Dogdog's face lit up at the encouragement and contact. His tongue rolled out of his mouth and one of his back legs started shaking.
"Browlf!" he said happily, shoving into Zord with his head strongly enough to nearly knock them both over.
The mouth of the wolf-skull puppet on his hand moved. "Yes. Dogdog very good boy." Dogdog said in a high pitched, scratchy voice.
Apparently Dogdog was a lot better at killing things than he was at ventriloquism.
The only obvious way up onto the ship is an old mossy gangplank. the one crooked railing is draped with vines. It appears to be encrusted with a large ball of mud.
Torch holds his new dogslicer up to the shine and purposefully reflects the light into his eyes. Torch lets out a sound of awe at the shiny surface. "Torch now be stronger than all!" Torch declares even as he blinks away the sun spots on his eyes. "Torch shall call it...Torchslicer!" he adds dramatically. After a few moments, though, he realizes the misconception and rethinks it. "No. Torch shall call his knife...Dogslicer! To the water-wood-on-land!"
Leading the group once more, Torch rides on Not-Dog up the gangplank toward the deck of the ship, his new dogslicer, Dogslicer, sheathed to hold on to Not-Dog with the slope.
|
Zords eyes roll up into the back of his skull, until the others only see white. Then he speaks to himself in a very strange, otherworldly manner. "Be warned, Zord. Before you lies the home of the paper wasp, genus Polistes . If you proceed further without proper caution, the swarm will surely overwhelm you and your companions."
Zord snaps out of it, shaking his head and growling. He doesn't recall precisely what just happened, but he now recognizes the wasp nest as a threat. He gestures wildly at it. "Stop! Wasp! Fire. Fire! Grubble. Torch! "
Torch stares at Zord, a bit confused with all the non-sensible words, but finally understands when he hears fire. "Fire!" Torch shouts, turning toward the mud wasp nest Zord is gesturing at. Swinging his torch hard, Torch attempts to smash the nest immediately, gleefully thinking of all the little lives blinking away from the possible damage.
Dogdog, having no idea what all the excitement was about, just waited while Torch established his dominance over the... mudball.
"Professor have many fancy speaks! Pretty like frog entrails!"
As Torch waves his impromptu weapon, Grubble decides not to me outdone when it comes to fire. Conjuring a globe of flames into his hands, he hurls it at the nest.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Torch, wise leader of his own pack of goblins, wielder of the mighty dogslicer Dogslicer, and tamer of not-dogs and dogdogsalike is sure that the best way to deal with a wasp nest is to smack it with a flaming stick. This approach is impressively effective against the nest itself, shattering the clay ball into many small pieces. The blow is less effective however on the wasps inside, who now swarm their attacker and his mount. Torch and Not-Dog both receive countless stings before Grubble Gruuu launches a ball of fire into the midst of the swarm and they disperse.
Torch bats away both the wasps and flames as they dissipate and lets out a crackling laugh. "Zord have good idea. Torch listen to Zord more," he says, seemingly unaffected by the fact that he and Not-Dog have several welts and burnt spots now. Well, besides the normal ones. In fact, Torch seems to like the makeover.
"To the top of the water-wood-on-land!" Torch declares, continuing the treacherous and fun ride up the gangplank.
The troupe makes their way up onto the ship proper. The main deck of the shipwreck is cluttered with objects both natural and artificial. Thick swaths of leafy vines grow over the deck, and shiny green patches of algae and moss grow where the vines do not. The central cabin's roof has a wide edge, creating a canopied walkway along the ship's sides. A flight of steps runs up to the roof of the ship's main cabin, the entrance to which is blocked by a door decorated by a large number of rodent and bird skulls. A smoking stovepipe chimney extends up from the ship's highest point above. Two rickety wooden platforms—crow’s nests—sit on the masts, ten feet above the ship’s deck below. Each is linked by a pair of thick ropes, and additional ropes hang down from the platform on the stern-most mast to the deck.
You hear a faint rattling of chains as you board which is soon revealed to be two dogs, tied to the masts. As soon as you spot them they catch your scent, but are unable to reach you thanks to the chains. They begin to bark loudly.
