/qu/ - Quests/Roll

Skup Boggart

>>6728

Skup Boggart's your name, being a goblin is your game.

Wait, are you a boy goblin or a girl goblin?

>>6730

Lets go with the well worn path of goblin boy

>>6731

seconding for gobbo boi

Ey op lets get this show on the road

>>6728

>>6730

boy

>>6736

Boy! You are a boy!

And wait, there's one more thing you need to remember.

How do you like to fight?

Hit them with a stick?

Sneak up behind them to hit them with the stick?

Use the stick to shoot some magic stuff?

Sorry for not posting sooner, this place is pretty quiet

>>6738

Magic motherfucker

>>6740

>>I am indifferent to Krunk Butterfug

>this tbh. He's a fairly cool guy but we never really hung out

>>6742

Nah mate krunk's a bro

>>6743

NO! Fuck Krunk, that guy steals ma loot!

>>6742

>>6743

>>6744

I'm getting some mixed messages here. Talk it out amongst yourselves.

>>6744

>>6742

I was betting chief is a wise gob and wouldn't put two people who work shitty together on such an important mission

(I am >>6743)

but actually him being an asshole sounds more fun

>>6749

> Call him a cum guzzling Elf touching kiddie fondler, obviously.

> And then shoot a small ball of fire.

>>6750

>this guys tbh. I like it. Get an asshole, be an asshole

>>6752

Hey, if you let me run, I tell you where an asshole hides that plans to ambush you!

>>6752

You tell the humans that if they allow you to run, you'll tell them where an asshole hides that plan to ambush them.

"That's exactly what someone planning an ambush would say!" shouts one of the humans, the mage of the group.

The warrior of the group grabs you by the neck and lifts you up.

"Tell us what you know, or we'll cut you to ribbons."

As you look around, terrified, you can see Krunk's head popping out from a bush. He's watching the event go down.

What do you do?

>Tell them the asshole is watching

>Call for help

>Make something up

>Bite the hand of the warrior

>>6754

Ah shit son we fucked up

I took a break and people made dumb ass decisions.

don't think they believe us so i don't know if lying will help

On the other hand the last guy is probably a rogue so we may not be able to out run him.

Thing is this is home turf, i bet we can run somewhere then sneak away and escape after biting the warrior's hand and using the innate goblin disengage skill. (And if they try to follow we ice the path behind us while we run)

>>6756

Oh wait nvm didn't look at the pic, last human is a cleric so of course we can escape these fools

>>6754

"…THERE!!!" *points at Krunk and fires some ice magic at his face*

>>6759

>shelter

>>6759

You decide to collect a few fallen branches and leaves, and with enough time, you create a little hovel of sorts to sleep in for the night. You are proud of yourself for making such a comfy shelter, and you think you're going to enjoy this night's rest.

—-

You hear noises outside your shelter. Shambling.

What do you do?

>Go out and check

>Peak out of the shelter

>Ignore it and sleep

>>6761

>Peek out the shelter, might be zambonis.

>>6763

Ok, listen you fucker.

I know the living things are problematic because they can get me from afar.

You? Your mental functions are fucked from the moment you became like that.

So, what to do?

Climb a tree and magic that rotten piece of shit to death. Then assert dominance the oldfashioned way.

>>6763

You're not gonna let this rotting sack of flesh ruin your day!

You dash out of your shelter, and throw your stubby limbs around a tree, shimming your way up the base of it. The zombie turns and sees you just as you make it to a branch too high for the undead to reach.

It opens its mouth, and you cast a bolt of lightning down at its skull.

"YOUCH!" it shrieks, falling to the ground. You continue to throw bolts of lightning down on him, and the zombie attempts scurrying away.

"I'M…NOT..TRYING…TO…EAT…YOU!" it cries.

Zombies don't usually talk, you think to yourself, but is it really worth the risk investigating this?

What do you do?

>Keep zapping the bastard

>Ask it what it wants

>Threaten it with more zaps if it doesn't go away

>Throw some ice magic down on it

>Throw some fire magic down on it

>Try to escape

>>6765

>ruin your day

Ruin your night, I mean to say.

>>6765

What the… ROTTEN SHIT IT CAN TALK!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT THEN!?

>>6767

Uh he hello? What do you want? What are you??

>>6765

You attempt to ask the undead creature what it wants, but due to your conflicting emotions of fear and curiosity, you say something along the lines of…

>Uh he…hello YOU ROTTEN SHIT what um do AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH IT CAN TALK you want?

You cover your mouth in shock.

"I…AM…LEONARD…I…EXCUSE ME…"

Leonard the undead marches away from the tree. You can soon after hear the horrible cry of a some woodland creature, followed by gruesome ripping noises. The undead soon comes back, his mouth fresh with blood.

"Sorry," it says, "my name is Leonard. I am…I was…a knight of the Queen Tindalia's court.."

You remember that name. Queen Tindalia is apparently the current queen of the humans in this land. Local goblin talk suggests that she is a "fuckin' bitch."

"I had just returned from a campaign against the nefarious warlocks, and I soon learned I was…cursed with undeath."

What do you do?

>Ask him what he wants…again.

>Ask him about the nefarious warlocks

>Ask him again if he's sure he doesn't want to eat you

>Ask him about Queen Tindalia and the humans

>Ask him if he knows the directions back to the goblin village

>>6765

So… This Tindalia may be a total bitch, but they put me together with Asskrunk, so the validity of their information might pretty much suck… Hey Rotten Shit! What is the matter with that Tindalia?

>>6769

You ask, in not the kindest way, what's the deal with that bitch Tindalia.

Leonard scratches his head, flakes of skin falling off as he does so.

"Oh, you mean the whole…kill all the monsters and warlock business? Yes, some people question Queen Tindalia's decision to hunt creatures as furiously as her campaigns seem, but I understand her motivations. Monsters are clearly a threat to the civilized races, not just her and the rest of the humans, but the elves and the dwarves too…however, I am considered a monster now too, so perhaps I will learn to disagree with Queen Tindalia's wishes."

What now?

>Ask him what he wants…again.

>Ask him about the nefarious warlocks

>Ask him again if he's sure he doesn't want to eat you

>Ask him if he knows the directions back to the goblin village

>>6771

Connect the dots and ask if the queen wants to destroy all the goblins as well what the hell are you thinking.

Also what do you want monster?

>>6771

You ask if Queen Tindalia wants to destroy all the goblins, as well as asking, in a harsh town

>What the Hell are you thinking!?

"Of course. Goblins, ogres, trolls, orcs, and the countless other monster races…on second thought, maybe her campaigns are a little bit…large in scope. It's not like I'm going to help her anymore or anything, I'm undead now. The reason I'm in these woods is simply to hide from the rest of the humans. I was just walking by when I heard snoring, and well…I got lonely."

What now?

>Tell him to get out of here

>Ask him if he knows how to get to your goblin village

>Ask if he wants to spend the night

>Ask if he wants to tag along when you look for the goblin village in the morning

>Shoot magical stuff at him for shits and giggles

>>6773

Well, his smell might attract some animals that you could kill with some ranged attacks…

"Hey, wanna spend the night here, rotten?"

>>6773

Leonard doesn't appreciate that you keep calling him rotten (though it's true), yet does decide to spend the night.

You don't want any of his zombie flakes to get on you, so you stay up in the tree for the night, while he stays below.

—-

Nothing comes at you during the night. The sun is now shining and you awaken. Leonard tells you that ever since he turned, he has been unable to sleep, and stood guard for the knight.

You believe you just might be able to navigate back to the tribe. Leonard asks if he can tag along, as he has nothing better to do.

What do you say

>Yes

>No

>>6775

Well, I need to bring something more useful than the Asshole, that sacrificed itself for me, back, so Rotten might be something…

And while his skills in battle might have been not enough to keep him alive, they seem good enough for your village, so why not.

>>6775

You decide that your new friend, nicknamed Rotten, can tag along for the journey.

It takes some time to get a sense of place, but eventually you are able to find the tribe. Something is off, however. The chief seems to be waiting near the front gate for something, and there are goblin guards by his side. There also appears to be someone else too…it's that SON OF A BITCH KRUNK!

You go up to the gate, only for the goblin guards to point their spears at you and Rotten.

"Look at 'em, chief!" says Krunk, sporting a few nasty looking cuts, "not only does this git have the balls to com' marchin' back 'ere after trying to kill me and leaving me for dead with the 'oomies, but now he's brought himself a zombie!"

"Don't worry, I am no threat," says Rotten.

"And it fuckin' talks!?" Krunk yelps widely.

The chief looks you in the eyes and asks, "what do you have to say for yourself?"

>Explain that Krunk left you with the humans first

>Say what Krunk is saying is true, and boast about it to assert dominance

>Question why the chief would believe anything an asshole like Krunk says

>Threaten to sick you new zombie friend on the other goblins if they don't put down their spears

Huh, didn't think this quest would die so soon.

>>6795

I'm actually a new guy who was just about to start posting in your quest thread. I-Iike it s-sempai!

>>6796

Well damn, ain't that kawaii.

>>6777

>>Say what Krunk is saying is true, and boast about it to assert dominance

Are we doing this quest?

>>6803

>Are we doing this quest?

Fuck yeah!

I'm behind "Say what Krunk is saying is true, and boast about it to assert dominance" too. Asserting dominance is always good.

Tell the Truth and get Krunk in trouble

>>6805

You're not going to be put into a situation like this just because you tried taking advantage of Krunk's lies.

You try explaining that Krunk was the one who turned on you first, after you only did some light rebuttal to his nasty attitude. But Krunk doesn't take your backpedaling easily.

"What? You' tink you can just lie about how you tried to kill me?" he asks, that snide look seeming to be hidden to everyone else but you.

"PAPA, KILL 'EM!" yells Screachmilk.

The chief looks down to the ground, and thinks for a moment.

"Skup Boggart, see me in my hut. Alone."

———

You are now alone with the chief. Rotten is staying put right outside the village, with guards watching him to make sure he doesn't do some "spooky zombie stuff."

The chief does not look happy.

"Look, wether you attacked him first or he attacked you doesn't matter right now. What matters is that the humans are getting more and more dangerous, and I need a unified tribe. The simple fact is that no matter what you think about Krunk, he is popular around here, especially since he started to court my daughter."

It doesn't seem like he's going to be settling things fairly (or in your favor) just so he doesn't cause schisms with the rest of the goblins!

"So here is what I'm offering. You do a little mission for the tribe to get back in their favor, and that way we can all just forget about what happened yesterday."

What do you do?

>Listen to his mission

>Argue that letting Krunk have his way just to keep the peace isn't a good idea

>Walk away; you don't need this crap

>>6806

Too late morons

>>6809

Sure seems like it was. I wonder how they'll respond to the next situation.

>>6807

Listen to the mission. We can decide if we'll go along with it then.

>>6807

You decide to listen to the chief's mission. Maybe it will be something good.

"I want you to go to the old Temple of Monstro, enter it, and come back with whatever treasures or knowledge you find. That is all. Do that, and it will be enough."

You don't know whether to be happy that the task is generally simple, or furious that he would suggest that sort of job for you.

The Tempe of Monstro's an old place, with a whole lot of myth and mumbo jumbo about it. Apparently there was once some King of Monster hundreds and hundreds of years ago who tried unifying all the beast races, yadda yadda yadda, fairy tale bunk. Point being though, there's a temple named after him and the more "undesirable races" such as your kind like it. It's a few days travel from here, and all you would need to do is go to it, grab a few old coins or even a nice looking brick and bring it back to the village.

What offends you is that only useless goblins are sent on journeys to the temple. They're no good for anything else, so they're sent to go pick up random garbage in that temple every once in awhile just so it looks like they're doing something for the rest of the tribe. It's an insult to your character!

So, what do you do?

>Accept the mission

>Reject the mission

>Suggest an alternative duty you could do to win back favor in the tribe

>>6822

If it's only useless goblins that get sent, those gobbos are certainly dumb enough to overlook the truely good stuff in there. I say we go have a look and find something a good bit better than a brick and some coins.

>>6822

You've got it all figured out. You're positive with just one good search, you can find something much better than a coin or a brick. You accept the mission.

