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Originally posted by sonhouseThe materials are not in the hut so Sonhouse swims back out. Soon he is hard at work.
Losing the Bowie knife was devastating. No longer superior to the local life forms, Sonhouse starts the work of making tools with flint and obsidian he finds in abundance. He studied the ways of the ancients and their ability making tools from bare rock. He knew burning rock in a fire makes the rock more able to be flaked so set about making a fire with a c ...[text shortened]... spirit and overcoming the loss of his equipment he starts a new phase of his perilous existence.
The frogmen panic at the sight of fire. They swim away.
A salamander emerges from burning moss. It looks at Sonhouse and says in perfect American English ”Who are you who summons me?”
Originally posted by AThousandYoungI summoned you? News to me, I needed to make some knives and the fire helps. Besides it was getting a bit cold. How is it you speak my native tongue?
The materials are not in the hut so Sonhouse swims back out. Soon he is hard at work.
The frogmen panic at the sight of fire. They swim away.
A salamander emerges from burning moss. It looks at Sonhouse and says in perfect American English ”Who are you who summons me?”
I am on a quest, I was called here in a dream, perhaps you can help me find the lovely one I saw in the dream.
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Originally posted by sonhouseThe little salamander stands up like the Geico gecko and replies,
I summoned you? News to me, I needed to make some knives and the fire helps. Besides it was getting a bit cold. How is it you speak my native tongue?
I am on a quest, I was called here in a dream, perhaps you can help me find the lovely one I saw in the dream.
”Of course you summoned me. You rubbed wood in your ritual and I was summoned. Knives? Why do you think I would serve you by making knives? Break your own rocks, ape. I am not here to warm your hide. Grow more fur if you are cold. I speak all languages, ape, for I am a DRAGON!!! Now feed me more wood for I hunger and might just bite you!
The lovely lady lives there, at the volcano in A8. Take me to her now because I don't like this wet place.”
Originally posted by AThousandYoungSpeaking to the dragon in placating tones, feeding him wood like he asked, he found out the dragon, who called himself Brigga, from a long line of dragons, 27 generations of dragons in his kingdom. Sonhouse found the dragon to be a likable sort after he showed an interest in the dragon's history. Nobody ever asked those kind of questions to a dragon before and he expounded on his dynasty of dragonhood, the exploits, the victories over rivals, the stories of love and love lost. It was a different universe for Sonhouse, and fascinating.
The little salamander stands up like the Geico gecko and replies,
”Of course you summoned me. You rubbed wood in your ritual and I was summoned. Knives? Why do you think I would serve you by making knives? Break your own rocks, ape. I am not here to warm your hide. Grow more fur if you are cold. I speak all languages, ape, for I am a DRAGON!!! ...[text shortened]... ady lives there, at the volcano in A8. Take me to her now because I don't like this wet place.”
Sonhouse asked Brigga if he would accompany him on his quest and after a long discussion about this, Brigga agreed on one condition. What condition is that sir dragon? You must keep me in wood, for that is my diet. If I don't get wood, I must eat flesh which I don't especially like but will be forced if wood is not available. It must be chopped into logs no bigger than your arm so I can take good bites. I will need a log every week. That should not be too big a burden for you.
Sonhouse agreed and they were on their way to A8 through mighty river gorges, mile high trees, spectacular waterfalls and the dragon took the fearless Sonhouse on his giant back and flew over all of that territory. It was a huge valley and the dragon told Sonhouse it would take 2 weeks to get to the other side even flying but sometimes they had to land to escape the evil viceals, a flying beast so vile, so cruel, so fierce, even a dragon was helpless in its claws.
I can smell them a hundred leagues away and their spoor is strong right now. Sonhouse tried sniffing the night air but only found the fragrances of flowering plants and bats which were roaming the night with their clicking sounds guiding them to their food, flying insects.
What does it smell like, Sonhouse asked. They are the putrid smell of death, Brigga replied. You will certainly smell them if you get too close. Right now the smell is strong to me but I have lived here for over a thousand years and know their spoor.
Let us spread out for the long night.
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Originally posted by sonhouse
Speaking to the dragon in placating tones, feeding him wood like he asked, he found out the dragon, who called himself Brigga, from a long line of dragons, 27 generations of dragons in his kingdom. Sonhouse found the dragon to be a likable sort after he showed an interest in the dragon's history. Nobody ever asked those kind of questions to a dragon before and he expounded on his dynasty of dragonhood, the exploits, the victories over rivals, the stories of love and love lost. It was a different universe for Sonhouse, and fascinating.
