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13-18 Krogenar's Trip: Chapter 19 - Part I A monstrous shape - it’s head elongated and noseless - plodded towards Krogenar. Without feet, its legs ended in thickened, rounded stumps. The arms dangled down low, cruelly taloned fingers almost touching the icy ground. The backbone of the creature rose out of its flesh, exposed, then dove back down into the grey white flesh. Scraggly brown hair whipped in the wind. A talon extended towards him, the Wendigo howled, a mournful, commanding sound - the cry of untold icy ways, and distant places. It was a sound that rode out on the winds that blew between worlds - emanating from a black, toothless maw.The strider rose, his broken legs screaming in protest. The Wendigo turned, prepared to walk the winds. The half-orc staggered after it, the cold in his limbs starting to fade. No warmth entered him... the cold just became unimportant.The Wendigo took a step into the air, then another - quickly striding on the winds themselves - carrying Krogenar along in his wake. Looking below, the strider beamed - the arc of the land below him shone. The seas, the forests - all were laid out before him. The Rok burned far off, just behind the curve of the land - even at this distance - the heat seemed oppressive. Lands unknown to him were visible now. The Wendigo never looked back - its back, with its exposed vertebrae, moved silently as it walked. And so Krogenar walked the winds... his legs moving, always moving. He felt no chill, even at this great height. Looking down at his fingers, he noted that they were longer, his arms lengthening. And his feet - now rounded, veined stumps, still moved beneath him, never tiring. Until The Wendigo grew tired of his presence. Pointing to the distant ground below, it turned, eyes full of a malignant, lingering glee, tittering at him. His feet began to slip on the winds, no longer able to find purchase. Horror overtaking him, he howled from a black, toothless mouth - grasped at The Wendigo. ........... ........ ... .... ... .. . She reeled, pulled back from the man -- but his hand gripped her wrist like iron! It was a death-grip. “Don’t drop me!” he croaked out at her, his eyes opening. Then his mind awoke from the dream - his hand opened - and she fell back.
“Who are you?” he said weakly. Flustered, she shivered, crouched away from him. “I’m Wen-, Wend- Wendy.” Krogenar smiled. “Well met, Wendy.” He looked her over, his eyes doing the moving that his neck could not. She wore shoes, and her feet tilted forward. She wore a dark hood, her face not yet visible. Her eyes were white within - her skin must be dark, he thought. A Chultan woman? Possible. The man and woman in the wagon were of pale Polari stock. Adopted, maybe? Under her cloak, a large lump - a backpack. “You are my Toe-Walker... “ he smiled at her. She looked back up at the storm raging overhead, her head twitched to him and back again. Following suit, Krogenar was grateful the crevasse offered some protection from the weather. She sat there for a time, then all at once rushed forward. “My parents! Did you find them, are they alright!?”
Krogenar's Trip: Chapter 19 - Part II She repeated herself: “Did you find them? My parents?” “Are they Ok?” She leaned over him, then fell back into a crouch. Krogenar looked into Wendy’s eyes. She was young, and scared. This was a delicate question. He was looking down at his legs, twisted in front of him when she asked.How would she react? Would she be weakened or strengthened by the truth? “Did your parents force you to leave them?” he asked. She crouched, curling her feathered face down into herself, silent. He pressed her. “Why would they do that?” Her head pushed deeper into her chest, almost under her arm. “They might still be...” she murmured. He stared at her. A ridge of feathers quivered, her head buried into her cloak. Krogenar watched her grief for some time, drifting to sleep at times. When he awoke, she was still in the same position, her head bobbing.The strider looked down at his legs. Shattered - both thigh bones were broken. On the left side, the sharpened shard of bone had pierced upwards out of his thigh. The bleeding had stopped - or he’d be dead already. His hand searched the ground around him, clutched at some cold dirt. Allowing his breathing to slow, ignoring the throbbing in his legs, he focused on the innate power in that patch of earth, willing it to heal him.Nothing. He recited the words that Laisha had taught him, which would help him find that part of The Weave that could bring him back to the Forest of Mysteries. Nothing. He looked back to the kenku child. “You still have not answered my question.” She had recovered somewhat, replied, “They wanted me to escape.” Krogenar told her, “I will help you obey them.” Looking up the wall of ice, he nodded at his pack, dangling from a slab of ice. “There - get my pack, and we’ll inventory our supplies, and plan your escape.” She had straightened, standing, but kept her distance. “Why should I listen to you? Who are _you_ to command _me_?” The strider frowned. “I’m Krogenar, and I’ve forgotten more about surviving in the wild than most people will ever know.” She laughed. “Never heard of you. And you don’t seem to be surviving right now.” The half-orc couldn’t help but smile - he liked her immediately. He laughed then, which made her angry.“I’m going back out, getting my parents, and we’re going to ride our wagon RIGHT PAST YOU!” To emphasize her last three words, she hurled a chunk of ice at the strider, who swatted it away. He tried to calm her. “I’m sorry about your parents... I am.” One arm wiped at her tears, the other clutched some more ice. “Feel sorry for yourself... I’m leaving you here.”
