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[TheFlame52]

This is a good read. I've run campaigns based on Dwarf Fortress myself, though I made my own homebrewed system.

[KenboCalrissian]

11 Malachite, 212, Mid-Summer (Noon - 4 Days Until Solstice)
-------------

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

"Everyone settle down," said Meepo, claiming his throne of broken masonry. "One person at a time--"

"It was him!" Bofa the kobold hopped up and down, pointing at Space Pants. "The cat summoned the demon skeleton!"

"Somebody tried to stab me," complained Space Pants. "They were successful."

"And then he died," said ratNAROk. "Like... For no reason. Just fell over screaming. Which one was that again?"

"That was Butterfingo," said Meepo.

"Nobody laid a fingo on that Butterfingo," replied Bubb, as Space Pants snickered.

Meepo waved over Subwo, the only one of Yusdrayl's elites available, to have a side chat. "Subwo... Forget all this for a second. What's your take on things as a whole? What's gonna happen if I leave again?"

"Again?!" Subwo balked, then put on his best business face. "Yes! Well... When you left, we took stock of the situation, and things seemed pretty good. Most everyone was on board with the change in leadership."

"Most?" Meepo repeated.

"...There was some grumbling, but no more than usual. I didn't notice any threats. Anyway, we heard fighting through the well - you must have been fighting a big tree! We sent Quizno, my brother, down to see if you needed help, but you sent him back."

"Uh huh. Then what?"

"That's when Magre stepped in and said, 'Nothing's going to get done unless somebody steps up!' He sent me to the south camp to check on the clans who stayed behind in our original settlement, and he sent Quizno down the well again with a few others to make sure you were alright."

"'Make sure we were alright?'" said Meepo. "I said we didn't need help. So, you listened to Magre, even though he directly contradicted my orders?"

"Yes!" said Subwo, too enthusiastically. "I mean--... yes," he said again, apologetically. "B-- but, Quizno hasn't come back! I'm kinda worried about him..." At this, Subwo fell to a whisper. "But by the time I came back, Magre was already giving out orders, and while most of the tribe was on your side, they were listening to him in case you didn't come back and he might take the throne by default!"

"Magre has many loyalists," Meepo nodded. "I'm not surprised at all that he'd make such a move."

"If you'd stayed here, this wouldn't have happened," Subwo muttered.

"What was that?"

"I mean I mean-- I'm sorry! I don't want to tell you what to do!" Subwo put up his clawed hands defensively. "You're the king! I'm just telling you what I've seen."

Meepo nodded and considered. It was clear to him that if he were to leave again with the party, the tribe would probably tear itself apart. None would leave that power vacuum alone for long. He wondered what had happened to Yolo and Derpe, the other two elite guards, the latter of whom Meepo had actually put in charge but was absent - but, it mattered not to him. He glanced over and could tell that a few members of the party were able to hear and listening in on their whispered conversation. He tried to give them a subtle nod of assurance.

Alefgard's ears perked up. In the distance, he could hear what sounded like a pack of kobolds laughing raucously. Nobody else seemed to hear it, though. "Hmm," he thought, "Wonder what they have to laugh about while there's a scene of a massacre right outside. Something to think about..."

"Hey Subwo," said Meepo, "Would you like to be king?"

"Buh-- wha??" Subwo stammered. "Like... for real?! Is this a test?" Subwo stood rigid and spoke mechanically. "I am your servant, king Meepo! I will serve as you wish!"

"I think you could serve me best by leading the tribe," said Meepo. "I would rather not keep this throne, but pass it on to someone who deserves it - and I think you're best! What do you say?"

"I-- I don't know what to say! Okay!"

"Okay, but we need to make a deal," said Meepo.

"Oh-- okay, what is it?"

"I will hand over the throne under a couple of conditions." Meepo held up two claws. "First, my friends and I always get to come back here without being harmed, no questions asked."

Subwo glanced at Space Pants. Space Pants grinned at Subwo. Subwo shivered. "...Okay. And?"

"And I keep this crown." Meepo held up his head, letting the light catch his platinum crown.

"But what do I lead with?" Subwo felt around his belt. "...Oh, wait! This sacrificial dagger! It belonged to Yusdrayl!"

"No, we found that and gave it to her as a gift. You're not going to lead by waving a knife around! You can hold her scepter."

"Oh..." Subwo slumped his shoulders. "Oh, no..."

"What's wrong?"

"Uhh... About that scepter... I don't have it anymore."

"Who has it?"

"Calcryx..." Subwo became very nervous. "She's been really... really irate lately, and we've... kinda had to give her all of our treasure to keep her calm so she'd stop eating us. Including that scepter."

"How's that been working out?"

"Not well..."

"Make him get the scepter himself," said Space Pants. "That's his trial."

"You know what? I like it!" said Meepo. "Worthy of leadership, you must prove yourself! Prove that you have the strength to lead this tribe - by reclaiming Yusdrayl's scepter from Calcryx!"

"...Are you serious?"

"Am I still the king?"

"By myself?!"

"Take Erky with you," said Space Pants.

"I'm not goin' near that dragon," said Erky. "No way!"

"Meepo handled Calcryx by himself for a long time, and that's why he's king." ratNAROk egged him on, pointing a finger aggressively at the kobold. "If you want to be king, you'd better show up!"

"But--"

"You can have help from the other kobolds, if you can find yourself some volunteers," said Meepo. "...But, also, ratNAROk's right."

"Ohhh," Subwo wailed. "But... okay. And then I get to be... ooohh, no good... But the king said... oooohhhhhhhhkay..." Trembling, Subwo wandered out the south door, gingerly stepping over Snicko's skeleton-slain body just outside the door.

"What about them?!" Bofa piped up, pointing at the dead kobolds.

"What about 'em?" said Space Pants. "That guy's gonna die. No way that dragon's gonna give up its hoard."

"I thought we came into the throne room to hash out our differences!" said Bofa.

"There have been a lot of 'differences,' said Space Pants. "Too many to name."

"And too little time!" Meepo shouted. "Bofa, we'll get to that - but first, go and help Subwo."

"What!!"

"You heard your king! Make sure he does as he's told and doesn't chicken out. Besides, if she's really been that much of a problem... he's gonna need help."

"Why don't you--"

"Why don't I what?"

"...Nothing, King Meepo." Bofa turned and sulked off after Subwo.

ratNAROk whistled. "Daaang. That's how you do it!"

"Anyone want to place bets?" said Meepo, smugly.

"Umm..." Zeke shifted uncomfortably. "Were you just thinking out loud, or...?"

"No bets," said ratNAROk. "There's no way they make it."

"Nah, I think they will," said Meepo. "But, if they don't... Guess what? Plenty more kobolds where they came from! They'll be lining up for that cushy 'elite' position. That's just how they are."

"Uh-oh," ratNAROk eyed the crown on Meepo's head, "Has the power already gone to your head? Or, is this the real 'Meepo?'"

"First off!!" Meepo jumped up and stood on his throne. "A lot of these guys pushed me around for years, and now suddenly they're all friendly like nothing's happened. Second, they've already tried to overthrow me while I was gone - and it was Magre, that undercutting, no good... Magre was head of my clan, and always made sure I got the crappy jobs so I'd never get a chance to get ahead. No doubt he couldn't bear to see me rule him!"

"Wow. Anything else?"

"Yes! Third, that dragon tried to kill me!!" Meepo shivered, subconsciously reliving being hit square in the face with her ice breath. "Anyway, I've had nothing but fun since you guys came along! Why would I stay?"

ratNAROk only responded with sinister laughter.

"Meepo, you've changed, man," said Alefgard.

"Yeah," said the kobold, laughing, "and I'm keeping this crown."

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Curious, Space Pants snuck out of the room to see how Subwo and Bofa would fare on their possibly-doomed quest. The bodies of the kobolds slain by Cutter 5 were being carried off to a southern chamber. Meanwhile, Subwo and Bofa appeared to have stopped by a nearby campfire to chat before making his way to Calcryx. Perhaps they were rallying troops? Space Pants hid under some nearby bedfurs to listen in.

