Path of the Bear King - 26/07/2023 - A Kavel Perspective

Weighted Sled Push - Super Goliath Weight!

It was time. I had been building up to this. 2,400lbs on the extended weighted sled. I say ‘extended’, because it wasn’t possible to stack all the plates safely on the weighted sled alone. So, we got one of the picnic tables near Kavel’s Corner, flipped it upside down, and put it in front of the weighted sled. We stacked the extra plates on the upside down table. We also had some of the bigger trainees sit on the table too, because there weren't enough plates to make up 2,400lbs of weight.

The 10 metre grass track lay before me. I gripped the iron handles. I set my feet. I tensed my body. I pushed. I moved 2,400lbs over 10 metres. Good stuff. Such a big show of strength. But, as gigantic as it was, it didn’t feel big enough. It felt sub-titan-like.

I had been given a preview of what peak Kavel would feel like, when I visited the immortal man, Alistair McCleary, and wrote some words in his Lesser Book of Destiny. My strength and conditioning were truly phenomenal already. But they still didn’t feel like how I remembered it felt back at Mr. McCleary’s house.

During the exertion pushing the sled, the sled got stuck on a stone for a second. During that briefest of moments, I had received one of those mind communications - the Sending spell I think. Thanks to Mendal’s many pisstakes with that spell, I had finally learned not to look around for someone speaking to me, because the voice from the spell is in your head. This time it was not Mendal. It was Mesikammen, the Bear King of Neuyeya.

"Is time. Come see me. Bring some friends. Path is best not walked alone."

Mesikammen put the directions to Neuyeya in my head. I saw a tiny bead of white light shooting north, far over the vast, expansive Angelbark, seemingly to its very northern end, over a 200 mile distance. I was also told there is only one way to get to Neuyeya; walking. In addition, the Bear King, the ruler of Neuyeya had to welcome you in for you to get there.

It seemed that I already had Mesikammen’s permission to enter Neuyeya, but the 200 mile trek sounded like a pain. I recalled Mendal had actually travelled to the very north of the Angelbark, I was hoping I could borrow the piece of rock he broke off of the castle there for Seraphina, and use it to teleport there and cut down the travelling distance significantly - no luck though. Must walk - no shortcuts. ‘Good’ I thought. There are no problems, only challenges, and a long trek is good for leg strength. Bit shit for Orianna though, since I’ll have to postpone her strength and conditioning lessons for a week, and she likes to practise her giant when I train her.

I remembered the other piece of information that the Bear King gave me:

“Path is best not walked alone.”

I turned around. I found Ivan was lifting a picnic table full of people’s drinks and food. I guess he had been inspired by my weighted sled push with the extension table, so he felt like doing something similar. Not a bad idea. Good for the gains. However, it was also likely the case that he was doing this merely for the accolades. You see, I had received much praise from the trainees who added their weight to my weighted sled push. So, now Ivan wanted to show-off for attention. My thicc-boi friend’s super thiccess is matched in volume only by his need for constant admiration.


Team Bear King

“Brah.” Comrade Ivan was now taken to saying, ‘brah.’ He was saying it very often. It was vexing to my ears. It sounded put on, superficial really. It made me stop saying ‘bro’. Ivan was trying on a new look to go with the new gains he had made recently, which were, to be fair, very impressive. I was very proud of my friend’s gains. Very proud indeed. But, I was not proud of him saying ‘brah.’ I did not voice my disapproval of the word though. Ever since our last discussion about his ‘extra-curricular’ supplementation of magical strength potions, Ivan has been (much more) sensitive to my criticism. So, I decided to leave ‘brah’ alone, and actually supported his attempt at finding a new look for himself. I just hoped he settled on a different look.
It seemed very possible that Ivan’s ‘extra-curricular’ substances may have riddled his brain, and this is why he was saying ‘brah’ a lot. So, a nice long detox trek in the forest would be good for him. All that said, he was easily sold on the idea of seeing the Bear King, because he wanted to drink the Bear King’s magical, potent mead again.

