The Ballad of Opip: Opip left the plains and hills, With her she brought a cursed sword whose blood had taken many lords. A hundred heads had rolled the earth, of vicious kin and shackled kings. Throughout the land no name was carried. But over the sea a wind was blowing. Journeys took her many miles far further than no other had. A traveler she was at heart a warrior she wished to part.
Alone by the road stands Opip. The people of the island carry many different smells. Some smell like dirt, others smell like leaves, some smell of salt and some should generally take a bath already. It had been a few days since she arrived on the island. And it had been quite some time since she had had anything to eat.
An odd smell came today, blood. Some of the warriors of her homeland had had such a smell, some of the adventurers of the first great city she had seen carried such a smell. But none of the islanders in this faraway place had it except for the old mage who would have walked right into her had she not talked.
He seemed quite out of shape and out of practice. But Opips senses told her he was if anything dangerous. She could not truly say why. The shape he took was weak and frail, the clothes he wore were tattered, dirt and old, and his voice felt like a soothing warm wind
However interesting he may be he was gone before she knew it. What a fool he must be to pass on the opportunity of having such a great warrior as Opip in his party. But she could not blame him, Every Hound knew the other races couldn't come near their intellect and highly sought philosophical thoughts.
"Excuse me but your price is just one silver, right?" A meak looking Earth-folk with a servant-like posture and too fine clothes to be an adventurer had come. He was younger than the mage from before but he still seemed quite old, wrinkly and frail.
"Yes, Opip the greatest of warriors will serve your cause for just one silver a day" It was a low price for her services but it was a price necessary to have in order to get jobs in such a poor port town. When she had established her name on the island she would easily be able to drag the price up to thirty silver or more.
"Good i have just the job for a warrior of your calibre" He tossed her a coin which she caught effortlessly. And gave the gentlest smile.
The job was not what Opip had expected. A huge dark box wagon was pulled down the village's largest street towards the docks. A Dark box was used to transport monsters out from dungeons. Often by the decree of a rich noble in one of the Eastern city states or for some rich mage or scholar to study.
The box was made of wood with several air holes at the tops and sides. Black cloth was stitched on both the boxes outside and inside to allow as little light as possible to enter. Monsters who had spent their entire lives underground were terrified of the light of the sun and the open sky above. If they were to see it they would likely cause a ruckus. Attached to the front of the cart were four horses, perhaps the only horses on the island brought together here with the Box. The horses were Askmark Stult horses, short in height but with strong legs and a high endurance.
The signature of the House of coin was engraved on the side of the cart. And putting together two and two the meager earth-folk was probably a guild member. The house of coin was the largest guild in the known world. With a large established structure of power. Outposts and estates on every continent and their very own grand continental city of Westrode located in the southeastern plains in the continent of Boco'nuis.
Now onto the job itself. Opip saw three other adventurers pushing the cart from behind. The horses had stopped and the waggon had gotten stuck in the uneven dirt road. It appeared as thought the dry ground hadn't been able to support the combined weight of the cart and whatever was inside. The dark box itself was far larger than any she had seen before and she hoped she'd never have the pleasure to find out what's inside. After all there was likely a reason the job giver decided to stay at least thirty metres from the box.
"And I'm supposed to.." Questioningly Opip looked towards the Earth-folk. Who with a gentle smile said "Push" Just what she had feared, no honour in this job, not even a little.
Dirt and mud deep enough that it submerged both of her feet. The other adventurers looked exhausted. There were two grasslands of Askmark origin and one hillfolk also stemming from the lands of Askmark. Most adventurers on the island had come from the nearby lands of Askmark, the large continent less than half a day's journey east by ship. "How long have you been pushing this thing?"
With a frustrated tone one of the grass-landers responded. "All day" The comment made Opip chuckle slightly."You've spent all day on just this hole?"
Annoyed, the hill folk turned to her "Nope this is the nineteenth" With another push the group managed to push the cart up. Relieved, Opip turned to the hill folk. "What do you mean?" And in turn the hill folk simply pointed. The cart rolled a metre or two before the left side of the cart fully sunk into the dirt and mud. "Your kidding" One of the grasslands gave her a path on the back before shuffling over to the now very stuck cart. "Were almost halfway there" Opip felt her tail sink into the dirt. This was going to be a long day.
