Massive site refactoring

content/writing/meppa-3/index.md

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