Sonhouse asked Brigga if he would accompany him on his quest and after a long discussion about this, Brigga agreed on one condition. What condition is that sir dragon? You must keep me in wood, for that is my diet. If I don't get wood, I must eat flesh which I don't especially like but will be forced if wood is not available. It must be chopped into logs no bigger than your arm so I can take good bites. I will need a log every week. That should not be too big a burden for you.
Sonhouse agreed and they were on their way to A8...
Brigga responds extremely well to this approach and happily helps make some flint tools. Sonhouse now has a hand axe and three one use razors which are comfortably blunt on one edge.
”I will not carry you, ape, you will carry me. Now I will go to sleep in my wooden branch. Hide under trees to avoid viceals.”
Sonhouse now also has a salamander stick which is a sort of fire rod. Awakening Brigga takes time though.
It's now morning. Sonhouse moves west to square g7, his belly full of cooked meat and his inventory in his hands.
G7 is where the swamp meets a grassy plain north of the lake. A savage Ogre blocks further passage. In the distance winged creatures circle. Trees are scattered here and
”Give me meat or I will eat you!” the Ogre roars, club in hand. It's thick skin is clearly impervious to clubs and small fires.
The volcano rumbles and emits a puff of smoke.
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Just at that moment a crack opens up in the moist earth and a thousand shrews come charging at the ogre.
The ogre, having rather poor vision, could not see the little rodents coming up its craggy elephant like legs. Soon they were at his throat and biting down hard, a thousand bites at once. They had seen many of their fellow rodents, larger ones but friends nonetheless, eaten by this ogre and they decided to attack. They fought with one mind, seemingly one organism. Every time the ogre threw one off, ten more would take its place, biting and chewing through the tough skin. Soon there were holes in the ogre's hide and they started biting their way inside the body of the thrashing ogre, shaking off shrews by the dozen but it was not enough.
Green ogre blood spewed out of every cut and soon it grew weary and slowly it laid down on the soft fern covered ground between the monster trees. Then the shrews started in on the ogre's eyes, popping them with a sound of punctured blowfish.
Brigga and Sonhouse thanked the shrews and they replied in their cute squeaky voices that they were glad to help because they had vengeance on their hive like minds.
Quietly Brigga and Sonhouse gathered their possessions and flew out of that dangerous glade in the valley to continue their quest away from that frightful square G7, only to fall into a dragon trap when they stopped for water, what they thought was water was a vale of tears covering a thin layer of branches and they fell into the trap at F6.
Originally posted by sonhouseThe shrews slither out of the crack and attack the ogre. Unfortunately their teeth are not strong enough to penetrate the tough ogre skin. The ogre crushes and devours them until the rest flee.
Just at that moment a crack opens up in the moist earth and a thousand shrews come charging at the ogre.
The ogre, having rather poor vision, could not see the little rodents coming up its craggy elephant like legs. Soon they were at his throat and biting down hard, a thousand bites at once. They had seen many of their fellow rodents, larger ones but fri ...[text shortened]... water was a vale of tears covering a thin layer of branches and they fell into the trap at F6.
One shrew comes up to sonhouse and says "why did you tell us to do that?! That ogre's skin was too tough! We'll get you someday for telling us to do that!"
With an evil glare it leaps back into the crack.
Brigga is not able to fly.
I made a mistake; sonhouse and Brigga travelled west from H8 and so are therefore in G8, not G7.
Originally posted by AThousandYoungThe taming of the shrews by the Ogre bought Sonhouse and Brigga enough time to sneak past the Ogre while he was busy having his little snacks.
The shrews slither out of the crack and attack the ogre. Unfortunately their teeth are not strong enough to penetrate the tough ogre skin. The ogre crushes and devours them until the rest flee.
One shrew comes up to sonhouse and says "why did you tell us to do that?! That ogre's skin was too tough! We'll get you someday for telling us to do that! ...[text shortened]... de a mistake; sonhouse and Brigga travelled west from H8 and so are therefore in G8, not G7.
Brigga said to Sonhouse, you do owe the shrews something for saving us.
Yes we do. We will think of a proper gift for them later. Right now we need to get as far away from the ogre as we can and still stay hidden from the other predators just waiting for someone to make a mistake and reveal themselves.
So they trekked through the underbrush which was very tall, enough to hide the two of them as they made their way to F8. It takes a few days to pass G8 but the time passed uneventfully till they reached the border to F8.
Things got dangerous as soon as they left the mists and underbrush of G8, because off in the distance
Suddenly the 27th Panzer division of the German Wehrmacht comes speeding out of a Schwarzschild wormhole and grinds all in its path into roughly hewn hamburger and gristle.
Just as suddenly, the panzers are teleported back to the Battle of Stalingrad.
A stunned silence falls like a curtain upon the land. Fade to black...