"Because a lich nearby is trying to conquer the whole area."

1/2 Clamp 2012/03/16(Fri)18:35 No. 393408 ID: d6af4f
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"My name's Clamp. I'm with Pi."
>"Clamp?! Ye mean to tell me you're the blood beast of the east?!"
"... jus' Clamp. I'm with Pi."
>"Hahaha! Gnoll says he's with Pi!"
>"He isn't lying. I can sense it."
>"Eh?!"
"You got a Lich problem. Tryin' to conquer the whole area."
>"He isn't lying about that either, let him in."

2/2 Clamp 2012/03/16(Fri)18:35 No. 393409 ID: d6af4f
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>"'ey, cleric, that's the biggest gnoll I've ever seen. That's the blood beast, alright."
>"I do not know, but there is no doubt he is under the watch of Pi, no matter how much of a headache I'm gettin' from it." the one in the hat says.
>"It isn't half a stone of difference. He so much as looks at us funny, he's meetin' my steel. An' he's lookin' at me funny right now."

Show him why you're called Clamp. See how good the armor is when the joints are too mangled to let him move.

>>393409
"Don't take it personal. You're looking at me pretty funny too."

"This is how I always look."

Anwyay, just say you want passage through. If anyone wants to assist you they're willing to tag along, but you're not really expecting it.

let's not attack anyone. "sorry if my face is stuck on angry, it happens when you kill a half dragon half-lizardman"

"This is how I always look. How many of you are here? Because the place will no doubt be swarming with undead soon, and we're gathering allies to fight them."

>>393409
You know how your momma always told you that if you made that face it'd stick that way? It did.

>>393409
"You plunge that steel in me, you're no longer considered an ally and no longer protected by Pi's contract."

"Sorry, my face gets this way when I've been walking for a fortnight and haven't eaten for days. You wouldn't happen to have anything for that, would ya?"

"Oh, and what do you make of this guy?" Grab Duke by the leg and dangle him upside-down, eye level with the cleric.

>>393409
"Mom wasn't lying she said my face would freeze like this."

1/2 Clamp 2012/03/17(Sat)05:36 No. 393523 ID: d6af4f
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"Ya know how your momma says if you make a face for too long, it'll stick like that? She was right."
>"Pah. Blood beast has a sense o' humor."
"How many you got?"
>"25 if ya must know, gnoll."
"You have triple the number now. You give us food, and we'll be ready to fight."
>"So it's food ye want!"
>"Oh just give it to 'em, soldier. We already made our peace knowin' we weren't gonna get outta here alive, so what's the harm in givin' 'em full bellies?" the cleric states.
"Eh? You guys givin' up?"
>"Don't be a moron, gnoll! We may've made our peace, but we're gonna fight tooth an' nail till the last brave dwarf is brought down!"

2/2 Clamp 2012/03/17(Sat)05:41 No. 393525 ID: d6af4f
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Food, just in time. People were gettin' antsy, 'specially the lamias. They were startin' to wonder if followin' me was a good idea. Still are, but they got food to distract 'em now.

>"Well isn't this a sight! Never thought I'd see the day when we're just watchin' a buncha monster chowin' down as we watch idly by! No offense, beast, but it ain't right for us! Best thank your god."
"Yeah yeah. What do you make of this guy?"
>"An undead monstrosity is what I think of it! It must be slain, it is but a tool! Your thick head thinks it harmless, doesn't it?! I will slay it if you will not!

>"Hey bosschief guy." The cat says. "The necromancer says if you leave everyone behind, they'll leave this region."

>>393525
"I think I'll keep him. He's pretty harmless, and his boss knows where I am anyway.
Cat, you let your boss know he's an untrustworthy scumbag. Lemme know when he wants to share this big secret why he wants me so damn much.

Cleric guy. The Lamia's leader was struck with a coma, and I ain't magical enough to cure her. Think you could try?"

>>393524
That would be a tempting offer if it didn't mean that we'd be leaving behind our entire clan amidst an outpost of dwarves that no longer has any use for them.

Clamp, who would make a good leader if you left? Would the clan be okay if you had them hang around somewhere on the surface away from the dwarves while you make a beeline for the fort? What would the Lamia do in this situation?

Ask Lokirm how big a region he's talking about. And how long? Permanently? Oh oh and ask what happened to the gnolls who left at the entrance to the tunnel complex. Are they still alive?

