[X] plan nothing
[X] Build what?
-[X] nothing
[X] Shiny hunting. Look for glittering gemstones or other materials underground. We never really cared before, so we didn't really look. Now we do a bit. (Random trade good unlocked.)
[X] Expand our influence. Right now we have a single mountain. With the queens, this reach can be expanded to the another nearby mountain (Checks a nearby mountain and gains control over it if it's empty.)
[X] Arrange tasks for goblins
-[X] breed
[X] Trade silver for +600 minerals
[X] plan creation of Abathur
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This time, this time we were going to check the entire mountain as well as under to prevent unwanted surprises. With two mountains claimed, it was time to finally claim the third, and proclaim the entire volcanic area ours.
Our queens spread their creep. The lings swarmed and skittered across the ground, and the roaches clacked as they moved.
This thoroughness allowed us to find something before it became an issue. A monster slowly waking from the movement nearby. We had but a moment to respond. We did so as a swarm, and felt our bloodlust erupt as the creature lurched into view.
It's impossible to describe what the creature was. Four limbs, and larger than our ultralisks. That was about all one could say about it. The body was coated in ash so thick it flaked off as the thing moved. The locomotion reminded us of large apes we had seen, but the form was wrong. No head, and the arms were more like clubs. The most distinct feature were it's eyes and mouth below it. Those eyes glowed like two golden coals where it's head should be, and the mouth's teeth gleamed with unnatural whiteness.
Our forces had not been idle as it moved into view. The roaches had already formed up into a swarm, and the zerglings had skittered behind it. The queens readied their spines, and we readied to charge the second the creature made a movement.
It didn't disappoint. It crunched the volcanic ground underneath it as it lurched forward. The roaches scattered at it's approach and spat acid at the limbs. It splashed against the ash covering, and the creature had the gall to look confused.
Then it's arm blurred and lengthened like the tongue of a frog. A roach was grabbed, and then stuffed into the creature's maw with the scope of a second. Then the monster pulled it's hand out of it's mouth and seemed to grin as it began to lurch again.
The agony it felt was unnaturally vicious, but we did not flinch or even falter. All were one in the zerg, and the roach would return. It did enrage us still further, and the queens shrieked loudly.
The zerglings rushed at the back of the creature, but it stumbled as it chased after the fleeing roaches and landed on it's front before they got near. The thud caused the ground to shake, and the zerglings to pause for a moment. The creature was that clumsy?
Apparently so, it wasn't even attempting to get up. The roach acid was eating away at it's ashen covering, but the coating was thick it was hard to tell what was under it. The creature's army stretched out again instead of it moving. Still lightning fast, but we had seen this trick before. It missed and the zerglings began to tear into the beast.
It's face shifted as they ripped. Like someone had simply decided to place a pair of eyes and then slide them across a painting. The new capability was strange enough that we didn't realize the threat until the maw opened up far too large.
Zerglings died. Devoured messily, and the creature seemed to stop playing. Ash broke and shifted as it collapsed on itself. Some zerglings survived, but not many.
It was some sort of shapeshifting monster. The flesh was like rubber, the blood a thick black liquid that stank of poison and sulfur. The ash was simply a coating that it had absorbed.
Now it was shedding it, and moving far faster than it had been. The skin was still black, but now an inky slick black that flowed and rippled as it twitched far too fast to follow.
Several roaches were knocked back and wounded. Some nearly sliced in two. The creature didn't care for form now, simply shifting and twitching into a thousand narrow and sharpened tendrils. The queen healed what they could, but the damage still killed several.
Without the ashen covering though, the acid worked now. It hissed and dissolved the tendrils quickly, and the creature spasmed in something like pain and balled up.
The face came back into sight. Jagged teeth gleemed as it smiled in it's compressed ball like form. The roaches spat acid again, and it splashed against them. Then one of the roaches was cut off from the swarm, and the ball flowed as it followed the tendril it had thrust into the roach.
We killed the body without hesitation. The creature burst from the body with a splatter of gore and grew legs. Then attempted to run on several long spindly legs.
Where the last of the zerglings were waiting. They slashed at the legs and the creature dropped.
The gleaming maw attempted to bit at the zerglings, but we had found all the creature's tricks. It had nothing left but hunger. We knew hunger very well.
The roaches and zerglings ate.
-----
Boss Monster 'Ash Baby' slain.
+2 EP. +1000 Minerals. +50 Vespene. +1 Large Crystal. Recovered all materials of dead units.
Doing a bit of a 'reward turn' for killing the thing. You have control over the volcano region and it's 3 volcanos.
As an aside, Just so you know. Banelings won't have you lose vespene, unless you lose the battle. In which case you'll have to recover it later. Official ruling from me so Banelings are useful
[] Build What?
[] Spend EP on what?
[] Any other actions?
Note, you may use the Large Crystal to make a hero unit of some nature. Including a Abathur if you like.
