Dragonbone Marsh, 30th of Jygust, MT (closed)

Located on the north of Mer de la Luna is the capital of the Western Kingdom: Kings Court. Named after the fact it is the king's residence, KC was built by ancient Adhiel ancestors. The capital is surrounded by large grass fields known as the Downs.

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Nar`zul Qa`dar
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Post by Nar`zul Qa`dar »

When that strange cry went up, Nar'zul knew immediately that his plan had failed. It could be that he made to sudden a move, that she had detected him by scent or some minor sound. Or maybe he had underestimated her intelligence, and that poor trick had set off some alarm in her brain. Either way, his advantages were almost entirely spent now, and Nar'zul swore as only an orc can, blackly and with imagination. He stood as soon as he realized the jig was up, and hurriedly re-slung his hammer. Drastic times call for drastic measures.

The rock he had been sheltering behind was large, more a boulder than a rock, and for a human (or even more laughably) and adheil, would have been too big for what Nar'zul intended. But he wasn't one of those pitiful weak races. He was an orc, and as such the top of the stone was within easy reach once he made an effort, taking a step back he took a (very) short start and leaped, aiming to catch hold of the top of the rock and pull himself up. It was, probably not the brightest of ideas, being that the beasts they were after were half again as tall as any one of them, falling somewhere in the twelve to fourteen paces to the tops of their heads, and standing on a ten pace rock put him at convenient biting height, but he was relatively sure that whatever the big bitch was expecting, this wasn't it.

Upon gaining the top of the stone, the big orc unslung his hammer. Sucking down as big a lungful of air as he could manage, he held the weapon above his head in one hand and roared. At the same time he threw his weight forward, toward the big female, using every bit of momentum to be gained from the top of the rock (if there was any flat space to get any going that is) he leapt when he reached the opposite edge, pushing himself up into the air, forward toward her, and into himself. The plan now was just for him to get within range, one shot to her skull with all his strength and borrowed momentum. It was a gamble to be sure. She might move. She might just open her mouth and catch him in her teeth. She might do any number of things. But Nar'zul was counting on confusion and surprise to give him the precious flickers he would need to see this plan through.

“And if not,” he mused bitterly as the flickers stretched out agonizingly “Ra'zhin can always set me up as a bad example.” And at least his spectacle would distract the prey from the rest of the clan. His other hand closed around the haft of his hammer as he sailed through the air and all the muscles in his body coiled in anticipation of a hammer-stroke that might never land. It was a fools ploy, but it was the best he had. It was a leap into oblivion, but whose, it remained up to fate to decide.
Last edited by Nar`zul Qa`dar on Sun Jan 11, 2009 2:00 am, edited 2 times in total.
M`li
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Joined: Sat Oct 11, 2008 12:28 am

Post by M`li »

M`li, stalking in the shadows, has become distant from Nar`Zul. When he passed behind the rock she lost sight of him, but knew where he was. She crossed against him, going in an opposing direction that would place her somewhere between him and the other two orcs who had taken up the other pass (or so she hoped). She crouched low and used the terrain as camouflage as much as her mud stained body could allow. With her belly pressed against the ground she shifted along quietly, all the while with her partner creating a plan.

It was the case that M`li wasn't privy to her partner's plan, which was a shame. She could've told him that the she-beast wouldn't fall for such a tactic. As the rock went hurtling through the air the female orc winced. It bounced not far from where she was on the ground, and her stomach clenched at the thought that she was perhaps wrong, and that the great reptiles would pounce on whatever was attempting to hide here - here, it was M`li, and she cursed her own stubborn attitude for getting herself into the situation.

By her way of thinking it would not bode well should she be laying on her stomach with her fragile spine and tender neck exposed when their giant maws searched through the area, so as the stone landed she rolled over onto her back, creating a whole new sound for the creature to notice (or ignore) depending and hefted her spear, while throwing herself upward. The ambush was on, Nar`Zul's war cry cut through and she added her own while launching her spear toward the neck of the raptor while her attention was diverted to the incoming attack from Nar`Zul. She ran head-on toward the raptor once that was done, as she needed her spear back. Her intention would be to grasp it, pull it out and then roll away, stand and be ready for an attack.
Ashari
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Post by Ashari »

Nar`Zul leapt over the rock, and as he did so, he was confronted with the large head of the she-beast. In the slow-motion world of adrenaline he was able to see more clearly. Beyond the raptor was M`'li, jumping from some shrubs and screaming out her own war cry.

The raptor shrieked and opened it's vast mouth to show an expanse of razor teeth that were varied in length but not in their sharpness. A dark tongue curled as saliva spat from the raptor's mouth. The alarm she'd raised had caused for the others to push away from their eating, but they were slow and fat and confused. Their leader was in danger, and they clicked and chirped and shrieked their own response noises, though it was all in vain. M`'li, across the way, launched a spear and it flew through the air. Distracted as she was with Nar`Zul the raptor didn't see it to dodge it. The spear sank into her flesh between shoulder joint and neck.