“Thicc Bois!” Ivan put out the call as we got back into the city from the compound. I had forgotten about the ‘thicc-boi call’ and how it worked. Suffice to say, it does and did work. We found Toothy with an animal in hand, it was a duck. There was also a hedgehog.
Comrade Toothy is like a drow version of me. The drow version of me is obviously very strong too. Although the balance of strength isn’t quite as intense in Toothy, it’s still top level. The balance of animal friendship, however, tilts very heavily towards Toothy. I have Timor, my gold-headed lion tamarin. Toothy has a different animal friend everytime I see him. Toothy mentioned making cowboy hats for his companions. I looked at Timor… and then asked Toothy if he could make a hat for my little friend. Toothy was happy to do so. I asked him if he wanted to go see the Bear King now? Toothy also said yes. The thicc-boi quotient of my party was looking strong. We like to see this.

On the way to Castlegate, we picked up comrade Felix, our musical and magically talented dwarf friend. Comrade Felix was also up for drinking some of the potent mead in Neuyeya, and entertaining the bears of Neuyeya with his bardic talents.

At Castlegate we were bowled over by a very large fey wolf that was happy to see us. It was Ulf’r - comrade Carnan’s faithful companion animal. Carnan, is our very old firbolg and divinely blessed druid friend - also my ice-hockey team mate. Carnan’s walking and sentient treehouse home was there too. I heard he now has a walking and sentient armchair too. Why must all his things be sentient? Carnan seemed to be quite familiar with Mesikammen and supported the idea that we must walk to Neuyeya and that he shouldn’t just do a big nature magic spell to get us there.

We stopped to chat with Carnan for a bit. Turns out he can cast that spell Mendal can cast where you create bland, but decent food and water, too. This is a great spell. We would not lack nourishment on our trek. Felix would keep our spirits up with his bardic talents.
We had a good number of thicc-bois in the party, and the spell casters were bringing some top level contributions to the team. I must remember to appreciate my non-thicc companions more. At that moment, I thought, “if only we had a cook to spice up the bland food though.” Then my long time and frequent adventuring companion turned up, comrade Derthaad, the dragonborn Watch Sergeant and sorcerer. In my mind he is at least Acting Captain by now. But, he actually isn’t. He is pretty decent at cooking though. On my really fast ship, Derthaad is the ship’s cook. The Legacy, the ship that is mine, is docked at Port Ffirst and on a kind of permanent loan to the Grey Zephyr Armada.

Watch people on patrol in Daring Heights had sought out comrade Derthaad to go check on the three heavies and two casters that were strolling out of the city. I guess it is alarming to see a team of experienced adventurers walking together with purpose. It might worry people that there may be an imminent attack from an enemy they weren’t aware of. So, someone had to investigate. Luckily it was comrade Derthaad. He got the all clear, and was able to join my Bear King party. Cook acquired.

I stopped to think of senpai Ghesh. He advised me to go see the Bear King many months ago. I would have liked to have told him I was finally going to see him, and see whether Ghesh would like to join the trek.

As I was having my thought, the bro in Ivan really wanted to try and lift Carnan’s walking and sentient treehouse. All the recent good gains had gone straight to his head. Comade Derthaad asked about all the ‘brah’ talk and wondered if Ivan was taking something. I honestly responded that I wasn’t sure what Ivan may or may not be taking, but whatever he does take, he takes a lot of it and while I’m not looking.

Before we spent any more time at Castlegate, Ulf’r grabbed me by the arm with his mouth and started motioning me towards the Angelbark. The wolf had the right idea. It was time for walkies.


Trek to Neuyeya

It was not clear who was walking who. I knew where to go, so I thought I was walking Ulf’r, and leading the others. But…

In the Angelbark, Toothy would stop to chat to every animal. Like me, Toothy can speak with animals. But, he’s probably better at it than me, since he doesn’t stop talking to animals. Ulf’r would occasionally have to go back, round up Toothy and get him back with the ‘herd’ so to speak. After a while, I think I settled on the idea that Ulf’r may in fact have been the one walking us.

