Protect Sees-Death!
As you command.
Hegh doesn't hesitate when the dwarves emerge from the temple. Wings sprout from his back and he leaps into the air towards Sees. In mid-flight, Hegh unleashes a blast of frost at the mist now surrounding the dwarf leader.
Hegh lands near Sees, and takes up a defensive posture with his sword drawn.
con defy danger
Thunk hunches down and tries to be the rock that the wave breaks on.
Fssst leaps into place behind Thunk and hisses, "Be still, worms!" at the onrushing dwarfen foe. His will swells, crushing down on the puny dirt-grubbing pinkskins.
Glancing around the door frame for a fairly large expanse of metal, Smoog jambs his Magno-ray up into the hinges calculating an effective amplification to the pulling power of his device.
He then sets the gadget to MAX and adds the one remaining charge he has left, attempting to call forth all the attraction energy possible.
Magnetic lines pulse though the chamber and rapidly recall all 40-50 metal bullets he had previously laid out along the far side straight thru the dwarves.
-
I know fog makes a great hiding place from snipers but you can't really hide from a shotgun!
-
Grick feels the disturbance in the surrounding spirit world as the spawn of the great God Gorlaug is born...instinctively he calls on Azder to release the lightning on the nasty stumpy dwarves both to kill some and distract the rest from the newly born dragon.
"Zapped you good, stupid stumpies...zapped you good!" Grick screams as his zapping strikes out at two of the dwarves.
The dirge gathers the newly hatched dragon in her bedroll and lashes the bundle across her stomach. Then, she draws the heavy dagger and Gorlaug's Wrath. When Hegh thuds into the mud beside her, she gives him a firm nod before he turns to face the enemy.
The dwarves had escaped by the disgusting hair on their chins, and began mustering an assault. Sees-Death makes it her job to keep herself and Tanard out of line-of-sight with the spell-slinger, but she can't help but release the bile that was building in her chest.
No, not today. I have been through too much. These stonekin have come to tempt their fate to slake their lust for gold, well Tanard makes fate. She knows all paths- is all paths, and her bloodlust will rend the world in its slaking. She is the final destination, and I am her herald.
The dirge begins to sing this song exactly.
The lyrics to Sees-Death's song begin to fill Hegh's mind, unbidden.
Born of Evil in a fiery volcano, on a mutilated mission to inflict merciless pain...
Hegh cannot help himself. He begins to sing along with Sees-Death, and soon he is roaring each word at Agatha.
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Inspired, Grick begins to sing in counterpoint a happy tune...
Zappity Doodah
Zappity Yay
My Oh My, Lots of Dwarves to Slay
Plenty of Zapping
Heading their way
Zappity Doodah
Zappity Yay
Thunk the barbarian hunkers down and braces himself behind his large bone club, knowing he has no time to dodge the dwarves' onslaught. He resists the first attack, and blocks the second, but the third dwarf is almost too much for him to defend against. He falters, his defenses opened up to a pressed attack from the dwarves...
Until the Immolator stomps up to the battle. His arrogance and defiance belie his diminuitive size, and the inner flame of his will burns brightly in his eyes. Summoning his magic and wrapping himself in the burning flames like a cloak, Fssst cuts a more imposing figure, intimidating the dwarves' rush at them. The dwarves quail, unable to press their advantage and get Thunk to fall to his back. They don't stand down, but they take a few hasty steps backward, staring at Fssst in fear! The will of Fssst seems to make him three times larger than he really is by firelight. With the Immolator's assistance, Thunk takes no damage from the attack of the dwarves; instead, those 4 are fanned out in a semicircle around you, seeking an opening and keeping their eyes trained on Fssst.
Hegh, meanwhile, takes to the skies. From an aerial position, he blasts his frost-breath at the obscuring mists summoned by Agatha, the dwarf witch. The ice freezes the water crystals floating in midair, thinning the cloud dramatically and removing the dwarves' cover. Your breath reveals that the two dwarves that had stayed behind in the mist with Agatha and Axel are currently setting up portable heavy crossbow emplacements! However, your breath splashes on the ground as well, freezing it - anyone who attempts to charge or walk toward Axel and his retinue will have to Defy Danger to avoid slipping on the icy ground!
