Once again, it was me starting the mission off, but this time, I had help. This's Fluffy's only apperance during the roleplay period, but it was memorable enough that I hope we see the Fluffy one in action soon.
It does a pretty good job, in my opinion, of building the character of both Fluffy and Dash up, and playing their contrasting personalities off each other. Since they're just setting out, we don't actually encounter any fights, or Penguins for that matter. The next mission jumps directly into the heat of the action, with Konall at the forefront, although there is a roleplay where Dash backtracks a bit to show how he met the newest KOKOL member. . .

For now, enjoy Fluffy's and my roleplay! - S Dash

Our story starts off where the previous chapter ends - in Konall's house. Dash idly glanced around the room at the gathered adventurers, waiting for his turn. Despite warm clothes designed for the icy environment, Dash's hands were still numb from the chill and winds. It had made keeping stealthy difficult, even with the outfit designed to blend into the environment.

But he'd found out what he needed to know. From the looks of it, all the adventurers invited to the meeting had been given time to get here. All of them, KOKOL allies or members, and in BlahKing's case, the KOKOL Prince himself.

After Konall finished explaining how he'd stumbled across the Penguin's hideout, Dash himself took center stage to report his recent findings.

It'd been a while since Dash had held anything so close to a mission briefing.

"After Konall told us what he found I was sent in to do some scouting. There are dozens of enforcers patrolling the place, and they seem pretty tough. However, they travel in a circuit, which means you can move around them. I wasn't able to explore the entire place, but I did see most of it."

It went without saying that there were thugs everywhere. And Dash had a nagging feeling there was more to the picture he wasn't seeing.

"There's a kitchen, a dining commons, living quarters, a barracks, a sparring room, some lounge areas, and even a wine cellar."

Dash caught himself before he accidentally talked over Bearsmasher's interruption. Dash reprimanded himself to pay more attention to what was going on in the here and now.

"If there's a kitchen, there has to be a stove. And if there's a stove, then there's a chimney."

"Correct," Dash replied. "However, the chimney is pretty narrow. It might fit Fluffy. You could also drop something down it, I suppose. The rest of us will have to go through the entrance hole in the igloo. The passage is guarded, but it's just two penguins. I plan on going in first and taking them by surprise." Dash took his seat, hoping he hadn't forgotten anything, or made any major oversights in his exploration, letting KOKOL's Prince Blahking explain the rest. He'd planned to do more than take out the guards. He wanted to get as much as the mission done himself, before anyone else showed. Better to avoid someone screwing up.

Dash half listened, half focusing on his own plan. Disguising himself as a Knob Goblin. . . it seemed far fetched, but in this case, maybe it made sense. The Penguins would have some difficulty telling the impostors from the real things, as long as Dash and company kept their distance, picked their spots, and avoided line of sight.

Dash had already started preparing an outfit the night before. He'd want to look like a Knob thug, without sacrificing too much flexibility and ability for the sake of a heavy outfit. After all, his primary goal would be to be seen- from a distance, but hopefully not up close.

He'd found a Knob Goblin mask at a novelty shop in Seaside Town, and the outfit itself was fairly typical for a Knob Goblin guard. Some of the thick, well padded armor, even a Knob Goblin Elite Guard t-shirt to go under it. Along with some nondescript boots, it gave him as much of a disguise as he should need. Plus, a bandana, and a hankerchief over the lower half would hide the disguise, but let it's Knobish features show through.

Plus a small bottle of a putrid smelling order nuzzled in one of the outfit's many pockets. Dash wasn't sure what it was, other than being disguising in a very Knobish way.

"Time to be off," Dash thought to himself several minutes later, as he exited.

Dash buttoned up his Knob Goblin overcoat, checked to make sure he had everything, and slung his backpack over his left shoulder, before exiting the hut.

He made it three steps out the door when a small furball levitated himself up to Dash, and planted himself squarely on Dash's shoulder.

"Hi!" Fluffy Hamster squeaked cheerfully at Dash.

Dash glanced over to the magical little creature on his shoulder. "Er.. Hi. And now that the chitchat's out of the way, what the blazes are you sitting on my shoulder for?"

Fluffy snuggled up close to Dash and curled up into a ball of fur, from within his voice squeaked out, "Don't mind me, I'm only hitching a ride!"

Dash shrugged. "Okay, whatever. Why don't you just hitch a ride on your Prince buddy?"

The ball of fur curled up even tighter. "Well, i couldn't find the Price, he's run off somewhere."

"I'm not surprised," Dash responded. "You DO know we're headed directly to the Penguin villa, right?"

The now extremely small ball of fluff squeaked tiredly, "Yeah yeah, just wake me up when we get there... zzzZZZZ."

Dash poked him with his thumb. "Stay alert. Besides, if you're hitching a ride, anyway, I've got some questions for you."

ZAP! A small fireball hit Dash's thumb. "Oww! what did you do that for?" Fluffy squeaked, "Don't poke me, I'm trying to sleep here!"

Ow! Little bugger. Dash held his finger and gave his shoulder a jerk. "Like I said, I've got some questions for you. First one being, you did return the so called 'Orb of the Sun' to it's original location, right?"

The small lump almost fell off Dash's shoulder. "Ahhh! Fine, if you really want to know, I DID place that random glowing orb thingy in a crevice somewhere, now, leave me alone and let me sleep!" And with that, fluffy curls back into a ball again.

Dash let out a sharp, loud whistle. Fluffy woke with a jump. "Oops, sorry about that. I like to whistle while I walk sometimes. Now that you're awake, though, somewhere *does* mean the exact same place you found it right?"

"Argh, I'm going to tell the Prince that you've been nasty to me, and yes I DID place the strange orb thing at the exact place that i found it. (muttering) And if by exact you mean off by a few miles or so..."

Dash slapped his palm to his forehead. "What'd I do to deserve this?" He let out a deep sigh, as he picked up his pace. "Okay, the good news is, we don't want either side finding it, anyway, so as long as it's deep enough they can't reach it, even if they do find it. . . " He glanced over at the furry lump on his shoulder. "It IS, right?"

Fluffy glanced at Dash. "Deep? Deep as in buried under a hundred tons of earth? No, but deep as in carefully hidden under a leaf I found which happened to be nearby, yes."

Dash shrugged. "Guess we'll have to handle that problem when we get to it. I suppose we could always send out a small task force to handle it, or even better . . . "

"Yeah yeah, do whatever you want, but just let me sleep..." Interrupted hamster, who promptly afterwards curled up into another tight ball of fluff.

"How did such a lazy, whiney hamster ever get to be in such a powerful position in KOKOL?" Dash thought to himself as he continued his trek across the icy plains. The few remaining trees were already starting to get more and more sparse.

After a while, the familiar area of the Penguin's Mafia came into view in the distance, and Blahking's last words sent a tingle down even Dash's spine. "And remember, if you get captured or killed the penguins will find out about our ruse, and we fail. That means that we can't afford to leave anyone behind, even if they're dead."

Dash glanced at the small furball on his shoulder, then gently picked it up with his other hand, picking it up, then carefully, slowly set it down on a nearby ice tree. There. By the time he wakes up and covers the distance to the ice village, Dash should have the situation well under control.

Dash set off into the distance, half hoping Fluffy would just sleep through the whole event, and Dash could take care of things himself.

He repeated the words to himself in a low whisper . . . " . . . can't afford to leave anyone behind, even if they're dead."

This piece sets up Dash's interaction with Fluffy nicely. Konall's up next!