01-02-2016, 11:47 PM
There once was a creature called the Grundagakk
He had long, sharp horns and a large silver sack.
Ev'ry morning on Sunday and on a Monday
He would steal non-believers and take them away.
-Haelstrum 69:91. Children's Candle.
Ballad hated that stupid children's poem. Hated it with a burning passion. Every time he came across one back home, he yearned to remove it from its shelf and tear it apart, piece by piece. Not just because of its rather silly premise (seriously, who names a creature Grundagakk?) but because of its obvious propaganda designed by the Church to convert people. It was sold on street corners to small children stupid enough to buy into it, because only children, at such a young and inexperienced age, could buy into their crap. It wasn't like the Wicker Men were much better. He could remember their poem about a Snagglewoop. It was just as bad, arguably worse, mostly because almost nothing rhymed with woop. Except for one word, but the Wicker Men knew that using it in context with the Church would be a bad move.
All Ballad could do at that moment was just shake his head and turn in the other direction. It was all he ever did. He couldn't understand the usefulness of understanding where the wick came from. The only important thing about it was that it caught on fire, and it should be used for inventions and greater purposes. Warmth, food, weapons....protection.
Suddenly, a sharp echo erupted from his mind, like a pickaxe striking rock. Rock....
Wait a minute...
-----------------------------------------------------
Ballad snapped awake, groaning in annoyance as this wasn't the first time his sleep had been interrupted. He turned his head to his right, glaring towards whomever had disturbed him. The sight was... rather odd, to say the least.
The person in question was female, no more than thirteen or fourteen. She wore brown, leather pants that went down to her ankles, with green hiking boots covering her small feet. Around her torso was a comparatively brown fur coat, with the edges coated snow white. Her waist had a belt around it, with various types of gear that included a torch, some oil in bottles, a canteen, and a bag with wet stains on the bottom of it. Her hair was blonde, yet cut in a way that Ballad almost mistook her for a young boy. She was on her knees, leaning over something a few feet away, right next to the edge of the cliff. As Ballad leaned forward, he caught a glimpse of what she was pulling out: Gold coins that flickered in the moonlight before being set on the ground.
"Dirty fucking THIEF!" Ballad growled, standing up as the girl turned her head around in surprise. He lifted his black revolver, pointing it at the hiker as she raised her hands in a surrendering motion.
"Is there something wrong?" she proclaimed, an innocuous tone to her voice.
"Something wrong? In case you didn't notice, that's MY BAG you're stealing from, you fucking idiot!" Ballad replied venomously.
The teenager looked down towards the black bag, letting out a regretful "Ooooh..." as she glanced back towards the gunsmith. She could easily see the anger in his eyes, which sent shivers down her spine. Her white hands felt cold as they started to rub up against each other nervously as she tried to explain herself.
"I-I'm sorry, m-mister. I.. I was climbing up this rock and I..." she started, her voice cracking somewhat as her green eyes stared down the barrel of the green man's pistol like she was staring into the abyss. "I... saw you sleeping up here. I saw you had your bag on your belt, and I.... and I..."
"Stop fucking pausing mid-sentence and EXPLAIN." Ballad shouted, stomping his right foot forward onto the hard stone floor. The sound reverberated around the cave as his thumb reached for the hammer, pebbles falling from the sky and rolling down the platform they were on. The girl recoiled, scrunching her shoulders in fear as her words steadily grew to a whisper.
"Well...I.... this is my home, well, sorta. My last one.... well, I'm not there anymore. I had to go in here to survive, and I occasionally.... occasionally go to a nearby village to buy supplies. I've... I've been running low, you know? So I... tried to take your...."
Her voice trailed off, her eyes squeezing out shiny tears as she looked away from the green gunner. He was as still as a statue, with nothing but his glowing yellow eyes to show for his face. It held little emotion, like a cold blooded killer. Completely stoic. The girl brought her hands to her face, cupping them.
"Please don't kill me. Pleasedon'tkillmepleasedon'tkillmeI'msorryPLEASE." She tearfully begged, her voice brittle and desperate.
The sharpshooter stood still, glaring at the woman. Her sniffles and cries rebounded across the cave, which Ballad silenced with his own yell for her to shut up. This only induced further cries, which caused the gunner to grit his teeth behind his scarf; his index finger curled in anticipation behind the trigger, begging for release.
Suddenly, a piece of earth flew into the cave as an arrow embedded itself into the entrance mere inches from Ballad's head.
"I heard him in there! Get him!" A voice erupted from the forest.
"ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!" The gunner shouted, practically in disbelief. Had he really talked so loud that these guys were able to hear him and follow him there? It HAD been a good while since he last saw them, and they were following him.
Damn it all... why do I have to shout at the worst times...
Ballad whirled around, his left arm curled underneath the handle of the revolver as he crouched down, aiming at the forest. A group of around seven had emerged from the depths of the forest, and were quickly separating into several, smaller groups. Most started charging up the hill, swords and axes in hand, while one group entered the trees. The winter soldier could only assume that that group composed mainly of archers, and he would soon be pin-cushioned by arrows.
