An /hgg/ New Year's

As the evening starts to set in, you gather 'round the campfire with your camp-mates (both literal and otherwise) to reflect on the preceding year. You can't deny it's been a taxing one, but the experiences you've had and the bonds you've forged are irreplaceable. Someone procures a bottle of liquor, which is then passed between all present while you swap the best stories of the year.

All of of the people you've met have such unique things to share, and you appreciate each one individually. Helia recounts how liberating it felt to finally complete her character arc (though you can't help but bite back a grimace). Kid A gives thanks to everyone for all the attention she's gotten recently, faintly blushing in the firelight. Ember tries to sneak a sip from the bottle, but you remind her that she's underage now, and she slips off, grumbling. When asked for comment, Akky simply stares at you blankly. The Nephila handmaiden does something, I don't really know what they do. Even the landscape itself seems brighter, more polished somehow, as if someone has put love and care into it for the first time in many years.

Almost spilling her drink in a fit of laughter, Helspawn starts recounting a particularly ribald tale. "And then, right after he took me for the first time, I—" Her words are cut off as she freezes abruptly mid-swig, her entire body suddenly stock still.

Damn, looks like that line wasn't finished, what a shame. Well, it happens. You turn to Rathazul and ask him if anything can be done. "My god, can't you find someone else? Why do I have to solve every single problem around here? Every day with this shit..." Oh my! Well, you know who's getting a poorly thought-out bimbo expansion next.

Isabella is sitting somewhat apart from the others, looking down at her drink as she slowly swishes it around. In an attempt to cheer her up, you ask her to share a story from this year, but the haunted look in her eyes as she meets your gaze makes you immediately regret this act of kindness. "I've... seen things," she starts out. She tries to keep going, but a burst of tears interrupts her. "Zhey were... zhey were so young... Vhy?" She continues on in this vein for a while before someone has the sense to lead her off.

After much heckling from the crowd, you yourself are forced to share some new things. Well, you have quite the crowd pleaser in store. You show off a plethora of new spells and combat maneuvers you've learned lately, but the onlookers are most wowed by your incredible ability to stand slightly further away.

As the celebration starts to wind down, you have a moment to yourself. This has been an incredible night, you must say. Nothing could ruin your good mood. Just as you finish that thought, an ominous rumbling emanates from the wilderness around your camp. Are the moralfags back? No, it's goblin sharpshooters! A literal wave of green surges towards you as the crowd of goblins floods through your community, smashing into the tents and structures you call home. You're unable to stop the shortstack menace, and in short order you too are buried beneath the ocean of invaders. Your last thought, as goblin fills your lungs, is that it was all worth it.