MoonBridge Raid - Arrival on Troll Island



Dawn came at last to the midnight wood that had cast its spell of terror on the hearts of the raid party the night before. It had been a grueling night, both physically and mentally. Once they had crossed the second moonbridge and received the Overlord’s gifts to aid them in their journey across the second of four islands in the Mistywood Lake, they found themselves entombed in this tangled web of a forest. They had set out from the shore and the bridge’s warming light with great enthusiasm and a renewed sense of purpose only to find themselves slowed to a crawl within minutes by the thick underbrush. Even Hamish, the ranger, was hard pressed to navigate the continuous wall of branch and root, and soon grew weary as he attempted to hack a trail inland. Before long, the tunnel of cut branches and twigs they considered a trail, had all but swallowed them and they began to feel suphocated in an oppressive blackness that tolerated neither moon nor star.

Then there were the hoary sounds of night, magnified by the close knit canopy of leaves which served to trap sounds within, even as it repelled light from without. The screeches and echoed howls all around them added to their stress and had a demoralizing effect that brought them to an eventual halt.

Finally, they all agreed to make camp and wait until morning to continue. An hour later, a fire glowed in their midst and most of them slept, cramped together in the small clearing that had taken the better part of that hour to hew out. But their rest was short lived. During the night, they had been ambushed by at least two goblin archers. Those on guard had suffered minor wounds by the foul shafts, but the damage done to their resolve was greater. It was difficult for any of them to sleep after that. Peace had deserted them. The sheer volume of the night creatures and the dense foliage that surrounded them made it too easy for their attackers to ambush them. Even with guards at watch, none of them felt secure enough to close their eyes for long. And so they found their strength waning as the night wore on without rest.

The morning light would have found them bone weary and drained of motivation, had it not been for a blessed visitation at the darkest hour of the night! As each of them fretted away the hours, a shining figure was seen approaching the camp from out of the gloom. He was taller than any of them and dressed in dragon skinned robes that shone of multiple colors and yet radiated pure gold. His face glowed with warmth and his approach caused no alarm. Indeed, none of them could move, so overwhelmed were they by His presence and the peace that flowed through their bodies at his coming. It was the Overlord of Many Names, their Master and King, who walked among them placing his hand upon them with gentleness and compassion as he spoke words of encouragement and hope to their hearts and minds. His coming was brief. It seemed he had only passed through as any wandering stranger might without slowing or stopping. Yet, each of them had been touched profoundly. None could remember the specific words he spoke, yet all would feel their impact for the rest of their lives. His penetrating gaze would forever haunt their vision as they remembered the gentleness they saw there, and the power that commanded their loyalty for all eternity.

Then He was gone. Yet his presence would never depart from them.

They felt it now as they awoke with a renewed sense of purpose and a re-awakened trust in His promises. Today was a new day, and even this dreaded forest seemed not so dark in the new day’s light.

Tai, a gnome Krie’Laskyr (the gnomish name for “master of creatures”) was the first awakened that morning. His newest animal companion, a rare breed of opossum with a short, fox-like snout, crawled across his chest, rousing him from the peaceful rest that had overcome them all at the Overlord’s departure. He sat up, yawning like a child waking from a nap, and rubbed the sleep from his whiskered face. The little animal plopped itself down in front of him, cocking it’s head inquisitively as it regarded him with intelligent eyes. Tai looked the strange creature over, noticing how bright it’s pelt looked in the growing sunlight. It was a rare albino breed with dark yellow fur underlying thick, white hair, causing it to have an almost golden glow. This was in contrast to it’s nimble paws and characteristic rat tail which were coal black. Across the bridge of it’s nose and extending up between it’s eyes ran a black mask of fur that was matched by a patch under the chin which gave it an almost bearded appearance. He also noticed patches of black behind each of it’s elongated ears, which stood upright and alert. “Quite an extraordinary creature”, Tai thought to himself, “but not half as extraordinary as how it came to me.”

His mind raced back to the Overlord’s appearance. He had been the last one the Overlord had spoken to. He racked his brain, but could not remember much of what was said; only something about “not despairing of his place in the team and having a purpose that was yet to be revealed” or something to that effect. Then the Overlord had turned and melted back into the surrounding trees. Tai remembered how the branches parted and the brush opened to allow the Master’s passage. He remembered, too, the brief sorrow that flooded his being at the realization that his eyes would soon be deprived of the beauty that was the Bright Morning Star in physical manifestation. But then, almost as if it were an afterthought, the Overlord half turned to the low hanging branch of a huge oak tree and made a beckoning motion. The branch itself seemed to extend toward him as a small, golden-white animal scurried down and leapt to the ground at his feet. With a final wave of his arm, He turned back toward Tai and sent the obedient minion to the gnomes side.

The whole event was fuzzy in his memory, but it wasn’t a dream. The little critter was sitting right there in front of him. Tai chuckled at himself. “Hummph, little indeed. The bugger is nearly as big as me! Not that that says much for him.”

“You must be hungry, huh fella?” The possum stirred excitedly as if in understanding. Tai stood and moved to the small firepit. Retrieving a small piece of meat from the cooking stake, he offered it to his new friend. To his surprise, it only sniffed at the offering and turned away with a snort.

