Matt Off

02-06-2021: Game Forty: Matt Off
 
There was magic in this world once, but they stole it all away.
 
The brothers were amused to see Koric return from his Dwarf watching duty, tired of kicking them around. The brothers had Steve go and inform the pair of Fire Giants rushing at the Bandolier Brothers ready for a fight of the ‘False Alarm’: Change of management.
 
They found themselves in a large Arena shaped room. Penelope stationed herself in the finest seats in the house.
 
An avatar of the Snake Deity was writhing around in the center of the arena. The Ssssnake people were on their own side of the Arena. The brothers found themselves stationed on the dusty floor of the arena.
 
The Sword Pope offered greetings, the snake being was not one for response.
 
John sipped a delightful tonic to speak all languages and called out to the snake being. In response: “I have been Ssssssummoned!” “Why am I here? (In this arena?!)” “Why is this happening here?” It looked to Penelope, who offered only an amused smirk.
 
The snakes did not offer an explanation as to the circumstances of their failed summoning. They were confused and cowering in fear.
 
Sword Pope prepared for a glorious charge. John tossed a fancy grenade at it: it burst into flames, and was stuck to the ground. Tage prepared for a strike from the shadows. Yuttosk rushed in ready to douse the flames of aggression. The snake slam-bit him. Korric rushed in, Rive gleaming in the natural sunlight of this strange room. His blade struck home, inflicting a minor wound. Suddenly Pope rushed in as well, with a vicious overhand chop, lopping off several snakes from the primary form. Serpentine blood gushed forth in copious amounts, offering a sickening chilly shower to those adjacent.
 
Slam-bites raked across Korrics chest and the Sword Pope’s back. Poison pumped through their veins. Yuttosk dodged his ‘big brother’s slambite. Tage leapt out of the shadows, attempting to cut into the scaly hide.
 
The brothers laid into the scaly creature: some blows glancing off his slimy hide and others piercing through. Blood poured forth from both parties into the thirsty earth below. Suddenly Korric shouted in dismay as Rive was thrown out of his hand. The snake creature was biting brothers left and right, hoping to inflict his deadly venom upon them all. Thy’lek wandered in, getting bit in the process.
 
The Sword Pope picked up Rive and in a very intense conversation convinced him that killing the snake was necessary before cutting into the heart of the Earth Creatures which were ‘surely nearby’. The battle of wits was over quickly and Rive was thrust into the snaky mass. Blood sprayed and the snakes seemed to focus on the new threat.
 
Korric drew his axe and struck a vicious blow to the mass of snakes: Blood streamed. Thy’lek danced in, thrusting his rapier with wild abandon The snakes were strangely disoriented by his unusual combat style.
 
The sword Pope became more used to Rives bullying and was cutting the snakes down by the dozen. The snake creature was getting antsy, so invoked a powerful fear aura scattering most of the brothers.
 
John leapt through the shadows drinking a series of elixirs and calling upon the strength of generations. He grew in stature, muscles rippling with newfound strength.
 
The sword Pope overcame his fears rushing up. He sent a shockwave through the creature, somehow disabling the jaws of all the separate snakes.
 
Taking advantage of the break in the snake's concentration, John invoked the strength of generations. With one Earth shattering blow, a strike that could bring down a mountain: the amalgam of snakes rained from the sky and the battle was over. John started collecting snake remains and Penelope congratulated them on a job surprisingly well done.
 
Despite his infusion with divine power, the bandolier brothers had crushed this foe. Steve had taken excellent notes on the battle for later review.
 
The brothers were suddenly back in the office space of their mine: the snakes were missing, presumably in Penelope's menagerie. She revealed that her analysis of the crystals indicated they were quite interesting indeed. The crystals are like physical representations of divine blood, which is why it is helpful for use in a portal system. Since all the magic from this world had been removed, these previously undetectable godly artefacts were now able to be found, if one knew to look for them.
 
The Sword Pope resolved to make a new blade out of this material.
 
The brothers decided to partake of some of these crystallized divine energies for their own experiments. How would it affect them? Where would they go next? What would they do now? The possibilities were endless.