Havoc on the Half-Pipe is the eighth episode of season 1, Fantasy High.
The Bad Kids fight a group of dwarven skaters in the abandoned Durinson Mithral Factory as they search for clues about Johnny Spells and Zayn Darkshadow.
Recap[]
"Last we left off, our brave adventures were at the Durinson Mithral Factory. now we see they're facing off against... the dwarves, led by Torek Railgrinder, who is the clear leader of the skater group. She is aloft on the halfpipe chanting the name, "Crush! Crush! Crush!" as the pavement golem with the halfpipe strapped to its back stands to its full height, steadies itself, and begins the combat by marching towards you."
Synopsis[]
Riz, hidden behind a stack of pallets, is first to act. He tries to surprise Torek with a shot from his gun but misses. He calls out to the party in Elvish that he believes she is controlling Crush, the golem. Adaine seems skeptical about that and reminds the rest of the group that they should be fighting for gold, not blood. Kristen agrees, telling them that all the owls just flew off, something else is going on, and that Crush may not be their priority.
Kristen runs towards Riz and takes cover behind the pallets. She also blesses Adaine, Fabian and Gorgug. Gorgug, confused by a vulture he sees on a copper silo, goes into a rage. He runs forward and successfully hits a male dwarf with his handaxe. Adaine follows Kristen, casting Firebolt as she goes and setting the wooden half-pipe alight. She notices that the dwarves are especially afraid of the fire until they realize that it came from her spell.
Fabian, astride the Hangman, calls out to the others to leave the golem to him. He rides forward between its legs and tries to stab it from below; however, his rapier scrapes along its skin, unable to penetrate the stone. It takes a wobbling swing at him in retaliation, hitting the Hangman and knocking Fabian off of it. Fabian manages to flip gracefully off the bike and land near the vulture.
The dwarves take off, grinding along rails to move off of the burning half-pipe. Two make attacks at Gorgug but only one hits. Riz avoids another attack but Fabian is hit. Fig casts Suggestion on Crush, instructing it to throw the dwarves off the cliff. She sees no recognition in its eyes and is unsure about whether or not the spell was successful. She winks at Kristen and gives her Bardic Inspiration before hiding behind a skinny tree. Torek, shredding on the half-pipe and landing on a ledge near the caved-in roof, calls out a prayer and blesses her fellow dwarves. Riz tries to use Insightful Fighting on a nearby dwarf but is unable to read his face under his beard. Crush takes slow steps towards the party and fails to attack Gorgug.
Kristen runs out from cover and blesses the remaining party members. She tries to figure out what the owls are doing. She suddenly realizes that, even while he was fighting for his life, the last thing that Zayn did before he died was open his rat's cage so it could escape. And she realizes that a town full of cats and owls is perfect for catching a rat. She thinks the cats and owls are being controlled by something more sinister than their current opponents; their battle does relate to a clue, but the animals are unrelated to that clue and may even be at the factory to stop the party from finding any more information. Kristen advises the others to keep an eye out for the rat.
Gorgug makes two failed attacks. Adaine deftly moves through the rough terrain and successfully casts Tasha's Hideous Laughter on Torek. Fabian surfs the Hangman onto the burning half-pipe, jumps onto the ledge next to Torek, and stabs her with his rapier. The Hangman continues to ride up and down the half-pipe, unaffected by the flames. Two dwarves skate up to the high ledge and make attacks on Fabian, one of which succeeds. Two more skaters make successful attacks on Gorgug and Riz.
Fig realizes that Crush is mindless, so it cannot be compelled or charmed. She also notes that it is being animated and protected by the number of dwarven runes that cover it. She casts Sleep on the dwarves surrounding Fabian, knowing that Fabian is immune to the spell because he's a half-elf. One of the dwarves passes out, falling off the top level and hitting Adaine on the way down. An apologetic Fig winks at the elf and grants her Bardic Inspiration.
Riz runs to the base of the ladder and shoots at Torek but misses and almost hits Fabian instead. Behind him, Crush rounds on Gorgug and knocks him to the edge of a ravine filled with green acid. Kristen tries to beckon to the vulture but it flies away. She dashes up the ladder to stand next to Fabian. Riz realizes that Crush is incredibly top-heavy, encumbered by the half-pipe on its back. Gorgug attempts to climb onto its back, but it flings him back onto the ground. Adaine realizes that Crush can only be damaged by magical weapons or spells and does not appear to be connected to the magic of the skaters. She casts Firebolt at the golem and melts some of the tar on its shoulder. Fabian grabs Torek and dangles her over the edge of the catwalk, threatening to drop her if she doesn't call off the golem. When she refuses, he throws her down forty feet to the ground. When he attempts to climb down gracefully after her, he also falls and lands nearby. Three dwarves successfully attack Riz and Adaine.