Krogenar's Trip: Chapter 20 Krogenar watched Wendy rummage through his rucksack frowning. "You dont carry much, do you?" Krogenar smiled thinly, shook his head side to side, tried to ignore the pain in his ribs. His legs were shattered, twisted out in front of where he sat, his back against the side of the ice ravine.She was leaving the half-orc now to his death here, or so she said. He watched her for a time, as she tried to use them correctly.The older strider winced when she nearly struck them against some rock protruding from the ice."No! Bring them here, Ill show you." Wendy turned, strode back to him, pointed the pointed end of the hammer towards Krogenar."Keep Quiet! I could do more than just leave you here..." The half-orc strider ignored the threat, focused his eyes on the pointed end of the hammer that threatened him. "Use _that_ end of the hammer - works better that way." He smiled.She turned back to the ice, looked up, saw the snow beginning to swirl. "Too late to travel now, young one - come here, and I'll show you the trick of it. Morning will be better. A storm is coming soon, and--""How would you know? I'll take my chances - and my parents need me." The young female kenku swung the first hammer into the ice, found the hammer held - she swung the next hammer, it bit into the ice, point-first.Krogenars eyelids fluttered. He felt his strength slipping. Looking up at the opposite wall, he watched Wendy's progress. She moved slowly, carefully, letting the ice hammers hold her weight.She chose where to strike carefully. But from his vantage point, the strider saw that she was ascending in a direction that would take her to solid rock, where the hammers would be useless.He tried to cry out, but a sharp pain in his side silenced him. His eyes closed.
Krogenar's Trip Chapter 21 Wendy took a deep breath. Her feet were braced against the ice, her left hand gripped the handle of a hammer. Swiping her right forearm across her forehead, she narrowed her eyes, searching for ice her other hammer could bite into. None. Just solid rock.
She looked down into the crevasse, at the still form of the man. She would have to begin her climb again. She cursed herself for not having planned her path up the face of the ice.Why was she rushing? "They're dead." she thought. She had placed the blanket over her mothers still form herself. They had found her, as a child, raised her as best they could - hiding her nature from others. But what was she?Three sets of limbs. Two legs, nothing special there. And two arms, which even now held onto the ice hammers. It was the third set that set her apart. She remembered her mother, lacing them tightly together, against her back, telling her, "Now if someone looks closely, what do you do?" She had chirruped in her small voice, "I put my hands here," she poked them under her little armpits, "like I'm wearing a backpack!"Her mother had hugged her tightly, and she had burrowed herself into her mothers chest. The familiar touch of her mothers hand, smoothing the feathers of her neck, calming her.Mother had thrust her out of their wagon into the storm, food and supplies pressed into her hands. The last sight - her mother lashing the canvas back tightly. Her father would not speak to her. Guilt? Guilt at having led his family to death?Shivering, she had wandered away. She let a ragged cloud of breath out against the wall, refocused. Her arms pulled the hammers from the wall, crossed her chest. Her legs kicked her away, and her third set of limbs unfurled from the small of her back.Gliding down on a set of small, black-feathered wings, Wendy's boots crunched into the snow at the bottom of the crevasse.
Krogenar was watching her again. "Wings not strong enough to carry you." She didnt turn to reply - already studying the wall again... planning her climb."How many mistakes can you afford to make, do you think?" Wendy spun, picturing his face, smug and sardonic - he wanted her to drag his corpse out of this hole! The half-orcs eyes were closed, opened only slightly.The injured strider spoke again. "I only made one mistake." he grinned, eyes closing. "Let me help you."
Krogenar's Trip: Chapter 22 "Let me help you." Straightening, she declared, "Ill leave in the morning, after the storm." He nodded, motioned for her to come closer.She was cautious, remembering the grip he had fastened on her before. His small body, even injured, could still be murderously strong. She crouched a short distance, where she felt safe."Give me the hammers. And the rucksack." She estimated she could take them by force if need be. She dropped them close enough for him to reach them. Wendy watched him groan as he reached for it, seeing his effort.He handed her one hammer, showed her a small black rock he took from his pack. "Find more. Use the blunt end of the hammer only." Later, using lichen scraped from a rock, and some of the rocks, Krogenar had struck another rock against the head of the hammer, sparking it. Wendy had taken over then, copying his actions. When the lichen scrapings had finally begun to smoke, he had smiled - his canines gleaming in the moonlight. He cupped his hands, and she did the same, shielding the small flame until she could carry it to the small pile of black rocks. Around that small fire, they talked, the strider telling her as much as he could to prepare her for her journey in the morning.