We made a good pace, roughly 20 miles per day with an expectation of a 10 day hike. Everyone contributed to our progression forwards with their knowledge of forests, scouting, cooking and good cheer.

The invisible line that guided me to Neuyeya seemed to tug at me from time to time. I became preoccupied with thoughts that something needed to be unlocked within me, and that getting to Neuyeya would solve that.

With the trek going fine, and an uncertainty of what to expect in Neuyeya - some physical test maybe? I decided to just let Timor enjoy himself, and also to keep my muscles warm. I’ve found if I talk to Timor in his monkey language, I can actually start to see and hear as if I was inside his little head and had all his little senses. With little effort on my part, I feel I have become something of a druid myself. It was fun being able to see the little guy swing through the trees and experience his view of the forest.

To keep my muscles warm, I used my portable magic chin-up bar, and showed everyone that you could actually use the magical rod to imitate a Salmon Ladder, if you were quick at pressing on and off the button that controls when the rod is fixed in place. Good fun.

On the seventh day of the trek through the forest, we began to see a mist emerge from the forest. Carnan reassured us it was not a magical threat. The mist wrapped itself around me. It was weird, but comforting. In the moment, I was taken back to a memory some time ago. It was only until later did I realise I should have expected mind-stuff like this. we were approaching the Feywild - funny mind stuff like this happens all the time.

During my mental moment, I was taken back to the moment JeSathriel came to bring us back from Avernus after rescuing the High Diviner Rholor’s soul. The archangel man did his big plane teleportation spell and took us back to Daring Heights. But, in the time between leaving Hell and reappearing back at Portal Plaza, I experienced a dream that felt real. I was in a forest by the mountains and my ancestors stood high in the sky towering over me as I walked in the forest. At one point though, I became tall enough to see above the canopy as I walked, and as I did, I realised I was walking alongside my ancestors. I was walking among titans, and it felt like a destination I would reach one day.

I have experienced so much since that spiritual moment following the mission in Avernus. I’ve killed dragons. I have travelled to many planes. I met my amazing wife. I own my own island (and ship). And yet, I am not yet a titan. It does not feel like I am. I was mindful of my emotions. I felt frustrated, disappointed in myself even. But, the mist was strangely comforting, which was nice. Especially so, since I found my mind lingering many times on my concern that I was not reaching my potential, as the trekking brought us closer to Neuyeya.

Time must have been moving under Fey direction. It felt like it was the tenth day when the forest changed some more and truly began to resemble the Feywild, and yet between the seventh and tenth day, the time was indistinguishable.

I heard a crunch in the underbrush. An extremely large bear appeared, and moved towards me. I said hello to the bear. The bear’s paws were the size of my face, and it crawled towards me.

“Last chance to turn back,” the bear communicated to me. Not through its voice though, but with a feeling.

“I would like to continue. I am here to see the Bear King Mesikammen,” I responded.

The bear stood on its hind legs and towered above me. But the perspective seemed to alter, as the very large bear appeared to shrink a little, and then adopted a humanoid form.

“You have found him. Welcome comrade.” I recognised the face again, it was Mesikammen.


Welcome to Neuyeya

I witnessed Mesikammen perform godly feats of strength. I was told Neuyeya, the Bear Court is a vassal land to the Witching Court. But, more importantly for me, I think I actually found the Court of Strength and it is Neuyeya! If I was to join a Feywild Court, I would think it would be Neuyeya. But, I think you have to be a bear though, and fey. Also, the Damphenite Tangle is still my number one preferred location in the Feywild, because I met Nathalie there, and it’s her home. But also, The Tangle is kind of like a mountain, and I like mountains. The Tangle is a chasm, which is kind of like an inverted mountain.

Mesikammen’s husband, Euston, has a super strong bear physique. Much respect. Mai, their daughter is a bit disobedient, but very sweet. Mai met us while she should have been with her dad Euston, not spying on the Dawnland adventurers her other dad was greeting. Ivan met Mai first, as she was hiding, not wanting to attract her dad Mesikammen’s attention. She gave away her presence laughing at Ivan stumbling around. Ivan adopted a good manner to talk to her - at first. Somehow the good manner gave way to a name calling competition.

