>>137054
"She's likely given chase." I say quietly. "We need to hurry and find her, before something terrible happens!"

Rance smiles. "No worries. The way into his lands is blocked by the huge mountain range of the Aleveins."
"Aleveins?"
Sal'an arrives.
"Dwarven clan that managed to escape into a mountain range." he says. "I'd really rather not talk with them."

>>137368
Ask why that is.

>>137373
"Say yeh wake up inna place yeh nevah seen befoh." he says. "With a strange body. First thing yeh'd do is look fer people, roight? Well, I woke up a little north ah here. They were initially suspicious and then outright murderous."

>>137376
Let's talk while moving. Ask why they attacked him; was it some kind of taboo or did they just not believe his story?

>>137389
We head north.
"Leetle bit ah both," he replies. "Roight now, the Clans is in a bit of ah..." he pauses as if seeking the right word. "Disahgreement. So when I said Ah was paht of the Stoneheart clan, and when they saw me body, well..."
"Though I did hear, before I showed meself, that they was 'avin' trouble with demons in the lower areas of der mines."

>>137421
Trouble with demons? Hmm, helping them with that problem before we attack could get us some allies... if we want to spare the time. We'll have to gauge Achilles' defenses first.

>>137473
It sounds pausable. Not to mention the power inherent in demonic 'corpses', or soulstones. Just one could allow me to utilize my runes much better, possibly allowing me to learn a new rune simply by virtue of obtaining one.

However, it should be warned that demons can be extremely powerful, and some have been around since the birth of this world.

We're in sight of the large entrance, according to Sal'an.

>>137759
New runes? Man, that really makes me want to fight that demon. I think we can probably find out how powerful it is by asking the dwarves, see if we can manage to take it out.

Come to think of it, we don't have any way of reaching Achilles' castle do we? We'll probably *need* dwarven expertise to fashion some kind of weapon to ground it or a mode of air transport that's safe from attack.

At any rate, Sal'an might want to stay behind a bit until we make contact and establish an agreement. We should make contact right now, and see if they've met Ysl yet.

Very well.

I ask everyone to stay back, walking forth. Everything seems safe, until a rock beside the entrance tilts back, a long steel tube protruding menacingly.

"'Alt! State yer name an' business wit' the Aleveins!" booms a voice from under the stone.

>>137897
State your name, and tell them we seek allies and/or passage through the mountains in order to fight Achilles. Also ask if they've seen a lone goblin girl come around here.

>>137900
"My name is Antares Delarosa. I seek safe passage through the mountains to fight Achilles."

The gun withdrawes and I hear talking.
"Sorreh, kiddo. Can't let yeh in. A potential ally agains' the Black Death, crushed inna accident due to da Big Rock Guy? Don' think so." there's another pause. "We could offah you a guide through Nema Pass?"

>>137905
Big rock guy? I bet that's the demon. We should ask if maybe we could kill it for them. Mention that you're a powerful mage, and we have a lot of people with us.

>>137909
There's some laughter.
"Oh, yer welcome to try, laddie. 'E'll tear yeh in 'alf, most likely. Best yeh jus' let prahfessionals 'andle dis one."

There's whispering.
"Really? A whole floor?"
More whispering.
"Feck."
A whispered demand.
"Fine!"
A figure ascends from below the rock. He's heavily armored, and covered in various sharp implements.
"Name's Sharpfingah Alevein." he says. "Come wit' me an' bring the lasses."
"What about Rance?"
"A finer fellow to gaurd the gate yeh'll nevah find."

Hmm, if we're going to fight, Jai will need bullets. That looked like a similar weapon that was shoved in your face earlier; perhaps you can inquire about it.

>>137921
Jai and Asala come with me as we enter the cavern.
"Ammo?" she asks the dwarf, pointing at the gun.
"Precision bored iron spheres with soft-grade powdering."
"Really? In a barrel like that?"
"Yes, in these caverns most everything will be right in front of you. Guns are really only used against creatures with heavy scales."
"What about cartriges?"
"Well, in wide caverns they can be useful, but we rarely produce them. most metal is made into armor and weaponry these days."

Even as we descend to the second floor, I can hear loud crashing.
"Shit, he's already on the second floor. Fuck." he prepares his rifle. "Sorry, miss. No ammo here that would fit that monster."

>>137929
Blessing causes stuff to be anathema to Demons, right? I think the most important thing we can do is put Blessing on everybody's stuff. Are the corridors big enough to let everyone use big weapons, or should we leave Courage off of them this time around?

Find out if the thing's got regenerative properties. If so we might need Wounds on our side... and if we do that, we're gonna need to put Wounds on our armor as well to prevent the negative effects.

Also I wonder if we could talk to the demon to get it to stop killing everyone, and maybe help us kill Achilles. Or at least distract it, if it's too evil to live.

>>137939
We reach the level the demon is on. All the torches have been broken, and only two red eyes watch us from the end of the hall.

"Where is it..." something rumbles. "My sword... where is it... Where is my sword..."

I quickly bless my equipment. This could be bad. It continues to mutter, dark crimson smoke drifting past its eyes.

"Where is it..."

Judging by the position of the eyes, he's enourmous, bigger than any of us.

"You woke me, and you stole it. I know you have it..."

>>137942
"Who woke you?"

>>137943
"We did." says the dwarf. "Old tomb with a kobold. Th' remains literally got up and turned into this."

"Where is it?"

"And his sword?" I ask.

"No fecking clue."

>>137947
I'm torn between trying to fight him to claim his soulstone, or trying to convince him that Achilles stole his sword.

