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Knightfall's World of Kulan: Tales of the Companions Story Hour (Final Update: Sep 20, 2014)
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<blockquote data-quote="Knightfall" data-source="post: 1411792" data-attributes="member: 2012"><p><strong>The Alliance (cont.)</strong></p><p></p><p><em><strong>The camp at dawn:</strong></em></p><p>The companions remained restless for the remainder of the night. They tried to sleep in shifts but all were so concerned for Thessa’s safety that no one felt rested when the dawn broke. Most of the evening they talked about what had happened to Hugh and Kellin, as well as trying to convince Mesik it wasn’t his fault that he’d lost his nerve.</p><p></p><p>“Magical fear can strip away a person’s resolve, Mesik.” Bactra poked the fire’s smoldering embers just as the sun began to rise above the horizon.</p><p></p><p>“Yes, but it wasn’t you who succumbed to it last night.” Mesik sat next to Thessa, stroking her hair.</p><p></p><p>Thessa had healed enough to take a watch shift but the group had decided to let her sleep. She had taken an awful wound. All of them had come to think of her as family.</p><p></p><p>“Bactra and Dabuk have a natural resistance to most types of fear. They are not the best people to compare yourself to Mesik. I, on the other hand, do not have their ability. The fear from that flind’s roar almost took me last night and I have succumbed to fear in the past.”</p><p></p><p>“Really,” Mesik was surprised to hear Garth talk so openly about being afraid. It wasn’t like him at all. “How do you get over it?”</p><p></p><p>“That is something that I cannot answer.” Garth put the last of the gathered wood on the fire. “I never got over it.”</p><p></p><p>“Great,” Mesik laid down next to Thessa, throwing his blanket half over her. “I’m going to try and get some sleep.”</p><p></p><p>The others remained quiet for nearly an hour. The silence finally sent Mesik off to sleep. Bactra wished he could understand what Mesik was going through. Of course, he understood the magical nature of fear effects but had never experienced it himself. As a forest elf, he was nearly immune to such things.</p><p></p><p>His instructors had told him that elves only succumb to the fear of powerful dragons and ogre scions. He hadn’t felt anything when the flind roared. Dabuk on the other hand, had wavered for only a moment before shrugging of the effect. Half-elves didn’t have a full elves full immunity.</p><p></p><p>“So, Hugh.” Dabuk had not accepted Kellin’s version of what had delayed the two. “Tell me again why you two were so late.”</p><p></p><p>“We’ve been over this.” Kellin was losing his patience.</p><p></p><p>“I didn’t ask you,” Dabuk stared Hougwarth down looking for the giant man’s true feelings on the subject. He didn’t even glance in Kellin’s direction.</p><p></p><p>“You shouldn’t doubt Kellin so much, friend Dabuk.” Hugh looked back at the ranger without any hidden emotions. “It happened as he said.”</p><p></p><p>“Tell me again anyway.” Dabuk was insistent.</p><p></p><p>“Go ahead, Hugh.” Garth stood up and walked away from the campfire.”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, he isn’t going to let it go until you tell him your version.” Bactra lied down on the grass next to the fire. If he had been a human, he would have drifted off to sleep. Instead he closed his eyes and waited for Hugh to begin.</p><p></p><p>“Well, as you know, after we split up, Kellin and I went upstream to look for a safe place to cross. It wasn’t easy finding a isolated location that was shallow enough for both of us. We came across two places that were safe enough for Kellin but I wouldn’t have made it.</p><p></p><p>I tried to get Kellin to cross at the second one and come here to meet you all. I tried to convince him that I’d catch up with you all later but he wouldn’t leave me by myself. Eventually, after searching most of the first day, we found a safe place to cross. It was easy going, although the water was very cold.”</p><p></p><p>“Almost unnaturally so,” Kellin was lying on his back, warming his toes near the fire.</p><p></p><p>“Aye, we talked about it on the other side of the bank. Here, maybe this will help”</p><p></p><p>Hugh began scrawling a rough diagram into the dirt by the fire. Dabuk knelt down next to the giant man’s left knee to get a better look at the diagram. Soon Kellin was staring over Hugh’s drawing and Garth watched from the other side of the fire, while Bactra rolled over so he could see from the opposite side of where Dabuk was kneeling down.