group, Vel is busy studying their catch trough the bars, while Norvilel and Maladoo are bundled up in a blanket, getting warmed up; the dog is still focused on your group. Frederich waves, and you force your hand down before you can automatically return the gesture. You decide…>Zith-Zi’s direct plan of strong-arming and magically menacing the Maladoo Gang tomorrow works>You should ask the Maladoo Gang nicely, instead… Maybe while you, uh, go join in their celebration?>It might be a better bet to be sneaky about it—you could cover that, maybe, hitting the drake with the charm tomorrow and then letting it loose without telling them?>You have a better plan… [write-in]As for what specific sort of spellcraft you think your crew ought to employ, you’re really not so sure, but YOU think…>A once-off, cheap potion that last 24 hours should be plenty[2 points each, auto success]>You’d go for a multi-use scroll, so you can try again if the first attempt fails[6 points, 10 uses of the tracking spell; requires a mage to cast, but Khorine can do it, probably… Or maybe CZ?]>Your team could sue a proper tracker… Someone who knows their own divination spells.[Leads into a recruitment vote for a new NPC, which will cost at least 10 points.]>Write-in
>>6129412>You should ask the Maladoo Gang nicely, instead… Maybe while you, uh, go join in their celebration?Both makes CZ happy and doesn't plunge us into Maladoo's unending hellscape.
>>6129412>You should ask the Maladoo Gang nicely, instead… Maybe while you, uh, go join in their celebration?>>6129412>A once-off, cheap potion that last 24 hours should be plenty
>>6129499Supporting thisAt this point, maybe we should team up with them. It might be easier
>>6129499Let's do that.
>>6129415>>6129499>>6129504>>6129548“Actually, I was kinda’ thinkin’ maybe we could just… team up?”ZZ stares at you for a while, as if waiting for a punchline. You’re not joking, but you laugh anyway—a nervous giggle. She takes a deep inhale, and then exhales long and hard, her ehad lowering until her bangs are hanging in her face,a nd her face is in the palm of her hand.“CZ,” she says slowly, “what happens ta’ our reward, huh, when we add more people?”“Well, like…” you purse your lips. “We have ta’ split it more ways, but—”“That’s right!” Zith_Zi says, snapping her fingers and looking up. “We go from four ta’ eight—”“Five,” says Khorine.“—from five ta’ nine, an’ all our shares get cut in half!”“Um,” you say, “with Maladoo, it’s actually TEN.”“Right!” ZZ says throwing up her hands. “Why not pay th’ fuckin’ dog a share, too!”You flinch a little, and your sister stops mid-rant, instead lowering her arms and sighing again.“Look, it’s a sweet idea,” she says, “but we all came here ta’ get paid.”You begin to protest your point, but then you sense it: the underlying anxiety beneath the blow-up, the TRUE worry hidden by the false one. You sense the undercurrent in the others—in An-Yii, in Yeb-Uit, even in Khorine.If you team-up and agree to split the reward evenly with the Maladoo Gang, you will sharply lower your existing party-members’ morale.“W-well,” you say, standing firm(ish) in your approach, “we should still, uh, ask, nice-like.”“Ask?”“Yeah!” you say, smiling wider again as you think about it. “Freddie invited to a party tonight, ta’ celebrate ‘n shit! We could all go, an’ then we could, like… Ask ta’ borrow their newt?”“Drake,” corrects Yeb-Uit gently, then looks thoughtful. “Well, I dunno’ what a baby drake’s called, actually…”“Whatever it is, it’s ours,” ZZ insists sharply, then looks back to you.“It’s what Tips would do,” you point out.ZZ’s expression shifts, thrice: to shock, to guilt,a nd then to amusement.“Fuckin’ hell,” she laughs. “An’ here I thought [redI[/red] got all th’ fairy-shavin’s in MY soup.”“So…?”“So, I ain’t goin’ ta’ yer dumb little baby party,’ she says bluntly, and then adds with an almost apologetic air as she looks over your shoulder: “I’ve had my share a’ tall dumb handsome blonde types, aight?”You nod, unable to hide your glee even so, because you sense the ‘but’ coming.“But,” ZZ says, “you can go.”You resist the urge to bounce up and down in place.“Are you… Are you bobbin’ in place?” asks ZZ.“Nah,” you lie, and force yourself to stop.
>>6129976“Jus’ keep yer eyes on the prize, huh?” ZZ reminds you gently. “Yer goin’ ta’ secure us a salamander… Or drake… Whatever! Get us that big fuckin’ slug-lizard-dragon thing. I’ll get su the potion. I’m trustin’ ya’, okay?”You salute. Zith-Zi tries to sigh, but you can see that she’s stiflinga smile. You feel something from her—a sort of reflection of her own happiness, ad catch a flicker of something across your metaphysical connection: a childhood memory, a recognition of her own youthful self in you. Which, you know… Makes sense.(Wait, wait HER memory, or YOURS? ? Did SHE remember it, or did YOU?)You blink, and see ZZ staring back, as if thinking the same thing. Neither of you say anything about ti aloud, though. Instead, Zith-Zi shrugs it off, turning round and waving you off.“Don’t stay up too late, drink plenty of fluids, an’ remember: Tips also said no hanky-panky!”Well, technically he didn’t EXCATLY say that, but you know better than to argue it. You nod, and turn around to bound over to Frederich and the Maladoo Gang, and to announce you intentions to attend their evening festivities. You can’t be exactly sure, but you think even without the <Charm> effect, they’d still be excited for you!…An hour later, you’re all at the inn they’re staying at: some place called ‘The Crow’s Nest’.“We picked it because it allows dogs inside,” explains Frederich.“As if we’d ever leave Mally-Dall-Doo outside, huh buddy?” asks Norville, rbbing his hound’ head.Maladoo doesn’t say anything, though he does emit a quiet, uncannily un-canine laugh.(So weird!)For your part, you…>Came alone>Brought a +1, specifically…>>An-Yii>>Yeb-Uit>>Svanhilda Pearl>>Hershy the Feathered Chimera-Drake[Zith-Zi and Khorine are locked; Khorine would flatly refuse, and Zith-Zi is busy securing a tracking potion for tomorrow.]
>>6129978>Svanhilda PearlWhat could possibly go wrong?
>>6129978>Came aloneKhorine would refuse but not An-Yii?
>>6129978>Brought Svanhilda Pearl>>6130005>Khorine would refuse but not An-Yii?caught me by surprise as well, but maybe being around people lessens her fear of us
>>6130005>>6130034[Both An-Yii and Khorine fear CZ, but while Khorine has no interest in partying, An-Yii IS still a goblin...]
>Came alone
>>6129978>>An-YiiMainly curious if we could turn her morale and opinion on us around.Otherwise, don’t mind Svanhilda Pearl or Hershy.I’m >>6128313, and I spent a couple hours trying to post this. I fuckin’ hate this new post system
>>6130403>>6130168>>6130034>>6130005>>6130000[Breaking the tie for Svanhilda! Sorry for only one update today -- I gt awful food poisoning and spent most of it unconscious.]
>>6130555Anxious about attending the party alone, you had groped about for someone, anyone, who would attend. With your other half busy and unwilling, your options struck you as limited; you well remembeedr the looks of horror upon An-Yii’s, Khorine’s, and even Yeb-Uit’s face when you had your ‘episode’, and the incident with the dream-delving did little to improve the situation. The thought of any of your companions looking at you like that again, it was…thrillingYou shook your head and slapped your cheeks, and in an act of spontaneity and desperation you invited Svanhilda Pearl, instead. To your surprise, she accepted.“Ach, me?”Svanhilda was in the middle of preparing her ship to dock when you dashed up to her to breathlessly offer the invitation. She had hesitated only briefly, before dropping when she was doing and nodding her agreement.“Dinnae try to keep up with me, though, aye?” she nudges you with an elbow and gives you a saucy wink. “A dwarf lass cannae losing a drinking contest, ye ken?”“Uh,” you said, y-yeah!”…Here and now, you fidget by the door, alone and unsure whether to thus enter. You were the one invited, yet now you feel a trespasser without your ‘plus one’, who has more right to be here—in this place, this world-than you. Your worries are broken by a strong arm slung around your shoulder, and the squish of a familiar chest against your shoulder-blade and back, accompanied by the smell of the sea and—faintly—of rum.“Oh!” you titter, catching your breath. “Svanhilda! I did nae—didn’t—sense ya’ there.”“…Aye?” replies Svanhilda, quirking an eyebrow. “I take it ye dinane mean with these big ears of yours, nae?”She gently give sthe tip of one of your ears a gentle pinch, which makes you gasp and squirm a little. The dwarf-woman pulls back her hand and looks startled at the response, then simply grins.“You never did say what sort of beast-fellow ye were,” she notes.“Well, I’m… That is, I…”You’re saved by the creak of the door opening. It is Cyrene Black who opens the door, no longer armoured-up, but rather wearing a stylishly asymmetrical purple tunic with a green skirt peaking out from underneath. She is smiling when she does so, but it doesn’t last when she sets eyes upon you.“Oh, it’s YOU,” she begins, then recovers upon seeing Svanhilda, and seems to feel a bit guilty for her vitriol. “And, uh, you brought a friend.”“Aye,” Svanhilda agrees, with an immediacy which warms your heart, and she gives you a squeeze.“Well, come in,” Cyrene sighs, and steps aside to beckon you into The Crow’s Nest. “Don’t tell me you need to be invited inside like a vampire?”You force a laugh at that. You don’t! You really don’t. But the comparison, by a group of aspiring hunters of demonic and undead entities, still hits unnervingly close to home.
>>6130570You enter the warm and convivial atmosphere of the little inn, where Frederich, Norville, and Vel 9and, of course, Maladoo…) are all seated around a table. Each of them ahs a heavy flagon before them, though the dog and his green-clad keeper have several more stacked than the others, and several plates as well. The house special seems to be sandwiches—rather thick and hardy affairs. Norville hardly even looks up from his own to have to you, though he does a double-take after he’s wolfed it down; Maladoo never looks away.“Oh, hey!” Frederich greets you, and waves you over, though his expression subtly shifts into one of confusion and disorientation as you approach. “It’s… Uh… It’s… Say, did you ever give me your name?”“Frederich, did you seriously invite someone to celebrate with us and never even get her name?” Vel asks with a sigh. “That’s not like you.”“It’s not,” he agrees. “But, uh, we can fix that right now! My name’s Frederich, and—”“Cara,” you tell him, leaving off the hyphenated suffix of your shared name on impulse. “Just Cara!”“Svanhilda Pearl,” swaggers your companion, clasping the blonde man’s proffered hand and giving it squeeze and hearty shake that makes him wince. “I dinnae believe I’ve made any of your acquaintances, so let’s do introductions from the top, aye?”You take a seat and watch munches of your own sandwich and swigs of your own ale as Svanhilda chats up and charms the cohort of adventurers. (Charms…)
>>6130571You blurt out the occasional monosyllabic agreement or laugh self-consciously at a joke here and there, but that’s all for the first while. You are painfully aware of a change in the dynamic, and the reason for Freddie’s headache: he doesn’t know it, but the Maladoo Gang’s leader is feeling the cognitive dissonance between this encounter and your earlier <Charmed> one. If you’re going to convince him and his companions to surrender their drake voluntarily, t would make sense to cast the spell again. Obviously.But then this party wouldn’t be real. None of them would REALLY like you. Would they, anyway, if they knew? What you are? Why you’re here?Charming them all at once would be taxing, as well—and JUST charming Freddie could risk tipping off the others, as Cyrene has already been periodically glaring at you.(And the dog… The dog has been passively attentive, this whole time. Maladoo scents the air, and his ears pivot to follow you whenever you speak. Can he smell something off about you? You resist the urge to sniff your armpit.)Will you cast <Charm>?>Yes, upon Freddie>Yes, upon the whole Maladoo Gang>Yes, upon the Gang AND Svanhilda>NoYou make your decision, slam your drink, and stand up upon your seat so as to equal the seated height of your human companions. They urn to you, and you ask…>About the drake-salamander-newt-whatever and your sister’s scheme>Where they’re from, and why they hunt monsters>What the deal is with Maladoo—what is he? Can he actually talk??>Write-in
>>6130573>NoBut I think we can accomplish the same effe t by asking about traps>What the deal is with Maladoo—what is he? Can he actually talk??
>>6130573>No>What the deal is with Maladoo—what is he? Can he actually talk??
>>6130573>Yes, upon FreddieWe did it once before with no problemsJust try and find a good moment Svan has them distracted>Where they’re from, and why they hunt monstersStart easy
>>6130573>Yes, upon the Gang AND SvanhildaFriends! Plus, it’s grease the social wheels!>Where they’re from, and why they hunt monstersEasyI’m >>6130403
>>6130618>>6130620>>6130645>>6130695[Seems we have a close vote. May have to roll for it if we don't get a tiebreaker by the 24 hour mark.]
>No>What the deal is with Maladoo—what is he? Can he actually talk??
>>6131066>>6130695>>6130645>>6130620>>6130618“So, like… You all hunt demons an’ ghost an’ shit?”The gang exchange a look, and then answer in a slightly-asynchronous chorus of yesses:“Yep.”“Essentially, yes.”“That’s right!”“Ruh-huh!”“I guess we haven’t ACTUALLY run into that many yet,” Frederich admits sheepishly. “Mostly incidents like the Night Knight, or other hedge-mages and bandits and stuff. But one day, we hope to catch an ACTUAL creature-of-the-night!”“Okay,” you allow, “but, uh… Why?”There is a moment of stunned silence, as if you’d questioned why people eat, or breathe.“W-well, I mean, it’s exciting!” Frederich recovers, and again you see signs of that cognitive dissonance, and sense the flicker of magically-managed synapses firing in accordance with an unseen arcane pattern. Weird, since you didn’t cast a <Charm> this time…“There’s a lot to discover, exploring the unknown arcana,” Vel supplies with a bit more confidence. ““Like, a world with fewer ghosts and ghouls and whatever else in it is a safer one, right, Maladoo?”The dog nods, which strikes you as a rather odd thing for a dog to do."Well, where are ye all frae? How did ye figure oot this is what ye wanted tae do wit’ your lives?” asks Svanhilda, blessedly building upon your inquiry where you have begun to stumbl. “Ye're all practically bairns!”“…Huh?”Most of the Gang turns to Vel, who shrugs.“She asking how a bunch of kids got into this line of work,” supplies Cyrene after a moment with a sigh. “And really, the answer’s easy: the dragons.”A chorus of agreement follows, and an explanation of an event that you actually half-remember yourself: about ten years ago, after centuries with nary sighting, a pack (flock? school? …shoal?) of dragons exploded forth and besieged the countryside, before—so it is said—flying west to roost in the very same Bloodrise mountain range which looms over Sunset Lake and the other northwestern baronies.“Even before then, we’d been having trouble with demon-cults, and bandits, and all sorts of baddies,” Cyrene reflects darkly. “Most of our families came from wealth, which meant it was our responsibility to make things right…”“Or were immigrants,” adds Vel, voice quiet. “Which made us suspects, since ‘everyone knows’ foreigners deal with demons.”“But, like, wherever or whoever we were, nobody as safe… And the Paladins were nowhere to be found!” laments Norville.
>>6131087“Our parents pulled up stakes, selling off what wealth they couldn’t take with them and moving further north, to Hawksong, but not us!” boasts Frederich, voice raising as he stands up and raises his flagon, trying to salvage the dour mood. “We decided to stick it out, and fix it ourselves!’“Ach, very admirable,” toasts Svanhidla is response, reaching up high to clank her mug against Freddie’s before downing her own. “but why are ye all the way out here, then? Chasing the dragons?”“Z-zoinks! No way! Nuh-uh!” pretst Norville, quaking. “Now THAT? THAT is a job for Paladins.”“For now,” Freddie sighs. “But maybe if we get enough money, and experience, we can finally find a way to track and trap those monsters, too!”“It’s a romantic dream, Freddie” says Cyrene gently, placing a dainty hand upon Frederich’s own.“Mostly, we go where Maladoo’s nose takes us,” Vel explains. “He has a knack for sniffing out evildoers.”You turn your attention to Maladoo, who—to your ever-deepening unease—is sniffing the air even now. Your claws sink into the wood of the table as you fidget in place, wodneirng if he can smell you. And, wait… How CAN a dog sniff out evil-doers.“What exactly IS Maladoo, anyway?” you ask, the unspoken question finally exploding forth before you can stop it. “Like, me ‘n my sister thought e heard him talk, an’ you said he can sniff out ev—uh, you know, monsters ‘n stuff, but what is he? Where did you find him?”Another awkward silence falls, and at first you fear you’ve committed some faux pas without realizing it. You tense up, ready to apologize or cast a spell to correct the situation, but when you look up there are no judgemental stares or hushed accusations of impropriety to address. Rather, each and every member of the Maladoo Gang—and Svanhilda, too!—are stock still. You wave a hairy hand before the face of your date, but nothing changes.“…The fuck?” you whisper, beginning to panic.You hear a low growl, which makes your tufts of fur raise like that of rabbit before a wolf. Slowly, you turn your head to see Maladoo, still staring… But not still, not like the others. Unlike them, he is still blinking, and breathing. Unlike them, he is aware of you—VERY aware.
>>6131088“Rom restions are retter reft unranswered, ron’t you rink?” he asks.“H-huh?”Maladoo’s eyes meet your own. They are the same dewy dog eyes they ever were, yet there is an unmistakable intelligence in them—deep, dark, and eerily familiar. You feel the sensation of like recognizing like. “You, uh, ya’ ain’t a fairy-animal, are ya’?” you hazard a guess.“Ro,” the being called ‘Maladoo’ agrees. “And roo aren’t a roblin… Or a reastgirl. Are roo?”You try to mentally translate the answer and response through the canine speech impediment of the other demon across from you, eventually settling for shaking your head. No, you're not a goblin—not exactly, not ONLY—nor a beastgirl like Khorine. You're.. Like him.“Ro re have a roblem rere?” he asks, forcing a smile which, on his jowled, droopy face, better resembles a sneer, and which shows off drool-dripping canine teeth meant to rip and to tear.“Ro… Re… Oh!” you puzzle out the question. “‘Do we have a problem here?’”“RO re?”>No, sir, Mister Maladoo, sir [returns to normal conversation]>Yeah, actually! We fuckin’ Mala-dala-DO! Let these people go! [initiates combat]>Actually, I just wanted to know…[choose no more than two, at most]>>Why you're here, and what you know about what's happening in Sunset Lake>>Why your'e traveling with these humans>>Why your'e pretending to be a dog>>How you paralyzed everyone like this>>If you could ask your friends to give me the drake?>Write-in
>>6131089>Actually, I just wanted to know…:>Why you're here, and what you know about what's happening in Sunset Lake>Why your'e pretending to be a dogwell well well, I guess someone liked that shitpost video about the new velma
>>6131121[Whaaaat? No. No no no. Vel Dinh here is NORTHeast Asian, like Hayley Kiyoko, not SOUTHeast Asian like Mindy Kaling.]It's pretty alright, but my experience with sinister Scoobies owes more to Scoob & Shag, or even the first live action flick's take on Scrappy
>>6131122I see. didn't know the 1st and I remember a little from that live action.