Meanwhile, Smoog attempts to redirect the bullets at the dwarves outside the temple! Even with the dwarves' new position to consider, Smoog's plan might have worked - but he doesn't control the extra power behind the magnetic charger, not factoring in the mutliplicative factors at work, and causing the bullets to fly at HIMSELF instead! You hide behind a rock near the temple's entrance, but are unable to find sufficient cover - deal your damage to yourself!
Meanwhile, stormclouds continue to gather over the battlefield. There is a rumble of thunder and a crackle of cloud-to-cloud lightning bolts. Two of the bolts strike true; two of the four dwarves that were menacing Thunk stagger backward, their leather armor aflame from the sudden lightning. However, the cloud keeps growing, faster than Grick can control it. An edge of panic creeps into his fanatical chanting to Azder.
Sees-Death and Hegh notice this. Together, they raise their voices in brütal song, each lending their strength of will to Sees-Death's special brand of magic. But they have all force and no finesse to their song. Rather than using the force of the magic to bring Azder's lightning cloud to heel, the magic empowers the lightning, and the bolts seek out new conduits of power to ground themselves to. Hegh and Sees are both struck by lightning bolts, Sees for 6 and Hegh for 5, and the lightning damage ignores armor. Hegh will need to roll to keep to the skies - Sees, you hear Tanard cry out in pain as the electricity is partially transferred through your body to her.
Hegh comes in for a hard landing, knocking Sees and Tanard to the ground as both of the lightning strikes tunnel into Hegh's body. Sees falls, slamming her head hard. Fortunately, she and the dragon whelp are otherwise uninjured.
That was mostly to inform the fiction. You may have been settling gently to the ground at the end of your flight without the lightning - with the lightning, you're crashing.
"Blasted Dwarven relics! Cannot be relied on to function properly."
-
-
With some of the same ammo now stuck to Magno-ray, Smoog swings the lot around and aims at the crossbow crew.
-
"Let's try this again shall we!"
-
Nope.
Sees runs to the opposite side of the temple, putting as much cover as possible between herself and the dwarves, and begins to weigh her options between running, hiding, or some combination of both. She doesn't want to be scuttling out across scrubland to be picked off by a lightning bolt or roaming aqir, so a decent hiding place would be ideal.
for
Thunk steps up and attempt his whirling dervish attack, he spins striking glancing blows on the dwarves around him.
Thump thump thump thump he says as each on is hot
Sees, your head is fuzzy and swimming from the crack to the skull that you took from the lightning bolt, but at least Tanard is unharmed. You see the others joining in battle with the dwarves. Were it just the fighter dwarves, Axel, and the gunners, you'd know that this battle would go well for Gorlaug's Avengers, but the dwarf spellcaster, the one known as Agatha, was a wild card. Her magic got the dwarves past all of your attempts to keep them locked inside the temple, and you don't know the extent of her power. That being said, you see several hidden spots along the beach to this rocky island - the broken-up rocks are of many varying sizes, creating valleys between them that a small kobold and her dragon could hide in. You think hiding would be a likely better idea than fleeing - not only would it be difficult to swim the river with Tanard in tow, but your "encouragement" may be needed to counter Agatha's presence in the battle. You are able to find a path that could lead you away, to a safe place far away from the dwarves and yet still on the island of the temple.
Smoog snarls as some of the bullets tear rents out of his bluish scales, scarring them with gunpowder. Swiveling his impressive Magno-Ray around to aim at the crossbow gunners, his weapon begins to shake and emit a rising pitch of modulating ray energy. "Let's try this again, shall we?" he shouts over the noise of his weapon, and the color drains from Axel's face. KTHOOOM and the bullets that were magnetized to the tinkerer's weapon are hurled at the gunners. The dwarves' reaction times were to their credit, reducing the damage his attack would have done by ducking and covering, thereby making it take longer before their crossbows are readied!
