The Ettin

Fellowship of the Wild: Chapter 7:

The trio approached the smoking ruins of Vinto’s Outpost with wary eyes. The faint scent of burnt wood and spilled blood hung heavy in the crisp autumn air. The small cluster of buildings had once been bustling with life, a waypoint for merchants and travelers, but now only silence and destruction remained.

Knickon, his great axe resting across his broad shoulder, scanned the wreckage with a practiced gaze. Gren, gripping his newly acquired black greatsword, crouched by the edge of the collapsed stockade wall, studying the ground intently. Kitty, in her human form, moved quietly between the charred remains, her dark hair whipping in the chilly wind as her sharp blue eyes searched for clues.

The sunlight cast long shadows over the devastation, illuminating deep gouges in the earth and shattered timbers scattered like bones. A single crow cawed from the blackened remnants of a barn, its mournful cry the only sound in the desolation.

“Twenty Ogres,” Gren muttered, his voice grim. He traced a clawed footprint with his gloved hand. “Maybe more. Big brutes, judging by the size of these tracks.”

“Not just Ogres,” Knickon added, stepping closer. He pointed to a massive, dual-toed print embedded deep in the soil. “An Ettin passed through here. Bigger and meaner. The outpost didn’t stand a chance.”

Kitty crouched beside a burnt-out wagon, her fingers brushing over the remains of broken pottery and torn fabric. “The humans didn’t just vanish. Look at this.” She gestured to long drag marks leading away from the site. “They were taken. Probably to keep them fresh.”

Knickon grimaced. “Human flesh. The preferred feast of Ogres.”

Gren stood and glanced northward, his sharp eyes narrowing as he spotted the faint outline of a jagged mountain range on the horizon. “They’ve got a day on us, maybe less. There are signs of struggle here, but the trail’s fresh enough. If we move now, we might catch them before they... feed.”

Unearthing the Scene

The trio methodically explored the outpost. In the barn, they found a grisly scene: horse carcasses torn apart and half-eaten, their blood staining the hay in pools of dark red. Knickon’s jaw tightened as he kicked aside a shattered stall door.

“They ate every last one,” he growled. “No food left behind. Just destruction.”

Kitty turned from examining a patch of scorched earth near the main building. “They weren’t just eating. Look at this,” she said, motioning them over. “The ground is torn up, and there’s no sign of any human bodies. They captured them alive.”

Gren knelt beside her, studying the markings with the intensity of a hunter. “Tracks lead north,” he confirmed. “Forty, maybe fifty humans. They’re being herded like livestock.”

Knickon spat, his expression hardening. “Not on my watch. We’re going after them.”

Kitty tilted her head toward the distant mountain. “That’s likely their destination. An Ettin’s lair, maybe?”

Gren stood, his broad shoulders tensing. “If we wait, they’ll be slaughtered. No rest. We follow the trail.”

The trio gathered their gear and set off with urgency. Kitty shifted into her snow leopard form, her lithe figure padding silently beside the brothers as they began their pursuit. The light began to fade, but the barbarian brothers pushed forward, their formidable endurance keeping them strong.

The path left behind by the attackers was clear—a swath of crushed grass, broken branches, and deep footprints cutting through the rolling hills. As darkness descended, the trio’s senses sharpened. The rustling of the wind through the tall grass seemed louder, the distant hoot of an owl more haunting.

“The Ettin’s prints are spaced wide,” Gren observed, his eyes flicking between the marks. “Big steps. It’s moving fast, even with the prisoners, or maybe it's gone on ahead of the group.”

Knickon nodded. “We’ll catch them and that bounty on the Ettin..”

Kitty, now in her animal form, paused to sniff the air. Her ears twitched as she caught faint traces of smoke, sweat, and something foul—ogre musk mixed with the metallic tang of fear. She growled softly, her icy blue eyes locking on the path ahead.

“We’re gaining,” Knickon said, sensing her reaction.

The night deepened, the silver glow of the moon casting the land in a ghostly light. The trio moved like shadows through the hills, their strides long and unyielding. The barbarians’ breathing remained steady, their bodies honed for such grueling pursuits, while Kitty’s feline agility allowed her to navigate the terrain with ease.

