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demigodforfend · 1 year

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Twilight of the Demigods: Forfend Edition - Session 7

The party followed along after the butler at his remarkably brisk pace. The Summerstead Winery was a rather lengthy walk and Forfend presumed it was beginning to get late, but it still wasn't certain there was need for such haste.

Kairi tapped Forfend's arm.

It looked down at her.

"Kagoshi won an arm-wrestling contest at the Prancing Dragon!" she shared in a singsong tone.

Forfend nodded.

"He used his power without going berserk! It was awesome! He looked angry and his scars lit up, and then they just went back out and he won!" Kairi was bouncing, her sparkling wings fluttering in an excited tizzy.

Callan grinned proudly and clapped Kagoshi on the shoulder.

"It wasn't that big of a deal," Kagoshi grumbled.

"It was," Forfend disagreed. It was very glad its trust in him hadn't been misplaced. Controlling his ability was crucial. Forfend hoped he could learn to do it consistently.

Kagoshi scoffed, but didn't put up any further argument.

The winery awaited at the end of the road. Forfend looked over the ornate building again. The burgundy paint on the fine wooden walls, the gold accents, the Tyrwedian banners, and the flowery autumnal decorations all tied together very nicely but they were also unmistakably gaudy. Forfend couldn't say it liked the extravagant aesthetic nobles seemed to favor.

The Summersteads' family banner stuck out with its inclusion of a royal purple shield emblazoned with the visage of a pure white peacock on the typical burgundy background that seemed to cover everything the Summersteads owned. It was an interesting family crest. Forfend wondered what the symbolism of it was.

The butler led them into the main building which was significantly taller than the other two. He held the door open and motioned for them to enter.

Callan hesitated. "You know, I'm not familiar with the customs of nobles here in Tyrwedia, so I'll just wait out here."

Forfend nodded to him and politely stepped into the foyer.

Melzaryn, Kairi, and Kagoshi followed suit.

The interior of the building was just as opulent as the outside. A plush carpet lined the central walkways, leading primarily out to a garden where people in fanciful clothes dined and sipped wine samples.

The butler led the party to one of the offshoots, nodding politely to a guard as he opened the door.

Forfend stepped carefully into the stairwell and looked up apprehensively.

The butler sauntered up the stairwell.

Forfend hummed lowly and followed, squeezing and shuffling up the stairs with significant difficulty.

It was glad to make it up to the top into more open space.

The butler led them past two more guards and into what seemed to be a waiting room.

The receptionist at the table barely stifled a gasp as Forfend entered.

The knight by the door tensed sharply.

The butler simply nodded and both relaxed. He turned to face the group.

"Is there anything you would like to prepare before you are granted audience?" he asked.

Forfend shook its stone head with a quiet grinding noise.

"We're set," Melzaryn assured.

The butler nodded and the knight opened the door.

The group filed into the office and stood in a row in front of the desk. The office was lavishly decorated. Bookshelves lined the room and even a cursory glance revealed they were on a massive variety of topics. Atop the shelves, across the desk, and otherwise around the room were a variety of knickknacks and statuettes, most of which related to the winery business.

The strangest thing, however, was the display case containing the stump of an enormous tree.

Roman Summerstead, Forfend presumed, sat behind the oversized mahogany desk with a stern expression on his face. By his ears and facial structure, he was a half-elf. His hair was tied tightly into a topknot and his beard was recently trimmed into carefully maintained stubble. Thin spectacles framed his staunchly serious eyes. He sat ramrod straight with his hands folded together on the table as he surveyed his guests.

The butler moved to stand at Roman's left side.

To Roman's right stood a tall man in brown and blue wizard's robes. He studied the group with unconcealed curiosity as his fingers toyed with his softly glowing ivory staff. He appeared to be human, but Forfend got the sense he was wise beyond his years.

The butler cleared his throat. "Introducing Lord Roman Summerstead, second son of High Lord Isaac Summerstead, patriarch of the Summerstead line, merchant family and vassal of the Ledrian line." He extended his hand. "To his right, arcanist Zoshaan Umbras, adviser of the arcane to the Summerstead line."

Zoshaan nodded and bowed slightly.

Roman closed the ledger he had on his desk and snapped his fingers twice.

Immediately, the butler reacted. He pulled a cigar from a pouch on his side, passed it off to Roman, and lit it with a sparking orange stone before dutifully returning to his station at the corner of the table.

Roman took a long drag as he studied the party intensely once more.

Forfend shifted uncomfortably. Nobles took their time getting to the point and Forfend found that it didn't appreciate that. Introductions were one thing, but announcing a series of senseless titles seemed uselessly flashy and, frankly, rude.

"So," Roman finally began, smoke trailing from his mouth, "I hear that you four handled the infestation that accosted a handful of my employees. Is that correct?" It wasn't really a question.

