Kerwyn goes over to Shavaris, a proud look on his face.  He says “Hey, Shav, Ironsides is gonna be a momma!  Isn’t that great?  Little flailers all around, isn’t it somethin?  Oh, hiya Sarah, how’s it hangin?  You doin ok?  This place is a mess I tell ya.  Maybe we can help you put it right.  Straighten this ole place right out.  Make all of the Labyrinth paths straight and get some of the maniacs out of here.”  

He looks back to Shavaris and says, “Hey honey, can I have my Auryn back please?  I gotta phone this in, about Blix, the Goblin city, Ironsides, all of it!  Can I have it back now?”  He looks at her long and hard, smiling, and checking out her teeth….

"YEH, YEH! Travin shot him, accidentally like Travin said" Travin says, In quick response to Sarah's shock and irritation, "but Travin also healed Hoggle up again, and stopped Jareth from dying... Hmmmmm, See Travin must fight his own way towards the castle beyond the goblin city, and get back his brother!"

Johnathan goes quiet when Shavaris says how good humanoid blood was. It was true that he has always wanted to know what it was like. It takes him a moment to snap back into reality. Sarah, Shavaris didn’t try to kill Hoggle. That was me. Johnathan drops his disguise and reveals his fangs to her. Like I said this is a curse and Hoggle caught me at a bad time. No one else here tried to kill him, though Kerwyn didn’t like him much over a your mamma joke. I understand that you don’t like us, and that’s ok. But Jareth sent us here to fight Blix and we will continue on. I won’t be asking Blix for anything, I just wanted to see what he would do. Now he has made his move so we must make ours. Whether you come with us is up to you, just know that it’s dangerous out there and if Blix gets you again we won’t be able to help you if you go by yourself.

That’s when Johnathan sees the animals going berserk. Great. He gives a sign. So we are gonna have more of the snail things. Just great. Does explain why it eats everything she comes across. Oh that reminds. Johnathan gives a stare to the worm that is now a butterfly. Good riddance, didn’t like it blinding everyone anyway. 

Kerwyn turns to correct Johnathan as he is relaying this to Sarah.  “It was never about a yo mama joke.  He (Hoggle) was a fountain pisser and a food buffet terrorist, I saw it in my dream and then I saw it in the “real” waking world, and he never denied it.  But now, after thinking it all through, I really think that Jareth put that there in my mind to turn me against Hoggle.  Or Toggle or whatever he goes by.  I took his keys away from him for a little bit after he sent Shavaris down the bad door to the bog of eternal stench as these nutters around here call it.  That’s where Ralik, one of our crew died, YOU died, and where Shavaris nearly died as well.  Anyway, this place has been a real shit show ever since we got here, I will be very happy to accomplish what we need to do and get out of your hair if you will help and point us along our way?….”  Kerwyn gives a forced smile to Sarah, trying to turn lemons into lemonade.  

Delphinium doesn't leave Shavaris' shoulder and goes along with her.  The fairy does look nervously over at the pupa and seems about ready to jump up and fight but when the worm of death emerges as a beautiful light butterfly they pause and watch it leave.  They seem very relieved they don't need to fight such a pretty creature but were clearly expecting it to attack them.  Other then that, Delph listens to the others talking to Sarah.  After Ward speaks Delph rolls their eyes and says "See!  Rude.  Sorry Sarah.  You're not the bad guy, Blix is, you'd think all my friends would know that.  I've done a very poor job of teaching my friends proper etiquette.  I think its because I normally just like having fun.  All this serious stuff is really bumming me out.  I think normally, I'd have nothing but fun exploring the labyrinth.  Do you ever get the sense this place was meant to be a place of fun and adventure and not so much... bad stuff?  Also, you never know if asking will work or not until you try.  I tried and it didn't work, so not going to bother next time.  I'm all up for new ideas too!   Taking by force seems hard because he keeps teleporting away.  I tried to grab it.  I got really close.  I think that's why he went away because he was scared I would succeed.  You say he went to the castle?  Do you know the way?  I'd really like things to get better and Blix just keeps making things worse.  Oh!  We should probably see if those noble people have a way to help too.  I bet they are very upset that Blix sent deadly fire trolls to kill them.  Oh, also very delighted if you join us too of course!"

Travin appears next to Delph as the fairy tries to persuade Sarah, he has nothing to add so he simply and excitedly yells "Travin!" Which is then follows by a drooling "BIRT WRENILS!" from the new addition to the group. The contrast of the two only serves to highlight how broken Travin's mind might be, although he seems happy enough in the moment.

