by Neil Thomson
Follow a band of miniscule marmites on a tale as grand as any...This is the second chapter in a series of session reports that will combine to tell a tale of great deeds and other misadventures. If you would like to start at the beginning, please click on the link at the bottom of this report.
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Our little friends were resting up and splinters of light from the tunnels above suggested that the morning dawn was breaking overhead. With it came the shuffling of many feet and Linera, the Mayor of Barksburg entered with two of her aides. She addressed Collin, a tear trickling down her cheek.
"Please," she begged. "Do you know what has happened to my daughter, Lilly? Did you see her on your escape from the castle?"
"We did not I'm afraid," Colin looked at the rest of the party before adjusting his belt and throwing his Crimson Cloak over his shoulder. "Linera you have been nothing but kind to us in a time of need. We will head back underneath the castle to see if we can find your daughter."
A gruff clearing of the throat from the corner of the room was accompanied by a sharp jerk on Colin's robe. A brief argument ensued between the former smithy and the Prince in miniature. But supporting words from Tilda and some wisdom from Maginos had the matter settled.
The band quickly discussed their options and decided that a smaller team would lead the advance party on the search. Maginos and Filtch would follow a little further back and for some reason the little Scamp appeared happy to be out of Barksburg again.
The first hurdle was to return to the Courtyard, where the band had suffered so horribly at the hands of the Rat Archers and the Cave Centipede. This time though they made short work of their foes and the Dastardly Crow only managed one dive bombing attack on Tilda.
As they headed into the gloom of the tunnels they heard a faint voice shouting.
"Well at least these ears are good for something," Tilda muttered.
Their first obstacles were two mousetraps blocking their path in both directions. From the darkness could be heard the skittering of roach feet and the unmistakable stench of rats. Colin lead the way, navigating one of the traps successfully and engaged a pair of roaches. Nez and Tilda engaged blows with the rats as they advanced and a few scratches later they had cleared these tunnels too. A defiant shout from the depths, louder this time, told them that they were heading in the right direction.
As they entered another set of tunnels a faint aroma told them all they needed to know.
"I think we are below the Dining Hall," remarked Collin. Another angry call from somewhere in the dark, told them that Lilly was close now. These tunnels however were infested with rats and roaches and these were Greedy little critters. Colin rushed down the right tunnel to attack the rat in waiting there. Time was not on their side, they knew, so Nez and Tilda got to work...
...For the umpteenth time Lilly tried to free herself from the trap she was held captive in. Her tail had that special shade of purple that told her it was badly bruised and the pain had even subsided due to the numbness. One roach was already at her robes and another two were skittering their way towards her. For almost an hour she had already been doing her best to fend off the attacks. For the most part she had been successful and she had even managed to squirrel away some cheese. But she had taken a wound to her left leg and blood trickled to the flagstones below. She could feel herself getting weaker but for some reason the roaches were now eating her cheese stash and that bought her some time. Only fear was keeping her from collapsing from fatigue. This should have been a simple 'in and out' search for useful items to take back to Barksburg. Especially for a ranger of her experience. But every journey into the bowels of the fortress is frought with danger and this time was no different. As she kicked out at the roach yet again her ears pricked up...was that the sound of battle?
As Nez felt the satisfying force of hammer cracking against shell he called out to Collin.
"So fearless leader, do we head up to the Dining Hall to see if we can find any useful weapons?"
There was a sarcastic tone to his voice when he called Collin leader, but he had to admit that Collin had lead from the front well today. He had shared his cheese to power Nez' Thundersqueak attack several times back in the tunnels and his blade had tasted rat flesh and roach shell both.
Not picking up on Nez' initial intent Collin replied,
"I fear the worst Nez. Let's push on as fast as we can."
Tilda shouted her agreement before dispatching another roach. Our band of furry fighters rushed for the exit and were confronted with a dire situation, shrouded in blue.
"If I had known we had crystals below the castle I could have afforded to double the castle guard and perhaps we wouldn't be in this mess!" Remarked Collin as he assessed the situation.
"They are beautiful," sighed Tilda before setting her eyes on Lilly. "There she is, I can see Lilly!"