Hissing, the raptor recoiled long enough to not ingest the orc on the rock, and when she did attempt a strike it put her in perfect range for his hammer. Her skull was cracked and destroyed with a wet snapping sound.

Meanwhile, Orthan and Ar`guh took this as their chance to attack. They leaped from their own hiding spots - amidst the greenery and shouted at the remaining orcs while their two fighting alphas took down the main female. With their own weapons drawn they moved toward the creatures, but didn't attack. Being under the impression that the Shaman wanted them to live they had forgotten the part where he suggested they kill a few of them to put those that remained in line. It would be a fatal mistake.

The sentry, a tall lean beast snapped it's jaws at Orthan, ripping his left arm from it's socket to display the white cupped bone of his shoulder. The orc screamed in torment. It ate this appendage, his weapon falling from his hand as soon as the arm had become unattached from his body. In that moment, Orthan did two other things as well; piss and shit himself as his knees buckled and he fell to the ground. From there, it was to Ar`guh that his attention turned. The sentry's vicious jaws opened again having already swallowed the meat that was within it whole. It fixed it's two large eyes to Ar`guh and snatched his head, though this it spit out as soon as it'd made a clean cut through the green skin of his neck. Blood spurted at regular intervals. It took a shockingly long amount of time for Ar`guh's body to fall, but when it did, it did so fast and without further movement, his head rolling off to a desolate puddle and easily forgotten.

From there, the sentry gave a new call, this one strikingly familiar to the one that had been made by their now dead leader. Nar`Zul's momentum carried him off the rock through the air to land on the ground again, M`li swiftly rolling away with her retrieved spear. Ra`zhin and the remaining orcs should be close, ready to capture those that were left - though, the Sentry didn't seem willing to give up it's freedom so easily.
[color=#000000][i]"What of the soul was left, I wonder, when the kissing had to stop?"[/i]
-- Robert Browning. [/color][size=75][i]Avatar by: [url=http://vyrl.deviantart.com/]vyrl[/url][/i][/size]
Nar`zul Qa`dar
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Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Sep 18, 2008 6:59 pm

Post by Nar`zul Qa`dar »

Nar'zul hit the ground and tried to roll with it, aiming, like M'li before him, to get back to his feet in one motion. Whether he did or not he got to his feet as quickly as he could, at the same time trying to come up in such a way that he'd be prepared if his initial blow hadn't been enough to fell the big female. But he needn't have worried, for it was obvious that she wouldn't be getting up again. Her skull was a ruin where it and his hammer had met. Once he was sure that his back wasn't going to be ripped open by an angry, wounded beast, Nar'zul looked for M'li. She wasn't far away, and he saw that she had retrieved her spear.

“I owe you.” He said simply.

Behind him, a cry went up, eerily reminiscent of the one the female had given upon discovering his ruse. Nar'zul turned back to see the sentry, the original sentry, standing over two downed orcs. That it was Orthan and Ar'guh wasn't immediately clear, and occur to him either. Nar'zul was too keyed up from the endorphin and adrenaline cocktail in which his brain was awash. He had done it. He had hunted and killed the big female, with a modicum of help, and he didn't resent it in the slightest, even if it had been M'li and it had still been his blow that felled her. Nar'zul eyed the sentry warily. It had killed two of the hunting party already, apparently unaided, for the other seven raptors were milling about in sluggish confusion behind it.

“Well M'li” Nar'zul said, glancing furtively at her, “looks like we're going to have to kill this one too. What do you say?”
"If you aren't Hitting, or being Hit, you aren't playing the game." - Finn, via Chat

[i]Speak no last words,
make no final request,
cry no plea for mercy,
ask not for forgiveness [/i]
- Tibus Heth
M`li
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Joined: Sat Oct 11, 2008 12:28 am

Post by M`li »

The female orc watched with dismay as the sentry ripped off Orthan's arm and destroyed Ar`guh with a simple chomp. She hefted her spear and crouched low to the ground. It would seem, by the fact that they'd set up a sentry, that these beasts had a good sense of sight. She had a mind to think it was based on movement so she positioned herself in a way that she thought she might become lost to the background of the swamp. Being close to the rock (and the body of the alpha female) she thought that if worse came to worse she'd be able to dive behind one or the other. Hopefully the creature would just go on by her, though, in the hunt of Nar`Zul.

M`li wasn't what one would call a 'talker'. In fact, the idea that Nar`Zul was trying to carry on some manner of conversation with her after two of their brothers had been cut down was rather ridiculous to her. It was so ridiculous she didn't return a word, and merely set her inky eyes on the sentry who was making it's loud calls. That there might be a discussion about whether or not to kill the large creature hadn't occurred to her. It just seemed like the thing that had to be done. She would kill them all if it was the difference between life and death for her. Assisting Nar`Zul in taking down the female was an act of self-defense (for he was ready to strike) more than it was one of comraderie. She had no love for the defiant orc and would challenge him properly when this was all done. That was assuming he lived, of course. M`li, the dark recess of her mind, hoped that wasn't the case. She could then claim to have killed the creature with her blow. She quite expected that should he live he would take all the credit for himself.

