My first real adventure outside of Throal was, well, quite an adventure indeed. Turns out a couple of T'skrang who had slept through the Scourge wanted to wake their pals up in a Nial on the Coil. I should have expected a lot of swimming. I didn't. And also I'm terrible at swimming. Good news - so is everyone else, apparently. More on that later.
I was in mighty company as we set out. A pair of humans, Karl the Archer and William the Scout, and a pair of Trolls, Vlolkir the Sky Raider and Norg the Gauntlet. Most of them had a bit of battle under their belt; Norg and I were the real novices though I think we acquitted ourselves all right.
Our first bit of danger involved fighting mud. That doesn't sound too exciting, except that this mud had eyes and legs and arms which is about as exciting as mud can possibly get. Bog Gobs, William informed me. Trust the Scout to know the name of mud. The fight was a bit sticky. Literally. The mud was tenacious and our weapons had a tendency to get stuck in the mud. Norg found this out first hand (ha ha) when his fist got stuck in one of the Gobs. So now and forever shall he be known as Norg Mudfist.
Fortunately for us, Karl's dog friend, Rusty, was apparently some kind of murder machine. With his good boy help, we were able to dispatch the Gobs, albeit with some bruises and sprained joints. Norg and I took a pretty pounding. I'm pretty sure Rusty saved my life. Please ignore the stains on this page even if they look like teardrops.
That's why, when we got to the river we needed to cross, I opted to focus on what I do best - turning raw materials into the tools of civilization. I built a raft, which is a boring but very Weaponsmith way to cross a river. Vlolkir went the Sky Raider way, which is to say he jumped across the river. Right into the loving arms of a bunch of apes.
The battle of Troll vs. Ape was a victory but the battle of Troll vs. A Lot of Apes was more of a tie. Vlolkir wisely opted to retreat, covered by the withering fire from Karl and William. Norg tried to swim the river, as did the mighty hero Rusty. As mentioned before, we are really very bad at swimming. At some point, we remembered that T'skrang are excellent swimmers, mostly too late.
We finally got the raft built, the mules loaded, some rope made, and engineered our way across the river as the Passions intended.
As we approached the site of the Niall, I did a bit of physicing, stitching up some of Vlolkir's wounds and making sure my own poultices were refreshed. The Niall had been partially dismantled to preserve its obscurity and security - the towers that broke the surface of the river had been toppled. Having learned our lesson, we did not forget that the T'skrang were better swimmers than us (and perhaps the only real swimmers among us). They scouted ahead and informed us that, good news, the Niall was where it was supposed to be. And bad news, there was also a big old crocodile there.
Engineering to the rescue! And also hunting! Using a perfect boar corpse and our precious rope and physics, we built a baited trap. You don't fight a crocodile in the water. Even I know that and I spent my whole life under a mountain. Where, to be clear, there are extremely few crocodiles.
The trap 100% worked. Note for further such projects: Crocodiles caught in rope still bite extremely hard. Also, trapping one crocodile does nothing to prevent two other crocodiles from ruining your day.
So, there was a big crocodile fight. Norg wrestled one, which was high theater, but also extremely bad for Norg's health. I managed to pull one crocodile onto shore, where Vlolkir and Karl and William were able to slaughter it. And then. And then. I can't even ... brave Rusty. Rusty rushed into help, only to be bitten in half by a crocodile. Life is brutal and the abyss yawns beneath us all. Oh Rusty, we barely knew ye, brave soul.
With vengeance in his heart, Karl advanced bloody-eyed towards the last crocodile, firing arrow after arrow. The crocodile, which to be fair, probably was just doing what crocodiles do, expired. Which is another thing that crocodiles do.
Finally, the Niall. There was a complicated musical activation key to wake the sleepers, which we did. And nothing happened. Vlolkir opted to reassess the musical volume necessary. That is to say, hit his tuning fork really hard. We tried a few other things until it occurred to us that in the centuries of the Scourge, the river might have shifted its course.
The river had in fact shifted its course.
We did some math, which is the proper way to solve problems, and, you know. Solved the problem. The sleepers awakened, the Niall is restored, and civilization is one town stronger.
After the battle, I worked on everyone's weapons - using the opportunity to train Karl and William in the rudiments of weaponsmithing - and embossed the mark of Rusty, the Hero, on each and every blade and mace and bow.Statistics:Posted by bronzemountain — Sun Feb 23, 2020 12:47 am
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