Brothers Until The End

Participants

• Tingle
• Arden Rook
• Zeek the Zapper
• Bharash of Norixius

Recap

Standing in the wreckage of the latest raid on section 6, the JKS enforcers learned that the likely fate of Kal, brother of Nox, was now in the hands of Goliath barbarians. Seeking to learn more about Goliath, the guild rallies around Nox, and decide to consult the members of the Grehl who work in the Hydro Cut, a vital water treatment facility often attacked by the outland gangs. There, they hoped to find answers about not only finding the barbarians, but what to do afterwards.

It was around this time they noticed David was no longer amongst them. The sneaky little gnome was often pursuing his own agenda, but it was rare for him to leave while trying to help a fellow guild member. Without time to waste, the group moves on, mildly concerned.

Arriving at the main gate of the Hydro Cut, the Grehl, who are notoriously stubborn with outsiders show a sudden change in demeanor when JKS mentions their business is missing family at the hands of Goliath. Their reactions reveal a deep-seated hatred for the outland tribes. Nox leads the way, as he and his group are pointed in the direction of the Hydro Cut's supervisor, a massive Yeti known as Boundfur.

The grizzled engineer tells the enforcers their eye-witness descriptions of the attack sound like a "Juicer", users of a blackmarket twist on a failed Nellulon muscle-growth drug. The only local clan with juicers were the Goreflesh, out of the northern outlands. After getting a few additional pointers, JKS sets off almost immediately into the unknown.

Leaving the relative safety of The Rave, Nox, Arden, Tingle, and Zeek slip through a towering set of ventilation slats that loom over the deserted western edge of section 6. The lights and sounds of The Rave quickly fade, with the way forward a silent, still, blackness.

The group debates how to best proceed with their dragonborn friend unable to see, ultimately deciding on leading Nox slowly through the inky darkness that fills the space between the Rave and the crumbling toxicity of the outlands.

Picking their way through this rusting, mildew ridden buffer-zone, Arden was nearly speared by a hapless predator, ambushing from above. After Tingle introduced it to a bolt of flame, Arden's sword found the back of its gullet. In the confusion, Zeek was savagely attacked by opportunistic troglodytes, moving in on the group after the attack on Arden. The cleric was severely wounded, but vanquished his foes in a flurry of lightning and blood.

Not much farther down the corridor, JKS and Goliath scouts stumbled upon each other. With the brutes getting the jump on Arden, Nox tried to hold the line with Zeek, as Tingle prepared a spell to even the odds. A thunderous blast sent the Goliath stumbling, as JKS took their surprise to a lethal conclusion.

With no time to rest, the group used some of their last resources to tend to their wounds, before pressing on at a hurried pace. Soon after, the enforcers stared down at the route to their destination from the entrance to the outlands. The ancient sewer pipe overlooked an expanse of the rusting husks of buildings from a long-abandoned outer area of Spire Primus. As the group made the lengthy descent from the pipe down to what used to be street-level of this rust-city, the sulfurous air bit at their noses, and stung their lungs. Everything about this place seemed hostile.

The Goreflesh clan lived near the outskirts of the ruins, so JKS did not have far to travel once they set forth on the crumbling remnants of ancient roadways. They approached with confidence, not hiding their advance, hoping that masquerading as slavers seeking to trade would gain them access to a parlay.

As large debris in the roadway became more numerous, JKS see the shadows of hulking forms start to appear through the reddish haze. Approaching a series of barricades, the enforcers call out to announce their intentions. Undeterred by the barking shouts emanating from the Goliath line, JKS continues to advance, reiterating the wish to deal in humanoid trafficking. When a spear landed in the dark earth near his feet, Tingle declared "that means stop", and JKS halted in formation.

The largest of the hulking shapes moved through the toxic haze, as an enormous half-ogre, easily the size of his full-blooded kin, emerged only yards away. Leaning on a battered greataxe, the Goliath leader's muscles looked as if they would tear through his skin. He stared at the new arrivals before him and asked what they wanted.

In the end, negotiations simply came to the enforcers's wish to trade for a slave, but the Goliath only wanting a slave in return. In quick succession, each potential avenue to win Kal back was shut down. When Nox became impatient, stating that he is not leaving without his brother, the ounce of civility the Goliath leader displayed quickly faded. He leveled a stare at the group before him.

"Meat, or slave?" the giant half-ogre asked.

"You want...meat?" Zeek asked, hopefully.

"You. Are. Meat" The leader grinned. "Or a slave!" the Goliath behind him rumbled with laughter.

The juicer turned back around to face the visitors clearly amused, and asked for their choice.

Nox stepped forward, stone-faced, and simply uttered, "Meat, or slave?", tightening the grip on his greatsword.

Blood boiling, the massive Goliath ripped his rusting greataxe from the reddish clay, and slowly began to advance towards Nox. The Golden dragonborn did not hesitate to match his advance, drawing his weapon. Nox and the juicer lunged at each other, steel meeting steel and sparks flying. One of them was not going to walk away from this.

With very little time for contemplation, the rest of JKS sprung into action, joining the fight. It was only then that the rest of the Goliath clan advanced, throwing their heavy spears into the fray. The odds were quickly turning against them as Arden scanned the battlefield. The juicer's axe connected with Nox's scaled hide, shattering bone, and he stumbled. A serrated spear sailed through the air from behind the barricades, pinning the dragonborn to the ground, gravely wounded. It was in this moment of desperation that the bard made the most difficult decision of his life, and called for a retreat.

