AN: Took quite a long while to get through this story, but hopefully it was worth it. Before we get into the story, however, I want to go over a thing or two before I start. First, a little explanation how the story will proceed from here. The next chapter will be the start of a new campaign, and with each new campaign, the group will be mixed up a little. Someone new will be added, while someone else will sit the adventure out. I don't plan to have all nine sisters and Clyde playing all at once though; it is was tricky enough keeping track of six players, even with a turn timeline. Also, while I do think I will bring in Lincoln's friends and maybe Ronnie Anne at one point, I don't really have characters planned for anyone other than Lincoln. We'll see what happens and where the stories go though.
At the moment, I plan to add Luna to the team next. Not sure who will not be joining them this game, but again, we'll see what happens.
City of Kuo Toa pt 2
"Soooo...do you know where we're going here, Clyde?" Luan asked as they arranged their characters into a marching line.
"Not a clue." The bespectacled boy replied, and he sounded just fine with that.
"What!? Then how are we going to find the high priest!?" Lola screeched in anger.
"We have two options at this point. We could try and go right for the big bad. It would make this campaign end more quickly, but we could end up missing out on treasure and experience. On the other hand, we could explore the entire palace temple, cleaning them out of their treasures and getting extra experience, but it will take time to do so, and Lenina may not like the fact that more and more kuo toa will probably die as a result."
"...define treasure." Lola and Luan said together, somewhat intrigued.
"Gold, gems, sometimes equipment and tools, the odd magical item…"
"We're cleaning them out!" Lola exclaimed, raising her fist into the air as if she were leading the charge.
"Me first!" Luan suddenly exclaimed excitedly, moving her character up front.
"Luan…" Lana started to say with a frown.
"Actually, having the rogue scout ahead is the best thing." Lincoln intervened. "They are least likely to alert monsters and enemies, and most likely to spot traps."
"And besides, the way we usually work it, we split all the loot at the end of the adventure anyway." Clyde explained in an effort to calm the others. "So, what do the rest of you think?"
"Well, the more loot we get, the better stuff we can get in the long run, right?" Lana asked after a moment's thought, to which Lincoln, Clyde and Lucy nodded. "So I say let's get as much as we can."
"I'm still not a big fan of the whole 'killing more of the fish guys' idea…" Leni admitted, looking kind of saddened.
"If it makes you feel better, Leni, I can put some of them to sleep instead." Lola offered, praying this would get their kindly sister on board so they could get on with this.
"...yeah. That would work."
"Alright then. Onward!" Clyde declared as all eyes returned to the map.
With little idea of where to find the high priest, the group decided to start searching each room one by one as they went. Luanne took the lead, moving quickly and quietly along the path to the left of where they had started. Clyvor was next, hammer in hand, his eyes scanning the area for any sign of trouble. Lenina, Lolavina and Lucinda were next in line, with Lanore and Hops Sr watching their backs. The first few rooms they had come across were either empty or had a few unaware kuo toa within them. Naturally, these were ignored, the group stealthily passing them by. The fourth room Luanne came across, however, contained a large iron door with three circular metal handles. Near the top was an arcing opening, within three curved images resided. First was an engraving of the fish folk themselves. The second, beings with the heads of octopi and human bodies. And finally, another kuo toa image. The door was lined with runes etched in squid ink. To the door's right, a small, simple switch. "If I were a gambling gal (and I am), I'd wager THIS is where they'd keep something important." Luanne reasoned with a grin as she stepped closer to the door nearly twice her size.
"Surein that's a safe bet. But the question is what?" Clyvor pondered as he examined the door closely.
"And how do we open it?" Lolavina asked. Lucinda stepped closer to the door to examine the runes while the party sneak inspected the door for traps.
"Looks like it's written in the language spoken by the kuo toa…" The pale half elf stated, casting the Comprehend Languages spell upon herself again. "...much better. It says: In order to cross this threshold, arrange the races of this plane as it is written they should be."
"What does that mean?" Lenina inquired, scratching her head. Before she answered, Luanne turned the right handle. This caused the bottom image to turn and be replaced by the engraved faces of a human, elf, dwarf, etc.
"By the look of it, I guess we need to change the pictures from top to bottom in a certain way." The halfling reasoned.
"I bet you're right, lassie. With the top being most important, and bottom being least, if I had to guess."
"In which case, I got this." Lolavina said with a grin as she stepped forward. Starting with the left wheel, she turned it so that the humanoids image was on top. Next, she left the squid headed picture alone. Finally, she turned the right handle the opposite direction to bring back the engraving of the kuo toa. "There we go." The elven princess commented as she reached for the lever.
"Wait!" Lucinda cried out, but too late. The sorceress pulled the handle...and nothing happened. The cloaked wizard breathed a sigh of relief, while the royal pain looked surprised and annoyed.
"What? What's going on!?"
"Lolavina, this puzzle was designed by the kuo toa. Odds are the solution was set using their own logic." Lucinda explained before turning to Luanne and Clyvor. "First should be the illithid."
"The what?" Lenina, Lolavina and Luanne all asked together.
"The ones with octopus heads." The dragonborn lady told them (once more taking advantage of her knowledge of aberrations). The halfling shrugged and did as Lucinda instructed.
"Next will probably be the beasties themselves…" The dark skinned dwarf said, turning the center wheel.
"Correct. And finally, the remaining races of the world, as they see us all as slaves." Clyvor nodded as he turned the final engraving to its proper image. Lolavina rolled her eyes a bit, but pulled the lever regardless. With a loud grinding sound, the door slowly slid open. The first thing the group noticed was the horrific smell coming from within; as if they had stumbled upon a garbage dump...and in fact, they had. Huge piles of rubbish, rot and the remains of humanoids were all over the room.
"Ugh...that is disgusting…" The snobbish sorceress complained, covering her nose and mouth. "Why would they put all this behind this door!?"
"I think THAT'S why!" Luanne exclaimed excitedly as she pointed to a cluster of chests on the other side of the room. "Probably put all this garbage in here to keep would be treasure snatchers -like us- from wanting to trespass."
"It's working…"
"I dunno, lass…" The skeptical dwarf said, glancing around the room. "Something doesn't feel right…"
"I'm sure it's fine, Clyvor." The ponytailed halfling commented as she started strolling across the room. When she got roughly halfway through, one of the refuse piles started to shake and tremor.
"Luanne! Eight o Clock!" Lanore cried, her scimitar in hand. The rogue blinked and turned just in time to get smacked across the room by a large, sludge covered tentacle.
"How's that for a sneak attack?" Lincoln said with a snarky grin.
