12-03-2015, 11:19 AM
It took thirty humiliating, agonizing seconds before Raal finally tore himself away from the buffoon.
Thirty seconds that Zul’kis had taken to point and laugh at Raal’s angry, screaming, and utterly helpless body..
Raal had seen worse days. But not many.
“Hey, Duff Wind!” An obnoxious, overly loud, and mirrored voice rang out.
Raal’s body quivered as the obnoxious gas that Ur’gash called speech wafted over him. His every word was almost like an attack on language itself, a surprisingly well-crafted argument that the invention of words might have been a mistake after all.
“Duff Wind!”
Raal could see Zul’kis smirking from the corner of his eye, and he knew the impudent child was enjoying this.
“You should probably answer him, Duff Wind.” The troll said impishly, and Raal’s hands gripped his staff tightly. It was at times like this Raal dearly wished Zul’kis were a prime. Then he would lose nothing by giving into the primal urges racing through his body to separate the Troll’s head from its perch upon the cocky greenskins all-too-soft neck.
“Ur’gash, you buffoon, speak your piece!”
“Where we going, Duff wind?”
Raal cursed, not for the first time today. This was the fifth time the stupid brute had asked in the last half hour.
“Ur’gash, does it matter? Simply follow my commands, as you always have!”
“Alright, Duff Wind!” The ogres two heads responded in a synchronized fashion,
Zul’kis, in a quieter tone, added: “It’s not like ya to tolerate someone like him. Who is ‘dis Ur’gash in the first place.”
The Death knight’s hands rubbed his head, the disturbing sound of,bone scraping against bone only managing to agitate the warlock further. “Ur’gash is likely the only living subordinate I have - though that he’d manage to follow me even across dimensions is impressive even for him.”
Zul’kis smirked at that, raising an eyebrow. “Too soft to kill ‘im?”
Raal shook his head. “Hardly. When I first learned Ur’gash’s name, he was just another ogre assigned to my division. He first introduced himself to me while I was having a… Tender moment… with a lovely young woman who was interested in working her way through the ranks. By any means necessary.”
Zul’kis’s face turned to one of shock. “I, uh… But aren’t you…” The young troll’s eyes darted to Raal’s face, then towards his pelvis, and the undead warlock’s eyes lit up with anger.
“You blithering idiot! Do you think I’ve been a skeleton my entire life! This was before I’d lost my old body in the fires of the first war!” Raal yelled, far louder than he meant to, his horse stopping in place as he lost concentration.
Zul’kis scratched the back of his head, avoiding Raal’s gaze. “I, uh… Should I not bring that up?”
Raal let out an audible sigh. Ur’gash had failed to notice any of the commotion, and Raal had to press his steed forward to catch up to the lumbering giant. Luckily for Raal, at least in this instance, Ur’gash really had only one gear, and it was “slow amble.”.”.
“So, uh… What happened next?” Zul’kis asked.
Raal sighed. “I’m willing to inform you, so long as you keep your ridiculous notions to yourself for a moment. As I was supremely displeased with Ur’gash, I sent him as part of a suicide mission I’d organized to distract from the main attack on Goldshire. He was meant to get ripped apart by a legion of knights, along with 6 others. He alone survived, with the blood of eighty knights on his hands. It was then that I realized just what a useful tool I’d acquired…” Raal stated.
Zul’kis narrowed his eyes at the two-headed behemoth, who had currently grabbed and began eating the trunk of a fallen tree with the voracity of a starved dog chewing through bone. “How’dy a make him so loyal, ya? He seem like he be willing to take a bullet for ya… on purpose, too.”
Raal’s answer came with a shrug. “Ur’gash just… Decided I was a good master one day. Potentially because I was the only commander who began remembering his name, but who can say for sure?. I kept sending him off on missions where anyone else would die, he kept living through them, and he seemed to come back more loyal everytime. Perhaps it’s his sadistic nature… or perhaps it’s just a unique branch of ogre stupidity.”
Zul’kis cocked his head, before smirking. “Seems pre’y harmless right now.”
Raal’s glare came immediately. “Do not underestimate Ur’gash, Zul’kis.”
Zul’kis searched raal’s face, even as he walked, for some sort of joke, but what was returned to him was a hard stare.
“There is a sort of cunning hidden beneath that thick skull and childlike veneer. In the first war, Ur’gash had made a hobby of waiting until a rival ogre, or an orc who annoyed him, had fallen asleep, before tearing their heads from their shoulders. I was among the very few who ever caught him in the act, or even suspected his involvement in these deaths.” Raal stated, before turning his head back towards the ogre. “I would not wish to anger him, difficult though the task may be. If you manage to invoke his hatred… You’d best kill him. He’ll never forget.”
Zul’kis fell silent, after that, and Raal took the opportunity to check his dataverse device. He needed coordinates.
To his surprise, a message from Ven’jo was addressed to him.
======
Deathwind: Dwarves attacking. large group. Led by dwarven warlock. using some sort of amulet to summon the elements against us.. Something stinks.
You in for a brawl, mon?
======
Raal scratched his chin as he pondered the relatively short message. The village chief was pressed for time. that much was clear. He risked much if he halted his work here, however. he didn’t know how long the warsong would continue to stay nearby. Then again, he lacked leads. If he helped Ven’jo, he could potentially gain the aid of experienced forest trolls in order to track down the disparate orc clans.
Raal also had his own reasons to maintain the current equilibrium. The trolls were valuable to his plans. It would not do for his horde to appear in the frozen fields, only to find that the dwarves had already stuck a decisive blow and Zul’garand had been sacked. In the end, only one option was a true choice - for now, at least.
“Hmm. Zul’kis, I hope you’ve enjoyed the Tangled Green. Our presence is required back in the icy wastes of your homeland.”