Shavaris gives Kerwyn a big pat on the back when he tells her he's going to be a papa.  What an odd thing to happen right now, but it makes her smile nontheless.  As he switches the conversation from his Schmoopsie to the AURYN medallion, she looks him up and down appraisingly.  "You've got your hands full at the moment Captain Kerwyn, about to be a new dad and all.  Plus, I've tried reaching out to the other bands, it doesn't work in the labyrinth.  I'm going to hold onto it just a while longer.  I have a feeling you'll be more yourself once we leave this place."

She looks to Sarah as almost everyone asks her the way to the castle.  Shavaris really hopes she knows and that she will help them to get there.

Sarah pauses when Shavaris tries to calm her down and listens, even with the craziness unfolding around them all.  

"I don't know how to get to the castle.  I rely on Hoggle and Jareth for all that."  She said, pushing her hand up to her face and then running her fingers backward through her hair.  "You'd have to convince them to take you..."

She cuts her eyes to Kerwyn as he walks up.  She actually squints as he asks her how it's hanging...

She starts to say something, but her eyes shift to Travin.  

"What?  Your brother?  How many hours do you have left!?  Oh my God, you have to get going!"  

She waves her hand as the others try to hijack the conversation with all their banter and focuses on Travin. 

"What do you mean, your brother?  Tell me how much time you have left!"  

Inside the ballroom, not abandoned save for dead bodies, Running Bird, and Ol' Ironsides, the miracle of life marches on.  There are suddenly four cat sized Flail Snails, all wet and mostly a translucent caramel color, sliding about on the floor.  Two of them have their flails extended and spinning in circles.  One slides too close to Ol' Ironside's face...who summarily reaches down and eats his/her own offspring.  

Kerwyn goes to the new fledgling flail snails, grabs a spare towel off the floor and rubs the goo off their little shells.  He lovingly rubs their shells and pats them on the back, trying to be imprinted in their little flail snail minds and hearts.  “Just look at ‘em!  Little fellers!  I’m your daddy!  That’s right!  Uncle Kerwyns.  Welcome to the world!  Screwed up as it is.”  He looks around beaming.  

Travin takes Sarah's hands and looks into her eyes in the most sincere gesture that the dawn guard has seen from him, "it's much too late Sarah, Travin has been trapped in the labyrinthses longer than he can remember, yeh? Travin used to be human, like Sarah. This is what is lefts of Travin now, hmm? But Travin will still find what is lefts of Gavin, That's Travin's brother! yeh yeh yeh! because even if it's too late, even if Trav failed him in the worst possibles way, we are still brotherses. Yeahhhhh, oh oh! One thing Travin wonders though... 

if Sarah is human and here, does that mean her brother was taken? Hmmmmm? And if true, why is Sarah friends with Jareth? Hmm?" Trav frowns a little in disappointment, a hint of sadness and pity as he looks at Sarah, someone with a commonality, but a different path.

"Jerath or hoggle huh?  I mean, I'd love to be guided by them but..."  They look at their allies and seem to deflate.  They smile at the new baby flail snails though.  Then Delph looks back to Sarah as she gets into a conversation with Travin about their brother.  Delph flutters off of Shavaris' should and lands on Travin's shoulder as they try to comfort him, "It's okay Travin.  We will find him.  We got to make sure this war doesn't happen so we have time to find him though.  As I understand, there is an entire goblin city to search!  I really want to be able to explore around and have fun here too but I think Blix is making it all bad."  The fairy looks to Sarah as Travin asks why she trusts Jerath.  Delph doesn't seem as interested in that question as much as, "Oh, also, why were you here at Blix's party?  Were you planning to steal the alicorn too?  I was as small an an ant and he found me before I could begin searching his pockets.  Sooo, I don't think you can sneak up on him."

The three remaining Flail Snailings lose their shit as Kerwyn scoops them up.  One of them begins to flash bright colors.  Another tries to bite into his arm with its radula.  The third begins to pummel him with miniature flails...

Sarah looks stunned when Travin makes his statement.  Her hand squeezes hers.  

"Oh Travin...what?  That's terrible.  But..."  

She thinks for a moment, takes a deep breath, and tells Travin the truth.  She tells Travin about the last time she came to the Labyrinth, and how she'd called the Goblin King to take her little brother, Toby, and how she'd saved him.  She told Travin how she'd befriended Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus, and how they'd helped her traverse the maze and fight through the Goblin City.  

"I came back because my friends asked me...not Jareth.  You can have whatever opinion of whoever, if you want, but I'm not here for any reason except for my friends.  Blix will use the Goblins to run the Horned Beasts and the Dwarves and the Knights of Yore out of the Labyrinth forever...or maybe even exterminate them.  You can think whatever you want of whoever you want, but that endangers my friends too.  That's why I'm here this time."  

She smiles as the little Fairy alights on Travin.  Her voice becomes meek.  

"I...don't know.  I was going to talk to him I guess.  I don't have powers or magic, I can't punch him or swing a sword.  I didn't know what I was going to do.  Just...something to stop so many people from getting hurt."