"It is," Forfend answered anyway.

Kairi wrinkled her nose as the acrid scent of cigar smoke filled the room.

Roman pretended not to notice. "Perhaps names are in order. We have introduced ourselves. I would like to kindly ask you to introduce yourselves as well."

Forfend couldn't help but notice the butler hadn't gotten an introduction. He'd been an invaluable help thus far, but it got the sense it wouldn't learn his name today.

Still, it needed the Summersteads' assistance. It couldn't upset them.

Forfend bowed slightly. "I am Forfend."

Roman nodded.

Melzaryn politely ducked his head. "Melzaryn Collymore. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Pleased to make yours as well, Lord Collymore." Roman raised his chin into a more regal pose as he took another drag from his cigar.

Kairi curtsied. "I'm Kairi Camilla, sir. Pleasure to meet you."

"A pleasure in kind," Roman replied.

He tilted his head towards the last member of the party and expertly covered a grimace, the corners of his mouth only twitching downward ever so slightly before returning to trained neutrality.

"Kagoshi," Kagoshi almost spat his own name and crossed his arms.

"Thank you." He nodded to the group. "Now then, I would like to ask you what you've discovered. A fully detailed account of your encounter with these insects, if you would." He did grimace this time. The monsters were apparently more repulsive than Kagoshi.

Forfend looked over its party members, but none of them stepped up. Melzaryn was eyeing the books in the room much more than he was paying attention to the conversation at hand while the other two simply didn't seem interested in sharing.

It sighed in a rush of steam and took a half-step forward.

"We stumbled across it quite by accident," Forfend began. "The farmers' cart was already tipped when we arrived and they were yelling to us that it was dangerous. We did not heed the warning. Once we were close enough to see the creatures properly, Melzaryn here shot them with Magic Missile. They turned to attack us and were rather promptly crushed. Kagoshi pulled two directly from the earth, Kairi flushed the rest out with a Tidal Wave spell, and I finished off the wounded stragglers."

Forfend paused, humming deep in its chest. "What concerns me is that the farmers said they had never been ambushed in a planned attack like that before. From the sound of things, these creatures are learning new tactics and becoming more dangerous. They had even bitten through the horses' reins to loose them. Your workers truly had no escape from the beasts."

Roman creased his brow and turned to Zoshaan.

Zoshaan steepled his fingers at the top of his staff. "This is all very unusual. Are any of you familiar with these creatures?"

"Not in the slightest," Forfend shook its head.

"Never seen them in my life," Kagoshi shrugged.

"Me neither," Kairi agreed.

"Mm, not specifically." Melzaryn waggled his hand noncommittally.

"They are called kruthiks," Zoshaan shared. "All of you are familiar with such common creatures as ants and bees. Hive creatures. Kruthiks are much the same, though significantly larger and heavily armored. The behavior they're displaying here in Brightcrossing is quite unusual."

Zoshaan gestured to a map on display on the wall. "For one, they are far outside their habitat, Lord Summerstead."

Roman nodded and regarded the map with detached interest.

"They are usually found in the Kuumedian Desert or deep beneath the earth in the Adamantine Mountains." Zoshaan drew circles around both locals with his forefinger. "Their appearance here is remarkably anomalous."

Roman scratched at the stumble along his face and tugged at the longer hairs hanging beneath his chin. "Interesting. I have a question for the four of you," he said, turning back to the party. "A few of my employees recommended your services to me and I must ask you what makes your group stand out from the multitude of other mercenaries I could possibly hire to handle this situation?"

Forfend tilted its head. That was obvious from its perspective. They'd already handled one incident free of charge and they were here. Capable and available and, all things considered, cheap.

Even disregarding the fact that the party was all demigods, they were a clear choice over hiring untested rabble from outside the city. If anyone within the city could handle the problem, they would have done it by now. Forfend assumed that option had already been exhausted. Who else was there, really?

"We've already started the job, haven't we?" Kairi echoed Forfend's thoughts. "We genuinely just want to help however we can. We've proven we can kill the bugs."

"So you're here out of the kindness of your hearts then?" Roman stifled an amused smile and Forfend had to wonder if the concept was foreign to nobles like him. "Is that right?"

"Yes," it nodded. "We only intended to pass through Brightcrossing until we saw the situation."

"But, pray tell, what of your capabilities? We need results, not good will. Hunting a handful of the creatures is all well and good, but it doesn't speak to your ability to end the infestation." Roman took another long drag from his cigar.

"We did slay six of them in under a minute," Forfend supplied.

"Under thirty seconds," Kagoshi corrected.

"I've been traveling for quite a while now and these are some of the most capable people I've come across," Melzaryn vouched.

