Krogenar's Trip
Krogenar pulled himself up into his tree, high above Mystra's Forest.
Settling into his patched,
and re-patched hammock, he let himself swing side to side in the breeze.
He liked this Forest.... it had its own sort of magic.
Knowing that all wild places had some essence of The Weave, he was still
surprised with this Forest.
The magic he felt in wild places was here, but it was more than a presence...
.... it ran wild on its own, clear in every leaf, every branch, every animal
that roamed through it.
And yet it was lacking something. Turning over in the fabric that supported
him, the strider looked down in the canopy
of the forest. All the animals scampered about without a care in the world.
A butterfly landed on the horn of a triceratops... a rabbit scampered past a
displacer beast, unafraid.
The half-orc felt it was wondrous in a way, and ... unhealthy in another.
Part of him felt it was almost disgusting - and then he wondered if he was a
part of this
artificial cycle of life? He shivered at the thought.
He looked down at his feet... smiled.
"Time for a walk."
Krogenar's Trip: Chapter 1
--------------------------
His gear on his back, Krogenar looked back over his shoulder at the Forest of
Mysteries. Headed for Westbridge, and some supplies, he looked forward to the walk ahead
of him. Strolling past the Market Square, he surveyed the statue of Nisstyre,
checking for local news... Snatching up the note, he scanned it, seeing Elbryan's signature at the
bottom.
It smelled faintly of charcoal. "War again... they thirst for it."
Fighting the urge to crumple the page in his fist, the strider recalled how
Fafnir and Quaster had put their longstanding fued to rest, for the good of the
Church.
Deep down, he cared little for organizations, and MEETINGS...
No matter how hard he tried to calm everyone down, war seemed inevitable.
The Second Trial of Quaster was just about 2 weeks away.
He could stretch his legs, and still be back in time. Having been relieved of
his duties as Lord General by Mystra, she had suggested that he find some other
way to serve the Church.
And so, he had decided a long walk would help him sort things out in his
head. But he still had responsibilities.
The long shadow of a titan loomed over him. Staring up at Kevin, the strider
smiled.
"I have everything together, Krogenar..."
Krogenar listened to Kevin rattle on about the list of equipment and supplies
that he had brought.
"... rope, we may need that - and ..."
Krogenar silently replaced Elbryan's note against the wall.
"... and then the maps for us to edit ... and -"
Krogenar changed his mind.
"Kevin. Paper and a pen. Did you bring that?"
Kevin looks at him incredulously. Turning, a 500 pound, Titan-Sized backpack
slipped from Kevin's shoulder, shaking the ground.
Krogenar blinked.
Moving immediately to the correct pocket, the titan sage produced a small
scroll, and a quill.
Kevin looked down at the halforc - blinked back at him.
Krogenar began writing, squinting, concentrating. When he finished, he
slapped the note against the wall, turned to ask Kevin if he had a -
Kevin stooped over, a tiny pin held in his gigantic fingers.
"Thanks..."
Pinning the note aside the other, the strider turned.
Kevin peered down as Krogenar left, examined the halforc's carefully printed
letters - he stood up abruptly - looked at at the departing strider, walked to
catch up." 'The Rok Wars Against Us All' - well that's obvious!"
"Not to everyone!" he smiled back at the Titan, and then broke off
into a swift run, while Kevin kept pace with a light jog.
Krogenar's Trip: Chapter 2
--------------------------
He was just a torso, floating above the terrain.
Having become numb hours ago, Krogenars legs only registered as a rythmic
rushing sound somewhere below him.
His tight arms pumped - his lungs drank in cool, dry air. Part of his mind
was still occupied with the necessities of navigating terrain.
Leaping over rocks and angling up hills - his eyes focused on a single peak -
keeping his course true.
The rest of him considered other things. Quasters Trial, the return of Fafnir
to the Church.... and Mystra.
The strider grinned, his teeth white, canines showing.
He wasnt much of a General - but he had tried.
"Thats not where my strengths lie..."
"Heh? Whats that, Krogenar? Did you say something?"
Kevin, titan sage, Mystran - and Istishian Water Brother to Krogenar - jogged
a short distance behind the strider.
Standing almost four heads taller than the half-orc, the sage (no stranger to
the outdoors himself) was able to match his smaller companions speed with a
light jog - but the pace had been brutal.
"-Did you say? We should stop and lie down?"
For the past twelve hours they had kept up this pace, Westbridge and Polaris
slipping past them. They headed true north.
But even his titan physique needed a rest. "No. But we can stop for a
bit if you'd like - be dark soon."
Slowing, Krogenar hopped, his legs temporarily unwilling to stop their
motion. He walked, letting himself slow his breathing. Kevin slowed, stooped to
put his hands on his knees.