He couldn't stay there. His position was compromised. He had to run some more.
"THANKS KID!" He shouted behind him as he holstered his revolver, slipping his pickaxe into his hands. He sprinted down the hill, meeting the axemen and swordsmen head on.
The first group came first. He lifted his pickaxe upwards, bringing it down onto the first bandit. It punctured his skull, a resounding crack of bone rushing out into the open as he pulled it out of his head. He deflected a sword with the shaft of his pick, kicking the attacker to the ground. He then brought the hand tool around, its perpendicular head smashing into another assailant, a wail of pain erupting from the corpse as it connected with his ribs.
The second group soon arrived, surrounding him four to one. They circled around him, knives, swords, and an axe all brought out. Some of them chuckled gleefully, as if they wanted nothing more than to see the green man's organs on the ground. By their hand, if able to.
"What is going on out here?! Why are all of you fighting?" A feminine voice rang out from the top of the hill. The green man looked behind him, noticing the cave-dweller walking down the hill, her face still wet from crying and apparently ignoring the fact that Ballad was currently in the middle of, in his words usually, kicking some ass.
"That's a little girl you got there, greenie! What kind of perverted-" was all a scrawny partisan could muster from his mouth before Ballad ended his life, digging the sharp end of his pick into his chest. He let out a blood-curdling scream, catching the others off guard before Ballad butted one in the head with the end of his weapon. He ran forward, dodging arrow fire as a loud scream ignited from behind him. They must've gotten the girl. Whatever. She was an asshole anyway-
The sharpshooter let out a loud yelp as he careened into the ground, feeling someone crash into him. Rolling his eyes to look up, his eyelids twitched in shock as he saw the mountain-climber on top of him.
"What the fuck are you doing?! GET OFF ME!" Ballad shrieked, elbowing the girl off of him. She landed on her butt in a sitting position, about to push herself upwards when she saw the man get back up, whip out his revolver, and promptly shoot at an approaching bandit. As he began to fall, he fired twice more, with the first bullet impacting his left shoulder while the second removed his head from his body. Red blood splattered onto her pants, causing her to scream as she slid away from the corpse.
"You... you just.."
"WILL YOU SHUT UP AND START RUNNING AWAY ALREADY?! I'M FUCKING OUT OF HERE!" He responded, firing three more times towards the archer group, whom were starting to retreat.
"Run away?! What is going o- Hey, come back here!" She shouted, standing up to run after Ballad.
He had long, sharp horns and a large silver sack.
Ev'ry morning on Sunday and on a Monday
He would steal non-believers and take them away.
-Haelstrum 69:91. Children's Candle.
Ballad hated that stupid children's poem. Hated it with a burning passion. Every time he came across one back home, he yearned to remove it from its shelf and tear it apart, piece by piece. Not just because of its rather silly premise (seriously, who names a creature Grundagakk?) but because of its obvious propaganda designed by the Church to convert people. It was sold on street corners to small children stupid enough to buy into it, because only children, at such a young and inexperienced age, could buy into their crap. It wasn't like the Wicker Men were much better. He could remember their poem about a Snagglewoop. It was just as bad, arguably worse, mostly because almost nothing rhymed with woop. Except for one word, but the Wicker Men knew that using it in context with the Church would be a bad move.
All Ballad could do at that moment was just shake his head and turn in the other direction. It was all he ever did. He couldn't understand the usefulness of understanding where the wick came from. The only important thing about it was that it caught on fire, and it should be used for inventions and greater purposes. Warmth, food, weapons....protection.
Suddenly, a sharp echo erupted from his mind, like a pickaxe striking rock. Rock....
Wait a minute...
-----------------------------------------------------
Ballad snapped awake, groaning in annoyance as this wasn't the first time his sleep had been interrupted. He turned his head to his right, glaring towards whomever had disturbed him. The sight was... rather odd, to say the least.
The person in question was female, no more than thirteen or fourteen. She wore brown, leather pants that went down to her ankles, with green hiking boots covering her small feet. Around her torso was a comparatively brown fur coat, with the edges coated snow white. Her waist had a belt around it, with various types of gear that included a torch, some oil in bottles, a canteen, and a bag with wet stains on the bottom of it. Her hair was blonde, yet cut in a way that Ballad almost mistook her for a young boy. She was on her knees, leaning over something a few feet away, right next to the edge of the cliff. As Ballad leaned forward, he caught a glimpse of what she was pulling out: Gold coins that flickered in the moonlight before being set on the ground.
"Dirty fucking THIEF!" Ballad growled, standing up as the girl turned her head around in surprise. He lifted his black revolver, pointing it at the hiker as she raised her hands in a surrendering motion.
"Is there something wrong?" she proclaimed, an innocuous tone to her voice.
"Something wrong? In case you didn't notice, that's MY BAG you're stealing from, you fucking idiot!" Ballad replied venomously.