Ward watches from the side and then struggles with himself for a moment before huffing a bit to himself and walking over to Sarah. "Listen, kid, I appreciate why you are here. Just gotta understand that we're here for the same reasons. If you hadn't noticed, shit's quite ****ed. I get why you think he can be reasoned with, I wish he could. But there are two ways you stop someone like that. By taking away their power, or by taking their head. Doesn't seem like we're going to be able to take his power anytime soon, cause Delph is one skilled fairy, and if he couldn't get that I know I sure can't." Ward stops for a moment and thinks before continuing. "You want all this to stop? I have an idea. Help us talk to Hoggle and Jareth if you can. If Jareth can get me the right tonic, and Hoggle can get tell us wherever some gunpowder is, I think I can weaken Blix enough to either kill him or let you guys finish him off." Ward says, turning to the group as the blue veins on his arm crackle with a bit of electricity before turning back to Sarah. "Think you can do that sister-in-arms?" Ward says reaching out his hand to her.

Johnathan seems confused as the big snail eats it’s own children. It is a cruel world that we live in if even our parents won’t show us love. Guess this is what you wanted Kerwyn. Just make sure they don’t blind us in battle and we should be ok. Oh, do try to keep the big snail from eating all of them. I don’t think you could take that. Johnathan turns his attention to Sarah again. Don’t worry Sarah, we can hold our own in a fight, we can protect if a fight breaks out. I agree with Ward on this one. Blix wants to run the labyrinth with fear and blood and we unfortunately do not have anything we can bargain with that Blix wants more than power. I remember him saying he would make an endless night. That happens when the unicorn is killed. If that happens HE will be unleashed. Johnathan begins to shake his hand but manages to stop it by holding it with his other hand. Anyway, we need to move. Blix knows we are here and will send for reinforcements. Sarah, do you know where your friend Hoggle is? I have a feeling we need to coordinate our attack on the castle if we want to break in. Also where is the castle? Maybe they are sending this army Jareth mentioned to there and that’s where they will be.

"wait who is HE? Is Travin missing something? Hmmm? Travin thought the dawn Guard's mission was to rescue a hornyhorse and kill the Blix? No?" As Travin looks to Johnathan for an answer, and without breaking eye contact he wordlessly reaches a hand into a chest on his back and places a single grenade into Ward's hand.

“I mean the lord of darkness.” Johnathan tenses as he mentions his name, “ There is a belief that if the last unicorn is slain then there will be endless night forever. If that happens then creatures of night would rule this world. The dawn guard was sent to find the last unicorn and save it from being hunted by a red bull that is chasing it. We came here because apparently Blix helped lord of darkness hunt the second last unicorn and we thought he may know where it is. The Alicorn was a surprise, I thought he would’ve given it to darkness. There was a rumour that he betrayed darkness but I wasn’t sure”

"oh.... Shit..." This is news to Travin, he has an introspective moment of thought, mumbles something about night creatures under his breath and glances quickly between Johnathan and Shavaris, then gives Johnathan a determined nod, but doesn't seem to have more to say.

"Wait, why are we coordinating an army with Hoggle?  Isn't the goal to stop the need for an army?  Johnathan, If we bring an army in then the goblin city will get dragged into it!  Wasn't the plan to sneak in and prevent that?"  the fairy seems highly agitated as they buzz their wings a bit but they eventually settle down and then say a bit more calmly "I agree with Ward, we need a guide.  I bet Jerath knows all the secret passages into the castle so even if Blix put guards up I bet Jerath knows a way past most of them if not all of them.  So the rest of you that has a problem with him need to fey up and pretend to get along.  I'm tired of being all responsible and serious.  I want to go back to having fun!""  They look to Sarah with a semi apologetic look,  "I was thinking like you Sarah, I wanted to figure something out.  I'm sorry I failed to get to the alicorn and fix all this.  I'm not asking Blix next time.  Next time I see him I'm punching.  We need a way to stop him teleporting though.  Anyone know a way to stop that?  If we can't stop that all we can do is drive him out of the castle.  Even if we have an army he will just teleport away with it and then what?"  Delphinium looks to those gathered around as if daring them to come up with a solution.

"put something on Blix so when he teleports it goes with him, yeh yeh! Or poisons the Blix, hmmm?... Travin can play pretends with evil Jareth, yeh yeh yeh, Travin already saved his worthless life puhhh!" Travin pretends to spit on the floor as he remembers healing the near dead goblin king.

Stealth is the best option but for a man that is god in the labyrinth that might not be possible. Do we have any other ideas besides rushing the castle? I see Travin giving stuff to Ward. I guess they have a plan. I’ll try and see if there is anything in the area. Johnathan pulls out Echo and will scout with him to see if he can see the castle or any other giants nearby

Perception (echo): 20