"Is it really necessary to run for so long? When I agreed to this trip, I thought we'd be out for a leisurely trip...... this, this is ..."
Krogenar slapped his knee, steam rising from his skin.
"This - is just the beginning!" He smiled ferociously at Kevin.
Kevin looked down, raised his eyebrow at Krogenar's manner.
"Feeling alright, Krogenar?" He watched the strider pace about,
like an animal that had been set free to roam after a long captivity -
overwhelmed by the possibilities. "Where are we headed, anyway?"
Krogenar nodded with his head to the north, to distant mountains.
The titan looked north, looked back at Krogenar.
"Any other reason besides stretching your legs?"
Krogenar shrugged. "I have a lot on my mind."
Krogenar began gathering wood, scouting out a fire spot.
Kevin watched him silently, waiting.
"Care to share what's on your mind... Brother?"
Not looking up from his work, he replied,
"After we set up camp - then I'll need your advice."
Krogenar's Trip: Chapter 3
--------------------------
In the dim light, Krogenar crept on his elbows in the dirt.
Peering over the top of a small incline, he spotted his prey.
directly
into a sharpened staff.
The other animals ran off, scattering into the
forest.
Krogenar let the makeshift spear slide from his
hands, lowering the animal to the ground. Moving swiftly, not waiting for Kevin,
the strider let himself fall into the well-known steps for dressing a kill.
Hoisting the animal by its hind-legs, he tied it
spread eagle to a tree, letting the blood drain.
He sharpened his skinning knife, grinning
hungrily.
------------------------------
In the dim glow of the small cooking fire, a
shank of meat hissed, dripping fat into the flames.
Krogenar lounged back against the side of a hill,
sheltered from the wind that swept across the plains.
Kevin watched the food hungrily, watching the
strider for a sign to eat.Reaching across to the slowly roasting meat,
the halforc ripped a small scrap from it, sniffed
it. Nibbling it, he nodded. Kevin reached across, tearing away an entire leg by
the bone.Krogenar smiled at his Brother, watching him tear into the meal.
"Never really know anyone until you hunt
with them."
Kevin looked up from his meal, grinning - resumed
eating.
------------------------------
Watching the bones of their meals cracking in the
fire, Kevin licked his fingers clean, and patted his belly.
"So now my Brother, that we have eaten - and
hunted - will you speak?"
Krogenar's Trip: Chapter 4
--------------------------
Krogenar huddled closer to the fire warming his
hands.
Kevin watched, waiting for his Water Brother to
speak.
"Kevin... if you had to choose between
Fafnir or Quaster, as leader of our Church - who would you pick?"The titan
sage paused, sipped from his wineflask, smiled.
"Why - they are both excellent
leaders..."
Shaking his head, Krogenar pressed him.
"Yes, but if you had to choose only ONE -
which would it be?"
The strider sat back into his side of the hill
that shielded the fire from the wind. He gave Kevin the chance to think on it.
Finally speaking, the sage said:"I would choose Fafnir, he founded the
Church, and he's the most forgiving and caring..." the strider waited for
him to balance."But Quaster is also a devout Istishian, and has served
us."
Krogenar squinted at Kevin from across the fire,
as if trying to squeeze the sage's opinion from him.
"But Quaster is not very forgiving at times
- well, he-"The strider nodded, "He's still our Brother - I'd not have
it any other way."
The two looked across the fire at each other,
understanding that regardless of what happened, neither Brother could be
forgotten.Poking at the fire, Kevin asked, "Why do you ask me this?"
Krogenar stood, kicked at the remaining wood in
the fire, sending a shower of sparks into the night. Only glowing embers
remained."I fear that all Istishians may have to choose, and that our
choice will decide the fate and future of our Church."
Digging a shallow trench in the dirt, the strider
prepared his bedroll, motioning for Kevin to do the same. "Cold is
coming."
The sage watched the strider make a second,
titan-sized trench.
Helping him, Kevin tossed a handful of earth over
his shoulder.
"No! We'll need that dirt close by..."
Later, spreading some of the remaining fire
embers in their trenches, they covered them back with the grass-covered dirt.
Settling in to their bedrolls, the coals beneath them warming them somewhat,
they drifted to sleep.In the depths of sleep, the halforc dreamt of leaping
flame and hissing water.
...a woman, someone he knew, someone like him...
untracked icy wastes...
he shivered, despite the warm ground below him...
in preparation.
Overhead, the clouds of stars whirled slowly...
- a single star streaked over the Brothers.
Krogenar's Trip: Chapter 5
--------------------------
Kevin opened his eyes, watching the plains
stretch before him, sideways.
Blinking the sleep from his eyes, the titan sage
watched the clouds atop the distant mountains redden for a moment - then vanish
as the sun pierced them. Stretching the sleep from his titan frame, he looked
about for Krogenar.Touching the ground where the strider had lain, he noted it
was cold.
