Stories from Forgotten Kingdoms, Part 1 is a book in Divine Divinity. The text is in German and the original title is Geschichten aus vergessenen Königreichen and can be found unaltered on the German wiki.
Location[]
- Found in the Easter egg room with the silver/Larian armour
Transcript[]
Part one
STORIES FROM FORGOTTEN KINGDOMS
The raven landed on the gnarled branch of the old oak, which people called the gallows tree. For a while he watched the hustle and bustle on the market square. A brightly coloured crowd had gathered here for the spring festival. There were proud elves and cranky dwarf among the people. Occasionally he saw a lizard or cat human walking through the crowd and a few halflings who had to clear their way between the legs of the people. When he was wondering whether it would be safe to bite the chunks of meat off the floor, his attention was drawn to a horde of riders who ruthlessly made their way through the crowd. They stopped their horses directly under his branch. One of the riders, a small man in a blue robe with a lot of sparkling clothes on his hands and neck, dismounted. He pulled a parchment out of the saddlebag and fiddled with the trunk of his tree. Not sure whether to fly away or to stay, the raven began to preen its feathers. He didn't take his eyes off the man, however. But he got back on his horse and rode away with the other riders. The raven eyed the parchment curiously that the man on the tree had forgotten. A light brown skin with lots of little black spots that seemed magical to those around. Now it was clearly too full for him under the tree and he spread his wings and rose into the blue sky tent. Since this raven could not read, at least not the writing used on the sheet of parchment, he did not know WHY this sheet seemed to have such an attraction for all people and other visitors to this festival. Because this leaf that was hanging on the tree had astonishing news to offer.
A man standing at the forefront of the crowd eyed the parchment, and then began to read aloud so that everyone could hear what it said:
"My people, through a sneaky attack by an old Lindwurm, were robbed of my youngest daughter. In addition, the Lindwurm made the demand that I have to pay all the yields of our fields and half of all farm animals, or that it would bring ruin to the country. I hereby urge everyone to continue to actively resist the demands of the Lindwurm 'Gezitrdoch', I also offer 1,000 gold coins to the killer of the Lindwurm and the hand of my youngest daughter, signed King Fasabar el Radiash "
A woman in the typical clothes of the southern countries pushed her way through the crowd. "Well, that's typical for these hillbillies. The daughter's hand, as if only men were able to fight. This king can keep his daughter, but I will get the ducats. What else is there? Capable Fighters or magicians should report to Captain Timogrim of the City Guard. Then go to the Headquarters of the City Guard. Make room for people. "
Thorwyn walked into the next room on the right, defused the existing trap with a critical success, and took the magic sword that was stuck under the chair. Unfortunately, it was an intelligent weapon that kept chattering and stealing its nerve as he headed for the City Guard headquarters. Once there, he saw that some women were also applying for the quest, which he paid with a smug smile after paying his obolus to the Chauvie cash register.
Suddenly a powerfully built, very evil looking dwarf in armour sewn from chains and pieces of leather pushed the people aside, jumped forward and roared bouncing: "WHERE'S THE DRAGON? LEAVE IT TO ME !!!" He swung wildly a huge plasma cannon that was almost as big as himself. The crowd spread apart in horror. Immediately afterwards a huge northerner in ranger clothes made his way forward, gave the dwarf a mighty hammer blow with his fist on the helmet, that it slipped over the dwarf's face and he flopped disoriented on the bottom of his pants, took the gun away from him and threw the wriggling bundle over his shoulder. Then he said apologetically to the bystanders: "Sorry, wrong game ..."
Meanwhile, Captain Timogrim of the City Guard discussed some strategic questions with King Fasabar's adviser:
Should he just send the heroes to the kite individually or in groups? what if a woman solves the task or an already married man?
The adviser decided to persuade the king to offer the daughter another 1,000 gold pieces if a hero solved the problems and the daughter did not want him. It would also be possible to assign the tasks to a group of heroes, because how should a daughter be divided among a group of heroes? In the meantime they created a list of heroes, so there were:
1. The southerner
2. Thorwyn with the magic sword
3. ----
Captain Timogrim and the counsellor found that the list was still a bit short and decided to speak to the king about increasing the prize money.