Roman puffed rings of smoke into the air and tapped ashes into the tray on his desk. "Thirty seconds to slay a pack and a high recommendation from a Collymore," he mused. "Interesting. And your individual capabilities?"

"Forfend, what do you weigh?" Kagoshi asked.

"Hm. Upwards of four hundred and fifty pounds," Forfend estimated. "Why?"

Kagoshi grabbed Forfend's leg and hauled it entirely up into the air.

A startled rockfall sounded from Forfend's chest as it struggled to balance on the palm of Kagoshi's hand. It knew Kagoshi was exceptionally strong, but this was well beyond what it had expected.

Roman and Zoshaan gaped.

"Please set me down carefully," Forfend managed to request through the tumbling rocks in its center.

"Yeah, yeah," Kagoshi muttered dismissively as he slowly lowered Forfend back to the ground.

It stepped down as easily as it could, but there was still a distinct thud of it hitting the ground and a slight creaking from the floorboards.

Melzaryn raised an eyebrow at the noise.

Kagoshi crossed his arms. "That's my merit."

"Indeed," Roman said, swallowing his shock and readjusting his grip on the cigar he'd nearly dropped. "And... what of you two?" He nodded at Forfend and Kairi.

"These days, I am a blacksmith by trade, but I was originally built for war," Forfend shared. "I fought in the Sundering."

Roman did drop his cigar this time. He shared a disbelieving glance with Zoshaan.

"You are a construct," Roman spoke almost under his breath.

"In a sense." Forfend touched idly at the seam where natural stone met forged steel on its chest.

"A Fornaxian," he pronounced carefully. "I believe that's what my employees called you."

"Yes."

Roman looked to Zoshaan again, this time with a question in his eyes.

Zoshaan squinted and wracked his brain for a moment before giving up and shrugging slightly.

Roman picked up his cigar and took a very long drag off it, releasing smoke into the air with a drawn out sigh.

"Well, your existence in the modern day does suggest that you're at least combat viable," Roman allowed. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and turned to Kairi. "And what of you, young lady?"

Kairi fluffed out her sparkling wings. "I can fly. I'm also really good at reading people and magic, so I'm sure I can help find the culprit behind all this once the bugs are gone. I was the one that flooded the bugs out of the ground."

Roman nodded. "Your method for flushing the kruthiks out of their burrows was detailed to me. Very enthusiastically, I might add."

He scratched at his stubble and eyed the group yet again. After a moment, he motioned toward the butler.

The butler immediately crossed the room, pulled a book from one the dozen shelves scattered about, and passed it off to Roman before once again dutifully returning to his place by the corner of the desk.

"And what was your name again?" Roman asked as he flipped through the book.

"Kairi Camilla, sir."

He skimmed the pages and paused to read one section a bit more in depth. "Your wings... You're of a celestial bloodline. Interesting. Aasimar?"

Kairi nodded.

"Well then, it seems all, or at least most, of you are worthy of this endeavor." The comment wasn't directed at Melzaryn. Roman had been almost ignoring him for most of the conversation as though he'd already assumed Melzaryn's capability and willingness to do the job.

Forfend once again found itself wondering who exactly Melzaryn was.

Roman set down his book and opened up the ledger again. He flipped through the last few pages slowly and took another drag off his cigar while he considered some mental math.

"Given the trouble these creatures have caused and all the profits they've cut into..." Roman tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table, eyes narrowed as he managed the numbers. "I can offer you a sum of... fourteen thousand gold, plus the standard rates you'll get from turning in corpses to the guard."

Forfend felt the metal core in its chest spin at the dizzying number.

Kagoshi choked.

Kairi slapped a hand over her mouth as her wings shot out to nearly their full extension.

Melzaryn was unfazed.

"Does that sound fair?" Roman inquired.

"Yes, yes, very much so," Kairi nodded vigorously, eyes wide.

"Excellent. Then we may begin writing up the contract now unless you have questions or alternative requests." Roman paused, puffing more rings of smoke into the air.

Kairi and Kagoshi were nodding, but Forfend hadn't forgotten why they were all here.

Forfend raised its hand and stepped forward. "There is the matter of Jessie. He is a dear friend of mine who has been wrongfully accused of a crime he did not commit. We are making our way to Cragwall to make an appeal on his behalf and your word in our favor would assist us greatly."

Roman shut his ledger again and sat straight up, looking directly into the rune on Forfend's face. "Crime? Elaborate."

Forfend nodded and recounted the tale, "A monster attacked our village and kidnapped children. We rescued those children and discovered ransacked carts along the way. Assuming they were of importance, we brought what we could carry home with us alongside the body of a noble child who'd been murdered by the monster weeks before we discovered its existence, with the intention of getting him his burial rites and returning the stolen goods."

