Tyrosh laughed at her son. “You really think Jacob would let an army this large, with this many unknowns, just march through his land?” She asked getting up to get more stew. “Would you, Lov?” Tyrosh began to shovel food into her mouth again. With the return of her powers, her dragon sized appetite had come back.
“Maybe I need to send you in first. I can't have them fighting me, Mother.” Lov dropped his face into his hands, speaking from between his palms. “I'm not looking to kill them, but I will get where I need to be. You know that feeling, the pull.” Lov raised his head, his eyes boring through his mother. “Well I feel it now, and nothing is going to stop me from getting where I need to be.”
“I'll go there if you want, Lov. I love the people, and it'll be good to see them again.” She pointed her spoon at her son, “But if you threaten my friends again, I'm going to spank you like I used to when you were a little boy. You just need to relax. Maybe you need a day away like I had.”
“I'd probably love that, but I can't go anywhere without these guards wanting to go with me.” Lov sighed before raising to his feet. “I should go train. I know Nord is never happy with how I do, he says I lack control.”
“Be safe!” Tyrosh called after her son, turning back to her bowl to finish her soup.
Chapter Twelve
Nord whistled in appreciation, watching his nephew at work. He'd decided to test the boy today in fighting more than one opponent, and Lov was shining. He stood surrounded by eight orcs, four Talons and four soldiers. They ducked and weaved and rotated around the young half-dragon. Lov sat in the center, like the calm in the storm.
One of the Talons jumped in, aiming a sharp thrusting blow at Lov with her staff. The young half-elf twisted his body wrapping himself around the staff as it whizzed past him. Lov struck out with his own weapon, just enough to stop a man charging him in the opening from his dodge.
Lov swung his foot around, tripping up another male who tried to bull rush him. The tripped orc fell into two others, knocking them to the ground. Lov ducked under the swing of a third man, then used the staff of the original talon as a step. He jumped outside of the circle they had formed around him. He threw his training stick, catching the staff wielder in the nose. He used her staff as a step, jumping off it onto the man across from her. Lov kicked him in the face, grabbing his club as the man dropped to the ground. The young chief swung at the orc on his left, trying to keep the group off balance.
Lov's blow was blocked by an orc younger looking than himself, his fur was just beginning to grow in. The boy could fight though, Lov struggled to keep the young man off of him, dodging and weaving through the other fighters while being pressed by this young, yellow-skinned man. One of the other orcs managed to trip Lov up, and the young half-dragon took a couple solid cracks to the head before Nord pulled the angry orcs off his nephew.
“Not the greatest I've ever seen, but not horrible.” Nord helped Lov to his feet, pulling the young half-elf from the ground. “I think Dulkh,” the skinny giant pointed to the yellow skinned orc who stood sucking in air, “pressed you to your limits, with a little help. I think we'll assign him for extra training. Give him to Makarak, he'll teach him to be a leader.”
Lov patted the young man on the back, “I agree, Uncle. He fought well.” Lov signaled to the Talons. “Let's get going, Greta, we need to get back on the move.”
Missy came zipping up to Lov, stopping in the young half-dragon's way. “We might have a problem!” She ripped her finger through the air, pulling Lov to where the trouble was beginning to start.
Lov turned on the little fairy when he caught his bearings. “What the hell are you doing? Where are my guards?” Lov's honor guard had not made the trip. The two of them stood at the edge of the Great Wyrm Desert, and the sand was already hot. Lov watched as the sand in the distance waved with the dry heat. “You know you're going to get me in trouble.”
“You're going to have worse trouble if you don't defuse a situation!” Missy grabbed Lov by the nostril, dragging the young half-elf with her. “Now you listen to me! Manatua and his party started a stampede of the crickets!”
“The crickets?” Lov protested as he looked down at Missy, his eyes crossed as he followed her. “You do realize my army is much bigger than crickets, right?”
Missy ignored the young man, heading towards a dust plume that rose over the hill. When they reached the crest of it, Lov looked down on hell. These crickets were large, the size of a loaf of bread, and there were thousands upon thousands of them. They swarmed around his group, as they fought to get free of the herd. Missy zipped around the cliff edge, assessing the situation. “Oh, the nomads aren't going to like this!”
