Beneath the Bloodrise Mountain Range, at the westernmost edge of human habitation, there lies a lake. The same sun that lights the grey stone and green trees red and glad by dawn’s first light casts its colours in a beauteous cacophony upon the rippled surface of that body of water each evening, giving the surrounding city—and the barony which lords over it—the well-known name of Sunset Lake. In recent years, though, a shadow has fallen upon those mountains, and it is a shadow which has finally stretched out to swallow the wealthy fishing village and trading hub below it.There are monsters in the mountains and, it seems, they also live in Sunset Lake.A few days ago, a small group of strangers arrived in Sunset lake, drawn by tales of the mysterious monster said to lurk therein. This was not in and of itself unusual, for many parties of adventurers had arrived chasing those stories, the possibility of reward. This particular party, however, was strange because many would view them as numbering among the mountain’s monsters themselves: two goblins, a goat-girl sitting astride the shoulders of a living effigy of bundled branches, and two other creatures who defied such easy categorization.There was ZIth-Zi, the apparent leader and utterly unplaceable in the taxonomic categories of modern racial philosophy: goblinoid in stature and (when she didn’t hide it) in mannerism, yet pretty and pink, shapely and symmetrical, pleasing to eye and ear and nose, and capable of casting spells… or, well, -A- spell, anyway.And then there was her ‘sister’, like her shadow: Cara-Zi, or Carazzi, or simply CZ. She was green as a goblin, when one noticed her at all. She had an uncanny ability to elude proper perception, and to slip from close scrutiny. When one set eyes upon her properly, though, her oversized black robes hid much that was twisted and wrong even by the standards of goblinkind: scaly scutes across her skin like mosaic scales or scarification; horns upon her head, stubby affairs jutting up from her temples; hair all over, reddish-brown and rough; feet that almost, but didn’t quite, resemble the goat-girl’s hooves.The monstrous company joined the hunt for the Monster of Sunset Lake almost as soon as they’d arrived. Zith-Zi seduced and insinuated herself into the festivities of a certain rival company to deduce the true nature of their quarry: an overgrown exemplar of those amphibious, dragon-adjacent creatures called ‘drakes’. Cara-Zi’s occult instinct uncovered unsettling magical contamination in the lake, where the monsters passed.
>>6139675The not-so-identical twins coerced and cozied-up with an amateur band of wayward human teens and their eerie, talking dog—the so-called ‘Maladoo Gang—to secure their specimen of the strange salamander. Large though it was, the captive creature was not nearly big enough to be responsible for all the shredded nets and missing fish all on its own, and so they’d temporarily teamed up with the newt-nabbers and the stout, dwarven captain of one of the lake’s many vessels and hatched a plan: to transport the drake of the centre of the lake, to dose it with a trackable potion, and to let it loose so they could chase it home.Cara-Zi had delivered the drake, but after a difficult night and an unspoken incident which had upset the boat’s captain, she had been curiously absent on the day of the hunt.Pressing on nevertheless, Zith-Zi and company—including a Maladoo Gang oddly ALSO missing an eponymous, canine member—had stuck to the plan, and achieved some measure of success: they tracked down the TRUE Monster of Sunset lake to its subterranean, lakeside lair, uncovered a nest of nasty monsters-in-the-making, which they had promptly pounded into pulp to spare the Lake and its people dozens more of the mutant monsters being born and growing into ravenous, toxic beasts…And then their mama had come crawling home.After nearly losing a few members of their expedition, and suffering putrid indignity on top of injury, Zith-Zi and her party had beaten the beast and driven it back.. Which is to say, sadly, the Monster of Sunset Lake remains at large. Her nest is n more, though, and evidence of the good deed is even now making its way back to the Baron’s men, to exchange for award and/or aid.But before we return to Zith-Zi and the reward for her hard work, another question remains as-yet unanswered: Maladoo, where are you? And where oh where, is Cara-Zi?
...[Welcome, or welcome back! If you’re just joining us, the last thread can be read at https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2024/6114062/, and it strongly-recommended reading. Much less vital, but occasionally enlightening, are the previous quests in the same setting, found at https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=ReptoidQM]…
>>6139676You are Cara-Zi, and you are a CAMBION, apparently. This is a new term to you, honestly—you heard it for the first time this morning, from the mishappen maw of the demon-dog (or dog-looking demon? Hell-harrowed hound?) Maladoo. You’ve spent most of your short life and an independent entity—ever since being magically split-off from your ‘sister’ ZIth-Zi, thinking of yourself as a ‘demogoblin’. You know, because you’re sort of a goblin, but you’re also the product of magical (and sexual) shenanigans by a demon-possessed occultist? Anyway, Maladoo seems to be a much more knowledgeable kind of weird-demon-thing, and HE says a hybrid of your ilk is called a ‘cambion’. Who are you to argue?The big, gangly black-and-brown hound currently leading you into the woods is called Maladoo. Earlier today, he found you sulking under a bridge, soggy with mud and tears after a night spent in the elements. You’d been beating yourself up over the savaging you’d just given Svanhilda—this really cute, thicc dwarf chick who you really like. She seemed to like you, too—enough to invite you back to her boat to fool around—but you’d predictably lost control the moment you tasted her lips, and her lust… And her pain and panic had, you’re a little ashamed to admit, been even sweeter.(You’re, uh, not sure fi she still likes you anymore…)“It is a rommon ralacy to rhink that a ruccubus is a resire remon,” Maladoo explains, as you settle in for a lecture by a copse of conifers.(Maladoo has trouble talking, with his mouth being all canine and whatnow. Youv’e gotten good at translating his ‘accent’, though:,a nd you mentally do so now: “It is a common fallacy to think that a succubus is a desire demon”)“Uhh… Aren’t they? Or, um, aren’t WE?”Maladoo snorts as if in stifled laughter at our question, and answers (adjusted for that speech impediment): “Yes, but so are we ALL, little cambion.”Maladoo holds up paw which, with upsetting popping sounds warps and twists that her might hold one ‘toe’ out like a finger to enumerate each point, and he continues:“The desire for sex, for physical connection, for emotional control… These are associated most with succubi.”Crack-POP“But there is also the desire for realized dreams, recognition, and status, associated with incubi.”Crack-POP“The desire for food, drink, and fullness of sensory experience which is most associated with the slaad…”Crack-POP“And hellhounds are known for their desire for violence, for destruction, for the HUNT.”
>>6139681There’s something skincrawling about the way Maladoo has to suck and gulp back saliva as he says those last words, and the dark twinkle n his doggy eyes. YOUR skin doesn’t crawl, though, and rather than shrinking back you elan forward, legs crossed as you listen attentively. You’ve long rejected what you are—your Hellish nature, and the warped, twisted form and uncontrollable urges with which this noxious nature has cursed you. Last night, though, you saw the limits of avoidance and denial, and the danger such half-measures pose to those you care for. Maladoo made you understand that, to be more than a monster, you need to understand yourself—to tame and direct the hellfire in your heart.“Is that what YOU do, Maladoo?” you ask.The demon-dog tilts his head, and waits for you to elaborate.“Like, is that why you hang out with those humies—uh, the ‘Maladoo Gang’, I mean? Hunting down ghosts and ghoulies and evil people or whatever? ‘Cause you’re a hellhound, and ya like ta hunt?”“None of us can escape our nature,” he answers indirectly,, as is his custom “but we can transform it, transcend it, master and direct it. Make ourselves its master. Become more than an embodiment of an urge… Tame the beast, like a wolf becoming a dog.”You nod, not entirely understanding, but STARTINg to.“Right, ‘cause dogs are useful, and friendly, an’ people like ‘em!”Maladoo laughs at that, and your skin DOES crawl. You don’t really like his laugh. You laugh along anyway, though, so he doesn’t feel self-conscious and call off the lesson he promised to teach you—the lesson you skipped today’s hunt to learn.“One thing’s buggin’ me , though,” you admit. “Dogs have masters, right? An’ I guess, like… So do I, kinda’, ‘cause ZZ’s the boss… But who’s YOURS? It’s not that Norville guy, is it?”“No,” Maladoo chuckles. “I am, if anything, HIS master.”“And it’s not that Freddie guy, or Cyrene, or Vel… So is it that eye-guy you were telling me about? The one you’re gonna introduce me to?”Maladoo had invited you here, after all, on the premise of teaching you how to commune with some dark entity who he’d described as a source of ancient arcane secrets: the so-called ‘Master of the Insightful Eye’.“Absolutely rot.”(Rot? What’s rotting stuff have to do with…)“Absolutely… Oh! ‘Absolutely NOT’,” you parse out.
>>6139682Maladoo nods, clarifying: “The Beholder of All is wise in any things, and powerful, but I do not serve him. He cannot be trusted, and he disdains demons even more than he disdains mortal beings.”“Uhh… Then why am I s’psoed ta learn from this guy again?” you ask, puzzled anew.“Because who knows more about becoming something greater than Demon, than a so-called Dark God?”You wince a little at hearing the words, ‘Dark God’, aloud. You sort of figured that’s who this mysterious beholding-eye-master-guy was—you’re not STUPID, after all—but you were still clinging to the plausible deniability. Tips—the mage who made you, and who you love most dearly in the whole wide world besides your sis—told you those guys were bad news. But, well… What else are you supposed to do? Keep fucking up, losing control of yourself, and letting people down every time you catch a whiff of sex or violence? You’d been trying to sate that aching <WANT> within you with stolen snippets of rumours—whispers half-formed thoughts and urges, collected and catalogued like others might collect spoons, or pretty stones—but it wasn’t enough. If Maladoo and his not-master can help you ‘tame’ what’s inside you, or transcend it, or whatever…“Alright,” you say firmly, with a decisive nod. “Then, like… Let’s get greatening, huh?”Maladoo laughs again, and takes the lead, instructing you in the ways by which one can reach beyond the Prime Material Plane and into places Below and Beyond, to reach out and contact unholy forces and hidden wisdom kept secret from mortal minds.Your first lesson is…>to cover your tracks[You learn the spell <Amnesia>, which can wipe out a recent memory in a target, and gain a rank in Mentalism]>to blend in[You learn the spell <Disguise Self>, but which you can change your physical form more dramatically and convincingly, and gain a point of Shapeshifting]>to direct your urges[You learn the spell <Claws of Darkness>, transforming your hands into truly wicked talons which count as magic weapons, increasing your damage and skill with Natural Weapons]>to suppress your desires[You learn the spell <Bind Spirit>, which lets you reduce your <WANT> roll DCs by 10 for an hour, as well as attempt to control other spiritual entities such as fellow demons, and increases your Occultism by one rank]
>>6139683>to cover your tracksI like Mentalism, though the others are tempting.
>>6139683>to suppress your desiresPalademon
>>6139683>to suppress your desires
>>6139683>to blend in.This one sounds like its the most practical. Being able to change our form like the infiltrator did, sounds like a major boon. Also we wont have to walk around wearing baggy funeral wear to hide our face & body.
>>6139683>to blend inwhile I'd prefer the memeory wipe, this sounds better since we have to use an oversized monk garb that draws attention anyway
>to blend inShe's a creep, she's a wierdo. She wants to belong.
>>6139683>to cover your tracksThis seems pretty useful
>>6140172>>6140083>>6140074>>6139805>>6139790>>6139768>>6139760[Locked and writing!]
>>6140182You’re tired of being a creep and a weirdo. You’re tired of having to cower inside your new hoodie—especially now that it’s all muddy and gross. A part of you still remembers what it was like to look like Zith-Zi-not the pinkish ZZ of today, but the OLD ZZ, when the two of you were one. You were green, and some might have thought you gross, but you got plenty of attention all the same—from gobs, from humies, from a certain half-elf…“I wanna be normal,” you declare. “I wanna be able to blend in.”“Normalcy is not on the menu, little cambion,” Maladoo replies, his tone bemused. “But blending in… I’m good at that, ree hee hee hee.”In the end, though, it isn’t MALADOO who teaches you this new trick. Rather—and rather frustratingly—he teaches you something not unlike the ‘meditation’ you’ve seen Tips and his fellow mages playing at in the past. Sitting still without fidgeting has never been your strong-suit, for the same reason you’re here today trying to get engreatened: your <WANT>. Though luckily for you, if less so for Svanhilda…<WANT: 9>…It’s pretty manageable for now. Maybe that’s why you find yourself more focused on your physical form, on hiding your bodily disfigurements rather than your moral or spiritual ones.“So WHY can’t ya jus’ teach me how ta be like you?” you ask, peeking through one eye at Maladoo. Your ‘teacher’ is once more contorted into un-doggy dimensions and a posture no true pooch could assume, cross-legged like an Easterling, back straight, arms held semi-limp at his sides with paw-palms up. “I ron’t row row.”( ‘I… Don’t Know… Oh!’)Wait, he can’t properly shapeshift?? Well… That kind of makes sense, the more you scrutinize him. Maladoo isn’t ‘humanoid’ in the way of a beastman’s body, not built for bipedalism or proportioned properly for his position. He’s simply forced his body into a shape it shouldn’t hold, for demonstration purposes.“Then, like… What are ya teachin’ me, Teach?”After some effort to ‘translate’ Maladoo’s talk, you get your answer:“I told you that all demons are demons of desire, and that specific types of demon are associated with specific desires. That’s all true… To a point. Becoming more than you are means understanding something that mortals never have, though: that all demons are THE SAME.”“H-huh?” Your head spins. “I ain’t no demonologist or nothin’, but you JUST said about, like, succubussies and inkies and salads and hellhounds!”“…How did you only get one of those names right?”You laugh nervously, and answer: “Dogs’re cute.”Maladoo rolls his eyes.
>>6140198“The summoning shapes a demon, as they appear on the Prime Material Plane—on Earth. In the Realms of Hell, the distinctions are less precise. Demons are shaped by their time on Earth, if their egos are not broken before their return. But a demon with UNDERSTANDING can summon and shape themselves.”“…So, like, that’s what we’re doin’?”Maladoo nods, and explains: “We are teaching you to desire one thing above all others.. At least, for a moment.”“…Acceptance?” you ask quietly.Maladoo grins that sharp-toothed grin, the yellow-white canines barely peeking out from under his floppy lips and jowls.“Wisdom.”You’re a little confused by that, at first. Wisdom? It’s not like nerds aren’t cute sometimes, but it’s not really what you were thinking. Still, the demon-dog seems to know what he’s talking about, so you do what Maladoo do—hehe~—and meditate your ass off. It’s not easy, or intuitive, but you DO desire this—to understand and master your nature, to be beautiful again—or at least not ugly and gross and wrong.You WANT to know how to change what you’ve become.You <WANT> that knowledge!“Oh!”You open your eyes at the sudden realization—the crystallization of will and of <WANT>, the realignment of purposes, and the sense that this new, deeper desire has summoned something. You know it’s worked, too, because when you open your eyes you’re no longer in the forest… or, well, you ARE, but the forest isn’t as it once was. Maladoo isn’t there, for one, and the trees are all different—wreathed in mist, faded and see-through like ghosts of their former selves. The sunlight was already a dying light the east few hours, but when you open your eyes it’s gone altogether, and no moon has replaced it. There ARE, however, twinkling glimemrs of distance stars, and one single, great sphere in the sky between you and them…“That ain’t no moon,” you murmur to yourself, as the great white orb rolls over and reveals an iris, and pupil. The big eye in the sky comes tumbling towards you, finally locking on. It is red as hellfire, focused as a ray-attack. The sinuous smoke around it coils and uncoils like tentacles, like snake-tails, until it twists and knots itself together into great, malformed wings—not quite like a bat’s, almost like those of the cave-drake that you bargained away from Maladoo and his gang. Wobbly, boneless black limbs support a body like a big egg with a craning neck; there’s no other face, though, only the eye, framed by horns.“Ah, one of the twins…”
>>6140200The voice doesn’t enter through your ear-holes, but through your chest, through the base of your skull, through your groin, through your gut. It fills your body and crawls across your skin, seeping in through your pores. It feels kind of nice, but also deeply violating; you’re not sure what it says about you that those two sensations and reactions can so easily coexist.“Uh, h-hey!” you greet the ghoulie. “Are you like, the ‘Master of the Inner Eyes’? or, uh… Somethin’ like that?”“I am but a humble servant, sent to welcome you, and guide you, along the Dark path which my Master has long ago laid out,” comes the answer, from everywhere and nowhere and from deep inside yourself, as that expressionless eye remains fixed upon your face. “You may call me ‘The Nothic’, for it is what my creator called me.”“Oh, cool!” you say, forcing some cheer. “I’m called—”“A demon should shield its name,” the Nothic interrupts, “until it outgrows it.”“That’s good ta know.” You frown. “I’ve been tellin’ everyone mine, though, so…”“Carazzi is not your name, nor Cara-Zi, nor CZ.”(H-huh?)“Then, like… What is it?”You see no smile, and the tone of the voice reverberating through your being does not change in tenor, yet you sense something almost—ALMOST—like a smile.“That remains to be seen,” says the Nothic. “Let us begin your growth, and learn it together.”And so, in the twilight of the Earth and in those dark places that exist just outside it, between Heavens and hells, Beyond the material and in the dark between the stars, you learn your first lesson on the Path of Darkness.NEW SPELL: Disguise SelfYou cannot change your size category or height, but you can hide your horns and tusks, reduce your claws to long nails, and change your skin, hair, and eye-colour, and texture. This requires you to have some MP remaining to maintain, and each change in form costs 1 MP and adds 1 point of <WANT>. You cannot remove your ‘hooves’, but you can shift their shape enough to fit into shoes.…
>>6140202…You are Zith-Zi. While your ‘soul-sister’ or ‘shadows-elf’ or ‘twin’ or ‘whatever-the-fuck’ has been farting around something doing who-knows-what, YOU have been hard at work. Today, that’s meant spending the better part of the day on a boat—The Pearl, named for its fat, greedy, dwarf-bitch helmswoman, who is at least willing to let goblin and women and goblin-women ride along and seems to know what she’s doing. What time you haven’t spent bemusedly watching Khorine the goat-girl try not to hurl has been spend under the lake, creeping through tunnels of wet earth and sodden stone to underground areas of Sunset Lake, seeking a monster.Well, you found it. You came, you saw, you kicked its ASS! But then it, uh, kind of got away from you while you were all soaked in poisonous puke.Now, you and your crew—and the Maladoo Gang—are all on your way back to port—to the Sunset Lake docks on the other side of the eponymous body of water, to turn in evidence of aforementioned ass-kicking and monster-culling to the Baron’s men.But to what end?>You want a meeting with the Baron, to discuss getting some formal aid from the nobleman as the OFFICIAL hunters in charge of this operation—cutting out competitors like Green Leif Company>You’re seeking a payday, simple as that—you’re low on coin, you want to stock up before you run out, and you figure preventing an infestation of giant fuck-off salamander monsters deserves recompense>You plan to bluff the bastard, claiming you slew the Lake Monster proper—it’s hiding out somewhere, so you figure you could spin this into the BIG score, then get out of dodge before it rears its ugly head again, if you play your cards right>You want to warn them about the dark magic at play, and discuss possible causes of this unholy occult interference in the local ecology>Write-in
>>6140204Wait, isn't the throw knife Carazzi's? Didn't she hunted with those?>You’re seeking a payday, simple as that—you’re low on coin, you want to stock up before you run out, and you figure preventing an infestation of giant fuck-off salamander monsters deserves recompenseFor us and the Mala-gang, giving us titles as propper Newtslayers.
>>6140235>Wait, isn't the throw knife Carazzi's? Didn't she hunted with those?[Nope, they've been on ZZ's sheet since day 1. CZ started without a weapon besides her spells and claws, and voters bought her a dagger. She can throw it, too, admittedly. She and Yeb-Uit did some bow-hunting for a snipe, but failed.]
>>6140204>You plan to bluff the bastard, claiming you slew the Lake Monster proper—it’s hiding out somewhere, so you figure you could spin this into the BIG score.+>You’re seeking a payday, simple as thatI figure the best idea is to claim we slew the lake drake mother, and once we have the money go back and finish the job in secret. And if anyone questions why were going back to the lake, we can just claim that we making sure we thoroughly wiped out her eggs.
>>6140204>You’re seeking a payday, simple as that—you’re low on coin, you want to stock up before you run out, and you figure preventing an infestation of giant fuck-off salamander monsters deserves recompenseGood morale buffer as well
>>6140204>You want a meeting with the Baron, to discuss getting some formal aid from the nobleman as the OFFICIAL hunters in charge of this operation—cutting out competitors like Green Leif Company
>>6140204>You want a meeting with the Baron, to discuss getting some formal aid from the nobleman as the OFFICIAL hunters in charge of this operation—cutting out competitors like Green Leif Company>You’re seeking a payday, simple as that—you’re low on coin, you want to stock up before you run out, and you figure preventing an infestation of giant fuck-off salamander monsters deserves recompenseDo both- the synergy maaaan!
>>6140310>>6140262>>6140257>>6140235>>6140343Your priority is getting paid. Always has been, always will. Guys like that (handsome) asshole Leif might get their rocks off on reputation. Marks like the Maladoos might ride a moral high horse. You, though? You might be a ‘nilbog’ now, but you didn’t just forget the lessons Mama Zi taught you out eat, or the far harsher ones of the Wastes where you first made your name and got your gold: money CAN buy happiness, or at least stave off suffering.Besides, what are you going to do, live out in these backwater baronies forever? Fuck THAT.“Right,” agrees Yeb-Uit when you share this sentiment, “but what about the humans?You shrug your shoulders, jostling an already-irate Hershy. The little feathered chimera-drake has been rather jumpy ever since you encountered his distant kindred in that cavern. You suppose you can relate, the more you think about it—the last time YOU encountered ‘country cousin’ a dozen times your size was when you and the crew ran into a pack of bull-trolls out in the Wastes, and almost got your asses ate—and NOT in the fun way. You pat the little guy’s head until, with a squawk you interpret as a ‘yeah yeah, okay, I’ll chill’, he calms down and settles in on his pauldron-perch. Only then do you turn your attention to the haggard-looking Maladoo Gang, and to Yeb’s question.“We’ll put in a word, get ‘em some accolades.”“…Accolades?”“Credit,” you clarify.“Credit? Or credit and coin?”You give Yeb-Uit a look. The old male has a good face for cards, never giving too much away, but he doesn’t need to. A gob is a gob is a gob, after all, and no ex-slave adventurer of greenish complexion is going to be eager to split his payday with some namby-pamby humie kids like Frederich Johannes, Cyrene Blake, Norville Rogers the Third (yes, that’s the kid’s real fucking name, you asked) or Vel Dinh.“We’ll leave that up ta the Baron,” you say carefully, with an air of ‘don’t fucking start’. “We’ll jus’ make sure it don’t eat inta ours, ey?”Yeb-Uit nods slowly, and looks back out the water, scratching his ass idly. You snort, and do likewise—the water-watching, not the ass-scratching. Maybe you SHOULD have taken the grey-bearded bastard up on that post-battle fuck he was angling for—might have put the codger in a better mood to get his rocks off.(Shit, mighta’ done You some good, too…)You shake off the passing fancy. This last year’s been a bit of a ‘cold spell’ for you, sure, but again: you’re here to get paid, not to get fucked. A Goblin Boss—or Nilbog Professional Adventure—has to get her priorities straight!(Besides, there’s still James Efron, your not-so-old flame, to hash shit out with… Maybe…)
>>6140353You shake THAT thought off, too. That nobleborn son-of-a-bitch is down South dealing with raiders and border disputes for the Crown, with ENID. Whereas you’re stuck here. Just another reason to hurry the fuck up, right?When you get to the docks, you do exactly that: you hop over the bulwark and onto the dock before the gangplank’s even down, and the others have to hustle after you to catch up. You shoot them a look and wave them off, though; Khorine and the Maladoos are a bunch of brats, and there’s no way on this or any other plane that bringing GOBLINS to a negotiation with human authorities gets you taken MORE seriously.(Yes, it’s good to be a nilbog, and that is a fuckin’ fact.)The guards around Sunset lake are a good sight shittier—or, well, more ‘provincial’ if you’re being diplomatic—than those in the royal capital of Hawksong. There are fewer of them, wearing less and worse armour from a variety of eras and obviously self-maintained. They’re older, or younger, but far fewer of them are in what you’d call ‘prime fighting years’, and their physical conditioning and general bearing are far from what you’ve gotten used to during your time in the big city. Still, each wears the tabard of Sunset Lake: three white fish stacked on a field of blue, separated by a wavy line from the yellow field above representing the golden sunsets. That means authority—including, you hope, authority to pay up.“Hey boys!” you greet them, abandoning your natural inflection and raising your voice an octave automatically as you wave them down. “Got time to talk? We’ve got big news about your little ‘monster problem’!”This gets their attention, but also that of a few others on the docks. Sunset lake ahs been gripped in a monster MANIA, after all. You get it, really: this is a bustling mountain trading port, but a bustling port in these mountains is still KIDN OF a small town, without a lot going on. Those few things that HAVE been going on these last few years have all been monster-related, from rumours of kobold raids and black-skinned elves to dragonfire in the plains and Dragon Kings in the mountains. Now, their principle source of local food is being threatened by huge newts? Yeah, you’d be a bit of a maniac, too… And eager to see the problem solved. That, of course, is what you’re counting on.“Are you with the Delvers?” they ask, mistaking you for one of the little-folk—gnomes, halflings, and dwarves—with a certain technologically-savvy rival adventuring party.“Me?” you ask. “Uh, no. I’m… Independent. But I’ve got something THEY don’t…”
>>6140354You take the guards aside, trying to ignore or block the lookie-loos who gather ‘round to murmur and mutter, as you show off your vials of scooped-up drake-spawn, and explain what you found, and what you did about it.“…So, long story short, your monster problem’s pretty much handled! And I was thinking, well, a bit of a reward’s in store, right? Isn’t that what all the posters around the area have been advertising?”You grin, hands on hips, as they survey the evidence. The two guards you’d flagged down have gathered several more who were milling about to inspect your evidence and to discuss what to do about it. Even now, they seem unsure—a problem only exacerbated when all the attention you’ve acquired draws in an unfortunately-familiar voice attached to a certain square-jawed mug.“Doesn’t seem too handled to me!”You groan and look over your shoulder to cast a dour glower at Leif Last-Name-Never-Asked, of Green Leif Company. Technically, it was him and HIS party (now gathered behind him in all their ‘glory’) who first identified the monster, lured out one of the ‘small’ specimens, and hauled it out of the water. They promptly lost it to the Maladoos, which is where you came in.(You also maybe, sort of, kind of seduced him for info and almost boned down…)“I didn’t ask for opinions from the peanut gallery,” you growl, “especially not the especially SALTY nuts. Just because You lost the thing…”“Lost -A- thing,” Leif interjects, striding closer with a (sort of sexy) swagger of (utterly unearned) self-assuredness. “A thing that I remember YOU, Zena, saying very LOUDLY and PUBLICLY was NOT the actual Monster, because it was too small.”
>>6140356You manage to avoid saying ‘who the fuck is Zena?’, remembering at the last moment that this was the less-goblinoid pseudonym you’d offered up in lieu of the name your mother gave you. Besides, that’s hardly the point, is it?“The point,” you say instead, stepping right up to Leif and jabbing a finger into his washboard abs, “is we wrecked up the whole gods-damned nest of the ‘actual Monster’, so the lake and its fish—and fisherMEN--are safe again!”A cheer and some scattered applause greets this from the less salty nuts in aforementioned audience, though it is subdued and brief as Leif raises his own voice again to undermine you:“Says who? What, the monster can’t lay anymore eggs? The other ones can’t grow bigger?”You frown mightily at that, but Leif’s beautiful blue-green eyes just sparkle with self-assuredness as he smirks down at you. Your pointed pink ears twitch a little as you pick of some whispers of worried agreement from the crowd. The guards might have tiny, round little humie ears, but you can see that THEY’RE hearing it, too, or else coming to the same conclusion all on their own.What will you do?>Angle for a smaller reward for your work so far—get your bag while you can>Pledge to eliminate the threat entirely—though you’ll need a reward AND an advance to get it done>Lie and say you mortally wounded the main monster—after all, you very NEARLY did!>Write-in[A 1d20 social role will be required regardless, though the DC will be lower the humbler you are. I’d also like to take this opportunity to ask…]What is you plan moving forward?>You still plan to finish this monster hunt before you go [Continue the Sunset Lake arc]>As soon as CZ comes back and you have your money, you’re out of here [Move onto a new arc, leave Sunset Lake’s monster for someone else][This may seem a tad redundant, but the last vote seemed to include a few who waned to score a payday but still handle the matter privately before leaving, so I wanted to verify what your actual long-term plans are. You can also consider it a 'meta' vote on whether to continue the adventures here or change locales. Just keep in mind that especially if you lie and leave, you might not be welcome back.]
>>6140358>Lie and say you mortally wounded the main monster—after all, you very NEARLY did!>You still plan to finish this monster hunt before you go [Continue the Sunset Lake arc]If we kill the mother drake first before anyone else whose gonna catch the white lie?
>>6140358>Pledge to eliminate the threat entirely—though you’ll need a reward AND an advance to get it done>You still plan to finish this monster hunt before you go [Continue the Sunset Lake arc]would the 2nd option be getting payed and ditching the monster problem ?
>>6140488>would the 2nd option be getting payed and ditching the monster problem ?[Yes. if you opt to take a full reward, claim the problem is solved, and leave, then even if you succeed the Lake Monster will eventually breed again and produce more monsters, and Sunset lake will know you lied and cheated them. But you'll be, one assumes long gone. Neither ZZ nor CZ have been established yet as too moral to pull such a trick for money.]
>>6140358>Pledge to eliminate the threat entirely—though you’ll need a reward AND an advance to get it doneWe've gotten actual results, unlike the other groups. It's only fitting we get some investment to finish the job.
>>6140358>Pledge to eliminate the threat entirely—though you’ll need a reward AND an advance to get it doneI think we probably are the only grouo equipped for cave fighting so I think this can turn out well for us>You still plan to finish this monster hunt before you go [Continue the Sunset Lake arc]
>>6140358>Lie and say you mortally wounded the main monster—after all, you very NEARLY did!Fuck you Leif, we jumped her bones first!>You still plan to finish this monster hunt before you go [Continue the Sunset Lake arc]
>>6140358>>Angle for a smaller reward for your work so far—get your bag while you canWithout us, our legwork and our information, the boyzband and the delver would still try to catch a slighty bigger than usual Newt and call it a day after saying the Maladoo gang got only one of two siblings.
>>6140658>>You still plan to finish this monster hunt before you go [Continue the Sunset Lake arc]
>>6140358>Pledge to eliminate the threat entirely—though you’ll need a reward AND an advance to get it done>You still plan to finish this monster hunt before you go [Continue the Sunset Lake arc]It’s useful to have some renown. Also we might never know when we need to come back here.>>6140172
Rolled 13 (1d20)>>6140488>>6140556>>6140581>>6140626>>6140658>>6140660>>6140799“LISTEN,” you say raising your voice above the murmurs of the crowd and preempting Leif’s next asshole objection, “This is a BATTLE, in a larger WAR. Wasn’t I just sayin’ that, Pearl?”Svanhilda Pearl’s eyes widen as many more eyes turn towards her. The dwarf had only just arrived at the edges of the crowd, but suddenly she’s centre-stage.“Ach… I’d rather ye leave me out of this… But aye, ye did.”“Exactly right!” you continue, smirking smarmily at Leif. “A war WE’RE winning. US. WE’RE the ones getting results—”“It was us who lured and captured the first lake monster,” objects the male half-elf from Leif’s party, ‘Tri’ or something if you remember right.“Only counts if you keep it,” you quick quip. “Every fisherman worth his fuckin’ BOAT knows that, isn’t that right boys?”There is a chorus of agreement on general principle, which drives the half-elf’s head down and turns his face flush with embarrassment.“It was the MALADOO GANG here that actually CAUGHT the damn thing, and it was US who, with a few coins and some gobli—Uh, some good, old fashioned GRIT got down and dirty to eliminate the threat. I don’t see anyone else here sending seasoned fighters down into the caves to root around and save the local fishing industry. Do YOU?”There are a few whispers, but the docks are mostly quiet now. You have everyone’s attention, and enough respectful recognition o keep them from interrupting. Sure, calling your crew ‘seasoned’ is a bit of a fib, but you’ve at least got goblin It’s just like you were saying, though: you need to land the ‘fish’ before it counts.“Without us, OUR legwork, OUR info, OUR cave-fighters, OUR plan, you all’d have caught yourself one or two of those monsters and totally missed out on their mama, AND a whole nest more of ‘em that would have eaten their way through the whole lake next season!”You turn to the guards, mustering up for the final blow. You resist the urge to stand on tip-toe to get closer to eye-level, since (you’ve long since learned) that only make you look LESS imposing to human males. Instead, you spread your stance wider, square your shoulders, tilt your head back and puff out your chest—a surefire way to snag some eyes, without makes you look like a little girl.“And that’s all on a shoestring budget, mind you, from the goodness of our hearts. Now imagine—IMAGINE, will ya’—what we can do with a bit more moolah. Give us our proper reward, advance us a bit more capital, and we’ll have this whole lake crystal clear and monster free. That’s a promise!”[Base DC was a graduated 10/15/20. Thanks to the quality on the write-in arguments, that's reduced to 7/12/17.]
>>6141001“Alright, alright!”13: Two degrees of success!The guards can’t argue with that, especially with the cheer of the crowd at your back. You allow yourself a quiet breath of relief. You’re not used to a mob of humies being your back-up like this, as opposed to more of an ANGRY kind of mob situation. It’s… Actually kind of nice.You throw a look and a gesture to the gang—the Maladoos AND your own gob-and-goat-gang, that is—to take off and leave the rest to you. They seem eager enough to oblige, exhausted by your efforts and warier around the locals than you in the case of your own crew. Only Cyrene Black insists on tagging along a you tail the local constabulary to their HQ, presumably to see that you don’t screw she and her friends out of their slice of the pie. You can respect that, you suppose.No, you save your shade and your mocking hip-shimmy for those Green Leif pricks—and one prick in particular, natch. You give a little to the Delvers on your way by their tech-heavy set-up, which seems to have secured one of the middling ‘manders, but considerably less respect and little reward in light of your own announcement. Hey, that’s just business!The guardhouse isn’t exactly the best you’ve ever seen, honestly resembling an upside boat of unusual size more than anything else. It’s old and patchwork, clearly retrofitted with fresh wood from many a mismatched tree over the long years, and slathered with a thick coat of blue-grey paint to protect (poorly) against the vagaries of harsh northwestern winters. Still, shit, it’s a nicer building than anything in New Goblintown, so what the fuck are YOU going to say about it?Best of all, it’s good money inside—YOUR money, once the guards have dipped into their kitty and doled it out.The coin and support on offer is the equivalent of 60 points, with 40 of it an advance. You are promised an additional 40 if you can produce proof of the monster threat being definitively eliminated.
