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<blockquote data-quote="JollyDoc" data-source="post: 6608550" data-attributes="member: 9546"><p><strong>Giants And Mermaids</strong></p><p></p><p>7 Desnus, 4715 - 22 Desnus, 4715</p><p></p><p>The caravan made its way through the tundral lands of what Ulf called the outer rim of the Crown. The weather was cool, but not unbearable, never rising above 40 degrees, but seldom dipping below freezing. Ulf explained that this was likely to due to the time of the year. The late Spring was the time of the Midnight Sun, where for twenty hours a day, the sun rode high and bright, and for the other four hours it only made it half way to the horizon. He warned them not to get to used to the relatively balmy weather, as the going would get much tougher once they reached the High Ice. Still, it was not unpleasant, and when they spied the aurora glimmering in the sky above them, it cheered them, especially when Koya told them all that this was a good omen.</p><p></p><p>As the caravan descended the northern flanks of the Rimethirst Mountains that formed the frontier of the Crown of the World, they entered a rugged hill country. Ulf informed the companions that the blustery, wind-carved badlands and folded hills of Urjuk were once home to a collection of giant realms. While some giants still wandered the tundra or the High Ice farther north, the Giant Downs themselves lay desolate and largely unoccupied. Still, Urjuk was remembered as an ancient homeland, and Ulf said that many giants still came there to die or be buried in the lands of their ancestors. When the caravan made camp for the first time in hills, the scouts spotted the shape of a large, solitary wolf on a distant ridge. </p><p>"Another of your kin?" Mazael asked Skygni.</p><p>The worg lifted his muzzle from his paws where he'd been resting and looked up at the ridge.</p><p>"Ignore him," he said after a moment, closing his eyes again. "Likely just a loner checking up on trespassers in his territory. He won't attack a group this big."</p><p>Boris wasn't convinced. Since they now had a winter wolf as a traveling companion, he had become more and more curious about the nature of the creatures. Most of the experience he'd ever had with wolves was with the non-talking kind who tried to eat your, or steal your sheep. While the others busied themselves with the normal camp activities, the goblin stole away into the rocky hills, carrying with him a rabbit carcass he'd liberated from the caravan stores. </p><p></p><p>Boris crested the ridge, still moving stealthily and clinging to what little shadows the midnight sun allowed. He saw the great wolf crouched there, peering out from between two large boulders.</p><p>"I can smell you, little rat," the wolf growled.</p><p>"I bring a gift for you," Boris called from his hiding place. "We travel with wolf just like you. We be friends!"</p><p>"Do not compare me to some whipped cur," the wolf snarled. "You and your kind had best move on from this place with all haste. You are trespassing on hallowed ground. Stick to the trail. If you stray from it, your lives will be forfeit."</p><p>"Boris understand," the goblin replied. "You still take gift."</p><p>He tossed the rabbit and then scurried back down the hill. He didn't bother to inform the others of his little side trek.</p><p></p><p>______________________________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>The following day, the caravan continued their journey through the Giant Downs, but about mid-day, Skygni and Ulf spotted movement among the barrows on all sides. They just had time to warn the others before a quartet of white-skinned ice trolls descended upon them. While two of them attacked the fore and rear, meeting Skygni and Shalelu respectively, the other pair charged the flanks, mauling two of the drivers before they could react. They then tried to grab the unconscious Varisians and flee with them. Fortunately, the companions rallied quickly, and through a combination of Mazael and Suishen, Piotr's fireball, Shalelu's acid bow, Sly's slumber hex, and Zula's thundercall, the giants were dealt with decisively. The drivers were badly wounded, but not mortally, and with Spivey's and Koya's healing magics, they were brought back to health, though perhaps still mentally traumatized. </p><p></p><p>As they travelled on through the day, Boris spotted the big wolf pacing them in the distance from time to time. At one point, he even thought he saw another large figure standing with the wolf, this one on two legs. Rather than concern him, this only served to further intrigue the goblin, and when the caravan again stopped to rest, Boris found that he could not help himself. He simply HAD to go and see one of the giant burial barrows for himself. He waited until most of the camp was asleep, and then scuttled off into the shadows once again. The nearest barrow was perhaps a hundred yards