"Excellent. I think this is going to work out for all of us," says the chief.

——-

You spend the next few hours preparing for the journey. You get a satchel of salted meats and a big ol' canteen of water. You polished your fancy magic casting staff, and have been given some decent enough leather armor for whatever potential dangers there may be, though you suspect very little.

So, what do you want to do now? The sun is setting, Rotten is still standing outside of the village, and you have a little bit of time before needing to rest for the trip.

>Try to get Rotten let inside the tribe

>Spend the night outside with Rotten

>Get some "liquid courage" at the drinking hole and get drunk off your ass

>Practice some magic

>>6825

Spend the night outside with Rotten. I doubt that we've got the pull to get him inside and he's been more of a bro than any gobbo so far.

>>6830

Let's just follow the path.

>>6832

Fuck elves. They're sneaky shits and there's probably more of them around here somewhere. Let's sneak for now. If we find some good relic at the temple maybe we can take some elf roast with us back to the tribe if they're still here when we head back.

>>6832

You tell Rotten to hush up as much as he can, and the two of you crouch down and get off the path, into the woods.

As you sneak, you get the sense that you are being watched. However, you cannot see any other elves in the woods. As you and Rotten begin to pass by them, you're able to pick up some details from their conversation.

"Finilith, my dear man, why must we be out here in such a dreadful little path? Why could our superiors not send us somewhere nicer, like the Translucent Grove?"

"Kateet, please. You now very well that we are in these woods for a good reason. The human queen's men are too clumsy to keep these paths safe, and only graceful and elegant elves like ourselves can due this duty properly."

"I know…but I do not need to enjoy this."

What do you do?

>Keep sneaking away

>Stay hidden and listen

>Attack

>Attempt to steal from them

>>6834

Let's just get to the temple. There's no telling how long Rotten can keep quiet, given that he is/was a knight guy and not a rogue or some shit.

>>6836

Hi Slime.

>>6838

agreed

>>6836

You say hi to the slime.

No response.

Rotten says "greetings" to the slime.

No response.

You and Rotten look at each other, unsure of what to do next…then the slime talks.

"HI. HI HOW ARE YOU? HI. HI I AM SLIME. HI."

Rotten tilts his head at you. "I suppose the slime knows how to speak."

"YES. YES SLIME CAN SPEAK. HI. HI WHO ARE YOU? I AM SLIME. ARE YOU SLIME?"

This slime is very odd.

It slithers closer to your camp ground.

What do you do now?

>Tell it to go away, it's weird and will probably scream all night

>Offer to let the slime stay for the night. You're not sure if slimes need sleep or not, but maybe it can keep Rotten company or something.

>Ask it for some of its slime so you can make potions

>Ask it questions about what you might encounter on the way to the Temple of Monstro

>>6840

> questions about encounters then ask if it's okay to take some of the slime for potions. But first, ask it if it eats goblins. It seems dumb enough that it might say 'yes' if it does.

>>6842

tell slime that the elf wants to hurt it, then ice the bitch.

>>6842

Slime, that lady is bad. She wants to hurt us. Help, please.

Also, I ice that skank so fierce.

>>6842

Thinking quickly, you tell the slime that the elf wants to hurt you and that you need help.

"HELP. SLIME CAN HELP. SLIME CAN HELP SAVE YOU."

With a quickness you would not expect from a blob of goo, it pounces at the assassin, and engulfs her entire head.

As the assassin begins stabbing at the slime on her head, the fact that she could very well end up stabbing herself in the face not going by you, you decide to cast some good old fashioned ice magic at her.

FRRRZZZZ

Her legs are now bound in a block of ice. With one dagger, she stabs at the slime, and with the other, she stabs at the ice binding her legs.

Rotten turns towards you, his sword readied.

"What should we do, my friend? End the elf's life, or interrogate her?"

>Kill the bitch!

>Question her

>Let her go…wait, really?

>Knock her out and get out of dodge

>>6845

Interrogate her, consider putting some half-goblins in her belly but realize that Rotten would probably have issues with that. Figure out what exactly to do with her post interrogation when we're done interrogating her.

>>6846

Shaking the thoughts of raping the elf out of your head, you tell Rotten you are going to interrogate her.

Rotten obliges, and shambles over to the elf, who has finally shaken off the slime. Rotten grabs her by the throat.

"You're going to tell us everything we want to know, assassin."

Her face might be turning blue, but she's not going to give up easily, it seems. She begins stabbing away at Rotten's chest, though it isn't very effective. Rotten casts her down to the ground, and puts his sword to her neck.

What would you like to ask this woman?

>Who sent you?

>What were those rumors you were talking about?

>Are there other assassins?

>Why shouldn't we just kill you now?

>What were those rumors you were talking about?

>>6849

More like all 4, but we can start with that one.

>>6851

> Get rotten and slime's views, mostly for brownie points. Unless they bring up really good points, GTFO.

>>6851

You decide, at least to gain some more trust from Rotten and the slime, to ask them what they think should be done about the escaped assassin.

Rotten says that "if the assassin could be out of sight this quickly, there is no way any of us could think of catching up with her. Your legs are too stubby, moving my body at any speed vaster than a crawl is highly difficult, and slimes are not known for for speeds. If she is going for backup, I suggest we start moving now and hope she loses are trail if she decides to come looking for us again."

The slime does not respond for a moment, but instead begins to bubble. After a few minutes, it spits out three large blobs of goo. You and Rotten watch as the goo blobs stretch and contract to form…slimy replicas of you, Rotten, and the slime.

"IF MEAN LADY COMES BACK, SHE'LL THINK WE'RE OVER HERE, WHEN REALY WE'LL BE SOMEWHERE ELSE!"

It's clear up close that these green blob versions of yourselves are fake (well, except maybe in the slimes case), but at a distance they could very well pass for you three. Assuming you all made it a fair distance away from camp, this distraction may be enough to give you just enough time to lose the assassin if she decides to come back with others.

So, what do you do now?

>Get moving, and let the slime tag along

>Get moving, but tell Rotten and/or the slime to stay behind and distract any potential reinforcements. Gotta look out for yourself, right?

>Stay hidden, and surprise attack any reinforcements that come by.

>>6853

Man, I've got to proofread these more.

>>6854

It is fairly painful.

>>6853

>Thank the slime for it's cunning plan as we all get moving to the temple.

>>6853

You thank the slime for its contribution, and ask it if it wants to join you and Rotten on your quest to the temple.

"YES."

With that, you, Rotten, and the slime move as quickly as you can away from the camp site.

——

Eventually, you are too tired to continue moving, and find a nice looking bush to sleep under for a few hours until sunrise. Rotten of course stays awake and stays on guard, and the slime…well, you're still not sure if it sleeps.

—–

You wake up, have breakfast with Rotten and the slime, and take out a small map of the area. There were no signs of any elven assassins. There are, however, few ways you can try to get to continue the journey.

>Follow a river a short distance from here. You may encounter a fisherman here or there, but it's the simplest path

>Look for the abandoned mines in the mountains, as they are home to many a monster and could provide safe travel (assuming the other monsters aren't looking to pick a fight)

>Take the mountain path. Dangerous terrain, chilly, and not fun, but it's unlikely you'll encounter anyone looking for a fight

>>6856

Let's go by river

>>6858

> Sure *toss her a little food* by the way, do you know if there are humans further along the river *if she answers and doesn't seem shifty about it toss her some more*

Also, I vote for calling the slime Sir Jellington

>>6859 I second the peace among monsters route.

End game plan: "Sirs Boggarton, Jellington & Skellington, established; monstrous adventuring by request."

Might need to give Rotten an acid bath first.

>>6862

*toss slice of meat* "Thanks. I don't really have enough to give everyone lunch. But it sounds like this might be the dessert anyway. It occurs to me though, don't you guys usually live in the sea? Did humans or elves or whatnot fuck your home up?"

Generally play nice but be ready to leg it if she tries to come up and have a bit out of us. They probably aren't very fast on land so we should be able to GTFO if that happens.

>>6865

Lightning that skank.

>>6865

Get Jellington and Skellington to deal with the leggy fish while we lightning the skanks in the water. Might be a dumbass gobbo, but even we know that water conducts electricity.

>>6869

Good point. Seconded.

>>6865

You call on Jellington and Rotten (whom you've called Skelltington in the heat of the situation which confuses him somewhat, but he seems to just assume it's another nickname for him) to deal with the walking fish woman, and pull yourself back up.

"GO AWAY MEAN LADY!"

Jellington leaps into the air, but the mermaid swings her bulbous head right at the slime, sending it down to the ground. This gives Rotten enough time to take a deep cut out of the monster's back, but she retaliates with a fierce kick to his face.

While Rotten and Jellington compose themselves and attack the mermaid again, you use what gobbo smarts you have and come up with a plan to make some fish fry. You cast a bolt of lightning into the river, and hear the cries of pain from about three other merpeople. Two of them sink to the bottom of the river, but one of them, a merman, flops himself onto land before he can be killed off. He has not shifted into the weird fish-head human-legs form of his sister, however, and he is now flopping about on his fish tail.

What do you do?

>Threaten to kill the merman if the mermaid doesn't surrender!

>Kill the merman now!

>Help Rotten and Jellington fight the mermaid, and leave the merman to flop about

>>6873

Let's finish off the merman first, Jellington and Skellington doesn't seem to be in that much trouble.

>>6879

>Ask for information on the route to the temple, as well as payment - nicely; don't want to give the humans more reason to hate goblins than they do already

>>6881

Yeah. Offer him whatever's left of the merfolk when Skellington and Jellington are done as well if he wants it. We don't need to suggest that he'll eat it though.

>>6879

You decide that since this human isn't running in terror or trying to kill you just yet, you might as well try to get some information out of him. You ask him about anything that may be in the way of your journey to the temple.

"Oh um…well, if you follow the river it shouldn't be too bad, especially with those merfolk gone. I did hear that there were some of those uh, big green folk, uh…orcs, yeah, orcs, walking around that direction, but since your kind is like, a smaller version of them, yous should be fine."

You are somewhat offended by this. Orcs may be bigger and tougher than you, but ever since the orc tribes in this land were unified by Prindle The Mediator, the orcs have been trying to get recognized as "civilized" by the big three races (humans, elves, and dwarves). It's pathetic, really. But you'll let his comment slide.

You bring up how it wasn't easy dealing with all those merfolk, with just the right inflection in your voice to signal to the fisherman that you're looking for payment.

"Oh! Um…I uh, don't have very much money but…I've got some info you might want to know. Back in my village, just about three or so hours ago, some elves came by, and they were looking for monsters. They mentioned a zombie, a slime, and a goblin. I think they meant you beastfolk. I won't tell them nothing if they're still in the village, since you got rid of the merfolk and all, but you better get moving."

Skellington is concerned. "It looks like that assassin isn't done with us just yet."

"I DON'T LIKE THAT LADY, SHE'S MEAN, AND NOT AS TASTY AS FISH LADY" says Jellington, doing what you can only assume is sucking up fish scales from the dead merwoman.

You mention how you have no need for the merfolk bodies, and suggest that the fisherman takes them for himself. Maybe he can say that he killed them or something.

"That um…that's actually a really swell idea, I will do that. You know, I don't really like monsters that much, but you three are some of the good ones. If you're ever in need of some fishing help, just ask around for Shamus in these parts. Just um, do it secretly though. Don't want the Queen to send her soldiers after me for helping yous all out."

With that, Shamus pulls out some rope, and gets to work bundling up the merfolk corpses.

So, what do you do now?

>Continue down the river as planned

>Sneak to Shamus' village. If those elves are after you, maybe it's best to get more info from there

>Turn around and take on of the other routes to the temple, over the mountain or through the mines.

>>6884

>Thank Shamus, he isn't too bad, for a human. Then continue down the river as planned, merfolk ain't got shit on us.

Tricksy elves, better watch ourselves.

>>6888

We'll sit with you, but not for too long. We've gotta get on our way, but there's always time for a little talking.

How about them Elves?

>>6888

You decide that a short sit and talk might be worth while, though you make it clear to the orcs as you, Skellington, and Jellington take your spots around the fire, that you can't stay for too long.