Forfend sighed heavily, steam rushing loudly from somewhere within its body. "Knights claiming they were on order from a Lord Galloford came into town the next day, accused us of commiting the theft and murder, and made an attempt to arrest Jessie simply because he happens to be captain of the guard."

Forfend shook its head. "I was able to convince them to let him remain in the town while we made an appeal for his innocence, but I fear they are not treating him well. They were rash and rude, and they refused to listen to reason."

Roman tapped on his chin. Slowly, he stood up from his chair and paced around the office. Smoke trailed in his wake.

Roman paused beneath the large Summerstead crest banner hanging on the far wall. He took in the sight of it for a long moment.

"Unity. Prosperity. Honor," he read quietly from the ribbon trailing over the top of the crest.

The family slogan, Forfend assumed. It hoped they made an effort to uphold those values, not just for themselves but for the citizens dependant upon them as well.

"The Gallofords," Roman spat the name like venom. "I understand your predicament."

He idled for a while longer, thinking deeply as he took yet another hit off his dwindling cigar.

Slowly, he made his way back to his desk and steepled his fingers.

"I shall do this for you in exchange for your assistance here. We shall offer you a lawyer to assist in the endeavors in Cragwall and your appeal. However, I would like to make an additional request in turn."

The party glanced at one another uncertainly.

Roman pressed on, "When you arrive there, I would like you to investigate certain matters. If you choose to accept this secondary contract, you are to meet with my father within Cragwall."

Forfend hummed deeply.

"He will be within the Summerstead Estate in the noble district." Roman dashed his cigar in his ashtray and sat back. "But first, let us handle the most immediate matters."

He pulled papers already marked with the Summerstead seal from his desk and began writing out a contract.

The group stood in silence as Roman hashed out the details. When he was finally done writing, he pushed the contract towards them. "Are these terms agreeable?"

Forfend carefully read over the contract. Luckily, everything was straightforward and simple to understand. In lieu of money, Roman was offering the Summersteads' full assistance to clear Jessie's name, whatever that may entail.

Melzaryn nodded. "Yep. Looks good to me." He signed his name with a quick flick of his odd magic quill.

Forfend nodded, took the quill Roman offered, and signed with blocky but neat letters.

Kairi and Kagoshi followed suit with quickly scribbled signatures.

Roman took the page. He looked it over, nodded once, and passed it to Zoshaan.

Zoshaan tapped his staff on the ground twice. The contract multiplied into two identical copies.

Roman took the first and gave the second to Melzaryn.

"Now, for the secondary contract. This one is not official, nor will I require you to accept these additional terms. This is purely my own selfish request." Roman drummed his fingers on his desk like he wasn't certain what to do with his hands now that his cigar was depleted and dashed.

"The Gallofords have been a thorn in my family's side for many generations. All I'm asking you to do is keep an eye out on them. Keep track of any rumors, misdeeds, or otherwise damning evidence we could use against them."

Roman grimaced. "After all, I don't believe I need to tell you that the Gallofords are absolute snakes in the grass, even at their very best."

Forfend hummed quietly. It wasn't certain it wanted to get involved in noble squabbles, but it also wasn't certain it could leave the Gallofords to act in such nefarious and frivolously hateful ways either.

"If you are willing to do this for me and mine, you will meet with my father in Cragwall to inquire further. There, a more official, properly established contract can be formed." Roman spread his hands. "Do you have any further questions before your investigation and subsequent eradication of the insects that plague our farmlands?"

Forfend raised its hand. "If this takes more than two days to do, we will be late for our appeal in Cragwall. If that becomes the case, would your word buy us more time to travel there?"

"It would," Roman confirmed. "Zoshaan."

Zoshaan pulled a paper from his pocket and scribbled down a quick note.

"It shall be done, if need be," Roman promised.

"Thank you," Forfend ducked its head appreciatively. "I would hate for my friend to be falsely arrested before we even have the chance to make our appeal."

"I understand." Roman clenched his fist. "The Gallofords refuse to give anyone hardly any chance at all."

"Do you know of any specific places we should look for the bugs?" Kairi asked.

Zoshaan spoke up, "They've been attacking all of the fields, but they've had a particular ire for ours. Particularly in the south near the river. It certainly seems targeted and it's been quite a hindrance."

"Do you grow anything out of the ordinary?" Melzaryn inquired.

Zoshaan shook his head. "We are the premium winery business across all of Tyrwedia and our farming practices are top of the line, but there is nothing specific about our crops that should draw attention from kruthiks."

"There any other wine businesses nearby?" Kagoshi narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he considered suspects.

"Not within Brightcrossing, no," Roman frowned. "The Gallofords have dipped their hands into everything, but they aren't prominent in the alcohol business."

"You got any enemies?" Kagoshi followed up immediately.

