Jeji, light the troll up! Kricker says a short prayer and his sword bursts into radiant flame.
Nodding, Jeji drew a flask from her bandolier and hurled it at the troll. It tumbled end over end as it soared through the air before crashing into the large troll.
The warband's priest shouts orders as his sword ignites. Perrik continues to hit the Chariot other than the troll on the other side. Jeji pauses until Drahlneep has a chance to step back and then throws a bomb at the tall she-troll. It is a direct hit and explodes in flames that cause the giant to scream in pain and rage. Drahlneep pulls his other pistol and discharges it right at her great belly punching a hole. The fire eats away at the troll occupying all her regenerative powers and the bullet hole remains a gaping wound.
"YOU'LL REGRET THAT!!" Helskarg roars. She catches Drahlneep up with a great claw and tears the small dragonspawn open with a bite from her terrible tusked maw! Then she drops his unconscious form onto the blood-splattered hard earth. Most of the arena goes wild screaming at near deafening levels,
The amplified voice of the announcer is barely heard above the cheers- "DESTROY THEM HELSKARG. HELLION IS WATCHING." Anyone looking back up toward the half-orc announcer on the platform notes that an immense fiendish face has appeared in flat panel above the stage that is the size of the stage itself. It appears to be watching the arena battle with interest.
Fearing to get within reach of the great troll, Perrik casts a quick magic to keep the fallen barbarian from dying. "Get her, Kricker!"
Drahlneep hops back reflexively from Jeji's blast, taking only a mild scorching, but the Troll lays him out with an abundance of muscle. As he loses cinscioisness, he smiles knowing Kricker will finish their for long before the others let him die.
Kricker lays into the troll with his sword.
May you die like the beast you are!
Kricker swings at the giant, but it isn't a solid blow and skitters off the slimy flesh. Drahlneep seems to breathe easier where he lies senseless.
Again Jeji hurled a bomb at their giant foe and again the flames licked at it's flesh.
Jeji hits the towering humanoid with another bomb further drying and charring its oily green skin. It turns its wrath on Kricker. The kobold war priest dodges the razor sharp claws, but falls victim to a powerful bite.
Kricker manages to avoid most of the blast and barely remains standing. Die, Gods damn you!
And unfortunately the gods weren't listening that time...
Perrik casts his most potent healing spell, skitters up behind Kricker, and releases the curing energy into the other kobold.
Continuing her assault on the giant troll, Jeji again drew a flask from her bandolier. She tossed it the monster's feet before dashing away.
Sorely wounded by the ugly troll, Kricker is kept on the defensive until Perrik rushes up behind him to deliver a jolt of healing energy. Jeji hurls another bomb that hits again with a burst of flame. The she-troll bellows as the flames continue to cause irreparable harm. Howling at the night sky, she grabs up Kricker who remains easily within reach. Dagger-like talons rip open armor and scales leaving the kobold bloody and ruined as he is dropped at Helskarg's feet. The bleachers erupt once again in frenzied cheers.
Kricker is literally torn apart by the raging troll.
One by one they were falling, ripped open by that monstrous troll. Jeji began to panic and almost started to flee, but something inside her reminded her of all the times they had come to her rescue. And she could not leave them. She move back closer towards the troll, close enough that she wouldn't miss but still outside of it's great reach. She had to get it's attention. She drew another flask and flung it towards the giant.
Perrik leaps back out of reach of the terrible troll's claws and casts a spell to hold Kricker's death at bay.
Perrik offers a prayer to delay Kricker's step through death's door. Jeji tosses another bomb. The near panicked aim isn't perfect, but it is hard to miss the towering troll. This bomb proves one too many for the horrendous giant to resist and Helskarg is engulfed in flame giving forth a moan of pain before toppling over and lying very still on the ground. The pit boss has finally met her own end in the arena. The crowd is still except for the bands allied with the kobolds. The assembled ratfolk and Steel Falcons shout in defiance.
A strange echoing laugh comes from the raised stage at the front of the arena. The half-orc MC hangs his head, but the huge fiendish face on the screen peers down at the standing combatants and is the source of the weird stuttering laugh. Not only does the voice stutter, but the face itself flickers back repeating the gesture with the stutter. The cadence of the voice speeds up and slows in a bizarre fashion.
Perrik casts another potent cure on Kricker before straightening up to his full height.
