The Winds blew cold & violently. In the forest near the village of Briar Glen, the wolves howl in dark of the night, stalking their prey, a herd of Deer, munching on some grass. The Eyes of the Hunter glowed in the shadows.
The Village of Briar Glen, near the Aesnian Farmlands lay silent, except one mansion with big gates describing the wealth of the owner, where lay the bandits & their own spoils of plunder. Riches, Artifacts & Hostages, all in their hands. While they know not that, they soon were going to be hunted.
A Wood Elf, brown skinned, with brown curly hair with sharp eyes, in brown leather armor with a breastplate of steel, approaches a hooded hulking figure. Sitting on a tree stump, who was surrounded by company of half elves, humans & kets, some with shield & swords, some with bows & some with daggers. All in all, it could even account for a small regiment of an army.
The Hooded Figure asked, "How many?" The Wood Elf wiping his sweat replied "6 outside patrolling, I can sense 30 from the landlord's house, but I asked a little bird over there, & it said there are a few more in the other 3 huts. Some were emitting mana too, they know a bit of magic, amateurs most probably, as they didn't sense me. All in all, I can say, close to 50 men, same as us, including the 14 men spread in the 3 huts. The boss seems to be in the landlord's house."
The hooded figure, didn't say anything for a moment & then asked, "Any Survivors?"
The Elf shook his head, "No, except some women & men tied up, none, the smell of blood is strong. I saw some of the dead bodies of the guards over there. The Landlord is also most probably dead."
The hooded person sighed & stood up, "You did good work, Wyn."
Turning around, he announces, "It's time, let's make it worth every gold coin we get as payment!!!"
The mercenaries raised their Weapons & then before they could shout, the Hooded leader shushed, "Quiet, you Louts! You want those bastards to hear us?" Wyn Sighed, while the others went silent.
The leader, removed his hood, showing the face of an Orc, with a scar running towards his left eye, two shining tusks on the sides of mouth & ears a little similar & eyes sharp as elves, hinting towards his elven lineage. He had tied his hair in a bun. He wore an armor made out of Orichalum ore, thick & seemingly impenetrable, with a chainmail of black steel. He wielded an axe & a shield. A Half Orc, he is Brazulkh Bonebreaker, the leader of the Mercenary Group, known as the Swashbucklers, famous in the realm for their ruthlessness, especially their leader who is infamously known as the 'Kin Slayer'.
He said, pointing towards the house next to the once village square, which supposedly seems to house some of the bandits on guard, looking at the Ket, wearing a black garb covering his body along with a hidden chainmail known as shokuzou with a huge straw hat covering his cat face & spotted brown tail,
"Jeonjaeng, Take your men & deal with the ones near the house. Be quiet. We don't want to alert them. As soon as you are done, give a signal." Jeonjaeng gave a slight nod & went towards his group to explain the details.
He called Wyn & said, "You & your Archers take the right side of the square, the house near the well seems to have some bandits loitering, finish them off, after you are done, station yourself at the gates of the mansion." The Wood Elf, scratching his head, gave a clumsy smile & said, "Alright Boss!!" turning around to his men, took the wooden bow which was slung around him & raised it up in the air, "Alright, you heard the boss, let's go & give them hell!"
The Boss, sighed once again seeing Wyn in high spirits. He turns to the vanguard group consisting of warriors using Swords, Shields, Axes & Spears, "You guys follow me! As soon as Jeonjaeng is done with his part, we move & kill any remnants who try to escape! We enter the village through the gates, don't loot anything from the villager's house, mind you!" The Group gave a nod & readied themselves.
The Wolves of the forest now edge themselves towards their prey, surrounding them from all sides. The Deer herd is yet to realize that they are surrounded.
The Muffled screams & arrow releasing sounds are heard in the Village square & soon as the sounds came, they died. An Arrow whizzed past & hit on the tree near where Brazulkh stood, he turned to his men & said, "No Mercy!!"
The Group sneaked into the village, seeing that only dead bodies lay, they relaxed a little but Brazulkh was on guard.
