Skrung

## Denzel Balforkwim

Official artwork of Skrung by Jack Kaiser.

**Skrung** is a character in Team Four Star's D&D series "TFS at the Table". He is a goblin who was betrayed on the Voltun by orcs seeking the abyssal tumor, unbeknownst to him. Meed knows his true name, and he wants no one else to know. He is the secretly forgotten prince of the Goblin Kingdom, searching for his ring stolen by red caps to return home.

## **Biography**

Denzel Balforkwim is a prince of the royal family of the Goblin Kingdom. On the day he was meant to be inaugurated as an official member of the royal family his signet ring was switched with a fake by a red cap by the name of Grosswert. His father, the goblin king, took this as a sign of treason and sentenced him to exile. From that day forward he's been searching for the red cap.

After that day, he went by Skrung as he searched for Grosswert. After spending 50 billion gold he found information on Grosswert that lead him to Jahal cove.

## **Appearance**

Being a goblin, Skrung is a diminutive person about 3 feet tall with green skin and large, pointed ears. He wears a striped sailor's shirt and pants with suspenders. He carries a modified pistol that fires magically charged ammunition.

During a mission at the end of chapter two, Skrung lost his right arm up to bicep and now has a prosthetic in its place.

## **Personality**

Skrung has a habit of being a jerk to his fellow crew members (mostly his captain Ezra) and vanishing during important moments, or whenever people take their eyes off him. Sometimes this is to hide from authority figures, but usually it's so he can try to steal treasure.

He seems to have the love of money and personal gain that is shared by most goblins.

## **Adventures at the Table**

### **Chapter One**

Skrung struck a deal with a crew of pirate orcs to attack the cargo ship Voltun on its way to Jahal cove in episode one. While attending the ship as a passenger, he came across Wake, Eloy, and Ezra. He was instantly drawn to Eloy and competed with Ezra for the donkey man's attention.

That night, the Voltun's captain, Havok called all the passengers above deck to interrogate them about a missing crate. After Wake came up to him and remarked that he didn't seem like the stereotypical goblin, Skrung spoke out against the racial mistrust to him because he was a goblin and pointed out that Risf, a kobold, wasn't being treated nearly as bad.

The interrogations were cut short with the arrival of the orc pirates, who rammed the Voltun and began engaging the crew. During the confusion, Skrung slipped below deck to check on the cargo the orcs were after. However, the orcs decided to betray Skrung and tried to kill him. Fortunately, Wake, Eloy, and Ezra had seen him slip below deck and helped him fight off the orcs.

In episode two, Skrung was taken ashore in hand cuffs and a baby leash for his association with the orcs. Ezra approved of the restraints, and, when they were later removed, he commented that Skrung should at least keep the leash, provoking an unsuccessful attack from the goblin out of frustration. He, Wake, Eloy, Ezra, Risf, and two humans from the Voltun, Redd and Pliskin, were given audience with Captain Jacob Meed, the pirate lord who governed Jahal Cove. Meed told those present that Jahal Cove was in lockdown due to the threat of abyssal monsters in the surrounding waters and offered them all the chance to help discover the source of the creatures. Skrung was allowed to assist since he helped fight off the orcs but was warned that he would be observed.

Skrung made his way to Black Street in episode three and ran into Wake, Ezra, and Eloy. The unwanted attention gathered together a large number of rat folk, so Eloy distracted them with the ballad of Billy Punchyface.

The next day, Skrung traveled with Risf, Pliskin, and Redd to Piranha Bog so they could begin investigating the abyssal problem, while Wake, Ezra, and Eloy went with a lizardfolk hunter named Onslow Green. Their trip took them along the coast to an ancient Yuan-Ti temple, which had been refurbished into a carnival by the Fine Day Boardwalk Company.

Skrung and his group met up with Wake, Ezra, Eloy, and Onslow Green in Piranha Bog village in episode four. He taunted the others for taking the more dangerous route and ate cotton candy from the boardwalk in front of them. Skrung refused to give any to Eloy, further taunting him with the treats. In the end, it was decided that Wake, Ezra, and Eloy would accompany Onslow Green to Yeldin cave to explore it for any clues, while Skrung, Risf, Pliskin, and Redd travel up the coast towards a naval base. To provide them with a distraction, Wake hired Onslow Green's rival, Old Young Cletus, to go on a hunting trip near the base.

