The Amazing Adventures of Gimble Nimblehands - Part Three Dawn breaks and the sunlight illuminates our hero… ME! The Amazing Gimble Nimblehands… ready to tackle another impossible quest that other mere mortals quake in fear at the sheer mention of… accompanied by a ragtag group of adventurers keen to benefit from my expertise (it’s conceivable that even I, the amazing Gimble Nimblehands might need assistance with some tasks at times) Facts Party: Gimble - Leader, most intelligent and skilled member of expedition (maybe allow others some moments to shine for their own self-confidence) Teres - Very capable, may allow her to think she’s leading Astra - Also very capable and accurate with her firearms! Ghargh - Best brother. Has focus issues… require a “bunny” maybe? Knock - Religious nut job… seems to think there’s such a thing as “luck” as all those with questionable intelligence do Bimble - Words fail me at the ego of this Bimbledolt. He’s now fashioned a saddle to be able to ride his contraption… A pretty uneventful first day. We passed by more basilisk victims littering the road… honestly, we need someone to step up and deal with that! Most important thing to note is that my wonderful new mount, Glory, easily kept pace ahead of Bimble and his MOM! Success! I may have miscalculated this whole “luck” thing. Attacked in the night, Knock seems unlucky to have been the target of Giant Leeches while also simultaneously lucky to have had the Amazing Gimble Nimblehands on watch to ensure his survival! While the ever-bumbling Bumbler hid behind me, I went toe to toe (from a safe distance at first of course) with an even gianter Leech! Having dispatched the foul beast, I was delighted to see that Ghargh had bested his opponent (although less pleased to see he had seemingly engaged in an eating contest with the thing… yurch). With some wounds to tend, the group returned to bed safe in the knowledge that I, Gimble Nimblehands was still on watch! (I should note that Bimble and contraptions, MOM and Cosmo , both proved very helpful in defending and distracting… probably a result of some tactical advice I offered in the heat of battle?) Fascinating events at the shipwreck. First, it should absolutely be noted that the Bimbler caused us no end of troubles due to Cosmo ’s inability to spot the obvious ambush, but I’ll come to that… A huge sunken vessel lay about 30ft from shore, a quagmire of mud and filth between it and us. Cosmo identified the name as “Kaijutsu’s Blossom” but the name doesn’t mean anything to me. Hailing it as “clear”, our fearless leader, Teres (wink, wink), leapt forward to investigate. As she reached the ship, it seems she trod on something under the surface and the water broiled with undead filth! Their leader seemed a terrifying sort and while I stayed stock still trying to think of the best tactical option, Teres fell and looked like she was going to be the bottom of a huge zombie pile-on! Cue our “lucky” mascot! Knock strode out towards the ship and seemed to invoke some divine power that caused almost all the enemies to flee! Except their leader… who was not happy and conjured some sort of whirlpool which sucked the “unlucky” Knock into it’s midst! “Luckily” the gods seem to flow through Astra ! Taking steps back (I guess for the fun challenge??) she rained projectiles down on the leader and broke it’s concentration! With Teres somehow dodging blows flailing down on her (ably assisted by MOM ), the enemy leader decided to try and grab Knock but “lucky” for him, Ghargh decided to get involved at that point and ripped the thing almost in two. As it staggered, Astra again demonstrated her deadly accuracy by splitting it’s head open! Victory just as I had mapped it out in my head! It seems Bimble may have spent the whole fight standing rooted to the spot next to me… whether through fear or through his awe at my brain power, I guess we’ll never truly know… Having determined any loot must have already been claimed, we set off for the cave! Advancing in the cave, Knock beseeched his god to confirm if the Eastern path was dangerous. As the party nervously glanced at each other, there was a call for the best gnome to lead the way… without any hesitation… I realised this must mean me and started Eastwards. Suddenly the floor exploded with hundreds of skeletal warriors. As they bore down on me, I rued the missed opportunity to forge my cannon… a minor tactical mistake… Next thing I know, I’m waking up stuffed in the armpit of the Glorious Ghargh . The brave fool had jumped forward to grab me and pull me to safety, taking many hits! I realised we needed to retreat but our escape was cut off by a giant crocodile!! I’ll admit that things looked very bleak for the Amazing Gimble Nimblehands (plus friends). However, through some exceptional quick thinking by the Nimblehands brothers (yes, Bimble was very quick to asses and react to the situation, healing Astra at a critical moment), quick moving ( Teres can move like the wind at times - including up walls somehow???), incredible bravery ( Ghargh seemingly holding off a giant crocodile singlehandedly), heroic sacrifices ( Bimble ’s MOM and Cosmo blocked up the hallway with their bodies until they were scrap… I’ve never seen him look so sad.. have I maybe been too harsh on him this whole time? It cannot be easy trying to live up to my achievements and intellect…), and a lot of LUCK (I guess I owe Knock an ale after this!) we managed to escape the cave! Heading back to Hope for now, I know we’ll come back better prepared! Initial feedback from the focus group(s) who have read Part One and Part Two: “Lead character is compelling and heroic, we need to hear more about him!” G.N. “Amazing story, should publish ASAP without giving profits to faceless publishing executives” G.N. “Get Ghargh a bunny” G.N. “Could a Homunculus be used to type up these stories?” G.N. Critical acclaim from all individuals who have provided feedback - might be time to publish the first few chapters and charge for the serialisation…?