Few of Wyn & Jeonjaeng's men were already looting the dead bodies of the guards & bandits. Brazulkh's group was already close to the landlord's house & were sneaking behind the Winery, when some of the Wine Pegs covered by the cloth, started moving & out stumbled 4 bandits, fully drunk & seeing them stumble, the men of the group were dumb-founded as though seeing magic.
The 4 men got up on their feet & drew their swords & grunted, "Arrrgh! You ain't going past us, mates or the boss will have our heads!" One of the Men in Brazulkh's Group spoke "Ugggh! You smell like a mix of Wine, Puke & Blood, You guys need to have a bath!" The eldest, the one with the beard & was huge in stature asked the bandit next to him, "Oi! Do I really smell?" The Bandit near him, shorter in stature whiffed the air & then started puking in the broken barrel. The Bandit scratched his head & said, "Eh? That bad?" The Puking Bandit said wiping his face, "Brother, you seriously need to have a bath. It's worse than a Rotten Egg or a Mold Infested Bread, even those are bearable for us!" The Bandit sighed, "Guess, I will take a bath after deali-"
Before the Bandit could finish, his head was sliced off & Brazulkh wiped the blood of the bandit on his axe by using the cloth covering the wine pegs & then he turned to the roof of the Winery & said, "Give them a 'bath' "
Blood sprayed when Jeonjaeung's men pounced upon the drunk men & it almost seemed the shadows of the night swallowed them whole, for when the assassins were done, only silent corpses remain.
The Group moved forward & stood near the gates. Brazulkh looked around the roofs, seeing Wyn & Jeonjaeung's men, he pushed the gates & he along with his group strolled in. A certain mist covered the area & there was blood & guard's bodies on the halls as they walked carefully. In the courtyard, the group saw a huge person, half naked with scars on his chest showing his deeds in the wars of old with a huge nodachi in a sheath slung behind him, who was calmly sipping wine from his gourd bottle. Below his waist, a purple dirty cloth was tied to cover himself. His bamboo slippers symbolized he was of the Huang He region. He was sitting with such ease as though he was waiting for someone.
The Huge Man was a retainer of a Feudal Lord of Huang He, he gave in to drink & fell into life of brigandry, when his men were falsely accused of treason & were executed. He rallied the ones wronged & shunned in Huang He, created his Bandit Army & after having revenge against the Feudal Lord who had framed his men, raided many villages in Huang He. Later, he shifted his modus operandi to the Aesnian Farmlands. A man who is drenched in loyalty & alcohol, He is infamously known as Sabuzoji the Drunkard.
Seeing the Group, he calmly got up & roared with laughter, "HAHAHAHAHAHA! The Kin Slayer has finally arrived for my head. But certainly, I am not an Orc, am I?" Brazulkh spat at the ground said, "You sure do stink like one." The Bandit Leader smirked, "HAHAHAHAHA, no more jokes. Come out Boys!" Then suddenly, streamed men with axes, spears, swords & shields, beyond the numbers estimated by Wyn, from the rooms surrounding the courtyard.
The Mercenary Group was dumbfounded! How were they hiding & how did Wyn go wrong, Did Wyn Betray us? Countless thoughts streamed through the minds of the mercenaries. Then , a man from the group nonchalantly walked up to Sabuzoji's Side. Wearing a heavy Armor of steel & wielding a great sword, he smirked & looked at the mercenaries.
This time, even Brazulkh's eyes widened, "You Bataldnr! Why have you betrayed us?"
The man, named Aron, he ran his fingers through his golden hair & smirked, "The Coin, boss. They paid me a lot for information on this. As if you ever care, Brazulkh! We all are Mercenaries, we work & fight for the one who pays us the most! When has loyalty ever mattered to us?"
