"The Ogre Fight"
The tired band hiked through the forest. They had been on the road two weeks and were looking forward to some good food and a soft bed. In the three days they hoped they would reach Scardale their destination.
"What's your first meal gonna be?" Jon asked the group. "Beer!" answered the dwarven priest Lox. The group laughed. That was always the response from the dwarf.
As the group of friends chatted they grew a little nervous. The forest was getting darker and the road was lined on either side with tall cliffs. Not the best part of the woods to stop for the night.
"We should pick up the pace," offered Thomas. Thomas, the tall wiry ranger, was the unspoken leader of the group. He had traveled with them for a year now and the group's fortunes had greatly improved since the day he had walked into their midst.
Another hour of hiking had not improved the situation, it had worsened it. The sky was getting darker by the minute and the trail was getting rockier and more treacherous. Not the type of place the friends wanted to spend the night.
"What do you think we should do?" asked Rommel. He was a short, stocky mage with wild blonde hair and a long beard of the same nature.
"Stop here and try to get a bright fire going I guess," replied Thomas. "Let's hope we don't get any company tonight."
Following the often wise ranger's advice the group quickly got a fire going and set up their bedrolls against the rock face. At least if they were ambushed they wouldn't have to worry about an attack from behind.
Jon, a stout looking young man with tanned features and short black hair, took the first watch. He spent the first hour polishing and sharpening his broad sword. The magnificent blade set with rubies and inlaid with designs of battling mages was his prized possession and a family heirloom. The young adventurer took comfort in watching his three friends sleep. He knew that if they were ambushed tonight it would be the attackers who would be surprised.
Near the end of his watch he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He shook away his fatigue and peered into the darkness looking for a sign that someone was there. After a minute of staring into the dark woods he began to relax. "Just working myself up," he chuckled to himself.
"SNAP!"
Jon bolted up, holding his sword firmly in his hand. "Who goes there!" he yelled. The rest of his friends woke up instantly. Their instincts were tuned to the dangers of the road and had their weapons in hand instantly.
"What did you hear?" asked Thomas. "Don't know," replied Jon with a hint of nervousness in his voice. "But whatever it was it sounded big." Lox the dwarven priest piped in, "probably just a bear looking for some supper."
The grouped paused as they heard the snapping of twigs and rustling of leaves. What ever it was, errant bear or something more sinister, it was coming closer.
"Show yourself!" Lox bellowed. His voice echoed around the rocky path. His grip was so tight on his oversized flail that his knuckles shone white in the light of the fire.
"What do I have on me road?" A deep voice came crashing through the night. "Me thinks some thieves come to take me gold me thinks!"
"Show yourself and maybe we can share a drink," Thomas replied into the darkness. As he was talking he fitted a bolt into his crossbow. "I'll show myself alright!" The voice in the darkness replied.
The wizard, Rommel, gasped as a ten foot tall ogre walked out of the darkness and into the light of the fire. The beast was as red as fresh blood and had hair of the same color. The ogre was covered head to foot in purple scars from long ago fights (some not so long ago) and wielded a massive double headed axe covered with brown stains that could only be dried blood.
"You will die here foul beast!" Lox shouted. The brave dwarven priest charged the ogre swinging his massive flail back and forth with abandon.
Not showing surprise at the dwarf's charge the ogre lined up his axe and took a swing that would have decapitated the dwarf. The ogre's attempt was foiled when a crossbow bolt hit it in its neck. The beast hardly noticing the missile winced away the pain and took another swing at the dwarf.
Jon, who had been momentarily stunned by the ogre's appearance, quickly charged in took a swing at the ogre's knee. Jon and Lox, standing side by side, dodged the ogre's wild slashes and hacked and slashed the ogre's left leg trying to score a serious wound.
Rommel, amidst the chaos, was frantically searching his pockets for a clump of ragweed. It was the necessary component for a lightning bolt spell and he just couldn't find it. "Damn pockets," he muttered in frustration, "where is that damn stuff!"
Beside him, Thomas was firing bolt after bolt into the ogre with little effect. There were more than a dozen of the quarrels in the ogre's neck and chest but they didn't seem to affect the crazed beast at all.
Lox and Jon were having the same run of bad luck themselves. The ogre was wearing tall armored war boots and they made it hard for the two warriors to cause any serious damage. As well, the ogre's wildly swinging axe was getting harder and harder for them to dodge as they grew more fatigued every passing moment.
Jon spun his shining broad sword in a sweeping circle and sliced the ogre's thigh wide open. But as he made the clever move he failed to notice the ogre's massive fist coming down in a vicious hook.
The ogre's fist hit Jon squarely in the nose, shattering it. Jon screamed in pain and collapsed to the hard ground dropping his sword. Lox, seeing his friend fall, screamed just as loud as his fallen friend, but in anger. He gripped his flail harder and pounded the ogre in the kneecap, crushing it.
The ogre's reflexes caused it to bend down to grasp the crushed knee. That move got him a flail head in the face as well as a bolt in the eye.
"That'll teach ya!" cried Lox, as he pounded repeatedly on the ogre's skull.
The ogre staggered back, his desire for this fight was gone. Every hit of the crazed dwarf's flail was excruciating and the bolts coming from the ranger's crossbow were adding up with alarming frequency. With a last grunt and swing of his axe the ogre turned and tried to flee.
"Found it!" Was the last thing the dying ogre heard. Rommel had finally found the vital component to his spell.
The ogre's head exploded in a mass of skull and brain as the wizard's lightning bolt traced from his hands and hit the ogre between the eyes.
The companions walked a little slower the next morning but with a bounce in their step. When they had searched what was left of the ogre they had found a full keg of beer.
