Goblin Lands Exploration Event Week 14: The Wishes of Djinni

[Narrator]

Kolgol was slightly nervous, as he had every right to be. Dominic was late, and he could tell the crowd of people wondering where the ship was were getting impatient. His eyes scanned the horizon, seeking the vessel which he certainly hoped was on the way. Finally, finally he caught sight of it, sleek, fast, everything Kolgol had hoped for. At the helm stood Squire Dominic, beaming with pride as he navigated the ship down for a landing. Kolgol couldn’t help but smile at the ship and its captain.

Kolgol boarded, gesturing for his allies to come and board the ship.
Lalder greeted Kolgol and introduced Lurtor, of which Kolgol was quick to remember was a VLAD agent. Knowing the EEF was secretly sending along some eyes and ears did not sit well with Kolgol but he kept his counsel.

Two imps stood on the deck, holding obsidian trays laden with food and drink. Kolgol figured he may as well undergo the trip in style. He cordially greeted each ally as they boarded, the crew at attention in bone mail armor, complete with emblazoned tabards displaying a black hand on a red field, and saluting the newcomers. All were welcomed on lavishly, but Kolgol froze when he saw Rapi’og. He wasn’t not invited, but the leader of Ka’Rhug had assumed the Gultor’Uf olgogs wouldn’t come judging by the fierce argument previously. However, he bowed gracefully, and let Rapi’og board to their quarters.

Rapi’og stopped before leaving and gave deep respects to Kolgol and to Captain Dominic. He said, “You are going to speak to someone that can make me strong, strong enough to eviscerate OtO. I’m going to go get that strength.”

Rapi’og walked past Lalder with nary a word. Auf Lalder was fuming with rage that the tribal of Gultor’Uf heaped additional insults with his presence. Now the humor in this was that Rapi’og didn’t like Uhryu Bill, as Bill often had to beat him to keep him in line. And Rapi’og didn’t know of the story of the grand argument between Uhryu Bill and Auf Lader. His focus was so intent on the trip that he thought little of the other dignitaries who were boarding.

Behind him strode, Urik, leader of the Outcasts of Unen, with five tough looking gunners. They ignored the food and festivities and made their way to the mast, the forecastle and the helm setting up defensive positions and machinegun nests.

The Brezans came next. Jhonni, Big Fist Small Feet, Dreggs, and Drazz. The younger ones pounced on the imp in a friendly way, scarfing down food like they hadn’t eaten in days. Kolgol was happy to someone other than himself enjoying the bounty.

With its crew and its guests onboard it took off, rising slowly into the air.

Dominic, Captain Dominic, he had to remind himself, was struggling with the helm. The airship crystal was getting too responsive the closer they got to the energy bridge that Ogalab MagGor’ab had created to the Land of the Falosini.

Dominic pushed from behind the crystal and the airship shot forward with immense speed.

Racing across the sky of Ses’rus they could see the endless blue without any discernable sun or light source. Yet here it was the most beautiful bright day Dominic had ever seen. He looked off to his right and left and saw huge rocks suspended in the air as bubbles in water. On each was built a castle more beautiful than the last. He saw eight foot tall humanoid beings, their faces covered by helms, with six long white wings each. They dived between the floating castles like a man might walk down the street. Each time they landed with ease.

How Dominic longed to stay in these stunning summer skies. The airship was moving with a vigor far beyond that it had done before. Dominic found himself comparing the skies and their winged inhabitants to the stories of heaven told in his own mythologies. But these were no heavens, it was another dimension and its fortresses were full of dimensional beings so it was best in the end that they flew onward.

As was the Falosini way, if you simply passed through you wouldn’t be bothered. The Olgog vessel was never bothered while it traveled here, but many a Falosini family spoke of the strange vessel that passed by their windows. It passed smoothy through a cloud bank and in the distance they could see the swirling entrance to the Maelstrom, a superstorm at the edge of the Land of the Falosini.