"Kagoshi, was it?" Roman asked condescendingly. "You must understand that as a successful and wealthy man of an esteemed family, my list of rivals, enemies, or potential enemies would neither provide nor exclude suspects. It's too broad and too vague to be of use."

"There's no competition that's been really aggressive or malicious at all? Nothing out of the ordinary like that?" Kairi wondered.

Roman paused to consider. "No, aside from the Gallofords. They have an extremely close relationship with the king, but the rest of the noble families despise them outright for their treachery."

Forfend found itself concerned that Roman had a fixation on the Galloford family. It could only hope he was telling them the truth, but it wondered if his perception was warped by hatred.

"Would anyone stand to make a profit off your troubles? Rather than trying to outcompete you, could someone be using your struggles to fund themselves directly?" Forfend attempted a new line of questioning.

"Hm." Roman scratched at his chin. "No, not that I'm aware. No one within the city is making money off of me over this, and especially not anyone within the company itself. That is one thing I do need to worry about. The Gallofords have a nasty habit of sending spies to infiltrate other businesses. It took a great deal of time, but I believe I've ousted them all. If any dared stay in the city, perhaps you could interrogate them."

Forfend nodded, its fears not eased in the slightest.

"If you have no further questions, I will politely request you leave my office. I have work to do," Roman said stiffly.

Kagoshi left immediately.

Kairi followed close behind.

"Thank you for your assistance." Forfend bowed and took its leave alongside Melzaryn.

Zoshaan followed them out. "Before you go, let me tell you a bit more about the kruthiks. I'd hate for you to face them unaware."

Forfend nodded for him to continue.

"They're heavily armored as adults, but the young still have very brittle shells," Zoshaan shared. "They'll be much easier to exterminate than the adults. The adults also have hardened spines they can fire from their backs. Please, take care to watch out for that."

He tapped his chin for a moment. "I'm sure you've seen how well they tunnel, but you should know they can sense vibrations beneath the earth as well. They won't need to see you to attack you."

Worry crossed his face, wrinkling his brow. "If a hive has fully settled in here, they likely have a hive lord. The hive lord is dangerous in and of itself what with its remarkable intelligence, but that also means there'll be an exceptionally high number of kruthiks entrenched under the fields. Exercise great caution."

"We will," Forfend assured.

Kagoshi scoffed.

"They're attracted to heat. You may be able to exploit that. That's actually what attracts them to the forges beneath the great Adamantine Mountains."

"Thank you for the information," Forfend pressed a hand to its chest and bowed its head.

"Certainly. Ah, one last thing. I cannot stress enough how anomalous their presence and behavior is here. Everything about this is strange. The information I've given you may prove inaccurate in such an unusual situation," Zoshaan fretted.

"As the late arcanist Warick Exypnos, the All Knowing, once said, 'Other creatures that abide in hives serve a purpose in the natural world. Bees pollinate flowers, termites make earth out of wood. Kruthiks, by contrast, slay societies.' I ask that you please be quick in their eradication, for all our sakes." Zoshaan nodded politely and returned to Roman's office.

"How did it go?" Callan asked as soon as they stepped back outside.

"Well enough," Forfend answered.

"We got the job," Kagoshi shrugged.

"So they're going to help you with the legal stuff then?" Callan asked.

"They are," Forfend nodded. "Provided we first solve their kruthik infestation."

"Excellent!" Callan clapped.

"If the little ones are two gold and the big ones are five, how much do you think the hive lord will fetch us?" Kagoshi pondered.

"I've never even heard of them before," Callan shook his head. "They have a lord leading them? It must be stronger. Do you think it would be able to pierce my metal skin?"

"Let's go find out." Kagoshi immediately headed for the town's south gate.

"Oh, okay!" Callan followed right on his heels.

Forfend looked up at the late evening sky. It was less than ten minutes from being fully dark. Would it be wise to hunt the creatures in lowlight conditions?

Kairi skipped after Kagoshi as usual.

"Sounds fun," Melzaryn said and wandered after them.

Forfend figured they were likely going to end up beneath the ground which would be pitch dark anyway, so it likely wouldn't matter in the end. It shrugged to itself and followed as well.

"What are we going to do to draw them out?" Callan asked, bouncing on his heels and throwing mock punches as he surveyed the quiet crops. "I'm quite eager to fight this thing!"

"Great, glad you're on board." Kagoshi pat Callan on the back. "You're vital to the investigation."

"Really? Fantastic!" Callan grinned, stars in his eyes.

"It's, uh, Callan, right?"

Callan creased his brow. "Yes. I'm surprised you didn't remember given that--"

Kagoshi cut him off, "Alright, Callan, turn metal and just run through these fields. Think of it as training."

Callan nodded, taking a running stance. "You're asking me to generate tremors and excess heat, correct?"

