Tingham
In Cryo Sleep
Part one 
. This is probably going to be in about 12 parts. All of this length. For those of you who didnt see the taster. Enjoy. For those of you who did, the bottom two thirds is new.
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Midge turned the bracer over and over in his hands. It didn’t look particularly special. It didn’t even look very impressive…it was just a dull, slightly rusty, grey bracer.
It had been given to him by his Uncle Kershan years ago. Now he came to think about it, in fact, It had been given to him long before his Uncle had even departed for Ashenvale. Then, all of a sudden this…thing had turned up and asked him if he still had it.
It was hard to visualise in his head now what the thing looked like. All he could remember was a very large, very angry owl. But when he thought about it.. It was human sized, wasn’t it? And human shaped too. ..but definitely covered in feathers. It was all certainly very strange.
Midge was a fairly normal sort of sixteen year old Hobbit. He lived in a hole, he had hairy feet, he was about 5 feet tall, he was completely covered in coarse hair and had a nose ring through his….well, through his nose. He was also, and we can say this with certainty, Bovine.
He had never been a particularly loud or objectionable Hobbit, but his habit of taking long walks into the woods had left most of the village with a faint disregard for him. As a result, he spend most of time with his best friend and gardener , a tiny Hobbit with a laid back attitude and a slow, laconic drawl - coupled with a sharp wit. Despite his tiny stature, no more than 4 feet tall, he was called (without evident irony) Titan.
He was, at this moment, between examining the bracer and shouting at Titan to mind his bush, making Tea. Hobbits were, to the untrained eye, cows. They were in fact also cows to the trained eye.
This isn’t to say there weren’t civilised, of course. It was just that everything they ate contained, in some way, grass.
Just as he was sitting down to his meal of grass clippings, grass cuttings with a side order of loose, natural, grass salad and tea. (Darjeeling, with grass) there came an enormous knock at the door.
Midge liked his grass as much as the next Hobbit (Which is to say : a lot) and he resented being disturbed at such a critical point in the day. And so , sighing, he got up. Pausing only to readjust his nose ring and powder his horns, he opened the door.
“Oh no, its you. The….the….the Thing.” He said.
“Yep. Thingy” said the apparition on the other side of the door, “Do you still have it?”
“The Bracer? Yes, yes, I’ve still got it. I don’t know why, though, any sensible person would have thrown it away ages ago. I cant think why I didn’t” Said Midge. Walking back towards his table.
“I can” Said Thingy. He was a good deal taller than Midge, and his beak made a resounding thud as it hit the light.
“You’ve heard of Catarsis?” He said
“Erm. Maybe. I know he’s some sort of Dark lord who lived long ago”. Said Midge
“Long ago?” Quaffed Thingy “Yes he was around long ago. He disguised himself as Suhuy. A small, fussy, jumped up little warlock and got himself into the world of men”
“Hey, I remember Suhuy. He made Kershan a brace - oh, wait” Said the Hobbit, full of realisation.
“Yes. When we was there he made four bracers. The bracers of the Wolf, Falcon, Whale and…..the master bracer. The bracer of Spirit”. Said Thingy, washing and polishing his break.
“When Suhuy went, we thought we were rid of him. The kingdoms of men kept the bracers. Foolishly”
“Why foolishly?” Said Midge
“Because he’s back. Openly. As Catarsis. The other bracers give him power, but none so much as the Bracer of Spirit. it’s the Master Bracer. It must be destroyed, and quickly, before they get to you.” Said Thingy. His breath short, his feathers heaving.
Midge was confused “Who are they? How do I destroy it? Where do I go?”
Thingy stared at him for a moment, as if weighing him up for the task ahead, then he spoke with precision and speed. “You must leave Mulgore and head north, up the Barrens, stop in the Orc city of Orgrimmar to arm yourselves before you get the Zepplin to Undercity. Head eastward out of the Undercity across the lands controlled by the vengeful un-dead, then head south, near Human lands and cast the ring into Blackrock mountain. Okay?”
“No” Said Midge
“Wrong answer” Said Thingy. Then suddenly jumped up, ran to the window and dragged Titan through it.
“This is an outrage!” said Titan, being hurled backwards onto the kitchen table.
“Were you spying?” Shouted Thingy, only the barest of squawks entering his dulcet tones.
“No. I was just cutting my bush” Said Titan
“Well volunteered. Your going with him” Said Thingy “I will meet you both in Orgrimmar. Be on your way, and quickly. Oh and beware. There is a gimp who desperately seeks the Bracer. He will do anything to get it. Some call him Umbrator. Beware him. And DO NOT wear the bracer. It corrupts all who do, like it did him. ”
As the Owl Thing departed, Midge reflected that he still didn’t know who “They” were.
And so the Hobbits departed. They walked with a spring in their hoof beats down the grassy plains of Mulgore. Stopping occasionally to kill, skin and eat a seven foot tall chicken. Despite this, they made good progress and late in the day they reached southern Mulgore, where the corn stood as high as Midge’s nose ring, so much so that he often accidentally snorted it. Titan would later remark that he farted flour. It was as they were walking through this corn maze eastward towards the Barrens that they heard voices coming down a side-path.
“Bring on the trumpets!” Said one
“That is absolutely super!” Said the other
“Excellent Bradley” Replied the first.
“This evening is going to be such fun Jamiekins!” Replied the one known as Bradley
“They always are, my friend, they always are” Replied Jamiekins.
As Midge and Titan reached the two hobbits, they saw that they were holding hands. Midge knew there and then he wanted to travel with such close, friendly souls.
“Hey guys” Said Midge. Imaginative as always.
