*Abasta shakes her head as she reads the letter from Puppy regarding her Minion task*
Go to Zul’Aman and investigate the usefulness of the voodoo practiced there, Puppy had commanded.
“I can’t see this being very fruitful, but the will of Puppy is my will as well for now” she mutters to herself. “Besides trolls like jungles, jungles are tropical, and tropical means sun! Maybe I could get a tan, I suppose I no longer have to worry about it causing wrinkles later on.” Continuing to ponder the logistics of her mission, Albasta mused, “...hmmm if this voodoo IS actually effective I may need a meatshield or two to avoid getting wounded and I know just who to ask!”
“We need to be on the lookout for voodoo magic being used here people, the more deadly the better!” Albasta yells to the beleaguered pair, Arrachtas and Kergal, who were trudging up the steps of Zul’Aman in front of her while she daintily avoided the mud puddles in the back. “While we are at it, collect any interesting gems or materials you see...I know you two are hardly the trained experts I am, but I’m sure you can figure out pretty/not pretty. Oh, and by the by I will have to have a word with Puppy, I distinctly remember the promise of sun, and this place is definitely not sunny!”
The trio entered the ruins and upon seeing a human in explorer garb Albasta quickly infected him with a devouring plague, and as he died very painfully he uttered some strange noises sounding like, “arrrrglegrah...the gong...grrrrraaah.”
“Was that filthy traitor trying to say something do you think?” Albasta asked.
Kergal quietly nodded his head towards the large gong on the wall near a pair of large wooden doors. “Ah I see! Good eye Kergal,” Albasta praised. They all banged on the gong and the doors opened, revealing a wave of trolls. As the Death Knight and Paladin dispatched the first of the trolls, a blood curdling screech rang out, “THAT MALLET BROKE MY NAIL!”
The last of the trolls instantly dropped dead, as a fuming Albasta melted their minds. This meant war!
The three adventurers blazed a trail to the first platform, leaving piles of dead trolls and bears behind them as they come to stand in front of Nalorakk. “He’s a large one isn’t he, but there is no time like the present or so they say. Shall we gentlemen?” Albasta queried.
Arrachtas and Kergal charged in, while Albasta started flinging magic from a safe distance. “This one is a bit of a brute but I don’t see anything special....” Albasta remarked.
*Nalorakk transforms into a large bear*
“...I see," Albasta mused, "clearly this is an example of voodoo at work, but our druids have been able to transform into bears for longer than I have been alive or alive-ish. Nothing useful here.”
The explorers continued down a winding path to the next platform. Arrachtas deftly stopped the fleeing scouts who were attempting to warn others of the intruders. The small party then arrived and stood before Jan’alai. Albasta sternly eyed her companions, “I will have to collect some of those gorgeous feathers he has on his shoulders, please avoid ruining them you two.” As the comrades fought, waves of young dragonhawks swarmed the group, “nothing our Hunters can’t do...” Albasta pondered.
The group looped back to near the entrance to charge up the hill and face Akil’zon, “I would like some of those blue feathers from his headdress as well please,” Albasta asked. Akil’zon summoned eagles, lightning, and thunder storms as they fought. “This is a little more interesting, but still there really isn’t anything new and exciting here to learn...” Albasta sighed exasperatedly. “I do hope this won’t be a completely useless trip.” She looked to her armful of feathers, “Well there is always a silver lining I guess.”
Moving on Albasta and her protectors entered a large room within one of the ruins and found Halazzi. “You know I had a hat just like that once, I used it as part of my Hallow’s end costume one year.” Albasta smiled at the memory. “Onwards, though, I want to find SOMETHING useful in this forsaken place before we leave.” As they fought, Halazzi split into a troll form and a lynx form. “Good thing I have two meatshields!” Albasta exclaims. Both Kergal and Arrachtas turned and shot the priest dirty looks. Albasta attempted to look contrite, “I mean friends...wonderful, helpful friends.....”
Standing over the corpse of Hex Lord Malacrass and the few minions he had summoned, Albasta threw her hands up in the air. “Useless!” she exclaimed, “A mere warlock can pull that trick and I had such high hopes for a ‘Hex Lord’.”
Arrachtas nodded his head in the direction of a tall stairway, “Up there is Zul’jin, the leader of these forest trolls.”
“Maybe this one will finally know something useful, one can only hope!” Albasta thinks to herself. As the three began to fight with Zul’jin, they realized he was clearly a tougher customer than the previous trolls. Zul’jin began to transform, first to the shape of a bear, then that of an eagle, then a lynx, and finally a dragonhawk before he was defeated. The companions stood over Zul’jin and Albasta muttered, “I still don’t think this is revolutionary, our druids are quite competent in shape changing, but I must admit this troll was quite good at it.” She bent down quickly to take a blood sample for further study and stored it safely in her bag.
Albasta preened slightly, and remarked to her two companions, “Alright you two, I think we are finished here. I am very disappointed that we haven’t found anything useful for Puppy, but we can’t fabricate what isn’t there. I firmly believe the magic the trolls use here we already have, or have something quite equivalent.“ Albasta dismissed her two companions.
As Albasta started walking out of Zul’Aman, she threw the bag full of hex sticks she had collected towards the water, “what useless junk,” she cursed.
*later writing her report to Puppy of the investigation*
..... and in conclusion I feel the voodoo to be found in Zul’Aman is really of no use but for the slim possibility of creating and placing a suprise army of frogs....nobody would suspect the frogs.
Your humble Minion,
Albasta
((My screenshots are driving me bonkers! The screenies of the Hex Lord and Zul'jin went missing somehow and the two large ones are just refusing to shrink! grah!))