>>6141014You try to keep your cool at the profit proffered to you and your party, but the truth is that this might be the most money you’ve ever handled at once, as a Boss rather than a minion or a hireling. Even when you were running a gang of bandits out in the Goblin Wastes, you rarely saw so much coin, as opposed to barterable goods—rich merchants usually don’t get that way by being stupid, and only stupid merchants or especially desperate sorts passed through known goblin raider territory. You see Cyrene sizing up her share with considerably less reverence, but then again that makes sense—she has a bearing that screams ‘rich bitch’, even if she and the Malamutts don’t exactly seem to be rolling in dough these days.Though speaking of the Maladoos…>You’ll share the credit—and reward—with the Maladoo gang, offering them up a half-share to keep them around and on retained[Reduces your own party’s morale, but scores you two inexperienced fighters (Cyrene and Fred, who have 2 ranks in melee combat and 2 ranks each in trapmaking and in negotiation respectively) two hirelings (Norville and Vel, who have no combat aptitudes but 2 ranks in athleticism and in scholaticism), and Maladoo (demonic beast of unknown stats, at least knows the spell <Power Word: Stun>), plus use of their equipment until the end of the arc.]>Take the lion’s share of loot and emphasize your own team’s importance, then go your separate ways[Reduces relations with the Maladoo gain, bolsters your own party’s morale, gives you more points to work with to secure equipment and outside hires, possibly longer-term, as well as to pay for Svanhilda Pearl’s services.]Now is also a good time to start specifying what strategies you have in mind, if any and brainstorming equipment or allies you might want to seek out before your next hunt. One thing to determine in particular...Do you plan to retain Svanhilda Pearl's services?>Yes, you'll keep using the Pearl[Current rate is 4 points a day, though there will be chance to try and lower that, NOT guaranteed]>No, you don't need her or her boat anymore[Specify you're getting another captain to take you out or don't think you need a boat anymore.]>Actually, she's been pretty useful... You might see about hiring her onto your crew full time[Costs 15 points, but comes with a boa and related equipment. Has ranks in piloting, navigation, mercantilism, and [REDACTED]]
>>6141015>Take the lion’s share of loot and emphasize your own team’s importance, then go your separate waysLater virginsNorville almost died, shouldn't they be staying out of this on their own initiative?>Yes, you'll keep using the PearlOpen to replacing her, but I'm holding off until we figure out how the heck we're gonna get this thing.
>>6141015>You’ll share the credit—and reward—with the Maladoo gang, offering them up a half-share to keep them around and on retainedI really really like having Mystery Inc here, it's a fun element of the adventure >Yes, you'll keep using the PearlIt doesn't seem like a huge sum of money anymore, especially if we work quick
>>6141068+1I like having Maladoo around. As for the ship, sure. For now. We don’t know if a ship will be useful in the future, but right now, yeah
>>6141076Am>>6140799
>>6141015>You’ll share the credit—and reward—with the Maladoo gang, offering them up a half-share to keep them around and on retained>Yes, you'll keep using the PearlThe plan is simple : Get Norville to level up.He can turn decently into a Rogue(Scout) with skills in Stealth, Survival, Acrobatics, Deception, Perception. Heck, He should also get the "Mobile" feat to bait and run the monsters around without losing a leg.
>>6141001>Sure, calling your crew ‘seasoned’ is a bit of a fib, but you’ve at least got goblin*at least got goblin night-eyes.>a surefire way to snag some eyes, without makes you look like a little girl.*without making you look like
>>6141015>Take the lion’s share of loot and emphasize your own team’s importance, then go your separate waysyou snooze you lose>Yes, you'll keep using the Pearl
>>6141436>>6141137>>6141126>>6141077>>6141076>>6141068>>6141033[This is a close one, so I'm using a judgement call and treating >>6141077 as valid, since SfBWiEu4 is a multipost ID. Remember, backlink 1post votes to ensure they are counted.]
Rolled 11, 14 = 25 (2d20)>>6141548“…Really?”“Really,” you answer.“…And this isn’t a trick?”“Wh—Look, Black, if you don’t want it…”“No, no, I’m not saying THAT, ti’s just…”“Just WHAT?”“I sort of got the impression that you didn’t really much care for us.”“Yeah, well, maybe beggars can’t be choosers,” you snap, and then sigh and soften your tone as you continue: “And maybe you all proved yourselves better than I gave you credit for.”“Wow, really?” Cyrene Black asks, violet eyes wide and a smile starting to form on her face. “Because actually, I really respect your whole ‘take no guff’ attitude, and your—”“Easy there,” you chuckle. “Ass-kissin’ won’t get you extra, and I’d prefer it from Joens if it comes down to it.”You can’t keep a straight face at the deathly pall that falls across Cyrene Black’s pretty little mug at that one.“I’m messin’ with ya’, Black. Thanks for the help and, hey, if Norville’s not too freaked out for you lot to help us out…”“Oh, him? Norville’s ALWAYS freaked out. We’ll just buy him some snacks and he’ll be right as rain.”“Good,” you conclude, glancing over at the guards to make sure they’re listening as well. “‘Cause we couldn’t have done it without you.”You retain 36 points, and the services of the Maladoo Gang for the remainder of the arc, plus improved relations with them moving forward.Honestly, you see a lot of potential in that bunch of brats—even that Norville, who DID after all return to chase down the drake which nearly ate him. It took some time, but you hoenstly feel better with them at your back…“You gave up HALF our reward??”An-Yii, evidently, feels otherwise.“And to a bunch of children, no less,” Khorine sniffs, without a hint of irony despite being (you guesstimate) like half the age of the youngest Maladoo.“Look, they earned it,” you say reasonably. “Do YOU wanna’ go toe-ta-toe with Mama Monster with only the six of us?”“…Six?” Yeb-Uit asks, confused.“She’s counting my blight,” Khorine says with unsubstantiated confidence.“I’m COUNTIN’ CZ and Hershy,” you correct her. “Hey, is she back yet? Anyone seen CZ?"“If this is half the reward, we coulda’ just taken off already, and fuck the rest of it,” An-Yii grouses, clearly sick of Sunset lake and its little lake-drake problem.“Come on, Yeb, back me up?” you petition the old Wasteland warrior.He remains silent. You guess he really didn’t like being covered in monster-barf. Well, shit, who DOES? But that’s just life in this line of work, right?[Leadership roll, DC 12 because you achieved a notable success with no casualties and have more reward to offer.]
>>6141555You’re not sure if it’s a testament to the reliance of your party, to your leadership, or simply to how much a goblin will put up with for material reward, but nobody defects or objects too vociferously. It takes a bit of Bossing, carrot-and-stick style, but all three of your lackies lay down and accept their lot…Yeb-Uit’s Morale: StableKhorine’s Morale: StableAn-Yii’s Morale: Low…Which, come on, ain’t half bad? 36 points ain’t nothing—and that’s just SO FAR!“Now we just need ta’ figure out how to score the rest.”“Wait,” An-Yii asks, startled and outraged anew, “you eman you don’t got no PLAN?”Before you can lose your patience with your nurse—or yourself for letting that little tidbit slip out of your gob-hole out-loud—the door to your room slams open. You all jump, scrambling for weapons. You needn’t have bothered, though, because…“Guys! You guys! I met, like, the COOLEST dog and… Uhh…”
>>6141563You breath a sigh of relief at seeing it’s just Cara-Zi, back and apparent safe-and-sound, though a little dirty and dishevelled. And… Wait, no, she actually looks a little different, now that you squint. Her face is smoothed over, her teeth less fucked-up, and… Are her hands actually kind of normal-looking, without those long-ass knives on the end of them?“Do I even wanna’ know?” you ask.CZ titters nervously, fidgeting in place and flushed-of-face, yet clearly quite pleased with her changed appearance. Ultimately, seeing her so happy makes it tough to stay mad at your ‘other half’, and so you spare her the lecture—for now—and instead tell her the good-and-neutral news.“You mean I get to keep hangin’ out with Maladoo??” she asks.“Uh… I guess?”(Why is she so excited about that? Wait, were her and that weird, evil fuckin’ dog-thing ‘hanging out’ all day? Is THAT where she learned how to—)“A-and the Maladoo Gang, too, I mean,” CZ quickly, and unconvincingly, amends her exclamation.“…Uh huh.” One thing at a time, ZZ, one thing at a time. “Yeah, we do. At elast ‘tilw e sort out the ‘big fish’.”“An’ since we’re back on THAT subject,” An-Yii interjects, “how exactly we gonna’ do that, Boss?”All eyes are back on you again, which is to be expected but still presents a problem. After all, your plan to find, fish out, and filet the Monster of Sunset Lake is still a bit of a work-in-progress.You gotta say SOMETHING though, right?>Green Leif Company had some trick they used to lure out a smaller monster… You just need to finesse some of his lackeys into sharing the special sauce>You figure if you can get all the fishermen to pool their catches and lay it out, you can maybe lure out a hungry Mama Monster for a bite to eat>You have to spend money to make money—and that means looking into options for diving deep and breathing underwater for you and the crew>Actually, now that your resident shapeshifter’s back, maybe CZ can be bait, swimming down and finding the Lake Monster herself?>Write-in
>>6141564>>Actually, now that your resident shapeshifter’s back, maybe CZ can be bait, swimming down and finding the Lake Monster herself?If Norville's fine, send him walking somewhere unrelated to the bottom of the lake, like the shore where the cave were and the monster, like, possibly can't be anymore, right?
>>6141564>Actually, now that your resident shapeshifter’s back, maybe CZ can be bait, swimming down and finding the Lake Monster herself?
>>6141564>Actually, now that your resident shapeshifter’s back, maybe CZ can be bait, swimming down and finding the Lake Monster herself?Time to make up for missing the first encounter We might have been able to finish it if she had been there
>>6141564>Actually, now that your resident shapeshifter’s back, maybe CZ can be bait, swimming down and finding the Lake Monster herself?Can we spend money on stuff that could help her on that? Like traps? Am willing to support this if soAm >>6141076
>>6141694>>6141812>>6141827>>6141854“Well come on,” you say, “why do ya think we were waiting for Cara-Zi ta come back.“H-huh?” stammers the demogoblin in question.“AND she’s more shifty than ever, ain’t that right?”You give CZ a look, which she quickly clocks. She responds with an (over)eager nod, and a goofy little twirl and flex.“Right! Yeah, I, uh, I actually spent all day workin’ on it,f or out… Plan… Which is to, uh…”“Ta send CZ down inta the lake after that cowardly Monster!“…Wait, what?”Undaunted, you press on, hitting your stride as the ideas came fast and hard.“Yeah! She can grow, like, fins ‘n stuff—”“Well, yeah, I can—”“Shit, she can prob’ly grow GILLS!”“H-hey, waittaminute, no, ZZ—”“Or, well, hold her breath a while, or maybe we can get her all kitted out with some magci shit, now that we’re flush with gold.”“You mean our REWARD?” An-Yii points out skeptically. “We gonna spend all our money before we even make it?”“There’s more comin’,” you say dismissively. “Lots more, if we play our cards right. And THIS card?”You slap CZ on the back so hard she yelps, then sling an arm around her with a wide grin.“We’re goin’ ALL IN on this one. this is the winnin’ hand, mark my word!”“You need more than one card for a hand,” An points out. “Yeb-Uit, you buyin’ this?”Yeb-Uit sizes the two of you up. You don’t so much as sweat, though, even under his steely scrutiny. When he shrugs and half-nods, you keep your fist-pump of triumph imaginary, saving the sentiment for later.“Well, -I- think it sounds like goblin madness,” Khorine announces, “and I’m going to bed.”In truth, and as lame and old as it makes you feel, the same is true for you: you’re bagged after a hard day’s hustle, and eager to hit the hay. Of course, CZ being back means you sharing a bed again… And damn, she kind of smells like stagnant water and wet dog. Where WAS she?“Strip,” you order.
>>6142260CZ laughs nervously, and turns around, but she does so, down her skinnies. Nobody here is squeamish enough to make an issue of it, yet she keeps on her underwear down below, and crosses her legs just so. You frown a little, knowing what’s down there ad still not sure how you feel knowing that THAT was a part of you, too. Not that you weren’t always a bit of tomboy or whatever, but even so…“Hey, why didn’t ya get rid of the schlong while you were shiftin’ yourself all over?”Cara-Zi laughs a strange, brittle laugh and shrugs. “Uh, still workin’ on it? This is kinda’ new.”You frown, because you can tell when your ‘soul-sister’ is lying to you, but you don’t push. Partly, it’s because you don’t care—at least, not enough to make a whole thing of it here and now. Partly, you worry the answer will perturb you further, and make you question your own self. It’s a bit of old goblin wisdom, that: never start an argument right before a fight. And if CZ isn’t down to argue, well, shit—she might CRY, and that’s even worse. You’re never sure whether to smack her own and tell her to stop sniveling—proper goblin discipline—or whether you try to do like Tips would’ve done, and pat her and tell her she’s pretty or whatever.“Whatever,” you say. “As long as you’re good ta’ do swimmin’ tomorrow.”Cara-Zi frowns, but nods, and you think you can just about ‘sense’ her determination, in that weird way you sometimes pick up on her feelings. That there’s uncertainty beneath it is fine: bravado’s an old goblin tradition, too.……You lay awake long after ZZ has fallen asleep—and all the others, as well, as far as you can tell. Maybe it’s the excitement of all you learned today, and all you might still learn now that you pretty much have official permission from your sis to learn more Maladoo magic. Maybe it’s nerves about tomorrow—after all, you’re not even sure exactly what you’re up against, but it’s clearly a big deal by the way everyone else is talking about this monster.Maybe it’s Zith-Zi’s question, right before bed.…Yeah, okay, it’s definitely at least mostly that last one.
>>6142261You shrunk down your horns to nothing, made your claws into nails, squashed your toe-claws together into proper, dainty little hooves to just about fit in a shoe. You crowded all your hair together to where it’s supposed to be, and turned your legs the right way ‘round so you don’t walk around all weird and goat-y like Khorine.And yet you still have a big swinging dick. WHY? Why didn’t you get rid of it? Why can’t you now, even when you squeeze your eyes shut and wish really super duper fucking HARD?Because of the first vote of the quest, CZ cannot shift her sexual characteristics entirely male or female yet. She is inherently intersex/hermaphroditic/androgynous. Because she didn’t follow the knight’s path of chivalry and repression or learn to suppress your urges and desires, she also cannot abolish those characteristics entirely.In the end you give up trying. Wasn’t that Maladoo’s lesson, and that of that ‘Nothic’ guy, too? You can’t help or change what you are and, shit, maybe you don’t NEED t. You just need to understand it, and work with it, and change what you CAN.You smile a little at that thought, banishing your lingering aesthetic angst. You shut your eyes again, but this time you don’t try to picture yourself like the Zith-Zi you were, or that your ‘other half’ now is. No, you picture you—yourself, fully CZ, but the CZ that you want to be.
>>6142264When you wake up, you are…>Essentially a dwarf—peachy-skinned, with some hair on your hands and feet and a ‘demihuman’ nose and mouth and whatnot, and a bit of a fuller body, like Svanhilda>Like a little mini-elf—an elf kid, even!—with pointy ears and fine features, and shiny-bright eyes and full lips, like Tips>A goblin—a proper goblin, though, not exactly like you or ZZ used to be, but still a little green ‘girl’ like An-Yii (and, admittedly, a bit like Yeb-Uit, too>A beastie-folk! Now that you can make them less freakish, you kind of like your hooves—or Khorine’s hooves, rather, which you can emulate—and having hair everywhere, and maybe now you can have a little doggy snout a bit like Maladoo…>Essentially unchanged apart from being more proportional and less ‘scaly’>Write-inYou also wake up with some ideas about how to properly realize Zith-Zi’s big plan. You figure that what you need is…>Something magical to make up for not being able to breath underwater[Specify if you want a one-off solution (5 points) or something more permanent (15 points)]>A better weapon for underwater fighting—maybe something like a fishing spear?[Due to Monkey Grip, CZ can wield a medium-sized 1d8 fishing-spear with reach, but it would cost 4 points]>A bit more back-up[Specify who you want to bring down with you; if you plan to equip them with anything special; if you want to recruit anyone else, specify that as well,a nd what you’re looking for]>Write-in>Nothing; you got this as-is, and you don’t want to make more trouble by asking your sister to spend the reward
>>6142266>Essentially unchanged apart from being more proportional and less ‘scaly’>Something magical to make up for not being able to breath underwaterOne off>A better weapon for underwater fighting—maybe something like a fishing spear?Tie a rope to the end with plenty of slack so we can reel in the body
>>6142266>A goblin—a proper goblin, though, not exactly like you or ZZ used to be, but still a little green ‘girl’ like An-Yii (and, admittedly, a bit like Yeb-Uit, too>Something magical to make up for not being able to breath underwater
>>6142266>A goblin—a proper goblin, though, not exactly like you or ZZ used to be, but still a little green ‘girl’ like An-Yii (and, admittedly, a bit like Yeb-Uit, toolet's test drive more forms>Something magical to make up for not being able to breath underwater (1 off)>A better weapon for underwater fighting—maybe something like a fishing spear?
>>6142266Does transformation affect our hands? If so, I want elf handsIf not,>write inAdd or take away anything that interferes with how hydrodynamic we are>Something magical to make up for not being able to breath underwater>A better weapon for underwater fighting—maybe something like a fishing spear?One off solutionAm >>6141076
>>6142266>Essentially a dwarf—peachy-skinned, with some hair on your hands and feet and a ‘demihuman’ nose and mouth and whatnot, and a bit of a fuller body, like Svanhildaor>Like a little mini-elf—an elf kid, even!—with pointy ears and fine features, and shiny-bright eyes and full lips, like TipsA fuller body would be great- just the thing to pump and dump Leif for intel for a second time. Just imagine the look on his face when he realizes he could’ve had twin sisters(ish)!>Something magical to make up for not being able to breath underwater (Permanent)Long term investment- I want our Sloggoth-sword back bros
>>6142266>>Essentially unchanged apart from being more proportional and less ‘scaly’For basic appeareance, But supportin' >>6142382>Something magical to make up for not being able to breath underwaterOne-off>A better weapon for underwater fighting—maybe something like a fishing spear?Harpoon time
>>6142382>Does transformation affect our hands? If so, I want elf hands[Yes, though if you're looking to take advantage of Monkey Grip, they'll need to be big when you're swimming with that spear.]
>>6142479I’d rather the dexterity of five normal fingers, then. Elf + one off item + weapon
>>6142492[I have company tonight, so orobably won't update until tomorrow.]
>>6142408I'll support this.
>>6142781alright, take care OP
>>6142786>>6142492>>6142413>>6142408>>6142382>>6142375>>6142365>>6142346[Locked and writing! Though the update may be tonight depending how the morning goes. My company stayed later than expected.]
>>6143152You can’t quiet get over the transformation. The totality of it is so striking, and how it makes you feel… Well, it’s a game-changer. Well into your morning routine, long after a respectable gobbo would have been done with their simple and utilitarian washing-up, you’re still staring into the basin at your finely-formed features: your little, upturned elfin nose your rosy pink cheeks, your dark brown hair no longer so haphazard, your cat-yeellow eeys now confining their colour to smaller, humanoid-style irises. You’re still small and all, enough that nobody’s going to be mistaking you for a full-grown elf, but between your skinny limbs and long, pointed ears—and a notable shift towards a thinner, more androgynous shape, with subtler curves—you might just about pass for a wee elfling.“I’m glad YOU’RE pleased,” Zith-Zi grumbles as she yanks on her spats. “I’m glad SOMEONE’S havin’ a good morning…”Your sis is still sour, you suspect, because of the start you gave her at dawn’s first light. You suppose you can’t blame her for that—it’s not every day, after all, that one wakes up with a stranger in their bed. You feel a mix of guilt and, admittedly, amusement at the especially girlish shriek your ‘other half’ had emitted at first seeing you. At the time, you’d been confused, for the transformation was not a wholly conscious one, and you’d LITERALLY been unconscious when it took hold. Now, though…“I’m jus’ like Tips…”You run your fine fingers over your full lips, and flutter your eyelashed. You trace nails—still sharp, still a little greenish beneath the cuticles, but otherwise quite elegant and shapely—across your jawline. Can this really be you?It feels… Wrong. It Feel RIGHT, GOOD, yet… Who is this stranger in the reflection. “Hey, CZ, hurry your fancy new ass up!”You splash the water and shatter your frowning face’s wet reflection. Turning about, you shake off the doubt like a dog drying off. Yes, this is you! Of course it is! Why shouldn’t it be? You are whatever you want to be! That’s the point!
>>6143174With your party mustered—well, your core group, you’re meeting the Maladoos later—you head out to the market. Following ZZ’s lead, you trail her to a little emporium on the edges of town. Its widow-shutters pulled up, and in lieu of any sort of glass-encased window displays you might see in the nicer districts of the big city, you instead find hanging charms and dangling doodads that your supernatural senses recognize, with a squint, as magical. A sign above the door depicts curly-cues of calligraphy, spelling out ‘Willow & Water: Charms & Tonique Shoppe’.“This where ya’ got the tracking charm?” asks An-Yii as your group enters.“That’s right,” Zith-Zi answers, with a boastful voice as if she made it herself.“Crude work… HUMAN work,” pronounces Khorine as she in runs her blunt-tipped, grey-nailed fingers over them. “Yeah, well who asked you?!”You all look over and see a (human) woman with flaxen hair, somewhat disheveled and mid-length for a girl, peeking out from beneath a wide-brimmed, pointy-topped ‘wizard chat’. It has a belt, as is the style in the city among graduates of Hawksong’s Mages Tower, but even you can instantly identify it as literally a regular, around-the-waist belt repurposed to keep the floppy hat atop its owner. In lieu of academic robes, the apparent owner of Willow & Water wears a heavy, striped jacket over a simple knee-length dress, and very practical (but unfashionable) boots. It’s not a BAD look, necessarily, but its very mismatched and not especially arcane; you strongly suspect Tips wouldn’t be caught dead looking like this, fi he could help it.“No pets an’ no summons in the shoppe!” the mage/shopkeep says, reaching out to slap a nearby sign that says much the same thing with the back of her knuckles.“My twig blight is not a ‘summon’,” Khorine protests.“It’s fine, it’s fine. Wait outside, kid.” ZZ waves it off, and pats down Hershy’s hackles before handing him off to you. The feathered chimera-drake settles immediately, recognizing you—as few others do, ESPECIALLY now—as the same Zith-Zi whom he watched grow up. You smile, stroking his golden-turning-grey feathers and staying just outside the door so you can listen in.
>>6143175“What do you need now? A re-enchantment of your divining rod, and a potion to dose a drake?”“Oh? You heard about that?” ZZ asks.“Everyone’s heard about THAT,” the proprietress answers plainly, “but it will cost you dearly. The ingredients for such a spell don’t grow on trees! Well… Some do, but realigning the orichalcum in the alloy takes time, and effort, and the alchemical ingredients for THAT—”“Forget it,” your sister interrupts, “what we need’s something for swimming… And breathing underwater.”“Ha! Right, and where am I going to get mermaid gill this time of year, at this altitude.”“Some on, you’ve gotta’ have SOMETHIN’…”“Well… What if you could do without breathing altogether, for an hour or so? Would that serve your purposes?”“Shit, an hour? It’s a big lake…”“You could buy MULTIPLE, if you’d like, but it will—"“—cost me dearly, yeah yeah, I get it. Fuck. Alright, an hour’ll do. Say, you know where I can get, I dunno’, a harpoon or spear o soemthin’?”“…For a gnome?”“Human-size is fine.”“Hmm…”As the two are bartering and bantering, your own eye wanders until it settles across the broad, flat corridor of stamped-down mud and hither-tither cobblestones that denotes a street in Sunset Lake. There, another shop is opening up, and the finely-attired individuals—well, ‘fine’ by the standards hereabouts—are unspooling colourful fabric across odd wooden racks and setting up displays of dangling tunics and jackets, coats and dresses, and pleated trousers in imitation of the modern city styles. You look down at your own more-oversized-than-ever attire, a funerary cloak that looks more dead and done than ever after sleeping under that bridge.New you, new outfit… Hey, that’s an idea!Do you go buy new attire?>Yes [costs 1 point]>Yes, and… [costs 2 points, and you can specify something fancy or request specific (nonmagical) features]>No, you’ll keep wearing what you’ve got.[If you opt for a new clothes, specify if you have a style or anything in mind. Pictures are appreciated. This will inform an art commission sometime soonish, after all.]
>>6143152>My company stayed later than expected.Looks like one of my fav QM got some booty.Congrats sports.
>>6143176>>No, you’ll keep wearing what you’ve got.We're a responsible tips-demon. We'll buy some fancy clothes AFTER defeating the drake and getting a proper reward
>>6143176>No, you’ll keep wearing what you’ve got.
>>6143176>Yes [costs 1 point] since we want colorful stuff, let's go for a Landsknecht style>>6143181silly anons, qms don't fuck
>>6143176>No, you’ll keep wearing what you’ve got.Do we really need to? I guess we could find garters to tighten the sleeves or pants so it doesn’t bunch up in water but other than that? Not really.Am >>6142382
>>6143184>>6143236>>6143368>>6143482You shake your head at your own silyl notion. You’re a RESPONSIBLE demogoblin-cambion-elf-whateverthefuck, after all! You’ll buy some fancy clothes AFTER defeating the Monster of Sunset lake and earning your reward. Then, and only THEN, will you get yourself all dolled-up… Maybe something with some garters? Ooo, maybe something all colourful and frilly with a big hat, like Tips’ dad, Rudolfo?“Come on, we’re going!”That’s ZZ, issuing marching orders, and so you march. As you and the others follow her to your next destination, you catch your pinker-half looking at your hands a few times. Resisting the urge to pull them up into your oversized sleeves, you instead ask her what’s up.“You can still make those all big ‘n grabby, right?”“H-huh?”By that point, you’re at a shop that seems to specialize in marine—uh, or whatever the freshwater lake equivalent is—equipment, mostly fishing and boating stuff. What Zith-Zi is eyeing up, however, is a pronged, pitchfork-looking thing, about eight feet long and ending in three wickedly-barbed spikes. You eye it up, and laugh a little.“Isn’t a demon with a pitchfork a little, ya’ know…”“Shh!” ZZ hisses.You shut your gob-hole as she glances round nervously, checking to see that nobody heard you.“Can you do it, or what?” she demands.You squeeze your eyes shut thinking hard about your big gross hairy, jagged-nailed demogoblin hands-the hands you’ve had since ‘partition’ from your ‘sister’, every day until yesterday. Just thinking about those meathooks makes you feel all weird and sad and gross, and so you stop—even though you know it’s what ZZ wants, and instead just start picturing hands more like Svanhilda’s—strong, and thick-fingered, and capable, but still sort of femme and pretty in spite of the callouses. No, their beautiful BECAUSE of the callouses. You remember how those hands felt on your face, on your body…<WANT: 10>When you open your eyes, ZZ’s face is contorted, and her eyes are staring down—not at your hands, but lower.“Hey, uh, yer packin’ half-chub.”You gulp and cross your legs, tucking the embarrassing implement of your incomplete and spoiled femininity away. Zith-Zi grimaces and provides some cover while you do so. When she looks back, you hold up bigger, more spear-ready hands.“Good,” ZZ says, though she still looks faintly disturbed. “That’s great. Good shit.”You have 25 unspent points left.
>>6143514Clutching your new spear awkwardly—but with an adequate grip to wrap ‘round the full, human-sized haft—you join the others in Zith-Zi’s explanation of the small, white stone which she holds up like some miraculous marvel of modern magic. You’re gathered upon the docks, with the rather-tired Maladoos—including THE Maladoo—all in attendance, also. You wave to the hellhound, who graces you with a glance but doesn’t rear up on his hind feet to wave back. Well, he IS in public, after all; you get it.(Still hurts, though…)“This,” ZZ explains, “is not just some rock. This is a…. Well, I didn’t get the name or nothin’, but it’s a rock that’s got enchantments on it, made outta’ coral from the sea or some shit, an’ all enchanted. It holds enough air in it that if you keep it under yer tongue an’ suck on it, it’ll keep ya’ breathin’ underwater for a full hour. Jus’ don’t swallow it, or you’ll be swallowin’ water, next.”“What about the pressure?” asks Vel, narrowing her already-narrow eyes. “Anyone diving down there would be crushed by—”“Listen, nerd,” ZZ sighs, “you see that bad bitch there?”All eyes turn to the ‘bad bitch’ in question: you. You jolt at the realization, flushing, and attempt a nervous smile as you recoil into your soiled monk hoodie, kind of wishing you could disappear. Which, like, you KIND of can, actually, almost, in a way… But you can tell that wouldn’t be a good idea right now. “That’s Cara. You ‘member her, right? She’s the oen who asked for the drake we ‘borrowed’.”There’s a chorus of gasps and murmurs from the humans. Everyone in your own crew had got it out of their systems this morning, but to the Maladoo Gang, it’s a whole new revelation. You squirm under their scrutiny; can they see the ‘real’ you, in the imperfections beneath the shifted shape?“She’s got magic comin’ out her ass,” ZZ asserts on your behalf. “She can handle a little water, aight, Dinh?”“y-yeah,” you mumble. “I can handle a little pressure.”“It’s not just about water, and it’s not just a little—”“All aboooaaard!”
>>6143515Vel Dinh’s attempted explanation is abruptly interrupted by a familiar, feminine boom: that of Svanhilda’ Pearl’s voice, her dwarven constitution carrying her powerful voice and charming brogue far further than even your sister’s confident cadence can. ZZ seems to take this as the end of he argument, heading straight towards The Pearl—Svanhilda’s fishing vessel—and the others follow. Vel sighs, mumbling to herself about ‘atmospheres’ or some other nerd stuff that you’re sure Tips would understand; unfortunately, you only LOOK like him, and even then just barely.Looking so much more like an elf must be why Svanhilda doesn’t immediately recognize you, as she greets the others—some cheerily, some brusquely. They pile onto the Pearl, and you…>Hide among them and keep your hood up and your head down—maybe she wont’ recognize you?>Approach her and apologize for the ‘incident’ the other night, explaining that…>>You were afflicted with a terrible curse that has since been lifted [lie]>>You are a ‘cambion’, but that you’re working on controlling it [truth]>Write-inShe’s still beautiful as ever, of course—full-figured, big-breasted, suntanned and sultry, with a full, heart-shaped face and strong, muscly arms, and a gleaming hold tooth that only adds to her nautically-naughty charm, and with her brown tucked under a bandana and braided. There are still-healing scratches on her face and arms, though, telltale toothmarks on her throat, and bruises on her bosom—all your handiwork. You swallow your shame and, still more shamefully, your arousal.Will you attempt to pursue further romance or ‘romance’ with Svanhilda Pearl?>Yes>No
>>6143181>>6143368>RQM's personal lifeI do alright for a middle-aged, divorced businessman who spends all his leisure-time on 4chan. Make of that what you will.
>>6143516>Hide among them and keep your hood up and your head down—maybe she wont’ recognize you?Haha how embarrassing>No
>>6143516>Approach her and apologize for the ‘incident’ the other night, explaining that…>>You are a ‘cambion’, but that you’re working on controlling it [truth]>>6143518dat's my mean go-getter.
>>6143562[You missed the second part of the vote]
>>6143563Nice catch, thx>>No
>>6143184Yeah and after we're going to buy a LEISURE SUIT
>>6143516>Approach her and apologize for the ‘incident’ the other night, explaining that…>>You are a ‘cambion’, but that you’re working on controlling it [truth]>No
Rolled 16 (1d20)>>6143696>>6143562>>6143542You hover at the bottom of the gangplank, tapping your ‘hooves’ anxiously against the sodden timber until everyone else is aboard and willing yourself to be beneath notice. Only when everyone else is aboard, and Svanhilda is preparing to pull up the plank, does she truly see you. Her expression is questioning—as if trying to work out who you are wand why you’re lingering there at the same time. Only when you offer her a nervous wave and greet her does she recognize you.“Hi. It’s me, Cara. Permission ta come aboard?”And boy does she fucking recognize you, and remember your last ‘encounter’. Her eyes widen and she takes a step back. You cringe, and scamper up the walkway before she can pull it up and abandon you at the dock. The dwarf takes another step in retreat, eyes scanning around as if to scramble for a weapon. Your heart aches to see it, even as the whiff of fear on the lakeside breeze stirs your baser instincts up a little.“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” you hasten to assure her. “I’m, like… Under control now.”“…Aye?” the Pearl’s captain asks, sounding completely unconvinced.(At least she’s not running and screaming…)“Aye aye!” you say, snapping a salute and giggling.(She doesn’t laugh…)“Uh, s-so,” you stutter out as swiftly as you an, “I bet yer, like… Wonderingw hat happened, uh, that night?”“Aye,” Svanhilda agrees hestitantly, “and how ye came to be as ye are now…”She gestures to the ‘new you’. A part of you had hoped, childishly, that she would see your new form and all would be forgiven: that your clean, fresh features and elfin aesthetic would be so beauteous as to wipe away that little misunderstanding (or, uh, almost-rape) and renew the easy, casual closeness which you and she had earlier captured in your last voyage aboard her vessel. Now, with heavy heart, you recognize just how impossible that is. You really, really fucked this up.“Yeah, about that…” You gulp. “I’m, uh, not really a beastwoman. Or… Like, a goblin. Not EXACTLY, anyway. See, thing is…”Svanhilda listens as you explain your ‘condition’. You don’t get into every nitty-gritty detail of your genesis or history, but you tell her more than you’ve told almost anyone else, who didn’t already know what you are: that you’re a demogoblin—“Or ‘cambion’, I guess?”—and that you are heir to instincts and urges beyond your control, but that you’re working to change that.“I mean, just look at me, right??”You hold your arms out and do a little twirl. When you spin back around, though, Svanhilda’s eyes are hard, dark, and unmoving, like a still lake’s surface by dead of moonless night.