During the trip upriver, Skrung's group discovered a female Yuan-Ti named Zia'ka following them. They captured and bound her, with Skrung using her as a bench when the trio and Onslow Green found him again in episode six. Wake used the opportunity to sneak behind Skrung and whisper in his ear, causing the goblin to freak out and point his pistol at Wake's chin. He also spoke out against Wake letting Zia'ka go free, but Wake ignored him after hearing Zia'ka's story and agreed to help her.

During the raid on the naval camp, Skrung accompanied Wake and Risf in sneaking in while Ezra provided a distraction. After knocking out one naval officer and staging it to look like he had passed out drunk, the three of them arrived at the navy's armory. Here, Skrung discovered a case of sixty three gold bars. Wake and Risf helped him wheel the crate out before Wake detonated a pile of gunpowder, providing cover for Ezra to escape.

Back at camp, Wake divided the gold among the group. He gave himself and Skrung a finder's fee, which the goblin was very thankful for. Eloy asked Skrung to call Wake his friend. After much swearing, stuttering, and waving of his pistol, Skrung managed to garble the word out, which Wake accepted.

In episode seven, Skrung accompanied Wake, Ezra, Eloy, Zia'ka, and Redd to the Fine Day Boardwalk. His main interest was in watching Wake get destroyed fighting their champion, a tiefling girl named Nedra. When Ezra explained to the Boardwalk's owner, Mr. Thoroughday, that he wished to become the leader of a troupe of traveling performers, he introduced Skrung as their straight man, which Thoroughday assumed meant clown. After some convincing from Ezra, Skrung grudgingly relented and introduced himself as "Botchy the Clown."

Before the fight against Nedra, Skrung bet five hundred gold against Wake and got himself a mug of ale and hard candies. When Wake ended up victorious, Skrung swore so loudly that it could be heard over the cheering of the crowd. Eloy then gave Skrung five hundred gold from his winnings from betting on Wake so that he broke even, which earned him an insult from the goblin. Eloy replied that he loved Skrung too.

In episode eight, Skrung mocked Ezra for writing down the crew's exploits with the intent of turning them into plays, saying that it would work only so long as it's "all the lies." When Ezra replied by jotting down "and Skrung was helpful," Skrung was actually amused, smiling and conceding the point rather than getting mad like he usually does. Eloy told Skrung that he'd talked to two goblins who were talking about him. He asked if Skrung was their friend, to which he replied he didn't have any friends. Eloy pointed out that Skrung accepted Eloy's money to offset his losses and asked him why he would do so if they weren't friends. Skrung quickly changed the topic back to the goblins and laughed when Eloy said they thought he looked like the goblin king. Skrung confirmed that he was unable to open doors in the air like other goblins, and Ezra commented that if Skrung had that ability he would have used it in previous situations, concluding that Skrung is just a really crappy goblin. In response, Skrung sarcastically thanked Ezra and said that he must be a really crappy half-elf, to which Ezra remarked, "Yeah well if you had any friends around they might have been able to tell you different."

While traveling through the Yuan-Ti temple, Skrung became distracted by the vast wealth on display. Ezra used this time to talk to two of Thoroughday's goblin workers and see if Skrung really did resemble the king. Skrung eventually found out and pulled Ezra over to tell him to stop, but this just made Ezra more determined than ever to figure out Skrung's identity. During Zia'ka's talk with the undead Yuan-Ti, Skrung attempted to steal a golden vase, which caused another ghoul to wake up and identify him. Ezra said "Skrung, you wonder why I bully you. Put it down."

When the group reported to Mary Pibbs back in town, Skrung mocked Ezra after he indirectly called himself a clown, but Ezra retorted that clowns make a hell of a living on stage and Skrung knew nothing about that, sticking his tongue out at the goblin. Skrung slowly raised his knife at Erza before being stopped by Pliskin (Lani out of character compared Ezra and Skrung's relationship to that of a weird Three Stooges rivalry, after remembering all their past interactions). While Wake, Ezra, Eloy, and Nedra went to see Mr. Rattles, Skrung stayed at the Flappy Stingray.

Skrung was present for the parley between Captain Meed's crew and Captain Ave Lo in chapter nine. The next day, he watched as Wake, Ezra, Eloy, Zia'ka, and Gulfur went to the docks to join Ave Lo's expedition force to kill Viktor. When Wake opted to swim to the south island instead of using a rowboat, Captain Havok said they could bring along a third person. The trio noticed Skrung and instantly offered him the spot. After a moment's hesitation and pointing his unloaded flintlock pistol to his head, Skrung accepted.