Thirty seconds that Zul’kis had taken to point and laugh at Raal’s angry, screaming, and utterly helpless body..
Raal had seen worse days. But not many.
“Hey, Duff Wind!” An obnoxious, overly loud, and mirrored voice rang out.
Raal’s body quivered as the obnoxious gas that Ur’gash called speech wafted over him. His every word was almost like an attack on language itself, a surprisingly well-crafted argument that the invention of words might have been a mistake after all.
“Duff Wind!”
Raal could see Zul’kis smirking from the corner of his eye, and he knew the impudent child was enjoying this.
“You should probably answer him, Duff Wind.” The troll said impishly, and Raal’s hands gripped his staff tightly. It was at times like this Raal dearly wished Zul’kis were a prime. Then he would lose nothing by giving into the primal urges racing through his body to separate the Troll’s head from its perch upon the cocky greenskins all-too-soft neck.
“Ur’gash, you buffoon, speak your piece!”
“Where we going, Duff wind?”
Raal cursed, not for the first time today. This was the fifth time the stupid brute had asked in the last half hour.
“Ur’gash, does it matter? Simply follow my commands, as you always have!”
“Alright, Duff Wind!” The ogres two heads responded in a synchronized fashion,
Zul’kis, in a quieter tone, added: “It’s not like ya to tolerate someone like him. Who is ‘dis Ur’gash in the first place.”
The Death knight’s hands rubbed his head, the disturbing sound of,bone scraping against bone only managing to agitate the warlock further. “Ur’gash is likely the only living subordinate I have - though that he’d manage to follow me even across dimensions is impressive even for him.”
Zul’kis smirked at that, raising an eyebrow. “Too soft to kill ‘im?”
Raal shook his head. “Hardly. When I first learned Ur’gash’s name, he was just another ogre assigned to my division. He first introduced himself to me while I was having a… Tender moment… with a lovely young woman who was interested in working her way through the ranks. By any means necessary.”
Zul’kis’s face turned to one of shock. “I, uh… But aren’t you…” The young troll’s eyes darted to Raal’s face, then towards his pelvis, and the undead warlock’s eyes lit up with anger.
“You blithering idiot! Do you think I’ve been a skeleton my entire life! This was before I’d lost my old body in the fires of the first war!” Raal yelled, far louder than he meant to, his horse stopping in place as he lost concentration.
Zul’kis scratched the back of his head, avoiding Raal’s gaze. “I, uh… Should I not bring that up?”
Raal let out an audible sigh. Ur’gash had failed to notice any of the commotion, and Raal had to press his steed forward to catch up to the lumbering giant. Luckily for Raal, at least in this instance, Ur’gash really had only one gear, and it was “slow amble.”.”.
“So, uh… What happened next?” Zul’kis asked.
Raal sighed. “I’m willing to inform you, so long as you keep your ridiculous notions to yourself for a moment. As I was supremely displeased with Ur’gash, I sent him as part of a suicide mission I’d organized to distract from the main attack on Goldshire. He was meant to get ripped apart by a legion of knights, along with 6 others. He alone survived, with the blood of eighty knights on his hands. It was then that I realized just what a useful tool I’d acquired…” Raal stated.
Zul’kis narrowed his eyes at the two-headed behemoth, who had currently grabbed and began eating the trunk of a fallen tree with the voracity of a starved dog chewing through bone. “How’dy a make him so loyal, ya? He seem like he be willing to take a bullet for ya… on purpose, too.”
Raal’s answer came with a shrug. “Ur’gash just… Decided I was a good master one day. Potentially because I was the only commander who began remembering his name, but who can say for sure?. I kept sending him off on missions where anyone else would die, he kept living through them, and he seemed to come back more loyal everytime. Perhaps it’s his sadistic nature… or perhaps it’s just a unique branch of ogre stupidity.”
Zul’kis cocked his head, before smirking. “Seems pre’y harmless right now.”
Raal’s glare came immediately. “Do not underestimate Ur’gash, Zul’kis.”
Zul’kis searched raal’s face, even as he walked, for some sort of joke, but what was returned to him was a hard stare.
“There is a sort of cunning hidden beneath that thick skull and childlike veneer. In the first war, Ur’gash had made a hobby of waiting until a rival ogre, or an orc who annoyed him, had fallen asleep, before tearing their heads from their shoulders. I was among the very few who ever caught him in the act, or even suspected his involvement in these deaths.” Raal stated, before turning his head back towards the ogre. “I would not wish to anger him, difficult though the task may be. If you manage to invoke his hatred… You’d best kill him. He’ll never forget.”
Zul’kis fell silent, after that, and Raal took the opportunity to check his dataverse device. He needed coordinates.
To his surprise, a message from Ven’jo was addressed to him.
======
Deathwind: Dwarves attacking. large group. Led by dwarven warlock. using some sort of amulet to summon the elements against us.. Something stinks.
You in for a brawl, mon?
======
Raal scratched his chin as he pondered the relatively short message. The village chief was pressed for time. that much was clear. He risked much if he halted his work here, however. he didn’t know how long the warsong would continue to stay nearby. Then again, he lacked leads. If he helped Ven’jo, he could potentially gain the aid of experienced forest trolls in order to track down the disparate orc clans.
Raal also had his own reasons to maintain the current equilibrium. The trolls were valuable to his plans. It would not do for his horde to appear in the frozen fields, only to find that the dwarves had already stuck a decisive blow and Zul’garand had been sacked. In the end, only one option was a true choice - for now, at least.
“Hmm. Zul’kis, I hope you’ve enjoyed the Tangled Green. Our presence is required back in the icy wastes of your homeland.”