>>614371916: successful diplomacy! CZ is allowed aboard, and for no extra expense.You have 21 points left unspent“Ye can come aboard me Pearl,” Svanhilda says, voice calm but stern, “but I want ye to keep your distance, ye ken? I dinnae know much about demons, or half-demons, but I ken enough to know they’re nae to be trusted.”You shrink down in your robe—maybe literally? probably not, though, right?—and nod. You wonder why she’s even giving you this level of benefit-of-the-doubt, if she dislikes demons so much, but you’re too grateful (and too fearful of her changing her mind) to question it out loud.“Y-yeah, I ken,” you mumble. “Thanks, Svanhilda…”Like a beaten dog, you skirt around her and slink over to your friends and allies. ZZ raises her eyebrows at your approach, but you shake your head and she doesn’t ask anything else. From a distance, you watch Svanhilda pull up her anchor and grip the boat’s spoked steering-wheel, masterfully steering the Pearl away from the port and out onto the lake. The memory of those same hands on you now fills you with a queasy feeling that almost matches Khorine’s seasick-green countenance. You’ll never feel those hands’ supple strength in calloused caress again.(Will you ever know tenderness like that, without what you are and where you come from getting in the way?)You can’t help but dwell on those dour thoughts, spiralling into a silent sadness as the others chatter about their plans. You force yourself to look away from Svanhilda after a while, mostly because of the looks she’s giving you, and how much more tense she seems to be whenever your eyes meet. You pull up your hood and stare down at the lake, instead.“Hey, you good?”You feel your other half’s presence before her hand claps down upon your shoulder. You look over into ZZ’s face, and force a smile that you both know she sees right through.“Yeah,” you lie, “I’m good.”“Aight, glad ta hear it,” she says, playing along. “‘Cause we need you at yer best. The plan is…”>CZ will dive down to the deepest areas of the lake and poke around with her spear, stirring up and slaying any cave-drakes she finds>CZ and the others will creep around in the cave-system which ZZ and the gang visited yesterday, and CZ should be ready to chase down the mother-monster if she emerges>The people on the Pearl are going to just go about fishing, keeping an eye on the competing parties and hoping the monster gets hungry enough to emerge of its own volition>Write-in
>>6143722>CZ will dive down to the deepest areas of the lake and poke around with her spear, stirring up and slaying any cave-drakes she finds
>>6143722>>CZ will dive down to the deepest areas of the lake and poke around with her spear, stirring up and slaying any cave-drakes she finds
>>6143722>CZ and the others will creep around in the cave-system which ZZ and the gang visited yesterday, and CZ should be ready to chase down the mother-monster if she emerges
Rolled 67 (1d100)>>6143780>>6143815>>6143845“…So I just, like… Dive?”“Well, yeah,” ZZ replies, then frowns. “What?”“Uh, well… Idon’t even know hat I’m lookin’ for, ya know? I didn’t see it before.”“You saw the five-footer, right?”You nod.“Well, picture that, but about ten times bigger.”You gulp.“Hey, don’t freak out on me,” ZZ chastises you. “You don’t gotta kill it solo. Just spear any smaller ones you find, poke around on the floor of the lake, an’ if Big mama shows up, you come right back. Lure it to the Pearl!”“Uhh… Okay,” you say, still not entirely convinced.Nevertheless, you are determined not to let your sister or your new friends down. You exchange a brief look with Maladoo, whose solemn face remains set in canine impassivity, though the swivel of his ears reveals that your fellow creature-of-darkness has his eye on your performance as well. He’s not exactly your boss, but since he HAS become something of a mentor, this only increases the pressure. (Though stripping down in front of so many witnesses has a certain psycho-sexual thrill…)“Don’t wanna ruin my outfit,” you explain, “an, you know… All that weight and drag an whatever, so…”“We get it, we get it!” ZZ says. Waving you on. “Just go already!”You nod. Tucking the enchanted stone under your tongue, you take one last deep breath—you know just in case it doesn’t work so well—take up your pronged spear, and dive.1: You're ambushed.2-10: You have no success.20-50: You find some smaller monsters...50-90: You find the true monster, but...90-99: You find the true monster, and...100: !!!
Rolled 2 (1d10)>>6143895Despite your goblin night-eyes. It take you some time to adjust to peering around in the murky-dark waters of Sunset Lake. You’re able to shapeshift some webbing between your fingers and toes, and a thin membrane over your eyes, and that makes it a bit easier. Actually, it comes to you pretty instinctively, which is a pleasant surprise! Still, there’s debris from the bottom, flotsam floating around, silver-green fishies to distract you, and you’re never really gone swimming so deeply (let alone with a spear clutched close to your naked body), so it’s still and adjustment.Once you’re adjusted, you’re pleasantly surprised by how quickly results come. Oh, it’s not immediate, but a part of you had feared that, in all this subaquatic vastness, there’s be too much empty space to find even a truly monstrous cave-drake. Honestly, that might even be true… Except, of course, that you’re a demon, and these things are full of Dark juju. In addition to darkvision, you’re packing DARKvision, and by peering about for the characteristic ‘glimmer’ of unholy arcana and following that unplaceable sensation, you are able to spot several salamander-thingies not unlike the one you saw bubbled-and-caged two days prior.The magic pebble proves worth the gold coins spent to acquire it: with a pleasantly fizzy sensation like the champagne you snuck at Tips’ wedding a few years back, it fills your mouth with slightly-stale but life-sustaining air. Thus freed to dive deep and stay beneath the surface, you pursue your prey. Every time you approach, their whiskers twitch and their ‘wings’ beat water. The first couple times you nearly cry out in protest, but after that you remember to keep your mouth shut, lest you take in water and waste the air from the stone—the sensation of the two combined nearly makes you choke and gag as it rushes out of your nose.67: You find the true monster, but… You chase after your fleeing foes, considering whether it is worth the risk to hurl your fishing-spear at such small-fry. Before you can decide, though, a sudden pressure upon your sense alerts you of much bigger fish—err, amphibians—to fry. You stop short, turning you attention way from the departing drake to instead address a veritable underwater storm: dirt, debris, and torn-up underwater foliage spreading out in a great, misty cloud that obscures your dark-adapted eyes utterly, but cannot block your supernatural senses so easily.(Well HELLO there, Big Mama…)You grip your spear one-handed and paddle your feet and free hand to push into the cloud, not stopping to consider the risk until you’re already embedded in the murky miasma. Only then, squinting against the grey-blue-and-green haze, do you realize WHY such a mess of muck is being shaken up from the lakebed: you’re not the first one to find it.“What the—hurk!”
>>6143905You shut your mouth again and squeeze your eyes shut against the familiarly-unfun sensation of magical fizz shooting our your nose. When you open them again, you properly perceive what had flummoxed you a moment prior: there, at the bottom of Sunset Lake, stands a strange, squat knight in odd-but-shining armour. Or, well, you ASSUME it would shine, under other circumstances: were they not so deep, or made so dirty by their duel.The armour is unlike any you’ve seen before: a full-body suit, thick-limbed and with a domed helmet that seems to have a circular window on the face, meshed with metal an to protect a glass viewing-port for whatever little adventurer is wearing it. A huge tank is strapped to its back, and a spear not unlike your own is clutched in the figure’s grip, though it seems to be connected up by still more harnesses and uncanny apparatuses to the suit itself. Your eyes trail a longer, thciker cable or rope, stretching from the waist of the ‘knight’ and up towards the refracted light f the world above, broken by the shadowy silhouette of a boat. It’s a weird set-up for a weirder get-up, and you might not have even made the comparison to a knight if they weren’t pretty much fighting a dragon.The Monster of Sunset Lake has 23 HP and will require a minimum of 2 hits to slay.Oh, you sort of know the difference between a reptile and an amphibian, kind of, mostly. One’s rough and one’s smooth, mostly, right? Still, given the sheer SIZE of the Monster of Sunset Lake, and its general body-plan and all, it’s hard not to draw the comparison. ZZ wasn’t wrong: the ‘Big mama’ of all these other newt-thingies must be at least a good thirty-feet long, though a lot of it is tail. Its body is still marked by many a wound, especially around the head and neck, wreathed in a wide-cast net of thrashing, lashing tentacle-like whiskers, as if a whole plate of calamari was live and wriggling around its eyeless face and wide mouth, round and lamprey-like with its many rows of teeth.It’s… Pretty fearsome-looking, all told. You’re sort of impressed the little guy fighting it isn’t running, since suit aside, whoever it is doesn’t look much bigger than you, and you’re bite-sized to this big beastie.(Makes you wish you could’ve worn armour down here, but good luck swimming with any agility in THAT. Maybe if you’d had a suit of whatever-the-fuck that other shortie’s wearing, so you could just walk…)
>>6143909You watch the lumbering, clumsy motions of the pint-sized subaquatic spearman going toe-to-toe with the creature that YOU’RE down here to catch, and decide what to do. There are a few options, after all, with the situation being so changed from what you might have originally envisioned. In the end, you…>Join the ‘knight’ in flanking the ‘dragon’, hoping to take it down with the power of teamwork>Sneakily swim over to cut the cable, if you can, to strand and disadvantage this obvious competition>Attempt to bait the big beast away from the blighter in the battle-suit, so you don’t need to share the credit… Though even if it works, it’ll be chasing you and you alone…>Write-in
>>6143910>Attempt to bait the big beast away from the blighter in the battle-suit, so you don’t need to share the credit… Though even if it works, it’ll be chasing you and you alone…well, that was the plan
>>6143910>Attempt to bait the big beast away from the blighter in the battle-suit, so you don’t need to share the credit… Though even if it works, it’ll be chasing you and you alone…Damn, Delvers got to it first
>>6143905>with a pleasantly fizzy sensation like the champagne you snuck at Tips’ wedding a few years backSo. It’s been that long.>>6143910>Join the ‘knight’ in flanking the ‘dragon’, hoping to take it down with the power of teamworkHonestly, might as well. The last thing we want is being alone, far from the ship, and injured. After the thing’s dead, take a chunk from it if possible. We need proof.
>>6143910>Attempt to bait the big beast away from the blighter in the battle-suit, so you don’t need to share the credit… Though even if it works, it’ll be chasing you and you alone…
>>6143910>>Attempt to bait the big beast away from the blighter in the battle-suit, so you don’t need to share the credit… Though even if it works, it’ll be chasing you and you alone…
[Power's out in town tonight. Sorry, no update!]
>>6144487no problem, man
Rolled 4, 3, 2 = 9 (3d20)Alrigth, we're back!>>6143933>>6143937>>6143972>>6144081>>6143946While you won’t pretend you’re not a little afraid of fighting such a titan, alone and in its element, you’re even MORE afraid of how angry and disappointed ZZ and the others will be if, after missing their first hunt, you come back empty-handed from THIS one… And with the Delivers (well, you THINK it’s the Delvers) seizing the day (and the reward money) in your stead! Those little guys must have used their weird gizmos to track it down somehow before you could... But you have something that they don’t: mobility!While the clunky-and-clumsy armoured adventurer on the lakebed is tussling with the overgrown caved-rake, you circle around and attempt to catch its eye. Upon remembering—duh!—that it doesn’t HAVE any eyes, and once more reminding yourself with a sizzling sting why you can’t open your mouth and shout to draw its attention, you go for broke and bust out the magic.(Luckily, <Charm> is innate enough to not require somatic or verbal components. You just hope it will be enough…)Rolling Mentalism and Survival (3d20, DC 15) to see if you draw it off...
Rolled 12 + 1 (1d15 + 1)>>6144832You squint your eyes and furrow your now-harness brown, forcing a pulse of power through your temples and out into the surrounding water—a pulse that says “Hey, lookit me, I’m a pretty little fishy or, like, whatever! Come chase me!” It even works, too…4, 3 ,2: FAILURE…Sort of. The big beast thrashing tendrils stop for a moment as it registers your energies and turns its head towards you, jaws hanging open as if in confusion or surprise. Thing is, that’s when—ZZ-ZZ-ZZAP!—the Delver-or-whoever strikes with their weirdo spear. You get a sense of what the cable’s for, as it pulses with a binding-bright light that makes you turn your head and immediately seizes the Lake Monster’s attention anew.(Which is putting it mildly. Ooo, that bitch is MAAAD!)Rolling the Delver's damage on the free shot...
Rolled 16 (1d20)>>6144835She's not only angry, either: the Lake Monster is hurt, and afraid. The water boils and bubbles around the Lake Monster, such that you can't quite see how badly she's hurt, but you can feel it with your empathic sense. You feel a pang of sympathy for a fellow spawn-of-darkness, being stabbed and filled full of burning light… But hey, that’s what you’re here for, too, sorta’. (Suddenly, you’re not entirely sure how to feel about that…)Though you can’t make out the particulars through the underwater steam-shroud, you can tell the Monster is spasming something fierce, and that her many mouth-mounted manipulators are lashing out blindly to find the source of her suffering.Rolling the Lake Monster’s auto-grapple…
>>614483716: SUCCESS!Suddenly, one lashing length of rubbery meat strikes true, slapping into the chestplate of the underwater knight. The Delver is staggered by the blow, but worse is what happens next: where one whisker finds its mark, a dozen more quickly follow, grappling each and every limb of the Delver in question and prising his limbs in every which way. No scream of terror escapes the steel-plated sub-marine spearman, but you can feel that fella’s fear just as sharply as you earlier tasted the Lake Monster’s.So, too, do you scent the sensation of predatory satisfaction—of having its prey at its mercy, ready for consumption.The Delver’s spear hangs from a cable at his (or her, you guess?) side. Gauntlets fingers grope and grab at empty water , straining and failing to take up the deadly electrical weapon once more… But to no avail.The Monster of Sunset Lake has 10 HP left, and will take at least one more hit to incapacitate.The Delver is uninjured, but helpless in a grappleYou have 30 HP, 2/3 MP, a fishing spear, a dagger, and no armour right nowWhat will you do?>Go for the shock-spear and try to stab it! That’ll risk getting grappled yourself, but that thing look like it really stings!>Go in with your own spear, from the back, where you’re safer!>Since <Charm> failed… Maybe try <Fear> instead, to scare it off and save the Delver with less risk to you?>Fuck this—sorry, Delver-or-whoever, but you’re going to swim up to the surface and signal the Pearl to come over this way, so you can tackle this monster with back-up!>Write-in
>>6144845>>Go for the shock-spear and try to stab it! That’ll risk getting grappled yourself, but that thing look like it really stings!
>>6144845>Go in with your own spear, from the back, where you’re safer!If we save them we can claim a bigger shareLifewise for using our own weapon instead of theirs
>>6144845>Go in with your own spear, from the back, where you’re safer!it's only 10hp, we can do with our own.
>>6144845Go in with your own spear, from the back, where you’re safer!
>>6144845>Go in with your own spear, from the back, where you’re safer!He’s in the limelight right now. We don’t need to join him.
>>6145026am >>6143946
Rolled 14 (1d20)>>6145026>>6145023>>6144979>>6144919>>6144886A few thoughts occur to you, as you circle around behind the ongoing underwater melee. There is the thought that being amidst a writhing forest of meaty feelers sounds pretty fun, but also not like a worktime-activity, and also potentially pretty lethal. There are also the two related thoughts that if you team up with the Delver Knight or use his-or-her weird weapon, you might be indebting your own party to theirs in some way, forcing you to split the take. Zith-Zi would hate that, and so you—a former Zith-Zi yourself once upon a time—do, too.(This oughtta do it…)You swim upwards and angle your spear down, clutching it between your legs and gripping it with hands and with knees both for a moment as you take aim at the back of the beast’s head. You have to shift your equipment a bit for that, being naked and all. A thought occurs, belatedly: when you stripped down to avoid being dragged down by robes or armour, did Svanhilda see?? Or the night before? No… No, that never could have worked.(Focus, focus!)You shake your head, hard, to jar loose the intrusive musings. You finish aiming the spear, hoping the little Delver Diver can hold on just a little longer, and then you plunge downwards, kicking hard and clutching your spear to your slimmed-down bosom, throwing all your force and wait into the plunge…You sadly lack any direct combat bonuses besides your Natural Weapons, not applicable here. However, you are flanking, and the enemy is occupied. You’re attacking from behind, and you’re using a specialized weapon. As such, you roll 1d20, DC 12.
Rolled 4 (1d8)>>6145033A hit! Rolling damage...
Rolled 1, 8, 8 = 17 (3d20)>>6145034>>6145033You struck true! You felt, rather than heard, the monstrous-retort: a water-trebling boom from the Lake Monster’s always-gaping maw. It released the Delver in its startlement, which almost made you whoop with joy for though his/her fear was a fine and piquant thing, it wasn’t what you were here for and you didn’t wish the small-sized adventurer ill, really. And anyway, the Lake Monster’s fear was fresher, finer…And tinged with rage.“Oh,” you said aloud, wincing as the water sizzles against the stone.(Oh, she’s REAL terrified, now.)A mortal terror had taken her, this monstrous and Dark mother of monstrous lake-critters, stabbed in the back and burnt all up her front, hunted and harried and now—here and now, against the two of you—making a desperate last stand.Also, you’d forgotten about that BIG fucking tail, now threshing through the water like a tumbling log, too fast to easily avoid—let alone while still pulling free your spear.The Monster of Sunset Lake has 6 HP, but is making its attack. It has multiattack, so each successful roll is its own hit
>>6145038Unable to dodge the tail, you instead pulled your legs up to your chest, as if to curl up into a ball. When the tail came hurtling towards you to smack you to shit, you instead grabbed hold of the spear still embedded in the back of the bitch’s gill-slit, twisted it hard, and kicked off the paddle-thick rear limb of the monster. It—she—screamed again, that scream that vibrated the lake around you, and pulled away, lurching forward in agony. You checked your spearhead to ensure the pronged points were all still there and, sure enough, there they were!So, too, was Mama Monster.Critical Failure! The Lake Monster has stunned itself with pain, giving you a free success on your next move! To-hit dice will be rolled but just to see if you crit.Now is your chance to strike, to finish this!You…>Cast <Fear>, to drive the monster away for now, that you might finish it off with your friends in safer circumstances>Shapeshift some claws to tear it apart [4d20 to hit, but 1d2 damage without a crit]>Stab again with the spear [1d20 to hit, 1d8 damage without a crit]>Take up that shock-spear [1d20 to hit, 1d15+1 damage without a crit]>Write-inIf you choose to engage rather than driving off the Lake Monster, and don’t finish it, it will make its auto-grapple attempt. if that fails, it has a morale check coming up as to whether to attack again or retreat. If you use fear, it’s guaranteed not to attack again. Consider this little tactical blurb a bit of tutorial, or a result of some latent mentalism by CZ
>>6145043>Stab again with the spear [1d20 to hit, 1d8 damage without a crit]it have 6HP.So with our auto-success, I'm taking that 1-chance-over-4 to finish it with 0 Delver contribution.
>>6145043>Shapeshift some claws to tear it apart [4d20 to hit, but 1d2 damage without a crit]Honestly, a guaranteed 4 dmg is pretty good. The spear options hinges around a single big hit. I’ll take my chances with this one.Am >>6145026
>>6145210This is a guaranteed 1 damage, not 4.This choice is critfish-maxxing but low reward else.
>>6145043>Take up that shock-spear [1d20 to hit, 1d15+1 damage without a crit]We do less damage than I thought with our spear If we don’t kill it now either it gets away or the Delver lands the killing blow, which would be even worse than using their weapon
>>6145263Oh in that case >Take up that shock-spear [1d20 to hit, 1d15+1 damage without a crit]High chances of doing => 6 dmg
>>6145363Am >>6145210
>>6145043>Stab again with the spear [1d20 to hit, 1d8 damage without a crit]fuck it, I trust our weapon.
>>6145049>>6145379[Two for fishing spear.]>>6145276>>6145363[Two for shock spear.][As such, and in keeping with my stated methodology, those votes without a history will be weighted less. 9837IZSc is 1 post, and s we're going for the fishing spear, so I can get an update out. locked and writing!]
Rolled 10 (1d20)>>6145447You know the risk—the risk of grapple, of counter-assault, of the possible ESCAPE which could be even worse. However, you still have to go for it. You have to trust your gut and thrust your spear—YOUR spear, the one that doesn’t potentially entitle the Delvers to a cut of the proceeds—and you have to do it fast, while the Lake Monster is still staggered.You draw it back, take a deep breath of the weirdly-tangy air produced by the magic pebble under your tongue, and plunge your pitchfork’ forwards with all the strength in your wiry, shapeshifted form...
Rolled 3 (1d8)>>6145450Auto-hit, but no crit. Rolling damage...
Rolled 19 (1d20)>>6145451The prongs sink deep into the side of the monster’s throat. You really lean your weight and kick your hooves as hard as you can, grunting in exertion as you try to force it deeper…The Monster of Sunset lake has 3 HP left.…but before you can force it more than a few more inches, you get your idly-imagined wishes granted, and DECIDEDLY not in a fun way. The Monster turns its full attention upon you, the pain startling her back to her senses, and you finally get to know what it’s like to have a dozen slimy tentacles wrapping around your torso and limbs, scrawling over your flesh and pulling you towards a faintly-yonic opening.(Shame about the, like, dentata, right? hahaha, haaa... Fuck.)The Monster rolls its automatic grapple attempt...
Rolled 16, 19, 8 = 43 (3d20)>>6145459You struggle—of course you do! you’re not THAT big a masochist!—but the boneless lengths of muscle are stronger than you by orders of magnitude, and their slipperiness is strangely unhelpful is squirming free. Belatedly, you take note of the way the sensory pores almost seep to suction to your vulnerable, bear flesh. It’s a testament to your terror that you don’t get hard, and a credit to your willpower that you don’t take on more water by screaming. Instead, you simply watch with wide eyes as the hungering, one suspects even HANGRY, maw draws nearer and nearer. You grip your spear in a death-grip (okay, bad choice of words) in the hopes you can survive what comes next and retaliate in kind.Because you are grappled, the Monster of Sunset Lake gets to employ it's bite on you with a DC 10 to hit, and every success of its multiattack on you as a target.
Rolled 11, 1 = 12 (2d12)>>6145474Two hits! Rolling damage...
Rolled 16, 14 = 30 (2d20)>>6145481A thousand tiny shards of keratin sink into your flesh from every angle, translucent little daggers encircling you and shredding your flesh. You can’t help crying out then, unfortunately, but the fizzing in your sinuses is rather far from the top of your list of concerns right now. You reflexively try to wrench yourself free, but that only makes it worse. Your vision goes hazy and red as the water fills with your wine-dark lifeblood.You have 18/30 HP left.It’s not the worst pain you’ve ever felt. It’s a small consolation, but it’s what you’ve got. You remember the pain of ‘creation’, of being ripped apart and remade. Worse even than that, you remember the pain of being alone and unsheltered, bodiless. It’s a vague memory, but it’s one that’s stuck with you, with it’s attendant, existential dread of ego-death, an end to you. You remember the numb, creeping agony of loneliness, deprivation of emotions deep beneath the Tower in your ‘infancy’ as a separate being, as ‘Carazzi’ rather than ‘Zith-Zi’. This isn’t as bad as that.But it’ close. it’s damn close. And you’re cold, like your were back then. And scared, like you were back then. And…Wait…You’re not alone, though, are you?
Rolled 7 + 1 (1d15 + 1)>>6145484>>6145484The Delver hits! Rolling damage…
>>6145487Your senses, going cold and dark, suddenly flash white and hot. It is another lance of pain, but distinct—a new, electrifying agony. This would normally be cause only for more alarm, of course, but it ony takes you a second to register that the pain is not wholly your own… It’s HERS! That of The Monster!7 damage to The Monster of Sunset Lake! It is incapacitated! 7 damage to you. You have 11/30 HP… The chewing and swallowing of everything you are stops, and the tentacles, deprived of their will and with their muscles spasming, release their iron grip and drift away from you. Groaning through lips closed against the lake’s water—you have that much presence of mind, at least—you pull yourself out of the mouth like yet another birth. What would that be, number three? Your dull, dissociated amusement at that notion fades a little when you see your saviour, and truly understand what you’ve allowed to happen…The Delver Diver, Knight-in-Underwater-Armour, has saved your life… By slaying, or at least utterly incapacitating, the Monster of Sunset Lake… The one that was supposed to be the big break for you, and ZZ, and all the others. The one that was going to pay for medicine and doctor-training and whatever back at New Goblintown, and (more immediately) was supposed to get you and ZZ out of there, and on the road to being bigshots or whatever! The money that meant your future!(Oh shit… And ZZ already took an advance on some of that. Are you gonna have to pay that back??)You peer over the edge of the unconscious-or-worse organism who’d nearly eaten you up, to see the being who bested it. You can’t see the face of the little monster-slayer, but you can sense their fading fear, their waves of relief, and their dawning glow of triumph. Heavy gauntlets rest on their knees as they elan forward, clearly catching their breath and getting their bearings. That stabby, shocky superweapon of theirs is still clasped in their hand, but its payload of power is not currently issuing forth; the only evidence of its sizzling secret is the bubbling ozone around the prone body of the great cave-drake who terrorized Sunset Lake. You can also sense that they haven’t seen you yet.What will you do?>Hurl yourself at them in a hug of gratitude, for saving their life>Cast <Fear> to scare them off the kill, so you can try to claim the credit>Draw your knife and cut their cable, then hold them down here until they drown>Slink away in shame, back to the boat, to own up to your failure>Write-inI give up if the formatting remains fucky after this. I genuinely don't see any error in how I formatted the green code...
>>6145492>Hurl yourself at them in a hug of gratitude, for saving their lifeWe saved each other, reallyHopefully that gives us a 50/50 reward split>spoilerI haven't noticed any formatting weirdness
>>6145504>formatting weirdness[It took posting that last update three times to figure it out. Closing the green brackets, but failing to close the bold one, led the green to continue but the bold to stop, and fixing them somehow caused the italics to spread, until FINALLY... I got it.]
>>6145492>Write-in>Approach the other delver. Slowly.Acknowledge. Just so he can’t fein ignorance as easily when our stories come up. >Take a part of the monster backWe need some kind of proof. I don’t think money is such a big issue; we were contracted to kill the problem — it has been killed. We never said only we alone can kill it, just we’ve proven ourselves.Am >>6145363
>>6145492>Cast <Fear> to scare them off the kill, so you can try to claim the creditSeems like the (non-sociopathic) way to get the Delver away
>>6145583I'll support this.
>>61455064chan miss a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) text box previsualiser.
>>6145604I'd settle for an edit function to fix it afterwards without deleting and reposting.
>>6145604I wished they had a button for it. And honestly give everyone formatting powers. Right to remove a reply should still be tied to QM’s ID, though.
>>6145583>+1I'd go for the hug if we weren't naked, which is a thing we learned in the middle of the battle
>>6145492>Cast <Fear> to scare them off the kill, so you can try to claim the creditOr>Draw your knife and cut their cable, then hold them down here until they drownif fear doesn't work. If these delvers want to Kill steal they better be prepared for the cutthroat nature of adventuring.
I'm curious at how the delver ungrappled itself, and if the teeth punctured or not the suit
>>6145735[Technically, I mentioned CZ stripping down before diving into the water. Underwear would have been an option... If CZ owned any]>>6145775[When you stabbed the Monster with your fishing spear, and its counterattack critfailed and stunned it, it lost its grip as a consequence of the stun.]
>>6145780>Underwear would have been an option... If CZ owned any]are we really that broke ? zam
>>6145760Did they kill steal though? We were getting munched on, that kill was legit theirs
>>6145760>>6145735>>6145603>>6145592>>6145583>>6145504[Locked and writing!]
>>6145853It would be easy—so very easy—to cut the cord of the kill-stealing ‘knight’ who came to your rescue. Perhaps a darker demon might have done so. You, though? Impulsive creature though you be, that is not the impulse which presently seizes you. Rather, when you leapfrog over the fallen amphibian, it is not for a sudden assault, but to express your gratitude.It’s only when you see the Delver stumble back that you remember you’re still start-naked, and hover back a bit, fidgeting under the sudden scrutiny of a half-dozen black portholes in the unconventional helm of your hero. You offer a sheepish wave, and quickly tuck ‘tail’ again.(It’s not that you’ve NEVER had underwear… it’s just that with the shapeshifting, and certain unfortunate incidents, you sort of tend to, ya know… Ruin ‘em real quick, and since most gobs don’t really go in for that ‘prude humie bullshit’, you’ve never had the opportunity to buy more…)You have no way of knowing whether the Delver, in their suit of strange overlapped plates and tubes, notice your own ‘unusual equipment’. You don’t SENSE any horror or disgust, at least. Rather, you sense a curiosity, which you suppose is fair enough; even without being an obvious hermaphrodite, you DO appear to be a little elf chickie, floating around fancy-free and naked as the day Tips' magic made you, deep underwater without any equipment, holding a spear that you just used to help whoever-this-is fight a fairly fearsome foe.You flash a thumbs up and gesture back and forth, hoping to communicate ‘I save you, you save me… We’re even, right?’ You receive a halting thumbs up in turn, which you hope translates to something like ‘Oh yeah, totally, and you can keep your advance!’ Maybe that’s wishful thinking on your part, but the Delver doesn’t move to stop you when you take out your knife and approach the carcass(?) of the Lake Monster. Confirming that it is dead—or at least dying, its life seeping out of it and out of this material world—you take a moment to alight upon it as you had An-Yii, and to savour the passing of the soul. (That starts to get you all tingly in the loins, though, so you hurry up and saw off a tentacle, swimming away with it before you embarrass yourself)…
>>6145864…“Is this supposed to take this long?” complains Khorine.“It’s a poor fisherman who cannae wait patiently, ye ken,” comments Svanhilda Pearl.“Yeah, what that broad said!” you agree, earning a sharp look from Svanhilda which you ignore.It’s only been ten or fifteen minutes, anyway… Twenty, twenty-five, tops. Cara-Zi has plenty of time to make it back You watch the water, squinting against the glitter of the reflected sun, and wait patiently… Or, well, as patiently as you can managed. Your foot taps, you shift your stance repeatedly, and eventually Hershy’s ribbit alerts you to how much moving you’re really doing.“Come on, CZ…”splishYou practically jump up onto the bulwark when the familiar-unfamiliar head of your shapeshifted ‘twin’ pokes out of the water. You and the others shout and wave, and when she waves back…“Jinkies!”“Zoinks!”“Jeepers!”“Where do they come UP with this stuff?” sighs An-Yii at your human companions’ explanations, to Yeb-Uit’s indifferent shrug.Frankly, you don’t blame them, though upon seeing the huge tentacle being waved about like a banner of victory, your own grin is accompanied by a much more conventionl and dignified:“Well holy fuckin’ troll shit, she really did it!”Once Svanhilda has thrown down the rope by which you and Frederich might haul your sister and her prize aboard the Pearl, you offer the hero of the hour a round of atta-girls that set her to glowing—almost literally. You know her well enough to know that all this attention and praise is going to get to her in more ways that one, though, and so you hasten to return her robes and armour, receiving a grateful smile and silently-mouthed ‘thank you’ in return.It’s only then that CZ breaks the bad news.“The fuckin’ DELVERS?” you groan. “Those nerds?! They ain’t done shit this whole time! Ehere’s THEY come from??”“Actually, I’d been observing them fro a while, when they allowed me near enough,” Vel chimes in, to your annoyance. “They were understandably protective of their methods, but I believe they were using some variation of the dwarven seismograph technology first pioneered by the Bleakspire Mining Operation’s engineer to seek out underground ruins and dungeons to follow large shifts in the lake-bed. That must be how they finally tracked the Monster, once we’d run it out of its cave.”“And then they used a galvanic weapon of some sort to take advantage of the conductive properties of mineral-rich lakewater to do extra damage!” Frederich grins despite the loss, slamming his fist into his open palm. “Perfect trap!”“Yeah,” you grumble, “fuckin’ perfect.”“It sure stings, I’ll tell ya THAT much,” Cara-Zi adds with a nervous laugh, avoiding your eyes in light of her admission.
>>6145865Only Cyrene seems to share your frustration at being beaten to the punch, among the humans. An-Yii and Yeb-Uit’s expressions have darkened, too, of course, and they’ve taken to sharing their own council, which makes you EXTRA worried; gobs plotting behind a Boss’ back is never good, as you know from being on BOTH sides of that deadly equation.“There are still countless corrupted drakes in Sunset Lake,” Khorine adds, frowning for entirely different and much more metaphysical reasons. “They may not grow as large or dangerous, but their presence is a blight.”“Like, you don’t think they’ll get as big as their mom?” Norville asks.“They carry less of the fell taint of Dark Magic,” Khorine replies, as if that explains everything.“The hybrid of two animals is often intermediate in size to the parents,” Vel notes thoughtfully. “Though there are exceptions, such as the liger, which can outgrow both.”All eyes turn to her, and the Eastern girl waves her hands and rapidly assures you of how rare that is.“They’re usually even infertile, so the problem might really solve itself” she concludes.“A-and, like… I DID help kill it, an’ kinda saved that Delver diver-knight-person, so… Like… Maybe they’ll cut us in?” Your frown lessens ever-so-sightly at that thought. On the one hand, your natural goblin-reared skepticism assures you that this is impossible, an utter fantasy of interracial cooperation and honour-among-adventurers that simply doesn’t exist in the real world. On the other hand… Shit, even YOU cut in the Maladoos, for all the good their presence did you.One way or another, you’ve got a call to make.>Go meet the Delvers out on the lake, to negotiate shared credit and a split reward>Hurry back to shore to cash in your trophy as evidence and collect your reward—before the Delvers can!>Cut your losses and cut out the Malado Gang—they didn’t help in the end, so you want their cut of the reward-so-far back!>Stay out of the lake and try to collect as many of the smaller monsters as you can, to collect the bounty on them and prove your utility>Gracefully accept your loss, and pull on in to port to see how much of that advance the guards want to claw back…>Write-in
>>6145866>Go meet the Delvers out on the lake, to negotiate shared credit and a split rewardRather than collect the smaller ones for free, we can bring them up to the guard and see if they're offering payment to exterminate them
>>6145866>Go meet the Delvers out on the lake, to negotiate shared credit and a split reward
>>6145865>explanations*exclamations
>>6145866>>Hurry back to shore to cash in your trophy as evidence and collect your reward—before the Delvers can!
>>6146167>>6145936>>6145916>>6145876You haven’t gone soft. No, seriously, you haven’t! it’s just a matter of practicality hat carries you—and everyone else aboard the Pearl—towards the Delvers’ dire dinghy. After all, though the rival adventuring party isn’t human, their members are safely within the realm of the humanoid, or DEMIhuman—not a bunch of goblins and beastfolk. Sure, you’re hot as hell by human standards these days (well, MOST human standards), but you don’t trust it: if it comes down to he-said-she-said shit, you know that the halflings and dwarves of the world have that shit on lock. Better to get in good with them and to negotiate from a place of camaraderie, than to get into a whole pissing match in front of the guards and everyone else.As you approach, Svanhilda slows down to pull up gracefully alongside the Delvers’ vessel. You glower down, appraising the adversary. Their boat is borrowed, surely as yours is, but it has seen some heavy modifications. Strange buoys bob about it, inflated leather sacks studded with metal sensors and strange barbels that remind you of the Lake Monster’s whiskers You’re no expert artificer, but you assume this to be the sensory array that pinpointed YOUR prey, and enabled them to beat CZ to the punch. On the deck, you see the same motley assortment of dweebs you recognize from the ports on the two days prior, though you’d never paid them especially close attention: a gaggle of little men (and a couple ladies, too, you suppose), gathered around a starnegly-armoured individual all strapped with tubes and shit, and holding a spear that seems to be affixed to his arm.“That one!” Cara-Zi whispers excitedly, pointing at the walking tin can. “That’s the knight!”“No shit,” you whisper back, and then more loudly, you shout: “Hello there! Permission to come aboard?”The Delvers look your way, a sea (well, pond) of big eyes and bearded faces. Well, except the gnomes—they go in for well-waxed, weirdly-shaped mustaches, as a general rule. All at once, you feel their eyes on you, and your realization is renewed: these are NERDS, and they have only a single, rather dumpy-looking halfling woman in their entire assembly. You smirk a little, and strike a pose, for you can work with THIS. Needless to say, it’s only a moment before you’re invited aboard. You bring Cara-Zi along as well, of course—she DID save the life of the ‘knight’ as she tells it.
