Kadlin's one of the characters who's turn came during Rollover. The first peace of the mission gives her handler a chance to expand on her decision to join the Knob Goblins via the flashback which the majority of the roleplay is dedicated to.

It's a vastly different mood than the typical Bearsmasher piece, as is mentioned in the opening notes. It does a nice job of establishing the tone for the Mission Finale, too.

The series called for something a bit darker so I'm going with a different tone than my usual. Deal with it.

As Kadlin walked through the halls of the goblin castle she thought about the events that had led her to this point? Had she made the right decision? Even now, she couldn't be sure. She decided to go over the whole story one more time, think through every angle, see if she had made the right choice.

In her memory, Kadlin stepped through the ruins of the city. The area where she stood was charred wood, ash, and scattered debris. The mixture of lingering smoke and soot meant blacken was the predominant color, and it took her two or three seconds longer than it should have to spot the Black Paladin and his mount.

The dark knight raised a javelin in hand and hurled it in Kadlin's direction. The pastamancer dove out of the way, but the javelin wouldn't have hit her even if she had been standing still. Instead, it struck the zombie behind her directly in the chest, toppling it to the ground.

Did the Black Paladin just miss me and at the same time happen to take out a threat I wasn't aware of? thought Kadlin. Since when am I ever that lucky. So why's he defending me?

Kadlin brought her staff to bear, preparing a spell only to feel her insides quiver as they strained to summon the energy needed to cast a spell, and failed. She needed rest. The knight circled her and picked up his javelin, shook the blood off, and returned it to his oversized quiver. The two combatants studied each other wordlessly.

The black knight was covered from head to toe in spiked black armor that seemed to absorb most light and reflect only a dark oily sheen, and then only slightly. His armor was expertly crafted, and Kadlin's third eye could detect a number of enchantments on it, as well as each of the half-dozen weapons he carried. Kadlin had fought him before and knew that he had mastered all of them with far more proficiency than she could ever hope to master her staff, the only weapon she had ever been good with. Of course, she knew spells, but that wouldn't do her any good at the moment.

She moved her eyes from the rider to his steed. The horse had its own armor, fashioned by the same hands and with the same care, enchantment, and spikes. Its eyes were the only source of color, glowing orange against its black coat. Wherever it walked its horseshoes burned black marks into the ground. No, not burn marks, shadows. Shadows of pure darkness that stayed their ground and didn't retreat at the first sign of light.

Kadlin could only imagine what she looked like herself. Tired, covered in ash. She had worked her body while neglecting her mind, and that left a lean figure that, while somewhat attractive, was hardly intimidating. The mystic tattoos on her body, and the magical equipment she carried would be enough to frighten most people, but not someone who had faced wizards before and rode off with their heads strapped to his saddle. Not someone with wards against magic enchanted into his armor. The knight had to look at her and see a woman desperately holding a long stick that would be snapped in half with a sturdy blow from any blade he carried with him.

But then Kadlin noticed something else. The knight's posture. He wasn't ready for battle. His hands were empty. The pause hadn't been long, only a few breaths, but the paladin hadn't pulled a weapon out since the javelin, and that was in its place. He could have thrown it at her instead, or pulled out any of his other blades or clubs and readied a strike. In another three breaths he could be charging toward her, and if she made the slightest mistake, then in another three she would be lying on the ground, bleeding to death.

Kadlin cocked her head. "What do you want?"

The knight turned his horse and motioned for her to follow. She asked herself What does he want me to do? Show me his collection of Ralph IX figurines? No way I'm going with him. Then another part of herself spoke up, the part whose job it was to voice bad ideas. Listening to that voice usually caused the listener to wind up either dead prematurely or a hero, often both.

