Time for a lil more Konall! Zed's here too.

So is a special cameo from the Feline Empire. I'll let that be a lil surprise, I think.

 
Zed walked into the chambers of the Committee for Drastic and Unnecessarily Violent Solutions, careful to avoid the puddles of blood and spilled alcohol.

"Heya Konall, I've got something you're going to want to look into. There was something weird that my magic picked up on, and when I investigated I came up with some fields of mutated Dryad's Toadstools and some goblin guards. You won't happen to know someone who wants a magical seal broken desperately, would you?"

"What!" Konall said. "Why would Kadlin do this?"

"Well, you're going to have to find out, and soon. I didn't get the chance to see how long till the Toadstools were mature, but that's acres of them waiting for whatever your sister's got planned." Zed carefully rested the handful of toadstools he'd grabbed in front of Konall. "I'd be careful with these, boss. She's-"

Konall scooped up the mushrooms and shoved them in his mouth. "Bitter," he said.

Zed stared widely at Konall: "Boss, I'm not volunteering to collect another batch for testing, and what part of 'dangerous magical fungi' didn't you get?"

"Meh," said Konall. "A bit of poison is good for you. Clears out any diseases lurking around in your blood. But I've got to put a stop to this. It's time to go punch some freedom into the Knoll."

* * *

Konall moved through the Knoll, and every time he rounded a corner something new made him angry. The corner before had shown him one of Kadlin’s mutated elites, reminding him of how far his sister’s magic had been corrupted. Before that was a woman who’d been beaten for complaining about her husband’s murder. In front of Konall now was a shrine covered in graffiti, and while before he might have laughed at the crude drawings and slang, he knew full well the loss of spiritual power to that place had occurred because some punks wanted to mess around.

Konall took out a chisel and scraped off the desecrating marks. He carefully restored the shrine to its former beauty, and offered a quick prayer of sanctification. He felt the spirits of fortune returning to the shrine, their connection to the physical world restored.

Konall made the proper ritual hand movements to begin a shrine prayer. “Spirits,” he intoned, “your shrine was desecrated by those who thought the destruction of your abode a proper way to amuse themselves for a few moments.” Yeah, those were the kind of words Kadlin would have used, once. “This is but one more example of why these oppressors need to be driven out. Grant your blessings upon my weapons, that I may avenge you and all the people of the Knoll.”

A faint glow surrounded his weapons and faded, but the power remained behind. Konall moved on to a nearby bookstore. This was where Spaz had said the resistance met. Konall walked in through the door.

Around a table were a group of scrawny knollish twenty-somethings. “Who are you?” they asked.

“I’m Konall Bearsmasher, here to crack some skulls. Uh, not yours. You don’t need to worry. So you guys are the resistance.”

“Um,” said the one wearing the biggest hat, “how do we know we can trust you?”

Konall pulled out a necklace made from goblin fangs. “Collected them myself. What kind of trophies do you have?”

“We don’t have any,” Mr. Hat said.

“How many goblins have you killed?”

“None… well there was the one we startled and he fell off a ladder. He might have died. We didn’t stick around.”

“We felt so guilty,” another knoll said.

“What kind of warriors are you?” Konall asked.

Mr. Hat said, “We’re not so much warriors as philosophy students. We’re here because we believe the occupation is an egregious assault on the liberties of the knoll.”

“Oh,” said Konall. “I think I need to claim leadership here.”

“On what grounds do you justify this claim?” said Mr. Hat.

“I’ve fought more people than all of you combined, I’ve led more men than all of you combined, and I can beat up all of you combined.”

“Ah. An argument from pragmatism. I think it was well-reasoned.” said Mr. Hat.

“All right,” said Konall. “Here’s where we get down to business.”

* * *

Kadlin stood face-to-face with the black paladin. This required her standing two stairs up from him while wearing high heels, but she was now face-to-face nonetheless. He’d shown up in the knoll one day, coming toward her chambers, and she’d readied herself to meet him.

“Your master, the goblin king, is dead,” said Kadlin.

The paladin nodded.

“And Catrina is a poor substitute, not the powerful woman you thought she’d be. She is unworthy of your service.”

The man nodded again.

