Accok "Stronginthearm" Orspausan (Cuddleheart)
Stronginthearm and his loyal followers travel north in search of a good iron-forged axe. It is not until they come upon a small village, called Palmdances, on the northernmost outskirts of the human kingdom that they find iron wares. Unfortunately, they have no axes, but what they do have is obviously made by a master smith and good enough quality to impress a seasoned dwarf.
They travel to the other end of the kingdom and find themselves in the village of Whirlsalves. The weapons merchant proves to be a very straightforward man, an old warrior, and his wares mirror this. They are high-quality and their prices are not raised by adding useless embellishments and spikes of monkey bone. He sells a superior quality iron greataxe, but refuses to let go of it for the paltry bonecraft Stronginthearm has to offer.
They must return to the ruins of Sticksstroke and pack themselves with loot.
They find the ruins repopulated but the various zombies and skeletons are dispatched with little trouble. The remains of the weaponmasters, who were decked in expensive equipment, have been scattered. Some items are found within the temple, a superior quality bronze mace and a detailed bronze shield. The warrior merchant happily accepts these in exchange for the axe. He also buys a couple of greaves at the armor merchant.
Now he is ready to take on the titan.
Enroute, the travellers are beset by a wild grizzly bear. The animal ambushes Thudu the Spearman and locks his right arm in it's crushing jaws. As the bear shakes Thudu around, Stronginthearm charges the beast and tests his new weapon. He is not disappointed.
Inside the cave, they are met by several mudmen, a snakeman and a frogman. They are easily dispatched, Stronginthearm's new axe more than once killing the enemy in a single blow. But as Stronginthearm, Thudu and Ase the Lasher are exploring the second level, Quenir the Hammerman becomes separated. The three hear a struggle echoing in the cave, then a sharp sickening crack and Quenir's shrill scream of agony, which is cut off with a wet crunch.
The three companions sprint off in what they think is the direction of the sound.
They soon find Quenir's mangled corpse, but the titan is nowhere to be found. Stronginthearm saves his sorrow for a better time. Now was the time for deeds. Deeds of vengeance.
They search the caverns for a while and find no trace of the titan until...
For a moment, Stronginthearm made to charge the towering monster, but then decided that a meaningless and avoidable death was not the best way to honour Quenir's memory, nor that of Bistkash, so he retreated to find his companions.
He encounters Ase and tells her to get ready for fighting. She nods and braces herself as the Titan bears down upon them. The Titan raises his massive fist to strike but Stronginthearm pounces in and hacks at the gargantuan beast and cuts deeply into its chest.
The next two blows glance off the huge monster's thick hide but then Stronginthearm hacks down on it's foot and feels the bones crack under the carefully-forged iron. With a thundering crash, the titan falls to the ground, howling both with pain and the shock that such a small being could pack such a punch.
But the axe is stuck in the creature's hide and Stronginthearm is not able to pull it out. Going for an alternate approach, he instead throws his weight at it, pushing it further in. The Titan gives one ear-ringing howl of agony and fear, then passes out from the pain.
Stronginthearm can now retrieve the axe as the titan no longer moves and hacks furiously at the unmoving hulk. The initial strikes do limited damage, but then he lets out a great bellow and brings down his axe with all the might he could ever muster and sends the great monster sliding down the hall, flooding the floor with its blood.
Following the corpse, Stronginthearm finds the titan still breathing and continues to hack mercilessly like a lumberjack chopping at a tree, except messier. In the end the axe went all the way through the titan's midsection.
It was finally dead.
He goes back to the body of Quenir and picks it up to give him the same treatment Ared got.
He deserved it. Stronginthearm looked to his side at the wet eyes of his two companions. Ase was trying to keep face, but Thudu wept openly. For a fleeting moment Stronginthearm thought of the unlikelyhood of the trio now remaining; An ex-carpenter, a sadistic lasher woman and a fruitcake spearman that has lost his spear somewhere in Sticksstroke. A stroke of mirth shot through his chest, striking a beam of light in the world. His eyes were tingling mercilessly.
"Let's get out of this smoke" he said numbly. He could dimly see the other two looking at him and nodding, then they set out silently towards Wardear.
They arrive in the night, but the King wakes to their entry and greets them warmly. At the news of their success, he embraces them each in turn. The news of Quenir's death doesn't seem to affect him at all.
"But the hero survives! I hereby name thee the Permanent Plain Crypt of Bolts!" he exclaims happily. "Drink and be hale my friends, for this is a time of triumph!"
Stronginthearm, however, did not feel joyful at all. He had bonded closely with his travelling companions and the his loss had been a deep shock. He snuck away from the revelries and out of the town. Ase and Thudu were not fooled, however, and were on his heels. He told them he was going to travel far away. The King here would only give him missions to eliminate distant potential threats while in other kingdoms monsters were actively pillaging villages and attacking the defenseless. Ase and Thudu were more than willing to come with him.
Thus, without a moment's rest, they set out on a long journey.
A fortnight later, they came upon the invitingly named village of "Joindinner." They made their way to the mead-hall for some refreshments. The mayor identified them and greeted them heartily, promising them free drinks and shelter for as long as they liked. He even knew the new name of Stronginthearm. Apparently, this mayor was not a man who was all that he seemed. They told him about their never-ending quest to rid the world of evil and he told them of a cave named Slaughterspit where an ettin had made it's lair. Stronginthearm promised that the ettin would trouble them no more. They found rooms and rested for the night.
They set off at sunrise and arrive in the middle of the night. The cave turns out to be mostly empty. They search the corridors for some time before Stronginthearm descends a stairway and the ettin calls out to him and emerges from the darkness. The ensuing battle is very one-sided. The ettin doesn't even throw a single blow the human's way before Stronginthearm cuts off it's right leg by the knee and the monster passes out from pain. It is easily finished off.
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Topic: Adventurer succesion game (Read 11778 times)