This next part, I've been kinda avoiding, but only journaling about good stuff is a lie. I'm going to at least do myself the favor of cordoning the bad stuff together in one entry.
After Andrew and I had finished talking, the giants reached the hall and started banging on the doors to get in. Brynhildr insisted that we escape out through the tunnels out back so that even if the giants were to win at least they wouldn't be able to use the gems to start up the ritual again. I'd gotten a good look at the maps and Hal had done a "ground whisperer" thing while Andrew figured out a good route to take, so the three of us took point in leading the group out. The Valkyries covered us on our way out. I hope they made it through ok.
The tunnels were dark and our flashlights weren't much help. Hal was being cute and taking every opportunity to stay close to Ken, even going so far as to brush against her attentively. (Ok, that sounds a little skeevie, but I promise it wasn't like that. You'd appreciate a little warning before someone with a booming voice pointed out rocks not to trip on in the dark too! Plus she was smiling here and there, but I don't think she thought anyone saw her). Cindy and Claire were being their lewd selves, of course, but toned down from before as was befitting the situation. They're cute too, especially how they think the slinky comments means they're just keeping everything casual. You're not fooling me a whit, you too! Gosh, I really should start hiding this in my sax case. I'm pretty sure they'd, I dunno, give me a swirlie if they knew what I was plotting. What sort of retributive pranks do you suppose the children of the gods play these days?
Anyway, we didn't get too far into the caverns before Claire did... something with the air and conjured a glimmering web of stars. She tossed it over the whole tunnel which made it look like glowing spiderwebbing. It was pretty cool. I guess there are some godlings who are really pretty and others that can control starsstuff. Honestly, you'd hardly think we had anything in common at all.
Making things worse was the we seemed to keep stumbling over rocks, or bridges that would snap, or rope ladders that would fall unexpectedly, or stalactites that would bonk us on the head. No one was serious injured, but it quickly became obvious that this was intentional. While everyone was grumbling, I decided to try to do something about it. After all, whoever it was that was trying to stop us (trolls, someone said) probably thought we were trying to attack them or something when all we wanted was to pass through, so I started trying to tell that to the nearby ones when Hal, once again, popped in and suckerpunched them. It may have just been bad timing, but damned if it didn't feel intentional. It makes me feel like such a... bitch. Getting their attention like that just so they can get killed from behind. It's like I'm lying to them, making friends with them and then stabbing them in the back. I didn't mind helping distract those wendigo-lites (I didn't like it, but I didn't mind it) because they were already rushing to hurt us, but we could still have TRIED talking to these trolls! Maybe nobody had to die.
So I went and sat behind a rock while the others fought. I'd've just gotten in the way of them anyway, plus I really didn't want to make a bigger bitch of myself than I already had been. As everyone's flashlights were flying around, though, I noticed there was one troll off behind us who was sawing at some sort of support that nobody had seen yet. I thought about calling someone over, but then they'd've just tried to kill him right off the bat so I took my own advice: I tried talking to him. But he already wanted to hurt us, obviously, so I figured I'd have to try being really really nice to him, so that's what I did, and it seemed to work... too well. I swear, I didn't do anything but smile and ask him nicely if he would ask his friends to stop when I felt my birth mother's claddagh ring tingle and noticed that he had suddenly fallen in love with me. That was weird and worrying, but I didn't want to show I was afraid until after we had gotten out of this.
He stopped sawing on the support and I went over to talk to him (the rest of the fight was pretty much over by then). He said his name was Harkson and he offered to show us a way out, past something named "Graback," which we found out soon was a dragon. It took us an hour or so to get to just outside Graback's lair where he was sleeping (fitfully, I could tell). I had been worrying about this part: I could tell Harkson wasn't going to be happy when I asked him to leaving us, much less leaving me with a dragon, so I started trying to carefully explain to him why we should go our separate ways, and then everyone started talking at once and it all got away from me. Andrew accused me of doing something to him, like I had hypnotized him or something. That hurt, but I didn't have time to dwell on it: Harkson became angry and loud and started demanding to know what I'd "done" to him. Hal put him into a headlock then and the others started arguing about what to do.
I just sat there and hugged my knees. I know I said I'd write everything, but not this part, ok?
