The plan was a simple one, find the enemy and ambush them.
Rorrin, Gim, Groehl and myself thought ourselves to be the greatest of tacticians for the plan we had concocted. Using a mixture of magic and might we turned Rorrin, Groehl and myself invisible while Gim and his pet bear (Gim had also assumed bear form) would act as bait for the four to six Goliath hunters we expected to soon be approaching.
The plan, at first, went as well as we expected. Gim and his bear acted perfectly, drawing the Goliaths in close to myself and the other two invisible dwarves. However the plan began to fall apart quickly when we noticed our target, a hulking Ogre dressed in a sinister looking hooded cloak, was far lazier than we expected and would not chase after the two running bears and into our trap. I was about to suggest to Groehl an alternative when I noticed footsteps magically appearing to run towards the Ogre, who was a distance of one hundred and fifty feet away. I realized in an instant that it was Rorrin, about to take matters into his own hands. The blood lust rising in my veins I to began to sprint towards the Ogre.
Rorrin reached the target before I, striking the beast, and therefore losing his invisibility. The Goliaths that surrounded him reacted in fear at the sight of the dwarf and began to attack him as well. Leave me alone you fools! Rorrin cried, I am trying to help you!
Now I have heard that Goliaths are overly simple beasts, and this I can confirm with my own eyes, for despite the shouting of Rorrin it took them more than a few seconds to fully realize they were being liberated from the clutches of the Ogre, even though we never once showed them hostility.
By the time I reached the Ogre (Rorrin always being the far faster runner than I) my raging blood pounded through my veins, and I felt as if I would cut through not only the Ogre but these foolish Goliaths as well, if given even the slightest of invitation to do so. Hacking and slashing I beheaded the Ogre, who was a feeble fighter indeed, having for a weapon only a large crude wooden club with a spike drove through it.
After killing the Ogre I turned to see the chaos that had ensured around me. Groehl was busy engaging in a battle of wills with a flying Ogre mage that had seemingly been there the entire fight, only invisible as we had once been. Gim and his bear were busing holding down to Goliaths who seemed petrified with fright, and one of the poor creatures was hitting Gims bear who was unable to control himself and nipped the Goliath rather badly, so that the creature bled rather badly.
Though Groehl was not able to defeat the Ogre Mage completely, he did show it enough power that the mage flew off in retreat. We then explained the situation to the Goliaths, how we had come to help them and kill the Ogres, and they agreed to offer what limited aid they could. |