In a steady (albeit high-pitched) voice, he replies in Common, "No. NO!" He continues in Draconic, shouting his challenge to the machine: "WE ARE DRAGONS! WHO THE F*CK ARE YOU?"
Kricker moans. Sits up, looks around, plunges his still barely flaming sword into the troll to make sure she is dead. And then grabs Drahlneep to drag him far enough away from the troll so that he can can upon his god's succor.
Drahlneep's eyes flutter open as Kricker's divine power lends his broken bones and leveraged body. He stands as Perrik finishes shouting out what Drahlneep is thinking.
Kricker is pulled back from the Great Beyond by Perrik's touch. The dented and shredded iron priest moans even as he takes an accounting of his state. Even with Perrik's healing, the crushing blow to his shoulder that fell Kricker has left his left arm numb and hanging oddly. He ignores the pain for now and manages to stick the troll a final time as Perrik shouts his defiant response to the Flatscreen Fiend.
The great horned, red face on the screen twists as waves move through it. The nose elongates into a snout and though it remains red, the texture of its skin grows scaled. The horns remain and multiply around the long reptilian head including a great horn at the end of the creature's snout. Heavily scaled ridges appear over golden cat-like eyes and smoke trails from the head's nostrils as Hellion now appears as a fearsome red dragon! The high priest on the stage looks confused a moment, but then falls to his knees. All is silent in the stands as the minions of the Lords of Rust wait to see what happens.
Perrik crouches near the others and mutters, "We won't get out of here alive unless we lie now. But we'll make that thing pay for it later. I say we bow."
Jeji nodded in agreement with Perrik's assessment. Silently, with a rage still building inside of her, Jeji dropped down to one knee and bowed her dead. Quietly, she promised to herself to help slain this Hellion, if for no other reason than to show that they could do it.
Kricker moves over to Drahlneep and channels a worthy burst of healing energy to rouse his fallen companion. The deep cuts heal leaving pink soft scales over the wounds. Drahlneep seems to have avoided any long lasting damage other than a tenderness in his spleen...
Jeji genuflects, followed by Perrik. Kricker kneels down to minister to his fallen companion and Hellion smiles upon the kobolds compliance. His High Priest on the stage raises his spiked gauntlet high. His voice echoes through the arena, "Good. All must bow to the Might of Hellion or die. You have chosen well. Come forward and we will observe the proper rites in the Temple within Hellion's Domain below."
Kricker sheathes his sword and picks up the harpoon pistol the troll was using. He shoulders it like a rifle and prepares to enter this Helion's domain.
It looks like we have no choice but to play along for a bit longer. Lets see if we can delay any irrevocable commitment as long as possible, but avoid any unnecessary conflict until we can recover a bit.
Kricker feels even more exhausted and sore as he repeatedly draws upon his divine connection to his God to mend all his companions' wounds. His left shoulder still aches as if his broken collar bone has healed slightly misaligned. He makes sure the big grapgun rests on his right shoulder as he determines that he must do as the enemy commands.
"If we do this right, maybe we can trade for some better gear, or more supplies. One might think that a living god may have access to any number of supplies."
Perrik follows the others forward, mouth set.
The kobolds can't help but note the looks on the faces of their allies: Redtooth shakes her head in confused and disbelief, Sevroth's eyes harden in anger and suspicion. Muttering is heard from the others who fill the stands. Once the kobolds reach the far end of the arena, the orcish MC above just gestures to an open doorway below the platform he stands on. Inside is a narrow stairway that circumnavigates the now familiar gray metal walls of the ancients. The stairs lead around to the back of the roughly octagonal tower and another set of doors which slide away to let the kobolds enter.
Within, the dull gray metal walls of this domed chamber are adorned here and there with rectangular panels of flickering glass. Bits of garbage and rotten food lie strewn across the floor, and the air is thick with the rank stench of unwashed bodies. One of those apparently unwashed mammals, the surface orc from the platform, waits. He introduces himself as Nalakai, Hellion's high priest. He wears a heavy breastplate over red robes and his right hand is encased in a spiked gauntlet. Nalakai frowns at the newest and smallest Lords of Rust, but bids them welcome and leads the way from the atrium through another sliding door and back down interior stairs to Hellion's Temple.