Together with their combined efforts the group pushed the cart once more. Opip no longer smirked. When she had heard of a new black dungeon, a new opportunity to prove herself she had been delighted. But as things were going she wouldn't even be delving into the dungeon. She'd be stuck doing work like this just to feed her for a day. Hounds didn't need a bed to sleep as their fur was thick enough to ward off the cold but that did not mean she didn't miss the luxury of a warm bed.
The Earth-folk who had hired them looked annoyed. With his face in a frown as his hands held onto a gold coin. "Can't you work any faster or am i gonna have to find another bottom feeder to help you move this thing" His remarks did not help the work go any quicker.
"What are we moving, anyway?" Opip asked sincerely to which the Earth folk replied "A, Hornless stag a large one at that" Opip did not know what that was, such creatures did not exist on the continent of Cezen, no monster really existed above ground but still. At Least judging by the other adventurers' relieved faces they were not moving anything too dangerous.
"Quit spacing off, we've got work to do" The grass-lander fellow did not seem quite nice as far as Opip was concerned. Even though the four gave it their all, the cart refused to move. Then they hear a cracking sound. Several panels of wood on the cart's west side facing the street broke one by one. Then there was a movement in the cart, A sound of snapping rope as something quite large woke up.
Breaking out of the left side of the box was an enormous white beast, Not a Hornless stag but a Tanngrisnir, a monster which was illegal to transport above ground due to its violent nature.
"This shouldn't be possible. The potion was supposed to keep it down for at least five hours" The rich earthfolk had dropped his coin onto the ground. His grasslander assistant and junior member of the coin guild whispered to him "Actually that potion was only ever tested on young Tanngrisnir lams, not on a Fully grown almost ancient Tanngrisnir." As they talked people began to flee the street. As the wild giant beast sniffed the surface air.
"Well don't just stand there, your adventurers right, bring it under control!" The earth-folk shouted at the poor cart pushers he had hired previously.
"You think we can fight something like that?! Most of us haven't even stepped foot in the dungeon yet!" The hill-folk shouted back at him. And he gained nods of approval from the two grass-folk who would soon run away with him to one of the safer parts of town which would hopefully not be trampled to dust in a few hours.
"Eigla contact the Sword guild" The earthfolk practically barked his command to his subordinate. He was out of luck. The house of coin would likely not take him back to the mainland after a show like this, Now he could only try to salvage his reputation on the island at least.
"And where is that Hound, greatest warrior, hmph I guess you get what you pay for…" But he could not finish that sentence. As from an orange rooftop leapt a greyish figure. Wielding a sword which caught the rays of the sun. Before the Tanngrisnir could realise what had happened there was a deep wound on the side of his back. Opip the great warrior had begun her fight.
Blood bubbled up along the sword's bluish blade like boiling water painting the surrounding white fur a bright red. The great beast screeched and shook as it tried to cast off its assailant. Yet the hound only buried her sword deeper. The blade was of a southern metal hard to come by a ridiculously expensive, skymetal named after the deep blue southern sky which seemed trapped within the blade.
"G-Good keep doing what you're doing and I'll pay you another silver for every minute you buy until the sword guild arrives!" The earth-folk by the name of Gart Ballamir, could only watch on helplessly as his reputation entered the hands of a Hound warrior worth a single silver. Opip paid him no mind, she was locked onto one thing only, to sever a great beast's head.
The beast began to move. Forward first slowly then rapidly entered a sprint. The deep wound on its back had not hit anything vital, only muscle and perhaps one of the bones on the creature's ribcage. The grip on this spot was loosening and Opip figured she'd have to move sooner or later or be thrown into the dirt below.
The creature's head was the most inviting. From there she could puncture its skull, push her blade into the soft skin between its eyes and bury her blade deep into its most important region, the brain. An ample opportunity arrived when the creature crashed into one of the many merchant stalls. Temporarily blinded by a red and white tent thrown over its eyes it rose to stand on its hindlegs and briefly stopped its advance. This was it.
Quickly she pulled her sword from the creature's thick skin and advanced up across its back by climbing through its thick white fur. She had almost reached the head when it decided to go back down once more. This time she had no grip, no sword in the skin to hold onto, she would be thrown off if she didn't come up with a plan. The Horn.
She grabbed onto it with all her might. Yet she could only cling on for dear life as the beast raged forward at an even greater speed while simultaneously shaking its head in an attempt to rid itself of the ugly creature which clung to its horn.
Then a mage stepped out into the street. Or it was more so that he didn't leave the street like everyone with a smart mind. No he stood his ground and began to chant. Too bad for him the beast was far faster then he was as it knocked him away into the rubble of a jewellery stand.
