The Road to Vinto's Outpost

Fellowship of the Wild - Chapter 6

The rooster’s crow broke through the gentle hum of early morning in Halsbeth. Down the sturdy wooden stairs of The Stone Boar Tavern came Gren, Knickon, and Kitty. Gren rubbed sleep from his eyes, his massive shoulders flexing with each step. Knickon, already alert, glanced at the few workers scurrying outside the tavern, the faint aroma of bread baking in distant ovens filling his sharp senses. Kitty, her hair slightly tousled, walked between them, her satchel of holding casually slung over her shoulder.

The tavern’s kitchen was already alive with activity. Steam from boiling pots rose in swirls, mingling with the scent of fresh bread, sizzling meat, and roasted coffee. The trio was the first to arrive in the main hall, and as they settled at a sturdy wooden table near the hearth, a figure bustled over.

"Good morning, loves!" Auntie Jo greeted with a warm smile. The older barmaid carried herself with authority, her apron stained with flour and grease from the morning’s efforts. She placed three steaming flagons of coffee and two of ale in front of the group. "What a sight you are! Heroes under this roof, killing that nasty Troll. Halsbeth owes you more than thanks."

The barbarians grunted in unison, their version of modest acknowledgment. Kitty, ever the conversationalist, beamed. "Oh, Auntie Jo, you flatter us! These two just smell a bit better than draft horses, but they do have their uses."

Gren chuckled, tearing into a loaf of bread from a basket on the table. Knickon raised an eyebrow at Kitty, his mouth twitching into a smirk. "Better than draft horses?" he rumbled. "Do draft horses carry trolls’ heads?"

"Not without a fuss," Kitty quipped back, winking.

Auntie Jo grinned, jotting down their breakfast orders with speed and precision. "Anything you be needing while in town, loves? Anything at all?"

Kitty’s eyes lit up. She rattled off a list so extensive it made Gren pause mid-chew. "Let’s see… a twenty-gallon cauldron with a tripod, graduated boiling pots—all copper—alchemical bottles, tubes, boilers, burners, spinners, tube racks, stoppers, agitators, and oh, yes, thick rubber gloves, shield glasses…"

The list went on. Auntie Jo’s quill scratched across her notepad without missing a beat. When Kitty finally stopped, the older woman tore off the top page. "We can send out runners for this, if you like. Be back by mid-morning."

"That would be perfect," Kitty said, flashing a brilliant smile.

Moments later, large platters of food arrived—steaming meats, eggs, bread, and cheeses stacked so high the table creaked under the weight. Gren and Knickon immediately dug in, their appetites as legendary as their strength. Auntie Jo disappeared into the kitchen, her voice bellowing instructions to wake up Jason and the runners to start fetching Kitty’s supplies.

The Tavern Fills

As the trio ate, workers began filtering into the tavern. Miners, blacksmiths, and carpenters came for their breakfasts before the day’s labor. Each one stopped to offer their thanks, some with tears in their eyes, for lost loved ones avenged by the troll’s death. Kitty accepted their gratitude with grace, while Gren and Knickon nodded humbly between bites.

The energy in the tavern shifted when a group of bards emerged from their rooms. They huddled in a corner, whispering and strumming on their instruments before erupting into song. A lively ballad filled the hall, telling of the troll-slaying barbarians from the west. The tale grew with each verse, painting the brothers as near-mythical warriors and Kitty as the clever enchantress who guided them.

Gren leaned back, flagon in hand, grinning broadly. "You hear that, Knick? They’ve made us legends already."

"‘Bout time," Knickon replied, his tone gruff but his smile betraying his pride.

Kitty laughed. "If you’re going to be legends, you’d better act the part. Try not to eat the entire table in one sitting."

Waves of workers came and went, and with them came sacks and satchels delivered by Auntie Jo’s runners. Each item on Kitty’s extensive list was checked off and handed over with precision. Much to Kitty’s surprise, Auntie Jo refused payment, insisting, "Halsbeth owes you more than we could ever repay."

Kitty carefully packed each item into her satchel of holding, her gratitude evident in her smile. By the time the last item arrived, the carpenters were hard at work clearing space above the hearth to mount the troll’s head. Auntie Jo proudly pointed it out. "First thing anyone’ll see when they walk in. Heroes deserve a place of honor."

The morning stretched on with more gifts, tokens, and praises from the townsfolk. While Gren and Knickon would usually find such attention awkward, the warm food, flowing ale, and roaring fire softened their edges. Kitty, however, grew restless. By mid-morning, with her supplies gathered, she wrangled the brothers to leave.

A New Quest

As they walked through town, the trio passed a kingsman nailing a poster to a wooden post. Kitty stopped to read it aloud. "Reward: 500 gold pieces for the heads of the Ettin terrorizing Vinto’s Outpost."

Gren frowned. "What’s an Ettin?"

"A two-headed giant," Kitty explained, folding her arms somewhat suggestively. "Dangerous, cunning, and usually very, very hungry."

Gren shrugged. "Two heads, twice the glory. Let’s do it."