>>6131089Welp, we asked, might as well capitalize>Actually, I just wanted to know…[choose no more than two, at most]>>How you paralyzed everyone like this>>If you could ask your friends to give me the drake?
>Actually, I just wanted to know…[choose no more than two, at most]>>If you could ask your friends to give me the drake?ask AT MOST 2 makes me think asking one have higher chances of success.
Rolled 3 (1d3)>>6131272>>6131144>>6131121[Seems we're asking about the drake straight-up, but we're also asking one other question, and we're more divided on that. Rolling!]
>>6131431>>6131431A half-dozen questions bounce around in your brain. So this dog is a demon—or a demon-adjacent thing, like what you are?—but he’s also helping these humans hunt OTHER demons, albeit not very well by the sounds of it. Why?? And why is he at Sunset Lake? What does he know about the big newt that your sister and her friends are hunting down?“…Wait, the drake!”Maladoo tilts his head in a more dog-like fashion than you would have expected, now that his mask has slipped. It makes you giggle a little, albeit as much out of nerves as anything else.“Uh, I actually was sent here by my… By ZZ, the pink one leadin’ my paty? She wanted me to uh, borrow your friends’ drake.”“Rorrow?”“Well, you know… Borrow without, like, returnin’ it?” you say sheepishly.Maladoo regards you coolly. You begin to fidget under his scrutiny. When you look away, though, you are reminded of the statuesque stillness of Svanhilda and the Maladoo Gang.“H-hey, not ta’ rush you, but how long will this frozen-solid outline last?” you ask anxiously. “We should probably figure this out before they wake up or whatever, right?”“Roh, rat?” Maladoo laughs, an echoing, high-pitched sound that makes your head hurt a little. “Rever rear, ris rill rast a rile.”“Okay, but how long’s a while?” you say, tip-tapping your ‘hooves’ against your seat and shifting back and forth. “And what if the waitress comes back? Did ya’ stun HER, too?”Maladoo makes a growl of displeasure seeming to take your point—which you, in turn, take as a ‘no’ to the last part. He DIDN’T freeze time or something insane like that—just messed with the perception of the nearby humans (and dwarf), sort of like you can do.“Hey,” you whisper, “how did you just lock them all down like that, anyway?”“<Power Word: Stun>.” Shockingly, the demon-dog enunciates the arcane syllables perfectly. “Rere are rany such recrets available ro rose who rollow the rark rath.”(Secrets available to those who follow…)“Oh!” you say out loud, and add apologetically: “I don’t think ZZ would like it if I, uh, followed the ‘Rark Rath’, hehe…”“Rye rot?” asks Maladoo. “Rark is rot evil… And the Rods of Right are ro riend to roblins.”Between the hound’s ‘accent’ and the moral-metaphysical questions being hurled at you, it’s all a little much to process right now. As your head starts to hurt, you feel yourself beginning to grow frustrated and… Afraid? Excited? You can’t tell which it is, but your heart is hammering and you’re starting to salivate as your jaw shifts and your tusks begin to elongate. You rein yourself in with concerted effort and try not to shout:“Look, can I have the fuckin’ newt, or not?!”(You don’t’ succeed at not shouting.)
>>6131436Maladoo slowly nods, but before you can get too happy about it, he reaches out and points a perfectly-dog-like paw at you.“Uh?”“Rake,” he commands.“Ra—Oh! Shake! You, heh, you wanna’ shake a paw, boy?”“Ron’t,” he growls.“Sorry,” you whisper.“Rhis rill be a ract—a Remon Ract,” he explains. “Ro and I rill agree not ro reveal run arutehrs rue rature, or inter-rere in eachrother’s rusiness. Ro rill get the rake. Real?”You sound it out, bit by bit. So, like… You get the drake-newt-thingie, he stays out of your hair and doesn’t tell Freddie and the others what you are, but you can’t tell anyone about Maladoo or get all up in HIS business… Whatever that business may be? It sounds pretty good, but something deep inside you whispers to beware—that demon pacts are binding in ways regular deals are not, especially to demons themselves. And YOU, you’re a demon… Sort of. Demonic ENOUGH. If you make this deal, it will be quite LITERALLY unbreakable.Do you take the deal?>Yes>No>You’d like to modify it, actually… [Write-in]
>>6131438>Yesfuck it, we ball
>>6131438>Ask to be able to tell your sister, who already knows something is up if not the specifics. You can have her swear to secrecy. Agree to the deal whether he accepts this modification or notFuck it we ball indeed
>>6131438>Ask about what his business isSince this is a pact between demons, is this going to be in the spirit of the deal, or is this going to be like Inky shenanigans back in Izzy Quest?Am >>6130695
>>6131638[Inky's shenanigans involved a demon on your side, too, as RIQ players will recall. Furthermore, Irinnile's dealings with Theral were technically a pact between demon and cambion as well. make of that what you will.]
>>6131638>>6131580Will word it like this :"You have to be aware my sister is pretty much, well, me so she will know what I know."
>>6131643I mean is there honor among demons, or the same promise to subvert the deal as explained by Inky?
>>6131662[I'm sorry not sorry to say that this would be telling. CZ has very little practical knowledge of other demons. and what instinctive/inherited knowledge she has, has already been addressed. Unlike The Infiltrator or Theral (let alone Tips) she doesn't have any academic or operational training in how they operate, just vibes and their reputation. She knows as much (or less) than you.]
>>6131547>>6131580>>6131638>>6131653“Uh, hey, hold on a se,” you say. “I have a few questions.”“Reak,” orders Maladoo.You frown a little at the dog-thing’s tone, but continue, saying:“I’m not, uh, very familiar with demon-y stuff, ya’ know? Like, I’m new ta’ it.”“Rew?” Maladoo seems quizzical. “Remons are eternal. Re are the rimeval rorce.”“The… rhyme-evil force?”“Rrrrr...”“Easy, easy!” you say, waving your hands. “I just wanna’ know, like, are you gonna’ try ‘n… Like, fuck me over later with wording? ‘Cause, no offence, but you Cn barely even make real words.”“Ris form has rimitations, res,” agrees Maladoo. “Rut it is recessary.”You bite back the urge to ask WHY, exactly, it’s necessary to pretend to be a dog. After all, you can see the way his own eyes and ears are flitting to his companions periodically now, as yours are to Svanhilda. Their unblinking eyes are beginning to water, and their eyelids to slowly close over them. You get the intuitive sense that when their slow-motion blink is complete, or something outside this little scene inetrrupts the not-so-frozen moment, this opportunity will be lost.“Can I at elast tlel my sister?” you ask hurriedly. “like,s he’s PRETTY much me, anyway. Like,w e’re the same person, so it’s not really—”“Rell. Ro. One.”“O-okay!” You hastily seize Maladoo’s paw and give it a firm, decisive shake. A heat creeps up your wrist from the contact—which is unusual, as you’re usually a little bit fire-resistant—and you pull your hand back to stare at your palm. A small sigil burns there, sizzling the softer, lighter-green skin there. Your eyes cross as you try to decipher the rune, but it’s gone the moment you blink.(Wait, blink?)“Uuugh, my head.”“MY head, too!”“Jinkies, I think I had a little too much to drink…”“Yeah, I think we all did.”
>>6131753The Maladoo Gang are all alert again, seemingly unaware of the lost time but disoriented and disturbed nevertheless.“Heh, I warned you that ye should ne’er try tae outdrink the dwerrow, aye?” akas Svanhilda, jostling you lightly… But even her pleasantly-plump, rosy cheeks look pallid and sweaty, and her eyes waver.You look to Maladoo, who looks back ck at you, silent and expectan. It takes you a moemtn, but then you realize what exactly it is the hellhound expects.“Uh, h-hey!” you blurt out. “My sis, ZZ, was wonderin’ if we could bo—uhh, use your drake? Ya’ know, like, as bait ta’ lure out the REAL monster?”The Maladoo Gang all turn their collective attention to you, looking variously dubious. There is a ripple in the air, though—a faint murmuration which only you can hear, which seems to come from nowhere and yet—you sense-has a specific, canine cause. You avoid looking at Maladoo as he works his magic, lest it give him away—no, it’s more like you CAN’T look at him, CANNOT say or do anything which might give him away.“Say, I think that sounds pretty swell, actually.”“Freddie?!” exclaims Cyrene.“Well, think about it,” he reasons with the redheaded girl, “this isn’t a demon OR a ghost, OR a guy in a costume with magci trinkets.”“Yeah, like, it’s a little outside our realm of expertise, isn’t it?” admits Norville, all to eager to wash his hands of the creepy creature. “I’d love to study the phenomenon,” laments Vel, “but I have to admit, I’m not really sure how to proceed on our own…”“Then that settles it,” concludes Freddie, smiling wanly. “It’s all yours. We’ve been storin it under a blanket over in the stables, behind our wagon. “But, say, do you mind if we watch you work?”“I’ll ask ZZ,” you promise.“Great,” the big blonde blonde says. “Now I’m really sorry, girls, but I think I’ve got to hit the hay…”The party comes to a premature end, and you find yourself simultaneously saddened and relieved. You enjoyed being around people who didn’t fear you or look t you with disgust—though now that you think about it, maybe that was partly Maladoo’s mojo at work?—but you also are eager to get away from the tense environment with the promised prize secured for your party. It’s your first totally-successful solo mission!Yet even so…<WANT: 14>
>>6131754“I take it ye plan tae take this big galoot back tae your inn?” asks Svanhilda, as you both drag the covered cage down the by-now depopulated streets of Sunset Lake.“Aye,” you answer. “I mean, yeah! ZZ’s gonna’ be so proud.”“Well, it was some shrewd negotiating, to be sure,” agrees Svanhilda. “I dinnae know how ye did it…”“Uh, yeah, me neither,” you lie. “Must be a, l-like, beastgirl knack or somethin’, huh?”“Well, you’re certainly something, that’s for sure.”You feel a sudden focus of attention upon you—amorous appreciation, specifically, which settles on you like a sudden summer heat. It hits your flush face and spreads down into your pounding breast, suffusing your stomach before finally settling down just a LIIIITTLE lower… In your loins.“Ye know,” begins Svanhilda, eyelids half-lowered and a subtle, sly smirk creasing her plump, plum-red lips, “it would be easier, storing yon beastie on the Pearl tonight… And then it would be ready for you and your party tomorrow, at the crack of dawn, with less dragging it hither and tither, aye?”“…Aye,” you agree softly.“But I’d need ye tae stand guard, since it’s not my cargo, and I’m sure that shrewd ‘sister’ of yours is nae keen tae trust some scallywag sailor with her prize, nae?”“Nae,” you agree. “I mean… Uh, aye?”“So,” she asks, “What say ye? Care to stay the night on the Pearl? Though I’ll warn ye, it gets a tad… Rocky, out on the lake. Lots of bumping and swaying back and forth. But if ye stay close to me…”She takes a step closer and, tentatively, place a hand on your side.“It’s not too shabby, aye?”“N-nae,” you respond, breathlessly.Is this really happening? And without a <Charm>?? Oh gosh, oooh fuck… And something about the smell of sweat, and rum, and perfume, and the lake itself all together, and the cool mountain air at night, it just gets you……Uh.…Hard.
>>6131755Oh fuck. Oooh, shit. No, you’re not supposed to be doing this sort of think. Tips never said NO fooling around, but you know from past experience how easy it is to lose control once you start. And you’re DEFINITELY, one-hundred-and-ten-per-fucking-cent not supposed to be doing any of the sort of hanky-panky that leads to little baby demogobbies... Which is all assuming that Svanhilda doesn’t totally freak the fuck out when she realizes you’re ‘equipped’ for such a task, anyway.“Hey,” Svanhilda says with concern. “Ye okay, Cara? We dinnae HAVE to…”You stop tugging at the hem of your hoodie, and laugh an over-loud, mirthless laugh which doesn’t cut the tension in the slightest. You wince at the inevitable response—still greater concern and confusion—and answer:>That you’re not interested [ends Svanhilda romance route]>This is moving a little fast for you [postpones resolution]>Actually, you’ve, uh, got a surprise for her—and the surprise is a penis [???]>There’s no problem at all! But, uh, maybe just above-the-belt fooling around [advances romance route, lowers <WANT> resolution uncertain, must make a roll to avoid frenzy]>Write-in[Maintaining the relationship will also, it should be noted net you a discount to your subsequent uses of The Pearl the boat AND the dwarf, ba dm tsss]
>>6131759>There’s no problem at all! But, uh, maybe just above-the-belt fooling around [advances romance route, lowers <WANT> resolution uncertain, must make a roll to avoid frenzy]What could possibly go wrong?
>>6131759>There’s no problem at all! But, uh, maybe just above-the-belt fooling around [advances romance route, lowers <WANT> resolution uncertain, must make a roll to avoid frenzy]a surprise wang rarely goes well irl so let's start slow first.
>>6131759>Actually, you’ve, uh, got a surprise for her—and the surprise is a penis [???]I feel like this is something we should probably tell her beforehand
>>6131759>There’s no problem at all! But, uh, maybe just above-the-belt fooling around [advances romance route, lowers <WANT> resolution uncertain, must make a roll to avoid frenzy]How does putting a rubber on our demogoblin's tusk would work?
>>6131961>How does putting a rubber on our demogoblin's tusk would work?[Hmm...]>>6131770>>6131795>>6131875>>6131961[Writing!]
>>6132071I mean, is she aware of condoms? Is 'safe sex' a thing with demons? Does it sate want? Does it prevent ectoplasm from crossing through? is that a free sate want loophole? Else, does butt stuff work?
Rolled 6, 3 = 9 (2d20)>>6132071“It’s fine!”You laugh again, but it must still sound rather brittle, to judge by Svanhilda’s expression.“Really, it’s… There’s no prob! But, uh, maybe we can stay… Ya’ know, above the belt?”Svanhilda winces, and for a moment you fele the rueg to apologize, as if you let her down, but then she cups your check.“I’m sorry,” she says. “I’m… Moving a little fast, aye?”“Uh,” you say dumbly.“Since leaving home, I dinnae… There have nae been a lot of opportunities to take things slow,” she admits, “people come, and people go—pun intended—but there’s few as stay around.”In truth, you aren’t sure you’ll be the exception to that particular rule. You’re here because you and ZZ needed some quick coin before making your next move. Sunset lake isn’t exactly your final destination, to the best of your knowledge. However, Svanhilda’s hand has by now moved to remove your hood, and her fingers are in your hair, on your scalp, rubbing repetitive, rhythmic patterns; as such, it hard to make any sounds beside soft gasps and moans.“These are pretty little horns ya’ got here,” she notes, her hands working their way up to the to of your head and your temples. “Are ye a goat-girl, like you’re friend?”“Not… Exactly.”“Aye,” Svanhilda laughs teasingly. “I can tell it’s nae exact. The scales give ye away.”You flinch, feeling suddenly self-conscious, but when you look away one of those strong hands finds your face and guides your eyes back to Svanhilda’s own—dark, deep blue-black pools, like wet stone or deep water.“Whatever ye are, it’s a beautiful thing ye be.”B-beautiful?? You open your mouth to respond, but thinking quickly and expressing yourself in words was never your strong suit. Falling back on primal instinct, you lunge forward and press your lips to hers. Svanhilda is surprised by the sudden force of your passion, stumbling back a step and blurting out something unintelligible into the kiss. A you seize handfuls of her body—softness over strength, femininity girding the dense muscle of the hard-working woman beneath, her exclamation turns into an approving rumble, and she hands find your back and your hair once more, before roaming up and down in exploration, and she returns the kiss with gusto.<WANT: 13>You’re not sure how long you spend like that, bodies entangled, tongues at play. You sense of time is stolen away, your sense of propriety, too. Only a single thin thread of thought provides you the prudence to tuck your… Little surprise… Away between your legs before it pokes and prods, and elicits uncomfortable questions. Eventually, though, the embrace breaks.“Are you okay??”
>>6132089You ask the question belatedly, seeing how flushed Svanhilda is, and how she doubles over with hands on knees to gasp for breath. You well remember the last time you embraced someone like that—your own close-combat instructor. It had taken him the better part of a day to regain the ability to stand and to move around. It must be true what they say about the indefatigability of the dwarven race, though, because Svanhidla Pearl rises like the tide and stands straight as a mainmast before too long, with a lopsided grin and a twinkle in her eye.“Damn,” she says, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “You’re SOME kisser, or I’m a kobold’s aunt!”“…Huh?”Old dwarf saying,” she explains . “Buts peaking of izards, should we nae get yon beastie aboard the Pearl, before we forget ourselves?”You follow her gesture and gaze to the covered cage containing your night’s main objective, and yelp in embarrassment and surprise. You HAD nearly forgotten it. Svanhilda just laughs and, to your delight if also your distraction, gooses you on her away to grab the other end of the cage. The drake within makes a croaking rattle of displeasure as you lift its container unevenly, and haul it up the gangplank and aboard the Pear. You set it out near a collection of other crates and boxes holding Svanhilda’s other supplies, and then you turn towards one another again.“So, shall we—Oop!”Before Svanhilda can say much more, you are upon her again, hands finding her full chest and greppable hips. She moans and bites her lip as your sharp teeth nibble ear, and down to nape of neck. You tug at her top, exposing more of her pale flesh and the deep well of her cleavage, until the pink edge of areola threatens to spill forth. Only then does Svanhilda place a hand upon yours and apply her strength to stop you.You bite back outrage at being so denied, so close to the finish line. Between your knees, you feel a needy throb. Within your core, a yawning void roars with hunger long denied.“Below decks might be more comfortable, aye?”Occultism roll: 6, 3, vs. DC 13 (current <WANT>). Result: FAILURE" Ņ̴̟͎̰̖̈̏̑͌̄̊ă̴̱̜̱̘͕͜ê̶͔̣̼͚̰̐̾́̏̂ͅ ," you snarl.You can’t wait any longer. You’ve waited too long already—so, so LONG, denying your hunger, your nature, your<WANT>. You rip open her blouse and expose her pale, rounds breasts to the pale, round moon. Your eyes widen, taking in the sight, and to dive upon her like a predator upon prey, occupying your mouth and your hands eagerly and at once.“W-woah, easy gir—UUL! Ah!”
