Actually, to my frustration, I haven't even had time for Skyrim in the past week or two. Christmas plans/preparation/shopping, plus two time-consuming work projects, and there's precious little time left for anything else. But the wheels of progress turn, even they creak and buckle a bit. Here's some more Story Hour, though not too much. It's all I have written right now!
Sagiro’s Story Hour, Part 340
Rimk
Knowing that he’ll again be out of town for a while, Dranko pens a letter to Lucas: “Survived latest hideous deathtrap that you won’t believe if I tell you. Now off to fight demonic ogres on another continent. –Dranko.” While he’s writing, Morningstar sends to the winged ogre.
I’m being summoned? You have twenty-five words to respond.
She gets this response: Yes. It is time for you to slay. Sooner is better. Meet me at the dragon’s remains.
So, it’s a date! They prepare to teleport to eastern Kivia, and the ogrish territory east of Gurund in the Stoneguard Mountains. As Aravis casts his spell, Dranko remarks, “You know what? It’s now easier for me to go across the ‘Uncrossable Sea’ to another continent, than it is for me to walk to the next room to take a crap.”
True enough. In an eyeblink the party is standing in what can best be called a roofless cavern, a gap in the mountains with steep slopes rising around them on all sides. As they remember, there is an enormous bleaching dragon’s skeleton here in this grassy enclosure. To the southeast are two enormous double doors set into the rock face, doors which lead to the ogres’ domain. Ernie notes with annoyance that the journey has moved them seven hours later in the day; it is already late afternoon. “It’s not right,” he complains. “A meal just disappeared.”
The winged Great One is not there, so Morningstar issues another sending. We’re here right now. Would you care to join us?
I will be there momentarily
Soon the huge double doors open, and the Great One emerges into the enclosure. It’s been years since the Company last saw him, but he has not changed. He is massive, tall, with deep indigo skin and enormous reptilian wings jutting from his back.
“You’re looking well,” says Dranko.
“Thank you,” rumbles the Great One. Then the purple ogre realizes that Kibi is staring holes through him.
“Mister dwarf,” says the Great One with a small bow.
“Mister demonic ogre,” says Kibi in sullen tones.
“I am not demonic,” says the Great One. “I am draconic. My name is Rimk.” Then, to Morningstar, he says, “I am glad you brought your friends. You will need them. It is good that you are here, as promised.”
“Say,” says Dranko. “We were wondering. What’s a Throggun?”
“Throggun,” says Rimk, “is an old ogrish word that means “winged terror.”
Ah. “So the Throggun is your dad?” Dranko asks.
“Exactly. His name is Azhant the Ancient.”
“What color are his wings?” Dranko presses.
“The same color as the rest of him: indigo.” To Morningstar he then says, “I wish you to slay my father; I cannot lift a hand against him.”
Morningstar regards the Great One with a neutral expression. “And why would we do that?”
“Because he has returned, and has ordered my people to prepare for war, against the dwarves and what remains of Gurund.”
Well, that puts things in a somewhat different light!
“And you don’t wish to do that?” asks Morningstar, puzzled.
Rimk sighs. “It would be a great tragedy for all of us. The main reason I do not wish him to destroy the dwarves, is that that would call the unwanted attention of the humans. The ogres have lived long, separated from mankind, and it is well that it is so, for though we are mighty, you are… numerous. Should there ever be war, should the humans decide that they want to exterminate us, and bend all of their will to that end, they would succeed. There are champions among you that would cause us great trouble.
“The ogres will not listen to me on this matter. I hold great sway over them, but Azhant, indeed the mere memory of him, holds greater sway. My deep suspicion is that Azhant knows well the endgame of this, that it will his serve his purpose for us to wipe the dwarves out, and for the humans then to wipe us out -- and all to be weakened in the process, to serve his own goals, to solidify his power in the region. He cares nothing for ogres; there is nothing of ogre in him. He is powerful, cunning, and deadly. Honestly, if it weren’t for the prophecy, I wouldn’t give you much chance against him.”
“Are we prophesied to win?” asks Ernie. Rimk just chuckles.
“Can you tell us anything about his abilities?” asks Morningstar.
“Little,” says Rimk. “His breath is variable. He can change it on a daily basis, and sometimes more frequently than that. His resistances, likewise. He is also a powerful sorcerer in his own right. I don’t know what you expect to do about him.”
“Does he have any weaknesses?”
Rimk laughs. “No. He is Azhant. He has never been challenged, never been defeated.”
Morningstar rubs her temples. “Where can we find him?”
“His home is known to the ogres as Gad Meng… Cloud Mountain in your tongue. It used to be called the Floating Stronghold by the dwarves; it was one of their great architectural achievements. They inhabited the entire mountain, ages ago. Azhant’s abode therein is a series of caverns near the top, above the clouds. His lair is shielded from divinations, as he has had centuries to build up his defenses.”
“Does he have minions?” Dranko asks.
“We believe so, but are not certain. He has not been seen active in this region in quite some time.”
“Is his lair trapped?”
“It would not surprise me.”
Dranko laughs. “Maybe Farazil could just possess him!”
Flicker/Farazil turns to him.: “I can’t possess a dragon. Are you crazy?”
