Castle Whiterock log 16 August 2021: Cutting short

The murderhoboes

Garreth, half-orc swordsman
    Bleu, droning elf wizard
Zaber, suave and debonaire man
    Logan, wolverine
Thrognar, half-orc holy warrior

Stonemaul, half-orc holy warrior
Mikal, human holy warrior
Polly, cute and deadly elf archer

What they did

I don't know how many times I wake up over the week to Logan licking my face and Garreth laughing about something I did. I mean, that's a common happening for me, but with F'thirya in town, this happens more than my wont. F'thirya sees to it that nobody else gets any work done, either. And unlike everyone else, I'm lucky to have a mustelid with me, and can handle it.

Seven days, fifteen slaps, twelve heaves, six dry heaves, eight kegs, six bottles of wine, five bottles of whiskey, and two projectile vomiting contests later, I find myself in the Slumbering Drake again, sitting with Garreth, Mikal, Thrognar, and Chauntessa. "And now we're on the next level, which is the 'Burning Maze,'" Garreth tells Chauntessa.

I chime in, "Yeah, we want salamander amulets for that."

Chauntessa nods and looks at us. "Please ask Miss Minyad to ship more beer, we seem to be quite low." Garreth and I look at each other and hold back our chuckles, and Chauntessa turns her head to the side. "Why does Ixnay have an egg that's glowing and levitating?"

We all turn and look and sure enough, Ixnay has an egg as big as a chicken's and a glossy golden color, that is also glowing and floating. Ixnay is wrapping his tail around it to keep it from floating off. We look at the egg in wonder. "Seems F'thirya liked Ixnay more than expected," I say. Garreth taps his sword and mumbles to it, then shrugs, saying nothing.

Garreth asks Chauntessa, "Where do we stand on the process to reverse the curse?"

Chauntessa says, "You still need to slay Benthorusra, and look out for info on the Sleep of Ages." She rubs her head. "I perhaps should not have drunk that dwarven vodka or at least stopped after the first keg. Can we discuss this later?"

Garreth nods. "Sure, just thinking ahead."

I buy a bunch of Salamander Amulets for the gang, and we try them out. Thrognar asks what they do, and I tell him to put it on. After he does, I pull down a torch and hold it under his arm. "Feel that?" Mikal makes a sermon about the goodness of Salamander Amulet, and gets one from his church, so we have an extra.

So we go through all the myriad duergar levels, then the Underdark after the duergar level, then past the slain ruins of the wall. The winding staircase draws us deeper into the earth. The heat is fantastic, and gets more intense the further down we go. After descending about one hundred and ten feet, the stairs terminate in a spacious, bow-legged tunnel. The cave structure down here is unlike anything we’ve seen previously. The walls are smooth, almost as if they were worked by spell or skill, but the floor is pockmarked and littered with fused rubble. The ground looks very rough to walk on, but no one is walking. Bleu casts some spells on us after some grumbling, while Polly casts some spells on us with zeal, and we go ahead.

I spot some tracks. Big cat prints lead one way, destrachan prints lead another, and giant boot prints lead a third. The giant boots prints have a short stride for boots so big. Garreth and I talk, and we choose to go after the giants. From ahead, I  make out the flickering light of a torch or small fire. I also hear a deep, basso profundo voice humming to itself. The humming is the popular drinking tune "Bloody Jack's Last Raid." Garreth starts meditating.

Many tunnels come together ahead, making a small opening. A small fire is wedged in a fold of the tunnel wall, and by its light I see a man, almost twelve feet tall, with black skin and a blazing red beard. He tends two strange creatures: hunched-over, hairless, eyeless lizard-monkeys with nasty, black claws and double-lobed ears. This makes me shiver.

One of the monsters looks at me somehow, even though it has no eyes. The giant asks it in Dwarven, "You hear somethin', Cutie?" I float back a bit, still keeping my sight on the giant. However, the beast honks, and the giant gets up, readying his hammer and shield. I fly back.