>>6146419“Welcome! Welcome!”The apparent leader of the Delvers is a bespectacled, black-haired dwarven male with a youthful face that stands in stark contrast to his receding hairline. You appraise him quickly, and find you can’t exactly disapprove of his physical conditioning, even if he’s no beefcake—the nerd works out, enough to be a proper adventurer at least. Still, even with his dwarven fortitude, you’re confident you could take him and come out on top—in a fight or otherwise, if it came down to it.Of more interest to Cara-Zi, and no small interest to yourself for that matter, is that so-called knight. The knight’s spooky, many-eyed helmet comes off with great difficulty, and much assistance from the drake-killer’s friends, and finally you see the face of the bastard who beat you and your sister both, and stole your kill…(…Ah fuck, he’s hot.)Though barely taller than you, and therefore shorter than your usual type, the ‘knight’ is a rather strapping halfling. Sodden with sweat and practically steaming, he nevertheless cuts quite the figure, with his long brown hair tied back in a ponytail, and his jaw narrow but sharp, with his grey-blue eyes piercing in their intensity and focus. That focus, incidentally, is on Cara-Zi.“You!” He lumbers awkwardly in his metal fat-suit towards your shadow-self. “You’re the one I saw down there! The… The mermaid!”Cara-Zi makes a sound like a bark and a choke at once, which you—and you alone, among the startled Delvers—recognize as a confused laugh. She looks to you, but you can only shrug. Shit, in his shoes, ‘mermaid’ is as good a guess as any, right? Though you’re PRETTY sure they usually have a fish-tail and gills…While those two are making small-talk, you take the Delvers’ bigwig aside, nodding your head to indicate you should step aside.How do you approach this?>Flirt and make personal appeal, and maybe personal promises—nerds are easy that way>Angle for a bit of quid-pro-quo—they help you her,e you'll help them later>Try to appeal to their honour, or guilt them—your sister saved his boy, right? And you DID do a lot of the dirty-work...>Threaten them—your crew outnumber theirs, and you have friends in HIGH places, actually...>Let CZ handle it—she has a 'rapport' with the 'knight'>Write-inDo you bring Cyrene Black aboard to assist, with her superior negotiation skills?>Yes>No
>>6146422>Try to appeal to their honour, or guilt them—your sister saved his boy, right? And you DID do a lot of the dirty-work...>Yes
>>6146422>Angle for a bit of quid-pro-quo—they help you here you'll help them later>Try to appeal to their honourCarazzi helped him take down the thing. Help us now (a share of the reward) and we’ll continue to help you in the future>Yes
>>6146422>Angle for a bit of quid-pro-quo—they help you her,e you'll help them later>Try to appeal to their honour, or guilt them—your sister saved his boy, right? And you DID do a lot of the dirty-work...Maybe we can get more than half>Yes
>>6146422>>Try to appeal to their honour, or guilt them—your sister saved his boy, right? And you DID do a lot of the dirty-work...
Rolled 8, 3, 13 = 24 (3d20)>>6146465>>6146476>>6146488>>6146523You nod to Cyrene—and she follows you and the prematurely-bald bigshot with a determined look in her violet eyes. Your fellow redheaded beauty is you secret weapon here: she has a similar effect on the undersexed nerd set as you, and moreover has more experience with politesse and diplomacy as a (as you understand it) minor provincial noblewoman of some sort. “The name’s Zi—Zeena. Zena Youngtree,” you introduce yourself, again adopting your pseudonym. “And this is Cyrene Black. I take it you know who we are”“We could hardly miss you, preening about and boasting on the docks the other day,” the leader allows, though without any real malice in his tone. “Seems we had the last laugh though, no? My name, incidentally, is Iorund Copperbelt.”You force a grin, and shrug your shoulders, affecting a casual air.“Well, yeah, I guess you’re laughing. But, hey, we softened it up for ya, didn’t we? An’ my girl there, she tell me she might’ve saved your boy’s life.”“Martyn would have been fine,” Copperbelt asserts. “He has the finest equipment one can conceive of… Patent-pending, but already filed, for the record!”“Yer patent, then?”“Naturally,” Copperbelt puffs up, only to pause. “Well, among the many useful mechanical accoutrements which he employed, the majority are my own. The galvanic spear, admittedly, is of his own invention.”You cast a quick glance at ‘Martyn’, still chatting up your sister, and arch an eyebrow. Cyrene quickly pulls you back to the task at hand, though, as she addresses Copperbelt:“We understand,” she says smoothly “It was a real team effort! Both you and her contributed, not to mention you team… And our teams, too.”Copperbelt doesn’t miss her meaning of course. No dwarf gets far in their weird-ass ‘corporate’ society without a mercantile sense. You can practically sense his sphincter tightening as Cyrene continues:“Of course, the main thing is that we helped the good people of Sunset Lake. Isn’t it?”“…I suppose so,” Copperbelt allows, running rough, fingers, dirty with grease through his somewhat-matted beard. “But as I’m sure you can imagine, Miss Black, the equipment we used to help doesn’t come cheaply. Alchemical and mechanical advances require time-consuming research, and costly materials…”“Of course!” Cyrene smiles brightly, raising her voice in delight and clasping her hands together. “Everyone should get a share of the proceeds. Maybe we could even collaborate on rounding up the smaller monsters, for an additional reward? You know, as a team.”2d20 for Cyrene, +1d20 for your aid. DC 15, -3 for your approach...
>>6146689“And why should we cut you in on that?” Copperbelt counter, gesturing to his assistants and their odd assembly of machines and materials, which you can hardly make heads or tails of. “We have all we need, and now we’ll have Baronial support!”“None a’ which you’d have if yer boy Martyn had been crunched up in his fancy suita a’ armour down at the bottom of the Lake,” you point out, stepping up again to play you role—agreed upon with Cyrene—as the hardline negotiator. “That’s not even just a matter of credit where credit’s due, Copperbelt. It’s a life-debt. You folks take that’s hit seriously, doncha’?”The dwarf’s massaging of his facial-hair stops, and he gives you a hard look. He doesn’t speak up to object, though you can tell he’s trying to find a way out of it. You smirk a little and cross your arms, satisfied that you’ve got him there. Dwarves, even if you haven’t always had great experiences with them, are somewhere between Paladins and demons when it comes to matters like honour and contracts: they might try to spin them in their favour, and hold you to your with merciless fervor and rock-headed rigidity, but they also are loathe to break their word or to fail to uphold their oaths. One IMPLICIT oath, which all dwarves hold close to their hearts, is the debt of a life (or enterprise) rescued from catastrophe or death.“You have your skills and abilities,” Cyrene says, smoothing down the ruffled feathers with soothing intonation, “and you have yours. What we’re proposing is a mutually-beneficial partnership, so we—and Sunset lake-‘s people—can ALL win.”“An’ who knows?” you say with a shrug and a suggestive arch of your eyebrow. “Could be the start of a beautiful business partnership, right?”“So, Mister Copperbelt? Or can I call you ‘Iorund’?” Cyrene asks eagerly. “What do you say?”13 vs. DC 12: SUCCESS!“Fair is fair,” he admits, lowering his voice and head slightly and shutting his eyes. “I’ll not have it said that The Delvers are the sort of party to do bad business, or to ignore their debts.”You and Cyrene exchange a glance and a grin: got ‘im!“As I understand it, you got an advance already, and there’s more to come,” he says. “I propose that we split the pot two ways: fifty percent each.”“Now hold on, Iorund,” Cyrene speaks up, “it ought to be THREE ways, don’t you think? The Maladoo Gang was integral to the success of this whole, um, operation!”
>>6146703You shoot a another, more appraising, look at black. Shrewd shrew, ain’t she? Honestly, the Maladoos didn’t do much since you hired them on, negotiations aside, though granted there was no knowing CZ would find the Lake Monster first thing, or that she (and ‘Martyn’) would sweep in and skewer-and-shock the thing to death in one go. And she IS helping with negotiations, at least, you suppose. Even so…“Fine, fine,” Copperbelt growls, clearly not pleased with the idea yet unable to argue against it. “But as for future partnerships… I would request your parties’ help in not just cleaning up the Lake—with similar splitting of proceeds from THAT—but also in settling another, ahem, debt, owed to our financiers and benefactors.”“…An’ what kinda ‘benefactors’ are those?” you ask, for your bullshit detector easily as acute as the Delevr’s apparatuses behind Copperbelt’s back. “What kinda debt?”“It is a matter of contractual non-disclosure,” he says firmly, “to all but those involved. However, I have been given considerable leeway as to whom I might recruit, and what resources I may sue… And it would, I promise, be a lucrative opportunity. Treasuretrove Incorporated pays handsomely.”You furrow your brows at the conspicuous name-drop of the dwarven corporation. Treasuretrove isn’t your typical dwarven mining-and-extraction outfit, so much as a glorified union of dwarf-led adventuring parties and mercenaries—practically a guild. You’ve dealt with those pricks before, though always as competitors. They’re a pain-in-the-ass to deal with, but also seemingly a clusterfuck of painful paperwork to work UNDER… Though they DO get a shit-ton of jobs, as far as you can tell, thanks to their connections across the continent with dwarves and other ‘little folk’.This would also, of course, keep you stuck in Sunset Lake for another few days (maybe weeks?), and commit you to some other adventure for who-knows-how-long, who-knows-WHERE, after that….Cyrene looks to you, the younger woman ceding to your wisdom and experience. You suck air through your teeth as you consider you options, and ultimately conclude:>It’s a deal—you’ll help clean the lake, and then join up with Copperbelt and his boys for their mystery-job>You’ll help with the lake, but you’re NOT taking a gig with Treasuretrove Inc.; you’ve got other plans after this>No deal; you’ll split the proceeds for the Lake Monster matter, but after that you’re leaving town at first light>Actually, you want to haggle… [write in your counter-proposal]
>>6146704>>It’s a deal—you’ll help clean the lake, and then join up with Copperbelt and his boys for their mystery-jobWhat were we gonna do else, mop on the thought of Jimmy seeing Whats-Her-Name ankles?
>>6146719[If you don't take the deal, you will have several options as to where you go and what you do next, potentially taking you further from the mountains and/or the surface world.]
>>6146704>It’s a deal—you’ll help clean the lake, and then join up with Copperbelt and his boys for their mystery-jobGets us cash and lines up more to keep the crew happy.
>>6146704>It’s a deal—you’ll help clean the lake, and then join up with Copperbelt and his boys for their mystery-jobsurething
>>6146719>>6146748>>6146768You don’t deliberate long.“Deal!” you exclaim, extending your hand to Copperbelt, who clasps it tentatively in his own, as if surprised at your enthusiasm.You had some other notions of where to go and what to do, but they were just that—notions. If one of them was to charter a ticket south, in some vague notion of reasserting your infuriatingly-insubstantial claim on James Efron… Well, a part of you dreads the thought catching him and Enid in whatever acts they might be perpetrating behind your back and far away, on the dusky and dusty Southland border. No, no thank you. You’re better than that, and far too smart to turn down a sure thing for a maybe-so.Now, to make your crew see the value of your decision.“…which means 33 points each, plus whatever we score for clearin’ out the remainin’ drakes.”“That’s only 3 points for the Maladoo gang and 3 points for us after the advance,” An-Yi tabulates with a frown. “That’s bullshit!”“Well, like… They DID get the big bad,” CZ chimes in.“An’ whose fault is THAT?” An-Yii snipes back.“Hey!” you shout, stepping between the medic and your shrinking, sputtering ‘sister’. “I didn’t see YOU divin’ down ta fight a fifty-foot freakazoid in yer birthday suit, did I?”That shuts An-Yii up at least, and the Maladoo Gang takes the relatively modest gains with easy aplomb. They even gather around to pat Cyrene on her back and shoulders and to celebrate her successful bargaining. Imagine, that level of camaraderie! Humans really are built different, huh?(You kind of envy them...)“Well, I think it’s a noble thing, actually.” Khorine sounds almost pained to say it. “Staying here to help restore the natural order, and to remove the Darkness.”“An’ it’s extra coin, too,” Yeb-Uit points out, nudging sullen An-Yii.“PLUS,” you say remind them, “there’s another job after this, already lined up.”An-Yii sighs and nods, acknowledging the point. Though with her sour attitude… Well, you’ll decide who you’re bringing with you, closer to the time. And after this Treasuretrove Inc gig, well, let’s just say that when you see Jimmy again, it’ll be as a well-monied woman he’ll be BEGINNING to take him back. You smirk to yourself, imagining the moment of triumph. Will you give him that forgiveness? Well… That remains to be seen.A more immediate moment of triumph arrives when you two vessels arrive at port, steered by Svanhilda Pearl and by whatever local fisherman the Delvers kitted out with their gear. While the mechanically-inclined munchkins go about reclaiming their boat’s upgrades, you, Cyrene Black, and Copperbelt silently assemble and stride up towards the guards to present the pilfered tendril, dredged up as evidence of your successful enterprise by Cara-Zi.…
>>6146897…You have mixed feelings about the whole ‘Lake Monster’ affair. You’re still worried that you really let ZZ down, even though she’s said otherwise, and even though can feel a sense of optimism fizzing about her as surely as when you’d swigged lakewater while sucking on that pale magic stone—a stone long-since disenchanted, but still stowed safely in a pocket of your monk hoodie, as a memento. You’re also still troubled about Svanhilda, who seemed all-too eager to see the back of you despite your apologies for the other night.But speaking of ‘the other knight’…. There’s Martyn.Martyn Feurmeadhoin—or ‘Martyn Meadowgrass’, as he helpfully translated it from his family’s regional dialect—is what you’d call a ‘halfling’, or a ‘hobbit’ if there’s none of 'em in earshot to get offended. You know, like a dwarf, but skinnier and fuzzy around the hands and feet instead of the face? Or like a gnome, but a little taller? He’s a bit taller than you, though, which makes it tough to imagine him as HALF of anything. And something about his sharp features and dark hair in a ponytail and all reminds you a lot of ~Tips~. He’s more muscly, though, under all that armour, at least for a hobbit. That’s why they let him go down there to fight the Lake Monster. Well, that and because apparently he BUILT that zappy spear thing—the ‘galvanic prod’, as he calls it. So he’s handsome, strong, AND smart....And he called you [greena mermaid!ZZ says you’re gonna be working with him and his crew in the future, too—even after you leave Sunset Lake! Though your departure’s been delayed to mop up some more monsters—little guys this time, the Big Mama’s babies. You feel a little mixed-up about that, too, to be truthful. Work’s work, though, right? You just wish Khorine would stop going on about ‘cleansing the taint of evil from the beauty of nature’ or whatever the fuck. Hearing that, being who and what you are… It makes you a little mad, and a lot sad. The newts didn’t ask to be born freaks, right?(You wonder if regular drakes call them giants or dragons, the way Martyn called you ‘mermaid’? Maybe that’s why the late Lake Monster had so many kids to kill…)“Hey, CZ! You there? Wakey wakey!”
>>6146899You blink a few times as Zith-Zi snaps her pink fingers in front of your eyes a few times. Snapped out of your reverie, you regard her apologetically. She sighs, and repeats herself.“I SAID, how you feelin’? You okay?”“O-oh, yeah, An patched me up alright,” you say.You healed 4 HP thanks to An-Yii’s medical kit and expertise, and will heal 1d6 HP naturally each day. An-Yii can attempt another heal check tomorrow as well, healing you another 1d8+2ZZ regards you with a mix of skepticism and worry—you can feel both, despite her face betraying only the former.“You good ta help us out on the hunt tomorrow?” she finally asks.>Yes, you want to go back out on the water to hunt down mini-monsters!>No, you think you should take a day off to rest [heal an additional 1d6, spend tomorrow around town][If you choose ‘no’, specify if you have anything in particular you want to do. I have a few ideas, but I am happy to accommodate others for a downtime update, too.]
>>6146905>No, you think you should take a day off to rest [heal an additional 1d6, spend tomorrow around town]22/30 HP isn’t much. We got hit once and our health was nearly halved. And we’re not going after just one. Am >>6146476
>>6145492Actually its 11/30. 11+4 = 15So we’ve only at half HP
>>6146905>Yes, you want to go back out on the water to hunt down mini-monsters!even if we got the low ball on healing, half health is okay for the little ones.
>>6146905>Yes, you want to go back out on the water to hunt down mini-monsters!
>>6146905>>Yes, you want to go back out on the water to hunt down mini-monsters!I hope this should be OK;
>>6146905>1d8+2[Sorry, quick correction: An-Yii heals 1d10+2 HP with her kit.]>>6146971>>6147017>>6147023>>6147096[Anyway, locked and writing!]
>>6147233“Yeah!” you say with eager enthusiasm. “Of course!”ZZ looks unsure, so you stand up tall and straight, at attention, like some sort of soldier. That gets a snort of laughter, possibly because you still look like some sort of elven ingenue.“Aight,” she concludes. “Hey, you gonna change outta that form anytime soon?”“H-huh?” you stammer. “Why? Wasn’t plannin’ on it…”ZZ frowns a little, and opens her mouth to say something. A complex panoply of emotions flashes across her aura, dimly-lit to your passive senses: discomfort, confusion, concern, sympathy, guilt, suspicion, even a little blossom of gut-deep disgust. You wince, and the guilt and resignation override the others.“Well, can’t say I don’t get it,” she mutters. “Let’s settle in an’ get some rest.”…As usual, the two of you—the two YOUS, heh—share one bed, naked and nestled close. Tonight, unlike last night, physical exhaustion and an emotional comedown like a caffeine crash couple to bring you swiftly to that black realm between last light and dawnbreak, called Sleep.And there, freed from your body’s weariness, you sit upright once more.You aren’t refreshed, as upon true waking. There is a light, but it is not dawn’s light: it’s a red-purple hue, tinged with the invisible-to-the-eye spectrum of the sorcerous and sinister. You blink a couple times, adjusting, and look over at ZZ: asleep, unaware. You look down below yourself and see, also, CZ—that is to say, YOU—also sleeping and unaware.“Ooooh,” you say. “This is, like… A dream, then!”“Yes,” a familiar voice bounces around inside your somnolent spirit’s skull. “Very much like a dream.”You turn this way and that, looking for the source of the sound. An-Yii and Yeb-Uit are both asleep in their beds, just as ZZ and, technically, you are. In one corner, Khorine is propped up in a little pillow-fort by the door, something she took to doing after the first night for some inscrutable reason; sure, there’s only three beds, but if YOU could share a bed with An-Yii or Yeb-Uit, you wouldn’t complain! Though, well, with your pedigree…There’s a good reason ZZ keeps you close on you while you sleep, let’s just say that much. Stops you getting up to any trouble.
Rolled 5 (1d6)>>6147243Despite your brighter and pinker half’s sisterly diligence, you creep on silent feet, rising without motion from your slumbering body, stretching taut the tether between your soul-form to your physical frame. You follow the strange vibrations of Mind across Aether, towards the horizontal slats of the window’s blinds, through which the uncanny illumination dimly streams. Once there, you reach out with see-through fingers and, with great exertion, manage to grasp the physical form of the blinds. With a gentle tug, you open them just enough to peek through, letting more of the eerie light spill into the room from its source: not a sun, nor a moon, but a single great eye.“Oh!” you chirp. “Hey, it’s you! Eye-guy!”“I am called The Nothic,” the voice-without-sound reminds without malice.“Oh, right, I remember,” you lie. “But, uh… Hey! What’s up?”“You and your companions have slain a Child of Darkness.”“Ya’ mean, like… The Lake Monster, right?” you cringe a little. “Oh fuck, uh… Are you mad about that?”“It is of no great consequence,” the Nothic answers.“That’s good,” you sigh with open relief, though that feeling is replaced immediately with confusion. “Then why’re you, ya’ know, HERE? Creepin’ around outside our windows ‘n minds ‘n shit?”“Your mortal companions would see the remainder of the child’s lineage eliminated from this world.”“Uh, yeah, I guess?” you scratch your head. “The Baron’s men’ll pay good coin for it an’, like, Khorine says they’re a ‘vile corruption of nature and of life’.”“Is that how you feel about yourself, Child of Darkness?”“H-huh?” you blurt, face flushed. “No! I’m not… Child of… Uh… I mean…”You stop, and squint at the blob of darkness with its single, enormous eye glowing at its core, staring into your mind and soul.“You, uh, you WANT somethin’ from me, Nothy?”“<WANT> is your purview, not mine,” answers the Nothic neutrally, though it FEELS like a jibe. “Mine is not to wonder, or to want. I am without desire, or direction. I am an instrument of my father’s will, a collector of knowledge and enabler of its pursuit.”“Uh huh,” you say, not really buying it. “So you’re here just ta make conversation?”“I am here to tell you that there is a nature deeper and more ancient which your feytouched companion can understand.”The Nothic gestures one great, bloated appendage towards the pillow fort with its twig blight sentry, gesturing with an assembly of boneless fingers to Khorine. You follow the gesture, and bite your lip, remembering your own earlier angsts on that subject.“There is a future where those Children—and you—can have a place in nature, rather than be treated like a pox upon it.”
Rolled 8 + 2 (1d10 + 2)>>6147244You look back to the Nothic, and meet its unblinking eye. You sense no kindness there, but also no cruelty. There is no malevolence, but no love there, either. Whatever emotions drive this creature, if indeed it IS driven by emotion, they are veiled to you by a force your paltry magic cannot penetrate.“There is a knowledge there… A knowledge of yourself, and your place in this world, locked within them.” The Nothic pauses a moment. “If they die, that knowledge dies with them. That future grows further from grasp.”“So, like, whaddaya’ want me to DO about that?” you demand, suddenly fearful of this all-seeing eye’s expectations. “Yer askin’ me not ta kill ‘em, right?”“Do as thou wilt,” says the Nothic. “I give THIS knowledge freely… But if that knowledge is preserved, it may be shared with you, when next we meet.”The Nothic’s tendril-like fingers creep through the window, between the slats, and with a click they slide them shut. You exclaim in surprise and annoyance, turning them open again, but the light that shines forth is not the red-purple spectral glow, but the bright light of—“The Sun,” you groan, eyes fluttering open.You’re back in bed, next to a still-snoring ZZ. You take a moment to observe her face—a smoothed out, sanctified version of her old features, YOUR old features. You fondle your own face, even further removed from the Zith-ZI which you both once were, Your hands trace down your neck, your bosom made more modest, your hips, your legs, down to those feet which—among other things—you cannot yet change. Why not? Could there be a way to better understand yourself—to shape yourself—into something still more perfect?(Maybe it’s not YOU that needs to change. Maybe it’s the WORLD. Could this knowledge do THAT?)
>>6147245You shake away the esoteric, existential doldrums of your dark dreams, and tuck yourself back in, snuggling close to ZZ’s warmth. You don’t sleep, exactly—rather, you shut your eyes and try to remember what it was like to be just a part of a goblin-girl, deep inside that other-you, without all these complicated questions with their tantalizing, terrifying answers just out of reach.<WANT: 11>Eventually, the others awake as well, including ZZ, and you rise with her. While An-Yii undoes your dressings from the day before to review your injuries from tooth and tentacle, ZZ pays the innkeeper for another night, and tops up your depleted food stores—save your picnic treats, still held in reserve—with some breakfast from the inn below.Having gained 4 points for completing the main quest, you now must spend 2 points for each week of room and board for the remainder of your time in Sunset Lake. That leaves you with 22 pointsBetween natural healing of 5 HP and An-Yii’s healing attempt restoring 10 HP, CZ is once more at 30/30 HP!Rebandaged and full of buttered bread and fried fish (a local specialty, for obvious reasons), you strap on your armour, tuck in your dagger, and you and the crew head out to meet up with the Maladoos and Delvers.
>>6147249“So, what’s the plan, gang?” Frederich Johannes of the Maladoo Gang asks, obviously already wide-awake and raring to go.“Maybe the Delvers seismographic array can help us track down the hybridized drakes?” suggests Vel, with an eagerness of her own.“Sadly, no,” sighs the lone female Delver, a halfling or gnome (you think), gesturing to her pile of machines still sitting idle since the day before. “We found the water shifted and moved too much to detect solid objects with any accuracy unless they were REALLY big.”“I can kinda’ sense ‘em,” you volunteer without thinking, and immediately all eyes are on you. “I mean, sorta’.”“Amazing,” you hear Martyn say, and you feel your face flush at the praise.“I, uh…” You fidget. “I don’t have any more magic for breathing underwater, though, so…”“You can travel with us,” the balding dwarf—Copperbelly or whatever—immediately offers.You look anxiously to your other-half. ZZ is frowning a little, but when she sees you look at her, she affects a grin and shrugs.“Hey, less money spent on our end? Sounds good ta me.” She eyes the Delvers’ vessel critically. “Bit small for all’ve us, though, ain’t it?”“Aye,” agrees the Delvers’ Boss, making you giggle as the slip reminds you of Svanhilda. “But in addition to my team, who we MUST bring to operate and maintain our equipment, we could bring a few of yours.”“I can sense disturbances in the natural order, too,” Khorine points out, then seems to think better of it as she eyes the tiny, rocking boat which the Delvers have in their service. “…But Yeb-Uit’s nearly as good a tracker, so if I MUST stay behind, well…”Who will you take on this excursion? Choose up to three teammates besides Cara-Zi; CZ is mandatory.>Zith-Zi (Hershy comes free)>Yeb-Uit>An-Yii>Khorine>Norville>Vel>Cyrene>Frederich>Maladoo [requires you also bring Norville]
>>6147250>Zith-Zi (Hershy comes free)>Yeb-Uit>Cyrenea good tracker and enough fire power if we find them
>>6147250>Zith-Zi (Hershy comes free)>Yeb-Uit>NorvilleHow will we XP the boy else?
>>6147250>Zith-Zi (Hershy comes free)>Yeb-Uit>FrederichI will, however, support bring any member of the Maladoo gang. Fred seems like he'd most like the mechanical doohickies, tho
>>6147250>Khorine>Norville>Maladoo [requires you also bring Norville]The what could possibly go wrong crew
>>6147419>>6147393>>6147361>>6147285[Locked and writing!]
>>6147422Zith-Zi picks the team formally, of course; ZZ is the BOSS. Since she isn’t inclined to trust anyone else to do the job as much as herself, she also picks herself first and foremost, with little Hershy riding along since he doesn’t exactly take up much space. Since you’re vital to the mission, though, she lets you consult on the other two party-memebrs to bring along.“Uhh, Yeb-Uit?”“Obviously,” ZZ agrees with a nod. “Gotta bring the archer if we’re gonna take pot-shots at any of those fuckers down in the drink.”“R-right,” you laugh, pretending you’d put that kind of thought into it, and didn’t just pick him because he was nice to you on that snipe hunt and such. “And, uh… We should bring a Maladoo, too, right?”“…The creepy dog?”Right—ZZ doesn’t actually LIKE Maladoo! Which you sort of get, you guess, and you really don’t like arguing with or undermining your ‘better half’.“Then how about Norville?”Norville looks up abruptly from wolfing down a mid-day snack, as do all his companions. He looks between you and ZZ, and then points to himself, and through a mouthful of some sort of sandwich, says:“Roo, ree?”You laugh out loud at how much he sounds like his canine companion in that moment, and nod. Zith-ZI is a bit more skeptical at first, but to your surprise she quickly talks HERSELF around to it.“We got enough wizkids that we don’t really need a trap specialist or a braniac,” she reasons, “an’ I got melee covered, so Black’s a little extra. An’ we SHOULD bring a Maladoo… Aight, the shaggy-haired kid’ll do. ‘Sides, there’s something’ about him… I think he’s got potential.”It takes the combined effort of you, ZZ, AND the rest of the Maladoo gang to haul Norville aboard, with him clutching to his dog, the docks, and even sinking his fingernails into the gangplank so that hauling him aboard pulls it up all at once.“How is he so STRONG?” a bespectacled Delver wonders aloud.“Self-preservation gives me strength,” Norville whines weakly.“Like I said, potential!”Norville yipes as ZZ slaps his ass appreciatively. And you giggle again. Without further ado, the ship’s captain is a human, and while he grumbles a bit at having so many women aboard, he’s clearly been paid well-enough to look the other way. You consider telling him that you’re only SORT of a woman, but aside from ZZ’s aura going all wibbly-wobbly whenever you bring that up, Martyn is in earshot, too. He still thinks you’re a mermaid, after all!As with all fishing trips or so you’ve been told), the first couple hours are a lot of nothing much, with lines being laid and nets splayed out to snag any curious cave-drakes that swim on up to entangle themselves.
>>6147433“We’ll head towards where we slew the big one,” announces Copperbelt—not ‘belly’, it turns out, but ‘belt’. “Even if we don’t catch any of the wee ones, we can dredge it up and haul it to shore. It could provide precious research materials. If anyone sees, or SENSES, one of the creatures, alert us immediately and we'll adjust course accordingly."ZZ grunts at that, clearly not liking the idea of not snagging any of the Lake Monster’s children—which makes sense, since as you hear it, she was promised something like 3 points per newt. She thumbs her scimitar’s hilt and squints at the shining sun bouncing off the rippling water, as if willing the ‘wee ones’ to enter stab-and-slash range.You frown a little, recalling the dream—and the Nothic’s implications of a reward for sparing some of the 'Children of Darkness'—anew.Do you talk to Zith-Zi about it?>Yes—ask that she take the little lake monsters alive>No—just let the hunt proceed as planned>You don’t really know how to bring it up, but maybe you can just, like… Sneakily sabotage the hunt? >Write-inDo you talk to anyone else?>Ask Norville about Maladoo—how did they meet? How’d they get so close? Does he, uh, ‘know’?>Talk to Martyn—you know, ‘cause he’s all dreamy, and has a shock-spear, and seems to be the Delvers’ frontliner>Get to know the other Delvers—you’ve always wondered what the difference if between halflings, gnomes, and dwarves, and they’ve got all of ‘em!>Chat with Yeb-Uit—he doesn’t talk much, but he’s pretty kind of old gob-guys go, and since Khorine stayed behind he’s sort of working with you to sniff out these salamanders>No—keep to yourself, and focus on the task at hand>Write-in
>>6147434>Yes—ask that she take the little lake monsters alive>Talk to Martyn—you know, ‘cause he’s all dreamy, and has a shock-spear, and seems to be the Delvers’ frontliner
>>6147434>Yes—ask that she take the little lake monsters alive>Ask Norville about Maladoo—how did they meet? How’d they get so close? Does he, uh, ‘know’?
>>6147434>Yes—ask that she take the little lake monsters aliveSome. If possible. The Nothic says we can extract knowledge from them.>Talk to Martyn—you know, ‘cause he’s all dreamy, and has a shock-spear, and seems to be the Delvers’ frontlinerTalk to him about keeping them alive if possible as well. They’re useful to us.
>>6147434>No—just let the hunt proceed as planned>Ask Norville about Maladoo—how did they meet? How’d they get so close? Does he, uh, ‘know’?
>>6147434>No—just let the hunt proceed as planned>Ask Norville about Maladoo—how did they meet? How’d they get so close? Does he, uh, ‘know’?Can't believe my Troll-vote for Norville won. We'll raise that guy into a Ciaphas-Cain tier hero.
>>6147482>>6147489>>6147535>>6147554>>6147639[Locked & Writing!]
Rolled 5, 2 = 7 (2d20)>>6148072“Hey, uh, ZZ?”Zith-Zi turns her gaze from the scintillation of the sun upon the water’s surface, fixing you with a quizzical look. You suppose it must be because of how much your fidgeting, but you can’t help it. Before you even ask the question you know it will lead to questions in turn.“Do you think, uh, we could take some of ‘em alive?”“Huh? Some of who?” ZZ pauses, and her eyes widen. “What, the fuckin’ drakes?”You nod, and—“WHY?”—there it is. Justw hat you were dreading: a question you can’t answer. After all, you made a Remon Ract—uh, that is, a Demon Pact—not to reveal Maladoo’s identity. Now, grated, you COULD still say ‘a weird dog you don’t trust asked me to spare the newts’, but that’ll just lead to Zith-Zi asking ‘why?’ and then… Well, you don’t WHAT to say, THEN.“I just, I dunno’, feel kinda’ bad for the,?” you say instead, in what is only SORT of a lie, because you kind of DO. “I mean, they’re… Ya know, a little like me, right?”In your close proximity, with your voices low, and the lapping of the water and conversation and commotion of the Delvers at work, there is little chance of being overheard. Even so, ZZ casts a nervous eye towards the rest of the boat’s occupants, and scoots closer. She places a rosy arm around your newly narrowed shoulders, and brings her face close to yours Her voice is a low, slow one, as if explaining something simple—and a little embarrassing—to a slow kid.“Cara-Zi, you’re NOT like those things, aight?” she says. “You can talk, for one thing.”“Yeah, okay,” you say, a little annoyed at both ZZ and at your own inability to say what you really mean to say. “But we can still, like… I dunno’, learn stuff from ‘em, right? Isn’t hat what Tips would say?”“Tips ain’t here!” she blurts out, then grimaces and lowers her voice again. “Are You a Life Mage? ‘Cause I fuckin’ ain’t. Who’s gonna’ learn shit from ‘em? Who, huh?”“Well, if they’ve got dark magic whatsit in ‘em, or whatever, an’ so do I…”ZZ glares, hard, as if trying to peer into your head and see what led to this sudden interest in exploring the occult. You don’t know if your expression gives anything away, but since you couldn’t tell her even if you wanted to—and you DO sort of want to—you stay clammed up right quiet. Eventually, seeing you won’t (can’t) break, Zith-Zi trhwos up her hands in defeat and says:“Fine, we’ll try! But don’t blame me when you get a face fulla’ muck ‘cause you’re half-assing it! Or when there’s nothin’ worth learnin’, for that matter.”Art courtesy of StoryQM
>>6148088That bothers you a little, too, because you CAN learn. You’re plenty smart, just as smart as she is—you’re HER, sort of! You have your ‘difficulties’, but you’re not, like, RETARDED… You’re just DIFFERENT. Sometimes, you’re not so sure ZZ gets that. She’s in no mood to talk, though, and you don’t’ want to make her reconsider her decision, so you let her go talk about the new plan with the eggheads, while you take a moment to cool off before you say or do anything gstu—regrettable, due to your emotional state.<WANT: 12>As you’re simmering down, you scent a familiar smell upon the air: not lake-water, not Dark magic, but something else… fear! It’s potent, too, a spicy, slippery, smoky smell that winds its way in and out of your noise and mouth, so that before you know it you’re tip-tapping on your newly cutified little hooves, nose in the air a you follow it to the source: Norville Rogers the Third.“O-oh, uh, hey there Cara,” he squeaks.The gangly human male with the shaggy brown hair and the green tunic has crammed himself half into a barrel that, by the not-so-metaphysical smell of it, once contained fish. Yous crunch up your nose a little at that smell, much less pleasant than that of mortal terror, and laugh as he tries to look casual while half-wedged, at an awkard angle.“Are ya’ stuck?”“Like, is it that obvious?” he laments. “I was trying to find somewhere to wait this out, until we got back to the shore…”“Scared of the monsters, or the water?” you ask.“Um,” Norville answers, “YES. And now I’m scareed I’m going to be stuck in this thing forever. Oh man, everyone’s going to be saying ‘tehre goes Barrel-Boy.’ That’ll me me!”“Here,” you offer kindly, “Lemme’ help…”Working together, though as much at cross-purposes at anything else because neither of you are especially coordinated, you manage to tip over the barrel and prise the lanky man out of it. He collapses upon you, reeking now of embarrassment and shame and, fuck, that smell’s nice…Rolled 5 and 2 for occultism against a DC 12 <WANT>: Failure to control your urgesSNRRRRT“Z-zoinks! Cara?!”“Shhh….” snrrrrt “Oh fuck, that’s good, that’s, like, RICH…”“W-woah! Cara, like, I’m flattered but—”“I said SHUT IT, SHAGGY!”