Meanwhile, after the crowd got lost, a sly fox had read the call. Since he always fought for the just cause, he immediately decided to help the king. Knowing, however, that his true form would scare people away, he ran to a mage friend who temporarily put him in a human form that nevertheless had some resemblance to his true self. So he also spoke to the king, and since he was well equipped and also waived the reward, since it was a pleasure to destroy a lindwurm, he was also tasked with the matter. Nevertheless, the two other adventurers initially showed a certain amount of suspicion because they could not imagine why he should forego 2,000 gold pieces.
From an impressive distance, the king and his advisers heard a loud rumble, several human bodies falling to the ground and a loud, slightly slurping "That is it!". A short time later, the author of the riot stood in front of the king, tried a rather inexperienced and therefore ridiculous bow and let the amazed king know: "By Swevnir! The Lindwurm, who can take on Ulath, the Thirvalder, has to still to be born! I'll lead the group of heroes! * mumbling * "somewhere another Premer fire nearby?" With that he staggered away. When the king had regained his composure, he rubbed his neatly trimmed beard and thoughtfully said to his advisers: " If that will work? It seems to me to be a rather idiosyncratic grouping. And whoever becomes the leader of this group is still in the stars. Hopefully they will defeat the lindwurm before they hit each other's throats ... "
Meanwhile the servants heard a loud shouting and nagging from the rooms of the king's eldest daughter. But knowing the feared moods of the daughter heiress, they quickly disappeared from the corridor. If only they had listened a little longer ... "How can father always favor my little sister so much? He wants to spend 2,000 gold pieces for her rescue. And the rescuer should get YOUR hand, not mine. But she is only half as pretty as me! And what if she is really saved? Afterwards the stupid thing also talks about the HOW the lindworm kidnapped her. We really can't allow that, can we? " Her half-brother was also in the room. It was long foreseeable that his ripoffs, which included theft, treason, extortion, and assassination, would one day bring him to the gallows. Of course, he nodded in agreement now. "Yes, we can't allow that! Did you see the idiots who went to the rescue of the unfortunate? They can't even save a cat from a tree!" "Still, you have to go after them immediately and make sure they never come back!" said the devious daughter. And she added mercilessly: "I will be able to help you with my magic from here. Just don't lose my amulet! And if besides our hated sister the stupid lindworm is dead on the track, so much the better ..."
Just an hour later, it was already dark, a dark figure left the castle to pursue the unsuspecting brave group of heroes ...
It was probably just after midnight ... A cloud moved in front of the moon. Still, an attentive observer could have seen a bat hang on a branch of the old gnarled oak and dwell there for a moment. Before the cloud released the moon, the bat fluttered away again in search of nutritious insects.
In another corner of the town, a young man named Aidan was packing his backpack. He had recently seen the youngest princess at a folk festival, was enchanted by her beauty, but since he was quite poor and without any influence at the court and could not even fight properly, his chances of getting to know the princess were very poor. After reading the call he saw a way to get the princess or to die. Aidan knew, of course, that hardly a group of heroes would tolerate him in their ranks. Although he knew from his grandmother some recipes for medicinal potions and also plants that required strength and courage, he could not fight. His weapon was the lute. Aidan was a gifted singer who made a living singing. So he packed some potions and plants, grabbed the lute and ran after the group of heroes. Meanwhile, the group of adventurers continued on to the Lindwurm camp. The four dissimilar fellows cloaked in icy silence as they eyed each other suspiciously.