>>6132097You take in deep wafts of Svanhilda’s scent and essence as you ample her skin. Every sensory impression of her floods your mind. Her gasps and moans, shrieks and squeals, and faintly-dying protests become a symphony of sensation, raw and wild and wet and hot. Al earlier thought of restraint, of propriety, of ZZ or Tips or your own insecurities evaporates as Svanhilda’s own experience of the moment reverberates back to you in pulses of pleasure, and pain, and excitement, and terror.“C-Cara, hey, I said—”You make a sound you don’t recognize, and Svanhilda’s plump features pale further as she looks up at you. You pin her down upon the deck and strip her naked and bare, shredding clothes with claws to get at more of her supple flesh to explore her more fully. Your jaw hangs low and open to take in more of her odor, more of her taste. You breathe in the air like an animal, in ragged gasps, and even as she struggles a little you grab handfuls of her thigh-flesh to pry her apart, to access the arousal you KNOW is there, waiting, waiting for you to TAKE it, OWN it, EAT it FILL it C̴͓͚̼͙̀͋Ò̴̭̤͎̟͔̎́͐̈́́̆̓̊͘͠͝͠Ń̴̨̠̭̪͖̝̩̪͉͉̙̦͛͊́͋̏̿͋̿͛͊̊̿͜͠ͅͅS̵͙͉̠͕̫̜̦̝͇̻̿̍̐͆̿̀͆̑͊̋̇͌̓͑̆U̷̡̹͈̯̬͇̣̦̔͛́̌̎͑̀͝M̶̗̠̼̀̓̉̔̇̈̓̋̎͗̈́̕̚̚È̶̡͎̜̰̣̈́̾̈͘ —KLAPPThe slap rings out across the docks, so crips and clear you’d be surprised if they couldn’t hear it clear across the lake. There’s force behind it, too, as well there might be from those muscled arms and strong hands. It’s not enough to dislodge you physically, not as you presently are, but it IS enough to momentarily stun you. Your frenzy broken, you scramble back in an awkward crab-walk, up and off of Svanhilda Pearl. She lies there on her back for a moment, naked bosom heaving, bare skin covered in scratches and scrapes that well with beads of blood. You choke back a panicked sound.
>>6132098“Are you…” you begin the sentence, knowing the question is asinine even before it forms. No, she is NOT okay.“I think… I think you should go now.” Svanhilda says, pushing herself up on her elbows and collecting a scrap of her clothing, which she stares at in dumfounded disbelief before, absurdly, clutching to her chest.“I, uh… I didn’t mean to…”“Get OFF,” Svanhilda shouts, attempted to affect her usual operatic baritone only for her voice to break, “my BOAT!”You hop to your hooves and take a few steps back, hands outstretched as if to appease. Svanhidla only shrinks away from your extended, battle-ready talons, though. You turn around and grab hold of the side of the Pearl, not even bothering with the gangplank as you haul yourself off the vessel and out into the cold night air. You make the leap onto the dock, landing on all fours. In the wet reflection upon the wood, you see the yellow glow of your demonic eyes staring back at you, illuminated with stolen sexual energy.<WANT: 9>It is cold comfort, as you scramble, aimless, into the unknown night.…
>>6132075All very good questions, which CZ does not know the answers to. Though I will point out that even modern condoms aren't 100% effective, pre-modern ones less-so, and a shapeshifting sex-monster from Hell is another unknown quantity. WANT can be sated many ways, though--consuming energy or souls via physical contact is just the easiest and most effective, and more heightened physical and emotional sensations cause it to be sated more satisfyingly and effectively.
>>6132099…You wake up grumpy, but at least well-rested. Being so well-rested is, if you’re being honest, part of the reason you’re so grumpy. You’re a goblin—WERE a goblin—and as far as your inner goblin teenager is concerned, it’s not a proper morning if you wake up without any action or even a decent hangover.“Ha,” you exhale ruefully. “bet even CZ got more action than I did. Fuckin’ wild.”You do your morning stretches—it’s important to stay limber, at your age. You ARE almost thirty years old, after all, and your average goblin only lives to fifty or so even IF they’re lucky enough not to die in some sort of battle or accident before then. Your transformation to a feytouched ‘nilbog’ presumably extended your life at least a little—you certainly don’t FEEL old—but the habits of your mid-twenties haven’t abandoned you yet.keeee-roooaakYou look over at Hershy, and find the little feathered chimera-drake stretching and yawning just as you are, the cute little shit. You scratch under his chin, noting the flecks of pale white his his godlen feather-beard, and sighing.“Neitehr fo us are getting any younger, Tips’ wiz-kid shit aside, huh?”Hershy makes some meaningless animal noise of acknowledgement—‘yes, I hear you, and no, I don’t speak Common’—and hops upon your shoulder. You cringe and hiss at the pinpricks of the prick’s little claws, and lift him up, dangling him awkwardly and ignoring her frog-like ribbits of protest until you have properly buckled your pauldron in place upon which he might more pleasantly perch. He grooms himelf defiantly; you stick outyour tongue at him.“Aight!” you bark to your subordinates. “Up an’ at ‘em! Early gob gets the grub, ain’t it so?!”An-Yii and Yeb-Uit rise, groaning in traditional goblin protest but obeying the order nevertheless. Khorine just stares at you frm over a mug of herbal-smelling tea she is sipping.“I was up hours ago,” the goat-girl points out. “Disciples of the True Fey rise with the sun.”“Really?” you ask incredulously. “I thought Tips was just, like, a fuckin’ nerd.”“who?”“Nevermind.” You look around. “Hey, where’s CZ?”The others join you in looking around, and after a muddled, half-awake conversation conclude she didn’t come back to the inn last night—at least, nobody remembers her return.“Fuck’s sakes,” you groan. “Well, come on. She’s prob’ly at the boat. HOPEFULLY with the drake.”
>>6132112……“HOW much?!”Svanhilda Pearl—fat and greedy fuck that she is—stands astride her vessel with arms crossed, looking exhausted and miserable as you now feel. Even from here, you can see he bags under her eyes and the hickeys on her neck.(Typical—drunk-ass greedy-ass dwarf got herself all liquored and fucked last night, lucky bitch, and now she wants YOU to subsidize HER bender. Ugh!)“We agreed on four points,” you point out, keeping your voice level.“Storage fee, for yon cargo,” she says, gesturing towards some covered cage that—by the croaking coming from underneath and Hershy’s reaction—does, indeed, contain your captive critter. “That’s an extra two points.You have 12 points“That’s bullshit!” you rage. “That’s fuckin’ EXTORTION!”“Aye?” Svanhilda says, glaring down at you. “You’re lucky that’s all it is, after last night.”“Huh?” you balk. “The fuck is THAT s’psoed ta’ mean?”“Nothing,” Svanhilda mutters. “Never ye mind.”“Oh, I fuckin’ mind alright,” you seethe. “Where’s CZ, anyway? SHE secure the fuckin’ thing, didn’t she?”“How should I know?” Svanhilda demands, sounds strangely hysterical for a moment before clearing her throat. “She bounded off into the night like a wildcat. Have nae seen her since. I assumed she returned to ye.”“Well she didn’t.” You groan, palming your face.(CZ, what the fuck HAPPENED last night??)Time’s a-wasting, though, a spiritual connection or no, you don’t exactly have a means to track her. What you DO have is one bottle of tracking potion to administer to the captured cave-drake on the Pearl, and a matching metal rod—a ‘dowsing rod’, apparently—shoddily enchanted to follow the potion until it is entirely excreted or expelled… At least, so sayeth the khoblis salesman you bought it off of.What will you do?>Leap aboard the Pearl and menace Svanhilda, demanding answers and your drake>Go searching around town for your missing sister—maybe start with the Maladoo Gang?>Pay the damn fare and get on with your mission—CZ will be fine for a while, surely?>Split the group [how?]>Write-in
>>6132113>>Pay the damn fare and get on with your mission—CZ will be fine for a while, surely?Interpret things as Svanhilde getting dicked down, and recommand getting some of that herbal tea Khorine can brew that prevent "troubles" stemming from one night stands.
>>6132113>Pay the damn fare and get on with your mission—CZ will be fine for a while, surely?fuck us, but at least she hasn't ditched her services.
>>6132114>>6132193“Ugh, FINE.”You have 6 points left.You pony up the money, counting out the necessary coins under Svanhilda’s scrutinizing eye. When the last gleaming copper disk is produced, and only then, does she lower the Pearl’s gangplank to allow you, Yeb, An, and Khorine abord. When the faun’s twig blight is aboard, the plank is pulled back up and the boat set a-sail, once more, upon dawn-dappled Sunset Lake.You and your gobs watch the water as you indulge in a light breakfast of sated and fat-preserved trail rations, most fat and berries rolled into a dry-yet-chewy ground tuber-flour. Khorine declines, turning up her nose at the offering.“What, worried you’ll puke it all up?” you tease her.“It would be an improvement, as I see it,” she says.You chuckle a little at that. In truth, you’re pleased to see the little goat-girl has some pep in her today—you’ll need it, being a gob down and all. You spare one last glance at the docks, as if you’ll see CZ scrambling to make the boat but, nope. No CZ.(Damnit...)You sigh and turn your attention back to more immediate matters. You instruct Svanhilda to steer the ship back towards the place where you—or Green Leif Company, technically—stirred up the fat slimy goober to begin with. To the dwarf’s credit, the Pearl is already aimed at that same angle; either Cara-Zi told her your plans, or Svanhilda intuited them from context. A part of you worries that Leif and his crew will be here, too, but not today. Maybe they have some other strategy, though you don’t yet see their rented vessel out on the water. Maybe you’re just too early?“Early gob gets the grub~” you repeat, a bit more smug and sing-song about it this time.Your mood sours a little as you see a different mop of blonde hair surrounded by a second-string set of ‘adventurers’ headed your way: The Maladoo Gang, on a rickety dinghy that barely looks lake-worthy.“Shit,” you grumble, “whadda’ these kids want now?”Louder, you shout: “Go fish somewhere else, twerps! This spot’s taken!”“We know!” shouts back their leader cheerfully. “We’re just here to watch you work! Cara said she was going to ask you if it was okay?”You turn your head to Svanhilda, who looks like she just took a swig of sour milk, but nods.(Fuck.)“Well, she didn’t!” you yell back. “But if yer waitin’ fer an answer, it’s…”>Yes—in a pinch, extra unpaid helpers could be handy, and what harm could it do?>No—they’re a distraction at best and competition at worst>Contingent on how they answer a question of yours [write-in]Going to hang with friends for tonight, so getting another quick update in.
>>6132345>Yes—in a pinch, extra unpaid helpers could be handy, and what harm could it do?sure, let them come. the himbo is harmless.
>>6132345>Yes—in a pinch, extra unpaid helpers could be handy, and what harm could it do?We don't know what deal CZ cut with them, and we are borrowing their newt right now so it's tough to say no.
>>6132345>>Yes—in a pinch, extra unpaid helpers could be handy, and what harm could it do?
>>6132345>Yes—in a pinch, extra unpaid helpers could be handy, and what harm could it do?
Rolled 6, 14, 11, 8, 6 = 45 (5d20)>>6132616>>6132596>>6132410>>6132360“…Yeah, sure, why not?”Your initial reaction had been to tell the lousy kids to scram, but seeing their puppy-dog faces, you just can’t say no. Besides, they’reharmless. Might as well have the extra hands around—or extra eyes witness you win this little lakefront monster-hunt! You’re in this for coin more than for ‘glory’, as CZ had put it, but reputation meant an easier time making more money in the future.Which just leaves the money-making matter of the ‘mander. It’s a good thing Khorine’s feeling less lakesick today, because her animal-handling skills—aided by her twig-blight’s might and An-Yii’s experience administering medicine to thrashing goblings—all prove invaluable in getting the damned drake to gulp down the glowing goo from your little vial. “Steady!” you instruct them, leveraging your abundant aptitude for leadership. “Watch out for the—”Khorine rolls Handle Animal + Survival (2d20) +1d20 each for the twig blight's grapple, and Yeb-Uit and An-Yii's assistance with their own Survival and Medical stats, and the DC is reduced to 13 thanks to ZZ's supervision and Leadership.
>>6132791A wad of poisonous, purplish plegm flies by your head, which you narrowly tilt out of the lien of fire. Your eyes follow the glob as it splatters upon the water’s surface, spreading out into a bubbling, oily mess.“The spit?” An-Yii grunt. “Yeah, we got it. Thanks, Boss.”You grimace, then turn back to your subordinates’ struggles. Between the twig blight keeping the critter in a firm, spiny headlock, and Yeb-Uit pinning the body by essentially rolling the drake up in it’s fin-like wings (wing-like fins?), the cave-lake-drake has nowhere it can really go, and nothing it can keep free, allowing your team’s little ladies to go to work.“Here,” says Khorine, extending a hand containing something tick and wriggling, “put the potion on this grub.”“Where did ya’ even get that?” asks An-Yii staring at it.“See, THIS is why you city-folk need to go outside more often,” Khorine lectures. “If you DID, you’d know that—”An-Yii snatches the grub from her hand with a goblin’s typical lack of squeamishness.“I ain’t exactly city folk,” she points out flatly, then turns towards the ‘patient’ before her.“Say ‘aaaah’,” she says without humour in her voice.Hhhhkkkkroooaaak“Close enough,” An mutters, jamming her arm elbow-deep into the bloated amphibian’s gullet. “Heh, ‘s not all that dif’rent from feedin’ meds ta’ Hershy,” you quip, to Hershy’s vocal objection.She releases the grub and withdraws her arm just as a mouth, lined with translucent-thin, sharp-looking teeth, comes crashing won like a beartrap. An-Yii takes a deep breath of relief, shaking some mucous off of her offended limb but evidently otherwise unharmed.“Alright… See that relaxing on contarctinga round the throat and chest?” Khorine exposits. “It’s—”“Swallowin’,” Yeb concludes. “Yup. Let ‘er go!”Khorine gestures to the twig blight, and it does just that. Freed from its cage of steel and now its ‘cage’ of stabby branches, the freshly-fed drake wobbles and squirms its way towards the ship’s starboard hull with surprising speed for all its awkwardness. It slips under the bullwork and flops down into the drink, dispersing its own horrid loogie and disappearing rapidly into the depths.
>>6132811“Amazing!” enthuses that Frederich guy. “Uh, what now?”“Now?” You pull out the lightly-enchanted metal rod which came with the potion.It feels a touch warmer in your hand than when you last held it—and not JUST because you’d been storing it between ‘the girls’, you suspect. Bent at a ninety-degree angle, its ufrtehst point pulls gently, as if drawn by a magnet, toards the farshore of the lake.“Now, we go fishin’. Svannie!”“Dinnae call me that,” sighs Svanhilda Pearl, though she’s already turning the vessel towards the indicated direction. Only a moment later, the Maladoo Gang are issuing their own matching orders to whatever weekend fisherman they managed to get to take them out. You glance back, since they’re trailing behind, and hope that their added presence won’t be enough to spook your true quarry.“Hey,” you mutter to yourself, squinting at the four familiar humans, “where’s that weird-ass dog?”……When you finally stopped running—running without thought, without direction—you were already on the outskirts of Sunset Lake. The press of human thoughts, unguarded and dreaming, busy with ‘nighttime activities’, they were oppressive in their temptation. The thought of being seen, perceived, understood for what you were was unbearable even so. Torn between warring instincts to fight-fuck-or-flee, you opted for the last one, and did it until the urge finally fled from YOU, exhausted. You really fucked up…The sting of Svanhilda’s slap was still upon your cheek and the sight of her naked, sprawled, scraped and bleeding body beneath you was still fresh and vivid in your mind, so real you could reach out and grab a handful of—You pulled your hands back towards you, banishing the image with a needy whine.That was the worst part, that night: that, though your <WANT> had calmed, you still did still want more.You wanted to apologizeYou wanted to finish what you startedYou gripped at your groin in frustration and agony, tortured by the worst case of blue-balls you’d ever felt, and flopped onto your side. Craning your neck and mashing your face into the gritty mix of gravel and dirt, you took in your hidey-hole: some old cobblestone footbridge between the town and the neighbouring wilderness, and those scattered homesteads out in Sunset Lake’s boonies.“Heh,” you force a laugh through the sniffles. “Pretty sure it’s s’psoed ta’ be troll under bridges, not…”(Not whatever-the-fuck you were. Why did you have to be LIKE this??)
>>6132815You lay there for some time, that night—barely moving even to attend to your frustrated need. It didn’t work, anyway—just made it worse, until eventually, keening pathetically in self-loathing and psycho-sexual succubus hunger, you drifted off to sleep…And dreamt. Dreamt 'the dream', that old familiar dream. Dreamt of the musty old Goblintown storage room…Of the little green goblin-girl.Of the tall shapeshifter with the red-brown hair, and the serpentine eyes which no true half-orc should have.Of the golden diamond eyes staring out, invisible to all others, from within the shapeshifter, staring with a hunger you know all too well.Of the act.Of the aftermath.Of…>A great, lidless eye in the shadows, watching and documenting the event without passion but rather with the archivist’s interest>A suit of armour propped in the far corner—salvage? stolen?—reflecting the green of the goblin girl and her oddly-equipped ‘half-orc’ lover
>>6132816>A suit of armour propped in the far corner—salvage? stolen?—reflecting the green of the goblin girl and her oddly-equipped ‘half-orc’ lover;_;Why you gotta pull on my heartstrings like that…
>>6132816>A suit of armour propped in the far corner—salvage? stolen?—reflecting the green of the goblin girl and her oddly-equipped ‘half-orc’ lover
>>6132816>>A suit of armour propped in the far corner—salvage? stolen?—reflecting the green of the goblin girl and her oddly-equipped ‘half-orc’ lover
>>6132816>A great, lidless eye in the shadows, watching and documenting the event without passion but rather with the archivist’s interest>>6132844>;_;>Why you gotta pull on my heartstrings like that…is that the Yosef guy ?