"Ok. Ok. Fair enough." Luan replied with a chuckle, taking it on the chin. "So, how much damage do I take?" The white haired DM rolled the dice behind his screen.
"Only eight damage. Not too much." The comedianne's smile faded when she heard that and looked down at her character sheet.
"Yikes...that's almost a quarter of my hp…"
"...it is?" The one son asked, sounding quite concerned. He looked down at his hidden map, gulping a bit. Perhaps this encounter might be a bit much, he thought to himself. No turning back now, though, and the group had handled a few fairly tough encounters before...maybe they can manage it.
"So, what hit her, exactly?" Lana asked, curious.
"...after the swing of the spiky tentacle, a hideous, misshapen creature with yellow, leathery skin and comprised mostly of teeth and tentacles burst from the rubbish pile. Each tendril was covered with sharp spikes and eyes at the end. It roared as it shook off its offal home and turned its attention to the injured halfling." Lincoln described as he placed the ugly little figurine onto the map.
"Agh! I thought the fish people were hideous!" Lola nearly gagged in disgust.
"An otyugh!" Clyde exclaimed in shock.
"Bless you." Leni told the bespectacled boy.
"No. I mean that's what it's called. An otyugh. A trash dwelling carnivore." He started to explain. "A very tough monster, who can dish out a lot of damage and take a lot of damage."
"...we got this, right, Clyde?" A concerned Lana asked.
"We got this." Lucy answered in his place, looking confident...maybe? It was hard to tell with her eyes covered.
"Roll for initiative." Lincoln announced to his nervous players.
"Mystic powers, strike down my foes with invisible force. Magic missile!" Lucinda exclaimed, unleashing a barrage of magical darts into the monster's back. The darts singed its leathery hide, but otherwise it shrugged it off. Lanore sprang onto Hops Sr's back and rode into battle, her curved blade at the ready. As she approached, the monster took a swing at her with one of its three tentacles. Fortunately, she was agile enough to leap over the assault, flipping in the air as she did so.
("Show off…" Lola mumbled with a bit of an impressed smirk.) She then slashed at the otyugh's back leg, putting a slight gash into its limb. Luanne quickly got back to her feet and dove behind one of the larger chests for cover. She knew she didn't stand a chance in face to face combat with this monstrosity, so she needed to keep out of its reach.
"Scorching ray!" Lolavina exclaimed, a trio of fiery beams flying right at the tentacled monster. Two of the rays struck the beast dead on, seriously burning the otyugh, while the third missed entirely.
"Lenina, a little extra defense if you please." Clyvor requested, narrowing his eyes at the large aberration.
"Of course. Goddess of beauty, please protect this bold soul from harm." The gnomish holy woman prayed as a glowing aura surrounded the burly barbarian.
"Thanks." He said before unleashing a screeching battlecry and charging at the rubbish beast. He managed to duck under a sweeping tentacle and recklessly swung his warhammer with great force. Unfortunately, in spite of the large size of his target, he ended up hitting nothing but air. The assault upon its person was enough to draw the otyugh's attention away from Luanne and toward Lolavina instead. The elf princess recoiled in fright, but as she was out of range of the grotesque abomination, she was safe for now. Clyvor and Lanore, however, were not. The draconic ranger ducked under the tendril aimed at her, but Clyvor was hit right on, leaving some gashes across his chest. This, unfortunately, gave the mostly mouth monster a chance to take a bite at the dwarf, leaving even deeper wounds on him.
"Are you ok, Clyvor!?" The concerned gnome asked with a gasp.
"Don't be fretting, lass. I can still fight…" He replied, standing tough in spite of the many bleeding wounds on him.
"Keep him healthy, Lenina…" Lucinda instructed, unleashing a fresh wave of magic missiles into the otyugh from a distance.
"Right!" Lenina replied with a nod. As Lanore continued to do battle with the aberration, the halfling hidden behind the chest made her plan. With the monster distracted, she could take the chance to target a vital spot on it. She took out her blowgun and took careful aim at the monster's back. With one strong puff, a thin dart flew right into a pressure point in the leathery monster's back. Luanne ducked back behind the chest just as the otyugh roared in pain. "Time to feel the burn, ugly! Right, Lolavina?"
"Right, Luanne. Quickened Scorching Ray!" The sorceress exclaimed, letting loose a trio of blazing beams into the otyugh. hitting it right in the back of its mouth with all three. The creature turned quite red in the face, steam billowing from its maw as it wailed in pain. "Not a fan of heat, huh? Well, have a second helping! Scorching Ray!" Two rays struck the monstrosity, but the third impacted against the wall behind it.
"With Sune's blessing…" Lenina chanted, her hand glowing brightly as she channeled a more powerful healing spelling onto Clyvor's wounds. Unfortunately, even with greater power, it wasn't enough to heal all of his injuries. The mighty dwarf didn't seem to mind as he tried once more to clobber the otyugh. This time, the hammer hit, but unfortunately did hardly any damage. He and the dragonkin lady braced themselves for the next attack, but the monster didn't take a swing at them. It turned its back to them, reaching its tentacles toward the chest where Luanne was hiding. Before she knew what was happening, she was grabbed by two spiked tentacles.
"Agh! Help!" Luanne screamed as she was lifted up into the air, then brought toward its gaping maw. She closed her eyes as it snapped its jaw shut. Yet, instead of biting down on her head, the monster's teeth sank into one of the tentacles holding her. It was such a close bite, it nipped some hairs from her head. The otyugh screeched in pain, but didn't let her go. "Whew. That was almost a close shave. Hahaha!" ("But seriously, can someone help Luanne out there? That grab took a lot of hp from her. One good bite would be the end of her." Luan kind of pleaded.)
"Hang in there, Luanne…" The pale half elf called out, letting loose with another casting of magic missiles. Lanore took a swing at the filth beast, but unfortunately, missed completely. The elven princess gulped, having used up her most powerful spell slots already. Her only option left was to unleash her own barrage of magical projectiles at the otyugh. It was still moving even after all that. Lenina was feeling very nervous at this point. The halfling was close to death, and she couldn't heal her. If something wasn't done soon, she would be killed. The gnomish cleric took hold of her holy symbol, shaking a bit as she hastily and mentally went over her options. She could only see one viable option, and she didn't like it. However, for her friend, she needed to do it.
"Sune...please forgive me…" Lenina muttered under her breath before she held her holy symbol out in front of her. "Goddess of Beauty and Love, I request your aid. Grant me your strength before a terrible price is paid…" She started to pray out loud, getting the attention of everyone in the room, the monstrosity included.
"What is she doing?" Lanore inquired
"I have no idea…" Lolavina answered with a shrug.
