Reminder that whilst everyone was away, Auruns left a 'note' in these parts...
Auruns rides back into the Oasis, his face a little sad, and with a satchel full of stars. He spends a while looking around, but finds even the octopus gone from its customary place.
He locates an empty coconut shell eventually, and after scraping off the husk with a knife, he touches a lucky amulet to protect his soul from being stolen with the writing and scratches on its shell, in rather wobbly letters: 'AURUNS MUST GO NOW. GUDBYE FRENDS.'
He leaves it somewhere he hopes that it will be found, then rides his giant gecko through the portal that obligingly opens up for him, to join the goblins waiting on the other side.
Then the portal winks out.
Meanwhile, out amongst the sand dunes on patrol, Auruns starts to come across occasional strange 'gems' which glimmer like stars, and he starts to collect them in a satchel.
(Assuming this would not be a problem with Lynora-Jill.)
Auruns leave bigwigs to think and head back out on patrol.
The goblin heads over to the pool where he unties his giant gecko, remounts, and heads back off out amongst the sand-dunes. He is soon lost from sight.
Well please to make sure that other important people find out. Auruns make report to Runelord, but Runelord trying to find a trouble-making gypsy band, and not have much time for organising people about skeletons.
Very Tempermental PlantJack wrote: Auruns the Goblin wrote: The goblin approaches PlantJack, his desert robes flapping.
You be one of the champions of the boards?
"Indeed I am. Aren't you that goblin who serves the 8th Runelord?" Uh, one of them.
Auruns take sample of the stuff which reddish skeletons that attack the oasis the other day turn to when dead to the bazaar and spend a good deal of time asking a great many sages and wise men questions about it.
Sages say analysis very difficult, some say undead, some say constructs.
Eighth Runelord busy watching for moves by something dangerous and sneaky-clever, and not have time to take look at sample.
All sages say that attacking creatures likely created by powerful wizard or necromancer, and one say that nine thousand years ago a dracolich from the Realm of Dreams try something similar, but his magic not work very well and skeletons then fall to pieces if they try to fight; but Auruns see that skeletons which attack Oasis not fall to pieces when they fight, but need knocking apart, so Auruns think that this must be a better wizard than that dracolich.
The goblin approaches PlantJack, his desert robes flapping.
You be one of the champions of the boards?
Auruns enters the Oasis, nodding to Nimora as he dismounts by the pool and ties his gecko to a tree, so that it can drink without wandering off and becoming misplaced again. He then makes his way over to the other waiting goblin, and the two have an urgent conversation in low tones.
Coming back over a sand dune at some speed, with urgency to the effort with which he encourages speed from his gecko mount, Auruns comes racing back towards the Oasis, robes billowing.
Dinner time here; I will try to get another post in afterwards, before I lose computer access for the night.
Somewhere in the winding warren of back-streets of the bazaar, Auruns is calling at the houses of various sages; there are private courtyards with playing fountains and servants offering sherbert and rose petal refreshments.
Auruns having located his mount at last has set off again, across the sands, heading for the bazaar.
Sorry about the delay. Busy day today checking walking times, taxi provision at Snow Hill and boat-moorings in Birmingham for PaizoCon UK later this year...
The Dalesman wrote: Auruns the Goblin wrote: You forget Auruns! You forget the part Auruns play! :)
Edit:
Well he might be protesting if he weren't still back at the oasis looking for his gecko...
Look above - I fixed that for you :) :)
You forget Auruns! You forget the part Auruns play! :)
Edit:
Well he might be protesting if he weren't still back at the oasis looking for his gecko...
Adjusting his robes, Auruns heads off to look for his gecko mount which seems to have wandered off somewhere in the oasis during the fighting.
The Dalesman wrote: Nimora Orlbereth wrote: Nimora shrugs. As far as I is being know they is still being at the sun temple. You can going to finding them. We will staying here and keeping guard while you is gone. Devlyn nods, though he looks a bit torn.
"I guess I had better then. I also need to talk to Sirone about some permanent guardians to go along with the wards, just in case some of us aren't here."
Looking back over to Allura:
"Shall we pop over to this temple and see who's there?" Are there any reliable birds you know, who can see trouble which walks in coming from miles off?
Auruns not see anything other than the group of them marching across the sand.... the goblin concludes.
Slowly and cautiously, the goblin comes down from the tree.
I was heading back here across the desert to water my lizard, Ozzie, when I saw a group of those things heading this way, too.
Are they all gone?
Auruns not stop to count twice how many there were out there- between two and three human hands' worth Auruns think. Auruns see a dozen attack here, just now, in two groups of six. Are there maybe one or two out there still?
Since the other two don't seem interested in his healing, the goblin puts the vials away and busies himself with collecting into a pouch some samples from the remains of the skeletons defeated here, then climbs up the nearest tree.