Hours passed, the landscape blurring into a series of undulating hills and sparse copses of trees. The wind picked up, carrying with it the chill of the mountains. Despite the cold, sweat gleamed on the barbarians’ brows, their muscles burning with exertion. Using their intuition they sought the Hidden Highways of the lands to try to close the distance to the looming mountain to the north. Veering off of the blazed path, they ran through the boughs and hallows, edging the marshes and swimming downstream along a raging river through a savage patch of BrierLands, before regaining the trail of the attackers as morning light began to fill the sky. They had managed to arrive in the lands at the foot of the large gray mountain with a snow covered peak.

The group stopped near the base of the mountain, taking time to get a better look at what they were about to do. The clear morning skies brought brilliant sunlight to the peak of the mountain, and as the sun quickly rose into the sky, the large twisting path up the side of the mountain came into view. Trees carved like gruesome totem poles lined the large ascending path which ran up the mountain to a good height before ending at a large ledge that jutted out from a large cave high up on the mountain. In the morning light, even from this distance, the trio could see the signs of movement and the smoke from fires up on the ledge above.

“There,” Gren whispered, pointing up the mountain path. “It’s them.”

Knickon’s jaw tightened. “Frontal?.”

Gren replied. “Frontal.”

Kitty questioned, "Frontal? That's the plan? We're just going to roll on.in and go?"

Gren and Knickon both turned to her and nodded and said in unison. "Yes."

"Well then, better have these. Remember to drink them before the battle." Kitty said as she handed a Troll Potion to each of the barbarians.

The group began quickly and quietly moving up the path that lead to the Ettin's cave far above. They noted that the path was man made and very very old. In some areas the ancient cobbled stones formed partial stairs up steep parts of the path. Stone piles along the path revealed upon closer inspection to once have been statues on pedestals, now in a state of ruin. As they passed some of these piles, they saw that the Ogres has crudely jammed their totem poles down into the bases of these statues further damaging this once ancient site.

As they climbed the path they looked out across the rolling hills and grasslands from their growing height. In the distance a massive wall of black billowing storm clouds was seething its way over the grasslands heading straight toward this mountain. The insidious wave cast an inky wet blackness over the lands with a heavy down pour. Sudden eruptions of lightning preceded thunderous booms that shook the lands below. They could feel the winds picking up, and predicted the edges of that storm would hit right about when they got to the ledge and cave above. They pressed on.

Clearly the Ogres and Ettin had no fear or worry about anyone coming up the mountain to ruin their party, as they didn't post any guards along the way. As the group turned the last bend in the zig zagging path to the ledge, they could hear both the hungry howls of the Ogres and the shrieks of their prisoners over the roaring wind. There was light ahead, clearly a large bon fire was burning somewhere on the ledge above as the rains began to assault the mountain.

It was here that Kitty shifted back into her human form and pulled a Troll Potion from her satchel that Gren was carrying.

"Bottoms up boys!" Kitty said as she unstoppered the potion. Gren and Knickon did the same.

"Bohmm!" They boys said in unison as all three of them downed the Troll Potions. There was a sudden feeling that swept over each of them as the most vile flavor ever imagined burned its way down their throats.

Kitty clenched her teeth and puckered her lips trying desperately not to throw up. Both Gren and Knickon felt the same as terrible feeling of nausea came over all of them. With a great deal of Will Power and some Determination each of them managed to hold down the vile brew and it smoldered in their stomaches. The magic of the potion took hold and it was strong. Each of them felt the utter might of the Troll swell up in their chests and flow like fire through their veins. Their sense of smell became so acute that they could sense every single living being on the ledge just up the path. 45 humans. 20 trolls. and 1 big mean Ettin. This sense of smell was unlike anything any of them had ever experience, boosting their awareness to an astounding level. Kitty shifted back into her Snow Leopard form, which seems larger and more muscular than before. Confidently, the group stormed forward up the path to the large wide stone ledge.

They turned at the top, passing between two old stone columns that once announced the presence of a large temple of some sort that once stood half built into the cliffside on this ledge. But not it lay in ruins, just large piles of fallen stones lining either side of this wide plateau. But at the back of the plateau was a cave, perhaps the gored out remains of a once glorious temple to some forgotten god. But now it served as the lair of the evil Ettin.