>>6132921>>6132910>>6132891>>6132844You dream of shining steel…Your gaze—if ‘gaze’ is the right word for your strange, amorphous sense of environmental perspective in this state—settles upon something you never recall seeing before, when you dreamt this dream: a suit of silvery armour, seating propped up in one corner of the dusty goblin-dug cellar. It was not exempt from the drifting dirt about the space, a thin powder-coating of tan-brown obscuring the metal’s lustre; even so, it was reflective enough to mirror, in some measure, the bare, green flesh of your mother and ‘father’.A knight… A green knight…“That is right.”You practically jump out of your skin at the sudden, booming voice, which is when you realize that you have skin and the ability to jump. You put yourself down with your hands, confirming that, yes, you have a body, and that body has hands. It’s like when you were delving into An-Yii’s dream now—you are YOU again!…And then you catch sight of your luminous yellow eyes in the armour’s chest-plate. And then you remember what went down earlier this night. And then you very much wish that you WEREN’T you.“There is no helping it.”You yelp and jump back. The chest-plate vibrates slightly with the voice this time, confirming that, yes, the limp, still suit of armour in the corner of the storeroom IS the source of the mysterious voice. You glance back at your parents, or progenitors, or composite parts, or WHATEVER, but they are still cuddled close, laying spend and sweaty, unbothered by ghostly voices. Whatever’s going on, it’s definitely new… And, seemingly, just for you.You look back to the armour, which still (thank fuck!) hasn’t made any movements to indicate it is alive. You creep closer, hopping forward in an ape-like hunch, and flick the forehead of the knightly helm. It makes an echoing ‘ting’, but remains seated and still.“Hello?”You reach out tentatively to touch the visor, intending to lift it up. You find yourself dreading what you might find within yet needing to know.“Is, like… Anybody home?”“No.”“Eep!”You fall flat on your (thankfully) well-padded ass, and stare up at the helm, still unmoving as the rest.
>>6132952“I am dead and gone, as with all our house,” says the voice, and you sense a deep sadness there. “Our legacy is broken, brought low by our enemies and abandoned by our friends… Our gold tarnished, our blood polluted, our honour sullied. By our own diseased hand was our legacy wrecked. Truly, as the holy poets said: there is no strong man, only weak flesh and feeble spirit…” “Heh, heheh… Yeah, I get that,” you say, absurdly trying to make conversation with the empty suit. “You know, just earlier tonight, this guy Freddie was tellin’ me about a suit a’ armour like you. It was a pretty good night, actually… ‘Til it wasn’t, ‘cause, uh, my flesh an’ spirit got all… Weak ‘n feeble, I guess.”You bring your knees up to your chest and wrap your overlong arms around them.“Say,” you hazard a guess. “Are you a ‘night knight’? Like… A real one, I mean? A ghost-type thingie?”“Undead? ABSOLUTELY not!” objects the ghost (but NOT ghostly, apparently?) voice. “In life, I was a bulwark against the darkness! Against necromancy, against demons and devils of the pit, against dragons and other evils! A protector of virtue and innocence, against such unclean things!”“Hahaha, yeah, t-totally!” you agree. “Me too. I’m not a demon or nothin’, either.”You scoot back a bit, just in case the not-a-night-knight finds his sword somewhere. The empty aegis makes no move, though, against you or otherwise, and eventually you can’t help but ask:“Hey, how did ya’ do it?”“Do what?”“Be a bul-whatever?”“A bulwark against darkness?“Yeah! That!” you agree. “If flesh is all gross and spirit’s weak… How’d you do it?”
>>6132953“The poets knew, as a knight knows, that flesh and spirit alone cannot prevail against the wickedness and filth of this world,” the knight answers you, with the air of received wisdom being recited from memory. “Our very selves, all that we are, is a product of darkness… And Men, unlike Elves, were never blessed to be touched by the Gods Above. Nay, we must find our own way—must cut away the ties which bind us to our ignoble origins, and strive upwards and onwards, by clean thoughts and noble deeds.“Right, right,” you nod, then grimace. “An’ like… if yer thoughts are unclean, and make you wanna’ do not-so-noble kinds a’ deeds?”The armour still doesn’t move, and yet you get the strange and eerie sense that it sees you, TRULY sees you, for the first time. It doesn’t turn to regard you, yet you find your eyes fixed on the visor, and you feel as if something behind the visor is fixed upon you.“We all do, young one.” the knight admits, voice softer and quieter. “The path of a holy knight is a path of denial, of resistance, and of constant vigilance, even against oneself. Against greed, against lust, against envy and cruelty. The armour of righteousness does not just keep the darkness without from breaching one’s flesh; it keeps the darkness WITHIN from spilling out.”“Uh… Huh,” you say, head hurting a little. “An’ if ya’, like… Don’t have any armour?”“Then you must craft it,” answers the armour. “Our family did not become knights by divine right, child. We FORGED ourselves into knights. We MADE our armour of righteousness. You must make yours.”Your head spins a little. What?? You aren’t exactly a blacksmith, so how’re you supposed to do THAT/ or is this, like… A metaphorical thing? How are you supposed to start THAT, then? You wrack your brain for an answer, but even as you begin to formulate your next question, you see a beam of sunlight shine through the high, narrow window to your right—the sole part of the storeroom which peeks above ground. You wince at the sudden streak of sunlight reflecting off the armour, and something instinctive to your being informs you that your time is running out.
>>6132954“Hey, w-wait!” you say. “Who are you? Before I wake up, who ARE you?”You scramble up to the armour, grabbing hold up it as if to keep it from slipping away from you. The dust lifts off of it as the sunlight brightens more and more of the dream-time storeroom, washing away your parents, and this place, and even your memories of the conversation—all except those vague waking impressions which the conscious mind can stand to hold. The last and most substantial of those—the one that sticks with you when you wake, is the reflection of your own warty, scaly, hairy, yellow-eyed, snaggle-toothed face in the shining steel of the dream-knight’s chestplate, and the voice’s parting words:“I am what I am, just as you are,” it tells you. “And I am ALSO a knight of House Yosef. The question is… Who are YOU?”…You blink you eyes a couple times, and pull your face out of the mud which your tears and sleep-drool have created. You wipe the muck from your face and sit up, feeling far from refreshed. It’s morning now, and you’re still under the bridge. Shameful recollections return with dawn’s light; you shield your face from the sun, but you don’t shrink away from it, like some creature of darkness…Which is good, because the darkness is, apparently, already occupied.You jump back a little when you first notice the shadowy shape sharing your space beneath the bridge. You first take it for a wild animal, and a moment later you realize you’re approximately half right in that assessment: a pair of slightly-folded ears raise atop an overlarge head, and a large, lupine figure rises on long, awkward legs. You recognize your visitor at last by the shine of his eyes.“Uh, hey, Maladoo… Whatcha’ doin’ here?”“I rould ask rou the rame restion.”“Uh…?”“Revermind,” he says. “Risten, rou rould be rareful, ristening to reams. Rey aren’t alrays rut the reem.”“…UHHH?”Maladoo sighs, and shakes his big dumb-looking dog head. His jowls flap with the movement, and it’s kind of cute. With great effort, you manage not to laugh.“Wait,” you say after taking a moment to mentally translate from Maladoo to proper, intelligible Common, “did you spy on my dream?”(Not like you have much room to get offended at that, you suppose…)
>>6132958Maladoo doesn’t answer, though, instead asking a question of his own:“Are rou roing to rollow the armour adrice?” he asks, voice betraying no judgement. “Rill rou rollow the rath of relf-renial and righteousress?”Will you follow the advice of the Knight of House Yosef, pursuing a path of denying and subduing your sinful impulses in pursuit of virtue?>Yes![All <WANT> rolls are reduced in their DC by 2, and you will unlock character specializations focused on resisting and fighting evil, but you will not be able to gain dark/demonic powers while you are on this path, and Charm and Fear will work less effectively on mortal beings not affiliated with dark powers]>Hells no![Locks this path; no other change]>You’re not really sure[Leave it open for now, no other change.]Be aware: this will also affect CZ's behaviour and attitude during updates.
>>6132921In a sense.Just not the cooler Yosef, sadly ;_;>>6132959>Hells no!>You’re not really sureSorry, got baited by cringe it seems. It’s Infiltrator or hell for me baby!
>Yes!We haven't got a "god say its bad nature, selft try to be good" character and my understanding of the secrets learned by a couple (trouple) of Esoteric seeker makes me want to fuck around and find out.
>>6132977The choice is ultimately yours- fair warning though, this particular bit of lore relating to the knight isn’t… pleasant, especially given the particular nature of CZ.And I will be voting to buck this armor at every turn, if CZ does decide to don it.
>>6132959>You’re not really sure>>6132981>The choice is ultimately yours- fair warning though, this particular bit of lore relating to the knight isn’t… pleasant, especially given the particular nature of CZ.>And I will be voting to buck this armor at every turn, if CZ does decide to don it.so you're against the self-control path just because you don't like the character offering it ?
>>6132959>Yes!I love the paladin demon trope
>>6132981>>6132985[Actual minor spoiler below.]The 'green knight' in the dream is not intended to necessarily be Heinrich Yosef, the last man to hold that mantle. His identity is [REDACTED AND POSSIBLY IRRELEVANT] but one could choose to interpret him, at present, as a nameless representative of the chivalry virtues which the twins' human ancestors once upheld.
>>6132985Yes- I feel that it’s perverse, and had I known, I would’ve voted for the Eye. It dredged up many complicated emotions I thought settled, and the mere thought simply enrages me at this moment.>>6132993While that maybe the case, the symbolism similarities is too strong for me to ignore. If this was Izzy, maybe I could contextualize it as an emotional resolution, or a path that could’ve been and thus is now, but as CZ…. well, old feelings die a bitter death.I’m sorry for the outburst, I’ll go touch grass now.
>>6132993sure thing, that clears things for me.
>>6133010the eye ?
>>6133013It’s not supposed to- it relates to bygone quests before the current iteration. Pay it no heed, vote with your heart.>>6133015>A great, lidless eye in the shadows, watching and documenting the event without passion but rather with the archivist’s interestAye, the Eye! I’m sure we’ll stumble upon it later desu, so no worries.
>>6133010>Yes- I feel that it’s perverse, and had I known, I would’ve voted for the Eye. It dredged up many complicated emotions I thought settled, and the mere thought simply enrages me at this moment.But why thoughBecause Heinrich was the one who killed the Infiltrator, or something else?
>>6133059Partially- but that ultimately feeds into the real issue. That Iri, despite decades of deprivation and abuse… chose love him, and sought to save him, in spite of [True Love] with Izzy, or whatever proximation of it. That Stockholm syndrome and whatever demonic psychology made that farce of a relationship, that ‘love’, just as ‘real’, or more potent, than her relationship with Izzy.And the last remnants of that union, distilled into what’s arguably their lovechild by Tip’s spell… had a demonic dream of the memory of a Green Knight, whispering of fallen glory, speaking in the same tones the late ‘great’ fallen knight….in child completely unrelated to those events, except for the remnants of said demonic essence?My biggest regret, besides Edwin, was suggesting to promise to leave Heinrich alive when we had him dead to rights.I can’t help my feelings here. I’m shocked they resurfaced with such vicious force desu. If the Green Ghost is unrelated to Heinrich, in honor of the late Lord Yosef (a different Yosef), I can probably find a way to deal, but in my heart of hearts I always saw the Zi sisters as the second coming of the Infiltrator.
>>6133095I kinda see, I guess?my heart of hearts I always saw the Zi sisters as the second coming of the Infiltrator.This part I don't get though, the Infiltrator is dead and gone (which I actually approve of, we couldn't do THE LEGEND justice by dragging her through another 3 quests). ZZ is her own being, and if CZ is the second coming of anyone it would be Iri.
>>6133095Technically Isaac and Heinrich both spent some time as the twentieth and twenty-first Lord Yosef, respectively, though Henirch only held the title as a puppet of Iri and his cousin Theral, and for less than a year, but that's neither here nor there.>>6133013[Never fear, any details which the characters know or which becime plot relevant will appear diagetically in the story. I wouldn't make newbies read three years if backlogs to have weird goblin-girl adventures.]
>>6133107My intention was always to favor what the Infiltrator would’ve done (since, ya know, parentage and the essence keeping memories/instincts). The coding was already there- ZZ is pretty much the Infiltrator-lite (but more mammalian), and people were already going down the stealth route with CZ. So, second coming.>>6133109….thanks for reminding me of that bit, I totally forgot Isaac wasn’t the ‘last Lord Yosef’, even if I desperately wish it.Makes me wish… if only we went a different route when Izzy’s parentage was revealed. So many regrets, so little words to express them…
>>6132961>>6132977>>6132985>>6132988[Given our tie and the importance of this vote, I'll hold off on updating again tonight. Happy Halloween!]
>>6133160[breaking the tie for>you're not really suresince you folks haven't got a clear consensus, intention-blending with the initial characterization vote from >>6114070. I hope that's satisfactory for now?]>>6132988>>6132988>>6132977>>6132961“M-maybe?”Maladoo gives no indication of his approval or disapproval, so you continue,, unable to help yourself:“I dunno’, ya’ know? I just… I am what I am, but that doesn’t mean I like it? It doesn’t mean I WANNA’ be like this. A freak, a monster, a—”“Rambion.”“H-huh?” Maladoo groans, shutting his eyes and lowering his head. You watch in confusion as he backs up a few steps, turning around and then—to your fascination and horror, rising up onto his hind legs. His bones and ligaments shift and warp, crack and realign into a bipedal stance. He raises his paws to his head and, while you cannot see what they do from your angle, you hear more sickening pops and wet ripping sounds. When he turns around again, he is changed—still canine, but less a dog and more a dog-MAN, an emaciated and ghoulish thing. His jaw is realigned, his jowls dripping with gore.“There,” he says, speaking clearly now, “that’s better.”(You’re not so sure it is, frankly. He was a lot cuter before…)
>>6133417“You are a CAMBION. A mortal soul bound tight with the residue of the Pit—the prison into which the primordial souls of this sphere were cast, in ancient days, before Sun or Moon or Stars. You are not a ‘freak’; you are a native child of this cosmic egg, fed on its yolk, housed in its shattered shell.”You blink a few times, uncomprehending, and eventually hazard a: “OH? Y-yeah? That’s… Uhh… That’s cool.”Maladoo regards you placidly, as if considering whether to continue., but continue eh does:“There is another path. Not a path of self-denial, but of self-ACCEPTANCE.”“Hehe, the, uh, the ‘Rark Rath’?”Maladoo growls, and you stop your giggling.“Do not mock it, little cambion,” he warns you. “Do not dismiss it. If it is control you seek, and mastery, you would do well to understand your nature before you try to shape it.”You feel your chest tighten, and you withdraw a little into the armour of your monk hoodie, now sodden and soiled from your night beneath the bridge. It’s not exactly the shining armour of the silver-green ‘Yosef’ guy in your dreams, but a part of you still hopes it can protect you from Maladoo—from his words, from their implications, and from the strange yearning it elicits within you.“Like, okay,” you say noncommittally. “Let’s just say I wanted ta’ do that…”“I have no time to teach you,” Maladoo answers your question before you ask I, and before you can deflate with disappointment, he adds: “There is one who can. The Master of the Insightful Eye.”You squint a little, recalling a vague half-memory of something like an eye in your dream. But, no… it’s gone, escaping your waking recollection far more totally than even the increasingly foggy memory of the ghostly knight.“An’ how would I find this eye-guy?” you ask.“That,” Maladoo replies, “I can teach, if you take the time.”You bite your lip. The prospect is scary, and somehow feels subversive. You’re sure Tips wouldn’t like it, and pretty sure ZZ would disapprove as well. And… Oh shit, it’s morning! You should be getting back, shouldn’t you? Back to…An-Yii… And Svanhilda… And the Pearl… And all those other people who’ll look at you as the freak you still feel like. People you’ve frightened, or harmed. People who, at their core, are less like you than Maladoo, whatever-the-fuck HE is.(And as scary as the dog-demon is, as his ‘Dark Path’ is, it’s also kinda’ exciting, right?)What will you do?>Learn from Maladoo[Stay beneath the bridge, advance your demonic abilities; CZ will not be absent for the next part of the Monster of Sunset Lake arc]>Return to your sister’s side[CZ will be given a chance to intervene and aid in the next part Monster of Sunset lake arc, but will not advance down either path or gain any new abilities]>Something else[Write-in]
>>6133418>Return to your sister’s sideZZ is probably pretty worried by now
>>6133418>Learn from MaladooWe need to learn our capabilities so we know how to not fuck up again
>>6133418>Learn from Maladoo.Either we take up the yosef path of chivalry to subdue our demoniac nature. Or we learn to master it, but we can't simply stay the course.CZ is a loose cannon right now with no way to master or suppress her desires. inevitably her want is going to go out of control again. When that happens she'll savage who ever looks open/vulnerable. this is me.>>6130005>>6127563
>>6133534“I wanna learn!”You meet the eyes of the Hellish hound, and try to convey your determination through your own.“I need ta know how ta… Ya know, not fuck up again,” you say petering off pathetically at the end. “I might not be ‘knight’ material or nothin’, but I at least don’t wanna be a danger ta the people around me.”Maladoo laughs that unnerving laugh of his.“I believe that if you follow this path, you will become MUCH more dangerous, actually,” he explains the apparent inside joke. “To those you WISH to harm, of course.”“Oh!” you say. “Well, that’s cool, too.”The hound beckons you forth, and steps out from under the bridge. As he does, his posture shifts and twists, and he tumbles back down onto his forepaws, and strides forth on all fours once more.“Rum, rambion,” he commands you. “I have ruch rights to row rou.”…
>>6133432>>6133527>>6133671…The Pearl trails the arcane signature of the loosed newt across the lake for almost an hour. It isn’t that Sunset Lake is that big, but rather that the animal fails to follow the straights hot to its hidden den which you had hoped it might. Rather, it lead you on a merry chase, albeit likely an unwitting one, with loops and double-backs. Your sole salvation is that none of your rivals save the now-subordinate Maladoo Gang follow you, or even afford you much attention. The Delvers still seem to be married to their dockside, technology-heavy stratagem, and Green Leif Company has seemingly returned to where they first retrieved the creature to give their original strategy (or some variation) another go.“I don’t get it,” An-Yii says, staring over at them. “Why aren’t they trailing us?”“Easy,” you say with a smirk and a tap of your nose. “WE never caught the thing, so what the fuck do WE know, right?”“But the Maladoo Gang’s with us,” An points out skeptically.“They didn’t find the drake, either,” Yeb-Uit points out, voice low as if he fears the trailing vessel will overhear and take umbrage.“‘Xactly right, Yeb,” you agree. “They jus’ lucked inta catchin’ the thing. See, that’s why all the hangers on an’ spectators an’ shit are crowdin’ around Leif’s crew. They figure that LEIF knows what’s what. As far as they’re concerned, we’re jus’ desperately twistin’ in the wind, fishin’ blind.”“Which we aren’t… Right?”You shoot An-Yii a glower.“‘Course we ain’t,” you mutter, giving your divining rod a flick to make sure it’s working.(Nothing changes, of course, but you still feel the need.)“Good,” groans Khorine, whose stomach has begun to bother her once more over the course of the arduous and circuitous voyage. “Suck it up, buttercup~” you say. “We need you in fightin’ shape when we—”“LAND AHOY!”“Yeah,” you agree with Svanhilda’s bellow. “When we ahoy the land!”You swagger up to Svanhilda and, after a quick glance back at the rest of your party, sling an arm around the dwarf captain’s shoulders. She flinches at the touch, which raises an eyebrow, but you don’t’ exactly have time for whatever tender feelings she’s nursing.“Whaddaya’ mean, ‘land ahoy’?” you ask quietly. “I didn’t ask fer no ‘land’.”Svanhilda shrugs off your arm and gestures at the nearby shore—the opposite shore from where you started, several miles away from the docks.“This is the direction your rod’s pointing, aye?”“Yeah,” you agree, after a quick consultation.“Well,” Svanhilda says plainly, “that way lies land, lass. So… LAND AHOY!” You wince at the dwarf’s booming voice, placing your ahnds over your broad, pointed ears.“I heard ya’ the first time! Fuck!”