“But you’re not sure I’m any better. I understand you. I know your quest for power, and your desire to serve the powerful. I assure you, I am the person you’re looking for.”

The knight stood still.

“You desire proof. I respect that." Kadlin ate one of the dryad’s toadstools and pointed her glaive at the paladin, just as he drew his sword. Black lightning lashed out of Kadlin’s spear, slamming into the paladin. The man’s armor gave him partial protection against magic, but this was a power deeper than magic that Kadlin was wielding. She was able, temporarily, to draw power from beyond one of the glaive’s seals. When the ritual was complete, she’d have access to this sort of power all the time.

The knight staggered under the blow and kneeled. Smoke curled from under his armor.

“I accept your service,” said Kadlin. “Now come, remove your armor. I have rituals that will make you stronger.”

* * *

Konall led his fellow revolutionaries through the Knollish caverns. He had managed to recruit some barroom brawlers to augment his philosophy students. Unfortunately, the only weapons his team had available were the ones Konall kept on his body. This left them limited to one haxxor, one bow, one sword, four hatchets, three daggers, one set of brass knuckles, a club, and a skinning knife. They would need more weapons if they were to get anywhere, and the goblins' armory was just the place to equip themselves... that is if it weren't surrounded by twenty goblin elites.

Konall could take them all, with a little help from his warriors. But he wouldn't be able to handle the reinforcements that came. At least, not without losing his entire band of revolutionaries. And the death of all the previous members does not bode well for recruiting new ones.

They needed to get some of these elites gone, and in a hurry. "Spirits," intoned Konall, driving his haxxor into the earth in a gesture of respect "please send an elemental of chaos to draw these goblins away from their posts."

Becky Joy skipped into the area a few minutes later, trailing her Knob Goblins Red and Green along.

"Year he, year," Green started reading from a scroll. He quickly corrected himself. "Hear ye, great Goblin guardians. Your presence is required by Becky Joy, who shall shortly be conducting her first ever Gnollish question, answer, and pie time! Please form a double file line and walk this way. Talk this way, Walk this way. Talk this way."

The Goblins greatly questioned whether all twenty of them would be necessary but gave in when Becky threatened to throw a fit and tattle on them. Besides, she was offering a choice of rat poison, pumpkin, or roadkill pie.

Konall almost came out from around the corner and followed them, hungering for roadkill pie. But he stopped himself. That girl was surrounded by spirits of chaos, ones that twisted fate around themselves in odd ways to move forward their own ends, ends which might even be good. They made her succeed at things she shouldn't be able to.

With the guards gone, charmed by Becky's words, Konall and company moved forward. The gates were unlocked with careful application of the hammer end of Konall's haxxor.

His people quickly began taking polearms, swords, shields, bows, arrows, and all manner of other weapons down from the walls and arming themselves. Konall saw a pile of magical scrolls. He seized a torch and threw it toward them, missing by inches.

"What are you doing?" shouted one of the philosophy students. "Those are filled with magical energy, and if you burn them that energy will be released suddenly and catastrophically."

"EVERYONE OUT!" shouted Konall. Already the group had come to realize that Konall feared almost nothing. So if he was afraid, it was time to panic. They rushed out, passing a knob goblin patrol. The goblins were about to give chase when the first of the scrolls caught.

BOOM! A purple explosion devastated the armory, tearing through the goblins. Next came whizzes and pops of energy. One goblin was turned into a sheep while the soldier standing next to him was covered in gravy. Utter chaos fried, disintegrated, and gender-swapped the patrol as Konall's people fled in the confusion.

Konall grinned to himself. This revolution had begun.

* * *

 
Kadlin's lieutenant, Barbacoa, walked into her laboratory while Kadlin was marking out ritual diagrams.

Kadlin looked up from what she was doing. "I've heard reports of a revolution in the Knoll."

"Yes, so far damages have been minor given-"

"I don't care. This thing will only grow unless we crush it quickly. I want you to find anyone responsible and kill them."

"I've heard your brother is part of that group. If the rumors are true, perhaps you'd like him captured for questioning."

"Kill him as well."

"As you say."

Did ya like the lil Becky cameo? Anyway, it made a great followup to Zed's solo and helped set Konall into action as well. Oh and Kadlin was here too.