Wild Wild Woods

**Wild Wild Woods** is the 3rd Oxventure episode, in which the Guild is reluctantly sent on nature filled adventure.

## Synopsis

Embarking on a forest picnic to celebrate their recent victory, our heroes become embroiled in their most dangerous adventure yet.

## Summary

A week after the events of the previous adventure, the Guild gathers for a picnic in the woods, much to Corazón's annoyance. Merilwen notices the absence of animals and becomes quite upset. Suddenly, in a flash of thunder, a mysterious old man appears. He introduces himself as the Wizard Binbag and informs the guild that they need to save the forest from a great evil before disappearing.

They venture into the woods and hear strange mechanical noises emanating from within. Encountering the woods, they discover four Goblins on patrol. Dob manages to lull three of them to sleep, while Corazón successfully ties up two of the Goblins before they awaken. Prudence dispatches the remaining Goblin who wasn't put to sleep. Just as Corazón attempts to secure the last Goblin, it awakens. Despite the state of its friends, Corazón tries to reason with the Goblin, but it opts to attack him. A battle ensues, and Corazón emerges victorious. The other two Goblins pretend to be asleep but their ruse is exposed by Prudence and Corazón. They interrogate one of the Goblins, leading Prudence to eliminate the other. Dob casts a sleep spell on himself to escape the horrors unfolding before him. The captive Goblin advises them to look over the nearby hill if they wish to uncover what's truly occurring. Before it rolls down the hill to escape, Corazón pilfers some of the Goblin's belongings.

Eventually, they ascend the hill and witness animals confined in cages. These animals are running on scaled hamster wheels, generating power for a massive lumber mill situated in a once-forested valley. Dob suggests the idea of releasing a bear to attack the Goblins operating the mill. Merilwen transforms into her cat form and stealthily approaches the area. She narrowly avoids detection by a Goblin, utilizing her "Mask of the Wild" ability to conceal herself within the bushes. Successfully convincing the bear to join their cause, she sets the creature free. The bear proceeds to chase the Goblins around the clearing.

Corazón eventually manages to sneak down as well. He encounters a large goat and decides to set it free, but he forgets to explain the plan. The goat knocks him to the ground and starts running around aimlessly. Merilwen climbs onto the goat, which she learns is named Michael, and explains the strategy. Egbert instructs Merilwen to direct the goat, Michael, to gather the Goblins into a corner so he can incinerate them with his flame breath. Michael successfully herds five Goblins into the corner, and Egbert unleashes his flame breath, reducing four of them to ashes. However, one of the Goblins retaliates by shooting Egbert with a crossbow. Meanwhile, the bear kills the Goblin it was pursuing, and Dob eliminates the Goblins already on fire along with their remaining comrade using his Thunder Wave spell.

The last surviving Goblin decides to launch a final attack on the Guild, armed only with a whip. Merilwen transforms back into her original form and attempts to shoot him with her bow and arrow, but she struggles due to readapting to her elf form. The Goblin manages to whip her, leaving a hideous scar on her face. Witnessing this, Egbert becomes consumed by anger and delivers a powerful punch to the Goblin, causing its head to come off. Not wanting to be overshadowed, Corazón tries to kick the Goblin's head into one of the cages but ends up falling on his backside. In a show of solidarity, the group embraces Egbert for defending Merilwen.

There's a sudden clap of thunder, and Binbag materializes to offer his congratulations. Egbert, Dob, and Corazón reprimand Binbag for arriving after all the hard work was done and request him to open all the cages to demonstrate his proclaimed power. Binbag obliges their request, proving his might by simultaneously unlocking all the cages. Unfortunately, in the chaotic aftermath, some of the freed animals fall prey to the predator animals that were also set free.

Abruptly, a massive mechanical stag beetle with glowing eyes emerges from the forest, hurling a tree over their heads. Egbert humorously asks Dob if this situation reminds him of the song "Wild Wild West." The stag beetle charges toward them, but Corazón appears remarkably unfazed. He begins singing the song Egbert mentioned, irritating Binbag to the point where he manifests before Corazón. Binbag reprimands him and transforms into a swarm of a million angry crows.

Merilwen leaps onto the mechanical bug and thrusts her sword into one of its eyes. Egbert ignites a bomb and propels it into the beetle's mouth, inflicting minor damage. Following Prudence's guidance, Dob slides beneath the beetle and triggers a thunder wave, dealing significant harm, although the beetle remains operational. Unfortunately, Dob forgets that Merilwen is atop the beetle. Fortunately, her wood elf physiology doesn't conduct electricity, resulting in minimal impact. Prudence charges her Eldritch Blast, prompting Merilwen to advise her, "Don't be a Dob", much to Dob's annoyance. Prudence aims at the damaged mouth, but her attack proves ineffective. Meanwhile, Corazón fastens ropes around two tree stumps in an attempt to trip the beetle. He then taunts the beetle with his rendition of "Wild Wild West," inciting it to charge at him in a fit of rage. Regrettably, the rope snaps, narrowly missing Corazón. Merilwen dismounts the beetle and employs her Thorn Whip to trip it, offering backup for Corazón's plan, though her attempt also fails.

Corazón seizes the opportunity to plunge his rapier into the beetle's weak spot, successfully causing it to explode. A metal plate lands before the Guild. After Dob playfully licks it, Corazón reads aloud the message engraved on it: "M. Channail's incredible mechanical logging machines. The 'M' stands for made with the money I got from selling my wonderful elixir, now sadly discontinued." Corazón responds with annoyance.

Binbag reappears and immediately faces criticism from Egbert. Despite the reprimand, Binbag expresses gratitude to them while highlighting their inadvertent involvement in the creation of the evil. Corazón inquires if they can return to their picnic, and Binbag grants permission, humorously noting that the sandwiches might now be covered in blood.

## Notable Events

* The Guild meets the Wizard Binbag.
* The Guild discover that M. Channail has gone into the lumbar industry.
* The debut of the phrase "Don't Be a Dob", which has been frequently referenced in future episodes and even used as a slogan on a t-shirt.

## Character Development

* Merrilwen is scarred during the battle with the goblins.

## Trivia

* It was implied in Bad Chair Day that M.Chanail set up his logging operations in this episode to uncover Dark Wood.

## Behind the Scenes Trivia

* This is the first live Oxventure.
* This adventure is named after the Will Smith movie/song Wild Wild West, due to the unintentional similarities to the movie discovered during the live show.