Reunited, the strange group (having tried their best to rescue the near catatonic goblins in the pit) make their way along the corridor to the east... towards a chamber that is bathed in green light. The walls to the south of this chamber angle inward, dominated by a domed apparatus roughly 11 feet in diameter and 6 feet tall.
The weird device is composed of slimy, pale-violet stalks of flesh studded with scores of flexible, metallic-looking, fungal growths which writhe and interact like mechanical gears. Sixteen glass containers—each about twelve inches in diameter—connect to the apparatus through gurgling hoses, vibrating tubes, and sparking metal wires. Each holds a bubbling froth of pink slurry that reeks of potent chemicals. The entire machine shakes and shudders, emitting a gurgling whimper every few seconds as a sickly, green radiance glows from within...
...and then, at the back of each of your minds, a voice speaks - the words are delivered dispassionately...
"You must be gifted indeed to overcome so many challenges, and so many of our minions. That makes you excellent candidates for assimilation and transformation. You will become klaven and the jagladine will be pleased.”
...without moving fully into the chamber, there is no evidence of anything other than the apparatus in this chamber...
Globlob scowls darkly beneath his skull helmet at the chatter inside his mind again and scoots up further, to poke his head around the corner. If he can sneak better than Relas, maybe he can give his group a bit of warning about what he sees. And get his hands on the shinies first.
|
Solie peers around Globlob's shoulder and quirks a brow at the peculiar "device" (if you could call it that). "...I think you could saute those fungus. Maybe we eat okay."
Solie whacked the side of her head on her ear when the voice came through her mind. "Still not sure I'm not hallucinating. Or dead. Or maybe I'm just still sleeping."
Ravboom growls. "NO MORE SPEAK IN BRAIN!" He raises the RavBoom, points it at the machine, and begins pulling the trigger as fast as he can!
As Ravboom starts shooting at machinery he simply couldn't understand, a blob of translucent flesh surges out from behind the apparatus, stretching and reshaping its body to manifest a hood-like face and three, long pseudopods covered in foul-smelling slime – and, in the back of the friend’s minds, a cold voice chuckles to itself, ”Oh you primitive animals with your crude weapons... the universe will barely notice your passing as the jagladine take your world”.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"ME NOT PRIMITIVE, SCREW HEAD!! THIS MY BOOM STICK STUPID SCREW HEAD, TASTE LEAD!" BOOM! Rav sings out at the top of his lungs
Ravboom’s bullet rips into the ooze-like foe… and explodes out of the other side; as he watches, the savage hole torn in the creature is closed off by the endlessly flowing matter that makes up the ooze…
Slipping forwards on a grotesquely bubbling trail of mucus, the ooze moves towards Biggun… and, forming a single pseudopod tentacle appendage, reaches out to touch the over-sized goblin.
"STUPID MUCK THING!" Ravboom takes his bag of gunpowder, and throws it at the thing!
|
|
"Stupid gobbies didn't even make it safe before rescuing me. Now Solie has to save the day."
Solie casts Bless then moves to ensure someone is acting as a meatshield for her.
Bless fills your allies with courage. Each ally gains a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls and on saving throws against fear effects.
"Next time we leave you down in hole until we finish, then!" Globlob retorts before he draws in a deep breath to belt out what feels like his hundredth song of the day. How he has not lost his voice yet is a small miracle. Or perhaps it is due to a lot of practice chattering incessantly away.
"Big and clear and made of glop!
Beat it down and make it stop!
Chop it up into bowls of stew,
Chomp now before it eat you!"
Realizing that he needs to get into the room Relas rushes forward, pushing past the goblins and attempting to dart around Biggun and the talking ooze to get into the room.
Ravboom’s bag of boom powder arcs through the air - landing with a sticky noise and a splash of gunk right in the centre of the ooze that is attacking Biggun… and whilst Globlob and Solie provide their unique encouragement, Biggun’s chain swings – clattering against the ceiling, the wall and the strange equipment in the room – but missing his intended target…
Relas, trying to manoeuvre around his foe, is caught by a flailing tentacle…
…and, as Palomia throws the wand towards Solie – flinging arcane acid at the creature with her other hand – the ooze attacks Biggun once more…
…and as, once more, Biggun collapses in a heap, the cold voice makes further pronouncements within the minds of the group, ”Lay your weapons down… submit to assimilation and your pain will be over”.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Ravboom checks his Boomrav, then flicks an ear at the creature. "If you surrender now, Ravboom consider not killing you..." Then Biggun goes down. "I see you have chosen the hard way..." He raises the Boomrav, and sights down it carefully and then fires!