Dominic gulped and nearly pulled back but Kolgol was there at his side and said, “You got this one.”

The newly minted Airship captain steeled his nerve and steered right into the Eye of the Maelstrom.
Everyone on board the ship realized they were no longer flying. They were falling full speed down the center of a superstorm. The winds whipping by at the edge of the eye of the Maelstrom were near impenetrable walls on all sides.

[Narrator]

Urik watched the smoke curl up from his cigar towards one of the walls of the eye of the storm. In it he saw the face of a near invisible monster that swam the currents of the superstorm. It was one of the Maelstrom divers and its face coalesced in the smoke giving Urik time to roar, “One target above.”

At that moment the insane monster in the clouds spat electricity across the deck of the ship. Between them, Lurtor and Lalder were able draw enough Shadow Leyas absorb much of the damaging energy. Then the Maelstrom Diver struck, biting into the deck with its teeth so like shards of hail.

Urik quickly assessed the danger, “It is trying to divert the airship out of the eye”

He fired a few rounds of old reliable Ma duece into the beast at close range, and nearly spat out his cigar when the bullets passed right through the Maelstrom Diver.
Then he grunted, “Typical, just typical.
Hold fire boys.”

Kolgol’s gogs turned the ships magi cannons on the beast, firing wave after wave of chill into it. A near frost covered its muzzle. It spat lightning at them which didn’t make it even feet before being absorbed by the cannons’ beams.

It shattered and fell away with a flare and the sound of a thunderclap. Dominic struggled to nudge it back online, knowing full well too much would kill them all.

When a pair of Maelstrom Divers leapt up from the storm like aquatic predators crested the top of the ocean, the crew was read. The pair struck the ship but were drive back by the magi cannons within moments.

The lightning still arced all around the deck of the airship, and many onboard were suffering third degree burns. The Divers seemed to be testing the defenses now, popping out to spit electricity and dive back in. Meanwhile another would break one Leyas shield after another in methodical succession.

The more the crew of the airship fought the more Maelstrom Divers began to gather. Their angry twisted faces, were pressed up to the sides of the ship, waiting for the moment to snap one of them up. One of Kolgol’s gogs was the first to go. He was snatched clean off the deck. The Maelstrom Diver was biting hard and fast into the Olgogs tough armor, but it did not save him from being dragged off the deck and hurled to the winds.

Jhoni of Uf Mag’og began summoning creatures in front of the Maelstrom divers to divert the hungry beasts. She never really gave a thought to how that poor summoned creature felt before the Maelstrom diver ripped it limp from bloody limb. Then again for the rest of the crew who safely made it past this point, it was a life saver.

They arrived at the grand cloud fields of the first of the Storm Lords. These Air spirits often consumed the lesser air spirits which flew around like whisps when compared in size to the Storm Lords. Compared to the Maelstrom, this was simply a surreal cloudscape. In the distance, the crew of the Airship could see their elaborate mansions, manorhouses and castles floating on the horizon.

In the cloud field below was a large statue of a trio of circles interlocking over a brass cauldron.

[Narrator]

Ogalab MagGor’ab had warned them of this test of generosity on behalf of the Storm lords. Some said the Storm Lords followed the same belief as the Falosini.

But we will never know if there was any falsity to that rumor, because the crew of the airship was exceedingly generous. First the Gang of Uf Mag’og placed into the caldron one spear made of the Hobtor for each of the Storm Lords he could see.

Lalder stepped out and said, “We just wish to travel to and back from the Land of the Djinni. We mean no harm to you and yours. If you let us pass, I will artifice any item of yours you wish with any element or healing Leyas that I know.”

Ten storm Lords floated close collecting the spears each while giving a malignant glare at their neighbors. Then they at once said, “I wish for an artifact to Resurrect my servants. For their health of course.”

This of course led to bickering as to whom had the idea first, and as they argued, Lalder sat down and began artificing wooden medallions as the Air spirits had requested. The skies here were light towards the direction they had come from, and darkness of night in the other direction.

