Beating the Tar out of Them

Beating the Tar out of Them is an encounter in Man and Fiend.
==Enemies==
* Loquax Tar Demon (1235 Gold, 152 XP, 95 Energy, 7 HP)
* Soulstealer Tar Demon (1300 Gold, 160 XP, 100 Energy, 7 HP)
==Transcript==
===Introduction===
Hugh plodded over rough, uneven ground. The oily, sticky, acrid smell of bubbling tar assaulted his nose until it seemed to fill his mouth as well, drowning and suffocating him. Sweat soaked his tunic. So much dampened his brow that he imagine the tar smeared across his skin, oozing down his features in a black tide.
His left hand twitched, groping for magic that was no longer at his command. The cleaver hung limp at his right side, threatening to fall from his grasp.
How the bloody hell did the others manage?
Rakshara strode along with that great big shield on her arm, as though it were a pleasant stroll. Perhaps to her it was... Tessa had shoved some of her clothing into a pack, baring her slim but strong arms and thighs. She went forward with light, sure steps, her bow in her hand, muscles glistening in the heat. If she felt any discomfort, she gave no sign. Nor did <name>. The heroic Kasan seemed at ease, no more fazed by this than the Titaran had seen him fazed by anything else.
As for Niknak... The imp was capering and babbling at his side.
"Do not fall in tar! Very sticky! Niknak was once thrown in tar, and it was bad! Like treacle, but not tasty!"
"You get thrown in lots of things, don't you?" Tessa asked.
"Yes! Because Niknak is small. If Niknak was big, like Brach'Xell'Ctharat'Sezrachus, no one would throw Niknak in things, or on things, or through things! Instead Niknak would do the throwing..."
"So who threw you in the tar?" <name> asked.
"Wooloob, the tar demon. This is her place. She like tar."
"Being a tar demon, I suppose she would."
"When Niknak got out and went home, all the other imps thought Niknak was a tar imp. They threw rocks, and spears."
Hugh grunted. Bloody imp! If it were up to the Titaran, he'd have thrown... His train of thought died. He blinked at one of the tar pits. And something blinked back.
"Eyes!" Hugh jabbed his left index finger towards the offending organs. "There are sodding eyes in there!"
More patches of white, and blue, and purple, and red emerged from the blackness, glaring from tar-covered faces.
===Conclusion===
Hugh looked this way and that as the spells and arrows flew, his heavy cleaver shaking in echo of his indecision.
Foul demons raged, roared, and attacked, their bodies slathered with stinking tar, oozing and glistening. The others were battling them. Rakshara was on the flank, battering a fiend with her shield, knocking him back into a pool. It left ebon trails smeared across the orange crystal. <Name> was throwing fireballs, turning one of the further away pools into a raging, smoking inferno -- filled with shrieks and burning bodies. But Hugh... He stood there, rooted.
Tessa flitted to his side, her bow raised, an arrow notched to its string. She paused for an instant, as she used to do. Then a soft, almost inaudible sound escaped her lips.
"Oh..."
She gave him a quick, apologetic glance, then fired the missile and moved away. The shaft ended up in a demon's blue eye. He clutched at it, before falling back onto the surface of a pool with a heavy wet splat. His body began to sink into its depths, until their blackness was indistinguishable.
Hugh grunted. He should blooming well fight, he told himself. He should get in there! His weapon was just as deadly as those most of the others wielded. If he bloody well attacked, he could put it through a demon's head and... But in his mind's eye, the cleaver's blade missed. Sticky black fingers closed around his throat. Mocking infernal eyes glared into his.
So he hesitated, stood there with his weapon raised, his head turning one way and the other, his mind caught between action and inaction. He was still hesitating when the last demon perished.
Niknak scurried over to one of the pools. He dropped to his knees, and thrust a green hand into the thick tar.
"Wooloob keeps one here. Niknak has seen it!"
The imp's tongue protruded from the corner of his lips as he groped and rummaged. After several seconds a quizzical expression crossed his demonic features. Then he laughed.
"Found it!" He started to rise. His right arm twitched in the tar. "Niknak is stuck! Help Niknak!"
<Name> grabbed the imp around his neck and by his free arm, like a wrestler placing an opponent in a chokehold. Niknak spluttered and whine as the her's forearm crushed his throat. But one mighty heave, and his trapped limb slipped free with a 'gloop' sound.
Niknak gasped, glared at <name>, then held up his tar-covered hand in triumph.
"A power stone!" the imp said. "This will help Niknak open a portal! A portal for friends to go home!"
Some of the others cheered. Rakshara turned a beaming face to Hugh. But the Titaran looked away. He couldn't meet her gaze.
Category:Man and Fiend