>>6148109As Norville struggles to escape your grasp, you tighten it, and tighten and tighten. Your fingernails extend once more into talons, sinking into his back, as you go from inhaling deep wafts of his scent to lapping at his face and throat, nipping and biting at his skin. Your auras radiate for you in a tingling intermingling of <Fear> and <Charm>, and he goes to scream, only for you to silence him in the most obvious way you can: you clamp your mouth over his, and suck, and suck, until—(Wait, no!)You pull back with a gas and stare at the sheet-white face of Norville Rogers the Third, his breathing shallow and eyes rolled back in his head. Your heartbeat is still thundering—from excitement, from panic—and you think you have some idea how he must feel. Though for your part, to your deep shame…<WANT: 10>…You’re feeling much better. Still, you know that won’t last if he tells everyone what just happened, and so before he can come to his senses, you cram him back in the barrel, slam the lid back on it, and roll him below-deck. You nod and grin as innocently as you can as you pass some Delvers and the captain, but they don’t question you—thank all the Gods and Demons who’ll hear you!—seemingly believing it to be part of your ‘process’ as their monster-tracker.Only when you’re sure you’re alone under the deck to you pull the lid off of the barrel and pour the limp, dazed lad out. A couple quick slaps across his kisser help rouse him, and this time you manage to silence his girlish shriek in a less provocative and dangerous fashion.“Sorry, sorry!” you say. “Shit, I’m sorry, alright?! I just… I… Uh…”“Y-y-you’re a demon!” Norville queaks, scrambling back to press his butt against the opposite wall.“N-noooo,” you say. “I mean, uh… Not, like, EXACTLY… More of a… Do you know what a cambion is?”“A what?!”“Nevermind,” you mumble.“But I don’t g-get it,” Norville whispers. “If you’re a demon, like, why didn’t Maladoo warn me?”You blink a couple times, in confusion.“Wait,” you say, “what?”“Maladoo can smell other demons from, like, a mile away!” Norville exclaims, then claps his hands over his mouth.You feel your spirits rise, in jubiliants urprise, and you scramble sloser to Norville even as he shrinks back, whimpering.“You KNOW??” you blurt out, and grab his tunic. “Know what?” Norville retorts, utterly unconvincing in his efforts to backpedal, avoiding your eyes.“And you’re… You’re okay with that?”Norville’s gaze slowly drifts back to your face, and his expression softens a little bit.“Well, like… Yeah,” he says. “He’s my friend.”
>>6148110You fall back, astounded into silence for a moment. You’ve rarely met a mortal—like, a non-demonic mortal, not like you or your sister or Tips and his wizard-GF or whatever—who was just OKAY with demons, let alone would call one a friend. Norville, for his part still seems scared of YOU, regardless of his camaraderie with Maladoo, but he seems les so now that it’s starting to settle in that you don’t plan on eating him.“…How long have you known?” you ask.Norville sighs, and removes his knitted cap for a moment to run his fingers through his overlong hair.“It’s a long story, man…”You smile a small smile that says ‘we have time,’ and so Norville nods, and tells the tale. It’s a story of a hound that turned up when local merchants and farmers in Norville’s farming town began to turn against one another in the wake of the various calamities which have lately befallen Hawksong and the northern realms under their aegis, each of them fearful of losing all that they have, and increasingly suspicious of everyone else. In their desperation, they began to prey upon outsiders, stealing from them or worse; Norville won’t say what ‘worse means, but you can taste the scent of death on their air.“Before long, they started to turn on each other, too,” Norville says quietly, eyes haunted. “After all, like, they knew what the others were capable of, you know? This was when most of the Gang’s folks left town, to escape, but every time they tried to. And it wasn’t just them: EVERYONE wanted out, with whatever they could carry, before someone killed them for it. But whenever they tried… Something stopped them.”“Something?” you ask, voice hushed, but you already know before Norville looks at you and answers:“Like, this bug, HUGE scaaary dog, creeping around in the woods, attacking any coach that tried to leave and chasing it back! And the people who tried to leave on foot…”He gulps.“They didn’t come back,” you realize. “Maladoo got ‘em.”Norville nods a tiny nod.“He smelled the sin on them… The evil that had gotten al up in everyone’s hearts,” Norville explains. “It was like an all-you-can eat buffet of bad news, man! I guess... I guess souls that have sinned taste better to him. He would have eaten everyone up, if it weren’t for…. For the deal we made.”“‘We’? So the rest of the Maladoo Gang—”“Zoinks, no!” Norville exclaims. “No, you can’t… Don’t tell the, okay. It was just me, and Maladoo. I promised him, you know… More bad people to eat, in exchange for letting our folks go.”“So your adventures…”Norville nods grimly.
>>6148111“Not just people, either: other demons, sometimes, and ghost and stuff. The others… They don’t remember, when we find the really bad or scary stuff. Maladoo makes them forget.”“But you remember.”“Mostly,” he whispers. “When it’s REALLY gruesome… He lets me forget, too... Because we’re friends.”Things are quiet below deck, then, except for the footfalls above, and the muffled sound of footsteps, and the creaking of the ship’s timbers. Neither of you says anything. Both of you are just thinking your own separate thoughts, though you'd bet money you've both converged on one thought in particular:'What now?'Do you have anything else to ask Norville?>Yes [write-in]>NoHow does this make you feel about Maladoo?>You think he’s SUPER COOL, and kind of want to be more like him>You’re a little scared of him, and scared FOR Norville and the Maladoo Gang>Write-inWhat will you do about Norville?>Trust him to keep your secret as he does Maladoo’s>Kill him, and dump him overboard, to keep your secrets>Attempt to <Charm> him into compliance, as a precaution, and ask Maladoo nicely to wipe his mind later>Write-in
>>6148113>Yes [write-in]If he forgets the really gruesome stuff, how does he know it happened?What kind of actual serious business has his gang handled?>You’re a little scared of him, and scared FOR Norville and the Maladoo Gang>Trust him to keep your secret as he does Maladoo’sUghCurse our poor self controlAt least everyone already thinks we're a freakOur reputation is so low our demonhood getting out wouldn't even hurt it that bad because it doesn't have much lower to go.
>>6148113>>Yes [write-in]Tell him it was very brave to get in a pact for the sake of his people.Ask him to reflect on how much he survived regarding the usual dude and how that makes him someone outstanding.I want our Rincewind to get that sweet XP>You think he’s SUPER COOL, and kind of want to be more like him>Trust him to keep your secret as he does Maladoo’s
>>6148113>You think he’s SUPER COOL, and kind of want to be more like him>Trust him to keep your secret as he does Maladoo’s
>>6148113>You’re a little scared of him, and scared FOR Norville and the Maladoo Gang>Trust him to keep your secret as he does Maladoo’sI'm surprised killing norville is even an option when I'm pretty sure Maladoo would evicerate us for that>>6148308support first option write-in
>>6148225>>6148308>>6148496>>6148325[Locked and writing.] Given the tie between SUPER COOL and SORTA SCARY, we're splitting the difference with a lean towards scary, since nw0hMT+r is a 1post ID.
>>6148701“Well, good news: since Maladoo's so scary, it means I can’t jut, like, kill you and hide your body!” you say brightly.Norville stares at you, eyes like saucers, mouth slightly agape.“Ya’ know, ‘cause he’d eviscerate me ‘n all?” you say, smiling. “Uh, it’s a joke.”“Heh heheheh… ulp.”(Okay, maybe you should have known better than to joke about that with this scaredy-cat… But his fear just feels so GOOD!)“Sorry,” you say aloud. “Seriously, if yer keepin’ his secret… I figure you can keep mine too, huh?”“R-right!” he blurts out, nodding so hard you fear his twiggy neck will snap under the force of it. “Lie, you don’t have to worry about me! Nuh-uh!”You scrutinize Norville’s aura, hoping to spot any sign of a lie… But all you can sense is the vibration for terror, underlayed with a subtle swell of relief now that he feels he’s ‘in the clear’. You relent, and decide to truly trust him. After all, Maladoo has your back, and that guy is SUPER COOL.…But also, uh, kinda’ scary, now that you know what he’s been up to, and how he and Norville met.“You know, Norville, it was really brave of you.” You wrap your arms around you knees, properly appreciating him for the first time.“Who?” Norville asks, craning his head around before pointing at himself. “Me. BRAVE?”“Yeah,” you say with a smile. “You risked yer lifw an’ shit—yer SOUL, even!—all ta save your folks an’ your friends. That takes, like, SERIOUS balls!”Norville pales a little, clutching at his chest, and whispers: “Wait, my soul?”“And, like, if you remember MOST of the ‘grueosme’ shit, imagine what stuff Maladoo must a’ made you FORGET! How did you even know ‘bout that, what with you forgettin’ an’ all?”“Well, like, when you have a gap in your memory and you know you’re travelling with a demon who makes people forget things—”“Wooow,” you wonder aloud, “it musta’ been some serious, like, TRAUMA bullshit. You must a’ survived all KINDS a’ crazy bullshit, huh? Stuff that’d, like, break your mind if you ‘membered it!”“I think I’m going to be sick,” Norville whimpers, his white face starting to go green.You reassess your approach to praising Norville, instead hopping up to your feet and reaching out—ignoring the way he recoils and presses flat against the wall—to gently pat his capped head a couple times. He yelps at the first soft impact, but then just seems to become confused as you continue.
Rolled 16, 2, 10 = 28 (3d20)>>6148715You frown a little at this, as your force yourself to imagine things from Norville perspective: locked into a life he clearly hated, facing his worst fears day-in and day-out alongside a demon that only he recognizes as such—a demon who, by his account, probably devoured at least few acquaintances before he made that deal. How much of his perpetual fearfulness is innate, and how much is a response to his sinister circumstances? And now, even his own memory is Maladoo’s plaything, made unreliable by demoniac fog… Well, you can relate to THAT much. And the REST of the Gang, they don’t even know what lurks in their midst!Kinda’ like… Like YOUR crew, aside from ZZ, though you suppose they at least have an inkling. And you’re not as fearsome as Maladoo, who you’re just beginning to realize you don’t know very well at all… And that he’s not just COOL, but really pretty dangerous. And maybe EVIL? And… You’re doing favours for a Dark entity he hooked you up with…(Oh shit, what have you gotten yourself INTO?)“It’s going to be okay,” you say aloud, to Norville and to yourself.Before you can say more than that, though, there is a thump that makes you (and ESPECIALLY Norville) jump. You both whirl around to stare up at the black silhouette against the sunlight abovedeck, your pounding hear echoing the jumpy human’s own terror; a part of you almost imagines it’s Maladoo, come to punish you for speaking to his human ‘friend’ so freely! But, no, it’s—“There you are!”“ZZ,” you sigh in relief, and exchange a nervosus mile with Norville.“Whata re you two… No, no, I don’t wanna’ know.” ZZ grimaces and shudders a little. “Enough canoodlin’! We got work ta do. Eku, ghete!”…Rolling Occultism + Survival, gradated DC 12/15/18/20...
>>6148716…You admit you were a little worried when CZ disappeared at the same time as that Maladoo moron, Norville. A part of you had worried about what they might get up to—not ‘canoodling so much as something far freakier and more, uh, ‘terminal’. You think you did an okay job of hiding your relief, however, and you’re surprised to find that Norville actually seems to be sticking closer to Cara-Zi ever since. Must be her new form paying off, you suppose; nobody would mistake her for a demon now.(Well, unless they noticed the hooves… Shit, you should see about some shoes or something for the ‘demogoblin’. At least ‘beastfolk admixture’ can probably cover for a lot of questioning until then…)You muse on this mostly to ignore how little there is for you to do, aboard the (as it is apparently called) Bluebottle. The humble dinghy, whose namesake blue paint has long faded and stripped to greying irrelevance, is well handled by all the more cerebral little-people aboard, and all you have to offer is a bit of muscle here and there, and CZ as your subordinate. It feels a little weird, in truth, playing second fiddle to your own doppelganger.16: SUCCESS!“There!”Still, better second fiddle to a success than to a failure, you suppose. You follow Cara-Zi’s exclamation, and her extended arm and finger, to catch sight of a familiar purple-grey mass beating broad wings across the water. Yeb-Uit sees what you see, notching an arrow, but you hold up a hand and subtly shake your head; CZ wants them alive, for some reason. You’re still skeptical, but when you pitched the idea, the geek-squad shared your shadow-sister’s strange enthusiasm, saying things like:“There is a wealth of insight to be gleaned from such a rare and mysterious being…”and“The alchemical extracts could be profitable, to the right buyer.”Needless to say it’s the latter that piqued YOUR interest. You guess maybe they want to farm these things for weird secretions? Cockamamie khoblis wizards and šinuruhg alchemists go in for that gross shit, so you sort of see the logic. The new plan DOES present rather a problem, though: how, exactly, do you capture a bunch of these fat bastards alive? Even a ‘mini’ lake monster is three-to-five feet long, heavy, vomits up poison puke, and is a better swimmer than anyone on board INCLUDING a shapeshifted CZ…What will you do?>Go fishing yourself, with lines and nets; Norville can probably help, being deceptively strong and all?>Send Hirschel down to try to harass and herd the drakes towards the nets>Rely on CZ and that Martyn guy to dive down and find where they’re lurking, then try to wrangle them non-lethally>Actually, Yeb-Uit has arrows… And you still have that centipede poison An-Yii harvested in the caves…>Write-in
>>6148729>Actually, Yeb-Uit has arrows… And you still have that centipede poison An-Yii harvested in the caves…I can't see any other option working, especially the fishing nets, the fishermen would've caught a monster by now if they could be caught
>>6148729>Go fishing yourself, with lines and nets; Norville can probably help, being deceptively strong and all?>>6148770I don't think they were trying to catch these things
>>6148729>Actually, Yeb-Uit has arrows… And you still have that centipede poison An-Yii harvested in the caves…
>>6148729>>Actually, Yeb-Uit has arrows… And you still have that centipede poison An-Yii harvested in the caves…
>>6148779I agree, but if they're fishing with nets I figure they would have accidentally caught one unless the salamanders are too slippery for nets or suchlike
>>6148729>Actually, Yeb-Uit has arrows… And you still have that centipede poison An-Yii harvested in the caves…I don’t think anyone here is strong enough to reel them in with lines and nets
>>6149043am >>6146476
Rolled 6, 9, 15, 5, 15, 11 = 61 (6d20)>>6148770>>6148779>>6148796>>6148840>>6149043You mull over your options. You might be small, but you’re reasonably mighty: you could probably fish one of those flabby fuckers out of the water! Norville could lend a hand, too, and justify his presence beyond ‘canoodling’ your creepier counterpart. But then again, if it were as easy as fishing, would the fishermen around Sunset lake have even NEEDD the likes of you?That’s when you remember the centipede venom.Down in the dirt, among the wet rocks on the opposite bank of the lake, you and An-Yii had secured and harvested some venom from a particularly large and fierce-looking nasty-ass bug. And you still have it! Granted, it’s only enough for, say… Six arrows, maybe a dozen, but maybe this is a good time to test it out. “Whaddaya say, Yebbie?” you ask the old male, once you’ve pitched your plan.Yeb-Uit nods along, looking contemplative. You wait while he mulls it over, half-expecting some worldly words of wisdom, but in the end…“Sure,” he shrugs.You groan, palming your face at the underwhelming response. Then again, maybe you should have expected as much from Yeb by now. At least he didn’t see anything WRONG with your notions, which is as good as an endorsement. While the Delver—and Norville, and CZ—all watch curiously, you produce the vial containing the venom in question, and set about poisoning the first few arrows.“Might want to hurry,” calls Martyn, heaving another bucket of chum over the edge of the boat.. “I’ve attracted a few more, but they’re rather burning through our bait!”“Well, like… Stop throwing it then?” suggests Norville.“If he does that, they’ll disperse,” notes Ironbelt sagely. “Worse they’ll probably dive and not resurface for a bit, will full bellies.”You grimace at the unpleasant idea of missing out on yet ANOTHER payday on this godforsaken sidequest of a trip, and redouble your efforts… Or, well, not QUITE double. Going too fast could be just as disastrous, spilling out excess poison or even pricking yourself with a treated arrow.“Alright, alright, go go go!” you shout, shaking Yeb-Uit by the shoulder as you cram some newly-intoxicated ammunition into his weather, green fingers.His only response is another nod before he notches his first arrow, and takes station upon the railings to gaze down at a small blossom of activity: not just mutated cave-drakes, but even some larger fish native to the lake, swimming around one another and tracing whorls and waves through the expanding wreathe of fish-offal by which they’ve been lured and kept close.Rolling three 2d20 attacks for Yeb-Uit, DC 12 thanks to the use of bait, and your leadership. Every success is an instantly-paralyzed cave-drake, and critical successes will mean you don't use up all your venom!
Rolled 89 (1d100)>>6149247Yeb-Uit unleashes arrow after arrow, not in a hurried onslaught but ina measured rhythm. Ktchk-tenggg-thwip-splishKtchk-tenggg-thwip-splishYou suck air through your clenched teeth at the ‘splsih’ in particular, as the sound of an arrow drawn, a bowstring taut, a shot fired, and a—splish—miss make you imagine gold and silver slipping through your fingers with every such sound. You shoot him a look, but bite back the urge to bark out a ‘where the fuck do you think your’e FIRING you old fart?!’ in lieu of a gentler:“Okay, hold, hold… CZ, Norville, now!”Your sister and his new ‘friend’ foist more fish-bits into the open water, drawing the school of salamanders (and sundry other creatures of lesser interest) to one location.“Yeb!”“Mm,” he grunts, and loose an arrow, to the much-sweeter tune of:Ktchk-tenggg-thwip-thukkYou grin broadly when you see a small blossom of blood above some activity just below the water and, a moment later, see the twitching form of a baby lake-monster rising up to the surface, still and silent.“Is it…?”“Just sleeping,” you assure CZ with a smirk. “Gonna be one hell of a hangover, though, if ya’ ask me! Yeb, keep goin’!”There are plenty more splishes, but at least one more thukk as well. The Delvers’ Martyn is quick to scramble down the rigging thrown overboard to extract, with a not-so-shocking prod of that weird spear of his, each of the arrow-stunned animals. Together with CZ and Norville, they haul them aboard and quickly cage them, where CZ take to poking and prodding the pacified prey.Rolling for general success of the expedition...
>>6149256In the end, the Delvers, with some minor assistance, manage to outshine your crew. You’re a little embarrassed to be shown up AGAIN by these dweebs but, well, maybe they’re just that good? You guess it’s good you’re on the same side now, seeing as when they deploy the ‘galvanic weapon’ proper, they manage to kill themselves another six of the things!“Are they…?”“Not sleeping,” you note.‘Kill’ is the right word, too, for while your two specimens were procured alive, the Delver seem to lack a method take them intact. They try with nets, and with lines, but the drakes squirm and squeeze out of the former, and easily bite through the latter. Cara-Zi looks a little distraught at this, but you pat he ron the back and point to the two caged cave-drakes.“What, that ain’t enough for your study-sesh or whatever?”“N-no… I mean, yes! Yeah!” CZ ‘s voice radiates utter uncertainty. “…Maybe?”“‘Maybe’?” you demand. “What you don’t even know?”“Well, it’s, uh… it’s kinda’, like, complicated?”You squint at your ‘sister’ again, wishing you had her aptitude for mentalism. Maybe you could, if you practiced. Would it even work on her?“Fuck it,” you sigh, throwing up your hands. “A win’s a win… Even if it’s only [blue3 points[/blue] a newt…”“Now now, none of that,” Ironbelt says, striding towards you with the smug swagger of the newly well-heeled and triumphant. “We couldn’t have done it without you, you know! Given that, we’d be inclined to grant you—and Mister Rogers—some of the proceeds from the bounties on OUR catch. Say… 6 points?”You’re in neither the mood nor the position to haggle anything better than that, let alone with the guy getting you your next gig, so you quickly initiate a grapple with his helpless hand and shake it hard.“Deal!”You have 0 uses of centipede venom left, and 34 unspent points counting the bounties on what you caught and the share Ironbelt has offered you.
>>6149268…By the time you reunite with the rets of your team (and associates) back on the dock, you’re well and truly tired of wobbling about on water, and ESPECIALLY the smell of fish. Chasing in the dead-and-imprisoned drakes for the bounty barely even brightens your mood, for 31 points is BARELY more than you left New Goblintown with, and all your allies know it—except maybe CZ, whose mathematical abilities you’re often uncertain of.“Well, the next job’ll pay better,” you tell yourself, and anyone who will listen. “It’s gonna be a big score, just you wait!”Still, you can sense the agitation in An-Yii’s movements, and Khorine’s disinterest. Yeb seems buoyed by his moderate success out on the lake, but in truth THAT was as much the poison as his aim, so you aren’t even sure how much credit he deserves.As you consider your next move—your next mission, your so-called ‘big score’—you start to consider whether it would be better to cut some of them loose. If you’re going to keep them around, well…Yeb-Uit’s Morale: StableKhorine’s Morale: StableAn-Yii’s Morale: Low…You might have to work at it, to keep their mood upAre there any party-members you wish to kick out of your party?>Yeb-Uit>An-Yii>Khorine (and Twig Blight)[Hershy, CZ, and ZZ are of course mandatory[/b[ party members right now.]For those you wish to keep in the party do you wish to engage in any morale-improvinga ctivities?>A night of carousing will do some gobbos good! [costs 3 points]>Maybe you’ll take one of ‘em out and get them something nice [specify a party member, or multiple; costs 1 point per party member]>It’s time to deploy that PICNIC that Cara-Zi insisted on packing for! [No cost except for picnic supplies]>Write-in[Results on individual party members may vary.]
>>6149269>A night of carousing will do some gobbos good! [costs 3 points]First job party whooo
>>6149269>It’s time to deploy that PICNIC that Cara-Zi insisted on packing for! [No cost except for picnic supplies]>Write-in[Results on individual party members may vary.]The last thing we need is more spending unnecessarily Am >>6146476
>>6149269>>It’s time to deploy that PICNIC that Cara-Zi insisted on packing for! [No cost except for picnic supplies]I'd also get a little something nice for An-Yii (1 point)Also, here's some write-in>"Alright guys, we broke even and proved our group IS a proper adventure squad. That's two wins in my book regarding my experience with beginner adventurers. Of course, a third of them just die, but those are suckers and that was not an option.Anyway, adventurers starts with a full bag of luck and an empty bag of skills and the goal is to fill the second before the first runs out. With how it went, I'm confident to say we've all learned things and progressed more than nicely. Sister, you land the catch. Yeb, your bowmanship scored the pay. Khorine, your help was incredible with those centipedes, turning a threat into opportunity. And An, you kept us all alive. Good job all.
>>6149302>+1I’d like to pick the picnic as well if we can.
>>6149302>>6149349>>6149372>>6149377[Locked & Writing!]
>>6149610“Hey CZ!”You sister looks over form where she’s skulking In the corner, watching the Delvers at work. You can tell she’s doing her whole ‘disappearing act’, but since it’s not proper invisibility and the two of you are sort of ‘tethered’, that’s never really had much effect on your own perception. Anyway, you know just the thing to pull he back to the here-and-now, and to smooth over any ruffled feathers:“You still got that picnic shit?”Immediately, Cara-Zi is somehow more ‘present’, moving from background fixture to bouncy foreground focus as she all but sprints towards you.“Really??”“Really really,” you confirm. “You get the goodies all set up, and find a spot. I think it’s high time we celebrated our first job as a party proper, don’t you?”“Hells yeah!” she woops.It’s heartwarming to see CZ so cheerful. Whatever other complicated feelings you have about your demonic duplicate, you’ve long stopped wanting to see her suffer… And honestly, between her new elfin form and her strides in socializing with the likes of the Maladoo Gang, she’s starting to come into her own in a way that doesn’t make you feel QUITE so weird, since it’s pretty different from your own angle. You only hope her mood is infectious enough to get to your problem-cases like Khorine and, especially, An-Yii.You keep an ear angled towards the others as Cara-Zi spread the good word of The Picnic. Yeb-Uit has the good goblin sense to never turn down free food, and Khorine makes some melodramatic pronouncement about how it will do you all good to return to nature and to reconnect with the sacred woods or whatever-the-fuck. An-Yii shrugs it off, however, and still seems perturbed about the missed financial opportunities.Well, you have a secret weapon for THAT one.You task Cara-Zi (really, Khorine, since the demogoblin delegates the duty almost immediately) to finding a place to park your picnic down, and make plans to meet up somewhere towards the northwestern entrance to Sunset Lake, from whence you came. You, meanwhile, take a little detour deeper into town, to spent some of you earnings—not much, just a little—for the sake of morale.33 points left to spend.[QM correction: My ‘31’ last time was a typo, a casualty of the same exhaustion that caused me to click out and not catch my formatting error until it was too late last night]When you make your way back towards the northwestern hills late that afternoon, CZ is quick to take notice of your paper-wrapped parcel.“Whazzat?” she asks.“You’ll see,” you assure her with a smirk. “Where’s tehs pot?”“Oh! Right! Follow me!”
>>6149656You can tell it takes your ‘little sister’ real effort not to drop to all fours and scamper, from the way she lunges and hunches in a great forward lurch. That’s less weird than many human might realize: goblin kids are what biology-freaks like Tips might call ‘precocious’, and when humanoid babies are wriggling uselessly or to crawling on hands and knees, a gobling can already get a pretty good turn of speed on hands and feet. It’s a childish habit, but not a Hellish one, and under the circumstances you let it go uncommented on. This is, after all, a night to relax and let loose.Cara-Zi guides you up and out of town, off the rough and muddy roadways and into the forested hillocks overlooking the lake. You watch the sky, deep blue and getting deeper, and glare threateningly at the few clouds beginning to from., as if to tell them ‘fuck off, we’re having a party out here!’ You’re not crazy enough to think it’ll DO anything, but they don’t’ accumulate any additional mass, and you take it for a win with a certain self-satisfaction even so.The hill itself looks much like any other, but it’s certainly nice enough. Cara-Zi has already spread out the patchwork blanket you brought your baked goods bundled-up in, and smoothed out the lumps as best she can. There’s no helping the splotches and stains in their varying hues, but most of your core crew is goblinoid, and the other one is a beastgirl—nobody whinges about some discolouration, nor the few spotty moth-holes. Granted, some of that’s probably because of the already-unwrapped wax-paper in the midst of your crew, unfurled to reveal New Goblintown’s finest culinary comfort: bug-brownies.Many people dislike bugs. You personally know a certain half-elf who fucking HATES them, even if he tries to play at being tough. To those who’ve braved the Goblin Wastes or even lived out in the harsh elements around the Bloodrise mountain range, though, insects are just extra protein. Nobody would call them PLEASANT, admittedly, but that’s where preparation comes in: grinding them in with root-flour, and cured fruit preserves, and a little bit of preserved grog, plus what milk you could bargain and barter for. Mixed together in the right amounts and baked just so, what emerges is a sweet-and-savoury, dense-and-chewy cake with a thin, shiny glaze. You notice that they haven’t just been opened, but enjoyed, and from the way her normally high-and-mighty mug is stuffed chipmunk-cheek full, Khorine clearly has no complaints.“Don’t forget, we got goblin gourd pie, too,” Cara-Zi reminds everyone, for what you would not be surprised to learn is the third or fourth time, “an’ bloodbread!”Khorine scrunches up her nose at that last one, and you idly wonder if she knows exactly what went into those brownies. Well, no need to spoil the magic—if CZ didn’t say, you aren’t going t spill those creepy-crawly, many-legged ‘beans’!
>>6149657Instead, you clear your throat a few times, with increasing violence, until all eyes are on you.“Well guys, this is it!” Yous rpea dyoru arms. “Our first gig, a bit messier than expected, but done and dealt with!”“We barely broke even,” An-Yii predictably interjects.“But we DID break even, an’ then some,” you point out. “Better yet, we got ourselves more than just coin: we proved we have what it takes ta be REAL adventurers! I mean, I already know -I- did, obviously. CZ too. But the rets of ya’!”Yeb-Uit raises a greying eyebrow at that, but munches on his bread without cmment. You press on.“You know how many adventurers make it through their first job?” you ask An-Yii in particular, before turning to regard the rest. “A few more ‘n HALF! A solid one-in-three fuckin’ CROAKS, an’ another quarter-or-so of ‘em quit. But not us! No casualties, no quitters. That’s TWO wins, as I count it.”You can see that they aren’t all convinced, but you have their attention. Boldly stating things with numbers tends to do that. Admittedly, you pulled these ones out of your tight-and-toned tush, but they have some basis in reality: you’ve never bothered to count but you DO know a lot of adventurers get their asses handed to them by the harsh realities of this lifestyle. Be it lack of talent or just bad luck, even a full party-wipe isn’t uncommon I your first year, as an adventurer.“I heard it said once that adventurers starts with a full bag of luck and an empty bag of skills, an’ the goal is ta fill the second bag before the first runs out. All said an’ done, I’d say we did better than that—we’ve had some real shit luck but our skills—which’ve only gotten SHARPER—saved our asses!”You point to Yeb.“YOU did fuckin’ work down in those tunnels, Yeb, AN’ out on the boat today. Frankly, you’ve saved our asses a couple a’ times.”Yeb-Uit raises his half-eaten lump of blood-bread in an awkward toast. You smirk a little. Just wait, Yebbie…“And, you, kid!”You point to Khorine, whose hand is half-outstretched to the brownies once more. She pulls it back, affecting dignity, but you catch her nod to the twig blight. You pointedly ignore how it begins to collect several confections for her later consumption, instead buttering her up like one of those biscuits:“You did good work with those centipedes, and with that mess of eggs down in the Lake Monster’s lair. You took threats ‘n made opportunity outta’ them! That’s proper Druidry right there.”“I’m not actually a dru—”“And of course, there’s CZ,” you say, with a grin as you pull your protesting partition in for a noogie. “Nobody could count on those Delvers bein’ there, but you STILL scored us a piece a’ the pie, in terms of respect around here AND with those nerds! It’s thanks ta YOU that our next job’s gonna’ be even bigger!”“Aw, ZZ, come on…”
>>6149658Finally, you turn your attention to An-Yii, whose sour expression and crossed arms tell you all you need to know: she’s waiting tell you off for trying to pass off praise as a substitute for actual, tangible reward. Nobody here (except maybe CZ) was ever going to accept a bunch for petty words in lieu of payment, of course—you know that, they know that—but An-Yii is easily the closest to quitting. Thing is: she’s a bit of a bitch, and under other circumstances you might say ‘fuck it, go!’ These AREN’T other circumstances, though, and so you speak from the heart, AND you back it up.“‘Course, given the odds, an’ that fatality rate I was talkin’ about, none a’ that fuckin’ matters if we ain’t got a medic ta’ keep us all on our feet an’ alive. If it weren’t for you An-Yii, we’d have been fuckin’ dead—or good as dead—down in the lair. Cara-Zi’d be all kidns a’ fucked up from yesterday. Hell, it was you that helped harvest that centipede venom, too, so our payday today’s partly yer doin’, too. Don’t think I missed that.”An-Yii’s prepared speech of protect and rebellion dies in her throat as her high, pale-green cheeks darken and turn pink at the lavish praise.“Th-that’s all… Even if you say that’s hit, it’s still…”You hold up a hand, and nod sagely.“it’s still a piss-off, travelin’ out here, puttin’ yer life on the line, an’ not comin’ out ahead. Next job’ll more’n make up for it, of course, BUT if anybody here deserves ta’ not wait ‘til then for some proper payback it’s our doc. AMIRITE?!”Everyone else jumps a bit at your sudden shout, and under your gaze (and after your speech), none can do anything else but agree. Cara-Zi’s the most enthusiastic, of course, either mirroring your mood, still excited about the picnic, or maybe trying to make up for her earlier incident’ with An. Whatever the reason, you’re confident nobody will object when you unfurl your papery package to reveal your purchase, and hand it to An-Yii.“H-huh?”“That’s barleywine,” you say with a grin, tapping the bottle in her hands with the back of your knuckles. “yeast, wheat, hops, ‘n all that good shit from down in the farmlands around Hawksong, ‘n berries ‘n shift from around here for a bit a’ flavour, aged in local barrels. Go it special for ya’, as a thanks from all of us.”An-Yii stares at it, then up at you.“This isn’t… I don’t need… I didn’t ask for this!”“Didn’t need to,” you say with a wink and a nudge. “Plus, it’s twelve-percent, too.”An licks her lips a little.“So, whaddaya’ say?" you press. "Down for one more gig?” Yeb-Uit’s Morale: StableKhorine’s Morale: HighAn-Yii’s Morale: High“…Fuck it.”
>>6149659Your grin grows. You exchange a look with CZ out of the corner of your eye, and your sister nods her shapeshifted noggin, confirming what you already sort of know: rest bitch-face aside, An-Yii is secretly tickled pink-as-you by all this recognition, and NO self-respecting goblin-girl turns down a good, strong beer. ‘Fuck it,’ might as well be ‘I love you,’ under these circumstancesAN-Yii pops the cork and, to her credit, she shares the bottle with the rets of you. That’s the thing about goblins, that humies don’t get: for all the practical realities of living in shitholes beyond respectable society, always moving or being moved, unavoidably reproducing beyond reason and starving themselves stupid in even squalid conditions, goblins DO share. They have to. Otherwise, yu’d—they’d—all be dead and dusted.“To adventure!”“To barelywine!”“To the sacred balance of nature!”“To paying work, next time!”“Yeah, yeah, fuckin’ have another drink, An,” you sigh.Your smile doesn’t fade, though, as the barleywine buzz and one of those eponymous lake-illuminating sunsets settles in. Despite yourself, and the circumstances, you’re feeling pretty high on your own morale, too. You barley even notice when An-Yii holds out the bottle to you, until she pokes you in the cheek with it and you snatch it out of her hand for a swig.“To the… To….” You scrunch up your face in concentration. “To our party! All a’ us! To—”>Green Company>The Outsiders>The Wastrels>The Monstrous Regiment>The Z Team>Write-in a name for your partyLEVEL UP!Since you’ve essentially completed the arc, and haven’t fired anyone, all members of your core party will get a level up. Choose one stat to increase for each of them.ZZ gains…>Swordsmanship 3>Athletics 3>Handle Animal 1>Seduction 1>Mercantilism 1>Leadership 3>Elementalism 1>Illusion 1>Feycraft 1An-Yii gains…>Medical 3>Poison 2>Athleticism 1>Sense Motive 1>Knife-Fighting 1Yeb-Uit gains…>Survival 3>Archery 3>Athleticism 2>Vigilance 1Khorine gains..>Handle Animal 2>Survival 2>Poison 1>Vigilance 1[CZ already leapfrogged to her level-up in training with Maladoo earlier.]Pardon the long update, seemed like a good capstone oment
>>6149658>Yous rpea dyoru armswow>>6149660>The Monstrous Regimentno humies allowed>Leadership 3>Medical 3>Archery 3>Vigilance 1
>>6149660>The Monstrous Regimentneat reference (didn't read though) and fits hereZZ>Seduction 1I'm surprised we didn't have a lvl on this yetAn-Yii>Athleticism 1Yeb-Uit>Archery 3Khorine>Poison 1
>>6149658>>6149714[Ha, yeah, that's a bad one.]>Yous rpea dyoru arms*You spread your arms
>>6149660>Green CompanyZZ>Leadership 3An-Yii>Medical 3Yeb>Archery 3Khorine>Handle animal 2>>6149349
>>6149660>Mercantilism 1>Medical 3>Survival 3>Handle Animal 2
>>6149660>Green CompanyWow, thanks for including my write-in QM.ZZ :>Mercantilism 1I think it's our biggest unmet need yet.An-Yii :>Poison 2Let her branch of a tad of her specialty while keeping a rear/support build.Yeb-Uit>Archery 3Damage dealer gonna deal damage.Khorine>Handle Animal 2Although Vigilance could be nice too...
