[h1][center][color=gold]The Tricity Quest[/color][/center][/h1]
[h2][sub][center][color=gold]The Mines Of Memory[/color][/center][/sub][/h2]
[h3][sub][center][color=gold]Lost Souls In The Dark[/color][/center][/sub][/h3]

Together Lilly, Seam, and a Jaxx they’d managed to get to sit still primarily because the buggy they were all riding in was faster than walking headed south, rode through the mostly untouched northern district of Tricity, and then crossed the bridge spanning the river running through the middle of the city in-order to reach the south.

In stark contrast to the north, the south was a wreck, as even being out for as long as Jaxx had hadn’t given the people enough time to clean up the carnage caused by the outer beasts. They had, at least, dealt with the bodies, though not, in what other societies might have described as a particularly respectful way.

Several years ago, a seam of R’kava had been unearthed by one of the city’s quarries, and had halted operations there when it flooded the lower layers of the mining operation. It had then laid undisturbed until it was used as the basis for Lilly and some others with Octari past lives as a source for the experiment that had eventually resulted in the goblin’s new combat tentacles. Now pool had grown again due to the bodies of mortal, animal and outer beast alike having all been dragged through the street and ‘fed’ to the now close to overflowing lake of R’kava, off of which a great fog now constantly billowed, contained from overflowing the city by a divine ward that surly showed the three on one’s approval for the project. 

The only parts not tossed in were the heads, which were being preserved primarily so that living would be able to identify who had passed on to a new life, rather than for any kind of burial rites.

The mortals of this city did not, it seemed, have that much reverence for the dead. It was not the end as far as they were concerned, merely a change that left behind an empty shell. Still, even Lilly admitted that this was even more dramatic than usual, but it was that or leave everything to rot in the street as there were just too many bodies.

“There wer a lotta people who couldny or wouldny run for da river” she explained, “most of dem sorry bastards tha never stood a chance, but a lot o the miners thought they could hide down in da dark. Beasts dug in, an tho they foguth em hard, kept em off us, they didny win. So da beasts still down there, makin nests. Canny march an army down der, so, heroes gotsta clear em out”

When Lily mentioned a quest to save innocents, Jaxx’s ears perked up and suddenly the ringing in his mind slowed down. He was on the right path then. This was the right quest that he had to take. 

“[color=gray]I am not one to judge you for what you do with your dead, but it feels wrong. Either way, your miners made a grave mistake, trapping themselves but it’s alright. I’m here now. You don’t need an army, you’ve got a hero with more than enough experience and you, with your different souls or whatever you call them. It’s more than enough. [/color]” said Jaxx as he swung his longsword in circles with his new arm absent-mindedly. 

“Normally this’d be wer I’d offer to open yer eyes to past lives, but yer pretty unique for not havin any” Lilly replied, before clarifying, simply that she had the “same soul, many lives”

“I feel like I might be bringing the team down a bit here” Seam added, in the tone of someone trying and failing to make light of their own feelings

“I mean yer a fullblood, that counts for sommin, and you had the guts to go fight a beast with just  a knife, tha count’s for way more” Lilly told him, as she rolled the Buggy further up the mountains, and towards what looked to be an army camp built into the ravaged remains of a mining complex “Miner’s Union HQ, or wuz left of it”

The buggy was a weird contraption that Jaxx never saw before coming to Tricity. It was like an animal but not an animal. Controlled by Lily, this contraption allowed them to travel faster than on foot which worked out well for Jaxx. As the hero sense’s ringing lessened in intensity as he went towards the direction of innocents.

“[color=gray]Can’t say I understand this whole past lives and souls magic. What I understand is what I see and I haven’t seen nor killed any souls yet. I wonder if my tribe’s souls are here somewhere or if I even met them. [/color]” said Jaxx as he remembered what exactly he did to them in order to survive. 

Looking at Seam, Jaxx patted him gently on the shoulder before saying, in his most friendly tone “[color=gray]You’re an aspirant hero, kid. Just remember what I taught you, use your strengths against the enemy. Brawn is not everything in a fight. [/color]” 

As Seam nodded in thanks for the pep talk, Lilly confirmed that “they out there somewhere, for sure. Souls, they untouchable, immortal things that forever cycle through life and death, an only thing that can stop em coming back would be if there where no new lives to live” with unwavering confidence.

She would soon be proven tragically incorrect in this assertion.

While normally there would have been a rather rigorous interview and testing process to see if they should even be allowed past the military camp and down into the mines they were guarding, Lilly’s position of influence smoothed them through all of that. Her and her vouching for Jaxx’s innocents in danger sense, as there had been occasional discoveries of survivors, and a better way to find them than random digging and praying was more than welcome.