As the group emerged onto the scene they looked across the ledge, seeing the large bon fire burning in the middle of the ledge. There were the humans, beaten and bloody huddled together between several Ogres with large clubs who eyed them hungrily. Several other Ogres were throwing trees onto the fire, while a larger group of Ogres were at the back of the ledge near the towering figure of the ugly two head monster, the Ettin. Each hand held a human already bitten in half as they chewed, bones sickeningly crunching in its large maws. It's eyes widened as first one head, and then both noticed the barbarians walking across the plateau with their weapons drawn closing in on the Ogres. Instinctively, it spit out its food from both mouths and shouter a roar that shook the stones all around the cave. Suddenly all the Ogres stopped and looked at the approaching barbarians. In that moment there was a sudden silence, a moment of recognition that the day of reckoning may well be at hand. These barbarians were not afraid. They lived for battle...

And so it began. Gren and Knickon moving forward side by side with Kitty at their heels padding along. The Ogres, each easily 17 feet tall and monstrously muscular, grabbed their large clubs and charged. The first line to reach the barbarians was 6 strong. The Ogres were big and strong, but the Barbarians were stronger and faster as the melee began. Gren lept into the air spinning drawing his black sword in a lethal neck level sweep at the first three Ogres coming at him. The first Ogre's head came clean off as the black blade passed through it like butter. The second Ogre pulled back in time to only get a light gash across his throat, before the Black Blade landed deep in the shoulder of the 3rd Ogre. The Ogres then cleaved with their large clubs, but Gren was too fast and easily stepped out of the way of both attacks.

Knickon leapt into the air while invoking the name of their barbarian god "Bohmm!", bringing his mighty axe down on an Ogre with the Troll's Strength pulsing through his veins. The blade cut straight down the Ogre's head, splitting the skull in half all the way down to mid torso. The other two Ogres on Knickon attacked, but Knickon used his enhanced strength to swing the body of the dead Ogre around to block the first attack. Knickon kicked the body off his axe before dodging out of the way of the other Ogre's powerful attack.

Kitty leapt over the top of the barbarians pouncing on one of the Ogres and goring its throat and face while it desperately flailed and died under her.

Gren and Knickon noticed they had one more round of attacks before another wave of Ogres got to their position. Gren executed a fast and powerful double strike aiming to take the heads off of the two Ogres in front of him. The Black Blade slashed out, eagerly removing the head of the first target which hit the ground with a sickening splatter in the rain. The second strike missed the neck, but instead slashed hard across the chest of the ogre, carving its armor open like a can opener, causing blood and guts to spray from the wound.

Knickon rallied his strength into a powerful signature upper cut that caught one of his attackers utterly flat footed, splitting its skull in half. As blood and skull fragments flew into the air, Knickon pulled the momentum of the swing into a sweeping second strike that landed the mighty blade right into the gut of the remaining Ogre on him. The Ogre howled in pain and swung his club, connected a crushing blow to Knickon that sent him flying with broken ribs.

Kitty seemed to vanish as the new approaching wave joined the 1 remaining Ogre on Gren. They circled around him 11 on 1. Gren grinned and level a twirling sweep around the group with the hungry head hunting vorpal Black Blade. Using his best skills he went for accuracy throughout the course of this powerful sweeping stroke, the blade doing its part to ensure death. Two head flew from their shoulders while 2 other Ogres suffered deep chest and shoulder wounds from the Vorpal sword.

As the group of Ogres swung and pounded landing several powerful and painful blows to Gren's shoulder, chest, and hip, Gren could instantly feel the powerful Troll Potion burning through his veins as it immediately began fixing his broken bones and bruises.

Knickon returned to the battle with a flying fury as he leapt through the air coming down on the group surrounding Gren with a furious blow that cut down two Ogres in one powerful death-from-above swing. Knickon's ribs were reforming in his chest, and like his brother, the Fury and Regeneration from the Troll's Potion invigorated him with raw power.

From literally out of nowhere, Kitty in human form appeared right between the Barbarians and slammed her first down into the ground. The magically enhanced might of her blow sent a powerful shockwave out from around her, knocking the remaining group of 7 Ogres all tumbling backward and prone. Kitty smiled as she transformed back into a snow leopard with a playfully furious wink and literally vanished into thin air.

