Thrane with Giant Robots Part Deux: What does "Deux" Mean?

[Magnus_Samma]

The rolling planes of northeastern Thrane roll in the background as our heroes...

... well...

The rolling planes of northeastern Thrane roll in the background as our protagonists continue onwards to their destination, the military base camp from where they will hopefully be able to defend all of Thrane from military assaults from their formerly friendly neighbor kingdom Karrnath.

We now return to our game in progress, where Gorby has pretty much just threatened to help beat up a chick who's sort of dating the impulsive swordsage who's travelling behind him in a giant robot with a -lot- of very sharp throwing knives.

*The DM puts on a raincoat made of asbestos and sits back to watch the fun.*

[Mike_Lemmer]

Gorby

Gorby isn't concerned, as that's par for the course in his family. Continue onward!

[ExHunterEmerald]

Rennac surprisingly does very little shanking.

[Lord Iames Osari]

In the absence of anything more from Shay or any of the others, Casfal continues on in silence, pondering how to reclaim the throne of Karrnath. Should I talk to the Pontiff about setting up a government-in-exile? The Karrnathi people might react in my favor knowing that Kaius is a usurper, but he is an undead, and a national hero besides. That probably gives him enough goodwill among the people to easily shrug off any negative PR we might give him.

If I could find out what happened to my father and raise him or free him, that might help, but it's still a long shot.

Not government in exile, then. At least not yet.

A coup d'etat, with Thrane's military backing? Probably has the best initial chance of success, but it's unlikely to win me any friends among the populace. I'd likely find myself poisoned or with a slit throat within a decade.

Hm. I could reveal myself and very publically hold treaty negotiations with Thrane, pretending to be on official business from Karrnath. Unless Kaius wants to reveal his true nature to the world, and if he hasn't yet, I doubt he does, he'd almost have to accept it.

Of course, he could always denounce me as an imposter. That wouldn't hold up under magical scrutiny, but it would make it clear that whatever else I said, the negotiations weren't official.

Hmmmmm... if I combined that with the government-in-exile plan, maybe...

Bah, this is all just speculation without current information to base it on. Perhaps the next step is simply to reveal the truth to General Skarn. He has secrets of his own, he can probably be trusted to keep mine. He could also probably get me current intelligence about the dispositions of the Karrnath military and general populace.

Yes, that sounds like my best option right now. I'll tell him once we get back from our current mission.

[Magnus_Samma]

A noise floats over the plains. A long, drawn-out, high-pitched wail.

It's getting louder...

After several seconds something flies through the sky like a tiny comet and connects with the ground several yards ahead over a small ridge with a noise like a turd hitting the ground. There is a small cloud of dust, and the screaming goes silent.

[Lord Iames Osari]

Casfal winces at the sound of impact and moves up over the ridge to take a look.

[Mike_Lemmer]

Gorby

"Ooo, I haven't heard a sound like that since we tested that experimental catapult. If there's no survivors, I call dibs on the salvage!"

Gorby peeks over the ridge.

[ExHunterEmerald]

"What the f--"
Rennac runs alongside the others towards the impact site.

[Magnus_Samma]

The impact has raised a ten-foot blemish on the field, a charred crater in the earth. In its center is a smoking object that vaguely resembles a barrel. The wood is blackened and ashen, and the metal is making clicking sounds as it cools.

After a moment, a portion of the object is broken away from the inside to reveal a small reptilian foot. Seconds later a roughly three foot humanoid with draconian features hops out onto the still-warm soil, pulls its goggles up onto the top of its head, raises its claws and crows in victory.

"I am eeeeeenveeeeencible!" squeals Ren.

[ExHunterEmerald]

Drawn-out pause.
"...Hey, Ren! Where the hell were you?"

[Mike_Lemmer]

Gorby

"Wow, another small goblinoid willing to test potentially fatal contraptions? I like him already. Where do you know him from?"