"Lovely Sune, shine your glorious light. Bring an end to this horrible fight. Help us defeat this hideous creature so wrong. Grant me the power of….RADIANCE OF THE DAWN!" She cried out, a beam of blinding light equivalent to concentrated sunlight bursting from the golden symbol of her goddess at the trash dwelling beast.
"Time to roll for damage, Leni...good luck." Lincoln said as Leni nervously picked up two ten sided dice. The somewhat air headed teen rolled the dice across the table, closing her eyes.
"Whoa! Nice roll, sis." Luan commented happily.
"Very nice indeed." Lucy added, which encouraged Leni to open her eyes and see what she had rolled.
"A nineteen." Her DM brother told her. "Add your four cleric levels and that's a total of twenty three damage." He then rolled a D20 behind his DM screen, which made the kindly blonde more nervous.
"Is...that enough? Does it hurt it?"
"It doesn't hurt it, Leni…" The second oldest of the Loud sisters slumped a bit, looking positively heartbroken. "...it incinerated it!"
"Way to go, Leni." Clyde complimented her, patting her on the back as she perked right up.
"As the ray of magical sunlight shone from Lenina's holy insignia, the ray bored right through the otyugh, leaving a gaping, smoking hole through its back and out its front." Lincoln described, knocking the otyugh onto its side. "The monster collapses to the ground, dropping Luanne in the process."
"Good work, Leni!" Lola praised her older sister, though the second oldest started to look kind of sad.
"We may be safe now, but Lenina isn't quite happy about it…"
Clyvor and Lanore ran forward as the trash monster dropped the wounded halfling, checking to make sure she was ok. Lenina was just standing there, staring at the otyugh's corpse, shaking a little. The cloaked half elf slowly strode over beside her, turning her head to look at her. "Is something the matter, Lenina?" She asked quietly.
"...I killed a living creature…" The gnomish cleric said in a choked up voice.
"Mmm Hmmm?" The raven haired wizard tilted her head at her, uncertain why she was so bothered by this.
"Sune disapproves of violence...she'll no doubt be so disappointed in me for taking the life of another creature…if she doesn't cast me from her church..."
"I doubt it." Lucinda commented flatly, the gnome looking at her with an angry scowl. "Think about it, Lenina. If Sune really had a problem with your actions, don't you think she would have acted by now?" Lenina took a moment to consider her words.
"I...guess so…"
"And what's more, you did it to save Luanne from death. I'm sure the goddess of love would understand needing to use force to save a friend from certain death. She values friendship, does she not?"
"Of course…"
"Then don't get so bent out of shape about it." The half elf gently patted her on the shoulder. The little healer gave a half hearted smile, but she couldn't just cast off her worries. She decided she would go speak to her goddess when they returned to Orintar, but for right now, her friends needed her. She stepped forward and used what was left of her magic to heal the group, especially Luanne, who was working on opening the chest she had been hiding behind earlier. The halfling grinned as she unlocked the box and slowly opened it up. To her delight, it was filled with gold coins, fine cut gemstones, a fine silver ring with a little ruby embedded into it, and a pair of studded leather gauntlets.
"Dibs on the ring!" Lolavina called out from the entrance to the room, unable to bear standing among the foul smelling rubbish, and the even fouler smelling monster.
"Hold up, your highness." Lucinda intervened. "I can sense magic from that ring. It could be enchanted, but it could be cursed…"
"Oh, what could possibly go wrong?"
"You could be weakened, have your magic fizzled every time you cast it…" She started to explain, turning toward the elf princess. "...make you want to leap right into that trash heap and roll around in it…" That made Lolavina scream softly before she covered her own mouth. "Wait until we return to town, so we can identify it first."
"...ok." The bratty princess muttered. Luanne continued to unlock the remaining two boxes, finding even more gold and gems, a few crafted gold and silver items, and an odd metal pole with two metal plates at either end. Clyvor packed up the gold and items into his pack (as he was the strongest), while Luanne helped herself to a few diamonds, and the crew hastily left the trash room. After taking a short rest, they returned to their exploration of the temple palace. The next several rooms were nothing of note: a few empty, a few with non combative kuo toas that Lolavina put to sleep before they moved on, and a few barracks that Luanne was more than happy to clean out of gold and a few smaller weapons. The next room they had come across had massive double doors made of coral and whale bone, with etchings of the kuo toa people on their side. To the six adventurers and one giant frog, this seemed like the most likely place to find their big bad. The crew looked to one another for a moment before Clyvor gestured their stealthy halfling associate to have a quick look.
She sneaked her way over to the massive doors, only to find them ajar. A quick peek inside revealed a very grim sight. The floor was littered with the bodies of kuo toa soldiers and guards. She wasn't able to see much else, but what little she could see, the room was quite cavernous, and she could see a candle atop a bone candle holder. She stumbled her way back to the group and whispered "I found the rest of the guards…"
"Are they waiting for us?" Lanore asked, getting ready for a big fight.
"...they're dead."
"Wait...really?" Lolavina inquired, sounding kinda worried (more about what they were going to find in there than for the slain fish folk).
"I don't like the sound of that...brace yourselves, lasses." Clyvor whispered, his hands clenched his mighty warhammer tightly. He moved quietly beside the door, holding three fingers up for his friends to indicate when they were going in. He lowered one finger, then two, then barged into the room. The room was about the size of half a football field, with four coral pillars in random intervals. There was a few piles of kuo toa corpses dotted around the room, with the high priest standing before a stone throne at the opposite end of the chamber. He was waving his hands in the air and chanting in a language that no one, apart from Lucinda, could understand, but it sent a chill up their spines.
"So...the god killers have finally come...well, you are too late." The fish faced priest declared. "The ritual is complete."
("...maybe we shouldn't have lollygagged, looking for treasure." Luan commented with a sheepish shrug.)
"Ritual?" Clyvor asked, glancing over his shoulder at Lucinda.
"I cannot say for certain, but I suspect he is attempting to conjure a new god…" The pale wizard replied with a frown.
"A good guess, half breed. And now….prepare to face the fury of our new god! May THEY have no mercy on YOUR souls!" He bellowed as his hands glowed a dark gray. His words were making Lenina's blood boil, but she managed to keep herself under control as a runed circle appeared before him...then another. And another. The kuo toa priest looked a little confused by this.
"Is...that supposed to be happening?" Lanore asked, drawing her crossbow.
"I sincerely doubt it…" Lucinda commented, pulling out her sickle. The circles started to glow before erupting in a flash of light. When their vision returned, a trio of blob like abominations covered in eyes and mouths of sharp teeth were laying right where the circles used to be. There was a maddening noise coming from all of them: a cacophony of whispers, screams, grunts, growls and shrieks.
