I Know Why the Caged Matt Sings

 
There was magic in this world once, but they stole it all away.
 
The twin pronged assault went on. The quiet team met up with the Raucous team, and they prepared to delve deeper into the Palace of the Sultan under the control of the Gith. The brothers had been in the castle before, and fortunately knew the layout.
 
There was no outright resistance to the brothers as they penetrated the castle, corpses of Gith and Sultans strewn about. Clearly the uprising was young, and they had not yet had time to fortify their position. The quiet that had settled over the palace was eerie, in comparison to its previous lively sounds. Cowering in fear a handful of servants and slaves did their best to remain invisible to defenders and attackers: John assured them the Bandolier Brothers were here to save the day.
 
Would they attack the private wing of the Gith, or the throne room? They crept carefully through the palace looking for the answer. From the primary foyer they moved inward. They would inspect the throne room first, before the Gith had a chance to weave any magical traps or protections.
 
Secret doors were left open, ransacked caches and stuff galore were all around the brothers as they drifted through the ruins of the once fantastically lively palace. The harem hidden behind a secret door from the Sultan's Throne was filled with dead concubines. None remained behind the wreckage, and none were cowering in the area. Having established that the throne room was empty, the brothers steeled themselves for the journey into their true destination: The Gith Wing.
 
Korric rushed into the waiting hallway, unheeding of potential danger. Tage through a rock in every cardinal direction before pressing on.
 
John called for a halt, indicating their was concealed trouble ahead. He called upon the strength of generations to reveal the unknown. Despite his warning, Korric rushed forward into the waiting arms of a Gith assassin. Sliding out from a curtain with double blades drawn, he inserted the both into the organs of the Barbarian. Seeing that he was outmatched, he warped away after getting his licks in.
 
A few rooms away they found a private altar for the Sultans religious rites. An idol sat upon the altar, and Tages eyes gleamed greedily as he caressed it with the back of his hand, then he scooped it up. The golden idol with Jeweled eyes was scooped up by Tage.
 
The brothers pressed ever onwards, preparing for traps or perhaps another ambush. They found a floating arcane eye, and the advisor indicated they (the brothers) could simply have the castle, that they were now moving on to the next stage in their plan. It turned out that red dragons were a great escape avenue.
 
John called out a challenge, asking if there was truly a Gith worth fighting in these times, who wanted to prove their superiority over the ‘Puny Humans’. The chancellor indicated that he had left a bit of a surprise for the brothers in case they choose the idiocy of interference.
 
In the Royal palace it awaited: A huge demon with crab claws and a pissed off appearance. The Chancellor elaborated:
 
“Meet my planar ally: Gormesh, I will free you of your service to me once you have defeated all of this coalition.”
 
The Glabrezu clicked his clacky claws together, having been fooled several times before. He thought about it for a bit. Unfortunately, he was not especially bright, and various circumstances led him to once again trust the word of the Gith. He’d been bound to this plane, and couldn’t simply disappear if defeated.
 
A singular guard was cringing in the shadow of a tree, hoping not to be noticed. The chin hid behind the door into the courtyard, Korric rushed into the fray with Rive held high, asking for a blessing on his comrades. Rive was not convinced: The lack of Earthy foes was noticeable. He was scooped up in a clawed hand almost as an afterthought, his charge never completed. The griffon rider attempted to convince the guard to participate: Unsuccessfully. The gnoll lurked to the side. John sipped a tonic, with a chaser of different liquid: Creeping forward and challenging the beast. Yuttosk brought out his brand new bow, loaded four arrows into it, trying to be fancy, and they all went off in crazy directions. The former wizard attempted to give advice about their for, revealing that it was not wise to try hiding from it. Magical attacks would probably be less effective than we’d like.
 
The glabrezu indicated to the drow that he might be related; by blood! The drow was less than enthused.
 
The chin rushed forward, promising chicken, turkey, and other sorts of Fowl ends to the Glabrezu. The wizard begged the guard for help. Tage prepared to attack, and others moved into position.
 
John launched himself into position, stepping through shadows and landing a powerful hit to his organs. None of the other brothers wanted to get closer, and only Yuttosk was willing to close with John. John intercepted a brutal hit against Yuttosk, and Yuttosk was able to land a brutal strike penetrating the defenses of the Glabrezu. With the Glabrezus attention distracted, Thy’lek rushed in as well. The Glabrezu launched a confusing burst at several of the lesser coalition members. Only the Chin was confused. He slowly ran away.
 
The drow crept closer, and the Glabrezy lazilly swatted at him. He was so astoundingly insulted by his verbal abuse that he was less resistant to the attacks of his foes. He swung the silver sword, cutting the Glabrezu a little. Tage finally leapt into action: but did not land any attacks. The gnoll rolled forward and in tandem with her hyena did not accomplish much damage.
 
John launched a vicious series of blows, gaining the attention of the Glabrezu in a negative light. The wizard finally reached the lonely guard, who revealed that he was in fact a disguised Gith assassin. What a shock, no-one could have seen coming! He died. Well, he wished he was dead he was so ashamed (and poisoned). In an attempt at redemption he pulled out his katana and struck the shocked assassin.
 
The Glabrezu put all his pent up frustration and rage into a single attack at John, who artfully dodged: tweaking his mustache. He unleashed a burst of evil energy! Korric writhed in pain, and the others seemed mostly unaffected. Tage of course basked in the dark energies along with the drow, smiling a bit at the feelings of coming home. He launched a few attacks, and did not land any.
 
John performed a dance to invoke the strength of generations, and Yuttosk followed up with a brutal piercing stab! He impaled the hand of the Glabrezu, resulting in less offensive and defensive capabilities. He fell to the ground, as the brothers leapt out of his crushing weight.
 
Korric picked up Rive, indicating how much he’d missed him during their time apart.
 
Meanwhile, the assassin and wizard were squaring off: katana versus twin daggers. The wizard wasn’t quite cut out for it, and fell down. Thy’lek picked the pockets of the fallen demon, not finding anything. Once the assassin was taken care of, they might be more prosperous.
 
Desperate to prove himself in combat, Korric charged at the assassin who had given him a rough time earlier. His attack finished off the assassin, the brothers looted the dead and healed the wounded. John got to work harvesting Gith and precious Glabrezu body parts and fluids, he’d be well stocked for his potion needs for a while.
 
After they secured the palace, they retrieved the Sultan who had a much smaller entourage but a potentially more loyal alliance. The coalition suggested that the brothers had ‘passed their test’, but in reality it was never the brothers being tested.