"Yeah," Kagoshi shrugged.

"Hm. Well, my ability to turn myself into metal and my ability to emit heat are separate and one is rather limited." Callan hadn't left his stance despite puzzling over the specifics of the plan Kagoshi was shooting for.

Forfend hummed to itself. If it had to guess, Kagoshi was just banking on the poor man falling into another hole.

"We need the metal more," Kagoshi assured. "Think of it as endurance training."

"I suppose I could use more training doing physical activities in my metal form. Alright! No rest for the wicked, as they say! But I am not wicked, I am unbreakable!" Callan shot down the path at breakneck pace, metal crawling over his body as he went.

Forfend hissed a long rush of steam and wondered if what Callan said had actually made any sense. Probably not.

Callan was remarkably fast. Forfend worried he was getting too far away for the party to assist him if Kagoshi's absurd scheme did actually work.

Kagoshi pat Forfend's arm. "You should keep up with him."

Forfend was many things, but fast had never been one of them.

"I am physically incapable," it replied.

Nonetheless, it made an attempt to run after their hapless friend.

Kagoshi dashed as well, quickly surpassing Forfend.

Kairi followed, her wings carrying her easily.

Melzaryn walked. He held his staff at the ready, but he wasn't particularly concerned with anything.

All at once, the ground fell out from beneath Callan. He yelped as he fell chest-deep into the earth.

"I am stuck once again," Callan announced. "This is quite embarrassing."

Kagoshi laughed, slowing his run to hold his shaking sides.

Forfend jogged past him to Callan's side.

"Now start lighting yourself on fire!" Kagoshi yelled.

"Wait, why?" Callan asked.

"Endurance."

Forfend heard stone crack somewhere in its center as steam hissed out of it. "He is using you as bait to attract the kruthiks."

"Yeah," Kagoshi admitted with a shrug.

"Oh." Callan creased his brow. "Kagoshi... Why, that's genius!" Immediately Callan took a tense stance and growled through his teeth as he began generating overwhelming heat. In a moment, he was glowing like hot iron.

Forfend backed up a bit. "You could have simply told him what you were doing."

"I wanted to mess with the guy," Kagoshi smirked.

"This is excellent training!" Callan panted. "I can practice maintaining steady, intense--" he cut himself off with a yelp.

Chittering and the sound of claws scraping metal emanated from the earth.

"They're scratching at my legs," Callan shared. "Honestly, they're not really doing any damage though. My metal is too resilient for them to scratch."

"How big are they?" Kagoshi asked.

"I don't know! I can't see them!"

Forfend shook its head. At this point, they needed to get Callan out of the pit. He was risking getting bitten or pulled under.

"Kagoshi, would you like to use your trick from before?" it nudged.

"Yeah, I could do that." Kagoshi pushed up the sleeve of his jacket. "Where's it feel like they're at?"

"Directly beneath me," Callan answered.

"This'll be tricky. Alright." Kagoshi plunged his fist into the dirt, cracking the weakened ground.

He ripped his hand back up, now clenching the writhing leg of a startled kruthik.

The insect was bloodied and half crushed already from its rough, unexpected removal from its burrow.

Kagoshi shook it. The leg snapped off, causing the rest of the creature to flop limply to the ground. It didn't move.

Kagoshi groaned and dropped the serrated appendage left behind. "They die so easy."

"That is ideal," Forfend insisted.

At its side, another hole suddenly opened with a rush of misplaced dirt.

Four kruthiks scrambled out of it.

The largest glared directly at Forfend and gave a clacking, hissing cackle.

Forfend pulled the sheet from its new shield and slid the Orison Aegis onto its arm for the first time. The weight was perfect, like it belonged there. Forfend could feel the thrumming power of the magic it could channel through this new catalyst.

It freed its mace from the holster on its side and faced the bugs.

The largest arched its back, launching spines.

Forfend blocked the majority easily enough. A couple of the odd spikes managed to bury themselves in Forfend's leg. They stung, but not enough to worry it.

Kagoshi ran, leapt into the air over both one of the smaller kruthiks and the hole in the ground, and elbow dropped the largest kruthik.

The monster's armor cracked. It squealed and thrashed.

Kagoshi rolled off its back and jumped up. He swung again, crunching the insect's jagged face into the dirt pathway.

The kruthik twisted out from beneath Kagoshi's fist and skittered backwards. It hissed in fright.

"Oh fuck, it lived," Kagoshi grinned. "This might actually be fun."

Kairi held her staff out. Glimmering pink light shot forth and struck one of the juvenile kruthiks.

The little beast burst into a mist of red blood and green guts.

Melzaryn scooped up a stone, imbued it with soft blue magic, and launched it at the adult kruthik.

The rock shattered across its back. It chittered angrily.