You then ask "about them elves."

"Oh, don't get me started on the elves" says Yutok.

"Oh no, you've gotten him started on the elves" says Shatun.

Looks like things will be a little bit interesting.

"I just can't stand that the elves are now helping the humans more than ever on their quest to fight the lesser races, and they still won't accept our help!"

Shatun nods. "Indeed. I respect the elves just like everyone else, but how long until the orcs are finally respected as a civilized race?"

"Do not worry, Shatun" says Yutok "one day the elves, dwarves, and humans will see us as the fourth civilized race. It is only a matter of time, I am sure…not to offend our guests, of course. I'm sure if you try hard enough, goblins will be seen as civilized one day too…slimes and undead though, that may be harder to accomplish."

There is an awkward silence.

"So…" says Skellington, "what brings you two out here?"

"I'm glad you asked," replies Shatun, "I and my dear friend Yutok the Gatherer are collecting special healing herbs that grow by rivers. Only the best for our growing medicine industry."

"Say," says Yutok, "what brings you three fine travelers here?"

>Tell them you're heading to the temple

>Lie, tell them you're doing something "pro-civilized races"

>Lie, tell them you're doing something "anti-civilized races"

>Leave

>>6891

We're on a grand adventure in the name of our dear lord Vecna. Doing good works in his name and all that. Sir Jellington and Messer R. Skellington are travelling with me to a holy site, serving our Shadowy Master as he advances his Infernal Machinations upon the world.

Say, do you have a moment to spare for our Lord Vecna? 5 minutes now could lead to a productive afterlife!

>>6892

And here I was looking for that oglaf comic about the god that hates everything equally to post. But this works too.

>>6891

The evil god Vecna is most definitely "anti-civilized races" and the two orcs are heavily shocked.

"Um…perhaps you should leave now" says Shatun.

"Yes um…take your journey somewhere else" says Yutok.

Skellington looks at you with as much of a displeased face he can with his decayed face. He may be a monster now, but joking about working for a dark god is a little much for him.

"VECNA VECNA VECNA" says Jellington, who most likely has no idea who Vecna is.

"You know what, we'll just go" says Yutok, as he gets up and grabs his rucksack. Shatun does the same, and both the orcs leave you three alone at the camp.

They left a few little trinkets, such as a small bowl of herbs, a small knife for cutting plants, and fancy face cleaning rag. You just throws these into your bag, and take a rest.

————–

You and your friends are almost at the temple…well, it's still a hefty walk, but the temple is clearly seen in the distance. Though there are a few options you can take to get there sooner.

What do you do?

>Just keep walking, it hasn't failed us yet

>Look for a monster caravan to hop onto. There's a good chance you're not the only ones coming to this temple, it's a popular place, so you might be able to catch a ride

>Wait for someone with a horse to come by, and attempt to steal the horse from them. While this area is considered monster territory, adventurers have been know to go through this area for random reasons. Show them who's boss and take their horse

>Attempt to ride Jellington like some sort of gooey mount…because it would be fun

>>6897

Lets just walk

>>6899

Is our fire magic precise enough to torch the rope holding the net up without torching Skellington in the process? If so, do that.

>>6899

You contemplate if you would be able to burn the net without lighting Skellington on fire. You decide its very well possible, if you just aim high, get the top rope to burn, and are lucky.

One of the elves, Finilith, is running right at you. You cast the fire magic into the air, and run as fast as your little feet can carry you.

"Skup! You're really using fire!? I could bur-"

With a loud thud, Skellington falls onto the ground, with only a little bit of scuff damage from the fall.

Jellington outright ignores Kateet, the elf chasing it, and jumps right on top of Skellington, engulfing him. You see this out of the corner of your eye, as you keep running away from Finilith. This odd action makes sense when the elf assassin and Kateet start to cut into Jellington's jelly form. Clearly Jellington is trying to protect Skellington.

What do you do?

>Cast a spell at Finilith, the elf chasing you. You gotta finish this guy off now before he decapitates you!

>Cast a spell at Kateet and the elf assassin, you gotta save your buds!

>Use your staff and hit Finilith right in his nuts! It may give you enough time to get away, plus save up on your magic power

>Climb a tree, get to higher ground!

>>6901

Bros before foes. I'ma magic these elven skanks, starting with the one that's assaulting Jelly and Skelly. Get iced, fool.

>>6902

agreed. Though if we can get a chance to nut the fucker chasing us while we're at it, so much the better.

>>6901

You're not gonna let Jellington and Skellington get killed by some stupid elves! You cast a bolt of ice at the two attacking elves. The assassin jumps out of the way, but Kateet is frozen solid! Well, frozen solid from the waste down. He falls over, and asks for help from the assassin, but she has now turned her attentions completely on you. This gives Jellington enough time to jump off of Skellington and onto the assassin, who, just like before, begins stabbing at her own head.

Finilith slices at you with his sword, creating a nasty gash on your chest as you fall over. Before he can finish you off, Skellington rams his blade right through Finilith's stomach, killing him!

You're not doing so good, but you've got enough oomf in you to try something.

What do you do?

>Cast a spell at the assassin. That bitch is going down!

>Cast a spell on the frozen elf. Better finish him off while Jellington distracts the assassin.

>Attempt to heal your wounds! You're no healing magic expert, but you gotta try something!

>Force yourself up on your staff. It's just a flesh wound!

>>6904

Rek the frozen elf, tell Skellington to kill the assassin, then ask Jellington for some slime to make a healing potion from if we can still do that.

>>6904

Waste the frozen elf with lightning. If you survive this, you can ask Jel and Skel for some help. All that hinges on dispatching your aggressors. Maybe you could ask Jel to fill the skanks lungs with his goopy goodness.

>>6908

Fuck jacking something from the temple. We dream big. We're going to jack the entire goddamn thing. Somebody is gonna be real surprised when they get home to find this bitch is now a mecca for misfits and the locks have all been rekeyed. If King Boggarton feels it worthy of his time, he may send an emissary back to the shit hole he once called home.

>>6909

Amen brother

>>6908

"So…we're going to take over the temple?" asks Skellington, utterly confused by what you've just told him.

"TAKE IT OVER. YES." Jellington is up for it.

"Well…if we're going to take it over, we're going to need to at least explore it deeply enough to know its ins and outs. Let us do so."

WAIT

Before you enter the temple, how do you want to do this?

>All three of you in: bros gotta stick together

>You and Skellington: NO SLIMES ALLOWED (actually he'll just watch the door for anyone who comes)

>You and Jellington: You need someone tough to watch that door

>Jellington and Skellington: You're not going to get caught in any traps first, you'll watch the door

>Just you

>Just Skellington

>Just Jellington

>No one enters the temple and we just sit on the steps and talk about our feelings

>>6914

>All three of you in: bros gotta stick together

First rule of adventuring (and horror movies) don't split the party.>>6914

>>6916

Let's have a look. We know magic so we probably have better odds of being able to figure out WTF is up with this shit than any of the other two.

>>6916

Have Jellington eat the mirror without looking at it. Then we'll roll back towards the entrance, using the tip of Skellington's sword to mark the walls on the way back. We'll secure the area around the door and slowly map the corridors around the door.

>>6916

You come up with one weird idea.

You tell Jellington to eat the mirror, and not to look into it.

"Excuse me, what is the logic behind this plan?" asks Skellington

But Jellington has already moved to the mirror, and engulfs it into its slimy folds.

You then tell the group that you're going to be going back to the entrance, marking the walls with Skellington's sword- wait, is Jellington glowing?

You look over to jellington, to see a strange purple glow coming from him.

An unfamiliar female voice is heard…from inside Jellington.

"What in the name of mankind is going on here…what is this mirror showing?" says the voice.

Skellington is shocked.

"Skup Boggart…that is the voice of Queen Tindalia…"

What do you do?

>Get Jellington to spit the mirror out

>Talk to the mirror while it is still in Jellington

>Just keep moving and ignore it

>>6921

All part of the plan Skelly. If we keep our voices down, the Queen shouldn't be able to hear us through our gelatinous friend. Seeing should be hard, too. We can move that mirror outside and have Jelly spit it into a hole, face down. Then we just cover it with dirt. No more magic mirror, no spell needed, no seven years of bad luck, no clean up required.

>>6926

Man, we should give it to Krunk and the Chief's daughter as a wedding present or whatever the gobbo equivalent is. Troll the asshat gobbo, the whore who wanted us executed and the bitch queen all at the same time. Then GTFO with all the speed of a flashfire before the queen's men come knocking.

>>6929

Take this goddamn mirror and listen. We'll help, but when this is over, you're helping us. Doesn't matter what. You. Help. Us. Ok? Fair trade? Ok.

Let's step outside for a moment. This way, down the street, nice walk. Now, what EXACTLY do you want us to do?

>>6932

You wanna be a hero? Cause it's time to be heroes. If you don't wanna be a hero, too bad. I'll literally kill you. Right now. With ice, so you can't scream and alert them of our location. Since you're on the winning side, here's our plan. Step 1: You're going to break that mirror. Just…jump on it or something. Be useful.

I'll wait until you're finished. Step away, Sir Jellington, wouldn't want you to get cut. You're probably fine, Skelly.

>>6932

Shreakmilk looks like she's boiling in pure rage at how you are bossing her around, and takes that rage out on the mirror smashing it on the ground until it's nothing but broken glass and metal. Jellington shakes as if her crazed anger has scared it, and Skellington just does not follow any of your logic anymore.

So…mirrors, broken, but there doesn't seem to be any weird after effects. No screaming queens or dark shadows coming from it or anything.

So…what now?

>Everyone goes to kick the assassin's ass

>Everyone except Shreakmilk goes to kick the assassin's ass

>Sneak around the chief's hut and sneak attack the assassin

>Use Shreakmilk as a distraction

>Just leave this place to burn

>>6935

Good work. Now, step 2. You head down to the hut.Tell them you saw us on the other end of town. If you can, get them outside. We'll ice that skank once she leaves.

If she doesn't leave, it's time for plan B. That's the one where we bust in and murder things. Not as elegant, but it'll probably work if we attack in unison.

Skelly, I'd like you to try to keep the skank busy until Jelly can climb on her head for the third time. While she's stabbing herself in the face, I'll ice her legs so she can't run and you'll do your sword stuff to her torso. When we think she's dead, eat her. You've gotta be hungry and I figure she can't come back from being eaten.

Jelly, you've gotta get on her head again. I'm sorry, but you might wind up being injured. Good luck. You can have my share of the corpse, since I'm not into elf.

Shreak: Don't fuck this up for us. If you try to betray us to get in her good graces, you die. If this works, you'll be handsomely rewarded.

>>6936

agreed

>>6935

You tell your plan to the group, and seeing as how it's the only real plan you all have at the moment, they agree.

You head over to the chief's hut, past the other burning huts you can only assume were set ablaze by the assassin.

Shreakmilk enters the chief's hut while the three of you get into a spot where you won't be easily seen. Shreakmilk's ear bleeding voice can be heard from inside.

"AY! ELF BITCH! I FUND DA GOBBO YOUS LUKIN FOR! 'EAZE OUTSIDE RIT NOW WIT HIS ZOMBIE AND 'IS SLIME!"

The elf assassin soon exits the hut, and Skellington takes the cue to attack! He rushes towards her, blade raised, letting out a chilling battle moan. The assassin acts immediately, throwing down some sort of smoke pellet. You can't see what's going on once the massive cloud of smoke envelops Skellington and the assassin, but the clanging of metal and cutting of flesh can clearly be heard.

Jellington slithers into the cover of the smoke, leaving you where you are, preparing your ice spell. You see the elf's form as the smoke finally starts to dissipate, and fire!

It is now completely clear from smoke, and you realize things haven't gone quite as planned.

For starters, Jellington did get itself onto the elf assassin, but in the confusion of the moment, also got itself stuck onto Skellington. Skellington and the elf's heads are now sticking out of Jellington, while everything from their necks to the top of their waists is stuck inside of Jellington. Their legs are also frozen from your spell, binding them even more so. Their weapons hang uselessly from whatever freedom their arms have, and the two are struggling to get free from Jellington and the ice to continue killing each other.