Before leaving port, Skrung and the trio met with Grammy, the cook from the Voltun. She shared her new puffer fish pie with them. Skrung loved it alongside Wake and was able to identify it as a variant of Hob's Special.

Skrung escaped the battle with the abyssal bloater fish without damage. On the southern island, he discovered abyssal residue on a piece of show leather, allowing Arundhati to determine that Viktor was captured by gnolls.

While following Zia'ka through the jungle, the group found small tracks in the earth, and Skrung found blood drops on bananas. Skrung took point to follow the tracks, and, while getting lost among the green folk's magic, he told them that they were tracking a red cap, which are the principle enemy of the goblin kingdom. Soon after, the group spotted the red cap as it buried a loot box. Ezra ended up killing the red cap, and Skrung discovered it had killed a member of the royal guard.

In episode ten, Skrung remained hidden while the party negotiated with Quickin the gnoll, resulting in him nearly being left behind with Ezra when Quickin gave the group raptor mounts. Skrung took advantage of Quickin's suspicion of Ezra to get back at him for earlier transgressions, and discreetly hit the raptor they were given to ride, throwing Ezra on the ground.

When the party encountered the green ones, Skrung tried to take aim at one of them with his pistol. He later helped Wake, Ezra, Eloy, and Gulfur in fighting off half of a hoard of abyssal summoned by Viktor. Skrung managed to pick off a few abyssal with his magically enhanced pistol but was captured along with Gulfur by the abyssal ent when it joined the battle.

At the beginning of episode eleven, it was Skrung's turn to struggle with riding a raptor while Ezra watched. As the goblin fell, Wake teasingly asked if Ezra would help Skrung get up. On the trip up the mountain, he confused Eloy by asking him if eating goat was considered cannibalism.

Skrung went into hiding when the gnoll chieftain, Yawrugrik arrived to speak to the party. He followed the party into the volcano and revealed himself after exiting an elevator with Eloy and Troy. Skrung and Wake discovered another red cap inside the caves, but Skrung missed his shot, allowing it to escape. He discovered an explosive rune trap, which he gave to Wake, and accidentally set off a force rune that showered Eloy with glass. He tried to make it up by giving him the red cap's loot sack full of explosive runes. Skrung then found a strange slime that clung to organic matter and got some on his hand, which caused him and Eloy to get glued together after a props until Eloy melted the slime with rubbing alcohol.

In another room filled with ruined ships, the group encountered Yeldin, a pirate sorcerer who was turned into a mimic ship by mind flayers. As Yeldin recalled his past, he told the group he saw a red cap hiding among some of the wrecks. Skrung went off to hunt the red cap while Wake and Ezra were busy failing to threaten Gulfur.

Inside the wreck, Skrung found Grosswert himself feeding on the ship's metal bits. Wake joined him not too long after, but before they could hunt the red cap, Eloy tromped down after Wake, causing Grosswert to flee. Enraged beyond belief, Skrung shot at where he was and exclaimed that he'd been hunting red caps to try and get one of the goblin rings so he could return home. Ezra, who followed the sound of battle, expressed sympathy for Skrung but also said that he shot himself in the foot by running off and not telling them what he was doing so they could help. Skrung composed himself enough to tell the others to continue the hunt for Viktor without him, as he was too angry to continue. Eloy tried to apologize, but Skrung just shouted at him to leave.

### **Chapter Two**

In episode twelve, Wake met up with Skrung in the Flappy Stingray during Captain Meed's party celebrating Viktor's death. Over several mugs of ale, Skrung told Wake his real name, his status as a forgotten prince, and his reason for hunting Grosswert to try and get home. After hearing the story, Wake promised to help Skrung track down Grosswert and offered him a spot traveling with them. Skrung accepted and said he might help Wake and the others get into the goblin kingdom.

In episode thirteen, Skrung gathered with the others for a final night at the Flappy Sringray before setting sail. His drink was broken by Timothy after Eloy gave the ogre a wooden flute. Eloy tried to fix the glass using mending magic he'd been studying with Mr. Rattles but ended up shattering what was left of it into Skrung's hand. A drunk Wake further complicated things by giving Skrung a high five. Skrung volunteered to be captain, but Ezra stepped up to take the role instead.