Callan pulled himself up onto level ground. "Haha! I'm already emitting my glorious flames! Have at thee!" He dashed forward and stomped the nearest kruthik.

The little creature withered into a scorched stain beneath his heel.

"Hm, too easy," Callan complained and kicked the next one.

It too caught fire, squealing as it careened through the air and hit the ground with a squelch.

"They are very weak," Callan pouted. "I can't believe I struggled last time. They're so brittle! Kagoshi, why haven't you killed that one yet?"

Kagoshi gestured angrily at the considerably larger beast. "It's much bigger!"

The kruthik in question, the only one still alive, growled and prowled. It was searching for an opening in their guards. It couldn't find one. At least not one it could exploit in its heavily damaged state.

"It doesn't look that much bigger," Callan argued.

"It's as big as I am!" Kagoshi yelled back.

Forfend hummed. The creature was dying. Time alone would kill it, but Forfend could easily speed the process.

It loomed over the kruthik.

"Decessus calls." It slammed its mace into its shield with a resounding clang.

The sound was impressive, but Forfend knew the magically enhanced version the monster had heard carried far more frightening undertones.

The kruthik's dark eyes widened. A shudder ran through its entire body. It collapsed in a heap, legs twitching. Its body rapidly decayed.

Another hole opened up on Forfend's other side.

Several juvenile kruthiks swarmed out. They snapped at Forfend, biting into its leg. Two of them found weak points in the aged stone.

Forfend shook them off. Their sharp pincers were much more annoying than painful.

Kagoshi snatched one up and crushed it with his bare hand. He kicked another, slamming it into the last.

Both monsters flipped over one another, spilling blood as they spiraled. Everything was still again.

Kairi grinned. "I'll flush the rest out."

She pointed her staff at the air above the nearest hole.

Glitter swirled. A sparkling portal opened up and water gushed out. In seconds, the earth was split open by the overwhelming flood.

Several juvenile kruthiks were launched into the air and splattered to the ground, curling in on themselves.

Two adult kruthiks followed suit, their armored shells cracking on impact. The force wasn't enough to kill them though. Instead, they chittered and writhed, trying to pick a target out from the party.

Melzaryn launched another glowing blue rock. This time it struck one of the kruthiks directly in the face.

The creature hissed, its facial plates cracked in two.

"Can't you do something cooler?" Kagoshi grumbled.

"Nah, these guys are nothing. I'm waiting until we see the big one." Melzaryn readied another stone.

Callan ran towards the two kruthiks. They managed to upright themselves, but he stopped well short of their range. The scorching heat his body put off was enough to burn them at that proximity.

The one Melzaryn had struck jerkily curled in on itself. With its armor broken, Callan's flames penetrated the soft flesh beneath. It overheated until it collapsed without a sound.

Soaked earth, already weakened by kruthik tunnels, suddenly collapsed a short distance away. Chunks of dirt fell inward, the whole area sinking several feet.

They'd discovered an entrance deeper into the hive.

Forfend chuckled softly, rocks grinding in its chest. What a hapless and ridiculous way to achieve their goal.

It raised its shield. The sound of a hammer striking steel rang out across the fields as orange magic coalesced into Fornax's forge hammer.

Forfend marveled at the ease with which it could channel its divine magic through the Orison Aegis. A connection it feared it had lost now literally glowed with power in its hands.

The hammer jolted forward, smashing the remaining kruthik over the back.

The creature whipped around to bite its attacker, but to avail. Its mandibles passed right through through the magic.

It twisted back around to pounce at Callan.

Similarly, it caused him no damage. Its claws simply bounced off his metal body.

Another mess of kruthiks scampered out of the open ground. They hissed and clacked their jaws together.

"They are all small," Forfend noted.

"That means they aren't worth as much," Kairi jokingly whined.

Kagoshi ran past Forfend to punch one of the newly arrived insects into the dirt with a squelch. He immediately stomped a second one before it could bite him in retaliation.

Kairi twirled, magical lights strobed around her as she transformed again into the pastel archer form she'd used against the blue demon.

She flashed a magic hand gesture and drew back her bow. She released the shot with a reverberating twang.

It struck true. A kruthik exploded into glittering purple dust.

Melzaryn tossed his next glowing blue rock. It bounced off a kruthiks back, drawing a hiss from the agitated monster.

Fire rocketed from Callan's wrist, propelling his fist downward. He crunched the last kruthik at his feet.

A smoldering heap was all that was left in the monster's place.

"If they keep this up, they'll overrun us eventually. We need to find their source." Callan stepped over the charred corpse to investigate the open pit. "Oh, there's something down there."

Forfend motioned for the hammer to join Callan.

"Oh, hello!" Callan greeted the glowing weapon.

It waggled back.

Forfend approached the pit.

