09-02-2015, 07:07 AM
-3 hours later-
“A mobile dataverse device… I’ll need to acquire one at the earliest convenience.” Raal muttered to himself, before shifting his focus to the younger troll in front of him. He’d been walking(Well, riding - his horse was more than capable of braving the steeps like no ordinary horse could) through ever deeper tundra, together with his troll guide, for quite some time now. The wind howled all around them, but it seemed to affect his guide no more than it did him. Raal had worried about his guide’s apparent youth, but this Zul’kis seemed to at least act professional.
“So, if I recall correctly, you’re leading me to a small dwarven camp, Zul’kis. Tell me about the surrounding area.”
Zul’kis spoke in a low tone. “Why you be needin’ to know that?”
Raal snorted in derision, unable to stop himself in front of this upstart. “Tactics. There are many ways to deal with opponents other than simple application of brute force. And even the strike of an axe has to be carefully aimed to cause the greatest effect. Tell me of the surrounding area.”
Zul’kis took his time answering, but Raal, at this point, understood the difference between them. Zul’kis was a secondary, while Raal was a prime. Antagonizing him to single combat had the potential only to secure eventual death. He would cooperate as much as he could.
“Dey be making a small village on the plains. Not much cover, but they’ve built some walls outta logs. I think fifty in total, most of 'em know their way around a weapon, but not many real soldiers. They don’t know they been discovered in the mountains.
Raal smiled. “Perfect. what is surrounding them?”
“To the south, there be a mountain pass to a dwarf keep. I ain’t takin’ ya anywhere near that. Too many warriors. the east and west got some wampas, and there be some mines there the Dwarves use. We plan on raidin' em by the next full moon.”
“Raiding?” The warlock sat up straighter. “not capturing?”
Zul’kis shrugged. “If we tried, the dwarves’d know what we were up too just a li’l too quick. so we let ‘em keep it. It’s too hard to defend ‘em and the village there acts as an early-warning system.” He explained.
“... I see.” Raal said. “and what of the north.”
“there be a giant who lives there. The Dwarves be careful not to disturb him, though. Even give him iron tools, from time to time. He thinks he's a blacksmith…” Zul’kis laughed as he explained this. “All he really does is beat rocks into a crumbled mess and call it a sword. Still… He’s got no problem eat’n ye, if you choose to say that to his face.” The younger troll explained.
A grin shone briefly behind his tusks at that joke, before something suddenly shifted, as though he’d seen something ugly on Raal’s face. The death knight thought this curious, but chose not to comment. Then again, he mused, what part of his face wasn’t ugly, nowadays?
“Very well. Take me to the giant, then.”
“Takin’ him on first, then?”
raal shook his head. “I’ve no intention of fighting him.”
Zul’kis raised his axe slightly at that comment, raising an eyebrow suspiciously. “My orders are t’see you do your task, Death Knight, or to rip you to pieces. You thinking of bowing out now?”
Raal laughed, watching the troll slip into a pathetic fighting stance. It was not merely the off-balance pose, but the fact that, while clumsy, the pose brought back a wave of nostalgia, something Raal had not felt in a long time.
“You look ridiculous. pull your back foot forward an inch if you wish to hit a target accurately, fool. I’d been under the impression you were competent.”.
Zul’kis’s nose flared at the insult, but his grip on the axe softened slightly, uncertainty rippling through him.
“My task, if I recall correctly, speaks nothing of fighting a giant. Merely obtaining his tooth. By the end of today, I shall recover such - along with the skull of a dwarf. The rest of them can serve as sustenance for you, I’m sure.”.
Zul’kis relaxed slightly. “You got some sorta fancy plan, then?”
The undead warlock paused a second before answering. “Despite my small detachment, I was once considered greater than any of the generals of the horde, save for Doomhammer himself. Today, you shall see why.”.
Zul’kis growled in response to that, glaring at Raal for a few moments before heading in front of Raal, seeming to be walking in a slightly different direction than before - the Giant’s cave. Raal didn’t understand his guide’s anger, but Raal saw no need to press him, either. So long as he continued to do his job faithfully, Raal would continue to act in good faith.
And if he proved treacherous… Raal would let the constant, unending snow serve as an adequate coffin for him.
It took them only another hour and a half to make it to the giant’s lair, the array of corpses - Raal noted most of them were of beasts, though as the snow and wind battled to cover and uncover the gore, he noticed a pair of relatively fresh human corpses and a tusked skeleton unmistakingly belonging to a troll - giving a very clear trail. From what Raal had already learned of the giants here, he realized this was probably nothing but typical for the race.
Eventually, they found a large cave, the pale tundra giving way to damp dirt underneath a roof of snow-covered stone. “You’ll likely wish to stay back for this, Zul’kis. Unless you’d prefer to be devoured. In the end it’s your choice.” Raal said dismissively, before raising his hand.
“What’re ye doin?”
“Raising the dead.” Raal replied, concentrating as bones swirled like a hurricane around him, slowly but surely clacking together like some action figure as they slowly created coherent shapes. Two undead this time, their pale grey bones clutching onto a notched broadsword and an unadorned bow with emerald coloration. “Or at least, so it appears. You may follow along if you wish, Zul’kis, but do not interfere with my plan.”.
The cave was larger than Raal had expected, with the ceiling easily extending to forty feet high. Walking through the cave cautiously, his mount abandoned for now, he was nearly shaken off his feet in shock as a tremor echoed through the cave. The unmistakable sound of Metal scraping stone filled the caverns, and the old warlock guessed that this was the racket created by the giant’s attempt at blacksmithing.
“Time to get in character.” Raal grinned, making sure his robes were securely fastened around his form. It wouldn’t do to show his skeletal nature, given his soldiers role in this little play.