Going through the checking, Jaxx pointed out the few people that were still trapped under the rubble that were long considered dead, the worst of the worst if any would even survive after being saved, using his hero sense to guide them to them. A fact which made his ringing go down in intensity, now only a simple sound at the back of his mind, easily ignorable. 

They rapidly found all those who had been missed, and of those there were rather few. The wide variety of acute animal senses beastfolk had already  tracked down all but the most buried, and time had taken a fair share of those before Jaxx had gotten to them. That left those in places that could not be sensed by mortal means, namely those on the other side of undug walls, and it was to a place like this Jaxx’s remaining ringing drew them.

In quick succession digging equipment was found and put to work in the depths, and soon enough they were walking past a driller buggy and into a cavern system it had unearthed following Jaxx’s directions. Torches flickered in the gloom, revealing several natural looking tunnels, although closer inspection revealed a few to be nothing of the sort, dug claw, tusk, and fungal root rather than anything of this world, be it force of nature or divine. 

“Where to now?” Lilly asked, peering through the gloom, while Seam nervously adjusted the grip on his new pair of weapons, and a small cadre of backup heroes fanned out behind them. 

Before he could answer however, there came a childish and alarmed cry of “Help! Help me!” from somewhere down one of the beast carved tunnels, one that would set off the parental instincts in anyone who had them. 

One of the other heroes accompanying them, a hulking large aardvark man, certainly seemed to have them, calling out “Don’t worry we’re coming!” before he went running off down the tunnel on all fours, sending a pair of identical looking goblin women running after him. That left Lilly, Seam, a chef hat wearing snouter and beady eyed dwarfess with massive clawed hands of a mole.

The latter noted that “doesn’t smell like anything other than those monsters that way” with considerable amount of concern. Jaxx’s sense for innocent’s in danger seemed to agree, and indeed they were not at all going off in the direction the aardvark and his party members had run off too.

Before Jaxx could even say something, the others went forward to what probably will be their deaths. Alas’ they were heroes and they were more than equipped to fight off whatever came their way. Luckily, the other innocents that needed saving pushed Jaxx in a different direction than theirs for now, they didn’t need saving. Yet.

“[color=gray]Something is off. That cry and the fact that my hero sense doesn’t pull me there is wrong. Those three seem capable enough, hopefully, to deal with whatever is going on there. Come, follow me. The pull comes from a bit further up. [/color]” said Jaxx with a frown before taking Heropentia out and slowly walking forward, his eyes moving in every direction, waiting for the enemy before adding, with a whisper “[color=gray]Eyes open. Quiet. [/color]” 

The mole-dwarf seemed a little dubious, but both Lilly and Seam nodded in agreement with the elder hero’s wisdom and set out to follow him, leaving the two other heroes and a few regular soldiers to hold the entrance to the cavern system. As they moved, the goblin let a past member of the mining union take over to guide her steps, while Seam ducked low and did his best to be quiet despite his lack of experience.

The avian-man got impressively far before he stumbled on a loose rock, sending it clacking across the floor, the sound echoing through the caverns.

Almost immediately, someone old and gruffer than the first called out “help me!” the sound echoing through the caves with no clear source. Then another voice, and another, all with various levels of terror or fear for their lives joined in the cry from elsewhere.

Jaxx followed silently as they advanced, Heropentia raised as much as he could in the tunnel but it wasn’t easy. His tall and muscular build didn’t help either but such was the way of the hero, hard. Something was strange in the place, way too quiet for innocents to even be there, yet…he was pulled into this direction.

Then, the rock clacked on the floor and the voices started asking for help. 

“[color=gray]Come out. We’re from Tricity, ready to save you![/color]” said Jaxx raising his voice slightly and letting it bounce through the walls of the tunnels. With a deep breath, Jaxx focused deeply on the hero sense and sure enough, there it was. A light ringing, it pushed him in a direction. 

“[color=gray]I can feel them. Follow me, keep close as to not lose each other in the tunnels. Last thing we need is to be separated. [/color]” quickly said Jaxx before starting to walk deeper in. 

The source of the voices became clearer, going from econing alla round to drawing them forwards. As they did more joined in, calling out that they were “over here!” and begging that they “hurry!” and “save us!” as the ringer got louder and louder, yet still quieter than the one they had been falling despite how close they now where to the source

As they moved, the ground beneath their feet changed. Stone simply cut by otherworldly hands became coated in a thick, black, light devouring substance that looked somewhere between tar or burnt meat.

“I’ve heard of these. The beast’s make nests” Lilly whispered as they crept forwards, before wondering “but why are there people here, what are they doing with them?”

