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Grushnak feels his steps subconsciously lighten as he begins his journey. He is eager.
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Grushnak tentatively holds out a hand. "Wolfie... nice... wolfie," he says.
Seymour approaches warily. Grushnak throws him a strip of meat from his pack, and Seymour devours it. He continues to do this periodically as you walk through the forest, Seymour keeping his distance but eagerly munching up the snacks. Once you've reached the edge of the forest on the southern side, Grushnak says, "Grushnak the Free will go to Haven's Cross. Grushnak is a good fighter, and Wolfie has sharp teeth. Grushnak find Guild and make gold for Grushnak!" With what looks like a jerky wave, he turns and heads west along the treeline, making towards the road. Seymour jogs behind him, not too close, but definitely following the orc.
Grushnak scurries around, munching blackened legs of some sort of meat. "The storeroom has lots of food, Grushnak show you!" He points down the hallway to the east. "All bad orcs gone now. Grushnak the free will help friends load!"
Grushnak and Oleksandr make their way back to the hallway by the Great Ulfe’s room. As they pass the Diremole and Direwolf, they see that they both are fine and dozing. Duggar is making little rattling snoring noises. Grushnak leads you to the hallway where the Great Ulfe’s room is. Instead of turning right towards it, he turns left. “Eye’s room just down here. Evil place,” he says, pointing.
"Prisoners! Why in Moradin's anvil didn't you say there were prisoners? Did you like being a prisoner? Let's get them out!" Grushnak disappears for a moment down the tunnel to the east. He returns a moment later with a metal key in his hand. "Grushnak took key from captain's bunk," he says, walking to the metal bars. He pushes the key into a lock on the right side, and you notice that the bars form a door. Click goes the key in the lock, and squeeeeak goes the door. He advances down a short hallway with a flickering torch on the wall. "Prisoners! Come out!" There is another barred door at the end of this hallway. He shoves the key into the keyhole and you hear another loud click and squeeeeeeeeeeeak!! Once the doors are open, he reaches into a pocket on his armor that you didn't realize he had and pulls out a glittering red gem fragment. "Useful stone?" he says, holding it up the torchlight. "Grushnak can show friends the food stores. Can bring back to town so everyone can eat." He points to the eastern hallway.
Grushnak nods eagerly. "Yes yes, plants and grain and meats and cheese, all in storeroom. Next to orc tunnel!" He leads Jorlitharr through the room with caked mud and points to the eastern exit. "Kitchen cooking fire, and lots of food. Farther down is orc common room and storage room." He pauses, then gestures south. "Prisoners down there. Maybe prisoners want food?"
Grushnak saunters into the room, munching a thick leg of some hooded animal, juices running all over and tufts of fur stuck in his teeth. "Grushnak the brave is here to fight the Eye!" He surveys the situation and continues to chew. "Good work friends! More meat in the kitchen, follow Grushnak!" He walks back out of the room.
Grushnak starts up the northern passage, but the tantalizing smell of meat wafting from the eastern passage is too strong. He turns and heads east. "Grushnak the smart find weapon to face the Eye," he says, lumbering down the eastern passage. Then he says in a low voice, "And Grushnak the strong find snack too!"
Grushnak spits out a wad of blood, then walks past the dire wolf and down the hallway. "Eye of Gruumsh will come to fight. Help Grushnak destroy evil Eye of Gruumsh?" he asks Oleksandr, pointing to the northern passage.
Grushnak attacks the orc next to him, hissing, "Grushnak the free!"
His claws sink into the orc's face.
Grushnak pulls his claws away from the orc, and the orc falls to the ground unconscious.
Grushnak lunges at the orc nearest to him, claws swiping furiously. "Northerners!" he yells.
The orc in brown leather armor yells at him, "Grushnak ack hrat hrushka!" Orcish translation: "Grushnak traitor not an orc!"
Grushnak growls. "Grushnak the brave is ready to fight even though Grushnak is tired."
Grushnak nods and stands tall. "Grushnak the brave."
Grushnak hears the horn and goes running down the hallway towards the sound. Halfway down he stops. “No no, Grushnak the smart is free to do as Grushnak wants.” He turns walks back down the hallway, back to the bridge next to Jorlitharr. "Horn means all orcs come out. We fight all orcs?"
Grushnak leads the way to the edge of the pit. Before each corner he halts and peers and listens.
He's trying his best to be sneaky, but his grunting, heavy breathing and tendency to mutter to himself is ruining it.
Grushnak lays in a corner and looks the most relaxed you’ve ever seen him. “Guards rotate at noon and midnight. Orcs digging tunnels done at sundown, then food and drinking and sleep. Grushnak the brave and friends walk by without getting caught.” He sips stew, makes a face, but eats it all. He pushes his fingers around in the rubble, still on the lookout for any coins.
He doesn't find anything of note. He then closes his eyes and snores until resting time is over.
