05-31-2017, 03:15 PM
It took the better part of the day to follow the river to where the village directed them. They took the right at the fork and half a mile later found the burned-out tree trunk with the sign warning of "Danger!" Geir steered the longboat up onto the shore, and once they were both on land again, Odin returned the ship to omnilium.
"Where are we?" asked Geir suddenly.
Odin finished absorbing the silvery ball of OM before turning to face the man. It was a question the All-Father was expecting, but not one he really had an answer for. "The Tangled Green," he replied confidently, turning to start the hike to the cave where they could, supposedly, find the dark water.
"Ok, but I mean, this isn't Midgard," pressed Geir. His feet were planted and arms crossed, but his face was still reverential toward his god.
Odin turned back with a sigh and looked him over, the question still hanging in the air. "No, not Midgard," he replied tersely, challenging him to continue. The Einherjar's mouth opened, but he decided better of it. Instead, he just nodded and started to move toward the cave.
--
They walked alongside the river for exactly an hour when it came into view. The water flowed into its mouth and didn't seem to come out anywhere, just as had been described. The other details were there as well. No animal sounds, bones scattered about, the smell of rotting flesh.
"Keep a look-out, and give me a shout if anything is coming my way," instructed Odin quietly. Geir nodded and pulled out his bow as Odin crept to the mouth of the cave. The All-Father waded into the water, which reached his waist by the time he could slip inside.
The cave was dark, but Odin's eyes adapted relatively quickly. It only went back about forty feet and was circular. The riverbed sloped swiftly downward moving toward the center. Fortunately, it was relatively shallow near the walls. The current moved around and down into the middle where it was a deep, dark blue. Odin was forced to cling to the cave wall to avoid being pulled in.
Suddenly, it got a lot darker. Odin shot a look to the mouth of the cave and saw that the river troll had, in fact, been home. It had appeared from under the water without a sound. Clumps of black stringy hair hung from its head, and its blue skin was covered in blotches of green scales. Its ten-foot tall frame was misshapen by knots of muscle and aberrant bones.
In the back of his mind, he heard a distant shout of warning, but it was too little, too late. There was no running, and after draining his power earlier, no fighting either. He did have one trick left up his sleeve, however. As the creature started toward him, he noticed that it followed along the wall of the cave as well. Odin circled away from the troll, but couldn't cover ground as quickly as the massive beast. He didn't need to escape though, only stall for a few seconds. The shapeshifter's hands started to grow claws as he shrunk to half his size. He pulled himself out of the water and fully onto the rocky wall. Short black fur sprouted everywhere, and he looked like a cross between a bat and a monkey.
The troll was slow to comprehend, even as it watched Odin scramble to the peak of the ceiling. It tried to keep circling around but stopped when it saw the strange creature was making a break for the now unguarded mouth. The monster quickly circled back and blocked the exit, forcing Odin to retreat to the top of the cave. It tried reaching a long arm out over the swirling dark water but the shapeshifter was just out of its grasp. The troll growled in frustration.
Seeing an opportunity, Odin started making a strange barking sound at the troll and skittering around just out of its reach. It howled at him in anger and prepared to jump. The ugly monkey-bat backed off to give himself more time to dodge the oncoming attack. Monsters had no worry for things like tactics, however. It simply leapt, massive claws reaching out for its prey. Odin managed to just barely scamper out of the way as the troll flew over the dark water and toward the back of the cave. Taking what was probably his only chance, he made a dash for the exit. A booming crash at the behind him nearly knocked him down into the water. As he hung from one small paw, he noticed that there were a couple of arrows in the trolls back. They didn't really seem to be bothering it, however.
With a struggle, Odin managed to get his other claws back into the rocky ceiling and crawled out of the cave and onto its roof. Geir cocked his head, aiming his bow at the strange creature. As he released the arrow, Odin jumped down to the forest floor, beginning the transformation to his normal form. The archer cursed under his breath and hurried to help his master.
"Sorry, my Lord," he apologized as he approached.
