“…..So I activate the medallion and magically this dwarf sergeant in full plate mail appears and tells me the details of the mission that the commander neglected to mention. Not only am I to eliminate 20 of these 13 foot tall norse giants, but I’m also to butcher them into little pieces as a warning not to attack Westguard keep.”
“But I thought you did all that destruction in Niffelstien….” Mac the mace interrupted.
“No, No. That was the Niffelvar Vrykul attacking Valgarde these are the Vrykul of Skorn planning to attack Westguard Keep. So, anyway, this tough little sergeant tells me he’s my escort but I’m also to burn down half of this town and send up flares so that the other half is marked for aerial attack.”
“Ouch”
“Yes” the paladin nodded “In Northend they do not exchange pleasantries. You think about attacking somebody and they get wind of it, prepare for a scorched earth response.”
“But these Vrykul….what exactly are they?”
“Who knows?” Chalker responded as he gazed into the campfire. “Maybe they’re an earlier version of mankind. Maybe like the Dranei they’re originally from someplace else. All I know is that they’re bigger and a lot tougher than Ogres we faced on that collection job.”
Seeing the blank look on the rogues face Chalker said “You remember ….Booty bay… you said would be a piece of cake…. for what’s his name, your pirate buddy, sea dog….”
“You mean Sea wolf McKenny?” Mac responded with a grimace “You’re really not going to let me live that one down are you? Just because collecting on some debts got a little complicated….”
“A little complicated?!” The Paladin exclaimed. “I nearly died. You nearly died. Twice. We invaded an Ogre mound and had to kill every ogre in it to get a KEY, Mr. Lockpick. We were both out of action for a week and after all that the gold we collected wasn’t enough to pay for the repairs on our gear.”
“Ok, ok maybe I should have done more research before taking the job.” Rather than allow this conversation to continue, the rogue asked “But you’re saying these Vrykul are bigger and tougher than those ogres?”
“Yes. Ogres are strong and may have some cunning but fundamentally they are not very bright. Vrykul are enranged giant warriors. Strong, smart and they spend all their time in battle. Abandoned their gods after they thought the gods abandoned them so now all they do is fight. And they’re very good at it.”
“And the sergeant wants you to butcher 20 of them?”
“Yeah. For a start. So we start going through the settlement. The Vrykul aren’t hard to find because they’re all standing outside dueling each other. Practicing on each other with naked steel. Battling right up to the point where they get a glance at the dwarf marching along, then its “I’ll eat your heart!!” as they run to slaughter us.”
“Now, don’t get me wrong, this dwarf was tough. Stood against these warriors that were easily three times his size, but man….I could have used somebody with a little…..discretion.”
At Mac’s inquisitive head turn Chalker explained, “If he’d had horn and drums, the sergeant could not have gotten more attention. At one point I encountered the Vrykul version of a shield maiden. Big woman.Really big. Charmingly screams “Ill wear your intestines for a necklace!” before tossing her shield at me. Now, I’ve been taught that you use a shield to defend yourself, but I guess she missed that lesson so I’ve got what amounts to a big, reinforced door flying at me edgewise. I’m getting back up off my butt to find she’s charged up and is one handing a blade bigger then my greatsword and roaring as she tries to pound me back into the ground with it. “
“Now, the sergeant is close enough to get in some shots but he’s also far enough away to draw the attention of a pair of duelers. As they rush up they gather the attention of a roving runecaster and his 8 foot tall petworg, so now we’ve got 4 pissed off giants, the biggest wolf you’ve ever seen, spells, teeth, claws, huge axes and big assed swords all trying to turn us to paste.”
Grabbing a piece of wood to toss on the campfire, the paladin paused to explain. “It was… I don’t know, just more difficult than working with you. You stay out of my way and throw in an occasional backstab or disarm. I start the battle and do most of the heavy work, but you don’t make the problem tougher. This dwarf, I don’t think he ever told me his name, was a lot more powerful, tougher and more experienced but he had no concept of subtlety. The only reason he didn’t get the entire settlement to attack us at once was that he was having more fun making the slaughter last.”
The two old friends sat quietly for a moment as the campfire crackled. Finally, Chalker said, “And he didn’t avoid a damn thing. I’m supposed to mark these towers for aerial bombardment, right? Well, not surprisingly, they aren’t empty. They’re full of magic users throwing frost bolts. Now, the sergeant was no better prepared for ranged battle than I was, but did he do anything to avoid the spells? Did he even try finding cover or running out of range? Nope. Just kept marching along as we were pelted by magic spells.”
“Same situation with you and, first of all, they’d never have known you were there, secondly, if they somehow did know you’d have been able to shoot back and third if you couldn’t shoot back you’d have found cover and run out of range.”
“And the second would be done while energetically doing the third” Mac corrected.
Shaking his head the paladin sighed as he said “I guess this is what my instructors were carping about all those years. Knowing that a teammate is working with you means you understand each other’s role. You play to each other’s strengths and compensate for each other’s weakness. Even though the dwarf had more strength, plate armor and much greater experience than you, I found myself wishing for my old partner.”
“Aww…” Mac began.
“Shut up” Chalker interrupted. “I’m making a point. You and me have worked together a lot. Wasn’t smooth at the start but we came to know each other’s styles. If you or I had partnered with a priest or a warrior instead of each other, we’d have learned to expect them to do some things and not do others. We’d have learned how to handle groups of enemies or single opponents. The greater the number of partners, the better we’d be at supporting and being supported. That’s why the masters kept telling me to work with teams in dungeons. So that I’d know how to adjust what I do to work with what everybody else does so that we’d all accomplish the goal.”
In a deeply resonant voice Mac said “Ah, young Chalker, at last you see the wisdom of your elders. By the light, if you had only listened to me….”
“Shhhhh” Chalker said as he drew his greatsword and began scanning the woods.
The mocking smile faded from Mac’s face as he saw the Paladin was in earnest. Pulling his maces, the rogue silently faded away from the clearing as his armored partner stood erect.
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