"I know you vile creatures know more than you let on," says the elf assassin, "undead, goblins, and slime working together? The Temple of Monstro just running around the countryside without rhyme or reason? What is the meaning of all of this!?"

"Even if I had any clue of what was happening," Skellington responds, "I would not tell you a single detail, you vile fiend!"

"Vile fiend?! I'm not the walking monument of decay!"

"My outer appearance may be hideous, but it does not compare to the true disgustingness of your soul!"

"Oh, the zombie is a poet now!"

What do you do?

>Order Jellington to get onto the elf's head and shut her up!

>Cast a fire/lightning/ice spell again at the elf

>Run up to the bound elf and start beating her with your staff

>The elf can't hurt anyone right now. Go inside of the chief's hut and see if the chief and Shreakmilk are okay.

>>6938

Tell Jellington to suffocate the elf with his body while we take a look inside the hut.

>>6939

You order Jellington to suffocate the elf while you go and enter the chief's hut. Jellington quickly removes itself from Skellington, and clings onto the elf's head.

Another smoke bomb comes down as you enter the hut.

"The assassin has disappeared again!" cries Skellington, "should I look for her and Jellington, or can we trust Jellington enough to get the job done? If so, I will join you inside the hut!"

Well?

>Tell Skellington to look for the assassin and Jellington

>Tell Skellington to come into the hut with you

>>6940

Don't worry about brave, noble Sir Jellington. I have a plan for tracking him down that may actually work. I believe I promised a reward for Shreak, although her ability to follow a basic instruction has me questioning weather I reward her with her own death or with the death of her lover and father while she finds herself iced to the floor.

Or do you have a better option, Leonard? Because if you do, now would be a good time to share. I've got murder on the brain and might need a certain skellington to help me get around it.

>>6940

Skellington seems concerned for two reasons.

1. You actually called him by his real name for once.

2. You seem really excited about killing fellow goblins

"Look…as much as I understand the need to crush our enemies, don't you think we should…um…keep them alive for the reward? I'm sure you could be a, um, very wealthy goblin if we look more like heroes by the end of this."

He cautiously enters the hut with you.

The chief and Krunk are next to each other, bound in ropes. Shreakmilk, still in the hut, is attempting to untie Krunk.

"OI, YU DUMBIES, GIT OVER 'EAR AN' ELP ME OUT!"

What do you do?

>Untie Krunk and the chief

>Demand some sort of reward for saving them

>Kill them. Just fuck their shit up.

>They're fine, leave and find the assassin

>>6942

Ok, so we'll help them, but we are getting paid. I'm not so far gone as to hate my own kith and kin. These people aren't really either, but they're still my people. After this, we're going to rest up and in the morning we're gone. Fuck this town full of ignorance.

Travelling with you and Jellington has opened my eyes to the world, shown me how wrong the world is. The savage and the civilized are the exact same, it's just that the civilized lie to themselves and everyone else about how truly…awful they are. They're monsters. We're literal monsters, but look at us! We're working together! We're accomplishing goals!

They'd have everyone belive that you're a mindless, flesh-eating beast, a rotting and shambling horror stalking the night with tooth and claw to snatch up bad children and feast on their bones…but you're not. You're a victim of circumstance, same as everyone. You have as much right to keep on living, no offense, as everyone else.

They want civility. We'll give it to then. We'll show them our kind of society. Tomorrow, we're going to start building a city of monsters. Tomorrow, we're going to begin a grand adventure. I know you're probably leery of this plan, but I have faith in you, in Jellington, in us. We can do this. Are you with me?

>>6942

Standing there in the hut, you give a very interesting speech to everyone about who the true monsters are, what you wish to do with yourself and your friends, and end up leaving a very big impression on the chief, Skellington, Shreakmilk, and Krunk.

"Uh…so uz gona help us out here?" asks Krunk, trying to get the point of said speech.

"We'll pay you, alright?" says the Chief, "just help us!"

You and Skellington help Shriekmilk untie the chief and Krunk. Krunk can't look you in the eyes while you do it, perhaps ashamed that he needed your help.

Just then, Jellington returns to the hut!

"MEAN LADY GONE, BUT I GOT THIS."

Jellington spits out an elven arm.

And a female elven face.

Wherever that assassin is, she's most likely a goner.

———————

After all the fires are put out and the general area is searched for the assassin's corpse (which is not found, though a blood trail leading deep into the forest is visible), you and your crew get some well deserved rest. In the morning, the chief hands you a very handsome reward, a bag of around 300 silver. Goblins don't make a lot of money through means other than stealing it, and most of the time its stealing from civilized peasant folk, who only cary copper coins, so this is a pretty nice collection of scratch you got here.

So um…what's the plan here?

>We're building the monster city right here in the goblin village!

>We're going to go out and find a new, far off piece of land to start the monster city.

>We're going to conquer some place, and then make our monster city there

>We should probably follow that blood trail and make sure that assassin is dead

>…you know, there's still a giant temple just running around. Maybe checking that place out is a good idea.

>Spend all our money on things!

>>6962

Step 1 is follow the blood trail. We're not letting that skank get away. When we find her, stab her in the head, eat her, dissolve her, burn whatever's left. This is a right now thing.

Step 2 is track down the temple. We need to see what's inside. There could be some valuable loot in there. As a bonus, we could wrangle the temple and keep it in the City as a way out in case of emergency.

Step 3 is rid the temple of any magic that allows someone to remotely control it. A walking temple is a great thing to have unless someone else is pulling the strings.

Step 4 is find a new place to settle. Our enemies know where we are. They'll be back, maybe with orcs. We can't fight them, not yet. We need to go somewhere far enough away that they can't find us.

We have to do step 1 right now, but the rest can wait until tomorrow. Anyone that wants to avoid certain death can come with us tomorrow, but I'd appreciate it if some of our future settlers helped us track down this skank. We need eyes, ears, and cunning. Familiarity with the area ain't bad either.

>>6962

You give out your detailed plan of attack to Jellington, Skellington, and any other nearby goblin who just happens to be listening in. Jellington agrees to it immediately. Skellington is still very unsure of your master plan, but agrees to help find the assassin. The other goblins, whether they think your master plan is smart or not, are too busy repairing the damages caused by the fire last night to go out with you.

You and your companions head into the woods, following the blood trail.

————

After a surprisingly long walk, following a surprisingly long trail of blood, you find what you were looking for. The corpse of the assassin is on the ground, right in front of you. Skellington takes a bite into the corpse to confirm it is a real dead body, and then takes a few more test bites, as the last time he thought he ate her body, it turned out to be some sort of fake. This time though, he's almost certain that this is a real body.

There's just one weird aspect about this corpse that surprises you though. The dead assassin is missing her head. You know Jellington was somehow able to take off her face, but she couldn't have gone this far without her head. This means something must have taken it, probably after she died. You assume it must have been the cause of some sort of animal.

Now what?

>Destroy the body! Gotta make sure she's really dead!

>Head back to the goblin tribe

>Loot the body

>Keep searching the area

>>6965

Loot, dissolve, burn. Let nothing remain but ashes and memories. I'll just lob a fireball at the corpse, from a distance, just to make sure she's not booby-trapped.

Hard to booby-trap a naked, dead, elf skank, I know, but I'm taking zero chances.

>>6965

As carefully as you can, you disrobe and loot the body. The assassin's clothing is too big for you to wear, but it would probably look nice on Skellington. The long and jagged dagger you find is also nice, so you slip that into your inventory as well. It would make a better combat knife than the small plant cutting one you took from that orc camp. Finally, you get your hands on a sack of five smoke pellets. These should be extra helpful if you ever need to make a quick escape.

After looting the body, you head back a good distance, and cast a ball of fire right at the corpse. The body ignites, and after enough time, is nothing but a chard shadow of the assassin.

So, what now?

>Back to the goblin tribe. Need to see if any other goblins are going to join your monster city quest.

>Head to one of the human villages, maybe the one where Shamus the fisherman is. You're not going to get a lot of info on that walking temple in these woods

>Head out and start looking for the temple. Gotta get to work right away

>>6967

Head back to the goblin village and brag about the adventure we've just been on, the hundreds of 8 foot tall human cavalrymen we've killed, the peasant girls we've fugged in front of their fathers and how rich we are now. Leave for Shamus' place immediately. Hope that some others will impulsively join.

>>6977

Eh…well…we do need more monsters if we're ever going to get Monster City off the ground…fine. She and her guards can come. One minor caveat though: I'm the boss. This "war party" is mine. I don't want any confusion on this topic when we hit some resistance later. I'm the guy giving orders. I take counsel from all of you, Skelley and Jelly especially due to their expertise, but I don't want to hear you countermand me in a fight.

If you can live with this arrangement, grab your gear. We're legging it to a human village. I need all of you on your best behavior. This lot might know something important. Hells, we might even get some humans to join up. They're pretty clever, good with their hands. We could use some of that when we're building the City.

>>6977

You explain to the three of them that you're in charge of this operation and what your plans are. Frix and Snood are fine with this arrangement, but judging by that scowl on Shreakmilk's face, she is having a little bit of trouble with it.

"FINE" she belts out, "LEZ JUST GO!"

You find Jellington and Skellington soon after, and tell them about the new partnership.

"YES. JELLINGTON LIKE FRIENDS. YES."

"Um…a very unexpected pairing to be sure," says Skellington, "but we do need more companions."

"Haha! The zombie and slime talk!?" asks Frix, "this is fucking wonderful!"

———————–

At the very least, Shreakmilk has made herself useful by buying the group a great deal of food rations before leaving the tribe. Granted, traveling for over a day while listening to Shreakmilk's voice is never going to be pleasant, and Frix going around asking you when you're going to kill something next is starting to get on your nerves, but hopefully you'll be able to manage.

Point being, after a day of travel, you find the village where you believe Shamus the fisherman comes from. It is surrounded by great wooden walls, with some human guards patrolling nearby, so getting inside without some humans noticing you, and potentially causing trouble, may be hard.

There are a few little houses outside these walls, but you are unsure where Shamus exactly lives, inside or out.

What do you do?

>Just barge right past the wooden walls. Six monsters won't have any trouble doing that.

>Put Skellington in that sneaky assassin's clothing and have him try to sneak in

>Have one of your crew cause a distraction so the rest of you can sneak in

>Don't sneak in, just go investigate the houses outside of the village walls.

>>6982

Skellington, get in those robes and pretend to be a monk beggar. Bring shamus out here.

>>6987

Ask him all of them, starting with the smallest talk and ending with the biggest talk.

>>6988

Moreover, don't forget to ask about the City. He's proven himself to be a decent person, putting aside some (possibly entirely justified) prejudices and being decent to a trio of terrors in the past. Us terrors value being seen as people, so him being cool is great. He'd be a valuable and valued member of the community, able to be whatever kind of man he felt like. He could be anything, do anything, regardless of birth or money. An opportunity to start over is pretty great, to be honest.

>>6987

You ask Shamus how he's been since you last met.

"Um…pardon me for asking but…did yous all just uh…drag me out here to see how I was doing? That's uh, I'm sorry, but do you know how crazy that is? Both me and the zombie coulda been killed if somethin' happened…but…I mean, I guess things are better for me. I said I killed those merfolk, and I guess someone actually putta bit of a bounty on them, so I was, uh, able to finally get myself a place to stay behind the village walls. Used to live outside the walls. It's only be a couple a days, sure, but it's much better than my old place."

You then proceed to tell Shamus what you've been up to.

"Um…so yous, uh, yous was the one that elf was looking for…and yous was there when the temple started moving about…that uh…you're trying to, I'm sorry, make a new city for you and the rest of them beastfolk? That's one big story right there…"

You ask him if he's heard anything related to the temple recently.

"Um…besides that fact that it's moving and that thing you said about some black knight guy being, uh, inside of it? Well, it's only been a few days, but I've been hearing talk that the Queen's already talkin' to them dwarf folk about trying to get inside it…oh, and last time I checked, some people from some other villages had said that the temple stops moving sometimes, but like, only sometimes. They say it stopped at the abandoned mines, and then started running down towards other places where beastfolk live, or something."