There, my friends are looking at what seems to be some ivy. Thrognar flies near the ivy and suddenly sinks, as if weight suddenly burdens him. Mikal goes near, and loses his active spells, and suddenly feels hotter. Polly shoots the plant with a cornucopia arrow, and it vanishes before it hits. They back away, and their magic items start working again. Mikal casts Continual Light again to bring back light. Thrognar says, "Seems we want to avoid this way." Garreth says it must be spell ruin ivy.

We await the giant, whom we can hear coming towards us.

Other stuff

We had to quit early as our GM was called away by his work.

Game log 25 July 2021: Small isn't beautiful

Dramatis personae

Angelista, slayer
Poklov, Town Watchdwarf
Felcanis, cleric
Honsou, bowman watched by the Town Watchdwarf

Quid occurrit

The horde pygmies run east. Poklov shield-slams a horde pygmy, knocking it out, while Angelista picks up her javelin.

To the east, the heroes hear a bunch of "pffft" sounds. Angelista and Poklov go east, and see the horde pygmies turned towards the north, with a bunch of hellshots are running at them. The hellshots see Angelista and Poklov and rush towards them. Honsou and Felcanis reach the others.

Two hellshots slam a horde pygmy, knocking it out. One tries to slam Poklov, but he steps out of the way. Another tries to run at him with its spear, but misses. Angelista runs at one with her sword, but misses. Poklov steps and misses with his axe. The horde pygmies stand there with their blowguns to their lips. Felcanis moves towards the others. Honsou moves towards the others, pulling out an arrow as he does.

One hellshot runs at Angelista and misses with its spear, as does another on Poklov. One stabs Poklov with its spear but it doesn't get through armor, while Poklov blocks another stab with his shield, and steps away from a third. Angelista slashes her sword hard into the weapon arm of the hellshot in front of her, but misses. Poklov swings for the leg of the hellshot by Angelista, but it parries with its spear. Felcanis rushes forward to get near the fray. Honsou shoots a hellshot, but the arrow just sticks onto its skin.

One hellshot runs around the back of the gang. A hellshot stabs at Angelista, and gets past her shield and armor. Another tries to stab Poklov in the face, but he parries. A second one does hit, but his armor stops it. A third one tries to hit his eyes, but misses. Angelista whacks a hellshot's midriff, but it stays standing. Poklov chops the legs off a hellshot. The horde pygmies, still holding their blowguns to their mouths, step forward. Felcanis runs to Angelista. Honsou gets out another arrow.

A hellshot runs into Angelista's back, but bounces off her and falls down. Another gets past her shield for a small wound, while three hellshots, including two on the ground, miss Poklov's eye slit. Angelista slashes hard on the one before her, dropping it, then says to the one behind her, "You are next. I would run." Poklov chops twice at the neck of a hellshot, but it stays standing. The horde pygmies shoot their blowgun darts at Poklov's eyes. Five darts hit, blinding him. Felcanis casts Stop Bleeding on Poklov. Housou shoots a hellshot on the ground, but it still writhes. It tries to shove its spear up Angelista's rear, but it can't get through her armor. The other hellshots try to poke Poklov in the eyes, but miss.

Angelista steps and misses the hellshot to her left. "I'm covering your left, dwarf!"

Poklov swings blindly at a hellshot, but misses. "Thanks, lass!"

The horde pygmies pull out more darts. Felcanis casts Major Healing on Poklov, and he can see out of one eye again. Honsou pulls a chest he found earlier in the dungeon, and stands over a hellshot's head, ready to drop it on it. The other hellshot on the ground passes out. The hellshot in the back tries to stab Felcanis, but breaks its spear instead. The other two try to stab Poklov in the eye. They not only miss, but one of them breaks its spear.

Angelista slashes hard at the one on Poklov's left, though it stays up. Poklov plants his axe into a hellshot and it falls dead as it tries to step away.

The horde pygmies step back and aim with their blowguns. Felcanis casts Major Healing on Angelista. Honsou smashes the trunk on the hellshot's head. It passes out.

