“W-W-W-What about the return trip to Yucoke?” Keves stammered.
“Upon returning to Yucoke, I will pay you thirty more gold, and we will part ways.” Tartum said.
The man was so nervous all he could do was nod his head to signify his agreement.
“One more thing, Keves, I’ll hold onto the map so you don’t go running off or try to abandon me in the middle of our trip.” Keves reached into his pocket immediately and handed Tartum his map. Tartum put the map into one of the hidden pockets in the sleeves of his robes before continuing. “Gather up what you need and meet me here in two hours. We will leave before noon.” he said, as he stood up from the table.
For a second, Tartum thought the man would pass out from fear. He squeaked his understanding and practically sprinted up the stairs towards his room. Saying his goodbye’s to Markum and Gaiana, Tartum called out to Buddy who was working on a bone one of the Polimo’s had given him. Holding the bone in his mouth, Buddy walked over to his master’s side, wagging his tail happily. As they made their way back towards Tartum’s house, Dannurn fixed him with a pecular look that confused him.
“What is it, Dannurn?” Tartum asked.
Dannurn hesistated a moment before replying, “Would you really have turned him into a toad and sold him as a pet?” he asked, flabbergasted.
Tartum burst into a fit of laughter, “No! No, my friend, that is one trick that I cannot do, but Keves doesn’t need to know that now, does he?” Tartum said, as he gave his friend a playful shove.
The relief on Dannurn’s face caused Tartum to laugh even harder, “Thank the Gods. That threat scared the hells out of me, damnit! Had me worried I was going to have to start questioning all the boys in town on where they got their amphibian pets from now on. Couldn’t have you changing everyone you dislike into toads now, can I?”
Tartum was laughing so hard, he had to stop in the middle of the road to regain control of himself. “I promise to get your permission before changing anyone into a toad, my friend!”
Dannurn looked embarrassed for a moment, “Well, for a shifty little goblin like Keves, you don’t have to wait, but let me know if you do all the same. I’d like to see that kinda magic honestly.” Dannurn said with a laugh.
Wiping tears from his eyes, Tartum clapped his friend on the back, “So would I, my friend. So would I!”
They made their way the rest of the distance to Tartum’s house joking about who they would or wouldn’t change into a toad if they had the opportunity. Once he was inside his house, however, he became excited about starting the second leg of his quest to gather the components needed for his ring.
It didn’t take him long to pack his things since he hadn’t unpacked from his trip from Windswept. In less than an hour, he was ready to go. After a quick discussion with Dannurn, Tartum gave him the horse he had recieved from Oldrake in exchange for watching over his house again and taking care of Buddy. Tartum had never encountered a Troll before, but from what he’d heard they were terrifying, and he didn’t want to have to worry about Buddy’s well being when he should be concentrating on his own. Also, the memory of how the thought of Buddy being killed had affected him during his battle with the Blurs still didn’t sit well with him. To avoid the possibility of his closest companion being put in harm’s way, he decided leaving him in the safety of Yucoke was a far better idea than leading him into a fight with a vicious troll. He also promised Dannurn he would give him the dwarven axe he wanted so badly if he was able to find someone that could lead him to a dragon’s lair by the time he returned from the troll’s cave. Dannurn’s eyes practically popped out of his head when Tartum made the offer, and he promised him over and over that he wouldn’t fail him. Saying goodbye to Buddy was the hardest, but it went smoothly, as once again, Tartum got the distinct impression his dog understood every word he said. With a sloppy dog kiss, Buddy sadly wagged his tail and stood next to Dannurn as they left his house, and Tartum locked the door before heading to the inn to pick up Keves and begin his the next phase of his journey to slay a troll and collect his blood.
CHAPTER 38
Tartum was beginning to lose hope. He had been hiking through the woods, getting farther and farther from civilization for weeks now. Keves had disapeared with most of the supplies three days after they began their journey into the woods. They had set up camp after a particularly difficult day of hiking through the thick folliage of the forest. Tartum had set up his magical barriers to protect them from the nocturnal predators that made their home in the woods. They ate and went to sleep, when Tartum awoke there was no sign of Keves, nor were any of his barriers missing or shattered. Tartum almost turned back when he saw that almost all of the food was gone, but his need to aquire the troll’s blood was stronger than his fear of being alone in the woods. He still had the map, and at the time he believed it would simply be a matter of following it till he got to his destination. What he soon discovered was that getting turned around and lost in an unfamiliar forest was far easier. Tartum was beginning to think he had made a mistake.