"Well? What did Meepo say about the skeleton?" asked Toblero.

"He didn't say anything!" said Bofa. "He just said he was too busy and sent me to-- uuuhhh, tell you that!"

"That cat's gotta pay!" growled Kat. "That thing killed Kit! He was my brother!"

"Me too!" said Whoop. "Shoopda was my brother, and he didn't deserve that!"

"He stole a mouse from me once," said Toblero.

"When will you let it gooo?!" wailed Whoop.

"Kit, Shoopda, Snicko, Magre... and then Butterfingo mysteriously died," said Subwo, shaking his head. "When I'm king, I'll make sure that cat is dealt with!"

"You gotta get that scepter back from Calcryx, first!" said Bofa. "You know... by yourself, like King Meepo said!"

"He said I could have help!" Subwo puffed out his chest. "And when I'm king, I'll remember your loyalty in exchange for, uh, favor! And stuff!"

"Favor?!" Kat squealed. "To take something out of the dragon's hoard? Forget it!"

Space Pants surveyed the scene with a glint in his eye. "Perfect," he thought, "now's the right moment."

The cat stared at Whoop from hiding, Subtly weaving into the kobold's psyche a Suggestion that Subwo's intentions were suspect. Whoop furrowed his brow as he considered the possibility that Subwo had in fact taken liege with Meepo, that he and his cohorts here were under suspicion of overthrowing the crown, and this was a trap meant to see them removed. Just in case, Whoop kicked Toblero under the table and then scratched his eye, a gesture which Toblero then repeated to Kat and Bofa. Each of the kobolds sat uncomfortably as Subwo asked again.

"Aw, really? I mean-- we can't live in fear of the dragon! We need to show that we command it, and we need that scepter to show it who's boss!"

"Good!" Kat crossed her arms. "Good luck, then! Have fun!"

"What!" Subwo was flustered. "Why you... Fine! I will do it myself, and when I come back with that scepter--"

"--then I'll bake you a great big muck-pie!" Kat shooed him off. "Go on, you got this!"

Subwo stormed off through the east passage, muttering under his breath. Bofa sidled up beside the fire and said, "Don't worry, he's probably not coming back."

"Heh," said Space Pants. "So long, Subwo."

Almost as soon as Subwo disappeared through the east door, from the halls deeper within echoed the sound of cheering kobolds. "Huzzah!" The timing was such that it likely had nothing to do with Subwo's departure, but it was in the direction he would be going.

Alefgard cocked his head. "Weird... again."

"I heard," said Bubb, in his buzzing, grating voice. "I'll go see what's up."

Bubb strolled through the kobold sleeping area - the bodies had already been carted off, so there was no longer anything here of interest to the fly cleric of death. They walked towards the eastern doorway, but were stopped by the kobolds near the fire.

"Hold it!" said Toblero. "Where do you think you're going?"

"It's one of the cat's friends!" said Kat. "Be careful!"

Instead of answering, Bubb unhinged their warforged jaw and leaned its head back. Maggots welled up from inside its metal throat, wriggling white worms welling up like writhing rice.

Whoop looked at Bofa. "These guys are nuts! Run!!"

The kobolds scattered away from the disgusting priest, leaving Bubb to go about their business investigating through the east door.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The hazy room with the dragon-carved pillars was extra hazy at the moment, but Bubb could barely see Subwo walking through the well room to the south. The kobold barked out a short conversation with others near the well, but Bubb could not gather their meaning. Bubb considered intervening, but then noticed Zumies standing in the doorway where they'd first met Calcryx. The rogue's back was turned, and as he heard Edward's voice from inside, it was clear they were thoroughly engaged with some form of shenanigans. "He's not doing a great job of keeping lookout, if that's his intention." Bubb then decided to sit down on the floor in the doorway, effectively blocking that exit from the dormitory. "Very well. They have those exits covered, I will cover these. Let's just wait and see what happens next."

Bubb did not have to wait long for their patience to pay off. From down the halls where Subwo had come, they heard clearly the snap of a chain, the snarl of a beast, and the collective gasp of a bunch of worried kobolds.

"Oh." Bubb turned and shouted across the commune, towards the throne room where the others remained. "I think it's about to get a bit colder in here!"

Back inside the throne room, Meepo, either not hearing Bubb or choosing not to, casually eyed the iron chest on the floor before him. "There were, what... eight-hundred gold coins in there when we left earlier?"

ratNAROk kicked open the chest. It was empty. "Ach! Not anymore! 'Ey must've fed 'em to the dragon!"

"Dragons don't eat treasure," said Meepo, "they hoard it! And your fake accent's getting better!"

Despite its lack of treasure, Zeke eyed the iron chest thoughtfully. There were intricate carvings of dragons, demons, and angels all flying the same skies, a terrible storm of wings clearly at battle, but unclear as to who was fighting who. Perhaps they were all waging war together. "That is... a pretty cool chest, not gonna lie." The badger nodded appreciatively.

"You want that chest?" said Meepo.

"Kinda," said Zeke. "A little bit."

"5,000 gold credit for your store!" Meepo pounded his yklwa on the floor as he laughed. "Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? Kinda like your prices!"

"Hey man, magic items aren't cheap! But I do like the artwork on this... Hrmm..." At length, he smiled. "Say, ratNAROk... How bad do you want that giant wrench - the 'Nutcracker?'"

"No." The mouseman shook his head. "C'mere."

"Oh? But I thought you wanted--"

"Over here," ratNAROk waved the badger over. "Lemme talk to you in private."

"Oh, uh..." Awkwardly, Zeke looked around, and then stepped one whole foot away from the party to where ratNAROk was standing just slightly off to the side. "...'Kay. What's up?"

ratNAROk, though half Zeke's size, threw his arm up over the badger's shoulders. "Whaddaya want for that wrench?" He tweaked his head in Meepo's direction. "You want me to kill 'im?"

"What?" said Meepo.

"Huh?!" Zeke balked.

"So I can have his share of the chest."

"What're you talking about?" Meepo strained to hear. "I thought I heard my name!"

"We're just dealin'!" ratNAROk waved him off.

"I think he was gonna let you trade the chest," said Zeke. "You don't gotta kill him! But, uh... the chest might not be enough on its own."

"Well, what else do you want?" The barbarian thumped his chest. "I want what you got."

Before Zeke could reply, there was a terrible roar from down the hall, followed by kobolds screaming. Then, silence.

"Guys?" Bubb called out. "It just got colder in here!"

"Nevermind!" said the badger. "I hate dragons! You can have it for the chest - if you're gonna use it to fight that thing!"

"Deal! I'll help you carry it down into your hidey-hole shop."

With a press of a button on the device on Zeke's belt, a dirt hole opened up in the stone floor beside him. Zeke and ratNAROk each took a side of the chest and carried it down the ladder.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

"Oof!!" Zeke grunted "Ouch... might've pulled something."

"C'mon, ya wee badger!" ratNAROk, half Zeke's size, hoisted the chest with one arm. "We dinnae want to let 'er get away! Lift with the legs!"

"'Dinner?'" Zeke huffed as he tried getting a firmer grip on his side of the chest. "Isn't it like... lunchtime? Maybe I don't understand your dialect. Urgh-- how are you lifting this so easily?!"

"Don't worry," said Erky. "He just makes it up as he goes."

Sergei turned to Meepo. "So... what is the plan?"

"You're lookin' at it," said Meepo. "We stay out of engagement, let her tire herself out and fill up on kobolds."

"Your kobolds," said Sergei.

"Whatever," said Meepo. "Meanwhile, I gotta think up a way to convince Quizno to go after his brother whenver we see him again."

"We never did find Quizno, did we?" said Alefgard. "Or Yolo. Or Derpe."

