Duel Atop The Hand

[Blawharag 277]

Gromgok and Blawharag locked eyes, slowly circling each other atop the Hand of Krug. Neither wished to make the first move, neither wished to wait much longer. At some hidden signal the two charged, sword met axe and a flurry of blows was traded. Blawharag drove Gromgok back into the pavillion and appeared to have the upper hand before Gromgok spun around a pillar and attacked from Blaw's rear. Blawharag's blade came up in time to meet Gromgok's axe, but he was unable to escape Gromgok's knee which drove up into his gut. Wary Blawharag stumbled back and the two rested a moment, both winded from the first clash, and both knew many more would follow.

"Hosh hit lat, bud ed gunna tayk moar den dat tu flat diz uld Orc." Blawharag puffed as he caught his breath. The Warbozz of the Kheshig was very satisfied by what was happening. At the peak of the Hand of Krug, the ancestors could see the duel with clarity and ease. It would be the best place for them to observe and learn the strength of these two. Blawharag had asked Gromgok, new chieftain of the Gorkils, to come here on the premise of letting the ancestors observe his strength. What Blawharag didn't say was that he was as much interested in seeing Gromgok's strength as the ancestors were.

Blawharag charged Gromgok again and the two danced across the palm of Krug. Gromgok brought his axe down on Blawharag with a heavy over-handed smash, but met the blow high and brought his hilt down with a vicious counter attack. With a fury, Gromgok retaliated with his own attack, throwing all his weight behind it and connecting a solid blow with Blaw's torso. Again both stepped back to again catch their breath.

"Har, dat ash mayd me noggin a bit fuzzy, me wuz peep'n dub uv lat fur a tik der."

Dewinded from Gromgok's blow, Blawharag could only nod his response. As the two steadied themselves, Blawharag climbed atop one of the fingers. When they drove at each other for a third clash, Blawharag took advantage of the high ground and began to drive Gromgok across the palm again. When they found themselves again at the center pavilion, Gromgok ceased his retreat and went onto the offensive. The Orc struck one heavy-handed blow after another, bringing all his fury to bear against his opponent. Blaw quickly found himself pressed against one of the pillars, knocking aside one attack only to have another quickly thrown at him. Finally Blaw managed to roll away just as Gromgok's axe smashed into the pillar, cleaving off a chunk of the stone. As the two slashed and hacked away at each other Blawharag made a cut at Gromgok's face, but the other orc ducked away just in time and countered by drving his shoulder into Blaw's gut. The two backed away again, but this time Gromgok took the high ground and climbed up a finger. Blawharag studied his opponent for a moment with questioning gaze,

"Oye! Wut lat duin ub der? Lat suppozed tu tayk da high ground agh den attak me! Nub tayk da high ground den klimb evun higher!" Gromgok offered no response, instead he jumped from one finger to the next, though he barely cleared the gap. Soon he was kneeling in position at one of the far fingers while Blaw stared on, interested to see what his opponent was up to. Then Gromgok drew his bow.

"Oh skah..." Blaw's expression melted as Gromgok began raining arrows down upon him. Blaw dived for the safety of the pavilion and put his back to a pillar trying to decide his next move. For a long moment the two stood silently waiting for each other. Blaw meditated silently. Here, atop the Hand of Krug, the ancestors were close by and it took the shaman no effort to reach out and converse with them. The communed in silence for a long moment as Blaw considered his next move. When charging, an archer had his hands full trying to line up proper shots on a moving target, but when Blaw stepped around the corner, there would be a moment before the charge where he was not moving. It was all Gromgok would need to put an arrow in Blaw's chest. Not all was lost though. Skilled swordsman could parry arrows from the air, though much of that relied on chance. To ensure that Blawharag would succeed in his parry, he invoked the aid of the spirits. When Blawharag came around the corner he was amply prepared. The arrow came straight for Blaw's chest and Blaw's own blade caught the arrow just in time. Using the flat of the blade, Blaw knocked the arrows aside and began charging as Gromgok continued firing. Some missed, Blawharag parried a second arrow and one found Blaw's shoulder but finally Blaw made it to the finger and scrambled up. Gromgok did not even bother drawing his axe, instead he met Blaw head on and grabbed at his blade. There the two struggled with each other, each fighting desperately for the upper hand. Slowly, Blawharag became aware that he was loosing this wrestling match. Blaw's master with the blade exceeded Gromgok's mastery with an axe, but where Blaw excelled with a weapon, he lacked without one. When it came to wrestling, Gromgok's skill was vastly superior. Realizing he was lost, Blaw made a desperate last minute decision. Gripping Gromgok by the arms, Blaw threw all his weight backwards. Right over the edge of the hand.

Together the two spiraled towards the sand crater below, Blaw grinning and Gromgok glaring. "Lat cheetun Kub uv a Skahur..."

Above, Mogroka called out to the elements, wind gushed around them and an up-draft blew so intense that the world around them was drowned out by the sound of such great force. The spell was enough to turn the fatal plummet into a near-fatal plummet. The combatants landed in the earth with a sickening crunch and both lied passed out and broken.

"Hosh klomp latz dub! Me wyl ged da Monks!" Mogroka could barely speak for all the laughing he was doing. Thore shook his head in dismay muttering about skahun mushhedz as he went down to make sure the cripples were still alive.

Somewhere the ancestors were drinking in celebration of another excellent fight, and looked forward to the day that Blawharag and Gromgok, sons of Mogroka, Warbozz of the Kheshig and Chieftain of the Gorkil, joined them in the ranks of the spirits.

[Goldrim 1422]

{ As always it has been an extremely great read, you are a great writer and I am honored to be part of this amazing story.

[Danny 2232]

Moved to the Great Library. It shall be sorted into appropriate category shortly.