Tai was puzzled. He had never heard of a possum that didn’t at least investigate some good meat. But then he had never really seen one quite like this. He considered this for a moment as he noticed some of his companions beginning to stir in their bed rolls. “Perhaps this creature isn’t a possum at all,” he thought to himself, “Maybe it’s more like some sort of lemur or other fruit eating animal.” With that thought, he turned to his bag and began searching through it for a piece of dried fruit.

He did not notice as he did so that his little friend had already lost interest in him. Lifting it’s nose into the air, it began to sniff and finally moved to a nearby bag on the other side of the fire. Ignoring the sleeping figure that lay next to the bag, it began to stick its nose under the flap. Before Tai had even gotten his own pack open, it had already buried it’s head in the front pouch of another. But this treasure chest was not without a guardian.

Tai had just found what he was looking for and was beginning to unwrap it, when he heard a loud, feral whine from behind him. Startled, he spun around to see a full grown lynx, hackles raised and teeth bared, preparing to pounce upon a large travel pack with a white ball of fur growing out of it!

“Tenanba, NO!” He dropped the fruit and leapt to the rescue of his new companion, which, upon hearing the warning snarl, backed itself out of the pouch to face it’s aggressor. It’s nose was covered with powder and the look on it’s face was the picture of innocence.

By now, the rest of the group had been awakened. Startled by the commotion, many of them bolted out of their bedrolls, reaching for weapons as they cast about for the source of attack! Freedan was already on the move and the ex-assassin might have put an end to the small invader right then and there had it not scurried backwards under Tai’s legs, putting the gnomes body between itself and it’s attackers. Of course, it was surrounded on all sides and it spun in circles trying to decide which way led to freedom.

The answer came in the form of an open bedroll that was occupied by the slow rising Vorek. The young healer liked his sleep, and being the serene type that he was, did not easily startle at sudden mishaps such as this one. That all changed the moment he felt the scampering claws and burrowing wet nose of his new bedfellow making it’s way to the bottom of his blankets. Waving his lanky arms wildly over his head as though warding of a swarm of insects, he shot out of his bed , hollering like a deranged goblin child.

“Aaahgh! Something’s in my b...!”

His exclamation was cut short as his feet got tangled up in the bedding and he went down. Immediately, he began kicking his feet to disentangle himself from the trap and merely succeeded in flipping his assailant up onto his midsection! Of course, the possum, now realizing it’s mistake, tried desparately to escape it’s new shelter, and began clawing and scratching in every direction at once! And so they tumbled end over end, Vorek’s howls of misery echoing through the brightening wood.

Finally, Vorek fell free and scrambled back from the heap of thrashing covers as the others began to relax, realizing there was no immediate danger. “Did you see that beast attack me?” he emphatically inquired. “Where did it come from?”

Ignoring him, Tai ran, once again, to rescue the frightened captive. Kneeling beside the jumbled pile of covers, he began to speak calming words and cautiously reached out his hand to sooth the shaken “beast” inside.

Hamish chuckled in spite of himself and the others dismissed the whole event with snorts of derision and frustrated shaking of the head. A couple of them, Caymen in particular, made sport of Vorek’s encounter.

“Indeed, that thing nearly tore out your throat, it did!” chided the inexorable gnome. He often delighted in seizing every opportunity to harrass the larger members of the party, considering it necessary to remind them that he and Tai were just as capable as any of them despite their size. “It’s a grand thing, you’re such a capable warrior!”

“I don’t know about that.” chimed in Rane “I’d say he was all but devoured by the monstrous “blanket beast” of Mistywood Lake! It was nearly a death worthy of a song!”

Enjoying the merriment of the moment at Vorek’s expense, the psalmist reached for his dulcimer and began to plunk out a witless tune about a sleepy-headed renewer and his many mishaps. Vorek composed himself and gathered his bedding in disgust. Grabbing his bedroll, he unceremonially dumped the frightened possum into Tai’s lap and stomped over to his other gear trying to ignore the taunts of the others as he packed up his things.

It was about that time that Danthielas and his wolverine companion returned from an early morning hunting and were quite surprised to see such a stir. No one had even noticed they were gone, but all attention turned to them now as they noticed the wild turkey they carried. The elven animal master glanced at the center of the commotion and noticed the cowering bundle of fur smothering Tai.

“The Overlord is Faithful, is He not, Tai? I told you he would grant you another companion soon enough. And not just any companion, but an elven honey possum; an albino at that! Very intelligent little creatures, and quite fierce in a pinch. In the elven tongue they are known as Fonsupilum, “nectar pouches”. If you haven’t figured it out yet, they are fruit eaters, particularly given to honey or nectar straight from the flower which they collect and carry in the folds of skin on their underbellies to eat at a later time. The females have larger pouches in which they carry their young. They are quite plenitful in the elven homeland, but I’ve never seen one this far north. This one is truly a gift from the High One.”

Tai swelled with pride at the words, though he knew there was nothing to take pride in. He had done nothing to deserve such a blessing. It was all the grace of the Overlord.

That said, the elf set about preparing the bird he had acquired and the camp went about the normal business of a new day. Beds were packed, food prepared, scrolls studied and memorized, and wounds healed. After breakfast, they sang a psalm of thanksgiving and broke camp with a final prayer for the Overlord’s guideance and protection.

That was when they heard the drums! The steady cadence of Goblin drums filled the air on all sides and were drawing nearer. They were surrounded and from the sound of it. They were outnumbered as well!


The story continues: "Into the Hangman's Noose"

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