If the region Lokirm agrees to vacate includes the fort, we can go there. Ask if you can keep like a small group with you. 5, 10 gnolls/lamia/dwarves? Heck 1-3 would be good too. If he insists that NOBODY follow you, then oh well.

If we can ensure our clan's safety then get to the fort without getting ambushed, we can join up with the kobolds and venture down to the artifact and retrieve it then... I dunno, bargain with it somehow. Or we could just fortify and outlast the lich.

On the other hand, the lich is tracking us. If we go to the kobold fort, they will know where it is and attack full strength to get both you and the artifact. We might NEED our troops to bolster the kobolds' forces.

Leave everyone behind? As in, go alone and unprotected, waiting to be picked off? That's not suspicious at all. Kinda wish the dwarfs hadn't heard it, though. Hopefully they aren't the sort to toss you to the undead in an attempt to spare their own lives.

I wonder how Pi feels about this. She would normally prefer you sacrifice yourself for the sake of your allies, right? Maybe we can convince her that the necromancer is unlikely to honor any promise.

Then again, that's all assuming you don't want to turn yourself in. Do you? I'm not sure how you'd feel about this offer, given that you are at once averse to giving up and fiercely loyal to those placed in your care.

Oh, and keep Hilt away from your food. And pinch the cat for not wearing green. In fact, pinch everyone who isn't wearing green. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Clamp 2012/03/17(Sat)06:24 No. 393541 ID: d6af4f
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Ain't so against the idea, if my clan is let off free. Ain't like I'd be givin' up, the cat didn't say I had to turn myself in. Jus' leave my clan. I'd be willin' to take that offer, cept I'd trust Grasswind with tough, intelligent choice making sooner than the bones. I could find a decent leader, sure.

>"What's that monstrosity babblin' about?" asks the cleric.

"Nonsense, but I gotta have a chat. Cat. First off, tell your boss he's untrustworthy scum."
>"Why? This wasn't his idea. It was the necro.. thing.. the one on the spider, you met him! And just between you and me, I think he's the most trustworthy of everyone! Except for my girlfriend, of course."
....
>"Oh and me I'm very trustworthy too!"
"Let's talk terms. First off, do I get to bring any allies at all? Second, how much of the region are they leaving, and for how long?"
...
"Well?"
>"Discussing it!.... you can bring 2 gnolls and 2 lamias... and me?! What the hell you guys - oh sorry. He says you will be given a respite of one and a half day if you do this, in which you won't be harmed. And your allies will be free to go, so long as your small party and everyone else does not make any contact with each other again. The necromancer and Lokirm are only agreeing to vacate the region just to show that they won't harm you, but they're not saying they'll never ever come back for any reason! The creepy necromancer guy wants me to say that he finds you, uh, and I quote, 'I do not know why, but I am certain that gnoll can be trusted. My brief encounter with him reinforces this.' So uh, there you have it."

Take Hilt (he has to go if we're going to the kobolds) and Grasswind (she can't take care of herself, and we have to keep an eye on her) along with two lamias of your choice and the cat.

Arrange for Leaf to guide the matron to the kobold village in secret. We'll need their help once we're there.

Leave either Redsteel or Talon in charge in your absence. Redsteel is trustworthy, and Talon's been itching for a chance to command.

Ask Hilt if one and a half day is long enough to get to our destination. If it is... I think we should take the deal, assuming we can get 2 gnolls and 2 lamias to volunteer.

Ask why we'd want Derrick to come- won't he just serve as the necromancers' spy? He is quite obviously transmitting everything he sees and hears back to the necros. Unless the connection is severed we should just leave him at the surface, I'm thinking. Is he even that good in a fight? Ask him what good he'd do if he came with us.

>>393543
What if we stop-up Duke's ears and pluck out his eyes? We can keep his eyes in a box and return them once we're out of this mess. Plus, since he wouldn't have to be kept in a sack, we wouldn't have to carry him all the way to the kobolds. That should speed us up significantly. Just keep him on a leash so he doesn't get lost.

I think the smart thing to do would be to keep our small army, although its getting increasingly harder to maintain it.

I think the GM is giving us a choice between a small party adventure and going full-blown RTS here. Seriously, our little crew is almost getting to that point.

>>393548
Whoa man, that's sick. We can just blindfold him.

>>393554
If that's the case, my gut reaction is to keep my vote for a small-party adventure. While I think an army would be helpful, I don't think there would be much significant interaction to be had with it. Its main job would be keeping the undead out of the kobold cave, and that would (presumably) mostly happen off-screen. Though I admit that the thought of tending to wounded soldiers brought from the front-line interests me.