>>6149779[No vote for the party's name?]
Rolled 1 (1d2)>>6149807>>6149779>>6149751>>6149715>>6149714[Time to cook.]
>>6150330“To the Monstrous Regiment!”There is a confused quietude following your exclamation as everyone mulls over the name.“We’re not MONSTERS,” Khorine huffs.“Speak for yerself,” Yeb-Uit says.He holds out his hand, and you pass him the barleywine. He takes a swig, then raises the bottle high.“To the Monstrous Regiment!”He passes it to An-Yii, who takes another draught of her own, hiccups once, and joins the cheer:“The Monstrous Regiment!”Khorine is, by many standards, too young to drink. However, none of those standards are Goblin standards, where an adult is anyone over the age of eight-to-ten who can hold a weapon or a tool. As such, the goat girl (already red-faced with intoxication) takes another wary sip, scrunches up her face at the sour taste, and mumbles her own words to that effect before stuffing more bug-brownie into her mouth to smother the taste.Finally, the bottle arrives at an uncertain Cara-Zi.……You stare down at the bottle, by now all-but-empty. You got your fair share, just as you hope you offered your fair share of aid in the first ‘quest’ of your little party. Your time in Sunset Lake has certainly been significant to you—TRANSFORMATIVE, even. Still, staring at the distorted reflection of your new, elfin face in the green glass bottle, you can’t help but see the ‘real’ you underneath it all. You remember how you got to be the way you are, right now: pretty, not quite pink, long and thin of ear and short and lithe of frame. You think of the Nothic, and of Maladoo, and the two caged cave-drakes awaiting their fate… Just as you are.Are you ‘monstrous’, in the way all of THEM are?“CZ?”You look up, and see the curious faces of your fellow party-members—concerned, even, in ZZ’s case. You realize with a start how long you’ve been looking into the glass, though you're unsure exactly how much time has passed.“Sorry, the barley-whatsit must be getting’ at me,” you laugh it off, and raise the bottle up. “Ta the Monstrous Regiment!”Everyone else cheers at that, even An-Yii and Khorine, and you push down the unease… For now.The question is, what will you do with those cave-drakes, currently kept in the stables with the Maladoo Gang’s carriage?>Find somewhere nearby to set them free, when nobody’s looking [+Monster Empathy]>Perform a ritual to The Nothic, summoning it forth and offering them unto the ye-guy for power [+New Ability]>Turn them into the guards [+Human Empathy, + Chivalry]>Kill them [!!!]>Write-in [???]
>>6150345>Perform a ritual to The Nothic, summoning it forth and offering them unto the ye-guy for power [+New Ability]Why is hag pink
>>6150349[Anon, hag has been pink ever since she had a khoblis twink magically excise her green bits.]
>>6150353I forgot the 4chan format doesn’t have pink text
>>6150345>Perform a ritual to The Nothic, summoning it forth and offering them unto the ye-guy for power [+New Ability]>>6150349>Why is hag pinkbro forgot it
>>6150345>Turn them into the guards [+Human Empathy, + Chivalry]Why is CZ all right? Where is her left arm?
>>6150371>left armOops, forgot to eliminate a white patch! Hopefully this clears it up?
>>6150378Her sleeve seems to be malfunctioning, but it's better than being maimed
>>6150387[That's her hood in the background.]
>>6150398I've decided I prefer the old art
>>6150345Just, like, a question on this. Should we even *do* anything with thr drakes? Aren't we supposed to give them back or something?
>>6150424[All you know if the Nothic promised Cara-Zi a reward for not killing them. Since then, the aggregate opinion has been that Dark Powers are a bit scary.]>>6150402[There will be lots of art over the next few months, but I like Story QM's style personally.]
[Just a heads up: I'll try to post later, but I have what Victorians called "the morbs", so I may take a day off.]
>>6150801Don't succumb to the big sad RQM
>>6150801Take your time
>>6150834>>6150959[Thanks for the kind words, anons.]>>6150349>>6150365>>6150371[Alright, locked and writing!]
>>6151308The spirits of Darkness might be scary, it’s true, but they’re KINDRED spirits, we you get right down to it. If you were to turn away from them so readily, because you were a little spooked, what would that mean for YOU? That others should avoid you in the same way? You’d be a huge hypocrite to avoid others for being Dark or demonic while seeking acceptance yourself, right?All this is to say, once the others have gone to sleep, you rise from bed to follow your original plan: you will meet with The Nothic, and so what must be done.The first step is extricating yourself from Zith-Zi’s puzzle-piece embrace. She’s quite the cuddler sometimes, when she’s asleep. You’ve never confronted her about this, but it is something you’ve secretly cherished, for when you are both asleep, and you bodies so closely enmeshed, you feel a sense of nostalgic oneness, a wholeness, which you never really achieve otherwise. Deep down—unconsciously or subconsciously or whatever—you think ZZ must chase hat feeling, too. She excised her darkness, though, portioned it and shaped it into YOU; she cannot go where you now go.The streets of Sunset Lake are narrow, rough and often muddy where cobblestones give way to paths of simple packed earth. You spent fairly little time in Hawksong proper, but even so you recognize how rough and rural they are by comparison to the so-called 'shining city on the hill'... But then, Hawksong's pretty much Paladin central and thus deeply dangerous to a demogoblin like you. Even wearing this elven façade, you’d risk being pinged by a <Detect Evil> and summarily <Smote> for the crime of existence.See? Dark things gotta stick together…Two more ‘dark things’ await you in the stables of The Crow’s Nest, where the Maladoo Gang are staying. The live cave-drakes which Yeb-Uit shot and paralyzed are kept caged in the Gang’s carriage, a gaudily-painted conveyance which makes you giggle to see, all festooned with flowers and painted paisley, and scrawled in bold letters on one side with the name ‘WYRD WAGON’. You take a moment to appreciate the eccentricity, before you part the fabric of the back. Peeking inside, you catch sight of the cages, and begin to pull yourself up and into the Wagon.“Roo’ve rum.”
>>6151329You suppress a scream of alarm, and scramble for your dagger on instinct. The ‘accent’ should have been enough to tip you off, of course, but you didn’t’ expect to run into Maladoo out here, alone except for the salamanders. In retrospect, maybe you should have—after all, it was him that made the ‘introductions’ between you and The Nothic, and Norville told you he could sniff you out just as surely as those Hawksong Paladins…“O-oh, uh, h-hey, Maladoo! I was jus’, like, here ta talk to the Nothic about what he wanted us to do with those newts…”The chocolate-coloured dog-demon is situated inside the Wyrd Wagon, in a perfectly normal doggy posture, yet the intensity in his faintly-glowing eyes belies his form. You wonder idly what he really looks like—he’s no skilled shapeshifter as he tells it, but surely this isn’t his TRUEST form? When he moves, to place a hand upon one of the cage to a still-groggy drake’s faint hiss of protest, it is an unnatural motion which bends his limb at angles a real dog couldn’t comfortably manage. The gesture is faintly possessive, giving you pause.“Uh, if that’s okay?” you ask.Maladoo seems to consider your question. Which you’d really hoped would be answered quickly and in the affirmative, no muss and no fuss. The delay makes you nervous.“Rav roo recided to rollow The Raster, rhen?”“Have I decided ta follow.. Oh!” You snaps your finegrs. “The Master! Like, The Nothic’s boss or whatever, ya’ mean?”Maladoo nods.“Uh,” you stammer, “I dunno’. Not really? Like, The Nothc jus’ told me if I spared some a’ these things, I’d get some sorta’… Knowledge? Knowledge that’d make me more, like… Part-of-nature or some shit?”Maladoo tilts his head a little at that, a genuinely doggy affectation that makes you smile and puts you at ease. He regards the caged creatures with his own spiritual senses as you do, and you share in their faint sheen of occult influence.“Roo are already rundamentally rart of a ruer ‘rature’ than The Rothic’s reator rould ream of.”“…Huh?”Maladoo sighs, and repeats himself. You listen carefully, but It clears up nothing.“Part’ve a truer nature? Like, whuzzat even MEAN, Maladoo?”But the talking dog stops talking after that, to your frustration. He removed his paw from the cage, at least, and backs up a bit towards the front of the wagon, offering you wordless permission. You proceed, approaching the cages yourself and running your fingers along the cold iron. The cave-crakes croak and hiss-sounds not unlike those Hershy might make, albeit deeper and slower, and with an underlying gurgle.You close your eyes, squat down, and do as you did before, out in the woods. As Maladoo taught you, you open up your mind and soul to those Below and Beyond, and wait…“You have called out to me once again, Cambion.”
>>6151330You open your eyes, but not really—rather, you open your dream self’s eyes, while your physical body remains seemingly-asleep in the back of the Wyrd Wagon, watched over by Maladoo. The ‘you’ which you now inhabit hovers above your elfin form, in all your warty, greenish truth once more, fixed by a single great, red eye that stares unsettlingly through the small gap in the curtain by which you entered. You look over your shoulder at Maladoo, but if the hellhound notices it—or your own ghostly-astral self, he makes no comment. This is all you, then…You gulp, and spread the curtains wide.“Yep!” you say, chipper of tone despite your nerves. “Like ya said, we preserved the lineage or whatever!”You gesture to the caged drakes with a hopeful smile. Of cours,e the big ol’ eyeball doesn’t smile back, or blink, or even seem to do much more than quickly focus one each of them in turn.“Yet so many more have perished this day. Their lake will be scoured of their siblings, and restored to the liking of the False Gods.”“I didn’t, uh…” You wince. “Was I s’psoed ta, like, stop that? I thought I just needed to rescue a couple, to get the secret wisdom or whatever?”“It is as I told you: do as thou wilt. To expect or desire a specific outcome is not in my nature.” The eerie eye focuses anew on you. “But I do wonder, for curiosity IS within my nature…”“Wonder what?” you ask.“What would YOU do, with these two?” The Nothic asks. You fidget, and stare at the floor. “Ain’t that what yer gonna tell me, or whatever?”“You will glean knowledge regardless, for there is a secret truth in your answer.” The Nothic replies, infuriatingly vague. “Recall, Cambion, that I promised knowledge of SELF. In your answer, there is truth.”You frown, feeling rather ripped-off. Isn’t there supposed to be, like… A magical reward, like how you learned shapeshifting last time? But you’re here, and you’ve drawn the attention of some sort of demigod of darkness, and after doing all that you might as well see this through and answer the question… Right?“If it were up ta me? If it were my call, I’d…”>Return them to the lake, which is their home as much as anyone’s>Find them somewhere else to live, further from humanity>Makes them pretty and adapt them to the area, so people don’t mind them>Eat ‘em up! They look like good eating, and then they’d live on in YOU, right…?>Write-in
>>6151331>Find them somewhere else to live, further from humanity
>>6151331>Makes them pretty and adapt them to the area, so people don’t mind themIt’s what we’re doing for us
[We'll get in the next update tomorrow, in light of the tie and relatively few votes.]
>>6151331>>Find them somewhere else to live, further from humanity
>>6151331>Makes them pretty and adapt them to the area, so people don’t mind themLIKE US!!
>>6151331>Find them somewhere else to live, further from humanityThe first option doesn’t make any sense - it will still be a problem later on. The third option still doesn’t make sense either; the reason we are commissioned to kill these things is the amount of wildlife it is eating up - making them prettier won’t change their diet. >>6150349
>>6151360>>6151388>>6151647>>6151678>>6151709“Well, I guess it would be nice if they could be pretty, like I am now,” you muse. “Oh! Or like Hershy!”“And of their diet?” the Nothic asks. “Their byproducts?”“I guess, uh… We could change how much they eat? Or what they eat? An’… An’ they’ve need ta not spit or ooze poison.”The Nothic says nothing to that, as if he feels your frown forming before even you do. That makes sense, with him being all old, and presumably wise, and with his voice coming from inside your own head and all.“You are having second thoughts.”You nod slightly, and sound out the strange new notions even as they form: “It’s just… What if they LIKE how they are, ya’ know? What if they don’t WANNA’ eat different food, or look different, or be all changed around for the sake of people?”You look upon the sad, soggy salamanders in their cages with a renewed sympathy.“What if they like the way they are, warts ‘n all?”You look down at your thin, elegant new fingers, with their mostly-normal nails. For some reason, you suddenly feel like crying, but you’re a grown-ass gob—sort of—so you push it down and force yourself to meet The Nothic’s enormous eyeball once more. You feel a determination rise within you, replacing the wave of despair.“There’s gotta’ be a place for ‘em,” you decide all at once. “Somewhere else, somewhere far from humans maybe… But everything belongs somewhere, ain’t that so?”“Is it?”You blink a couple times, and then more slowly, in case you’ve confused the magic eye-guy, you reiterate: “No, like, I’m askin’ YOU.”“But you are the one who hods the answer, Cambion.”You jump back with a yelp of alarm as the Nothic’s boneless arm and strange, stretchy fingers reach into the Wyrd Wagon. With surprising gentleness, he (it?) extracts the occult organisms from their containers. You do not protest, but rather watch as he lifts and carries their fruitlessly-flailing forms closer and closer to the cornea of his fiery eye, and fixes his gaze wholly upon them.“They have a place,” he explains calmly. “it is with you.”
>>6152059Before you can ask what the Nothic means, a beam of blinding-black, like a streaking void, surrounds and engulfs the two newts. You watch in quiet fascination,a nd some anxiety for the amphibians, as the blob of liquid black twists and writhes, slowly sucking inward to cling tighter and tighter to the two forms. Or, wait.. Not two forms, not anymore. One!One singular cave drake drops down to the carriage floor before you. It ‘looks’ up at you eyelessly. It’s tentacle-whiskers feel about until it finds your ankle. You wince a little and reach against for your knife… But it doesn’t reach forward to strike. Rather, it waddles forward, continuing to grope around at your foot and calf, until it slowly pulls itself up your leg. I opens its mouth in a reverberating, rattling croak, like the one that Hershy emits when he wants treats, or brushing, or—“Cuddles?”You kneel down and tentatively stroke the smooth, slimy skin of the mutant cave-drake, the miniature Lake Monster, behind its mane of fleshy feelers and strange ribbed gills. Though it feels so very different from fluffy old Hershy, it ribbits and leans into your hand in much the same way.You look up to see the Nothic still watching, wordless and dispassionate.“Why’d ya’ kill one, though?” you ask.“Both yet live,” the voice. “Male and female, I made them, as you were made. Together, always… Ready to singlehandedly birth a new race, for a new place, in an age yet to come.”“Oh,” you say, uncertain. “Cool?”“They shall serve as you familiar,” the Nothic explains. “Your task will be to find the place where they belong.”“H-hey, wait, wasn’t I s’posed ta geta reward, instead’ve more work?”“You have. And there will yet be more, if you follow the Path.”You look down at your at new fishy friend, unsure how rewarded you feel… Though there is something sort of ugly-cute about its wrinkled, purple-grey face all scrunched up, and its whiskers clinging to your hand softly as you pet it.“I guess… But what about—”But when you look back up, the Nothic is gone. There is only the night, and the newly-fused hermaphroditic drake… And Maladoo, padding up quietly to sit beside you, and to look down at your ‘familiar’.“Its ragic ras rengthened,” the hellhound notes.You squint and check this for yourself and, huh, it has! Must be the two souls in there, you guess?Your familiar has 20 HP, 1 MP, and 2 ranks each in the following abilities: Natural Weapons, Swim, and Poison (the latter of which can manifest as a melee defence or, once per long rest, as a projectile glob of toxic mucous. It is medium-size like a human, eyeless and amphibious, and has tremorsense.What do you name your familiar?>Write-inHow do you feel about your boon?>Suspicious>Disappointed>Pleased>Write-in
>>6152060>What do you name your familiar?Nestle>WorriedSeems a lot harder to care for and take places than Hershy
>>6152060What do you name your familiar?>Write-inJellyHow do you feel about your boon?>SuspiciousIt’s a wild animal. Was a wild animal. We still should be careful with it.>>6151709
>>6152060>NimueOne of the many names of the Lady in the Lake from Arthurian myth. Also known as that watery tart that threw swords at people as a form of legitimate governance.Could also go for Edwin though ngl>PleasedPet pet pet pet~Loyal frogo/doggo, man I’m so hyped!
>>6152060Name : >MudkipFeeling :>Scammed
>>6152060>Nermal>Worried
>>6152080>>6152099>>6152122>>6152193>>6152371[We're going to need a tie-breaker vote for the name.][Operating on approval voting, select aalny number of names you'd be okay with, from among the following...]>Nermal>Mudkip>Nimue>Jelly>Nestle>Edwin
>>6152413>Mudkip>Nimue>JellyCause all the other will be mad jelly we have a pokemon.
>>6152413>Nermal>Nimue>Jelly>NestleNestle #1
>>6152413>Nermal>Mudkip
>>6152413>Nermal>Edwin
>>6152413From most ideal to least>Edwin>Nimue>Nermal
>>6152558>>6152494>>6152462>>6152441>>6152428[Locked for Nermal. Writing!]
>>6152568You can’t pretend you’re entirely pleased with this ‘reward’, which really seems more like a liability. What kind of divine boon is a big, weird, toxin-oozing monster? It’s a goddamned (god-blessed?) WILD ANIMAL, and unlike little Hershy, you’re not exactly going to be able to tuck this one is a sleeve or perch it on a pauldron! Not even a big-ass one like Zith-Zi has!And yet… You can’t exactly just abandon it, can you? Not after talking about how it deserves a safe place to live… And not with it (them?) nuzzling against your hand.“Your roing to reep it?”“Reah—I mean, yeah,” you sigh, and then look down with scrunchedup face as the cave-drake. “Which means yer gonna need a name…”……You wake-up refreshed and rejuvenated. You almost hate to admit it, since it was such a goofy dumbfuck idea, but Cara-Zi was right: a picnic WAS exactly what you needed.(Though you still hold that the barleywine was what made it work.)You actually catch yourself humming to yourself as you go about your morning routine, organizing the ‘Monstrous Regiment’. Together—which is to say, you at the lead and the rest staying out of your way—you set about settling up for your stay at The Crow & Gull Inn. Sunset Lake’s been a trip-and-a-half, and you don’t HATE it, but you’ll be glad to be awayf rom the smell of fish. It almost makes up for parting with still more coin…31 points left; would have been 32 if you’d leveled up Merchantilism, or you would have had a chance to flirt your way out of it if you’d leveled up Seduction.In spite of that sphincter-clenching sensation of getting closer and closer to that bare break-even point, you simply CANNOT spoil a mood this good. Nothing can!“H-hey ZZ…”Well, ALMOST nothing. You hadn’t even stopped to wonder where CZ had gotten to, so accustomed are you to the demogoblin’s nocturnal wanderings by now. The moment you set eyes on her, though, you realize the sheer fucking FOLLY of leaving your other half unsueprvsied, even in your sleep.“CZ, what the ACTUAL fuck is that?”“…A cave-drake?”“I see that,” you say slowly through gritted teeth, “but why the fuck is it HERE?”“Uh,” she says, and then with a grunt she hefts the big fat fucker up so its creepy, eyeless visage is at head level with you. “Meet Nermal! He's my famil—friend! I befriended 'im!”
>>6152592You take a step back, and Khorine moves her twig blight into intercept position. You grimace a little at the rank smell of—fuck’s sake!—FISH coming off ‘Nermal’. Hershy croaks repeatedly in a low, warning thrum, and fluffs up into an pissed-off little puffball“I know, I know,” CZ says, before you can curse her out. “But look—it’s friendly, at least!”You narrow your eyes and watch as the big, blubbery baby lake monster lets CZ wobble it all around, smush up its face, and even follows simple commands once her arms have gotten tired and she’s set it down.“How’d ya manage that?”CZ freezes up a little bit at that question, and laughs nervously.“Magic?”You sigh. Demon shit, then. For all the opportunities this trip has provided you, you swear it’s been a bad influence on your ‘sister’ somehow. Probably that Maladoo mutt…That said, it’s free labour, apart from feeding the thing. As adventurers, a certain amount of ‘eccentricity’ is expected in your animal companions, too, and allowances are made; it’s a well-known fact that right behind bored noble-types with their ‘menageries’, adventurers are the biggest market for the exotic animal trade. Your twinky pal Tips has a goddamn three-headed FREAKSHOW for a pet, even though the damn thing keeps trying to sue you for a chew-toy! And if you’re doing this job for the Delvers… Well, it’s a dwarf gig, and dwarves live in caves, like CAVE-drakes do. Maybe it’ll be useful?“Fine,” you acquiesce, to CZ’s visible relief.Nermal joined the party!
>>6152594Your good morning thoroughly fucked up before it had barely begun, you nevertheless get back to work. Khorine, An-Yii, Yeb-Uit CZ and—yes—Nermal trail you, attracting no shortage of alarm and aggravation from the townsfolk whom its silk have been terrorizing for lo these many weeks.“Uuuurggghh…”You have some important last-minute decision to make before you meet up with Copperbelt and his boys, and leave Sunset Lake for gods-know-where for who-the-fuck-knows-how-long. Decisions such as…Will you buy more equipment? If so, what?>Restock rations, Yeb-Uit’s quiver, and An-Yii’s medical supplies[1 point each (3 total)]>New clothes for your crew—they’re looking pretty ratty[4 points; +1 per person you choose to dress ‘fancy’, but you must specify]>Upgraded arms and armour[specify what you have in mind, and how much you’re willing to spend; if there’s no consensus, but everyone wants SOEMTHIGN, we’ll have a follow-up vote]>Magical items![Any specific effects in mind? We’ll see what can be done… Likely follow-up vote]>Write-inWill you invite the Maladoos along? You and Cyrene Black worked together to make the deal, but if you kicked those kids to the curb, you’d get more money for yourselves…>Yes—the more the merrier, and back-up isn’t a bad plan>No—you don’t need a pack of tagalongs and their creepy dog>Try to poach specific ones… [Who?]
>>6152595>Restock rations, Yeb-Uit’s quiver, and An-Yii’s medical suppliesall 3>New clothes for your crew—they’re looking pretty rattynothing fancy>No—you don’t need a pack of tagalongs and their creepy dog
>>6152595>Restock rations, Yeb-Uit’s quiver, and An-Yii’s medical suppliesI think our gear is good enough for now.>ItemNot a magic item, not necessarily, but some kind of stimulant. Anything that could keep someone awake for longer. Get a bunch of those. We might need those if we have to keep watch or chase something.>Try to poach specific ones… [Who?]Maladoo could be useful if we need to stun someone or something. I don’t know about the rest of the crew. >>6152558
>>6152595>>Restock rations, Yeb-Uit’s quiver, and An-Yii’s medical suppliesAll of them.>No—you don’t need a pack of tagalongs and their creepy dog
>>6152568Thank you for this image RQM
>>6152595>Restock rations, Yeb-Uit’s quiver, and An-Yii’s medical suppliesAll of these seem pretty importantNo new clothes, they'll just get messed up the cave anyway. >Yes—the more the merrier, and back-up isn’t a bad planThis has nothing to do with strategy, I just really like that you wrote Mystery Inc. into the story snd I like having them along
>>6152734[Glad I'm not the only one who laughed.]>>6152737>>6152724>>6152650>>6152597[Writing!]
>>6153023In the end, you decide not to invite the Maladoo Gang along on this next leg of the journey. They did well enough in the Lake Monster’s lair, but this is REAL cave-crawling, and humies don’t even have low-light vision, let alone proper DARKvision. What, are you going to venture into the bleak and black unknown, facing who-even-knows-what, with you position broadcast to ever netherworld ne’er-do-well by a bunch of burning torches? Thanks, but no fucking thanks.“I know you’ve been getting’ pretty tight with their Gang ‘n all,” you start to say to CZ, hoping to cushion the blow.“No, no, that’s totally okay!”You stop short, staring hard at your increasingly-sweaty ‘twin’, who fidgets in her fancy new skin.“…This about whatever you ‘n the shaggy one were getting’ up to below-decks?”“Y-yeah!” Cara-Zi lies.You KNOW she’s lying, or at least agreeing too easily and with too little embarrassment. You just don’t know WHY, or what the whole truth is. You’re not sure you like this whole notion, of a part of you—even a sliced-off, demon-infested part—keeping secrets from the rest. But, well… Maybe that’s a good thing, her gaining independence or whatever? You let it slide, and set about business.You have 28 points left/There are some that would say your refusal to buy more supplies, or even clean and hole-free clothes for your crew, is a mark of goblin green, a sort of coin-clasping tendency which foolish, vapid city-folk attribute to your former kin. Well, fuck ‘em—you’ve heard worse. You buy what you need: rations to carry you through your travels, arrows for Yeb-Uit to light up whatever is unlucky enough to cross your path and too far away to stab properly, and more supplies so An-Yii can treat whatever stabbings YOUR crew might acquire. Nobody bitches about the lack of fancy new duds, neither: they’re all goblins, or in Khorine’s case a feral beast-brat, and none of them vain enough to care.The Delvers, on the other hand…
>>6153043“Oh… I’d thought those were, ahem, your ADVENTURING clothes. For cave-skirmishes with slimy beasties and the like.”“They are,” you say, crossing your arms beneath your shiny green brazier of a top. “I know, I know, it’s ‘touristy’. I do more’ve a ‘rogue’ kidna thing anyway, though, an’ you saw the leather corset—which, for the record, is more like real armour than you’d think once ya take inta account the—”“I meant the others,” Copperbelt clarifies.“Oh.” You frown. “Well… We’re still goin’ cave-crawlin’ ain’t we?”“After a fashion,” Copperbelt replies vaguely. “If you would simply sign these non-disclosure and non-compete agreements…”You groan and mutter some minced oaths against the litigiousness of dwarven corporations. You don’t even bother reading before you sign, and direct the others to do likewise—there’s, like, a million goddamn signature lines, so reading would just waste everyone’s time. They aren’t magic or anything, so what’s to stop you just doing whatever-the-fuck you want anyway??Lack of presentable attire weakens you social rolls with upper-classes.Lack of Mercantilism and Sense Motive skills, or other related skills like Negotiation or Scholasticism, prevent you from even beginning to understand advanced contract law“There,” you sigh heavily, rolling your wrist to alleviate the burgeoning burn from all the penmanship. “We done, dwarf?”“Aye. Err, yes. It all seems to be in order.” Copperbelt and his group’s mustachioed gnome clerk (?) nod to one another once they quickly flip through their newly-signed files. “Welcome to the fold!”“On a contractual kinda’ basis,” you remind him.“Of course, of course,” he agrees. “We’re contractors ourselves, though my family HAS long been associated with Treasuretrove Incorproated…”You wave off the incoming exposition about Iorund Copperbelt’s no doubt super-duper illustrious family line full of middle managers or whatever.“Get down to the gristle, ‘Belt. What’s the gig?”Iorund clears his throat a little, cheeks pinkening, but he quickly recollects himself and does as you’ve commanded.“No doubt you know that we dwerrow, or dwarvenfolk, were not always organized by way of our corporate leadership, but in more sedentary, familial structures, in the kingdoms of old…”You swallow a groan, as you discover you’ve traded one boring-ass history lesson for another. At the very least, THIS one proves to have some real relevance, a few minutes in.
>>6153044The gist is this: Treasuretrove has been using the same sort of weird mechanical wizardry that the damn Delvers used to scoop YOUR Lake Monster, in order to pursue the longstanding dwarven project of trying to reclaim long-lost treasures from their long-lost mountain fortresses. Many of those sites are ‘lost’ in the way that requires an army to ‘find’ them: they know exactly where they are, but where they ARE is in the northeast, swallowed up by expanding orc territory. THIS one, however, is just barely on the border of the so-called ‘Orcwilds’. There, in a realm of shifting borders—but genuinely demarcated and internationally recognized ones, at least—there exist humans, ‘elves’ (that is, glorified, mudblooded halfers like your buddy Tips), and admittedly a fair few orcs in a state of uneasy stalemate…“…And initial surveys suggest that underneath the feet of those petty dukes and chieftains, there exists an old dwarven ruin, made in the grand old days—a grand MEGASTRUCTURE, in fact!”“Nobody’s found it?” asks Yeb, staring down at the spread-out map of the region which the Delevrs’ have spread out.“Surely even an orc wouldn’t miss a dwarven ‘megastructure’,” Khorine echoes his concern.“Ah, but that’s the rub,” Copperbelt says, rubbing his own palms together. “Though it was a massive work of engineering, it was hidden amongst the hills—in fact, constructed in a three-dimensional shape meant to evoke a hill itself! Imagine the scale!”“Wait wait wait,” you say, cutting through the bullshit. “A big fuckin’ pyramid in the middle of a warzone?”“Technically, everyone is in a state of truce, act—”“This is a fuckin’ DUNGEON. You’re talking about a DUNEGON-CRAWL.”“Well,” Iorund tugs at his beard, considering your words. “Yes., as a matter-of-fact.”You look at your small group—doubled in size by the Delvers’ own, but still small, in number and in stature. You’ve been on a few proper dungeon-crawls in your day, and their fatality rates are… Not low. And over half your group are fucking NERDS.“Personally, I find the notion rather thrilling!” Martyn Handsome-Mug chimes in.“Yeah, thrill me ta death…”
>>6153045“I assure you, we are quite well prepared!” Copperbelt assures you. “We’ve also been afforded the privilege of recruiting additional individuals, such as yourselves. Though, it IS imperative we not grow the group too grossly, lest—”“—lest ya attract attention an’ all the locals actually LIVIN’ on the land want their own piece’ve pie,” you narrow your eyes. “Amirite?”“These ARE dwarven relics we plumb and procure,” Coppperbelt says, turning up his nose a little. “They have no right!”“I bet the orcs wouldn’t agree,” CZ notes.“Fuck the orcs, I bet even the humies ‘n elves would have words about THAT.” You tap your toe a you glare down at the map thoughtfully.“You have already signed the paperwork, Madame Youngtree,” Copperbelt reminds you gently-but-firmly.“I know, I know, I’m jus’—” you stop, then look up sharply, feeling your blood-pressure rise. “MADAME?! Are you calling me OLD?! You bald, stumpy son-of-a—!”
>>6153047After CZ has stopped you seeing red, and you’ve had time to think you come to the conclusion that this job really IS too juicy to turn down outright, even if the contracts are still bullshit barely worth the pulp-parchment they’re printed on. You’ll have to think carefully about how much risk you take on to earn the reward, and what countermeasures you take to keep your pert pink posterior safe and sound, but the fact of the matter is: you’re in.As you and your team are prepping to depart Sunset Lake, traveling Northeast, you see the Delvers making use of their quills and inkwells for something other than signing their souls away to their employers, though. You simply arch an eyebrow, but Cara-Zi’s curiosity is too strong to resist asking:“Whatcha’ doing?”Martyn is the one who answers her, with an easy smile and a flourish of his still-wet writing, which he winces at when it splatters and smears a little.“Ah, damn… Well, I’m writing a letter home, to my family. They live in human lands, nearer to Hawksong, and though we only see each other every other year or so during the Gwledd y Gaeaf, I like to let them know I’m safe and sound.”You swallow a little as a sudden urge rises up in your gut and burns your heart like a bad bout of food-poisoning. A letter? Well, shit... This journey’s going to take weeks, probably months. Maybe you should write your own?Do you write anyone?>James Efron—Jimmy—to let him know you still care,a nd to hopefully ahs out excatlyuw aht you are to one another [locks in faithfulness and precludes ZZ’s sexual/romantci options for the next arc]>Tips, to get his advice on dealing with CZ and her new newt, and to check in on his growing family and weird magic fairy cult or whatever>Mama Yen-Zi—she lives pretty far out-east, but it’s been a long time, and you’ll be nearer to her than you ahev been in years...>The Dragon King of Bloodrise—your scaly scumbag half-brother—to let him know about the weird shit that’s been happening round his turf, and to keep him on-side for New Goblintown’s sake>No need, keep your mind on the grind.>Write-in
>>6153049>James Efron—Jimmy—to let him know you still care,a nd to hopefully ahs out excatlyuw aht you are to one another [locks in faithfulness and precludes ZZ’s sexual/romantci options for the next arc]We must know
>>6153049"a nd to hopefully ahs out excatlyuw aht you are to one another"should read:and to hopefully hash out exactly what you are to one another
>>6153049>Tips, to get his advice on dealing with CZ and her new newt, and to check in on his growing family and weird magic fairy cult or whateverMaybe it’s best if we have CZ accompany our writing as well. >Mama Yen-Zi—she lives pretty far out-east, but it’s been a long time, and you’ll be nearer to her than you have been in years...>The Dragon King of Bloodrise—your scaly scumbag half-brother—to let him know about the weird shit that’s been happening round his turf, and to keep him on-side for New Goblintown’s sakeAm >>6152650
>>6153049>Tips, to get his advice on dealing with CZ and her new newt, and to check in on his growing family and weird magic fairy cult or whatever
>>6153049>>James Efron—Jimmy—to let him know you still care,a nd to hopefully ahs out excatlyuw aht you are to one another [locks in faithfulness and precludes ZZ’s sexual/romantci options for the next arc]>The Dragon King of Bloodrise—your scaly scumbag half-brother—to let him know about the weird shit that’s been happening round his turf, and to keep him on-side for New Goblintown’s sake
>>6153049>Tips, to get his advice on dealing with CZ and her new newt, and to check in on his growing family and weird magic fairy cult or whatever>Mama Yen-Zi—she lives pretty far out-east, but it’s been a long time, and you’ll be nearer to her than you ahev been in years...both if possible, if not going with Tips then. Also that flavor text in the jimmy option... so "self" love is an option ? zam
>>6153289>flavor text[I was in a rush to get the pub, my bad. See >>6153118 for the translation.]>multiple letters[Very possible, though please not.mroe than 2 for QM writing purposes.]>self-love[ZZ gets very little privacy, sadly, since she's traveling with a party and sleeping close to them. The last week, sharing a bed with CZ, she hasn't even been able to enjoy a sneaky bit of stress-relief.]
[I'll be uodating later, or tomorrow. I have a week off, so expect more updates for a bit! Today, though, I wanna get drunk with friends.]
>>6153086>>6153125>>6153129>>6153173>>6153289“You mind?”Martyn and Cara-Zi both look up in surprise as you squeeze your way in between them and reach out to snatch up the inkwell.“Actually, good quality ink is sort of expensive out—”“Yeah yeah,” you wave the halfling off. “Take it off my bonus when me ‘n my crew make us all rich.”You can practically feel the two of them exchanging a look behind you as you scoot Martyn out of his seat with a hip-check and set to writing. You pay them no heed, though—partly because you’re just unflappable like that, but MOSTLY because you still, uh, aren’t actually all the great at reading and writing. Oh, sure, you SPEAK three or four languages with reasonable fluency, and know a smattering of syllables from a half-dozen others, but Mama Zi’s emphasis on book-learning never really settled in properly. And FORGET quillmanship—you might look a lot more elegant than in your gob-girl days, but you still write like a Wastelander when you write at all. Hell, the only reason you ever improved at ALL was the year-or-so you spent rooming with…‘Dear EzrealYou stop staring down at the opening to the letter, a curly mess of spidery squiggles spelling out the name of one of your oldest and, yes, dearest friends: Ezreal Mious Van Houtzmann, the man who made you and CZ who and what you each are today. Well, half-elf who turned into a Man, but it’s a long story and you honestly barely even understand it. In spite of that history, though, something about your opening greeting just BUGS you. After squinting the letter you dip your fingertip in the inkpot and smear a glossy black stripe across the opening two words, to Martyn’s groan of displeasure just behind you.“If ya don’t like it, don’t watch,” you tell him simply. “In fact, DON’T watch. Gimme’ some space, both of ya’!”“I suppose it’s a good opportunity to get to know you better,” Martyn muses, shifting his eyes from you and his quill and ink and over to Cara-Zi, as his dismay turns to intrigue. “What sort of magic did you do, to fight like hat underwater?”“Heh, well, I can’t take the full credit,” CZ admits. “See, there was this, like, magic rock…”You let those two play twenty questions as you focus back in on your letter, starting it again in a manner more befitting of the depth of your feeling for the wiz-kid:‘Yo Tips,’(THAT’S more like it!)