The Bandit leader, patting the back of Aron , with a malicious smile, said " How does it feel, Oh Bonebreaker to be betrayed by your closest member?" Brazulkh while the enemies were monologuing, signalled one of his men to throw a spear beyond the courtyard walls, it would certainly alert Wyn & Jeonjaeung. While half of the stuff, the Drunkard & the Traitor said went through one of his ear & out from the other. To stall for time, he engaged in the conversation,
"Damnit! I never thought I would be betrayed by you, Aron! Weren't we like bratdurs?" Aron spat at the ground & grumbled "HA! As if! I was in there only for the money, Also why are you acting so sentimental? It makes me nervous, Brazulkh."
Then suddenly, Brazulkh smiled, "Yes, it really is difficult acting all sentimental." A voice was heard from the walls above, "Boss you seriously need to work on your acting skills." Brazulkh sneered "Shut up & let loose those arrows already, Wyn!"
Sabuzoji realized the threat & just before the arrows would launch, he shouted, "EVERBODY! SHIELDS UP!" The Panicking bandits who had shields, put them up above their head as to avoid the arrow rain, The ones who were without the shields or out of the shield's coverage were pierced by the steel arrows. The ones who had poor shields, had their shields pierced by the arrows & barely survived. The Arrow Rain had indeed whittled the numbers of the bandits down.
As soon as the onslaught of arrows stopped, Brazulkh shouted, "Don't Let them Recover! CHAAARGEEE!!!!!!" The Mercenaries pounced upon the bandits who were yet to recover from the arrow hail, & indeed it was a massacre. But even on the Enemy Side, Sabuzoji Stood Tall & powering, overwhelming Brazulkh's men & swinging his huge Nodachi, blowing away the mercenaries & injuring them gravely.
Brazulkh understanding the situation, shouted to his men to clear the way as to engage in a duel against the Drunkard of Huang He.
Then Brazulkh shouted to Sabuzoji, "Nanneun dojeo sinwa Ketto!" to which Sabuzoji responded "Dong-sho shmasu!" Both lunged towards each other & the clash of the weapons was loud & clear.
Due to his huge Stature & equally huge Nodachi, The Raw power of each clash was taking a toll on Brazulkh's Shield. Brazulkh knew it won't last, so as soon as he heard a crack on his shield, he threw his shield at Sabuzoji, distracting him, the half orc side stepped a blow & took the nearest dead bandit's spear & thrusted it at his opponent's belly.
Blood sprayed when he removed the sunken spearhead & clutching his belly, his grip on his nodachi relaxed, & seeing this opportunity, Brazulkh attacked him as fast as he could. Even while being injured, Sabuzoji parried his attacker's swings but his grip was weak & as soon as an attack landed, his nodachi dropped & Brazulkh slashed with his axe.
The Drunkard, barely dodged & got a minor wound which would have been fatal & threw his gourd bottle towards Brazulkh.
Brazulkh side stepped again & slashed at the big gourd, but as soon as he slashed, the wine in the bottle splashed at his eyes & he got blinded for a second to which Sabuzoji didn't let the chance go & ran & kicked Brazulkh hard. The kick made Brazulkh fly to a short distance & he staggered to get up. Sabuzoji by the time, took his fallen Nodachi & made a posture of an overhead strike. The Overhead strike symbolizes the superiority of the one who has the upper hand in the fight.
Brazulkh looked up at Sabuzoji, & Sabuzoji smiled, "It's my win, Oh Bone Breaker of Aesnia" & he striked at Brazulkh. Before the strike could connect, it got deflected by a kunai, Sabuzoji was surprised & when he looked at the direction where the kunai came, he got struck in his ear with an arrow. When he moved to remove the arrow lodged in his ear, Brazulkh took the opening. With his axe, he sliced at the leg of his enemy which made him fall. On his Knees, he didn't have the strength in his arms to move his nodachi & with half closed eyes he looked at Brazulkh & smiled, "You did well, Kin Slayer. I enjoyed this ketto very well. My Head is yours to take, Oh Bone Breaker." He looked at the sky & shouted at his men, " Nanneun Maketsa! KOFUKUHA NAUI CHUNGSEONGSUNA JAEULDSEI!!!!" The Bandits seeing their leader on his knees , surrendered.
