| The Tale of Salthazar Hu'bar and the Dire goats' cheese.; Salthazar milks a goat. | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: 18 Nov 2012, 22:54 (357 Views) | |
| Salthazar Hu'bar | 18 Nov 2012, 22:54 Post #1 |
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Matthew Stewart
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A true tale of the God-cursed mountains. Salthazar clutched his head, groaning as the throbbing ache battered away at his mind. It struggled to recover from double strain of coping with the Telemagic that had just shot him all the way from Athesia city to the god-cursed, while simultaneously coping with the mother of all hangovers. Salthazar was no lightweight, but compared to the men and women of the god-cursed mountains, he was nothing short of an amateur; and this time, it had got him into trouble. “What in the name of the scorching sands have I got myself into…” He sighed, patting his faithful stallion’s flank as he looked out across the bleak surroundings of Athesia’s northernmost province; a world away from his desert home, although perhaps similarly desolate. Rodriguez stumbled a little in response, attempting to get a good hoof-hold on the uneven mountainside. With a final snort, the Stallion resorted to smashing his hooves into the rock, digging himself a little perch in the rock. “I’Cannea be too much oer problem. Jus’ wrestlin’ a wee Goat tae tha’ ground an’ milkin’ it.. Wus’ tae worry about?” Dargan’s grin and Havwarlen’s stifled chuckle told Salthazar a host of things about the danger he had just exposed himself to, the mountain air slowly clearing his mind of its thrumming headache; though it didn’t silence his entirely rational desire to turn around and ride back to the capital. “I suppose…But the cold’s going to get to me first over this so-called “dire goat…”” Salthazar shivered a little, pulling his white robes close to him, the cold starting to eat through even the full-plate he wore underneath. “Anyway, I don’t believe your story for a second. Goats the size boulders, famous for killing even hardened God-curse-folk. Come now. Where I’m from, we herd these beasts. They do not kill us.” “Aye, but’cha not back home are you. You’re here, in the mountains. This is our land.” Havwarlen grinned, folding his arms over his chest “It’s not too late to back out though...” Sighing, Salthazar shook his head, and pulled himself up onto his mount. “No. I’ll do this. The honour of the sands depends on it.” At once, he felt more at ease, the familiar leather of the saddle comforting him immensely. Slowly, Rodriguez made it carefully down the mountain, slipping only a few times over the uneven terrain, breath steaming up in the cold as the group made their way into the woody valley’s cut between the rough spires of the mountains. The goats come down here to drink water from the various springs that pour from the valley; and that was his best chance to get the jump on one. Upon reaching the spring, Salthazar was hardly filled with joy. The terrain was uneven, and unsuitable for riding over at full speed, while trees limited Rodriguez’s manoeuvring room. Still, even if the terrain was better, he had to take Havwalen’s word on the strength of the Dire-goat. A straight fight would be difficult. Turning to the hulking goliath, he couldn’t help but ask for at least a hint “Dargan…What’s the historical method of milking a Dire-goat?” “Well…Traditionally, ye wrestle it tae tha ground and headbut it in tha back o’er tha ‘ead. Once it’s unconscious, ye milk it, and run away ‘afore it gits back up.” “Okay…Any other methods that have worked?” “Ehm…Nae. Sorry lad. Have fun with tha’. We’ll watch from afar. Don’t git killed out tha’…” “Aye, try and avoid it.” Chipping in Havwalen, resting his polearm on his shoulder, Tarveg remaining as cold as ever to the man of the south. “Meanwhile, I’m going to go find one myself. Tarveg’s hungry, and the wolf-pups need feeding. Good luck!” Havwalen turned away, waving back to the southerner. “Believe me. You’ll need it.” Filled with encouragement, Salthazar took a deep breath, tapping into his tactical knowledge while the rest of the gang moved downwind and away. Slowly, a plan formed, and it might just work. ----- Hours passed, and eventually, the dire-goat showed itself. It was huge, just over 10-foot tall, and broader than any beast Salthazar had seen to date. Slowly, it made its way to the stream, it’s keen eyes looking round for any potential threat, it’s muscles wound up ready to sprint at the first sight of trouble. But no-one was there. No-one at all. Apparently relaxing, it lowered its head, and lapped away at the stream, the cool, fresh water pure enough to lure even the mighty goat from his mountainous home. A light swish, and a roar was all the warning the goat got as Salthazar leapt from his vantage point; high up in the trees above the spring. Growling, his body slammed into the goat, winding it as his hands grabbed into the goats fur, attempting to stop it from fleeing. Beating furiously, it tried to shake the Warlord free; but a life of rustling horses and camels gave Salthazar a grip of steel. That said, steel was by no means strong enough to hem in a dire goat. Starting to lose his hold, he went to his final resort, and with a mighty yell, he bashed his head into the back of the goats, trying his hardest to knock it out. Unfortunately, it a mere human had no chance, leaving Salthazar slightly concussed, and the goat very, very angry. Shrugging its shoulders, it flung Salthazar from his tenuous saddle, slamming side-on into a nearby tree. Pain lanced up the side of his arm as bone broke on bark, and a very vexed goat stomped its hooves, steam bursting from its nostrils as it lowered its head. Salthazar attempted to struggle to his feet, but his arm was useless now, and one eye was blackened from the impact. Eyes wide in shock, he saw the goat run towards him, running at him at full pelt. The impact was enough to crack the tree behind him, making him cry out in pain. His sensory range was limited to the loud screeching of the tree collapsing behind him, and the angry bleats of a dangerous goat. But despite the pain flaring through his torso, he managed a