[2004/09] A Small Victory

[Ziv]

[turbine]

http://ac.turbine.com/index.php?page_id=267

Thistledown, 15 P.Y.

http://ac.turbine.com/index.php?page_id=271

This was not his home. He had been ordered to T'Gru Kookur to wait and to watch for the phenomenon of the Eye to begin. When it did, he was to send word to Reeshan, his liege. Then he was to walk through the portal, round up Morgluuk and Torgluuk, and find a way to force the eye open at T'Kuruul Reeshan. Reeshan would then enter the new portal and find the way to bring the other Kukuur Masters to the world of the Fiazhat Gods. There the Burun would complete their destinies and become the rulers of both their own world and the world of these would-be usurpers. That had been the plan.


But plans change.


Blood-stained and battered, the Guruk, Mgrauleshk, stared his attackers down. Around him the fresh corpses of fifteen Ruuk Savages floated in the shallow part of a fetid swamp, not unlike those found on Bur. Already the feelun trees were spouting from beneath the thick water and the scent of the mucor and koru mixed together with the pungent scent of this world's swamps. Mgrauleshk watched Morgluuk carefully. The Ruuk was of exceptional skill and possessed a keen intellect that Mgrauleshk could not hope to match. But Mgrauleshk was far from a typical Guruk. Now he put the mucor gift of his liege to good use, calculating the Ruuk's next movement. Morgluuk had yet to enter the fray, and the savages whose corpses littered the swamp around him began to return to the fight. Fell magic ruled here and the Ruuk possessed it. Torgluuk was the only shaman capable of such things.


Twenty savages descended as one upon Mgrauleshk. They tore at his flesh with their claws, weapons and teeth in an effort to kill the Guruk. He swatted a handful of the savages away with a powerful blow; three struck the shallow mire and bounced along its surface before coming to rest several feet away, motionless. Six of them tore at the flesh on his back, spilling more blood and causing the giant to reel in pain. He struggled to maintain his footing as five spears were shoved into his gut and driven out his back. Fortune smiled grimly as two savages were impaled on the spears as well. The remaining six savages beat his legs until they collapsed under the strain of his weight. He let out a loud roar as he collapsed onto the spear that now propped his broken body out of the swamp.


Morgluuk approached. The scent of the mucor growing on his flesh was strong; it made him different -- stronger that most other Ruuk and with a life much longer than any Burun save the Kukuur. Mgrauleshk felt the bone sword tap his gullet and draw across it gently. A new stream of blood began to pour from his ruined form. He would die at the hands of the Ruuk. His mission would fail and Reeshan and the other masters would be kept away from their destiny. The sword tapped his chin and lifted his head upward. Mgrauleshk stared into the toothy grin as Morgluuk began to speak.


"Serve my brother and I. Give us your allegiance and we shall return to Bur as rulers! We shall be the masters and the Sleeping One shall gift us with the glory of this retribution." Morgluuk finished and waited for Mgrauleshk's reply. Mgrauleshk could not win this fight and death would serve no purpose for Reeshan and the other masters. He croaked acceptance and saw the shamans emerge from the reeds bearing ointment and spells of healing. Deep within his being Mgrauleshk knew that he was the strongest Burun on this world. This fight had been staged to win control over the Guruk. He had already failed his masters once. He would not fail them again.

*****

Grevik Mar returned to Linvak Tukal with haste. The council meeting had been both informative and disconcerting. The Lugians of Linvak would soon need to make their role on the council felt.


He passed the guards at the gate and began his search for the spymaster in earnest. It was night; dark shadows danced in every corner of the massive Lugian stronghold and finding K'rank would be an effort—if he was even here.


As Grevik made his way past the tavern, he heard a terrible sound, like granite grinding against obsidian as a mine was dug too deeply. It reverberated off of the stone walls and into Grevik's bones.


K'rank.


Grevik walked through the doorway and acknowledged Kilbrik, the tavern keeper. Kilbrik offered a weak smile while plugging his ears as best he could.


"How long has he been asleep?" Grevik asked.


"About an hour, the hoktor has driven off all of my business tonight! I've thrown a few boulders at him but to no avail." Kilbrik replied without a morsel of mirth in his words. "Drunk, too! He spent the night downing ale until he passed out. He kept going on about losing one of his men and needing to send him properly to the Gods."


Grevik nodded, told Kilbrik he would take care of the situation and then walked to K'rank's side. He knelt beside the Captain and hefted the slumbering Lugian upward. The Captain reacted instinctively and struck Grevik hard across the jaw. K'rank stumbled away from Grevik and stood there fuming in the flickering torchlight.


"Hoktor! I was sleeping," K'rank spat.


"On the job," Grevik responded. "Your man is not dead. We'd know if he was."


K'rank brought a hand to his head and rubbed his scalp. "I know that. But it was a great reason to drink." K'rank paused and cocked his head to the left. "You need a new hauberk, gray and gold are for someone far beneath your station. I'll have one requisitioned at once."


Grevik shook his head. "K'rank. We need information from your men. Has there been any word?"


"Sit with me, Grevik. We shall talk of this." He smiled and sat at the table, motioning for another ale.

[Ziv]

[turbine]

http://ac.turbine.com/index.php?page_id=270

"Digging?" Antius asked Jenavere.


"Excavating is more the case." Hendac nodded in affirmation of Jenavere's words. "They have the top of the structure unearthed and are working non-stop to find a way to breach the walls. The little Burun seem to have the larger ones under their control. I am not certain how that works out."


Elysa slid forward in her chair and looked over the area of the map that they surveyed. "This spot is the destination of the first portal, the one Rage Lao found, isn't it?"


After a moment of study they all agreed. Jenavere spoke next. "Do the Burun know where these temples lay?"


"It's a possibility," Antius answered, tapping the map. "The second portal that was found in those ancient structures leads here." He put his finger on the map. "It's landlocked, no true access to a swamp, so they would likely have a hard time getting there."


"Antius, they've proven that they can change the world by their very presence. Look at the Blackmire or the swamp in the A'mun." Elysa slid her finger from the locations on the map. "They'll find a way if that is their next goal." There was a long, awkward pause. Then Hendac slid his hand onto the table and placed his finger on a spot that marked a solitary location, nearly inaccessible to uninitiated explorers.


"No. Not yet, Hendac," Elysa spoke firmly. "I have faith that Ciandra and the Arcanum will discover how to craft the gem we need to complete the weapons. I will not turn to her yet." She tapped the location that the Burun and Renegades now inhabited. "We need something, anything that will give us an edge against these creatures. We need Kresovus' men to come through. We need the information from his spies."


Somewhere K'rank took another swig of ale.