Can you trip like I do?
Gronar felt the hand grab the back of his hair, but he was too slow to slap it away. His body was jerked back out through the tower's entrance by Korg.
"Dumb Gronar, fire will make skin blister, and Korg almost out of heal miracles." Korg said flustered at Gronar, his verbal attempts to get his friend to remove himself from the burning edifice had proved fruitless.
Gronar stood up to face Korg, and wiped away the sweat that was streaming soot and grime into his eyes. Korg noticed then a change of hair color in Gronar.
"How Gronar hair get that way?"
"What way? Burned? Gronar was just in fire, that what happens when hair catch fire."
"No, Gronar hair is like wolf's hair."
"Gronar has choosed to go down path of the Barbaars*, Gronar will not let stinky trolls push Gronar around no more."
The party heads back to the icy river and follows it a bit upstream, before veering off into the woods to look for a place to rest for the evening.
Finrod locates a clearing big enough for the giants to lay down in and unpacks his supplies to make a campfire with. Paquito and Korg clear away the flat ground of twigs and fallen rotting logs. Korg spots a sturdy tree on the far side of where they entered the clearing and slumps down next to it.
Finrod makes sure to set the fire small but intense, not wanting to alert any visitors, as any visitor they would receive out here was likely to be hostile. Korg tends to his exhausted friend while Paquito stretches across the ground to stare at the overcast evening sky.
"What does Barbaars mean?" Finrod asks Paquito, the elf's words shatter the silent daydream the minotaur was having.
"What?" Paquito responded irritated at the elf, hoping the elf would drop the subject.
"What does Barbaars mean? I heard Gronar saying he was going to follow their path. I want to know what the creature is."
"What makes you think I would care to know what comes out of his head? I am a poor fungal sage not a linguist. Though I do admit to being cunning. No?"
Annoyed at Paquito's lack of a response, Finrod leaves the fire and heads towards Gronar, aiming to ask the giant himself.
"Where are going?" Paquito asked as the elf passed him
"I'm going to find out what that word means."
"But the fire will get cold, you can't just leave it like that. No?"
"You can tend the fire I'll be back in a moment."
*sigh* "Fine, if I tell you what it means will you sit down and keep me warm?"
"Elves don't snuggle."
Having never heard Finrod give a smart assed reply before, Paquito assumed the elf was being serious and had mistook Paquito's request.
"Yes, I've heard that about your kind. No matter, I can just impale you and then snuggling doesn't really become an issue any longer. No?" Paquito answered trying to keep from bursting out in laughter.
"Yes, your kind have shown a great propensity for hurtling themselves at a goal, unfortunately that goal appears to be mass suicide at the hands of greater races."
"You seem to be handling the part of Korg's hand puppet extremely well for someone with an ass as tight as yours. I shall hold him, and pet, and squeeze him, and call him Elfy. You live the good life. No?"
Finrod spat at Paquito then kicked the fire out.
"What was that for? How am I going to keep warm now that you won't snuggle with me?"
Finrod became incensed, he wanted to gut the talking bull and find his way back home. His hand reached for the hilt of his blade as he flung open his cloak to reveal his intent to Paquito.
"Oh, is it time to shave my back again, so soon?" Paquito answered as he turned his back to the dying fire and Finrod.
Hatred boiled inside the elf, now Paquito mocked his abilities, he had gone far enough and Finrod was going to make sure he didn't go any farther.
Finrod unsheathed his longsword and lunged for the kidneys of Paquito. A larger sword sliced down and drove Finrod's blade into the ground before it could reach Paquito. The larger blade twisted and the torque on Finrod's arm was too great to bear and the sword leaped from his hand to rest upon the ground in front of him.
Gronar stood above the small elf with a look of distaste. His arms retracted and he pulled his sword away from Finrod's blade.
"Why Elfy not fight stinky trolls like that?" Gronar asked, wondering why Finrod had shown passion and determination only when Paquito was concerned.
"That worthless sack of manure insults my very existence, I wish for him to be gone from my company." Finrod answers, his eyes never leaving the back of Paquito, who is chuckling softly to himself.
"Gronar think you fight stinky trolls like you fight Pokey, then maybe Gronar not have to be Barbaars."