Thunk sees that the dwarves were dismayed and had fallen back from Fssst behind him, but the barbarian chose to believe it was his own fearsome presence and resolve that made them quail. His heart filled with pride as he launched himself into the fray, chasing glory in the whirlwind of blood and battle...[/b]"THUMP THUMP THUMP -ugh- THUMP -crash-"[/b] can be heard from the fierce 1v4 melee that the kobold dove into, alone. He spins around fully one time successfully before the crush of enemies all around him force him to take a more defensive posture. He cracks the skull of one of them, but doesn't kill him, only forces him to stagger back. The other dwarves don't hesitate to capitalize on your brief inattention while you struck the first one - they whirl their flails in unison and strike you together! In retribution, roll 3d8 and take the worst single result + 2.
The barbarian outsider kobold is fighting off four dwarf fighters practically by himself while Smoog keeps the heavy crossbowmen busy...temporarily. Axel, the dwarves' leader, is reaching for the horn strapped to his hip and making to bring it to his lips! Agatha, meanwhile, is digging in her pouch, looking for something urgently. What do you all do?
"Stop it Azder! Control the lightning!!" Grick shouts at the skull in his hand as he whacks it with his free hand. "Strike the crossbow emplacement, not the kobolds."
You want trade thump with Thunk! This good day!
The barbarian has chosen his lot. If he is to survive the dwarfen onslaught, it shall be without further assistance from the Immolator. Instead, Fssst calls more flames from the burning spike in his hand...
...but instead of a conflagration, he chooses the flickering precision of a forge fire, pouring the heat into the horn that Axel was bringing up to blow!
for
Time for thump all the long beard. All the thump thump thump. Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump. THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP! Thump sings to the tune of "I've been working on the railroad. As he does another spin, this time clanging off helmets.
She is safe. Kill the witch!
Recovering himself, Hegh again takes to the skies as his hands form brutal claws. Stump-witch, you are mine! He attempts to land on the caster, claws outstretched and seeking the caster's tender throat.
Smoog continues to lay lead into the crossbow team, pinning them down as Grick destroys thier weapons.
-
Sees-Death slides down into a gully of smooth pebbles, under the eave of a large rock, and sets down Tanard. She spreads the bedroll to give the whelp space to writhe. Then, she begins pushing stones into a pile to cover the way in.
Grick's violent invectives summon the Boar Spirit, and it roars out of the skull the shaman is holding with a force that surprises even him. The boar spirit gathers the lightning like a crackling electric cloak about its body and launches itself at the left heavy crossbow emplacement! With a boom and a crack of thunder, the boar-spirit lightning bolt sends the dwarf gunner there flying along with wreckage from his heavy gun, and the dwarf's neck snaps on impact with the ground.
The other crossbowman has time to aim and fire his weapon in the time it takes the shaman to slap his skull into working properly. A huge bolt is flying through the air at you, Grick, what do you do?
Immediately after launching his shot, the dwarf that fired at Grick glances to the right in time for Smoog's Magno-Ray to impact him right in the face. The magnetic forces are too strong for his flesh to handle and a part of his face rips off from the blast! Screaming in pain and clutching his face, the dwarf heavy crossbowman begins attempting to reload his devastating weapon once again!
Aside from singing, nothing can be heard from the melee that Thunk fights in. None of the sounds of battle can be heard thanks to the muting effect of his gloves, so his happy voice rings out clear as a bell across the battlefield. As the dwarves bum-rush him all at once, he kills one with a solid blow that crushes his nose back into his face, and another one loses his arm on the backswing of the All-Eater's bone. However, despite fighting well, the barbarian is still outnumbered, and cannot kill them all at once. He finds himself with a dwarf locking him in a full nelson! You cannot use your arms effectively to escape, Thunk, and the other Dwarf is swinging his flail at your face while the first one holds you still! What do you do?
The witch makes a hand-gesture in the air as Hegh flies down at her, his slightly-clumsy approach in the skies giving her just the time she needs to finish her incantation. A blast of wind defends her and Axel, roll Defy Danger Strength to overcome the tunnel of air or be launched backward to land in the river or right yourself in midair!
Tanard, ignorant of the fierce melee taking place just a few hundred feet down the beach, chirps up at Sees-Death in a tiny voice.
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As the wind picks up, Hegh braces his wings and angles them so the blast only gives him more altitude. At the peak of his flight, Hegh folds back his wings and dive bombs towards the stump-witch through the gale, claws still outstretched and seeking her throat.