"Maybe we won't see them again," said Sergei. "We never stopped to identify those kobold zombies we saw below, did we?" The dragonborn looked across the room towards the sound of the commotion. "Perhaps I will join Bubb and make sure they're handling the situation alright..."

"Handling it." Bubb scooched inside the room and shut the door, leaving a few flies on the other side of it to go and scout ahead.

"Probably a wise move," said Sergei, walking up to Bubb. "How do you think they're faring?"

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

"Poorly," said the cleric, as their flies surveyed the scene. Four crystalline pillars of frozen kobold stood running in place before a very angry young white dragon, freely roaming the southern halls. "I suggest we stay our current course of inaction."

"You'll hear no argument from me," said Sergei, readying his weapon in case anything should try coming through the door behind Bubb.

At the sound of the second breath weapon, the party started to mobilize. Alefgard appeared behind Sergei, readying a Thunderclap should anything come through the door. Erky did the same, preparing to cast Bless at the first sign of trouble.

Space Pants discovered a pumpkin within the furs he was hiding in, and affixed it to his hat. "Huh? What's going on? Are they dead yet?"

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Meepo got off his throne and shouted down into Zeke's burrow, using Thaumaturgy to amplify his voice. "Hurry up! The dragon's on its way!" Then, Meepo went ahead to join the others.

"We're goin' as fast as I can carry this wee man!" ratNAROk's voice called up.

"You're so small, how are you so strong?!" Zeke could be heard complaining from within.

"Hurry, hurry!" ratNAROk started kicking over tables and busting boxes open. "Where is it?!"

"Dude! Just chill, alright?! Let me go get it!"

ratNAROk entered a rage at the mere thought of fighting a dragon, kicking over displays and punching the dirt walls of Zeke's shop. "Must!! Smash!! Dragon!!"

Just then, the kobolds who were at the campfire earlier - Toblero, Whoop, Bofa, Kat, and now an additional kobold, Tik - came back in through the north door, looking angry.

Erky preemptively cast Bless on Alefgard, Sergei, and Bubb. "Hey, those kobolds are up to something!"

"Nope," said Space Pants, casting Mind Spike on Tik with a flick of his wrist. The hapless kobold clutched its earholes as it fell to the ground screaming and dying. "That's what you get for bringing help."

"Just like Butterfingo!" cried Kat, pointing. "I knew it was the cat!"

"Oh, gods above and below!" Space Pants put his paws up to his face in mock astonishment. "He's dying! Just like I killed your friend, Butterfingo!"

The admission came as no surprise, and failed to intimidate the kobolds, who looked ready for revenge. Alefgard backed up Space Pants with a prepared Thunderclap, hoping the booming sound would help to scare them.

"OW!!" Erky, standing right in front of Alefgard, covered his ears. "WHY'D YOU DO THAT RIGHT BEHIND ME?"

"Stop shouting," said the wizard, "you're right in my face!"

"WHAT?!"

Bubb stepped towards Tik's deceased body and released their swarm upon it. The kobolds gasped and backed away as the flies made a meal of their friend once standing beside them a moment ago. "You can join your friend here," said Bubb, pointing their warforged arm at Tik's body, "or you can join your friends there," pointing towards the door where the sounds of dragon's breath were coming from. "Choose."

"No! Don't eat us!" Toblero pleaded. "We'll be good! Just leave us be!" He and the other kobolds surrendered and backed away, deciding very quickly they wanted none of this fight.

Meepo sauntered through the door from the throne room, and cast Thaumaturgy again, causing his voice to boom. "Fellow kobolds, hear me! The holder of the scepter rules the tribe - right now, that means Calcryx is our queen! If you think you're tough enough to liberate us from her, you know what you have to do - get that scepter! And it must be one-on-one combat!"

"Phew!" Bofa tried to hide behind Toblero. "I think he's forgotten he ordered me to help Subwo?"

"What was that?" said Toblero.

"I said I think he's gotten taller, you know?"

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Clanging and banging every step of the way, ratNAROk charged out of Zeke's sett with his new weapon - a giant, battery-powered wrench. The barbarian ran yelling down the halls of the burrow, smashing the heavy weapon into dirt walls every step of the way.

"Man, come on!" Zeke wailed. "Stop it! I've gotta smooth all that out later!"

"Rraghaghagha!! Huff... huff..." ratNAROK slowed down as soon as he climbed out of the hole. "...I'm out of rage."

"We haven't even seen the dragon yet!" Zeke said, climbing out behind him. "You gotta conserve your energy!"

"Nah," said ratNAROk. "The key to being a barbarian is to be angry and smashing stuff all the time. Like this!" ratNAROk raised the heavy wrench over his head and jogged towards the door, already winded. "Huff... huff..."

Down the hall, through the shut door, the screeching sound of a third breath attack from a very angry dragon seemed to signal the end. More screams of kobolds, this time accompanied by voices saying, "Forget it! Let her go! She's gone completely mad! Just let her go!!"

The kobolds in the dormitories with the party, already cowed by their combined intimidation attempts, turned to scatter out the north door. "We gotta go! Now!"

"I don't think you understand the situation you're in," said Space Pants, leveling his gaze and a sinister smile at Toblero, as he cast Dissonant Whispers. "You can't leave." The sound of his voice came from everywhere and nowhere at once, taunting the kobold from every corner. "You're all gonna die, and none of you can leave."

"Ack!" Toblero screamed. "Get out! Get out of my head! Yeargh!!" Toblero fell to the ground screaming. The other kobolds screamed and fled through the north door.

Seeing this, Bubb walked over to Space Pants and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Eh? Whaddaya--"

"Bad kitty." As Bubb placed their hand on the sorcerer's shoulder, they cast an empowered Inflict Wounds.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

"Oh," said Space Pants, as his fur and flesh peeled away to rot from necrotic energy. "That's just great..." Unable to muster any more of a retort, the cat blacked out and fell to the cleric's profane touch.

[KenboCalrissian]

This is a good read. I've run campaigns based on Dwarf Fortress myself, though I made my own homebrewed system.

Glad you're enjoying it! It's been a fun experiment, and The Sunless Citadel worked out nicely as a good practice run to get us warmed up. I had a custom intrigue system playing out on a d100 table in the background for the kobolds, but... yeeeah, angry dragons tend to be quite disruptive to such things.

Once we leave this dungeon, we'll be entering some homebrewed content for a while before the next TftYP dungeon. I'll be three sessions behind on the writing come this Tuesday, so I'm going to try picking up the pace a little - no promises, it is holiday season and all that!

[TheFlame52]

I gotta say, the way you weave OOC with IC and have just the right number of drawings to give us an idea of what's happening is great.

[KenboCalrissian]

11 Malachite, 212, Mid-Summer (Afternoon - 4 Days Until Solstice)
-------------

Space Pants hit the ground on all fours. He vomited a black ichor that smelled of almonds and spoiled meat. Bubb, the fly cleric of death, stood over their unsuspecting victim, the air buzzing with the flapping of thousands of hungry wings.

Erky, surprised, fell back, hiding a smile. "Oh boy, here we go..." The gnome began chanting the verse for Hold Person. "Have at it, but if either of you bring that mess over here to us, you've got another thing comin'!"

"Ah, good!" Sergei folded his arms and nodded at the scuffle in approvement. "Some light sparring! This will help build camaraderie. But I must find out what happened to our kobold friend." The dragonborn fighter turned to leave through the East door.

"Uh..." Alefgard rubbed the back of his neck. "Sparring?? Are you sure? He looks pretty almost-dead to me."

"It's fine. They're just roughhousing."

"I think his ear just sloughed onto the floor."

"...They're really, extra roughhousing." Sergei waved a claw dismissively. "It's fine, we've got, what, four healers? Maybe even five?"

"One of those healers is the one killing him!"

"Okay, well, Erky's standing right there!"

The gnome cleric-turned-barbarian laughed. And then, he laughed some more.