>>6133672Still, you take her point, and since you haven’t seen the salamander-drake-thing surface, you can only infer the obvious—well, obvious to burrowing races like yours and Svanhilda’s, at least.“Figure it’s gone underground?” you ask. “Burrowed inta the banks?”“Aye.”(Fuck! Of all the times not to have the ‘Zith-Zi’ with the shaphifting and the big meaty digging-claws! Where the FUCK is CZ??)“Well, I guess the only thing for it’s ta go ashore an’ try an’ track this slimy fucker back to his nest. Must be some caves or somethin’, right, Yeb?”Yeb-Uit, who had diagnosed this drake a cave-critter, nods his head and straps on his bow and quiver.“You comin’?”“Nae,” says Svanhilda with a shake of her braided tresses. “I’d not abandon The Pearl… And I dinnae think ye’d like my rate fer climbing own into yon monster’s dungeon.”“Lair,” you correct her. “Dungeons’re more of a magical self-contained artificial ecosystem kinda’… a’ know, nevermind, doesn’t matter. MALADOOFUSES, you in?”“Hey!” complains the redhead“You bet!” shouts the blonde.The one in the green says nothing intelligible, instead emitting some sort of girlish shriek followed by an audible-across-the-lake chattering of teeth. Nevertheless, when your two vessels put down anchor and unload lifeboats, the whole gang—except the absent dog—is there alongside your own party.“Alright, we’re goin’ in!” you announce, cheerful with the thrill of the chase, and the whiff on the wind of an incoming windfall. “This ain’t my first dungeon-crawl, gobs ‘n girls, so jus’ follow Big Zi’s lead, huh?”“I thought you said it ain’t a dungeon?”“Shut up, An.”It doesn’t take long to divine your way through the thin water-side woodland to a marshy, half-sunken area where dug-up mud on the banks—according to Yeb and Khorine, at least—indicate the activities of a colony of large burrowing animals. You don’t see any beaver dams, so you suspect big fuck-off salamanders; An-Yii’s analysis of the dead fish and insects which Yeb digs up confirm this hypothesis.“Fulla’ poison,” she says bluntly, tossing them aside and wiping her hands off on her raggedy smock.From there, it’s just a matter of splitting up and surveying the area until you find an above-water entrance into a hollowed-out hill, which—with a bit of work, can afford you entrance into what you (and your divining rod) strongly suspect is the cave-drake’s lair.
>>6133673“Like, oh no!” says the green-clad brown-haired lanky-ass coward-man of Maladoo Gang. “And here I forgot my spelunking gear! I guess we’d better go buy some and, like, come back tomorrow… or maybe never…?”You roll your eyes, biting back a stream of invective. Managing the Maladoo fucks isn’t YOUR problem—they can stay behind or come along in whatever numbers they desire, so longa s they don’t get in your way or demand a cut of the reward money. However, the shaggy-haired kid isn’t ENTRIELY wrong: you really didn’t come equipped for a dungeon (err, lair) delve..But your tracking potion’s effects won’t last more than twenty-four hours, tops. You’ve got darkvision, same as Yeb and An, while Khorine’s at least got keener eyes than Men, and the stock Eastern chick’s quick to confirm that the Maladoo Gang at least ahs torches and a length of rope—the adventurer’s old standbys. “What’s the play?” asks Yeb-Uit.>Turn back, buy some equipment, and return tomorrow—maybe with CZ in tow[Gives your rivals another chance to advance]>You’re going in![Begins the dungeon/lair crawl]If you choose the latter, do you…>Go ahead with the goblins to scout under cover of darkness>Enter as a full company, with torches to light your way[Please also specify a strategy or any precautions you take, if you have them in mind.]
>>6133674>You’re going in!>Go ahead with the goblins to scout under cover of darknessMake sure it's an actual lair with multiple beasties and not just a temporary resting place
>>6133674>You’re going in!>Enter as a full company, with torches to light your way
>>6133674>You’re going in!>Go ahead with the goblins to scout under cover of darknesslight will alert them
>>6133712Support
Rolled 34 (1d100)>>6133688>>6133712>>6133702>>6133776“An, Yeb, you two’re with me.” You point to Khorine and the Maladorks. “You all, hang back. We don’t want a torch alertin’ ‘em until we’ve given the place a proper scouting-out.”After all, that will given Khorine time to collect herself—you know firsthand how tough it is to cast properly while distracted—AND ensure you’ve found an actual lair with multiple drakes, rather than merely some temporary retreat of your solitary, enchanted newt.You are gratified to find nobody objects or second-guesses you—not the goblins, nor the faun and humans. In fact, it seems like the leader of the Maladoo Gang is… Taking notes? Weird. Well, you guess you’d better get this right for posterity’s sake, huh? You snicker a little at that, and beckon your fellow dark-adapted adventurers to follow your lead.In addition to your darkvision, your smaller size as goblinfolk proves an asset: you are able to speed your descend more than once by squeezing through holes that simply wouldn’t accommodate a humie. An-Yii has a somewhat easier time of it than you or Yeb-Uit, admittedly, since she lacks his broad archer’s shoulders or your broad… Other bits. It is thus out of pragmatism and good, leaderly delegation that you find yourself pushing a protesting AN-Yii repeatedly into narrow spaces to check if thy are shortcuts or dead ends.“Shh!” you chastise her. “We’re stealth-mode, ‘member?”“You’re talkin’ right now!” she points out.“Yeah, but quiet-like,” you point out with a smirk.An-Yii scowls a little, but does as instructed. She slips through the narrow crack half-way up the wet wall before you, slimy and slick with moss and mildew. In truth, you’re not used to cave systems like this, yourself. Sure, you and your bandit band(s) hid out in cave systems now and again out in the Wastes, but those were shallow, dry affairs, nothing like this tight, twisted series of interconnected cervices, dripping with lake-water and supporting its own biome. And before the wastes, well… It might not have been MUCH of a hoe, but Mama Zi made sure you were living indoors at least.(Honestly, it was probably the nicest place you ever DID dwell, besides when you roomed with Tips… or Jimmy…)You shake your had to clear the memories. You’d been allowing yourself to get distracted—a potentially fatal mistake in a dungeon (or lair). Moreover, you hadn’t been paying attention to time.“How long’s she been gone?” you ask Yeb.“A few minutes,” he whispers back.“How many’s a few?”Yeb-Uit shrugs, and you grimace. Time’s tough to track down here, too. After some internal debate, you peek through the tall, thin gap, pressing your face to the cold, wet stone without flinching, and find…
Rolled 15 (1d20)>>6133965An-Yii's stealth roll; no ranks, but small-sized and operating under your leadership, so DC 13Darkness no benefit; the cave-drakes have no eyes, as keen readers will recall!
>>6133966PHEW
Rolled 19, 11 = 30 (2d20)>>6133966>>6133970Yeb-Uit's Survival roll, DC 14
>>6133975Gob squad crushing it
>>6133975>>6133981>>6133966…An-Yii standing still, before a collection of at least a dozen of the damn drakes! Big, slimy, faintly-dragon-shaped newts are sprawled across every flat surface, limbs splayed out as if to dry themselves out in the nonexistent sun. You suppose it must be for some other biological process, in light of there being no light, but damned if you know what it might be.An-Yii is frozen in place, and even from here (and even in your monochromatic, lower-detail darkvision) you can see she’s trembling. Gobs are harder than Men, out of necessity, but she’s still a bite-sized babe in front of a whole cave of poisonous predators, and a non-combatant besides. Still, they haven’t spotted her—damnit, they have no EYES, you totally could’ve brought some torches and back-up!—nor heard her. 15 vs DC 13: SUCCESSYou beckon for An-Yii to come back, but she doesn’t see you—she’s terrified, eyes locked on the unsettlingly-close collective of cave-drakes. You bite back a swear as you decide what to do… But then you catch sight of Yeb-Uit’s expression in the corner of your eye.“What is it?”“See how they all have those frilly gill-lookin’ things?” he points out. “And they’re all the same size as the one Green Leif Company fished up, see?”You put your hands on your hips and pantomime tapping your foot, to say without speaking: ‘get to the fucking point, Yeb.’“They’re babies.” He peers back through the hole. “Well, not fully grown, anyway. There’s a bigger one somewhere. Deeper. Past ‘em.”You shove his head down a bit and clamber onto his back to peer over him. Yeb’s initial complaint is muffled by ‘the girls’, which predictably ALSO mollified his mood; they have that effect on guys, in your experience. Propping up your elbows atop your chest and your chin upon your hands, you elan forward and squint, willing your eyes to focus on the far side fo the cavern and…“Shit, yer right,” you growl, hopping off the flustered old gob. “Far side’ve the cavern, right?”Yeb-Uit nods. You’d both seen the same thing, though you probably wouldn’t without the ‘ranger’ and his keen eye: a gradual slop downwards, towards a space where the cave roof and wall become one, and where water and time have caused the rolling rock to be smoothed out and finally to give way at the base, to some lower cave.“And listen…”
>>6133982You tilt your head in tandem with Yeb-Uit’s own, your ears twitching in sync as you focus upon the distant sound of…“Splashin’,” you say aloud, albeit not VERY loud for obvious reasons. “We’ve circled back towards th’ lake. What’re you thinkin’?”19 vs. DC 14: SUCCESS“Drake newts will wanna’ be near water,” Yeb surmises. “These one’s aren’t, but not by choice. They’re probably older, can survive away from the water longer. SO down there, closer to the water…”“Younger ones, right?” you puzzle out.“And eggs, maybe,” Yeb concludes, before adding grimly: “And the mother, maybe.”You consider your options carefully. This could be it: THE Monster of Sunset Lake! There’s only one way to be sure, though: go deeper. And in a big groupie, with amateur-hour adventure-kiddies bumbling around all awkward and human-like, you could risk spooking them off. But if these big fat fucks are BABY lake monsters, how big is Big Mama?What will you do?>Carefully, quietly extract An-Yii and return to the surface to muster your full team>You have throwing knives and Yeb-Uit has his bow and arrows—you could snipe these drowsy drakes, then proceed with impunity>Direct An-Yii to go deeper—she’s already in, after all—and creep in after her, to see if you can’t catch Mama Monster sleeping>Maybe spooking them isn’t a bad idea, actually… You could cast the higher-level, elemental form of <Prismatic Spray> to scare them deeper and into the lake, then return to the Pearl to pursue and ensnare them all!>Write-in
>>6133983>Carefully, quietly extract An-Yii and return to the surface to muster your full teamThey won’t relocate a whole nest and everyone was watching Lief instead of us, we can even come back after getting specialized equipment
>>6133982>damnit, they have no EYES, you totally could’ve brought some torches and back-up!you know, I still went with this option because, for some reason, I misread as them being near blind instead of eyeless. nonetheless this was still the stealthier option.>>6133983>Carefully, quietly extract An-Yii and return to the surface to muster your full team
Rolled 16, 19, 19 = 54 (3d20)>>6134129>>6134268[Locking and rolling for morale. Leadership + An's will, 3d20, graduated DC 10/15/20]
>>6134374You are an old hand at adventure, even if you’re looking a bit more fresh and young these days. You’ve never been part of a ‘party-wipe’ yourself, but you’ve heard the tails of overzealous adventurers pressing on when they should have held back or retreated, overcommitting insufficient resources. You shudder at one particular memory of having found evidence of just such a wipe in the form of scattered arms and armour in the depths of a dungeon, while ‘on campaign’ with James Efron and the rest of the lads.“Couldn’t be me,” you mutetr to yourself. “Won’t be.”But, of course, you can’t just turn back here and now. First, you need to fetch An-Yii. She still stands there, amidst the amphibians, statue-still with the terror that a misstep light see her set upon by several hundred pounds of pallid flesh and hungry, toothy mouths.Time to do some proper Bossin’, you suppose.“An!” you hiss. “An! Snap out of it!”You scramble to haul yourself up and over the narrow, low part of the entrance into this squalid rookery. Yeb gives you a push from behind and helps elevate you to where you can stand, legs spread and feet propped up against a wider area of the crevasse, and properly attract attention.“An!”It’s a tough balancing act, keeping your voice low enough to hopefully not provoke any action from the newts while still getting An’s attention. You seem to thread to proverbial needle, though: An turns to face you, slowly revealing her ghost-pale face, but the drakes continue in the passivity of rest. Are they asleep? Simply so reliant on their facial tendrils that they don’t even have working ears? You don’t really want to test the theory, so you beckon to the goblingirl…But she doesn’t move.You resist the urge to groan, or to shout, instead adopting the friendliest face you can muster at the moment.“Hey,” you whisper. “Come on. You got out there, you can get back.”An-Yii looks down at the mess of sprawled-out barbels at her feet. It must have been by sheer luck that when she hopped out of the hole, she landed on patch of ground not hope to outstretched sensory appendages. Now, looking back up at you, you can see how little trsust she puts in that luck to endure. That’s fine, though: she doesn’t need luck, because she’s got you.“Left foot,” you whisper, pointing with your finger t another empty patch.An-Yii gulps but, trembling, steps onto the bare stone on the tip of her tiny toes.“Right,” you mouth silently, pointing again.
>>6134397Left foot, right foot, she travels the distance step by tentative step, inch by inch and foot by foot. Once or twice, you have to hold up your hands and project with strained facial muscles the urgent need for An-Yii to stop and pull her foot back; the catfish-like whiskers aren’t always perfectly still, sometimes twitching and lashing-about for a moment as if one of the creatures was roused, or perhaps dreaming. You resist the urge to cry out, though, and An-Yii admirably shares in your silence, biting back the scream before it gives her away.19: Total success, no drakes alertedIt’s an arduous and exhausting thing, way more so for An than for you, but eventually she reaches you. At the last of it, the primacy of fear seems to overpower good judgment, but the drakes are less dense closest to your hole-in-the-wall, and you aid An by reaching down to proffer a hand, by which you quickly pull her through to safety and to freedom. Yeb-Uit catches her in his arms, and she shoves him away, before looking to you with quiet gratitude.“Whadda’ we do?”You point back the way you came, and neither Na nor Yeb objects, though you see your hunter cast a wan glance back, as if to say ‘I could take them.’ It’s perhaps telling, however, that he doesn’t test that masculine intuition by putting it to the test. Not yet.You return to the surface the same way you came, your experienced leadership and Yeb-Uit’s sense of direction serving to prevent you getting lost. “Zoinks!” shouts the green-attired human boy, upon your return. “hey, guys, they’re back!”“How long were we down there?” you ask.“By the position of the sun, I’d say… Two hours?” suggests Khorine.You’re reasonably confident you can trace the route back a third time in less than thirty minutes then; after all, there will be a lot fewer dead-ends and double-backs, and a lot of that time was spent guiding An to safety. The question, though, is whether you WANT to just yet, and what to do once you get there.
>>6134400“If there are plants, I have power there,” states Khorine with confidence, once you describe the cave ecosystem.“Are lichens even really a proper plant?” Yeb-Uit asks, philosophically.“There’s actually a great deal of scholarly debate about the nature of the!” the Eastern girl in orange says. “Some say that they’re a symbiotic arrangement between a plant and—”“Plants are plants,” states Khorine firmly, arms crossed and with an angry snort through her nose. “Books and scrolls be damned—their only relation is that they WERE plants, before your kin slew them and bleached them white. A true Disciple knows a plant’s heart by feel alone, and they will heed MY heart’s call!”“If ya say so,” you say, rolling your eyes a little at the melodrama. “So, what’re you sayin’, though, kid?”“I’m SAYING that I can <Entangle> them all, and we can pass through safely, without harming them."“Like, I thought the whole idea was that we were supposed to be catching or kill the Lake Monster?” asks Norville, the one in green.“They are simple, innocent beings,” protests Khorine. “Creatures of the Earth! They must have come from SOMEWHERE... Or, if they were always here, then SOMETHING caused this conflict between Man and Nature. If something has been set wrong, it can be set right!"“Not really an ‘us’ problem, though,” notes An-Yii practically.Khorine turns to you, her baby-blue eyes big and pleading despite her precocious officiousness. "Zith-Zi, you told me you would give me a chance to find a peaceful solution!"“I said we’d TRY, kid,” you correct her.She whines, a (cute) little bleating noise. You somehow keep a straight face.“Norville’s got a point,” says Cyrene. “If we’ve found their nest, shouldn’t we just… Deal with them here? That's the job.”Vel, the Eastern girl, frowns but nods. “It would be a shame, speaking in terms of natural philosophy, but as far as pragmatism goes…”“That’s not fair!” Khorine complains. “You ought to try to coexist with the world around you, before you resort to extermination.”“I've got it!” blurts out Frederich, pushing his palm. “We could rive them out, then set a trap!”“A trap to catch all of them?” An-Yii asks, skeptical.“We don’t know how many there are, or what size the adult is,” Yeb points out. “OS if there’s more’n one adult, even.”
