40 Lambs and Lions
Drevin thought he was the luckiest man alive as he sat at his personal table in front of all his lackeys. Forty men, all drinking and feasting to him. Tired of taking orders from the nobles of Rudelia, he decided to take the best men in his unit and run as far away from the North as possible. To him, staying there was nothing more than awaiting imminent death. Equipped in shoddy gear, they were forced to march to the front lines and wait. Standing their ground, they called it. Drevin thought it was just setting up target practice for the Empire. They'd come back with half their men, the others turned into pink mist or bodies ripped to shreds from a distance by the Empire's weapons and magic. Obryia was no better. He'd seen the strange equipment their soldiers wore but no one thought to give a few pieces to them. Obryia was the only reason why Grav hasn't marched down to conquer the rest of the continent.
No, Drevin thought. He didn't feel like dying while another noble stood back at camp getting fat. And so he left. To the border between Archipel and Haldin. The two countries drained the most by this so-called Nation Alliance against the Imperial war machine. And it was here that he found freedom. He didn't know how liberating it would be or how much he would enjoy taking what he wanted. He wasn't like this before, as a peasant sheepherder. He thought maybe he was always like this deep down. None of these countries did him any favors. If they had found out he was a deserter, it would have been straight back to Rudelia in chains. They might as well kill him right there? So why not just live how you want then?
No more herding for him, no more bowing to his "betters". Here he was a king with his own castle. A lion. The finest pleasures in life were there for him to enjoy now. All the food, women and money in the world. But you could never have enough of all three. he thought.
When a stranger contacted one of his fences that traveled the countryside, Drevin was offered more money than he could ever hope for. All for one simple job to find some wolf cub. Of course he asked to meet this benefactor in his fortress face to face. To either take him up on the offer or just take the money from his corpse. The moment the stranger made his appearance, the man made sure that the latter was not an option. Drevin was smart enough to know how to pick targets. This man was not one to try his luck on. Not even with all his men.
But Drevin still accepted the offer. He had skilled trackers among his ranks. Former game wardens from Rudelia who could easily track it down in these mountains. And they did. Along with it's parent, an enormous magical wolf beast. If it wasn't for the strange supplies given to him by the stranger, the beast would have tore through him and his men. Whatever the ball that spewed a strange dust in the air was, it was highly effective against the creature. It intoxicated the beast as their arrows and spears tore into its flesh. If their mages could have used magic at the time, they would have killed the beast but the dust effected them too. Stopped them from drawing mana to cast their spells. Instead it ran out into the forest in a enraged stupor, unaware that it was abandoning its child: a strange looking wolf cub with it's two tails.
A present for some spoiled Rudelian noble's child, he wondered? It didn't matter. Only the gold mattered. All he had to do now was wait while his fence got into contact again with the stranger.
And while he waited, his men found a craftsman golem wandering outside his gate. None of his men had seen a golem of his like before. Intelligent, made of pure metal and covered with some unknown fiber-like skin. This one is sure to pay even more to a collector. Two large sacks of gold, like he had never seen were just waiting to be cashed in. He just had to celebrate his new found wealth with a feast. The only thing he was disappointed with was the fact that the dancers were already "used" the week before. Now he had to settle on enjoying the less attractive staff workers they had. With all this money, he thought, he could just buy a hoard of women instead. His own personal harem. Of course a king needs a-
A strange light coming from the corner of his eye brought back his attention. Looking towards the source, he saw an orb of light fly through the air and land on a table surrounded by his subordinates, piss drunk and unaware of what was in front of them.
One of his mages sitting at a table next to it jumped out of his chair at the sight of the object. "Move, you fools!! It's a [Delayed Fireball]!!"
Whether his warning came too late or if the revelers were too drunk to care, the fireball exploded. The laughter that filled the gathering hall was now in a confused frenzy as the bandits at the orb's epicenter were sent flying, along with most of their parts that were only just half charred.
Drevin stood up and began to draw his sword, "Men!" he shouted, "Weapons ready! We're under att-"
His sentence was cut short as the door that lead into the kitchens exploded outwards with fury. A golem marched in its wake, both arms stretched outwards. Drevin had realized it was the golem that they had found just right outside. Once naked, it was now geared for a fight.
"But... that shouldn't be possible!" he thought. "Intelligent golems don't fight!"
This one belief that all people held were shattered to pieces within Drevin as a beam of light erupted from the golem's hand. It swept across the side of the room; any men caught by it's deafening light into ash. The other side of the gathering hall was blanketed with fireball after fireball. Drevin realized it wasn't chanting at all. It launched its volley of fire as easily as stones.
