Acquiring a horse was easy. But after seeing how the animal performed after a fairly easy day it was easy to see why the animal had been so cheap. It looked just like the dozen other horses except for the bald face and blue eyes. The way the man had made it seem like a small fortune for a horse, but when Ka'zhid had pulled out one of the large gold coins the man had accepted a handful. Thank the moons for Nords and their ridiculously large coins.
After just half a day the animal was left sweating and breathing heavily. And all they'd done was descend the steep valley entrance. That was another thing that bothered the mage. The wide open plains that stretched on forever were daunting. He was born to the rolling dunes of the desert.
At least there you could see yourself making progress. Here it all looked the same and very, very, boring. This theory was compounded the next few days as he traveled. The instructions he had been given were to head South and East for a few days and then he would strike the river. Yazuac was the name of the village he was aiming for. From there he would decide on a course.
That was the question he pondered on the long days. To the North lay Ceunon. No major connections to The Empire and somewhat isolated. There was also the large forest he had heard talk of. Elves supposedly hid in those leafy halls. Winter was also coming to the land and freezing his tail off was not on his list of things to do.
To the West there were the mountains of The Spine and Teirm. A shipping city fairly connected to The Empire. Teirm was too close to the capital and he would remain in The Empire. That put the South out of the question.
So it seemed the only option left was East. In that direction he had no idea what awaited him. The forest was supposed to be big, just how big he had no idea. If he went far enough he would strike the desert and that appealed to him. A sense of familiarity in this strange new land.
So, East it is.
-~o
Ka'zhid had gone South as the stable master had said and still there was no village. He'd found the river and refilled his waterskin. Supplies would still be required for his journey and to do that he needed to find a village.
It wasn't very hard. The smell of smoke had been getting stronger over the past hours. With the way his horse moved it would take an hour and a half. Some local knowledge or a map would be most helpful. The former would be easier to find around a friendly drink.
The wind brought other, more troubling news. Sweat and ill intentions hung heavily in the air. The strange new scent drew him from the river towards the North and East. In the next two hours, animals drinking at the river would settle down for the night, and night creatures would present themselves to their silvery maiden of the hunt.
The horse, perhaps expressing more sense than he himself, started to snort and slowed its pace. Ka'zhid sniffed the air. The stench was overpowering now and he could see why. A group of seventy or so creatures standing between six and nine feet tall marched along. Judging by the trajectory they were marching straight for the small town Ka'zhid could see.
Whoever this band was they did not mean the village well. That's what compelled Ka'zhid to break cover and ride hard for the village. Shouts and the pounding of feet soon died with distance. New shouts erupted as he drew closer to the village. Drawing closer, men blocked the street, tools in hand in place of weapons. One stood forth with a pitchfork and looked him up and down.
"Who are you and what do you want?"
"This one is Ka'zhid. He has ridden to warn you of the band approaching your village."
"Speak stranger to these men you saw and explain why you have ridden so hard."
"This one is new to these lands and inexperienced in their ways. Unless it is more common for men to be of tall height, this band stood no shorter than six feet tall. Armed and armored for war." The man's eyes went wide as haunted whispers flew between his comrades.
"Urgals! We must leave with all haste!" The men stood in uncertainty.
"I won't leave my home to be defiled by some monster! We should stay and fight." Outraged cries came from the rest.
"No. We must leave or lose our families. Perhaps they will bypass the town if they see it empty." The man with the pitchfork turned back to Ka'zhid.
"How many were there?"
"No less than fifty, no more than a hundred. Maybe seventy in all."
"You'd have us stand against those beasts Thes? Unless you wish to die we shall leave, immediately." The man turned to Ka'zhid and lowered the fork. "Our thanks to you master Ka'zhid. You'll understand if we don't offer you a drink."
"Of course. This one shall keep his eyes on the war band, mayhaps even slow them down."
"Thank you stranger, we must be about our business." The semi-circle of men ran off to alert the village, and Ka'zhid turned round to watch the Urgals approach. They'd whipped themselves into a jog and would be here soon. Too soon for all the villagers to leave. Time for a distraction.
He rode to the end of the street and dismounted the horse. Holding the reins tightly he leveled the other at the oncoming band. A concentration of the sun's light and fire formed in his hands and a fireball flew forth. It struck the lead Urgal and exploded enough to throw it back. Those behind the beast had been scorched but the Urgals kept coming.
Three more flew straight and true to destroy a handful of Urgals. Six were dead and some wounded, but this only served to increase their pace. He mounted the wild-eyed horse and drew his sword. This called for something else. He fired one last fireball, and kicked the reluctant horse forward. Controlling the magicka again he worked the magic for an illusion. As he drew closer to the war party he turned to the side, and so did five other horses and riders.
