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44 lines
3.0 KiB
Markdown
44 lines
3.0 KiB
Markdown
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date = '2026-05-29T16:00:00-06:00'
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draft = true
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title = "Those Who are Underfoot, Chapter Three"
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summary = "Meppa and her company are lost, they need to continue their journey."
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tags = ['story', 'meppa the kobold']
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showTableOfContents = false
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showPagination = false
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showZenMode = true
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## Chapter Three
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He vanished in the night. No one knew where he went or if he went there voluntarily, but **Kip** was gone. **Meppa**
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was convinced he had probably been eaten by some monster, perhaps the same that had mauled her a week prior. Her neck
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had still not healed fully, even with medical attention from **Silbin** the healer of the group. Thanks to her, **Meppa**
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was likely to make a full recovery, but that was not her primary concern.
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With the group gathered around their meager fire, one question remained, where do we go from here? **Meppa** just wanted
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to curl up and die, to dig a hole to hide in, maybe fill that hole with spikes...
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It was **Dekkara** who took charge in the end. She said simply that, "If we head towards **Kaelrath**, we head towards
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our goal. She is watching over us!" This did seem to inspire the group with some hope, and even **Meppa** felt a bit of
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hope despite the desperation that she was drowning in. They decided the best course of action was to keep heading towards
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**Kaelrath** and avoid any **Tall Creature** towns.
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Leaving the outskirts of **Holey Town**, they could see **Kaelrath** through a break in the mountain range decorated
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with thick fogs. This was their most promising direction to head, and **Meppa** was certain their path would not take
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them through fogs. Without their navigator or even a map, their best bet was to travel as directly as they could. They
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soon found a river that cut through the mountain range. Following it, they reached a point in the river where it was
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joined by another creating an impassible obstacle, water.
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They put as much ingenuity as they could come up with to solve the problem, one considered a raft, but without proper
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materials or time this was not an option, another was to follow the river until its beginning. The idea that took the
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most interest was a catapult. They would simply propel themselves across, and its design was going to be significantly
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simpler than a raft. **Meppa** found herself as the unwilling test subject for the catapult, not only since she was
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unskilled at the arts of construction, but also due to the animosity that her traveling party had grown for her and her
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sister. **Dekkara** reassured her that it would be OK, **Meppa** was uncertain, she was not a strong swimmer, and the
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river was likely to sweep her away.
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When the contraption was finalized, a rudimentary rope and a couple logs quickly assembled, **Meppa** found herself
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seated on the device with great uncertainty. The rope used to provide tension creaked and groaned under the stress it
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found itself in, threatening to explode at any moment. Her group released the catapult arm and **Meppa** found herself
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flying, she felt her stomach fly into her chest. The world went into slow motion as her heart raced |