Kitty smirked, shaking her head at their enthusiasm. "You two never change."

Knickon grunted, crossing his massive arms not realizing Kitty baited him into doing so when she did so. She smiled slightly sarcastically yet satisfied as Knickon spoke. "Vinto’s Outpost is on the Merchant's Road running south along the coast, about forty-five miles south. We were heading that way anyway."

Gren nodded, sharpening his blade. "Good. I’m ready for another fight."

Kitty rolled her eyes. "You two and your endless appetite for battle."

"Better than your appetite for cauldrons and glass tubes," Knickon shot back, grinning.

The trio left Halsbeth around noon, the chill autumn air biting at their faces. Once they were well out of town, Kitty transformed into her SnowLeopard form after removing and shoving her clothes into her satchel of holding which Gren securely slung over his shoulder. The southeast road stretched out before them, winding through rolling hills and grasslands. The ocean glimmered in the distance, its salty breeze mixing with the crisp air.

The remainder of this day was uneventful as they sought out the hidden Highways and Byways of the mountains by the sea, and within an hour they were but fleeting shadows among the crags and outcroppings. They chose, well Kitty begged them, to make camp by the ocean tonight after spotting small forest abutting a wide white sandy beach, which stood out against the mostly rocky shores they were accustomed to along the Darkvale Coast. They made their way from the mountain passes to the sandy beach at the edge of the forest as the distant sounds of thunder brought the promise of a cold rainy night.

It was decided that a shelter would be made so Kitty could cook up her troll potions as well as so they could all sleep dry tonight. The boys chose a spot among three tall shagbark hickories in close proximity, and both set off to gathering wood. Being expert woodsmen, bushcrafters, and massive barbarians, they quickly gathered a large pile of logs and fallen nearby trees, and set to work removing branches and cutting notches in logs preparing to set them in place for walls. Within an hour, the barbarians were finished with the shelter, which was triangular in shape with two full walls and one wall partially open. Smaller trees had been lined across the tops of the walls at an angle to allow the rain to run off. Leaves an moss were used to seal the spaces between the roof logs making the shelter very dry inside. Near the opening of the shelter, the boys had dug out a medium elongated fire pit and lined its bottom and bordered it with stones from the shore. Kitty's cauldon hung from its medal tripod over the deeper side of the fire pit as she worked with several pots that were set on a metal grate over the more shallow side of the fire. As Gren and Knickon were putting on the finishing touches on the roof sealing, a suddenly zap of lightning, followed by a boom of thunder, ushered the beginning of a very rainy night.

As Kitty began unpacking an old wooden suit case which held a wide array of tools, stoppered bottles in small tightly packed racks, and a spice caddy, the Barbarians decided they would hunt for dinner while Kitty played with her toys. Knickon and Gren set out into the forest noting fresh deer tracks along an obvious deer run through the underbrush from the shoreline into the forest.. Shifting into Hunter mode, like shadows they disappeared into the dark forest on the trail of the small herd of deer.

Back at the shelter Kitty knelt over three pots bubbling with troll organs in troll blood. She had already portioned out the vast amount of troll's blood into the cauldron. With her mentor's old leather bound Spell Book splayed open across the top of a stump next to the fire, Kitty moved from reading each ingredient from the book, to measuring dried ingredients from her spice caddy, to dumping measured amounts into the cauldron. After an hour of alchemical mixings with boiled organs arcanely prepared and introduced, Kitty stood by the cauldron now with a long metal spoon stirring the magical brew, when her keen ears heard the Barbarian boys approaching.

Gren an Knickon came into view outside the shelter standing in the steady down pour with a large stag hoist across their wide shoulders. With a wet thud they dropped the carcass, turning to Kitty with smiles and grins on their dirty and drenched faces.

"How goes the Troll thing?" Gren asked.

"Good, I think. It's all done, but it has to cook until midnight they set until about dawn."

"Good timing then." Knickon began. "We've got some work to do."

Kitty's stomach literally growled on queue. She looked up at the boys. "Well, let's get to it."

And working together, the three of them set to stringing up the carcass by at the highest point of the shelter's roof which was nearest to the entrance and fire. They began bleeding it out, and set to skinning it for cold weather clothing. Kitty cut out several of the organs and laid them on the fireside stones to dry, before Knickon butchered the now skinned carcass for meat to cook. Kitty provided some salts and spices for the steaks that were grilled on the shallow end of the fire pit where she had previously cooked the troll's organs in individual soup pots. Before long the Keg of Ale from the Satchel of Holding was brought out and a much more festive spirit took on the evening. Over boastful stories and talks of the fight to come with the huge two-headed Ettin, the three companions ate and drank their considerable fill of delicious. venison steaks and ale. Near midnight Kitty had the boys lift the cauldron off of the fire and carefully place it in a shallow hole in the dirt at the back of the shelter. where it could cool and be protected from the pouring rain outside.