Grushnak returns Jorlitharr's gaze. He is obviously listening very closely and thinking very hard. "Grushnak sees that friends are from many tribes and can work together. Friends treat Grushnak good, give food and protection." He nods to himself. "Grushnak the smart will leave and make his own way. Where is Guild in Haven's Cross? Friends take Grushnak there now?" He motions to his pile. "Grushnak found these." He holds out the jagged red gem to Jorlitharr.
Grushnak stays where he is, picking up coins and bits of sparkling trinkets from the ground. "Grushnak rest. Friends save Grushnak."
Grushnak is completely surprised at what happened when he touched the necklace. He wants to get away from to the other action in the room and hallway. His injuries make it hard for him to walk. He watches Geim explore and starts to make his way over slowly. "Hidden tunnel? The Great Ulfe was looking for hidden tunnels..." He walks next to Geim and looks into the darkness. He sits, tired and hurt. He picks through the rubble at his feet and starts making a pile of gold coins and other treasure.
"Orcs are at the door. But the wolfies can't get through now." he mutters. "Grushnak is tired but dwarf friend can fight!"
Grushnak stares at his former leader. “The Great Small Ulfe is dead. Many orcs will be mad. Grushnak and friends still in danger. Grushnak the brave must destroy evil fire necklace.” He reaches out towards the dead ogre and grasps his necklace with the red gem glowing in the blaze of the fire. He pulls.
He wraps the chain around his hand more and pulls again.
The necklace breaks and dangles in Grushnak’s hand. Suddenly, the red gem starts to actually glow a bright white. It gets brighter and brighter, almost blindingly bright. Grushnak stares and then seems to snap to his senses. “Uh oh!” he cries.
Instead of falling back down to the Ulfe's body, the necklace with the gem now shining like a torch sails across the room towards the wall next to the mirror. The instant it touches the stone, it explodes in a flash of brilliant red and white light and a huge BOOM! You hear the sound of crumbling rock and suddenly a massive portion of the wall falls away into darkness. Grushnak looks shocked and is unmoving, as if processing everything that has just happened.
Grushnak, bleeding profusely from his burns, walks over to the mirror where the Great Ulfe's giant double axe is leaning against the wall. He musters his strength and grabs the thick tree trunk handle. He takes a step and swings with all of his might. The axe slices through the air, a red gem glittering in its blade.
The axe slices through the Ulfe's side, leaving a deep gasp. You see a burst of fire where the axe hits. Grushnak grunts in triumph, momentarily looking happy. Fire damage Grushnak is bolstered by his hit. He quickly tries to swing the weapon around and hit with the smaller axe.
He completely misses. The momentum of the swing causes him to lose control and the large axe flies out of his hands and through the air. It smashes into the mirror and the large axe wedges into the wall behind it. You hear the sound of crumbling rocks and dirt falling to the ground.
Grushnak rushes forward around the table and lunges at the Great Ulfe, claws bared. He swipes at the Ulfe's arm that is outstretched to the axe.
He misses and stumbles to the side.
Grushnak looks very, very confused. He had been cowering deferentially in the back of the room as the Great Ulfe spoke. As the Great Ulfe shrinks to the same size as himself and as Olias shouts to him, Grushnak stands taller. You can literally see gears turning in his head as he made up his mind. "Grushnak the brave will make the Great Ulfe pay for his punishments to Grushnak's tribe!" He bears his tusks at his leader. "The Small Ulfe!"
"Must cross bridge that orcs made to get to the Great Ulfe!" says Grushnak, pointing. "Swingy but sturdy."
Grushnak eyes this new dwarf. "Grushnak the smart, Grushnak the brave," he says. "Grushnak lead to the Great Ulfe? Might meet more orcs on the way."
Grushnak takes the food and his mouth curls into a smile around his tusks.
Grushnak is noticeably in shock. He has just seen you kill three orcs in front of him. But he is not running away from you. "Grushnak believes in the Great Ulfe's decree that all orcs must work together. But these orcs are Northerners and treat Grushnak's tribe badly. Grushnak the smart is happy they are dead. Friends will not hurt Grushnak. Friends will protect Grushnak from the Northerners." He looks at Olias. "The Great Ulfe is a great leader but a tough leader. He asks much of orcs. He has magical fire and powerful double axe and will punish us if orcs are bad or fight. Grushnak has seen the Great Ulfe, he is great and tall and big and wide and pale." "Grushnak is hungry." He looks at Jorlitharr with the eggs and snacks.
"Grushnak, how much longer until we meet with Ulfe? Is it far?" Grushnak motions to the hallway leading off in the corner of the room. "Must convince Northerners to bring Grushnak and friends to see the Great Ulfe. See him in the next room, let's go let's go. After we go straight to the Great Ulfe!" He starts to walk towards the hallway, assuming you follow.
Grushnak says, "Orc guards want to kill wolfie. Grushnak convinced them wolfie was okay and Grushnak's new friends would give tasty meats to guards to munch." He holds out his hand expectantly to Rukkh for meat. "Grushnak the smart will still lead friends to the Great Ulfe. Keep wolfie away from Grushnak." He walks up to the stone doors next to Thravum. "Grushnak is not strong enough to open alone. Strong dwarf help?"