Grubble's instincts warn him of danger a moment before the dogs start barking, granting him a moment to hurry towards them. As the usual sparks dance around him, he lets out a high-pitched chuckle. "Is the dream of Torch! Fire dog!"
And a blast flies from his hands, striking the closest dog.
Torch pulls out his dogslicer Dogslicer while he has Not-Dog rush toward the real dog. "Fire! Torch yells, becoming his now standard battle cry.
Grubble Gruuus fire lights the mangy mutt on the upper deck ablaze. It howls and snaps at its chain, struggling to burst free but is held fast.
Tickletooth: 3
Scabtongue: 6
Dog padded up the gangplank with Dogdog on his back and growled when he saw the dogs chained to the mast. He bounded forward before Dogdog was ready and able to lower his Fangstick.
The big wolf plowed toward the enemy canine.
Dogdog yelped as Dog surged forward unexpectedly, but managed to hang on. Once Dog had engaged, Dogdog lept off his brother's back and literally dove into the fray.
TT: 1
ST: 6
Zord's channeled energy catches the dog on the upper deck off guard and it takes the full brunt. The one by Torch is relatively unfazed.
Dog charges around the cabin and his rider leaps at the chained hound. His Wolf skull opened wide to chomp down on the dogs flank. With a whimper the sorry creature falls to the ground.
Galvanized by the demise of one of the foes, Grubble improvises a short, gleeful rhyme while slinging another bolt of fire at the surviving canine.
"Burn the coal and burn the log,
burn the meat of stupid DOG!"
Grubble Gruuu lets loose another blast of fire, burning the other dog to a crisp.
Torch cheers as the last dogs begins to burn. Feeling another rhyme build up, Torch begins to sing as he carves off the ears of both dogs.
"We did fight and we did bite!
Now dogs be dead! After lotslegs!
So cut the meat and have a treat,
For we have wins cause we goblins!"
After climbing back down the stairs to the main level, Torch notices the door. "It's a way-blocker!" Torch exclaims, pointing it out to the others. "Longshanks." Torch knew that longshanks used way-blockers to hide stuff, but he also knew that way-blockers were very weak, and that it was much better to hide stuff in holes in the ground.
Moving to the door, Torch tries to open it and see what's inside.
Torch yanks open the door to the cabin and is immediately struck in the shoulder by flying shard of femur. Before he can react a thick pink tongue wraps around his waist and yanks him off of Not-Dog and into the cabin. Inside the cabin a vicious looking goblin woman clings to the ceiling. It is fair to assume that this is the cannibal Vorka. Her mouth is her most fearsome feature—it's a bit too wide, even by goblin standards, and Vorka's habit of filing her already sharp teeth has resulted in a snaggletooth grin of mismatched teeth that leaves little doubt as to her preference for tough, stringy meat. Like goblin meat. She wears rags and bits of stained cloth over her equally patchwork leather armor. A floppy leather hat adorns her head, clearly not originally meant for a goblin. Below her on the ground is a grossly oversized toad which has it's tongue wrapped around Torch. Vorka Squeals with delight and shouts through her crooked teeth.
Actions for Torch, Grubble Gruuu, and Not-Dog please.
Very surprised to be grabbed so suddenly, Torch immediately begins thrashing and trying to get out of the creature's slimy hold from cursing to biting to letting out a horrid fart he had been holding in for a while now. Not-Dog quickly comes to try and help, but completely fails in doing anything but causing more chaos with his barking and small snips.
"Goblins and Not-Dogs! Attack!" Torch shouts as he struggles.
Squeezing and twisting between Torch and Not-Dog, Grubble stumbles inside the cabin, a torrent of sparks flying out of his rachitic arms towards the dreaded Vorka.
"Many kills of goblin enemies! All we be greatest heroes today! Maybe tomorrow too!"
Vorka attempts to twist away from the fire blast but receives a small burn on her side. She shrieks as she scuttles away across the ceiling. "This one has fire in him! YES! It Adds spices to the meat dear! BURN!" As she shouts a ball of flames coalesces in her hand.
