Coin Blitz: Malefio

Current Bid: 10 Coins
Mission 2: Reach the Throne Room
Difficulty: *****

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Pingle and Zyrkan pause at the edge of the forest to take a quick look at the castle map they managed to find back in town, obtained from one of the few people to enter the castle and escape to tell the tale.  It wasn't cheap, but it was worth it and even came with some advice.  It looks like they've 3 routes through the castle to choose from, but all three require passing through the front gate.  The decision can wait.

They start heading up the trail when an explosion from behind draws their attention.  They turn in time to see three more bottle rockets flying up to the sky and popping.  They trace their path back down to the source and... hey, it's that fox.  And it's got something shiny in its mouth.  It flips it towards the pair.  "Um...  Yip?" it says, unconvincingly, before heading back into the forest.  Interesting.

Obtained Skeleton Key x1!

The heroes proceed up the trail towards the gate.  It's a sheer, curved stone wall running across the entirety of the cliff the castle is perched on.  A trench of unknown depth is set against it, filled with a bubbling, green liquid.  That's probably not safe.  There's a wooden bridge leading to the only apparent opening, but it's held up by some iron chains.  It's not flush against the wall, though - there's just enough of a crack that someone could probably slip through from above.

Three proud skeleton archers stand ready on the battlements above the gate.  They look pretty fragile, but those bows could still do some damage.  To Pingle, anyway.

(It is a continuation, but everything got reset. But he would've had time to recharge them.)

Zyrkan maneuvers to get a shot at the iron chains and opens fire on them. The first breaks easily, and the gate falls part way down. When he shoots the other, it crashes to the ground. The entrance to the courtyard is wide open.

Two of the skeleton archers on top of the wall take shots at Zyrkan, but neither hits. The third takes careful aim at Pingle and fires.

Pingle grabs Zynkar's leg and he drags her through the courtyard to the castle proper.  The archers take a few more shots, but the heroes are moving too fast for the undead to hit.  Zynkar easily pushes through the main door and Pingle closes it behind them.  The archers don't seem to be a threat anymore.  They find themselves in an opulent entrance, complete with a sprawling staircase and dangling golden chandeliers.  There's a few meticulously carved and decorated doors available.

The pair take out the map again.  According to that thief, there should be three routes that lead to the Demon Lord's throne room.  She also warned that the Demon Lord has three guardians - the Lion, the Tin Man, and one other - each guarding one the routes.  

The fastest route is straight up the stairs.  They'll only have to cut through one room.  One large, open room.  A room containing the Tin Man, a massive mechanical monstrosity, possibly the strongest of the three guardians.

One of the doors on the left will lead through the dungeons.  It's a longer route, protected several fish monsters and the Lion, a proud shape-shifting warrior.  On the plus side, rumors say that the Demon Lord has imprisoned a few... nuisances down there.  Notably, a werewolf and a priestess.  If you could find the key...  oh.  Check.

A small door on the right leads through some hallways and into the kitchen, where the third guardian keeps watch on the castle staff.  The thief couldn't tell you anything about him.  That route also passes by the Demon Lord's treasure room.  And with your key... maybe you can find something handy?

Of course you'd take that route... I guess I should say that there's no reason you can't go through all 3 routes, I guess. If you're insane.

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Zynkar pushes open the plainest looking door on the right. It opens to a marble hallway with a high, vaulted ceiling and a plush, red rug. There's no sign of any threats. There's a half dozen more doors lining either wall. According to the map, they want the third on the left.

Nope.

Zynkar scans for traps. He doesn't see any in the hallway. When they approach the door, he doesn't spot any signs of traps on it, either. But he and Pingle can both hear sounds coming from the other side. Sounds of cooking - cooks scurrying about, fires crackling, something sizzling, and the rhythmic thudding of a knife against a cutting board. And above the din, what sounds like singing, though they can't make out the words.

It smells... pretty wonderful.

Zyrkan opens the heavy door on the other side.  A stone staircase descends into a narrow, dimly lit corridor lined with heavy stone bricks.  There's a thin layer of water across the entire floor, and moss grows in large patches.  As the heroes reach the bottom of the stairs, they notice a group of monsters.  There appear to be three of them.  One's a dopey-looking green humanoid that looks like a fish with a spear on its back.  One looks like a beefy octopus standing tall - it carries a shield and some sort of fan-shaped blade in burly, too-humans hands.  The last is just a large, blue jellyfish, floating in the back of the group.  The monsters don't seem to have seen them, but they're blocking the only way forward.