Kruddo lowers the legless soldier to the ground and wanders off to examine the large cavern. Stepping over the ruined bodies of the dead Huloms, he searches the walls. Perhaps there’s another way out?
Thesis however sighs, gently places the tragic truncated warrior on the floor and sits down next to him. Their armless companion joins them, as do the two one-armed Orcs.
“What now?” growls the slightly smaller of the two Orcs.
Thesis is quiet but the limbless man speaks up from his prone position. “This cavern seems to be directly under the Derro’s commune. They are far too paranoid to leave it unguarded if there was any possibility of an attack. Therefore there is no possibility for escape this way. Perhaps your compatriots have been successful and we can rejoin them to freedom?” Even as he says the words, Thesis can tell he’s not optimistic.
The larger Orc speaks, “Better to die fighting than be cut down limb by limb.
The group take this time to introduce themselves properly.
The crippled leader of the Humans is called ‘Ortos’; his remaining sergeants are called ‘Selmars’ and ‘Gelless’. The young woman, though she won’t speak is titled ‘Princess Lyseu’. Unfortunately the two Orcs have names Thesis has difficulty pronouncing. They laugh at his efforts and suggest he call them ‘Righty’ and Lefty’. Easy to remember considering their specific amputations.
The Orcs wander off to examine the armour on the Huloms and the weapons lying around.
Selmars and Gelless ask Thesis for his backpack and upon receiving it, move away to see if they can jerry-rig some sort of harness that would be mutually beneficial.
Ortos beckons Thesis over. “Did I hear that Halfling Druid correctly? Did she say that she could somehow grant me a new body? Is that possible?” His face is pained and his eyes well with tears. “Any creature would do. Anything with arms that could wield a sword. Anything with legs to pursue an enemy!”
Thesis is silent for a moment. Is little Wer really that powerful?
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Handing over the backpack was a dumb idea and Thesis realises his mistake immediately. Where would he put all his "stuff" otherwise! Thesis snatches his backpack back before Armless and Legless (sorry - Selmars and Gelless) can do any damage with it and instead passes them some rope, and straps from his climbers kit. "Make what you can with that" he says, tersely.
Turing now to Ortos, Thesis, wanting to please the mutilated and stricken creature assures him that his friend has indeed become a very powerful little girl indeed. Able to bend nature to her bidding with amazing ease - calling lightning to strike at enemies and even changing her own shape to that of many creatures. Who is to say that she can't change another's shape? He even remembers Wer talking of "reincarnation" - that is coming back after death in another's body ...
Ortos looks glassy-eyed and is obviously contemplating life as a raccoon, or whatever. Thesis then turn's his mind to their current predicament.
"First off," he says suddenly looking over at the acid tunnel, "we are not going back through there!". Hardly a surprise in that statement. "There must be another way back to that door we came to first." He stands. "Kraddo and I can take any number of those little gits, don't you worry. We'll fight our way through and massacre the devils while we are at it!"
Nobody says anything - they are all too stunned. "Well, what do you say?"
Ortos looks up at Thesis and then down at all the Hulum's equipment lying around the cavern. "Alternatively, we could make a raft ..."
The Acid's only about two feet deep.
Maybe you could make Hulom shoes?
:)
The seriously disabled Selmars and Gelless struggle to rig some sort of carrying harness with the rope so 'graciously' given by Thesis.
It's hopeless and they soon give up.
I'm sure combat will go much smother for Thesis when forced to fight while carrying a fully grown (if somewhat truncated) man.
Couldn't he put his few belongings in Kruddo's backpack?
The erratically good/bad Thesis strikes again!
struggles with his Chatoic/Good sides - he wants to be good but he is incredibly selfish and self-serving.
The thought of giving away his backpack and lugging about tonnes of crap just didn't work for him. Could I possibly carry Ortos IN my backpack with his head sticking out. He could also act as a rear-view mirror!
Carry Ortos in your backpack?
As Thesis isn't actually carrying that much in his backpack... yes.
What Selmars was trying to do, was to free up Thesis or Kruddo by taking Gelless onto his own redundant shoulders.
This way Gelless could also wield a sword in their mutual defence.
Does 'Chaotic' mean selfish? I think Thesis is actually Chaotic Neutral.
He's adventuring for himself rather than for the greater good.
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