The Maelstrom was both above and around them, but here the sky was clear and the clouds as firm as rock. Soft fluffy rock. They waited and watched and waited and watched and finally days or hours later (they knew not), the medallions were all done.
There was a rumbling of conversation between the Storm lords. They raised their Hobtor Spears high, and held their medallions aloft, roaring like thunder.

To the crews surprise the storm Lords turned towards the nearby settlements and began to attack their neighbors.

The crew found the way clear and set forth at full speed and reached the next mouth of the Maelstrom to make it the rest of the way. Behind them stalked a pair of Air Spirits with Hobtor spears.
Yet to Kolgol’s delight, these two Airspirits kept away the Maelstrom divers for the remainder of their trip.

Finally they saw the dark stormclouds and fortresses of the many different family lines of the Har’akir, whose name often translated as Djinni.

Yet before they even approached, the old radio that Urik kept by his side came awake with a buzz. Then an Earther voice, “Unknown Vessel, unknown vessel, please state your purpose, rank and affiliation.”

Urik raised the radio, and clicked the button, “This is an EEF encrypted channel, so I first want to know who the heck I’m talking to…out here.”

“Commander Fonlan, once second in command on the colony of Refuge, former EEF Commander,” said the voice, “And you just entered airspace I have been hired to protect.”

“Then you can calm yourself, because I’m not much different than you friend,” said Urik, “We are here on a diplomatic mission Commander. You can call me Urik and I, like you, am simply hired on to protect this group of diplomats. They just want to ask the Djinni a few questions. If the Djinni want us gone afterwards, I will personally walk them out.”

“So what do they really want, because no one just asks questions of a Djinni? I see a bunch of Olgogs onboard,” said the voice on the radio, “Nothing too destructive I hope. No matter, our employers will enjoy the diversion. We will light up the landing pad. Do not divert or we will shoot you down. No Offense intended to your diplomats.”

The radio cut out in a way that implied this Commander Fonlan had little need for diplomats. Or maybe his woman had been stolen by a diplomat, wondered Urik from the coldness in the former EEF commander’s voice.

Their airship passed over seven towers topped by onion domes, and four blockhouses that seemed quite out of place. In their center was a Nomad City Transport. This armored Earther land carrier hovered a few feet above the ground and had a full pavilion tent set out on its flight deck. Amid the Air Assault vehicles and Gunpod Starfighters, they were directed to land. Urik was impressed, right now the Airship had enough plasma and laser artillery aimed at it to incinerate them all in the blink of an eye.

With a sigh he walked up to Lalder, Lurtor and Kolgol and said, “From here on in, let me handle the Earther military types. Now lets move out, I don’t like this much weaponry pointed at my head. And they can’t aim those weapons down on the landing deck without damaging the Nomad city transport.”

The Olgogs agreed to follow his lead and Urik walked down the plank towards the flight deck. He was really quite impressed how well maintained the vessel and its compliment were. And waiting for him at the bottom of the deck was a portly officer, and older earther with short well groomed grey hair. His jaw showed more than its fair share of claw-scars. And his brow bore an old plasma burn, badly healed. His smile though, was perfect, and there was a jolly quality that seemed at odds with the calculating glimmer in his eyes. His uniform was obviously now being repaired by hand, its stitching not as tight as the automated sewing mekanoids used by the EEF for their highest officers. The nameplate on the armor over his chest proudly gleamed with the name Commander Fonlan.

[Narrator]

The pair of mercs standing at either side of Fonlan snapped sharp salutes at Urik, which the Olgog saluted back to. Damn it, he grumbled, a little too much muscle memory from the old days. Fonlan’s eyes grew large as saucers and he licked his lips.

“Welcome, welcome, welcome Mr. Urik, it is truly a pleasure to welcome you and your diplomats to the land of the Djinni. My current employer, the family Saijuseed, is always seeking new experience. Your diplomats will at allow them a laugh. I should warn you, that if your diplomats offend the Djinni they may get choked by poison gas or electrocuted for the entertainment of the family.”