from the caravan. To all appearances, it was simply a large hill, with sparse grass growing atop it. Boris's sharp eyes, however, managed to spot an inconsistency in the irregular stone, and when he examined it more closely, he was able to trace the outline of a large, concealed doorway. He found a hidden latch, and when he flipped it, the door slid inward. Inside was a hollow space that contained a stone bier. Laid out upon it were the skeletal remains of a giant, white hair and beard still clinging to dry flesh. It was dressed in armor, and bore a great axe across its breast, but a quick glance told Boris that there was nothing of real value there. Satisfied, he exited the tomb and closed the door behind him, then slipped back into camp.</p><p></p><p>It was still an hour before true dawn when the attack came. The scouts had rigged several early warning devices around the camp, including animal traps, trip wires and alarm bells, and these were their first indications of trouble. The assault came from two sides. To the north, the massive winter wolf stalked out of the morning mists, accompanied by a second, smaller companion, while to the south, what looked like a roiling fog cloud appeared as if out of nowhere. Shalelu, who'd been on watch, was the first to respond. Kneeling, she fired a pair of arrows into the smaller wolf, causing it to stumble in mid-charge. To her left, she saw Zula, also awake, and the Thundercaller hammered the wolf the with force of her voice, leaving it stunned and staggering. Another shot from the ranger's bow took it down within a matter of seconds. </p><p></p><p>Boris didn't know what to make of the wall of mist on the far side of the camp, so naturally he darted right into it. He immediately wished he hadn't, for standing concealed in the fog was the biggest giant he'd ever seen. It was easily twenty feet tall, with pale blue skin and a snow white beard and hair. He bore an enormous axe in his hands, and as Boris stared up wide-eyed at him, he raised it into the air and ran roaring out of the mist. </p><p>"YOU WERE WARNED!" he bellowed as he charged straight towards Mazael. "YOU VIOLATED THE HOUSES OF THE DEAD!"</p><p>Mazael tried to bring Suishen up defensively, but it was like standing in the path of a hurricane. The mighty frost giant overran the war-priest, and brought his axe down upon Mazael as he fell. The giant didn't pause, and let his momentum carry him straight into Skygni, whom he cleaved with another huge blow from his blade. The winter wolf howled and snarled, but didn't fall back. Instead, he leaped for the giant and locked his jaws around its calf, hanging on for dear life.</p><p></p><p>Mazael rose groggily to his feet, only to have the giant hammer-blow him a second time. Then the brute turned its attention back to Skygni, but before he could strike, an explosion of fire detonated around his head as Pitor rolled out of the back of the wagon were he'd been sleeping. As the giant reeled backwards, Skygni shook and twisted his leg, tripping him up and sending him crashing to the ground. Suddenly, the air was filled with an animal-like scream as Haroldo came charging, naked, out of another wagon, his sword (and other things) swinging. He drove it into the giant's breast, piercing his heart.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, Lucian, Shalelu and Zula managed to bring down the other winter wolf, while Ulf delivered the killing blow. As the dust cleared and the companions regrouped, Piotr was the first to speak.</p><p>"What did he mean when he said we'd violated the houses of the dead?" the sorcerer asked.</p><p>All eyes turned immediately to Boris, who quickly slunk away into the shadows beneath the wagons.</p><p></p><p>___________________________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Four days later, the caravan left the Giant Downs behind. The Path of Aganhei then crossed a wide tundra basin before turning northwest, skirting the Gaarjuk Hills and heading into the eastern lake country of Hasanaliat. At this point, Ulf Gormundr told the group that they had a choice to make. </p><p></p><p>"The primary route of the Path of Aganhei runs northwest through the Erutaki lands of Hasanaliat," he said. "It skirts the Bearleg Lakes and the Gaarjuk Hills, and then north of the hills it follows the Taraska River through the high tundra of Hoarwell March towards the town of Unaimo, the last major trading village before it climbs onto the High Ice through the Koumssa Gap. This route is easier and faster, but the lands it crosses are more inhabited, potentially exposing us to unfriendly eyes. I suggest an alternate route north directly through the Gaarjuk Hills. This will cut off a wide bend of our route and avoid the more civilized lands. However, the hill country is far more rugged and remote, with fewer chances for us to resupply or seek help if trouble should ensue. We would still need to ford the Taraska, and with greater difficulty than along the main route, and then link back up with the Path." </p><p>The others deferred to the guide's greater experience, and the decision was made to divert through the hill country.