Then you pop the big question. You're still looking for people to make up your city, and you're wondering if Shamus would like to join you all in making this city happen.

This question causes a great divide in opinion amongst your group.

"YES. JELLINGTON LIKE SHAMUS. JELLINGTON AND SHAMUS FRIENDS NOW." Jellington attempts to embrace Shamus, he backs away in a panic.

"I suppose having a human companion to talk to would be nice," says Skellington, "no offense to you or any of the other goblins, but I do miss speaking with humans from time to time."

"DIZ IS FUKIN STOOPID!" yells Shreakmilk, "WE'RE GONNA LET SUM DUM 'OOMIE IN DA WAR PARTY!? AN 'EEZE NOT EVEN A STRONG LOOKIN ONE, JUZT AN OLD FUKIN FART! DA ZOMBIE PROBLY ONLY WANTS TA EAT 'IM FOR LUNCH!"

"I do not see what benefit he can give to us, and as such, agree with Lady Shreakmilk" says Snood.

"I don't know, boss," says Frix, "I don't like hoomies too much. They get too sad when they fight."

"Um…just uh, hold on now!" says Shamus, "I uh…I get a say in this. I uh, appreciate the offer, but uh…living alongside a bunch a monsters sounds uh…not that you beastfolk are bad, you uh…well, the three of you I know, your some of the good ones but…I don't know, I uh…I have a nice little home now in the village and uh, I'm not as young as I used to be…"

What do you do?

>Keep trying to convince him. Having one good human on your side could make all the difference

>If he doesn't want to join, that's his loss. Tell him to go back to the village.

>Maybe he just needs time to think. Let him go back hone, and ask him again another time.

>>6992

Hey, it's ok. No one is trying to force you to do anything. We're civil, here. Well, everyone minus Shreak. She's pretty uncivil.

Regardless, I just wanted to see that you were doing well and also see if you'd heard anything about the temple. Thanks for that info, by the way, really helpful. It's pretty late, so I understand if you want to get back to your home.

If you change your mind, we might be back this way eventually. I don't expect you to, but I figured you'd be the only human to really give it a thought. I see now that you're still a little uncomfortable with the notion of monsters as neighbors. Perfectly fine, not offended in the least. Have a good evening, Shamus. Keep well.

(I guess we'll fuck off to find a place to camp. Maybe toward the abandoned mines if we know where that is?)

>>6993

Agreed, or we could go to the place the temple used to be to look for clues.

>>6996

I like that. Let's do that.

Also, as we walk away we should try to console Skelley at the loss of a potential conversation partner. He's had it rough. We should try to help him through this trying time. He'll respect us more, be more likely to follow our orders, and have better morale. Plus, he's our mate, you know?

>>6998

Let's have a talk around the bonfire, just getting to know each other better. If everyone turns in early, we can practice magic until we're tired. I'd like to be able to get to know Skelley and Jelly better, too. We've known them the longest, but still don't have a ton of info on then.

Side note: Next time we're near a stream, chuck a lightning bolt in it so we can grab some fish. The crew would probably like that.

>>6998

You decide that the the quickest way to get to know a little more about everyone, strengthen bonds, and all of that other leader stuff you know you should probably do, is to call everyone over to the fire. Frix is already there, so he's set. Skellington and Jellington take their spots at the fire after you call out to them. Shreakmilk at first refuses to budge, since "ME TENT AINT UP YET CAUZE SNOOD IS A SLOW IDIOT", but once Snood finishes, she and him come to the fire.

You explain to everyone that since you'll be sticking together for the foreseeable future, you believe its best if everyone shared a little bit more about themselves, going around in a circle and such.

Skellington goes first.

"Hmmm…well, my full name is Sir Leonard Sungal, though I am mostly referred to as Skellington now for…obvious reasons. When I was alive, I was a knight in Queen Tindalia's court for years, my main duties usually requiring me to battle against threats to mankind. You know, monster hordes attacking villages, nefarious creatures hiding in plain sight, enemy factions threatening the safety of Queen Tindalia's kingdom, that sort of thing. My last crusade was against those dastardly warlocks from the deep south. We caused a great blow against them, but somehow I returned here with the curse of undeath. Now I travel with you all."

Jellington is next.

"HI. I AM SLIME. MY NAME IS JELLINGTON. I WAS GOING TO TEMPLE TO MAKE SLIME BABIES FOR MATING SEASON AND- EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE- I FORGOT I NEED TO MAKE SLIME BABIES THERE WERE NO SLIMES AT THE TEMPLE WHERE ARE THE SLIMES I NEED TO MAKE SLIME BABIES."

Skellington attempts to comfort Jellington as Frix takes his turn.

"Oi, names Frix Dredge, of course. There ain't too much to tell about me. Dad and mum left me with the tribe warriors when I was just a wee babe and ended up gettin' killed by some dwarves or something, but I don't rightly care about that, I'm glad they left me where they did, because I grew up into a right fine warrior. While you were studying magic tricks, boss, and that slime was trying to get laid, and the zombie was just a hoomie, I was kicking ass all across these woods. Here's hoping I get to kick some more exotic ass out here with all of you!"

Next up is Snood.

"You already all know who I am. My full name is Snood Snide, and I serve as a guard alongside Frix for Lady Shreakmilk. There is nothing else important of note."

Shreakmilk is up.

"YOUZ ALL KNOW WHO I IZ! IM SHREAKMILK! ME PAPA'S DA CHIEF, AN WHEN 'EEZE DED, ALL DA GOBBOS IN FROGGUT AR GUNNA LISTEN TA ME! AND IM ONLY OUT HERE BECUZ I KNOW IMA MAKE A REAL GOOD ADVENTRA IN DIS 'ERE WAR PARTY, AN YOU'RE ALL GUNNA REESPECT ME AN SUCH!"

…well now it's your turn. Who are you? What's your story?

>You were an orphan raised by the tribe's head mage. Your parents were killed in a battle against a rival tribe that has long since been destroyed, and the head mage raised you as her son.

>Your mother and father are both basic mages who raised you to part of their magic services business in the tribe; providing services ranging from mercenary work to basic home care.

>Your mother lived with a traveling group of goblins when you weren't born yet, but got separated from them, and was taken in by the tribe. When you were born and grew into adolescence, you found your natural talent for magic.

>Your mother and father were attempting to kill the chief and take over the tribe for themselves, before being found out and imprisoned. You were born only days before your mother and father were to be publicly executed, and the tribe took pity on you. You were raised by tribe warriors like Frix, only instead of teaching you in traditional combat, they taught you basic magic.

Off topic, I've noticed that it's been a little while since I've started this here quest thread, and since it's the first one I've done that has gone on for this long, I was wondering what you all think about it so far. Pros, cons, ect? I'm having a blast writing it with all of you, and just want to know how you all feel about it.

>>7006

I'm Skup Boggart, preeminent mage among the tribe of Froggut, charter member of Skellington, Jellington, and Boggart Adventuring Co. LLC. I'm the de facto leader of the soon to be established Monster City (taking names on that, by the way). I was left orphaned when my magic came to me. I couldn't control it. The magic took my parents from me, my childhood. I can't remember their names or faces, but I remember their voices…and especially the screaming.

I was taken in by the former High Mage-boss Skiv Botterdoom. He taught me control. He showed me the basics. He's lost to the magic now. I won't be joining him.

I learned to read from some books the warriors brought back from a raid. I learned to think. I read the children's primers they found, managed to save some more books from the fire and read them, too. Now I'm here. With all of you. And I'm glad you're all here. Together, we'll do some great things.

(Off topic: Hi GM. I'm the guy that keeps making all these long winded responses. This Quest is going pretty well. You're doing a good job.)

>>7007

Oh, and we need to set up a watch. Boss takes first so he can practice magic and keep an eye on the camp.

>>7007

Sounds good. Let's practise some ice magic, that seems to have helped us the most ao far.

>>7006

I just joined in 2 days ago and I had a great time reading through the thread. You've kept an overarching goal going while keeping immediate interest and urgency going and you respond well to some, frankly, idiotic suggestions for actions without dismissing them, and have Skellington as the straight man for comedy gold. 10/10 hope you keep going.

>>7013

>>7007

Oh, and thanks for your feedback! Glad you're enjoying it.

>>7015

What weapon is Shreak using? I know her guards have spears and armor, but what about her? Other than her annoying voice.

>>7019

Shreakmilk carries with her two small daggers, and is protected by nothing much other than some rags and some leather. You've never actually seen Shreakmilk in combat, so you don't know how effective she is with those things, but you're sure there will be plenty of time to find out.

>>7015

Let's leave Skellington and Snood at the entrance for the moment and go for a brief stroll in the caves. While it's not good to split the parts, since we're not looking for anything specific except perhaps a local monster to ask about the temple and to spread the Good News of Monster City (Name Subject to Change) to there'll be no danger in separating for a short time. R-right?

>>7022

I'm down to roll, but I think Snood and Shreak should stay back. Skelly is actually useful, Frix seems pretty cool with us, Jelly is a cool dude, but Snood is loyal to Shreak and Shreak is obnoxious as fuck.

If Shreak tries to start shit and become the new "War Boss," we can just ice her. If Frix tries to start shit, he's surrounded. Snood wants to guard Shreak anyway, so I figure we can trust him to keep Shreak safe.

This way we don't have to keep an eye on Shreak, don't have to hear her, and lose the minimum amount of loyal firepower to do so.

As for why we're here, I figure we can see if we can find some folks to talk to or maybe some treasure. New citizens of Monster City (NStC) are always wanted and sweet loot is always a valuable find.

>>7028

Oh, hello! You caught one of our travelling companions. He's quite nice, name of Leonard. Excellent swordsman. Great company. Never met an undead like him before, most are…fairly dim. Our Leonard, though, brilliant conversationalist. I appreciate the gesture, but we'd really prefer you return him to us.

In any case: I'm Skup. You've met Leonard Skellington. This is Frix and over there is Sir Jellington. Before you ask, Jellington is the slime, everyone gets those two confused. Do you have a moment to spare? We're looking for a gigantic walking temple, black knight inside, came this way recently. Have you seen or heard anything about that? Anything you could tell us would be helpful.

>>7028

You explain to the drider who you all are, what you are doing here, and how Skellington is not a normal, dimwitted undead.

The drider doesn't seem too convinced.

"Intelligent or not, we have a bit of an issue with the undead as of this time. It is believed that a dwarf necromancer is hiding somewhere in our fair home, with the power to turn any undead into one of his puppets. As we speak, my spider servants are taking your…Leonard…to the Lowerberg for questioning and securing. If you wish to argue for his freedom, you may follow me there. As for that temple, I'm afraid I have no knowledge of it. I have very specific duties to the Lowerberg and the Higherberg in these mines, and I do not concern myself with whatever walking buildings may or may not have been outside these mines recently."

"Oi, boss," Frix whispers, "we ain't just gonna sit here while this weirdo tells us what to do, are we?"

What do you do?

>Threaten this spiderboy for more information and for the release of Skellington

>Follow him to "the Lowerberg" and try to find Skellington

>Beat this guy to a pulp until he tells you what you want to know

>Go get Shreakmilk and Snood, then follow him to the Lowerberg

>Say that you will help find and defeat this necromancer if it means he will release Skellington

>>7040

Well, Messer Drider. I would gladly follow you there, just allow me a moment to collect some of our other companions from just outside the mine. While we're away, could you perhaps let your colleagues know to hold off on executing our living-impaired knight? I imagine they'll recognize his intelligence right away, but it would ease my mind. Thanks. We'll be right back.

>>7045

it looks like we're in good company, lets split up

>>7046

If you choose to split up, please determine who will go to get Skellington, and who will go to explore the city.

Currently in your party

>You

>Jellington

>Frix

>Shreakmilk

>Snood

>>7047

jellington, snood, and us will look for skellington

frix and shreakmilk will explore the city

>>7049

lets argue skellington's case then ask where the necromancer is

>>7051

offer them our help without skellington

>>7053

Yeah, if she's right, this necromancer guy might be able to use him. I'm not so sure about these Drider folks though. I don't trust them. Maybe I'm just racist against spiders.