Sajet, the Southerner, examined her unwanted companions to assess their strengths and weaknesses. The Thirvalder Ulath, who was still suffering from the influence of excessive alcohol consumption, made a strong, well-trained impression. The ax he was carrying was very worn on the handle and told of frequent use. However, it could well be that he would lose his courage to take on a Lindwurm when sober. He also made a hell of a noise as he staggered behind them, so it was likely that a group of pioneers would discover them. In general, this hothead promised a lot of trouble on their three-day trip to the Lindwurm. The redhead, on the other hand, had a slim, slim body and had fine, well-groomed fingers. Finger, who talked less about hard work than about studying the books. Sajet hoped that this journeyman had mastered the art of magic because she couldn't imagine him as a warrior. On the other hand, a scholar who spent most of his life in the room would be able to sneak so silently and explore the area with his intelligent eyes. The fox, as she secretly called this comrade, was a mystery to her. Thorwyn, on the other hand, was easier to assess. Like Ulath, Thorwyn looked well-trained and seemed to have mastered his strange sword. Perhaps he sometimes acted faster than he thought, but he seemed to be an open and humorous guy. He walked briskly and paid little attention to the surroundings. His thoughts only seemed to be with the upcoming adventure. Sajet was tightening the back strap of her two crooked swords when she heard a branch crack behind the group. Involuntarily she reached for her dagger and went over to the redhead. "Hey redhead," she whispered to him. "I have the feeling that someone is chasing us. You are watching our surroundings all the time. Have you heard or seen anything suspicious?"
When night fell and the moon lit up the market square with the old gallows tree, only briefly interrupted by a few darkening clouds, a shadow flitted from wall to wall. He had been there when the strangers approached the tree he had just leaned against and cut the parchment. He hated being in the middle of people, so he had hurriedly gone, not without memorizing the looks of the strangers. The stars sparkled where the sky was clear. Scattered clouds that grew thicker but were not rain clouds changed the light on the square. He decided to stay in the shadow of the guild house and to take a closer look at the piece of parchment that was blowing on the tree. For this purpose he took out his telescope, that he had bought it in a junk shop at some point in a city. He aimed it at the parchment, and ... crap! A large cloud had suddenly moved in front of the moon. He couldn't read anything anymore. So he had to get closer. He decided to use one of the main streets leading to the market square to give himself the picture of an innocent citizen who went home late. So he scurried away to the next shadow.
When he got to one of the main alleys, he slipped silently out of the dark, not without making sure that no one was watching him. On the way to the old gallows tree, he treaded his shoes a little harder, so as not to give the impression that he was coming straight out of the shadows of the house. He went up to the tree.
The parchment was actually as excitingly new as he thought it would be. The finest parchment as he felt. And he hadn't seen strangers dressed like this in a while. And a lindwurm that had kidnapped the king's daughter hadn't happened in a long time. Was this dragon new to the area? He thought: "Where there is a dragon, there must be a hoard, and dragons like to collect exquisite pieces. There should actually be something for me! And the hand of the youngest daughter of the king! That is something! But no, if she is a lot younger than me, inexperienced with people and life, I don’t want her. " But it would be all right to heal the loneliness that had been haunting him for years. He would also forego the money if necessary. A stray like him, a loner, experienced with light and shadow, he has been looking for one for years. And he wondered why such women were so rare.
He went to his house, which he once inherited. Fortunately there were no household taxes here in the city, otherwise he would have had to sell his "base" - as he called his home - long ago. As a normal citizen, who he was now, he could afford not to pay attention to the squeak of his front door, although he was startled by the noise. In the house, he gathered some things that he thought he would need, as well as his green-gray ranger clothes. Tomorrow he would introduce himself to the city guard.
When he arrived at the city guard, he of course immediately heard that the others had already left, how could it be otherwise. He decided to march after the other. The footsteps of the Thirvalders could not be overlooked.
After a long, exhausting and monotonous walk, the companions decided to find a place to sleep for the night. Well, actually it was Ulath, the giant Thirvalder, who "decided" it. Because of his alcohol consumption, he simply fell over some time after sunset. The others dragged him annoyingly up to an overhanging rock that had to be enough for them to rest for the night. At least he would give them some protection from the strong wind. The "Fox" demonstrated Freksian virtues by easily igniting the damp wood to a small campfire despite the wind. The three travelling companions, still awake, gathered around the fire. At first they sat in silence, the distrust among themselves was not to be overlooked.