</p><p></p><p>On 22 Desnus, the caravan came into the small Erutaki village of Rimakak, which lay at the foot of a waterfall flowing into Lake Nallishoot. Ulf had visited the village in the past, and thought it might be a good place to rest and resupply. When the troupe pulled in, however, they found the lodges and huts completely deserted. Worse, they had been despoiled, with refuse, offal and filth smeared all about, and all of the furnishings smashed to splinters. No bodies nor blood could be found, however. It was fairly easy for the party scouts to determine that a large number of people had fled to the north recently, judging by the amount of booted footprints leading in that direction, as if a mass exodus of the entire population had occurred. There was something else, though: a smaller number of bare foot prints led towards the frozen lake. These prints were large, as if from a creature ten-feet tall or more, and the toe marks bore deep claw indentations, and it was apparent that the feet were webbed. </p><p></p><p>It was decided that Shalelu, Sandru, Koya, Ameiko, Ulf , Spivey and Skygni would stay behind and guard the caravan while the others followed the strange tracks onto the lake to see if they could discover what might have befallen the Erutaki. The prints led out into the middle of the lake before they abruptly vanished. It was then that Boris, Zula and Sly simultaneously spotted large, dark shadows moving just below the ice. Before they could warn their companions, the ice directly beneath Piotr cracked and fractured. A nightmarish creature reached up from the depths and wrapped its arms around the sorcerer. It resembled a monstrous humanoid woman with a lumpy, scaled hide and lank, tangled black hair. It wore ragged sealskin garments decorated with numerous shells and tiny living crustaceans. A curiously sweet smell wafted from her. Then the ice began breaking all around the companions as other creatures surged up from below. The new arrivals were giants with pale green, scaled skin and large, webbed hands and feet. On either side of their necks were slotted gills. There were eight of them in total. Two of them slammed their big fists into Haroldo and Mazael, while another pair hammered at Piotr, driving him underwater with his captor. She wrapped her arms more tightly around his, pinning them to his side, and then, before the horrified eyes of his friends, Piotr began to transform. His skin shaded towards bluish green, and his eyes became bulbous as gill slits formed on his neck. </p><p></p><p>Above, Mazael stepped into the air, under Suishen's spell, and surged towards one of the aquatic ogres, the katana opening the creature from stem to stern, spilling its bowels onto the ice. Sly rose into the air on her own magic, and flung one of her hexes towards another of the creatures, causing it to roll onto its back in the water, snoring loudly. Haroldo jumped nimbly across the ice floes, landing adjacent to one of the brutes, and then beheading it with a swing of his great sword. He then turned and slashed at another, which fell a moment later to Lucian's bow. Four more fell stunned in the water as Zula's voice boomed across the valley. The Shoanti then turned her attention to freeing Piotr. She cast a spell of grease upon the sorcerer, enabling him to wriggle free of the woman's grasp. Piotr struggled to the surface, gasped for air, then wove his own spell, causing his body to rapidly blink in and out of resistance as he swam for the shore, the horrid transformation already beginning to reverse itself. </p><p></p><p>Boris dove into the frigid lake, trying to swim around and beneath the hag. When he reached her, he thrust his blade into her back, but it was if he'd stabbed a slab of iron. She spun swiftly in the water, her black eyes meeting his, and then she cocked her head quizzically. </p><p>"You might just be the one...," she said, almost to herself.</p><p>Boris felt strange. He couldn't remember why he'd been attacking this lovely creature. She reached out a taloned hand and gently caressed his cheek. </p><p>"Breath," she said, and he found that he could. </p><p>He opened his mouth and drew in freezing water, yet it was no different than breathing air.</p><p>"Swim down, my love," she said. "Wait for me on the bottom. I'll be along. I have a gift for you."</p><p>"Boris like gifts, mer-lady," the goblin nodded enthusiastically, and then he swam down into the depths of the lake.</p><p></p><p>Mazael and Haroldo made quick work of the stunned merrow in the water, while Lucian picked off the one snoozing on its back. Soon the lake was quiet again. Piotr had made it back to shore safely, and Zula had followed to make sure no other dangers were lurking. Sly circled above, but could see no new enemies below the ice. It was only then that the companions noticed that Boris was nowhere in sight...and the strange, water hag was gone as well...