At close range he could see the Urgals well. Gray skin covered thick arms that ended in claws. Yellow eyes glowed in sunsets shadows, seeking which rider was the real one. The most distinguishing factor was the large curling horns that protruded just above their ears. Any armor was crude and makeshift. Their weapons however, presented a greater threat. Devilish looking blades, clubs, spears, and bows stopped any thoughts of charging straight at them.
Slowly he closed the distance and lashed out at the nearest Urgal. The blade cut a bloody line in the beast's unarmored side. The illusions shifted around Ka'zhid as he rode out of bowshot. Despite his efforts they were nearing the village where Ka'zhid could still see people pouring out of the houses.
The same trick didn't work again. Urgals sprang from the column brandishing spears at the riders. Most of the illusions disappeared as they ran on to leveled pikes or straight through Urgals. Ka'zhid's own horse reared, causing him to fall hard backwards. The Urgals gave a shout of triumph and pressed forward. The horse was having none of it and planted one of its hooves in the pike wielding Urgals skull, then promptly hoofed it away.
The Urgals marched onwards towards the town, with half a dozen gathering around Ka'zhid. He stood with sword in hand and looked around. The Urgal whose arm he had scored stepped forward and pointed his ax at Ka'zhid.
"You shall die puny human. Our master has wished to speak with you, but I shall bring him your head." The accent was thick and the Urgal spoke as if he was chewing on the words. Somebody clearly knew he was wandering. Most likely they didn't know exactly where but he would have to set up some spells later
"A dangerous task that would require six of you." He kept his sword hand in constant motion, drawing small circles in the air with its tip. His other hand inched towards the dagger's hilt.
"We are not afraid of you. Your magic burns the Ugralgra and for that we need many warriors." His fingers closed on the familiar hilt.
"Fight me yourself if you are not afraid. This one shall use no magic in our battle. Of that you have my word." The Urgal gave him a long hard stare. He motioned the warriors back and took a step forward, readying his ax.
"I shall have much glory from your death. Your head shall hang from our war banner." Feline finger pulled the knife loose and twirled it idly. Ka'zhid looked at the blade before falling into stance.
"You shall try."
The Urgal lunged, trying to end the fight in one swift motion. Rather than the large, slow swings of troll's Ka'zhid had encountered, this one moved with a viper's swiftness. Every blow was followed through with enough force to kill on contact. So began a deadly dance.
Minutes passed with swings, dodges, and blocks. Khajiit he may be, but the strength and speed to fight was not in him like this monster. He stuck to floating out of harm's way the way he was taught. Wear the enemy down if you cannot contest his strength. Do not give ground unless you intend to run.
The Urgal's will gave out after long moments of the moon. Ka'zhid had stood tall through the entire ordeal, but not without paying a toll. A large slash on his side spilled blood like a stomach-churning waterfall. Another slash had caught him on the back of the shoulder.
Despite the injuries, Ka'zhid lunged forward with grace learned from long hours. An axe had deflected the blow but there was weakness showing in the move. A ring of steel was slowly closing on the green humanoid, and there was nothing to be done about it.
A flash of steel, silvered by the sinking moon, cast aside the Urgal's weapon. As the weapon left its hands, the beast knelt and bared his throat. Breathing heavily, the blade rose to the neck. The Urgal looked deep into the hood of its defeat and closed its eyes. The blade quivered tantalizingly close to the quick death a slice to the neck offered. . . .then drifted away and into the sheath. The Urgal's eyes snapped open.
"What is your name?"
"My people call me Utzec."
"Tell your people to turn around. Leave this village and never return." Ka'zhid stumbled back and turned to leave. In the frenzy to survive he hadn't noticed the other Urgals gather around the fight after it lasted longer than it should have.
"You have bested me. Kill me, human! Do you have no honor!" Utzec bellowed. The hood drew back to reveal the fur and ears. The surrounding company backed away and made gestures. Hushed whispers sprung up like Arkay's Lash in summer heat.
"Khajiit will not kill this one. To have the honor to die in defeat is weaker than living with knowing you lost. To bear that weight is true honor." He flicked the hood back up and growled. "Now leave, or I shall return."
With that, the cat stumbled off into the dark. It was only by chance he struck the horse grazing peacefully. Mounting was a small trial with the wounds he wore. The next greatest was guiding the horse into a new morning he had weathered with little sleep and less blood.
Ka'zhid has a run in with Urgals, defeats their leader, and reveals his face. Next chapter we meet our second character and leave Ka'zhid to his own devices.
Important update here. So, when I created this account, I didn't really think about it but now it's gonna be a problem. This account is attached to my school email. That means, five to six months from now my school account will be deleted and my access to this account will be cut off. I've got my stories transferred to my personal account and I plan on starting up again. For now though Imma just keep posting here.
Have a good day, night, whatever. Later nerds.