But one or two jokes by Sajets, the southerner, about the loud snoring Thirvalder relaxed the mood and the companions introduced each other a little closer: "Hello my name is Eolus and I think I can help you with the dragon hunt I don't want gold, just leave me the carbuncle stone of the dragon, that's my desire ... "suddenly said a voice from the background," I read the attack and followed your trail. I thought maybe you could be a magician use." Spoken and sat down with the others who had no objection to strengthening the troop. After introducing each other and arranging Thorwyn for the first night watch, they decided to sleep first.
In a distant tower, an old wizard watched the adventurers' meeting with suspicious eyes. He has been pulling his strings too long to finally be able to fulfil his self-imposed task. He still does not know whether he should classify them as a threat or whether they can support his tasks. He gathered a few parchment scrolls and left his accommodation. The human-shaped fox had requested the midnight watch and there was a special reason for this. The old magician had said the following to the fox: "The transformation spell works perfectly for 30 days. Nobody will be able to recognise you as a fox during this time. But there are two things you have to consider. Every night at midnight you transform yourself for an hour back to its original shape. That cannot be prevented. So be careful! "Thereupon the magician had fallen into a deep slumber and had not been able to wake up again. It so happened that the fox could no longer learn the second important point ... At midnight the fox had just started its watch, when he began to change back to his fox form, so he roamed the camp for an hour, paying attention to all suspicious weather.
In the meantime, the dark figure from the castle of the brave band of heroes had already come a lot closer. In this darkness she would not have been able to follow the trail if the amulet of the sneaky king's daughter had not shown her the way. Now the sinister journeyman took a breather. The path had not been pleasant. He was completely scratched and had a big bulge on his forehead. He was now displeased with his half-sister about the amulet. "Your camp is only two hours ahead of you! You have to get around it tonight!" said a shrill voice in his head. "How far is it to this Lindwurm's camp?" he thought. "Another 5 days! Tomorrow you will be on a ford! The only one in a wide area. The river is so swollen at this time of the year that you have no choice. You can only take this path. And even this transition is still very much dangerous!" "So I'm going to ambush you there?" asked the scoundrel. "Very ingenious!" the shrill voice in his head teased. "I have already posted a number of ogres there! They are not very clever, but they can use spears and clubs. You will instruct the pioneers and then move on so that you are in front of the heroes. But do not forget to carefully approach the ford so that the ogres don't accidentally attack you. They're not very bright! " "You already said that!" he sighed.
The night was otherwise uneventful. The next morning, the magician woke up the peacefully sleeping group of heroes.
We almost forgot our singer Aidan. He also followed the heroine. But since he had spent most of his life in taverns and sang about the adventures that the travellers passing by told him about, he was far behind the other troops. Since he was a little afraid, he looked for a quiet place away from the path, lit a fire and sang songs to his lute that should give him courage. "Bravo" suddenly said a voice. Aidan looked up, startled. A forest elf was leaning against a tree. "What are you doing here in the middle of the forest without a listener?" Aidan told her about his unfortunate love for the princess and that he wanted to go to the dragon. "Great idea and do you want to fight the dragon with the lute?" "Well I ..." "If you mind if I come with you, I have to see it! I just left my elf village to take a look at the world. By the way, my name is Xera" Aidan was a bit shocked: "Are you not afraid so alone, as ..." "... as a woman? In contrast to you, I have a bow and I also master fighting with the knife quite well, I don't do it in the middle of the night either Forest so much noise that every robber knows where to find me "" No one does anything to a singer! " "It is in the manual for travelling singers, but goblins cannot read! I can already see that I have to come with you and protect you so that you can get to the kite alive. Go to bed quietly and keep watch."
Who can oppose such a request? Aidan didn't, so he decided to sleep. Tomorrow is also a day.
Knoer, the leader of the ogres by the river, was a very smart strategist. At least he thought he was himself. He had distributed his people early in the morning. An easy task, this strange ogre with the strange accent had told him. Catch a handful of heroes in the shallow spot on the river. "Ey, frills and Groentz, you go to the other side of the river and hide there! But don't be seen, you maggots!" "Oh what, bells and whistles. Let us see? Come on Groentz, we go over there. What other bells and whistles does our boss tell ..."