Two hellshots try to hit Angelista. The one missing legs tries to feebly stab her with its spear, while the other bites her. It gets past her shield, but tastes armor and tough skin. Angelista steps back and cuts a hellshot, though it stays awake. Poklov smashes his axe into a horde pygmy, knocking it out. He swings his other axe at another horde pygmy, but it steps away. The horde pygmies again fire their darts at Poklov, one hitting him in his already hurt eye. He stays awake, but falls. Angelista yells, "By the gods, dwarf, are you trying to get killed?"

Felcanis smashes a hellshot with her mace, but can't get through its armor skin. Honsou whips out a knife and tries to throw it at a hellshot, but misses. One hellshot tries to bite Felcanis another tries to stab her, but both miss. Angelista shoves her spear into the innards of the hellshot before her. The horde pygmies get out more darts.

The body of the hellshot before Felcanis suddenly glows in bright light. Felcanis misses a hellshot with her mace, and Honsou pulls out another knife. The unlit hellshot passes out, while the lit-up one tries to stab Felcanis. However, its spear breaks. Angelista steps on a downed hellshot as she tries to stab the brightly-lit hellshot. She misses, her eyes hurting from the light. Poklov kneels. The horde pygmies start aiming again.

Felcanis misses the dazzling hellshot with her mace, while Honsou grabs his bow. The dazzling hellshot tries to bite Felcanis, but misses, its own eyes dazzled from its body's sudden light. Angelista misses with her broadsword, and Poklov stands. Honsou pulls out an arrow, and the glowing hellshot misses Angelista. She swings at it again, this time hurting it. Poklov quickly grabs his axes and puts one of them into a horde pygmy, knocking it out. The other horde pygmies start running past the heroes.

Felcanis starts casting Dispel Magic to try to get rid of the glow of the hellshot. While she's casting, the hellshot tries to bite Angelista, but she blocks it. Honsou shoots down a horde pygmy. The hellshot again tries to bite Felcanis, missing, and Angelista gets her sword into it, killing it, and ending its glow. Poklov kills a fleeing horde pygmy with his axe. Honsou pulls out his knife and tries to stab another, but misses. Angelista sheathes her sword, while Poklov kills two more. Felcanis, now no longer needing to cast her spell, swings and misses a horde pygmy. Honsou stabs at another one, knocking it out. Angelista pulls out her javelin.

Castle Whiterock 2 August 2021: Names are a problem

The murderhoboes

Garreth, half-orc swordsman
    Bleu, droning elf wizard
Zaber, suave and debonaire man
    Logan, wolverine
Polly, cute and deadly elf archer

Thrognar, half-orc holy warrior

Stonemaul, half-orc holy warrior

Murderhoboing

I poke Logan. "C'mon, wake Garreth! Lick 'im!" Logan licks, but he cannot wake Garreth, with Garreth's Epic Willpower and Mental Strength. Ohm. I turn to Polly, as we need to get going. "So, Polly, Bleu … wait, Thrognar?" Sure enough, there's Thrognar. "When did you get here?"

Thrognar says, "Just now. Priest Gilles is rather longwinded."

I chuckle, "Sorry for all the sins we did, but that's just how I roll at night."

Thrognar says, "Your soul is the only one damaged by your sins. No need to apologize. To me."

Polly asks, "Doesn't killing evil things expiate sins? Like if you eat an extra cookie you can kill an extra orc and it balances out."

I shrug. "I really don't care."

Thrognar says, "Only if done so truly for penance, not for profit."

Polly says, "Oh … so you gotta kill the orc, but donate the proceeds to feed the innocent puppies and kittens?"

Stonemaul chimes in, "Depends on which god you're talking about, really."

Wait, Stonemaul? "Wow … Polly, did I do some shrooms before this?"

Polly says, "When do you not do shrooms?"

