Tag: wra x 8

It’s been a very long time since I’ve had to actively consider my mortality. Standing in a walled pit with a knife that might have well have been a short sword in my hand, shackles still on my wrists, a myriad of Vrykul runes burned into my skin preventing me from accessing my magic, and staring down a very angry Shoveltusk apparently triggers that in me. 

This didn’t strike me as a particularly survivable situation; I was out of it and trapped. The Vrykul had spent time riling the bull up before putting him between me and the gates. I was going to do my level best. In theory there were people waiting on me and wondering where the fuck I was. 

Honestly, the whole thing went on too long. The thunderous yells and jeers of the...

Everything was the bad kind of fuzzy when I finally came to again. My shoulders burned fiercely and it didn’t seem like I could feel my hands. I’d upgraded prisons from a cage to a straw lined floor in a single outbuilding. Flaming sconces lined the wooden walls. I’d seen places like this burn down in less than an hour and panic set in. 

There was no fleeing, though. My arms were bound by shackle and chain to either side of the narrow space. I didn’t know how long I’d been like that, but I still felt drained. My fingers felt too thick as I went to move them and pain shot through my arms. Angry, red runes had been burned into the backs and palms. I couldn’t draw any magic to heal them. The panic rose. 

Hours passed, I...

Running is one of my favorite things. 

There’s a thrill in it, my blood sings as my feet pound the dirt and I vault over fallen branches and tumbled rocks. I waited until things got quiet to go and I just ran. Well, that’s not entirely true, I paused for a moment to free a throwing axe where it had been left in a tree (honestly it’s big enough to be held with two hands, but great axes have always been my favorite weapon), and then I ran. 

It seemed like most of them had gone up to the longhouse, everything else was fairly deserted and the sun was going down. In retrospect I should’ve ditched my cloak, but I didn’t. Sentimentality was slowing me down. Horns started to sound about five minutes into my flight. Then...

All things considered, the Vrykul aren’t terrible hosts. I was given three whole candles to keep me warm overnight in an open cage and they didn’t take my fur cloak. 

I didn’t really sleep, it was too cold to sleep. Plus, any time one of the hunting worgs would howl the wild ones would howl back. You could hear them loud and clear over the growling rush of the waterfalls nearby. I hadn’t gotten a great look at the area as I was being dragged in, but towards and across the river would definitely be the way to go before heading due north and back east to Winterhoof itself. 

Morning came late, the sun bringing to life the old bones of a prisoner who’d come before me. Heavy shackles with rough runic carvings in them bound...

The first day of camping was an absolute delight. I always get sort of obscenely giddy when I’m off doing something new alone. One day I’ll figure out why that is; Sometimes I desperately need to be around people but other times just being alone out in the wilds is the greatest thing I can imagine. 

I visited the Dryads. From a distance, of course – They have this tendency to lure in wary passers-by and share their food and drink with them. It seems like a good thing but I’ve heard otherwise. The Frost dryads were a delight. They have impromptu snowball fights and have laughs that sound like tinkling, shattering ice. 

The Chill Dryads, not the best name as they are far from “chill”, walk through the sparse brush of...

Elodi hadn’t been wrong and neither had ZJ. The entire road up to Camp Winterhoof had been incredibly quiet and exceedingly boring. Increased activity of Vrykul my ass. She and I did see a Scout and for a moment we both wondered if we were going to see action but I think after a few moments of thought we all realized that was going to be a terrible idea and really we all just wanted to get somewhere comfortable to eat dinner.  I almost wished it had come to some sort of conflict so I could get off the wagon, move around, and warm my blood up. 

The land was beautiful, at least. Teeming with wildlife and the grasses growing a lush green after a winter under snowpack. Other shoveltusk ran around and bellowed rough calls at our...

Thankfully, I didn’t die.

My toes hit something sharp and I pushed up and off, my chest feeling fit to burst and my body torn between fighting and just stopping. I broke surface and took a gasping, spluttering breath but there was nowhere for any air to go. The sounds of my splashing and retching filled the small cavern as I beached myself and heaved seawater out of my body and onto the sand.

I rolled onto my back and stared up at the illuminated rocks and wheezed, my head spinning and making me feel like the ground was rolling the whole time. There were lights, someone was probably here.

Sure enough.

A goblin loomed over me when I opened my eyes again. I could barely see him over the pistol barrel pointed square at my face. I...