Knoer grimaced suspiciously. He had to take care of this bells and whistles, it was getting too revolting. And besides, he talked too much. But he was a good javelin thrower, and therefore just right for the job. He carefully posted the rest of his group. "And don't forget, we won't attack until they're in the middle of the river." He looked into the silent, nodding faces. "Who then?" the group said hesitantly when he was about to turn away. Brocken, of course, he hadn't been listening to the meeting this morning. What did Knoer deserve? All idiots and he was their boss! "Aim well with your spears!" he growled grumpily. "And don't let anyone out of the water, you worms, otherwise you will get to know MY club.
Well, they would parry! It wasn't the first time that this gang was waiting for an unsuspecting tour group. And so the ogres waited for the "fish to go online". Then he made out Groentz's hand signal. The strangers were already very close to the river. In wild anticipation, Knoer rubbed his huge paws.
While Thorwyn, Sajet, and Ulath drew weapons with a protective semicircle in front of the rest of the group and eyed the newcomers suspiciously, Xera had carefully approached the edge of the pit. At the bottom of the pit lay ... startled the young forest elf bounced back. She barely caught Aidan, who was also trying to look into the hole. "You shouldn't look in there, man! Better come a little bit with me." For a brief moment, her eyes met those of the dog, which seemed to be looking at her imploringly. She shook her head silently. It was as if the loyal animal understood them. In a loud voice it began to mourn the fate of its owner again ...
In the meantime the others had also overcome their fear of the supposed ambush. A little ashamed they put their weapons away again.
Man, your group was getting bigger. By now they were already a small army. Soon you had to think seriously about logistics. Would it be beneficial to split the group? Ulath was really slow to give up on his original plan to get close to the Lindwurm quickly and unnoticed to surprise him with a small group. He had to talk to Fuchs, Xera and the stray. They might now need their own hunting party that had to get enough food. So they would go even slower than before. At Swevnir!
Krasnegar had carried a whole armful of firewood into the hut and threw it loudly on the floor by the fireplace. Now he rummaged for tinder with his left hand in a bag. It was getting cold, here at the foot of the mountains. This morning he had already checked his traps and found two nice fat rodents in them. Now he wanted to skin them and prepare them for dinner. At lunchtime, Krasnegar usually didn't eat anything, except maybe a few berries and nuts that he had picked up in the forest. In addition, he treated himself to a small sip of dwarf schnapps, which he exchanged twice a year with a passing dealer.
Finally Krasnegar had found the tinder he was looking for and was kneeling in front of the fireplace to make a fire. Then the dwarf heard a sound in his back. He listened for a moment to decide whether it was worth getting up. But there was nothing more to be heard. He must have been wrong. "Well, Kras, you are getting really old," he said to himself in a low voice, to dispel the slight shiver of surprise.
clomp-clomp-clomp
There were steps in front of his hut! This time he was sure. Someone came to visit? So his idea hadn't deceived him! Who could that be? A little clumsily, he started to rise from the floor. Had Sam Dry River come back? Only yesterday he had left here. Perhaps the ranger had forgotten something again and was reversed. But then the dwarf would have heard the barking of Bear's Paw, Sam's huge, brown dog.
Krasnegar's hand groped for his heavy hunting knife, which he had carelessly placed on the chair after a morning stroll through the forest and had not yet cleaned.
"Are you there, crippled hand?" it sounded from outside. The voice was unusually deep. Krasnegar's hand closed tightly on the handle of his knife ...
Bear's paw was undecided what to do next. His two-legged pack leader stopped moving and would be left here. So much was clear to his simple dog mind. He had had hope for a moment when the other bipeds lifted the limp body out of the pit. But this had not made a sound and no longer moved on its own. Bear's Paw had started whimpering again to express his grief. Then the two-legged friends had carefully moved his injured pack leader to the side and covered him with stones. Then Bärenpfote knew that he was alone from now on. His instinct told him that he had to find a new pack ... maybe he could join one of the bipeds here.
