Sensing the restless spirit beside her, Jeji quickly withdraws feeling her way through the thick fog back toward the door. Drahlneep covers her while Kricker and Perrik try to determine what the risk is. The voice keeps rambling.
The shadows in the fog frighten Perrik, but worse still is the babbling voice. He and Kricker recall old stories of gibbering ghosts that arise from suicide. Their obsessive muttering draws in the living riveting their attention so that they don't even notice the undead threat. Drahlneep can just make out the dead pilot in the chair. The old bones crumble dropping the shining red vest and gunbelt to the ground as a phantom rises from the dust. Drahlneep fires at it, but the bullet just passes through.
"It's an angry ghost! Retreat, and figure out how to deal with it later!" Suiting action to words, the shaken oracle backs out of the room.
Come on Drahlneep! Kricker backs away. Readying an action to attack it if it give chase.
Shaken, Perrik yells for a retreat as he backs out the door. Kricker tarries to make sure Drahlneep follows. A skeletal shadow in the mist, the mad ghost reaches out and through Drahlneep. The raging kobold feels a flood of debilitating fear and hopelessness. The sobbing, frantic voice continues with an urgency that makes the other kobolds want to stop and listen.
Drahlneep feels the grasp of psychic pain, but it only fuels his anger further. He pulls back knowing that he does not have the ability to inflict true damage to this ghostly foe.
Perrik pauses in his retreat, listening to the Androffan words and pondering their meaning.
Kricker also gets drawn into the fascinating story of woe.
Noticing the others holding their ground, Jeji turned to see what had drawn their attention and was likewise swept up in the story.
The voice grows even more intense and even Jeji can understand the ancient words as visions fill her head. The kobolds find that they are living the last moments of a human named Yurian Valako. They are flying the now ruined flying ship when it was still whole long ago. They are in the starry night sky, but no land is in sight only a mammoth machine that fills the sky. The tinny sound of screams comes from a speaker. The human's despair is overwhelming. Divinity is lost. Life support off-line. All is lost. The ship arcs above the great machine and then suddenly accelerates toward it. The great mother craft grows larger and larger filling the uncracked windshield then all that is seen and felt is fire and heat and pain. Then the scene replays.
Whiskifiss sees strange scary mist billow out of the room as Jeji and Perrik exit, but then stop to turn and stair back at the door where the crazy babbling voice arises. The ratfolk grabs Jeji and drags her through the rubble back to hallway in the center of the small craft. Drahlneep retreats to the door finding Kricker standing there unmoving.
Drahlneep snarls in frustration. He grabs Kricker and shakes him roughly, adding a slap in the muzzle for good measure.
Kricker is roused by the rude abuse of his snout. Only to see the demented shade rise up from the mist and grab at Drahlneep again. The phantom phalanges pass through the kobold, but the touch jars his mind. Jeji blinks as she becomes aware of her new situation, but Perrik remains standing stark still as the desperately sorrowful scenes keep playing in his head.
Focused on getting his people out of danger, Drahlneep ignores the continuing necromantic assault in favor of rushing to Perrik and slapping some sense back into him.
Retreat, get out of the metal cave, maybe it wont follow if it is tied to the place.
Kricker full moves towards the entrance to the set of rooms once he sees Perrik awoken by Drahlneep.
Perrik shakes his head to clear the voices from it, trying his best to remember anything useful as he retreats.
Drahlneep's adrenaline soaked focus disregards the maddening touch of the insane spirit again and he drags Perrik after him as he rushes for the door. Kricker is right by his side and they shove Whiskifiss and Jeji through the hatch and out into the misty night. They all pause to listen as well as they can over their ragged gasping for breath. Kricker appears to have guessed right as the gibbering ghost does not follow.
OK, Whisk, I think we need to head back to your warren and rest up if we are going to be in any shape to handle the arena tomorrow. We barely made it out of there with our sanity intact.
Whiskifiss' eyes still look glassy with fear as he nervously stares at the door to the strange ship. He nods quickly in response and agrees with a shaky, "Tk-Tk!"
The babbling sound of fear still echoed through Jeji's mind. The chance for an undisturbed rest was too much to pass up after everything that they had been through recently. It seemed so long ago that she had set out with others. None of them were here now, but she was still surrounded by kin and that was all that mattered. The great dragon chose to keep her protected by strong warriors and devout followers, and that suited Jeji just fine. She begin to wonder if she was blessed, and took solace in that thought.