Thinking of the crew he had accompanied, Urik nodded his head sadly, “I gotcha. Thank you Commander.”

“A word to the wise,” said Fonlan tapping the side of his nose, one subordinate to another. Neither entirely choosing their fate, by tying their fate to their employer’s.
.
.Urik lead the group of Olgogs from the ship towards where the Djinni had set up a large tent complete with pillows and spinning fans. The evening sky was cool here, and calming.

The Olgog visitors saw the Djinni of house Saijuseed laid out on pillows. Each was a deep shade of purple with curling stormcloud tails. Three were female including a rotund voluptous female who sat in the center of the room. Two small boy-child djinni flew in circles near the top of the tent chasing each other’s tails (a trick taught to them by Fonlan, who deeply missed his pet dog, Charlie.)

The largest female smiled down on them. She had a broad but sultry smile, and two big eyes with brown ringed irises with blue-purple centers. In the center of her forehead was a third eye with stared down on them with a deep red glow.

“I am Pryiya Stormcloud Saijuseed, and owner of this floating island and all that sets foot on it. Luckily for you, Mssr. Fonlan had led you to the one place which was not quite setting foot on my land,” said the Djinni as she adjusted one of the piercings that ran through a thick nipple, deep purple in color matching her lips, “You look like nothing more than scruffy Olgogs. Not very interesting.”

Lalder stepped forward quickly not wanting to lose momentum. Lalder started the story with the Group of Elders of tribes heading to check out reports of the Warmongers dead who had been killing travelers. Then he reached the point where he spoke about locating an old ship, and taking it home, and saw the eyes of all five Djinni gleam with interest.
Lalder described some of the initial feelings exploring this dead ship, and they of course asked questions and he asked to be allowed to finish. The Djinni finally relented with their questions and Lalder knew they were hooked. He then spoke of the attack where new allies defended their land only to lose tribesmen to the dead. Then he told them of the battle to get them back and the restoration of the tribesmen. Then to the attacks of the Church of One at the Oasis, fighting them off, the artillery retaliation, and repelling the church once again.
Then he went on to the Quest to save a tribe caught in a trap at Thomasville, the dark times saving the gogs, building a fortress and withstanding constant attack. And then the attacks of the warmongers dead and the battle to drive them out. The Church’s faith destroying many of the dead in a flash of light leyas. Then he finished by talking about the group of Elders getting together to join the tribes of Olgogs to one.

At that one of the boys said, “Boring, Boring, tell us more about fighting the Dead Soldiers in Thomasville, war is always more fun than peace.”

“Good boy,” said Pryiya, “He understands our place in the grand scheme of things. But you have earned a boon, and maybe even a wish for such an epic story. What do you wish?”

Her third eye was glowing blue now, but her other eyes looked down hungrily at Lalder.

The olgog said, “I am Lalder of the Herd of Auf Lal’ al, the Lur Union, and the United Tribes of Refuge. This is Lurtor of my Tribe. I wish to trade for some djinni blood. I wish to create Leyas Generators for use on my airship I am building.”

Sinisterly the Djinni said, “Your wish is my command.”

Ten large boxes, the size of a man’s head sat around Lalder. Each had firmly imprinted on it in all languages, “Do Not Open!! Terrible Consequences.” Yet from each, Lalder could feel the flow of Leyas of all elements.

Pryiya said, “Place one of these on each deck of your ship, and one in the bridge and one in the aft. And the Leyas shall flow as if you stood on the crossroads of the dimension itself. They will work for all time as long as they are never opened.”

[Narrator]

One of the other female Djinni whose long ears were pierced in multiple places floated down with a jingling and ran a hand through Jhoni’s fur. “So…sweetie, what do you want Pryiya to grant you? My aunt Pryiya is the most beautiful creature you have ever seen? Right?”