M`li had struggled with the fact that she was a female in a male world for her whole existence. She didn't want little screaming baby orcs pawing at her. She wanted to feel the rush of the kill. In this moment, she felt it, and she felt more alive for it than ever. Her mouth was split by a feral sort of grin that exposed sharp teeth and her blood pumped like lava through her veins. Fingers alternatively flexed and relaxed on the shaft of the spear in time with her heart beats. She was ready for the beast's attack.
Ashari
Moderator & Coordinator Mer Cities
Posts: 4125
Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2002 11:31 pm
Location: Anachronism

Post by Ashari »

Nar`Zul's roll wasn't very fluid, nor was it exceptionally acrobatic, but it got him where he needed to be. Perhaps if the Sentry hadn't been so busy dismembering the other members of their party he would've taken the lazy turn as a way to take out the beast that had killed the alpha female. Thankfully for Nar`Zul he was spitting out Ar`guh's head at that very flicker.

Seizing the moment (and unaided by the fellow raptors) the Sentry stepped forward on it's long meaty legs and gave an alarming roar. The pair of it's hind legs were equipped with an enormous claw each, and it clicked one - tap tap tap - with anticipation of destroying the rest of these small hot blooded orcs who threatened his tribe. Another squawk and the other raptors were brought to some manner of attention, though they were still slow and fat. A few of them sniffed their way over to where Orthan was still screaming, his howls fading in and out of notice amidst their adrenaline rush. They didn't bother with him yet, though. Their eyes were set on Ar`guh. The first of them picked him up like a fox does a hen, his body dangling lifelessly in it's large maw, while another nipped at his backside to tear away a chunk of un-fighting flesh. A third grabbed hold of one of his legs and the scrimmage began.

Charging forward the Sentry set it's eyes on Nar`Zul, for he'd been the last thing to move and was also recognized for giving the killing blow. He was still a good thirty paces away, but in it's long strides it would cover that distance swiftly. Nar`Zul's choices were few as to where to go, but the rock wasn't so far off as to be un-attainable - though how much protection would it provide?

Somewhere there came a more familiar war cry. This one of an orc - a specific orc - Ra`zhin rallied those who had been slowing creeping in. They had lengths of rope, weapons and thoughts of avenging their lost brothers. "CHARGE!" He screamed with a blood chilling bass. "KILL THE ONE IN THE FRONT!" He directed. The Sentry, however, didn't falter in his charge. He continued on, his eyes set on Nar`Zul.
[color=#000000][i]"What of the soul was left, I wonder, when the kissing had to stop?"[/i]
-- Robert Browning. [/color][size=75][i]Avatar by: [url=http://vyrl.deviantart.com/]vyrl[/url][/i][/size]
Nar`zul Qa`dar
Civus
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Sep 18, 2008 6:59 pm

Post by Nar`zul Qa`dar »

The sentry took a threatening step forward and roared, the sound an odd mixture of high and low sounds which throbbed like a heartbeat. The others were beginning to respond to the sentries repeated vocalizations, three of them where fighting over ar'guh's corpse, while Orthan's continued screams grew fainter. Nar'zul watched the scene in morbid fascination until the tap, tap, tap of the sentries claw drew his attention back to it.

“Nice to see what you bring to the party.” Nar'zul thought. With an odd detachment, he wondered what a claw like that would do to him. The image of himself lying on the ground, split from his collarbone to his balls flashed briefly through his mind before he forced it out. Now was not the time to be distracted by thoughts of ones own mortality. Nar'zul saw the sentry, and saw the sentry see him seeing him. The creatures eyes were locked in. Unlike M'li Nar'zul hadn't bothered to form any theories about the raptors while they were trying to kill him, all he saw in those eyes was a deadly adversary who wanted his blood. Then the beast charged.

So Nar'zul charged, roaring mightily, the big hunter barely hesitated before he moved, charging straight toward the oncoming raptor sentry, his hammer held across his chest crosswise, where he could easily bring it up to strike. Nar'zul reasoned that it was from those powerful legs, and the big claws at the end of them, that he had the most to worry about, so he intended to smash one of the monsters knees, just as he had smashed the big females head.

“For Ar'guh!” He bellowed as he, once again, rushed toward oblivion, not knowing whose it would be.
"If you aren't Hitting, or being Hit, you aren't playing the game." - Finn, via Chat

[i]Speak no last words,
make no final request,
cry no plea for mercy,
ask not for forgiveness [/i]
- Tibus Heth
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