First, note I fixed the code to show the 'mini logo' in its full size and proper dimensions for the Finale bits.

You're welcome.

This's a pretty short piece, all in all. After all, the mission is something of a transition. A generic war piece before we take the war in a couple interesting directions over the next couple of missions.

Still, it introduces the Finale, preludes the Live Roleplay, and introduces a new threat who.. kind of vanishes after this bit, I think.

A few Council members, a few KOKOL'ers, a few enemies and some action!

Chaos rung out though Seaside Town, the likes of which hadn't been seen in some generations. It was to be expected though, as the Knob Goblins had made it clear they were coming for the Council of Loathing! Fortunately, the Council had some backup against the would-be kidnappers.

Besides their own various talents, the Kingdom of KOL and the Council's own guards rallied to fight the sudden, surprising invasion of the Market Square. KOKOL Prince Blahking had called out his objective; drive the Knob Goblins back and away from the main Market area!

Easier said than done, though. Among the various Knob Goblin regulars were both the Knob Goblin King and his deadly Elite 7. MTiger himself and his elite troopers had squared off with the Elite Seven, and the King fared quite well for being out of combat for so long. At one point, after all, he'd been considered KOKOL's most dangerous soldier.

MTiger roared as he pressed on with the fight. Alongside him, two of the Council members, the so called "Wonderful Couple," Zake and Jilla had used their amazing, if contrived, ability to change forms to assist him. They'd turned into surprisingly useful forms. Zake had turned into an ice snow yeti, while Jilla had converted herself into a flame breathing dog, and later, a lightning cat.

They'd fought the minor Knob Goblin threats off. MTiger lead a charge against Grillhamo in an effort to save Sebastian Dash, Catrina Whiteclaw, and the just-returned Konall Bearsmasher. Fortunately, MTiger had his exclusive one of a kind Plexiglass Clockwork Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot with him, along with Prince Blahking and Fluffy Hamster, who'd gone to help the other Council members find hiding spots.

Who knows how that would end? MTiger stood over the bodies of several fallen Knob Goblins, ignoring their moans. They'd be cleaned out once the Seaside Reserve Military could be called in. Which it to say, the various adventurers associated with the three main guilds of the town.

"Bwahaha, you might have defeated our sneak thieves," called a high pitched voice from nearby. "But now you face the very apprentice of the Jester King of Beasts himself!"

Mtiger's attention snapped to the source of the malicious, evil voice, decked out with a big red nose and white pasty paint over a mocha dark skin. Her slender body gave her the appearance of a demented gymnast, and she was clocked in head to toe of the Knob Goblins finest leather. "Princess Precious and her Willy army! Bwahahahahaha! Hahahah!" She started to cough, caught herself, and continued to laugh, dementedly. Before MTiger could shoo her away before she got hurt, six oversized brutes of Knob Goblins, clearly the result of scientific experiments gone awry, appeared at her side in a flash of smoke and started hurling obscenities and rocks the size of dogs at the King, and those around him!

"Well, then if you would stay stead on this path of war," Mtiger answered with a growl, "Then let us make war upon these dogs of Hey Daze!" With that, he pulled out his blade and charged full tilt!

 
----------

 
Elsewhere, some of the other Council members were in trouble!

"Keep your head low!" Blahking ordered as Cheetham, Shifty and Howe ducked through the alleyways. The Black Paladin and Grillhamo had gotten the drop on them, but they were determined not to let it happen again. "We need to get the word out on our plan, Fluffy. Any ideas?"

Fluffy fired a large iceball at the Knob Goblin Lowbie who'd spotted them, then pulled out a very rare and unusual enchantment. "FINE! I'll use up a Chibi Cherub Rite of Summoning. But I better get compensated for this! Those things ain't easy to come by, ya know!"

"Something tells me we're going to have to pull out everything we have just to survive," Blahking said in a serious, worried tone.

"Then we better get the Hay Daze outta here!" Shifty suggested. "I've used my sneak thief backstabs on some of them, but they're startin' to get wise to my game."

"I hate adaptive enemies," Cheetham said. Or was it Howe?

"Oh me too!" Howe said.. or Cheetham. Well, the other Council member, anyway. "Such a pain to find adventurers smart enough to deal with them."

"We should find some!" the first suggested.

Blahking winced and resisted the urge to slap them around. "Come on, I see a clear path out of here. Let's abuse it while we can."

"Summon spell has been cast!" a tired looking Fluffy said. "I'll scout ahead!"

Before Blahking could protest, Fluffy took off across the road. There were no enemies left in sight, only a few Seaside Town guards recovering from their wounds... and corpses and the unconscious members of both the Kingdom's forces and the Knob Goblins. Still.. something told Prince Blahking this was a bad idea.

Blahking peered from side to side, not sensing anything on a magical level. So it looked safe, and it felt safe..

There was a loud rumbling from the center of town, which got Blahking in the mood to get moving! "Alright, let's go!"

The others didn't bother to wait for further instructions. The three Council members bolted for the door, wanting nothing more than to get to freedom. Of course, Blahking was prepared for this, and took off at a pace meant to keep him in front of them. An ominous feeling suddenly gripped Blahking's inner spirit. Trouble was suddenly close...

"Wait, stop!" he called, but he was ignored. They passed the gates leading out of town, hopefully into safety.. Blahking rounded the gates, only to find Cheetham wailing on the ground in agony, Shifty on his knees, bleeding, and Howe nowhere to be seen. Blahking looked around, expecting trouble, and found it.. Fluffy Hamster was collected in a large, colorful semi transparent hamster ball. Obviously magic resistant. Blahking prepared to blast the first thing he saw.

Unfortunately, the very next thing he saw was blackness as he was blasted from behind into unconsciousness....

Special note: Finale Part II is a specially written Live Roleplay session.. stay tuned!