As the hail of spears continued to rain down on the enforcers, a wicked grin crept over the Half-Ogre's face, as he slowly took a few steps forward, clasping Nox's tail in his powerful grip, and began to drag him towards the camp, leaving a trail of blood behind them.

Tingle and Arden were gone, and before Zeek turned to flee, he cast a final protective spell onto Nox with a heavy heart, before turning to run as fast as he could, away from this camp, away from the Goliath, and away from his brothers.

Nox was brought into the Goreflesh camp with thunderous celebration. The Goliath clansmen beat his hide as he was dragged past rows of barbarians on either side, as the juicer brought him to the center of their camp. Nox barely even noticed the hooting laughter and jests made by the clan around him, his world a daze.

"Here!" the juicer exclaimed. "Is what you seek!" he motioned to a crude dwelling nearby, as a familiar-looking golden dragonborn, horribly beaten, was tossed to the ground beside him.

As the Goreflesh celebrated, continuing their jests, laughter, and breaking into barrels of ale, the two brothers were reunited on the blood-soaked earth they shared next to each other. Kal was alive, and refused to let Nox take responsibility for what happened. With raucous commotion all around them, the brothers shared a moment with each other, appreciating the bond of family, and realizing they would never be truly alone no matter what.

When the juicer had decidedly riled up his clan over their victory, he slowly lowered himself over Kal and Nox, crouching beside them.

"Goreflesh respect your bravery, coming to our camp. Very bold. Stupid, but bold" He smiled. "Boldness is rewarded by the Goliath, so we will offer you our "Kalataal" our warriors-choice. We have had our amusement but one of you will not leave here. So, what will it be"

Nox spat, refusing to answer.

A frown crept over the juicer's broad face. "Come now brave one, Kalataal"

A weak voiced Kal whispered "Nox. It was my fault. I went out, I was stupid, shouldn't have let them get me." His plea cuts off by a hacking cough.

Nox looked at him for a long while, his eyes barely able to focus. "I came here with one goal, to save you. I'm not leaving here until that happens" he turned his gaze to the juicer, a look of fiery determination on his face "It will be me".

Before Kal could protest, the Goliath blinked once and simply said "Ok" before grabbing Kal and running to hurl him over the main barricades of the camp, his limp body tumbling into the debris, out of sight. The Goreflesh erupted in cheers.

In the darkness of the buffer-zone, the remaining enforcers ran, a cold sweat dripping from their brows. Their thoughts dwelled on Nox and Kal, as their silent sprint towards section six continued in fear and doubt.

The juicer strode back towards the crumpled form of Nox, his arms and eyes wide, as he fed off the energy of the crowd of feverish Goliath, a bloodlust in the air.

Kal, summoning what strength he could, hoisted himself up against a jagged burm, and watched helplessly from afar. He saw the juicer stand over his brother as Nox lay still, drawing ragged breaths. The Goliath reached back, pressing a large button at the back of his thick neck, a viscous liquid shot through a series of tubes from the device into his muscles. A shiver rippled across his large frame, and the Goliath roared, a blood-curdling sound Kal would never forget. The barbarian raised his enormous blade, pausing for a brief moment as a silence fell over the camp, before plunging it downwards with a savage ferocity.

As the camp descended into a barbarous celebration, Kal looked away as Nox's eyes drifted shut for the last time.

When the enforcers returned home without Kal or Nox, Da'ar, mother to both, was beside herself with grief. Guild leader Becky tried to console her as the enforcers could only hang their heads in sorrow and shame. Zeek busied himself with brewing, as the others spent their time recounting everything that had gone wrong. Arden locked himself away in self reflection, and did not resume enforcer duties until days later.

When Kal arrived at their threshold, clutching his wounds, the moment was bitter-sweet. The guild had a member of their family back, but the whispers around the base cast an air of uneasiness amongst the guild, questioning the actions of the three who returned.

The enforcers decided they needed to do something, in a swift decree, both Lief and Kal were promoted to enforcer rank. The young Tiefling shook with excitement, as the stoic dragonborn yearned to keep his brother's memory alive.

A new day dawned, and with it a chance at a fresh start. In the late morning, JKS headed over to the Precinct of Divinity to address their recent run-in with the Autorus. Lt. Frieda questioned the group about why they would report a kidnapping, but not report a killing in self defense, referring to the guild's first violent encounter in section 6. JKS explained themselves in a series of deft negotiations to avoid further issues with the law enforcement guild, managing to leave the offices only paying their original fine, and owing the lieutenant a favor.

On the return journey the group ran into trouble on the streets when a Nellulon experiment went wrong, releasing phantasmal creatures into a narrow alley. Lief proved his bravery in combat, landing a well-struck blow that was followed up by Zeek's hammer to end the conflict. The victory was invigorating, and it gave the group an idea.

The enforcers headed over to Escher's Pit, registering for a "side action" fight to blow off steam and earn a bit of money. Lief, too young to participate, sat above, screaming his voice ragged in support of his guild brothers from the stands.

Amidst the action, Kal found himself grinning for the first time in ages, as the group cut through their foes in a dazzling display of skill and showmanship. Their flashing blades against electric neon spells felled all those around them, announcing to the Rave that JKS was here to stay, and they were just getting started.

Loot