He had lost track of time and was getting frustrated by his lack of progress. The map showed the troll’s lair to be in the area he believed he was in! He wandered aimlessly hoping to spot a glimpse of the dead tree or large stone depicted on the map. Finally, Tartum became so frustrated, he began calling out in a desperate attempt to get someone’s attention. It wasn’t logical, but at this point he would have perfered having the troll come barreling at him through the woods than spend one more day lost within the trees. His cries did not go unnoticed, rustling from the nearby shurbs and bushes let him know something was coming towards him, fast. For a moment, Tartum allowed himself to hope it was the troll he had been seeking and prepared himself for a fight. Unfortuantely, the attention he got wasn’t from a troll. Instead a wild boar that he startled with his cries burst through the surrounding foliage mere feet away from him. The boar was huge, at least two hundred pounds of muscle, tusk, and fury. The boar had seen its fair share of battle judging by its appearance. It’s body was a mess of scars from countless fights for territory, mates, and dominance, many of which he seemed to have won. His right tusk was broken off into a jagged stump, but the shards that remained looked sharp enough to slice through flesh and bone.
The boar hesistated when it came into the clearing and spotted him standing there. Tartum’s fear of being attacked, as well as the noise the animal made as it charged towards him, left him plenty of time to prepair. He raised his hand, the rose petals for his spell already in his hand. Just as he was beginning to chant the words of power for his spell, the boar came out of his stupor and made his move. Charging with a speed he hadn’t expected, Tartum threw himself out of the beast’s path before it gored him on his remaining tusk. As he evaded, Tartum stabbed at the boar with the rounded bottom of his staff. He hit his mark, but the boar’s hide was thick, and judging by the squeal, all he had managed to do was anger the creature further.
Before Tartum could think, the boar charged at him; this time catching Tartum flat footed. Impacting him, Tartum felt momentarily weightless as two hundred pounds of momentum sent him flying through the air only to slam into a nearby tree. The force of the impact with the tree had hurt, but Tartum knew if it hadn’t been for his dome spell absorbing the brunt of the boar’s attack he would be dead. The voice in the back of his head screamed at him to defend himself! Tartum leapt to his feet, rounding on the boar that was shaking its head trying to find Tartum. Apparently the boar’s impact with his spell had dazed the creature, Tartum cursed himself for not capitalizing on this moment.
Hearing Tartum stand, the boar spun around to face him and charged again. Tartum attempted to sidestep the creature, but it was ready for the move. As Tartum dove to the boar’s right it swung its head to compensate and tore a ragged gash through Tartum’s calf. Screaming with the pain, Tartum fell to the ground, landing in a sitting position. Grabbing his wounded leg, he dropped the rose petals and his staff. The pain sea
red through his leg and clouded his mind. Tartum cried out in pain, trying to force the feeling way with the release, the screaming did nothing to alleviate the pain. The guiding voice inside his mind was the only rational part left to him, and Tartum clung to it. He knew the boar would finish him off soon if he didn’t get control of himself and focused through the pain. The boar was watching him warily, somehow Tartum knew the boar found him more dangerous now that he was wounded. A plan quickly formed in his head. Tartum began flailing around, feigning panic as he positioned himself against the base of a tree. As he butted up against the tree, he accidentally hit his head agianst the trunk causing him to grab his head and curse in pain.
The boar saw all this and believed Tartum was finished. Overcome with the prospect of victory, the boar charged one final time intending to finish him off. Tartum watched as the boar lowered its head and braced itself for the killing blow. The moment the boar’s feet left the ground, Tartum threw himself at his staff bringing up the blunted bottom point directly at the charging boar. He braced the mushroomed top of the staff against the tree behind him, screaming as the nightmare sprinted towards him. The staff connected with the boar’s skull with a sickening crunch. A combination of the staff’s magical enchantments, physics, and the velocity at which the boar charged caused the staff to cave in the beast’s skull, jamming the weapon well into it’s brain. The boar’s death was instant; Tartum’s relief took longer as the scene played out in his head over and over again. The realization that he wasnt going to die slowly seeped into his head.