Skrung left Jahal Cove with the rest of the Lockwood Natural Wonders and eventually arrived at the Witness Tower. Skrung investigated the tower with Ezra, Eloy, Zia'ka, and Onslow Green and unknowingly helped Wake to solve the tower puzzle on his end.

In episode fourteen, Skrung remained on the Yeldin to defend it while the Mantaruva was being investigated.

In episode fifteen, Skrung wrote his name on Ezra's talent show sign up sheet, listing his talent as the picture of a middle finger. Skrung later walked by when he heard Ezra talking about things he can't do well, adding "he can't captain either," which caused an irritated Ezra to respond by saying that sometimes he can't listen to his crew when they give him negative feedback, prompting Skrung to retort with "that's how mutinies happen captain." He later joined the rest of the Natural Wonders (minus Gulfur) in exploring a deer populated island off the western edge of Bulkard. He ate an apple to try and bring out the people of the town and later claimed 25 gold from the local tavern, The Toad in the Hole. This prompted an angry stag to come over and stake claim to the gold.

Skrung went with Zia'ka to investigate something mysterious in one of the houses but vanished by the time Wake, Ezra, Eloy, Risf, and Redd arrived. He returned to the Toad in the Hole by episode sixteen and stayed there with Pliskin and Nedra. During the night, a hoard of zombie deer tried to take Onslow, but Skrung and the others managed to defend him.

When Wake, who at this point had turned into a deer, entered the inn, Skrung nearly shot him before Eloy intervened, and Skrung replied that he was only kidding. Ezra then said he would understand if Skrung pointed the rifle at him, which Skrung agreed with, jokingly aiming at the half-elf before putting his gun away.

In episode seventeen, Skrung helped to build barricades around town with Zia'ka for the coming battle with the wendigo and was told to man the cannons with Gulfur, Pliskin, and Grammy. Skrung spotted the deer as they charged towards town and killed an entire wave with one shot. He had to abandon his gun to help Redd and Zia'ka fight the second wave of deer when Pliskin's cannon misfired.

In episode eighteen, before departing from Vennin Island, Wake and Ezra asked Skrung to investigate the underside of Bulkard for leads on the Collective One’s heart.

When Eloy, Ezra, and Wake introduced Calliope to Skrung, the goblin surprised them by being genuinely nice to her.

When the crew docked with the merchant ships the next morning, Skrung, Eloy, Wake, and Gulfur stopped by the carve house to chat up the locals. There, they learned from a friendly tabaxi by the name of Pistachio that some children and gremlins had been causing trouble in the area under the flag of Blurderek Rumblood, one of the pirate lords.

After settling their business at the port, the crew was gathered and permitted entrance into the upper area of Bulkard.

In episode nineteen, Skrung spent his day enjoying some leisure time at Bulkard’s spa and brothel while also investigating the location of the Collective One’s heart. That evening, Ezra retrieved Skrung from the brothel and brought him to the Kal embassy, where the Wonders had been offered rooms for their stay in Bulkard by Oso, the Kal’s advisor. On the way, Skrung told Ezra that Kals were involved in some way with the heart’s theft and it was being held at the carnival.

In episode twenty, Skrung and Ezra returned to the Kal embassy with several other members of the crew when they were interrupted by AJ, a raggedy looking elf. He claimed to have been cursed by Schrodinger, the god of time, to teleport around the world every twelve hours in search of 100 items on a list. Skrung thought AJ’s story was ludicrous and wanted nothing to do with the expedition to find a dire elephant tusk at the zoo.

In episode twenty-one, Skrung was at the crew meeting where Wake explained his plan to use the blink pyramids to transport the Collective One’s heart aboard Yeldin after it had already set sail back to Jahal Cove.

In episode twenty-two, the crew meeting was interrupted by Raniero Confictura. The macabre tabaxi had arrived to parley with them on behalf of Lot Nyeth, the pirate lord. Skrung winced after Confictura mentioned being present as part of a parley. After some debate, they decided to try and cooperate with both Gore and Lot in an attempt to avoid making enemies unnecessarily.

Before Eloy’s duel with the bard college headmaster, Skrung was selling rocks to the crowd for them to throw if the performances were poor.

In episode twenty-three, after congratulating Eloy on his performance, Confictura requested the Wonders’ presence at the arranged meeting with Lot. It was decided that Eloy, Ezra, Wake, Pliskin, Skrung, and Zia’ka would go to Jovial Lot to participate in the parley.