"What is with all these really ugly monsters!?" Lola asked, looking utterly disgusted.
"Sorry, Lola, but this wasn't exactly planned." Her brother admitted. "The priest botched the ritual."
"Is that what you were rolling just a moment ago?" Lana wanted to know, looking more interested in the mouth laden oozes than her sister. The white haired game master nodded.
"Besides, do you think you could do battle with something like a unicorn, or a faerie dragon?" Lucy pointed out, looking at her younger, more brightly colored sister. Lola took a moment to consider the question.
"...point taken. At least I won't feel guilty burning these things."
"Roll initiative...oh, and when your respective turns come up, you'll need to roll a wisdom save." Lincoln informed them all.
"Wisdom saves? Why?" The pageant princess asked with a raised eyebrow.
"These creatures are Gibbering Mouthers, and their gibbering has a chance to cause madness among each of you." He explained, checking the information in his monster manual.
"...do we need to roll three times each?" The second oldest of the Loud sisters asked with concern.
"No." He answered, shaking his head. "However, you will have to roll at a disadvantage, since there are three of them gibbering all at once."
"Fair enough." Clyde said as he started to shake up his d20.
Clyvor's muscles tensed as he readied himself to charge the hideous globs of teeth. However, before he could, he froze up, his look of determination replaced with a blank look. "Clyvor? What are you doing?" Luanne inquired, waving a hand in front of his face. "Earth to Clyvor!" ("Wait...are we even on Earth anymore?")
"Their insane yammering must be affecting him…" Lucinda deduced, leering at the mouthers. The first of the amoeba monsters started to slowly ooze it's way closer to the nearest pile of bodies, seemingly paying the party no attention.
"What's it doing?" Lolavina inquired, looking about one step away from being sick.
"I dunno…" Lanore commented. "But I'd be willing to bet we don't want them to get to those fish people…"
"Agreed." Luanne said, pulling out one of the diamonds she had collected earlier. It ignited into flames as she hurled it toward the nearest Gibbering Mouther. "Fire in the hole!" She cried out as the fiery orb landed right into one its mouths before it exploded. The spell wasn't enough to destroy it, but it certainly couldn't be feeling very good after that.
"Let's go, Hops Sr!" Lanore yelled as she sprang onto her froggy friend's back. The two of them charged across the battle, stopping in front of the slow moving monster headed for the kuo toa bodies. With two of the aberrations in line of sight, the dragonborn ranger took the opportunity to unleash her acid breath on them. Her aim was true, the two blob like monsters getting covered with searing acid, dealing some significant damage.
"This is going to be easy!" Lolavina said with a smug smirk as she launched a torrent of fiery beams at the closest abomination. Unfortunately, she missed it with all three rays. That said, she was able to hit the other two with her errant magic, so it wasn't all bad. It was then the high priest snapped out of his stunned surprise. While these creatures weren't what he expected, he did summon them with his god calling spell. Therefore, they were the new gods of the kuo toa, and he would be damned if he would let these god killers slay them too. He raised his conch staff, sending a glistening cloud onto the trio of jabbering monsters. The cloud seemed to be healing their burns with ease, restoring the left and right mouthers to nearly perfect health, and putting the center monster in better health.
"What!? That's not fair!" Lola screamed in anger, her face red as she leered at her older brother.
"How so?" He asked calmly. "You guys have a cleric, so do they."
"But she can't heal all of us at once!" The prissy twin objected.
"Yet." Lincoln replied.
"Calm down, Lola." Clyde tried to ease the raging six year old. "We've come this far. We can do this." The beauty obsessed Loud grumbled in anger, but seemed to settle down enough to get back to the game.
The front glob creature started to ooze it's way forward, headed right for the dazed Clyvor. Fortunately, it was incredibly slow and had a long way to go. "I hope someone has a plan…" Lenina said in deep concern as she cast a shield of faith upon Clyvor.
"I do." Lucinda pulled out her spellbook, flipping through its pages. "Autora Obscuris!" She chanted, a dark aura surrounding Clyvor's ears. Just then, the dark skinned dwarf snapped out of whatever trance he had been in.
"Wha...where am I?" He asked, though he couldn't hear his own words. "By Moradin...I can't hear!" The half elf stepped in front of him, making motions with her hands to explain. She had cast a spell of deafness on him, so he couldn't hear the Gibbering Mouthers. If he couldn't hear them, he could fight. "Oh...not a bad idea there, lassie. Might hinder my ability to coordinate with our group though…" Lucinda mimed for him not to worry about it, then pointed toward the mass of teeth and eyes headed for him. The barbarian nodded to her, putting his focus on the abomination. The third mouth slowly slid its way over to the closest corpse to it, about five feet away. The mouth laden monstrosity hastily consumed the fish guard and, upon finishing it's meal, it started to grow. Not by a lot, but it was noticeable.
"What the heck!?" Lola asked, her temper growing even more.
"This is a boss fight, Lola." Clyde explained calmly, knowing that most (if not all) of Lincoln's sisters were unfamiliar with how boss fights in most games worked. "Usually, these kind of fights have different mechanics to make them more difficult and encourage clever play and strategies to complete them."
"And it looks like we were right. We DON'T want them eating those fish guys." Lana said as she looked over the board with a smile. She wasn't as upset as her twin, since she liked the gross turn this was kind of taking...even if it meant this was going to be rough for her character.
"Indeed. So we need to concern ourselves with the gibbering, the high priest's interference, and keeping the Mouthers from eating the sacrifice victims…" Lucy commented.
"Right. So we'll need to wipe out the mouthers quickly, before they can be healed again, or disable the high priest so we can deal with these monsters." The bespectacled boy said, rubbing his chin as he thought. "Lola, your character still has a sleep spell, right?" The pageant princess nodded, still looking heated and salty about all this. "Why not put their healer out of commission with that?"
"...ok. I could do that."
"Maybe we'll get lucky and the mouthers will see him as an easy meal." Luan commented with a slight snicker. Lincoln couldn't help but smirk a little when he heard that, but not for the reason Luan would like. No one really noticed as they were busy making their plan.
Unable to hear the monstrous messes, the mighty dwarf charged toward the single minded ameboid creature before him. With a swing of his mighty warhammer, he bludgeoned the mouther right in one of its many maws, knocking out some teeth. The first of the blob monsters was now focused on the dragonborn mounted on the giant frog blocking its path to a fishy feast, slopping toward her slowly. Fortunately, it was so slow, it couldn't reach her. Luanne was about to reach for another diamond, but she froze in place, the constant jabbering affecting her now. However, unlike Clyvor, the little rogue did something. She pulled out her knife and started to walk toward Lenina, holding the blade like a slasher movie villain. The blonde haired gnome was so focused on her friends that she never saw the dagger coming, the dagger sinking into her back. Fortunately, the armor hidden under her dress managed to protect her vitals, but blade did leave a very deep gash in her back. Lenina screamed and jumped away from her maddened friend, looking horrified. "Luanne!? Why did you do that!?"