The morning arrived almost unnoticed as the dark heavy storm clouds continued to pour dark sheets of cold rain down upon the lands. In the dawn hours the three companions awoke by habit more than desire. Inside their shelter it was still warm from the slightly hissing red embers in the fire pit by the entrance. The barbarians' shelter building skills had kept the rain out all night, allowing Kitty's cauldron to cool slowly without being diluted or destroyed by the rain.

Both Gren and Knickon were quiet obviously choosing to stay under their sleeping furs, so Kitty worked on scooping and pouring the potion into waterskins. 10 in all, She examined the drafts using her magical skills to determine their magical potency, which revealed that they all were equal in strength and that they were powerful. She was certain that she had followed all the steps to make them, and was pretty certain that she now had 10 Potions of Regeneration that would heal its imbiber at a fast rate from any physical damage. The effect would essentially make the drinker able to heal from any wound of any kind as long as it wasn't either Decapitation or Utter obliteration, It should also boost the sense of smell and increase strength to that of a Nasty large Troll. Each potion should also last for about an hour, which was promising as she planned on using them for the upcoming fight with the Ettin.

Once Kitty had stored stored the powerful potions, she added wood to the fire to cook more meat for breakfast and focused on cleaning all her equipment before packing and stowing everything back in the Satchel of Holding. Gren and Knickon awoke to the smells of meat cooking with Kitty finishing up her packing.

Gren rose using his sword to stab a steak off the grill and sit with a groggy thump.

Knickon sat up and poured a morning ale. "How did the Troll potion come out?" He asked noticing that the cauldron and all her stuff was already packed up and gone.

"Do you want the good news or bad news first?" she said with a coy smile.

"Good." Gren replied.

"Bad." Knickon said simultaneously.

Kitty laughed. "Fine. The good new is that we have 10 Troll Potions. Each should work for about an hour, and in that hour, you will have the Strength of the Troll as well as its Healing Ability and sense of smell. I'm not totally sure about the last part, but I am pretty sure."

"What's the bad news?" Knickon asked again.

"It tastes like shit." Kitty didn't laugh, she was dead serious.

""How bad can it be?" Gren asked.

Kitty dug into her Satchel of Holding and pulled out a waterskin with a stopper tethered to it's top with a string. She held it far away from her and popped the cork, holding the potion up to Gren's nose for a sniff.

Gren obliged and sniffed and his face went pale with shades of Green, it was questionable if he was going to vomit. Knickon erupted in laughter and backed away as Kitty waved the draft toward him.

"Nope. No thank you." Knickon said as he backed off while still laughing and pointing at Gren who was gulping slightly.

Kitty cautiously re-corked the potion and put it back in her satchel. "It's the most awful smelling thing I've ever smelled. But, for it to work, you have to drink the whole thing in one sitting."

Kitty and Knickon looked at Gren and then each other with a moment of slight concern. Kitty added with a slight wince, "I am certain it tastes as bad as it smells too."

Gren recovered quickly enough, and within a half an hour they had eaten and left their shelter behind, venturing out into the dark torrential downpour with Kitty now padding astride the Barbarians in her Snow Leopard form. Knowing that they should make it to Vinto's Outpost by nightfall of this day if they kept pace, they sought the signs of the Hidden Highways among the rolling hills and grasslands that shared the coast with the smaller mountains of the Spine. It didn't take long before it seemed as if the land itself opened, revealing pathways that allowed the trio to move faster than they should be able. Instinctively knowing as if in commune with nature itself, which pass, which trench, which cave, and which path was the way to get them to their destination the fastest.

As the skies and the rains eventually began to lighten, they made their way across small flooded raging rivers that flowed along deep grooves carved throughout the foothills and grasslands. By mid afternoon the rains stopped and sunlight shown down in crepuscular rays between the dispersing black clouds. The grasslands had given way to more hills and greater mountains in the distance and the group decided to track the last leg of their journey along the Merchant's Road which would lead them right to the Outpost.

Approaching Danger

As the sun dipped lower, the road began to narrow, the hills growing steeper. The grassy plains gave way to rocky terrain, and the sound of the ocean grew louder. They spotted distant smoke rising from what could only be Vinto’s Outpost.

But the air grew heavy, the kind of weight that came with danger. Kitty’s sharp senses picked up the faint smell of decay, and she quickly transformed into her human form close to Gren and Knickon. "Something’s not right," she said, her voice low.

Gren and Knickon exchanged a glance, their hands instinctively moving to their weapons. Kitty transformed back into her Snow Leopard form and the trio moved cautiously now, their eyes scanning the road and the surrounding hills.

As they crested a hill, now much closer to the smoke, they saw a building on fire. The main building was a small keep with a high tower attached to it and burning barns and stables out back. The keep lay in ruins, two of its four walls smashed apart with fires burning in the wreckage. There were no signs of movement, no signs of life, just destruction as Gren, Knickon, and Kitty smelled the strong scent of blood and decay on the air.

As the sun began to set over the ocean to the west, the group knew they had arrived at their destination. Cautiously, they approached the burning ruins of Vinto's Outpost, looking to end the reign of this evil two-headed Ettin.

Vinto's Outpost