Over sixty heroes showed up for Delving Day with many sharing their adventures with amazing LEGO builds and juicy lore. Thanks to all who participated. This week we have a new challenge: “Monster Meyhem!” but first let’s check in on Olly, Liri, and Kitara, our three heroes created by guest collaborators Jacob Manahan, beyondb0nes, and Red Impala. And a special thanks to ASortaOkayBuilder for the critters in this week’s challenge.

The Story Continues!

When we last met our intrepid heroes, Olly Elderquill, Liri Treewhack, and Kitara,  each had made the journey to Dungeon Crossing for Delving Day. Each made a tithing to Tamouk, the Questing Beast, a ritual that he insisted was merely a formality. So how did everyone’s adventure play out?

Olly’s questing quarry sent him in search of an egg, and the one he found was guarded by… a friendly shrub?

No, that won’t do. Per Delving Day tradition, a hero must embellish their account. It as a very vicious shrub, like a weed with roots that refuse to come out! And the only way Olly could escape its clutching tendrils was through the magic of music and a song that soothed the savage shrub. As the little hedgehog scurried back up the path, he thought to himself, “this whole adventuring thing isn’t  so hard!”

Liri’s Delving Day quest sent her in search of a rare peach that grows but once a year. She might have overcompensated a bit with her whacking hammer and caused a small cave-in. Luckily Liri found a path too safety through the serene butterfly forest, where the (no doubt vicious and blood-thirsty) skydancers were won over by the peach’s scent and guided her to safety.

Like Olly, Kitara’s quest challenged her with finding an egg. As she closed in on her quarry, Kitara heard skittering in the nearby woods.

Kitara stood in the hollow, the questing relic freshly found, when the underbrush behind her cracked like splintering bone. She turned swiftly, already drawing her twin blades. An enormous beetle burst through. It’s breath fogged the air like steam from a wounded beast.

Kitara dodged the first charge, slid between gnarled roots, and used the trees to her advantage. She fought like a ghost—strike, vanish, strike again. Her wolf pup, low to the ground and silent, circled and harried from the flanks. The beetle howled, bleeding from half a dozen shallow cuts in its carapace, but still he advanced…

Yikes! Sounds like Kitara is in the battle of her life! That’s not cozy at all!

Meanwhile, another hero arrived for Delving Day, late, as is the privilege of one who comes from wealth in the Valley.

Bartholomew Silversnout III is a pampered noble with a spotless record, and absolutely no intention of getting his paws dirty. He sees Delving not as a rite of passage, but as a chance to look heroic while letting magic and money do the real work. After all, greatness can be bought—and he always travels well-funded.

Little did Bartholomew know that while he waltzed through his quest with the help of an ill-gotten magic lamp, he was being watched.

Snare: “Look at him… Ol’ Bartie the third… Fancy mutt. Probably has his conditioner imported from the Capital.”

Mirelle: “Hush. He’s not just lighting his way. He’s marking something.”

Snare: “Ooh, a rendezvous? You think Silversnout’s got a secret forest lover? A squirrel in silk gloves?”

Mirelle: “No idiot. He’s alone.”

Snare: “Why’d he drop it there? Middle of nowhere. And he’s just… leaving it?”

[Dozens of small critters—beetles, spiders, even a snake—are creeping closer to the lantern-]

Mirelle: “Shhh. Look at the dirt… Symbols. Scratched deep. That light’s not natural. It’s drawing them in. Look at them all. We need to get this thing back to the boss.”

Olly and Liri return from their quests to find the Crossing in chaos as beasts of all sorts interrupt the delving day festivities. They scan the grounds for Tamouk. Perhaps the Questing Beast can explain what’s happning. But Tamouk is nowhere to be seen. His acolytes stand over a Tamouk’s staff and an overturned bowl of tithings. “They took him…!” “took him…!”

Liri drops her peach and takes up arms as ravenous critters flank her.

Liri’s first thought goes to her little brothers and sisters. If the heart of the valley is in danger, what about its caves and tunnels? At first gripped by panic, she quickly regains her composure, remembering the ingenuity of her tribe when it comes to defending their territory.

 Refocusing on the present moment, she sees the wounded around her and the panic in Tinko and Tonko’s eyes. If creatures were able to do this, are they even capable of saving Tamouk? She then turns to Olly and the other still-unharmed participants: “We have to do something ! But what can we do ?”

With a new confidence after completing his first adventure, Olly puffed up his tiny chest.

Reaching out, he grabbed his new friend Liri’s hand, hoping to lend some reassurance. “We’ll go find Tamouk! Who took him, and which way did they go?”

Next time on Heroes of Fur And Feather: Where is Tamouk and what happened to Kitara?

 

The Challenge

As Heroes of Fur and Feather enters week 2, the second challenge is upon you!

As heroes return to the Crossing from their successful delves, the dungeon awakens as hundreds of critters big and small emerge from the shadows. This time, they mean business! Tall tales alone won’t help you survive. You’ll need courage, camaraderie, or maybe some really epic gear!

For Challenge 2, pick one or more of the following prompts and describe how your hero reacts in the face of monstrous hordes. Do you help others, or are you in it for yourself? Do you get injured or escape unscathed. It’s time to level up, heroes!

Chose one or more of the following and depict with your hero from the previous challenge as they “level up”:

• A new weapon or gear to battle or outsmart the critters
• A new ally or pet to fight by your side
• A monstrous foe – what do you fight?

The danger intensifies. Good luck!

Last week’s Winner

Contragtulations to Captain Dark Shark, the winner of Challenge 1, with his bardic exaggeration of Urakaze the Kappa’s lazy afternoon stroll.

The Cap’n will be getting a copy of Goldie’s Cozy House LEGO set.