Grogg's Rest

[Papa Rock 387]

 

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGD5eBppJc0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXvCgI12Zrw

 

 

 

Art from Laputa: Castle in the sky

 

The beginning of a new life

 

The world was dark and he could feel nothing but emptiness. No sight, smell, touch, sound nor time blessed his presence. No matter how much he tried to reach out into the abyss, he was met with stiffness for he could not move. Suddenly he felt his form expand and pour out into something, as if he were a body of water filling up a tankard, a person fitting into armor, and then within a blink of existence, the blazing halls of the runeforge made up the world around him, beneath him was the anvil he laid upon.

 

One old dwarf, the creator Bolgnir Irongut, stood before him surrounded by kin, Korallon and Utak among them, who all watched with curious eyes. “As your Impera, oi name yeh, Grogg.” The old dwarf spoke, and for the first time in a long time, a vibrating monotonic sound released from the runes that made up the dwarven masonry of his body as he spoke in response, “Gr-Ogg”.

 

It had been many years since a golem walked the halls of the dwarven kingdom, so the dwarves watched Bolgnir’s work in awe as Grogg stood from the anvil, towering over all with a soft hum that naturally radiated from his runes. Once more the golem spoke as his gaze was set upon Bolgnir and Bolgnir alone, “Imp-Era”. 

 

The Mountain dwellers

 

In Grogg’s beginnings, he met the dwarves that lived under the mountains and watched over them, as he was tasked with not only defending them, but also learning from them. There he met many dwarves that spoke with the golem frequently, among them was Gimli, a dwarf who shared in Grogg’s essence, the dwarf’s arms and legs humming with a similar life as his, and Reghor who was a fine chef that made food from stone. Another was Korallon, a dark dwarfess who looked after Grogg from time to time, making sure his body was well oiled. 

 

The young golem became well known among the dwarves, as they watched him monitor the kingdom and lay waste to the enemies on the battlefield. One day, out of fun and jokes, the dwarves forged a few ingots of gold into a glorious golden crown with an emerald set at its center. They gathered around and sat the crown upon Grogg’s head, there they cheered a new name Grogg hadn’t heard before, “Grogg! King ov the golems!”. While they were mostly joking and celebrating victory of battles, Grogg believed he had been made king of all stone-kind. 

 

Once the mountains fell during a great war, the dwarves migrated from one mountain to another, and so Grogg followed, settling among them in their new home. A powerful dwarf made himself present to Grogg, Kazrin, who cared for Grogg and mended his stone form in Bolgnir’s absence. The two became strongly bonded and there Grogg continued on his duties, a king who stood among newly forged golems.

.

 

The Spring and Winter of the forest

 

Throughout the adventures of Grogg’s new life, he found himself commonly interacting with the dwarves that dwelled within the forests that surrounded a gargantuan tree. There he found someone who would become almost a brother in spirit to him, Bjor Cottonwood. The young forest dwarf showed Grogg the ways of the forest kin, the feasts, the drinks, the battle and the stories. Grogg witnessed life all around the forest dwarves, different from the mountain homes below, spring with color, color which he fought to protect as he was the wall between the enemy and the dwarves of the mountains and forests. 

 

What felt like nothing to Grogg, time passed, and his body became slow as it carried the damage of battle and time. The aged golem had seen what happened to the dwarves and humans who grew old and slow, under the idea that he too would perish, he met with Bjor and set beneath Anbella’s tree. The golem, in his unique nature, understood what it was to feel sad, but could not express it when he spoke to Bjor, so Grogg lifted the golden crown that sat upon his head and gave it to Bjor towards the end of their conversation, “Good. Bye.” he rumbled before he rose above and walked off into the distance, disappearing over the large hills from the forest dwarf’s view.  

 

Bolgnir called to Grogg and set him down in his workshop, the old dwarf wielding a hammer that hummed with the same life the golem hummed with. “You look loike yeh need a new body, Grogg. Good thing oi made yeh a better one now, ain't et?”. Grogg did not know what his Impera meant by such words, but he sat still and watched. The hammer tapped against his chest and then nothingness. He had returned to a state he thought would never return, his voice tried to speak, but could not be heard, his hands reached out, but not in sight, the whole world black and empty. He roared out into the darkness, a roar he could not hear, until the flash of life stuck him once more. He felt himself pour out and fill a space once more, but this time larger, as if it was a barrel compared to the tankard before. The world around him returned to his sight as his muted roar was no longer muted, echoing out in a thunderous boom throughout the chambers around him. Before him stood once more his Impera, “Shut up yeh dramatic lump o’ rock.” Bolgnir spoke. 