I would like to note that it could be that he's flying, not that he's huge. Why else would he destroy the torches? Perhaps he's been using sneaky tactics like this to get past the dwarves.

>>137976
Don't hear any flapping.

The creature looks at me then cocks its head, blinking. A scar on his chest lights up blue.

"I'm not flying."

>>138029
Wait... He can hear us?

>>138029
He can hear us? Interesting. Hey over there! What's up?

>>138032
>>138034
"Yes, honored souls, I can hear you! Where have you been for the last..."
he visibly pauses.
"The last fuckifIknow years?"

>>138038
Well, we helped a lich save the world. We're currently helping his son.

>>138029
Oh, Harumda! It's been... actually we have no idea how long it's been. A long time, at any rate! We're Legion now. What happened since the last time we spoke?

It looks as though you've somehow managed to physically manifest here. That's an interesting accomplishment. We're currently guiding this guy here Antares. We'll see if we can find out where your sword is, alright?

>>138044
>What happened since the last time we spoke?

"Same bullshit that ejected me from Hell hit you folks too. Yer got banged around der dimensions like a rubbah ball until you jus' plain vanished."

>We're currently guiding this guy here Antares. We'll see if we can find out where your sword is, alright?

"So dat means this feller here," the eyes move, and I can faintly see him point, "Is n't da folk who got it? Fine, fine."

He sighs.
"Yeh, I've managed to physically manifest, but.. well, I ain't the demon ah used to be. Can't even fly anymore."

>>138048
Have you ever heard of Achilles? We're trying to save the world again.

>>138048
Alright, so let's bring you up to speed. This continent we're on is under attack by some nasty creature named Achilles. He's got the power to take any organic matter and reshape it into his own troops. Add to that some serious telekinetic ability, and some form of psychic attack. There's actually a good chance that he's the one that stole your sword, though we really have no evidence supporting that aside from the fact that he's really powerful and a giant asshole. How would you feel about joining forces with us to take him out?

What would your long term goals be in the mortal realm anyway?

>>138061
>How would you feel about joining forces with us to take him out?

"He sounds like a challenge. I love a challenge!"

I back away as he slams his fists together.


>What would your long term goals be in the mortal realm anyway?

"Getting out."

>>138079
Alright then. Our goals do not conflict. I'm sure there's someone around who's powerful enough to get you where you wanna go. Helping us kill Achilles will likely get you in the good graces of everyone on the planet, so they'll definitely do it.

Hey, you haven't seen a goblin running around have you?

>>138087
"Alright! I'll join you!" the demon exclaims. He gets on the elevator, nearly taking up all of the space.

...


What? What did you guys do?!

>>138123
We convinced him to help you fight Achilles.

>>138123
You couldn't hear us?

Oh boy. Well, let's just say we know this guy from our humble beginnings. His name is Harumda, a former high-ranking demon of Hell. Maybe you could say he was once king. He's a reasonable fellow, actually! He's agreed to help us fight Achilles, as he's a challenging opponent and doing so would probably give Harumda the opportunity to get out of the Mortal Realm. What with the gods being indebted to him and all. Let's keep an eye out for his sword, right?

>>138132
Er.

Ah, I suppose that makes sense.

Harumda takes up most of the elevator as we are quickly escorted up and out of the mines.
"Yer welcome back once we're done rebuildan." Sharpfinger says simply.

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>>138223
Harumda scratches the side of his head.
"So Legion said yer was lookin' for a little goblin, girlie?" he asks, holding up his arm. There's a huge crater in the thick sleeve of his arm, surrounded by a network of cracks.
"Determined little one. She might have got through to the othah side of the mountain, if I've got any guess."

He shoves his fist into the ground, pulling out a blade of stone.

>>138330
Well then, we're gonna need swift passage through the mountain.

>>138330
Harumda, the goblin is named Ysl. Antares has a crush on her.

>>138332
That's not entirely true.

>>138331
"Most likely." Harumda says. "Can't say I can guide yeh all dat well, but I can help with any fightin' yer might need to do."

Rance approaches.
"You're shitting me. You talked a demon to your side?" he asks.

>>138334
"You can thank Legion for that."

>>138334
Oh, we should ask the dwarves for a guide so we can get through the pass. We need to keep moving, for multiple reasons.

>>138346
I stop the walking arsenal... carefully.
"We still need a guide."
The pauses. "Er..."
A feirce glare emerges from under the rocks between the biggest beard and eyebrows I've seen.
"Wh-why, certainly!" he says nervously. "L-let's get going, sh-shall we?"

>>138349
Righto then.

Oh, when we've gotten out of earshot, ask who that grumpy dwarf was.

>>138357
We move out.

"MountainHuge Alevein, the hammerer." he says with a shudder as we walk along the path. "Now, there's two ways through here... the higher path is faster, but prone to collapse and rockfalls, and the lower path is slower but has less environmental hazards."

>>138360
The optimal solution is for those with enough agility and/or toughness to survive the hazards to take the high path, and everyone else to take the low path. That way we avoid unnecessary risk, and still have a chance for catching up to Ysl.

Does the dwarf need to be there for those who take the low path? Can he just give them directions?

>>138361
"These lands are treacherous even when I say they are relatively safe. It's one or the other, boyo."

>>138364
Take the lower path. It's safer, and therefore less likely for someone to die.

>>138369
"Alrighty."

I hear a sigh of relief behind me, and we press forward, into the Pass. For a moment, I think I see something out of the corner of my eye, but I reassure myself it is a mere shadow.

End of Thread 3.