“There” Seam whispered, pointing forwards, and prompting Lilly to lift the touch she was holding with a tendril up to fully reveal what he had seen: three goblin faces, sticking out of the black tar very near each other, the rest of their bodies buried in the substance, stopping them from moving.

Three sets of eyes swiveled to them, three voices spoke in turn “by the gods” “please!” “don’t leave me here!” their voices strained and faltered, perhaps as a consequence of their confinement.

Shaking his head at what he saw, Jaxx took a better look and just before he took a step forward, he checked in with the hero sense and sure enough, it pulled him to the goblins. The ringing’s intensity would go up whenever he looked at them.

“[color=gray]Maybe they’re food for the beasts or a trap to lure saviors. Keep back, let me go forward. [/color]” Jaxx said as he swapped Heropentia to the left hand and walked forward towards the three goblin heads. With a deep breath, he stuck his otherworldly metal arm into the black tar and aimed to grab the hand of one of the goblins. 

That’s when something bit him. A dozen points snagged around the metal arm, digging into it as the three faces screamed with horror, only to look confused for a moment when biting the metal arm resulted in no gush of blood, before the entire black mass rose up, hauling Jaxx into the air with it.

Back material sloughed off, revealing a towering wretched beast with a dozen long spindly limbs attached to a pill shaped body, the front of which was split by a mouth filled with hundreds of fangs, as well as Jaxx’s arm. What’s worse was its face, which was not its own, and instead looked like the faces of thee goblins had been fused with its rounded head, all of them screaming death wails as the beast, nay the demon, tried to violently shake Jaxx apart, screams that made his head throb like the suffering of innocents. 

His foresight buzzed in his mind the moment the monster grabbed, yet, a second too late. Screaming initially as he was caught unaware, Jaxx, the forever hero, quickly regained his senses. Fighting through the ringing that just made his mind shake in pain, he used his left hand where Heropentia was to stab the creature a few times.

Thrashing about, violently, with Jaxx, it eventually threw him away towards the group, hitting the ground with loud [i]THUD[/i].

“[color=gray]AAAAAGHGGGA! You shall DIE! [/color]” screamed Jaxx as if in pain, as he charged towards the demon with Heropentia in his right arm now. With dodge, he managed to evade one of the limbs before another sprang at him from the back, only for Seam to catch it with his knife and then hacking at the offending limb with his sword as he had been trained.

The monster roared with rage at the light wound with its real mouth now, which opened wider and wider, the dancing firelight revealing rows upon rows of teeth within, before it attempted to simply swallow Seam whole in a single chomp.

It received a crossbow bolt to the esophagus for its efforts, as well as Heropentia's blade deep in its mouth as sparks flew where the metal touched the teeth and [b][color=red]BOOM[/color][/b]. A small explosion happened as the sparks touched the monster.

As he was thrown back, Jaxx sported a few black spots on his new arm but it was nothing to the cries of pain from the demon, which had ignited, its horrible body burning along with the air around it.

“Get down, mine gas!” Lilly shouted with inherited wisdom, throwing herself to the ground as the upper half of the cavern was ignited in a flash of flame, the other two following suit. The heat of flames baked them, but absolutely demolished the demon, its form wreathed in flame as it stumbled and then sagged, before something strange happened.

The three faces of the goblins, lost to the flames, seemed to press forwards, stretching out from the face of the demon before seeming to tear free, three ghostly forms briefly dancing in the flame before vanishing from sight and place. Despite the flames and the horrific rupture in its face caused by the escaping of something from it, the beast staggered towards them, wanting, it seemed, to take them with it.

Or to replace what it had just lost.

A second before Lily could shout, Jaxx’s foresight kicked in and he went flat to the ground. The heat was intense, scalding them all. The hero sense stopped ringing for a second before starting again, quieter than before but still loud…combined with the foresight’s buzz, Jaxx lifted his head and saw the demon approaching.

“[color=gray]Surround it and fill it with holes. I’ll keep it busy. [/color]” shouted Jaxx as he charged at the creature, Heropentia moving so fast it became a blur for the untrained eye. That is when the Galaxor’s Tenant kicked in. Heroic parties. 

With a surge of power, Jaxx parried every single limb thrown at him as he walked forward, pushing the demon towards Lily and Seam, hoping that they’re behind it already. 

Lilly certainly was, while a rather singed and still burning on a few feather tips Seam was only about half way around due to being the only one here without supernatural information sources. That left the tiny goblin as the one in an ambush position, but ever since she had drank the R’kava she wasn’t quite as tiny as she had been before. Tendrils that had been neatly curled around her body unwounded, revealing snake fang tipped ends that lanced forwards, skewering the demon in the back even as the fires burning it burned her unnatural limbs too.