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="JollyDoc, post: 6608550, member: 9546"] [b]Giants And Mermaids[/b] 7 Desnus, 4715 - 22 Desnus, 4715 The caravan made its way through the tundral lands of what Ulf called the outer rim of the Crown. The weather was cool, but not unbearable, never rising above 40 degrees, but seldom dipping below freezing. Ulf explained that this was likely to due to the time of the year. The late Spring was the time of the Midnight Sun, where for twenty hours a day, the sun rode high and bright, and for the other four hours it only made it half way to the horizon. He warned them not to get to used to the relatively balmy weather, as the going would get much tougher once they reached the High Ice. Still, it was not unpleasant, and when they spied the aurora glimmering in the sky above them, it cheered them, especially when Koya told them all that this was a good omen. As the caravan descended the northern flanks of the Rimethirst Mountains that formed the frontier of the Crown of the World, they entered a rugged hill country. Ulf informed the companions that the blustery, wind-carved badlands and folded hills of Urjuk were once home to a collection of giant realms. While some giants still wandered the tundra or the High Ice farther north, the Giant Downs themselves lay desolate and largely unoccupied. Still, Urjuk was remembered as an ancient homeland, and Ulf said that many giants still came there to die or be buried in the lands of their ancestors. When the caravan made camp for the first time in hills, the scouts spotted the shape of a large, solitary wolf on a distant ridge. "Another of your kin?" Mazael asked Skygni. The worg lifted his muzzle from his paws where he'd been resting and looked up at the ridge. "Ignore him," he said after a moment, closing his eyes again. "Likely just a loner checking up on trespassers in his territory. He won't attack a group this big." Boris wasn't convinced. Since they now had a winter wolf as a traveling companion, he had become more and more curious about the nature of the creatures. Most of the experience he'd ever had with wolves was with the non-talking kind who tried to eat your, or steal your sheep. While the others busied themselves with the normal camp activities, the goblin stole away into the rocky hills, carrying with him a rabbit carcass he'd liberated from the caravan stores. Boris crested the ridge, still moving stealthily and clinging to what little shadows the midnight sun allowed. He saw the great wolf crouched there, peering out from between two large boulders. "I can smell you, little rat," the wolf growled. "I bring a gift for you," Boris called from his hiding place. "We travel with wolf just like you. We be friends!" "Do not compare me to some whipped cur," the wolf snarled. "You and your kind had best move on from this place with all haste. You are trespassing on hallowed ground. Stick to the trail. If you stray from it, your lives will be forfeit." "Boris understand," the goblin replied. "You still take gift." He tossed the rabbit and then scurried back down the hill. He didn't bother to inform the others of his little side trek. ______________________________________________________________________ The following day, the caravan continued their journey through the Giant Downs, but about mid-day, Skygni and Ulf spotted movement among the barrows on all sides. They just had time to warn the others before a quartet of white-skinned ice trolls descended upon them. While two of them attacked the fore and rear, meeting Skygni and Shalelu respectively, the other pair charged the flanks, mauling two of the drivers before they could react. They then tried to grab the unconscious Varisians and flee with them. Fortunately, the companions rallied quickly, and through a combination of Mazael and Suishen, Piotr's fireball, Shalelu's acid bow, Sly's slumber hex, and Zula's thundercall, the giants were dealt with decisively. The drivers were badly wounded, but not mortally, and with Spivey's and Koya's healing magics, they were brought back to health, though perhaps still mentally traumatized. As they travelled on through the day, Boris spotted the big wolf pacing them in the distance from time to time. At one point, he even thought he saw another large figure standing with the wolf, this one on two legs. Rather than concern him, this only served to further intrigue the goblin, and when the caravan again stopped to rest, Boris found that he could not help himself. He simply HAD to go and see one of the giant burial barrows for himself. He waited until most of the camp was asleep, and then scuttled off into the shadows once again. The nearest barrow was perhaps a hundred yards from