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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ForceUser" data-source="post: 1017134" data-attributes="member: 2785">-Travis-Travis studied the barbarian with keen interest masked by a veil of casual indifference. The man was impossibly large for a human – a V-shaped dynamo well over six feet tall and bulging with sharply defined musculature. He possessed the taut poise of a predator and an admirable economy of motion. His sun-darkened skin glistened in the reflected firelight off the campfire, and Travis watched in envy as the man’s grossly engorged pectoral muscles twitched reflexively. He blinked and shook his head, then stretched elaborately and placed himself squarely behind the dwarf from the barbarians. If it came to violence he would abandon his companions without hesitation. Their deaths would spare him several seconds of pursuit, perhaps long enough to get away and hide. Erak sat nearest the barbarians, translating from their broken dialect of Baklunish. The wolf-headed leader spoke rapidly, punctuating his words with sharp, cutting gestures. His hungry gaze rarely left Dera, who played the role of shrinking violet beside Garlok. His blatant desire obviously sat at odds with the priest’s sense of propriety, but thus far Falco had wisely let the insult go unchallenged. These were powerful, savage men. Behind their leader, the warriors stood stoically, their hands never far from their weapons. Erak nodded twice rapidly, then gestured at the barbarian leader and said, “This is Mok’Tuge. I think he’s some sort of chief among his people. These men are Wolf Nomads, down from the northern steppes. They are hunting giants for-for tawri’i.” He stumbled over the unfamiliar pronunciation. “For sport, I think.” Falco blanched.The man thumped his chest, “Mok’Tuge.” Then he beckoned to Dera and spat a saw-toothed string of syllables. The sorceress shrunk into her cloak, but Travis noted the look of excitement in her eyes. Not often she met a man who intimidated her, he imagined. She glanced at Erak, then back to Mok’Tuge. “What did he say?”“Er,” he hedged, “I think I’m losing something in the translation. They use a very rough form.” The barbarian looked at the both of them, pointed at his chest, then at Dera. He patted the earth next to him and pointed at her again. “No translation required,” quipped Mordecai. Dera persisted pertly. “What did he say?”Erak blushed, “Well, um, he says you have good child-bearing hips.”Travis laughed aloud. Mok’Tuge grinned at him, eyes twinkling as if to say, “Yes, I see you back there, little man.”  Travis felt his mirth drain away.He’s harmless, soothed Fib, his psicrystal. The stone began to hum merrily in his head.“Ask him if he knows of the place we seek,” rumbled Garlok from the bottom of his wineskin. Elf-wine ran in rivulets down his natty beard. Erak spoke to Mok’Tuge, but the barbarian waved him off and beckoned Dera once again. She wavered, half-rising. He smiled at her confidently.“Dera! Don’t encourage him,” admonished Falco. Travis watched it in her eyes then – indecision pushed aside by her innate contrariness. She walked around the fire and made to sit next to the Wolf Nomad. But he said “Uht!” and gestured for her to halt. He rose with a fluidity that belied his bulk, then unraveled a thick bearskin and laid it at her feet. Smiling tentatively, she sat. He clapped his hands and grinned broadly all around, and his men whistled and laughed. Something of significance just occurred, Travis realized. One look at Erak confirmed it; the sellsword appeared nervous. Perceptively, Mordecai addressed Erak, “What just happened?”“I-I believe she has consented to be courted,” Erak said, brows furrowing as he listened to the warriors chatter back and forth. The druid raised an eyebrow, the dwarf guffawed, and the sun priest shook his head in dismay. Travis considered the implications. “We can use this,” he suggested.“I beg your pardon?” exclaimed Dera.“We need to find this nameless dwarfhold in the Clatspurs. These savages know the terrain. They could lead us, if persuaded.”“What are you suggesting?” she demanded hotly. Upon hearing her tone, Mok’Tuge dropped a hand to his axe and glared at Travis. “Dera, have a care,” said Falco quietly, nodding at the tensed warrior. She glanced at him and said “No, it’s okay…Erak, tell him we’re just arguing.” He did.“He says that he will cut out the tongue of any man who displeases you with words,” translated Erak, wide-eyed. “Oh,” she replied, looking taken aback. Travis shrugged in a deliberate expression of nonchalance and said, “Just ask him if he knows where it is.”Erak and Mok’Tuge spoke at length, and then the sellsword declared, “He has seen a great cave of worked stone in the mountains, but there are many durr’k – I think he means goblins, or maybe orcs – between there and here.”“Can he lead us to it?” asked Mordecai. Again Erak conferred with the barbarian.“He says he can.”“When can we go?” Erak asked. “He says he can lead us in the morning, but tonight they hunt to prepare a feast in honor of the – err - new couple.”Disapprovingly, Falco said, “It’s rather late. What does one hunt at night?”“Dire bears, apparently.”Travis suppressed a shudder.  “Sounds like fun!” chirped Fib.--The next morning, greasy bear meat still roiling in their stomachs, the group headed west after Mok’Tuge and his hunters. The barbarians set an easy pace in deference to Dera, who strode next to her new suitor, appearing quite flattered by the attention. The rest of the party trailed behind. Ranging far ahead was the pair of direwolves, and Mordecai kept his own wolf Dagys close. The poor thing was as a pup compared to its larger cousins and seemed to resent it.All of that day and the next they walked. They left behind the uplands on the second day, winding their way high into the craggy mountains. At least once the direwolves ran across a band of humanoids – goblins – and scattered them before the adventurers could arrive. Several other times the barbarian hunters reported large bands of orcs and the occasional hill giant, which Mok’Tuge deftly steered the party around. The journey was tense and tiring, and Travis began to long for the comforts of a good tavern and an accommodating lady. He wasn’t cut out for this “trekking through the wilderness” crap. “You’re a real trooper!” encouraged Fib.At camp the night of the second day, Mok’Tuge announced that he and his men would be leaving.