MidReal Story
Lost on Coldwater Cliff
Scenario: In a world of goblins, gold and dragons a trio of dwarfs from cold water mountain are returning from a battle. They are lost on a cliff high above the goblin kings mountain kingdom. They still have 2 days of provisions but have lost their pack horse.
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The sun was setting, and the three dwarfs were still stranded on the cliff above the Goblin King's kingdom.
They had been there for two days now, and they were no closer to finding a way down than they had been when they first arrived.
Thrain Ironfist, Balin Stonehelm, and Dwalin Axebreaker had been on their way home from a victorious battle against the goblins when their pack horse had run off during the night.
They had spent the entire next day tracking it down, and by the time they caught up with it, they were too far from the path to make it back before nightfall.
So they had decided to make camp on the cliff and wait until morning to find their way back down.
But when morning came, they discovered that there was no easy way down from where they were.
The cliff was too steep to climb down, and there were no paths or trails that led to the bottom.
They had spent all day searching for a way down, but they had found nothing.
What are we going to do?" Thrain asked.
He was the youngest of the three, and he was starting to get worried.
He had never been in a situation like this before, and he didn't know what to do.
"We're going to have to climb down," Balin said.
"We don't have a choice."
"But the cliff is too steep," Thrain protested.
"And even if we could get down, there are goblin scouts at the bottom.
They would see us coming and sound the alarm before we made it halfway down."
Balin nodded in agreement.
"But we can't stay up here forever," he said.
"We'll run out of food and water before we know it, and then we'll be in even worse shape than we are now.
We have to find a way down, no matter how hard it is."
Thrain and Dwalin looked at each other, and then they both nodded.
Balin was right.
They had to find a way down, no matter how hard it was.
But it wouldn't be easy, and they all knew it.
The three dwarfs sat on the cliff in silence and watched as the sun sank lower and lower in the sky.
The goblin scouts at the bottom of the cliff were still there, but they were starting to look more and more like shadows as the light faded around them.
"We'll have to wait until dark," Balin said quietly.
"They won't be able to see us coming if it's dark."
"And even if they do see us, they won't be able to sound the alarm fast enough to stop us," Dwalin added.
"You're right," Balin said.
Dwalin and I will take care of them, while Thrain climbs down."
Thrain nodded and started to check his gear to make sure that everything was still secure on his back.
But before he could even get his axe out of its sheath, Balin put a hand on his arm and stopped him.
"No weapons," he said.
"It's too dangerous.
If you drop one, it will give us away, and then we'll be in real trouble."
Thrain put his axe back in its sheath and nodded.
Balin was right, of course.
They were already in enough trouble as it was without making things worse by dropping their weapons on some unsuspecting goblins below.
It was going to be hard enough climbing down without getting seen, but climbing down without getting killed would be almost impossible if they were armed.
So they left their weapons behind and set to work gathering up some rocks that they could use as weapons instead.
By the time it got dark, they had a nice pile of rocks sitting beside them, and they were ready to make their move.
"Good luck, lad," Balin said as he put a hand on Thrain's shoulder.
"We'll be right behind you."
Thrain nodded, then he moved to the edge of the cliff and started to climb down as quietly as he could.
It wasn't easy, and more than once he came close to losing his grip and falling to his death, but somehow he managed to make it all the way down without getting seen.
The three dwarfs crouched at the bottom of the cliff and watched as the goblins moved around in the darkness below them.
There were dozens of them at least, and probably more, but it was hard to tell for sure because the darkness made everything look blurry and indistinct.
They had been watching the goblins for hours now, and they still hadn't seen any sign that the creatures had spotted them yet.
But that didn't mean that they were safe either.
The goblins might not have seen them coming, but they would certainly hear them if they made any noise now that they were down there with them.
And then they would be in real trouble.
"Where's the horse?"Thrain asked as he looked around the small clearing where they had landed.
He didn't see it anywhere, and he was starting to get worried that the goblins had already found it and stolen all of the supplies that they had been carrying on its back when it ran off during the night.
"It's gone," Balin said grimly as he stood up and moved to the edge of the clearing so that he could see where the horse had been tied before Thrain had climbed down.