"She's been driven mad by the gibbering…" The dark haired wizard explained sadly, unable to do much about it at the moment.
("Sorry, Leni…" Luan apologized with a sad expression.) Now it was Lanore's turn. She decided to go with what worked before. She directed Hops Sr forward, the two of them striking at the first many mouthed monster. After tearing off bits of the ooze beast with blade and teeth, Lanore disengaged from the Mouther and moved another ten feet away. Just out of its reach.
("Thatta girl, Lana. Kite it until it falls." Clyde cheered. Lana wasn't really sure what he meant, but felt proud of it anyway.) The elven princess reached into her components pouch and hurled a flurry of rose petals into the air.
"Nighty nighty, fish freak!" She yelled as she unleashed a quickened sleep spell at the kuo toa high priest. At first, it didn't appear the spell had any effect, but after a few seconds, the fish creature seemed to be drifting off before dropping his staff and flopping to the floor, snoozing quietly. Feeling pleased, Lolavina then turned to the larger of the three mouthers. She unleashed a torrent of magic missiles into the massive mass, dealing a little extra damage. The kuo toa priest was still asleep, so he couldn't act, thus the blob creature engaging Clyvor attacked next. It tried to gnash at him with its razor sharp teeth, but Lenina's holy shield protected him. Unable to bite him, the creature then spat out a slimy blob of spittle right at him. Upon striking his arm, the spit burst into a bright flash of light. While the sudden flash did hurt his eyes, it fortunately wasn't enough to blind him.
"Sune...may your love heal me…" Lenina chanted as she cured most of the injury she sustained from Luanne's sudden backstab. Unfortunately for her, there really wasn't much else she could do in her position. The dark cloaked half elf, on the other hand was; casting another deafness spell upon Luanne, snapping her out of her own madness.
"Whoa...what happened…?" She asked, a little disoriented after her recovery. Lucinda stepped in front of her and explained, through hand gestures, what had just occurred. "...really? Thanks, Luc...that's a load off my mind…" While they were getting that sorted out, the largest of the toothy mounds had suddenly turned its attention upon the sleeping priest. It slowly slithered its way closer to its new prey, its larger size meaning it didn't have to travel quite as far. With its many very sharp teeth, it tore into the kuo toa, dealing serious damage, but not killing him. The incredible pain, however, was enough to wake him up.
"AAAAHHHH! What are you doing!? I am your faithful high priest! Why are you punishing me!?"
"Something tells me these things don't know friend nor foe…" Lanore commented as she and her amphibious ally leered down the aberration before them. "...just food."
"I'd say you hit the nail on the head…" Lucinda agreed, watching as Clyvor took a reckless swing at the mouther, intent on doing as much damage as possible. His hammer hit home easily, but his strike was more a glancing blow, unfortunately. Even less fortunately, Lucinda's spell of deafness had worn off as well. Lanore's target continued to mindless chase after her, accomplishing little. With her senses back where they belong, the stealthy little lady pulled a small diamond from her pocket as she carefully maneuvered behind a pillar. She couldn't quite reach the one gorging on the kuo toa high priest, but she could target the one currently chasing her draconic friend. The gem started to vibrate just before she hurled it at the enemy. When the diamond hit the amoeba monster, a thunderous boom erupted from gemstone, causing everyone who could hear it to flinch.
"Yikes...I could feel that. Makes me glad I can't hear right now." The dragonborn ranger was next to fall prey to the mouthers' constant yammering, freezing up like a statue. Hops Sr, however, was still quite sane and had the sense to get himself and his friend away from this fleshy blob of teeth and eyes. "Hey, your highness! Think you can fry the one I just hit with the chromatic orb?" The halfling woman called out.
"I can try…" Lolavina groaned, rubbing her ears. "...but don't ever throw a thunder orb indoors again!" The sorceress pointed toward the otherworld monstrous mess currently menacing her dragonkin associate, unleashing a barrage of magic missiles upon it. The impact of the three magical projectiles was enough to finish it off, causing the mouther to melt away into nothing with a loud screeching sound. The high priest made a grab for his conch staff, but unfortunately for him, not only could he not reach, but it gave the large ooze creature a chance to take another bite out of him. This attack proved fatal and, in a gruesome display that Lincoln couldn't describe in front of his younger sisters, consumed the humanoid fish. And with its latest snack, it grew even larger.
"How much larger is that thing going to get!?" Clyvor asked as the mouther was now positively huge.
"Hopefully, not much larger at all…" The half elf wizard commented, looking up at the creature.
"It won't...because we're gonna get rid of that horrible thing before it can!" Lolavina cried out, though she wasn't sure just how they were. Especially since they still had another mouther trying to put the bite on the hammer wielding dwarf. This time, the creature was able to sink its teeth into Clyvor, leaving deep wounds in his arms and shoulders, with one mouth even biting his ear. However, he still stood strong, and boy was he angry. Fortunately, the cleric of Sune was right there to magically cure...most of his injuries.
"Hmmmm...a creature with that many eyes...I wonder…" The raven haired spellslinger smirked a bit as an idea came to her. She prayed for a moment that this creature didn't have some method of sensing without sight as she cast her spell. Auras of darkness covered each and every eye on the giant sized mound of fleshy ooze, effectively blinding it. In its rage, it lashed out at literally nothing, since it couldn't see there was nothing there.
"Nice move, lass. Now, to be rid of this mess here…" Clyvor's face turned red as he tapped into his inner rage. With a screeching roar, he swung his warhammer down with all his strength. The Gibbering Mouther before him exploded like a plate of jello under his iron weapon, melting away like its fellow monster. All that remained was one...but it was the biggest of them all. "Get it before it eats again!" Although Luanne couldn't hear him, she could plainly see what needed to be done. She poured some water into her hand, turning it into a dagger of ice. With a calculated throw, it struck the mess of muck and mouths and exploded into ice shards. With Lanore's next turn, she succeeded in throwing off the madness of the mouthers. She steered Hops Sr away from the giant mounds' snapping jaws and pulled out her crossbow. She took careful aim and fired a bolt, the projectile sinking right into the abomination. Lolavina raised her hand in preparation to cast a spell, but she ended up with a glassy look in her eyes.