The bipeds only moved a little further and then camped to bark at each other. Apparently they discussed the hunting grounds they wanted to move from here. Time enough for bear paw to find a new comrade. The two-legged friend, who had been the first to look into the hole, barked little and then only very quietly. She talked to Bear's Paw almost only with her eyes, but hardly with her paws. But he loved it when "his" biped also touched and caressed him with his paws. So he would look around a little further ... There was this huge biped. He was almost a head taller than everyone else. He was certainly their pack leader. His barking was loud and decisive. No one barked in between when he set the tone. Bear's paw approached him cautiously and submissively, but he wasn't looked at. A little more researched, he heard a short bark and waited for the reaction. And that came too, but contrary to what Bear Bear expected. A sharp look and a short kick put him in his place. How rude! Should he rather leave this strange pack?
But then one of the others approached him cautiously and barked quietly and kindly to him. It was the one who was the second to approach the hole, but was then driven back by the first. Now he held out his paw and let himself be sniffed in greeting. Well, that was a promising start. Bärenpfote waved his tail amicably and panted in anticipation. Now the biped began to touch him with his paws, just as his old comrade had always done to him. Although the giant sat on a stone and continued to listen to the barking of the other dogs (he was careful not to bark), he did not stop touching the bear's paw gently. Then he began to sniff the dog extensively. This strange wooden thing that he had cocked his back, he had laid on the grass next to him. There had been a weird tone. It sounded strange and interesting somehow. Could there be other sounds? Well, he would see. After he had memorised the weather of his new pack leader, he put his head on his hind legs. Both made eye contact and the other's eyes were deep and friendly. Bear's paw started whimpering again, since he hadn't completely forgotten his old comrade. But when the biped even intensified his comforting touch, Bärenpfote knew with whom he would move on from now on ... Could there be other sounds? Well, he would see. After he had memorized the weather of his new pack leader, he put his head on his hind legs. Both made eye contact and the other's eyes were deep and friendly. Bear's paw started whimpering again, since he hadn't completely forgotten his old comrade. But when the biped even intensified his comforting touch, Bärenpfote knew with whom he would move on from now on ... Could there be other sounds? Well, he would see. After he had memorized the weather of his new pack leader, he put his head on his hind legs. Both made eye contact and the other's eyes were deep and friendly. Bear's paw started whimpering again, since he hadn't completely forgotten his old comrade. But when the biped even intensified his comforting touch, Bärenpfote knew with whom he would move on from now on ...
Aidan scratched the abandoned dog, lost in thought. He seemed to like it. A beautiful dog. We should be friends, he thought. When this adventure is over you will come to the pubs with me, where a bard is fed should fall off enough for his dog. The dog was wearing a leather collar. Aidan took a closer look, hoping to find out about the owners in order to track down any relatives. Characters were burned into the collar. "Bear's paw" was there to read. "Bear's paw?" Aidan murmured, the dog looked up at him. "Is that your name my friend? Bear's paw? It's a pity that you can't talk. It doesn't matter anyway, I will call you bear's paw" The companions had taken a short break. Burying the poor hiker and filling the pit had taken some time. The sun had already passed its highest level. But Xera had said earlier that it wasn't far to the old dwarf's hut, an hour at most.
Aidan looked at Ulath. The giant took the lead very decisively. Well he didn't care. After the second night on the hard earth and the second trap on their way, Aidan had a little doubt that he would ever reach the dragon. But if the others tolerated him. After all, someone had to report on their actions after the fight and then there was the princess. Not that he thought he could ever marry her, who was he compared to her, but maybe a word, a smile from her. Aha, Ulath drove to leave. He was definitely looking forward to the dwarf schnapps. Well, they could make plans about what to do after consulting with the dwarf. "Come on my friend, let's go," Aidan said to the dog and scratched it again. "Hey Aidan don't stay behind" cried it from the path. Ulath looked grimly: "Leave the dog or take it with you, but hurry up!" The group had grown quite a bit. Organization was slowly becoming a problem. The stray and the fox had long since disappeared into the forest. Ulath groaned. "This is not a troop, it is a gang, everyone does what they want as if we were here for a walk and not on the way to a fight." he thought. Well, one could have confidence in Thorwyn, Sajet, Xera and the new "hook hand" as he secretly called it. The bard seemed to have forgotten again that they were almost trapped. The magician dreamed as always. "If he stays behind and does what he wants,
The fox couldn't help but smile. How naive these people are. The stray and Ulath might have enjoyed playing with this sinister man, but he had long since noticed that he was not alone. In a few quick whispered words, he informed the companions who were closest to him when his fears were already borne out: the old man from the hut shouted: "Ambush", and already all shapes and figures rushed down on them.