Why not go with him? it asked. Afraid he'll kill you? His type isn't the subtle one, especially when it knows it has the upper hand. You think he's trying to capture you? One good hit in the head with that mace of his and you're out cold? You're thinking subtlety on his part again? Come on, you're smarter than that. What's your plan here? Outrun that horse if he tries to catch you? Run and hope he doesn't follow? You're almost certainly going to die here. Might as well satisfy your curiosity before you go out. The first voice added In a blaze of glory of course. She decided to go with the Paladin, all the while plagued by a fear that she couldn't shake. Not a fear that she might die, she hadn't feared death since she was seven. No, she was afraid that she might live, and that dying here and now would be the better option.

So Kadlin took off after the paladin. For his part, the knight led her along, doubling back occasionally to strike down any undead that threatened her. He tossed her the water skin off his saddlebags, but Kadlin hadn't reached that level of resignation yet. She tossed it right back and kept on trudging.

"How much farther?" she asked. One step. Two, three, four, five, ten, twenty. Still no answer.

She got tired of waiting and asked something else. "Am I a prisoner or something?" The Paladin didn't even turn his head.

"So where are we going?" she said. The Paladin merely pointed to a burnt-out building a few blocks down the street.

They spent the next few moments in silence. Upon reaching the building, the Paladin pointed to a staircase and motioned for her to head down the stairs. It wasn't an order, more like a theatre attendant directing her to her seat. She descended the staircase into the building's cellar.

The cellar had avoided most of the damage, and whatever its contents were had been carelessly looted. But someone had come in after and arranged things carefully. There were four candles near the back wall giving off blue flame, providing the only light other than at the cellar door. Around the candles were intricate diagrams, runes, and magical symbols. They were of a style of magic foreign to Kadlin's shamanism and just about everything else she had studied, though she had a grasp of the basic concept. Some sort of summoning circle? Maybe an area for a spirit to materialize? Something of the sort. There was a talisman at the center, a pendant in the shape of a wicked sword, made of the same dark metal as the Paladin's armor.

The magical diagrams would need some sort of energy source to activate. A mage could channel his own power into it. The talisman had some mana stored in it, so it might do the job. Perhaps the creature it was meant to link to could supply the power from its end. Or maybe they intended her as some sort of virgin sacrifice. It was a bit late for that last one. Ned Skullbreaker had seen to that. Still, a magician such as herself still had an innate spark that certain rituals could tap. Of course, she'd have to be killed in the proper manner, and the Paladin probably wasn't trained in how to do it. Even if he was, the magic dampening in his armor would wreak havoc at attempting to do any decent ritual. And when it came to summonings, it paid not to botch things.

So, in all probability someone was coming down to kill her and use her life force and spirit to power this ritual. Well, whoever tried to do this would find her the toughest victim he'd ever faced.

She felt the stirring in the ether before she saw the gathering shadows, and turned to spot the ritual circle glowing and the flames suddenly burst three feet into the air, still pencil thin. Then, they went out and the shadows formed into the vague shape of a human, a man. Anything beyond that was impossible to make out in the darkness.

"Who are you?" she asked, in curiosity but not fear. Specters may intimidate the general public, but to someone with her willpower and as steeped in the ways of magic as she was, they were easier to fight than creatures of flesh and blood.

The shape talked without moving its mouth. "I am a ghost of an age long past and forgotten. I am the harbinger of things yet to come. I am a counselor, a teacher, a priest, and a soldier. I am both master and a servant. And to you, I am a friend you have yet to become acquainted with." Its voice was deep, tinged with an accent she couldn't place.

Kadlin twirled her staff. "So you're pretty much not going to tell me anything."

"On the contrary, I am here to do nothing but talk, and I have a great deal to tell you. My name is Kalranoin. That is my true name, not my given one. Conjure by it if you wish, I was bound by one whose talents far exceed your own, at least such as they are at the moment."

"I assume there's a point here."

"I know about you. You study, and train, and seek wisdom and learning. You are driven to reach your full potential. I want you to exceed that potential, to become a goddess among mortals."

"And all this power is available to me only if I'm willing to do you the tiniest of favors, right?"

