W
WilliamWolf
Guest
Thurok Wist blended into the forest as he kneeled a few hundred yards away from the cave entrance. His leather armor quietly moaned as he shifted left and right, checking his weapons. With a last glance at the razor edged throwing darts he always carried strapped to his left leg he returned his attention to the cave entrance.
Thurok had tracked the creature, an ogre mage, to this area after he had discovered the body of the thief he was employed to hunt, lying sprawled in the woods with his arms and legs scattered around his torso. The wizard’s guild had promised a large bounty for the thief’s head so Thurok would at least get some reward for this trip. But the real prize lay inside the cave in the clutches of the ogre, a solid gold chalice inlaid with jewels, and rumored to be an artifact of enormous power. The reward for returning the chalice would keep Thurok in women and ale for months, and maybe even let him finish off repairs on his ship. The thief had made a costly mistake when he stole it, but he wouldn’t need to worry about that now…
Shaking himself out of his reverie Thurok began to creep towards the cave entrance. The ground was still damp and slippery from the night’s rainfall, and Thurok used the mud to glide as quietly as possible to the mouth of the cave. As he reached the cave mouth he could hear heavy, guttural breathing from inside. He muttered some words under his breath and the daylight grew brighter as a night vision enchantment took hold. One advantage Thurok had was being raised in a family of mages, so although what little spells he knew, he knew them well. The darkness within the cave gave way to reveal a large bloated mass lying on a pile of coins. Throughout the small area chests were strewn and the skeletal remains of past would be heroes were a testimony to the power of this creature. He couldn’t meet the beast head on or he would join the other skeletons in their fate.
Looking around, Thurok gauged the distance to the bay on the other side of the forest, no more than a thousand yards and a plan quickly formed in his mind. Thurok faced the cave again and pulled a small purple vial from the pouch on his right hip. He gave it a quick shake and flung it into the cave, directly at the sleeping ogre. As fast as he could manage Thurok cast a teleport spell and dropped himself on top of the rocky outcrop above the cave mouth.
A loud explosion rocked the cave and a roar followed. The ogre mage stumbled out of the mouth and into daylight. Temporarily stunned by the explosion and blinded by sunlight the ogre wasn’t prepared when Thurok drew, and hurled a throwing dagger deep into the ogre’s right shoulder. It bellowed in anger and whirled around to see Thurok standing above the cave. Thurok had barely a few seconds to leap from his spot as an energy bolt crackled and split the rock where he had just been standing. As he landed on the grass he grimaced and staggered to the right as his right ankle rolled in an unnatural direction. He didn’t have much time to think about the pain as the ogre roared and advanced towards him. Thurok hobbled as fast as he could, ignoring the pain, towards the steep cliffs on the other side of the small patch of woods.
As he broke through into the clearing he felt himself lifted and thrown as a fireball from the ogre collided with his back. When he landed he could smell burnt skin. He had to catch himself as he tried to roll over, because he was at the edge of the cliff. The ogre mage had a wicked grin on its face as it broke through the trees, and the ground shook as he stomped towards Thurok’s motionless body. Muttering a quick prayer to the heavens and then some magical incantations Thurok rolled over the edge of the cliff towards the jagged rocks and surf below. The ogre stopped in confusion for a moment and then cautiously edged towards the cliff. The surf stopped the ogre from hearing the bottle being thrown at him from behind. Thurok had to use all of his effort just to throw the Explosion potion so it would land near the ogre mage. Then, with his energy expended, he collapsed. The ogre mage whirled to see Thurok collapse and raised his club in anger. As he raised it and went to move towards Thurok the purple potion at the mage’s feet exploded, pushing the ogre forcefully towards the cliff edge. It roared one last, desperate cry, whirled its meaty arms in an effort to balance itself, and then fell towards the rocks below.
Thurok lay for a few minutes catching his breath, and after a while he applied some bandages to his wounds, and some minor healing potions. He made his way back to the cave entrance. After digging through the small piles of gold he found the chalice. Thurok thought that it was a nice chalice, but hardly worth dying for. He wondered what powers it truly possessed. But magic is the domain of wizards and daemons so Thurok simply placed it in one of his packs. After opening the chests he found a complete set of strange blue armor that looked enchanted so he strapped it to his back. On his way out of the cave a glow in the far corner of caught his eye. He went closer to investigate and found a Viking sword, bathed in a red glow, almost like fire. He cautiously reached out his hand to touch the hilt but it was cool to the touch. A sheath lay nearby so he sheathed the sword and strapped it to his waist. ‘Not a bad haul for a days work’, Thurok thought to himself.
So a few thousand gold richer and heavily loaded Thurok began the long walk back to the moongates that would take him back to MoonGlow and its taverns.