The 13 remaining Ogres regrouped and approached while the Ettin grabbed up his two mighty clubs and started menacingly dragging them across the floor of the cave as it walked out into the rain on the ledge where the battle raged on. The Ettin howled, this creature was easily 24 feet tall, the largest the barbarian boys had dealt with so far.

The Barbarians stood back to back as the Ogres approached. "The best defense...." Gren spoke.

"is Offense!" Knickon finished just as their previous wounds also finished healing up. They were whole again from the Troll's Potion, and they were fearless. As the Ogres approached, the barbarians each launched forward unleashing their wild fury, surprising the Ogres as two fell to a Mighty sweeping power stroke from Knickon. Gren was locked in full head-hunter mode. His eyes looking, pausing, for the sweep paths from neck to neck. The Black Black slashed hungrily removing head and the weapon arm of another Ogre who howled in pain and slumped in shock. 13 down to 9 in the breadth of a heartbeat.

Off balance, the remaining 9 Ogres rallied and succinctly slammed their clubs again the barbarians causing horrific damage. Gren's left shoulder shattered from a well placed hard hit and Knickon took a bone snapping hit to the chest and a bell ringer to the head. But both barbarians were unrelenting, un-shocked, and unwavering, Both injured grievously, their sheer force of Will and Fury drove them on. They thrived in battle, and this was the hardest battle of their lives.

Something was happening. The Troll Potion coursing through their veins, fusing and enhancing their own primal Fury and Battlelust brought on a growing sense of Glory. Instinctively Knickon shouted out the name of their barbarian god, "Bohmm!!" and as if in response a large lightning bolt crashed down from the maelstrom churning above. The powerful bolt's wrath struck down on the bon fire sending tendrils of purple and white energy arching across the plateau. The fire suddenly doubled in sized and burned a blazing dark red color!

Knickon, Gren, and Kitty glowed red as the Eye of Bohmm gazed down upon them, filling them with a battle lust not seen for a thousand years in this world.

The Battle seemed to slow down for Gren and Knickon as they felts their wounds healing beneath their skin. In unison they moved side by side. Each swing delivering death onto each lumbering Ogre. The first head flung free from its neck as Ogre next to it was cleaved in half at the chest, falling into halves with its severed arms splattering across the ground. Gren pulled up in front of Knickon executing a wide defensive block with the Black Blade, knocking aside several incoming attacks. Knickon in synch swept high with a massive stroke splicing two Ogres into pieces. Gren dropped to a knee, allowing Knickon to vault off his back over the line. His flying strike cutting through the next Ogre's weapon, arm, and chest. Knickon landed solidly cracking the ground beneath his feet, as Gren flanked to his right sweeping aside two club attacks. Knickon rolled to his right sweeping his mighty axe low, cutting the feet from the ankles of the two Ogres that Gren just blocked. Gren rolled over Knickon's back landing on his flank and slicing the head off of another Ogre. Three remained as the Ettin arrived on the scene slamming down both of his huge clubs at Gren and Knickon. The brothers pushed off of each other, Gren rolling out from under the blow, while Knickon hooked arms with a very surprised Ogre and slung him into the path of the Ettin's strike.

As the Ettin's clubs slammed down on the unwitting Ogre who was squished in a bloody explosion under the weight and power of the Ettin's dual strike, Kitty appeared out of nowhere and cast a powerful lightning bolt at the two remaining Ogres. The furious bolt seemed suffused and enhance with the red color of the "Bohmm" Fire, as it suddenly bored through the remaining two Ogres, their bodies smoking as they slammed down to the ground.

The Ettin raised up to its full height and bellowed a fearsome roar from its mouthes and prepared to rein death down upon these mortals. Both clubs raise and both clubs attacked. Knickon parried with his mighty axe, but the force of the blow launched him a hundred feet across the wide ledge. Gren also parried, his arm breaking from the blow as he also was thrown far across the stone plateau.

The Ettin's heads scanned around ledge. It's keen eyes working together to see the unseen. Besides it's incredible strength and size, Ettin's had amazing perception. They were never surprised, but in this case, Kitty's magics were putting the monster through its paces. She was moving invisibly in snow leopard form trying to take get some distance from the Ettin before attacking it with spells. As she moved she spied both the Barbarians who were slowly getting up and returning to the battle. Intentionally, she dropped the invisibility spell and ran in the opposite direction trying to draw the Ettin's attention away from the barbarians.

