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Message: <blockquote data-quote="howandwhy99" data-source="post: 2747592" data-attributes="member: 3192">After leaving the harvested fields of Custner the green grasslands so common on the ride south turned to barrens.  Grog led due east at a brisk pace with the team following in their now traditional circular formation.  Ben could see the southern edge of the enormous Greenwillow Forest a mile or so to his left.  Nothing else broke the horizon until several hours later when Grog pointed out a villa ahead.  “Grog’s friends stay there”, he said.  He had traded with them frequently, mostly for mushrooms.  As they rode closer the structure appeared smaller and smaller.  “Are they of the littlefolk?”, Diedre suggested.  Grog agreed, but then again he called everyone littlefolk.  When they were within one hundred yards Grog stopped.  “Something wrong.  The gate closed.  Nobody here.”  Grog approached alone.  Ten small helmets rose up along the villa’s outer wall.  It reminded Darius of the Fae near Hommlet, but he saw no faces.<img src="http://www.geocities.com/dbedell2002/Hobbit_Lair.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Grog wavered in mid-step.  He fell limp to the ground backwards.  “Foul sorcery!!” shouted Darius.  The gates to the compound opened. “Charge!” commanded Darius.  Diedre and Rose hung back as four mountain lions raced out of the entrance.  Dram, Rose, and Ormond launched arrows at the creatures and one fell dead.  Kayla cast a spell and a second collapsed to the ground.  The last two pounced onto Grog biting and scratching him awake.  Darius arrived first to the bizarre lion & giant wrestling match and tried to avoid stab Grog.  One lion jumped aside barely missing Pax with its jaws.  Grog’s massive fist swung wide and smashed into the head of Darius’s horse.  Gobbets of blood and flesh sprayed over both of them.  Dram spurred his horse towards the gates with his bow ready.  As he climbed the slope and reached the wall’s edge he spotted an ugly witch crouching inside.  Dram shot her just as she pointed a stick at him.  White light streaked out knocking him unconscious and to the ground.  Grog wrestled around raising dust as the large cat bit into his shoulder.  Rose growled to the other lion trying to sooth it, but it ignored her.  It chased after Pax, but he galloped away towards the wall.  Ben and Dalin charged forward and drew the second lion from following Pax.  The gates of the compound slammed shut.  Dalin hit the lion solidly.  Ben swung with his mace and connected too.  Grog cracked his lion’s head with his bare hands.  Severely hurt, the last lion ran.  It leapt over Darius’s horse and knocked the paladin down.  Grog scrambled over, wrenched Darius aside, and kicked at the lion.  He missed badly and smashed the dead horse carcass into pulp.  Ormand the Redd fired and felled the final beast.  Darius walked over and smashed in the skull of the sleeping lion.  Pax carefully lifted Dram’s body and ran with it away from the littlefolk’s wall.  Darius started ordering Ormand and Dalin to drag his dead in that direction too.  He called on Thor to heal Grog as Ben helped him lead the half-ogre out of danger.  Rose ran off in the direction of Dram’s missing horse.  In a patch of dirt outside of bow range the group scuttled Dram’s dead horse, divvying up the gear among other mounts.  Ben healed Grog and bandaged him before tending to Dram.  Rose walked back with Dram’s horse and agreed to double up on Darian’s horse.  Dram awoke with a start when Ben touched him.  “There’s a witch inside!  And I need to kill her.”  Ignoring the others he stood up and walked over to Grog.  Taking his sword Dram grew to 24’ tall and stomped towards the gate.  He saw the yard inside was deserted.  The ten helmets were attached to sticks and lifted a ruse.  Angrily he kicked at the gate and it smashed to pieces.  “I’m comin’ ta eatcha, ya evil, foul, horrible, WITCH!” he boomed.  The hill rounded inside the wooden wall.  Dram spotted a green circular door built into its side.  Atop the hill a flimsy tower stood.  Standing on his toes he could make out nothing inside.  “And after I eatcha, I’m gonna find your family and eat them too!”  Dram noticed the rest of the team had ridden up to gate.  “Grog’s friends not here”, Grog said to no one in particular.  “Normally dozen friends guard here.  They farm. They sell Grog mushrooms.”  He looked very worried and out of sorts.  Darius called up to Dram to release Grog’s sword.  It took a bit of coaxing, but Dram knew the sword was not his.  Darius gave the sword to Pax thinking he was the strongest amongst them, but he grew now stronger than Dram had.  After growing to maximum height, Pax reached down and ripped the circular door from its hinges.  Darius ordered him to keep guard and to look for anyone trying to escape.  The others dismounted and prepared to enter the dark tunnel that had been hidden by the door.</blockquote>

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