“Nomads?” Lov asked feeling the sand beneath his feet vibrate with the crickets passing below, “What nomads?”
“The people of the desert, they tend to avoid outsiders. Unless you mess with their crickets.” She pointed to their group below. “Manatua heard one of the Anuunaki say they felt like the crickets were being treated as slaves. So he took it upon himself to 'free' them. Yeah, we see how that goes.” She rolled her eyes, then looked to Lov.
“Now, I can save them easy. But if we save them, the nomads will be angry, and they'll harass us every step of the way to Heart.” Missy looked to her leader. “What's your decision?”
“Save them of course, but make them understand why they were saved, okay?” Lov glared down at the group below them. “Another headache. I thought being in charge would be easy.” The sun glared and reflected off of the young half-dragon's scales as he looked around.
Missy moved quickly, saving the group of ten orcs and Anuunaki that had started the stampede. Lov stepped forward, glaring at each of them. When he reached Manatua, Lov's arm shot out taking his ax from the young shaman. “You can have this back when you show me you're not an idiot anymore. Until then, you can help in the kitchens.” Lov glared up and down the line, “That goes for the rest of you, too!” He looked at Missy, eyeballing the crickets passing by. “So, how much more trouble are we going to be in if we kill some of those crickets, Missy?”
“Well, if you're already standing in shit...” She replied, “Why?”
“Can we capture them? Use them to feed our army? I'll pay for them, whether it be in honor or gold. But everyone needs something to eat besides mushroom stew.” Lov watched as the crickets swarmed by. “Maybe...Missy, come here.” Missy flew to the young half-dragon, and he grabbed her from the air, holding her gently. “Don't fight me.”
Missy felt used! She felt Lov invade her, taking control of her magical powers. He opened an immense hole, full of fire and flames, a realm Missy never even realized she could reach. Another hole opened ten feet from their group, and cooked crickets swarmed out. They covered a sizable area quickly, forming a small mound of cooked meat.
The young half-elf released Missy, swaying on his feet. The small fairy floated down to the ground gently, landing in the soft sand. “What the hell did you do to me?” Missy demanded weakly from the ground. “If you ever do that again without my permission, I'm going to drop you in a shadow realm, where you'll be the only physical being.”
Lov walked over to the pile of crickets, picking one free and cracking the exoskeleton on the leg. “Yeah, sorry. My hunger decided that it needed a change of taste.”
Missy lifted slowly from the sand, flying into Lov's pocket to take a lookout perch. “I can't even fly now, you insufferable shit.” She said, grabbing onto the top of the pocket. “The army's going to have to stop anyways. These crickets will stampede for days, and by the time they finish, the nomads are going to be ready to harass us.”
They spent that night feasting on the crickets. Lov found that the eyes were the best, full of water that was sweet like honey. The next morning, as the sun was lighting the sky, they could see the dust plume of the army. They knew it would arrive before night, so they sat in the sandy grass, trying to conserve energy.
The ground started to shake and trem
ble with the army's passing, adding to the vibrations of the crickets. The army pulled up short, and the Anuunaki with Lov shot off into it, carrying the crickets left over from the night before. It would be added to the stews for the day, giving a nice change of pace and some actual meat. The orcs would love it.
Nord walked to his nephew, a perplexed look on his face. “What the hell is causing all that ruckus?” the skinny giant asked, looking over the edge of the hill. He laughed when he saw the crickets below. “Someone must have spooked them, who was it? I want to make fun of them!”
Lov pointed to the young shaman, “It was Manatua, but don't tease him too hard. I took my ax back from him, until he proves he can wield it intelligently.”
“Are you going to give it to someone else?” Nord asked his nephew, eyeballing the dirty and bruised orcs before him.
“Depends on how long it takes him to show he's a man.” Lov replied. The young chief started to walk through the army. “Set up camp, we'll have visitors as soon as these crickets pass.”
“Great, just great.” Nord put on a confident face shouting out, “Set up camp! Get a good day’s rest and a good night’s sleep. Soon as it's over, I'm driving us hard for Heart!”