Ernie, annoyed at Farazil saying anything at all, musters up some unexpected sarcasm. “I thought you were good at this.”
Flicker becomes a bit glassy eyed, and then Ernie himself, in an odd tone of voice, says “Don’t mock me.” Then Flicker says the exact same thing a second later.
Morningstar is furious. “Farazil, you have just broken faith with us again.”
Once again occupying Flicker, Farazil spits a sullen retort. “Then maybe you should treat me with some respect.”
Morningstar glowers. “The moment your word becomes worth anything, you’ll earn our respect. Until then, what you are is a liar and a cheat.”
Ernie, realizing what has happened, loses his temper. He slams Flicker up against the nearby wall of the mountain, and his voice is a blade of cold anger. “If you ever do that again, I will kill you, even in Flicker’s body. Him, I can resurrect.”
“Ernie!” shouts Flicker in alarm “Let go of me!”
Ernie does not let go. “I do not ever want you inside my mind again. Do you understand me?”
Farazil is defiant. “Yes, And I do not ever want to be insulted again. Do you understand me? You know, I could jump into one of these ogres any time I wanted, and you’d never see me again. I could make your lives very uncomfortable. But I’d rather not. I’d like for our relationship to be more agreeable. But if you’re just going to constantly mock me, while I’m standing right in your midst, then that will make things extremely difficult.”
“We’re not mocking you,” says Dranko. “We fear you. We fear what you can do, and we still have a lot of pent up frustration over the trouble you’ve caused us in the past.”
“You’ve had years,” says Farazil. “Get over it.”
“ENOUGH!” thunders Aravis, and that buys everyone a few seconds of silence. Then Kibi mutters, “Maybe if we don’t want to Farazil to take over Flicker, we shouldn’t keep talking to him.”
Flicker agrees. “Seriously! Do you know what? It’s really creepy when you’re suddenly talking to me as if you’ve just been talking to someone else and I have no memory of it.”
“He’s just going to bide his time until he can find a way to betray us again,” says Morningstar.
Rimk has watched all of this with a great fascination. “Have you all gone mad?” he asks, looking from one to another of the Company. “What was that?”
No one answers him.
“I must say, my confidence in your ability to kill Azhant has not been bolstered -- though I have gathered that you are all extremely belligerent…” He points at Flicker. “…toward that one.”
Dranko is quick to change the subject. “So, how do we get to Cloud Mountain?”
Rimk points to the south-east. “It’s about twenty miles that way, and up. The mountain itself rises up to the clouds. I believe his lair is at the top.” Perceiving a certain nonchalance among the party, he adds, “Do not underestimate him. He is not just another monster in your long list of conquests.”
“Right,” says Dranko. “So the whole ‘Throggun’s ascension’ thing…”
“It was a metaphor for Azhant’s return from seclusion and likely rise to power,” says Rimk. “He has not been seen in decades, until just a few days ago.”
Morningstar asks, “Do you know what’s motivating him to do this now?”
“I don’t know,” Rimk admits. “Whatever he was doing before, I suppose he has grown bored with it. It is in his nature to seek power. But understand this, Morningstar: the prophecy does not guarantee success, but you must make the attempt. I think you were chosen because you have the greatest chance of defeating the dragon. And make no mistake; killing Azhant will save many dwarvish lives. I tell you this truthfully: my personal long-term objective is to see peace between the ogres and the dwarves.”
/*/
Rimk leaves them to plan and scheme. The Company spends some time discussing dragon-fighting tactics.
“When you fight a dragon,” says Dranko, “don’t do it somewhere it can fly. Better to fight it somewhere indoors, and restricted. And I always have our secret weapon: let it swallow me, and activate my immovable rod. Problem with that is, it turns out that you can’t cut your way out of a dragon’s gullet with a whip.”
“We should have as many different kinds of damage ready as possible,” says Morningstar, considering Rimk’s warning.
“I bet he’s not immune to ass-kicking damage,” says Dranko.
Before the discussion goes too much further, Morningstar makes the sensible decision to scout out Cloud Mountain in Ava Dormo. It won’t tell her exactly where the dragon is, or if it has any allies or minions, but knowing the topology of Cloud Mountain’s interior could be invaluable. All she has to go on is Rimk’s vague ‘about twenty miles that way,” so she drops into the Dreamscape and heads in that direction at top speed. It doesn’t take her long to cover the distance, but what she finds is simply more mountains, stretching in their dozens for miles in every direction, with many of them rising upward to vanish into the cloud layer.
Knowing that the dragon’s lair is near one of the high peaks, she spends fifteen more minutes flying directly upward, until she herself is looking down upon a puffy white floor of clouds. It is extremely bright, a cobalt vastness into which protrude a scattering of snowy mountaintops, like islands in a cotton sea. She spends another hour hopping from peak to peak, each giving her a new perspective on the others, and her thoroughness is rewarded. One of the highest mountains has a tunnel bored into its side, just above the cloud layer. If one could walk upon the clouds, one could step off of one and directly into the tunnel. Back outside Rimk’s domain, she lets the others know of her discovery. After a quick conversation, she casts dream anchor on Aravis and Kibi, and takes them into Ava Dormo with her. This way they’ll have seen landing spots for teleports when it’s time to launch their actual assault.
But in the meantime: more scouting!
…to be continued…
