[pnpgm] Update #157 – Raddok

[Bessie Hadley]

Raddok has stood firm to protect the King as ordered, but finds himself getting more concerned, not less, as the fighting seems to have stopped. One of the creatures appears to still be alive, since he hears Dorhak’s order to Unali to slay it. The stench from the creatures was becoming more overwhelming, even from where he stood about 10 or so feet away. 

Raddok’s concern is not about imminent attack right now, since both of the slimy horrors are down, but about the strange behavior of the king & the Bes guard - & the strange way the battle seems to have gone. Why did the king & guard not try to fight once the king recognized these strange creatures? He even seemed to stop trying to get past Raddok, & let the others do the fighting. 

And even more confusing was the battle itself. He could see much of what happened most of the time, but why were there so many apparent misses when his friends were so competent & skilled? It seemed that most hits aimed at the creatures’ heads simply passed through – nothing? 

He turns to the king & asks “What is the magic of these – Grundwergen? Why do they ignore hits to their heads & half the hits to their bodies? Are they part ghost or spirit? Are they just slime with no body in some places? How can we tell if they’re dead or not? How do we kill them, except by repeated hitting & slashing?”

Raddok still feels a sense of danger, but does not know what to do or say, other than to just keep watch around them all carefully. He stays ready for battle and looks around in all directions, looking closely for any movement at all - he even remembers to look skyward, as Fremea's sudden presence reminds him of that oft-neglected direction for danger.

Bess L. Hadley