"It must have run off during the night while we were sleeping."
"And taken all of our supplies with it," Dwalin said as he stood up and joined Balin at the edge of the clearing so that he could see for himself that the horse wasn't there anymore either.
"Damn horse," he muttered as he looked down at the goblins below them and tried to figure out what to do next.
"We're in a tight spot," Dwalin said as he looked around at Balin and Thrain and tried to come up with a plan that would get them out of their current predicament without getting them killed in the process.
"There's no way back up the cliff from here, and we'll never make it back home without any food or water."
"So what are we supposed to do?"Thrain asked as he looked around at the goblins below them and realized that Dwalin was right: They were in a tight spot indeed.
They were almost out of supplies, and they had no way to get back home without being spotted by the goblins who lived in the valley below them.
They needed a plan, and fast.
But as Thrain looked around at his two friends, he could see that neither of them had any idea what to do either.
"We could try rolling some rocks down on them to thin out their numbers," Balin suggested as he looked around the clearing for something big enough to do some damage without being so heavy that he couldn't lift it.
"If we're lucky, we might even be able to take out a few of them before they figure out where we are and sound the alarm."
"No, that won't work," Thrain said as he looked down at the goblins below them and tried to imagine how much damage a rock would do if it fell all the way from where they were standing to where the creatures were standing.
"We're too high up.
The rocks will lose too much speed on their way down, and they won't have enough momentum left to do any real damage when they hit the ground."
Balin thought about that for a moment, then he nodded in agreement.
"You're right," he said.
"That wouldn't work at all."
"So what are we going to do?"Dwalin asked as he looked around at his two friends one last time before turning his attention back to the goblins below them.
Dwalin watched as two of them took out some rope and climbed down into the valley, while another stood guard at the foot of the cliff just in case they tried to come down after him.
"We could try climbing back down to where we left our horses and hope that they haven't wandered off too far by now," Balin suggested as he watched one of the goblins who'd been guarding them turn around and walk away, leaving only one left behind to keep an eye on them.
It wouldn't be easy, but if they were careful, and if they moved fast, they might be able to make it down to where their horses were without being seen by anyone else.
And once they were down there, they could ride back home and tell everyone what had happened and ask for help getting their friends back.
But before Balin could propose his plan, Thrain spoke up and suggested another idea instead.
"Or we could just stay up here until everyone goes away and leaves us alone," Thrain said as he looked down at the goblins below them and tried to come up with a plan that didn't involve going anywhere near them.
"If we wait long enough, maybe they'll think that we're dead and leave us alone."
"I think I like that plan better than the last one," Dwalin said as he sat down on the ground next to the edge of the clearing and tried to get comfortable while they waited for nightfall.
They were all tired, and they were all hungry, but the last thing any of them wanted to do was go anywhere near the goblins who lived in the valley below them.
So they decided to wait a little while longer and see if they could come up with a better plan.
"Do you guys see that path over there?"Dwalin asked as he pointed to the right of where they were sitting and tried to get his friends' attention.
"It's not much, but I think that we might be able to make our way down the cliff if we're careful."
"I see it too," Balin said as he stood up and joined Dwalin so that he could take a closer look at what he was talking about.
"It's not much, but I think you might be right," Balin said as he followed the path with his eyes and saw that it did indeed lead to the bottom of the cliff.
But before Balin could come up with a plan that would work, Thrain spoke up again and once again shot down his idea before he even had a chance to suggest it.
"It's too steep," Thrain said as he looked down at the path that Dwalin had found for them and realized that it was indeed too steep for them to make their way down safely without falling and breaking something in the process.
"There's no way we could make it down there in the dark without getting ourselves killed in the process."
"I guess you're right," Balin said as he sat back down next to Thrain and tried to think of another way out of their current predicament instead.
"I guess you could use some more rope," Dwalin suggested as he got back up on his feet and walked over to where the pack horses were still standing so that he could take a closer look at what they had left in their saddlebags.
"Or we could just wait until dark so that we don't have to worry about being spotted by anyone when we climb down."