the caravan. To all appearances, it was simply a large hill, with sparse grass growing atop it. Boris's sharp eyes, however, managed to spot an inconsistency in the irregular stone, and when he examined it more closely, he was able to trace the outline of a large, concealed doorway. He found a hidden latch, and when he flipped it, the door slid inward. Inside was a hollow space that contained a stone bier. Laid out upon it were the skeletal remains of a giant, white hair and beard still clinging to dry flesh. It was dressed in armor, and bore a great axe across its breast, but a quick glance told Boris that there was nothing of real value there. Satisfied, he exited the tomb and closed the door behind him, then slipped back into camp. It was still an hour before true dawn when the attack came. The scouts had rigged several early warning devices around the camp, including animal traps, trip wires and alarm bells, and these were their first indications of trouble. The assault came from two sides. To the north, the massive winter wolf stalked out of the morning mists, accompanied by a second, smaller companion, while to the south, what looked like a roiling fog cloud appeared as if out of nowhere. Shalelu, who'd been on watch, was the first to respond. Kneeling, she fired a pair of arrows into the smaller wolf, causing it to stumble in mid-charge. To her left, she saw Zula, also awake, and the Thundercaller hammered the wolf the with force of her voice, leaving it stunned and staggering. Another shot from the ranger's bow took it down within a matter of seconds. Boris didn't know what to make of the wall of mist on the far side of the camp, so naturally he darted right into it. He immediately wished he hadn't, for standing concealed in the fog was the biggest giant he'd ever seen. It was easily twenty feet tall, with pale blue skin and a snow white beard and hair. He bore an enormous axe in his hands, and as Boris stared up wide-eyed at him, he raised it into the air and ran roaring out of the mist. "YOU WERE WARNED!" he bellowed as he charged straight towards Mazael. "YOU VIOLATED THE HOUSES OF THE DEAD!" Mazael tried to bring Suishen up defensively, but it was like standing in the path of a hurricane. The mighty frost giant overran the war-priest, and brought his axe down upon Mazael as he fell. The giant didn't pause, and let his momentum carry him straight into Skygni, whom he cleaved with another huge blow from his blade. The winter wolf howled and snarled, but didn't fall back. Instead, he leaped for the giant and locked his jaws around its calf, hanging on for dear life. Mazael rose groggily to his feet, only to have the giant hammer-blow him a second time. Then the brute turned its attention back to Skygni, but before he could strike, an explosion of fire detonated around his head as Pitor rolled out of the back of the wagon were he'd been sleeping. As the giant reeled backwards, Skygni shook and twisted his leg, tripping him up and sending him crashing to the ground. Suddenly, the air was filled with an animal-like scream as Haroldo came charging, naked, out of another wagon, his sword (and other things) swinging. He drove it into the giant's breast, piercing his heart. Meanwhile, Lucian, Shalelu and Zula managed to bring down the other winter wolf, while Ulf delivered the killing blow. As the dust cleared and the companions regrouped, Piotr was the first to speak. "What did he mean when he said we'd violated the houses of the dead?" the sorcerer asked. All eyes turned immediately to Boris, who quickly slunk away into the shadows beneath the wagons. ___________________________________________________________________ Four days later, the caravan left the Giant Downs behind. The Path of Aganhei then crossed a wide tundra basin before turning northwest, skirting the Gaarjuk Hills and heading into the eastern lake country of Hasanaliat. At this point, Ulf Gormundr told the group that they had a choice to make. "The primary route of the Path of Aganhei runs northwest through the Erutaki lands of Hasanaliat," he said. "It skirts the Bearleg Lakes and the Gaarjuk Hills, and then north of the hills it follows the Taraska River through the high tundra of Hoarwell March towards the town of Unaimo, the last major trading village before it climbs onto the High Ice through the Koumssa Gap. This route is easier and faster, but the lands it crosses are more inhabited, potentially exposing us to unfriendly eyes. I suggest an alternate route north directly through the Gaarjuk Hills. This will cut off a wide bend of our route and avoid the more civilized lands. However, the hill country is far more rugged and remote, with fewer chances for us to resupply or seek help if trouble should ensue. We would still need to ford the Taraska, and with greater difficulty than along the main route, and then link back up with the Path." The others deferred to the guide's greater experience, and