The Muck Pond

[AoM]

Ao replied privately to Kikkik.

"Old ones? Do you mean that civilization that used to live here?"

Ao looked down at Jerm, feeling somewhat sorry for him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what the poor wretch could have done that he should suffer a fate worse than death. The man's pride must have been great and the evil he had commited greater still, or else the God of Justice acted unjustly.

Something else that Kikkik said had made Ao wonder. The possibility of a war among the heavens. What terrible fury there might be if the gods were to strike out against each other... but then again, why not? Garob and Dramnos were evil things were they not? Why not fight them and be done with them? Let some lesser gods with better sense of morality take their places... But perhaps that was not how things worked. Ao could not know without asking more questions, but felt that this sort of thing would best be discussed with Eriadina herself.

[Fleegle]

(For Schme, El_Skwidd, and Nixit)

"Alas, it seems the spectre of hubris is upon this land again. All over this world, people are attempting to trample the domain of the gods. They spoil the land and the fruits of the earth, sea, and sky in the name of progress, in the interests of material wealth." Urdast replied. "But closer to home, this very forest is in danger from those misguided Pink Ones. Unfortunately, your rescue of Audirda, combined with MushBall's destructive act, have brought on the wrath of the entire village. They have vowed to destroy the 'evil' of the forest. As we speak, they are chopping down the trees at the edge of the forest, and there is rumour that they intend to set the forests on fire. The coming storm will hamper that attempt, but they will not rest until the evil is gone. They will send hunting parties into the woods and kill anything that moves."

"Ohhhh, bother..." Bassus said. He collapsed in his throne, and plucked at grapes solemnly. He had lost his jovial disposition, and had fallen into depression. Jilly stroked his balding head, but the pig-man did not respond.

"You see how Bassus deals with adversity, children? He sits down and feels sorry for himself." Urdast remarked.
"What would you have me do, Urdast?" Bassus had lost his slur. "I cannot fight them..."
"You have all the creatures of the forest at your disposal, and I am certain the children of the Muck will assist you." Urdast replied.

(For AoM and Razorlance)

"That's right, Ao." replied Kikkik. "Many of the people in this world are descendents of the Old Ones, but this man IS an Old One. I'm afraid he's not very talkative, however."

Jerm groaned. The tram continued down the track.

[Nixit]

"Oh my oh my!" Briker thought. He did not know that his actions would bring such dangerous consequences; in fact, he had thought that the reverse had happened. This news made him feel guilty for awhile; he had not intended to bring harm to the forest. But he soon realized it was not his fault, they were sent by the gods to rescue this muck-creature and by any means necessary, though perhaps he could've have thought about that more in the future.

Finally concluding his brooding time, he had decided to think about future consequences the next time something comes up. Briker smiles at his conclusion and found himself to be wisening up a little, and ant-chuckled because he immediately thought of Mushball. "What a funny fellow, indeed."

Briker finally spoke up after all this time, the wine was just about wearing off, "It is apparent we must face these pink ones again, but I do not know how we will defeat them, unless we have more fighters... if it weren't for Xev and Vex I would not be here today, their Fate saved me from permanent death."

[El_Skwidd]

"Perhaps..." said Vex. "But who? The only other creatures I know of are the terrible Beezlebub and Kitty. There are of course, the gods."

Xev hunches over pensively.

[Razorlance]

Tek focused a limb to look out of the front of the tram, he watched the walls rushing by, they seemed to go on forever. He turned to Kikkik "How long is this journey going to last? I am starting to feel a little cramped in here"

[Fleegle]

(For El_Skwidd, Schme, and Nixit)

"Oh why, oh why! My beautiful forest!" Bassus sobbed.

"Pull yourself together, Bassus! This is no way for a god to act." Urdast scolded. "What about the creatures of the forest? What of Felinibis? I suppose you let him roam free some time ago."

"Oh, Felinibis! My old friend! Urdast, won't you find him for me? He can help us! I know he can!" Bassus pleaded.

"I suppose I could do that for you. You really must take responsibility for things, Forest God!" said Urdast. At that, he flapped his mighty wings and took to the sky, quickly disappearing from view.

"Ohhhhh...." Bassus whimpered. He buried his head in his hands and cried.

(For AoM and Razorlance)

"We are nearly there, Tek." Kikkik replied.

[AoM]

Ao waits and stares out the tram window. There was nothing he could do to help the doomed man, and even if there was, he wasn't sure that he would want to do so, since it was obvious he did not know the whole story.

[El_Skwidd]

"Felinibis?" Xev said. "I've never met such a fellow."

[Schme]

MushBall was again in great shock and surprise. All of this was new to him. He had never heard of Hubris, but the fact that it worried the Sky God made him uneasy. Someone who struck fear into the hearts of gods was not someone to be crossed. But, not really knowing who or what the Specter of Hubris was, he decided it best to find out, and asked the gods about it.

