Roal's Tale (Part 3)

             As told by the Rochdale Balrog

In less than the length of one stride, Roal crossed the divide
between bright sunlight and cold green darkness to find himself in
the chilly confines of the great forest that marked the outer
boundary of the realm of the Grundars. For just a moment his
short little legs seemed to take on a will of their own and
threatened to bring Roal to a sudden halt, but with the taste of
fear still sour in his throat, the small halfling clenched his
fists and plunged onwards into the waiting unknown. Meanwhile in a
small hollow tree stump, a tiny surrel tentatively rubbed the
'ourat' it now clutched in its paw and trusted in the ancient
powers contained in this legendary sacred object to guard his
new-found friend from danger. Perhaps one day they would meet
again and Roal would relate to him the tale of his journey to his
people ... but then again, perhaps not!

Brushing aside the overhanging branches that threatened to bar his
progress, Roal sped on through the dank green forest, his eyes
darting this way and that in an attempt to ensure that nothing was
following him. Now and then a dark shadow fluttered into his
vision but a small change of direction and a quickening of pace
soon caused him to breathe a little easier. Roal glanced upwards
but the overhanging canopy was too dense to allow more than just a
hint of sunlight through and what did descend towards the forest
floor quickly darkened in hue, casting a strange green tinge over
all that it touched.

'How far had he come?' he wondered. 'How far is it to go?' Such
thoughts as these flitted through his head like small, dark
butterflies, each one adding its own pinch of doubt to the worries
that were already clogging Roal's mind. 'Where were the Korats
now? Had they outflanked the realm of Grundars or was there a
chance that their intense loathing of all that was 'Grundar' still
burnt brightly enough to ensure that they gave the forest as wide
a berth as possible?' With that, Roal paused for a moment, his
breath rasping warmly in his chest and took stock of his
situation. 'It is no good just blundering blindly on, I have to
make sure that I am going in the right direction or else I could
end up running in circles until either my legs give way or my
heart bursts with exertion and then who will save my people?'
panted Roal, quickly glancing around for some sign to guide him in
the direction of his destiny.

As a child Roal had often spent time in the company of Kacj, an
old and wizened halfling who dwelt on the outskirts of the
village, listening to his tales and learning of the ways of his
people. It was Kacj who had taught him to fish for the brown trout
and Kacj who had shown him how to bait traps to catch the small
blue creatures that lived in dark burrows in the meadowlands ...
strange little creatures with long ears and even longer back legs.
But most of all Kacj had taught him how to survive and to adapt to
whatever his situation was; how to use every means at his disposal
to ensure that he always found his way home again ... it was this
knowledge that was to serve him well now. Peering at a tall tree
Roal noticed that one side was thick with a covering of moss and
that the back of his mind nagged the words ... 'The north side of
the trees always protect themselves from the cold winds of winter
with a layer of moss.' Hopefully Kacj would be right and now was
the time to put this knowledge to the test. So armed with this
information Roal quickly took stock of his bearings and then,
taking one deep breath, struck out in the direction he hoped would
take him to his village ...

With his sturdy little legs striding out for all they were worth
and his arms pumping away by his sides, Roal sped though the
forest, occasionally leaping over fallen branches and
side-stepping the large rocks that littered the path. It was one
of these that was to prove his downfall. For as he stepped around
the next one to cross his path his foot slipped on some rotting
leaves and he pitched forward on his face. Some seconds passed
whilst Roal gathered his wits and then, looking up, he was
terrified to see the talon of a Korat dangling only inches from
his nose ...