What little equipment Krogenar carried with him
was gone.
Dusting himself off, smiling, Kevin wished his
friend a silent farewell.
..............................
Running over the plains, the strider let his mind
wander...
As the miles slipped past, the scrub of the
plains slowly became rockier, and the Realm of Vector neared... the strider
reflected on his past affiliation with The MagiTek Army... youthful
stupidity.Letting one part of his mind handle the running, while the rest
continued its woolgathering... something knocked him from his musings.Smoke on
the horizon...
Changing his track slightly, not wanting to slow
his pace, Krogenar pulled his senses closer to himself - observing the land,
watching for an opportunity to investigate the smoke. Holding his hand against
the sky, framing the rising cloud of smoke, he estimated the distance, and the
size."Something big... "
Two hours later, the half-orc strider perched in
the upper branches of one of the few trees, staring at the remnants of a
blasted, burning airship. Vectorian soldiers milled about it, white coated
scientists picked through the debris.Unable to spot an insignia on the downed
ship, he could only wonder whether it was a test ship for Vector, or an enemy
ship. He suppressed a shiver - what a vehicle! He would have to try to speak
with his fellow Mystrans about building his own...-- nothing as large or
unwieldly as these ships... something smaller.
More suited to a single occupant.
Sighing, and unable to do anything about the
ship, he continued his trip northwards.
Next Chapters... MountainSide
-------------
Here, Krogenar finds his prey, and we get some
glimpses of his past life, and his origins. Also, dear reader, you'll discover
that Krogenar can do math - of a sort.
Krogenar's Trip: Chapter 6
--------------------------
Krogenar walked openly in the sunlight, directly
through the Vectorian Guardpost - a moss-covered MagiTek Armor lay to one side
of the trail. A rectangular sign swung in the breeze by one rusted
chain.Entering the shadow of the guardpost, the strider could smell only age and
disuse. A wooden gallows held up a cage nearby the guardpost.A bird crossed the
sky above Krogenar, as he walked to the cage.
Looking inside, Krogenar gazed on the browned
bones of the cage's inhabitant. An esper, long forgotten - a toy in a cage.
Krogenar's weathered, cracked palms closed about
the rusted bars.
........ ....... ...... ..... .... ... .. .
The tendons in his young, wiry arms stood out,
straining.
His small, tanned fists smashed against the bars
as he wailed.
A yank from behind sent him sprawling back into
the filthy straw of his cage.
His breath returning, the young halforc pulled at
the ring of metal that encircled his neck.Glaster adjusted his belt, letting his
belly sit solidly against it.
"Doesn't like his cage, eh Boss?"
The owner of the traveling show looked down in
disgust at his crony.
Grunard tended to the animals, but never missed
an opportunity to reveal the obvious.
"Has it fed?" Grunard scratched at his
stubble, looked down.
"Nay... the creature willna eat." The
crony pulled a rag from his back pocket, tried to rub the last of the food stain
that covered him - he looked up, surprised by Glaster's glare.".... where
did you find him?"
"Caught him up north in some town - wandered
into it, caused trouble."
Glaster looked back to the cage, watched the
long-haired creature intently...
"Look at him Grunard... he strains at the
neckchain."
The shaggy-haired halforc had wedged the ring
about his neck between the bars of his cage, was levering the bars against the
metal. A trickle of blood ran down the things neck. Krogenar felt the ring begin
to warp inwards, weakening, but cutting into his neck. The chain connected to
the ring tightened, jerked him back into the center of his enclosure.Sulking in
the straw, he turned to face the bars... tried to calm himself.
He thought of his Father, so far away. Snickering
came from his left.
Turning, the halforc stared at the little dirty
man, who spun his chain in his hand. Some gibberish came out his mouth,
sneeringly.
Krogenar couldn't understand what he was saying.
Glaster motioned for Grunard to rejoin him.
The beast-keeper for the show arrived, smiling.
"That got 'is attention, eh?" Glaster
ignored his boasts.
"Does it always growl like that? Or does it
speak?"
Grunard stood slightly straighter, like a child
ready for praise.
"He don talk no more!" The grimy man
held back a riot of laughter.
Glaster watched his henchman's hand linger near
the oily cutting knife which hung at his belt. Buried in the filth of his cage,
Krogenar stared at the two, trying to make some sense of the gibberish they
spoke. His neck throbbed, but he refused to rub at it. They stared back,
unblinking.
"Make sure he performs well for our next
group, Grunard."
. .. ... .... ..... ...... ....... ........
Tanned, coarse hands released the bars, calmly.
Krogenar walked past the cage, regarding the
distant mountains as he continued his northward journey, and his journey through
his past.
