Chapter 202: Sending a message

Chapter 202: Sending a message

Mason had yet to find any goblins, but he did find a giant, green...

"What in the name of Christ is that?" Seamus whispered, much too loudly, apparently having crept out from where he'd been told to wait back in the denser trees. Mason sighed.

"I think it's a different kind of troll.”

"Sorry, Patron," Phuong said as he crept up next to them. "I figured stunning him was more disruptive than just letting him go."

"I thought we were waitin', what are ya'll doing up here?" Becky completed the trio of loud crawling humans next to Mason's position, but it seemed the troll hadn't noticed them.

In fact it didn't seem very interested in anything except the rocks it was smashing together, shaking with what might have been a giggle.

"Like a huge, terrifying baby," Seamus whispered, and Mason snorted.

He was beginning to suspect these Greenblood goblins used the creatures like stupid guard dogs. Really stupid guard dogs.

On the other hand, the thing was maybe twelve feet tall and covered in regenerating tissue, sporting long claws and jagged teeth. Leaving something like that to just wander around while he kept scouting didn't seem wise. But he didn't much want to fight it and attract attention, either. He sighed.

"Time to move on, I think." He glanced back at the others, then felt the wind slightly change. He froze as the troll stopped bashing its rocks and sniffed the air.

"Shit. Get back to the trees. I think it..."

The troll let out a high pitched, mewling sound as it stood. Then it charged headlong in the players' direction.

"Kill it." Mason lifted his now strung goblin bow, chose Fire Arrows, and prepared to cycle shots. "Everything you've got, Seamus. Hit it now."

Crippling Shot worked just fine—spraying fire as the arrow shattered and stuck to the troll's legs like burning splinters. Seamus' fiery missiles slammed into the beast's chest and face, causing it to raise its hands to cover itself.

Between the pain and lack of attention, it soon tripped and crashed down the hill in the least graceful roll imaginable.

Mason and Seamus hit it with arrows and flaming balls the whole way down. By the time it stopped it was dripping blood and burning flesh. But it still got up.

Phuong raced forward and stunned it. Or at least tried. The sizzling magic struck and knocked the troll back a step. But it just shook its head and came on. Mason dropped his bow and summoned his Claws.

"Keep shooting it, Seamus. Becky - don't worry about me or Streak, just protect Phuong."

Mason charged with Streak on one side, Rebecca on the other. This troll was much faster (and smaller) than the one in the tree.

Not at all 'small', of course, just smaller. He roared and slashed at Phuong, barely missing as the efficient Vietnamese swordsman just pulled away from the edge of the claws.

Mason found his first scout waving several others on, telling them he'd spotted the human's trail heading southwest.

"Wait." The goblin quirked its head as another scout approached. "I think it..fake trail. Same foot. Just pressed lightly."

"Good eye," Mason whispered, then stepped out from his camouflage and sunk his Claw straight into the goblin's face. It spasmed and fought before he tossed it aside, grabbing the other beside it with his increasingly ridiculous strength and simply crushing its throat with one hand.

Darts or arrows zipped from the others, and Mason just vanished back into the woods. He dropped traps and circled away from his hastily made trail, then found a tree to climb and listened.

He blasted the next scout off its feet with a Power Shot, loosing a dozen arrows at the others before dropping down and giving chase with Aspect of the Cheetah. One fled into a trap and got skewered by a swinging spike. Another he caught and slashed down with a Claw without slowing. Then he guessed correctly and turned towards the mountain: the rest ran.

He caught them all. One by one Mason shot or slashed his enemy down, only once having to swat away a blade with his Sleeve

[Experience awarded: Greenblood Scout group]

He gathered up the corpses and found nothing of value, then piled them next to the troll and wrote a message in the dirt with their blood:

Stay in your caves.

After that he ran full speed to catch the other players, finding them waiting at the river fork he'd picked out. They were all staring across the fifty feet or so of fast moving water, as if enthralled by something they'd seen on other side.

"What is it?" Mason stepped out beside them and grinned when they all jumped. Becky's eyes moved up and down his body and she sort of sighed as she waved a hand.

"Whadda ya mean what is it? Look!"

Mason looked again and blinked as he realized. The trees beyond the river were slightly covered in snow. In fact, it was snowing slightly now, the phenomenon stopped completely as soon as it reached the water. The trees where they stood didn't have a single flake.

"Explain that, Mr. Druid." His cowgirl raised a brow and stepped towards him with a frown, rubbing a hand over his arm. "Ain't you cold? It's bloody freezing already."

Mason couldn't help but notice her concern was mostly with the muscle in his bicep, but he didn't mind. And it was a good point. He wasn't cold at all.

In fact as he took a breath and felt the cold, crisp difference in the air, he felt downright comfortable. He glanced at Streak, and saw the wolf's tail was wagging as it looked between him and the other side.

"Yes, yes," Mason said and shook his head. "We're going across. But we should probably find a better spot, I doubt everyone will..."

Streak splashed as he hit the water, paddling and vanishing beneath as if just as happy to be there as the land.

"Or dive right in." Mason muttered, looking at the others. "If you don't want me to try and carry you, we'd best start looking for a better way across."

Becky shrugged and kept groping him. But Phuong and Seamus started walking down the bank.