Finrod looked up at Gronar at the mention of that word, in the light of near dusk and the shadowing of the surrounding trees, Finrod was certain the hill giant's mouth was bearing sharpened teeth.
A low growl issued from Gronar's mouth and Finrod slinked away. Paquito turned over and stared up at the towering giant, suddenly feeling smaller than he had ever remembered being. Paquito shifted his weight and sought to stand, a snarl almost like a hound's snapped Paquito back on his heels.
Paquito knew what a Barbaars was, and now looking at Gronar in the closing light of the day with his bared teeth, sliver hair, and the slight hint of red in his eyes, Paquito now knew what kind of Barbaars Gronar had become.
The night moved slowly for Finrod, Gronar had ordered him to take watch the whole night, claiming it would make the elf hardier and not so soft. Finrod had been absently picking up small stones and chucking them across the clearing, when a barely audible sound came from his right.
Finrod spun on the ball of his right foot, while at the same time dropping his body to the ground. He slowly retrieved his bow making sure to keep it under him as it's glow would surely give his position away, then he pulled out an arrow shaft and held it in his right hand. "Ambush" He though to himself, his superior vision scanned the trees and he flexed his pointed ears trying to pinpoint from where the sound had come from.
Finrod saw the huddled movement near the clearing's edge, and raised up on his knees and loosed an arrow as he yelled "Ambush!"
Gronar jerked awake at the scream, and leaped to his feet, forgetting his weapons for the moment as he tried to ascertain what was going on around him. Korg had also sat straight up, but Paquito still laid sound asleep. Gronar saw Finrod notch an arrow and fire into the tree line ahead of him.
"What is it Elfy!?" Gronar shouts
"Trolls, two of them. Plus a huge bear, they appear to be dragging a body along with them." Finrod shouted back
Gronar grabbed his long spear from the earth floor, and watched as three trolls and a bear the size of Korg walked into the clearing. Gronar started to charge the nearest troll, but watched as it's hands went up as if to say "stop". Which is what Gronar did, entangled in the very grass beneath he feet, the troll's magic had caused the vegetation around them to come to life and hold their prey fast.
Finrod, Gronar and Korg stood trapped in the midst of the clearing, while Paquito snored loudly in his sleep.
Gronar braced for what would come next, he knew he could outreach the trolls, but could he take out the bear also. Anger swelled up inside him as Gronar pushed his body over the edge and allowed the rage to take hold.
Instead of pressing their advantage, the troll shaman waived the bear on and then he stepped back to follow the huge ursine. It barked out an order and the two remaining trolls began to circle the party.
Finrod noticed a body on a stretcher being dragged behind the bear. It moaned softly as the stretcher bounced over a downed tree. "Still alive" Finrod said to himself
"Hurry! We must save the prisoner!" Finrod pointed at the back of the bear.
"Korg not care about retreating enemies, Korg worried about fighting ones."
Gronar's enhanced strength allowed himself to pull free of the grass, he grabbed Korg on the way as he tread a path through the foliage. The trolls stopped their advance, awe stricken by the sight of Gronar "winning" against their leader's spell.
Finrod twisted his body and sliced through an enlarged dandelion. He raced around to meet up with the giants, who had turned their backs and were waling away from the trolls.
"Where are you going? We have to save the prisoner." Finrod shouted frantically
"No, Gronar not have to save anyone but Gronar and Korg." Gronar looked up and saw that the trolls and restarted their advance on the party. "Wake up Pokey." Gronar ordered
Finrod ran to Paquito and shook the minotaur as violently as he could then stood up to find where the trolls had gone, he heard the large footsteps backing away from him, turning he found Gronar and Korg continuing to retreat from the battle.
"I can't fight them alone! What are you doing?" Finrod shouted
"Gronar saving Korg and Gronar." The giant announced and with a flick of his wrist, the hill giant flung out his massive spear and clipped the shin of Finrod causing him to collapse face first on the ground.
Gronar looked up and saw opportunity come across the faces of the advancing trolls, and knew Finrod was right. He wasn't going to be able to fight them alone. Gronar turned and sprinted away from their camp.
*barbarian- it's a Dutch word but it sounded Jotun-like so I used it 