[center][img]https://www.mariowiki.com/images/thumb/b/b2/Koopa_Troop_artwork.png/658px-Koopa_Troop_artwork.png[/img]
[h2][color=FD0000]The Koopa Troop[/color][/h2]
[b][color=FD0000]wordcount:[/color][/b] 1,638  (+3)
[b][color=FD0000]Bowser: Level 10 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=FD0000]////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color]//// (96/100) 
[b][color=SpringGreen]Bowser Jr: Level 8 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=SpringGreen]///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color] (119/80) 
[b][color=DeepSkyBlue]Kamek: Level 9 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=DeepSkyBlue]/////////////////////////////////////[/color]/////////////////////////////////////////////////////(36/90) 
[b][color=FD0000]Location:[/color][/b] Bottomless Sea – Gateon Port - Carcass Isle
Feat: Rika
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The Troops' machinations, after being prevented from smoking them out of the ship, got the team either dry or warm. The de-powered ship provided a welcome spot of dry ground free from the lashing rain, while the wood, mattress and gasoline fueled fire under the tree was warm but you did have to put up with being dripped on by the imperfect cover above. It was a million times better than nothing despite its imperfections.

Jr took the time they had to do a touch of tinkering with his clown car. First he actually restarted the dang thing (which had been shorted out by the giant robot that had chased them into the Maw in the first place) thanks to applying a massive electrical jolt from Mimi’s reacquire back battery (which the Mon was delighted to have it must be added, even if the creepy metal jaw on her disguise’s head did tilt her creepy-cute factor over onto the creep side) to the vehicle’s own, jump starting it.

The other thing was installing Hook into the car, strapping him into the array of lower deploy-able options, meaning that the clown car could launch the sentient meat hook out of its mouth like a very sharp chameleon tongue. He had a few other ideas, some of which had been on the back-burner forever, but just getting it running and stopping Hook from being a burden would have to do for now.

Kamek also had something he could do to improve things, and that was offering the little red cookbook to the Ace Cadet. [color=DeepSkyBlue]”you were interested in monster parts as part of your monster hunting profession if I recall correctly? This might help with that. I know it's a touch disconcerting to look at, but it should make you better at cutting, and sometimes give you interesting, ah, parts when doing so.”[/color]

[hider= offered to Ace (or others if he does not want it): the little red cookbook] 
[url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/dungeonsofdredmor/images/5/58/Little_Red_Cookbook.png/revision/latest?cb=20201108171843]Little red cookbook[/url] Each page is packed with meaty recipes. And it's... oozing. When carried in an off hand it slightly increases cutting damage and defense against being cut due to receiving wisdom on the arts of butchery via osmosis. If held while striking a foe, it has a low (10%) chance of causing [url=https://dungeonsofdredmor.fandom.com/wiki/Butcher]Butchery[/url]. Enemies with special body parts may also drop those as well. A long bloody battle is the most likely to produce a bigger bloody bounty.
[/hider]

Bowser and Rika didn’t have anything to do other than get some recuperation out of their camping before heading out into the rain. While Rika enjoyed a lollypop, sating her ever growing sweet tooth for the time being, Bowser caught the shipwrecked survivor Delsin up on the situation. And also poked fun because he could. [color=FD0000]”The word Conduit already doesn't sound like a word and you only used it four times. So what does ‘wielding elements’ mean anyway? You some kinda wizard?”[/color]

After that he decided to actually be helpful however [color=FD0000]”I’m Bowser, Koopa King and the boss of this lot. I smack, blast and punch schmucks like nobody else”[/color] Bowser introduced himself, his delusion of grandeur/self importance and his powers via flexing a scaly and muscular arm before giving him a rundown of the rest of the Troop.

[color=FD0000]”That’s Bowser Junior, my son. Real smart kid, and tough as his old man, just smaller. Also the little doll on his shoulder is Mimi. Shoots lightning and does spooky shadow stuff.  Over there is Kamek, my royal advisor. He’s a wizard like you but he mainly does magical minions and he can also make me super huge and strong and even more awesome. Or other people I guess but nobody does big better than me!”[/color] Bowser pointed out the other the members of his inner circle who were busy before coming back round too their newest member [color=FD0000]”and finally this is Rika-”[/color] he indicated to the ship-girl who after a few moments realised he wanted/was letting her introduce herself, prompting to remove her sweet on a stick from her mouth and say “Hi. I shoot stuff” before pumping her guns (literal and figurative) before adding a belated “oh, and its nice to meet you” before then getting right back to candy enjoyment

[color=FD0000]”So yeah, that’s us. We’re here to kick the butt of the boss of this place and then leave. So if you want out, there's no tougher crew than us to stick around with than us”[/color] Bowser concluded, formally inviting the man onboard.