"We need to retreat and figure out a plan," Odin responded, ignoring the man's mistake. As they retreated deeper into the forest, the troll came crashing out of the cave with a roar.
"Where are we?" asked Geir suddenly.
Odin finished absorbing the silvery ball of OM before turning to face the man. It was a question the All-Father was expecting, but not one he really had an answer for. "The Tangled Green," he replied confidently, turning to start the hike to the cave where they could, supposedly, find the dark water.
"Ok, but I mean, this isn't Midgard," pressed Geir. His feet were planted and arms crossed, but his face was still reverential toward his god.
Odin turned back with a sigh and looked him over, the question still hanging in the air. "No, not Midgard," he replied tersely, challenging him to continue. The Einherjar's mouth opened, but he decided better of it. Instead, he just nodded and started to move toward the cave.
--
They walked alongside the river for exactly an hour when it came into view. The water flowed into its mouth and didn't seem to come out anywhere, just as had been described. The other details were there as well. No animal sounds, bones scattered about, the smell of rotting flesh.
"Keep a look-out, and give me a shout if anything is coming my way," instructed Odin quietly. Geir nodded and pulled out his bow as Odin crept to the mouth of the cave. The All-Father waded into the water, which reached his waist by the time he could slip inside.
The cave was dark, but Odin's eyes adapted relatively quickly. It only went back about forty feet and was circular. The riverbed sloped swiftly downward moving toward the center. Fortunately, it was relatively shallow near the walls. The current moved around and down into the middle where it was a deep, dark blue. Odin was forced to cling to the cave wall to avoid being pulled in.
Suddenly, it got a lot darker. Odin shot a look to the mouth of the cave and saw that the river troll had, in fact, been home. It had appeared from under the water without a sound. Clumps of black stringy hair hung from its head, and its blue skin was covered in blotches of green scales. Its ten-foot tall frame was misshapen by knots of muscle and aberrant bones.
In the back of his mind, he heard a distant shout of warning, but it was too little, too late. There was no running, and after draining his power earlier, no fighting either. He did have one trick left up his sleeve, however. As the creature started toward him, he noticed that it followed along the wall of the cave as well. Odin circled away from the troll, but couldn't cover ground as quickly as the massive beast. He didn't need to escape though, only stall for a few seconds. The shapeshifter's hands started to grow claws as he shrunk to half his size. He pulled himself out of the water and fully onto the rocky wall. Short black fur sprouted everywhere, and he looked like a cross between a bat and a monkey.
The troll was slow to comprehend, even as it watched Odin scramble to the peak of the ceiling. It tried to keep circling around but stopped when it saw the strange creature was making a break for the now unguarded mouth. The monster quickly circled back and blocked the exit, forcing Odin to retreat to the top of the cave. It tried reaching a long arm out over the swirling dark water but the shapeshifter was just out of its grasp. The troll growled in frustration.
Seeing an opportunity, Odin started making a strange barking sound at the troll and skittering around just out of its reach. It howled at him in anger and prepared to jump. The ugly monkey-bat backed off to give himself more time to dodge the oncoming attack. Monsters had no worry for things like tactics, however. It simply leapt, massive claws reaching out for its prey. Odin managed to just barely scamper out of the way as the troll flew over the dark water and toward the back of the cave. Taking what was probably his only chance, he made a dash for the exit. A booming crash at the behind him nearly knocked him down into the water. As he hung from one small paw, he noticed that there were a couple of arrows in the trolls back. They didn't really seem to be bothering it, however.
With a struggle, Odin managed to get his other claws back into the rocky ceiling and crawled out of the cave and onto its roof. Geir cocked his head, aiming his bow at the strange creature. As he released the arrow, Odin jumped down to the forest floor, beginning the transformation to his normal form. The archer cursed under his breath and hurried to help his master.
"Sorry, my Lord," he apologized as he approached.
"We need to retreat and figure out a plan," Odin responded, ignoring the man's mistake. As they retreated deeper into the forest, the troll came crashing out of the cave with a roar.