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Sees-Death throws the threadbare rags of her sleeves back over her shoulders and starts dragging a large stone into place. She's building a sloped structure that butts up into the bottom of the boulder. This leaves an area to crawl up and out which is hard to see from the outside. "Not now, honey. Mommy's trying to keep the gross monkeys out."
Giving up on adjusting the large stone's position, Sees jumps up and scrabbles into a position to look over the boulder. She should be reassured that she can't see the combat from her position, but she just curses under her breath. "They're not going to make it... it's not like I can do much more than threaten them... really more of a combat prevention role... priorities, Scoops. Wait... Are dragons born able to talk?" Sees slides back down into her makeshift den and shuffles back to Tanard's side, gathering her rags as she leans in.
"Are you trying to talk, honey? Do you know words? They say the true speech of dragons is a pure note of knowledge- something felt and not heard. Gourlaug seemed to just speak... in whatever language the listener could understand best... so I don't think I ever... heard..."
Smoog cannot let the crossbow get rolling, remembering the gaping wound it left in his own shoulder, so he continues the assault on the last archer.
-
STR
Thunk leans back then snaps his whole body forward driving the dwarf's face into the flail as it comes forward
Ha long beard try thump Thunk but thump long beard! Ha
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"oh broken shells," Grick moans as he sees the giant bolt flying towards him. He attempts to fling himself out of the way to avoid becoming a Grick Kabob.
Thunk want thump!
On the battlefield:
"Ah-HA! Just as I planned! Ahah! Ahahah! Ahahaha -wha?" Axel's voice rings out over the sound of Agatha's spellcasting and Thunk's shouting. You all see the flames of Fssst's Immolator magic pouring directly at the horn that Axel was reaching for.
The horn is clearly powerfully enspelled. Bright bluish runes gleam along the ivory length, resisting the fire.
At first.
Axel didn't reckon on the strength of the reborn Immolator's magic. While the fires of his focused spell flow into the runes at first, causing Axel no harm, his mirth is quickly interrupted. The fires don't stop. The raging kobold that wielded some of the fire of Moontower Volcano was too powerful to contain. The horn's runes shift from blue to red, and finally shine in a black light, for a mere instant. Then, the fire of Fssst's spell explodes out of it, knocking the dwarf leader off balance and the horn out of his hands, sending it spinning off to land in the dirt nearby.
Meanwhile, down the beach a short distance...
The look that Tanard gives you when you address her is clearly intelligent, from her eyes narrowing in comprehension to her head cocking slightly to the side as she listens. But you hear no language, no words that you can understand, anyway. You've never been in the actual presence of a newborn dragon before.
The best way you can describe the way Tanard communicates her answer to you is in a sense of understanding. You just seem to feel suddenly certain that the words will come, in time, but they must "feel the heart of the world and the breath of the skies" first. That saying emerges in your own voice inside your head, as if from your own thoughts, yet you the word choice was not your own.
Back at the battlefield, just as Fssst was readying his spell against Axel, Hegh smirks as he sees the dwarf witch finally cast her spell - directed at him. Perfect. With a snarl, he spits frost breath at her waving, magical fingers, freezing them solid. His dive is uninterrupted, and he lands before the dwarf witch as she begins to scream in pain from the cold of the ice.
Just then, Fssst blows up Axel's magic horn's rune casing. Axel is sent flying from the force of the blast, his face and hair a scorched blackish color. He lands on his back not far from where Hegh and Agatha square off.
Nearby, the shaman Grick dodges the crossbow bolt, but slips on the rocky beach of the island and his foot falls into a small pool. His foot comes out covered in tiny river life, much of it unhappy with the sudden intrusion of scaly foot into their homes. They resemble tiny crablike creatures, but with ten legs each, and their bites burn even through your tough scales. Take 1d4+2 ouchy damage and the little buggers are swarming over your foot. At least you didn't get perforated by crossbow bolt.
Smoog is laying down unholy fire from the remainder of his bullets, until they run out. Undaunted, the blue tinkerer flips a switch on his gun and begins blasting out raw overloads of gravoconc force. Smoog can see clearly in the eyes of the gunner the way the force distorts his face before blowing up half of his face. He falls off his portable heavy crossbow and falls backward, clutching at his face and screaming bloody murder - not dead, but clearly grievously wounded.
