Propyltina 28, 1000 PC

Post date: Aug 02, 2009 5:41:24 AM

Winter is in full swing. Just last year, I would have been deep under the earth, comfortably warm in the confined tunnels. Now that I am journeying among the softskins however, I don't have that luxury (at least, I haven't seen any tunnels in Redemption yet). Until Wintersky gifted me with these fantastic anti-cold boots, I was essentially trapped in the Blazing Griffon, which had a very nice fireplace. I do not think the humans really understand - how could they! - what it means to be a kobold. A human is always warm on the inside, and they are always ready for exercise. Not so with kobolds! If it is cold outside, our insides are cold as well. If it is hot, we are hot. The big difference is that humans must eat more to keep their always-warm temperature, but my kind can bask in the sun (or on a hot rock) instead. It is a fair balance most of the time, but when it is so cold as this, I cannot rely on the sun; I have to eat much more, like the big-folk.

Despite the above facts, I am something of an exception. Zazaltash's training was essentially this: to not be harmed by fire, I must become like fire myself. Indeed, since I started putting that training into practice, I have felt warmer than usual. I think my blood is literally heating up. So what will happen when I finish my training? Will my blood be so hot that I will not need food to sustain me? Could my head become so hot that my mind stops working with delerium? Or what if I just burst into flames and am consumed? This whole endeavor is probably much more dangerous than I even realize. But still, the rewards...

Wow, I am very much off-topic today. Blame it on me having too much free time near this fireplace! Let me cut to the heart of the matter. A few days ago, while I was comfortable next to the fireplace, a giant being made of ice rose out of the town lake and started attacking the guards. Well, the giant might have been provoked by all of the crossbow bolts, but he still should not have broken those houses! My companions and I had to intervene before anyone was hurt. At least, that was the official reason. I do not believe the others would have so readily put their lives on the line if said I wanted to burn the creature, oh, because it was made of pure ice! What a perfect opportunity to test my magic! I could unleash my most powerful fireballs on the giant and see if I could melt it! Now, there may be some moral issue involved here, but think about this: the giant stated that it was compelled to put out the nearby fires in the Blazing Griffon. I AM fire, or am at least becoming it. Us killing each other could not be murder any more than snow melting against an open flame.

Along with the others, I prepared myself with defensive spells (flying and my mirror images) and then went out to confront the ice giant. Ms. Sky made a good effort to convince the creature to leave for its home plane, but apparently it did not like that idea. It advanced toward the inn against our warnings. I decided that words weren't going to stop the giant before it smashed my second inn room, so I opened up on it with fire magic. Legeand, Luanes, and even T'Krosh attempted to strike the giant with their melee weapons, but they had little effect against the elemental's very frozen body. No, my fireballs seemed to have the greatest effect. But believe me, that was not a good thing! The ice giant became enraged at me and, despite T'Krosh repeatedly putting himself in harm's way, the creature lumbered forward to strike at me. Maybe I haven't made it clear yet, but this ice elemental was BIG! I am sure that it could have crushed me into paste with even a single blow. Luckily, the giant was tricked into attacking one of my mirror images, so I managed to fly to safety after that close encounter. Meanwhile, with the elemental sufficiently softened up, a raging Legeand struck a very powerful blow and shattered his foe into pieces.

There was still the matter of the closing up the portal that the elemental came through, but it was not a very exciting experience, so I will not dwell on it. Suffice it to say, we undid the magic of the portal with a focused dispel.