{"id":165,"date":"2019-09-11T11:59:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-11T11:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/141.148.246.190\/index.php\/single-post\/the-giants-gamble-pt-24\/"},"modified":"2022-05-19T15:32:27","modified_gmt":"2022-05-19T14:32:27","slug":"the-giants-gamble-pt-24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.alexisveenendaal.com\/index.php\/2019\/09\/11\/the-giants-gamble-pt-24\/","title":{"rendered":"The Giant’s Gamble Pt. 24"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/p>\n

PART THREE<\/h1>\n
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Chapter 24: Visit from a God<\/span><\/h3>\n
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\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
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\u201cHiccup,\u201d Thia said casually as they all sat on the deck of the ship watching the clouds pass.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The goblin turned to her. His squirrel sat in his lap, where he scratched it behind its ear. \u201cYes. Elf lady?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cWhere do you want to live? We promised you sanctuary. A nice home in the forest, or, wherever you\u2019d like.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Hiccup nodded vaguely. \u201cHm, yes. A place to live\u2026\u201d He didn\u2019t seem overly interested in the prospect. In fact, he seemed very focused on something else. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cWe could find a place with lots of squirrels,\u201d Opal nodded hopefully. \u201cI could talk to them and see if they\u2019d help you get settled.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cYes, I suppose\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Roon was just starting to stand, to walk below the ship and return to his reading. Just then, the air seemed to disappear for a moment from his lungs. Everything had gone completely still and silent. He spun around to stare at his friends, and at the men working on deck. They had all frozen. All, except for Hiccup.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cWha\u2014?\u201d Roon began to speak, but Hiccup\u2019s face had gone serious, and he raised a hand to stop him. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cRoon,\u201d the goblin said in a voice very unlike his normal tremor. <\/span><\/p>\n

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It dawned on him, then. \u201cYou\u2019re not a goblin\u2026\u201d for the first time, he noticed the faintest shimmer. He would have never seen it, if Hiccup had not allowed it. Then, he transformed. He grew in height and a stream of black robes billowed out around him. His staff shrunk down. His skin was deep brown and unlined, and his eyes were dark and thoughtful. He smirked, and there was a glimmer of mischievousness in the expression. \u201cBaravar Cloakshadow,\u201d Roon breathed, for he had never seen the face of his god before. Only depictions.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThat, I am,\u201d the figure bowed and drew down his hood to show a mess of curly dark hair. In his other hand, he held a\u00a0 white horn carved of bone and tipped with polished wood, engraved with the symbol of a dagger and cloak. He touched it to his lips and no sound came out, but then the squirrel shimmered, and grew into the form of a massive brass dragon. The ship and all of its crew were still frozen, and the weight of the dragon seemed to do nothing to the buoyancy of the airship. \u201cI have watched over you for some time, Roon. Your tricks are good,\u201d he said proudly, \u201cand your kindness is greater.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Roon felt a rush of shame. \u201cI feel I have put much into my tricks, and not nearly enough into being a proper cleric.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cYou are young,\u201d Baravar said, smiling slightly, \u201cand you are ignorant of the things you choose to push aside. You will not be ignorant of them for long.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Roon\u2019s mouth felt dry. He couldn\u2019t bring himself to ask the question. Is it him? Is it Arden?<\/em> As soon as he thought it, he knew it must be true. But, how did you reach a dead person? And how did a dead person come to be inside his head? Perhaps he was well and truly losing his mind. Instead, he asked another question. If Baravar had seen the struggle inside his head, he made no indication towards it. \u201cWhat would you ask of me?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

