Image 1: The enemy Image 2: The team ‘Otto_K’ Kivishsazir had gathered a team of trusted fighters on his side.
‘G0rd0nFreeman’ and
‘Jimbus Khan’, the former expedition leader, were there. Kivishsazir – Lancerbridged – had been an expedition leader himself once, so this was an elite group indeed.
Monom Cogtashem,
‘Otto_K II’, arrived in the room past the mysterious drainage grates whose purpose everybody had probably forgotten, clutching his exceptional steel sword. It had the likeness of Idräth carved onto it in bone: the goddess of wealth and treasures, a contemplative woman surrounded by praying dwarves. Monom thought the goddess of arse-kicking would serve him better now. There’s no profit in this, he grumbled to his beard, to cover his fear.
“So, you made it here, you lot”, ‘Otto_K’ grinned. “To me, my Wrathblades!”
Kivishsazir gave a speech about duty, and how it was their burden to finally end the threat of Omba. Their responsibility, their destiny.
“In our hubris, we thought we could tame these forests. And so the Forest Titan, Omba Mistyforest, the Lavender Wood… was sent to punish us. But remember one thing! It’s not hubris, if we can show we can fight it… if we can kill it!”
The others cheered and they proceeded upstairs, where a mere steel door stood between them and the titan, trapped in a makeshift spike trap.
Image 3: The fight begins! Sander the naturalist takes her position by the lever, and starts flicking it, bringing the trap to motion. The titan takes multiple hits from the upright spikes. One masterwork, one exceptional steel spike. It roars as its coral shell fractures.
“To hell with it! Open the door!” Kivishsazir yells. Cogtashem curses loudly at his namesake’s recklessness. The titan is there, a weird humanoid mass of cracked coral. It webs ‘G0rd0n’, and pushes his knee. Even deflected by the protective steel armor, the shock of the impact makes the knee burst open into a gory mess.
‘JimbusKhan’ attacks from behind and lures the beast away from the wounded hammer lord. But the titan’s fury overwhelms her, and after webbing her, Omba crushes her throat. ‘Jimbus’ is on the ground, gasping for breath, to no avail.
Monom Bootpulled jumps at the beast in rage, and slaps with his sword, fracturing the upper body. His namesake, Nish Lancerbridged, shatters Omba’s trunk with his masterwork pickaxe. Nish dodges blows, and the two dwarves attack in a frenzy. Nish kicks and scratches, and Monom punches the creature’s arm. After a lot of chipping at the coral shell, ‘Otto_K’ strikes the trunk again, and it’s cloven asunder!
Another slap from the flat of ‘Otto_K II’s sword, and the titan’s chest is fractured. The titan turns on ‘Jimbus’ again, and a punch jerks her neck awkwardly. ‘Otto_K’ jumps between Omba and the wounded hammer-lord and kicks it in the head, and the three dwarves remaining in the fight all descend on Omba, battering it with attacks. ‘G0rd0n’ bites it, fracturing its hand and chest.
As the others are keeping it busy, ‘Otto_K’ is pulling at his pick, which is jammed in the coral. Getting his weapon loose again, he strikes at Omba’s upper body. The strike cuts deep and cuts the titan in half… Omba is no more!
Image 4: Nish Lancerbridged, Titan slayer ‘JimbusKhan’ lost consciousness, and as she was being carried to hospital, she suffocated and passed away. Was it the crushed throat or broken spine, I'm not sure. ‘G0rd0n’s smashed knee was treated, and given a crutch.
Monom ‘Otto_K II’ has a mangled ear and infected wounds, he didn’t go to the hospital. I hope he survives the infection? ‘Jimbus’ was buried with her weapon and shield in the catacomb floor, and a slab was placed for her, opposite ‘UDIL SODKIB’s slab. The fort was free of Omba’s curse, but it had taken a sacrifice.