1d8+1d6+2 STR
Thunk leans back then snaps his whole body forward driving the dwarf's face into the flail as it comes forward
Ha long beard try thump Thunk but thump long beard! Ha
With a heave of his mighty muscles, Thunk lifts the dwarf off the ground and skews him forward into the path of the oncoming flail. The full nelson is gone, but you dropped your weapon nearby in the process. The dwarf that got smacked in the face with the flail is slowly climbing to his feet again, looking slightly groggy from the conk to the head, but the flail-wielder is screaming in full battle-fury and attacking you again! Just as you're getting to your feet, the side-swing of the flail comes roaring in low, coming for your gut. Counterattack, dodge or X third option, barbarian?
Fssst hisses in triumph as his magic overcomes that of the horn, and he scrambles after it to retrieve his prize.
As Fssst moves around to gather up the fallen horn, Smoog now has a clear view of the brawl Thunk is embroiled in and attempts to help him regain the advantage.
Since his magnetic disrupter field device seems to have overcome its initial hiccup, Smoog re-aims it at the steel-shod feet of the flail-wielder and drives pure magnetic energy out and away, tripping up the feet of the dwarven attacker...
-
Hegh growls wickedly as the witch screams, and he moves forward to grab her with two hands by the throat, claws digging painfully into the back of her neck. He lifts her bodily into the air. Call off your dogs! Wisps of icy mist tickle the witch's face as Hegh roars.
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STR Counter attack for
Thunk ignores the coming attack and instead punches his attacker directly in the face, bashing in all teeth.
"Ouch, stop biting me you stupid crabs," Grick exclaims as he forgets about the dwarves to concentrate on knocking the crabs off his leg with the butt of his spear, being careful not to crush the stupid crabs.
The force of the dwarf's flail-swinging is ferocious, but interrupted by Smoog's hindering blast. The shot also has a weird side effect of causing healing vibrations to ripple to the other fighter dwarf that had been smashed in the head by the other dwarf's flail. The injured dwarf discards his longsword and shoves his hands into two small bags on either side of his belt, and when he withdraws them again, he's wearing brass knuckles on both hands. He grins and spits out a mouthful of blood, clearly feeling much healthier than he did a second ago. With a roar, the injured dwarf leaps at the blue kobold, flying through the air with a falcon punch prepared!
Despite attracting the attention of the leaping dwarf, Smoog's blast succeeded in distracting the flail-wielder. As if in slow-motion, Thunk can see the furious resolve on the dwarf's face give way to doubt as his leg is blasted out from under him, followed by shock and wide-eyed disbelief as the pain sets in immediately.
Thunk grabs the dwarf's flail and yanks downward, pulling the fighter down with it. With his injured leg the bearded combatant goes down facefirst - into the barbarian's upward-slicing knee, which impacts directly between his eyes. The dwarf falls, mostly-senseless, to the ground at Thunk's feet, and without his weapon, Thunk relies on his next best thing - his own fists. Dropping to his knees he uses all of his downward momentum on the punch he delivers to the dwarf, knocking the fighter's teeth down his throat.
Thunk glances up from his most recent kill and his gaze settles on Hegh across the battlefield. The dragon-mage had taken a counterattack by the dwarf witch - a dagger made of arcane force had manifested an inch from his midsection and stabbed inward when he opened himself up during his first attack - but the second strike was authoritative. With Axel only slowly recovering his senses after Fssst knocks him out, the dwarf witch chokes in Hegh's ferocious grasp. "Yield, I yield!" she croaks, barely getting the air past Hegh's grip.
Fssst, you reach the horn and stoop to pick it up. "No! Stop that kobold!" you hear Axel shouting in dismay, but he's not even able to fully lift himself up from the prone position yet.
Grick, the crabs on your feet get in a few more parting bites before you're able to clear them off. Take another 1d4+2 damage from the painful pinches - but you clear them off successfully and scramble away from their tide pool without any more getting on your scales.
Hegh sets the witch down, and calls for Shieldbearer to help restrain her. Once Shieldbearer has a firm hold of the witch's arms, Hegh draws his sword and holds it to her throat. Silence. Stillness. He patiently waits until the leaders decide what to do with the stump-witch.