Chapter Thirteen
Missy came back from flying over the crickets, she had gone to start negotiations with the nomads. She flew into Lov's tent, pacing on top of his trunk. “Their leader says he wants a thousand gold pieces for the trouble this stampede has caused him.” Lov winced, but nodded ascent. “That's not all, for the ones you stole, he demands a place in your army by your side. He wants to send a representative with you.”
“Who?” Lov asked from where he sat on his cot.
“His son. Shouldn't be a problem, I think he just has too many mouths to feed, so he's looking to pawn one off on you.” Missy shrugged before sitting on the edge of the chest. “Doesn't matter though, I agreed for you. They'll leave him behind when the crickets pass on, and they won't bug you on our way to Heart.”
“So I picked up another mouth to feed?” Lov asked, laying back on his cot. “That's not so bad. This should be easy.”
Missy jumped from the trunk, floating in the air. Her soft yellow glow lit the tent. “We'll see, he has a lot of sons, and he wouldn't point out the one he was leaving behind.” She shot from the tent, leaving Lov to sleep in peace.
The next morning the crickets were gone. Nord drove the army to get moving, all but whipping men from their tents to get them on the move. Across the ravine where the crickets had stampeded, a rail skinny black girl sat in the road. Lov could count the poor thing's ribs. The man must have decided to lose a daughter instead of a son. Either way, Lov felt pity and scooped her up to ride with him. She was tall and skinny, but healthy looking. Lov could tell she was underfed. She clung to him, trembling in fear as the Anuunaki Lov rode shot off across the desert.
They traveled most of the day that way, and that night when the camp was set up, the girl passed out quickly in Lov's cot. He thought of what to do with the young girl, deciding to give her to his mother. She would shape this child into a strong willed woman. The kind the world needed.
Lov was trying to talk to the child he had picked up. He pointed to his own chest saying, “Lov.” He pointed to her, and then waited, before doing it again saying, “Lov.”
She pointed to her own chest, softly and shyly replying, “Mrkl, and I'm not an idiot, I can talk well enough.”
Lov's mother, sitting next to him snorted in anger. “Seriously? They called you Mrkl. We're choosing a new name for you, sweetheart. You choose anything you want.”
The child smiled at Tyrosh, reaching out to take a bowl of the mushroom stew from off of the table. When Lov shifted in his seat, the young girl gave a start. She all but dropped the bowl before the young half-elf settled back in his chair. “Relax, little one, you have nothing to fear.”
She tore into the soup, finishing it quickly. She set the bowl on the table then settled back in her chair. “My father left me behind. Our family has fallen on hard times, he works as a herder for the sheik. I am the last thing he owns. He gave me to you, hoping I would have a chance at a better life.” She looked to the beautiful elven woman seated across from her. “I trust you, and I hope you will help me to become the best version of myself I can be.”
Tyrosh smiled at the young girl before her, “It will be simple, dear. First things first though, I need to talk to the Anuunaki about a bath. You stink something fierce!”
The child cleaned up nicely, though they had few clothes for her to wear. Lov would send Missy to get the child clothes, specifying human clothes. Her hair hung thick and shiny, wet from her bath.
His mother had scrubbed her several times, asking for three tubs of water before she was done. “There, all clean now!” She said, rubbing the child down with a towel. “So have you decided on a name yet?” She asked the little girl, who shook her head no. “Well, then I think I have the perfect name for you. How do you like Lily?” She asked, smoothing back her hair.
The girl smiled a toothy grin at her, nodding her head yes. “I love it.” She said quietly. Lily dressed quickly, and Tyrosh led her outside. The young lady yawned wide as they headed to the elven woman's tent.
Lov watched his mother walk off with the little girl they had picked up today. She'll be good for the girl, he thought closing the flap to his tent.
One of his honor guard stepped in after him. “Tell everyone I want some alone time tonight. They can come back in the morning.” He stripped his shirt from his back, preparing to remove his pants.