Before Mesikammen invited us to his cottage, the big bear man talked to us for a bit. The Bear King was taller than me at around 16 ft tall. Taller than me even when I’ve downed a Potion of Growth. His thick beard melded into the hair on his body. It wasn’t clear where fur and hair started and stopped. I thought I was a hairy humanoid. Mesikammen wore a crown of holly, had the largest hammer I’d ever seen and a teapot. He must really like tea to bring a teapot with him everywhere. But, the tea was not for outside, it was offered in the cottage.

Not for the first, or the last time, did Mesikammen mention that, “the Dawnlands shits demigods.” He seemed impressed with us all. Even Felix, who he felt hid behind jokes, and Ivan who he felt was not very bright. I tried to explain that Ivan was trying out new looks. The constant ‘brahs’ were not helping though. Toothy was greeted as a good boy, which to be fair he is, and Carnan was treated with a degree of respect that I didn’t feel was due to his age, but more his status as a very experienced druid. There was mention of someone called Augustine. It seemed comrade Carnan might be in position to fulfil an important role? Derthaad caught Mesikammen’s attention when he figured out something about the second task that was in store for me. Me? The Bear King was impressed with my strength.

Mesikammen welcomed us into Neuyeya.


The Two Labours of Kavel - 1. Lifting the Hammer of Messikammen

Over tea in the King’s cottage, I explained that I value strength first above all. The stronger I am, the better I am. Also, the stronger I am, the better I am at protecting people weaker than me, which is many people. It’s also true that the stronger I am, the better I can train others to be strong too. I also explained to Mesikammen that I knew for certain I could walk among titans. I had seen it twice.

Mesikammen listened to my explanation on who I am and why I came, and then asked me to lift his giant sized hammer.

I could not.

The hammer of the Bear King was immensely heavy. Quite likely magically heavy, since it was not leaving a dent in the floor. But, what occupied my thoughts more was that I couldn’t lift the hammer despite all my considerable gains. Who else do you know who can fly because they performed so many heavy squats their legs can now propel them into the air? Despite this impressive feat, I could not perform the impressive feat that was before me.

On my second attempt at lifting the hammer, things got more difficult - Mesikammen magically took away my gains! I was a pathetic looking wisp. I didn’t even look like a goliath child, because goliath children from Iron Mountain all had child-gains before they reached their teenage years, and in that moment then; I had zero gains.

“Strength is gone,” Mesikammen announced, “now how will you lift the hammer?”

I suggested I could try and get leverage on the hammer with a stick. Maybe use my immovable chin-up bar and some clubs I had with me. The Bear King was pleased to see me use my head, but was interested in other solutions.

“My comrades? Work as a team?” My suggestion was approved. Mesikammen allowed my comrades to assist. Felix inspired me, Ivan and Toothy gripped the hammer with me. Carnan summoned vines to reinforce our grip and lift with us, and Derthaad summoned his iron golem, Tac, to join in too. Together, the hammer came off the ground about an inch.

“Thanks comrades,” I said proudly. “Good job.”

Mesikammen was pleased. “First lesson; bear can not be alone. Bear you talk to, the one you call ‘Mr. Bear,’ is eternal. Even he is not alone. You might lose strength, your mind too. Not good to walk alone. Drink tea.”

I acknowledged The Bear King’s lesson and drank the tea. My gains came back to me! “This tea is amazing!”, I said. It tasted amazing, and it restored my super strong physique.

As I marvelled, delighted to have my body back, Mesikammen spoke to the casters among my comrades about the importance of ritual, or something like that. I did not hear, I was touching myself - in a non sexual way. I was excited to have my muscles back, this is not the same as horny.


The Two Labours of Kavel - 2. Lifting the Obelisk of Neuyeya

We went outside to the centre of the valley in Neuyeya where there was the biggest clearing in the forest. There was a large obelisk there standing around 20 ft tall.

Mesikammen put one hand on the obelisk. “You need a push,” he said to me. “You need something to happen to you to take the final step.” A smile emerged on the Bear King’s face, as he presented me with my options, “you can choose. Pain? Test?”