An army might be useful with the driders, but I'm not sure if there'd be room for them. That and, almost paradoxically, the more characters you have involved in a fight the less involved suggesters get to be in said fight. Unless you only focus on a few of those characters for the duration of the battle a la the ending of Chop's Dojo, I guess.

Huh. I've almost talked myself into supporting the army idea. It certainly would solve the problem of how to keep Hilt, the Matron, Grasswind, and Leaf in our party (I don't wanna split them up, don'cha know). I guess I could go with the army choice...I dunno. I'm divided.

Oh, and consider stitching Duke's ears together instead of stopping them up. Whatever you stop them with could fall out. Come to think of it, you could probably stitch his eyes closed instead of plucking them out...meh. Whichever.

>>393560
The blindfold might slip, or the lich might command Duke to try and remove it/ peek out from under it. Besides, he's undead. No damage done.

Don't split your forces. I wanna watch some dorfs kick ass.

>>393541
"Were you possessed or something earlier? I know you're a survivalist, so you speaking like you did to a bunch of gnolls is too foolish and inconsistent for a thing like you to do, even if it was honest. No, I know you usually keep quiet and use your damn big sad eyes. I know you really don't give a shit about Lokrim's goal either, just your girl. So this doesn't explain where the attitude came from. So somebody more ballsy and stupid has taken the helm or Lokrim is spinning tricks on the other side."

Put forth that you'll only take the necromancer's deal with some conditions: First, the infiltrator in your clan will stand up right now, say nothing, and leave. Second, the vampire will lift the coma curse from the lamia's leader. Third, your allies get half a day to pack and get out of here before the timer starts on your day and a half. You and your party will stay put until your allies are gone. You can worry about who'll be in your party if Lokirm agrees.

Duke's likely been acting so belligerent and weird 'cause the eye of Lokirm, or one of Lokirm's lieutenants, has been on him since after that fight with the dragon-man. Better discreetly slip a few sheets of paper and the quill and ink into his pockets before you head out; He could have something important to share.

>>393625
exnay on mentioning the inflitratoryay. It's unknown if the construct gnoll is a friend or foe or even related to Lokrim at all.

If we do split up into the party, we should be able to ask Pi if she still senses the construct gnoll. We're only allowed two gnolls, so it would have a 50/50 chance of guessing correctly if one of the two that joins ends up being the construct.

I forgot to say this but leave who you think is the wisest and also toughest gnoll in charge. My guess is Red Steel, but you could have a second opinion on that, you know him much better.

Hmm. This is a long shot but... ask if the artifact in the kobold fort has something to do with Lokirm trying to recover the spiderbold necromancer's memory.

>>393673
Actually, this might be a good line of inquiry.
Ask if Lokirm would stop trying to take your soul and attacking your allies, if you retrieve the artifact under the kobold fort for him.

Clamp 2012/03/18(Sun)17:26 No. 393942 ID: d6af4f
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"Alright, cat, more questions. First off, you possessed or somethin' earlier? Why would we even bring ya?"
>"Ohhhh well I guess you don't have to bring me, but - oh wait no Lich guy - LOKIRM says you gotta bring me. I don't know why, and I am sworn to silence on my possible possession!"
"Second, Hilt, get over here. Think we can get to the kobolds in a day and a half?"
>"Easily!" Hilt says.
"Good. Cat. Terms. The vampire lifts the curse on the lamia's leader. My allies get half a day to eat up n' get a head start themselves before the time starts on my day an' a half, while me an' my party will stay put. Agreed?
>".. agreed!" says Duke.
"I hear your boss has been tryin' real hard to get his bony hands on some artifact right under the kobold caves. If we get that an' let ya have it, will my allies be left alone?"

There's a real long pause.

>"......... yes. He says if that's your deal, then you can bring 4 gnolls and lamia's instead of two of each. He's also adding that he'll burn everyone you know and love, then you, if you try anything. Really, uh, it probably doesn't come off with as much intensity when I say it."

I get the cat some writin' stuff, but he's got nothin' to add. These terms n' deals change anythin'?

>>393942
Yeah, no artifact giving unless we have a lot more information on the artifact. Why the fuck did we even bring it up? and uh... Hmm. Guaranteed protection. Hmmmmmmm....

