Have you offered longshanks home in Thorykeep yet? Sticky whispers from the ground.
The Tienshanks and Elfshanks exchange glances before the Giver of the Glowy Hands makes a pronouncement. "<My children, I thank you for bringing this to my attention. Sadly, my might alone is insufficient to defend us from hordes of hostile Goblins. Your warning has given us time, though, so that we may prepare to fight. I will remain here to rally up defenses. My divine herald, Shalelu, will journey to the enemy's lair with you. Together, you will do your best to destroy their leader. Once this is done, Shalelu will report back to me, while you will make sure the other tribes' union falls. How you accomplish this... is up to you.">
My lady! We have fancy house Thornykeep for yous womenfolk and kiddie cages! We just needs to convince Kitty Gobbo of you glory and magnificents!
Puseater walks around aimlessly, and looking distracted, but he is listening to the conversation.
Kitty Gobbo will like her too!
But we don't know where angryshanks is. Or we know?
Says the little goblin finally.
"Yes, we go with Elfshanks to Thornykeep and stab baddies, yes. Then we go convince other gobbo tribes that Angryshanks be bad news."
Both the Tienshanks and the elfshanks look startled. <"Wait, you want us to live in the Thornkeep fort? With a cat Goblin? This is confusing.">
Sticky shakes his head. Not with, Giver of Glowy Hands. Kitty and his Gobbo live in thorny brambles. He keeps yous safe if you be convincing him you is friendly. Thornykeep is ours. We killed the other gobbos there.
Oh, and Mighty Herald. There be a mighty Hobbogob, Bartlbraxensomething, there. We helps you defeat him, yes? Lure him into traps!
Tienshank's Mighty Herald gets a grim look on her face. <"Bruthasmus is there? That will be a problem. We've met before, and it wasn't pleasant for either of us."> The Tienshanks, meanwhile, continues to look unsure. <"How much do you trust this other Goblin? And how long are we supposed to stay there?">
"Until gobbos go away from Sandypoints or you find somewhere else to be at, maybe? We just thought that we Licktoads kicked you out of yours city, so it be good that we find somewhere for you to be, Tienshanks." Tochack replies, glossing over Bruthazmus' fashion statement on elf ears. "And me thinks kitty gobbo can be trusted: he tried to make chief of Thistlettoppers not follow Angryshanks, and just mind own businesses and not attack longshanks. But before going to Thistletop, we must first get there to stop Bruthazmus and Meanshanks." the grey goblin says.
Tienshanks nods. "We'll go with you and check it out. Then deal with Bruthazmus - if you can get him to come to me."
He began crossing his arms over his chest. He looked pensive and serious for a moment.
I would like however to codify a way for our peoples to interact. For too long goblins have been kept back in the dark ages. Let us keep the glassyworks, for it intruigues me, lets see if we cant find some trade amongst one another and... An elf wife for when I become the goblin king sounds good."
He said with an eyebrow waggle then a giggle.
Okay maybe that last part is asking a bit much. Im pretty sure we can get this Bruthamus into a positon it would be easy for you to strike at. Just give us a few days to arrange it.
The elfshanks looks thoughtfully at Plays.
Sticky doesn't understand the exchange in elves language, so he continues with the last bit of the conversation he understood.
I'm sure we can get Hobgob to wherever you want. Where be that?
Why the Glassyworks of course! it would be the bestest place I think, besides when he dies there we can get all his loots, you can trap the place with all your super sticky powers and I can hide up with the elf shanks
He said megalomaniacally rubbing his hands together and chuckling. His waggling eyebrows towards the elfshanks was a bit disturbing, but then again come to think about it what wasnt weird about the weezard goblin?
The elfshanks and tienshanks nod in agreement. <"The glassworks is a good place for an ambush. It's isolated, so if anything goes wrong, we won't have to worry about innocents getting hurt. Shalelu will wait there. If you have any preparations to make, now is the time to do it.">
After making plans for the ambush with Tienshanks and Longshanks, Tochack goes to Chief Guttwald to bring the grim news.
"Chief! Something terrible happened!" he starts "We going to Thistletop to save Auntie and Laz, but we we get there. There be none of them: Thistletoppian attack us, but we slay their Chief and most of warriors, but we still find no trace of Auntie and Laz. Then we find what happened." the grey goblin pauses for a moment, thinking back on how they were too late to save the two gobbos.
"Chief Ripnugget was thinking of attacking Sandypoints, but it was no his idea: a very evil longshanks, the Angryshanks, is gathering an army of gobbo tribes to attack Sandypoints, and Laz and Auntie were sacrificed to her demon doggies. She wants to get under glassyworks, where she can make army of longshanks to conquer everything she wants, prolly backstabbing her gobbo allies."
"We found two of her generals, Meanshanks and Hobgobbo Bruthazmus, but we first got here to warn: they may be attacking in days, and if we no prepare, we gonna get murderstabbed. Me, Sticky, Plays, and Pus, were thinking to go around and try to convince them that following Angryshanks is bad bad idea."
Not knowing even a word in elven, Pus waits until all is decided, and then adheres to the ambush in the glassyworks.
Yes, yes, we can say to Brutus that elfshanks is hidding there, and if we say elfshanks to hide there, we will not lying.
We not make them mad. They plan war anyway. We just find out. Also, can't fix back. Thistletoppers be dead. Maybe can make into puppets, but it not be the same.