>>6134405Of course, you’re the leader here—the Boss—and the final call is yours. What’s the play?>Total drake extermination—go down in force, trap the critters in there, and take ‘em out!>You’re willing to give Khorine’s approach a try: corralling, ensnaring, and entrapping the drakes>Neither seems viable on your own, with the equipment on hand… You need to take the Pearl back to town, and get…>>Reinforcements (specify who?)>>Supplies (specify what?)>Write-in[This is also a very good place to discuss your theories, strategies, angels of approach, etcetera. feel free to ask questions you'd like me to clarify, too!]
>>6134406>You’re willing to give Khorine’s approach a try: corralling, ensnaring, and entrapping the drakesIf she could Entangle them all down in the cave with only lichen to work with, she ought to be capable of doing the same up here once they've been driven out
>>6134406>You’re willing to give Khorine’s approach a try: corralling, ensnaring, and entrapping the drakesThis seems like a good first step towards a solution. Getting past that front area safely will let us see more of the cave system and GET TO THR BOTTOM OF THIS MYSTERY
>>6134406>You’re willing to give Khorine’s approach a try: corralling, ensnaring, and entrapping the drakes
Rolled 32 (1d100)>>6134414>>6134513>>6134522“Alright, kid,” you address Khorine, “we’ll do it your way.”The little goat-girl’s expression immediately brightens, and she puffs out her chest and tilts back her head to grace the rest of your two-part party with blistering smugness. The effect is reduced to absurdity when he tries the same ‘looking-down-her-nose’ approach with the humies, whoa re much taller than her. She doesn’t let that stop her anymore than you let it stop you from laughing, which gets you a disparaging look, too.Still, you’ve worked with mages before—with Jimmy, with Tips—and you know well how they can turn the tide of battle. If Khorine figures she can tangle up the drakes you saw and afford you a deeper delve, you see no reason not to take her up on it. You brief the Maladoo Gang (sans Maladoo, which makes the name sound even MORE absurd to your pointy pink ear, but whatever) on what you saw and what to expect. You and your companions return to the cave, the gobs still at the fore since you already know the tunnels. The humans bring up the rear, with Khorine in the middle of the loose formation, at the edge of their torchlight. The faun’s eyes, like an animal’s but unlike the truly dark-adapted eyes of goblinkind, shine when they catch the light, which never fails to startle that Norville kid when she turns to face them.“We’re really gonna try to take a bunch of drakes alive?” whispers Yeb-Uit, when you join him at the front.“We’ll see,” you say.Something keeps needling you, telling you that there’s more to this ‘monster hunt’… Some mystery yet unrevealed. You don’t give voice to your vague intuition, not yet. Instead, you press on. The torchlight makes your passage through the tunnels a little less bleak and bleary for the colours you can now see, and the finer details, but it also attracts attention. The drakes might be eyeless, but the light—or the warmth and the smoke, perhaps, or just the noise and the passage of so many bodies—draws in other things…
Rolled 6, 20 = 26 (2d20)>>6134791You'll see...
>>6134795>>6134791“Eeek!” shrieks, Cyrene, drawing stares from all others as he prances and flails absurdly, spinning round and around until Khorine, sighting, instructs her twig blight to extend a brachiating arm and remove an admittedly quite sizeable, technicolor centipede from the human girl’s hair. It squirms and writhes as she and Yeb-Uit observe it.CRITICAL SUCCESS: 20 for Khorine’s Handle Animal + Survival roll“Dunno this one,” Yeb admits.“I do,” Khorine says, smugness not in the least diminished by this additional opportunity to demonstrate her expertise. “It is a native of this realm. No monster—merely a child of the woodlands.”“Oh, so it’s not poisonous?” Cyrene sighs with relief.“Oh, no, it’s EXTREMELY poisonous.” Khorine continues to allow her twig blight to handle the creature in her stead as she speaks, and now you know it’s more than mere squeamishness. “You’re very lucky to have me here.”Cyrene pales, and you stifle a smirk. Instead, you signal An-Yii.“On it,” she says, taking from her medical kit a specialized vial and a pair of tongs.ACQUIRED: Three uses of painful centipede venom. If it enters the bloodstream of a creature, such as through a wound, it will inflict terrible agony for a period of time, reducing combat effectiveness or making them more susceptible to coercion.
>>6134814It isn’t much longer before you arrive at the real objective: the drakes’ nap-nest. They’ve hardly moved since you last saw them, and you think you see the same number as well—somewhere between ten and fifteen of them, an exact count made difficult by how a few flop over one another or squeeze up against the walls. They seem no less sluggish, though, and Yeb-Uit is quick to point out hanging mosses, and lichens on the wall.“What’s wrong?” you ask the faun, who’s looking rather less confident now that you’re actually here. “You’re good, right? Ya got this?”“Y-yes,” she answers. “In principle, it’s the same as any other casting of <Entangle>. I hear heart the hearts of the plants… Can stir their spirits into actual with the language of the Bonum Chaoticum, and encourage them to grow, and to ensnare and encompass the creatures.”You groan. ‘In principle’? You recognize weasel-words like those. This little bitch has never actually TRIED before!“Fuck’s sakes,” you hiss through clenched jaw. “Kid…”“I can do this!” she protests. “I just… Might need a little help.”You consider your options. An extra, expendable combatant of such size is handy—she demonstrated as much saving Cyrene from the centipede—but you roughly grasp the shape of her idea: by expending him, she can turn the blight into a thorny bramble much more easily than she can with moss or lichens. Form her hesitation, though, you understand that this will be a sacrifice: no more Mister Blight Guy, and she said she could only replace it with a new one once every… What, month or two or three or something like that?What do you think?>Sacrifice the twig blight to entangle the mass of cave-drakes (DC 10/14/18 Feycraft check)>Keep the twig blight intact, use what the cave proffers instead (DC 12/16/20)>You have another plan… [Write-in]
>>6134827>>Keep the twig blight intact, use what the cave proffers instead (DC 12/16/20)Trust the kid.
>>6134827>Keep the twig blight intact, use what the cave proffers instead (DC 12/16/20)REALLY would have preferred to hear this ahead of timeTell her to take it slow, they're all asleep so she can just gradually grow cages rather than snapping them all into place at once
>>6134834>+1we gonna need the blight to fight the mom
Rolled 18, 12 = 30 (2d20)>>6134834>>6134892>>6134898“Save the twig-guy,” you tell her.Khorine looks up at you, surprised perhaps at how angry you DON’T sound. You cross your arms and loll your head, sighing through your teeth. How should you put this?“Look, this was stupid,” you say. “you know that? Not tellin’ me ‘til we got here that you didn’t really know if you could pull this off?”“I didn’t say—”“Ya’ didn’t need to, y’ damn brat. Do -I- look stupid to YOU?”(Credit where it’s due: Khorine doesn’t take that bait. Good—she CAN learn.)“Regardless, we might need the Big Bad Branch-Boy later, an’ for now? Well, shit I’ve seen ‘n felt yer magic firsthand, back in your little grove.”You place a hand on her shoulder.“You got this, Khorine.”The faun looks at your hand and, without thinking, hers both find yours. She doesn’t remove it or brush it aside with the haughty deflection you might have anticipated—rather, she holds it there.You confer a leadership and morale bonus for putting your faith in Khorine; DC reduced by 1.“I… I can,” she affirms. “I will.”“Good,” you grin. “Ya’ fuckin’ better, or I really WILL look like an idiot.”Khorine takes a breath and strides forward. She gestures to the twig blight wordlessly, and the bipedal bundle of branches kneels and shifts its composition to offer her easy ascent to the crevasse, where she then props herself up much as you did and begins to move her hands in precise-yet-flowing movements you recognize as the workings of deep arcana. “Goin’ soft, Boss?” asks An-Yii, with affected indifference.“Shove it up your ass, if there’s room with the stick in there,” you say with equally-deliberate blandness.“Was nice of ya’, though,” Yeb-Uit notes.“Didn’t ask,” you say, in the same tone.You all watch in silence as the <Entangle> spell begins to take effect, the thin curtain of grey-green on the cavern’s roof and walls beginning to shift and ripple, deepening by the moment and expanding to cover more ground.“It was,” An-Yii agrees, after some thought. “Nice, I mean.”Khorine has 2/3 MP left
Rolled 11 (1d100)>>6135077When the croaking and groaning begins, Hershy is immediately up and alert, wings spread in a threat display. You beckon your fellow Goblintownies and the Maladoo Gang, and you all approach to survey your resident nature-mage’s handiwork—and to prepare for the worst-case scenario.18: Not quite a crit but still a high level success!The once-sparse moss has turned from a linoleum-thin holey sheet into a proper shag carpet, spreading down from the top and sides of the cave to floor where your quarry lay dreaming. Though he slimy, sluggish slobs are no longer slumbering, nor are they able to escape to rapid encroachment of the ever-more-verdant covering of their cozy cove. It sweeps over them like a tide, and the poor eyeless animals are scarcely even able to understand what’s happening before they’re being walloped by thick, club-like outcroppings, battered into submission and then held still. The actual damage is minimal—no doubt by design, damn fairy hippie kids—but it does the job just find.“Hurry!” Khorine says, voice still vibrating with the exertion of casting. “I can’t hold them forever!”“Like, you can’t??” panics Norville.“I’ll stay until we’re all through,” Khorine continues, ignoring the pointless rhetorical. “I’ll follow last, and set the spell to some degree of permanence—but without my attentions, the plants will return to their more sustainable state within ten or twenty minutes…” She pauses, observing the agitated amphibians’ so-far fruitless fight against her plant-power.“And they might start to chew themselves free sooner than that.”You groan. ANOTHER thing it would have been good to know beforehand! Still, you’re nothing if not a nilbog of action, and you’re already hauling your heiny through the hole in the wall to spring athletically across the cave. The moss and lichen seems to recognize you as a friend, letting you pass unmolested, and soon enough the rest of your crew are following suit.“Don’t worry,” Khorine reassures you. “Though touched by dark forces, these are simple beasts—they have no capacity for revenge, no understanding of it! They’ll simply forsake this place when the spell wears off, not chase us down!”(Well, that’s good at lea—) “..Probably.”(Uuuuuggggh.)You pick up the pace, hauling ass all the way to the opposite side of the cave. There, you drop down, flatten your sometimes-too-voluptuous-for-your-own-damn-good figure as best you can, and slide down the slop into the next level of the lair. The stone scrapes your bare skin pinker than it was before, but even if you lost the liens on your face and the roughness of your old, suntanned green skin, you’re still a goblin where it counts—you don’t so much as wince. Rather, you land with scimitar ready to slash your way free from whatever unseen trouble might await you on the other end of this slippery slide into the unknown.
>>6135077>Mana didn't get the x10 buff that HP didIt's over for magesFire Khorine immediatelyKick her out of the partyTell her you're aiming for S rank and she's holding you back
Rolled 4, 15 = 19 (2d20)>>6135085But spell and weapon DAMAGE did get the buff.>>6135084You land on solid stone, quickly rolling to your feet and taking in the surroundings with—once more—your monochromatic darkvision. You’re not sure if you count yourself lucky or unlucky, with what you find: no sign of some great big aquatic beastie, but there ARE several more cave-drakes of the same slightly-bigger-than-you size. They groan and squawk in objection to your presence, opening their wide maws in an extremely-familiar warning that little Hershy—bless his tiny dragon-blooded heart—mimics in miniature. A few of them slide into the pool of water which adjoins the space—into some underground area of Sunset Lake, if you had to guess, or some adjoining subterranean body.In the water already, you see two rather interesting tidbits: smaller salamanders, squirming and writhing, and little floating, translucent bubbles of foamy tapioca-type stuff that you instantly clock as EGGS. This thus IS some sort of home base for the big bloated bastards… Yet there’s no sign of some gross, giant Mamamander. Was Yeb-Uit wrong about the five-footers being juveniles, or is their broodmother just not brooding here? If so, where IS she?“Boss?”“ZZ!”The others are close behind you but—prudent gobs and scaredy humies that they are—they’re awaiting a report that you aren’t dead or dying before they make the same daring plunge that you did. You open your mouth to shout a reply, only for it to choke off into an— “ACK!”—as a glob of poisonous puke comes flying straight at your magically-enhanced mug, threatening your good looks and (marginally more important) your life.Rolling Athletics to dodge...
>>613509515: Success!You avoid the life-threatening loogie, and leap back from a snapping set of tiny, tearing teeth fills a not-so-little mouth. You take a few steps back, bumping your butt into the wall and drawing up your blade before you in a defensive posture. The natural instinct of a goblin is to minimize their size against a foe, especially one with ranged attacks, and then to run-hide-and-strike in an opportunistic fashion. It basic Goblin Waste battle tactics for a bandit like you used to be…But is that the best bet here?>Shout for your friends, continuing to duck, dip, dive, and dodge until they can join you down below>Upcast your <Prismastic Spray> in a big show of force, in the hopes it damages some and drives away others—shock and awe!>Just start slashing and hacking—Khorine said these things would flee rather than fight, right?>Hershy has firebreath, and these eggs look like they’d cook up real nice, while the fully-grown goobers have no scales t and soggy skin—time for a cookout, ecology be damned!>Write-in
>>6135100>Just start slashing and hacking—Khorine said these things would flee rather than fight, right?could work since they're kids
>>6135095>But spell and weapon DAMAGE did get the buff.Weapon attacks don't cost mana, making warriors naturally superior>Shout for your friends, continuing to duck, dip, dive, and dodge until they can join you down belowDon't want to piss off a hidden mama
>>6135169>Weapon attacks don't cost mana, making warriors naturally superior[Theral talons typed this, but only because someone made them stop doing elfaboo sword kata first.]
>>6135100>>Shout for your friends, continuing to duck, dip, dive, and dodge until they can join you down below
Rolled 7, 18 = 25 (2d20)>>6135108>>6135169>>6135335“I’m safe, for NOW,” you shout, learning back and tilting your head to project your voice up to those above.A gurgling hiss tips you of to an imminent explosion of the gross goo from one of the slimy cave-creatures, which you quickly duck. The motion drops you flat against the stone. You feel the spine-tingling sensation of feelers crawling across your flesh wrapping round your ankle and thigh as another oversized frogspawn finds you. Hershy croaks in anger and alarm, firing a little spout of flame; only this delays its tail-slam such that you can roll to avoid it. Hershy, imbued by his creators with all animals’ self-preservation, wisely takes to the air thereafter, leaving you well and truly alone.“I won’t be much longer if you don’t get yer lazy fuckin’ asses down here, though!”Athletics roll…
Rolled 5, 5, 13 = 23 (3d20)>>6135490Intimidation roll, using Yeb-Uit's Survival at a DC 16, +1 for the aid of the others, DC reduced to 14 by assistance, and by 1 for ZZ's Leadership bonus
>>6135492Clutch roll? Futagobobros, we can't keep winning like this.
>>6135490>>6135492>>613550118: Success for your efforts to dodge!In a huge ‘fuck you’ to anyone who might have privately thought you were too old or out-or-practice for the meat-and-potatoes of the adventurer lifestyle—that is to say, COMBAT—you prove yourself adept and adroit enough to dive, dive, duck, and dodge a whole bevvy of ranged and melee attacks from the small horde of slimy sons-of-bitches. You spring to your feet, leaping over one, using another as cover against a third. You draw up your scimitar, not to slash or hack at the soggy skin and fetid flesh of the greyish-purple drakes, but rather to batter back their bludgeoning tails and headbutts with the flat side, and finally to knock aside another puked-up projectile.“Ha, haaa…” You gasp for breath, but turn it into a low growl. “Come OOON! Fuckin’ try me! I can do this all day, you SHITS!”You’re still not sure to what degree the cave-drakes rely on hearing in lieu of sight, or what their level of intelligence or understanding is. As your other party-members find safe ways down which can accommodate even the larger among them, though, the amphibians must at least be aware of the impacts of their landings. They fall more gracefully than you, for the most part, having seemingly found a less steep drop-off, and they bring with them the heat and light of torches, and the shining gleam of steel.“On me!” you shout without turning your own eyes away from the waving whiskers of the wobbling, warbling pile of oversized monster-babies.Your allies rally to your position and Hershy, sensing the tide turning, sails down to land once more upon your shoulders. Though some of the humans are quaking in their boots, and even the braver among them hold their weapons with little aptitude and worse footwork, the spectacle of seven invaders (eight counting Hershy, ten whenever Khorine and her twig blight get down here) is more than the newts know what to do about.13: A narrow success to intimidate!
>>6135507Those cave-drakes which had not already retreat to the water do so now, undulating side-to-side or flopping in awkward and almost comical belly-rolls across the water-smoothed stone and down into the subterranean subsection of Sunset Lake. You watch them go, only releasing the tension from your sore body and allowing yourself to acknowledge the ache in your muscles when the last ripple fans out, and no further threats explode forth.“So, like… What now?” quavers the voice of Norville.Before you can answer the cowardly human, a high-pitched shriek of girlish alarm erupts from behind you. You all turn to find Khorine, in the arms of her blight, crash down behind you.“You didn’t hurt them, did you?”! she demandsYou roll your eyes, striding over to her to help the faun up.“No, we didn’t hurt your precious ‘children of nature’,” you tell her. “An’ for the record, WE’RE all fine, too.”“Oh,” Khorine says, at least having the good grace to be a LITTLE embarrassed by her oversight. “Um… That’s also good.”“How’re the ones up top?” you ask, casting a wary eye up the stone slope you slide down to reach this place, as if a small army of not-so-small salamanders might come crashing down on the lot of you any momen.“Still <entangled>,” Khorine reassures you, “for now.”“Right,” you say, raising your voice and pivoting to ace the others. “We gotta work fast, team! Before they, or their mama or whatever, get back… or those ones up top free themselves an’ maybe cause us a second round a’ trouble.”“What’s the plan, Boss?” That’s Yeb-Uit, replacing his bow upon his back to free his hands for grunt work. You grin—good gob!“As I see it…”>You instruct your team’s naturalists and clever sorts to investigating the eggs and small spawn, for clues as to their nature>You start gathering up as much of the clutch as possible, to see if you can’t use it as bait for Big Mama, back out on the lake proper>You really don’t see how Sunset Lake can sustain this many huge-ass salamanders, and you don’t much care anymore—this place needs some smash-and-burn conservationism>You’ve found where they nest… Maybe this is where you ought to set the trap, and lay in wait?>Write-in[Written strategies about how to approach this in terms of equipment, tactics, etcetera will net you better results and lower DCs]
>>6135508>Khorine, Yeb, Vel, you're on egg-examination duty. I guess you nerd have a lightorb or something?>Frederich, you're with me on preparing a trap for when Mama comes.>Girl I don't recall the name, with An Yi and Norville the Shaggy to search for said momma, or treasure, or food.The plan is to not-meta-at-all get Norville to stumble on mama while looking for the kitchen to make a sandwich, use his 4d20 of athleticism to get him run in loops while we build the trap, and get Vel to solve the mystery in the meantime while we reap the monetary reward.