"Lolavina, what are you wait-" Clyvor asked, looking back to see the princess looking just like he, Lanore and Luanne had. "Oh bloody…not again…" He groaned as the enchantress started to simply meander across the room. Unfortunately, she was passing very close to the mouther. The moment she passed its (now vastly extended) threatened zone, it lunged at her, following the sound of her footsteps.
"Lolavina! Look out!" Lenina screamed out, but it was too late.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" Lola screamed after Lincoln rolled for the damage dealt, faux fainting off her stool and onto the garage floor, playing dead.
"Lola? Lola!" Leni and Clyde both lept from their seats to run over beside the bratty twin. The others, however, didn't even react. They were all aware of Lola's over-dramatic ways (Leni was too, but she had forgotten in the heat of the moment).
"Relax you two. She's fine." Luan said, rising from her seat for a quick look.
"How do you know that for sure!? Maybe the death of her character really brought about her own death!?" A panicking Leni nearly screamed.
"That's impossible, Leni…" Lincoln explained. "...and I can give you three reasons why. First, Clyde and I have both lost several characters since we started playing, and we aren't dead, are we?"
"...not unless you're, like, a really solid ghost…"
"We aren't." He cut her off before she could continue her thought. "And second, observe." The white haired boy look to Hops. "Hey, Hops. You know CPR, right?" Hearing that made Lola's eyes spring open and caused her to sit bolt upright.
"You wouldn't dare!" She yelled in a threatening manner, Lana and Luan laughing their heads off.
"There you go. And third, her character isn't dead." He elaborated, calm as you please.
"What!?" The pageant princess quickly jumped back into her seat. "But...that attack took all of her hit points…"
"Yes. But it knocked her to exactly zero. When a character is knocked to zero, they aren't dead, just unconscious."
"Oh…so there's hope…?" She asked in almost a pleaded manner, her eyes getting really big. Lincoln nodded in reply as Leni and Clyde retook their seats.
"Just need a good heal to bring your health above zero."
"Don't worry, Lola. Lenina's on the way." Her dim, but sweet older sister said.
The moment the elven princess fell to the ground, her gown soaked in blood from her bite wounds, the group gasped in horror. Without a moment's hesitation, Lenina dashed over to the fallen sorceress, with her back to the mouther. For some reason, the aberration didn't snap at her. "Lovely Sune, please shine your light upon this poor soul…" She prayed as holy light shone from her hands onto Lolavina. The bite gashes on the princess magically mended themselves, her eyes opening after a moment. "Don't worry, your highness...I got you." She told her softly.
"B...bu who's got you?" She asked, looking terrified at the giant sized Gibbering Mouther behind the gnome. Before the monster could attack, a blast of arctic energy blasted its pudding like body. It was shaking like jello, Lucinda smirking a bit as a chilly aura surrounded her hand. The monster, regardless of its blindness and shivering, proceeded to try and bite Lenina, who stood between it and the shaking princess, refusing to budge. The mouther's jaws snapped shut so close to Lenina's nose, she could see herself in its somehow shiny teeth. This was more than Clyvor needed to see as he charged in like a rhino, ducking under razor sharp teeth, and took a reckless swing at the giant monster of many mouths. With a creature that size, it was near impossible for Clyvor to miss, his hammer bruising the creature's gelatinous badly with the impact. Out of magical tricks, it was time for Luanne to get up close and personal. Dagger in hand, she crept around to the side of the monster. Unfortunately for her, not only did the beast have eyes everywhere, but she couldn't even find any vital spots to attack. This didn't deter her though, as she plunged her little knife right into the blobby creature, dealing a small amount of damage. Lanore's attack was equally feeble by comparison, the dragonborn planting another crossbow bolt into the mouther.
"Get away while I have it's attention, Lolavina." Clyvor instructed. The wounded elf didn't need telling twice; she very quickly put as much distance between her and the hideous mass of eyes and teeth as she could. Once at a safer distance, she made her next move: unleashing her last volley of scorching rays. Thanks to the sheer size of the ooze like predator, all three rays struck and seared its fleshy exterior.
"May Sune's light and love soothe your pain…" Lenina prayed, waves of healing magic emitting from her hands into the raging dwarf pummeling the Gibbering Mouther. Seeing how well her strategy was working so far, Lucinda hurled another Frostbite spell at the blinded monstrosity. Once more, her spell connected and sent shivers down the creatures non-existent spine. With both factors in place, the monster's next attack missed Clyvor entirely, slamming its blubbery mass against the floor. Unfortunately, the blinding spell had worn off at that point, giving the creature its sight back.
("Ok, guys. Going for maximum damage…" Clyde announced. "...wish me luck.") The dark skinned dwarf was practically snorting steam from his nose in his anger. The fact that this hideous monster had not only nearly killed his allies, but had the audacity to still be alive was an insult to him in his enraged state. He gripped his warhammer with two hands and bellowed loudly as he swung with all his might. His aim was true, sending ripples through the fleshy, ooze like form from the point of impact, and dealing some serious damage to it. Unfortunately, the giant mass was still, figuratively, kicking. Luanne raised her weapon to strike again, but unfortunately for her, the deafness spell had worn off the turn before last. As a result, the insane gibbering had once more taken hold of her, causing her to freeze in place. Lanore fared no better; in fact, she had attempted to wander off into the corner of the room mid battle. Fortunately, she was still on her amphibious ally, who kept her from going on her forced stroll.
('Ok…' Lola thought to herself, starting to sweat a little at the situation before them. 'I only have one more casting of Scorching Ray left. I can do some serious damage if I just roll right...please, dice...be good little dice and work with me…' She mentally pleaded as she reached for three d20) "Scorching Ray!" The royal sorceress chanted, three beams of pure fire launching from her finger at the huge mouther. The spell seemed to soar through the air in slow motion, almost all eyes on the flying rays. The first ray struck the abomination dead on, nearly burning a hole clear through it. The next was more a glancing hit, dealing only a little damage. And finally, the third beam. That third ray hit home (and Lola was lucky enough to roll max damage)! With one last screech, the mouther glowed the color of the magical beam before being reduced to ashes. There was a moment of silence among the group before Lenina started cheering, followed by Luanne and Lanore (after they had snapped out of their momentary insanity) and finally Clyvor. Lolavina was in a bit of a state of shock that she managed to finish that monstrosity off, and Lucinda wasn't really the cheering type. She did, however, walk over to the princess and gave her a soft pat on the back for a job well done. (Which was also what Lucy gave a proud looking Lola as her fellow players were congratulating her).
"And that, as they are fond of saying, is that." The pale half elf commented with a small smile. While the others were busy celebrating (and looking for loot), Hops Sr heard something nearby. He turned his head, seeing a slightly hunched over shadow zip just past a pillar. He croaked loudly, getting Lanore's attention.