"Let 'em fight it out!" said Meepo, standing in the doorway, waving his holy symbol around.

"Huh," said Sergei. "Perhaps Zeke will spare the cat, again? ...Wherever he is?"

As if in reply, a clattering and clammoring of metal-on-stone came smashing through the throne room door. ratNAROk, practically foaming at the mouth, smashed his newly-acquired 'Nutcracker,' a giant wrench, into every available surface on the way out towards the sounds of battle, sending bits of masonry and spittle flying in his wake.

"Dragon!!" The barbarian mouse charged south.

"Wait!!" Panting and out of breath, Zeke dashed through the doorway after ratNAROk, trying to keep up. "Hang on! Dude, it's a cool weapon but you can't just fight a dragon by yourself with it!" Distracted by the rampaging mouse, the badger ran by, completely oblivious to the sight - and smell - of Space Pants' last gasp. "Also, you just wrecked half my shop!!"

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

"Hrm," Sergei muttered. "Well, perhaps Edward and Zumies will be back soon so Edward can patch up Space Pants..."

Just that moment, Zumies poked his head in the room from the north door. He took one look at Space Pants melting into the floor at Bubb's feet, snrrked, said "I just wanted to tell you all, good luck! We're all counting on you," and left. "Hey, Edward!" They could hear the rogue's voice echo down the hall. "Get a load of this!"

"...Oh, well. On to find Subwo!"

Sergei sifted through the hazy pillared chamber and checked the south door. The door was ajar. He could neither open nor close the door since it was already both of those things, so he put an ear to it instead to listen. Hearing nothing, he put his shield in front of himself and used it to push the door open further. The door lead to the well room. On the floor was a (narrow Iron helm) presumably left behind by a goblin or kobold. Sergei picked up the helm and attached it to his belt. He also saw a single fly of Bubb's brood, lost on its way home from its earlier scouting mission.

"Ah," Sergei nodded, "It appears this room has already been bugged."

"Hah!" said Alefgard, suddenly behind Sergei. "Good one."

"Oh?" The dragonborn turned, startled. "You did not stay back to see how it ends? You seemed to be concerned for Space Pants before."

"What do you want me to do?" said Alefgard. "Heal him with my magic?"

"I mean... that's what they do, usually, so... yes, potentially."

Back in the common room where the party was killing each other, Space Pants coughed up more black sludge. He felt like his innards were pouring out of his face like a wineskin of sour rank. "Not one of 'em moved to save me?" thought the cat. "I'll remember that... for as long as I live... which I guess... isn't gonna be for much longer."

Bubb looked down at the sorcerer dying at his feet. Once again, he placed a hand upon Space Pants. The maggots and flies streamed out of their warforged framework and began nibbling away at the decayed flesh as they knit new skin beneath, healing Space Pants bit by bit as they slowly, agonizingly cleaned his wounds.

"Ow," said Space Pants. "But, like, a thousand bitey times."

Bubb commanded their maggots to heal Space Pants's ears first. Then, they kneeled down low over his squirming body. "Space Pants... It doesn't feel very good, does it? You sow pain only for the purpose of enjoying the pain of others. You kill when there is no hunger to satisfy, or danger to quell. You bring danger and death to the swarm not only when it could be avoided, but when it is thoroughly unnecessary."

Space Pants spat out another mouthful of black bile, right onto Bubb's boot. "I'm gonna stick to my promise - to never, ever learn a lesson."

Bubb looked down at the rotten vomit on his shoe. Immediately, some flies set upon it to lap it up. "Oh, a present. Thank you. Now, hold still while we work on your insides."

Erky stepped forward, fists clenched, and he picked up Space Pants by the scruff of the collar to look him in the eye, so the cat could see that Erky's eyes had changed to solid black with white starbursts in the center. "You hear that, cat? Your comeuppance is on its way! You will suffer for what you've done. Hahahahaha!"

"Thaumaturgy. Cute." Bubb slapped Erky away. "No vengeance. No unjust suffering."

"Unjust?!" The gnome was indignant. "You've seen the things he's done! That's why you reacted!"

Space Pants threw up on Erky, clearly on purpose.

"Oh, great - now I'm covered in blood AND vomit! This is never washing off..." Erky threw up his hands and wandered off towards the eastern door, muttering obscenities to himself.

Though the sorcerer's wounds were being healed, it was happening slowly - and grotesquely. Space Pants looked up at Bubb, his eyebrow twitching.

"Hm?" Bubb leaned in. "Are you trying to say something?"

Space Pants vomited on Bubb again.

"I see," said the death cleric. "I'm not sure what you're trying to suggest, but perhaps you should keep your poisonous words to yourself and let the bugs do their work for now, hm?"

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Meanwhile, in a chamber south-west of the main sleeping quarters, ratNAROk the mouse crashed through the door with his massive pipe wrench, bearing a few lumps on the head from whacking himself while waving it recklessly on the way. Zeke the badger huffed and puffed as he ran out of breath chasing after the wild rodent.

"Where's that dragon?!" ratNAROk demanded, half-crazed with rage.

The living kobolds turned with a tearful start, arms full of crude sutures and ceremonial wrappings, while the dead remained still, much to everyone's relief. It appeared the kobolds had converted this spare barracks into an infirmary, but at the nonce it served more as a morgue. The five recently-deceased kobolds - Kit, Snicko, Butterfingo, Shoopda, and Magre - laid upon soiled, bloodied mats of fur, apparently being prepared for some ritual of departure.

"N-no!" One of the kobolds replied. "These are the kobolds that were killed by your skeleton--"

"Allegedly," said Zeke.

"--and since you've come back!"

Zeke glanced over his shoulder at the corpses of Tik and Toblero laying in the common area behind him. "Dude, don't look at me! I've been babysitting this guy all day. Ever since I gave him something heavy to swing around, I have to say I feel a little bit responsible for what he--"

ratNAROk smashed the pipe wrench into the center of the olivine door, cracking it in half horizontally. What remained of the door stayed on its hinges, but its two halves swung independently on its top and bottom hinges. "I see no dragon," said the barbarian, "Only weakness." With that, the mouse turned and charged towards the east door.

Zeke pointed sheepishly at the broken door. "I, uh... I take no responsibility for that. Sorry for your loss... es! There's, ah, a couple more out here, do you want--"

"GET OUT!!"

"Oh-- yeah, sure, sure! I'll just shut this for ya real quick." Zeke shut the top half of the door. "Heh... whoops! Gotta have your privacy." The badger then shut the bottom half of the door. The top half fell off its hinge with a crash, causing Zeke to stare directly into a room full of weepy, cranky kobold eyes staring back at him. "I'll... leave. Now."

Spoiler: "OOC" (click to show/hide)

Might take a bit longer with the next update - not only is it holiday season, but the party is near the end of the dungeon, meaning I need to scramble to make Roll20 maps for the next area... which will be none other than Severedcoils!

[KenboCalrissian]

OOC Update:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Map progress: 31/57(?) maps complete!

To expand on the OOC comment in the last post, the reason this story has come to a temporary halt is because our actual game is getting close to the end of the dungeon, and I'm in a crunch to create content for the next area - that is, converting Severedcoils into explorable Roll20 maps! There's a lot of ground to explore, plenty of secrets to uncover, and, quite frankly, I have no idea what the outcome of the party's next visit will be - and that's the point. I've actually been working on these a little each day as I'm able - that said, it's still looking like the next story update will come after the holidays.

IIRC, I currently have four full sessions recorded and unwritten, and at my current rate I average four posts per session - so, even if we were to stop playing for a length of time, I've got a backlog of material to write from. And, since I already have the dungeon after Severedcoils built and ready, once I finish these maps I'll have enough resources on hand to keep running for the next 1-2 years. While that means the story is now running behind the actual game, it also means I'll have plenty of cushion to prevent another break like this for the foreseeable future, unless something comes up.