>>6135521The Daphne Blake expy is named Cyrene Black
>>6135526why did Daphne turned into Cyrene btw?
>>6135540Shaggy already has an old-timey real name, Fred Jones to Frederich Johannes was an easy 'fantasy' permutation, and Vel Dinh allowed me to get Velma across while alluding to Eastern origins as per the characters' creator and a couple actresses to portray her, but Daphne is already a mythologically-rooted, rather ancient name, so I just picked another lover/fixation fo the god Apollo (as the legendary Greek Daphne was), and the famous huntress seemed appropriate enough fro an adventurer. Cyrene also sounds similar to "siren", and since she's "the hot one" in the original four, that kind of worked.
>>6135501>Clutch roll? Futagobobros, we can't keep winning like this.I wasn't expecting someone to say this, but I'm more surprised that it took this long for an anon to say it>>6135521>+1
>>6135601The futagobo isn't even here for this string of successes. Shortstack fans keep winning.
>>6135619Yes but Futagobo filtered all chuds.
>>6135700>Yes but Futagobo filtered all chuds.lol, lmao even
>>6135700>>6135745[I don't think anyone who would fit the label "chud" has played a RQM quest for a long while, at LEAST since Theral lost his virginity to a bug monster and decided to make friends with mammals.]Though our "futanari" demogoblin MC has triggered at least one such person, I suspect...
>>6135508>You’ve found where they nest… Maybe this is where you ought to set the trap, and lay in wait?Can’t imagine the mom not coming back for the eggs
Rolled 12, 3, 11, 15 = 41 (4d20)>>6135749>>6135601>>6135521“As I see it,” you say, “we oughtta split up an’ look for clues.”All human eyes immediately turn to Frederich of Maladoo Company, who crosses his arms and smiles with self-satisfaction.“See, gang?” he addresses his cohort. “I always said it was a viable strategy.”The division of labour is thus: you assign the nature-nerds (Khorine, Yeb-Uit, and Vel Dinh of the Maladoos) to examine the eggs, and see what’s what with these weird creatures. The two leggiest humans—Cyrene Black and Norville Whatever-his-last-name-is—are assigned An-Yii in case they have need of a skinny scout with darkvision or some good old-fashion goblin grit, and are sent to check the surrounding caves for signs of the matriarch of this toxic brood. You, meanwhile, stay behind to help Frederich with constructing a trap.“Oh boy,” the blond boy enthuses. “I left MOST of my stuff back at the wagon, but you know, I’ve always said adversity is the mother of innovation!”You groan. Of course, it’s not like you can exit the cave, hop back on The Pearl, sail back across the lake, collect his gear, and sail back without attracting attention. Even if you could, getting all that gear down here to set up a more elaborate trap sounds tricky, if not impossible. Yet there’s no way the Lake Monster would just abandon her eggs, right? This is the obvious place to set up. You’ll just have to hope Johannes is right…As he works, the truth of the matter—embarrassing as it is—is that you’re little more than a beautiful assistant. You have no shortage of tricks suitable to your trade, but they’re more about finding and disarming magical traps than about constructing your own. You’ve been a lot of things from bandit, to explorer, debt-slave prostitute and licensed adventurer, do-gooder and finally leader, and even sort of a hedge-mage, but never a siege engineer.“It’s simple,” Frederich Joahnnes explains, “ we drape these ropes like so, position the twig blight underneath, use it to lure the Lake Monster under this net we set up atop the slope, then when she charges into the zone HERE, we yank the ropes like SO. It falls on her, she panics and tangles herself up, and we have her!”“Unless she rips herself free with her teeth,” you point out, “or is too fuckin’ big ta tangle.”“W-well, no plan survives first contact with the enemy,” Johannes admits sheepishly. “But I think it could work!”You nod, since you’ve got nothing better to pull out of your ass, and give him a good-natured slap on his.“Thanks,” you say to the now-blushing blond. “I’m gonna go check on the eggheads.”
>>6135782“So?” you ask the trio you’ve got examining the eggs, and what little wrigglers yet remain. “Found anything interesting?”“Have we??” gushes Dinh.“That’s what I asked,” you say patiently, “an’ I hate rhetorical questions.”Dinh laughs nervously, and Khorine steps in, holding up one of the squirming, pale pink-grey drakes that remained, amongst the eggs: a creature much closer to Hershy’s size than those you’d earlier fought.“These,” she explains, “are not the young of the breed.”You blink a couple times, parsing this.“What, like… Another race of drake, then?” you ask. “Livin’ together? All in harmony or some shit?”“Not quite, but close,” KHorine explains. “Yeb-Uit?”The male goblin follows the unspoken instruction (did they REHEARSE this shit??) and holds up one of the pinkish, fish-like eggs. Foam sill clings to its gelatinous exterior, and you can see the twitching shape of a baby drake within. You lean closer, looking between the two specimens, still not sure exactly what you’re looking for. Then, it clicks.“Shit,” you say, “these are pretty much the same size, but the whiskers an’ the ‘wings’ an’ all that shit are all… Runty on the real baby. So these other ones are full-sized, as big as they’re gonna’ get. Just livin’ in here with ‘lake monster’ babies an’ their little siblings…”You pat down your hissing Hershy’s mussed feathers, preventing him from attacking the helpless, dangling ‘rival’, and add: “An’ that ain’t usual, for drakes of different breeds, is it?”“it’s not,” agrees Khorine. “And there’s more: while all drakes are said to be the creation of the Gods of Evil, long ago, these ones don’t register strongly when checking for the taint of Darkness…”Here, Dinh produces a simple, compass device not unlike a simple (albeit less dinged-up) version of the trapfinder in your pack. Its needle doesn’t so much as wobble in the little cave-drakes direction as she holds it up to the critter.“Whereas the eggs…”Dinh moves her ‘compass’ towards the squishy pink orb, and it begins to wobble and waver, before settling smack-dab on the unborn hatchling.
>>6135796“Weird,” you agree, “but what’s it all mean?”15: Success on cross-disciplinary team effort analysis.“Simple,” interjects Dinh. “These new, larger drakes are NOT natural to the environment… At elast, not THIS environment. Rather, these smaller cave-drakes are the MALES of the native species to the Sunset Lake area…”“…And those whom we have been battling are creations of Dark Magic,” concludes Khorine, her voice lowering in anger. “These male drakes are a… A HAREM for some larger female of unholy origin, who has contaminated these waters.”“Which means goat-girl’s okay with killin’ it, now,” Yeb-Uit adds for your benefit.“MORE than ‘okay’, in fact,” Khorine huffs. “I can’t believe I put the effort in to preserve these… These PERVERSIONS of that which is good, these AFFRONTS to the natural order!”You frown a little at that, considering her words. You can sort of see her point, insofar as you’ve ever cared one way or the other about ‘the natural order’. Moreover, if you can just cut loose and start chopping and burning and generally KILLING shit without upsetting the little faun, that’s certainly a lot easier and more practical. But the idea that something is suddenly disposable, and deserves eradication just because it’s new, artificially created by some magical means, and a little ‘dark’ is…Well, let’s just say it’s a bit PERSONALLY problematic to consider, given your own origins, and how you suddenly acquired a twin sister.What do you do?>Authorize your team to go lethal>Encourage the party to maintain their prior restraintDo you have any modifications or addendums to Friedrich Johannes’ planned trap?>Yes [write-in]>NoDo you have any other questions?>Write-in if so
>>6135798>Authorize your team to go lethalIt's ok because they're animals, while CZ can talkAlso it's poisoning the lake while CZ only poisons relationships>Yes [write-in]>other questionsJust make sure the poison in it won't pollute the lake when we chop it up or the towns gonna be pissed
>>6135798>Authorize your team to go lethalThis is a stretch because I didn't see him make one on "Scooby Doo Where are You", but coukd Fred also make a secondary feature, like a secondary tension-based part of the net/snare, that drags the net away from the water? So the net goes up whoomf and then swooesh goes back into a deeper portion of the cave
>>6135798>>Authorize your team to go lethalOn the matter of trap>>6135941 supporting.
>>6135798>Authorize your team to go lethal
>>6135798>Encourage the party to maintain their prior restraintI suspect that these aren’t mere animalsReally getting Watery Tart Sword vibes here>Yes [Non-lethal as possible]You think people would be more worried about contaminating the environment with corruption and darkness.Really I’m hedging my bets on Momma here being sapient and capable of diplomacy.
Rolled 18, 16 = 34 (2d20)>>6136210>>6136178>>6135976>>6135941>>6135849“Right, kid gloevs comin’ off,” you agree.You narrow your eyes at the egg. These things, they aren’t like CZ, aren’t like YOU. They’re not even like your creepy-ass lizard-lipped half-brother. They’re just animals—gross, weird, poisonous animals, damaging the local eco-whatever. More than that, they’re a PAYDAY, and you aren’t the sort of gal to turn down one of THOSE, or to make a job harder on yourself than it needs to be.You turn your eyes to Yeb-Uit, and nod. He tightens his grip until the little goo-filled pink balloon of an egg pops. The embryonic drake within twists and wriggles in silent agony—its first breath of open air leading directly into the choking blackness of death. Yeb throws it down and shakes off his hand with a look of base distaste, but it’s the distaste of an unpleasant texture, not moral disgust.I mean, come on: you’re goblins, and it’s for a good cause.“Get to crushin’,” you tell everyone, and after a moment’s consideration, you add: “dredge’em up outta’ tehw ater first. Don’t want evil magic hoodoo hucie getting’ inta’ the local water supply, right?”“Oh!” Vel gasps. “Good thinking.”“Ain’t just a pretty face,” you tell her with a grin, as you join the others in hauling handfuls of eggs out of the frothing water and onto the stony shore, to squish into slimy goo for the sake of Mother Nature and Papa Profit. After a while of this, you get bored enough to come up with an idea for Johannes' trap, and you go pay Freddie boy another visit to offer your expertise...Rolling for An-Yii, Cyrene, and Norville's away-mission
Rolled 4, 17, 15 = 36 (3d20)>>6136404 Elsewhere in the cavern, a small goblin-girl and a pair of leggy human-folk explore the adjoining caverns by torchlight and night-vision. With Cyrene’s mace they smash aside nests of creepy critters swollen to unusual and unsettling sizes—insects, arachnids, and other arthropods unknown. The beautiful and bold redhead sustains a bite, which An-Yii stops to treat.“Bit danger-prone, ain’t ya’?” she asks.Cyrene laughs embarrassedly, the sound turning into a gasp of pain as An-Yii squeezes the wound before any venom can seep deeper, and administers a stinging swab of disinfectant. “Like, g-g-guys?”“Norville, for the last time, I’m not a ‘guy’,” Cyrene sighs.“Me neither,” An-Yii says with a wry half-smirk.“Oh! I didn’t mean—”“Like, GIRLS?” Norville says, voice rising in pitch and volume. “I think I like, f-f-found the m-muh… The muh… The muhmuhmuh…”Cyrene and An-Yii exchange a glance. The former begins to pack up her medical supplies, while the former takes up her mace once more.On the other side of the cavern, the stone slopes down into a sudden drop--a smooth hole, of the sort that might be worn by the passage of water... or by something else, large and forceful pushing those the dense-packed earth and scooping it aside,w widening it by passage of a body with such musculature as to apply commensurate force to a raging river...Something that has sensed a disturbance. Something that is coming home to check up on her nest.Rolling the Lake Monster’s attack, no ambush bonus
>>6136413RIP Cyrene
Rolled 2, 1 = 3 (2d3)>>6136413Two hits; rolling for targets. Cyrene has armour; she'll deflect anything under a 16. Cyrene is a 1, Norville is a 2, An-Yii is a 3.
Rolled 8 (1d12)>>6136417>>6136418Only Norville takes damage. He has 10 HP.
Rolled 3, 2 = 5 (2d20)>>6136419"Norville!"“What the fuck do ya’ think your’e doing?!”“We have to save him! That thing—”“Look at the size of ‘that thing’! We have to run an' get the others!”Morale check. No leadership bonus. On a failure, they flee without counter-attack or rescuing Norville.
>>6136420……You hear the screaming as soon as it starts, and the sound fast feet sapping on wet rock. Your scimitar was already in-hand, serving as an excellent scoop for dredging up eggs from the water; now, you clean it with a quick chop through the air and whirl around to face the sound of fear—and the proximate cause.Two of your three scouts come scurrying like wet rats out of the hallway to the… East? West? North? Fucking SOUTH? Who knows down here. Cyrene is ahead of An-Yii, who for all her goblin speed has much shorter legs than the elegant human. You see no sign of that Norville kid, which tightens your sphincter something fierce and brings your lips into a tight line. Cyrene is blubbering, soon bawling, throwing herself into the broad arms of her blonde boytoy.“An-Yii?”The nurse meets your eyes and shakes her head.“He… He’s still alive!” Cyrnee explodes. “Don’t listen to her! She made us… She MADE us leave him, but he was s-still—”“Hey!” An-Yii snaps back. “I ain’t the boss of you! You wanna go back an’ get him, ya’ll can be my guest! You do what you fuckin’ WANT. Me, I wanted ta’ LIVE.”This is the calculus of goblin life, out in the Wastes—anywhere where your kind, or those who USED to be your kind, lack sufficient numbers of overwhelm, or other advantages to make up for deficiencies of size, strength, and magic.“What’re we dealin’ with?”“At least bear-szied,” An-Yii says, then stops and thinks. “BIG bear. Maybe bigger. We only saw… I dunno’, part of it. It was FAST, too. Leapt up like a fuckin’…”“Frog?” suggests Yeb-Uit quietly.“BIG fuckin’ frog,” An-Yii says, clearly shaken.All eyes are on the tunnel that the trio departed down, only for a pair to return. There is a wet gurgling sound from far down the deep dark—beyond the outer limits of your darkvision, which extends a dozen yards or so at best. You brace yourself, but nothing comes crawling out of the black.“Something the size that they’re describing would… It would have to squeeze quite slowly, to come through such a narrow tunnel,” Vel Dinh whispers.“It wouldn’t,” Yeb-Uit says bluntly. “Animals aren’t stupid, even angry ones. It won’t trap itself.”Khorine peeks out from behind her twig blight, and draws your attention towards the water with a tug on your elbow. You follow her gaze, and grimace.“Yeah,” you agree with the unspoken suggestion. “It’ll prob’ly come up this way. More space ta’ play.”
>>6136425You take the factors at hand into consideration: the captive (maybe dead? Maybe dying?) human kid; the size of your quarry, both a grave danger and a possible opportunity. If you go in to get Norville, could you provoke the Lake monster into making a mistake—into chasing after you to retrieve its meal or scare you out of its territory, and getting wedged in the passage? That would be almost as effective as Frederich’s trap… (Almost. If it works.)Alternative, you could all stay here—in formation, defensible, near to the pre-set trap. The beast could come bursting out of the water any moment, with ample space to sue its indeterminate-but-intimidating bulk against you… But you’d have more space to manoeuvre, too, within crowding each other and getting in one another’s way. And, again, the trap is here.(R.I.P. Norville, though…)What do you do?>Stay put, hold the line>Go in to rescue Norville [specify if you bring anyone]>Fuck this, you’re out. Bail, bail, bail! Back to the surface!>Write-in
>>6136427>Go in to rescue Norville [Everyone, Anyone]Ain’t losing Shaggy, no way no how
>>6136427>Go in to rescue Norville [specify if you bring anyone]Everybody, we'll dogpile the thing
>>6136427>>Go in to rescue Norville [specify if you bring anyone]Total Shaggy protection. Cyrene can die, but not that dude.
>>6136455>+1>>6136529>Total Shaggy protection. Cyrene can die, but not that dude.why cyrene ?
Rolled 14, 18 = 32 (2d20)>>6136759>>6136529>>6136468>>6136455You stand there, at the edge of the humans’ torchlight, taking deep breaths. One breath.A gurgling sound from the dark, a wet squelching.Two breaths. Trust in the plan. Just trust—“Aaaah! Like, please, n-n-no…”You hover at the precipice of a third, steadying breath. You feel your skin tingling, your face burning with shame and rage. You try to remind yourself of the simple facts: you don’t know this kid, you don’t know his family, you don’t owe him SHIT. Sometimes, this is just life as an adventurer. You have the trap rigged and ready to go. “I don’t want to die down here, m-man….”You leap into action, cursing yourself out the whole damn way as you charge into the dark. (Fuck’s sakes, I really have gone soft!)Maybe it’s the transformation from goblin to nilbog. Maybe it’s the cozy communal living. You’re not some big thinky philosopher type, though. You don’t know how to justify your impulsive action, how to rationalize it as altruism or pragmatism. You just act, as your little heart commands, and right now it commands that you save Norville What’s-His-Nuts, and so save him you fucking WILL!Rounding the corner and cresting a small rise in the tunnel with such momentum that you launch yourself up and into the air. As you come back down, you see a huge row of flesh, like an advancing column, head wreathed in a veritable lion’s mane of waving tentacle-like tendrils, multiple rows of wide, thin, triangular teeth working at the woe-fully insufficient fabric protecting a certain shaggy-haired humie. The Monster of Sunset Lake is, indeed, wide as a bear, but now that you can see it for yourself, you can see how much of it disappears down the tunnel—it’s MUCH much longer.“Hey, Lardass! Let that pansy go!”You roar the command as you rise, and flip your grip on your sword to turn it's point over, from a slashing to a piercing grip. Gravity pulls you down from your rage's high, and you bring your swooping saber plunging down with all your fall’s momentum.Rolling Swordsmanship, DC reduced by 2 for your foe being constrained in a small space and 1 because it's technically engaged in a grapple...
Rolled 8 (1d8)>>6136940The Monster of Sunset Lake is a BOSS encounter. it requires a minimum of 4 hits and a minimum of 40 damage to kill. It has multiattack, such that when it rolls its attacks, every separate success counts as its own separate attack with its own damage rollRolling damage for your first hit...