Had he been paying a bit more attention he might have been able to hear the loud slithering sounds that were now echoing in the cave…
Thurok had tracked the creature, an ogre mage, to this area after he had discovered the body of the thief he was employed to hunt, lying sprawled in the woods with his arms and legs scattered around his torso. The wizard’s guild had promised a large bounty for the thief’s head so Thurok would at least get some reward for this trip. But the real prize lay inside the cave in the clutches of the ogre, a solid gold chalice inlaid with jewels, and rumored to be an artifact of enormous power. The reward for returning the chalice would keep Thurok in women and ale for months, and maybe even let him finish off repairs on his ship. The thief had made a costly mistake when he stole it, but he wouldn’t need to worry about that now…
Shaking himself out of his reverie Thurok began to creep towards the cave entrance. The ground was still damp and slippery from the night’s rainfall, and Thurok used the mud to glide as quietly as possible to the mouth of the cave. As he reached the cave mouth he could hear heavy, guttural breathing from inside. He muttered some words under his breath and the daylight grew brighter as a night vision enchantment took hold. One advantage Thurok had was being raised in a family of mages, so although what little spells he knew, he knew them well. The darkness within the cave gave way to reveal a large bloated mass lying on a pile of coins. Throughout the small area chests were strewn and the skeletal remains of past would be heroes were a testimony to the power of this creature. He couldn’t meet the beast head on or he would join the other skeletons in their fate.
Looking around, Thurok gauged the distance to the bay on the other side of the forest, no more than a thousand yards and a plan quickly formed in his mind. Thurok faced the cave again and pulled a small purple vial from the pouch on his right hip. He gave it a quick shake and flung it into the cave, directly at the sleeping ogre. As fast as he could manage Thurok cast a teleport spell and dropped himself on top of the rocky outcrop above the cave mouth.
A loud explosion rocked the cave and a roar followed. The ogre mage stumbled out of the mouth and into daylight. Temporarily stunned by the explosion and blinded by sunlight the ogre wasn’t prepared when Thurok drew, and hurled a throwing dagger deep into the ogre’s right shoulder. It bellowed in anger and whirled around to see Thurok standing above the cave. Thurok had barely a few seconds to leap from his spot as an energy bolt crackled and split the rock where he had just been standing. As he landed on the grass he grimaced and staggered to the right as his right ankle rolled in an unnatural direction. He didn’t have much time to think about the pain as the ogre roared and advanced towards him. Thurok hobbled as fast as he could, ignoring the pain, towards the steep cliffs on the other side of the small patch of woods.
As he broke through into the clearing he felt himself lifted and thrown as a fireball from the ogre collided with his back. When he landed he could smell burnt skin. He had to catch himself as he tried to roll over, because he was at the edge of the cliff. The ogre mage had a wicked grin on its face as it broke through the trees, and the ground shook as he stomped towards Thurok’s motionless body. Muttering a quick prayer to the heavens and then some magical incantations Thurok rolled over the edge of the cliff towards the jagged rocks and surf below. The ogre stopped in confusion for a moment and then cautiously edged towards the cliff. The surf stopped the ogre from hearing the bottle being thrown at him from behind. Thurok had to use all of his effort just to throw the Explosion potion so it would land near the ogre mage. Then, with his energy expended, he collapsed. The ogre mage whirled to see Thurok collapse and raised his club in anger. As he raised it and went to move towards Thurok the purple potion at the mage’s feet exploded, pushing the ogre forcefully towards the cliff edge. It roared one last, desperate cry, whirled its meaty arms in an effort to balance itself, and then fell towards the rocks below.
Thurok lay for a few minutes catching his breath, and after a while he applied some bandages to his wounds, and some minor healing potions. He made his way back to the cave entrance. After digging through the small piles of gold he found the chalice. Thurok thought that it was a nice chalice, but hardly worth dying for. He wondered what powers it truly possessed. But magic is the domain of wizards and daemons so Thurok simply placed it in one of his packs. After opening the chests he found a complete set of strange blue armor that looked enchanted so he strapped it to his back. On his way out of the cave a glow in the far corner of caught his eye. He went closer to investigate and found a Viking sword, bathed in a red glow, almost like fire. He cautiously reached out his hand to touch the hilt but it was cool to the touch. A sheath lay nearby so he sheathed the sword and strapped it to his waist. ‘Not a bad haul for a days work’, Thurok thought to himself.
So a few thousand gold richer and heavily loaded Thurok began the long walk back to the moongates that would take him back to MoonGlow and its taverns.
Had he been paying a bit more attention he might have been able to hear the loud slithering sounds that were now echoing in the cave…