Collin rushed forward to attack some more roaches, dispatching one with what was now an efficient air. Nez soon followed to remove the second. Some rats had advanced down a side tunnel and Tilda realised that her allies needed some healing for what was to follow. As she readied her salves a screech louder than anything their mousey ears had heard to date sent fear rippling through their fur. Collin whirled to see a giant Centipede rear up in front of him and attack.
"Look out," shouted Lilly. "It's Skitter-Clak and his attack is too mighty for you I fear! If you can free me from this accursed trap I may be able to bring my bow to bear."
Collin was already formulating a battle plan. He moved forward into the central flagstone of the tunnels and in doing so he ensured that Skitter-Clak could not reach the handicapped one they had come to rescue. Of course this meant that he was the Centipede's primary target but leadership comes with such burdens. Nez saw what Collin had intended and made a mental note that perhaps Collin was up to the job after all. He joined Collin and swung his hammer with all his might. The blood-curdling screech suggested that the many-legged one had been dealt a great blow...but it simply recoiled and lurched forward for another attack. This one drew blood on Collin again but the feisty warrior seemed to be strong enough to take them. Tilda gritted her teeth and showed little fear as she brought her mace up for an uppercut attack. Her eyes were closed, so the first she realised that her blow had landed was when she felt the resistance of the Centipede's underbelly. That was soon followed by a splatter of blood across her violet robes. As she opened her eyes to see the beast fall to the stones she smiled and quipped to her male counterparts,
"And that's how it's done!"
The remaining rats put up a small fight but they were quickly dispatched and Nez used his knowledge of machines to spring the release and free Lilly from her imprisonment.
"No...let me," she called to Collin when she saw him approach the final roach. She made short work of her former attacker before turning to Tilda.
"Hi I'm Lilly, thanks for coming to my aid. If you can accompany me back to my town of Barksburg I can repay you."
"There is no need for payment Lilly. We came for you on the request of your mother. What we need are allies and we are hoping that Barksburg can play its part. We have quite the story to tell you."
With that Nez and Collin took an arm each and helped the hobbling Lilly back through the tunnels.
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PrologueNez waited for his moment to catch Collin alone upon their return to Barksburg. Collin was sharpening his blade and checking his armour for any gashes that needed stitching.
"I might owe you an apology kid. Looks like I was wrong on this one as these are allies we definitely need."
The tunnels above began to darken. Colin slapped Nez on the back as a non-verbal sign that all was well between them. He caught Lilly's eye and she gave him a slight nod and smile. In the light of recent events, this had been a good day. Collin gave himself permission to not worry about their next move. Tomorrow would come soon enough.
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Vital StatsChapter - #2 Lilly's Tail
Outcome - Success
Timeframe - 1 hr 38 minutes
Hall of Fame (Campaign Totals in Brackets)
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Maginos[microbadge=21088][microbadge=24836]
Kills - None
Equipment - Maginos' Staff + Warding Staff
Abilities - Invisibility + Mystic Bolt
Successful Searches - 2
# of Captures - 0
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Nez[microbadge=21088][microbadge=24836]
Kills - 5 Rats (8) and 4 Roaches (7)
Equipment - Nez's Hammer
Abilities - Thundersqueak
Successful Searches - 0
# of Captures - 0
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Tilda[microbadge=21088][microbadge=24836]
Kills - 2 Rats (3), 2 Roaches (5) and Skitter-Clack
Titles - Cat Tamer (1)
Equipment - Tilda's Mace + Leather Breastplate
Abilities - First Aid
Successful Searches - 1
# of Captures - 0
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Collin[microbadge=21088][microbadge=24836]
Kills - 2 Rats (3) and 2 Roaches (5)
Equipment - Collin's Sword + Leather Breastplate + Coin Shield
Abilities - Resolve
Successful Searches - 0
# of Captures - 0
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Lilly[microbadge=21088][microbadge=24836]
Kills - 1 Roache (1)
Equipment - Lilly's Bow
Abilities - Accurate Shot
Successful Searches - 0
# of Captures - 0
