To Wing Or Not Two Wings

an adventure starring Grizzlt, Rook, and Wing. 
Companion episode: Upward Mobility
Setting: Niqamui, Ekenblim Hive Palace
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To Wing or Not Two Wings 
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Come along with Rook, Grizzlt and Wing as they "volunteer" to test Ekenblim dust portals, discover what goes on in an Ekenblim hive and maybe hear a familiar voice. Adventure awaits for those who listen!
Non Player Characters
* Nulisag
* Anaril Evanara
* Helmer Talbot
* Fernando Halevy
* Adranuch Raja
* Tendai Huaman
* Elios Van Hoofenstuff
* Serian
Plot Summary:
A shared dream of a fancy party and transforming into an Ekenblim can’t be a good sign. And Grizzlt, Rook and Wing all wake up with this strange shared sensation. Wing, who has just returned from a holiday, arrives at the guild hall at about the same time the three of them wake up for the day. They meet together and quickly realize their dream was perhaps more than just coincidence. A bit of confusion and paranoia begin to set in but Nugget gives them a quick pinch to make sure they are not still in the dream world. Before they can discern what caused this, they are called over by Nulisag. Apparently Anaril Evanara has a task for them.
It turns out that Anaril is hiring test subjects to help her discover the true nature of Ekenblim dust. She already knows that it was able to enhance her magic, and that singing while using the dust increases the magical power. She thinks that if they all sing while covered in dust, they might be able to tap into the Ekenblim hive mind. If they can teleport at the same time, they can perhaps use this as a way to finally break through the Ekenblim Firewall. At the first mention of Ekenblim though, Wing leaves Nulisag’s office, wanting nothing to do with the moth people. Grizzlt and Rook, both wise in their years, decide for the group that whatever Anaril needs is what they will do!
Back down in the main hall, it takes some convincing to get Wing on board with the idea. But after a healthy helping of Soul Fizz to keep them from becoming zombies, Rook, Grizzlt and Wing/Nugget finally agree to Anaril’s request. Wasting no time at all she begins to place the teleportation circle in the middle of the guild hall. Anaril finishes the portal and the three of them step in, humming a beautiful melody in unison. A flash of sparkly magic envelopes them and they are whisked away. 
On the other side of the portal, each is greeted with their own visions inside a strange room or inside their own minds, it is hard to tell. Whether the walls tasted like ice cream or nothing at all is up to each adventurer. When they come out of their dream state they find that they have to burst out of cocoons. They have been transformed! Two moth wings have sprouted from their backs as the Ekenblim transformation started to take hold. Wing, not wanting to have anything to do with the Ekenblim, quickly removes his wings with a blade. Grizzlt decides that keeping the wings would provide him with a tactical advantage. Rook comes out of the cocoon and quickly joins Wing in removing the appendages.
Quickly the three find themselves in a giant pringle-can-shaped tunnel covered in cocoons. Unsure of what happened with Anaril and the experiment, their mission for recon has become something else; to figure out what happened and why they are here. Unfortunately, they are soon approached by two Ekenblim hybrid creatures. They hear the creatures speaking of something happening on the 64th floor. Before any more secrets can be discovered though, Rook, who cut off his wings in haste with Wing, finds himself face-to-face with the creatures and is quickly discovered. With a call for backup the two Ekenblim fly away. Suddenly many cow-sized earwig creatures Rush from a side tunnel and attack! The fight is hectic and brutal for as they strike down one of the earwig beasts, it soon rises from the dead.
Grizzlt unfortunately takes most of the brunt of the attack; falling to the earwigs many attacks not once but twice. Luckily Wing is able to stabilize their friend and keep Grizzlt up. Valiantly the goblin manages to keep fighting and surviving and finally his astral limbs finish off the earwigs. Eventually through attrition more than prowess and helpful breath attacks from a full grown Nugget, they are able to defeat their insectoid foes. Beat up and confused the group set out to figure out what is going on. 
When they reach the end of the tunnel they find that they are in a massive Ekenblim hive Palace. The entire place is completely covered in Ekenblim and other creatures that are helping them. It’s a veritable beehive of activity. Across from them they find a portal station and keep it in mind as a possible escape. Nearby a fancy party is underway. When they step out into the main area, Grizzlt is approached by a higher rank Ekenblim. They instruct him on what a lowly new hatchling is supposed to do and Grizzlt is forced into servers attire. It's clear that there is a Ekenblim hierarchy, but luckily the moth person seems to ignore Rook and Wing who had cut off their wings.  Reminiscent of their shared dream, Grizzlt decides its best to stay in the disguise but keep trying to work their way up, not wanting anything to do with the fancy party. 
In Rook's cocoon dream, he had come face to face with a strange devil by the name of Fernando Halevy. The devil had told Rook that he had one of the gnome’s friends' soul trapped in an orb; Helmer Talbot. Fernando told Rook that if he wanted to save his friends’ soul, he would need to go to the 64th floor and help the Ekenblim break through a barrier to another world. So between the wings from Nugget and the wings on Grizzlt’s back the three of them take flight and ascend to the 64th floor hoping that by doing so they will earn some answers.
Upon reaching the floors above, the group find that this Palace is also an office workspace of sorts. Rows upon rows upon rows of cubicles, or hexibles perhaps, line the Halls with Ekenblim working hard at various screens. The screens seem to depict other worlds through them. The higher they go up the more fancy the offices become. When they finally make it up to the 64th floor, they are treated to a beautiful office suite. The office itself was set upon the edge of a waterfall and the giant glass windows that covered the walls made it so you could always be looking out over the waterfall. Around the office was lush vegetation, brightly colorful and delicious looking mushrooms. Wing could not resist the aroma of a good colorful mushroom and plucked one out of the ground. Feasting upon it immediately, the magic of the mushroom washed over Wing and made him even more charming and irresistible.
Knock Knock. 
The three open the door and step inside. There is an Ekenblim at a desk in front of them wearing quite fancy attire. Serian, an S Tier Ekenblim lets them in, but one glance at Grizzlt makes Serian believe they are there to deliver food. Grizzlt uses that advantage to hide in plain sight as Serian keeps working at a desk with another screen upon it. The display appears to be portal windows into other worlds and he is trying to get through this specific one. Rook is reminded of his deal with the devil, Fernando. Rook was supposed to come to this floor to figure out how to hack into this other world and then his friend's soul will be returned. Upon looking into the screen, which shows a beautiful city beyond, Rook is able to see that some kind of ship, is blocking the teleportation circle from being formed. For the time being, keeping this world safe from invasion. However it appears that no one else can see the ship. The crew decide to take a moment to have a conversation with Serian. Wing decides to take full advantage of the mushroom's effects, making him much more of a charmer. At first Serian is opposed to the group, knowing that they do not belong here. But once Wing turns on the charm Serian is ensnared.
They decide to take the opportunity to have Serian summon Fernando the Devil, with using some of his charm to make it happen. Fernando appears, taunting Rook with the soul orb of his friend. Grizzlt, who had been hiding in the kitchen, uses this moment to his advantage and sneak up behind the devil. With the last bit of his mushroom empowered charm, is able to turn Serian against Fernando.  Without much pomp or circumstance Fernando is struck dead by the powerful Ekenblim. But unfortunately the soul flies across the room and heads for the waterfall. Grizzlt rushes over to save the orb right as Rook tackles Serian into the portal screen. The orb falls over the waterfall, but Nugget is able to scoop it up in his mouth before it falls to the depths. The three decide to escape and quickly rush for the teleporters; zooming back to the guild hall for their reward.
Category:Episodes