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The trickster god reached into his robes and pulled out a long, sharp dagger, handing it hilt-first to Roon. He crouched so they were of a height, holding out the dagger. \u201cThis is called Nightmare. It was my dagger, but no longer. I pass it on to you, to use in your efforts.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cFor me? To keep?\u201d Roon didn\u2019t dare reach for it yet. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cIt will be yours, for a time. When you pass, it will return to me of course.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Roon swallowed, staring at the sharp steel cupped in the god\u2019s smooth hand.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cTake it, Roondock Garrick. You will know when to use it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Roon grasped the hilt, and the dagger shrank to his size. He carefully wrapped it and placed it in his bag, making a mental note to find a hilt for his belt. \u201cThis is a great gift,\u201d Roon said, but when he looked up to face the god, Baravar was atop his brass dragon. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThey will not notice this,\u201d the god said loudly, gesturing to his friends, \u201cbut you are free to tell them, if you wish.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Then, the brass dragon snorted at him and dropped from the deck of the airship to soar into the clouds. Baravar raised his robed arms and the two figures disappeared. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cWhat the fu\u2014?\u201d Thia started, getting to her feet. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Kilian also stood and stared around. Opal was gaping at the empty space where, to them, Hiccup had been standing moments before. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cWhere did he go?\u201d Evelyn asked curiously. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cHe disappeared,\u201d Roon said, gesturing vaguely at the air around them. \u201cI\u2019m sure he\u2019s gone to the forest already.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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They ran to the edge and peered over it, but the clouds were thick, and they could see only slight patches of green from the wild forests below. \u201cOdd, that one,\u201d Kilian muttered. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI liked him,\u201d Opal said. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI always thought there was something weird about him,\u201d Thia agreed, and they all left it at that. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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Roon spent the rest of the day locked away in the captain\u2019s quarters, examining the dagger. He found the edge was tipped with poison, and some darker magic he couldn\u2019t identify. He stitched together pieces of spare leather and fashioned a rough hilt for his belt. Then, he went back to their shared quarters and read until nightfall. His sleep that evening was more peaceful than it had been in years, and he drifted off to the picture of Arden\u2019s face. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cWe don\u2019t know where it will take us,\u201d Thia cautioned as they all stood in a circle on the deck of the ship. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Opal held the conch in her hands. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cIf we\u2019re dropped beneath the ocean, we have water breathing potions,\u201d Roon reminded her. \u201cOpal can transform into a water breathing creature, and I can do something similar. We\u2019ll be alright, so long as we don\u2019t land at the feet of two dozen fire giants,\u201d he added jokingly. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Kilian looked severe. \u201cLet\u2019s hope not.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cMarteen,\u201d Thia turned back to the captain, \u201cwait for us three days, then continue on your journey. If we haven\u2019t returned, we are likely dead or captured. In the case of our capture, we will try to get a message to you. In the case of our death, well\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI will await your return,\u201d the dark-skinned captain nodded assuredly. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cRight,\u201d Thia took a long breath, then turned back to Opal. \u201cReady?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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The genasi nodded, bringing the conch to her lips and letting out a low, long note. <\/span><\/p>\n

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A large, thick bubble formed around their group in a dome, expanding and obscuring their vision. In the next moment, it popped<\/em>, and they were transported into the strangest sight Roon had ever seen.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/main><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The adventuring party escapes Duke Zolto’s lair with the magic conch, leaving the vonendod behind, and travel by airship to find King Hecaton. After some discussion, they use the magic conch and are transported into an underwater palace controlled by storm giants and other potential allies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":783,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[18,19,17,14,15,16,23,20],"series":[],"class_list":["post-165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-giants-gamble-dungeons-and-dragons-series","tag-campaign","tag-cult-of-the-dragon","tag-dnd","tag-dungeons-and-dragons","tag-fantasy","tag-series","tag-the-giants-gamble","tag-wizards-of-the-coast"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/blog.alexisveenendaal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Giants-Gamble-Blog-Photos10-copy-15.png","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/blog.alexisveenendaal.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"amazon":{"key":"amazon","url":"https:\/\/music.amazon.ca\/podcasts\/09c34bbc-b359-49af-a286-31830ed5634c\/short-stories","label":"Amazon","class":"amazon","icon":"amazon.png"},"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/short-stories\/id1621456328","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_play":{"key":"google_play","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.google.com\/feed\/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGV4aXN2ZWVuZW5kYWFsLmNvbS9mZWVkL3BvZGNhc3Qvc2hvcnQtc3Rvcmllcw","label":"Google Play","class":"google_play","icon":"google-play.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.google.com\/feed\/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGV4aXN2ZWVuZW5kYWFsLmNvbS9mZWVkL3BvZGNhc3Qvc2hvcnQtc3Rvcmllcw","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0lcQCRs52MfYlKs35lVX4K","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"itunes":{"key":"itunes","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/short-stories\/id1621456328","label":"iTunes","class":"itunes","icon":"itunes.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/blog.alexisveenendaal.com\/feed\/podcast\/default-podcast","embedCode":"

The Giant’s Gamble Pt. 24<\/a><\/blockquote>