"It needs to complete it's mission." Drahlneep offers after catching his breath. "Maybe we come back after our show of force tonight. Or maybe we will all be dead like that thing." He shrugs.
Whiskifiss leads the weary kobolds over and under the piles of scrap metal, cables, barrels, and sundry other bits of ancient trash back to the warren. The sky has lightened and dawn is nigh as they enter the reassuring hideout and are given a quiet room to rest.
Redtooth wakes the kobolds at sunset. "We have prepared you some food. Perhaps you should go over your weapons as well before we leave for the Arena."
"For a troll we need fire and acid, and Jeji will be best at using them against it. I will use the ring of the ram to push the troll, if we need it moved. We also have the concussion grenades, if we need to damage many of the enemy at a time."
Kricker is still baffled by the gun.
I have prepared for a troll, I have a spell which may freeze it for a bit, and I can light one of our weapons on fire.
Jeji quickly gives the new weapon a once over...
"If a troll is common knowledge, shouldn't we expect them to protect their champion with magic against his weaknesses?" Since waking, Drahlneep has had the fight on his mind. He wants to look smart as well as tough. Tough is fine one on one, but these tall goons need to learn of our cunning to be truly afraid.
"We will have to try--none of us have ways to get rid of protective magic."
Jeji and Perrik lead the investigation of the new TEK. The gun is bulky weighing about 8 pounds and nearly takes two kobolds to use it. The nozzle of the gun is very wide and it has a shoulder brace at the back. Making sure that it isn't aimed at anyone, Jeji pulls the trigger and a beeping light runs the length of the barrel and then there is a rushing noise though nothing appears to come out of the barrel. Kricker and Perrik confer and wonder if the round hatch at the rear is where ammunition might be loaded. It occurs to Jeji that one of the egg-like bombs, grenades in Androffan, Perrik tells her, would fit. Sure enough five grenades can be loaded in the big gun and launched one at a time at a good distance to explode on contact.
Having discovered the purpose of the new weapon, the kobolds make final preparations for the Arena. Redtooth announces that her clan will be accompanying the kobolds. Every gang in Scrapwall is allowed to attend the Arena under a truce.
The group exits the Warren and makes its way through the scrap piles north into the Lords of Rust territory. A break in the wall leads east before suddenly widening into a huge open battlefield several hundred feet in diameter, ringed by mounds of junk and refuse stacked in tiers for seating. The ring has an arched opening in its westernmost end to allow access to the arena, while against the eastern side, a large metallic structure akin to a squat tower protrudes from the hard-packed earth. A wooden stairway wraps around the tower’s sides, and a twenty-foot tall stage protrudes from its western facade, overlooking the arena below. Dim light floods the arena from a couple blocks of lights spaced above the seating areas.
In attendance is likely most of the population of Scrapwall: scarred half-orcs, savage humans, slight ratfolk, even small rubbery humanoids with long arms and beady eyes, and small mysterious people bundled in smelly rags that entirely cover them except for the end of their long gray noses which protrude between wide brim hats and scarves. In the makeshift stands nearest the arch that the kobolds enter through sit the Steel Hawks and Sevroth who gives a nod to her allies. Redtooth stands beside her kobold allies and unfurls the great black banner bearing a silvery fang stitched with multicolor circuits. The remains of Redtooth's Raiders move up into the stands near them. On the tower stands the surface orc who showed up at the Smiler's hideout to invited you to the Arena. He raises a spiked gauntlet as a salute and addresses the Arena through some device that amplifies his voice so that it echoes loudly through the pit:
"The Kobolds have arrived!" He laughs, "I know what you are thinking, how could these puny creatures defeat the Smilers? Yet here they boldly stand to earn glory or be crushed by Helskarg!" The mob in the stands erupts in bloodthirsty cheers.
Perrik murmurs to the others. "Drahleep, open up with the big TEK gun. As soon as we start, everyone else scatter away from him--if they use a GRENADE on us, we don't want to be bunched up. I'll try to get us some magical support. If there are any Smilers left up after our GRENADE, kill them first so we can surround Helskarg. Sound good?"
Kricker prepares for the fight by casting Bull's Strength on himself. As soon a he sees the troll, he will cast Magic Weapon on his greatsword.
Watching the proceeds quietly, Jeji's foot tapped nervously on the ground. She extended an arm, offering Kricker a small flask.