“Why hello there little fellow. You’re a ducky one” Said Bradley. “Im Bradley and This is Jamiekins..erm..this is Jamie
. This is probably going to be in about 12 parts. All of this length. For those of you who didnt see the taster. Enjoy. For those of you who did, the bottom two thirds is new. ------------------
Midge turned the bracer over and over in his hands. It didn’t look particularly special. It didn’t even look very impressive…it was just a dull, slightly rusty, grey bracer.
It had been given to him by his Uncle Kershan years ago. Now he came to think about it, in fact, It had been given to him long before his Uncle had even departed for Ashenvale. Then, all of a sudden this…thing had turned up and asked him if he still had it.
It was hard to visualise in his head now what the thing looked like. All he could remember was a very large, very angry owl. But when he thought about it.. It was human sized, wasn’t it? And human shaped too. ..but definitely covered in feathers. It was all certainly very strange.
Midge was a fairly normal sort of sixteen year old Hobbit. He lived in a hole, he had hairy feet, he was about 5 feet tall, he was completely covered in coarse hair and had a nose ring through his….well, through his nose. He was also, and we can say this with certainty, Bovine.
He had never been a particularly loud or objectionable Hobbit, but his habit of taking long walks into the woods had left most of the village with a faint disregard for him. As a result, he spend most of time with his best friend and gardener , a tiny Hobbit with a laid back attitude and a slow, laconic drawl - coupled with a sharp wit. Despite his tiny stature, no more than 4 feet tall, he was called (without evident irony) Titan.
He was, at this moment, between examining the bracer and shouting at Titan to mind his bush, making Tea. Hobbits were, to the untrained eye, cows. They were in fact also cows to the trained eye.
This isn’t to say there weren’t civilised, of course. It was just that everything they ate contained, in some way, grass.
Just as he was sitting down to his meal of grass clippings, grass cuttings with a side order of loose, natural, grass salad and tea. (Darjeeling, with grass) there came an enormous knock at the door.
Midge liked his grass as much as the next Hobbit (Which is to say : a lot) and he resented being disturbed at such a critical point in the day. And so , sighing, he got up. Pausing only to readjust his nose ring and powder his horns, he opened the door.
“Oh no, its you. The….the….the Thing.” He said.
“Yep. Thingy” said the apparition on the other side of the door, “Do you still have it?”
“The Bracer? Yes, yes, I’ve still got it. I don’t know why, though, any sensible person would have thrown it away ages ago. I cant think why I didn’t” Said Midge. Walking back towards his table.
“I can” Said Thingy. He was a good deal taller than Midge, and his beak made a resounding thud as it hit the light.
“You’ve heard of Catarsis?” He said
“Erm. Maybe. I know he’s some sort of Dark lord who lived long ago”. Said Midge
“Long ago?” Quaffed Thingy “Yes he was around long ago. He disguised himself as Suhuy. A small, fussy, jumped up little warlock and got himself into the world of men”
“Hey, I remember Suhuy. He made Kershan a brace - oh, wait” Said the Hobbit, full of realisation.
“Yes. When we was there he made four bracers. The bracers of the Wolf, Falcon, Whale and…..the master bracer. The bracer of Spirit”. Said Thingy, washing and polishing his break.
“When Suhuy went, we thought we were rid of him. The kingdoms of men kept the bracers. Foolishly”
“Why foolishly?” Said Midge
“Because he’s back. Openly. As Catarsis. The other bracers give him power, but none so much as the Bracer of Spirit. it’s the Master Bracer. It must be destroyed, and quickly, before they get to you.” Said Thingy. His breath short, his feathers heaving.
Midge was confused “Who are they? How do I destroy it? Where do I go?”
Thingy stared at him for a moment, as if weighing him up for the task ahead, then he spoke with precision and speed. “You must leave Mulgore and head north, up the Barrens, stop in the Orc city of Orgrimmar to arm yourselves before you get the Zepplin to Undercity. Head eastward out of the Undercity across the lands controlled by the vengeful un-dead, then head south, near Human lands and cast the ring into Blackrock mountain. Okay?”
“No” Said Midge
“Wrong answer” Said Thingy. Then suddenly jumped up, ran to the window and dragged Titan through it.
“This is an outrage!” said Titan, being hurled backwards onto the kitchen table.
“Were you spying?” Shouted Thingy, only the barest of squawks entering his dulcet tones.
“No. I was just cutting my bush” Said Titan
“Well volunteered. Your going with him” Said Thingy “I will meet you both in Orgrimmar. Be on your way, and quickly. Oh and beware. There is a gimp who desperately seeks the Bracer. He will do anything to get it. Some call him Umbrator. Beware him. And DO NOT wear the bracer. It corrupts all who do, like it did him. ”
As the Owl Thing departed, Midge reflected that he still didn’t know who “They” were.
And so the Hobbits departed. They walked with a spring in their hoof beats down the grassy plains of Mulgore. Stopping occasionally to kill, skin and eat a seven foot tall chicken. Despite this, they made good progress and late in the day they reached southern Mulgore, where the corn stood as high as Midge’s nose ring, so much so that he often accidentally snorted it. Titan would later remark that he farted flour. It was as they were walking through this corn maze eastward towards the Barrens that they heard voices coming down a side-path.
“Bring on the trumpets!” Said one
“That is absolutely super!” Said the other
“Excellent Bradley” Replied the first.
“This evening is going to be such fun Jamiekins!” Replied the one known as Bradley
“They always are, my friend, they always are” Replied Jamiekins.
As Midge and Titan reached the two hobbits, they saw that they were holding hands. Midge knew there and then he wanted to travel with such close, friendly souls.
“Hey guys” Said Midge. Imaginative as always.
“Why hello there little fellow. You’re a ducky one” Said Bradley. “Im Bradley and This is Jamiekins..erm..this is Jamie