Plays was busy wandering about his Glass works, doing his best to figure out the best places for ambushes and traps....
Pus is too in the glassyworks, trying to figure how is posible to give form to the brittle glass.
Hey, hey, Play!
How longshanks make things of this? It breaks when me tries. And what is this big-big thing? -Asks suddenly the little gobling while monkeing through the furnace.
Its okay, its gobbo glass, it breaks when i try to make it too, will just take the practice.
He began frowning at the latest batch of horribly made glass. He really needed like... a book on this or something. Like he got the principle behind it but it just wasnt coming together.
Oh that? its the furnace. See the longshanks clear wood called glass is actually made from melted sand and some rock dust. You have to cook it hotter than normal hot to melt it, then when it cools its that clear see through stuff. At least... in theory. I wonder how the others are doing with the chief.
He called out shrugging and dumping the failed glass back into the furnace to remelt. Maybe he needed to add more of the ground up powdery stone?
He grabbed just a small goblin handful and dumped it in, along with more sand.
Sticky huffs and sulks out (picking the guard's pockets in the process) and makes his way toward the glassyworks. He'll set it right. He'll set it right really good. Soon Ameiko, bless her giver of the glowy hands, was going to be the godess of an entire goblin town!
You make off with a valuable treasure! It's a small harmonica with three intact reeds. Although its musical range is extremely limited, each note this instrument produces is delightfully sour-sounding.
Leaving his allies to prepare the trap, Tochack travels together to Thistletop with Plays to persuade Bruthazmus to venture alone in enemy territory.
"Bruthazmus! Bruthazmus! We founds were Elfshanks usually is in Sandypoints!" the grey gobbo says to the hobgoblin with fake enthusiasm "She usually be around big building in city. Me thought to say to you because, when we attack Sandypoints, all be a mess and confused and she may get away. But we brings you there now, you can kill elfshanks 100%! We can help, too!"
yeah, at this glassyworks place... she uh has been using it to trap and torment goblins. Everytime we try to stop her she shoots arrows at us.
He added in trying to help
The bugbear gives you a wicked smirk. "Found me an elfshanks, have you? You've done real good. Lead the way and then get behind cover. Once I've put an arrow through her eye, I'll let ya have one of her ears." Picking up a massive longbow, he makes ready to follow you.
Following you gleefully into the "back entrance" of the glassworks in order to sneak up on the poor unsuspecting elfshanks, Bruthazmus instead has his femoral artery nicked by the bear trap. He's stuck fast and seriously injured.
"You will no kill elfshanks, and you will no help Angryshanks making army of bentshanks!" Tochack shouts as he stabs Bruthazmus from behind, taking the opportunity to land a powerful blow.
Sinpawns? where where?
Brother words about the bensahnks makes Pus totally out of himself, thus the dagger he throwed to Bruthazmus barely stabs the dancer instead.
Aaargh!
Pus! Focus!
He called while moving as close to the dangerous archer as he reasonably could waving his fingers in eccentric patterns and chanting a moment and letting loose a blast or arcane energy. (force missle)
Sticky adds insult to injury and tosses powdered glass into the gob's face.
Shanked, blasted, and unable to see, Bruthazmus is an easy target for the Elfshanks. A single arrow to the heart ends the bugbear's life once and for all.
Just in Plays takes his weezard weapon and carefully lines up a shot smacking the dead (he thinks) Hobgoblin with that Overly large for a goblin Ransuer. Sure he was dead Plays grinned wickedly and shot a wink torwards the elven archer.
Pas mal pour gobelins hein ?
Not bad for goblins eh?
Pus moves over Bruthazmus corpse, and starts looking for anything interesting, aswell as shinnies. Although Pus looks at Plays when he speaks those strange words, his attention is on Sticky, and if he gets near Bruthazmus while he is on, the skinny goblin hisses.
And now? Who is next? The talky-shanks Plays was courting? Or the angry-shanks that is bossing around a we never seen?
The talky shanks I think we can convince to abandon the angry shanks plan, She's a wizard and they can be tricky foes, perhaps if we take a small part of buthazmus with us we cna convince her was mean business.
He responded to Pus with a wicked grin. After all how could she not be more... amiable when they proved they could so easily eliminate one powerful foe.
Sticky recoils and hisses back when Pus claims the corpse. He hovers nearby and watches for anything pus might miss.
We can take head. That be good proof He suggests without taking his eyes off Pus
Exiting her hiding place to check the body, the elfshanks looks pleased. <"Well done. This guy's been a thorn in my side for quite a few years. The area will be safer now that he's gone.">
Shineys
M MWK Composite Longbow (STR +4)
Arrow x20
+1 elf bane arrow x4
M Studded Leather x1
M Heavy Flail x1
Potion - cure moderate wounds x1
Necklace of elf ears
4pp
Aaaah, here they are, yes yes!!
Pus retrieves the necklace quickly trying that it goes unnoticed, and then retires from the corpse, allowing Sticky to finally claiming it, hissing at him one last time.
Sure, you can cut-off the head with you big pointy stick, Plays.
"We must go to Meanshanks, yes." Tochack nods grimly, looking at Bruthazmus' corpse "If she be joining us, we got allies and know which other tribes gonna attack Sandypoints. If not, we take out another general of Angryshanks."
If she gets dead I claims her stuffs! he shouts with a sideways sneer at Pus.