</p><p></p><p>The diagram showed the river, a corpse of trees, and several large mounds. Dabuk was sure they represented hills.</p><p></p><p>“We started to cross here. The current was still very fast so we ended up a little downstream, here.” Hugh scrawled X’s in the two locations. “Right near the corpse of trees. They were in the direction we were going so we decided to cut through them. They didn’t seem very dense so we figured there would be lots of room for both of us to maneuver in case anything attacked us.</p><p></p><p>Like Kellin said, the river had been exceedingly cold, unnatural. We decided to camp in the woods and start a fire to warm ourselves. It was near dusk of the first night.”</p><p></p><p>“That’s when the ice trolls attacked.” Kellin rubbed his shoulder where it he still felt the chill.</p><p></p><p>“Aye,” Hugh motioned for Garth to throw more wood on the fire.</p><p></p><p></p><p>* * *</p><p></p><p></p><p><em><strong>The ice troll attack (days earlier):</strong></em></p><p>“Hugh,” Kellin stood up his sword out ready. “Do you feel it? It’s getting colder.”</p><p></p><p>“Aye,” the giant man was still wring the cold water out of his long hair. “It feels like it’s dropped nearly 10 degrees.”</p><p></p><p>“I think we have company,” Kellin could see his breath, as the temperature around them continued to drop.</p><p></p><p>“Ice troll!” Hugh reached for his sword, which was already covered in hoarfrost. “Behind you, Kellin.”</p><p></p><p>“Damn it,” Kellin moved to one side as the lumbering, ice-like creature came out of the dark. He cut down the creature but it was soon moving again as it regenerated. “I wish they smelled bad like normal trolls. I would have noticed them sooner.”</p><p></p><p>“Aye,” Hugh brought his sword up though the ribs of the other beast attacking from the other side of the camp. “Careful, my friend. They’re trying to flank us.”</p><p></p><p>The creature howled, backing up.</p><p></p><p>“Stand back to back, as close to the fire as possible. Try to grab a burning log; I’m going to try and reach my pack.”</p><p></p><p>“How’s that going to help us?” Hugh took a swing at the ice troll as the beast reached to take the vonakyndra’s sword away. The blade bit into the creatures frozen hide and it snarled as it backed away again. Hugh reached down and grabbed one of the fiery logs.</p><p></p><p>“Oil,” Kellin grabbed and reached into his pack. He brought out two vials. Once he smashed over his sword, instantly covering in the slick substance. He held the second vial in his other hand, dropping his pack. “On the count of three, toss the log at the ice troll in front of you.”</p><p></p><p>“I get it,” Hugh readied himself.</p><p></p><p>“One,” Kellin moved his sword over the fire.</p><p></p><p>The ice troll lying in front of the ogre began to stand. The creature was still trying to find it’s bearing snarling in broken giantish.</p><p></p><p>“Two.” Kellin ignored the creature’s mutterings, concentrating on his plan.</p><p></p><p>Hugh tightened his grip on the log, as the fingers of his other hand began to go numb from the magical cold the creatures were emitting. He prayed to Corellon that he wouldn’t drop his sword.</p><p></p><p>“Three!” Kellin lit his sword, peered over his shoulder for the location of the other ice troll, and tossed the vial of oil over his head in an arc.</p><p></p><p>“Take this, you frozen abomination!” Hugh tossed the lit log like a hand axe. He watched as it spun through the air hitting the ice troll in the face just as the vial came down at the creature’s feet.</p><p></p><p>The torch blinded the ice troll, then fell to the ground onto the oil. Flames began roaring up around the creature’s legs and it howled in it’s blinded rage.</p><p></p><p>Kellin brought his sword, now aflame, down on the head of the creature in front of him. The ice troll howled in pain, as the fire melted away the monster’s icy protective layer. Kellin brought the sword down again and again, hacking off the beast’s head.</p><p></p><p>“That’s got to hurt,” Hugh watched in morbid fascination as the oil-driven fire began consuming the other ice troll. “Should we put him out of his misery, Kellin?”</p><p></p><p>“Nay, let it burn. Otherwise it will just regenerate.” Kellin plunged his sword into the other ice troll a few more times until he was sure that it would stay on fire. “Just make sure the fire doesn’t spread to the trees. We don’t want the locate treant to come hunting for our heads.”</p><p></p><p>The other ice troll fell to the ground over the burning oil. It quickly burst into flames in front of them. Hugh kicked dirt onto the fire as it spread out from the burning corpse. They soon had to start emptying their waterskins in order to keep the blaze under control.