Reta looks to Rempty, seeing how he's the last one standing, and points at him. She then looks to Chuffy with a glare, She pouts a moment at the thought of not having a bigger team. As the pout eventually vanishes due to boredom, She motions to the fallen goblins.
Rempty hastens to comply with Reta's command, keeping his distance from Chuffy and his blood-stained dogslicer.
With Kettlehead out of the way and an additional toadie in tow, the whelps must continue on their way to the Cave of Darkfear and present their toads to the dread spirit that lurks within.
"Here. You got one?" Chuffy holds out the licktoad for Rempty to take.
Rempty accepts the toad. "Kettlestoopidhead was being scared of water," he scoffs.
If no one else wants the armor, Chuffy will happily wear it. And some of the unknown liquid.
The no-longer-whelps-plus-one continue up the path to the dreaded Cave of Darkfear. In the shade of gray cypress trunks, a sagging cave made of wood squats on the muddy ground, overgrown with swamp brambles and leaning precariously to one side.
"Loptop was telling Kettlehead that old chief Spludna was fighting the monster of Darkfear," Rempty whispers in awe, "but Darkfear spirit is still lurking in cave. If Licktoad whelps is not presenting toads and singing songs, Darkfear spirit will be coming to Licktoad Village and eating goblins." He peers nervously into the dark interior of the cave, which looks a lot like Skrumpettle's shack, only built on a monstrous scale by creatures more than twice a goblin's size. "You is new best goblins now. You is going first."
Reta glares at the shack. "RETA NOT GIVING DARKFEAR RETA'S TOAD. DARKFEAR GONNA HAVE TO TAKE LICKTOAD FROM RETA. RETA KILL DARKFEAR AND DARKFEAR NO LONGER EAT GOBLINS OR TAKE TOADS. LET'S GO," she says in her 'lowered' voice as she starts to move in quietly but the pain from the cut she received from the battle reminds her of her wound. She turns to Poog, She then shows him the small wound. she tells him, waiting.
"Chuffy too."
Poog determines that the liquid in the bottles is magical.
Chuffy takes one and drinks it.
Chuffy takes a swig from the bottle with the many-colored-spider-hat-wearer on it. It smells like peppermint and tastes of alcohol and brine, but the goblin feels a little better as soon as he swallows the liquid.
In that case Chuffy will take a second one.
Reta's eyes go wide as she notices Chuffy's wounds closing. She takes one for herself and then takes a couple of swigs before watching her wounds heal completely. she informs everyone and stashes the potion in her pack. Reta collects herself and readies to move in.
"Zarongel teach dogs and long leg dogs are worst. Darkfear not so bad; dogs badder. Poog not worried about Darkfear," Poog attests, while standing firmly behind Reta and Chuffy.
Reta and Chuffy lead the way into the dark interior of the 'cave,' dogslicers and toads both at the ready.
The inside of the cave, like the outside is made of strangely-smooth wood that joins at sharp corners, which only goes to show what a dark and fearful cave unlike any other it must be. Slanting and rotting planks put together like a wide ladder lean against one wall, and heaps of shattered pottery litter the floor. A obscenely-outsized table, its surface above the whelps' sightline, tempts or terrifies, depending on whether the viewer suspects it holds treasure or an ambush. Rusty-looking jawbones made of metal hang from chains on the wall.
A hideously-elongated body, partially mummified and partly skeletal, sits in a giant, dilapidated throne near the table, showing its own unhinged jaws and strange flat teeth. A broken, cobweb-strewn horsechopper juts from between its ribs. Clearly, this must the great and powerful Spirit of Darkfear.
If it can be appeased, however, the cave itself looks like a veritable treasure-trove. A good hunt could turn up all kinds of trophies.
Chuffy looks around waiting for Reta to go first. Then, on impulse, he strides to the front of the group and speaks in a loud, raspy voice.
"Me Chuffy" He holds up his toad. "Chuffy's face might make you sick. But Chuffy's knife is awful quick. And if you are his stabby pick- the knife goes in you, stick, stick, stick." There is a pride in his voice as he finishes.
He looks around in the quiet that follows. He pauses to see if the spirit responds. As his gaze comes across his fellows, it dares any of them to make fun of him.
Smuz smiles and gives Chuffy a thumbs-up for his song. "Chuffy goblin!" he exclaims.
He stands back and waits for more of the others to go before he tries his own song.