 

Grogg felt different, the world seemed smaller and his body better. The golem was sent off by his Impera to return to his duties, duties which led him back to Hefrumm. There he sought out an old friend, Bjor, to speak with him as it was only moments ago he left the forest dwarf. There he found Bjor standing atop a stone looking out over the village. Grogg stood before Bjor and spoke to him, but Bjor did not respond, the dwarf motionless, his eyes still like stone. In truth, what was only moments ago for the golem was actually years in reality, and by this time, Bjor cottonwood had died, turned to stone after his sacrifice to protect his dwarven kin. 

 

The golem looked upon Bjor’s stone form, the golem’s golden crown resting around Bjor’s waist like a belt,  and simply watched in silence, the forest kin telling him that Bjor was dead and passed on to the grand halls of the gods. This can’t be true, not to Grogg as he was made of stone, he could walk and talk, see and hear, so clearly Bjor was still alive, still in there. From there on out, Grogg returned to Bjor every chance there was and simply watched him, forever guarding the forest chief until his return. 

 

The beginning of the end

 

Years passed, unfelt by the stone sentinel that was Grogg, the dwarves he once knew now gone and his body slowing once more. The halls of the dwarves were silent and cold, this caused Grogg to wander in search of the life that used to surround him. In his search he stumbled into an unstable cave where he was trapped and eventually put into a deep slumber. 

 

The grounds shook and the mountains roared, waking the golem from a slumber that felt like mere moments but was actually years. The caves around him were weakened over time and so an opening was made, the golem pushed himself through and stepped out into a world he did not recognize. A large kingdom stood in the place of his home, there he found dwarves who were young, the halls filled with folks once more. Grogg entered the throne room where Utak once sat and found Jorvin who had finished fighting a great infernal war. 

 

Grogg left the mountains as they were unrecognizable, and walked his long walk into the forests. There he found Bjor who stood tall against the change of time, and so Grogg watched Bjor in silence as he usually did before he departed into the world once more, returning whenever he did and repeating this as if he were stuck in a loop. 

 

Father time arrives

 

The world around him changed, he followed Bjor over the seas to a new land foreign to him. While the lands were new, he was not, plant life had grown onto him and his body was slowly losing function. Most of the dwarves of old are gone for good at this point, replaced by new folk who did not know who Grogg was, their cities protected by new golems that looked different to Grogg, they did not hum with the same life as he did, but a sound new to him. 

 

The old golem brought himself before the only thing that did not change, just as he did not change, Bjor. Grogg did not know what to do but to continue his task, watching over Bjor. There, a sound vibrated the air around that called his name, “GROGG.”, a new golem that was tasked with retrieving Grogg for repairs found him, Grogg had to keep watch over Bjor and denied any request to be taken away. The new golem tried to force Grogg into a submission but this only endangered Bjor, and so Grogg’s body shifted and roared with old energy, one of his arms broken off from the impact. 

 

Once the battle was over, Grogg woke up in a forge, parts of his form no longer responded to him. His time coming to an end, the ancient golem pushed off the ground and broke free from halls that contained him. He took his final walk into the forest where he looked to Bjor, the dwarf’s body covered in plant-life as much as his own stone form, “Must..” His voice rumbled with a disfigured tone as he moved himself to stand behind Bjor, setting his gaze down onto him, “De-Fend.”. Grogg knelt down to steady himself at Bjor’s side, the power in his legs weakening by the second. “Bjo..” The golem spoke his last word as he towered over Bjor despite being down on one knee. The orange light within his eyes faded along with the glow from the runes over his broken body. 

 

He felt everything slip away as the world went dark once more, he did not scream anymore. He did not speak for there would be no sound, he did not listen for there was no sound he could hear, he did not look for there was nothing to see, and he did not reach his hand out for he was where he had to be.

 

 

Spoiler

This isn't a PK.  Also thank you for grammer checking, Evo and Blackbobross.

 

[The Harbinger 336]

"Res' in peace. King o' golems." A dwarf says solemnly.

[mateolog 1551]

Mao Blackroot would stand in honor of Paragon Bjor, who he knew as his beloved uncle. He would then nods in reverence to Grogg the defender of the holy Hefrumm whose great service he had witness ever since he was a bearding in a past life.

 

"We shall net ferget yer deeds Grogg. Yer name shall live on en tha 'earts an souls ef tha 'effrumm folk. Yer storeh well echo en tha 'alls ef tha Brathmordakin by tha voices ef tha forest folk. Yer 'oly prupose es ovah, we will carreh on yer purpose."

[_RoyalCrafter_ 3241]

Garedyn would feel a heaviness in his chest as he payed his respects.