Grugg bared his teeth and got into a ready position, dull pain radiating from his hand as he gripped Thud tightly. Despite their partnership being only brief, there would be no way that he would give up the wizard. It was clear that the so-called yeti ‘king’ would only relent to violence. The four royal guards lowered their spears in his direction, waiting for the order to attack.
“Should have stayed down by the valley, one-eye. Now, after we kill you, we can take over more of this mountain." The crooked smile of the leader matched the intensity of his blazing yellow eyes; if not by power alone, it looked like something had driven him to the point of madness.
[Tell him that he will die here and leave no legacy. That the yeti here want him gone and will grow stronger without him.]
“Hakran is weak king; everybody hates big, dumb yeti, and Grugg will eat all that meats you got back there,” he gestured with his thumb back to the pantry area.
[Pretty close; you got the idea right.]
The grin on the leering face of Hakran soured. Glancing pointedly at each of his guards, who avoided eye contact, the dig had clearly struck a soft spot on the leader's ego. Grugg could see the yeti gripping the armrests of the stone throne tightly, trying to control his rage. By the way that he treated his underlings, it was apparent he did not like to be insulted. When he finally spoke, every word dripped venomous distaste for the cyclops.
"You think you're so s-smart low-mountainer, perhaps I will eat your brain too. GUARDS!"
[You're up, Grugg, do your thing. I will keep an eye on Hakran and make sure he doesn't do anything unexpected.]
With a clattering of rough armor, the guards leaped from their position and rushed towards the cyclops, not wanting to get any hint of reprimand from the furious king. Grugg sidestepped towards the corner of the room, hoping that the angle would prevent all four of the yeti from attacking simultaneously. It seemed to have worked; as the yellow and green shielded guard reached him first, spears ready to thrust towards him, the red and blue had to drop back without a good position to assault from.
Thud was swung out to intercept, but caught on the nearest pillar – although the angle was helpful in reducing the number of combatants, it also restricted his own space for movement. The clang of the club instead sprayed dust and small shrapnel into the face of the yellow yeti, causing him to flinch and raise the spear slightly. This angle adjustment was enough to avoid being skewered by the jagged spear; instead, it slid up the right side of his chest to his collarbone, slashing his skin and drawing a long crimson line. Grugg roared in pain and lashed out with a kick to the yellow-shielded yeti, knocking him back into the green and giving him a short window to move.
[Duck!]
Without hesitation, he dropped to a crouch as a spear from one of the guards at the back flew overhead, clattering against the rock wall behind him. The blunt end of it was close enough to grab with his left hand, whipping it round he struck the green shield yeti in the side of the head with the bladed end, slicing a deep wound in his opponent and shattering the poorly made weapon into shards of useless wood. The yeti screeched in pain and dropped his spear to hold his face, backpedaling away to allow the others to filter into the melee.
Yellow-shield glared at him through blurred, watery eyes and made a second attempt to stab at the cyclops. Thud blocked the shaft of the attack, but the blade managed to nick a chunk out of his upper arm. Being cornered was doing him no favors, he decided through clenched teeth. Pushing the spear to the side, Grugg shoulder-rushed the attacker, clashing against the mismatched armor plates and leathers of the yeti and knocking him off his feet. Seeing an opportunity, the red shield yeti pounced on him, having been the one to throw his spear ineffectively, grabbing the cyclops around the left arm in an attempt to restrain him. The floored yellow shield yeti grabbed at the end of Thud.
[Quick, look out for the blue-]
The last yeti in the pack had seized the opportunity and leaped forward with a heavy overhead swing, the blade of the spear barely avoiding getting caught on the jagged ceiling. It was aimed straight for Grugg's head, and with both his arms encumbered, he was left unable to defend himself against the blow. With a grunt, he lifted the yeti grappled to his left arm up off his feet and used the surprised foe as a shield, getting in the way of the attack just in time. The yeti dropped his hold of the large arm of the cyclops as he growled in pain, the spear's blade slashing heavily into his back and falling back to his feet, albeit still squirming from the pain.
Grugg wasted no time returning the favor to the annoying yeti, grabbing him round the neck as he landed awkwardly. He squeezed as hard as he could, the eyes of the yeti almost popping out of its skull as it struggled to grasp for air. Thud was snatched from the awkward grip of the still-prone yellow shield yeti and brought back straight down at the scrambling creature - with a crack to the head, the yeti was knocked out cold immediately. With the strangled yeti slowly losing consciousness too, Grugg glanced for any remaining yeti.
[Hakran is joining the fight; watch out for-]
Too late - a sharp object slammed into Gruggs's left shoulder and wedged there, pain flaring up his whole arm and causing him to drop the held yeti. He looked down; it was a spiked circular blade of metal tied to a stick, like a crude axe. After launching the barbaric weapon, Hakran was now approaching, a second equally designed weapon in his other hand. Warm blood ran down the cyclops's arm in crimson streams.
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"Looking slow," the leader cackled as he stalked closer, the malicious intent glowing in his yellow eyes.
Grugg did indeed feel tired now, the cold and the blood loss draining his strength away as every minute passed. He was at least glad for the stolen meal; otherwise, the lethargy would be even more pronounced and detrimental. Wrenching the circular axe blade from his shoulder, it dropped to the ground, clattering and sending droplets of his blood to mar the light gray stone beneath. The wound burned, and he shivered, not only from the chill environment but because the injury was worse than he first thought. His left arm felt numb and slow to respond to his will to move it.