"Not at all, not at all. I am not among the living, and what use have the dead for favors? Could you restore me to life? Even if it were so, I would not wish it. No, I help people, people whom I see as being something like myself when I was young. People whom I can help achieve great things. Death changes one's outlook, and that changed outlook brings with it a different sense of drive. Things that seems necessary to someone of flesh and blood seem frivolous to someone of only spirit, while other matters that once seemed trivial are now of the gravest importance."

"Is your plan to bore me to death until I understand your point of view?"

"Your generation has no concept of respect."

"I'm tired. Get to the point so I can ignore your offer and then either go to sleep or fight someone to the death."

"As you wish. You seek knowledge of magic. Not just the spells that anyone can cast. You want the deep magics, the ones whose existence is theorized, but never used. At least, not that you've been able to find. I know of these magics. I can explain their existence and how they work. I can train you to use them."

"And all these magics just happen to be of the unspeakably dark variety. But I shouldn't worry because they'll only eat away at my soul a little bit, right?"

"Power is the ability to make life better for the people you care about, whether that be yourself or the entire world. Light and darkness only start to come into play when you decide who should benefit from your power."

"I hear that argument a lot. Everyone who gives it ends up being the sort of person I need to kill."

"Very well. Consider this: the Elite 7 and the forces of the Goblin King are sweeping through this land. They are winning, they are winning soundly, and you will not defeat them. They have access to powers that your current side does not, and they will be victorious. You can make your stand, die as a true Viking hero, and allow their evil to sweep across the land. Or you can take your place at the front of the charge and direct its path, all the while mastering techniques you never dreamed existed."

"They won't accept me."

"They will."

"My people won't. I'll be turning my back on them."

"To which people do you refer? The people of this town? They are not yours. You'd never met them until a few weeks ago. Your companions? Certainly not. Konall's companions, perhaps. They treat you well for his sake, because you are his sister. They do not know you nor do they respect you."

The shade stepped out of the circle, the first time he had done so. "Perhaps you refer to your Viking clan. Did they teach you how to fight with a mage's staff, or did you train on your own in secret when they denied your requests? Did they accept you when you said you wanted to join the warriors' ranks, or did they turn you out and tell you that you were best suited for wenching in taverns? Did they respect your power, or did they mock your talents? You seek to please a community that is past. They are all slain; none remain to admire you."

"Konall's still alive."

"And Konall fears any power he does not comprehend. And being Konall, that consists of most of the powers of this world. Every time you have tried to become your own person he has been there to stand in the way."

"You don't know him."

"On the contrary, I know him better than you do, even better than he knows himself. We were good friends once."

Kadlin didn't bother to conceal her skepticism and the shade continued. "I am a spirit bound in a sword, one that he discarded because he did not understand it. I ask only that you take a look at the power he discarded with nary a thought, and understand what you are giving up, if you still think that a wise course of action. There is a team of goblin mages above you preparing a travel gate that will take you directly to where my metal body is. You have only to look at the possibilities available to you. If you choose to dismiss them senselessly, you will be allowed to go free or die an honorable death against the combatants you will find there, perhaps taking a few of them to the grave with you.

Kadlin shrugged and went back up the stairs. The circle of seven goblin sorcerers was there as promised, and the travel gate opened to the goblin city. She stepped through.

"You seem thinky," said Becky, jolting Kadlin out of her memories.

Kadlin paused for a moment. "I have a lot on my mind right now. I just made a tough decision and I'm wondering if it was the right one."

"Soooo.... Whatcha gonna do now?"

"I'm going to keep going. There's too many open doors in front of me, and too many closed ones behind me."

Yeah, because you closed them all. And you can open them again. Kadlin told that voice to shut up and stay shut up. And it obeyed. It would be a long time before that voice decided to speak up again.

I'm assuming the "knob castle" refers to their little underground hideaway in Cobb's Knob. Anyway, a darker little piece and definitely provides more insight into her decision to join the Knob Goblins. He even worked a cute little Becky cameo into it.

This is just the first on a record setting number of roleplays, too.