This large room is lit by tracks of glowing panels of light set in the ceiling, ten feet above. To the west, the room ends in a ragged wall of rubble, rock, and twisted metal, while to the east, a ten foot-diameter circular platform sits on the ground before a pair of large doors. Rectangular panels of glass adorn the walls between crude paintings of a mechanical talon.
Eight human and orcish acolytes armed in chainmail and spiked gauntlets give nods of reserved acceptance and follow as Nalakai leads the new recruits to the mechanical dais. As he approaches the device, light is projected from four boxes standing above the base and the lights merge at the center of the dais. Suddenly, Hellion appears! He is flat no longer, but a powerful muscular humanoid torso which has taken its more traditional horned demon head. Below the waist, he just fades away. The self-declared god still seems to waver, jump and stutter though he is no longer inside a TEK screen. He says nothing for the moment, but merely stares down from his towering height at the kobolds as if waiting for something.
The assembled priests start to get agitated when the kobolds fail to show proper deference.
I am sorry, I am not sure what is expected here. We acknowledge your obvious existence and power in this place. However, we worship the gods of the Kobolds.
Drahlneep whispers in Draconic to the others. "It is just some sort of illusion, he isn't here. But the high priest is. Let's take his head back out to the arena."
The demonic form hovering above the machine laughs and shifts flickering on and off. Suddenly, it disappears and a red dragon head rises upward on a long scaly neck that seems to emerge from the machine. It lifts its plated snout to the ceiling and lets out a reverberating roar before peering down at the mortals. "I COULD BE A KO-KO-KOKOKOBOLD GOD. I TRANSCEND-TRRRAAANSSSSSCEN-SCCEND-END-END FORM. I AM HELLION."
He peers closely at Kricker, ignoring Drahlneep's whispers. "GO-G-G-GORUM? THAT IS N-N-NOT A KOBOLD-D-D GOD. SA-SA-SAVAGE ORCS FFFFFOOOL-FLA-FLA-FOLLOW HIM. HA!" The immense dragon head tilts to the side giving Kricker a sly smile. "I-I-I-I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ARE WORTH-WOR-THE-THE-THY OF HELLION THOUGH. I DON'T JU-JU-JUST LURK IN HAM-AM-HAM-HAMMERED IRON. I AM THE HAMA-HAMA-HAMMER. I AM THE GH-GO-GHOSSSSS-T IN THE MACHINE. I TH-TH-THIN-THIN-K-K YOU THINK-YOU NEEE-NEED ANOTHER. LITTLE. TEST."
[Draconic] Well this is going as well as expected. Drahlneep shoot at the largest group of them. I'll target the priest.
[Common] Oh? Then say hello to my little friend!
Kricker pivots and fires the harpoon gun at Nalakai.
Perrik:
Kricker: ;
Drahlneep:
foe:
Kricker loses it, hefting the heavy gun and firing at the high priest beside the dais. The gun proves somewhat unwieldy and in his rush, Kricker fires low and the grappling hook skitters over the floor past Nalakai.
Jeji was nearly out of tricks. She only had one bomb left. She had used all of her extracts. She still had her short sword, but it was barely enough to draw blood against most creatures. She still had a few grenades tucked into her bandolier, but her thoughts went to the few scrolls that they had scavenged off of their defeated foes. As new foes started pouring into the arena, Jeji ran towards the body of the slain troll. She dove behind it and began reciting the words on the paper as she hid behind the scorched flesh.
Jeji drew her shortsword as she closed with the nearest foe, thrusting forward right for it's midsection.
Jeji turns and stabs a priest deep in the gut, badly wounding the human.
"Should have let us go out there!" The oracle lends the party divine aid with his usual bless spell.
The immense dragon bares foot-long fangs as Nalakai raises his spiked gauntlet and dark energy flows from Hellion to the gauntlet and a dark miasma of concentrated evil surrounds the kobolds. Perrik and the surrounding priests are unaffected, but the three other kobolds within the tangible malevolence feel slightly sapped by the evil.
The wounded acolyte next to Jeji attempts to heal himself, but messes up the spell under threat of another attack by the kobold. The two acolytes closest to Jeji attempt to pummel her with their fearsome gauntlets. Jeji dodges one, but is caught by the other. The three acolytes in the rear cast spells that conjure protective shields and the two acolytes nearest Perrik and Kricker attack them, but miss.