Krogenar's Trip: Chapter 23 Two carefully nested discs of glass, oil suspended between them. Krogenar peered through the lens, grinned, turned it over in his hands. ........... ....... ..... .... ... .. . "Krogenar, please just try it." The half-orc looked up at the titan, hands held before him. "I see much better than most already." Kevin pushed the small glass disk into the new Mystrans resisting hands. Why Laisha had made him a member oWhy Laisha had made him a member of the Church of Mysteries was beyond him. He had vouched for the striders abilities, having served with him as a fellow MagiTek soldier, but had urged her not to admit him. Kevin wasnt sure how the half-orc would fare in a church of mages. Everything seemed to need explaining. On the parapet overlooking Westbridge, Kevin pulled his cloak about his titan frame. Krogenar rubbed the glass against his leather pants, held it up to the light, held it against his eye. Kevin watched the skeptical grin on the striders face freeze, then slowly melt into a straight astonished line, then rise back up into a canine-baring howl. Hopping with excitement, Krogenar screamed into the sky, his arms outstretched. Removing the glass from his eye, he regarded Kevin, nodding. "Thats clever. Very clever. I can see so far with it. Farther than I imagined." The half-orc covered it with his other hand. "Can I keep it?" Kevin nodded, kept his smile in check. . .. ... .... ..... ....... .............. Krogenar tossed it the rucksack, continued packing the rest of his gear Wendy watched him carefully, her cautious fear of him gone. The strider demonstrated each item to her, and its function. Next, he drew a rough map in the snow, told her to study it. As she reviewed the map, he sized up her shoulders, adjusted the straps on the rucksack to fit her better, secure enough not to swing, but not too tight. After, he wiped the map from the snow. "Now redraw it," Wendy smiled. "upside down." Wendy grimaced. She drew it, but slowly. "Can you see it in your minds eye?" he asked. She nodded. "Good. Now explain to me your strategy for escaping The Waste." The kenku child sat cross-legged on the ground before the wounded strider. "I'll head south, traveling for at least fourteen hours a day." "What will you be careful to avoid?" he asked, not looking at her. "I wont run so hard that I sweat overmuch, since it will chill me." The half-orc nodded, "And?" She swallowed, "But remain active enough to keep my temperature up -- and run only during the day!" Krogenar nodded again. "And at night? What then?" he followed up. Wendy recited the information back, "I'll build my shelter, digging into a packed snowbank." Krogenar stared. Wendy stared back silently.
"Oh! And face the entrance so the wind passes _across_ the doorway. Too keep snow from covering the entrance." She smiled. The strider's stare continued. The feathers about Wendys neck shifted, uncomfortably.
"The vent. You must dig a small vent, or youll not have enough air." he said. "I knew that, I just forgot for the moment, I think I would have remembered." The strider smiled at her, waved his hand at her. "You'll be fine. I think your chances are good." He wished he meant it. She needed confidence, confidence he didn't feel. Wendy could never absorb all the information she would need, not in a few short hours. And there were so many potential pitfalls, dangers and scenarios. But if her spirits and confidence remained high, she might have a small chance. And there was always Sammian - by now, they would be looking for him.
Krogenar's Trip: Chapter 24 He tossed Wendy the rucksack. "Try it on. I want to see the fit of it on you." It was too tight. "I forgot about your wings... open the loops a bit." She did as he asked, until the pack fit her snugly. "Now go through every item in it, one last time, tell me what each is." She began displaying each item, explaining the use of each. Krogenar's eyes flickered, lowered - but he never let them fall on his legs. They were probably bluish now, faint specks of black at the far end. Gangrene. Part of him was dead flesh.
His head lolled against the ice wall. "So nice and cool." he thought.
"What's this?" Wendy held a tiny blue shield in her hand, a symbol of eight stars in a circle, with a red mist rising up between them. She knew it must be a religious symbol of some kind, but weight was a consideration. She started to hand it to the half-orc.
"Keep it." he said. She replaced it in the pack silently, looking down, back up, down again. Krogenar remembered what he had told Sammian, to bring help. In the Waste, no magic worked. Perhaps the Weave itself had grown thin here, or perhaps some arcane apocalypse had torn it. It didn't matter. He could not heal himself, or magically escape. And his fellow Mystrans could not locate him, or the symbol. A pang of fear gripped him. He could see Laisha and the others entering the Waste, becoming entrapped as he did. "That symbol, it could bring help. Don't lose it."
She nodded. "You should go now, Wendy Lookstwice." he smiled. Wendy smiled shyly at her nickname. He waved her away, "Go. The storm will be at your back." The kenku child kissed him again before he could resist, then turned. The half-orc strider growled. "Remember: Water is your enemy here!" He watched Wendy climb swiftly, expertly. She exited the crevasse, was gone. Looking up at the edges of the crevasse, he could see ice already forming at at the edges again, resetting the trap. The crevasse was slowly icing over again. Eventually it would be completely covered again - with no sign that there was anything beneath it. He pulled the blanket from his legs - they were dead anyway. Positioning it over his torso, he tried to keep warm, but shivered.
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