Grushnak sees the two orc guards sink to the ground. "Bruzznik, Orkak, what has the wizard done to Grushnak's friends?!" He continues to run over to them, stumbling over the loose rocks on the mountainside. He doesn't get very far. He grasps at his green lizard armor, feeling for a weapon and feeling none. "Bad wolfie, will hurt friends!"
Grushnak hears the fray, and turns to run into it.
Grushnak says in a low growl, "Guards watch the mountainside by the path. Grushnak the smart will scout ahead and see if they is his tribe or Northerners with wolfies. We need to be sneaky!"
His intentions to be sneaky are thwarted as he stumbles forward into the open air and into a large pile of fallen branches. They crack and rustle, and he curses loudly. Two orcs emerge out of the darkness ahead of you. They have drawn bows with noticeably black arrows. They approach Grushnak and recognize him. The three orcs gab in orcish quickly, Grushnak gesturing to your party. You don't see any wolfs next to the orcs.
As you get closer to the pine forest, Grushnak motions towards the break in the trees. "Orcs travel this way through the trees, let's go let's go!"
A smile flickers on the orc's slobbery mouth as he replies to Jorlitharr. "Orcs live in the mountain, through the forest and up up the Tooth of Stone to the tunnel behind. We gets there to the Tooth of Stone in half a night." "Guards watching between forest and mountain but Grushnak the smart talks to them, if they Grushnak's tribe we go through and if they be Northern with wolfies we fight. We gets to the Great Ulfe deep inside." He cackles. "Grushnak the smart, Grushnak the mighty!" He holds up his chained wrists. "Out Grushnak the smart needs his hands."
The orc grins toothily, saliva dropping from his fangs. "Meats, yes, meats," he repeats.
Grushnak holds up his clawed hands, open and spread. "Used to be more, many more. Killed by hunger, arrows, knives, wolfies. Grushnak's tribe good with black arrows, black arrows with secret poison tips. Lots of fighting when different tribes come together under the Great Ulfe." He eyes Rukkh. "More crunchy bites?" He then takes the package Rukkh had dropped earlier, sniffs it, then pockets it.
Olias asks the or about the one they found in the woods. "We found a dead orc in a pit with an arrow in him. He had brown armor made of animal skin and a direwolf. You know anything about that? Friend or foe?" Grushnak lunges face first at the packet of rations. He holds it in his clawed hands, almost rabbit-like, and begins gnawing away without removing the wrappings. He sees the other packet Rukkh tosses but ignores it. His hunger is obviously overtaking every sense right now. About halfway through, he slows in his devouring and looks at Rukkh, even though Olias is talking to him. "The Great Ulfe stays hidden deep under in his lair. We brings him foods and drink and he comes out at nights for hunting and disciplining bad orcs. Almost cold and snow outside, need lots of stored food for the Great Ulfe and all of tribe." He rubs his stomach. "Grushnak's tribe be with the Northerners together under the Great Ulfe because the Great Ulfe promised endless food and safeness. We works and gets foods and came come inside for the cold snows." He growls and continues. "The Northerners is mean to Grushnak's tribe. We fights back with black arrows on our bows, we knows how to shoot. Northerners have knives and wears hides and furs. Not like Grushnak's green skins. And they has wolfies who howl and bite. Yes yes, they has wolfies. When orcs die wolfies sad and howls and the Great Ulfe kills them." He chews, obviously thinking so hard he can't speak. After several minutes he is ready to speak again. "If Grushnak is freed from evil humans and helps to kill human city and take its food, much honor would my tribe get. The Great Ulfe would praise and Grushnak's tribe would no longer be hungry at all times." He gestures to Rukkh. "This human-orc might gets inside. Grushnak can show you the doors but does not want to be killed from Northerners and their wolfies. Grushnak will not go inside."
The orc growls but listens to Olias speak. You notice he is wearing dark green lizard-like armor as opposed to the brown leather the dead orc was wearing.
In a low, gutteral tone he mutters, "Aye, these humans here have treated Grushnak poorly and all I wants is a bit of meat to fill my belly. I would rejoice in seeing them suffer, them and their chains-" he rattles his heavily chained wrists. "My tribe won't listen to me none, no no, not at all. Grushnak cleans up after them, Grushnak eats scraps they throw to him. Them Northerners, they thinks they can tell everyone whats to do. And the Great Ulfe, he's the worst of them all." He suddenly stops himself. "Better not speak evil of the Great Ulfe, he's got ears everywhere and might punish Grushnak." A bit of drool hangs from his jaw. "I not be deep in their plans, but we needs food for the winter. This city here has lots of foods. We not be going outside when the cold snow comes, no no, we be staying in." He eyes Olias greedily. "Got any meats you could share with poor Grushnak? Crunchy bones, dried fish?"
He leers at Olias, attempting a smile which ends up looking like a fangy grimace. |