The others kept arguing, but Cindy decided to take things into her own hands. She picked up her big axe and started to swing, and I decided that that was enough. I stood up into her eyeline and let what shaky confidence I had in myself shine through and it knocked her back a few feet in a daze. How can that be normal? Normal people can't do that. She got a few swears out first, but still.
I begged Harkson to understand, that I was just trying to be friendly, that I didn't want anyone to get hurt, that he could just walk away and be happy, whatever that means for monsters. I don't remember most of what I said, and I think it was kinda rambly, but I meant it with everything I had and I think he understood that. The look on his face... it was terrible, but it was exactly what it needed to be.
And then the dragon woke up. See? I'm ending on an up-note!
After Andrew and I had finished talking, the giants reached the hall and started banging on the doors to get in. Brynhildr insisted that we escape out through the tunnels out back so that even if the giants were to win at least they wouldn't be able to use the gems to start up the ritual again. I'd gotten a good look at the maps and Hal had done a "ground whisperer" thing while Andrew figured out a good route to take, so the three of us took point in leading the group out. The Valkyries covered us on our way out. I hope they made it through ok.The tunnels were dark and our flashlights weren't much help. Hal was being cute and taking every opportunity to stay close to Ken, even going so far as to brush against her attentively. (Ok, that sounds a little skeevie, but I promise it wasn't like that. You'd appreciate a little warning before someone with a booming voice pointed out rocks not to trip on in the dark too! Plus she was smiling here and there, but I don't think she thought anyone saw her). Cindy and Claire were being their lewd selves, of course, but toned down from before as was befitting the situation. They're cute too, especially how they think the slinky comments means they're just keeping everything casual. You're not fooling me a whit, you too! Gosh, I really should start hiding this in my sax case. I'm pretty sure they'd, I dunno, give me a swirlie if they knew what I was plotting. What sort of retributive pranks do you suppose the children of the gods play these days?
Making things worse was the we seemed to keep stumbling over rocks, or bridges that would snap, or rope ladders that would fall unexpectedly, or stalactites that would bonk us on the head. No one was serious injured, but it quickly became obvious that this was intentional. While everyone was grumbling, I decided to try to do something about it. After all, whoever it was that was trying to stop us (trolls, someone said) probably thought we were trying to attack them or something when all we wanted was to pass through, so I started trying to tell that to the nearby ones when Hal, once again, popped in and suckerpunched them. It may have just been bad timing, but damned if it didn't feel intentional. It makes me feel like such a... bitch. Getting their attention like that just so they can get killed from behind. It's like I'm lying to them, making friends with them and then stabbing them in the back. I didn't mind helping distract those wendigo-lites (I didn't like it, but I didn't mind it) because they were already rushing to hurt us, but we could still have TRIED talking to these trolls! Maybe nobody had to die.
He stopped sawing on the support and I went over to talk to him (the rest of the fight was pretty much over by then). He said his name was Harkson and he offered to show us a way out, past something named "Graback," which we found out soon was a dragon. It took us an hour or so to get to just outside Graback's lair where he was sleeping (fitfully, I could tell). I had been worrying about this part: I could tell Harkson wasn't going to be happy when I asked him to leaving us, much less leaving me with a dragon, so I started trying to carefully explain to him why we should go our separate ways, and then everyone started talking at once and it all got away from me. Andrew accused me of doing something to him, like I had hypnotized him or something. That hurt, but I didn't have time to dwell on it: Harkson became angry and loud and started demanding to know what I'd "done" to him. Hal put him into a headlock then and the others started arguing about what to do.
I just sat there and hugged my knees. I know I said I'd write everything, but not this part, ok?
The others kept arguing, but Cindy decided to take things into her own hands. She picked up her big axe and started to swing, and I decided that that was enough. I stood up into her eyeline and let what shaky confidence I had in myself shine through and it knocked her back a few feet in a daze. How can that be normal? Normal people can't do that. She got a few swears out first, but still.
I begged Harkson to understand, that I was just trying to be friendly, that I didn't want anyone to get hurt, that he could just walk away and be happy, whatever that means for monsters. I don't remember most of what I said, and I think it was kinda rambly, but I meant it with everything I had and I think he understood that. The look on his face... it was terrible, but it was exactly what it needed to be.
And then the dragon woke up. See? I'm ending on an up-note!
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