Upon arrival I survey the status and growth rate of the goop, and the progress of the evacuation of the town.
assuming I don't notice something unexpected, then I'll fly into the shrine and shift to full-human, and attempt to get Reggie's body out of harm's way. If, as I suspect he is, he's too heavy for me to carry at a speed fast enough to stay ahead of the expanding goop, then I'll drape him over my back while I'm on my hands and knees, then shift into horse form and get us both out of there that way. hopefully he won't fall off because if he does I'm not going to have the time to retrieve him.
Well, you see the goop sort of coalsecing in various places, not so much expanding as redirecting. Clearly much of it is after the big brass clockwork man, but several units of goop are tearing at houses, chasing chickens and cats, and rising up sunward in long, spindly tendrils before crashing down again, sometimes breaking something as they fall, sometimes being broken.
you fly into the shrine, change into girlform, and hear a startled exclamation from the local priest. Something about fortune and daylight, or something. "We gotta get my friend and get out of here!" you cry out, pointing at the body. "Righteo!" He exclaims and rushes off. As he does, you see the body begin to twitch and stir. "Reggie?"
GRASP IT WITH EVERYTHING I GOT LET IT FUEL ME AND REFORM MYSELF BEGIN RUNNING TOWARDS THE LAKE DON'T RESIST EFFORTS TO HELP..
You feel a great inwash of pure hatred. You seek to take it in, to become strong, and alive. But it is also pulling you in, making you it's own. You welcome light, heat, emotion - any sensation at all, and are caught up in it. You feel yourself being made anew, and it is both wonderful and terrible. You feel both the ouroboros and the Omega brand light up with fire and ice, fueling life, death, love and hate.
"Urgent Statement: Some aid would be very handy at this time, fellow legionnaires."
See if I can't haul myself up on the roof. If I can, do so at once, then carefully move over to the far side of the roof and observe my options.
If I CANNOT haul myself up, wait for a tendril to touch my foot and then use the wall in front of me to alchemy the essence of stone into the tendril, trying to turn as much of the goop into inert stone.
You pull upward, and the chunk of rooftop you are holding comes away in your hands, dropping you like a ton of brass clockwork into the goop with a resounding splorp! instantly you feel the goop pulling at your joints, tugging you apart. Fortunately, your fall splatted the goop outward, and it is somewhat slow to encase you again. You flail about for anything to use to transmute this cursed crud, but come up empty handed. Suddenly, a bright flame of pain etches itself across your body, tracing in minute detail the Omega brand. the pain resonates with malice, and the goop surrounding you sweeps sideways, carrying you along as it does.
*Sssssigh*
Go hide near one of the paths out of town and wait for someone with money to pass by. If that goop starts to get too close just go bide some time in the woods.
Looks like very few people are left in town at all. Suddenly, in your altered vision, a black wave of impure essense radiates outward from the town, bubbling up and racing across the void. it slams into you, setting your brand on fire, before falling back inward, leaving you attached by a long dark tendril to two essences, one but a faint whisper, the other a sudden, bright flash. Other tendrils link other beings to these, and you feel an intense, consuming interest aimed at you. You turn tail and slither as fast and as far as you can, in the direction exactly opposite that dancing radiance.
Fight my way free. If I'm capable of detaching any tentacles, do it.
You can't detach tentacles, but you do have the benefit of having lots of them, and you get a good grip on a nearby fencepost and yank yourself free of the goop, just as the entire thing lurches sideways pretty suddenly. You are already in a sprint toward the edge of town when you feel your brand go cold as ice. it feels as if the brand is crawling across your epidermis, wrapping itself around your head and trying to bore into your brain.