By the time it had stopped it's assault, only him and a handful of his men still stood, hiding behind whatever cover they could find.. The rest were only bits, pieces or dust in the air. Of course they didn't last long either. The golem darted between each survivor, killing them swiftly as they tried to make a run towards the door or fight back. It pierced and sliced through flesh and bone with its spear with the ease of someone poking through wet parchment. One of his men managed to land a solid hit on its back, only for his weapon to bounce off harmlessly. The golem retaliated by decapitating the bandit with the sword it had sheathed on its side.
Even one of Drevin's mages survived by casting a barrier around only himself, began to chant a spell as his comrades tried desperately to hold the golem off. It failed as the golem stabbed one bandit through his heart and punched the other in the chest, collapsing his rib cage. It then darted with unnatural speed towards the magician, spear in hand as its tip pierced right into the mage's throat and through his spine.
"Where were the rest of his men!?", Drevin thought. He still had his patrols and the rest of his group outside. They were over one hundred strong. He knows they should have been here by now with all the commotion.
The golem began to turn towards him; its many eyes burned red.
"You must be the leader. Drevin." it says with a banal tone, "If you're wondering where your men are, they're dead. I killed every one of your men inside these walls. The rest are being dealt with by the other adventurer's outside. Since I sealed the entrance, there's no one else coming in."
Drevin began to shake uncontrollably as the golem moved closer to him. "P-Please, spare me! I-I'll give you everything I have!"
Despite the offer, the golem did not waver, "You realize whatever loot you're hoarding that isn't claimed by anyone goes to us, right?"
The bandit king began to panic. His weapon clanged heedlessly on the ground as he inches away at his assailant's monstrous presence. "W-Wait! I, I, I have this thing sitting in my vault! Y-Yes! I got a buyer for it a-and he's willing to pay three times the amount that I have stashed away here! I'll give it to you! Just- Just let me go!"
In his panic, Drevin crashed to the ground and began crawling as far away from the golem as he could. But there was no place left to run. With his back against the wall, all he could do was watch as the golem continued his walk towards him. He didn't even notice the mass of dark matter that began to coalesce around the golem's arm. Once he did, however, Drevin began to howl in fear. He was losing his mind.
The creature stopped just a foot in front of him. The shadows around them began to widen.
"Just let me ask you one thing, Drevin." the golem began, "A (LAMB) WALKS INTO THE (LIONS) DEN ON ITS OWN VOLITION AND YOU DID NOT THINK WHY?"
Drevin screamed in fear at the golem's suddenly horrific voice. It's tone dripped with pure contempt, as if it was a man regarding the life of an ant.
"TRULY, DID YOU NOT WONDER WHO WAS THE (PREDATOR) AND WHO WAS (PREY)?"
The mass of shadow erupted around the golem's arm and turned into a terrific, horrendous claw. All the while, the golem's crimson eyes continued to bore into him.
"YOU (PEOPLE) NEVER DO."
The claw closed in around him. The screaming stopped. Now only silence filled the hall.
No, Drevin thought. He didn't feel like dying while another noble stood back at camp getting fat. And so he left. To the border between Archipel and Haldin. The two countries drained the most by this so-called Nation Alliance against the Imperial war machine. And it was here that he found freedom. He didn't know how liberating it would be or how much he would enjoy taking what he wanted. He wasn't like this before, as a peasant sheepherder. He thought maybe he was always like this deep down. None of these countries did him any favors. If they had found out he was a deserter, it would have been straight back to Rudelia in chains. They might as well kill him right there? So why not just live how you want then?
No more herding for him, no more bowing to his "betters". Here he was a king with his own castle. A lion. The finest pleasures in life were there for him to enjoy now. All the food, women and money in the world. But you could never have enough of all three. he thought.
When a stranger contacted one of his fences that traveled the countryside, Drevin was offered more money than he could ever hope for. All for one simple job to find some wolf cub. Of course he asked to meet this benefactor in his fortress face to face. To either take him up on the offer or just take the money from his corpse. The moment the stranger made his appearance, the man made sure that the latter was not an option. Drevin was smart enough to know how to pick targets. This man was not one to try his luck on. Not even with all his men.
But Drevin still accepted the offer. He had skilled trackers among his ranks. Former game wardens from Rudelia who could easily track it down in these mountains. And they did. Along with it's parent, an enormous magical wolf beast. If it wasn't for the strange supplies given to him by the stranger, the beast would have tore through him and his men. Whatever the ball that spewed a strange dust in the air was, it was highly effective against the creature. It intoxicated the beast as their arrows and spears tore into its flesh. If their mages could have used magic at the time, they would have killed the beast but the dust effected them too. Stopped them from drawing mana to cast their spells. Instead it ran out into the forest in a enraged stupor, unaware that it was abandoning its child: a strange looking wolf cub with it's two tails.
A present for some spoiled Rudelian noble's child, he wondered? It didn't matter. Only the gold mattered. All he had to do now was wait while his fence got into contact again with the stranger.