"When it starts, drink this first" she said meekly.
In her other hand she held an identical flask, her spear rested against her shoulder as they waited for what came next.
The crowd roars again as a great chariot made of scavenged parts and dangerously covered in pointy metal spines rumbles out from underneath the platform. It is drawn by a pair of mutant ogres that are almost pyramid shaped with huge splayed feet and monstrously thick legs which taper to a narrow waist before broadening into a barrel chest which supports thin wiry arms and a tiny idiot head. In the rig behind them is a great snaggle toothed troll with slimy green flesh and long corded limbs. Helskarg holds a big black pistol and spiked leather armor.
Her bellowing voice is heard as the mob quietens in anticipation of bloodshed, "HA! Now aren't the Little Lizards cute! Let's see how fast they can run!" The ogres strain against the harness dragging the massive chariot with increasing speed around the circumference of the Arena and toward the kobolds as Helskarg shouts threats.
Perrik:
Kricker: ;
Drahlneep:
foe:
Kricker summons divine strength and Jeji offers him an extract as the Chariot rolls forward closing the distance.
Perrik quickly opens with a blessing on the party before moving some distance away from the others.
Perrik scatters after his blessing. Drahlneep steadies the heavy gun loaded with 3 concussion grenades. There is a WHOOSH as he fires. His aim is shaky, but the monstrous ogre-pulled contraption is hard to miss. The grenade impacts with a thunderous explosion The ogres stagger, skin ripped from their barrel chests and an arm blown off from the powerful explosion. Even the troll in the chariot looks painfully injured.
One of the chariot wheels wobbles as the ogres strain forward against the harnesses. Helskarg screams at them, "Forward! Quickly! CRUSH THEM!" The rig rumbles directly at the cluster of kobolds and the pounding splayed feet of the mutant ogres come thundering down on the small warriors.
Helskarg fires her big gun at Perrik. A harpoon-like projectile flies out and the barbed claw at the end digs into the hard packed ground as Perrik leaps aside. The cord yanks the grapnel head free as the chariot rumbles past and the gun begins reeling the line back in.
As the chariot crashes into the group of Kobolds, Jeji tries to dodge out of the way but she slips and takes the full brunt of the impact. She staggers away and pops the top off of the vial she had been holding, quaffing her own extract of shield.
Kricker takes a swing at the passing chariot aiming to drop the most hurt ogre.
His rage activating and his senses on edge from the crowd noise, Drahlneep dives away from the oncoming rush, but the bulky gun in his hands causes him to get caught on some rubble and he goes right under a foot, taking the blow hard in his chest.
Cursing, he gets to his feet and fires at the ugly ogres pulling the chariot, determined to drop them before he is run over again.
Appreciative cheers and hoots fill the stands as the chariot rumbles over the kobolds. All appear to be crushed below the huge splayed feet of the ogres and the rumbling wheels, but only for a moment before Kricker hamstrings an ogre which crumples before the vehicle causing the chariot to pivot sideways and nearly rolls before landing on its side. The three kobolds in harm's way are clipped and knocked prone by the impact, but quickly scramble up. Jeji takes a drink and Drahlneep drops the grenade launcher to draw one of his brace of pistols. He fires, taking the pinhead off the still moaning mutant ogre with a pointblank shot.
The crowd erupts in cheers at the sudden turn of events. The mangled ogres lay unmoving. Helskarg rolls away from the wreck to standing and tosses away the spent autograpnel and roars as she brandish her sharp claws and impressive tusks.
Perrik calls on the power of the ring of the ram, sending a burst of force at the troll. Instead it shoves the fallen chariot with a crash of bending metal.
Kricker quaffs the potion of Shield that Jeji has given him.
Kricker chugs the extract breathing out a translucent force shield. Perrik attacks the wrecked chariot. Helskarg's wounds heal quickly as her slimy skin crawls over cuts and abrasions. She shouts "TIME TO DIE!" as she charges Drahlneep. A giant claw slashes the kobold nearly knocking him off his feet with the power.
Intimidated by the troll's speed and size, Perrik's next attack isn't much closer.
Drahlneep lets the spent pistol fall to the ground as the massive troll charges into him. He keeps his shield up, but the force is too much, and his feet give a little ground.
As soon as he recovers from the shock, he draws the other pistol and sticks it right into Helskarg's enomorous gut, snarling as he discharges the shot.