Hegh places his off-hand on his side, occasionally thumping the wound to maintain his focus.
Thunk whips his sash off and allows it to become the reach weapon that it is, he whips it after the Dwarf going after Smoog, hoping to wrap it around his neck and snap it
for
Thunk grins as SMASH takes effect
Hearing a horrible TWANG from inside the magno-device, Smoog winces and resolves to fix the now-useless contraption ASAP...
-
I really need to find a proper workshop to get all my gear in order.
I have so many other fantastic blueprints swimming thru my head.
I must convince the others to find a stronghold or secret hideout we can use as a home base.
-
But right now a more pressing threat converges on him from above.
The spike-knuckled dwarf he accidentally healed seems intent on denting his head.
Smoog tries to roll out of danger...
-
Sees takes a running leap off the north side of the temple debris, naked, painted in streaks of white mud, brandishing the heavy dagger in a reversed grip, and Gorlaug’s Wrath in her left hand. Her arms are crossed for stability as she lets loose a blast from her own dreaded horn.
The dirge blasts the general area the knuckled dwarf occupies, and is sent soaring through the air to Thunk's side.
She lands with an acrobatic tumble and finds herself crouched in the thick of the brawling dwarves, near enough to Thunk to be able to rely on each others' support.
"These apes' misfortune has only begun! Let's show them their proper place in the food chain, High Executioner Thunk."
Tanard remains in the makeshift blind, nested in a lumpy mound of bedroll, clothes, and deflated travel pack.
Hegh watches Sees' approach with keen interest.
Glorious.
Hegh savagely roars along with the horn's call, sending spurts of frost into the air.
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The flying, knuckled dwarf is screaming in battle rage as he lands nearly atop the blue kobold known as Smoog. Smash! and the brass knuckles impact on Smoog's weapon, knocking it away. Hooof! and the air is knocked out of Smoog's lungs by a right hook to the stomach - take 1d6 damage, piercing 1, Smoog.
The kobold staggers back a few steps, clutching at his draconic midsection. He avoided the first devastating hit, but the second one really hurt. He looks up at the dwarf and sees the dwarf rounding back for another swing at Smoog's chin...
BWAAAAGHRRRRR comes Gorlaug's Wrath, with Hegh's own voice lending effort to the sound. The combined voices of Sees and Hegh form a tightened cone of sound that knocks the attacking dwarf clear off his feet, sending him flying nearly into the river and emerging from the water coughing and deaf.
Sees doesn't even slow down. With an agile hop, skip and a jump, the bard arrives near to the barbarian Thunk. The Dragontongue's words soothe the barbarian somewhat, reaching through to his rage and reminding him of his station, healing him for 3.
Thunk isn't watching the bard, instead grinning at the reckless dwarf that got knocked off of Smoog. Casually, the barbarian shucks off his sash, wrapping it tightly around both fists. Letting one end hang loose, the barbarian begins whipping the knot at its end rapidly around over his head, approaching the dwarf. With a ferocious swing, the barbarian wraps one end of his far-reaching weapon around the dwarf's wrist, yanking hard enough on it to solidify the knot around the fist.
Turning away from the dwarf, Thunk heaves. With all of the force in his body, the kobold begins whirling the dwarf over his head by the sash, holding on to the dwarf by the wrist as he spins him around and around over his head! After a few revolutions, during which the dwarf screams in rage and fear, Thunk yanks again on his weapon, and rips the dwarf's arm off at the shoulder. The one-armed dwarf is sent flying into the river to land with a splash, leaving his arm in Thunk's possession. Serves him right for attacking Smoog...
While this is happening, Hegh notices that the witch he has by the throat has been rummaging around in her pockets during your distraction, as you watched Sees-Death. Just as you're about to angrily stop her, she flings a handful of magically enchanted pocket sand in your eyes! You're blinded, and you begin to feel the magic take hold instantly, imposing drowsiness that you know isn't natural. Roll Defy Danger: Con as your grip loosens around the witch's throat!
Meanwhile, Axel has recovered from the explosion of his spell-horn, and is racing toward the river's edge, keeping low! What do you all do?
Tired, so tired. This looks like a fine place ...
Unless someone or something stops him, Hegh will settle in for a nice nap.