Time seemed to slow slightly as the lethargy sunk into his bones, and he took a brief pause to take stock of the situation. The guards had mostly been incapacitated, either too wounded to continue to fight or yielding to their boss as he gained distance in the fray. If he could crush Hakran then the rest of the yeti should scatter without their boss holding a figurative blade to their neck to obey the wretched king. Or a fork to their head, it seemed. He raised Thud in a defensive position and readied himself for the assault, his breath haggard as cold sweat ran down his temples. Nerves started to flare up for the first time, the bite of uncertainty as shocking to him as his injuries; maybe this would be the end…
[Hakran has a weak left leg, try to play to that. He doesn't look too smart with the weapon; he will be sloppy but relentless. Don't try to block too much, he will overwhelm you eventually as you tire - take the first chance you have to overpower him.]
The voice of the wizard was surprisingly calm and helped steel Grugg's nerves. At least one of them could still think clearly; but he would have to amuse himself with thoughts about brains and brawn later on, as the yeti king now bore down upon him, the barbaric axe slashing downwards.
Thud blocked it, splinters of the green wood falling from the impact as the jagged teeth of the axe bit into the club. The weight of the impact surprised Grugg - the king was much stronger than the other yeti. Faster too - the axe had already been withdrawn, and a second swing was in motion. Grugg barely managed to deflect this one too, if only because Thud was so large and could cover a lot of space. A third axe swing was imminent, and he already felt he was becoming lethargic, forced into the defensive. Hat had been right; this would be a losing battle of attrition.
Leaping backwards as best as his thick legs could manage with how low energy he felt, he also thrust out Thud as a jab towards the yeti. The axe barely missed him, and he could even feel the air as it whipped past his arm. The club impacted Hakran to the chest, slightly off target and not as powerful a strike as he would have liked, but it knocked the mad yeti king back a few feet and gave Grugg more options.
"Hat is special. I NEED the special hat," Hakran hissed, his wild eyes focused directly on the wizard's hat. Grugg was too tired to respond, with not even a grunt uttered, just warily watching the yeti with his single eye to see what his next move would be.
Hakran flicked the axe between his left and right hand and back again. Then, licking his lips, he started circling the cyclops to find an opening. He was toying with Grugg and taking far too much pleasure in the combat, perhaps a little overconfident too. The yeti king stepped into a slick patch of ground that had been soaked in the blood of one of the guards, and slightly slipped, making his footing uneven. Grugg took the opportunity.
Leaping towards the flat-footed king, he again swung Thud around, this time in a lower arc than the yeti expected. Hakran, sensing the cyclops trying to take advantage of this brief weakness, had launched a desperate attack of his own in anticipation. Neither of the blows would be blocked as the weapon approached at different angles. Thud impacted the right leg of Hakran, splitting the bone and causing it to tear out of the skin with a sharp snap. The teeth of the jagged axe cut straight into the right shoulder and collarbone of Grugg with a crack and spray of blood. Both fighters loudly voiced their pain in tandem.
The yeti could no longer support his own weight; his left leg was indeed weaker, and with the right one shattered he let go of the axe to grapple onto the cyclops for support. Grugg dropped Thud and fell to his knees, warm blood now covering his torso. He raised his arms to grab the king's head as Hakran attempted to bite into him. Unfortunately, his left arm was too weak to hold him, and the sharp teeth found slight purchase in piercing his skin.
Grugg closed his eye as it watered. He was feeling numb all over now. Maybe he had lost more blood than he thought. All his remaining strength was in his right arm, gripping the yeti's head to try and prevent him from biting deeper. And he could feel that starting to fail. It would only take a slip, and Hakran would be tearing chunks from his neck.
[You can do this, Grugg. We have so much to do together, and you can't let one yeti stop you.]
The wizard was right; he thought to himself. At the very least, he should be considering all the crimes Hakran must have committed. Here was a prime criminal in his very grasp. Was he really going to just lay back and be eaten? If it was the last thing he would do, he would get the wizard that damned orb he wanted so much.
A second wind arose in the cyclops, and he dug deep to find the strength to pull the jaws of the yeti out of him and gradually, by fractions of distance, away from his skin. Hakran, too, was weakening and had lost the purchase of the floor with his bad legs. As he slipped away in his grip on the cyclops he became at a disadvantage, and his eyes grew wide with fear. The returning glare of the single, blazing electric-blue eye beneath the brim of the wizard's hat caused the yeti king to pale and shrink in comparison.
Grugg growled as he used his surge of energy to start twisting the head of the yeti, now that it was free of biting him. There was resistance at first as Hakran tried to fight against it, but with a gurgle of panicked realization, the foul creature could no longer hold back the power of the cyclops. With a loud, grinding crack, the head of Hakran twisted to the side as his neck broke, his body becoming limp and falling to the floor.
Large wisps of steam rose from the cyclops, from the body heat exerted, from the open wounds, and from his deep breaths. He stood clumsily and staggered across the room, shedding crimson droplets from his many wounds. The shocked eyes of the fallen yeti watched him in silence, not daring to move and unsure of what to do with their leader felled.
The staff with the Moonchaser Orb stood lying against the throne where Hakran had left it. Grugg took a second to observe it, his blue, tired eye reflected in its shiny surface. Then, he turned and sat down on the throne with a pained exhale; it was not the most comfortable of pieces of furniture, but at this moment it felt like the most comfortable place he had ever been.
[Y-you did it, Grugg! And got the Moonchaser Orb. You were amazing.]
"Thank you, Bartho- Bathy - Bb-, Hat," he whispered weakly, and then immediately passed out.