>>393944
Protection would be nice, but we'd best not press our luck. The only thing we need is assurance from the dwarves that they won't harm the guys we leave behind. Perhaps our companions could work for the dwarves in exchange for food and shelter (until this mess is dealt with)? The dwarves do seem low on muscle.

Apart from that, we're all set to go. Have your chosen companions scarf down some food and head out. And don't forget what I said about Duke and his eyes/ears.

Suggested Companions:
Leaf
Grasswind
Hilt
Matron

4 Lamias (Three fighters, one mage of your choice. Kobolds will be our major source of magic once we reach the caves, but they may have little to offer in terms of fighters.)

Impaired Duke (Necessary. But useful too, I'll admit. Sneak him some thanks without the lich knowing, if you can.)

You do know that it's a hugely stupid risk trusting Lokirm's word, right? He could easily surround and wipe out your clan and allies once they're far enough away, and you'd never know it. You get this artifact and hand it over, and next thing you know your soul is in a jar, en route to Lokirm's tower. Strike out with a party of four and Duke for the Kobold Fort, and it's as good as a map there for Lokirm's forces. Don't go to the Kobold Fort, and the dracobold necromancer or that bitchy vampire catch up with you, and it's all over.

Simply put, Lokirm has not done anything to garner your trust. He has nothing to stop him from going back on the agreement. Basically, Lokirm can shove his deal where the sun doth not shine. Convey your choice by separating Duke's head from his body and chucking them both down separate latrines; He's undead, he'll "live," but do say it's nothing personal, he's just on the wrong side of this.

Grill the dwarves for any legends, myths, or rumors of artifacts of great power under the nearby mountains. Specifically ones that'd be of strong interest to a lich. If there's anyone who'd know of such things, it's the Dwarves.

>>393996
you say that like we are actually making a deal and not just saying shit so we can entrench our position.

>>393942
Before we agree, we should just ask if getting him the artifact would cause like, an undead apocalypse or something. Is it important to him in order for him to take over the world or something, or is it personal? If it's not going to cause a huge disaster, then we should probably do it. For the greater good.

Oh and don't be cruel to Duke. We can blindfold him etc, but we shouldn't dismember him just to make sure he can't betray us, which he WON'T. We know Duke. He's not one to rely on trickery. He's not even halfway decent at it.

Also Lokirm is actually fairly trustworthy, guys. We KNOW this from the previous iteration of him, and recurring characters have been shown to be pretty much unchanged in personality.

Decapitating Duke might be going too far, but do remember he is a shape shifter, with not inconsiderable magic ability. Once Lokirm realizes you've vigorously declined his offer, Duke's going to be directly ordered to attack or hinder you. Separating his head from his body would effectively take him out of the fight until he's repaired, which might mean a trip back to Lokirm's tower for something as drastic as that.

However, if you feel that's going too far, instead punch his lights out, tie him up tight and stuff him in a sturdy small container. One of the dwarven stone coffers with a large rock on top would do. Just don't be surprised if that coffer flies apart and you end up having to fight him.

1/3 Clamp 2012/04/20(Fri)16:30 No. 402617 ID: c811c4
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>Lots of thinking

...

>"Hey buddy, hey guy, you alright?" Duke starts yappin'. "You look like you're about to crack a cog in there."

2/3 Clamp 2012/04/20(Fri)16:30 No. 402618 ID: c811c4
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THOK
>"Shut it! Lokirm can shove his backstabbin' knives up his own bony ass, cat."

3/3 Clamp 2012/04/20(Fri)16:30 No. 402619 ID: c811c4
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Threw him in a stone cabinet the dwarves had lyin' around while I go talk to some dwarves.

"Cleric, yeah? Know anything about legends and artifacts around here that would be of interest to a lich?"
>"Eh? I know a thing or two, but the only artifact that had a blasted thing to do with liches was a weapon made for slayin' 'em. Been lost for ages in mountains long since abandoned! Never cared much for gettin' our hands on it, what with the liches doin' a good job of keepin' to themselves. Till now, and not like many of us are likin' to think a lich is startin' to work in the open!"

>>402619
We need ALL THE INTEL on this weapon. It is our only chance.

well then you will GET IT and USE IT and kick that lich's bony ass!

SWEET MERCIFUL HEAVENS when did this start back?

I've gotta agree with the fellas above me. What's there to do but get more info right now?

>>402619
"Well, I think I know where it might be. Gonna need it, 'cause I just told the lich to go fuck himself."