Fig remembers that when the half-pipe fire first started and the dwarves were momentarily frightened, Torek looked at one of the manholes on the floor as if something would come through it. Fig casts Disguise Self and takes on the appearance of Johnny Spells to try and intimidate the dwarves; however, Torek is just enraged by his presence and tells the other dwarves to stop him from getting below ground. She also calls a legion of dwarven spirits that immediately attack the nearby Riz.
Riz tries to convince the dwarves that they are on the same side and promises to do a sick trick as proof. He scrambles up a nearby ladder and shoots his gun at the side of the factory, propelling the ladder backward through the air and allowing him to land squarely on the halfpipe on Crush's back. The dwarves are amazed. When he lands, Riz realizes that, while the golem is incredibly strong, the lightest feather could knock it over. In retaliation, Crush grabs the ladder and tries to hit Riz, who nimbly escapes the blows.
Kristen detects a strong evil presence down inside the manhole. She tries to say something to Adaine in broken, old-fashioned elvish, but Adaine can't understand her. Kristen realizes that her only way back down from the ledge was the ladder that had been taken by Riz. She tries to carefully make her way down from the platform but falls into the flaming halfpipe. She barely avoids catching on fire with the help of Adaine's divination roll.
With help from Adaine's divinatory magic, Gorgug successfully jumps up and grabs onto the back of the half-pipe. This throws Crush further off balance and forces him to step back toward the green acid, a success hindered only by the fact that Gorgug now hangs perilously over the corrosive liquid. Adaine realizes that Kristen was telling her to use Mage Hand to tug at Crush's half-pipe. Mage Hand isn't strong enough, so Adaine uses the Web spell to conjure two magical ropes, shoot them at the half-pipe, and pull on them to knock Crush off-balance. Fabian sees this and drives the Hangman over to Adaine, taking an attack from Torek as he does. He attaches the web ropes to the back of the bike and begins to drive away from Crush. Despite the best efforts of Riz, Gorgug, Adaine, and Fabian, the golem remains balanced.
As the dwarves and spirits engage in combat with Fabian and Adaine, Fig hears a voice call her name from inside the manhole, which now emanates a glowing red light. Believing it to be her father, she run towards it and heals Riz as she goes. She lowers herself in, sees a drumkit below, and drops down into the hole. After taking damage from the fall, she finds herself in an old section of the mine. Embedded in the wall behind a glowing red drum kit is a giant ruby. Without hesitation, Fig sits down and begins to play.
Above the manhole, Riz runs to the top of one side of the half-pipe and tries to ride his briefcase down it like a skateboard. The briefcase slips out from underneath him and business cards fly everywhere. He stops himself from falling by grabbing onto Gorgug, who is still hanging precariously off the edge of the half-pipe. Crush attacks Gorgug, but he keeps holding on.
Surrounded by flames, Kristen tries to commune with the devil. When she sees his face, she asks him why bad things happen to good people. He answers that they do it to themselves and vanishes, which completely pisses her off. Enraged, she runs from the flames and heals Adaine and Gorgug. She notices that her magic no longer faintly smells like corn.
Gorgug grabs Riz and they climb up to the top of the half-pipe together. Adaine casts Burning Hands at the group of attacking dwarves and jumps onto the back of the Hangman. Fabian scolds the Hangman for objectifying Adaine but admits that she's cute. Fabian revs the engine and uses the webs to pull at the halfpipe while Gorgug, grabbing Riz under his arm for extra weight, makes an almighty jump. With all of them working together, Crush finally tips over and falls into the acid, defeated. Gorgug, with Riz in his arms, expertly jumps off the defeated creature and lands on an upper platform.
The sound of Fig's drum-playing begins to rise up from the manhole as the red glowing light becomes brighter. The sound of a guitar shred emits from the ground. Bursting from the manhole is a huge, ancient, winged demon with Fig astride his back. The dwarves scream in terror and run away.
Fig descends from the demon's shoulder. He introduces himself as her biological father, Gorthalax the Insatiable. When Fig asks if she can call him "Dad", he cries tears of flame. He apologizes for never being around because he was trapped in a giant ruby. Riz is concerned that Johnny was sacrificing the missing teen girls to him. While the demon admits he has had people sacrificed to him, he never asked anyone to do so and none of the victims were teenagers. Riz asks him about Johnny Spells and the fact that he couldn't fuck. Gorthalax starts laughing and explains that, as a joke, he forced Johnny to be celibate as part of his warlock's requirements. Gorthalax compliments them on their fighting and offers to take them out for ice cream to answer all of their questions. At Adaine's request, he uses his magic to find Zayn's rat. After they find the rat, the group leaves for Basrar's.
Featured Characters[]
The Bad Kids[]
New[]
Returning[]
Mentioned[]
Trivia[]
- The Demonic Red Drum Kit, as described in this episode, was sold as part of the Dimension 20 Fantasy High Freshman Year Auction for $1,602
- Two Dwarven Skater minis were sold as part of the Dimension 20 Fantasy High Freshman Year Auction for $1,310 and $1,451
- The Havoc On The Half-Pipe Battle Map was sold as part of the Dimension 20 Fantasy High Freshman Year Auction for $2,702