“Yes…of course…” said Jhoni, “Last time we did this, one of our own got stuck doing doing real work. We don’t want none of that. We’re here for the ride, and because of friendship. All we want is a safe trip home.”

And with that the Brezans began to sing and dance. Jhoni grabbed Pryiya’s neice by the arms and pulled her into their circle. The dance lasted a few minutes and the neice flew back to the massive Djinni’s side giggling with pleasure.

Kolgol stepped forward and began to address the Djinni.

“I have a story to tell for I am Kolgol, chosen of Kalok, Leader of Ka’Rhug,” said Kolgol, very happy he had left Dominic back at the airship.

“Well Kolgol of Ka’Rhug,” said Pryiya, “First tell me what you wish for, then I will decide if I want to hear your story.”

“I have helped to design powerful automatons called Balgogs. But I am limited in how many I can control. I need the ability to control more. I wish for a device that would allow me to control more Balgogs,” said Kolgol.

“Your wish is my command,” said Pryiya with a smile that extended ear to ear but did not extend to her glowing red third eye.

A flash of light and a massive wargiant stood in front of them. It seemed to be a giant balgog but where its head should have been was a podium with leg braces and a back brace designed to secure the pilot. All of its basalt form was covered in eye iconography, and Kolgol could not but help feel he was being watched by the Golem-class Wargiant.

Still he felt a deep desire to have this thing.

“Your story?” asked Pryiya.

Kolgol recounted the tale of Kalok, and how he revealed the way to Kolgol and through him the tribes of Tla’loc’al. As he went in depth into his belief, one of the smaller females said, “Quall N’drone probably appeared to him through a horned dog.” Which set Pryiya into uproarious laughter.

Kolgol felt a deep blush of embarassment across his face. These beings had offended his Kalok, and he would not stand for it.

“Kalok is not a Quall N’drone, even the Quall bow before Kalok and his mighty power,” said Kolgol sternly.

This earned further peals of laughter from the Djinni.

Pryiya said, “This laugh was quite worth the armor, though we will enjoy watching any battlefield you take it to…for our entertainment of course. It may hurt a bit the first time you ride it around. It is not a machine of luxury it is one for war.”

Kolgol walked over to the armor and found it folded up to the size of a thimble as he approached. Soon enough he would have to decide if he trusted the Djinni enough to ride around in it.

[Narrator]

They turned to Urik and the soldier just shook his head saying, “We don’t wish for anything. But some guns and ammo would be nice.”

Preethi’s third eye became further red with fury saying, “Commander Fonlan, please feel free to trade any of these earther technologies with this Olgog you like. He…doesn’t interest me.”

So instead Urik found himself swapping stories with Commander Fonlan while the two little Djinni boys listened with rapt attention.

Rapi’og walked up to the Djinni Pryiya and said, “Send everyone back to refuge with there personal items only making sure that he knows it is only the stuff on there person, from the point right before they Djinni started granting wishes to there homes with there respective tribes as gogs. And as payment, I would offer the reaction of one, Lalder, to the granting of this wish, as he will most likely be upset. And if the Djinni needs a place to stay, know that my Uhryu Bill would happily arrange a place to stay, with another impartial tribe.”

Hearing this Lalder grew with rage, and while his face showed little, his aura was aflame with color. This the Djinni saw and felt great entertainment was at hand.

Pryiya smiled and said, “I grant this wish…to the best of my ability.”

Lalder found himself sitting on a mat, meditating about traveling to the land of the Djinni. He remembered all that occurred and was enraged by the hubris of Rapi’og. He did not know that Rapi’og had learned of the argument between him and Uhryu Bill while aboard the ship during the trip. Rapi’og’s anger grew because by throwing out Bill, he had offended Rapi’og’s entire tribe. Now Bill was a peacable Karovian, but Rapi’og had been raised in Brezan style. He saw this as a direct challenge from Lalder, and would be the fly in his pudding as a result.