“In the morning,” translated Erak, “We must go home. Will Dera come with me and be my woman?”“Tell him I can’t, Erak,” smiled Dera, “I have to go with my companions.”Mok’Tuge swelled with satisfaction. “It is as I thought,” continued Erak, “You are no goat-wife who meekly follows her husband. Go with your friends; I will find you later if you wish it.”“Well, I guess,” she offered cautiously.Erak studied her. “You want me to translate “I guess?”She shrugged nervously.Mok’Tuge listened to Erak, then inhaled and considered. “Do you not want to be my woman?” And there it is, thought Travis, who expected her to hedge some more.Dera looked at the barbarian shyly, “You’re nice, but…this is all so fast! Can we…can we not know each other a little better?”When Erak translated, Mok’Tuge seemed to deflate. “Do you not wish me to court you?”“No! I mean – yes. If you want.”“Is that a no or a yes, Dera?” asked Erak. Mok’Tuge watched the exchange.“It’s a yes.”“Okay.” He turned to Mok’Tuge.“I mean, I think.” Erak paused, mouth open to translate. He looked at her and waited. Sit bit her lip and nodded. He translated. Mok’Tuge replied, looking at her, his eyes glittering and unreadable. Erak spoke again, and the two conversed at length. Finally Mok’Tuge stood up and began collecting his things.“What?” asked Dera with a note of concern. “He says that he does not want you to do what your heart does not desire. He will go now instead of tomorrow and find you later. You can have all the moons between now and then to decide if you want him.” Erak stood up and said something to the barbarians. They waved at him and Mok’Tuge slapped his shoulder. He pointed into the darkness and spoke to Erak, spared Dera a final glance, and faded into the night. “I think you hurt his feelings,” observed Travis sardonically. Dera shot him a venomous glance, then stood up and stalked off into the dark after Mok’Tuge.Erak cleared his throat. “He said we’re close to the spot he knows. We should look for a stone stair cutting up an otherwise impassible cleft. I think it’s about a mile away, maybe less.”“We’ll know soon enough,” said Mordecai.Dera came back a few minutes later looking preoccupied. Nobody said anything to her about Mok’Tuge, really, what was the point? The man now had an inkling of what she was like; if he still wanted to pursue her Travis wished him good fortune. The others set watches and he settled down to sleep.The next morning they got up, prepared spells and powers, and set out to find the stone stair. It turned out to be tough to miss – they found the cleft in the mountainside, at the bottom of which lay a deep shadowy ravine. On the face of the near side began the stair, a massive work of wrought stone worn smooth by the passage of time. It was dirty and rock-strewn, but no cracks or breaks marred its surface, nor any weeds or upthrust plants. Even with untrained eyes, Travis recognized superior craftsmanship. Had he been blind, he still couldn’t have missed the dwarf’s exclamation of “Aha!” as he ran forward on stubby legs to squat before the first step. He caressed the masonry as though it were a precious gemstone. “This is it!” said Garlok, master of the obvious. “Very nice,” replied Mordecai. They began to trudge up. Out of boredom, Travis counted the steps. Around six hundred and twelve he decided “screw it,” being too busy worrying about the pain in his chest and the fire in his legs. Eventually they came to a plateau cut flat to exacting standards by ancient dwarven masons. The priest prayed while the rest of them sat down heavily. A speck appeared in the air from the direction ahead, getting closer. Travis nudged Erak, sat up, and observed more closely. They started getting antsy, but it swooped down and revealed itself to be Dera’s stupid familiar. He let out a ragged breath and relaxed. “Tiki says there’s a building up around the bend,” reported Dera.“What kind of building?” asked Erak.She shrugged, “He doesn’t know. He says it is tall and skinny.”“Sounds like a tower,” suggested Mordecai. “Can he tell us anything else?”She paused a moment, betraying an inner conversation. “He says there might be people in it. He might have seen something moving around inside.”“Right,” said Garlok, “Maybe its dwarves come back to claim their hall.”Travis had to refrain from rolling his eyes. When Falco finished preparing spells they moved on, alert to possible danger. Half an hour of painful trudging later, the curving slope of the mountainside revealed a squat stone tower in disrepair. It sat on a similar flat to the one upon which they’d rested. As they closed on it, something stirred atop the crenellations. Travis began to focus his mind for combat, but a dwarf-helm popped out from between the stonework, followed by a crossbow. Garlok said “Aha!” and waved, but the dwarf didn’t wave back. He appeared to regard the party for a moment, then he disappeared behind the defensive structure.“Friendly sorts,” said Erak.“They’re just being cautious,” Garlok replied sagely, “This mountain’s crawling with nasties. I’ll go talk with ‘em.”Travis was unconvinced, but just then a dwarf stepped out of the shadow of the tower and waved. From this distant vantage he appeared old, with a long gray beard poking out from beneath a big helm. He wore scale mail but carried no shield or weapon. He shouted something in dwarvish, and Garlok responded. The old dwarf shouted again, Garlok replied again, and then the other dwarf beckoned them and went back inside the tower. Garlok stepped forward.“Wait,” said Falco, “I’ll go with you.”“You don’t speak dwarven, do you?” asked Garlok.“No, but I have trained in the art of diplomacy. I might be of some use.”Garlok shrugged. “Suit yerself.”The two of them struck out for the tower door. Shortly afterward, all hell broke loose.</blockquote>

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