But thanks to his attention, the surprise failed. Completely uncovered, they had wanted to put down a large part of the group, now their safety was their doom. With a lightning-fast movement, the fox avoided two enemies and was able to pierce the defenseless with his sword.
Sajet also reacted correctly, parrying an approaching blow with one of her swords and striking the other, the others had at least been able to avoid their attackers. Only Aidan was lost in thought and would hardly have had a chance if his new friend had not grabbed his opponent by the throat while jumping and thus saved his life. But even after this happy start to the battle, the heroes looked balanced at best. At least a dozen coarse fellows faced them with their weapons out. But strangely, they seemed to lack any courage to fight, on the contrary, staring at their leader with fear. He had seen the beginning of the fight completely motionless, and now the fox knew why.
With their leader, however, the robbers had also given up courage, so that they ran away in panic without causing another fight, followed by the cry of triumph of the dwarf, who ran a few steps behind them and shouted that they should never put on again with a dwarf.
Derlaf scratched his head with his hook. What kind of troop was that? And what kind of manners did she have? He was still waiting for someone to tell him what was going on. Instead, this was mumbled, that mumbled. Princess, Lindwurm, sneak up ... Well, it could be difficult with such a group, but if necessary you had to improvise. And that was exactly Derlaf's specialty.
He looked around the group again. He didn't even know the names of everyone. He got up cautiously and dared to try again: "Well, if we go to the field together, we could at least make ourselves a little more familiar. I have joined you, but so far I don't know more than before So would you pay homage to a confused companion and enlighten him? I would be very grateful to you, ladies and gentlemen, and could offer you the full potential of my abilities. " A cheeky smile played around his face as he sat down again with theatrical exaggeration.
Eolus was again apart from the group. He always preferred to stand by the group as a "consultant" and "helper" on the way to the Lindwurm than to block victory on the way through ingenious behavior. That's why it was beyond him why the others had to stop at the dwarf. Well, he was here now. He smelled the ambush much sooner than the others even recognized the situation. But this would be the first part of the tests he would put the others ...
One of the robbers had gotten too close to him, probably because he saw him as easy prey. But that was definitely not Eolus Thunderstorm ... No, before the robber knew what was happening to him he was lying on the ground and whining to himself ... Eolus was watching the others ...
Now the dwarf was good ... but he thought badly ... Killing the leader meant sending valuable information into the wind ... Eolus looked up at the sky and studied the cloud movements ... there would be a storm. Whether the others knew ... Maybe he should talk to Ulath about how to proceed. He didn't like the weather turning to their disadvantage, but the gods will have thought of something.
In the distance he heard a soft melody. A woman sang an old tune about brave knights and evil dragons. He joined the others. Why did it only get more each time he was with them? He had to smile ... If this continued, nobody would have any of the gold anymore, since it had to be divided among many. Well, he didn't care about the gold, he just wanted to try and win the heart of the princess. He looked at the others individually and silently. Who would do anything to have the princess? He considered briefly whether he shouldn't look into her mind, but then changed his mind and went to Ulath who was standing with the dwarf.
He greeted the little man in a friendly manner and then whispered in Ulath's ear that there would be a storm soon, and one would have to think about whether to stay here and lose 2-3 days or whether there was a way to avoid the storm in any other way. .. The mountains offer a good shelter for a daring heroine like theirs.
The day was very friendly. There were clouds in the sky, but now and then the sun came through. Chirping birds all around. So the way forward hardly bothered anyone. From time to time you could see the rugged peaks of the mountains through the trees. This broad path was well suited for pulling traders with their carts. The trade in the gold miners made some profit, they always needed tools, food and especially schnapps. Most of the gold they found disappeared into the pockets of the traders.