furious grin. Everything was going according to plan. The goat groaned, flinching back from the impact; the magical full-plate it had just collided with being far harder than the typically fur-covered foes it was used to headbutting. Briefly staggering, Salthazar pulled a hand up to his mouth, and whistled as loudly as possible. “RODRIEGUEZ! NOW!” With a mighty whinny, the sound of hooves rang through the woods. From behind the goat, Rodriguez galloped into view, hidden downwind from the goat. Leaping up behind the goat, he levelled his head, and with a loud crack he head-butted the goat, half-a-ton of thoroughbred horse slamming into the back of the goat’s skull. The goat rocked under the impact, bleating in pain at it tottered from side to side, before collapsing into the stream, the water flowing around it’s bulk. Rodriguez shook his head, and nickered softly, he too rocking from side to side as he slowly recovered from the impact. Letting out a sigh of relief, he hauled himself to his feet, clutching his chest; even through the steel plate, his body was severely winded. Shaking his head, he stumbled over to the massive goat, and a he couldn’t help but let a smile cross his features. Grabbing a bucket hidden in the foliage, he milked the goat into it. “We’ve done it Rodriguez, we’ve done it…” He grinned, filling the bucket quickly. Turning to his horse, still rocking perilously from side to side, he chuckled, stroking his mane and filling up several water-skins on the horses flank with milk. Until he heard something large shifting behind him. “Rodriguez?” “Neigh?” “Oh no…” ----- Dargan couldn't help but smile as the Goat slumped over. Admittedly, he was sad that the bloodsport was done for the day, but it was a decent attempt at proper hunting. It was always good to “educate” the more comfortable members of the Athesian council, and while Salthazar wasn't from the marble halls of nobility, he proved to be a good sport about the whole thing. Until the beast started to stir. He watched as Salthazar leapt up to his saddle, and rode from the clearing, shouting to Dargan as he galloped past him, steering Rodriguez through the trees with his knees as he clutched his broken arm. “Dargan! Why won’t it die!!?” He shouted, the Stallion’s hooves a blur as he bolted through the trees. Dargan, in return, couldn’t help but grin. The day just got interesting. “Ach lad! You found yourself an Alpha! Well done laddie, you’ve got more spirit than I thought!” He shouted back to the “Tactically withdrawing” warlord, before turning to face the charging goat, surprisingly fast despite its huge size. Taking a rope out from his belt, he quickly formed a lasso, and waited for the goat to charge right for him, the goat’s eyes narrowed in pure, animalistic rage. At the last second, Dargan dived out of the way, and threw the lasso at the goat’s feet, the knot tightening against his rear-leg. Grabbing onto a nearby tree, he then braced for impact. For a few seconds, the slack of the rope ran through, until the rope went tight. With a mighty growl, the full force of a charging dire-goat ripped through his body, the tree he was holding onto splintering to pieces as his implacable grip nearly destroying it. The goat, in turn, yelped as it was yanked back, falling flat on its front, held back by the raw might that only a Goliath could provide. The goat stood back up, bleating furiously at the goliath as he became the sole object of his rage; giving the Warlord precious time to recover. Better, however, it distracted the dire-goat, it’s distilled rage blinding it to the rest of the world. The rest of the world, however, included half-a-dozen rows of savage teeth, and one cavernous maw with the strength to cut steel. Like bolts of silent lightning, Tarveg and her pups launched themselves at the dire-goat, each one causing the goat to stagger under the impact, completely surprised and shocked by the hail of wolves slamming into its flank. Bleating loudly, it manages to shake a couple of the pups off, but they landed safely, rolling harmlessly into piles of fallen leaves. Tarveg, however, didn't let the goat manhandle her pups for long, and with a savage bite, she went for the neck. There was a wet snap of the goat’s neck breaking under the sheer strength of the mighty wolfs’ jaw, and the goat went limp. Within moments, it was no-longer a threat, and instead became a feast for a pack of hungry canines, tumbling over one another almost playfully as they ripped flesh from the still-warm dire-goat. “Apparently, there’s not another one for miles around. We just tracked this one in a circle. We didn't realise it was an alpha though…” Havwarlen smirked as he appeared from the trees, his pole-arm still resting against his shoulder. Tarveg wandered back to Havwarlen, leaving the feast to her pups; though blood still dripped from her maw as she resumed her silent vigil. “Still, laddie did it! Looks like ya owe me.” Dargan grinned to Havwarlen, who in turn reached into a pouch, and grumpily flicked the goliath a gold coin. “Looks like your next drink is on me, I’ll admit when I'm wrong. Ah, and here’s the man himself!” Havwarlen grinned as Salthazar cantered back through the forest, his face white from a mixture of shock and awe. “You cost me coin, southerner. Still, good job; you did it the hard way and lived.” “W-Well…Hopefully it’s the last time I have to do that…Necromancers and spectres, I’ll take them by the handful. Dire-goats? I don’t want to see another one as long as I live…” He chuckled softly, watching the God-cursed-folk pour themselves a measure of their potent brew; not something a human of any sanity would indulge in. Looking over to Salthazar, Dargan, sighed and rummaged through his pouches. Pulling out a flask of Brandy, he tossed it to the Thanyan, smirking to him. “Ah, ye ‘ave it softer, dun’ye?” Dargan grinned as he watched the Warlord gulp down a good measure from the flask in one go, before coughing sharply, throwing the flask back as he felt the burn kick his insides into shape. “Gah, y’alright laddie. Now, let’s talk about Remoraz-slaying, that’s a mans' game.” But that's a tale for another time. |
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1:18 AM Jul 11