</p><p></p><p>“That was close,” Hugh was tired; his boots were singed as well as his fingers.</p><p></p><p>“Aye,” Kellin poured water over himself to make sure he wasn’t smoldering anywhere. “We should bring more water from the river, just to be sure.”</p><p></p><p>The two giant men lumbered off to the river to gather more water and clean the burnt flesh off their hides.</p><p></p><p>* * *</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Knightfall, post: 1411792, member: 2012"] [b]The Alliance (cont.)[/b] [I][B]The camp at dawn:[/B][/I] The companions remained restless for the remainder of the night. They tried to sleep in shifts but all were so concerned for Thessa’s safety that no one felt rested when the dawn broke. Most of the evening they talked about what had happened to Hugh and Kellin, as well as trying to convince Mesik it wasn’t his fault that he’d lost his nerve. “Magical fear can strip away a person’s resolve, Mesik.” Bactra poked the fire’s smoldering embers just as the sun began to rise above the horizon. “Yes, but it wasn’t you who succumbed to it last night.” Mesik sat next to Thessa, stroking her hair. Thessa had healed enough to take a watch shift but the group had decided to let her sleep. She had taken an awful wound. All of them had come to think of her as family. “Bactra and Dabuk have a natural resistance to most types of fear. They are not the best people to compare yourself to Mesik. I, on the other hand, do not have their ability. The fear from that flind’s roar almost took me last night and I have succumbed to fear in the past.” “Really,” Mesik was surprised to hear Garth talk so openly about being afraid. It wasn’t like him at all. “How do you get over it?” “That is something that I cannot answer.” Garth put the last of the gathered wood on the fire. “I never got over it.” “Great,” Mesik laid down next to Thessa, throwing his blanket half over her. “I’m going to try and get some sleep.” The others remained quiet for nearly an hour. The silence finally sent Mesik off to sleep. Bactra wished he could understand what Mesik was going through. Of course, he understood the magical nature of fear effects but had never experienced it himself. As a forest elf, he was nearly immune to such things. His instructors had told him that elves only succumb to the fear of powerful dragons and ogre scions. He hadn’t felt anything when the flind roared. Dabuk on the other hand, had wavered for only a moment before shrugging of the effect. Half-elves didn’t have a full elves full immunity. “So, Hugh.” Dabuk had not accepted Kellin’s version of what had delayed the two. “Tell me again why you two were so late.” “We’ve been over this.” Kellin was losing his patience. “I didn’t ask you,” Dabuk stared Hougwarth down looking for the giant man’s true feelings on the subject. He didn’t even glance in Kellin’s direction. “You shouldn’t doubt Kellin so much, friend Dabuk.” Hugh looked back at the ranger without any hidden emotions. “It happened as he said.” “Tell me again anyway.” Dabuk was insistent. “Go ahead, Hugh.” Garth stood up and walked away from the campfire.” “Yes, he isn’t going to let it go until you tell him your version.” Bactra lied down on the grass next to the fire. If he had been a human, he would have drifted off to sleep. Instead he closed his eyes and waited for Hugh to begin. “Well, as you know, after we split up, Kellin and I went upstream to look for a safe place to cross. It wasn’t easy finding a isolated location that was shallow enough for both of us. We came across two places that were safe enough for Kellin but I wouldn’t have made it. I tried to get Kellin to cross at the second one and come here to meet you all. I tried to convince him that I’d catch up with you all later but he wouldn’t leave me by myself. Eventually, after searching most of the first day, we found a safe place to cross. It was easy going, although the water was very cold.” “Almost unnaturally so,” Kellin was lying on his back, warming his toes near the fire. “Aye, we talked about it on the other side of the bank. Here, maybe this will help” Hugh began scrawling a rough diagram into the dirt by the fire. Dabuk knelt down next to the giant man’s left knee to get a better look at the diagram. Soon Kellin was staring over Hugh’s drawing and Garth watched from the other side of the fire, while Bactra rolled over so he could see from the opposite side of where Dabuk was kneeling down. The diagram showed the river, a corpse of trees, and several large mounds. Dabuk was sure they represented hills. “We