"Huh? What's up, buddy?" She asked, to which the giant frog nudged his head toward the place where he had seen the shadow. The dragonkin ranger ran over for a look, just in time to see some shadowy smoke dissipating in the air, a cackling laugh just barely audible.
"What do you think, lass?" Clyvor asked Lucinda as he picked up the conch staff, which had been snapped in half when the giant mouther grew.
"Hmmm. We could probably get it repaired, though its magic is long gone at this point." She said after a brief inspection of the staff.
"Well, it would still make a nice trophy of the battle." The dwarf said with a chuckle, putting the two halves of the staff into his pack. Lucinda nodded in agreement,
"Mmmmm. Lots of great treasure here…" Luanne commented quietly as she dug through one of the many chest hidden behind the alter/throne (which weren't there initially, but Lincoln had put them there when the kuo toa priest got eaten so they could still get their loot). Lots and lots of gold, gems, crafted items, a wand, a couple potions, a fine leather quiver, and a polished bronze ring.
"Now we just need to get out of here…" Lolavina said after she regained her composure, helping Luanne and Clyvor put all the treasure they could into his pack, followed by Lanore's pack.
"Very true...the question is how…" The mighty dwarf stroked his beard as he pondered this.
"Lanore, do you think you can enlist the aid of the kuo toa's dolphins and sharks to assist in our escape?" Lucinda inquired, turning her attention to the concerned dragonborn.
"Huh? Oh, sure. No problem." She replied.
"Is something wrong?"
"Kinda...something else was in this room." The ranger explained, pointing to where she saw the dark smoke. "Hops Sr saw it, but it got away before I could…" This news brought a frown to the wizard's face as she hurried over for a closer look at the spot where Lanore had seen the mist. Using a detect magic spell, she could tell magic had been used there. However, there was very little else she could tell. She decided she would tell her friends about it later; getting away from the kuo toa was their top priority at the moment. The party lugged their loot back to where the aquatic stable was located and, after a few minutes of letting Lanore do her thing, the group each mounted a dolphin (with the dragonborn ranger riding Hops Sr) and they swam off, with a small group of sharks acting as bodyguards. The moment they emerged from the palace/temple, they found utter chaos. The tritons, after helping the prisoners escape, had mobilized for war and were driving the kuo toas out of the area. The fish folk were fleeing in terror, as most of their soldiers had been defeated or sacrificed in the temple, and they didn't have the high priest to guide them. A part of Clyvor wanted to join in the battle, but he knew that they couldn't hold their breath for that long, so they kept going. The dolphins quickly brought them to the surface, where a small fleet of ships were waiting. When the fish peoples' captives were brought back to Orintar, they had told the port authority about them, and they sent some sailors to help fight the kuo toa. Upon seeing the heroes surfacing in the water, they sent a longboat out to pick them up.
Once the group was all aboard the main galleon, Clyvor went on to tell the sailors about the adventure they had just had, albeit the abridged version. After all, they were all soaking wet, tired and were in great need of a good rest. For some reason, as the group helped the dwarf tell the story, Lolavina seemed to hang back and keep quiet. The captain was most impressed with their heroism and told them they were sure the mayor of the city would want to reward them for their good work. It would be a few days before they could get back, however, so the captain instructed one of the deckhands to lead the party to some rooms where they could rest. Later that night, as Clyvor slept in the quarters he shared with Lucinda, the half elf was wide awake, pulling a journal her own backpack. She glanced about for a moment before she pulled a quill from her cloak.
"While my study of the truth and secrets of death have seen little progress these last few days…" She muttered as she wrote. "...I did come across a few intriguing questions worthy of study. What happens to the souls of creatures created by unnatural means? Aberrations, such as the chattering abominations summoned by the kuo toa high priest. Are their souls real or artificial? If they are artificial, do they move on to the afterlife after? So many questions to add to the never ending list. A list I hope to one day soon to shorten. I won't be arrogant enough to think I can find answers to all the questions of death, but if I can even find a few solutions to a few mysteries, I would be happy." She was about to stop there, but paused a moment, then started to write some more. "One point of great concern I noticed during the battle against the high priest and his summoned minions. When one of those things ate him...I couldn't sense his soul leave his body. This had never happened before. It was like it consumed his immortal being along with his mortal form...which would explain how it grew even more powerful after. The question is why? Could it possibly be linked to what Hops Sr and Lanore saw? Could there be a third party responsible for what happened with the priest's summoning? So many more questions…" She sighed as she finished her documentation of her thoughts and research with her signature, putting her pen and writing book away.
The next day, with their strength back to full and all of them well rest, the adventurers all got together in Clyvor and Lucinda's room. It was time to divide up the loot they had gathered throughout the adventure. First, the gold, gems and other valuables. Between Luanne and the dwarven barbarian, it took them no time at all to appraise the value of each item, then split the total among the six adventurers, equating to nearly a thousand gold each. Then came the items they had found. The pale wizard was able to magically identify each item and, after ensuring they were safe, began the process she and her dwarven friend always used to determine who picked their magical prizes first: drawing straws. To her delight, Lolavina got the long straw, while Lucinda had drawn the short one. "I know exactly which one I want!" The elven princess squealed as she grabbed the ruby ring.
"Are you sure you-?" The dark cloaked half elf tried to ask, but it was too late. She simply shrugged and told her. "As you wish. You are now in possession of a ring of the silver tongue."
"...that doesn't mean my tongue will turn silver, will it?" Lolavina asked with a hint of concern.
"No. It means that you will be able to more easily negotiate, intimidate and manipulate others through words." Lucinda elaborated.
"Oh! Well, that's just perfect." The golden haired sorceress said as she put on the ring with a smile. Luanne was next, taking hold of the wand she had found in the throne room.
"I'll help myself to this Wand of Fog Cloud." She stated, twirling it in her fingers. "No harm in having a few extra tricks up my sleeve." The gnomish cleric looked over the remaining four items, thinking carefully.
"Hmmmmm...I think I'll take this." She said, picking up the odd metal rod with the metal planks on either end.
"Are you sure, Lenina?" Lucinda inquired, to which the blonde haired healer nodded. "Very well. The portable ladder is now yours. Simply tell it to extend, and it will extend as high as you need it. Say retract, and it will shrink back to its original state."
"Is that what it is? Neat!" Lenina said cheerfully.
"What are you going to do with a portable ladder?" Lanore asked with a raised eyebrow (or reasonable equivalent on a dragonborn).
"I dunno, but I'm sure I'll find something."
"Anyway, I guess I'll take this quiver." The draconic ranger commented, as she took the fine leather arrow holder.