Derthaad had earlier pointed out that the task would likely involve both options either way. This was what impressed Mesikammen about Derthaad. I brought up what my intelligent comrade mentioned earlier. I also added that it seemed best to choose both options anyway, since if I was to fully absorb whatever lesson I was about to learn, it would best be accomplished by experiencing all options.

“You Kavel, very wise,” Mesikammen said, pleased with what I chose. “You will do good things. You think you need to do more to walk among titans. But you are there. Do you see?”

The question flummoxed me a little. I thought there was some distance still to travel before I reached the top of the mountain. But the Bear King said I was already at the peak. So, I agreed with him.

“Good!” Mesikammne said back to me, as he flipped the obelisk single-handed.

The obelisk made a crashing sound as it fell flat and created a seismic shockwave that knocked Derthaad, Felix and Toothy off of their feet. The obelisk landed a few feet away from its shallow plinth. It then rolled back down towards its plinth at the very bottom of the valley, and began to squash my knocked over comrades, suffocating the life out of them.

Mesikammen spoke. As he did, he forbade Ivan and Carnan from helping. “You have understood that they are your strength. Kavel! Save them.” It was also at this time that he did something to Ivan. Ivan was rushing to get my chalk from my adventuring bag and overusing the word ‘brah’. Mesikammen punched Ivan in the face to see if it would stop him from saying, ‘brah’ - and it did.

Ivan passed me the chalk. I chalked my hands quickly, and adopted a position on the obelisk with a view to push it off of my comrades like how I moved the weighted sled a few days ago.

I pushed and pushed. The obelisk would not budge. My comrades were not faring well.

I breathed deep, and then quickened my breath to enter a battle rage, and I pushed harder. Still the large stone did not budge and my comrades continued to suffocate.

Mesikammen adopted his bear form and roared in my face. I heard his voice in my head as he roared, “lift the rock Kavel!”

As the roar washed over me, my battlerage intensified. My entire body swelled as my muscles tensed stronger than ever before. My perspective also changed. I felt taller, I could even see my ancestors. I saw them, titans all. I saw them all. They saw me too. This time though, they were not high above me, but at the same level, as equals.

I pushed the obelisk with titan-like strength. I pushed the immense stone off of my comrades up against the beginning of the valley’s rise. My comrades were hurt, but no longer suffocating.

Messikammen was satisfied with my accomplishment and took the strain of the obelisk - easily - and whilst setting it back on the shallow plinth told me to see to my comrades. Ivan and Carnan assisted, and Carnan healed everyone back to full health.


The Neuyeya Mead (The Unofficial Third Labour: Don’t Over Do It On The Mead!)

Fortunately I did not over do it on the mead and end up with a head-splitting headache. I am no fan of psychic damage. I did get very drunk though, at the celebration. Comrade Derthaad is a darkhouse - he drank his fair share and was fit as a fiddle the next day. Felix awoke in a bush.

Mai came to the celebration and was excited to hear I picked both options for the obelisk task. I went and sat with her dads. They congratulated me on my accomplishments and we all, comrades and bears, had a good time together.

The next morning, Mesikammen offered to send us back to our homes with his magic. I asked if it was alright if I took a stone from Neuyeya to carve into a tiny obelisk of the Neuyeya obelisk as a souvenir and reminder of my accomplishment. Mesikammen gave me a piece of the great obelisk itself and some mead to take back to Ghesh. I was very grateful for both.


Weighted Sled Push 2 - Titan Level Weight!

Before returning to the Thicc Boi Compound, I rested for a few days so that my central nervous system could recover from the big obelisk lift. After the rest, and back at the compound I was able to push 2,880lbs on the extended weighted sled! Good stuff.

Ghesh was there. He came over to say hello and see my new strength feat. I gave him the mead I received from Mesikammen, and we shared some of it whilst telling each other about our times in Neuyeya.

I came to Neuyeya to discover how to complete my training and walk among titans. When I got there, I was shown that the only thing left to do in order to walk alongside the titans, was to actually get up and walk with them.