>>7049

I just noticed that I had made a big continuity error in my original version of this post. I am going to correct that error, and then the quest will continue from there

You explain how Skellington came with you into these mines only a short while ago, and that he has nothing to do with whatever mess these mines have gotten into.

"That does not matter. Until the necromancer is caught, any undead is a potential tool for him. We cannot risk it."

"This is ridiculous. Every minute we spend talking with this drider is another minute that Lady Shreakmilk is in danger" says Snood, gripping his spear.

Akordia, much larger than he is, pushes Snood down on the ground with one of her spider legs, and holds him there.

"Do not make me throw you into the cage with the rest of these prisoners. As you can probably tell, they haven't had much to eat recently."

Snood is stubbornly silent, but eventually relents.

Akordia lets Snood up.

Jellington, moving away from the cage, and heads back to your side.

"WHAT DO WE DO?"

"My suggestion," says Akordia, "is to just wait. We've explored much of these mines in the past few days, and we believe we know which part of the mine the necromancer is hiding. A party is being assembled to search the area as we speak. Give us time, and your undead will eventually be able to leave."

>>7057

You tell Akordia that you and your party will assist in hunting down the necromancer, but only if Skellington's freedom is ensured after the matter is dealt with.

"As much as I would prefer getting out of this cage now," says Skellington, "I understand that this must be done."

Akordia doesn't seem to believe in your capabilities, but it's no skin off her nose.

"Fair enough. The party that is being sent after the necromancer is assembling on a very particular mine path between the Higherberg and the Lowerberg." Akordia points to the male drider that took you to her. "He shall take you to the party."

Wait, but before you go, a decision must be made.

>Go back for Shreakmilk and Frix before hunting down the necromancer

>Leave Shreakmilk and Frix to enjoy themselves in the Lowerberg while you and the rest of your party go hunt the necromancer

>>7058

If Frix and Shreak are in Lowerberg, we can be fairly sure that they're safe. Also, maybe they'll mention our Monster City to some friendly Driders in a dive bar somewhere. They might even learn something.

>>7067

Let's chat with Snood and Jelly. See if we can't put a smile on some faces.

>>7067

You decide that building a little bit of team relations is probably a good idea on this journey through the mines, and walk over to Snood, who has distanced himself from the rest of the group. Thinking you might need a little bit of support in this task, you call over Jellington, who was just in the middle of talking to/annoying Antrak the drider.

Jellington moves over to you as you start conversation with Snood.

"What do you want, Sir Boggart?"

Not very friendly now, is he.

"WHY ARE YOU SAD?" asks Jellington.

"I am not sad," says Snood, "I am simply…worried. Lady Shreakmilk needs my protection."

"WHY?"

"Because she could very well be in danger."

"WHY?"

"Because this world is full of savages who would try to harm her."

"WHY?"

"Is it not obvious?"

"I DON'T KNOW"

This intrigues you. You push the question further.

"Well…i-it's because Lady Shreakmilk is the chief's daughter, and as such s-she could be pursued by those who would wish to use her…power, a-and…"

Snood seems flustered.

The kobold with potions on their stick is watching you three. It's pretty obvious that kobold is trying to eavesdrop.

That kobold is the only outsider who seems to notice what you three are discussing, however, as the other kobolds and kenku, and especially the drider, are paying little attention to you.

>Push Snood further; he may be hiding something.

>Let Jellington do the talking; who can resist opening up to Jellington?

>Drop the subject, you don't want to bother Snood

>Call the kobold out for eavesdropping

>>7076

lets drop the subject for now but bring it up later

>>7078

we need to practice so we don't get fucked up by another mage/necromancer

>>7080

hang back and cast magic while its busy with the kentus and kobolds

>>7080

The vampire is tearing the kentus and kobolds apart! The speed in which this monster slays his pray is nothing short of terrifying!

"CAW! Look over here, you ugly bitch! CAW!" The angry kentu fires an arrow right in the back of the vampire's head, somehow unfazed by what she is witnessing. The vampire doesn't seem to react much to the arrow now sticking out of him, though he does notice it. The vampire rips the arrow out of his head, and marches over to the kentu who fired it. Luckily for her, you've just prepared one hell of a fire ball!

You cast your fire magic at the vampire, and he is instantly engulfed in flames. The vampire shrieks, and turns his direction away from the kentu and towards you.

"WATCH OUT, THE MEANIE IS FAST!" Jellington desperately says to you.

Jellington leaps towards the vampire, but the vampire's speed is far greater than a slime's. The vampire rushes towards you, still burning, and grabs you by the throat.

Snood jumps into action, spearing the vampire in the wrist. "Unhand him!"

The vampire drops you on the ground, and slaps Snood away with his other hand. The spear is dislodged from the vampire's wrist, and he merely shakes his hand a bit to make sure the damage wasn't severe. The vampire now looks back at you.

Just then, a lone bottle flies through the air and shatters on the vampire. Followed by another bottle. And another bottle. Each of the bottles is filled with the same strange blue ooze, which now coats the vampire's body. You look towards the direction the bottles were thrown, and see the kobold with the potions on her stick. The vampire turns his head towards that kobold, but by doing so reveals what the blue ooze has actually done. Somehow, this ooze is able to slow down a being's body movements, and the three ooze bottles have brought the vampire's once quick actions to a slow crawl.

It appears the only survivors at the moment are you, Snood, Jellington, the archer kentu, and the potion kobold.

The kentu is running deeper into the path, and the kobold follows.

"Go!" the kobold yells, "before the slowing agent wears off!"

What do you do?

>Follow the kentu and kobold, before the vampire starts moving fast again!

>Follow the kentu and kobold, but leave either Slime or Snood behind to distract the vampire

>Cast more magic at the vampire; this is the best chance you have!

>Get your dagger out and stab the vampire right in its heart! That's how you kill vampires, right? You think you heard that's how you do it.

>Cast magic at the vampire, but only to further immobilize. Maybe an ice spell, or something more brutal like an attack to the spine.

>>7082

we all need to get away from this thing

>>7085

everyone should explore the library together and pick up some tomes for magic while we look for the necromancer

>>7088

Try to confuse him with words while moving to a better position for attack and signalling the others to do the same. Start by asking him to keep his voice down (this is a library, after all), and then accuse him of being there without permission. If he sees through that, start acting like a mob protection racket.

>>7088

You look towards the rest of your crew, giving them a silent head nod. You're not sure if they understand what you're trying to message to them, but you're sure they'll figure it out soon enough.

You tell the necromancer to keep his voice down in an authoritative fashion, as you begin moving slightly to your left, and gripping your casting staff.

The others seem to get what you're doing, and they also begin to move to different, more combat ready positions, as you talk…except Jellington, he just follows you around.

"Keep my voice down!? Just what is the meaning of this!?"

You explain that this is a library, and it's only fair to the others that you speak quietly.

"What!? This is my library, and these are all my books! You shouldn't have even been able to get this far, not with my vampire guarding the path!"

You need to do something else to raise the stakes here.

You pick up a random book, and pull out your assassin's dagger, explaining how it would be an awful shame if something were to happen to a good book like this.

"Don't you dare damage any of my books, goblin! If you do, I swear I'll call my vampire back here and you'll all be husks! Then I'll take control of your husks, and experiment on them! I will!"

It looks like everyone is in a proper position to fight the necromancer.

What do you do?

>ATTACK!

>Continue the confusion: demand to know where his library card is, while also attempting to take protection money from him.

>Try to get some answers: why is the necromancer terrorizing the mines?

>Push a bookshelf over so that it falls on him! Dirty tactics forever!

>>7094

Push the book shelf over and then attack!

>>7115

Um…hi. Can you understand me? Let's just talk for a moment. Can you do that?

>>7115

You ask the flesh golem if it can understand what you are saying. You say that you do not wish to fight, and only want to talk.

The flesh golem has many eyes, but half of them seem dead set on you, and the other half are staring at Jellington.

"You…disgusting monsters," the flesh golem says with its many gargled tongues. The eyes then dart around the room, before focusing back on you and Jellington. "I see you..have new friends…but where is the filthy zombie that was with you? I wanted to…crush all of you at once!"

You aren't very sure what exactly is going on.

The flesh golem steps forward.

"You…beasts…really are working together more than ever before…if only I could kill you three before your disgusting pact could get larger…now look at me…"

The way this flesh golem talks is starting to sound familiar.

"After that nasty little slime…ate my face…I crawled for my life into the woods. One of the necromancer's skeleton slaves found me…and cut my head clean off! They used me…to bring consciousness to this flesh golem…and it's all your faults!"

There's no mistaking it now. This flesh golem has the mind of the assassin that had been plaguing you for so long…this woman just won't stay dead.

"And now that the necromancer is dead…I am free to deal with you as I please!"

"CAW! You really fucked us over now, goblin!" says Puffin.

"We must act now!" cries Snood.

"Uh…oh my this is not good…oh my this is not good at all" whimpers Sorri.

"MEAN LADY GO AWAY!" yells Jellington.

What do you do?

>Cast some magic at the flesh golem, and call for a full scale attack.

>Push over another bookshelf to stall the flesh golem while you try to escape

>Just run for it, it's faster than trying to distract the flesh golem

>Keep talking to it. Apologize, or offer to help, or something!

>>7131

Run for it! Cast some ice magic behind us while running, if we can, and ask the Sorri if she has any more potions to use.

>>7140

lets quickly explore the lair while taking anything useful to us

>>7147

lets help the vamp he could be a total bro now that the necromancer is dead

>>7147

You head back to the battle behind you, and explain to the group that you are going to help the vampire defeat the flesh golem.

"CAW! Fine, but if that vampire tries killing us after, I'm leaving you all behind."

"As you wish, Sir Boggart" says Snood.

"O-okay" says Sorri.

"YAY! FIGHTING MEAN LADY!" yells Jellington.

But as the five of you approach the two combatants, it appears the fight is already coming to an end. The flesh golem is wobbling back and forth, covered in cuts and scratches from the vampire. The vampire slashes at the flesh golem one more time before it falls over with a meaty thud.

The vampire just looks at you all. He has taken a pretty serious beating from the flesh golem himself. "You should get out of here," says the vampire, "before I start getting thirsty. If you ever hear the name Kaguul while you travel through the night, you will know I am near."

Kaguul the vampire grabs the head of Duvalorn the necromancer, and hands it to you.

"Bring this back to your masters," says Kaguul, "say that all of the necromancer's creations lost life the moment he died. If I learn that hunters in this mine are searching for me after you leave, I promise you that you will not survive for long."

What do you do?

>Leave for the Lowerberg to free Skellington

>Talk to Kaguul, ask him about himself.

>Ask if Kaguul wants to join your Monster City

>Attack him! He's weak, and killing the vampire might get us some extra cash!

>>7152

I think Monster City could use a vampire.

>>7152

Oh, and we should use those flesh burning potions on the remains of the Golem. Don't want that skank recovering.

>>7152

Just to be safe, you grab the two orange potions from Sorri's hands, and throw them down onto the flesh golem. The flesh golem burns and boils until it is nothing but a gross mess on the ground…well, a grosser mess. You assure Sorri that you needed to be sure that the flesh golem was dead for good, as you've had plenty of run ins with the consciousness of that beast.

You then turn to Kaguul, and tell him about your plans for the foundation of a new Monster City, a place where monsters of all shapes and sizes can live equally and be safe from the tyranny of the dwarves, elves, and humans. You ask if Kaguul would like to join you and make that dream a reality.

Kaguul does not seem impressed. "Find me again when you have something impressive to show me, and I might consider it."

With that, the group begins the long walk back to the Lowerberg.

———-

"CAW! So, you're all from the outside, huh?" asks Puffin.

"YES" says Jellington, "WE'RE FROM OUTSIDE."

"CAW! I see. CAW! And you're making some sort of new city for monsters?"

"YES WE ARE. SKUP IS GONNA BE LEADER AND I AM GOING TO BE JELLINGTON."

"CAW! Well, I don't have much else going on for me here. Hell, what am I going to do if I stay in these mines? CAW! Move to the Higherberg and live with a bunch of snooty driders?"

Puffin turns to you.

