TurriH

=Dugg'Mal=

I awake to the sounds of screaming infants, crying mothers and fathers shouting battlecries before taking up arms. I take a look out the window: It is as I suspected: the Gunami tribe, marauders under influence of the evil deity Iregor (who was defeated by Claude himself), is here, along with all the bloodshed, wreckage and devastation that follows. I look around, my sister is missing. I quickly throw on Ezhitari Babesa (Hunter's Protection), a set of chain armour I inherited from my great grandfather, grab my old hunting bow and gather a few rusty arrows from a small puppet I had used for target practice in the backyard. As I slip out the backdoor I fill a bag with bananas and coconuts, for I don't know when or whether I'm returning home. What meets the eye upon arriving outside is not a fair sight. Blazing fires and piles of bodies are what greet me with open arms. Thinking my sister probably went to seek out my parents I rush through the whole field but find no one, just a few scythes lying around. They seem to have left in a hurry, but whether it was with their own will I do not know. I decide to search for Astunak, a companion of mine from various hunting trips. As I run towards his burning house someone calls out: "Dugg'Mal, watch out!". I throw myself to the ground and hear the rush of a stone the size of my very fist pass my head. I turn around to see a flock of Gunami pillagers running towards me. They were in wretched clothes with grand helms and four in numbers, they are rather regular men except two, one of the two has an extremely bent nose, the other has very dark skin. Quickly but steadily I string an arrow to my bow, I hear it fly through the air, straight into the foremost tribesman's knee. I string the bow again and an arrow thrusts into the throat of another one. They are closing in fast so I attempt to shoot two arrows at once, one of them hits the chest of the one with the nose, the other one heads straight for the dark toned one, he pulls up his buckler, holds it before himself and glares as it breaks on impact. I watch as he raises his axe and slams it down towards me, I turn around and duck. The sound of the axe hitting my back echoes in my head. I fall backwards. But wait! It did in fact not hit my back, the axe's shaft stood out of my bag, the blade had hit a coconut and stuck to it. So there I lie on my back and decide to play dead. The tribesman tries to turn me over and pull the axe out of what he thinks is my back. At that moment I spring up so fast that he falls flat down. I take the bag off my back and retrieve the axe, with the coconut still attached to the blade. I slam it down towards his head, the coconut smashes and his helmet flies off his head. He is dead. I turn him over to see that surprisingly I know him. This was no man, he was of my own kin, it was Astunak.

At this moment I recall someone warning me earlier, I look around. "Hello, is anyone there?". "Aye, are ye hurt?". I turn around to see Astunak's father, Meza, Kool'Jai's most respected weaponsmith. "Meza, how could he betray us like that? Did ye see? T'was yer own son!" I say. "Aye, he went missing the day before the day before yester, kept talking about the pride of Iregor before he left, we called him mad we did!" He replies. "But..." He continues "We should get somewhere safe, I would've helped ye out there but I cranked me elbow earlier". "Would've!? Ye saved me life ye did! If ye wouldn't have called out that rock would've hit me head, and I would have that axe buried in me brain!" He nods slowly. I follow him into his burning home and we run into his workshop. On his crafting table stands a flowerpot, he picks it up and places it on the left side of his unlit furnace. The furnace slides steadily to the side and an opening in the stone behind it appears. "Well hurry up then!" he said. We enter some kind of a secret facility, full of well crafted and enchanted weaponry. He picks up a steadfast bow of mystical wood. "Take it" he mumbles. "T'was meant for me son, but since he won't get it I want nothing more to do with it no more so you might as well take it". "But this wood, what is it, and how did ye come by it?" I ask. "It's elven wood, don't know any name for it except Elvenwood, I've never been one for curious thoughts, I made the bow me self by the way, named it Kalteak I did". "Also, take this here quiver, it's full of arrows of the same wood, and me their sharp heads are from me own steel, and the quiver itself has been enchanted with magic that replenishes the arrows over time" he added. "I can't possibly accept this, especially after slaying yer own son before yer very eyes!" I say, humbly. Meza bursts with laughter "Astunak was a bloody fool, and even bloodier now! Besides, I looked away anyways...". "Oh well" I say, gesturing departure. "Aye" he says, "Ye should get going". "Aren't ye coming with me?" I ask. "No, no... I'll fewer the Gunamies as I can and then die along with me kin, but ye should venture north, ye see: I've heard of this mountain god, Fraud or what's his name, and he is said to be the one that defeated Iregor and his kind, ye should probably seek him out". Meza pushes me towards a small tunnel in the northern end of the room and tells me to crawl through. "This 'ere tunnel leads to a small lake here close by, you should be safe that way". Just as I start crawling into the tunnel I hear a shout behind me: "Wait! Take this here recipe with ye and preserve it well, it's a recipe for the orcish brew, or lager if I may, that me and yer poppy used to drink, it does nothing for orcs, makes us half-orcs a bit tipsy and leaves all others completely smashed!" Meza chuckles and sends me off.

To be continued.