Medieval RPG Tale: The Warlock's Dragon

Blood Beardless' Map

In the docks of Aldraghor, a bunch of pirates near a ship were pointing their daggers and short swords to a tiger-like humanoid tied to a chair. The feline had a tail, white fur and black stripes all over his body, what couldn't be beheld once he was wearing a blue doublet along with black pants. Pointy leather boots with a "V" opening on the shins were tottering in an annoying turbulence.

"Hey, mate," he said to a human pirate stretching a short bowstring, all happy for his most recent loot. "Keep playing with it and I'll kill you first. You have my word" he sentenced with a wink from his blue eye.

Wearing a smug smile, the skinny guy with a gross moustache calmly walked to the prisoner and delivered a violent stroke on the tiger's face. After the blow, the captive started to laugh with a red spot flowing through his sharp teeth. Then he spat blood on his puncher's cheek and mocked:

"You hit so hard as your mom on the bed, pal!"

A lot of the pirates circling the white tiger instantly laughed, and most goaded the moustache dude to repeat the jab. This time he put the short bow and its quiver on the floor and was getting prepared to a thrash session when a looming voice interrupted him.

"You must be very brave or very foolish to try to steal from Captain Blood Beard, stranger."

The pirates opened the circle to their leader coming down from the ship ramp. A tricorne black hat rested above a crocodile-like humanoid. An eye slap crossed his face as the other, yellow with a slit pupil, glared sternly. He wore a long, wine and embroidered justacorp full of golden chains and skull-shaped buttons. A rusty hook was replacing his left hand, as claws pierced through the black glove on the other.

"Quite an archetypical pirate, huh?" sneered the feline. "You're still lacking a wooden leg and a parrot, though. And what's up with this name? You don't even have a beard!"

The crew seemed to get significantly nervous with that comment as if waiting for a thunderstrike upon them at any minute. Approaching the prisoner, the captain spoke through his reptilian snout:

"When I feed on my enemies, little bastetian, their blood streams down my jaw. Worry not, for I will show you right away. My men didn't kill you 'cause they know I love to personally dismember anyone brainless enough to try to steal my gold. May I ask what name should be written on your grave?"

"Oh, I thought you'd never ask. I'm Zooth, The Legendary Archer. You certainly heard loads of bards singing my deeds."

"None."

"So you haven't been around that much."

"Just the seventeen seas, twenty-one continents and some few dimensional rifts."

"I see. Yet not enough to hear my name, though, what is a shame. Anyway, don't be that misinformed about me. I didn't come to steal your gold. I heard that you have the map to the mythical Arjun treasure. I came to join your crew! I help you to find your treasure and, as payback, I keep the magical bow which it's said to be there. What do you think, cap?"

"Trying to join my crew by sneaking into the ship. Sure. That's a very silly approach, kitty. Prepare to be my lunch. Or should I save you for dinner?" he said, then licking his row of pointy teeth. "That's something to consider."

"Oh, well, I tried the nice way. Now you leave me no choice but to steal the map from you."

Blood Beard laughed like a thunder. Soon he unfastened the buttons of his black shirt under the wine justacorp. He opened the clothes, exposing his scaled chest. Horrible scars from old battles could be seen, but not only. A tattooed and quite a complex map was drawn there, all in black ink.

"I'd like to see you try!" the captain teased in a maniacal confidence.

"Hum. I was planning to take you down anyway. You know you're worth ten thousand gold pieces, don't you? Dead or alive. I wonder if you'll survive when I rip the map off of your scales."

"Such a daring cat, you are! I changed my mind, bastetian. I'll end you right now" said the pirate then nearing Zooth.

"Thus I guess it's time to call the cavalry!" replied the white tiger, quite out loud.

The pirates circling the prisoner looked confused. Blood Beard smirked with an insidious smile.

"Already begging for your life? There's no one here to save your furry tail."

"Oh, hold on a while. She's late. And sometimes I think she's deaf." Then Zooth cleared his throat and shouted: "I said IT'S TIME TO CALL THE CAVALRY!"

"And here it comes!" responded a voice coming from the mast top. When the pirates looked upwards, they saw a shadow against the sun. The figure jumped, spiralling on the mast holding a rope and then letting it go in another leap. Doing an arch through the air, a green figure landed rolling on the wooden floor and stopped some metres next to the pirate circle on the docks. When they finally could firm their eyes on the creature, they all couldn't help the laughter.

"Be ready, pirates! Barbara, the barbarian, will show you your doom!" said a little goblin wearing a spotted thong and some cloth resembling a bra on her breasts, both of jaguar skin. She was bald, had pointy ears and wielded an enormous warhammer that was clearly bigger than her body (which was about one metre or so).

They all laughed the hardest they did in months. Blood Beard commented:

"A barbarian goblin? That's the best joke I have ever heard!"

"I'm glad you liked," remarked Zooth, then standing all free from his rope. He rapidly took the bow and the quiver from the floor and leapt high enough to pass through the pirates circle, landing near his tiny green friend. All cocky, he showed off:

"Oh, c'mon, guys! I'm a bastetian. You know, retractable claws in all my fingers. I could have cut the rope whenever I wished."

After that he winked to the moustache guy, saying:

"Thanks for bringing my weapon. I thought it would be a bit harder to induce you, but lucky me, you're just an idiot!"

"What are you waiting for, you morons!?" shouted the captain. "Get them!"

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