"CAW! You mind if I tag along for the journey, goblin?"

Sorri, listening in to the conversation, pops in.

"Oh! If you take her, could you please take me along too? I mean I know I'm not very good with uh, dangerous situations, but if you've got more people helping you on the outside, I would really love to join. I mean sure, I could just move to the Higherberg now that we did our mission and the necromancer is dead, we all could, and that could be pretty nice, but…well, like Puffin said, it's full of snooty driders."

What do you do?

>Accept both Puffin and Sorri into the group

>Accept Puffin into the group

>Accept Sorri into the group

>Do not let either of them into the group

>>7165

Let's take them both along. It's not as though they're going to cause us any trouble. R-right?

>>7182

send jellington and snood to get shreakmilk and frix, while we go get skellington

>>7188

Let's go to Lowerberg, meet up with the others and get Skellington something to eat. And the others, too, if necessary. And more potion/poison ingredients for Sorri. Assuming everything is cheaper in Lowerberg.

>>7188

You, Skellington, Sorri and Puffin start the trek back up to the rest of the Lowerberg to reunite with the party (and to get lunch)

———–

You find Shreakmilk, Jellington, Snood, and Frix sitting at a few stools by a food stand labeled "Maud's Critter Stew."

"FINALY" yells Shreakmilk, "YA BACK! WEAR FUKIN STARVIN OVA 'EER, AN WEER TIARD OF EATIN DA RATIONS. PASS OVA SUMMA DAT SILVA AND LETZ GET SUM SOOP!"

Sounds like a good argument to you. You pull out some of your silver, which the kobold working at the food stand is very happy to see, and get everyone a big heaping bowl of Critter Stew…whatever that is.

As you all eat, you bring Frix and Shreakmilk up to speed on what's happened with everyone else.

"What!? Your tellin' me you guys got to fight a vampire and a flesh golem!? Come on! I would've been great with that!"

"WHATEVA, DATS FINE, BUT WE DID GUD BACK 'ERE TOO!"

Shreakmilk and Frix explain what they've learned while they were exploring the Lowerberg. In essence, and you may have already put this together yourself, the Lowerberg is considered where the "lower class" monsters live. Lowerberg monsters don't get very many rights, order is only loosely kept by the driders, and its overall a pretty shitty place to live.

"CAW! I could have told you that much."

"Y-yeah, this place isn't very great" whispers Sorri.

Frix and Shreakmilk go further on to explain that the driders mainly make up the population of the Higherberg, though if you live in the Lowerberg and prove yourself worthy, you are invited to live in the Higherberg with the driders.

"That's all well and good," says Skellington, "but what of the temple? What have we learned of that?"

"Oi, we're gettin' to that!" says Frix.

They tell you that a little while after the zombies were taken over by the necromancer and raised havoc in the Higherberg and the Lowerberg, the temple walked over to the front of the mine and just plopped itself down there. The black knight that seems to live inside the temple came out, went to the Lowerberg, and started talking about recruiting monsters to form a new society, where all monsters would be equal. Unlike you, however, the black knight has a giant walking temple to show off, and he came just after a big crisis, so he's a lot more convincing, and got a good amount of Lowerberg monsters to join him. Rumors around the Lowerberg say that the temple is heading towards a far off orc tribe, Seadale.

What do you do?

>Keep shopping around the Lowerberg, get everyone supplied up.

>Head over to the Higherberg. There's probably higher quality gear there, though more expensive, and you can share that info about Queen Tindalia

>Head out now, and follow the trail of the temple to the orc tribe of Seadale.

>>7219

Wait, forgot some extra options.

>Head out now, and check in on Shamus' village

>Head out now, and check in on your home village

>>7219

Let's grab some supplies here and then head after that temple to find our competitor.

>>7236

Let's talk to Skelly. See how he's doing, coping with his un-living existence, make sure he's feeling good.

If we have time, afterward we should properly welcome our new party members. Get everyone introduced, learn their skills, all that jazz.

Sorry for the little hiatus on my end. I should hopefully be back to posting updates regularly

>>7236

You approach the shambling Skellington and ask him how he's doing.

"You noticed me acting funny, did you?" says Skellington. "Please please, you have no need to worry. I'm just stretching, honestly. I can't just sit back and…oh all right, you clearly don't want me to avoid the issue. It is not easy being undead, and being stuck in that cage in the mines with nothing to eat, with those other undead…well, it makes you experience things. I may be able to hold conversations and morality and all of that, but it is not easy to keep up. I need to consume meat to keep my mind, or else the mental rot begins to set in. You know how my speech begins to slur and my movement becomes less coordinated. It gets so much worse though. Soon you begin to lose memories, your sense of self, your very morals. Given enough time, you're an irreversible shell of your former self, driven only to eat and eat, but with no hope of ever returning to your original being. I feared that I would turn into a true abomination if I stayed in that cage for too long. I also fear that one day eating dried meats and the occasional woodland creature that comes by will not be enough. There are many more insane undead than there are sane. One day animal flesh simply does not cut it, and an undead will need to move on to the flesh of sentient creatures. Sometimes undead simply give into the madness at this point. Other times they fight back as long as they can before turning. Some embrace it fully. I do not know when or if any of that will happen to me, but…I fear the worst."

Damn. Skellington's got some issues.

You're not really sure what to do right now.

>Attempt to comfort Skellington

>Continue as planned go introduce the two new teammates

>Just go to bed

>Practice magic

>>7268

Come on Skelly, stiff upper lip and whatnot. Or would that be a sign of rigor mortis setting in?

Only joking. Look, Skelly, you don't have to worry about that sort of thing. We'll keep you in meat and adventure as long as you're able, and then should the worst happen, we'll make sure you never hurt anyone.

But you're a knight, right? Shouldn't your focus being on serving and protecting people, not moping about possible future scenarios you have no control over? You're a valuable member of my team. You've been with me since the beginning, and we're going to found Monster City (Name Subject to Change) together, a place free from persecution for all monster types. And when we have that set up, we'll get our best minds working on how to keep you sharp and active. And we'll name a public building after you. Not something important, like the town hall, that's going to bear my name. But maybe a library or a well or something.

>>7273

>Seafront

*Seadale

The tribe is named Seadale

I gotta get my head in the game here, I'm getting all my names mixed up.

>>7273

(to the party)

Ah…well. This seems to be a predicament we've found ourselves in, friends. Lets see if we can't talk our way into a better place, yes?

(to all)

Good morning, everyone! We were passing through and happened to overhear your disagreement. Naturally, being decent folk (despite what your leaders may have told you) we'd like to avoid bloodshed where possible. Perhaps it would be best if we all calmed down, sheathed our respective weapons, and talked this through like rational and mature individuals. I've both heard and read tales of the nobility and courage of knights and the rugged determination and raw power of ogres. Were you all to come to blows, it would be a loss to the world in general and most likely quite fatal for most involved in the fighting.

Why not sit and hash this out over some tea? Perhaps we could have an early lunch. Which city are you from, Ser Knight? I've heard that Avonshire has some fantastic bakers that make some of the most amazing bread in the world.

>>7273

You inform your party of your plan. Frix, Shreakmilk, and Puffin don't seem to care for the choice of diplomacy, but the everyone else agrees without question.

You draw the attention of the knights and ogre, and in the most kind and friendly way you can, try to diffuse the situation with a rousing call for discussion at lunch.

The knights and the humans watch you quietly for a few moments, before the ogre releases a hearty chuckle.

"You're funny, pipsqueak. Did you get all your little friends over there with speeches like that too?"

"YES!" says Jellington.

The humans look at the ogre, then back to you and your party. They talk amongst themselves.

"We're outnumbered now!"

"It's eight against nine now, this isn't looking good."

"Now hold on, the goblin's trying to find peace with us."

"It's a trick! He wants us to lower our guard so that they can attack us easier."

"But just look at them all. Besides the ogre, their tallest fighter is a zombie. We could handle them."

"But can we handle all of those small ones AND an ogre?"

"Look, we'll try doing this civi one more time, and if it doesn't work, we'll figure something out."

"Okay, break!"

The knights look back at you.

"Goblin. You convince this ogre to share what information he knows, or we will be forced to…do something, I guess."

What do you do?

>Take out some food from your supplies and pass it around. Gotta get this diplomacy picnic started.

>Ask the ogre really nicely to share his information

>Ask the humans why they want to know what the ogre knows so much

>Have all of your party introduce themselves to the knights and the ogre, lower tensions, maybe

>Keep distracting them, send some of your party members to do a sneak attack on the ogre and/or knights

>>7281

(To humans)

Well, thank you for agreeing to give diplomacy a chance. My name is Skup Boggart, and these are my associates. First things first. What information are you searching for, and what incentive have you given this fine monster to tell you? I'm sure he's a busy man and his time and this information is valuable. I'm sure you wouldn't just go and demand information under threat of violence from other humans, would you?

And now that you don't have the upper hand for unwarranted use of violence, it would make a lot more sense to find out what this respectable ogre wants in exchange for the information.

(To ogre)

What do you think of this? Could these knights possibly give you some silver, or perform some task in exchange for the information they seek?

(To party, in a whisper)

Spread out, prepare to attack the humans if this goes poorly.

>>7281

You whisper to your companions to start spreading out for a potential counter-attack if the humans don't play nice, and continue communicating with the knights and ogre. With silent nods (and a jiggle from Jellington) the party begins to do move out slowly so as to not draw too much attention to themselves.

You ask the humans what information they were seeking, and how they planned to pay the ogre for said information. You also throw in a subtle threat that using violence to get what they want would end poorly for them.

Disgruntled, one of the knights responds.

"Reports from nearby villages tell us that this ogre was seen being thrown out from the now mobile Temple of Monstro. It is out duty to learn whatever this ogre can tell us."

The ogre stares down at the knight who is speaking. "It's not nice to call folks by their species like that, tin man. Call me Crunk."

"WAIT" Jellington points out, "CRUNK CRUNK CRUNK, THE TEMPLE HAS BIG LEGS AND IS SUPER HIGH. IF YOU GOT THROWN OUT, WHY ARE YOU NOT DEAD?"

"Good question, sticky," Crunk says, "I grabbed onto a tree on the way down."

"Now hold on," says one of the knights, "why are you talking to the slime now!?"

"Sticky asked nicely" says Crunk.

Luckily, it doesn't seem like they've noticed the increasingly spread out party.

You then ask Crunk if there's anything you want for payment in exchange for telling the knights (and your party) what they want to know.

"Now that you mention it, pipsqueak…I want their armor."

The knights let out a collective gasp.

"Yeah, that's right. I'm a big guy, and it isn't easy getting someone to make good armor for me. If I had eight sets of knight armor, I could make myself a fine looking wear for myself."

"Absolutely not!" one knight cries.

"We won't disrobe for this beast!"

"The very idea is ridiculous!"

"Tell us what we want to know now, ogre!"

"You should have been thankful that we were willing to let you live for this information!"

The knights are getting uppity, which means they're starting to ignore whatever fear they previously had, which could spell out bad news.

What do you do?

>Keep up the negotiations; make the ogre ask for something more reasonable

>Keep up the negotiations; get the humans to give up their armor

>ATTACK!

>Offer one of your possessions in exchange for the information

>>7289

Sir knight, please be civil. There's no need to be alarmed. Crunk here is cooperating perfectly and I'm sure you'll agree that his information is valuable. Now, perhaps it's not 8 suits of armor valuable, but I'd wager that his information is worth at least 5 suits.

I've got some silver that I'd happily give to the Knights that give Crunk their armor. It might not be enough to get a new set of armor, but you could definitely get some fairly decent clothes, although I'm sure that fine people like yourselves have a change of clothes in your things.

I'm sure that your queen would agree that a few sets of armor, easily replaced, would be worth finding the Temple of Monstro with no loss of life on either side. I'm also sure that you would rather these negotiations devolve into bloodshed, or at least I know that's my take on the situation. Violence is the death of civility, as they say, a last resort for well-mannered beings such as ourselves.

>>7289

You break it down to the knights that you are willing to repay them for at least five sets of armor, which you believe is a fairer price for the information.

