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Emperor
Local Time: 19:17
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: As cuddly as a cactus, as charming as an eel.
Posts: 8,196
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The Trappings of War: Volume XI
The Trappings of War: Volume XI
An UnOrthOdOx view of the Glory of War
The night was spent in eager anticipation, on my part due to the hunt the following morning, on the children’s part due to the expectation of seeing their ravens perform. Not able to take it any longer, I finally arose from bed and headed out to the beach to wait for the sun to wake the world. Perhaps the only thing more radiant than my own wife in this world is the sight of the land just before the sun rises. Innumerable colors drift and change across the landscape until finally taking their proper form under full sunlight. I had found myself a large stone and was taking this all in, quietly preparing my soul for the task that lay ahead, when I first noticed the spot on the horizon, and as it approached, I soon realized we were about to receive visitors.
As the rest of town rose out of bed, I soon had them all busy preparing a meal for whatever weary travelers were making their way to my humble town. I had counted three ships approaching, all bearing the ebony standards that marked them as Glory of War ships, and was quite interested as to who saw it fit to visit on this particular day.
The first two came straight to shore, and I should have been able to guess their passengers as Master Zen and Hot Enamel disembarked.
“So, today’s the day we find the solution to our mutual dragon problem?” Master Zen perked up as he wandered over to inspect the Lego ship we had constructed. “My good man, you are not taking this lightly, are you?”
“No, I am quite serious, you know that. This here is all borrowed from Legoland. It is far stronger than wood, and should be able to withstand whatever our little beast can dish out.’ I replied, watching as he tested it out with a sword, looking for weak points. “And what about you, Hot Enamel, I thought you said this was insanity? Now you come to join in the hunt?”
“Oh no, I want no part of your foolishness! I am here only to see my ballista in action. In fact, I have brought you 3 more, and have designed you a far better spear, this one here will not easily break, neither should it pull out easily.” He pointed to a stack of spears, they had obviously been designed for this sole purpose, their shafts were coated with iron in order to provide strength, and their tips had fairly large barbs to prevent their removal. “I’ll leave your hunting to you, and I’ll sail safely behind to pull all your ass’s out of the drink when your boats are obliterated by the beast. That’s assuming he doesn’t eat you in the process.”
“Oh, well thanks for the vote of confidence, there, H.E.!!! So, who else have you brought along with you, and why are they still sailing around like a bunch of idiots? Breakfast is nearly ready, and I don’t intend to have all that bacon going to waste, and why no word of your arrival, just showing up unexpected?” I chuckled.
“We thought we should surprise you, on this your big day. As for them, they spotted sight of your dragon and went off to gain a closer look, though. Don’t worry, they’ll be in soon enough, in the mean time, though, let’s go have a look at what your cooks have dug up for us. Bacon, you say? Damn, I should have thought of bringing some swine onto the island as well, here I’ve been living off nothing but fish!” Master Zen answered, finally satisfied that the boat was sturdy enough, he sheathed his sword and headed up the beach towards town.
“That wasn’t an answer.” I called out as I rushed up to town after him.
As expected, the large tables had been pulled out into the center of town, and places were set all along. It was the sight of a regular celebration, and I realized this was most of the townsfolk’s chance at seating together, and to hosting such dignitaries as we were receiving. They were pulling out all the stops, clearly enjoying the occasion for all it was worth, and I could not blame them. Soon, everyone was sitting and ready to begin only awaiting word from myself as the host. No sooner had I prepared to speak, however, than I heard a monstrous voice calling out from behind me.
“By all that is Holy, what kind of way is this to treat an old friend!?!” I spun around to identify the source, and it continued “I come all the way to this accursed island just to get a look at the supposed dragon, I even bother to bring your own son back home to you, and you repay my kindness by stuffing your face before I can arrive? I see your manners will not improved at all, no matter how much land they give away to you, will they?”
“Uber!!!” I shouted, then quickly spun back around “Aro, see to these folks for me, will ya?” I had clearly caught him by surprise, already with a mouth full of food he made a few comments to a chorus of laughter, followed closely by the sounds of food being passed around the table. My wife had already beet me down the street and was quickly paying respects to Uber in order to hurry down and see our son.
It was good to see Uber again, and it was surprising to see how much sEctArIAn had grown in the few short months he had been away. Hearing from Uber, sect was already showing great skills with a sword and was anxious to learn the ways of command and warfare from Uber. Having heard of my dragon, though, Uber thought it would make a good experience to bring sEctArIAn back for a short time, on the pretense of seeing a battle with a dragon if nothing else. Soon after we had begun eating, though, talk turned to the task that lay ahead.
“How are you proposing to go about capturing that beast?” Uber asked.
“Well, much has changed just today, with the arrival of three new boats, and three new ballistae as well as the new spears Hot Enamel brought with him. I was going to single one out and constantly circle, firing spears at him till he was weakened enough for my one ship to haul in. Now, though, I think we can latch on directly while you two each circle and fire on the beast. Once the fight is taken out of him, I suppose your wooden boats could handle the strain and assist in hauling him back in.” As I said it, I knew the risk I would be taking attempting to grab hold of the beast directly, but a part of me could not resist the urge to test the strength of this Lego material.
As breakfast wound down, we began to prepare the ships. Mine would be equipped with two ballistae and Uber’s and Master Zen’s would be equipped with one each. Hot Enamel would sail behind in the event something went horribly wrong and it was with much fanfare that we finally set sail.
I was sitting at the bow, taking in all the beauty of the sea when Aro cam up behind me. “’dOx, you sure you’re ready for this?”
“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Well, it’s not every day a man decides to take on a god.” Looking at his face, I could tell he was completely serious.
“Hell, man, when did you become so superstitious? This is nothing but another beast and we will find a way to hunt it down like any other, don’t go listening to what the elders in town say.” I nearly chuckled.
Aro answered only by pointing.
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