>>402645
Unfortunately, the ones who'd know more than the cleric are scholars, far away in the dwarven mountainhomes. Still, wouldn't hurt to ask all the dwarves here about it. You might get lucky.

It's looking like you're going to have to make a breakout for the kobold outpost. Start packing supplies now, 'cause Lokirm's forces are already on the way.

Clamp 2012/04/20(Fri)18:53 No. 402659 ID: c811c4
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"Tell me 'bout that weapon yer talkin' about."
>"Not much more than that is known anymore, gnoll! They say it is a weapon that shapes itself to the wielders most comfortable weapon. Some say it was forged by an ancient dwarven civilization that disappeared without a trace, and some say it was taken by the Lick King himself who, finding himself unable to destroy it, hid it away. Both are not more than fairy tales, after all, whole civilizations don't fizzle away "without a trace", and if the Lich King got a hold of it, he would keep it close under guard! That exhausts my knowledge." the dwarf explains.
"Anyone else know anything?"
>"Not a one, I'm the only one in this post that doesn't live life by hackin' and smashin' with axes and hammers.

"Everyone, start packin' up, we're gonna have to move at a moments notice!"

Ain't sure I should be talkin' to the dwarves 'bout where that artifact might just be, or for that matter, sure if we got any choice but now but to try and run right on through the siege.

Well, if that's the way it's gotta be, we'd best get moving. Scarf a bit of food down and warm-up your swingin' arm!

Oh, and before we go, should we take the cat with us or just leave him here? His powers could be helpful, but he's also a bit of a liability.

Would it be worth trying to convince the dwarves to come with? They seem like incredibly dubious allies at this point, but they might warm up to you eventually. Pi would totally be all over us if we could pull it off.

Better make for the kobold's fortress, with the dwarves in tow; The kobolds are not going to be happy you gave away their location, but their location was well on its way to being found out anyway. Staying here is just going to get you all boxed in by undead, and leaving will get the dwarves boxed in instead. Then Lokirm's forces would bust through when his strong magic users show up. Best option now is to convince the dwarves to come with you, pack up the supplies, and take off.

We'll have to see if the dwarves have a delayed self-destruct mechanism for their outpost, or some other means to collapse it after you leave. This retreat is also going to involve collapsing tunnels, so see if they have explosives to take with you.

>>402664
You have to leave Tom now. He's got the eye of Lokirm on him. If he wasn't being monitored, he could be helpful, but, sadly, in this state he's the enemy.

We probably do have to bid Tom a deceptively fond farewell and head for the caves. Tell Tom to back track and go to the shine of the gods and try praying to the god of chaos. But yes, we should hold up in the mountain fortress and arm ourselves with a lich slayer. Bring the dwarves.

1/2 Clamp 2012/04/21(Sat)11:34 No. 402916 ID: c811c4
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"Alright, which dwarf is in charge here?"
>"That would be ol' Captain Ironcurtain. What business do ya want with 'em?"
"We ain't staying here. You dwarves can come with us get left for the undead. I'm done with th' cat, just gonna leave him in that cabinet."
>"We're no homeless shelter for the undead. I am purging this monstrosity."
>"WAIT A SECOND I'M NOT DO-"

Foomf!

Don't care much to see 'em get killed like that, but care even less to stop th' dwarf.

2/2 Clamp 2012/04/21(Sat)11:34 No. 402917 ID: c811c4
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Eh? Got real dark out of nowhere. It's spookin' both my clan and th' dwarves, and I can't blame 'em. Torches are still lit, but ain't given off much light.

>"Somethin' evil is comin." the cleric says.

>>402916
Duke noooooo :(
We should probably leave
in fact, why haven't ye?

>>402917
"Idiot. There were reasons why I didn't do that."

If anything crawls out of the darkness toss the rash Dwarven Cleric at it to buy the rest of your group time. Besides the practical benefits, this'll make sure the dwarves understand that you're in charge and that, as long as they're with you, nothing gets done unless you want it done.

Scary darkness approaches and all he can say is "Something evil approaches"? No shit!

Anyways. Torches ready, and get set to run, the lot of you. Also, you might might want to warm up a healing spell or two - it's going to get a trifle undeady in here, if you know what I mean.

Wait a second - by letting Duke get purged, will we draw the ire of Tom? I mean, he's got to have a least SOME sentimental attachment to his non-former self. Alternate previous body. Ugh. Whatever.

"right up until now the undead under the litches command were more or less doing what they could to help us while working around the commands the litch had given them. you just executed one of there friends for no real reason, now they are probably going to be out for our blood above and beyond what they were ordered too do."