This time he is doing it to try to stay out of harm's way, though he will shout if he sees any more.
If anyone wants, they can fight the other group of six in the Oasis, based off this encounter.
I'm off to bed here in the UK...
You go check if you want. The goblin shivers. I not so happy to fight things where the only weapons I have available shrivel up and rot away.
I stay here, collect samples of powder they turn to, and watch for more coming.
A sage in the bazaar maybe able to tell Auruns later more about what these things might be or where they come from.
Auruns pulls a vial from his belt, and knocks it back. Then he looks over and sees Nimora and Mirathan's states. He pulls a couple more vials out, and offers them to Nimora and Mirathan.
Goblin healer's potions?
These things work on goblins; I don't know if they will on other races; perhaps they might but will have a nauseating effect for a short while?
Auruns tugs a piece of cloth from his robes and throws it over the head of one of the ones fighting Nimora, distracting it and allowing her to finish it off.
Auruns manages to down the one he was fighting, thanks to Nimora's attack, but his tree branch is withered to practically uselessness with contact by the time he crushes its skull. It's difficult to tell how injured the goblin may be under his robes.
Auruns pokes and prods with his tree branch, as best he can engaging one of them, whilst it lashes out at his robes, trying to get a telling hit.
In something like controlled panic, Auruns does his best to pull what he can of his robes up over his mouth, before trying to resume a firm grip on his branch.
As the 'skeletons' set foot in the Oasis, the vegetation beneath their feet withers and dies.
Whilst they're still 'alive', these ones are very dangerous to any plant life which they come in contact with, due to the stuff which they're smeared in and constantly seep. There's a vague hope here, that they might damage VT PlantJack if he's around and engages them physically.
After chopping noises, almost falling in his hurry to get back down, Auruns heads back down the tree clutching a branch.
Uhh, sorry about this, tree, but right now I need it more than you do, I figure.
Whilst the others seem paralysed by the spectacle, Auruns looks around wildly, then head for a nearby palm tree, and starts to climb up it...
He's actually going up there for a branch, not to try and get away and hide.
Hurry. Over there, look! the goblin points at a dune.
(edited)
They drip red, as they walk. Things like skeletons but not skeletons. And Auruns leave warclub at home.
Auruns spend enough time rai... uh, 'playing' in gravyeards when younger to know skeletons need smashy weapons to hurt them.
Out there, the goblin waves back out in the direction of some nearby sand-dunes. But heading this way. Maybe ten, maybe fifteen.
Auruns never see anything like them before.
Lolloping across the sands, his robes billowing from his position on the back of his mount, comes Auruns the goblin... He comes tearing into the Oasis in a hurry.
Not dead undead! Not undead dead!, he shouts in some obvious confusion.
Walking skeleton things.
Growing bored of being ignored by the insect lord whilst the sun beats down, the goblin swings himself back up onto his gecko.
Stand-offish insect, be like that then, he mutters.
Yaah!
He heads off back out into the desert, and is soon lost from sight amidst the rolling dunes.
The goblin, having finally finished watering his mount, eyes the insect lord...
Be careful, he enjoins Aunt Esmarelda once again. Then he heads over to the main pool, so his mount can have a drink, and to refill his own water-bottle.
The goblin continues to address Aunt Esmarelda.
If you see gypsies, it important that you have care. There good gypsies, normal gypsies, bad gyspies, and wicked evil gypsies that sold their souls and services to a lord of the undead, a servant of something worse, many years ago. And their master's master's master give them commands to help a bad wicked one, who serve another servant of the master's master's master.
At least I think that the number of times master, the Runelord say, the goblin frowns hard.
I wish he say it in song, or give names which Auruns could make up song to remember.
But the names bad for some reason he say.
Mah Aunt Esmarelda wrote: Auruns the Goblin wrote: Esmarelda, the goblin corrects himself. He waves to Jack Hammer in passing, but continues his search for the kobolds...
"Oh, hey! Are you one of the Runelord of Doom's servants? How's it goin'?" The goblin reins his mount to a halt.
Badly in the small things, apart from the tomatoes. The tomatoes very good.
The very big things uncertain.
Gypsies. Have you or Uncle Meepo seen or heard any gypsies? Are they part of any of your battle plans?
Gypsies are important, the Runelord say to Auruns the other day. Auruns is supposed to watch for them and to try to track their movements - or those of their leader.
Esmarelda, the goblin corrects himself. He waves to Jack Hammer in passing, but continues his search for the kobolds...
Robes flapping in the desert breeze, the goblin rides into the oasis.
The Meepo - Uncle Meepo and Aunt Esmerelda, he says, urgently. Has anybody seen those kobolds? Are they here?
Cresting a sand-dune, the goblin with the gecko mount comes into view heading for the oasis...
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