And while he waited, his men found a craftsman golem wandering outside his gate. None of his men had seen a golem of his like before. Intelligent, made of pure metal and covered with some unknown fiber-like skin. This one is sure to pay even more to a collector. Two large sacks of gold, like he had never seen were just waiting to be cashed in. He just had to celebrate his new found wealth with a feast. The only thing he was disappointed with was the fact that the dancers were already "used" the week before. Now he had to settle on enjoying the less attractive staff workers they had. With all this money, he thought, he could just buy a hoard of women instead. His own personal harem. Of course a king needs a-
A strange light coming from the corner of his eye brought back his attention. Looking towards the source, he saw an orb of light fly through the air and land on a table surrounded by his subordinates, piss drunk and unaware of what was in front of them.
One of his mages sitting at a table next to it jumped out of his chair at the sight of the object. "Move, you fools!! It's a [Delayed Fireball]!!"
Whether his warning came too late or if the revelers were too drunk to care, the fireball exploded. The laughter that filled the gathering hall was now in a confused frenzy as the bandits at the orb's epicenter were sent flying, along with most of their parts that were only just half charred.
Drevin stood up and began to draw his sword, "Men!" he shouted, "Weapons ready! We're under att-"
His sentence was cut short as the door that lead into the kitchens exploded outwards with fury. A golem marched in its wake, both arms stretched outwards. Drevin had realized it was the golem that they had found just right outside. Once naked, it was now geared for a fight.
"But... that shouldn't be possible!" he thought. "Intelligent golems don't fight!"
This one belief that all people held were shattered to pieces within Drevin as a beam of light erupted from the golem's hand. It swept across the side of the room; any men caught by it's deafening light into ash. The other side of the gathering hall was blanketed with fireball after fireball. Drevin realized it wasn't chanting at all. It launched its volley of fire as easily as stones.
By the time it had stopped it's assault, only him and a handful of his men still stood, hiding behind whatever cover they could find.. The rest were only bits, pieces or dust in the air. Of course they didn't last long either. The golem darted between each survivor, killing them swiftly as they tried to make a run towards the door or fight back. It pierced and sliced through flesh and bone with its spear with the ease of someone poking through wet parchment. One of his men managed to land a solid hit on its back, only for his weapon to bounce off harmlessly. The golem retaliated by decapitating the bandit with the sword it had sheathed on its side.
Even one of Drevin's mages survived by casting a barrier around only himself, began to chant a spell as his comrades tried desperately to hold the golem off. It failed as the golem stabbed one bandit through his heart and punched the other in the chest, collapsing his rib cage. It then darted with unnatural speed towards the magician, spear in hand as its tip pierced right into the mage's throat and through his spine.
"Where were the rest of his men!?", Drevin thought. He still had his patrols and the rest of his group outside. They were over one hundred strong. He knows they should have been here by now with all the commotion.
The golem began to turn towards him; its many eyes burned red.
"You must be the leader. Drevin." it says with a banal tone, "If you're wondering where your men are, they're dead. I killed every one of your men inside these walls. The rest are being dealt with by the other adventurer's outside. Since I sealed the entrance, there's no one else coming in."
Drevin began to shake uncontrollably as the golem moved closer to him. "P-Please, spare me! I-I'll give you everything I have!"
Despite the offer, the golem did not waver, "You realize whatever loot you're hoarding that isn't claimed by anyone goes to us, right?"
The bandit king began to panic. His weapon clanged heedlessly on the ground as he inches away at his assailant's monstrous presence. "W-Wait! I, I, I have this thing sitting in my vault! Y-Yes! I got a buyer for it a-and he's willing to pay three times the amount that I have stashed away here! I'll give it to you! Just- Just let me go!"
In his panic, Drevin crashed to the ground and began crawling as far away from the golem as he could. But there was no place left to run. With his back against the wall, all he could do was watch as the golem continued his walk towards him. He didn't even notice the mass of dark matter that began to coalesce around the golem's arm. Once he did, however, Drevin began to howl in fear. He was losing his mind.
The creature stopped just a foot in front of him. The shadows around them began to widen.
"Just let me ask you one thing, Drevin." the golem began, "A (LAMB) WALKS INTO THE (LIONS) DEN ON ITS OWN VOLITION AND YOU DID NOT THINK WHY?"
Drevin screamed in fear at the golem's suddenly horrific voice. It's tone dripped with pure contempt, as if it was a man regarding the life of an ant.
"TRULY, DID YOU NOT WONDER WHO WAS THE (PREDATOR) AND WHO WAS (PREY)?"
The mass of shadow erupted around the golem's arm and turned into a terrific, horrendous claw. All the while, the golem's crimson eyes continued to bore into him.
"YOU (PEOPLE) NEVER DO."
The claw closed in around him. The screaming stopped. Now only silence filled the hall.
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