Tartum rolled away from the boar, leaving his staff stuck in its cerebrum and crawled over to a nearby tree. Taking a few deep breaths, Tartum leaned over to assess his wound. It turned out to not be that bad. The tusk had only cut about an inch into his calf, and the bleeding wasnt hard to stop. After washing the wound out with some water from one of his waterskins, he bandaged the gash and limped over to the boar to retrieve his staff.
“Well, at least I’ll eat well for a few days.” Tartum said to himself. Brushes with death like this always terrified him, but he had to admit he loved how alive he felt afterwards. Looking down at the beast, he took a moment to allow himself to be proud of this kill. The battle hadn’t been his finest moment, he knew, but he was still alive and had one hells of a story to tell Dannurn when he got back to Yucoke.
Reaching into his pouch, he retrieved his knife and began butchering the boar for the sustinance it would provide. The remaining tusk that was still stained with his blood would also provide a small sum of gold when he got back to town, or at the very least give him something to barter with if he found himself in such a position. Removing the boar’s tusk, Tartum rinsed the blood off with water before placing it inside his pack.With the tusk secured, he returned to the task of making himself a well earned dinner.
The meal was magnificent. The boar’s well-muscled body provided Tartum with enough meat for at least the next week. The meat was succulent and sizziled tantalizingly as he roasted it over his camp fire. The smell was invigorating, and the taste was so delicious, Tartum found himself moaning in delight. So engrossed with his meal, Tartum never heard the people creeping into his camp.
“Hail! We mean you no harm, stranger, we ask what you’re doing in our forest!”
The sound of someone’s voice other than his own after weeks of being lost in the forest startled Tartum badly; he hoped it hadn’t shown.
Turning slowly towards the sound of the voice, hands still holding a piece of boar meat to his mouth, Tartum saw the source of the greeting. Two large men, easily eight and a half feet tall and three hundred pounds of solid muscle, Tartum was immediately intimidated by their presence. Assessing their expressions, Tartum believed that these men were only acting wary of him! He saw no weapons on them, nor did he see much in the way of clotheing. They both wore animal skin loin cloths and crude hide boots that had been tied to their feet. They both had long, dark, greasy hair that ran all the way down their backs. Their arms were misproportioned, it took Tartum a moment to realise that they were far longer than they should have been with their hands resting on their knees even when they were standing straight. Looking at their hands, he saw why they carried no weapons, instead of nails they had two inch long black claws that ended in a sinister point on their fingers. The sight of which sent a chill of fear racing down Tartum’s spine. Both of the men hunched like they carried a large load on their backs and were covered in filth. The smell was horrible. Seeing them watch him expectantly, Tarutm realized they were waiting for him to respond. Dropping the meat he held, he stood up to face the strangers.
“My name is Tartum. I’m looking for a troll’s lair that is rumored to be somewhere near here. You dont happen to know if its close, do you?” Tartum answered. He didnt know if these two meant to kill him or help him, but he believed it was the latter. If they had wished to kill him, they had ample oppurtunity to do so before calling out to him. That suited him fine, he wasnt in the mood for another fight today, and his leg was stiff from his earlier battle.
The two men eyed Tartum closely, the way they were looking at him made him feel like a mouse surrounded by hungry cats. The hunger in their eyes and the way they kept licking their lips made Tartum nervous. Throwing caution to the wind, Tartum retireved his staff. As Tartum moved to stand he tore open his leg wound, and the pain caused him to wince. Looking up quickly to see if they had noticed, he saw it wasn’t him they were interested in. Both of them were transfixed by his campfire; it looked like it terrified them. Tartum had heard that there were tribes of people deep in the world that hadn’t mastered fire, but he never thought to find such a tribe here.