Rolled 13 (1d20)>>6136940>>6136942Your scimitar takes more than its pound of flesh, sinking deep into the face and neck of ‘Big Mama’. The gurgling sounds it had been emitting stop abruptly as it registers the grievous injury. You twist the blade, and they are replaced by a loud, stone-shaking groan. The great mouth opens, and a badly-battered Norville crawls, whimpering away from the creature which nearly ate him. One leg is bent at a bad angle, and even your amateur ass can tell it’s broken, but to his credit he hauls himself up and hauls ass with greater speed than you would have thought the skinny shit capable of.“…Huh.”Before you can issue kudos to the kid, or press your assault on his amphibious assailant, the Lake Monster’s lashing tendrils begin to whip at you like a dozen unpleasantly-wet bullwhips.Rolling the Lake Monster's automatic counterattack, when struck in the area of its face by melee attacks. DC 16 thanks to your armour, but a success is an automatic grapple attempt...
Rolled 15, 2 = 17 (2d20)>>6136945You hold an arm before you to shield your face, but when the whips start to wrap rather than slap, you realize what’s about to happen and leap back. It prevents you taking another slash or stab at the Big Bad Bitch, but it also stops you getting torn apart by weird face tentacles… or devoured yourself, since you’re less than half Norville’s height, and thus easy eating.You have escaped the grapple and avoided damage.Norville has 2 HP left and has sustained a lasting injury.The Lake Monster has 32 HP and needs a minimum of three more hits to incapacitate.The rest of your party has full HP, though Khorine has 2 MP left.You hover anxiously at the edge your fat foe’s melee range, unsure what to do now that you’re here. Can you really fight this thing ALONE?Leadership roll, DC 8/13 (reduced from 10/15 because of your heroic charge and its success)...
>>6136949Of course, you AREN’T alone, are you?You don’t turn around, but you hear the breathing, the meaningless psyching-themselves-up banter, the mass of discordant footfalls. Your party—that is to say, YOUR party but also the Maladoo Gang’s uninjured members—come running to join you in battle.crooooaaak“Right,” you say with a small, sentimental smile as you scratch Hershy’s grey-bearded chin. “You too, Hersh.”The odds go from a very uneven one-versus-one competition to a much more favourable eight-against-one match-up… But it’s not all gravy. You’re not a huge bloated monster—obviously, you’re super fuckin’ cute THANK you very much—but not even An-Yii or that Norville kid could all squeeze into the tight quarters of this tunnel to take the fight to this floppy, catfish-faced monster-mom.But hey, this is where a Goblin Boss with loads of adventuring experience can really shine, right?>Order the melee fighters—Frederich and Cyrene—to advance and help you push this bitch back>Back off and pepper the piece-of-shit from range—arrows, Hershy’s breath-weapon, your Prismatic Spray at full power—to goad it into following you>Focus on intimidation—scare it off and away, to build some breathing room>Write-in
>>6136952>Back off and pepper the piece-of-shit from range—arrows, Hershy’s breath-weapon, your Prismatic Spray at full power—to goad it into following youWe'll get to use that trap after all
>>6136952>>Back off and pepper the piece-of-shit from range—arrows, Hershy’s breath-weapon, your Prismatic Spray at full power—to goad it into following youAm >>6136529>>6136759 : because I don't care at all about her.
>>6137048[Norville fans keep winning.]
>>6136952bitch back>Back off and pepper the piece-of-shit from range—arrows, Hershy’s breath-weapon, your Prismatic Spray at full power—to goad it into following youAlso, staying away from the tentacles seems best
>>6136942nice, full dmg>>6136952>Back off and pepper the piece-of-shit from range—arrows, Hershy’s breath-weapon, your Prismatic Spray at full power—to goad it into following youtime to lure it>>6137048>because I don't care at all about her.lmao
>>6137050Total Norville domination.
Rolled 7, 6, 15, 19, 6 = 53 (5d20)>>6136955>>6137048>>6137068>>6137257“Keep back from the beard!” you shout to your allies. “Stick ta range! Yeb?”“Yep,” the older goblin answers, understanding you intent immediately and releasing his notched arrow.You join him in an assault of your own. You don’t really know the incantation for <Prismatic Spray>—may that’s part of your problem—but you DO know how to cast it y feel, sort of. That will have to do. At the very least the flash of multicolored madness serves as a signal to your pet drake to unleash his own, much more reliable blast of magic—not something he can do constantly, but a bit of firebreath never goes amiss.(Well, you hope it doesn’t a-miss, heh…)1d20 untrained casting for ZZ (2MP cost to do more than audiovisual effects), 2d20 each for Yeb-Uit's Archery skill and Hershy's Firebreath
Rolled 6 (1d6)>>6137505Rolling damage for Yeb-Uit and for Hershy...
Rolled 1 (1d8)>>6137508And the breath-weapon, usable once every 3 rounds...
Rolled 1, 12, 17, 20, 4 = 54 (5d20)>>6137510You whistle in appreciation as you see Yeb-Uit's arrow slam into one of the overgrown goitres that substitutes for this freakish fishy fuck's eyes. It might not be using them for much, but you bet that still smarts—and by the way the thing lurches back and shuts its gaping gob-hole, you suspect that bet’s paying off.Unfortunately, it’s also impressive enough to distract you mid0-spell. You only realize you fumbled half-way through casting when you feel the fizzle of your limited ‘aura’ (which is what elves call magic-juice) leaving your body through you fingers, and see the sprinkling of sparkles scatter uselessly to the ground and sizzle away.“FUCK!”As if to make up for it, Hershy emits a plume of red-yellow flame that licks up one side of the lake Monster’s ugly mug, and then loos back at you expectantly.“Heh, thanks bud,” you say, stroking his feathers down before looking back to gauge the reaction of the enormous cave-drake.The Monster of Sunset Lake has 25 HP left and can be felled with any number of attacksYou have 0/2 MP, unfortunately.The Lake Monster lurches back and froth, rocking to and for in some strange undulation. At first you think it’s preparing to lunge, or maybe trying to struggle to turn around. The latter supposition worries you for a moment—you wanted to bait this thing into charging you, running into what Frederich Johannes has taken to calling ‘The Trap Zone’. If it bolts, you might be fucked—you’ll have to go back to the lake, and there’s no way you can easily haul this thing aboard The Pearl with rod-and-reel!Then it opens its mouth, you hear the rumbling as of a miniature volcano, and you realize it’s far, far worse than that.“Oh shi—”A torrent of toxic sludge and putrid, half-digested fish surges up and out of the monster’s mouth and launches towards you. It retrospect, you suppose you should have expected as much from the mother of those other, smaller monsters, since they could do the same…The Monster can use its own 'breath weapon', such as it is, once per unbroken encounter
Rolled 5 + 8 (1d8 + 8)>>6137517ON a boss’ multiattack, a critfail is only a critfail if there are no successes.As such, there are two successes, one a critical success.A critical hit does full base damage for the attack, in this case 8, and an additional roll of 1d8 rolling damage, and then to see who it hits, between the targets at the front—you, Hershy, and Yeb-Uit.Pardon my foible with the colour formatting, por favor
Rolled 2, 1 = 3 (2d3)>>61375201 is ZZ, 2 is Yeb-Uit, 3 is Hershy, and since one target can't be hit twice by this type of attack, rolling the same twice will result in hitting the next target down the list
Rolled 1, 12, 3 = 16 (3d20)>>6137521You have no time to duck, really, nor time to warn the others. What you do have time for, and a deep-seated instinct toward, is the protection of your rpeciosu pet and odlest, dearest friend on this earth. You already had one palm against Hershy’s ehad, as he pushed pback into your rpasing pets; it is a simple,s wift action that lead you to turn your back, and to scoop him unde your arm and tuck him close to your tits. You bow your head and shut your eyes and mouth…But you don’t manage the full pivot, and the force is more than you bargained for.You take 13 damage; 17/30 HP leftYeb-Uit takes 13 damage; 7/20 HP leftYou resist the urge to scream, because the horrid odour and the burning sensation creeping across your skin tells you all you need to know about how bad it would be to get any of this inside you. The impact bowled you over, and the sheer deluge caked your person in poisonous, acidic effluent . You’re not exactly melting or anything, but it’s painful and unpleasant enough that you almost wish you were dead.(Well, almost. Goblin survival instincts die even harder than goblins)Rolling a constitution roll, DC 10, for you and for Yeb, plus a morale roll for the Monster
>>6137527“It’s getting away!”Though your big ears are all full of gross gunk, they’re not SO full that you don’t hear Freddie-Boy’s voice, or realize what it means. The fucking monster’s ruinous retching as meant to cover some cowardly escape back down the tunnel! You scramble to your feet and whirl around, opening your eyes to see what’s going on and to issue the order to give chase…CRITICAL FAILURE…Whiiich was a mistake. Your eyes are stuck mostly shut, but the bit of blistering bilge that creeps in past your lids and lashes when you try to force them open is enough to make you scream in pain rather than bellow an order. The lake-refuse and stomach-acid and whatever-the-fuck-else that gets into your mouth remidnsyou why you’d been keeping it shut. Immediately, you fall back down to all fours, adding your won vomit to the monsters as you empty your stomach of the day’s trail rations.(Now you know how that elf-girl from Green Leif felt… Fucking HELLS….)You are out-of-commission for the next round of combat, and suffer +2 DC to all rolls until the end of the day, or until medical treatment is administered.Yeb-Uit manages to recover faster, luckilyDespite how disgusting you must look, and smell, and definitely FEEL, you also feel a small figure applying gentle pressure to your scalp from behind in a rhythmic sort of patting, and hear a familiar quiet croak of sympathy.(Aw, Hersh…)Hershy is fine.You can’t quiet bring yourself to rise and fight just yet, but after wiping you face off, you think you can just about croak out an order in the end.What are your instructions?>Chase after it!>Hold back, cornering this thing as you are could get someone killed!>Write-in [clever strategies are rewarded]
>>6137539>Chase after it!This time send Fredrich and Cyrene in to tank so Yeb can safely shoot itMissing CZ is hurting
>>6137539>>Chase after it!Attempt to cut it path to water to force him run into the fuck-corridor, then the trap.If that fail, entangle with Khorine Bramblegolem?
>>6137573>+1we're close and it failed it's moral roll
Rolled 6, 11, 3 = 20 (3d20)>>6137573>>6137703>>6137921“After it!”You voice comes out a in a hoarse hacking cough, and you immediately retch again as you swallow the scent of rancid meat, acid, and bilge water. You collapse, shuddering, to the raw rock below one again. An-Yii attends to you; you can just about make out her little cap and near-black hair though you can only confer the professional concern in those never-impressed eyes of hers. You don’t thank hr, because she doesn’t require the thanks, but also because you really aren’t up to forming more words just yet.Instead, you listen to the sound of heavy boots running away from you, in pursuit of the Lake Monster—your prey, your payday, on its last legs and on the run. You ball your hands into fists and grimace in frustration that you can’t help finish the job… There’s no way you’re going to let it get away to lick its wounds and hide out somewhere else. You’re so close!(Ugh, can’t believe I’m relying on the fucking MALADOO GANG…)Rolling for pursuit, DC 13...
Rolled 2, 15 = 17 (2d20)>>6138025Failure to catch up, but Yeb-Uit can still snipe at it with his bow...
Rolled 4 (1d6)>>6138027HIT! Rolling damage...
Rolled 3 + 2 (1d6 + 2)>>6138029alas...
>>6138025>>6138027>>6138029>>6138030…It’s a long wait for you after that. Mostly, it’s the impatience to be scrubbed clean, and for the antitoxin from An-Yii’s medical supplies to take effect. ‘Antitoxin’ is a strong word for powdered, compacted roots, but you trust An to know what she’s doing; moreover, the unpleasant, chalky bitterness of the medicine is almost a welcome reprieve after all that OTHER shit you were just tasting. Funny, that.An-Yii heals you for 1d6+2 HP in addition to curing your status ailment. You have 22 HPShe rinses your eyes with a small bottle of pre-boiled, relatively-pristine water—relative to the swill down here, still full of gross amphibious brood-foam, anyway. You can finally see clearly by the time Cyrene, Yeb, Norville, and Frederich all return. In fact, you can see so clearly that you don’t even need to ask them how it went—their hangdog expressions say enough all on their own.The Monster of Sunset Lake has escaped, with 21 HP left.It will heal 1d10 HP and regain require one additional hit to take down (up to its original totals) for every day it takes you tot rack it down again.“FUUUUUUUUU-”Nobody interrupts your tantrum, as you kick rocks, stomp about, and generally express you frustrations. Now that it’s out on the lake again—under the lake, rather—and running scared, it will be a damned sight harder to lure it back out to finish the job. Some of those tendrils had the look of gills, too, with the frills and such—it probably doesn’t need to come up for air.“Shit,” you conclude, your final expletive a much quieter and more solemn one.“Boss?”You look up at the slime-caked Yeb-Uit, and stoic-but-expectant An-Yii. In spite of it all, you’re pleased to see the Goblintownies are still looking at you the way the bandits you’d whipped into submission back in the Wastes did—like you’re in-charge, like you have answers. The Maladoo Gang’s members look a lot less enthused—Norville especially, who is shaking like a leaf.“We should get out of here,” Vel reasons, though her voice betrays the emotions underlying the rationalization. “It won’t come back here.”“What a shame,” Frederich sighs wistfully, looking at his trap like an old man reflecting on a dream unrealized.“Freddie,” Cyrene warns him.“Right, right, priorities…”
>>6138049You watch as he starts to dismantle the apparatus. You look at the ruined, massacred nest of newts—little larvae still squirming in some cases, eggs popped and spread out like so much pink, fishy tapioca. You’ve learned a lot about what you’re up against, done some real damage, and slowed down this plague of frogs. It’s not a total loss.“Maladoo, where are you?” Norville whines.(For that matter, where in all the HELLS is Cara-Zi??)What will you do next?>Regroup at the inn—you need CZ’s help for what comes next, and some R&R before you do anything like THAT again…>Board the Pearl and head out onto the Lake—you need have a plan to track this thing down or lure it out [write-in what it is]>Gather up evidence to turn into the guards—maybe you can get some noble support in light of your ‘good deeds’ down in the dark?>Maybe it’s time to set aside your pride, and to share the reward—invite another team to split the prize if they can help you track this monster down. Specifically…>>Maladoo Gang (they won't keep working for free, after Norville's injury)>>Green Leif Company>>The Delvers>>Hire an independent>>Go to the Dragon King after all…>Something else [write-in]
>>6138050>Gather up evidence to turn into the guards—maybe you can get some noble support in light of your ‘good deeds’ down in the dark?Or at least some reward - instead of one monster they could have been dealing with dozens in the not too distant future.Not sure what we're gonna do if it just camps out at the bottom of the lake.
>>6138045Managed to catch that one>>6138050>Gather up evidence to turn into the guards—maybe you can get some noble support in light of your ‘good deeds’ down in the dark ?this is above our og reward and we gotta warn the others about it anyway
>>6138058I agree, supportingNormally I'd worry about alerting other bands of adventurers, but the Maladoo Gang with probably tell everyone anyway
[Expect a small delay, folks. I have friends over the next couple days.]
>>6138261Have fun RQM.
>>6139060I did, thanks!]>>6138058>>6138084>>6138149“We should head back ta town,” you decide.Nobody argues with you, obviously. After all that, wreathed in slime and stench and with several of your party injured, nobody really wants to linger down here. Sore and still feeling rather sickly yourself, you’re grateful for the easy extraction: you run into no trouble on your way out of the lair, not so much as a centipede or a stray drakeling. Perhaps the return of the Lake Monster, or the subsequent struggle, frightend them all way or into hiding? “By the Mountain King’s mossy BEARD! What happened to ye?!”“We won,” you tell Svanhilda Pearl as you and your party board the boat.“So it’s over, then?” Svanhilda asks, eyebrows raised. “Ye really managed to kill the beastie?”You push down a pang of irritation as the dwarf peers around you and the Maladoos , as if hoping to spy the big, bloated corpse of the mysterious Monster of Sunset Lake. In truth, all you have is the cooped-up salamander-spawn and popped-and-punctured eggs, which Vel Dinh and An-Yii had worked together to gather at your urging. Still, it’s better—FAR better-than nothing.“We won a battle,” you clarify, crossing your arms and nodding with as sagely a manner as you can manage while still, it must be sadly noted, half-caked in foul, fishy muck. “War’s still on, but it’s time ta report back.”
>>6139670As mixed as your feelings might be about the Pearl’s captain, you find yourself immeasurably and undeniably grateful when she directs you and Yeb-Uit down belowdecks to where she keeps a basin and clean water for washing off somewhat. It’s not that you’re squeamish or anything, but even if goblins have a reputation for being soiled and stinky, that’s USUALLY a function of circumstance rather than genuine enjoyment… And even for the hardiest gob, your current circumstances are pushing it.“We takin’ turns?” asks Yeb. “Or are we doublin’ up?”You arch an eyebrow. You’re not sure if you should be impressed or offended at the implication, and the bravado behind it. Is he seriously making a pass at you?“Feelin’ daring, are we?”Yeb-Uit shrugs, face placid as usual, as if there was nothing untoward behind the suggestion at all—or, more likely, that the seasoned warrior of the Wastes sees nothing at all unusual with proposing a post-battle, just-evaded-death roll-in-the-hay after a battle. Well, it’s not as if you haven’t had your fair share of those—Hells, it’s pretty much how you and James Efron hooked up the first time!(…Jimmy…)“Better fuckin’ believe it’s me first,” you say with a smirk, sauntering past Yeb-Uit. “Boss’ privilege.”“…Right, Boss,” Yeb agrees readily enough, with no obvious sign of being disappointed at being shot down, just as you are careful to show no obvious sign of your frustration, either.The water in the basin is cold but clear, and you waste no time befouling it in more ways than one. By the time you’re done winging out your hair and replacing your armour, you’re mind and body are both feeling fresh and clean once more.“All yours, ya’ old man,” you tease Yeb, slapping his ass as you pass one another.Returning topside, you reflect on your progress, such as it is, and wonder what sort of award awaits one who—if she didn’t necessarily end the threat of the Lake Monster just yet, at the very least spared Sunset Lake the very real danger of a dozen more just like it. That’s got to be worth SOMETHING, right?>To be continued...
>...pretty much immediately!>>6139675
>>6139679neat, although I'm surprised you already made a new one when we're still at page 7
>>6140062[Threads stay up for so long that, since we're 40+ days in and it seemed like a good jumping-on point for potential new players, I and followed a little hiatus, I decided to start fresh. if you have any lore questions or input to offer, though, here and now's a good time and place!]