>>6153498It’s bon a lawn tim. How r uand the missus? By witch I meen Pearce, ov cowrs. Hahaha fucking got u! I bet u & Izzy & Costa r all dooing fine. Kid-O to. Its bin a bit, but I bet the brats groeing up lik a weed. Dos Lil T still remember Anti ZZ? I bet. But wuts it bin? 4 or 5 years? It just flys by dosnt it? I bet u r wishing u wer stil n elf w all the life expectensy & stuf. Ov corse my sichuasion is stil the oposit cuz ov magic since Im stil yung and tite as a… Well, wuldnt u lik to no! Haha! Cawm down u twink, 2 chics is all reddy 2 to many for u!You frown a little, despite having just written that you were laughing. In truth, talking about your transformation and making lewd allusions serves to remind you of who you AREN’T writing a letter to right now: Jimmy. James Efron wasn’t the REASON you undertook the magical ritual which forever changed you and spawned CZ, but he was a major factor: your desire to make the most of every opportunity in your life, including the relationship you had—have?—with him. You find your mind drifting to him, down south near the border. You have a friend that way, in a little Podunk near the front, who could receive a letter and deliver it to his crew… But you don’t’ have all day, and even this paragraph has taken you many, many minuets to scratch out. No, catching up or hashing out emotional baggae is all well and good, but you’re writing with PURPOSE here.Gud work I gess I shud say tho. & not just w me!! CZ is rilly cuming into her own as they say.And it’s true, too. You steal a look at Cara-Zi, holding up her hand and spreading her fingers, to reveal a newly-regrown webbed membrane. Martyn’s mouth forms an ‘o’ of awed appreciation for the party trick, and after asking permission, he pokes and pulls at the stretchy skin. Cara-Zi fidgets and flinches, seemingly seeking an escape route, but she stays put—no running and hiding, and no eating anyone’s face, either! It’s a big deal for her.And yet…Ther is just 1 thing that worys me abowt her. Wel. Ok. A few things. But latly shes bin acting weerd. Weerder than yooshal. ushyuwal. u shoo wil. U no what I meen! Shes bin having her INCIDINS agan w the hunger. & shes bin beeing mowr magicy. Lik w new spells from no waer & then she got a big caev draek. Its like Hershy but big & slimemy & Im pretty sher its evil magic may bee. But she is lyeing to me to, & I dont no y or wut she is up to.
>>6153499You look up from your letter and watch as Martyn beckons CZ down, dropping to his hands and knees, and beckons her to place her palm on the ground next to ‘Nermal’, and he beckons over one of his dweeby Delver friends with a heavier-duty sheet of scroll-parchment, which they unroll. They unroll it, position Nermal’s forelimb and Cara-Zi’s hand over it, and begin to sketchy out an outline in charcoal. I am not a wizerd lik u. & yes… I no I no… its MAEJ & not WIZERD haha bite me… But seriusley. I dont no wut she is doeing to lern this stuff or from ware. Let alone wut to do about it, or hoe to mak shoor its saf for her & for me to. HELP! This is tecnicley ur fawlt haha. But seriusley. I am being serius evn tho Im riting HAHA lik it’s a jowk.You squint down at your letter, allowing yourself to properly feel the concern that you’ve been suppressing. You look up again and see, even with her fancy new face, the telltale signs of your shadow-self sister starting to peak: her eyes dilated like a shirin-junkie, flitting from one face to another; her mouth open slightly like an animal scenting the air; her newly petite chest rising and falling in long, deep wafts. You can practically FEEL the agitation—the EXCITEMENT—beginning to waft off of her. You grimace—all these eyes on her is a bit much, and you know you’ll have to intervene any moment. Time to wrap this up.Do you have any closing thoughts or other things you’d like to communicate to Tips? Things to ask, or say, or specific aid to request?>Write-in>No
>>6153498>>6153499>>6153501[For once, the spelling mistakes are on purpose, kek. Truly, Zith-Zi was my secret self-insert all along!]Translation below:Yo Tips,It's been a long time. How are you and the missus? By which I mean Pearce, of course. Hahaha, got you! I bet you, Izzy, Costa, and Kiddo are all doing fine. I imagine the brat's grown up like a weed. Does Lil T still remember Auntie ZZ? But what's it been? Four or five years? Time flies, doesn't it? I bet you're wishing you were still an elf with all the life expectancy stuff. My situation is still the opposite, thanks to magic—still young and tight as... well, wouldn't you like to know! Haha, calm down, two chicks are already too much for you!Good work, I've got to say. Not just with me! CZ is really coming into her own. There's just one thing that worries me about her. Well, a few things. She's been having her incidents again with the hunger. And she's getting more magical. New spells from nowhere, and she got a big cave drake. It's like Hershy but big and slimy, and I suspect it's evil magic. Plus, she's lying to me, and I don't know why or what she's up to.I'm not a wizard like you... and yes, I know it's mage and not wizard—haha, bite me. Seriously, I don't know what she's doing to learn this stuff or from where. Let alone what to do about it, or how to make sure it's safe for her and for me. HELP! This is technically your fault, haha. But seriously, I'm being serious even though I'm writing 'haha' like it's a joke.[In addition to the write-in, I'd like to open this open to anyone who has any questions about the plot, the setting, lore, etcetera. Ask away! it's a good time, between adventures and all.]
>>6153499>How r uand the missus? By witch I meen PearceHA>4 or 5 years?Oh wow we may not be exiled anymoreAlso ZZ writes like she's 13>Write-inSome cool magic nature facts for us to wow Khorine with>questions about the plot, the setting, lore, etceteraHow much of CZ is Iri, and how much of her is her goblin heritage and other stuff?Any cool lore developments in the past 4-5 years?Is there a plot currently? Beyond "make money"?The Reptilian base near Hawksong was destroyed/absorbed into Bloodrise, what about other bases? How are the rest of them doing these days? Been pretty quiet.Is Henzler dead yet?If Jimmy has moved on can we pull a Tips and get TWO bfs?
>>6153525>Some cool magic nature facts for us to wow Khorine withgood idea
>>6153501We should probably ask Tips about a safe way to regulate Carazi's WANT
>>6153525Any cool lore developments in the past 4-5 years?[Hawksong's power as the central kingdom of the Northwest has waned, as you no doubt gathered; trade wars with the Southlands have intensified to border skirmishes and mutual small invasions and territory grabs. To the northeast, orcs have become an increasing problem, too, and with the Paladins focused on matters like those, baronies like those around Bloodrise have been forced to rely more on their own small standing armies, militias, and (of course) mercenary "adventurers".]>The Reptilian base near Hawksong was destroyed/absorbed into Bloodrise, what about other bases? How are the rest of them doing these days? Been pretty quiet.[The Reptilians not aligned with The Dragon King of Bloodrise have been busy... Down south.]>How much of CZ is Iri, and how much of her is her goblin heritage and other stuff?>If Jimmy has moved on can we pull a Tips and get TWO bfs?>Is there a plot currently? Beyond "make money"?[All these are more or less related. I've been trying to keep this quest a bit more grounded and low-key, with less grand-scope world-changing plot though the Nothic isn't just there for funsies but the central push is in the alternate title: "A Queste for the Selfe Amongst Demogoblins, Nilbogs, and Sundrie Other Freakes of Nature". That is to say: the plot is to find a way for the Z Sisters to find a place they belong and to determine who they want to be. For ZZ, this seems to mean (so far) taking on more responsibility and growing into a leader. For CZ, that means determining who and what she/they IS, and so far you fine folks seem to have been guiding her down a path of accepting, but positively channeling, her darker aspects.tl;dr: adventuring is the backdrop, and determining the end goal is up to you>Also ZZ writes like she's 13[She IS barely literate.]>Is Henzler dead yet?Quite ill, semi-retired, but not yet dead.>>6153525>>6153527>>6153555[Locked and writing!]
>>6153501>How is the situation between him, his family, and the guilds? Any trouble with anyone?If he summons, we’ll try to be there.>What has happened to Jimmy during the years? Has he mentioned ZithZi at all?>>6153555+1
>>6153732[I integrated a bit of this, though I was pretty much done writing by the time I read it. Sorry, anon!]>>6153715‘Anyway,’ you hurriedly continue, ‘the mane thing I gess I need to no is if u hav any wiz kid way to help CZ stop beeing so weerd. May bee if I give her a way to cawm down or to braek away from this dark magic bullshit itl be enuf that shel stop dooing… Wutevur shes dooing.’There, that should do it. Surely the wiz-kid knows SOME quick-fix, right? With that out of the way, you do as human culture demands of you, and include a few pleasantries:‘Say “hi” to Jimmy if u see hi. Do u see him or heer from him evur? Or is he to bizy w the wars & shit down sowth?’Self-conscious of how sappy—even desperate—this must come across, you add:& wut abowt Testa? Howe is she? Got to look owt for my felo nilbog, rite? Haha.‘Get bak to me.Zith-Zi’You nod, satisfied with your work, and especially your signature. After all those FUCKING pages of the Treasuretrove Incoropraated contract, you OUGHT to be good at writing your own name by now. In truth, you’re perhaps a little TOO proud of it. You’ve practiced the slashes, swoops, and swirls of ‘Zith-Zi’ quite a lot over the years, since making the transition from bandit to legitimate adventurer, and even MORE since your transformation from goblin to nilbog. That mark, alone, you can make without conscious consideration.It really has been quite the journey. Who would have thought meeting some effeminate little half-elf khoblis in the Wastes would led to… All this? To spending years pulling some shanty-town up from the cold muck of the mountainside, and starting your own adventuring company with a bunch of gobs and geeks? Looking up, you allow your focus to drift from Cara-Zi’s plight to appreciate the burgeoning little band of adventurers you’ve assembled so far: a ranger (sort of), a druid (or whatever she wants to call herself), a healer (at least An-Yii won't argue about THAT, even if she'll do so about pretty much anything else it seems like)… And you, the fearless leader, sword on hip and sharp as a knife in the back. You, a Boss, right and proper!
>>6153771Your gaze settles on the 'druid in particular: Khorine, arms crossed and braids thrown back, sneering down at the Delvers' study of Nermal the Newt. You half-listen as you offers up her own smarmy commentary on their "base, materialist understanding of nature's sacred mystery". You smirk a little as a wicked idea occurs, and write a final addendum:‘P.S. I sort ov adopted a fawn I gess. If u no wut that is. Its lik a goet gerl. Shes beter at fary magic then me witch is a pane in the ass. Do u hav any pointers for howe to deel w them? Or just bul shit naychur facts that u no & she wudnt so I can rub her snooty lil noez in it? Haha. Stil not kiding. Giv me sumthing gud.’Ha! THAT’ll show her. For that matter, if you’re going to a place on the outskirts of the elven lands, it might behooves you to refresh yourself on fairy-crap in general. You idly wonder if Tips is still exiled from his homeland, and whether that includes the lands to which you’ll be traveling? You take up your letter’s rough parchment and hop back to your feet, striding over towards your sister and her ‘admirers’ to interrupt before things get out of hand.“Hey!” you bellow. “I gotta address this thing for the couriers, right? What’s this place we’re going to called again?”“Oh! That’s right, we haven’t told you, have we?” Martyn acknowledges, releasing his no-doubt strong-yet-gentle grip from CZ’s wrist, which she immediately withdraws and clutches close to her chest, beneath her flushing face. “It’s called…”…
>>6153772…THE STEELWOODIt’s a totally spooky, dramatic-ass name, and also it kind of make you giggle because, like… It sounds kind of like a sex thing, right? Or maybe what a half-elf- half-dwarf would name their kid? But actually, it’s apparently called that because of all the different races and whatnot living there, and fighting. There’s some sort of ceasefire agreement at the moment, but back in the day—and not SO far back, as you understand it—elves, humans, and orcs all waged constant, bloody war on their small, local scale throughout the fringes of the elven ‘Silverwood’ region, leaving broken swords and scattered arrowheads and old armour to rust among the roots. Hence…THE STEELWOOD…got its name. But in reality, grand-and-gothic nomenclature aside, it’s just some small patch of sparsely-populated borderland on the edge of Hawksong’s domains, north and east, towards where all the orc trouble ahs apparently been, lately.Speaking of ‘wood’, though, Martyn. ~Martyn~! He’s been all over you, obsessed with your new shapeshifting abilities and their applications. You can tell your new form kind of does it for him, too. He hasn’t said as much, seemingly quite a ‘proper’ kind of hobbit, but you’re a succubus-spawned demogoblin, deep down: you can sense it. And when he called over all those others to start measuring, and tracing, and studying with such scrutiny and proximity…<WANT: 12>…Well, ‘wood’. You breathed a real deep sigh of relief when Zith-Zi relieved that pressure and let you pull up your hood and fade back into the background. A part of you is kicking yourself for focusing on acceptable appearances, over controlling your impulses, when last you tutored under The Nothic with Maladoo. Why couldn’t that damned eye-guy have given you a means to manage your <WANT> instead of this stupid lizard??
>>6153773crrrooo-oak“I know, I know,” you say soothingly, running a thumb gently across the smooth, eyeless-blind forehead of your new familiar. “I ain’t yer fault, Nermal. I’m sorry. Er a good… Uhh… boy-girl.”You frown. Boy… Girl… Which are YOU? You don’t’ really feel like EITHER, deep down. Or maybe both, like Nermal, or like The Nothic said? ZZ gets all weird whenever you talk about that, though, so you don’t, and you let everyone call you ‘she’ and ‘sister’ and ‘mermaid’. But, no matter how prettified you make yourself up to be…Well, it all comes back to ‘wood’, doesn’t it?You can tell that Martyn Meadowgrass—what a ~dreamy~ fucking name!—likes you. He’s strong, he’s smart, he’s got some fight in him, and you’re going to be spending a lot of time together over in and around The Steelwood. But if you’re going to keep inertacting with him like this, getting to know about him and letting him get to know (or ‘know’) you, it’s going to come back to two things: ‘wood’, and <WANT>.You remember, with a bitter sting of regret, how things ended up with Svanhilda Pearl…What are you going to do about this?>Keep to yourself, withdrawing from deeper mortal connections>Open up to deep friendship, and maybe even to romance, with all its risks>Seek out supernatural connections... Maybe that's safer, in the end?>Write-in
>>6153774>>Open up to deep friendship, and maybe even to romance, with all its risks
>>6153774>Open up to deep friendship, and maybe even to romance, with all its risksCan't learn self control the other ways
>>6153774>Open up to deep friendship, and maybe even to romance, with all its risks
>>6153890>>6153892>>6153915You gaze down at Nermal, and feel him ‘gazing’ back, with his twinned spirit and the tickle of his face-tentacles. You’d told The Nothic that you thought it best if creatures like your familiar lives apart from humans and the ‘pretty’ demihumans… Demihumans like Martyn Meadowgrass. Maybe that’s true for you, too? Maybe you belong among your own kind, rather than theirs?But then you remember the picnic. You remember everyone smiling, drinking together, stuffing their faces with snacks… Two goblins, a nilbog, a faun, and good ol’ Hershy, all together as friends. And you were there, too! Maybe… Maybe there’s still a way to make this work?“I gotta’ try,” you decide aloud.Giving your slimy companion a last little scratch behind the gill-frills, you stand up, wipe off Nermal’s wet residue upon your monk hoodie, and rejoin the rest of the party. Yu raise a hand in greeting, and when you smile, this time it feels less forced, and less precarious. It’s the more dangerous path—for them, for you—but it’s the one you’ve chosen. You have to believe you can make it work, but hook or by crook!...
>>6153983It doesn’t take the Monstrous Regiment nearly as long to pack as it does the Delvers. You puh yourself to help, speaking up against your more reclusive instincts of later, offering aid. In truth, the Delvers welcome you and your assistance with open arms and hearts. And why shouldn’t they? They don’t know what you really are, underneath your façade… Which, okay, it’s not IDEAL, but it means you can put your best foot forwards and make new friends!The Delvers’ core crew seems to consist of Iorund Copperbelt, Martyn Meadowgrass, the gnome cousins Taito and Aarre (who mainly serve as catch-all assistants and repair-people, and are differentiated by their distinct facial hair, with one wearing a well-groomed and curly moustache, and the other a much thinner moustache and a pointy beard), the group’s other dwarf Steiner Sternstone (who is fat, but also strong enough to serve as ‘muscle’, mainly for heavy-lifting so far), and the group’s only girl (a frumpy halfling ‘alchemical engineer, called ‘Ceri-Mai’ and nicknamed ‘Cherry’).While the Delvers are kind enough to you, and borderline deferential to your confident and brashly-bossy Zith-Zi (or ‘Zena Youngtree’, as you’re learning to call her when they’re around), they are less kind to your other companions. Oh, they’re not outright rude, but your envious aspect picks up on many a secret of the heard, and a hushed whisper between your new allies. They find Khorine insufferable, but cute enough to endure; her disdain for their mechanical methods and alchemical approach to natural philosophy ‘quaint’, ‘folksy’, and ‘naïve’. But as for An-Yii and Yeb-Uit…“They could offer to help, couldn’t they?”“Maybe we should talk to their master—err, mistress. Zena has a particular way with them.”“How do you think she managed? I’ve never known anyone who could tame a goblin before!”“Why do you think she’s so loud and, ahem, forward? It’s what their kind understands—a firm hand, or they’ll steal the coins right right out of your palm!”
>>6153984You frown a little to hear that sort of talk. Like, it isn’t WRONG, necessarily, but it’s not… It’s not that SIMPLE, either! Goblin life ain’t easy. Present company side, it’s not like there are goblin guilds or nations or ‘corporations’ (you’re still not 100% sure what those are), and most goblins get together out of blood-based clan connections or, yeah, because they’re forced to. You might not remember your whole life, but you know that the latter is no easy life, and it makes for hard—but hardy!—folk.But… Like, you’re trying to make friends, right? So maybe you shouldn’t start speaking up and making a fuss. After all, goblins are tough-you doubt An and Yeb would even care, except to grouse about it, as long as it doesn’t get any worse than a few murmurs of malcontent.What do you do?>Hold your tongue and keep helping>Join in the sly slander to ingratiate yourself>Speak up in defence of goblinkind>Change the subject—maybe you can get them talking about their own cultures instead, and learn about little folk?>Write-in
>>6153985>Join in the sly slander to ingratiate yourselfFUCK goblins
>>6153985>Change the subject—maybe you can get them talking about their own cultures instead, and learn about little folk?We have to learn about other cultures if we want to be more effectively racist against them
>>6153985>Change the subject—maybe you can get them talking about their own cultures instead, and learn about little folk?>>6154018I'm also a zizi fan, but let's keep it in our pants for now.
>>6154018
>>6153985>Speak up in defencenot necessarily goblinkind, but them. ZithZi is tough. She can control them just fine. As long as they’re under her command, worry isn’t needed.>>6153125
>be me>go to the theatre with a friend>See Wicked>realize there is already a very popular multimedia franchise about a contrasting pair of female leads, one of who was born green and deformed and becomes incraesingly occult, and one of whom is very fey-coded and feminine, with a pink colour scheme>it also prominently involves sociological themes of the underclass and outsider, self-discovery, adultery, and manipulation by greater powers>there are even mechanists and goat-people prominently involved in each[AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGH, I'm a HACK!]but we already knew that, kek>>6154219>>6154018>>6154031>>6154174[Back to the quest! Locked and writing.]
>>6154327“W-well, maybe they’re just used to, like, your culture?” you suggest sheepishly. “I mean, me neither…”You get a lot of strange looks at that, and with a start you remember that you’re not supposed to be a goblinoid anymore—at least, you don’t look like one. ‘Carazzi’ or ‘Cara-Zi’ might be, but right now you’re just ‘Cara, the totally normal little person who knows a bit of totally-not-demonic shapeshifting magic.“Where did you grow up, exactly?” asks Aarre.“Are you a gnome, or a halfling?” Taito asks. “You know, I thought it rude to ask, but—”“I-I’m, like… You know. Neither?”“You sure don’t look like a dorf to me,” Sternstone grunts in his peculiar way, his voice muffled by his unkempt beard and tendency to speak as if his round, chubby cheeks were perpetually full.Thinking fast, you spin a story, neither true nor ENTRIELY false from a VERY specific point of view: “I’m, like… Kind of like an elf?” you say. “Like, you can tell by the ears, right?”“That’s why I was thinking gnome,” responds Aarre, tapping his own ear, with its much more subdued tip.“Oh!” you say. “So gnomes are, uh, fairy-type guys, too?”The Delvers exchange a few looks, and then burst into laughter. You feel your face flush, and you feel a surge of… Something. Anger? Embarrassment? Murderous intent? Before your silent seething can steam over into sanguinous slaughter, Martyn’s warm hand on your shoulder snaps you out of it. You blink a couple times, and take in the halfling’s kind, understanding eyes.“It’s okay,” he assures you, and looks to the others with a gently reprimand in his voice. “All knowledge starts from a place of ignorance, does it not? How is any philosopher, inventor, or other great thinker to advance in their craft if they fear to ask QUESTIONS? And it’s not like any of YOU knew what CARA was, either, or anything about HER people.”The rest of the Delvers look suitably chastened by this appeal to their apparent purpose, as a band of brainiacs, and mumble their way through a discordant collective apology—not for their attitudes toward goblins, but then again you at least changed the subject.“Would you like to learn a little about the Folk out this way?” offers Cherry kindlyYou nod. After all, you need to know how to pass for one of them.
>>6154327>[AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGH, I'm a HACK!]I only discovered that the wicked witch had a musical thanks to yt recommendations giving me lots of musical songs years ago. I'd assume that's the type of thing someone like you would've seen before, kek. Also there's adultery there ?
>>6154358It seems that the so-called ‘little folk’ out this way all share some form of common heritage and culture but quite, quite distantly. Nobody knows when they split off from one another, as you learn, though every Delver raises their own theory about who was first, and how the other races came to be.“I was taught, growing up, that the bwbachod, like me, were first,” Martyn explains, though with an air of humility the handsome halfling admits: “but I would wager everyone here was told the same.”“Aye!” Sternstone is quick to butt in. “The Mountain King dug up the raw materials to craft us all from deep below and high above, in mountains and mines he’d made in lonesome, honest toil forever ago. He gave us gemstone hearts and stone for bones, iron in our spines and soft, loamy earth to make our flesh.”“Some softer than others, eh Steiner?” teases Aarre, with a poke at his belly.The dwarf grumbles like the rumbling of rocks tumbling down a mountain, and you all laugh.“YOU all got soft,” he says, pointing a plump sausage-finger at each of the other, non-dwarven Delvers in turn. “The dwerrow stayed toiling, properly, as one ought to. Those who got lazy come to the humans and elves for aid, and became their servants.”“Not so!” interjects Taito, loudest among a chorus of discord. “The gnomes are Fair Folk, former BEAST FOLK in fact!”“Oh?” you ask, surprised. “You don’t LOOK like a goat or anything.”“We earned our way to being more and more elevated above the natural world, by way of our wondrous enchantments and quick wits,” Aarre states. “From all sorts of burrowing rodents and rabbits, we were transformed into what you see today, and even married some elves….”“Hence the ears,” agrees his cousin, tapping his and gesturing to yours.“And gnomes like to say that us little-folk from the fields and plains still live like rabbits, and dwarves still live like moles,” Cherry says sourly.“Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” both the gnome boys agree.“Everyone should be free to live how they like,” Taito says peaceably.“Very gnome think to say, that is,” Sternstone notes.Martyn smiles at the disagreement, giving you a look as if to say ‘see what I mean about everyone having a different story?’ You laugh, and nod.“What do the hobbits say, then?”
>>6154363Martyn winces and Cherry groans, and you cover your mouth.“Shit, sorry! Halflings? Or, uhh… Fuck, what was it?”“Bwbachod,” Martyn offers amicably, and explains: “Most of us live among humans these days, and not many keep to the old ways… Even I only learned some of the lore later in life. The basic idea isn’t that different from what the dwerrow believe, or the gnomes, really: we were a race like any other, but each of our old clans found their own passions and pursued them. Dwarves loved digging, and forging tools and weapons, and other wonders…”“Aye!” shouts Steiner Sternstone.“…and gnomes like to create their own special brands of special, magical things, and the songs and poetry of the Fair Folk, and intermingled with them, eventually becoming more like them.Aarre and Taito nod along, apparently finding this agreeable enough.“Bwbachod were those whose passions were in the simple and humble things… Fashioning furniture, taking delicious feasts, tilling the soil to make beautiful gardens, and raising all sorts of animals.”“Homebodies,” notes Aarre.“Maids, menders, and cooks, for tall folk,” Steiner says.“But yer, like, TOTALLY cool!” you point out in protest. “And Cherry, you’re… An alchemist, right?”“A good cook, too,” she points out, to the grudging agreement of her fellows.“‘Kay, but that still leaves Martyn.” You look to him. “What gives?”“Some dwarves like to cook and to clean,” he notes. “Some gnomes manufacture weapons. And some halflings… Well, some of us served, without shame, as squires to great human, elven, and dwarven noble-houses, tending to weapons and helping in battle. That’s part of the lore I learned, and I’ve dedicated my life to learning more about our past, and embodying it for the future..”Looking at the heroic set of Martyn’s face, the shine in his eyes, you can imagine him doing it, too.“As we all are,” he adds, looking to the others. “All of us are part of the same long history of people pursuing their passions, and working hard to make them a reality.”None of them—nor you—argues against that sentiment.
>>6154364…Before you leave Sunset Lake, there’s just one more thing to do: to say your farewell to the Maladoos. ZZ was fine to just slip out of town, but you insisted—after all, they invited you to a party, and Norville and you shared secrets, and Maladoo did so much MORE.“Ugh,” Zith-Zi groans, “I hate long goodbyes… Shit, ‘n what if they ask about the gig?”In the end, it isn’t overly-long at all, nor are there any hard feelings to fret over. The Maladoo Gang is loading up the Wyrd Wagon when you arrive.“Goin’ somewhere?” ZZ can’t stop herself from asking, suddenly suspicious to judge by her tone and aura.“Oh, hey you guys!” Frederich Johannes greets you all with his typical easy enthusiasm. “We got word of these kids going missing over in Redwell, and since we’re all done here…”A pall passes over his face.“Oh no! I didn’t even think to invite you!”“It’s okay!” you reply, before ZZ can make a snarky comment. “We got our own gig?”“Oh?” Cyrene Black asks, peeking out from behind the wagon with sudden interest. “What kind of ‘gig’?”ZZ claps a hand over your mouth, and says: “No can do, Black. We signed a thing. Says we can’t talk ‘bout this one with anyone else. Legal shit. DWARF shit. You know how it is.”“…Riiiight.”“Well, best of luck on your next adventure!” Frederich says, oblivious to the tension between the two redheaded alpha-females.“You too,” you say, since ZZ and Cyrene are busy squaring off and sizing each other up.You peer past him and see shaggy-haired Norville wolfing down a final feast before they head out. Helping him along, of course, is Maladoo. He catches your eyes, and immediately goes stiff, his eye flitting between you and Maladoo. Maladoo looks up from his meal for a moment-with Nermal at your side—and then he bows his big head and begins devouring his repast once more.Do you have any last matters to discuss with Norville or Maladoo?>Yes [write-in]>No
>>6154359>I'd assume that's the type of thing someone like you would've seen before, kek.[I vaguely recall reading the novel when I was a kid, which might have been an unconscious influence in some way, though the colour contrast and Stacy/sigma prep/nerd vibes with Glinda and Elphaba aren't as overt in that from what I remember. Never saw the musical until this adaptation, though.]>Also there's adultery there?Elphaba is green because her mom cheated on her dad, a Munchkinland governor, with some traveling seller of intoxicating green elixir, and drank a bunch of it while conceiving and carrying her. Not sure about in the movie/play version, which is quite different from the book in certain key aspects even from the bit I remember, but in the book the salesman who fathered her is The Wizard of Oz, in a previous scam he was running when he first got stranded in Oz, but before he crafted the much GRANDER con of being The Wizard
>>6154365>Yesask maladoo if he can give us any tips regarding Nermal and thank him and norville for helping us.
>>6154365>YesDid you levelled up yet Norville? If not I expect you to have by the next time we meet up.
>>6154365>No
>>6154418+1
>>6154418>>6154420>>6154467>>6154550You slip away from the others in your group, and the rest of the Maladoo Gang, to approach Norville, and of course the Gang’s eponymous hellhound. Both take notice as you approach, Norville growing more nervous, and Maladoo swallowing the last of his meal—a messy, pinkish chowder which drips from his jowls until he shakes them clean to regards you questioningly.“Hey guys!”Norville waves warily, twiddling his fingers. You mirror the motion, sniggering a little and then look between the two.“Did, uh, did Norvilel tell ya’ ‘bout what happened on the boat?”Maladoo glances towards his human companion, who emits a wheezing sound that might be an approximation of laughter, filtered through frayed nerves.“Rorville…?”“L-like, it’s nothing! I just didn’t bring it up because, since y-you two are both secret, um, well, YOU know… And YOU both knew already… And everything turned out alright.”Maladoo growls, a low rumble the sends a shiver even up YOUR spine. You quickly intervene on behalf of the brownish-blonde boy.“It was my fault! And nothin’ THAT bad happened! I just wanted ta’ thank you… Both a’ you, fer helpin’ me out so much. Since we ALL know our, ya’ know, secrets… I figured there’s no reason ta’ have the conversations separate-like?”Maladoo’s head swivels towards the others, far away enough to not hear your low voices. Nevertheless, he nods his head and pivots his ears, directing you and Norville to dip behind the carriage.“Ras anything rappened rith the rake?” the demon-do asks, when you’re alone.“Nermal, ya’ mean?” You glance down back at your familiar who has hauled itself up to robe around the mostly-emptied bowls of the human and hellhound. “Not really, why?”“I rold rou once, but I’ll ray it again,” Maladoo says, “the Rark Rath of the Rothic is a repping rone, but rot a rath free rum ranger, even for our rind.”“A repping… Oh! A stepping stone!” You grin at having puzzled out the speech impediment once more, but then frown. “Danger? From the Nothic? From… Nermal?”You all look back at Nermal, who has upended Norville’s bowl and starts slurping up the dregs of their dinner. “Like, maaan,” Norville whines. “I was going to finish that!”You can’t really see the risk, aside from the cave-drake maybe slurping up your unattended rations in similar fashion if you fail to keep tabs on it.“Any tips for dealin’ with it, then?”Maladoo raises a paw to rub his chin, the human gesture turning abruptly canid as he scratches at his ear.“Rare are rou roing rext?”“Rare… Oh! WHERE! Okay, got it. We’re goin’ ta some place called, get this, THE STEELWOOD.”You laugh, but stop when nobody else does. Norville just looks lost, while Maladoo is contemplative.
>>6154578“I ron’t rink the Raster or his ruppet have resigns on that place, rut be on rard… Romething about rou is rifficult to scry with rivination, rut they have resigns on rour ruture.”“Uhh… Yeah?” As you scramble to decipher some of the bigger and more garbled words, you buy time by changing the subject a little. “I hear you gusy’re goin’ ta Redwell?”Maladoo laughs his especially-unsettling laugh at that, and nods.“Unread,” he says. “Rood eating.”Norville seems to take some solace in this comment, wiping his forehead and saying: “Oh, phew. Just a bunch of unopened books? I thought itw as going to be something way worse.”You THINK Maladoo actually meant ‘undead’, but seeing Norville’s relief, you don’t have the heart to break it to him.“Yeah!” you say instead. “You’ll be fine! Yer surprisingly tough, ay’ know that?”“Aw, shucks…”“Take care of him, hey?” you ask Maladoo.The hellhound just nods once, and you take your leave of your two friends. You can feel Maladoo’s eyes on you as you go, but in spite of the creepy sensation, you find yourself hopeful that one day you might cross paths again.…
>>6154579…As [red[you and your crew leave Sunset Lake for the next chapter of your adventure—and a PROPER fucking payday this time, one hopes—you find yourself grateful for the Delvers’ overabundance of strange machinery and laboratory equipment. That’s because it’s more than even that fat dwarf can carry in a pack on his back, which means a carriage of your own! Well, not yours, but you get to travel in it, and without paying to rent or buy it yourself, which is honestly even better.You catch sight of Green Leif Company packing up their own, far inferior horsecart as you depart. You make sure to give a cheery wave as you leave, and to blow their dickhead leader a kiss goodbye. The irked expression upon his rugged mug warms the cockles of your heart for the rets fo that brisk mountain morning.The journey from the far west to the opposite side of Hawksong’s aegis is going to be a long one, though luckily not a cold one. Just coming down from the high elevations of the Bloodrise mountain range warms things considerably, and though late summer is turning to autumn, fall has not yet fallen, and the harsh winters of the continent’s coldest climes are a distant dream.“Mmm… Hot apple cider~” murmurs Cara-Zi, her thoughts evidently in-sync with your own in this moment.“Focus,” you chide her.“R-right!” she says, sitting up straight.Of course, it wouldn’t be an adventure without some encounters along the way—at least, that’s what you always tell yourself, to take some of the irritation out of the interruptions that inevitably seem to find, follow, and forestall your forward momentum.Specifically, you find yourself trouble in the form of…>The Revenge of the Snipe>Crossed Paths with a Blackpine Beast>Advance Warning of the Orcish Horde>Paladin Problems & Unconventional Opportunities
>>6154580>Advance Warning of the Orcish HordeOrc Extermination Quest go
>>6154580>Crossed Paths with a Blackpine BeastHm. I’d rather take one beast over a hoard.
>>6154580>>Crossed Paths with a Blackpine Beast
>>6154580>The Revenge of the Snipe
Rolled 5, 14, 11, 20 = 50 (4d20)>>6154631>>6154635>>6154701>>6154720The first such ‘encounter’ comes when you all have just barely descended from the Bloodrise’s foothills. There, the forest is thinner, opening up into interlocking patches of meadowgrass and stands of younger, thinner trees. The desire-paths of forest-goers aren’t yet full roads, though—not this far north. It is still a wilderness, just not the claustrophobic, ambush-prone sort, for which you are grateful. Say what you will about the Goblin Wastes, but you could always see what direction trouble was coming from. So too, here!The question is: which is THIS?