By the way, if you'd like to have an impact on the near future of the story, there's still an active Community-fort challenge up at the original Severedcoils! Careful, this link leads to spoilers and the challenge itself requires being spoiled, so if you're trying to read Adventure Mode (DnD-story first) you should avoid this! It is, however, an invitation for a challenge that the party will almost certainly encounter the effects of later, so have fun with that.

[TheFlame52]

I know the struggles of DMing in an open world. No worries, we're patient.

[KenboCalrissian]

11 Malachite, 212, Mid-Summer (Late Afternoon - 4 Days Until Solstice)
-------------

Sergei stepped into the eastern chamber, putting the sounds of allied combat behind him in order to focus on the sounds ahead of him. Subwo the kobold presumably went this way to approach an irritated dragon - and, sure enough, the sounds of snarling and gnashing of teeth reverberated through the halls ahead.

Keeping quiet, the dragonborn gestured for Alefgard to stay close. He stepped through the threshhold of the next room...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

...and then, wisely, leaned in to inspect the room before setting foot inside. The eye emblazoned on his Sentinel Shield glowed faintly as he held it before him. Moments later, his own eyes rested on the floor in front of him.

"Ah--!" Sergei raised an arm to halt Alefgard, then pointed at the seams in the floor, suggesting two false panels hinged around what might be a two-foot wide catwalk through the center of the room. He held his hand up flat, palm down, and tilted downward, silently indicating to Alefgard that there was a pit trap before them. Ha, he thought, just like the one at the front door! You'll not make a fool of me twice, gravity.

Sergei stepped across the catwalk with Alefgard following close behind. As they made it to the other side, another commotion caused them to stop again.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Suddenly, a door ahead to the East burst open before them. A throng of panicked kobolds spilled out of the adjacent room, wailing and clamoring over each other as they scurried down the hall towards the dungeon's exit. From the looks of it, the adjacent room they'd come from had been their original living quarters. Not one of the fleeing kobolds so much as looked in Sergei or Alefgard's direction.

"This seems like a bad sign," said Sergei. "They're abandoning their home."

"Eh," said Alefgard, shrugging dismissively.

Meanwhile, back in the northern settlement, Bubb extended an arm and recalled the maggots and flies that were knitting Space Pants back together. The bugs had done a fantastic, horrifying job.

Space Pants gingerly picked himself up off the floor, surprised at first that he could stand, but refusing to show it. "Thank you, Bubb, even though you did this to me."

"You had it coming," said Bubb.

"Oh, I don't disagree at all," said Space Pants, somehow accepting this as fact without reasoning or caring why he deserved it, only that it will almost certainly happen again.

The party collected themselves and gathered towards the eastern chambers to see where Sergei and Alefgard had gotten to. Erky chided Space Pants, "Well, well, cat... What have we learned?"

"What did I learn?" Space Pants replied with a slight smile. "Here, I'll show you."

Space Pants cast Minor Illusion.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

"There. Tall Erky."

The apparently tall gnome dropped his snide grin. "This... changes nothing."

"Exactly."

Just then, ratNAROk charged into the room well ahead of a tired and panting Zeke, still flailing his giant wrench around, alternating between smashing it into the walls - and his own head.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Sergei whirled around. "Mouse man! Control yourself, lest we be heard."

The barbarian answered between swings of his Nutcracker, "Gotta *smash* stay *bonk* mad *crunch* for *wham* the dragon!!"

The badger ran in behind ratNAROk, and doubled over hands-on-knees to catch his breath. "Dude... You guys are a lot younger than me. I mean-- I'm not old, but, I'm not as fast as I used to be."

"No worries, shopkeep. None of us can keep up with him either." Sergei did a double-take when he noticed Meepo. "Little one, why do you stand crooked like that?"

Meepo was walking while leaning heavily forward on his yklwa, making pronounced clacks on the floor with each step.  "I am king! I must appear regal now."

The fighter looked at Meepo with confusion. "It appears to be very bad for your posture. Why, it hurts me to look at you doing that. Did Yusdrayl skulk around like that when she was in charge?"

Meepo stood up tall. "No, I was, uh... trying it out. Hey, where's Calcryx?"

Sergei sighed. "Well, regardless of this little mess, I believe we still have the element of surprise. Whatever's happening out there is far more distracting than us standing around hitting ourselves in the head with oversized hand tools."

"Then let's get out there and smash it!!" ratNAROk pushed his way past Sergei and dashed ahead in.

"...Not what I meant, but alright, looks like we're doing it this way. Onward."

ratNAROk headed West, stopping briefly to admire the kobold-cicles standing frozen in the hallway. A cone-shaped patch of snow and windswept frost covered the ground at their feet. "Ooh, pretty... pretty horrifying!" ratNAROk laughed coldly and continued down the corridor ahead of the pack.

Sergei clicked his tongue as he guarded the doorway, covering the party while ratNAROk scouted - but the barbarian's laughter sent a shiver down his spine. "Chilling..."

Meepo stared wide-eyed at the frozen kobolds. "Beano... Bumbo... Yarp... and Subwo!" Sure enough, the largest of the frobold 'statues' turned out to be the elite guard they'd apparently sent to his doom. The cleric tapped a claw against Subwo's forearm, hearing it clink. "Frozen solid... Calcryx has never blown cold this intense before. And the cone is wider than usual..."

"We heard it three times in somewhat rapid succession," said Bubb. "Most unusual for a young dragon. Then again, dragons in general are quite unusual, as there are so few." The fly cleric was still for a moment. "...And this is a young dragon. Until a few days ago, I was under the impression Nelare Fedíofi Fonenelare was the last of her kind."

"That's why Calcryx is special," said Meepo. "Yusdrayl rescued her egg from a merchant's cart. We have no idea where they found it. But, even though she became dangerous, we had to protect her anyway. Her very existence is a miracle. A young dragon, after two hundred years only knowing of four dragons total, and supposedly one dragon left - Calcryx gives hope to dragonkind."

Meepo went to each frozen body and said a prayer to Nelare. "It would seem Subwo has failed his quest to rule the tribe - but I guess there's no tribe left to rule anymore, anyway."

"You seem to be taking it well," said Sergei.

Meepo sighed. "I'm free.  No more bullies, no more bitey dragon..." Meepo paused for a while. "...It's what I thought I've always wanted, but now that I have it... it's a little sad that the home I knew is just... gone, just like that."

"A chapter closes," said Sergei, "so that another may follow. This is the end of the path you've been walking so far. Fret not! Although you must now forfeit the comfort of familiarity, that vacancy will soon be filled with the wonder of adventure."

Meepo nodded. "...But before I leave this place forever, we're going to go settle the score with those pesky goblins and take their stupid apple! Right?"

The red dragonborn chuckled heartily. "There's that draconic spirit! Don't worry, so long as those goblins stand between us and that tree, they'll be getting theirs quite soon."

CRASH!!

The snobold of Subwo shattered. Millions of splinters of ice and scales exploded out from under the divine fury of ratNAROK's mighty wrench.

"Ack!!" Meepo cried out. "Subwo!!"

"Oh, no, no, no," Sergei shook his head, "friend ratNAROk, he was already dead! I thought you had left! Why would you--"

"Did you honestly think I'd leave before cracking open a couple of cold ones?"

"But why??"

The barbarian screamed, "Demolition, man!!"

"Way to throw a bucket of cold water over the moment," said Space Pants.

"Geez, man," said Alefgard, "Chill out."

"That's one way to break the ice!" quipped Erky. "...No?"

"Erky..." said Space Pants, putting a paw on the gnome's shoulder, "...Let it go."

Spoiler: OOC (click to show/hide)

Map progress: 61/62! Just one left, which is technically already finished, but then I had an idea for something really, super cool to add to it, so I'm just waiting for a good night to knock that one out. Nothing left to delay, time to get back on schedule!