The guard ignored him, stepping up to the young chief and punching him in the stomach, hard. Lov dropped to the ground, trying to suck in air. She'd knocked the breath from him. Two more guards stepped in, holding leather cords. They quickly bound and gagged Lov and drug him from the tent.
Orcs started to stream behind them hooting and hollering. They knew the young chief had messed up. He was fubar. They streamed through the camp, following the Talons outside of the tent line. They dragged Lov into the desert towards where the other women waited. Lov was proud to see that they were broadening their horizons. He saw a few Anuunaki standing in ranks with the other guards. That is, until they tossed him into a sand pit.
Charlot stepped to the edge of the pit, looking down on Lov as his guards hog tied him. “This one forgot us! He left us behind!” She stepped away from the pit and Lov lost sight of her, but he could hear her voice ringing out in the air. “Lovonian promised to keep us with him after abandoning us last time, yet we were left behind. Again!” He could hear the other women shout out in rage. “What should we do to him?” Charlot asked.
Lov heard a thousand suggestions. Everything from beatings with a switch to filling a bucket with sand one grain at a time. It seemed all of the women had ideas, and soon they were taking votes on which sounded best. They assigned bowls for ideas, and stones for votes, offering the choices that were actually possible. While it sounded like a good plan to feed him to Gruumnsh through a volcano, it was much harder to implement in the middle of the desert. And they wanted to make sure he could still lead after.
“So it's decided! We give him the Old Mother Punishment!” Lov heard them rushing across the sand. His guards surrounded him, blotting out the sun. Charlot smiled down at Lov, hog tied in the pit. His muscles were starting to cramp as she smirked down at him, glee and mirth in her eyes. “This is going to be fun.”
They gathered the young half-dragon up, removing his gag before stuffing him into a burlap sack. They cut an air hole about half way up the bag. “What are you doing?” Lov shouted out of the hole, he was starting to get angry. The women set up a spit quickly, setting the bar high above a fire. They shoved a pole through the bag containing their young leader, and set him to cook over the flames.
Lov luxuriated in the heat. It filled him with energy, and a sense of calm settled over him. “I don't know what I'm going to do to you all to pay you back, but it's going to be h
orrible.”
Charlot reached up, slapping his mouth sticking out of the hole. “Shut up and take your punishment, boy. It shouldn't last too long.”
Lov sat back, soaking in the heat. He even worked the flames below him, building them up. “Ahh, nice and comfy.” Lov shouted out. He felt something smack into his forehead. Soon after, he felt another impact. “What are you doing?” He called out, imagining cloves being tossed in to purify his soul. “Are you guys trying to purify me?”
“Something like that!” A deep feminine voice shouted out. The impacts came faster and faster, and Lov shifted as they settled around him at the bottom. Lov felt a sharp bite, and he jumped at the pinch. He was bit again, shocks of pain shot up his shoulder and into his skull. He tried to assess the bag that enclosed him. There wasn't enough light in the small area of the bag to make out anything. He was bit again, and again before he finally shouted out in pain.
He heard Manatua shout out, “I make that fifty before he cried like a pansy. I'm disappointed, I made it to a hundred before I cried out. Pay up Zth, you owe me your armband there.”
The bites began to come more frequently, and in the pain, Lov lost sense of when there were more of the things thrown in. He felt them creeping and crawling all over him, getting into his clothes. He felt them try to burrow into his scales, and tried to thrash around.
More and more bites were taken from Lov before he passed out. When he awoke, he was still in the sack and the bugs were still biting him. Lov focused on the flames, building them up. He heard the crowd around him gasp as the flames brushed up against the bag below him. Lov felt the threads of the seam start to give. He managed to turn to his side before landing in the fire below. “Will you please untie me? That was some bullshit!”
Charlot shook her head at the young man in the fire below. “That depends on you, did you learn your lesson?”
“That's what I've been trying to tell you from the start!” Lov said, as his dragonhunger fed his anger. He flexed his arms and snapped the bonds that held him. “Who's going to help me get all these damn things off me?” He asked, flicking ants from his arms and legs. “I have some buried in very unmentionable places.”
Breath of the Titans: The False Titanbringer: Complete Trilogy Page 38