Unfortunately, Biggun's leg jerks and hits the goblin, knocking him off balance. He kicks Biggun in the family jewels. "NO KNOCK RAVBOOM WHEN RAVBOOM BEING COOL AND BLOWING STUPID GOO MAN UP! GNOME GIRL, USE WAND ON GOO AND SEND IT TO HELL!"
"OUCH! No, Biggun!" Relas cries as one of the tentacles slams painfully into his side and Biggun drops to the ground yet again from the force of the creature's blows. Quickly he sidesteps around the creature and attempts to sink his teeth and claws into the monstrosity.
"Solieeee, you might wanna do what Ravboom says unless you've got more healing magic!"
Globlob casts a swift glance around the room in search of anything that could be easily knocked over onto the creature. Barring that, he huffs and scoots over toward Solie, lifting her arm and pointing the wand toward the ooze-thing. "Now you say BOOM and it go. Try not to burny burny hotfire friends."
Relas crashes into the creature, a whirling dervish of teeth and claws... slashing, pounding and rending...and then, in the corridor just outside the room, the unimposing stick in Solie's hands explodes in a gout of flame...
...scorched and torn, the ooze appears to have stopped attempting to communicate... instead, it flails its three tentacles at Relas...
...and now it is quite obvious that the bag of powder embedded in the ooze is smouldering quite powerfully!!!
Ravboom notices the bag fizzing, and he taps Relas on the tail and Palo on the arm as he turns to walk away from the goo monster. "It dead now, just not know it. Might want to get back if not want to be coated with goo." He comments, holstering the Boomrav as he walks away. He seems supremely unconcerned about the creature any more.
Globlob's eyes widen dramatically for probably the twenty ninth time today as he notices the fizzing bag of gunpowder. Rather than stick around to see what happens, he turns on his heel and high tails it right out of the room.
"Run! All run! Cat grab Bigbig and runrunRUN!"
Not needing any further encouragement, Relas seizes Biggun's leg in his mouth as gently as he can and furiously attempts to drag him away from the now-volatile creature.
"Heefs heavy! 'Elp me pull!"
As Relas and Palomia grab the prone Biggun, the ooze swipes once more at Palomia’s summoned companion... but growing increasingly distracted by the bag of fizzing powder embedded within its body, it hopelessly misses…
The voice within their heads screams and taunts the group as they retreat along the corridor, ”Run… Warn your peoples… Tell them that the Jagladine are coming… your lands, your lives, your wo…”, whatever the ooze was going to say remains forever unknown – a powerful explosion rips through the chamber, smashing equipment, scorching the walls and ceiling… and vapourising the ooze…
…when the small fires within the chamber die away after a minute or two, it is clear that none of the strange equipment is salvageable in any way – and that the threat posed by the ooze, now gently dripping from the ceiling, has now passed…
Ravboom puts his hand over his heart, and puts on a long face. "We gather now to say our final farewells to the ghost of Biggun, who has died, yet again. Let us have a moment of silence for the fallen Biggun, may he find his Solie again in the afterlife." Ravboom waits for two heartbeats, and then grins. "Moment of Silence Done. Rav tell you stupid thing dead but not know it." He sighs, looking around. "Might be able to find some gears or something useful..." He begins scrounging for bits and pieces for crafting later.
|
|
Solie walks past Rav scowling, but holds her tongue because she's not actually sure she's not dead. She stomps over to Biggun and delivers another healing spell by shaking him vigorously.
"Fat-Head, wake up. Solie need verification she not dead. Also still need big meat shield," she explained with a vicious grin.
Globlob cackles hysterically from a safe distance as the explosion rings out and flames engulf the room. He is still busy giggling to himself by the time it all dies down and Rav starts to recite his eulogy. Grabbing the nearest stick, namely his bow, he tentatively steps forward to prod Biggun with one end of it. "You sure he dead? He not dead last time."
Ravboom shrugs. "He either learn how to dodge, or he be dead one of these times. Easier just assume dead from the start, then no have to waste time poking with stick."