****
The tired band hiked through the forest. They had been on the road two weeks and were looking forward to some good food and a soft bed. In the three days they hoped they would reach Scardale their destination.
"What's your first meal gonna be?" Jon asked the group. "Beer!" answered the dwarven priest Lox. The group laughed. That was always the response from the dwarf.
As the group of friends chatted they grew a little nervous. The forest was getting darker and the road was lined on either side with tall cliffs. Not the best part of the woods to stop for the night.
"We should pick up the pace," offered Thomas. Thomas, the tall wiry ranger, was the unspoken leader of the group. He had traveled with them for a year now and the group's fortunes had greatly improved since the day he had walked into their midst.
Another hour of hiking had not improved the situation, it had worsened it. The sky was getting darker by the minute and the trail was getting rockier and more treacherous. Not the type of place the friends wanted to spend the night.
"What do you think we should do?" asked Rommel. He was a short, stocky mage with wild blonde hair and a long beard of the same nature.
"Stop here and try to get a bright fire going I guess," replied Thomas. "Let's hope we don't get any company tonight."
Following the often wise ranger's advice the group quickly got a fire going and set up their bedrolls against the rock face. At least if they were ambushed they wouldn't have to worry about an attack from behind.
Jon, a stout looking young man with tanned features and short black hair, took the first watch. He spent the first hour polishing and sharpening his broad sword. The magnificent blade set with rubies and inlaid with designs of battling mages was his prized possession and a family heirloom. The young adventurer took comfort in watching his three friends sleep. He knew that if they were ambushed tonight it would be the attackers who would be surprised.
Near the end of his watch he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He shook away his fatigue and peered into the darkness looking for a sign that someone was there. After a minute of staring into the dark woods he began to relax. "Just working myself up," he chuckled to himself.
"SNAP!"
Jon bolted up, holding his sword firmly in his hand. "Who goes there!" he yelled. The rest of his friends woke up instantly. Their instincts were tuned to the dangers of the road and had their weapons in hand instantly.
"What did you hear?" asked Thomas. "Don't know," replied Jon with a hint of nervousness in his voice. "But whatever it was it sounded big." Lox the dwarven priest piped in, "probably just a bear looking for some supper."
The grouped paused as they heard the snapping of twigs and rustling of leaves. What ever it was, errant bear or something more sinister, it was coming closer.
"Show yourself!" Lox bellowed. His voice echoed around the rocky path. His grip was so tight on his oversized flail that his knuckles shone white in the light of the fire.
"What do I have on me road?" A deep voice came crashing through the night. "Me thinks some thieves come to take me gold me thinks!"
"Show yourself and maybe we can share a drink," Thomas replied into the darkness. As he was talking he fitted a bolt into his crossbow. "I'll show myself alright!" The voice in the darkness replied.
The wizard, Rommel, gasped as a ten foot tall ogre walked out of the darkness and into the light of the fire. The beast was as red as fresh blood and had hair of the same color. The ogre was covered head to foot in purple scars from long ago fights (some not so long ago) and wielded a massive double headed axe covered with brown stains that could only be dried blood.
"You will die here foul beast!" Lox shouted. The brave dwarven priest charged the ogre swinging his massive flail back and forth with abandon.
Not showing surprise at the dwarf's charge the ogre lined up his axe and took a swing that would have decapitated the dwarf. The ogre's attempt was foiled when a crossbow bolt hit it in its neck. The beast hardly noticing the missile winced away the pain and took another swing at the dwarf.
Jon, who had been momentarily stunned by the ogre's appearance, quickly charged in took a swing at the ogre's knee. Jon and Lox, standing side by side, dodged the ogre's wild slashes and hacked and slashed the ogre's left leg trying to score a serious wound.
Rommel, amidst the chaos, was frantically searching his pockets for a clump of ragweed. It was the necessary component for a lightning bolt spell and he just couldn't find it. "Damn pockets," he muttered in frustration, "where is that damn stuff!"
Beside him, Thomas was firing bolt after bolt into the ogre with little effect. There were more than a dozen of the quarrels in the ogre's neck and chest but they didn't seem to affect the crazed beast at all.
Lox and Jon were having the same run of bad luck themselves. The ogre was wearing tall armored war boots and they made it hard for the two warriors to cause any serious damage. As well, the ogre's wildly swinging axe was getting harder and harder for them to dodge as they grew more fatigued every passing moment.
Jon spun his shining broad sword in a sweeping circle and sliced the ogre's thigh wide open. But as he made the clever move he failed to notice the ogre's massive fist coming down in a vicious hook.
The ogre's fist hit Jon squarely in the nose, shattering it. Jon screamed in pain and collapsed to the hard ground dropping his sword. Lox, seeing his friend fall, screamed just as loud as his fallen friend, but in anger. He gripped his flail harder and pounded the ogre in the kneecap, crushing it.
The ogre's reflexes caused it to bend down to grasp the crushed knee. That move got him a flail head in the face as well as a bolt in the eye.
"That'll teach ya!" cried Lox, as he pounded repeatedly on the ogre's skull.
The ogre staggered back, his desire for this fight was gone. Every hit of the crazed dwarf's flail was excruciating and the bolts coming from the ranger's crossbow were adding up with alarming frequency. With a last grunt and swing of his axe the ogre turned and tried to flee.
"Found it!" Was the last thing the dying ogre heard. Rommel had finally found the vital component to his spell.
The ogre's head exploded in a mass of skull and brain as the wizard's lightning bolt traced from his hands and hit the ogre between the eyes.
The companions walked a little slower the next morning but with a bounce in their step. When they had searched what was left of the ogre they had found a full keg of beer.
****