Brazulkh smiled & said, "Same here, the chance to fight the great warrior, Sabuzoji the Mountain was indeed a honour" Sabuzoji sighed, "Indeed, how I wish you were my lord instead, then I might not have tread unto this dishonourable path. It is but a small dream of mine." Brazulkh swung his axe & sliced off the Drunkard's head & smiled sadly "Indeed, Mountain of Huang He, in your dreams."
He held his enemy's head in the air & shouted, "THE DRUNKARD IS...... NO MORE! "
The Wolves howled in unison to announce the success of their hunt. They dragged the three hunted deer's corpses back to their den to feast on the deer as well as feed their young ones
The Surrendered bandits were tied up & the hostages were freed. Seeing all the commotion, Aron tried to slip away from the mansion & he ran towards the forest, but before he could reach the trees, an axe struck him from behind. Crying & writhing in pain , he swung his sword madly before being punched in the face & when he saw Brazulkh standing in front him, he fell down on his knees & begged,
"Brother, please forgive.... please forgive me, I will never betray you guys again. Please Brothe-" Brazulkh kicked at his face & spat on him, "Traitors don't get a chance."
Dragging Aron with the axe still lodged in his back, he threw him at Wyn's feet. Brazulkh & Wyn smiled & looked at Aron. Brazulkh removing the axe from the half-dead traitor, said, "Use him for Target Practice for your boys, been to long since they had a moving targets since we aren't hunting much in the forest these days. If he is close to death, don't hesitate to use those healing potions. We need him alive." Wyn smiled & said, "Sure Boss!" He turned to his men & said, "OII! We got some target to practice, men. No better target to practice upon than a moving one!" The Archers cheered & Aron was dragged at the town square.
By the Time, the Guards came to arrest the bandits, Aron already faced death's door many times & was begging the guards to take him away, but Brazulkh smiled at the Captain of the Guards saying that they deal with the traitors their way & they shouldn't interfere. Fasnu Fistbane, The Minotaur wearing a red leather armor with a symbol of the Aesnia Empire, A majestic gryphon with talons of silver defining his position, vambraces of steel donned each of his arms & his black mane hanged below his chin, a double axe slung on his back. He is the Captain of the Guards.
Fasnu laughed & asked " Another of those stupid traitors? Eh Brazulkh?"
Brazulkh sighed, "Yes, yes! What will you do to the body of the Drunkard & the remaining Bandits, send them to Huang He?" The Minotaur gave a smile, "Indeed, it will improve the relations of the Empire & Huang He as we hunted the menace which they couldn't catch. Also Thanks to you, I have greater chances of being promoted or to be given a huge bonus! The Drinks tonight are on my name, Bonebreaker!" he smacked at the back of Brazulkh to which Brazulkh smiled, " Sure, but my men drink a lot, remember that! Also I hope you will send the gold as soon as possible, we got some men who died so we can send their family some money."
"Sure! I will send the reward through one of my men. Well we have rounded up the bandits, See you at Bog's Tavern Tonight! I hope that Goblin doesn't charge that much seeing I have got some extra coins in my pockets!"
Brazulkh smiled at the Minotaur's fleeting party & turned to his men, "Alright boys, We did it, You guys can do what you want & we meet at Bog's for drinking as you heard Fasnu, we are going to drink till dawn!" The cheering of the Mercenaries could be heard throughout the now deserted village.
Brazulkh walked along the village's border, he stopped & looked deeply at the forest as if entranced by it, Wyn seeing his leader dazed, he poked him & Brazulkh looked angrily at Wyn. Wyn Laughed & said " I never thought you were a man of nature, Boss? What happened?" Brazulkh said, " Nothing. Well I will step & hunt some game in the forest, you give me that spare bow & some arrows you have." Wyn pondered & said, "Hmm... Ok boss!" He whistled & one of the archers in his group, a man of small stature, probably a greenhorn came running with a bow & spare arrows. Brazulkh thanked both of his men & went deep into the forest.