Duke became Tom in the Chaos god's dreamworld, ja? And this world's timeline is supposed to match up as closely as possible to the dreamworld's timeline, with different events but the same ultimate results. We just made it impossible for Duke to become Tom...


...did we just break the world?

>>402959
It's Chaos, if anything a paradox would probably just make Tom's domain more powerful.

Tell the cleric if he can make a holy light, do it. Call out the mages to make fire or light if they can. Order everyone to grab torches, lit and unlit, what supplies they can carry, and make for the tunnel door. Everyone stick together, and keep a light source at all times. We're heading out now!

>>402959
When the gods recreated the dreamworld continent and integrated it into their world, they did not recreate the artifact that made Tom. That artifact was a plant in the old chaos god's dream by the other gods anyway, as a way to teach the old chaos god a lesson about his reckless ways by creating a being like him in the dreamworld.

We need to leave, NOW.

1/2 Clamp 2012/04/23(Mon)01:28 No. 403556 ID: c811c4
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"Cleric, there's a reason I din't go and do that. You able to make any holy light or somethin'?"
>"O' course I can do the like!"

"Everyone, grab some torches, and make back to the tunnel door! We're leavin' right now!"
>"Oy! Those're our torches." the dwarven soldier yells.
"An' I'm takin' them. You comin' with us?"
>"Like 'ell! What're our men doing up at the entrance?! If somethin' were gettin' by them, we'd be hearin' a lot o' racket!"

Gnolls an' all get runnin' back to the tunnel fer a good chokepoint, but the dwarves are hanging back. Figure I'd be last to go among my own, all things considered.

>"Whatever's a' comin' is nearly on us! I can feel the taint o' evil in the air." says cleric.
"Jus' get through the door, shorty."
>"I won't be leaving my brethren at the front door till I know there's nothing that can be done! Draw your sword, gnoll, it is here!"

2/2 Clamp 2012/04/23(Mon)01:29 No. 403557 ID: c811c4
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Ain't exactly the visage of terror that pops out, yellin' at me from down th' hall.

>"Hey! Hey, um, excuse me, but, which one of you killed my boyfriend?"

>>403557
We need a distraction, so lets make it a double.
Gesture to the cleric
"That nimrod.
Oh, and a little birdie told me Tom can help if you bring the remains to his altar and ask. There's one back that way."
Gesture back the way you came.
Anything that's dating a zombie has to be some kinda agent of chaos, and duke was prolonging this whole conflict by betraying the lich to help you survive. Those are both things that scream Tom, so she should be able to get Duke back by becoming Tom's agent. It's certainly her best chance, at least.

Minci! :D

Be polite to her, and cooperate with her. She means you no harm, and might even be able to help you a little!

She'll probably wipe the floor with that doofy dwarf, though.

1/2 Clamp 2012/04/23(Mon)03:50 No. 403570 ID: c811c4
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"This guy."
>"Aye, it was me, ya witch. I would do it again! How did ya get through the gates? What did you do?!" says cleric.
>"They let me in!" the girl says.
>"Horse dung they did!"
>"I'm sorry, but I had to. I want to resurrect Duke. He's not a bad guy, and please don't worry, no one is scrying on me, I'm not your enemy!"
>"Fools errands for great evils! Gnoll, we've had a terse understanding, but if you want to work with an obvious trickster, you can count the dwarves right o ----"

2/2 Clamp 2012/04/23(Mon)03:51 No. 403571 ID: c811c4
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>"Ya know, maybe it wouldn't be too much trouble to let a girl through."

Cleric got a change of tone real quick.

"There's a chaos god shrine down this tunnel. Try that, girl."
>"I'm not allowed to worship the chaos god! You're Clamp, right?"
"Who's askin'?"
>"My name is Flora."

"Well Flora, your boy Duke wasn't my enemy, just a liability, and even that wasn't his fault. If I'd wanted him dead I'd have done it myself a long time ago. If all you want to do is bring him back, I won't stand in the way."

"funny feeling, think chaos god would be your best bet with getting help with duke"

Well there's other gods there, too. We are a disciple of Pi, ourselves, so we should probably recommend her.