The teenager looked down towards the black bag, letting out a regretful "Ooooh..." as she glanced back towards the gunsmith. She could easily see the anger in his eyes, which sent shivers down her spine. Her white hands felt cold as they started to rub up against each other nervously as she tried to explain herself.
"I-I'm sorry, m-mister. I.. I was climbing up this rock and I..." she started, her voice cracking somewhat as her green eyes stared down the barrel of the green man's pistol like she was staring into the abyss. "I... saw you sleeping up here. I saw you had your bag on your belt, and I.... and I..."
"Stop fucking pausing mid-sentence and EXPLAIN." Ballad shouted, stomping his right foot forward onto the hard stone floor. The sound reverberated around the cave as his thumb reached for the hammer, pebbles falling from the sky and rolling down the platform they were on. The girl recoiled, scrunching her shoulders in fear as her words steadily grew to a whisper.
"Well...I.... this is my home, well, sorta. My last one.... well, I'm not there anymore. I had to go in here to survive, and I occasionally.... occasionally go to a nearby village to buy supplies. I've... I've been running low, you know? So I... tried to take your...."
Her voice trailed off, her eyes squeezing out shiny tears as she looked away from the green gunner. He was as still as a statue, with nothing but his glowing yellow eyes to show for his face. It held little emotion, like a cold blooded killer. Completely stoic. The girl brought her hands to her face, cupping them.
"Please don't kill me. Pleasedon'tkillmepleasedon'tkillmeI'msorryPLEASE." She tearfully begged, her voice brittle and desperate.
The sharpshooter stood still, glaring at the woman. Her sniffles and cries rebounded across the cave, which Ballad silenced with his own yell for her to shut up. This only induced further cries, which caused the gunner to grit his teeth behind his scarf; his index finger curled in anticipation behind the trigger, begging for release.
Suddenly, a piece of earth flew into the cave as an arrow embedded itself into the entrance mere inches from Ballad's head.
"I heard him in there! Get him!" A voice erupted from the forest.
"ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!" The gunner shouted, practically in disbelief. Had he really talked so loud that these guys were able to hear him and follow him there? It HAD been a good while since he last saw them, and they were following him.
Damn it all... why do I have to shout at the worst times...
Ballad whirled around, his left arm curled underneath the handle of the revolver as he crouched down, aiming at the forest. A group of around seven had emerged from the depths of the forest, and were quickly separating into several, smaller groups. Most started charging up the hill, swords and axes in hand, while one group entered the trees. The winter soldier could only assume that that group composed mainly of archers, and he would soon be pin-cushioned by arrows.
He couldn't stay there. His position was compromised. He had to run some more.
"THANKS KID!" He shouted behind him as he holstered his revolver, slipping his pickaxe into his hands. He sprinted down the hill, meeting the axemen and swordsmen head on.
The first group came first. He lifted his pickaxe upwards, bringing it down onto the first bandit. It punctured his skull, a resounding crack of bone rushing out into the open as he pulled it out of his head. He deflected a sword with the shaft of his pick, kicking the attacker to the ground. He then brought the hand tool around, its perpendicular head smashing into another assailant, a wail of pain erupting from the corpse as it connected with his ribs.
The second group soon arrived, surrounding him four to one. They circled around him, knives, swords, and an axe all brought out. Some of them chuckled gleefully, as if they wanted nothing more than to see the green man's organs on the ground. By their hand, if able to.
"What is going on out here?! Why are all of you fighting?" A feminine voice rang out from the top of the hill. The green man looked behind him, noticing the cave-dweller walking down the hill, her face still wet from crying and apparently ignoring the fact that Ballad was currently in the middle of, in his words usually, kicking some ass.
"That's a little girl you got there, greenie! What kind of perverted-" was all a scrawny partisan could muster from his mouth before Ballad ended his life, digging the sharp end of his pick into his chest. He let out a blood-curdling scream, catching the others off guard before Ballad butted one in the head with the end of his weapon. He ran forward, dodging arrow fire as a loud scream ignited from behind him. They must've gotten the girl. Whatever. She was an asshole anyway-
The sharpshooter let out a loud yelp as he careened into the ground, feeling someone crash into him. Rolling his eyes to look up, his eyelids twitched in shock as he saw the mountain-climber on top of him.
"What the fuck are you doing?! GET OFF ME!" Ballad shrieked, elbowing the girl off of him. She landed on her butt in a sitting position, about to push herself upwards when she saw the man get back up, whip out his revolver, and promptly shoot at an approaching bandit. As he began to fall, he fired twice more, with the first bullet impacting his left shoulder while the second removed his head from his body. Red blood splattered onto her pants, causing her to scream as she slid away from the corpse.
"You... you just.."
"WILL YOU SHUT UP AND START RUNNING AWAY ALREADY?! I'M FUCKING OUT OF HERE!" He responded, firing three more times towards the archer group, whom were starting to retreat.
"Run away?! What is going o- Hey, come back here!" She shouted, standing up to run after Ballad.
C&C Thread
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New to OV? Need a question answered? Want a C&C of your work? Send a PM to me!
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