The forest is illuminated by the sunlight pouring through the trees, as it was soon going to be morning. He walked slowly & carefully looking for a prey & stumbled upon a small pond, where he saw a white stag with beautiful horns calmly drinking.
Brazulkh was enchanted by the mystifying beauty of the stag & carefully tread towards it & aimed his arrow at it. Suddenly due to a strange rustling the stag moved his head just as the arrows was loosed. The Stag alerted by the Noise as well as Arrow bolted as fast as it could & Brazulkh followed. The Stag jumped over one of the fallen decomposing trees & so did Brazulkh. He shot another arrow but it missed & struck a tree.
He gave pursuit to the Stag & lo! He stumbled due to uneven footing & fell down flat on his face. He got up dejected & checked whether his tusks were alright. He frustatedly said " Damn that stag & Damn my stupidity of running around, I don't even know where I am in this damn Folras!" He saw in front of him some herbs & exclaimed, "Ah! Fireherbs, I can sell some of them to an Alchemist, might give some good coin or will get some burn potions." He stopped & picked the fireherbs mixed with a douse of orange leaves & red as fire as much as he could. He sighed & saw a clearing ahead, he walked towards it.
Pushing the branches in front of him he was dumbfounded , when he saw a mysterious tavern in front of him. He said to himself, " What kind of Idiot builds a tavern in the middle of a forest? Well my throat is parched might as well trade the herbs for a drink & the way out of this place."
He quietly approached the door & pushed it to which a bell rang. In there, he saw a Shady old man & a woman, exclaiming "Ah! Welcome to The Tavern for the Lonely Fools! What may I get you?"
Brazulkh laughed from the inside, "How accurate to describe my situation right now!" He coughed & said, "Ahem, I would like to actually know the way out as well as a glass of water. I have some fireherbs, so I would be happy if you could trade it for a water can."
The Bartender smiled a suspicious smile & said, "Sure sir, why don't you sit down while my aide will go & fetch the water?" The woman sighed & went in the storage to fetch the water.
The Bartender meanwhile procured a glass of beer & offered it to Brazulkh, Brazulkh eyed the bartender & said, "I don't have money, Old man." The Bartender simply smiled & said, "A complimentary drink, sir & yes I do know I am suspicious but I don't have any reason to poison an unknown person, especially the one who could kill me too." Brazulkh eyed the beer served in a huge glass & smiled, "Well Thanks, Old Man" He took a Sip & was enamoured by the flavours of the grain as though he, himself was in the fields,tilling for the grains. Brazulkh gave a satisfactory smile and said, "Old Man, this Beer is one of its kind. It may be even better than Bog's!!" The Bartender said, " I am honoured by your words, dear customer."
Before Brazulkh could have another sip, he heard a loud thud on tavern's roof & armed himself. The Bartender sighed & he called his aid, "OI Lass! It's her again. Go & help her if possible." A voice of a woman could be heard from the outside saying, "I am fine, I am fine!" & another figure entered the tavern.
Words for Nerds:
1. Nodachi- The nodachi is a type of traditionally made Japanese sword used by the samurai class of feudal Japan. Here we have used it as weapon used by the warriors of Huang He
2. Forlas- Forest in Umungrundia's Tongue
3. Bataldnr – Bastard in Umungrundia's Tongue
4. Bratdurs- Brothers in Umungrundia's Tongue
5. Nanneun dojeo sinwa Ketto- I challenge you to a duel in Huang He's Tongue. The Warriors of Huang He are pretty strict when it comes to duel & are honor bound to decline or accept the duel.
6. Dong-sho shmasu – I accept in Huang He's Tongue.
7. Nanneun Maketsa- I surrender in Huang He's Tongue
8. Kofukuha naui chungseongsuna jaeuldsei- Stand down, my loyal men in Huang He's Tongue. The defeated general in a duel in Huang He tells this to his men as to not incite more conflict as the men would then take revenge for their general's defeat creating more bloodshed.