The monster screamed in pain as it was attacked from the front and the back. A primal impulse in its brain decided that if back and front are attacked, then go for the sides. Seeing Seam being alone, with a last surge of strength in its burning body, is pounced at him. Mouth open wise, read to eat him whole.

Jaxx quickly sprung to action and Heropentia started hacking into the monster’s flesh. Deeper with each strike. It slowed the monster just enough that Seam could come to his panicked senses, and ram his sword up, and his knife down, driving each blade into each of the beast’s jaws, before he strained to hold them from closing down on him with strength far beyond what his spindly body should manage.

He’d only hold out for so long however. That’s when Jaxx did what one would expect from him. Taking a few steps back from the demon, he looked at Lily and just pointed up, as he started running toward the monster.

Lily’s tendrils extended forward and right when Jaxx stepped, they formed well, a step for him. Launching him up into the air. With Heropentia in the left arm and the metal arm extended forward, it crashed through the demon right into the middle of it. Seconds went by, in which the demon just stopped, not moving or anything and then a grisly explosion of gore covered the cave and Lily and Seam, with Seam getting the brunt of it as Jaxx killed the creature. 

At least it put the rest of his feathers out.

The beastman hauled what was left of the monster’s jaws off of himself and then slumped against the black goop covered cavern wall, panting hard, heart beating in his chest, shakenly asking “what. What was that?” 

“No normal beast that. The faces… The… The shapes in da flames… It can’t be…” Lilly whispered as she stared at where the goblin’s visages had been before they burst from the body.

Shaking his head, Jaxx took a deep breath as the hero sense finally calmed down. Until it would start again…

“[color=gray]I don't understand it either. It managed to somehow confuse the hero sense. I hate it but it never led me astray. How can these things fool a divine sense? [/color]” started Jaxx to say as he cleaned Heropentia on his pants before turning to Lily “[color=gray]Were those souls that we saw? Were they the ones that screamed for help?[/color]” 

“I… I… ” Lilly stammered, seemingly horrified by the idea, while Seam just slumped to the floor with a defeated groan of “Mothers tits, they eat souls. Of course they eat souls”

“Nononono” Lilly muttered in a building panic, before suddenly snapping to a realization “No. No, not eat. Steal. Covet. It using the soul, not digesting. I hope. So can still save em. Free em. Kill an kill an kill til they all dead and all are free”

Standing up, Jaxx put a hand on the little goblin’s shoulder and gave her what he wished to be a kind smile, alas his scarred face made it look like a beast that was smiling at its prey. 

“[Color=gray]Calm yourself. We'll take them down. Emotions will get you killed in the long run. No–[/color]” 

Suddenly the screams of the damned echoed through the caves, as if to challenge the heroes to come and try it, and reminding them that they were in enemy territory. Seam leaped to his feet, while Lilly loaded another crossbow bolt. Both looked to Jaxx for their next move.

Jaxx swung Heropentia a few times in the air before nodding at the two. 

“[Color=gray]Let's make sure those souls get their rebirth. [/color]” he said with a grin before, for the first time in his career as a hero, followed the sounds, ignoring his hero sense completely. 

[hider=summary]
With his new arm ready, the group formed of Lily, Seam and Jaxx alongside a few other resident heroes of Tricity, made their way to the cities southside, which is still a mess from the outer beast invasion. They pass by a great pool of R’kava the residents have been throwing all the corpses into, and then head to the mines in the mountains to join in with the combination search and rescue for surviving miners, and the extermination of the outer beasts that have made their nests down in the dark.

Jaxx’s hero senses sends them digging towards what they think is a holdout of survivors, but instead they find a nest belonging to beasts who have claimed souls of dead mortals, and are using them to impersonate their victims to lure adventurers into traps. The trio almost falls for one, but they heroically burn and beat down the outer beast/demon, freeing the souls inside, and in doing so becoming fully aware of said soul stealing ability.

We last see them preparing to face down a horde of beasts, come to claim vengeance for their fallen kinsdemon
[/hider]

[hider=mp summary]

Quest ‘reward’ for Tricity: the city has gained a massive quarry sized pool of R’kava, boiling with magic, thanks to them feeding it all the corpses, mortal, animal or demon, into it.  

Asheel start mp: 8

1mp (boosted by 1 by witchcraft) to sanctify the pool as a holy site called the Black Cauldron, and adding runes to hold the fog that boils off R’kava pool in place above , concentrating it and also preventing it from spilling over the city.

Asheel end mp: 7
[/hider]