1/2 Clamp 2012/04/23(Mon)04:41 No. 403583 ID: c811c4
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"Woulda thought the chaos god woulda liked zombie dating. Didn't care much for Duke, so I ain't gonna get in yer way if you want to go revive him. There's other gods too, dunno how much they care for revivin' the undead."
>"That's the problem, gods don't do that sort of thing, especially since Lokirm is the one who has Duke's soul! It has to be Lokirm that revives him, but it's very expensive. Lokirm told me that to make it worth replanting his soul, I would have to get rid of 5 of your allies."

2/2 Clamp 2012/04/23(Mon)04:41 No. 403585 ID: c811c4
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>"Sooooooooooooooooo...."

>>403585
SWORD.

"so lokrim needs to die and i need to steal dukes soul from him"

>>403583
"Lokirm's playing ya. Duke's too useful to sit on like that, but he's using the threat as leverage to make you do what he can't. Probably trying to arrange things so you'll be his slave too.
Don't pay him to fix his own toys, buy Duke with the fixing.

Still, define 'get rid of'.

Oh, and doing things gods don't do is Tom's bit."

>>403583
"Well, alright, you've probably charmed about 5 dwarves that were sorta allies. I bet you could turn those against me easily. That counts."

>>403593
Or just send them off in a different direction.
Honestly? Dwarf Cleric kinda showed why we don't want to travel with them, but lets not mention that. She can take credit for it.

that doesn't necessarily mean kill. you could just let her charm 5 dwarves into going there own way rather than following you.

Clamp 2012/04/23(Mon)05:57 No. 403624 ID: c811c4
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Start pullin' out my sword.

"Define 'gettin rid of.'"
>"Er, nono, not like that! I wouldn't do that, I just.. need to get them to be not your allies."
"Looks like th' dwarves are a fan. They were gonna be my allies, but they can stay by you if they want."

>"Oy, I din't like you much either, gnoll." the cleric goes on.

>"Really?" Flora says. "I mean, that's great! I didn't know you really got to team up with them! Can I, uhhh, have all the dwarves? It might help if Duke dies again, and if you didn't really care about the dwarves anyways?"

"sigh, look, i may not care for them too much but i can't just hand over a fort of people."

"You can make 'em not allies, but I'll protest if you sacrifice them to Lokrim for undead experiments and the like, as Pi would likely protest a betrayal like that as they'd be old allies. Just convince them every man for themselves, I suppose? I imagine we'll still be using the fort as a defense point regardless of alliances, but we'll probably be in different sections. I mean, this is going to get pretty confusing, but whatever counts. Get your boyfriend back I don't care. Just hurry up and go poof back to Lokrim saying you did your job."

Clamp 2012/04/23(Mon)07:50 No. 403658 ID: c811c4
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"Ain't gonna hand over an entire fort. Aint' likin' the idea of Lokirm gettin' his bony mitts on short sacrifices."
>"Oh no no, Lokirm isn't like that! He doesn't just.. well.. okay, he's been more, uh, proactive of his lichdom recently, but he accepts servitude in life as well! I'll try to make sure the dwarves get good homes!"
"Keepin' them as pets?"
>"Er, no, not.. that's not what I meant!"
"Well go on then, get outta here."
>"Okay Clamp thank you very much I won't forget this!"

Looks like we're goin' back into the tunnels after all, if my clan got spooked by a dainty girl.

Begs the question of if we're gonna go back and go straight under the kobold fort like Hilt said, or try an' go straight into the dwarven heartland.

that's probably the most terrifying thing we have seen any of lokrims people do so far. she just walked in and took those dwarves. she wasn't out of breath, she wasn't distracted by the effort of overriding that many minds, she just willed it and they fell into line. even the cleric who presumably had the protection of his god. I think the only reason we have a chance is that lokrims minions like us better than they do him, if she was willing to go to the wall for lokrim rather than just do the minimum to protect her and her boyfriend she could probably have taken your entire clan on her own. if we are going to sruvive this I think our only hope is to make sure that no one who lokrim sends after us really wants to catch us.

What's in the Dwarven Heartland that we'd be interested in? We've got a possible lead on that anti-lich weapon being under the kobolds': I say we head there.

>>403702
My guess would be reinforcements.

>>403658
We are not going further into dwarven territory.

Now that Tom's not stuck to you, heading to the kobold's might not lead Lokirm's forces there. Though, you do still have that hidden undead of unknown allegiance in your group... Eh, screw it. The more time you dick around trying to find a way to ferret out that undead guy is time Lokirm has to find the kobold's fortress otherwise.

Pack up and head to the kobold's fort. As much as you'd wish you had some dwarven paladins on your side for this fight, at best it would have been a long shot.