[KenboCalrissian]

I should have known better than to end my last post with the words "Nothing left to delay."

Spoiler: OOC: Regarding the OGL (click to show/hide)

If you haven't heard, Wizards of the Coast - who owns Dungeons and Dragons, and by extension the Sunless Citadel and its NPCs - currently as of this writing allows content creators, like myself, to develop for DnD and/or with DnD assets without fear of owing royalties or ownership from WotC, under a document called the Open Game License, or OGL 1.0a. That is slated to change in the very near future.

Now, I am not a lawyer, so my understanding may not be correct - and the final draft hasn't been released, so a lot of this is based on community speculation. Regardless, I am a creator who could've lost a lot over this, and still could, and I'd rather not spend the next several years fretting over whether this could happen again.

I have always operated under the assumption that I had implied permission to use all assets I've been using, provided no money ever changes hands - Dwarf Fortress and the Guybrush tileset have always been provided openly, and OGL 1.0a promised it was fine to do this with DnD as well. Though nothing is set in stone and community pushback has definitely had an impact, that promise was broken when OGL 1.1 leaked; It appeared as though WotC's intention was to claim ownership of ALL content created under their flag - which includes all of our characters. Some of these characters come from other series - we don't want to see them suddenly become somebody else's property by proxy of association.

So, this puts me - and ALL creators who were working under the impression of a "perpetual, unending agreement" - in a pickle. Until we see the final version of this OGL, we'll have to tread lightly and consider carefully whether to release content that derived from DnD

To summarize; OGL changes pulled the rug out from under us, "Severedcoils I" is perfectly safe from all this, and "Severedcoils II" will have to pivot from its current course, but we're not going anywhere.

I'd like to open this up to reader feedback. If you have any thoughts as to how any of this pertains to "Severedcoils," please feel free to comment. I ask that discussion be kept focused to our story, though. Just about everyone is upset about the OGL, and there are lots of places to voice those opinions, but I'd like to keep this thread focused on "Severedcoils" and the Dwarf Fortress community. The team will be meeting this Tuesday to discuss where to go from here, and we'll take your feedback into consideration. Once we've made up our minds, I'll let you know what we're doing, close the discussion (you're always welcome to leave a comment on the story if you like it, as long as it doesn't detract from the story), and resume some time next week.

Thank you all for reading. And, don't worry - one way or another, "Severedcoils" will have its ending.

[TheFlame52]

I say, screw WotC, continue writing, and I doubt you'll ever get big enough for them to bother you over it. Hasbro just wants a slice of the profit that things like Critical Role are making.

[Maloy]

From what I have read it only applies to people making money so if no one is profiting you're not subject to it in anyway!

[KenboCalrissian]

Thanks for the feedback! We talked this through over a game of "Tremors (with Dwarves)"

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

After watching LegalEagle's analysis and checking other sources (EDIT: Also, considering the recent statement WotC just announced ahead of their proposed OGL changes, so we'll see how this pans out), we think there is a path forward that lets us keep telling this story and protect anything that might be sold out of it some day from sweeping licensing changes. Simply put, this is unmonetized fanfiction.

We'll continue this story as is, but until we see an official statement guaranteeing we're okay to proceed (supposedly by this Friday?), we'll still tread lightly. So here's our plan:

1. We'll finish the Sunken Citadel, including as-yet unwritten content. The bottom floor has been changed significantly, so there's a good deal of original content here regardless that differentiates it from the source. This way, I'm not trying to edit in made-up events and potentially causing plot holes.
2. After we leave the Sunken Citadel, we're considering leaving WotC content behind and perhaps changing game systems. We're currently looking into Pathfinder, Castles and Crusades, and Dragonbane as alternatives. If WotC does update the OGL to guarantee protections on third-party-created content, this could change, but it depends on what they do next. I do have the 'Hearth of Wrath,' a 'Forge of Fury'-like, already built and ready to play for the future...

Thanks for reading! We'll keep pushing forward.

[KenboCalrissian]

Over the past few weeks you, the community, have made your voices heard. And we’ve listened. OGL 1.0a will remain untouched AND the entire SRD 5.1 is now available under a Creative Commons license.

Space Pants said, "Didja hear that, Erky? Looks like you get to stay with us! Forever and ever and ever and..."

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[KenboCalrissian]

11 Malachite, 212, Mid-Summer (Still Afternoon - 4 Days Until Solstice)
-------------

Chips of shattered Subwo tinkled across the floor and began to melt into small puddles of scales and bits. The Meadowguard barbarian was absolutely frothing at the mouth as he laughed maniacally at his own carnage.

"Friend ratNAROk, control yourself!" Sergei called out, to no avail. "Conserve your rage for useful opportunities, such as nearby enemies--"

"Nearby enemies?!" ratNAROk charged down the corridor, between the double-row of dragon-engraved columns, waving his giant pipewrench around wildly.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Ahead, ratNAROk found more of the same, and the starting point of the white dragon's rampage - before a pile of gold and treasure strewn about in front of Yusdrayl's former throne, more kobolds had been flash-frozen where they stood, and there were a couple of day-old bodies mauled and tossed in the back for good measure. On closer inspection, two more of Yusdrayl's elite guards were among the slain: Derpe, whom Meepo had placed in command, lay mangled and half-eaten near the throne where the mighty beast was moored, its chain shattered by its monstrous strength; and Yolo, standing at the front of the gallery of statues, apparently having taken the brunt of Calcryx's breath point-blank, stared ahead with glassy eyes and arm outstretched toward something within the pile of treasure.

"21 damage!!" Without a moment's thought or hesitation, ratNAROk smashed Yolo to bits for fun and sport. "No, wait-- almost forgot my rage! Make that 23!" ratNAROk giggled at the icy chunks skating across the marble floor. "Every little point counts when you're going for distance."

"Who are you talking to?" Sergei took a few steps toward the sounds of freshly-crunched kobolds. "I hear you doing math over there. Are you in combat??"

"Hahahaha" ratNAROk smashed another. "Nope!"

Sergei gripped his Shield of the Sentinel and held it upright. As the sounds of the barbarian's commotion reverberated off the walls, he listened to the echoes, searching for possible sounds of a response. Focused on the magic of his shield, he felt its weight in his hand, feeling the vibrations of sound in its heavy frame travel through his forearm.

The dragonborn's eyes widened, as he turned around to face the door immediately south of them, and lowered his voice. "Oh-- right in here! I hear chatter... not kobold, but... goblin!"

"Oh, right!" Meepo said helpfully. "We have goblin prisoners in there! We were saving them for the next exchange, but we were trying to save up until we caught a hobgoblin. I was supposed to keep you away from this room when we first met - it would have been considered an act of aggression against the tribe had you entered this room earlier."

"But there ain't no tribe no more," said Space Pants. "But don't worry, I'm sure no one will even remember who was in charge when it all fell apart."

"...Right..."

"No reason to be polite anymore," said Sergei, attempting to kick down the door. The stone slab stayed sound.

"Next time don't hit it with your heauarchk--" Space Pants threw up.

"Maybe if I use my good arm..."

"I got this!" Meepo cast Guidance on himself and threw his small body at the door with a soft splat. "Bleh! I don't got this. Where'd the key to this room get to, I wonder...?"

"He-- Hello?" A goblin voice spoke up from the other side of the door. "Who there? We need food! We're hungry!"

Meepo shrugged and walked away. "Actually, what do I care? They catch us too, they shoulda thought about that."

"Who guard?" the goblin voice called out. "Where are they?"

"Open the door," said Sergei.

"No, you open door!" said the goblin.

"...No, you open the door!" said Sergei.

"You open door!"

"No, you open the door!!"

"Rabbit season," said Alefgard.

Space Pants inspected the door. Walking up close to get a good look, the cat hurled on the door's metal hinges, converting his vomit into an Acid Splash spell. "Augh, whoops-- I mean, there you go! Try it again."