"A fine choice. The quiver of replenishing will keep you provided with twenty extra bolts a day." The studier of the morbid explained to her.
"Really? Sweet. That'll save me a little money on buying more ammo."
"I think I'll be taking these gloves." Clyvor said, trying the gloves on for size.
"I had a feeling the gripping gauntlets would suit you, my friend. You will find keeping hold of your weapon, or of someone else, will be much easier." The raven haired half elf said with a soft smile. "I suppose that leaves me with the ring of force shield." She added as she took the bronze ring.
"What does that do?" The copper dragonkin inquired curiously.
"When active, I gain a bit more protection, and can repel magic missiles."
"Well, the protection is nice, but you cast more magic missiles than you take." Lolavina pointed out.
"Yes, but it's nice to have in a pinch."
"All that's left are these lovely potions." Luanne commented, pulling out a few glass flasks. There were a few healing potions, which she handed out to their front line battlers, and Lolavina, an elixir of magic stone, which she gave to Clyvor (as he was the only one with a sling and bullets to use it), and a potion that no one knew what it was. The sneaky halfling decided to hang onto this one, just to be safe; at least until they could find out what it was.
"So, what are you guys gonna do with your share of the gold?" Lanore asked everyone. Lolavina just shrugged, while Luanne pondered the question for a moment.
"I have a little idea of me own." Clyvor said with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Lucinda and I have been trekking across the land for some time, looking for work. While I dunno how the lass feels, looking for trouble where no trouble may exist...it's for the birds."
"It can be rather irritating, looking for jobs just to find nothing and have to keep moving." His magical friend agreed.
"So it got me to thinking...rather than looking for problems all over the place...why not let problems come to us?" The others in the room just looked at him like he suddenly had two heads. "I mean, if I can pull it off, I'm gonna be opening a guild in Orintar."
"A guild?" Lolavina scratched her head, looking lost.
"Yeah. A guild, for adventurers like us." He elaborated, gesturing to the group at large. "Where we can live and rest between jobs, find jobs to do, and maybe find a few new friends to fight alongside us…"
"...not only that, but it would be a convenient way to manage characters unable to make it to the campaign, as well as new characters." Clyde explained back in the real world. "Anyone who can't make it, their characters are resting back at the guild."
"Not a bad idea, Clyde." Lincoln said with a nod and smile. "And a new, possibly famous guild would be a magnet for attracting new adventurers, making it easier to bring characters into the game."
"Hmmm. I like the idea...but can we afford it?" The gothic Loud inquired.
"Well, if you want, we could make that your reward back in Orintar. A property to get your guild started." The one son suggested. "From there, you can customize it how you like."
"Like a library." The pale little girl suggested, imagining a private library and study the size of a public library.
"And a place for our mounts and animal friends." Lana piped up, the image of a regal indoor stable where she could hang out with Hops Sr and all the horses and ponies whenever she liked.
"A treasury to keep our treasures safe when we're not around." The family comedian said, her mind on a giant sized vault filled with gold and jewels.
"A little prayer room, open to all worshippers." Leni thought out loud, thinking of a small room with an alter and a few different busts of some of the more prominent gods and goddesses in the pantheon.
"A lovely little spa…" Lola sighed happily as she fantasized about few rooms for her character to get massages, rest in a sauna, or get beauty treatments.
"And maybe a place to train and spar." Clyde said, seeing what looked like a gladiatorial training arena, complete with magic resistant training targets and a sparring circle.
"Sounds like a plan then." Lincoln said with a chuckle. "And speaking of rewards, I have one more for you guys." That snapped everyone out of their fantasies, turning to look at the white haired boy. "From that adventure, you've earned enough experience points to gain a level. Congratulations. Welcome to level five."
"Yes!" Clyde cheered, raising his fists up in celebration.
"Fantastic." Lucy said with a slight grin.
"Is that good?" Leni inquired.
"It means most of use have access to third level spells." The occult fancier explained to her. "Not only that, but we get new class features, as well as one more hit dice."
"Ooooooh. Great!"
"And with that, I think that's a good place to stop for the evening." Lincoln said as he closed his notebook. "Great game everyone. You're off to a fantastic start."
"Thanks, Linc. It was lots of fun." Luan said as she stood up, taking her character sheet. "I was 'role'ing in the aisle. Hahahaha!"
"I enjoyed it too." Lana said, picking up Hops. "I can hardly wait for Lanore's next adventure."
"I had fun too, Lincoln." Leni commented, her usual smile on her face. "I'm still not sure I understand everything about the game, but it's been a fun experience."
"It's fine, Leni. There's a LOT to this game. I'm still learning new things about it." He said with a slight chuckle.
"I found the game enjoyable…" Lola started. "...but I would have liked more chances for Lolavina to use her charm."
"I'll see what I can do with the next campaign. Maybe put in a few more puzzles with the combat encounters too." Lincoln said as he started to clean up his dice and figurines. "Wanted to keep it pretty simple with this first game, so most of you can get a taste for the game. Now, I'll try and include a little something for as many of the characters as possible. Situations to warrant Lolavina's charisma, a chance for Lanore to do some tracking and encounter animals, some chances at thievery for Luanne, etc."
"When can we play again?" The excited tomboy twin asked. "Soon, I hope."
"It'll take some time to set up a brand new adventure." Clyde answered for his friend. "We usually meet weekly to play." Lincoln nodded in agreement.
"In the meantime, I suggest you work a bit on your character backstories." The middle Loud recommended, looking to the twins, Leni and Luan. "Having a backstory will help expand your characters, and will give me the chance to craft adventures around your characters."
"You mean we could have an adventure with Lolavina as the star!?" Lola squealed excitedly, the beauty obsessed twin nearly screaming with delight when her brother nodded. She scooped up her character sheet and character figure before she ran off toward her room, closely followed by her twin.
"Wow. That really got your attention, sis." Lana commented as she tried to keep up with Lola.
"A chance to be the star of my own story! I can hardly believe it!"
"Heh. That is pretty exciting, I'll give you that." The hat wearing twin said with a chuckle. "By the way, you said before you had picked divine soul for your sorceress class, yeah?" The pageant participant skidded to a stop, looking at her sister and nodding. "Why?" Lana inquired, stopping beside her.
"Well, for one, I didn't really like the other options. And second, it does fit. Like I said, she and I are simply divine." Lola kind of bragged with a grin. Her tomboy twin smirked. She had hoped her sister would say that again.
"That so? I guess you use your horns to keep your halo up." She quipped before running away laughing. She had been holding that in ever since her twin said it the first time. Lola's eyes flashed as she glared in her direction before she chased after her, intent on making her pay for that remark.