“My actions?!” thought MushBall. How could they blame me? Did they not understand? Perhaps they had not yet had time comprehend the depth of what he’d done. But he did not blame Urdast. He was likely a very busy person.

“Those thick and idiotic pink people!” MushBall thought. What he’d done had been completely lost on them. Instead of learning from what he’d done, taking it for the valuable lesson it was, they’d decided to again try their luck in fighting the gods and their agents. He’d just have to redouble his efforts to help the poor poor folk with ugly pink skin…

And who was Felinibis? This he also asked them.

However, even before having any of his questions answered, he’d resolved to help defend the forest in any way he could, and said so. “I should think you three feel the same, no?” he said to Xev, Vex and Briker.

[Fleegle]

(I'm still pretty busy, but I have a bit more time, so I thought I'd write a few responses)

(For Aom and Razorlance)

A light appeared in the direction the tram was heading. The wheels whined and screeched as the tram came to rest at another station. The station was as empty and deserted as the first.
"I suppose I should wish you luck." the old man said, though his voice seemed far away. He tilted his hat back down over his head and went motionless again.
"We are at the base of the mountain now. Keep your eyes peeled when you leave the tram. We are not out of danger yet..." warned Kikkik.
The door of the tram slid open, and a cold breeze blew in.

(For Schme, El_Skwidd, Nixit)

"Felinibis! He is our saviour!" Bassus exclaimed to MushBall. He seemed almost in tears, which seemed terribly unbecoming of a god, even a lesser god. "He will save us from those pink people! He will! He will!"
Bassus kneeled to the ground and planted his face in the dirt, his bulbous rump in the air. He appeared to sob, but it was hard to tell whether his tears were of despair or joy.
All of a sudden they heard the call of a great bird. Urdast soared over the clearing, but he did not descend. The trees began to rustle. Something was coming out of the woods, and it sounded big and nasty.

[AoM]

Ao plodded out of the tram and scanned the terrain as he waited for Tek and Kikkik to follow. Once they did, he would start down the most obvious path towards the mountain's base.

[Razorlance]

Tek focused three of his limbs out the window as Ao left the tram. "It does not look very hospitably out there, but I suppose needs must" He proceeded to follow Ao out, dropping down onto four limbs as he left the tram.

[Leo Luncid]

A disturbance lay across the surface of The Muck Pond; it began bubbling, as if it were to give birth to yet another creature. But the bubbling seemed to ceased; no creature came out of the Pond. Once the bubbling stopped though, one of sharp eyes may notice some kind of small movement upon the surface of the Pond; minute ripples and waves move along in the water for a brief moment... With only human eyes one may not be able to see through the muck in the Pond...

(No, I'm not going to tell you anything else. ... Though I will give out all details to the gamemaster Fleegle, this will be what one may usually see if he or she is currently in this area. As you can see, I'm roleplaying in a different perspective so that I won't give anything away and maybe even increase suspense. So keep guessing; who knows what will happen next?)

[Fleegle]

(Global statement)
The sun was beginning to set, but it was difficult to tell as the sky was completely overcast. The only indication was that the sky was quite dark in the east, and lighter in the west, though this too was not helped by the dark stormclouds that had rolled in.

(For AoM and Razorlance)

Upon leaving the tram, the first thing Ao and Tek noticed was a musty odour, quite different from the almost antiseptic smell of the first station. This station (if you could call it that) bore little resemblance to the place of their departure. It was a fairly large cave though the ceiling was rather low. Roots of various lengths hung down through the earthen roof. A few ornate lamps hung on the bare rock of the cave, one of the few reminders that this place had been touched by civilization.
The door of the tram shut by itself, the clang of the door muffled by the acoustics of the cave. To the south, a tiled staircase stood awkwardly out of place, leading up into a dull light.

[Fleegle]

(Sorry for repeating myself, in this post I am providing a general description of the area of the Muck Pond again, to assist new players)

(For Leo Luncid)

In the dull light of the coming dusk, the Muck Pond rippled as its new creation came into existence. Directly to the south of the Pond, a steep cliff wall stood. Off to the southeast, off the shore of the Pond, a cave mouth was set into the cliff, a splintery tree stump jutting out of the ground nearby. The charred remains of a bonsai tree lay off to side. A huge, rotting carcass lay in the dusty ground outside the cave, emitting an awful smell. Flies buzzed over it, and dark-red crusted blood coloured the ground beneath. It was obvious that a great violence had occurred here recently.
Near the stump, the remains of an ornately carved box lay on the ground, a small bit of string attached to it. One could still make out some letters carved into it of some long-forgotten alphabet.
To the north-east, a path led into a field of groff (a wheat-like plant) and beyond one could hear the sound of the ocean. To the southwest a well-trodden path led into more rocky terrain. A sign posted at the side of the path read "Old Temple" in letters that any creature of the Muck would intuitively understand. A thick, impenetrable forest stood to the north and west.

(Phew, this description reminds me of those good old-fashioned text adventures... which really is what the Muck Pond is...)