Stonemaul says, "I was just up at the temple doing a bit of communing with my god, which mostly means coating the meditation chamber with itching powder and a few strategically placed crickets before the other worshipers get in. Early-bird and all that."

I ask the glowing ball, "F'ffith—however you say your name, can you restore Garreth's strength?"

F'thirya, "F-fear-eee-ah. Like Etheria"

I say, "Yeah, that. Anyways, his strength. Royal Ugly Dude sapped him good."

F'thirya says, "Oh very well, verily shall I turn my Celestial powers unto his restoration, that he might further the cause of Chaos and Good, but thou shalt really encourage him to get into more wild parties." And then she heals Garreth.

I say, "Well, yeah, I'm always there for wild parties. I live for those." 

Stonemaul says, "I think we call you Erica now, eh?

I lift my chain shirt and looks down my pants. "No, I'm still Ibizaber."

Stonemaul shakes his head. "Not you, but F'thirya."

F'thirya says, "What pray tell is wrong with F'thirya?"

Stonemaul says, "It's more than two syllables, and makes you trip over your lips when saying it."

F'thirya waits a moment before saying, "Erica is three syllables."

Thrognar says, "But it doesn't force together those syllables with Sovereign Glue."

Stonemaul nods sagely at F'thirya. "Erin it is, then."

I roll my eyes. "Really, who gives a damn about syllable count? Now, let's go check out Royal Ugly Dude's lair."

F'thirya says, "I suppose we can compromise on Erica, now then, since you have vanquished the Fell Balfosa. Should you win free of this dread place, then upon your summon I shall but once fly to thy aid, though should you topple the obelisks lain around Castle Whiterock to ruin the curse laid upon this trap."

We check out the demonic curtain. It is a horrid thing that seems stitched of the groaning, agonized faces of Demon and Celestial alike. There's a vrock, a hezrou, and a lantern archon, among others, molding in and out. It looks like demon and angel hides stitched together that are constantly groaning, pleading, and writhing in misery. Ungrateful curtain. "Oh, what's YOUR problem?" I beckon everyone with my hand.

I tell the others, "I don't like it. It's a curtain that makes the room look smaller. Bad feng shui." I yell at Bleu to bring up the rear, but she's taking a nap as Garreth meditates. I look at Polly. "Can you believe the nerve of that wizard?"

Thrognar says, "We should destroy this, release this souls."

I add, "And see what's behind it."

Polly asks, "Ooh, attack?"

Stonemaul says, "Might it be possible to do something more, I dunno, clerical to it? Throg, that's not exactly my expertise. Do you have any ideas?"

I yawn. "If Blah were awake, she'd bore it to death."

Thrognar says, "Burning it seem like a sure thing, if a bit cruel."

I point out, "Since when were we gentle?"

Stonemaul says "Seems it can be exorcised."

We can hear the curtain screaming: "Die die die!" "Save us! Save us!" "101010001010101!" "Lobster sticks to Magnet!" "Why why whhhhyyyy?"

I shrug. "Dunno, sounds like it might have something fun to say." After this falls on deaf ears, I ask, "Fine, de we have a torch?"

Stonemaul says, "The last time I did an exorcism, hmmm … oh, I remember. Yeah, you probably don't want me to do it."

Thrognar starts exorcising the curtain. He tells us that the whole deal will take three hours so please don't bother him or cast spells in his sight.

Garreth shakes off his trance and wanders up to the group, dragging Bleu with him. He also asks about plain old fire, while I tell Bleu, "Blah, bore it to death." He sits down, and he and Logan both drink from my whiskeyskin.

Polly says, "So boring … shouldn't church be over and we get doughnuts?"

I chuckle. "Dominus omnibus, succubum futuissem si remaneret."

After a few hours, an ox-sized, gray moth swoops out of the darkness on red-hued wings, leaving behind a trail of slow-falling, powdery residue. Its body is banded in red and black spirals. I point. "Hey, Polly, butterflies!"

Polly says, "Ooh, pretty butterflies!" and does not shoot. I roll my eyes. "Fuck nature." I pull out my knife, and Logan steps and growls at them. Stonemaul starts his short meditation. 