A kruthik wriggled up onto the surface.

Forfend shot it with a Guiding Bolt, the flaming blast bursting from the medallion on its chest almost on instinct.

The kruthik splattered, its remains melted to the spot.

"I see where they're coming from," Callan shouted.

Another pair of kruthiks crawled up from the ground. They snapped at Callan uselessly.

Kagoshi joined them at the pit. "Oh, that's not good." He frowned as he peered into the hole.

Forfend wasn't quite close enough to see what he was referring to. It was growing more concerned by the moment.

"Someone's a mother. Mazel tov," Kagoshi said, his voice completely deadpan.

That did not ease Forfend's concerns.

Kairi flew over, landing next to Forfend. "What is it?"

Melzaryn trotted past them to look into the hole. "Gross," he announced nonchalantly before he tilted his staff forward.

Blazing fire shot out and scorched whatever he'd seen.

Hissing, popping, and squelching filled the air.

Forfend cringed inwardly at the disgusting sound. It edged a bit closer to get a look.

A pink mass of goop clung to the wall eight feet down. It was filled with squirming kruthik eggs. Half of it was now blackened with smoke and char.

More kruthiks struggled to free themselves from their eggs before the fire reached them. They hissed and chittered as they wriggled free of the viscous gunk.

It was truly vile.

"Let's get rid of this thing, yes?" Callan suggested. He carefully hopped down into the sloped hole. "Would any of you like to do the honors or should I?"

The two kruthiks at his feet followed him, continuing to gnash ineffectively at his metallic ankles.

"Please get rid of it," Forfend encouraged.

Callan nodded and stomped on the mass repeatedly and with vigor. Wet splatters covered his legs in blood, guts, and whatever strange fluids made up the egg sack itself. The two juvenile kruthiks still trying to attack were caught in the crossfire.

Suddenly, Callan's leg broke through the center of the mess. He caught himself just in time and reeled backwards.

"Oh, that is dreadful," he gasped. "I'm not falling in that."

In the center of the pink stain, there now yawned a deep hole.

Forfend nodded at the eagerly awaiting hammer.

It zipped down and descended into the tunnel.

Forfend slid carefully down to Callan's side and watched the orange light grow smaller and smaller.

Slowly, it began to feel the tether of the magic loosen. The hammer paused just before the connection snapped.

Forfend hummed. "It has not reached the bottom. I would guess this tunnel is more than sixty feet down."

"So far, this has been both disgusting and disappointing. I hope we'll find something more interesting soon." Callan knocked some of the thicker gunk off his legs, only to then have to shake it off his hands. "We'll be going down there, yes?"

"Yep," Kagoshi affirmed.

Forfend called the hammer back up.

Callan shut off his scorching heat and allowed his body to cool. He turned from red-hot iron back to his more average silvery sheen. His fur jacket lit up instead, flickering like firelight as he cast Light on it.

"Sixty isn't too bad." Callan leapt into the hole without further ado.

"You said more than sixty," Kairi pointed out. "How much more?"

"I have no idea," Forfend admitted.

"Eh, he'll be fine." Kagoshi waved dismissively.

The loud clang of heavy metal crashing into stone echoed up out of the steep drop.

"I'm alright!" Callan yelled up. "There's a lot of space down here! Looks like a whole cavern system!"

"That's enough info for me." Kagoshi jumped.

A moment later, there was a crash as Kagoshi landed on top of Callan.

"I've caught you," Callan yelled.

"Sure, yeah," Kagoshi grumbled.

Forfend couldn't see much more than the faint glimmer of light at the bottom, but it assumed the truth was far less graceful. If it had to guess, they'd both ended up sprawled on the ground and were probably lucky to be unhurt.

Kairi flew down into the tunnel with significant grace despite the tight confines.

Melzaryn wandered over, two bundles of bleeding bug chunks floating at either side.

Forfend tilted its head. Truthfully, it hadn't even seen him walk away. It certainly hadn't noticed him collecting all the corpses.

"I separated the adults from the juveniles. We killed three adults and twenty babies." Melzaryn dusted off his hands and stepped into the pit.

The tied bundles followed him down.

Forfend waited, but it never heard him hit the ground. It assumed he'd casted Feather Fall or teleported himself down or perhaps some other strange method he hadn't shared with them yet.

It was now the only one left above ground. It hummed as it considered its options.

After a moment, it simply sat down on the edge and slid itself into the tunnel.

With its arms braced on either side, it was able to skid down slowly. It dropped the last couple dozen feet and landed with a thud beside its allies.

The cavern was as expansive as Callan had said.

Forfend sent magic thrumming through the Orison Aegis, lighting up the etched symbols. It would be prepared for whatever they discovered here.

#forfend #twilight of the demigods #session notes #session 7 #brightcrossing #dnd

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