You stack some of the small plywood boxes so that you can climb out of the window while still holding your toolbox, and then, with one last glance at your fallen gang in their makeshift caskets, depart from the church turned warehouse. Following the squirrel, you are lead up an unlit slopped path until your arrive at a street illuminated by gas lamps. Several people are about, but you are small enough, and the light is dim enough, that avoiding detection isn't too much of a chore, and after a few minutes that feel like eternities and hundreds of meters that feel like lightyears you are lead into a small alleyway full of large boxes and barrels that provide shelter from the eyes of potential viewers on the street.
The only roomate with which you share your new quarters is a dead dog. Judging by its appearance it is descended from a human retriever breed, judging by the freshness of the corpse and the fact that its neck was chewed through, it was likely just brought down by your squirrel. Judging by its lack of collar and the fact that its ribs are pressing against its flesh, it is a stray...
You spread your cloak out on the ground, and try to sleep, but each time somebody walks by the alleyway, you can't help but stit up and peek out. Of the twelve people you observe, three are human, eight are common mountain dwarves, and one is a Drugar. The language that they speak is Tunnel Dwarven, which you understand a bit of; You are fluent in Noble Dwarven, as a lot of smithing and mechanical literature is written in that particular dialect.
The lack of sky and abundance of dwarves are hints that you stand on dwarven soil, and the demographic information you have just gathered allows you to make an educated guess as to which dwarven civilization you are dealing with. The fact that humans live freely here rules out the Confederacy of the 12 Hammers, and the presence of a Drugar rules out the Throne of the Divine Osprey. Dwarves of the Alpine Republic would never be caught speaking in such a low dialect as tunnel dwarven. This leaves either the Papacy of the Purple Lakes or the Throne Marble as the likely unwitting hosts of a lost gremlin. The former is a theocratic society the subsits more on fishing and fungus farming than smithing and trade, you have heard rumors that they keep enslaved Gremlin Eunuchs as staff in some of their temples to their darker gods. The subjects of the Marble Throne, on the other hand, live in a highly militarized world. All their ablebodied men, and even most of their females, are soldiers, so almost every agricultural and industrial endevor falls to foreign businesses and/or slave labor.
Your internal musings on anthropology prove to be enough distraction from the gravity of your situation, and in time you fall asleep. Your dreams are unpleasant, (you find yourself strapped to a table while Talshorx's stupid boyfriend pulls out your teeth, one by one, with tongs), but not enough to disturb your long overdue slumber...
Slumber lasts long enough to see you rise well rested. It is still dark, it will always be dark, as you are underground, but you now find yourself less frightened. Five lives were given to secure yours, which means you are burdened with achieving a destiny worthy of at least six lifetimes. You could rebuild the gang, start a new family, avenge the deaths of your old one, and preform the sabatauge of century against some dwarven industry, and it would only be a start. You have no choice now but to not only survive, but achieve greatness. It is inevitable. The only questions are how will you do so,
and what will your first steps be from here?Grikxtnak, First Lieutenant and Sole Survivor of the Bloodcog Gang:Status:
Filthy
Heartbroken
Ambitious
Determined
Skills:
Adept Mechanic/Tinkerer
Talented Animal Trainer
Talented Liar
Skilled Biologist
Skilled Scrap Druid
Skilled Diplomat
Skilled Sneak
Skilled Disguise Artist
Adequate Unarmed Fighter
Adequate Furnace Operator
Adequate Metal Smith
Novice Engineer
Equipment:
Waste Smeared Cloak (Full Body, Bonus to Disguise, Provides 1 Small Item Slot)
Waste Smeared Apron (Upper Body, +3 Small Item Slots)
Toolbox (Left Hand, Provides 4 Standard and 2 Small Item Slots)
Tarnished Silver Wedding Ring (Left Middle Finger)
Tarnished Silver Wedding Ring (Left Ring Finger)
Bloodcog Gang Signet Ring (Right Ring Finger)
Gremlin Ear Necklace (Neck)
Inventory:
Basic Gremlin Toolkit
Sewing Equipment
3 Days Food and Water Rations
Mummified Dove Corpse
Bloodcog Gang Coinpurse (Small, Contains 16 Gold, 14 Silver, 4 Copper)
Lesser Healing Potion (Small)
Pack of Voodoo Powder (Small)
Bloodcog Gang Logbook (Small)
Grimdark's Field-guide to The Anatomy and Torture of Common Races, 7th Edition (Small)
Ingrinip's Journal + Interrogation Notepad (Small)
0 Empty Standard Item Slots*
0 Small Item Slots*
*You can fit two small items into one standard slot. You do not presently have any slot to place a large item in, but I'm sure a creative way to take a desired large item with you can be found.
Author
Topic: (SG) Gremlin - Stranded (Read 4006 times)