《Ulghar the Ogre》


 Prolog

    ¡°Scratch scratch¡± the sounds echo from a deep cavern as a male dwarf tries to light a match for his pipe. The dwarf is seated at a table with many books and scrolls  ¡°so Benedict my friend you finally wish for me to write ¡®that¡¯ story after this many years?¡± the dwarf sighs then grabs his quill and dips it in ink ¡°you humans have such a short life span and you wait this long till your near death to tell your story?¡± The dwarf says looking at a very old man who is lying in a bed, Benedict struggles to lean himself  against the backboard of the bed. ¡°you know Farram if I got a year of life added to me by all your comments about humans short life span I would probably live till I''m 200 year old¡±


    Benedict laughs loudly and then groans from the pain of laughing, Farram the dwarf smiles and nods as writes on the paper ¡®Ulghar the kind¡¯, Farram looks at Benedict and speaks ¡°I''m ready for you to tell me the story¡± benedict nods then begin speaking, ¡°like all of us humans, we come to regret a choice that we been forced or paid into doing something¡­¡±


    Benedict was an adventurer in his youth, he was also a sellsword, one the best around. It was once said he held off a group of goblins and orcs from passing, numbering a hundred at No-than bridge. Long ago when Benedict was 18 years of age, the human king Gek the mad had hired him and a party of adventurers on a quest to capture ogres and their children.


    King Gek says ¡° I need your adventurous help. The surrounding kingdoms are plotting to STEAL MY KINGDOM!¡± King Gek picks up a dagger and throws it with a gust of wind magic and a rogue falls from the ceiling landing in front of the party with a dagger sticking out of his forehead. Most of the party flench as the dagger is yanked out by magic returning to king Gek''s hand. ¡°I will pay you six hundred gold pieces for each ogre you bring me, dead or alive. I still have my ways to make use of them!¡± King Gek laughs as the party stairs at each other scene fading to black.


    Farram stops writing and looks at Benedict. ¡°You worked for Gek THE MAD?¡± Farram said accusingly, Benedict picks up his water and drank a large amount. ¡°I needed the money for my mother at the time, Elven medicine was too expensive at the time,¡± Benedict says as he slams the cup down on a nearby stone table.¡± The lovely table who made it?¡± Farram begins speaking ¡°if you wish to talk about histories of items we can, But after we finish the story¡± Benedict grumbles but continue to tell the story


    So the party of six after the meeting headed south to the vall¨¦e des os where giants roam and eat the bones. followed by a small wagon train provided by king Gek. The party consisted of Farram the human fighter, Nadreza the Dark elf rogue, Fodrean the dwarven cook and artificer, Quien the human cleric, Bibond the gnome alchemist, and lastly john the human alchemist/ artificer. ¡°John always carried a long metal staff on his back it was hollow Farram he would put weird alchemical items inside it and it would sound like a thunder stone¡± Farram looks at Benedict and then speaks, ¡°I think he must have been a gunslinger they are a weird bunch the weapons they make are deadly and cursed, I saw a dwarf try to fire a gun one time and it caught his beard on fire¡±


    Benedict coughs and then continues speaking ¡°when we arrived we sent Nadreza to explore first, she successfully found ten ogres inside a cave, Bibon and john suggested we use a chemical bomb to kill them and seal the entrance so we went with that¡±


    Inside the cave, a Female ogre holds a smaller child ogre in her arms wrapped in hide ¡°young Ulghar danger approaches yet you don''t sense it, the shaman for told a day like this¡± an explosion can be heard in the distance, and soon after another one goes off as the cave shakes ¡°take this Ulghar it may save your life¡± the female places a small wooden totem in Ulghar hands and he takes it speaking ¡°mum why loud sound, what goes on?¡°


    The female ogre chants her tattoos glow and a wind barrier is put up around her and Ulghar. she chants again and the ground splits making an opening just big enough for Ulghar to slide down, the female ogre picks him up and tries to push him down ¡°mum, why you push me MUMMM!¡± the female ogre quickly pushes him down yelling ¡°I''m sorry this is the only way!¡± the female uses magic to close the hole as gas presses against the weakening barrier ¡°goddess Elanora! I know you punished me for accidentally breaking your statue while cleaning it. By making me take the form of an ogre and taking most of my magic and cleric spells away.!¡±


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    the barrier starts flickering, weakening ¡°I ask you to please grant me one wish, To give my son a divine blessing please!¡± time seems to freeze as an elven woman wearing a white toga with golden yellow hair appears, the goddess smiles then speak ¡°No, I will not give your son a blessing for he is ugly, this is part of your punishment, I chose you out of a thousand elves to serve me, and you did well till you saved that human boy by catching him and knocking over the grand statue in my biggest temple¡± the ogre frowns and begins to weep ¡°please have mercy on my son¡± the goddess then slaps the ogre burning her face, Elanora speaks again ¡°the only mercy you getting is the ability to still reincarnate your soul back into an elf that will once again serve me!¡±


    The goddess disappears and the barrier breaks filling the room with toxic gas, meanwhile on a nearby hill next to a stream. a large hole opens up and Ulghar comes tumbling out into the stream heading down toward a waterfall. ¡°Mum, someone help, Ulghar, scared!¡± time seems to freeze around Ulghar as the water stops with him in it. On the bank next to him a human with hair black as a raven sits crosslegged as a 12-foot ogre appears next to him with countless battle scars on him, a spear seems to be impaling him on his right arm. The black hair man says to Ulghar ¡°hi little one I see you are in a basket of hot oil!¡± Ulghar blinks and says ¡°oil? Ulghar in the water!¡± The ogre behind the man speaks his voice sounding like a stone being ground against each other, ¡°no listen to the raven man for he likes to trick and mess with his words, we come to speak with you little rock¡± the giant ogre sits shaking the whole land.


