The second to final roleplay has Sebastian Dash meeting with Prince BlahKing, and learning of the mission. As noted, since it was a sample mission, there were only a few people writing. More or less by design. I'm sure future games will have a higher writer's count. It also goes down in South Degrassi, a town not actually featured in KOL itself. It's basically a suburb to the already small town of Degrassi Knoll.

Anyway, the part with Blahking was co written by both of us- the rest, featuring Dash, was my work. It's Blahking's first appearance in a roleplay, too.

Degrassi South was, at once, smaller, grayer, and rainier than Dash had pictured in his mind. The first two, Dash blamed on the constant downpour of the last days. Dash could tell by the smell this was where most of the livestock for Degrassi Knoll came from. The town didn't seem to have much in the way of entertainment, but that just made finding the meeting spot that much easier.

They seemed hard working, though. Dash could respect that, even if he did have to throw down with about a few of them already in his short stay. There was no point in stalling. Dash knew better than to bother getting a room when he might not be staying, so he left his items with his horse, and entered the bar.

Dash didn't waste much time finding a spot at the bar. The whole thing put him in a reflective mood. Gnoll bars weren't the best bars, but they had all the drinks most places did. Still, Dash settled for a whiskey.

It was about quiet in the place. Only a few other patrons, and all of them looking to be locals. All of them smelling to be locals, too. Dash took the oppressive silence for what it was- a sign of some serious trouble in the town. Probably something stretching all the way down from Degrassi Knoll itself.

Dash nursed his drink, figuring it might be a while til the Prince showed up. He drank a song to remind him of the good times, he drank a song to remind him of how good Gnoll whiskey was when it was fresh.

A bump on the door, and a cloaked figure entered the tavern. Definitely a warm person, Dash thought, looking at the person zero in straight for the fireplace. Shedding the dark gray, worn out cloak, the man in cloak looked about the tavern. Dash recognized that face, that brown skin, that scar on the right cheek, that buzzcut, that power that he cast in his gaze.

Dash sipped on his drink, not so much annoyed by the delay as the surroundings. "Okay, I'm here, as requested. Why here of all places? It doesn't seem much like the type of meeting place I'd expect from a Pri. . . "

The stranger cut him off. "Sorry for being late... I got delayed by some tourists."

Dash nodded. Secret identity, gotchya. "No worries, Osbron. What's on your mind, anyway?" His voice dropped to a grumble and added, "Magic around in my head anymore and you'll regret it. Prince or not."

"Barkeep, fuzzbumps for the two of us!" Osbron went, snapping his fingers at the bartender. "Now, I need your help here."

Dash made a face. "I already have a drink. And did you just order a fuzzbump?!"

Osbron raised an eyebrow to that. "Something wrong with that?"

Dash ignored the question. "So what can I help you with today?"

"Just wanted to keep you up with happenings, that's all. Tuxedos and dimwits have all surged in prices recently, i need your help to slash the prices back down in this town, that's all."

Dash took another sip, his eyes fixed in the distance. He weighed what the Prince in disguise had said. "As much . . . 'fun' as that sounds, that's a longstanding problem. Why start working on it now? And why ask for my help? Don't you have an.. er.. army of assistants already?"

Putting a hand to his eyes, Osbron sighed. "If only I could. The merchants are going out of hand, if I did put them to use it could be dangerous to us. Well, its beyond the prices. Come on out with me, and i could show you."

Dash eyed him over, unsure, before finishing his drink in one swig. "Let us do that, then."

Once out of the tavern, Osbron led Dash into a small dark alley, taking a look around. "Prepare yourself," he muttered, raising his hands and weaving an intricate pattern before him. Spreading his arms to the side, Osbron let out his breath in a slight hiss. Dash felt a little tingle and soon felt himself fade away. He could see Osbron perfectly well, but quickly noted that in the reflection in a puddle of water, there was only air where Osbron was.

"Stay close," "Osbron" commanded. Dash wasn't sure why the stealth was necessary, and he was more than capable of pulling stealth off without magic.

It became obvious as they slowly moved around the corner.. "This was once the pride and joy of South Degrassi," Osbron explained in a quiet voice. Made sense to Dash, as it was snuggled in the dead center of town, although mostly obscured by the town's other buildings. "Until the Knob Goblins took over."

Dash nodded, taking Osbron's cue to keep his voice down. "The Goblins are trash. You didn't have to bring me up north for me to discover that. So why now? What's changed?"

"That little rivalry I mentioned," Osbron responded. "It's made for an explosive situation, but it might also be just the opportunity we need to finally uproot two sets of weeds at once."

Dash shook his head, now having a little insight into Osbron's mindset. "I've heard rumors the Knobs bulling other towns around, but I've never heard of them doing it in such an obvious fashion. You want help busting them out? I'm in."

"I think you missed my point at the tavern, that's not exactly what we could do. My clan is not at its best now, and the goblins aren't a force easily trifled with. What we need is to be able to chase them out, yet have them point the blame elsewhere, as least not directly on us." Osbron sighed again. "That's where the hard part comes in. You still with me?"

Dash nods. "Right, of course. They're probably too entrenched to just rip out, anyway. So what? Find someone to blame? Maybe we can frame the other side for problems of our own invention?" He pauses. "Or were you hoping to use my status as a free agent as a form of deniability? That might work, too."

"Might be dangerous for you. Besides, it wouldn't work to save my clan," Osbron said, looking into Dash's eyes. "Considering I want you in the clan as well."

Dash shrugged. "Not sure that's such a good idea right now. I could do a lot of damage as a free agent. Besides, once this crisis is over, I might decide to ride back south, to finish some business there."

"If you really feel that way, we'll have to compromise then, but the fact still stays that I think you should join us. We would need help from talent like yours to remove other stains like this from around the kingdom."

Dash didn't answer.

Osbron smiled. "Now then, to work. We need to find more information about the goblin in charge here. All I know is that he's a ranking Knob official by the name of Cider. Our information about their troop strength here is vague, but it's more than enough to out number us, even though we'll have at least some help on the inside. Still, keep it quiet."

"Do you want him dead or just captured?"

"That is up to our capabilities. Anything to get the goblins out of the knoll would do."

Dash nodded. That's about all that needed to be said, so that's about all there was to this meeting worth repeating.

A short while after, having gathered his items and horse, Dash took a while to look back on the open plains to the south, before setting out for the main city. The field seemed to expand itself on forever. The grey overcast tinted the mood perfectly.

This was noble. This was worth doing.

Dash still had his doubts, but he set it aside to focus on the mission.

Just like always. Time to get the job done.