started to cross here. The current was still very fast so we ended up a little downstream, here.” Hugh scrawled X’s in the two locations. “Right near the corpse of trees. They were in the direction we were going so we decided to cut through them. They didn’t seem very dense so we figured there would be lots of room for both of us to maneuver in case anything attacked us. Like Kellin said, the river had been exceedingly cold, unnatural. We decided to camp in the woods and start a fire to warm ourselves. It was near dusk of the first night.” “That’s when the ice trolls attacked.” Kellin rubbed his shoulder where it he still felt the chill. “Aye,” Hugh motioned for Garth to throw more wood on the fire. * * * [I][B]The ice troll attack (days earlier):[/B][/I] “Hugh,” Kellin stood up his sword out ready. “Do you feel it? It’s getting colder.” “Aye,” the giant man was still wring the cold water out of his long hair. “It feels like it’s dropped nearly 10 degrees.” “I think we have company,” Kellin could see his breath, as the temperature around them continued to drop. “Ice troll!” Hugh reached for his sword, which was already covered in hoarfrost. “Behind you, Kellin.” “Damn it,” Kellin moved to one side as the lumbering, ice-like creature came out of the dark. He cut down the creature but it was soon moving again as it regenerated. “I wish they smelled bad like normal trolls. I would have noticed them sooner.” “Aye,” Hugh brought his sword up though the ribs of the other beast attacking from the other side of the camp. “Careful, my friend. They’re trying to flank us.” The creature howled, backing up. “Stand back to back, as close to the fire as possible. Try to grab a burning log; I’m going to try and reach my pack.” “How’s that going to help us?” Hugh took a swing at the ice troll as the beast reached to take the vonakyndra’s sword away. The blade bit into the creatures frozen hide and it snarled as it backed away again. Hugh reached down and grabbed one of the fiery logs. “Oil,” Kellin grabbed and reached into his pack. He brought out two vials. Once he smashed over his sword, instantly covering in the slick substance. He held the second vial in his other hand, dropping his pack. “On the count of three, toss the log at the ice troll in front of you.” “I get it,” Hugh readied himself. “One,” Kellin moved his sword over the fire. The ice troll lying in front of the ogre began to stand. The creature was still trying to find it’s bearing snarling in broken giantish. “Two.” Kellin ignored the creature’s mutterings, concentrating on his plan. Hugh tightened his grip on the log, as the fingers of his other hand began to go numb from the magical cold the creatures were emitting. He prayed to Corellon that he wouldn’t drop his sword. “Three!” Kellin lit his sword, peered over his shoulder for the location of the other ice troll, and tossed the vial of oil over his head in an arc. “Take this, you frozen abomination!” Hugh tossed the lit log like a hand axe. He watched as it spun through the air hitting the ice troll in the face just as the vial came down at the creature’s feet. The torch blinded the ice troll, then fell to the ground onto the oil. Flames began roaring up around the creature’s legs and it howled in it’s blinded rage. Kellin brought his sword, now aflame, down on the head of the creature in front of him. The ice troll howled in pain, as the fire melted away the monster’s icy protective layer. Kellin brought the sword down again and again, hacking off the beast’s head. “That’s got to hurt,” Hugh watched in morbid fascination as the oil-driven fire began consuming the other ice troll. “Should we put him out of his misery, Kellin?” “Nay, let it burn. Otherwise it will just regenerate.” Kellin plunged his sword into the other ice troll a few more times until he was sure that it would stay on fire. “Just make sure the fire doesn’t spread to the trees. We don’t want the locate treant to come hunting for our heads.” The other ice troll fell to the ground over the burning oil. It quickly burst into flames in front of them. Hugh kicked dirt onto the fire as it spread out from the burning corpse. They soon had to start emptying their waterskins in order to keep the blaze under control. “That was close,” Hugh was tired; his boots were singed as well as his fingers. “Aye,” Kellin poured water over himself to make sure he wasn’t smoldering anywhere. “We should bring more water from the river, just to be sure.” The two giant men lumbered off to the river to gather more water and clean the burnt flesh off their hides. * * * [/QUOTE]
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