[Lord Iames Osari]

Kobolds aren't goblinoids, Gorby.

[ExHunterEmerald]

"Nobody cares, Casfal."
Rennac leans out of the Sprachen and lowers a hand for Ren to climb onto.

[Mike_Lemmer]

Gorby

"Oh? Then what should I call them, humanoids?"

[Lord Iames Osari]

Ah, I see. I'm not used to hearing it used that way. Nevermind.

[Magnus_Samma]

Ren leaps atop Rennac's head and strikes another pose.

"Never fear, Ren's Friends! For Ren has returned to you in your hour of need! Ren in his infinite wisdom detected the vast magical field caused by the summoning of horrible creatures, and surely, it was Ren who obtained from the general a magical device with which to disrupt this procedure!"

He holds aloft a small wand.

"But lo, they feared that none could get this device to you in time to be of any use! Therefore Ren, who is brave and masculine and sexy proposed an experimental device to propel him through the air at urine-releasing speeds so that Ren could bring you the instrument of your salvation at your most critical moment! And now never fear, for Ren has arrived! Ande now Ren shall... shall..."

He pauses and looks around.

"Where is the horrific creature of evil that is being summoned forth from whose clutches Ren has come to rescue his friends?"

[ExHunterEmerald]

Rennac grins.
"We, um, kind of owned it. You can help us with the next inevitable evil, though."

[Mike_Lemmer]

Gorby

"Yeah, it's busy rotting to its base planar essence. This'll still come in handy, though."

Gorby takes the wand.

"What're the specs on it, Ren? And what feedback do ya got on the experimental launcher?"

[Lord Iames Osari]

((Are we still moving, or have we stopped?))

[Magnus_Samma]

(Unless you grabbed Ren's wand thingy on the fly and left him sitting there in his crater, I imagine you've paused.)

Ren deflates. "Ren... does not really know. Ren... kind of assumed... it would just like... light up the darkest hour... or something. ...and Ren was really too busy trying to stop bad humans from stuffing him into barrel to see how the giant gun thingy they stuck it into worked... stupid bad humans... 'oh, never mind Ren's safety! Ren is expendable!' Automatic rez system Ren's scaley ass..."

[Mike_Lemmer]

Gorby

"Automatic rez system?! Where did they put it?!"

Gorby begins picking apart the barrel for anything interesting, like an automatic rez system.

[Magnus_Samma]

That's funny... there's nothing in the barrel that looks like an automatic rez system...

[ExHunterEmerald]

Rennac, meanwhile, has scooped up the kobold, deposited him on the shoulder of the Sprachen, and begun on his merry way.

[Mike_Lemmer]

Gorby

Gorby just grumbles at the lack of interesting components in the barrel as he hurries after Ren and Rennac.

"So where do you know the test jockey from?"

[Lord Iames Osari]

I'd like to know that as well, Casfal says as they get back underway.

[EvilRoeSlade]

Shay slams the emergency button, activating the ejection seat so that she flies out of the cockpit, sailing past Rennac's gear and seizing the kobold, tackling him approximately twenty feet to the ground. This doesn't hurt her in the slightest, oddly enough.

"Reeeennnnn!"

"You're back! I thought you were a forgotten plot element and I was never going to see you again!" She kisses his scaly head as she clutches him to her bosom.

Eventually she composes herself, returns to her gear, and skips merrily along, causing the ground to shake.

[Mike_Lemmer]

Gorby

Gorby whistles and turns on the private channel to Rennac.

"Damn, wish I could get her to greet me that way."

[ExHunterEmerald]

A tree trunk bounces off the back of Gorby's mech's head.

[Magnus_Samma]

Ren settles back into Shay's bosom with a happy sigh.

"Ren is pleased to once again be among his very good friends. Ahhh... a little to the left..."

The journey is, otherwise, more or less uneventful until they reach the nearest village... unless someone wants to bring something up...

[Mike_Lemmer]

Gorby

Gorby's got no trouble to cause.