the decision was made to divert through the hill country. On 22 Desnus, the caravan came into the small Erutaki village of Rimakak, which lay at the foot of a waterfall flowing into Lake Nallishoot. Ulf had visited the village in the past, and thought it might be a good place to rest and resupply. When the troupe pulled in, however, they found the lodges and huts completely deserted. Worse, they had been despoiled, with refuse, offal and filth smeared all about, and all of the furnishings smashed to splinters. No bodies nor blood could be found, however. It was fairly easy for the party scouts to determine that a large number of people had fled to the north recently, judging by the amount of booted footprints leading in that direction, as if a mass exodus of the entire population had occurred. There was something else, though: a smaller number of bare foot prints led towards the frozen lake. These prints were large, as if from a creature ten-feet tall or more, and the toe marks bore deep claw indentations, and it was apparent that the feet were webbed. It was decided that Shalelu, Sandru, Koya, Ameiko, Ulf , Spivey and Skygni would stay behind and guard the caravan while the others followed the strange tracks onto the lake to see if they could discover what might have befallen the Erutaki. The prints led out into the middle of the lake before they abruptly vanished. It was then that Boris, Zula and Sly simultaneously spotted large, dark shadows moving just below the ice. Before they could warn their companions, the ice directly beneath Piotr cracked and fractured. A nightmarish creature reached up from the depths and wrapped its arms around the sorcerer. It resembled a monstrous humanoid woman with a lumpy, scaled hide and lank, tangled black hair. It wore ragged sealskin garments decorated with numerous shells and tiny living crustaceans. A curiously sweet smell wafted from her. Then the ice began breaking all around the companions as other creatures surged up from below. The new arrivals were giants with pale green, scaled skin and large, webbed hands and feet. On either side of their necks were slotted gills. There were eight of them in total. Two of them slammed their big fists into Haroldo and Mazael, while another pair hammered at Piotr, driving him underwater with his captor. She wrapped her arms more tightly around his, pinning them to his side, and then, before the horrified eyes of his friends, Piotr began to transform. His skin shaded towards bluish green, and his eyes became bulbous as gill slits formed on his neck. Above, Mazael stepped into the air, under Suishen's spell, and surged towards one of the aquatic ogres, the katana opening the creature from stem to stern, spilling its bowels onto the ice. Sly rose into the air on her own magic, and flung one of her hexes towards another of the creatures, causing it to roll onto its back in the water, snoring loudly. Haroldo jumped nimbly across the ice floes, landing adjacent to one of the brutes, and then beheading it with a swing of his great sword. He then turned and slashed at another, which fell a moment later to Lucian's bow. Four more fell stunned in the water as Zula's voice boomed across the valley. The Shoanti then turned her attention to freeing Piotr. She cast a spell of grease upon the sorcerer, enabling him to wriggle free of the woman's grasp. Piotr struggled to the surface, gasped for air, then wove his own spell, causing his body to rapidly blink in and out of resistance as he swam for the shore, the horrid transformation already beginning to reverse itself. Boris dove into the frigid lake, trying to swim around and beneath the hag. When he reached her, he thrust his blade into her back, but it was if he'd stabbed a slab of iron. She spun swiftly in the water, her black eyes meeting his, and then she cocked her head quizzically. "You might just be the one...," she said, almost to herself. Boris felt strange. He couldn't remember why he'd been attacking this lovely creature. She reached out a taloned hand and gently caressed his cheek. "Breath," she said, and he found that he could. He opened his mouth and drew in freezing water, yet it was no different than breathing air. "Swim down, my love," she said. "Wait for me on the bottom. I'll be along. I have a gift for you." "Boris like gifts, mer-lady," the goblin nodded enthusiastically, and then he swam down into the depths of the lake. Mazael and Haroldo made quick work of the stunned merrow in the water, while Lucian picked off the one snoozing on its back. Soon the lake was quiet again. Piotr had made it back to shore safely, and Zula had followed to make sure no other dangers were lurking. Sly circled above, but could see no new enemies below the ice. It was only then that the companions noticed that Boris was nowhere in sight...and the strange, water hag was gone as well... [/QUOTE]
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