The acid worked its way through the hinges, corroding them enough to become inoperable, but brittle. Sergei kicked the door again, and this time the slab flew off its hinges and into the goblin Sergei was talking to.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

"Eyeahh!" The goblin fell back behind the door, almost knocked unconscious outright.

"No, no!" One of the other goblins called out. "Please, no fight! Set us free, and we'll help you!" Inside the room were four goblins in total, restrained by their ankles to the floor by rusted manacles. A crate full of weapons sat in the corner, precariously close to within range of one of the prisoners.

"Be still, do not move." Sergei entered the room to inspect the crate first. "Oh, ho... jackpot."

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Sergei had expected to find rusted and crude weapons such as the goblins had been carrying. Instead, the fighter had discovered a veritable armory of weapons, stored right here next to their enemies. Vowing to keep his assessment of the wisdom of kobolds out of earshot of Meepo, Sergei instead whistled at the find. The iron weapons indeed appeared to be of the sort the goblins had been carrying, but other items - a steel battle axe, a well-crafted copper warhammer, but most of all the matching pair of morningstar and mace, both decorated with bands of superior quality angelshark bone, hanging rings of masterfully-worked blue shark bone, and menacing with spikes of nurse shark bone.

"Hear me out," said Space Pants. "We take that whole box and trade it to Zeke for one whole item from his shop."

"I like the sound of that!" said the badger merchant. "...Wait, my prices aren't that high, are they?"

"You set us free now?" said one goblin.

"Not now," said Space Pants, "we're shopping."

Zeke poked his head in and rummaged through the crate. Most of the equipment was junk-ish, but the steel battle axe was worth something - but especially, the shark bone weapons. Zeke picked up the mace and morningstar together, weighing one in each hand. "Huh... Other than being crafted of different materials, these are decorated like they were meant to be used as a set. Mace/morningstar is an interesting combo..." The badger rubbed his snout, hiding a smile. "Yeah, we can talk numbers on those later, for sure."

"Please, let us go!" the goblins persisted. "We know the way! Set us free, we show you the way..."

"Then take us to your queen!" exclaimed ratNAROk.

The goblins looked at him with confusion. "Queen? We have no queen... you mean Grenl, the tribe shaman? We know her traps! We show you, where to watch your step, yes..."

"Grenl..." Bubb recalled, "Ah, yes. The shaman we met briefly before fighting Durnn. She escaped down the well, somehow."

Sergei eyed the goblins suspiciously. "...You will act as our guide?"

"Yeah, yeah! Of course!" The goblins nodded in unison, even the one pinned under the door. "No problem! Please, let us go!"

"If you are lying..." The dragonborn unsheathed his magic longsword halfway, its blue sheen flashing in the torchlight.

"Oh-oh, yes! Big kill! Yes, no, we get it! No, yes, we show you the way! No use sword!"

"Y'hear that?" said Space Pants. "He just said he doesn't think you can use that sword!"

Sergei grumbled. "What? That is not what I heard..."

"Nevermind," said the cat sorcerer, "I ran out of Subtle Cast earlier today. Don't mind me."

"...Right, then." Sergei tried to sever the coils of one of the chains binding a goblin, but even with his magic longsword, the task seemed it would take a while, and perhaps a poor use of a magic sword. "Um... Does someone want to give me a hand?"

Meepo looked down as something cold touched his foot. A chunk of somebody was melting nearby, leaking towards him due to the slope of the floor. There was no way to know who this chunk belonged to, but it happened to be the chunk of a waist with a belt that was holding the prison keys. "Oh, word!" Meepo scooped the keys up, wiped off some of the gunk, then handed them to Sergei.

"Good, yes!" said the goblins. "We go now?"

"Wait, on my command."

"Now, though! Now is best! We go now, yes?" The goblins were immediately impatient and already trying to hurry the party along.

"In a minute." Sergei drew his longsword fully. The goblins quietly complied. "Zeke, would you care to take these weapons? We can discuss their value later--"

Sergei turned to see Zeke already climbing up and out of the hole to his shop, the crate already gone and put away. "Way ahead of you!"

ratNAROk came wandering in, huffing and panting. "That's it... that's the last of 'em."

"Of what?" said Alefgard.

"Of the kobolds," said ratNAROk. "The frozen ones."

"You smashed every single one?"

"Yeah." ratNAROk doubled over to catch his breath. "I think I need a drink."

"Here," said Alefgard, handing ratNAROk his cell phone. "Play some Super Bubble Breaker, it's cheaper."

"You want me to break it?!"

"Nnnevermind."

"I think you need your eyes checked, friend ratNAROk!" Sergei squinted as he looked down the hall where the mouse man had come from. "My eyes are not so good in the dark, but I see the glitter of gold on the ground where you just were! Did you not search your surroundings?"

"Yeah, I did! I searched for more frozen kobolds, and I kept smashing until I couldn't find any more!"

"Wonderful. Let us go and see what they've left--"

Sergei stopped in his tracks as he got closer. There were far more than just a few coins on the ground; Rather, a large pile of gold coins, various art objects, and treasure lie piled up around the throne.

"Ahh, yes." ratNAROk laid down in the pile of treasure and spread out. "Let's just take a minute to nap..."

"...Friend ratNAROk you are lying directly on top of a young dragon's unattended treasure hoard."

"Yep."

"...Friend ratNAROk we almost walked away from said dragon's hoard because you were too busy smashing frozen ex-enemies."

"Uh-huh."

"...Friend ratNAROk please I am trying to feed my family."

"I'm not sure whether this is a better or worse result than if we had let Zumies do this scouting," said Bubb. "We may have never seen any of this treasure after him. Speaking of, we should probably meet back up with him and Edward soon."

Meepo looked over the pile of treasure. The coins were likely the eight-hundred-or-so pieces they'd found in the iron chest earlier. Everything else was either scavenged from Yusdrayl's personal stores, or a rock craft polished up to shine as best as one could.

"Zumies has our bag of holding, doesn't he," said Meepo flatly.

"Let's just start grabbing stuff, then." ratNAROk began hastily grabbing coins and treasure and cramming them into his backpack. Alefgard tried to stop him as he picked up a gorgeous gold ewer inlaid with ornate platinum scrollwork and jammed it in unceremoniously along with all his other junk and sharp objects.

Bubb looked around. "Something smells... delightful." The priest of flies stepped a little further into the throne room. "Wait, what's that in the corner... is that..."

"Moo."

Strangely enough, in the southern corner of the room was an unharmed, relatively healthy cow. It looked a bit emaciated, but otherwise no worse for wear.

"Hah..." Meepo laughed dryly. "That's the cow they captured a couple days ago to feed Calcryx. She still never even bothered with it."

"Unharmed and intact," said Bubb, gazing deep into the cow's eyes. "Physically, at least. But, this cow's seen everything. Watched it all go down. You can tell by its thousand-yard stare, this cow will never be the same after what it's witnessed."

"Moo."

"If you click on her enough times, she'll take you to the cow level," said Zeke.

"No one gets your space jokes, space man," said Space Pants.

"That dragon sure had an appetite for kobolds, though," said Alefgard. "How long did you say you took care of that dragon?"

"Too long," said Meepo, glancing around to take in the full gravity of Calcryx's devastation. "Too long."

Bubb tried to feed the cow some of the peppered goblin meat they'd been carrying around, but the cow was having none of it. It mooed and turned its head away from the pungent mess. "Come on, you're famished. How do cows work? Doesn't everybody like rotting meat?"

"I think she'd like you to moove along," said Alefgard.

The cow was chained with the same types of manacles that the goblins were, and the keys worked to set it free all the same. "Go now, cow. Leave this wretched place. You are free to touch grass."

As the cow wandered off, Bubb held out the rotting, peppered goblin meat to Sergei. "Oh... no, I, err... I am on strict diet, no, you keep that."

