From: rigler@galileo.ifa.hawaii.edu (Michael Rigler)
Subject: [Kq] Thk [Factory] SquidFest...
Organization: Institute for Astronomy, Hawaii
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1992 23:21:58 GMT

JOYSTIX FACTORY LEVEL 2:
-----------------------

Thk surveys the ruins of the factory floor, as Kron races off to 
assist the other Kronquestors in mopping up the chaos.  His mind
feels strangely numb, and he gropes about in his memories to recall 
what exactly it was that he had planned to do after escaping the 
cauldron.  Something about a... 

He grabs a small blonde human female as she attempts to dart past 
him.  "Are you Kron'ss ssisster?"

But the young waif only points at him and screams "Sleestak!"  He
lets her go and continues scanning the room.  Something is wrong 
here.  Like there is a blind spot in his vision corresponding to 
the blind spot in his memory...

Ah!  There is 'Raelf.  Tied up and guarded by a chanting mob of 
dwarven archers.  And next to him...next to him...Thk grits his
teeth with the strain of trying to move his eyes to the left of
'Raelf.  Unh!  He did it, and he is rewarded with the sight of --

"SQUID FACE!!!"

"Now Thk, no need to get violent.  We can both be reasonable here."

"I'm coming for you, sssspawn of a geoduck.  Prepare to meet my
sssstomach..."

Thk licks his lips in anticipation and begins to wade through the
carpet of tiny smurfs.  They make a satisfying crunchy sound under
his feet.  The lizardman is ravenous, ravenous as only the use of 
the Trident's powers can make him.  The Trident!  Where is it!?!?

"Where is it?!?"  he demands.  

The mind flayer's tentacles writhe in delight.  "Exactly.  Where is
it indeed?  You need your precious toy, lizardman.  Without it you
are nothing but an overgrown gecko.  Only *I* know of its present
location, and only *I* can take you there."  ~You need me, Thk.  You 
don't want to harm me, do you?  I am your friend.~

Thk pauses, considering.  The bottom feeder is right.  He *is* nothing
without his toy.  In fact...in fact, it was crazy of him to ever even
step foot out of his swamp.  He should have stayed at home and been 
content with the life of a simple lizard man...two or three wives, the
simple but comfortable thatch hut, the occasional war party raid followed 
by a horrid feast with humans as the main course.  But no...no, he had to
go and unite all the tribes and instill his people with fancy shmancy 
dogma, and a sense of pride and identity, and then he had the gall--the
gall!--to dare to wage war on humans with their scary weapons and magic 
and gods and...what ever could have possessed him to do something so 
foolish and dangerous!

~That's right Thk.  You're in grave danger, and only I can help you
and protect you now.  Untie me.  Join with me and --~

"Hey Thk!  Lighten up, Dude.  Don't take the Squid so seriously."

Thk shakes his head in confusion.  "Where, where isss the Trident?"  
He approaches and stands over the mind flayer.

~I'll take you to your Trident, Thk.  For it is truly yours.  You've
earned it.  We will make a great team, Thk.  With you at my side, 
weilding your Trident, we shall subdue the Kingdoms of the Overworld,
beginning with Generica.  I shall assume control of the Underwurld
as well, and in time come to rule the entire Nexus, er, with you at
my side of course.  Just untie me first and --~

"Whoah!  Can you get a load of this guy, Thk?   Hitler step back!"

Thk bends downwards, eyeing the cartilagenous skull of the mind flayer.
He licks his lips hungrily. 

"W-what are you doing, Thk?"

"Your head.  It looks so tasssty.  And I am ssso hungry.  The Trident
can wait.  I'll find it later."

Quruuminius watches the scaly lips peel back, revealing a row of teeth
that would make a tiger shark proud.  The analytical part of his mind 
realizes that this is no garden variety lizard man, but a mutated fish-
like freak, twisted almost beyond reason by the oceanic powers of the
Sea God's artifact.  But the emotional part of his mind has no time for 
such speculation, as it is flooded by a deep primordial fear for perhaps 
the first time in his long career.  He is facing the mind flayer's worst 
nightmare:  Death by cerebral extraction.

"Gnarly, dude!"  'Raelf leans forwards.  "I've never seen anything like 
_this_ before.  I mean, how ironic, you know?  Watch out for those tent-
acles."

"Wait Thk wait!  I will serve you!  I will place you on the throne of 
Generica!"  ~You want to rule, Thk.  It is in your blood.  It is your
destiny.  It is the only way to insure the safety of your people --"

Thk opens his massive jaws, partially unhinging them, and his tongue
flicks out and caresses Quruuminias's head.  For his part, Q. has almost
recovered enough psionic power to punch through the Cosmic Surfers inter-
ference.  If he can stall for just a few more seconds, he can blast
the lizardman into a coma, or better yet, just phase off to the Plane
of Air and have done with this business.  But the lizardman won't wait!

As Thk prepares to strike, Quruuminias slowly brings his maxillary 
tentacles up to Thk's face.  It will be a toss up as to which of the
two is faster at extracting the other's brains...

Kron steps around from behind the lizardman.  "Wait a moment.  We need
information.  If you tell us where we can find Blink, the Waster, we
will let you go free."

"Agreed.  At last, a voice of reason."  Kron's head is suddenly flooded 
with information about Blink and the Wasters' Headquarters nearby in
the Low City.  "Now, call this brute off me!"

Kron nods.  "Let him go, Thk."

The lizardman stands back.

"We shall meet again, foodbeasts.  And I shall personally suck and savour 
the tender tissues from each of your cranial cavities."

* FWOOOOMP! *  The KronQuestors are knocked backwards by an implosion of
air.  And the mindflayer is no where to be seen.

    \========C\                Rigler...
              \\ 
  <===========C ]==|[///////////////////]|==========|[////////////]D>
              //  
    /========C/                 ...Thk

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