Turn 116
> Let's see what the gods have provided us in the back of the supply closet, I guess.
> sneak in there and check out the rustling
Nyk stealthily clambers over the piles papers and boxes and discovers a tiny gremlin-like creature frantically sorting through stacks of forms.
"Wheerrrreee is it?? Boss's going to chop my ears off if I can't find it... Must find it! Gods! Where is it?!"
> Check out the file cabinet. Maybe we can find some authorization in there or some way to get to "C"...
Shuuk opens the filing cabinet and has a quick search through the drawers hoping to find something useful. Most of the drawers seem to contain personnel files with information about... people. Hey! You recognise this guy! These must be papers about the staff! Wonder what it all means though... The bottom drawer is a meticulously-organised chaos of badges. Each one has a symbol engraved onto it which probably relates to something both important and pointless. Each one is marked with either an orange or blue stripe though. That could be useful.
> Jorgen: march along quietly and memorize the song that is sung, as well as any other noises you hear
Jorgen follows where he is led, utterly fascinated by the song. Try as he might, he can't hold the words in his head, but the meaning is somehow as clear as crystal. The singer sings the song of the history of their people, starting with the first moment the Great K'thul discovered how to draw the magic out of the world and make use of it for the benefit of their people and showing the great works that their people built under his tutelage. They were scholars and teachers, and shared their knowledge freely with any who showed talent for using it. Great alliances were formed between the underground races and great works of art and engineering were built deep within the earth, including much of the city-labyrinth where the squarks were made, for the Sh'ki were creatures of the dark and deep and could channel their magic most easily there. Then, the song changes and the voice tells the story of a young child, abandoned by the sunlands and adopted by the Sh'ki. She was talented in magic, but grew spiteful and angry. Soon she desired to use her skill for more than building; sought to escape the darkness and claim the bright world above them as well as punishment for abandoning her to the caves. The Sh'ki tried to stop her, but she was strong and had learned her craft well and she escaped them, bringing war and fire to the Sunlands and devastation to the cities under the ground as punishment for trying to stop her. The skies burned, caverns crumbled and the Sh'ki were forced into the deepest tunnels of their domain where they have remained ever since, hiding their craft from the world, and waiting for the day when Merilla was no longer in command. Of course, never knew of her defeat and they stayed in hiding for generations, fed by the lies of their Ruler. Now that there is a chance to redeem themselves, the Sh'ki are desperate to try.
When the procession finally stops, the memory of the war Merilla brought to her people is burned into his mind with a deep bitterness. The others around him seem to have been similarly affected and the makeshift army is restless. When Jorgen's blindfold is removed he discovers that they are in a cleverly-concealed tunnel almost exactly where he, Shuuk and Nyk landed after that fiasco of an attempted execution.
Somewhere high above them a squark squarks and the roar of a battle echoes.
The redshirts meanwhile escaped the grue pit and brought the squarks safely back to the upper city where the battle is still in full swing as Merilla's army swarm the streets. Blonde guy takes the red squark through the tunnels back towards the underground sewage pond he somehow knows about. He'll arrive there next turn. Goldie looks terrified, and retreats to a ledge high above the city. Without Jorgen, she's not likely to be much use...
Pockets of resistance have sprung up where some of the humans have managed to rally to hold the forces back, but they don't look like they'll hold much longer. Three main battles catch the redshirts' attention: one group of humans and have found their way to an ancient hall where they're trying to make a defense against the monsters trying to break in. If they can hold on to it long enough, it looks big enough to house a lot of the remaining humans and should be pretty defensible. The defenders are tiring though and need help now if they're going to hold back the monster-army.
A second group are fighting fiercely under the City Duke's banner. Whatever else the man may have done, he is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his guards now while they attempt to make a fighting retreat to the lower levels of the city with the majority of the surviving refugees. It's not clear where they're trying to get, but they look like they're just fighting to stay alive. The humans are being steadily overrun and it doesn't look like they'll be able to hold out much longer.
Finally, the Captain of the Guard is visible making his stand at one of the upper bridges, and are the closest of all the remaining humans to the sand trap room. He and his guards are fighting bravely, but they've been pushed back far already and are also weakening. If the monsters get across the bridge, they'll be able to spread much more easily down into the rest of the city and catch the rest of the Duke's force.
Two squarks and riders should be able to make a decisive difference to any one battle. Even one squark would be a benefit if you wish to split your forces, though the outcome would be less sure. Then again, you could do something else entirely. What do you want to do?
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► Show Spoiler
Tell you what, for a 4-image update this one took a loooooooong time to do! Shit is getting complex!
On the other hand, the gremlin-guy turned out waaaaaaay cuter looking than expected so bonus
SHUUK
INVENTORY: Demon broker's business card, torn oversized white robes, Makeshift bone hammer, non-magnifying spyglass, bag from shrine (containing: book, scrap of paper with numbers, letter, talisman, pouch of silver powder), Runed Battleaxe, Barman's Best Friend, Red Orb of Spying, gold tooth shaving, tiny lump of sulphur, Wand Of Firestorm (5 Charges, fire-based area attack)..
WEARING: Light armour, deerskin trousers, leather boots, tunic, leather belt, mysterious brooch, greaves.
ABILITIES: Summon demon
bALTHAZAAR
INVENTORY: Giant, glowing magical sword
WEARING: Giant chainmail shirt
NYK
INVENTORY: 1 Slime-covered (probably poisonous) dagger, Lucky pebble, bag of dried berries, ALL the squark keys, Box of Duplication (contains Demon Brand).
WEARING: Prisoners rags, Helmet of Plus-A-Jillion (bucket), Ninja mask, silver whistle + key, Really Boring Cloak.
ABILITIES: Sneak, Unarmed Attack, Detect Evil, Protection from Evil (passive).
JORGEN
INVENTORY: Pair of dice, ukulele, crossbow & bolts, longsword.
WEARING: City Watch uniform (leather trousers & boots, scale armour shirt, red tabard).
ABILITIES: Bard Songs
Redshirts x6
INVENTORY: 3x Simple swords, 3x Leather Armour, Shield of Firewall.