This was only the beginning though, as weeks passed and Lalder met up with Kolgol and confirmed his memories as real. Finally pressure between the Karovians and the Tla’loc’alans moved to the next level. Guerrilla war broke out on both sides, with Lalder and Rapi’og filling the soil of the goblin lands with bloodshed.

Both claimed the other the offender, and both felt they were right. But Uhryu Bill grieved for he had not wanted to cause more bloodshed when he demanded the UtR stop building up its army and fleet. Just as it had with his son OtO, Bill’s words did not impart the emotive content he hoped to evoke. Instead another death toll mounted.
Finally Rapi’og was captured and held on the highest deck of Lalder’s Carrier craft. Lurtor held a combat knife to Rapi’og’s throat and suddenly there was a flash of light.

Once again Lurtor and Rapi’og were standing in the tent of the Djinni. Lalder was standing next to them but none of them seemed aged as they had in the moments before.

Across from them Urik looked at a crystal in front of the Djinni. In it replayed the moments they had previously experienced of the war between Gultor’Uf and Auf Lal’al.

They all shivered.

[Narrator]

Pryiya’s Neice explained, “We djinni cannot alter that which already exists. To bring them all back to their home, would be quite impossible unless I wanted to let Fonlan go back too, which I don’t.
Instead we just moved you all into a small specially made pocket dimension. And we let you go at it. It was quite…eye opening. We will keep this crystal as payment, and to you we give a single copy of this crystal. Which you must share. If you don’t pass it between you at least once per week in person, it might just shatter and let out the inhabitants. All those twisted versions of your friends and family you created through anger.”

The crystal split down the middle and half floated to the space between Rapi’og and Lalder. It dropped down on one of the pillows at their feet.

Both Lalder and Rapi’og starred daggers at each other.

They were led back to Dominic’s airship and one of the Djinni wished an energy bridge for them to return directly home.

:mad:Rewards:mad:

Lalder and Gultor’Uf are now joined by the Djinni’s Cursed Crystal Trap. This crystal must be physically handed from Lalder to Rapi’og once per week (once per two realtime weeks) in a thread or it will shatter releasing evil copies of all those involved (deadly copy stats from the Shapeshift ability)
If Lalder or Rapi’og are wounded in battle the other takes the damage BUT if done purposely (i.e. like suicidal/homicidal acts it instead does pain damage to the one who tries to knowingly wound the other) as long as the Cursed Crystal trap is active. Don’t make deals with Djinni

Lalder additionally gains Enough Leyas Generators to make his carrier craft spaceworthy and able to provide leyas abilities in all parts of the ship (+ Leyas attacks). No more no less.

Rapi’og additionally Gains the Strength to take on OtO. He may now utilize Fists of Fury but is now not trusted by all tribes present during this mission.

Kolgol gains The Golem-class WarGiant. HP 50 AR vs Melee, Missile, and Energy of 8. FS 5, 2 attacks. Immune to Fire, Immune to Earth Leyas attacks. Allows its rider to control their charisma x10 Balgogs (or Imps, or Hounds or other Automatons), but must split groups evenly and can only command one group to do one thing per attack they have. This is a cursed Wargiant. Curse unknown until first use.

Gang of Uf Mag’og wisely refused a gift from the Djinni and May call upon Kincaid to appear on their side in any 1 mission (including heroic missions that have a limit of 1 character). Kincaid should take advantage of being bad ass on behalf of Gang in this 1 mission.
Gang also gains 1 Boon from Lalder. This boon may come in any form Lalder and Gang agree to.

Urik’s outcasts gain 1,000 Plasma HEAT .50 cal rounds (40 Energy dmg, Lowers V.A.R. By 30) Can be used in .50 cal sniper rifles and in .50 machineguns but not Caled Death Eagle pistols. These are not a Djinni gift, they are a gift from Commander Fonlan.
They also bring back stories of the mythic Commander Fonlan and his Merc unit.