The Ettin took the bait, but surprised Kitty with an unusual speed the had the Ettin too up close and personal for her liking or safety. The Ettin charged trying to corner her against the cave wall while vying to attack with both clubs. Her plan worked, but as the evaded the first swing, the second club caught her across the side and sent her crushed body flying out the cave entrance over the heads of the barbarians who were charging in with healed bodies and bloodlust in their eyes.

The Ettin was not surprised by the return of the barbarians, but it did not have time to react to them as they both bolted into combat. Knickon lead directly coming in with two massive chops to the right knee of the monster, causing a loud crack, a massive spray of blood, and a pained howl from one of the heads. Gren leapt up against the cave and sprung off of it gaining a high flying attack against the left head. With Fury burning in his veins fueled by his heart that pounded like a war drum, Gren swung the powerful Black Blade with every ounce of might he could muster. The ancient blade relished as it sliced through the skin, muscle, and bone of its massive neck.

Gren landed tumbling up to a defensive stance with the bloody sword raise over his head some distance away. The Ettins left head hit the floor as its Knickon hit its knee again with a Might Blow buckling the joint causing the flailing creature to drop down into its other knee. It swayed as if it didn't have full control of its remaining extremities, which gave Knickon more than enough time to shout out, "Bohmm!"

Knickon's Axe cut deep into the other head's neck the first chop sending blood spraying from the gored wound. The Ettin swung one final death blow howling as it struck. Knickon was ready for attack and evaded it easily, the gigantic club slamming into the cave wall causing rubble and boulders to fall inside the cave.

Knickon's second attack was the end of the battle, severing the second head from its shoulders before its body slammed into the ground.

Gren returned raising his sword to the sky and shouting triumphantly. Knickon joined in the howling as Kitty limped up to them. Her body was still healing from the critical blow that should have killed her. She too joined in the howling as a suddenly lightning barrage lit up the night skies and the red Bohmm Fire burned more brightly. Thunder boomed and shook the mountain to its roots. The terrified people from Vinto's Outpost cheered as they too were touched by the glorious deeds of these barbarians and the power of Bohmm on full display to see.

An instant later a powerful red lightning bolt shot down from the skies into the cave, blasting into its back wall. It continued blasting like a furious electrical divine drill, cackling with power and light. Suddenly there was an explosion from within and the lightning stopped. In its place, in the back of the cave, its back wall had been blasted away. Beyond the old wall was a large chamber, the chamber of an ancient king and his court. There was a large thrown and upon it sat an ancient status of a massive man, a king, a barbarian king. By his hand a stone bardiche sat as if ready to use. It was this statue that still glowed as if empowered by the lightning strike. Its surface warming from that of cold stone to a deep warm red. A voice spoke, a deep booming powerful voice that echoed for miles across the lands.

"My blood flows through your veins, children of Bohmm. My Children. Stay by the old ways, The Wilds are yours. Go to the three sisters and free the volcano spirit from the infidels. Tonight you prevailed with glory and fury! Receive my mark, warriors of Bohmm!"

When the words ended, three red bolts of lightning shot down from the sky, one striking Gren, Knickon, and Kitty who were suddenly bathed in divine fire for moments. As the light faded from them, so did divine spirit that was animating the statue of the king in the thrown. As the life left, a sudden cracking began around the large Bardiche as the stone casing broke and fell away from the weapon, revealing an ancient forged bardiche covered in dust and age. The weapon of the barbarian lord whose likeness lay captured in this statue.

As the warmth of the red lightning faded from their faces, each of them bore a small smoking mark on their necks. As they noticed it on each other, Kitty got close to Knickon studying its shape.

She began, "its a sword faced blade down through the sun. must be the mark of Bohmm."

A clap of nearby thunder seemed to verify her assessment.

As the awestruck townsfolk came forth and knelt before the barbarians. The clouds above seemed to divinely seep away, allowing the warm late morning sun to shine down over the bloody remains of the epic battle between the newly anointed Warriors of Bohmm and the mighty Ettin and the Ogres that destroyed Vinto's Outpost...

Ogre