Soon enough it was time to set out once more, prompted by the Maw being struck by lightning and ruining the camping atmosphere they’d managed to insulate themselves in by reminding them of exactly what a wretched place they were trapped in. 

[color=FD0000]”Up and at em Troop. Let’s show this stupid island who’s boss!”[/color] Bowser told them encouragingly and, after having the ship shrink back down again into a size the King could haul once more, the Troop set out along with the others, heading inland. 

Kamek used his long unused pair of flares as a light source as they traveled. Or rather, one of his toadies did that for him, drifting a little ways away from him and moving to light up whatever they might need inspected. It made them rather unstealthy, but as the group was big enough that they’d be seen coming anyway a bit of extra light in the dark was likely welcome.

Bowser meanwhile acted as a secondary lightsource, not with his fire as he had tried to do before to little success, but with the large red domes he sported on his back that glowed with a stored light which he had gotten by having them ‘eat’ the light of their fire before they left it behind.

After a bit of trudging upstream they found a rotten hulk of a town that was flooded by ankle deep water. Or ankle deep for the others, the troop either floated above the wet (in Jr and Kamek’s case) or on it’s surface (in Bowser and Rika’s). The outskirts contained two things of note. The first was giant snails that spat itchy water at them who where mostly left alone/ignored expert for one unfortunate member of their kind who got a dark energy mine put under it while it hid in its shell, and was then promptly remotely detonated by Kamek the moment it showed its eye-stalks out of its protective armor.

The other was a lone unlit lantern. Kamek used a briefly summoned shadow clone of Bowser to rip it out of the ground and then replaced the now burning low flares with the new lantern as the troop’s Toady based mobile lightsource. 

The core of the village contained the first actual credible threat encountered on the wretched island: fishmen of some kind. Whether they were the town’s original occupants or fresh occupiers, they certainly did not take well to the team’s intrusion. A score of them charged forwards to attack with primitive weapons, while one that might be their leader hung back, leaving the heavy hitting to two giant grotesque shark monsters. 

Nadia leapt onto the roof, drawing a few concerned glances from the Troop but, assuming that her tactic would probably be followed by someone else, they instead held their ground rather than following her. There was no way those rickety buildings were going to hold Bowser’s weight anyway, so he and his Troop would take the fight at street level, unaffected as they were by the water anyway.

That didn't mean they were just going to brawl in the opening however, and instead they backed up a touch into the street they had arrived through at Jr’s suggestion, where Bowser dumped the airship and they got to work.

[color=SpringGreen]”Bytan Brigade! Keep them busy”[/color] Jr commanded, summoning a gaggle of the spherical self replicating [url=https://www.ssbwiki.com/Bytan#/media/File:SSBU_spirit_Bytans.png]Bytan[/url] who rolled forwards in front of the troop, clogging the street with their ball-like bodies. A few tackled the odd murloc trying to approach the troop to little effect, but the veritable ball pit they created mainly existed to give them the space then needed to [color=SpringGreen]”Blast that big one!”[/color] 

Jr launched a flaming clown head shaped balloon at the shark giant closest to them, marking the target with the brightly burning balloon bomb. In short order his call out was followed up by a veritable hail of fire from the Troop. 

Bowser used his remaining stored up light to let loose a barrage of bright white flash cannon shells, hammering the monster with a consecutive hammering of 8 luminous shots, and then following it up with a mind-boggling bombardment of supersonic sound-waves screeched from his tentacruel cannons.

Next to him Rika let rip her classic cannon shells, accompanied by her now poisoning assault rifle fire, each shell from the Brachydios themed gun stacking more and more toxic damage with each hit.

Above Mimi hurled an Electro Ball from her seat on Jr’s shoulder, delighting at her returned ability to mimic her idol as the shocking sphere soared forth. 

The chef bros, returned as strikers, hurled a volley of pots and pans over the head of super-scope armed Primids giving the monster of the week 5 rounds rapid.

Kamek summoned 4 basic clones of himself and then they all cast their new sized up purple magic blasts at the beast, the enhanced magic far faster and easier to land a hit with.  He followed it up by having Quiet give it a sniper shot to its ugly dome.

Finally, as if to add insult to injury, once all of those shots had rammed home, a slow moving fireball shot from from Jr’s own mouth lazily swerved into the shark monster’s path and set the ground beneath it ablaze, the magic fire burning on top of the water like napalm.

It was, to the troop, incredibly cathartic to just stand their ground together and absolutely blast the living daylights out of something again after the cowardly vulnerability that had been enforced by the Maw. 

[color=FD0000]”You like that, chumps? Well you better be ready for a heaping of helpings of pain, coz it’s showtime again!”[/color] Bowser roared, which was echoed by a cheer from the rest of the troop.