    Ulghar blinks as he says the meaning of the name that his mother gave him ¡°how do you know Ulghar''s''s name meaning, Ulghar has never seen you in the tribe before.. The giant looks at the human and then says ¡°may I go first trickster of man?¡± he asks the human who then replies ¡°go ahead we have time my illusions should hold¡± the ogre nods and then looks at Ulghar and speaks ¡°you do know my little one in the cave on the shelf I and the others watch¡± the ogre clenches his fist and opens it revealing a small clay statue of a war-torn ogre ¡°I am Tirik god of healing and battle, I have come to answer your mothers wish, I shall bless you with regeneration healing so that any blow dealt to you will heal you and strengthen you. I will also bless you with the skill of fighting so that you may protect what is yours¡± Ulghar blinks as he glows slightly receiving the blessing, he quickly speaks up ¡°you clay man, the the the¡­. Shaman and hunters bow too!¡± Tirik nods the motions for the human to speak


    The raven hair man nods and stands up dusting himself off ¡°well young one you do not know me and it is best it stays that way less a hero from my brother comes after you!¡± the human raises his right hand ¡°I bless you with the ability to trick and cheat death, so you may live long and old!¡± after saying that Ulghar suddenly feels tired and falls asleep as he glows again.


    Tirik looks at the man shocked at the gift he gave him and says ¡°why did you give him such a powerful gift a small one would suffice?¡± The man looks at him and smiles wickedly ¡°his mother saved a follower of mine when he fell, plus that elven bitch will probably try to kill the boy since he has elven blood in him¡± Truick laughs and begins speaking ¡°after all I¡¯m the human god of tricking!¡±


    Time resumes as the two gods soon vanish as Ulghar is pulled by the current over the waterfall. Right before he hits the rocks below a giant Roc swoops down grabbing him and saving him from impacting the rocks. The bird flies for a long distance heading towards its nest, but before it reaches it an arrow hits it in the eye and it drops Ulghar who is then caught by vines and lowered to an old human woman. ¡°Humm an ogre child, a blessed one at that¡± the vines come from the staff the old woman holds. A human range suddenly appears next to her and speaks ¡°grand druid alba thanks for the help in this rock  hunt but shouldn''t you kill that monster¡± Alba takes her staff and quickly wacks the human in the head¡± no young man, you see he was caught by the will of the staff made by the branch of an elder treant since he was saved by staff¡¯s free will it must mean he has a kind gentle spirit!¡± the old lady walks off with Ulghar into the distance


    End of prolog

 chapter one

    Chapter one grandma Alba


    A few days went by after the events that took place After the cave incident, grand elder Alba chose to take Ulghar home with her. The pair have been traveling for three days now, ¡°Ulghar is scared of this forest ¡° he says after hearing a loud howl coming deep from inside the forest they are entering, he nervously grabs the back of Alba''s robe burying his head in the cloth shaking a little.


    Alba pauses in her slow walking and turns toward Ulghar and pats him on the head, ¡°that was just the guardian of the forest, he is a great wolf and only wishes to greet us with his voice¡± she says looking deeper into the forest ¡°if it will make you feel safer you can hold my hand¡± alba offers her hand to Ulghar as he slowly takes it.


    ¡°Grand elder Alba I still think you should get rid of that runt, it could be dangerous those who attacked him could surely attack us for helping the Ogre¡± Renard the Ranger says to Alba as the three of them walk to where she lives


    ¡°Renard if you don''t want to get hit again I suggest you shut it! The boy is innocent, he is now in my care¡± Ulghar takes her hand and looks fearful at Renard ¡°Ulghar promises to be nice and helpful!¡± Alba pat Ulghar head gently speaking ¡°it is okay we should be getting to my home soon¡±


    After an hour of walking the three of them arrive at a small clearing in the forest. In the clearing is a giant oak tree with a house growing out of it. The tree has carved stone steps leading to the door attached to it. Ulghar looks at the house with wonder and lets go of Alba''s hand jumping happily asking ¡°Is this Ulghars new home? It not made of stones!¡± Ulghar runs around excitedly touching the tree and examining it. ¡°does that look like a monster to you Renard? Ulghar is just a young boy¡± a bluebird flies down from the tree and lands on Ulghar''s head and begins to chirp up a song, Ulghar freezes not knowing what to do.