Garreth pulls out two sais and throws them at a moth. With a beautiful sparkly display the moths all dodge the sais. "They're hellmoths, clearly."

Polly asks, "Not friendly butterflies? You sure?"

I tell her, "They're not nature, so get out the bow. Nothing that big this far down is nature."

Garreth starts meditating. Stonemaul moves. Five hellmoths try to hug him with their wings, but Stonemaul steps away or parries all of them.

Polly unloads on the hellmoths, hoping to drop some before they can engage. She shoots one in the eyes, but misses the other shots. Logan steps and starts clawing at the nearest butterfly of doom, and rips it down. I step and wait for a butterfly to get to me. Garreth and Stonemaul both chop at hellmoths, killing many in a second of flurry, and the others start to fly away, now knowing that we're bad for them. Since they're demonic, we don't let them get away, and instead chop them up. I check them for poison, and find they have none, but they can blow up if we use them right. Bleu scoffs at them. "I don't recall reading about these things they must not be real."

The moth oozes on the ground after Logan ripped it to shreds. Logan keeps ripping it up, as he seems to like the taste, then brings it to Garreth between his jaws, awaiting a treat.

And time passes, then the groaning curtain seems to be resisting Thrognar's exorcism, but then, as he redoubles his efforts and call upon Justicia and Danathar, the curtain flails, writhes, howls, flops, then nothing. Thrognar now burns the curtain.

To the southeast, I remember seeing sparkly stuff there earlier. I look in the rubble, and find some coins, but they're silver-painted copper.  I look a little more, and also find some garnets and some obsidians, and some badly carved rubies that look kinda like Balfosa, but its all scattered about the rubble. I shake my fist at the heavens and after seeing the paltry treasure. "Who would do such a dastardly deed? And why?"

Thrognar nods. "The demon's depravity know no bounds."

As I shake my fist, I feel a breeze, and think that something is buried below all this rubble and junk. The thought overrides me, and I dig.

Stonemaul yells, "What are you doing?"

I call back. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

Garreth digs some free range jerky out of a belt pouch and chows down while I dig. At last, I break through. I find thin and twisty passages, and then, at the end, treasure that isn't silver-painted copper. "Garreth! We're rich! Er!" As well as coins, I find a magical dwarven shield, with sigils that say, "This shield is a gift of our forefathers and their forefathers before them, no dwarf shall fall that bears it." I also find a wooden staff that Bleu says is magic. I tell her she can use it so long as she doesn't talk about it. I also find another staff that is carved in the likeness of a great black snake.

We go beyond the horrid curtain is a short hallway that leads to a stone daïs, in the middle of which is what looks like a well. Inside, crimson runes cast a gruesome light, but we can see thirty feet down into another room beneath this one. The air above the well is amazingly hot. Stonemaul puts on his salamander amulet, and holds his arm over the well to see if it works.

F'thirya turns to Thrognar and gives him a scroll. "What's this?" he asks.

F'thirya says, "You may use this once, and once only, to call me to your side, though remember to knock out those obelisks first."

Thrognar raises his eyebrow. "Obelisks?"

I tell him, "She was blinking about those a few hours ago. Dunno what she means."

F'thirya says, "Now then, to long hath I tarried in this vile demense, e'er is time that I do press my valor against the foes of good and chaos. I have heard of one most foul, one who doth feel his station puts him above others, that he mightiest oppress the people and molest the camels. Have you  heard of Lord Flitwick?" She does not seem to find "Lord" a compliment.

Garreth and I look at each other. Garreth says, "Flitwick, yeah we ran into him once or twice," keeping a straight face.

I whistle idly, trying to look innocent. "Flitwick, eh …." I lean over to Garreth and whisper, "Man, Seep isn't gonna believe this."

F'thirya says, "His fell and odious deeds shall earn him rewards most just."

I say, "I mean, Wickprick's daughter is kinda hot …."