"Some better armor might help too," Relas chimes in, attempting to be helpful. "What he's got now looks like it was pieced together from whatever he found in the garbage."
"Yes, but that's ok, so is Biggun. We no hold it against you. Just try not to die again, like Biggun did."
Ravboom returns to the pit, and begins dragging (and kicking) the other goblins to get them up and out of the pit, scrambling up and down knotted rope to do so. Once they are all up and out, he forces them to march back to town and hands them over to the innkeeper, telling her she's the new chief of the village.
|
Blinking his eyes open yet again, Biggun said, "Where food go? Biggun still hungry..." Getting to his feet, he looked around the demolished room in wonder. "Biggun not clean this up!" he said quickly, relieving himself of that harsh responsibility. "So, what we do now? Ravvie blow up star, so that no good."
"If kick hard enough, they roll well enough." He growls, delivering a kick to the seat of one's pants hard enough to encourage them to move.
And so, with no sign of the ‘star’ that fell from the sky but having rescued Solie and a bunch of barely conscious goblins, the group leave the ruins of the Aravenhode Manor - and the strange horrors of its catacombs – behind them. In the early afternoon sun, the group start the long trek back to the Brokebag village – only needing to kick one of the rescued Brokebags every five minutes or so - somehow, the woods seem a little less oppressive now that the threat posed by ‘Vuelib’ has been defeated…
Arriving back in the village before nightfall – having finally settled upon the opinion that Solie is probably not dead and that, by all rights, Biggun probably should be – the group head to the ‘tavern’ where Globlob regained consciousness several days ago (and now probably wishes he hadn’t). Depositing the rescued goblins with Nessa Nessa, Ravboom appoints the surprised tavern owner as ‘Chief of Brokebags’…
…and, as night falls, the exertions and excitement of the day start to wash over the group – the village seems quiet, safe even and, having established some kind of a watch, Ravboom, Solie, Globlob, Biggun and Palomia are finally able to rest…
***********
Far above the slumbering village, the stars turn in their majestic heavens… the goblins, the gnome who would be a goblin and Palomia, comfortable in the beds that they have found, dream… dreams of home, of their childhoods, of their friends and of their families, of great fights they have had, of discoveries they have made, of the places they have visited… they dream the dreams of their life…
"DAMMIT RAVBOOM! I TOLD YOU NOT TO PLAY IN THE POWDER KEGS!" An elderly gnome man with a beard yells, batting at his beard to put out the fire. His hair is nearly completely white, like newfallen snow.
Nearby, a cute adolescent goblin girl in a blue dress giggles from her hiding spot behind a semi-scorched metal wall.
Ravboom, still smoking slightly and with scorch marks on his exposed skin, blows out a bit of dark black smoke. "NO MY FAULT! Stupid Rat knock Boomfluid off shelf. Ravboom try to catch it, missed." A much younger Ravboom responds.
The old gnome glares. "You expect me to believe that?"
Ravboom shrugs, and puts out a bit of fire on his sleeve. "No, not mean not true though."
The gnome rolls his eyes. "Clean up this mess, and don't touch anything you haven't already broken for two weeks!" He stomps out of the room with the odd metal walls.
The female goblin comes out of hiding, and begins rubbing Ravboom's head with a slightly less dirty rag. "You want help clean up Rav?"
Ravboom pushes the cloth away, and sighs. "No, Ravboom no need help. You go make food, Ravboom be hungry after clean up." He goes over to the pile of debris and digs a scorched and very dead rat out of the debris. "Here, already cooked..." He hands the rat to the female goblin, who nods and heads off to make lunch.
|
|
Biggun was dreaming again. He found himself doing that often lately. This time he dreamed of his days in the cage, with the rest of the goblin children before they were released. Even then he was bigger than the others, towering over them when he taught himself to stand. He used his obviously superior strength to grab the juiciest dead goblin to eat, and kept getting bigger. By the time the survivors were let out of the cage, he was getting bigger than his birth mother. With the firm knowledge that bigger was better, he trained himself with everything he could get ahold of to use weapons bigger than even him. From giant horsechoppers to swords as big as his ego, Biggun quickly became a fierce warrior of his tribe, though he had no direction. Sure, he was stronger than any other goblin he knew, but what should he do with it?-
Biggun snorted in his sleep and rolled over, his dream changing to something worth dreaming about. Mainly, food and dominating all with powerful feats of strength.