Upon entering the carnival, they met up with Gavriil Bezumets, head of Lot’s research and development team, who guided them into the large complex beneath the carnival. They were taken into a tower-like structure where they were confronted by Saga, Lot’s quartermaster and owner of Bulkard’s zoo. She was not pleased that they had disturbed her property and growled at them as they all entered Lot’s room, where Lot and Confictura were waiting for them.

After Confictura verified that Meed’s parcel was untouched, the parley began in earnest. They discussed a variety of topics, including the fiasco at the zoo, Nedra’s past, and the Collective One’s heart, which Caster had purchased as a gift for the Kals. As neither group wanted Caster to hand the heart over to the Kals, Lot advised them to take the aasimar to the Unwitnessed Kingdom and obtain something of equal value to trade for the heart.

On their way out, Lot revealed that he knew of Skrung’s lineage. Then, they followed Gavriil back to the entrance of the compound. With his secret out of the bag, Skrung told the others about his past.

Before returning to the ship, the group, now without Zia’ka, went to the Catnap Inn to seek out Edward Caster. Despite Wake’s attempt to make another bet with the lawyer, it was decided that they would take Caster and Barabus to the Unwitnessed Kingdom to look for treasure, with Caster taking 95% of anything he deemed valuable. Eloy, Ezra, and Wake were marked to seal the deal, though Skrung and Pliskin avoided the same through deception.

Back on the Yeldin, the crew discussed the plans for both traveling to the Unwitnessed Kingdom and completing the mission assigned to them by Gore. They agreed to split into two parties to complete both quests in a timely manner. Skrung, Pliskin, and Gulfur would attempt to recover the Crabateer while the others took Caster on the treasure hunt.

In episode twenty-nine, for completing their mission, Pliskin, Skrung, and Gulfur had received gold and upgrades for their weapons and armor. However, Skrung had been severely injured during the operation, and his right arm had been amputated partway along his bicep. When Eloy, Ezra, and Wake came to visit Skrung in a medical ward at Bulkard, they saw that he had a wooden peg in place of the lost limb and suggested replacing it with a prosthetic that doubled as a gun.

After successfully trading for the heart of the Collective One, the Wonders departed Bulkard and set off for Jahal Cove. Along the way, Pliskin, Onslow, and Skrung began trying to replicate Yt’s bodily secretions with Ezra’s alchemy jug. Once they had arrived, Zia’ka placed the artifact in its proper location and returned to her people as a priestess of the Collective One. Then, the rest of the Wonders left Jahal on their next adventure.

### **Chapter Three**

In episode thirty, the Wonders began making their way to Eburkal. After retracing their path to Bulkard for a time, they diverged from familiar waters and turned more toward the mainland. As they continued their journey, the ship and crew were plagued by torpedo snails, small, black, poisonous creatures that occasionally turned invisible.

One night, a mysterious fog beset the Yeldin, and it was infested by numerous torpedo snails. Spending the night removing the scourge of snails from the ship, the Wonders were exhausted when dawn broke.

That morning, Yeldin ran aground onto the sandbar of an archipelago as they sailed through the fog. Deciding to take a short break after the long night, each of the crew took shifts on watch to look out for any danger. After everyone had rested up, they awoke to find Poliffi, a female, seagull aarakocra, entangled in the Yeldin’s rigging. She had gotten lost in the fog and requested to stay with the Wonders while regaining her bearings.

Bursting onto the deck, Redd revealed that the torpedo snails were infected with vampirism and demanded that the island be investigated. While Eloy, Ezra, Wake, Redd, and Nedra set off to explore, the others stayed behind to watch over the ship and scavenge materials from other wrecks on the beach.

In episode thirty-three, the Wonders set sail for the port of Rite, staying near the archipelago rather than traversing the open ocean.

During the voyage, the Yeldin had wandered into the presence of a massive storm giant and was caught amid numerous large manta rays trying to escape. Eloy garnered the giant’s attention by playing a soothing song on his bagpipes, but, when the song stopped, the giant seemed displeased. He grabbed the ship in his massive hands raised it to his face.

## **Notes & Trivia**

* Skrung was one of the two NPCs the players met from a brief dungeon crawl done before the first episode, with the other being Zia'ka. He apparently died in that playthrough.
* In the Saturday Morning Cartoon special, Skrung spoke in a thick Brooklyn accent and enjoyed gambling, especially with strangers.