Back to Wildfall and the mysterious Ninja Prince.

Aaaand.. Clown Rock!

 
After crafting their initial course for scouting the area around clown rock, Jarlsboris Wildfall and the mysterious ninja prince made their way mostly in silence.

This was rather uncharacteristic for Wildfall, but hardly a new experience. He'd learned to hunt and move silently when the situation required it. With the thugs and beasts around the plains, it wasn't a bad idea. He was also lost in his own thoughts. The two came at a small pond some distance away from the clown rocks.. although still in disturbingly clear view of it.

Wildfall found himself a little uncomfortable as the ninja prince stared at the rock formation but didn't say anything. In retrospect, maybe he should have.

The prince finally spoke. "We should head there."

"Towards the creepy clown haven?" Wildfall laughed, but the lack of reaction from his travelling companion made Wildfall suspect he was serious. "Uhhh, I'd really prefer we didn't."

The ninja seemed persistent. "We need to get information on where the penultimate airship is. Or, I guess it's ultimate airship now. Either way, that's our best bet. Stalking around in silence isn't cutting it. Heh.. never thought I'd say that."

"That place," Wildfall admitted, "just gives me the creeper vibes. It seems bad news, and it sounds like bad news, so it probably is."

The ninja nodded and made a noise. To Wildfall, it sounded like a 'hrmph.' Maybe a gruff 'hrmph' or something, he wasn't sure.

-----------

Wildfall sighed.

"What?" the ninja asked. The last twenty minutes or so hadn't proven very fruitful.

"Still can't figure out where those snakes went." Wildfall shrugged in an overly dramatic fashion.

The ninja paused from surveying the field. "The ones you think you were supposed to be following?"

"No, the ones I think I was following," Wildfall retorted. He made a face and corrected himself. "I mean the ones I was following."

"Ah."

Wildfall paused. "You make it sounds like you think I'm crazy."

"Ya know what's crazy?!" a new voice came from nearby. It was enough to catch the normally highly attentive Ireacan and mysterious ninja off balance. "Coming to party central and not bringing party favors!"

Wildfall found himself staring- or trying not to stare- at a clown that seemed to stand near seven feet, covered in muscles, scars, a clown outfit with way too many bright outfits- and a surgeon's mask. Wildfall didn't care to guess the origin of the mask.

"We bear you no harm, clown of terror." The mysterious ninja seemed to be trying a path of diplomacy. Wildfall found that telling. "Let us go about our business and you will be allowed to galavant freely."

"Bwahaha, but my galavanting involves slicing your head off!" The clown laughed. It was a cold, empty but loud laugh. Wildfall also randomly noticed his eyes were a rather unique shade of pinkish yellow. It then attacked the heroes. I mean.. of course it did. What else would you expect from.. it? Him? Her? Wildfall didn't have enough time to try to figure the gender out.

No time for a witting comeback, either. The clown charged the heroes. As he did, he pulled a sword out from behind his back... somehow. (Yeah, let's go with 'male.') The ninja prince jumped back dramatically while Wildfall avoided slash after slash, counterattacking the clown with Wildfall's trademark solid oak shillelagh. He didn't get a good shot, playing defensively but it did take the clown back half a step.

The clown grinned from ear to ear. Wildfall couldn't tell if it was clown makeup on his face, a rash or blood. Maybe all three. "What's the matter?" the clown taunted. "Scared of clowns?"

"Annoyed by your voice," Wildfall shot back.

"I've got an unpleasant history with clowns," the ninja prince said. "One was responsible for an attack on my home clan, which is hidden amidst the mist-covered mountains in another part of the world, a world known for its mythic beasts and terrible empires. A world of magic and fantasy, of.."

"Okay, okay!" the clown yelled out. "Stop the exposition! Heehee! Wait.. where'd you go?!"

As the clown had charged at the ninja, he'd thrown a smoke bomb, obscuring the clown in smoke.

"Alright, who's the wise guy?!" the clown crackled, standing there with his oversized feet in his more oversized shoes. It didn't last long. The ninja backstabbed the clown, who avoided most of the damage, only to stumble forward into Wildfall's attack - a straightforward shillelagh to the chest. "Ohhh, that .. took my breath.. a.." The clown collapsed, pun mercifully unfinished.

"Well.. guess that shut him up," Wildfall boasted. "Now.."

"Took his breath away," a voice called out from seemingly nowhere, making Wildfall jump. He turned to see two more clowns which looked almost exactly like the one they just took down, but a foot shorter. Oh, and the colors on one was the inversion of the other.

"'Took his breath way,'" came a second voice, then a third. Wildfall turned to see a larger fat clown in all black pop up out of the ground, while more of them shambled in from the distance. One stepped out from behind a tree which, logically, should not have been able to hide a clown of her size.

The creepy choir of "'Took his breath away'" continued and grew louder as more and more clowns appeared, mostly out of seemingly nowhere. They quickly surrounded our heroes!

"Guess I spoke too soon," Wildfall admitted as the Ninja and he stood back to back, totally surrounded. The ninja just silently nodded, preparing for a battle. He had nothing to say.

Good thing, too as whatever he said would have been drowned out by the hollow and humorless laughs of the dozens of clowns who now had Wildfall and the ninja prince surrounded.

Nice lil' fight at the start and then a creepy ending. We'll have a debuting player character when we get back to this! But first, we're going back to Task Force Virtue. Then we'll spend a little time with Sassy Snake and her new friends.