1/3 Clamp 2012/04/24(Tue)01:04 No. 403986 ID: c811c4
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Darn unnerving. This ain't a dwarven mountainhome proper, but it ain't relaxing living in world where a succubi can waltz in and waltz out with dwarves in tow.

I get Hilt to smooth things over with th' dwarves. Ain't sure why I bother with any talkin' when I got that pup around. He comes off as weird and buddy-buddy, which is a darn sight better than me doin' the talkin'. Whatever he says, he gets the dwarves convinced that we're not at fault for that succubi deal, an' it coulda been a whole lot worse than it turned out.

2/3 Clamp 2012/04/24(Tue)01:04 No. 403987 ID: c811c4
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Th' trek back to the kobold cave entrance is no trouble, aside from squabbles between gnolls, lamias and dwarves. Th' dwarves ain't feelin' like they're gonna make it outta here alive, and some were wishin' to have gone down fightin' the undead rather than whatever evil they say is lurkin down here. Us gnolls are just sick o' walkin' the whole time an' havin' to sleep on lamia's backsides from those reapers, an' the lamia's are jus' sick of the dwarves always thinkin' we're all gonna die.

Din't think I'd be so happy to start uncoverin' the entrance to the cave of unspeakable danger.

3/3 Clamp 2012/04/24(Tue)01:05 No. 403988 ID: c811c4
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Ain't much to look at inside, aside from the size of it all. Darn lot of side pockets and angled caverns goin' all over the place.

>>403988
...and giant furry things hanging on the walls? What are those?

Make a spot check for ambushes and traps

Okay so...."Cave of Unspeakable Danger"...would Hilt care to tell us more about these dangers? What are we up against, here?

Clamp 2012/04/24(Tue)02:56 No. 404024 ID: c811c4
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>Furry things hanging on the walls
Looks like some big shrooms. Big enough to pass for trees.

>Spot check for ambushes

"HEY."

Looks like the coast is clear. Ain't seein' any traps either.

"Hilt, get over here!"
>"Yeah, boss."
"You know more about this place than us. Change that."
>"Uh, right, not much to catch up on. There's driders, uh, somewhere. And the kobolds said there were demons and broken dungeons with treasures and all sorts of monsters around. We might just need to go in and see what we find, we can split up or stick together. We've got about 70 or so people total, so we can get a lot more ground covered if we split up without making anyone go off alone."

Yeah lets split up into groups to cover more ground. Just make sure leaf and grasswind are in your team. Leaf because he might be undead and he is useful. And grasswind so we can stop her doing anything stupid like she tried to do with the lamia

>>404024
30 people with you, 40 in the other group.

Or maybe 20,25,25.

Find a reasonably defensible position and establish a base camp. Leave Matron, the supplies, the pups, and whoever is the most tired there, with a group of about twenty as guards. Everyone else sticks together.

Pick a tunnel near the base camp and follow it for a hour, return to camp, then pick another and follow it for a hour. Repeat until all the tunnels near the camp have been checked, then move the camp to another group of tunnels. Keep doing this until you run out of tunnels or find a way to continue on.

>>403987
The Dream Reaper curse hasn't run out yet, like Pi said? It surely feels like fifteen days have passed. Wouldn't be surprising if your clan got cursed again after Duke got holy'd to re-death.

leaving matron and the pups behind in a defensive position seems like a wise choice

with 70 people splitting up is probably best. Hilt seems quite pro, have him lead the second team.

take Grasswind and Leaf in your squad.

>>421126
Totally not canon interlude while this is on break.

Thread 1 - End Clamp 2012/09/08(Sat)19:55 No. 452857 ID: f09b71
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Those Dream Reapers did go away, jus' like Pi said, so there's one less worry out of a whole lot.

Ain't gotta look around much to figure out that I'm gonna have to cover a whole lotta ground. Splittin' up is soundin' like the best option, easy.

So I'll be keepin' a close eye on Grasswind while keepin' leaf around fer sake of havin' someone competent. An' I may as well keep the dwarves n' lamia seperate so they don't get at each other's throats before whatever scampers in these tunnels do.

Matron an' the pups will hang around at the entrance, and there'll be a small band as well so nothin' gets to the shrimps.

Doesn't take long to get it all setup. Everyone's already all split up in their minds, and yet willin' to work together to get out of here fast. Nothin' else to do but to start wanderin' around with me and 19 others, hopin' fer the best.