    A few minutes go by as the bluebird sings its song and then flies away. ¡°Whoa, that bird was pretty!¡± Ulghar shouts, Alba opens the door to the house telling the others ¡°come on in and make yourselves at home!¡±


    Ulghar runs inside exploring the whole house and soon Renard follows him to make sure he does not break anything inside. ¡°The youth is so full of energy,¡± Alba says after closing the door to her house.


    Night slowly settles on the house as Alba puts a lid on the pot of vegetable soup she has been cooking, ¡®hmm I wonder what those two are doing I best check things out¡± Alba thinks to herself looking around her house for them. She finds Renard in the living room unstringing his bow ¡°so did the two of you have fun?¡± she asks Renard sitting down in her wooden rocking chair next to the fireplace. ¡°That little fellow ran around the house like a wild animal, he finally calmed down when he found my old lute and I played him a small tune¡± Renard replies pulling out a rag dipped in linseed oil and wiping down his longbow. ¡°I still wish you became a bard and not a Ranger, the animals in the forest enjoyed listing to your tune,¡± Alba says slowly reaching down for her knitting needles, Renard pauses in what he was doing and replies looking at the fire ¡°if I had done that then I would never get the strength I need to avenge my village and my family¡±


    Alba knits and speaks up as Renard continues his work ¡°I miss seeing you, if it wasn''t for the same employer hiring the both of us I''m sure I wouldn''t see you again.¡± Renard replies ¡°Well I did not think you wanted to see me after my argument with you as a teenager so I choose to run away¡±


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    Both Renard and Alba talk for a few hours, unknown to both of them Ulghar listens from the second floor not understanding them. Alba gets up to check on the soup and speaks to Renard ¡°can you please get Ulghar so we can have dinner¡± Renard agrees and quickly find Ulghar sleeping holding the wooden totem his mother has given ¡°Hey it is time to eat, you best wake up before it gets cold¡± Ulghar slowly gets up, the two of them soon join Alba and have a good meal


    A week goes by as Ulghar gets used to the new place he finds himself, Renard finds Ulghar sitting next to a tree with birds surrounding him. ¡°I have to go you little runt, but before I do here is a gift ¡° Renard hands ulghar a large box, Ulghar smiles and takes it slowly ¡°Ulghar only got gifts from mother in the tribe¡± once the box is open the young ogre pulls out long strands of leather.¡± what is this?¡± Ulghar says tilting his head in wonder and curiosity. ¡°They are hand wraps, this part here is a leather bracer¡± Renard replies as he shows him which piece goes where. ¡°Why did you give Ulghar this?¡± ulghar hugs Renard happy with the gift, ¡°I thought maybe you like something to help you train so you can defend yourself or those you love¡±


    Ulghar thinks then nods ¡°ulghar wants to learn, but he doesn''t know how to use these,¡± he says holding the wraps. ¡°Well I can teach you for the next hour, but then I must leave for Iron keep my wife waiting for me¡± Renard helps Ulghar wrap his hands and attach the leather bracers. Renard leads Ulghar to a tree that has old cuts in it ¡°this tree here is your enemy, he may not be able to fight back so we tie this to him!¡± Renard says attaching a rope holding a leather bag filled with sand


    Renard stands in front of the bag and gives it two quick jabs then doges back to avoid the swing back ¡°the hand wraps are for protecting your fists, now you try!¡± Ulghar nods standing in front of the bag and giving it a hard punch ¡°Ulghar did it! Ulghar di-¡± the bag swings back hitting ulghar mid-sentence making him fall backward. Renard barely catches him in time before he hits the ground. ¡°Whao you okay? In a fight an enemy won''t let you pumble them without fighting back¡± ulghar nods standing back on his two feet ¡°ulghar okay, just did not expect to be hit, can Ulghar try again?¡±


    Renard nods replying ¡°yes but watches how the bag moves, think of it as a fist coming at you¡± Ulhgar stare at the bag thinking it is another ogre, and takes a quick jab at it. As ulghar does this his fist and eyes glow invisibly as Ulghar''s blessings kick in.


    Renard watches with surprise as each fist that comes in contact with the bag looks to be getting stronger and stronger. Ulghar reaction to the bag swinging back at him gets better as the hour goes by. ¡°Well kid I think you might beagle to give some people a decent fight with your fist, but here are some tips.¡± Renard spends the remainder of his time with Ulghar teaching him how to improve himself.


    Alba watches Renard teach Ulghar how to practice and thinks to herself ¡®i remember when you were little Renard full of anger you took it out on that tree¡¯ Alba sighs, leaving to go make a meal for ulghar.


    As the hour comes to an end Renard turns to ulghar pats his head and says ¡°I must go now take good care of the wraps¡± he stands up to leave when suddenly his legs get hugged from behind ¡°you will come back to visit Ulghar yes?¡± Renard pauses to think then replies ¡°I will come back in two years by that time you should be a natural fist fighter!¡± ulghar nods letting him go and tearing up.


    Renard heads inside the house to say goodbye.¡± take good care of your self Alba I will visit again in two years, I''m sorry for abandoning you years ago.¡± Renard and Alba hug each other ¡°I would love that, take care¡± Alba replies


    As the sun reaches mid noon Renard heads out on his journey to iron keep both alba and ulghar waving goodby.


    End of chapter one