Torch wiggles our of the tongue. The frog hops forward and chomps at him with a surprisingly toothy maw. Torch receives a good bruise but his chain shirt protects him from any real damage.
Dogdog scrambled into the tangle of bodies, rebounding off Torch and then the wall before sliding to a halt on the opposite side of the frog and snarling as his wolf-skull puppet chomped into the toad's flanks.
Dog followed his brother inside, focusing on the same target, circling in the same manor that Dogdog had, though with far more grace.
Dogdog leaps into the fray and tears a huge chunk out of the frog's side. Dog comes around from the other side and chomps him in the rump while he's distracted. The giant frog flops to the ground with a wet plop. Vorka shrieks at you. "I WAS USING THAT YOU DIRTY MUTTS!"
"We no be mutts!" Torch shouts as he quickly clambers onto Not-Dog. He glances at Dogdog and Dog. "Okay, some of we be mutts, but Not-Dog not be mutt. Fire!"
And with this clarifying declaration, Torch has Not-Dog rush toward the goblin eating goblin, not even considering the fact that she is both on the ceiling and he is but a few feet tall.
"Vorka fight fire with fire! If not crazy eat-goblin, Grubble loved Vorka!"
A love story, as passionate as it was short, between two unhinged pyromancers reaches its tragical conclusion as Grubble's sparks ignite into a searing, oily blast of yellow flame, heat reverberating over the walls.
fire damage
Vorka sticks her tongue out as Torch approaches but her taunt turns into a shout as she is hit with another blast of fire, this one much more powerful than the last.
Vorka: 20
Lord Longtongue: -2 stable
Vorka hurls her own ball of flame back at Grubble but it seems to dissipate and be absorbed into his own flames.
Vorka's flame, although it doesn't hurt Grubble, unbalances the elements around it, overloading his control. Sparks and small jets of flame fly uncontrollably around him, disperding harmlessly on the walls and causing smoke curls to rise from his piecemeal armor.
|
|
"Barkey! Barkey! Go!
Zord's hideously deformed dog appears next to Vorka and attempts to take a delicious goblin bite.
Fiendish Dog.
AC 17, touch 16, flat-footed 16
hp 8
Fort +4 , Ref +3, Will +1
SR 5
Fiendish – Resist cold 5, fire 5
Melee bite +4 (1d4+3)
Quick Rules advanced template (already added into the above): +2 on all rolls (including damage rolls) and special ability DCs; +4 to AC and CMD; +2 hp/HD.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"I WAS USING THAT YOU DIRTY MUTTS!"
Dogdog turned around with seething hatred in his eyes.
"Dogdog is good boy." the wolf skull mouthed as Dogdog spoke.
He mounted Dog with slow determination and pulled his fangstick into his hand.
Dog knew that tone. He racted to his brother's emotional swings instantly, lowering his head, laying his ears back and raising his hackles. A glow rumbling growl built in the dark wolf's chest.
Torch waves his torch a bit, but realizes that he won't reach the goblin eater like this. Torch reaches into his pouch and draws a handful of sand and chucks it at his target with a grin. "You no beat us. You no eat us. We be hittin'. We be winnin'."
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Vorka yelps in surprise as Torch's pocket sand flies into her face, blinding her. She begins to chant and wave her arms.
|
|
"Grrrr. Too. High! Not. Not. Not. Fair!"
In his anger, Zord unleashes another distorted energy burst, going around his friends and hitting Vorka.
The distorted puppy dog snarls and yips in frustration at not being able to reach her. It readies an action to bit the first enemy that comes in range.
1d6, DC14 Fort for half, 30 ft spread
Still unable to reach his target, Torch frustratingly waves his hands and weapons while Not-Dog begins to pace around as if to find a way up to the ceiling. "Goblin eater make no sense! Fire again!"
"Grubble fires fire, yes!" says the pyromaniac, extinguishing his armor before firing a wild blast at the beautiful cannibal.