>>6154815Even from a distance, there was no missing the column of human coming down the not-a-road. The Delvers’ carriage comes to a stop to observe them, and to grant them passage first. It isn’t just because they were humans, of course, but because you could tell immediately that they were BIG-SHOTS. Everything about their kit screamed ‘nobility and his entourage’: the cleanliness of their attire even now, and the way they were all so damn matchy; the shine of the steel and even of the WOOD of their weapons, polished and waxed to parade finish; the organization of their formation, with scouts on foot at the fore, leading tall and elegant horses moving at easy trot, and laden mules at rear; and, of course, the air of pomposity surrounding the straight-backed human at the middle of the formation, with his tree -and-river livery.“The fuck is Blackpine doing all the way down here?” you asked aloud when you recognized the heraldry, though you hadn’t expecting an answer.“Bet it’s that hunt,” CZ speculated in turn. “‘Member? Everyone’s been sayin’ Baron Blackpine’s huntin’ fer some weird beast.”“Oh yeah?” you said, not really recalling—but then, CZ’s always been more keyed into the rumour-mill than you, despite her antisocial tendencies at times. “He followed it all the way out here?”“Absurd,” Khorine concludes. “A hunt that carries them out this far when their own lands are rich in food…”“It ain’t fer food,” Cara-Zi explains. “IT’s s’psoed t be a trophy hunt, as I hear it.”“Like I said: ridiculous!”“Humies gonna’ hume,” comments An-Yii dryly.The rest of you would have put it out of your mind as decidedly outside the scope of your interest, and none of your concern. You had your own job waiting, far down the road from these foothills, and the Barony of Blackpine and all these other ‘frontier baronies’ on Bloodrise’s doorstep were so much road-dust behind you. OR so it would have been, except…20: Critical Success!“See it?” Yeb-Uit asks, voice hushed and husky.“Yeah, I heard Baron Brunus was a biggun,” CZ notes, squinting. “That guy looks too skinny…”“Not that,” Yeb-Uit says. “THAT.”“Huh? Whaddaya—Oh!”You follow their eyes to the apparent prize: there, crouched in the bushes, appears a creature which blends in improbably well for a freak of nature. It crane a long-necked head, like that of a snake and with scales to match, from a body with the defined shoulders and spotted, smooth-pelted pelage of a mountain-cat. It is so focused upon the passing train of men that it fails to notice you all, and so afford you all a clear view of it as it rises with the humans’ passage, including its long, whiplike tail ending in a tuft of fluff, and its improbably cervine, split-toed hooves.
>>6154839“What IS it?” you whisper, nudging Khorine.“How should I know?!”“Well, ‘cause yer a—”“I’m NOT a DRUID,” Khorine corrects her before she even speaks, and then in softer tone, she admits: “I don’t think it’s native to this region… But I suspect it’s a natural chimera.”“A what?” asks An-Yii.“A natural chimera,” you answer before Khorine can, faintly smug to know this one. “I know a guy what owns one. You know how mages like ta make mix-‘n-match critters ta guard their shit or fight for ‘em? It’s like that, but they live out in the wild, an’ breed.”You all watch the composite creature stretch and stands, relaxing when it is sure its pursuers have truly passed it by. As it steps from shadow into sunlight, a certain shimmer along its flanks catches you eye.“Izzat…?”“Magic,” CZ confirms. “It’s magic!”“Musta’ been camouflagin’ itself until the hunters passed,” Yeb-Uit reasons. “That’s why they didn’t see it, or us ‘til they were gone.”“Amazing,” Khorine admires.“Bet its pelt’d be pretty handy, properly treated,” Yeb-Uit comments.Khorine gasps and glares at him, but the old hunter pays her no heed.“Pretty PRETTY, too,” CZ says, less practically.“Pretty VALUABLE, especially to the Baron or whoever,” An-Yii says, far MORE practically.“It could be rare—a precious thing,” Khorien argues. “Its LIFE has more value than its SKIN, or its BOUNTY!”As they bicker, the mystery-monster begins to creep back the way that the humans had just left: back up towards Blackpine, or Bloodrise, or wherever else it has been hiding amidst the mountains.What will you do?>Let it go>Hunt the beast>Approach the beast peaceably>Write-in
>>6154840>Write-inTrack it. Follow it and see where it leads us. Maybe we could find more of them. A pelt is valuable. A source of continuous pelt is invaluable. >It’s like that, but they live out in the wild, an’ breed.”
>>6154848>+1
>>6154840>Approach the beast peaceablyMenagerie maxing
>>6154840>Approach the beast peaceablySo Tips stuff was stockpiling pets for himself.ZZ thing can be stockpiling them for teammates?
>>6154848>>6154881>>6154882>>6154961[I may write again tonight if a tie-breaker comes through, but also may wait 'til tomorrow at this pint. We'll see!]
>>6155021see ya
>>6155068>pic related>>6154961>>6154882>>6154881>>6154848[Locking! As usual, breaking for the one with more votes by IDs with history or a backlink. Sorry, lgY5IMGE]
Rolled 11, 10, 6, 19 = 46 (4d20)>>6155370“Maybe we can make friends with it?” suggests Cara-Zi.You give her a pointed look, and your opposite number wince.“I-it’s just, ya’ know, what Tips would do…”“You see Tips here?” you snap, and then abruptly lower your voice as you all duck down. You take a moment to part the bushes behind which you’re hiding. Luckily, you weren’t quite loud enough to attract the strange animal’s attention, at least not from so far away. As such, you continue, albeit at a whisper once more.“As I was sayin’, you see Tips? No? Me neither. Know what else I don’t see? His fuckin’ Mages’ Tower money ta feed ‘n house it. His fairy magic ta’ tame an’ control it.”“I can <Charm> it,” mumbles CZ sadly, as if she already anticipates your rebuttal.“Temporary-like, maybe.” You pause, fixing your gaze upon CZ’s pet Lake Monster and wondering, once more, how the fuck she managed that. “Can you make it more permanent?”The question is genuine btu CZ shakes her head.“Well then, we’re goin’ huntin’, an’ hat’s that.”Nobody else argues. You signal the Delvers that your squad is breaking off, and then the Monstrous Regiment makes its move. However, it’s not an immediate attack, for when you see the chimeric creature creeping back westward, an idea occurs.“Hey, shit… You think this fucker has a mate?”“What?” asks Khorine startled out of her scowl.“If this thing’s a NATURAL chimera, that means it’s born ‘n bred out in the wilderness, right? So ti stands ta’ reason…”Khorine doesn’t like that one bit, giving you an earful about the natural balance and the ecosystem and blah blah blah, but whatever. Like you told CZ< you’re not Ezreal Mious Van Whatshisnuts, and as much as you love Tips, this ain’t his weird veggie-head commune. Here, a chimera in the hand is worth two in the bush, but two—or more!—means even more coin.Khorine’s Morale: Stable[Rolling aggregate Survival again for the MR crew, DC 13 due to team effort and your crit success last time...]
>>6155380The faun acquiesces to assist, moral compunctions aside. Between her, Yeb, and Cara-Zi—she’s really getting the hang of this ranger routine, you have to admit—you are able to follow the freaky snake-headed deer-leopard at a distance, without tipping it off.19: Success! It’s slow going, though, a time-consuming stalk through scrub brush and groves of spruce, pine, and larch just now going gold for the autumn. Khorine whisperingly informs you of all the botanical details, but you keep YORU eyes and ears focused on your quarry, as does Yeb.Eventually, the bizarre beast stops at a creek to drink. It does so while standing, not even needing to bend at the knee due to its long neck. A forked tongue flits out repeatedly, slurping up water with a series of messy dips in and out of the babbling brook.“Could be a good spot ta’ take it,” Yeb-Uit notes, gravelly voice low. “Water’ll coevr an approach.”You hold up a hand, again instructing the old gob to wait. He grunts, eager for the kill, but obeys his Boss. You smirk a little at that, enjoying the feeling of having a man around your finger, even if he is old and grey (and not your Jimmy). It’s one of life’s simple pleasures, but unlike Yeb, you ain’t ‘simple’. Your greater thoughtfulness proves itself to be wise indeed, when the creature lifts its head, and emits the most godawful sound you can imagine.“The fuck?!” An shouts, grabbing her ears and folding them down to muffle the sound.“Augh!”“Holy HELLS!”You’d reprimand the others for their shouting, risking your hidden position, if you weren’t busy covering your own ears and screaming similar swears. The noise is like a dozen baying dogs all at once, howling and yapping. At first you assume you’ve been spotted, and it’s an alarm call, but again you wait, and again this proves prudent. It turns out that this was not a challenge or a panicked shout at your presence, but the signal for several smaller beasts to come creeping out of the underbrush.“Oh!” gasps Khorine, placing her hands before her cleft-lipped mouth.
>>6155393You can tell these are the big one’s babies, but not all of them look like mama (or papa?). Most are snake-headed, gangly-legged like freakazoids like she is, but one of them attracts your eye for its unexpected familiarity. Cara-Zi sees it, too, and nudges you with her shoulder.“Izzat…?”You clap a hand over her loud mouth, and nod. Unlike the others—but very much like the feral bastard Tips keeps as a bet—THIS natural chimera has three heads. Unlike its siblings (?), each head is clad in thin coating of tufted, tawny fur, while its hindquarters are scaled, down to the tip of its tail. It is a little larger than the others, though still smaller than its parent, making you wonder if it might be a mate or something else altogether. It joins its fellow whatever-they-ares at the water’s edge, and lowers two head to drink, while the third remains upright, vigilant.“What’s the plan?” Yeb asks.>Have Yeb loose an arrow at one>Charge and trap them against the brook, to take them in melee>Have CZ creep closer and attempt o snatch one up alive>All-out-assault—everyone in, slaughter ‘em all!>Write-in[If you choose anything besides a wholesale slaughter, specify a target or I’ll roll randomly]
>>6155395>Have Yeb loose an arrow at oneThe three headed oneRevenge for all the attempted munchies from Muffins
>>6155395>>Have CZ creep closer and attempt o snatch one up aliveEasiest mark.This is what Tips would have wanted us to do.Plus, that twink will definitely buy an exotic pet for his chimera three-parent crotch goblin - that's our way to exploit the best the opportunity, getting him to craft magical items and whatnot
>>6155395>Have CZ creep closer and attempt o snatch one up alive3pet
>>6155429>>6155449>>6155503[As is, I would interpret this vote as>take one alive>aim for the 3-headed oneIf nobody changes or clarifies their vote, and nobody else comes along to change the result, I'll write this tonight or tomorrow.]
>>6155589Wait im not done reading yet
>>6155395>Have CZ creep closer and attempt o snatch one up aliveThere’s a whole bunch of them. We shoot at it now, they’re going to scatter. We might get one, but chances are, we’re not finding them again. Not in the same spot.Snatch one up and get out.
Rolled 1, 8 = 9 (2d20)>>6155429>>6155449>>6155503>>6155608 You chew the inside of your cheek. Three heads… Just like that monster, Muffins! Tips’ pet ‘natural chimera’ was a rather different configuration, with the head of a lion, a goat, and a snake—the last one was a tail, technically, but it still bit like a bastard and was even venomous enough to make you grateful for your goblinoid constitution, way back when. This thing, meanwhile, had strange not-quite-feline faces you can’t quite place in the animal kingdom as you understand it, and a normal, non-bitey tail. And yet, your heart is hammering with an acquired, ingrained dread.“Should I take the shot?”Your head snaps around to Yeb, who doesn’t look at you, but instead remains fixated on the family of abnormal animals. You see him reach for his bow, but before he can finish stringing it, you place a hand upon his arm, and shake your head once.It’s NOT because this is what Tips would do. You appreciate him, and everything he’s done for you over the decade or so you’ve known him, but you’re NOT going soft. You may not be a goblin anymore, but you sure as SHIT aren’t the sort of pinkie nilbog gal to spare an animal for the sake of some pansy pacifist’s feelings a million miles away—you proved that in the cradle-catacomb of the Lake Monster, smashing its spawn in the egg.‘No,’ you think as your lips twist into a devious smirk, ‘It’s because Tips will pay a pretty copper coin or two, or a thousand in assorted higher denominations, to own and study such a beast as this.’“CZ,” you say aloud, “get close an’ grab one. Easiest mark you can manage… But if it can be the three-headed lil shit, that’s my favourite. Get it?”“Got it!”…Rolling CZ's Concealment + Survival
>>6155648... Your chest is pounding as you separate from the squad and trace a wide patch around the outskirts of visibility of these strange beings—these ‘natural chimeras’. ZZ’s putting your trust in her, and you do NOT plan to let her down! You try to put the remembrance of your first, failed foray into hunting (the snipe, with Yeb-Uit) out of your mind. A lot has changed since then, even in less than a week of active adventuring: you have fought feycraft constructs and amphibious monsters, taken up the spear and learned to shapeshift. You've got this!And trailing beside you, dragging himself surprisingly quickly and quietly alongside you, is Nermal.Having seen a god’s magical minion make two creatures into one, with two glowing souls circling one another within, you can’t help but imagine the origins of the chimera. Was it like the ‘unnatural’ sort, made by mages. Or like Nermal, created by direct divine intervention, or the next best thing? Or is it something like the crossbreeding that makes a half-elf, or allows almost anything to fertilize (or be fertilized by) a goblinoid? Was it like you and ZZ, two distinct beings now, but once one… Just in reverse?“Focus!” you hiss to yourself, and flick your forehead. Nermal croaks in confusion at the soft sound , and you shoot him an apologetic look he cannot register without eyes.ZZ wants one ALIVE. Which is good, you think, maybe? But also really, REALLY hard compared to just straight up killing one. You’re only 20 or 30 pounds, after all, and most of your weapons—natural, supernatural, and handmade—are better utilized in lethal combat.However, you have a few options.Rolled: 1, 8. Result: Critical Failure!You try to sneak just a liiiittle closer, so that a single quick dash could carry you into range. However, in spite of your aptitude for stealth by way of nimbleness and magic, you do NOT pass beneath the watchful gaze of the three-headed chimera’s many eyes. In carefully keeping yourself out of the lien of sight of two of the heads, you realize, you put yourself smack-dab in the eyeline of a third, when two switch places in their taking-of-turns at the creek. You immediately feel the spike of panic from the distant creature’s soul when it sees you.(Shit!)
>>6155657An audible alarm follows, as the other two heads rapidly rise and each emits, in turn, a single shrill yelp. The snake-necked quadrupeds in the chimera cadre leap up above their shoulders next, both the young and small and the older and larger.“Fuuuuuck!”Nermal groans in sympathy for you, as if registering your alarm. Your cover is already blown, so you don’t’ chastise him. You don’t have time to discipline your pet, anyway: you have a decision to make, and fast!>Use <Charm>[Lowest lethality, DC high due to heightened alarm]>Hurl your fishing spear, but aim for an extremity[Lower DC, threat of accidental death to the animal]>Have Nermal hock up a glob of blinding poison goo at one[Medium DC, lower risk of accidental death, some risk of permanent blindness without magical healing]>Just charge in and tackle one[Uses Natural Weapons & Shapeshifting, risks frenzy (and all that entails)]>Write-in
>>6155657>You’re only 20 or 30 poundsWoah that is likeRidiculously lightLike a 1 to 4 year old babyYou sure you didn't mean 80 or so OP?>Have Nermal hock up a glob of blinding poison goo at oneThe plan is to sell to Tips anyway, and he's a very proficient magical healer.
>>6155704[The average D&D goblin is 3 to 4 feet tall and 40 to 80 pounds. They're represented by this upstanding Yellow Peril-looking chap in the pic who, let's be real, is fucking shredded...]
>>6155704>>6155711[CZ is on the low end of that height range, but much slimmer than Chad Thundergob there. An Ixalan Goblin (the weird monkey-man pirate pictured is an example) has a similar built to CZ when she is in a frenzy, and apparently they're three feet tall on average, and 40 lbs. Given that CZ is a barely-literate fiend who is guesstimating her weight with a 50% variance, I'd say she's probably pretty accurate guessing herself at 30 pounds, though she might be more like 35. Chalk it up to a light skeleton, maybe? They are nonhuman. Alien anatomy may be at play.]
>>6155713[Oh, woops, that CZ. I meant THIS monkey man.]
>>6155713>>6155711We need to recruit a minotaur for the fastball special now
>>6155658>Have Nermal hock up a glob of blinding poison goo at oneGood enough. Besides, the pelt is the main thing. Not the eyes.
>>6155658>Have Nermal hock up a glob of blinding poison goo at oneEven if it doesn't wirk it might make our sis like Nermal more, right?
>>6155657>You’re only 20 or 30 poundsI was expecting that in kg, in pounds that's very light>>6155711>>6155713I see, but still so light. So calling ZZ 30 pounds of cat and bobs wouldn't be an exageration kek
Rolled 7, 17, 16, 1 = 41 (4d20)>>6155721>>6155829>>6155704“Nermal!”The creature in questions, your so-called ‘familiar’, doesn’t really respond. You wince, wondering how much it even understands of what you’re saying. Does it know its name? Can you command it? Or is I just following you on instinct, without any greater comprehension of your desires? You haven’t exactly, you know, TRAIEND the cave-drake in the brief period of time you’ve been in-charge of it.Still, you need a low-lethality takedown method, preferably ranged, NOW.“Use your, uh, gunk!”You point a finger at the distant prey. Nermal croaks, a questioning sound, and your eyes widen as its eyes fail to do so. This thing you’ve been ‘given’ is blind of a bat—blinder, actually! Eyeless, even! At this distance, does it even know what it’s aiming at? Your doubts grow as it fails to make a move, and your heart falls into actual hopelessness as the alerted chimera begin to scatter and sprint away…But that does the trick.At the sound (or feeling, maybe?) of the heavy, rapid footfalls of a dozen hooves, Nermal springs into action, lurching forwards towards the fleeing beasts. Whether due to genuine recognition of your words or as a hunting strategy of its own devising, your slimy sidekick opens wide and hocks up a dark, foul loogie of material in a long arc, aimed at one of the chimeras…4d20 for Nermal's Poison + Natural Weapons, usable once per long rest...
Rolled 1 (1d8)>>6155936You watch the phlegm fly with wide and hopeful eyes, tracking its course through the sky to its ultimate alighting upon—“YES!!!”You cry in delight at the sound of dismay which thereafter results, as the gross glob smacks down on the face of one of the chimeric beasties.Rolling of target. 1 is the three-headed beast, 2-7 is a young one, 8 is the largest of the snake-headed ones.
Rolled 1 (1d2)>>6155939You hit the three-headed beast! It is immune to the blinding effect (barring a crit or multiple hits), since it has multiple heads. Rolling damage...
>>6155941Your enthusiasm dies down quite quickly after the initial impact, however. Either understanding y ZZ’s preference or, again, perhaps by sheer chance, Nermal has targeted the three-headed chimera which was your other half’s preference. One head bows at the sound of the wet slat of successful attack… But two more turn to face you and your poisonous pet. At least its slows the three-headed chimera’s escape; you can only watch with increasing dismay as the others sprint away, away, far out of reach and range, and at a pace you cannot match.“Fuuuck…”You fear that the final individual—or trio?—will do likewise, following its fellows. Oen head turns to look that way, in fact, but one remains fixed on Nermal.(The final one is whining and wailing in dismay, rocking back and forth with violent swings as it tried to dislodge the sticky substance clinging to its eyes and nose.You can tell it’s torn between fight and flight. You’ll need to act fast, if you don’t want to lose the last one!>“Sic ‘em, Nermal!”>Leap into the fray yourself>Throw your spear>Cat <Fear> to drive it off—you’re suddenly not so confident about facing this thing head-to-head-to-head-to-head…>Write-in
Allright Gobros, how do we salvage this?
>>6155947>Leap into the fray yourselfTussle
>>6155947>Leap into the fray yourselfin for a penny, in for a pounding. we and nermal can deal with 2 heads.
Rolled 8 (1d20)>>6155982>>6155987>>6156002You won’t fail again… You won’t! it isn’t just about the snipe. it’s the whole business with the Monster of Sunset Lake, the big fish that got away! You and the Monstrous Regiment would be rolling in gold already, if you’d been there when ZZ and them went down into her lair… Or if you’d done a better job in battle, beneath the lake the next day. You wouldn’t even need to be on this job! And yet, even after you fucked that up—fucked up so many things—Zith-Zi still trusted you to get this done, all on your own…And you’re fucking up. AGAIN.“Nermal, stay here,” you tell your companion. “I gotta’ go to work.”You charge forwards towards the three-headed chimera, whose two healthy heads snap towards you as you charge. In your hands, you hold for fishing spear, leveled as if for a charge. As the chimera staggers backwards though, you have a better idea: you draw it back over one shoulder and hurl it forward; you're not aiming for the animal itself, but aiming to cut off its escape.1d20 Survival to try to keep the beast from fleeing...
>>61561988: FailureIt’s no good, though: with two heads still active, even a dumb animal can see all the angles. You’d thought you were so smart, hurling the spear to intercept the likeliest escape route, but all that happens now is that the chimera immediately sprints in a different direction.You wail in displeasure, the sound warping into a growl of irritation and finally into roaring battle cry.“I. Am. Not. A. FUCK-UP!”You’re determined to prove that, too. The question is… How?>Take up the spear again, to stab or throw as needed[Deals more damage, more likely to kill if it hits; 1d20 to hit, though, and no chance to grapple if you fail]>Shapeshift into a more monstrous form and use your claws to grapple and subdue it[4d20 to hit, 1d2 damage, risk of frenzy, but low risk of death if you don’t go berserk]>Draw your dagger[Medium risk of death with its 1d4 damage, 1d20 to hit, and you’ll have a chance to grapple if you fail]>Write-in[Clever write-in strategies get lower DCs]
>>6156199>Draw your daggerI'm out of ideas here, anons
>>6156199>Write-inHave Nermal spit on the dagger, if possible, if not, apply whats left of the poison on Nermal’s mouth on the dagger. Throw the dagger
>>6156199>Shapeshift into a more monstrous form and use your claws to grapple and subdue itTUSSLE>>6156323Pretty sure we left Nermal behind when we charged in
>>6156355>>6156323[You can call Nermal over.]
>>6156355Support.... if only we had a really big net and someone to act as bait...
>>6156250>>6156323>>6156355>>6156373[We seem to have a tie, so I'm going to run some errands and then post when I get back.][Also, just a heads up: tomorrow evening and for the next couple days, I have company and will likely be too busy to post much, if at all.]
Rolled 8, 2 = 10 (2d20)>>6156373>>6156355>>6156323>>6156250There are lots of kinds of poisons. You don’t really know all that much about them, btu EVERY gob knows that. There are the poisons plants and animals—and mushrooms? Are mushrooms plants?—make that scream ‘don’t eat me!’. Those are different from those that a snake might produce to say ‘stop struggling, I wanna’ eat YOU!’. Different poisons need different types of delivery, and do different things. Can a blinding, stinging snot-rocket be used to cause some sort of effect by smearing it on a dagger? Maybe, maybe not… But it’s worth a go! That’s what you told yourself as you smeared some secretions, squeezed from Nermal’s gills, onto the dagger drawn from your monk hoodie’s belt. You didn’t have time to apply it evenly, and you don’t really want to get it on your skin anyway, so you made do with an uneven amount of slime smeared across the rough, jagged pig-iron of your goblin-made blade.Now, you hurtle forwards to tackle the chimera and, hopefully, apply some (non-lethal) poison 'intravenously', after a fashion...But first, the three-headed chimera gets a counter-attack due to its vigilance...
Rolled 2 (1d20)>>6156578As you approach, your quarry seems to settle on ‘fight’ over ‘flight’ after all—or, at least, it seems to want to keep you from catching it before it can escape. It lashes out with its tail; you duck. It kicks with both hind-legs; you drop and roll underneath it.8, 2: Miss!You cackle in victory. You’re positioned right under it, in the three-headed thingie’s only blind spot. Perfect! You reach up to grab a handful of hair as the beast tries to leap away. You’re far too light to stop it, but you slow it down, and make its escape awkward and ungainly, threatening to topple it and precluding more than a jogging pace. This nevertheless jostles you, banging your back and butt (and tucked-hidden tail) against the earth below as you hold on for dear life. You stop swearing in alarm and discomfort long enough to focus on the task at hand, and lash out with your knife, held in your other hand…Rolling your attack (1d20)…
Rolled 16 (1d20)>>6156581…only for another impact to make you whiff it entirely, scything empty air instead of spilling blood and delivering a toxic payload.“Aargh!”2: Miss[Rolling 1d20 for grapple...
Rolled 2, 1 = 3 (2d20)>>6156583With a thud that makes you see stars, your head hits a rock as the three-headed chimera rockets towards the creek. You make a rather undignified sound as your ‘ride’ soars over the water, rather than turning back or going around. You feel a rush of cold as the chimera fails to fully clear the stream, splashing down and dragging you against the river-rocks for a few feet. Even so, you don’t let go; in fact, you take advantage of its momentary disorientation to cling tighter, bringing your legs up to lock onto the wild, panicked creature like an oversized tick.16: Success!When you reach the opposite bank, the chimera is exhausted and disoriented, and you are still attached, adamant in your undying refusal to surrender and admit your failure. The monster rolls over onto its back, thrashing back and forth, snapping its three jaws ineffectually around you as it fails to reach your position upon its lower belly. You feel that tail lashing behind you, but pay it no heed. Instead, you raise your blade again, preparing to plunge it down…The chimera's actual turn to attack, now...
>>6156585..But there’s no need.2, 1: Critical failure!The three-headed chimera looks up at you, whining. Its central head is wheezing pitifully, eyes squeezes shut, nose puffing repeatedly to expunge the rancid odour and blistering pain of Nermal’s mucosal missile. Its two other pairs of eyes tear up in sympathy, or shared pain, and gaze up at you in defeat.Morale: broken!The beats is done. You’ve run it down, harried it to exhaustion, and inflicted too much discomfort. It is young, after all—maybe just a baby. It is abandoned by its family, alone, afraid. You lick the terror from your lips, savouring the flavour of its fear and despair…>And frown, feeling bad for your victim’s distress>And glory in your victory, and your foe’s subjugation>Write-in
>>6156586>And frown, feeling bad for your victim’s distress
>>6156586>And frown, feeling bad for your victim’s distressthat nat 1 came in handy
>>6156586Tough shit. But at least it’s a baby, not the mother. Their race can still exist.
>>6156813>And frown, feeling bad for your victim’s distressAm >>6156323
>>6156597>>6156619>>6156817You frown. Something about the sweet syrup of suffering tastes bitter on your soul’s tongue today. You look down at the three heads of the beaten beast, and you see three other faces: An-Yii, awakening terrified from the nightmare you’d inserted yourself into; Svanhilda Pearl, naked and afraid beneath the moonlight; and the Lake Monster herself, mother of your familiar.You pat Nermal, one more at your side, looming over your prone and pacified chimera captive.“Could be worse,” you try to reassure the three scared faces. “Yer mama got away, an’ your siblings. There’ll be more like ya’ around here!”Your false smile fades, and the frown return. Nermal croaks as you apt him again.“Yer not alone in this,” you tell the chimera as you pink its head together with your belt. “Not like me.”…
>>6156852…You don’t worry as when the clan of chimeras breaks and scatters. You’re too far to DO anything about it; Yeb-Uit could fire off some arrows, but it would be a potshot at best. No, you tell yourself, you put your trust in Cara-Zi, and Cara-Zi always comes in clutch when it counts. You even smirk a little at that, knowing she is a part of YOU, and remembering how she’d dismantled Khorine’s forces singlehandedly, battled a fifty-foot leviathan in Sunset Lake, and was seemingly growing in occult might on the side. Sure, okay, the last one has you pretty funking antsy, but it was all a testament to what you knew: CZ was a killer, a doer, a total fuckin’ BOSS< because SHE was YOU, on some weird level.…And then she targeted the worst possible chimera with her new pet’s slime-spit. And then she let the rest et away. And then she missed with her spear. And then she leapt for it and flailed around like a spastic without scoring a single stab, and got dragged kicking and literally screaming out of sight.‘She’s gonna’ frenzy,’ you thought dourly, head sinking down between your shoulders. ‘She’s gonna’ get the shit kicked outta’ her, throw a tantrum, and go all psycho-fucking-monster on us again, in front of everyone.’“…Should we go rescue her?” asked An-Yii.You shook your head after a moment, and Yeb-Uit ceased stringing his bow for the second time.“Jus’… Jus’ give ‘er another minute or two.”You begin to reconsider this when you hear wailing and yelping and all sorts of other alarming animal noises from the distance, and especially when Cara-Zi’s voice—so like yours—rings out in a shrill goblin war-cry. In the end, though, your faith—faith maintained outwardly in SPITE of your own misgivings—is rewarded. Cara-Zi comes back leading the sodden and shaking monster by a length of robe while holding her robe shut with her other hand.So why doesn’t she look happier?“Hey!” you greet her. “Ya’ fuckin’ got it! Woo! That’s my… That’s our CZ, amirite?!”“That poor thing!” Khorine completely ignores your triumphant celebration to whinge about the chimera.“Hey, KID, shut yer fuckin’ mouth!” you hiss.You look at Cara-Zi worriedly, but your split-off succubus-infected sister doesn’t seem any more crestfallen than she already was. In fact, she only graces you with a small,s ad smile before she approaches Khorine and beckons over An-Yii.“I think it’s more just tired ‘n scared than hurt,” she says, “but can you wash out its eyes and clean its face, ‘n maybe help it calm down?”“Uh… I guess so?” answers An-Yii surprised and confused by the request.“Y-yes, of course!” Khorine is far less hesitant, leaping to action.
>>6156854You blink a couple times in confusion, and then your befuddlement turns to frustration.“Hey, come on,” you bark, “what is this, a funeral? You did it! WE did it! This thing’s like Muffins… Tips or someone’ll pay a fuckin’ fortune for it, AND it’ll prob’ly even go ta; a good, super fuckin’ rich home. Win-win-win, right?”Yeb-Uit looks up from packing up his bow to nod, and you grins, spreading your arms wide and looking around. An-Yii and Khorine only have eyes for the the-headed freakshow, though, and Cara-Zi is already trekking her way back to the Delvers’ main formation without looking back, with only her fat drake for company. You hesitate a moment, and then rush after her. You grab her by the shoulder, jostling her in friendly fashion and then turning her around. She doesn’t resist you, and even smiles, but you can tell it’s hollow.“What’s up?” you ask. “Why the long face, huh?”“It’s jus’…” She looks down, and swallows. “I don’t wanna’ feel fear ‘n sadness so much anymore, ya’ know? From other people? Or pain? I wanna’ feel…”She trails off. You stare blankly, mouth drying out. You’re not sure how to respond, and yet you feel the same pang she does. You think about Tips, and James Efron, and absurdly of that son-of-a-bitch Leif. Your grip loosens, which Cara-Zi notices right away. She reaches up to give your hand a squeeze.“You too, huh?”She slips your hand off of her and turns around. She waves to the Delvers, forcing her voice up an octave as she announces your little caravan’s newest addition.You scratch the back of your head a little, looking t them, and back to the chimera being cleaned up and properly tied at the legs to prevent sudden escape. You briefly meet Yeb-Uit’s gaze again, and he simply shrugs, as lost as you about the low mood.“Well, I’M still pretty fuckin’ proud've us,” you announce to no one in particular (though Hershy croaks in affirmation). “Just you all wait—when we get ta’ the Steelwood, we’re gonna’ fuckin’ CLEAN UP. Mark my words!”You're all going to get exactly what you desire. What you deserve! You, CZ, everyone.You're sure of it.>THE END>For now…
Alright! That wraps Thread 2.We'll start Thread 3 and the Steelwood arc when I get back from the weekend.I have a few questions for those inclined to answer, mostly about the story but a couple more meta.>How did you like the first major arc, now that it's over?>Who is your favourite character so far?>Are there specific thematic or ore elements your'e especially eager to see explored?>How is the tone? How are you enjoying the two lead characters' perspective swaps?>If /qst/ slows down further or collapses, how would you feel about future quests being on Akun (AKA fiction.live)?
>>6156857>How did you like the first major arc, now that it's over?I really like it, kinda bummed I wasn't around for your earlier quests. I think it held together well, had good pacing, and had the right semi-srruius semi-comic tone>Who is your favourite character so far?Maladoo Gang, but I also like Yeb>How is the tone? How are you enjoying the two lead characters' perspective swaps?Yes, I think the perspective swaps are well done and the style is different enough thst it really does feel like two different characters
>>6156857>How did you like the first major arc, now that it's over?It was decent. I felt it went a little slow after the picnic, though. >Who is your favourite character so far?ZithZi. Seeing how she tries to negotiate with the others at the lake and maintain morale during the picnic was nice. >Are there specific thematic or ore elements your'e especially eager to see explored?Probably more of bloodrise and sylvan realms after the treaties and what not - how has things changed since all those years ago?>How is the tone? How are you enjoying the two lead characters' perspective swaps?Not as black as the first thread - but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Perspective swap between two leads is a little unorthodox for most quests I’ve read but works fine here.>If /qst/ slows down further or collapses, how would you feel about future quests being on Akun (AKA fiction.live)?I don’t know. Akun’s default mode is really damn bright and navigating the search engine is annoying.
>>6156857>How did you like the first major arc, now that it's over?It's interesting and the drama was nicely done with the action>Who is your favourite character so far?Maladoo, ZZ and CZ>Are there specific thematic or lore elements you're especially eager to see explored?the occult/dark magic and the dark gods>How is the tone? How are you enjoying the two lead characters' perspective swaps?yup, it's been good.>If /qst/ slows down further or collapses, how would you feel about future quests being on Akun (AKA fiction.live)?I'm not allergic to akun, even used to read some quest there, but be warned about receiving the coomer taint just by being there, kek
>>6156857>How did you like the first major arc, now that it's over?Very full and well ran>Who is your favourite character so far?Tough choice but probably ZZ>Are there specific thematic or ore elements your'e especially eager to see explored?The high dungeon crawling fatality rate>How is the tone? How are you enjoying the two lead characters' perspective swaps?Good and yes>If /qst/ slows down further or collapses, how would you feel about future quests being on Akun (AKA fiction.live)?Ugh
>>6156857>How did you like the first major arc, now that it's over?I liked it, as I like your usual work.>Who is your favourite character so far?Norville of course.More seriously, the goblins sister first, the rest of the ragtag bunch of misfits that is our goblin herd in second.>Are there specific thematic or ore elements your'e especially eager to see explored?Cosmogony of goblin : why a gob is a gob is a gob (I guess they're some primodelvers before gods came to fuck around?)>How is the tone? How are you enjoying the two lead characters' perspective swaps?Very nice. Angst of ZZ, CZ who tries to fit...>If /qst/ slows down further or collapses, how would you feel about future quests being on Akun (AKA fiction.live)?Bad. /QST/ is my home turf; you might be one of the QM that get me to move but I'd prefer not to.
>>6156861>>6156929>>6156966>>6157348>>6157777Thank you all for the kind words!>>6156861>kinda bummed I wasn't around for your earlier questsNo worries, there's plenty more where that came from!>>6156929>I felt it went a little slow after the picnic, though. Fair. We'll pick up the pace a bit when we return, likely tomorrow.>Akun’s default mode is really damn bright >navigating the search engine is annoyingDark mode helped for me, so far, but I'm still getting used to how ti works.>>6156966>but be warned about receiving the coomer taint just by being there, kekI can sort of see why, even from a quick look through the catalogue there, though they seem to have some actually legit quests as well.>>6157777>/QST/ is my home turfMine too, and I'd rather stay here... Hopefully by the time this quest is done, things have improved in terms of traffic, or at least not slowed down further!
>>6156861>>6156929>>6156966>>6157348>>6157777We're back, baby!>>6159283>>6159283>>6159283