The actions of the bold man had caused the great beast to stop. Only the ricocheting of the fast trip made Opip nearly slip off the horn. She was hanging now with one hand above on the dark grey horn. At ample height for the creature's yellow eye.
She wasted no time, her sword she had dropped, it was now just beneath her on the ground too heavy to be swung effectively by one hand. So she used a Kniv, a sort of tool made for close hand to hand combat. To the uncultured eye it was just a very odd multi sided knife. The main goal of a kniv was to rip through both flesh and bone to cause as much pain as possible to the target. This to stop a fight as early as possible.
With her free hand Opip inserted one of her pairs into the eye. The Great beast screamed and flailed around causing Opip to lose her grip. She fell down, rolled onto the dirt and grabbed her sword. The beast had been wounded two times. Yet showed no sign of weakening.
Beside her on the street stood a quivering Hill-folk swallowing a mouthful of saliva as he held out a shaking hand with a pristine dagger. Well made and not very well used. A member of a weak race but the fact that he remained standing in front of something around four times his size spoke volumes of his character.
"You're a warrior too, right?!" She didn't have much time, The beast swayed around throwing up dirt and dust as it rampaged roaring at its ruined eye. "What?" Was all Tristin could answer. He felt a large paw-like hand on his shoulder as he was lifted from the ground.
"Aim for the other eye" Tristin was lifted off the ground, spun around two times while resting on the hounds shoulder and then thrown into the air. Hill-folk had shallow bones and very light and nimble bodies. It made them decent spies and rogues and allowed them to go undetected when need be. It also made them very easy to throw.
The air felt nice. And for a moment no distinguishable thought was within Tristins head except for "So this is how I die". In a moment the tip of his dagger pierced the rigid grey skin below the beast's white fur. He felt it slide down just a few inches like a knife in butter. Before coming to a halt upon one of the creature's thick muscles. His head was now eye level with the other eye. And for a moment he wondered what was bigger, the creature's eye or his head?
On the ground Opip rushed forward. Her aim? the tendons on the beast's legs. She had seen her fathers servant skin goats before back when she was still traveling with her clan through her homelands. Although the memory was distant and foggy, if a Tanngrisnir was even remotely close to a normal goat then she knew where to cut.
The beast swung its head causing the frail Hill-folk to fly high into the air. It turned its eyes towards him, the falling piece of meat in the wind. And opened its jaw filled with teeth uncannily similar to a folks. Tristin screamed like he never had before. Although he had to admit he quite enjoyed the view of the sea from all the way up here.
Just as he was about to fall into the jaw of the Tanngrisnir. It winched and twisted itself around catching the small hillfolk on the tip of its horn. As it felt a sharp pain in its legs. But just as the Tanngrisir felt fear for its life, so did Opip. The Beasts tendon was far thicker than a normal animal. Her beautiful sky metal sword was stuck. Pressed together by the muscles in the beast's tree trunk like legs.
"Shit" The leg of the Tanngrisnir kicked back landing the full brunt of its back hoof into the hounds chest. She could feel it to her spine. The air felt quite nice for a moment but the ground was not so soft. But still she had to get up. She was by all means a warrior even if a few ribs were broken, so what? She could still fight.
In comparison to other races the Hounds were as if made of warfare. Their bodies were covered in muscles, resistant to both cold and warm climates. Nimble and quick and with sharp fangs and claws. Their brain was smaller than other races yet they had incredible senses to make up for it. However their warrior culture resulted in many dying young.
Still Opip could feel the vibration from the kick within her very skeleton. Pulsing through every bone in her body. She was no physician but she could tell that it would hurt for days. And it was probably a lot worse than what her adrenaline made her believe. The wounded beast turned its massive body around to face her, recognising a foe it would have to kill in order to live. Its colossal body destroyed a small house as it sluggishly turned around on the street.
Now they stood eye to eye a mere five metres or so from each other. A house on the left side of the street matched the distance almost perfectly. The hound had her back to the harbour where the sun casted light across the waves of the ocean. The Tanngrisnir stood with its back towards the distant hills where dark clouds had begun to form. "Do you have room for one more?" A familiar voice asked.
An old mage limped into the street. One arm wrecked twisted in a way it should not be. Dust across his face. "You've done a fine job for a hound." He said as he observed the wounds on the beast. The red spots left across its back and the bleeding eye where the blood was still fresh. "Who are you?" She recognised the voice and smell, she had met him before but where?
"A mage"