The bigger of the two men stepped forward and extended his hand in greeting. “I am called Tremendous, of the village Strong Rock. If you’ll share with us your meat, we will take you to our home where the boss will decide whether or not to help you.” Tremendous said. His mouth was watering as he stared at the meat, but Tartum could still see the fear in his eyes as he watched the fire like it was an angry cobra.
Tartum thought about saying no but realized he really didn’t have much of a choice. With his injury, he was no match for the both of them, he hadn’t even recast his dome spell yet. His leg was bleeding again, he had no offensive spells ready, the two of them could easily tear him to pieces and take whatever they wanted from him. He also was completely lost in the middle of a hostile forest, and these two were the first people he’d encountered since Keves abandoned him. While he knew all this, it wasn’t what made him decide to befriend the men. Tremendous and his friend were two of the strangest human-like people he’d met, and it fascinated him how ravenous the meat seemed to be making them, yet how their fear of fire was keeping them in check. He would allow the men to partake in his meal, it wasn’t like he was what was stopping them anyway. With a little luck, he hoped to learn more about the men and their people, if nothing else it was just good to have company again after being alone for so long.
“After all,” Tartum thought to himself, “All they can do is finish what the boar started and get what they want anyway.” Laughing to himself, Tartum offered the men a seat next to his fire.
As Tartum expected, the men refused to come near the fire. “No, we won’t go near the fire. Extinguish it before we approach, please.” Tremendous said, a tremor of fear inching its way into his voice.
Not fully understanding but curious to his core, Tartum opened himself to the magic.
“Uush.” he commanded, extinguishing the flames as they requested.
With the fire gone, the light it provided went with it. Concerned, Tartum looked at his staff.
“Light!” he said. His staff began to glow softly, illuminating the area around him far better than the fire had.
The act of using magic didn’t concern the men at all, and the moment the fire was out, they moved towards the meat. They tore into the hunk that had been roasting over the fire and quickly devoured it. This irritated Tartum, but in the inte
rest of not getting killed, he said nothing.
The two made short work of the meat and quickly moved on to the carcass. There was still alot of meat left on the beast that Tartum hadn’t cut away yet. The two men used their claws and teeth to pick the corpse clean, licking their hands clean once there was nothing but bones left. After they made very sure, twice, that there was nothing left, they both looked at Tartum. For a moment he thought they may atttack him, and he grabbed a snake skin from his pouch.
Seeing Tartum’s reaction to their stares, the men looked down, apparently ashamed. “We’re sorry, Tartum Fuin. We don’t come into contact with many outside our village. Come, we will take you there. Do not fear, we will not let you come to any harm. We swear it on the pain of fire!” Tremendous said.
Not seeing any other choice, Tartum nodded to Tremendous and followed him as he made his way through the trees. He couldn’t help but be impressed by how easily Tremendous found his way through the forest that he had been wandering around in for weeks. He followed the men at a distance and even returned the snake skin to his pouch after they made no threatening gestures as they walked. He did, however, sneak a bit of candle wax into his mouth when he believed they weren’t looking. He wanted to trust the men, but he decided it couldn’t hurt to be prepared. He still hadn’t gotten the chance to recast his dome spell, and without the green tint to his skin, he felt very exposed and vulnerable.
Their walk to the village was mercifully short as every step taken with his wounded leg caused Tartum more and more grief. After about twenty minutes of walking, they came upon a large clearing. Here, in the middle of nowhere was Strong Rock. The name was fitting. Strong Rock village was exactly as the name suggested. A huge, black, oblong shaped stone was layed out in the clearing. Easily six hundred yards long and four hundred yards across, it looked like the Gods had placed it there themselves. The stone was easily twenty feet tall and had a glassy sheen to it. It had been hollowed out and crude homes had been constructed inside of it. Holes in the ceiling allowed the sunlight in, which Tartum imagined would light the interior of the structure very well. It was one of the most remarkable things Tartum had ever seen, and for a moment, he wished his old mentor Isidor was with him. Squashing the idea as soon as he thought it, Tartum angrily forced himself to examine the village.
The Jade Mage: The Becoming: Volume 2 Page 39