Stonemaul tells me, "All the more reason to dispose him. That's how fiefdoms work and all that. Of course no guarantees she does not pour poison in your ear some point after."

I chuckle. "Oh, we already took his house. Seépravir lives there now."

F'thirya asks, "His daughter also spreads the tyranny of blood? What about with camels?"

I tell her, "I dunno about her and a camel. She's kinda spoiled and all, but she's a half-elf."

F'thirya says, "Nothing wrong with half elves, lo, for the mixing of the races strives with Chaos against the tyranny of the preordained."

I grin. "Plus elf maids are hot."

Garreth nods. "He's pretty scummy." He looks straight at F'thirya. "So, do you have a way out?"

F'thirya says, "We just found one yes?"

Garreth asks, "The pit?"

Stonemaul says, "This goes out? Seems more like it heads further in, deeper."

F'thirya says, "Well, I can, I am not terribly prone to bursting into flames as a medium sized orb of Celestial Light. I do suppose it would be more problematic for those of you who need to breathe."

Stonemaul says, "Well, pit of flames aside, are you just trading one floor of the prison for another?"

Ibizaber chuckle, "She's freeing the camels."

F'thirya says, "Dost thou not think that through that gate we are free of the demonhold?" F'thirya looks very sad as a medium size orb of celestial light can look sad.

Stonemaul shrugs "I mean, I'm no wizard, not even a good cleric; practical joke from my god and all that."

Garreth asks, "You guys see any reason we shouldn't help the elf escape?"

Stonemaul says, "But end of day I'm here to break this summon trap before it causes heavy and hell to crash into this plane."

We go back to town. Garreth, Logan, and I are ready to drink and party with F'thirya, an avatar of good and chaos. After a week of this, Cillamar will be thankful that it normally only has to deal with a man, a half-orc, and a wolverine.

19 July 2021 Whiterock: How's it going, Royal Ugly Dude?

The murderhoboes

Garreth, half-orc swordsman
    Bleu, droning elf wizard
Zaber, suave and debonaire man
    Logan, wolverine
Polly, cute and deadly elf archer

Killing is our business … and business is good!

From the banter at the nightly parties, I hear that Evil Edwardil was recently slain by owlbears as he was trying to explore Castle Whiterock. It seems he kept trying to summon dretches but none appeared to save him. This gives Garreth and me a chuckle, not a tear. Edwardil was a dick who spoiled parties and couldn't hold his booze anyways.

Garreth and I gather Polly and Bleu to set off for Demonhold. I send Logan to sniff out Thrognar, Stonemaul, and Mikal, but he instead leads me to their church. I didn't think what we did the other night was so bad, but if they have to confess, oh well. Pity they can't come with us now.

Stonemaul and Mikal not being with means Bleu doesn't have to cast as many spells, so she casts Flight on everyone, and Dark Vision on everyone but Polly, who doesn't need it. She does get See Invisible to see me.

We float through the halls of Demonhold like ninjas, and Bleu casts See Invisible so she can see me while I wear my ring. I chuckle once Bleu agrees, and look down at Logan. "OK, Logan, don't do that thing we talked about to Blah's robes."

After a few twists and turns through the tunnels, something doesn't feel right. I hold up my hand and whisper, "Something isn't good, Polly."

Polly looks around. "I don't see anything."

I call to Logan. "Logan, come up and take a whiff." He comes up to me and takes a smell, but doesn't smell anything. I, however, see some sparkly stuff all the way across the room at end of vision. I tell him to guard the wizard again, then look harder: it's coins. I point this out to Polly, who offers to shoot it, though I tell her to hold her fire for the moment. Still, there's something wrong about this.

Garreth looks carefully up at the roof and around at the side hallways. He sees some rubble, but no critters. I take a step forward to check it out, and all of the sudden, nasty ghostly forms start reaching out towards everyone! They shake us to our cores and stun us, but we know they are but illusions of ethereal cows.