Reta moves up and pushes Chuffy back behind her. She clears her throat and begins. Finishing, she grins excitedly as she waits for something awesome to happen. As nothing happens within the next three seconds, she glares at the nothing. she yells in anger. she threatens. As nothing happens again within five seconds this time, she walks back in line, her arms crossed and pouting.
Poog, with something akin to solemness, steps up too - presents his toad and sings:
"Poog say Zarongel is the best,
He help burn things and heal the rest.
Zarongel’s favor makes Poog blessed.
And Poog also stab you with knife if
you make fun of how he isn’t good at
riding animals."
Smuz gives thumbs-up to each of the others after they sing, all the while desperately trying to put together words that he doesn't really understand into a song of his own. When everyone else has gone, he steps forward timidly.
"Uh..." he mutters, then starts to sing:
"Smuz likes to sing!
Because Smuz goblin!
Really! Smuz goblin!
Got big ears...teeth...stuff...
La la la."
He steps timidly back again.
Visibly trembling, Rempty approaches the Spirit of Darkfear, holding up his toad less as a presentation than as a shield, huddling behind it.
"R..rempty is being good Licktoad," he croaks feebly.
"Came here down a long, long road.
Please not to be eating him, o great Spirit of Darkfear.
Please to be eating other goblins that is not Rempty, and dogs, and horses."
He retreats quickly behind the other no-longer-whelps.
While Rempty is doing his stupid song, Chuffy goes about looting the room.
As boredom quickly approaches, Reta scours the room as well for anything of interest.
While Rempty cowers nervously under the sightless gaze of the Spirit's empty eyesockets, Chuffy and Reta scrounge around for anything that looks valuable. Chuffy checks out a dark corner while Reta pokes into a heap of rotting wood and trash on the other side of the cave. A couple of tiny, furry somethings burst out of the debris and nip at her legs.
Rempty shrieks, "Spirit of Darkfear is eating goblins! Be eating other goblins, Spirit, not Rempty who is respecting you!" He dashes out the cave opening into the swamp.
Smuz has been staring at Darkfear, waiting for something to happen, so he's taken by surprise at the sudden appearance of the small creatures. He yelps as he recognizes them. "Grabbycats grabbycats grabbycats grabbycats!" he cries as he hurries over to help Reta. He fumbles for his knitting needle.
Poog draws his club and swings at the nearest grabbycat, which deftly dodges the attack.
The other grabbycat bites again at Reta and opens another bleeding wound on her leg.
Chuffy throws a dart at a grabby cat as he moves up behind Reta.
Dart: fire into melee
Chuffy's dart buries itself harmlessly in the piles of debris the grabbycats were nesting in.
The second grabbycat tries for another mouthful of Reta's flesh but ends up with a mouthful of her clothing instead.
She declares, drawing her mighty club and taking a swing that could bring down mountains at one.
Angry at getting bitten multiple times, she steps back.
Reta's club slams on the muddy floor of the cave between the two grabbycats as they dodge in opposite directions; then she steps away from their sharp teeth.
Smuz stabs viciously at the nearest grabbycat, while still yelling, "Grabbycats grabbycats grabbycats!"
The grabbycat yelps as Smuz's knitting needle draws blood.
Poog deftly steps further from harms way (but still close to Reta) and says: "Poog know Reta carry spit of Zarongel inside, Zarongel helps!"
The wounded grabbycat leaps again at Reta, but this time the no-longer-whelp is aware of it and can swing her club defensively....
... however, the club still comes down heavily where the grabbycat just was a moment ago and is not anymore.
The grabbycat fares little better, its sharp teeth pinching painfully at the goblin's leg but failing this time to break the Zarongel-repaired skin.
Chuffy throws another dart from the safety of the corner.
Dart: fire into melee
Chuffy throws another dart into the detritus at the far end of the cave.
The second grabbycat follows its mate after Reta.
Reta attacks and steps back once again.
Smuz moves to get a better position opposite Poog, then yells as he stabs again at the grabbycat he went for last time.
Poog triumphantly wields his dogslicer. Grabbycats basically just dog welps after all.
Poog slaps the grabbycat with the dogslicer, unfortunately hitting it with the broadside rather than the cutting blade, but whacking it enough to sting.
The wounded grabbycat has had enough of the invaders. Deciding that it would rather build a new nest than continue to fight for an old one, it darts out the door.
Chuffy moves over to AD7 while readying another dart.
The remaining grabbycat hesitates. It is uninjured, but its mate's flight has suddenly made defending their territory less of a mandate. With a flurry of its striped tail, it turns and darts out the door after its companion.
Watching the tiny creatures run away,