“A mobile dataverse device… I’ll need to acquire one at the earliest convenience.” Raal muttered to himself, before shifting his focus to the younger troll in front of him. He’d been walking(Well, riding - his horse was more than capable of braving the steeps like no ordinary horse could) through ever deeper tundra, together with his troll guide, for quite some time now. The wind howled all around them, but it seemed to affect his guide no more than it did him. Raal had worried about his guide’s apparent youth, but this Zul’kis seemed to at least act professional.
“So, if I recall correctly, you’re leading me to a small dwarven camp, Zul’kis. Tell me about the surrounding area.”
Zul’kis spoke in a low tone. “Why you be needin’ to know that?”
Raal snorted in derision, unable to stop himself in front of this upstart. “Tactics. There are many ways to deal with opponents other than simple application of brute force. And even the strike of an axe has to be carefully aimed to cause the greatest effect. Tell me of the surrounding area.”
Zul’kis took his time answering, but Raal, at this point, understood the difference between them. Zul’kis was a secondary, while Raal was a prime. Antagonizing him to single combat had the potential only to secure eventual death. He would cooperate as much as he could.
“Dey be making a small village on the plains. Not much cover, but they’ve built some walls outta logs. I think fifty in total, most of 'em know their way around a weapon, but not many real soldiers. They don’t know they been discovered in the mountains.
Raal smiled. “Perfect. what is surrounding them?”
“To the south, there be a mountain pass to a dwarf keep. I ain’t takin’ ya anywhere near that. Too many warriors. the east and west got some wampas, and there be some mines there the Dwarves use. We plan on raidin' em by the next full moon.”
“Raiding?” The warlock sat up straighter. “not capturing?”
Zul’kis shrugged. “If we tried, the dwarves’d know what we were up too just a li’l too quick. so we let ‘em keep it. It’s too hard to defend ‘em and the village there acts as an early-warning system.” He explained.
“... I see.” Raal said. “and what of the north.”
“there be a giant who lives there. The Dwarves be careful not to disturb him, though. Even give him iron tools, from time to time. He thinks he's a blacksmith…” Zul’kis laughed as he explained this. “All he really does is beat rocks into a crumbled mess and call it a sword. Still… He’s got no problem eat’n ye, if you choose to say that to his face.” The younger troll explained.
A grin shone briefly behind his tusks at that joke, before something suddenly shifted, as though he’d seen something ugly on Raal’s face. The death knight thought this curious, but chose not to comment. Then again, he mused, what part of his face wasn’t ugly, nowadays?
“Very well. Take me to the giant, then.”
“Takin’ him on first, then?”
raal shook his head. “I’ve no intention of fighting him.”
Zul’kis raised his axe slightly at that comment, raising an eyebrow suspiciously. “My orders are t’see you do your task, Death Knight, or to rip you to pieces. You thinking of bowing out now?”
Raal laughed, watching the troll slip into a pathetic fighting stance. It was not merely the off-balance pose, but the fact that, while clumsy, the pose brought back a wave of nostalgia, something Raal had not felt in a long time.
“You look ridiculous. pull your back foot forward an inch if you wish to hit a target accurately, fool. I’d been under the impression you were competent.”.
Zul’kis’s nose flared at the insult, but his grip on the axe softened slightly, uncertainty rippling through him.
“My task, if I recall correctly, speaks nothing of fighting a giant. Merely obtaining his tooth. By the end of today, I shall recover such - along with the skull of a dwarf. The rest of them can serve as sustenance for you, I’m sure.”.
Zul’kis relaxed slightly. “You got some sorta fancy plan, then?”
The undead warlock paused a second before answering. “Despite my small detachment, I was once considered greater than any of the generals of the horde, save for Doomhammer himself. Today, you shall see why.”.
Zul’kis growled in response to that, glaring at Raal for a few moments before heading in front of Raal, seeming to be walking in a slightly different direction than before - the Giant’s cave. Raal didn’t understand his guide’s anger, but Raal saw no need to press him, either. So long as he continued to do his job faithfully, Raal would continue to act in good faith.
And if he proved treacherous… Raal would let the constant, unending snow serve as an adequate coffin for him.
It took them only another hour and a half to make it to the giant’s lair, the array of corpses - Raal noted most of them were of beasts, though as the snow and wind battled to cover and uncover the gore, he noticed a pair of relatively fresh human corpses and a tusked skeleton unmistakingly belonging to a troll - giving a very clear trail. From what Raal had already learned of the giants here, he realized this was probably nothing but typical for the race.
Eventually, they found a large cave, the pale tundra giving way to damp dirt underneath a roof of snow-covered stone. “You’ll likely wish to stay back for this, Zul’kis. Unless you’d prefer to be devoured. In the end it’s your choice.” Raal said dismissively, before raising his hand.
“What’re ye doin?”
“Raising the dead.” Raal replied, concentrating as bones swirled like a hurricane around him, slowly but surely clacking together like some action figure as they slowly created coherent shapes. Two undead this time, their pale grey bones clutching onto a notched broadsword and an unadorned bow with emerald coloration. “Or at least, so it appears. You may follow along if you wish, Zul’kis, but do not interfere with my plan.”.
The cave was larger than Raal had expected, with the ceiling easily extending to forty feet high. Walking through the cave cautiously, his mount abandoned for now, he was nearly shaken off his feet in shock as a tremor echoed through the cave. The unmistakable sound of Metal scraping stone filled the caverns, and the old warlock guessed that this was the racket created by the giant’s attempt at blacksmithing.
“Time to get in character.” Raal grinned, making sure his robes were securely fastened around his form. It wouldn’t do to show his skeletal nature, given his soldiers role in this little play.