"A bit of a haggler, aren't you, pipsqueak?" says the ogre, "fair enough though. Five armors."

You also remind the knights on how important this information is to the queen, and how some lost armor is really a good deal for it.

The knights communicate with each other in hushed whispers for some time.

"This is crazy."

"It's only some armor, really. I'd rather keep my life than my armor."

"But what if it got out that we gave in to monster demands?!"

The chatting goes on, until finally one of the knights speaks to you.

"Are you sure you can repay us for our armor, goblin? This armor is around 40 silver each. That means you'll have to give us 200 silver."

What do you do?

>Pay them (go from 290 silver to 90 silver)

>Attempt to haggle for a lower price

>ATTACK

>>7296

200 silver is a small price to keep the peace.

>>7296

You nod your head, revealing your silver coins.

——-

Five unarmored knights now stand behind their three remaining armored companions, as the ogre begins to play around with the new possession.

"Alright, a deal's a deal. You want to know what I know? I'll tell you. I found that black knight fella while wandering around the land, just minding my own business. The big old temple suddenly comes right out of nowhere and almost stomps me flat with those giant legs,"

"How in the world could one not notice a temple that large?" you hear Skellington whisper to himself. The ogre does not notice.

"Luckily for me, the temple stops dead in its tracks, and sits down on the ground. The black knight fella comes out, and gives me this whole speech about how they're the child of Monstro, and that they're trying to unify the monsters, and bla bla bla. It was a load of crock, Monstro never had a kid, and Monstro died like, forever ago, but wandering alone can get boring, so I joined up with 'em. They called themselves Monstra, can you believe that? Anyway, I stuck with them for a few days, and let me tell you, Monstra is a weak little whelp. They go around in their big spooky armor acting all tough, but Monstra is a pansy! Monstra treats all the little monsters like they're on the same level or something, hardly keeps them in line, and always tries getting new recruits nicely. Of course, I knew that Monstra's whole plan is gonna fall apart because they're a wimp, so I decided to try taking charge for myself. Guess I didn't know how brainwashed Monstra's little followers were, because they all jumped at me, and the next thing I know, I got thrown right out of the temple, where I grabbed a tree, and bla bla bla, here we are. If you're looking for the temple, they headed down to that orc village by the sea. They're probably not there now, but hey, that's the best shot you have. Though give it time, and I'm sure they'll just destroy themselves. I don't even know if Monstra knows how that walking temple even works."

And with that, the ogre's story is told. The knights begin marching away in one direction, the ogre in another.

What do you do?

>Try to talk to the humans as they leave

>Try to talk to the ogre as he leaves

>Continue down to Seadale

>>7310

Crunk, might I have a moment of your time? We're trying to reach the temple ourselves and I'm sure that a warrior such as yourself would be a fine addition to our crew. Would you be interested in joining us? We're going to see if we can't convince the current…residents to allow us the use of their walking…temple…thing. Diplomatically, if possible. We'll give them a chance to join us, but after hearing your information, I'm afraid it may get violent.

Worst case scenario is we may have to take the temple by force. I'd rather not, obviously, but will if necessary. I'd feel safer with you at my back. Plus, I'd like to see if we can make you a set of armor. You'd look quite the imposing figure in full plate.

>>7315

Oh! I almost forgot to mention:

Normally it wouldn't be smart to just walk into any "civilized" places randomly, seeing as how you and your friends are all monsters, but you must remember that the orcs stay on a fine line. The orcs want to play nice with everybody, and don't mind monsters paying them visits, if they're friendly. Sure, if any human, elf, or dwarf in power wanted them to go out and purge some beastfolk, they might be up for it, but the orcs believe that with enough time and dedication, any race has the potential to become the next big civilized one…it's just that the orcs, in their opinion, are the most likely to be accepted next.

>>7315

Lets talk to the orcs

>>7338

*ahem* OI! WE'Z LOOKIN FOR DA WALKIN TEMPLE WOSSIT! WE'Z GONNA GO RAID IT AN TAKE ALL 'DERE LOOT! WHICHA YOU BOYZ 'AS 'ERD SOMFIN? ANY 'A YOU LADS WANNA GET STUCK IN WIF' US AN FIGHT SOMMA 'DEM RITE 'ARD TIN NOBZ? WE'Z ALWAYS LOOKIN' FOR A FEW DEAD 'ARD BOYZ TO FILL OUT DA CREW!

>>7338

You puff out your chest and deliver the most "monster talk" introduction you can muster. You describe how you and your party plan to find the temple and "take loot", and that you're looking for information, along with any orcs that want to join.

The orcs look at you in silence. Your party, however, is vocal about your sudden change in tone.

"FINELY," yells Shreakmilk, "YA SPEEKIN LIKE A PROPA LEADA OF A WARPARTY!"

"Boss, ya always find a way to impress me!" Frix cheers.

"YES. DEAD'ARD BOYZ!" jiggles out Jellington.

"CAW! Why the hell are you talking like that? CAW!" caws out Puffin.

"U-um, S-Skup, w-why are you a-acting like this?" Sorri whimpers.

Skellington sees your gambit clearly. "Indeed! We are a band of, uh, fookin right crushers, and um, we're be needed the information…" Skellington hangs his head, not grasping the intricacies of monster tongue.

Snood just nods his head.

The other orcs look forward at their speaker, emotionless, as if waiting to see how he reacts before even daring to react themselves.

The orc speaking with you smiles.

"It's nice seeing a little bit of spunk these days!" he says, "pleasure to meet you all. I am Balgone The Battler…the second. I am leader of the Seadale War Party, The Blades of Balgone The Battler…the first. The other orcs outside of the party want me to call it the Defense Party, but fuck that noise."

Balgone's followers smile, their clunky tusk teeth glistening with grime.

"I wish I could lend out some of my boys to help you out. I mean normally I wouldn't, just giving out soldiers to some random rag tag monster group would be dumb, but in times like these I long for a little bit of action. Damn chief, damn Prindle the Mediator, damn pansy fucking orcs. The thing is, I can't help you out now. I'm under orders to keep all my men here guarding Seadale until further notice. Which, between us, means I can't do anything unless the chief kisses enough dwarf, elf, or human ass to get permission from them to do something. It's fucking sickening. I can tell you the temple was here though, that much is true. The thing stomped by, sat down, and some black knight fella came out trying to recruit the others into his army or something. You wanna know what happened? No one fucking went in! The chief and his crew would have nothing to do with it, the villagers were 'too civilized' too consider it, and me and my boys just had to watch!"

What do you do?

>Ask him how the orcs got so wimpy

>Ask him about the dwarves you saw going up the steps to the pillars

>Push him to go against his orders and give you some help

>Head into the town square

>Head towards the path to the pillars

>>7342

Wossit wif alla dese "civilised" Orky types? Why'da they look so…not…Orky? Seen some earlier, mate, an they was all like, "Oh, lookit tha lil' savages and monsters" and talkin bout wantin to be like Elfs and 'Umans and such. Didn't even have proper tusks or nothin. They looked like some ki'na…pretty-type Orky lads. Talkin bout makin a kingdom. Is dis a new thing? Orks gettin in to the king-makin game?

Got me 'finkin, it did. 'Finkin bout this…civilization business. Bout how those lot, 'Uman, Elfs, Dwarfs, City-Orks, how they gonna jus' follow a guy cos 'is dad or gran'da or woteva was som kinda big boss type. Got me 'finkin bout how that ain't how it should work.

I don't know bout you, but way I sees it is you ain't a boss coz you says yous da boss. Yous da boss coz everyone else sez yous da boss, yeah? Tha's how it works for us an I bet it's how it works for you lads. Yeah, you mighta been born as a second or whateva, but those boyz you got, those boyz follow you coz you's their boss. I'm finkin bout thumpin those lot in the temple, takin' their temple, an ridin it somewhere clear away from here. Somewhere wif none of this "civilization" these lot got 'ere. All I need now's to know where they took that walkin' temple. Mate, just point us lot in the right direction an we's off.

>>7343

Continuing with your montser-like voice, you ask why the orcs you've seen before were all "pretty-type" and how you don't understand why people should be part of a kingdom when they should be following someone they see as the boss, not someone who says they're the boss.

From there, you ask simply if Balgone knows where the temple is headed, and that you will leave if he tells you.

Though your teammates don't speak, you can tell by their expressions…well, the ones where you can see an expression, that they are impressed by your speech.

Balgone's orcs look towards Balgone to know what they should be feeling right now. Balgone does not turn to give them an answer, but you can see his face soften. You have moved him.

"You're damn right, goblin. You're damn right. Let me tell you a story, and maybe you'll understand how we got to this sad state. A long time ago, long before the humans ruled most of the plains, and the elves ruled their enchanted little forests, and the dwarves ruled most of the underground, everyone was just part of their dinky little tribes. Humans, elves, dwarves, they were just like everyone else, I tell ya. Us orcs, we were in our tribes too. Going to war with our enemies, proving ourselves through strength, life was good and simple. Of course, that was a long old time ago, my boys and I weren't born, or any of you were born, or whatever. The thing is, sometime during when everyone else was living life like they should following who was the best…well, I mean the orcs always followed who was the best, I don't know about everyone else…the humans started getting "diplomatic" with the other humans, and just the other humans. Then the elves started to do that too. Then the dwarves too…actually, I'm not sure what the order was, but the point is one of those three started doing things differently. They started to ignore the other races, and just focus on themselves. Making allies, forcing others to join them, but only humans with humans, elves with elves, dwarves with dwarves. And then the humans and the elves and the dwarves saw they were all doing the same thing, and they started working together, real sneaky like. Next thing you know, they're making treaties and shit, dividing up who gets what like they own the damn place already. Next thing you know, they've somehow become the biggest three unified tribes ever! Everyone else who stood in their damn way got crushed real good. Monstro then came out of nowhere, and tried to get all the beastfolk, which, let me tell you, was only a term once the big three came to power, to join up and fight back. You probably know this part already, there was a big war, yadda yadda yadda, Monstro lost, all the beastfolk fell apart back to their old tribes. I don't even know how we lost, none of us were really born yet, probably, but Monstro's army was HUGE. No matter though, he still lost."

Balgone takes in a deep breath.

"Sorry, I'm rambling. This shit gets me heated. Anyway, all the orc tribes were pissed off. They teamed up with Monstro to fight back, all these orc tribes putting aside their differences for once, and it all meant squat! The tribes started blaming each other and got too busy fighting each other while the big three kept taking over crap. That's when Prindle The Fucking Mediator showed up. Some weird mutant orc who looked…pretty. I hear he was raised by elves, and they did experiments on him to make him look the way he did. Point is, he comes in and starts saying shit like 'oh, we can't beat the big three with force, we should be friends with them.' He came just at the right time to trick us all and rise to power, with half the orcs dead and the other half so pissed off they don't even remember why they're fighting anymore. He starts using that diplomacy stuff to make all the tribes like him, and the next thing you know, he's got himself doing exactly what the big three did, basically. He tricked all the orcs into trying to be like the big three, said we could end up as master race number four. And the next thing you know, no one's fighting anymore, and the orcs are changing each generation! We start going from big and tough like me and my boys, to weak and pretty like Prindle. The only way you don't end up like that is by fighting, it seems. I don't get it, and it makes me mad!"

Balgone's orcs are listening to their leader like children listening to a bedtime story. Skellington seems interested, his rotting fingers under his chin. Jellington lost interest early on, and is now munching on sand. Shreakmilk has fallen asleep, while Snood watches over her. Frix listens with wide eyes, just like the rest of the orcs. Puffin seems pretty disinterested in general, and Sorri is taking notes.

You're not sure just yet what you think about this story.

>>7382

"Sorry, I'm rambling again. You want to know where the temple went, right? I'm not sure, but I have a pretty good guess. The closest tribe worth checking out is deep in Moistmouth Cave. In the cave is a passage to an underwater place, full of mermaids and mermen and fish things in general. I'm not sure of this black knight person wants soldiers he has to water, but that's the best bet I've got. It's near the coast a little ways from here."

What do you do?

>Head right to Moistmouth, there's no time to waste.

>Head to the town square

>Head to the path to the pillars

>>7383

Moistmouth it is, then.