They approached the roughly made log cabin, which, however, showed attention to detail, which could be recognized from the decorations that were not immediately obvious. The dwarf's log cabin - if he really lived in it - was off the path, but was relatively easy to reach from the path. Especially when you saw the thin path that led to the hut. Xera, the elf, led the group because they were the only ones who knew the way exactly. The rest of the group whispered about the problems they might face. They were just arriving at the hut when a huge, coarse-sized giant - very large, very strong, very coarse - knocked on the door. The stray could almost sense that this person was evil. The stray man, who still hadn't given his name, had an idea. He beckoned Ulath the Thirvalder close and whispered something in his ear. The huge Thirvalder could just suppress his roaring laughter, then it was time.
The heavy block door was unlocked from the inside and the dwarf came out. He held a dangerous knife in his hand, and there was anger on his face as well as, somewhat more hidden, fear. The Thirvalder sneaked up on the other giants as best he could and, just as he was about to say something to the dwarf, slapped him on the shoulder with full force, a friendly thump among the Thirvalder. Then he said in a booming voice (he could barely suppress his laughter): "Hello, good man! Aren't you the man who protects the dwarf who lives here and provides him with all the good things that we have would also like something? " The Thirvalder was talking too clumsily in the stray ears. He would have put it a little more subtly ... but, well,
The coarse-faced giant slowly turned. Hardly anyone had noticed that he had flinched in shock, he hoped. There was both confusion and anger on his face. He was simply speechless. HE, as the PROTECTOR of this little prank called Krasnegar? What was that madness? And what should he answer now?
The stray could really SEE how it worked in the head of the giant. He grinded his teeth as if he could speed up his thought process. A dull, dangerous enemy, so. Hit first, then think. You had to be careful! Nevertheless, he was happy to have confused the giant, because he didn't like bad people. He looked at the dwarf. The stray dog had seen dwarves many times, but never had one with such confusion and surprise on his face. It was going to be fun! Now it was a matter of winning the dwarf into an ally against this evil giant ... if he hadn't already been.
Krasnegar was amazed and speechless, which was not exactly what happened to the old, experienced dwarf. Of course, he immediately recognized the deep voice as that of his tormentor at the time and, furious, tore open the door of his log cabin. But then he was paralyzed with surprise ...
The villain had not come alone this time, but had brought a whole bunch of helpers with him. Krasnegar recognized a tall man with a war ax - probably a Thirvalder - a somewhat run-down fellow in ranger clothing, a figure with a wild-looking hook hand, an elven warrior - what was she doing with the bunch? - as well as a number of other, wild-looking fellows. Well, it would sell dearly! He would take one or two of them to his death. They should regret having messed with him. He still had his heavy hunting knife firmly in his left hand.
But suddenly one of the villains slapped the man in the deep voice on the shoulder. The latter then turned around in surprise. What was that trick again? The first man said something that Krasnegar could not understand properly, but now it was up to him to stand paralyzed. The dwarf was already thinking of seizing the opportunity and at least finishing off his old enemy before the end. But he still couldn't make a decision. Soon it was too late and his perhaps only chance of revenge was wasted, namely when the opponent had recovered from his horror ...
But in the silence that suddenly prevailed, Krasnegar suddenly heard new noises from the left, as if someone were sneaking along the side wall of his hut. Why should anyone be hiding there? The enemy's superiority was already so great. Something was absolutely wrong! Then Krasnegar's gaze suddenly fell on the dog, who was standing next to the man with the lute and was prevented from barking by it. Bear paw! But Bear's Paw would never voluntarily part with his master. So his old friend Sam Dry River was somewhere nearby, and ... then he heard the noise from the side wall of his cabin again and finally, finally he understood the situation!
"HALLOW!" he roared as loud as he could, threw himself on the man standing in front of him and struck his knife with all his might. At the same moment he saw in the corner of his eye how a large number of sinister figures appeared with loud shouts on both sides and pounced on the crowd in front of the hut. And suddenly there was total chaos all around Krasnegar ...