Bubb shrugged and said, "Your loss." Flies crawled from every joint in the warforged's frame and engulfed the hunk of meat. Seconds later, the flies dissipated, and the meat was gone. "Mmm. Delicious."

"Ack! Ack!" The goblin prisoners backed away in disgust, recognizing the flesh of their kind. "Ugly! Ugly meat! Get back!"

"Settle down, you," Sergei leveled his sword at the goblins. "If you don't want to end up like that, you'd best not lead us astray! Now, get moving."

Space Pants threw up again.

[KenboCalrissian]

11 Malachite, 212, Mid-Summer (Early Evening - 4 Days Until Solstice)
-------------

The rescued goblins hurried the party along, eager to be released from captivity. They spitfired chatter at the party, pointing many directions at once while assuring them they knew the safest way to their encampment, while down the halls echoed the familiar din of Edward's lute - the bard and the rogue had finished exploring, and were waiting back at the well for the party to return. While there were some areas potentially unexplored here on the first floor, these goblins might prove to be a nuisance if they were to dally, and those in hiding below would have more time to prepare. So, the party made haste and regrouped, and made their descent once again into the bowels of the Sunken Citadel.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

"It's here! It's here!!" ratNAROk barreled ahead down the halls, and clung to a bare wall in a nondescript room. "I came back for you, my delicious turkey!"

"That's okay," said Meepo, "run ahead of us healers, we'll scrape you up wherever we happen to find you."

"Not the turkey again," said Bubb, shaking their head. "We already investigated this. There were no cracks or signs of entry in that wall. There's nothing here."

"That was the wall out in the garden gallery," said Edward. "The one with the horse engraving. What about the others?"

"I didn't find anything suspicious about the walls around the corner," said Zumies, "only this sickle."

"Erky," said Space Pants, "go ahead and open that cupboard, tell 'em what I found."

Erky grumbled, but complied. "There's nothing in here. What do you mean you found?"

"Because I already looked in there," said the troublesome cat. "It was just this morning. Don't you ever listen?"

"Listen?" The gnome shut the cabinet not-quietly. "I long for the days before I ever heard of you."

"Erky suddenly became aware of the way he was walking," said the silky smooth voice of Momuz Freeman to Erky's thoughts and Erky's alone, "and how stupid he looked."

"You've used that one before!" Erky shouted to nobody, as he walked stiffly out of the room.

Space Pants looked at Alefgard, shaking his head. "It must be the guilt. Poor guy just can't live with all those goblins he killed."

"What about the ones we killed?"

"What about 'em?"

Zeke took a step back, and inspected the small antechamber between the storage room and the garden galleries. Easily missed and nondescript, simple carvings of shells and dwarves adorned either side of the room, while the north and south walls were smooth gabbro. The Inquisitive badger Battle Master took in the scene with a Steady Eye. As he gingerly brushed a claw against the north wall, he made a Tactical Assessment of the space with an Eye - and Nose - for Detail. In contrast to the fearsome rage the badger alien displayed at times on the battlefield, Zeke had developed over the years an appreciation for the space between the noise. The moisture of their breaths in this small room condensing in the ceiling corners, the rat slipping between Sergei's feet only to be snatched up into Meepo's pocket while the kobold thought no one else was looking, the way Erky was walking. The little details that others tended to ignore, that were too small to consider in their busy day, often had the most interesting stories to tell. Point in case...

"Hmm..." Zeke sniffed loudly, taking a deep whiff of the air and dirt and stone through his keen snout. "...Oh! I think I smell fresh air coming from that south wall, probably through a crack or something." He sniffed again. "Huh... smells crisp, a little crackly, sorta... ozoney?!"

"What's ozoney?" inquired Alefgard.

"Uhh... Like the ozone, the one in the atmosphere. But other things smell like that," Zeke said. "Like... I want to say, 'it smells like a fried circuit board,' but that wouldn't make any sense to you..." The badger looked worried. "And to be honest, it doesn't make any sense to me, either."

"Hey," said Meepo, squeezing through the doorway into the now-cramped tiny room. "Does that wall look uneven to you? It kinda looks like there's a seam running down that wall! Must be where the oceany air is coming from." The kobold placed a claw on the wall, feeling for anything loose or suspicious. The smooth gabbro wall gave little evidence of its secrets, but as Meepo felt and rubbed along the surface of the wall, he came upon a vague indentation that was so shallow it was nearly invisible, but perfectly fit the contour and shape of his own kobold-shaped hand. Before he could question it, the wall popped open, revealing a hatch into a secret room.

"Huh? ...Oh!"

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

A stream of brightly-colored particles, glowing stark against the darkness inside the chamber despite not giving off any light, flowed from one end of the room to the other in a seemingly random, but perfectly straight pattern. The party pondered the pink-and-purple portal, its projection pulsing passively, but were promptly perturbed by the prominent poultry.

"I don't... huh?" Meepo rubbed his eyes, momentarily dazzled by the display. "Is that a turkey?!"

"Told you!!" proclaimed ratNAROk, diving right in.

"Whoa..." Zeke pulled out his cell phone and started recording the strange phenomena.

Sergei swiped a leg off the bird before the barbarian devoured the whole thing. Both warriors felt a wave of temporary strength wash over them as the magic(?) feast nourished them. "Mmm... delicious!"

"Wall-turkey?" Alefgard raised his eyebrows. "That's some castle-vanity right there. I'll pass."

"Too late," said Meepo, scrunching his nose at the half-eaten turkey. He held up a clawed hand and tried to catch one of the glowing motes of energy as they flowed towards him. The light seemed to pass straight through Meepo's hand harmlessly, leaving only a slight buzzing sensation where it passed.

"Huh... that's probably nothing life-threatening," said the kobold king, trying to rub the tingling out of his hand. "What's that swirly thing in the corner? A portal?"

"Why don't you go take a closer look?" Edward egged him on.

Meepo tiptoed near the portal, sticking out his foot to poke it with his toe, as if testing a pool of water. "Maybe there's more turkey in here? I wonder if this is some sort of interdimensional pant-reeeeeeee!" Meepo spaghettified into the portal.

"Little one?" Sergei called out. "...Did you fall in?"

"He very clearly did," said Space Pants.

"Oh..." Edward blanched. "He really did, didn't he."

"Oh yeah," said the cat. "On your command, no less."

Edward sighed. "Well... carp. Guess I'd better go in after him."

Space Pants shrugged. "I mean, if you wanna..."

Edward hopped in after Meepo, and then Sergei after him. One by one, the party jumped headlong into the strange portal.

"Hold up," said Bubb, almost the last one in. "Why don't I just send a single fly in? That's probably what we should've done in the first plaaaaaace!" As soon as a single one of Bubb's flies touched the portal, all of their being at once spaghettified into the portal.

As their numbers thinned, the goblins side-eyed each other and started to skulk away. But, as they turned around, they bumped right into Zeke.

"Hi," said the badger, arms crossed. "Nice try. We're just gonna sit tight right here until they come back, m'kay?"

Erky waited until everybody else had gone through. "Why wait around? They seem like they can handle themselves..."

"And miss out on hawking all the sweet loot they're gonna bring back? Nah, nah, nah." Zeke put a hand on Erky's shoulder, giving the gnome a sly grin. "Stick with me, kid. You want to make 'em pay? Become a merchant!"

Spoiler: OOC (click to show/hide)

Sorry this one was a few days late! The last two weeks have been rough, lots of things piled up that needed taken care of all at once. I wanted to go farther and not leave this at a cliffhanger, but I've simply run out of time for what I want to show next. But now (most of) that is out of the way!

By the way, I've recently started a new video game project based on Zeke Barrens! "Forget Me Not" is based on 20 years' worth of stories featuring a certain dimension-hopping badger. It's going to be a roguelite/JRPG hybrid with a secret twist, built in Godot. I'm currently working my way through building a custom combat system, one that's capable of simulating itself for off-screen or auto-generated battles. Once I get something moving, I'll show some of my progress!