Bleu falls anyways. We all take a drink from the wineskin, healing us. I no longer have my bad feeling.

Polly says, "Owww, the Ethereal Cow tried to avenge all the milk I had with cookies!" She glares at where the Ethereal Cow once was. Garreth asks Bleu what that was, and she, after some babbling, calls it a Weird, and has no idea who cast it. She also talks about "Von Floepelheim's Guide to Seemingly Useful But Not Really Cantrips," "Dell'Orto's Unattended Trap Premise," and "Vance's Classification System of the Old Wifflein Catalog once used by the Great Bookwyrm," none of which mean a damn thing to us.

Luckily, as she babbles, I hear loud slobbery voices in an unknown tongue on the other side of the room. I fly ahead and check it out, spotting a quasit and, behind it, a patchwork curtain made from the stitched flesh of angels, devils, and demons. As the quasit is looking at something over a cliff to the east, I see a demon that looks like a fat ape mixed with a boar and wearing a cape, with a beautiful woman with big wings. 

It sees me. I say, "See you later, Royal Ugly Dude!" then fly back. "We have company!" Polly flies up and shoots at the quasit, and it bursts into icky green goo.

The Royal Ugly Dude flaps its way up the cliff and screams, "You peasants! You Prime Material Knaves! I was TELLING A STORY!" It shoots lightning at Polly and me, though we get out of the way.

I step behind Polly and take off my ring. Polly says, "You're right, Zaber, it is ugly!" Garreth yells at Bleu to hasten him. Logan rushes forward, and Polly shoots at the Royal Ugly Dude, but it dodges all of them. The Royal Ugly Dude follows us into the tunnel, and in a burst of rainbow hues it widens the hallway to let it through. This also sends lightning bolts flying at us, which we dodge. It also swings its axe at me, but misses.

Polly yells, "Hey, there are more little green guys behind the Big Pig! They're invisible!" I tell Logan to run under the Royal Ugly Dude, which he does, and sniffs out the quasits on the other side. I briefly think of getting out of here with the succubus, but I change my mind.

F'thirya flits in. "I see that thou hast finally decided that thou shalt test thy mettle and strive forthwith against the Great Balfosa!" Garreth blinks, and bids Bleu to cast Great Haste on F'thirya.

Polly tries to put bodkin arrows in Balfosa's eyes, but he dodges the arrows. It hurls its tusks at Polly and me, but we get out of the way of them. Then, a nasty, sickening cloud of vile darkness billows out from Balfosa but does not touch anyone, but instead curses where it is for the gods. Then, a big rainbow cloud it was gathering bursts outwards. Polly stands like an idiot, looking at the rainbow, while Bleu starts babbling about how great it is to stand next to F'thirya.

Logan starts clawing at a quasit and it bursts apart when he claws it. He looks upset at the other quasit's cowardice, and runs after it. Bleu casts Great Haste on F'thirya, who says, "Thank thee, one that is called Blah."

Bleu gives me a look.

Garreth hears the little soft flappy sounds of quasit wings, but instead runs up to Balfosa and can't hit him with many blows until his last one, when Scalemar bites deep and Balfosa feels it squealing with pain and rage like a stuck pig. "How dare you prick my Royal Flesh you dastardly serf!" it screams, and Garreth feels himself weaken. Garreth then shouts at Balfosa, stunning him.

Garreth asks F'thirya for help, as he can't do it again, and F'thirya says she can take care of Balfosa if Garreth weakens him enough. Garreth asks Bleu if Nalfeshnee have brains, which she says they do, albeit deep in the skull. Garreth hacks through his skull and his sword hits brain.

The succubus has had enough. "What STUBBORN MEN! Why Balfosa, baby, I think you are dying. Toodles!" With that, she leaves. "Buh-bye, big and green baby!" Balfosa is stunned and does not say anything. F'thirya zaps Balfosa with eight bolts of heat, and he only dodges one of them.

Polly snaps to her wits, Logan kills off the quasits, and Garreth takes care of the Royal Ugly Dude.