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<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7231083" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Chapter 87</p><p></p><p>The copper dragon was a young specimen by its size and the brightness of its scales, but it was no less imposing for that. As the echoes of its roar continued to sound down the length of the ravine it watched Kurok expectantly. No doubt it thought him paralyzed with terror. Kurok had been trained to control his fear, but even Murgoth himself likely would have been impressed by the creature’s sudden appearance and display of power.</p><p></p><p>He drew back his hood and with a flourish of his cloak sketched a deep bow. “I greet you, Mighty One.”</p><p></p><p>The dragon couldn’t express the range of facial expressions of a humanoid, but it seemed taken aback by the gesture. “You speak my language.”</p><p></p><p>“I have only a modest talent in Draconic, Mighty One,” Kurok said.</p><p></p><p>“Your speak better than your filthy kin,” the dragon growled. “What is your name, little hobgoblin?”</p><p></p><p>“I am called Kurok. May I have the honor of knowing who I address, Mighty One?”</p><p></p><p>“You may address me as Carthadantilis,” the dragon said. “Or simply ‘Carth,’ if your small brain cannot encompass the whole.”</p><p></p><p>“You honor me,” Kurok said, with another small flourish. He was careful to keep his arms clear of his body, and his hands open. “I have come seeking parlay.”</p><p></p><p>“What interest could one such as I have in your concerns?” the dragon said.</p><p></p><p>“That is for you to decide, mighty Carth.”</p><p></p><p>“Speak, then, and be done with it. My time is valuable.”</p><p></p><p>“By your command, I will speak plainly. This is not your place. You have come far from the hills that are your home, and the lair you have chosen is already the property of another.”</p><p></p><p>The dragon lashed its tail, its anger obvious. More bits of stone rattled down around Kurok, a few pieces bouncing off his body. “Who are you to tell me where to make my home? I go where I want, hobgoblin!”</p><p></p><p>“You cannot stay here,” Kurok said.</p><p></p><p>For a moment the dragon just stared at him, then its eyes narrowed. “And <em>you</em> are going to stop me?”</p><p></p><p>“You are powerful, Carthadantilis,” Kurok said. “But young, as age among your kind is reckoned. And I am not as helpless as I may seem.” He didn’t move his arms, spread wide outside his cloak, but a stream of energy flashed from the right, blasting a line from the cliff wall beside him. The suddenness of it drew a reaction from the dragon; a shifting of its clawed limbs that was too significant to be an accident, yet it recovered its equanimity swiftly.</p><p></p><p>“Do you think to frighten me with your paltry powers?” Carth rumbled. The cliff walls seemed to shake with the threat in the dragon’s voice.</p><p></p><p>“Unlike you, I have done nothing to attempt to frighten or intimidate you,” Kurok said. “I am only letting you know that I am prepared for this confrontation. You will find that your acidic breath will not affect me as much as it did your former victims, and in the narrow confines of this cleft you may find it difficult to bring your superior size and speed fully to bear.”</p><p></p><p>The dragon’s eyes flicked to left and right as though considering. “You cannot remain in this place forever,” he said.</p><p></p><p>“I do not intend to,” Kurok said. “It was you who initiated this confrontation. If we do battle, one of us will be destroyed. Perhaps it will be me, perhaps you. I have already acknowledged that you are a mighty foe indeed, perhaps greater than the others I have faced. But know this, dragon. If you defeat me, others will come. They will keep on coming until your corpse is rotting in the floor of one of these canyons. These lands belong to Kavel Murgoth, and he does not suffer trespassers.”</p><p></p><p>“I have heard that name,” Carth said. “I am not impressed. The world is full of hobgoblin warlords, another hardly makes a difference.”</p><p></p><p>“I am not trying to impress you,” Kurok said even before the dragon had fully finished. “Murgoth commands armies, but beyond that, he has the allegiance of a cadre of spellcasters, masters of arcane and divine magics. I am only the first of those you will face, and am not the strongest of those by far. Do you really want to build a lair—to start a life—in a place where every hand is turned against you? A foe that will keep on coming, no matter how many you kill?”</p><p></p><p>The dragon drew up, spreading as wings as far as the narrow confines of the cleft would permit, a barely-visible plume of noxious vapors rising from his nostrils. “I will not take orders from the likes of you,” Carth said.</p><p></p><p>“I am only letting you know what you face,” Kurok said. “You are the intruder here. From my perspective you are a killer, a thief. I have come here openly and I have showed you the respect you deserve. But I will not back down. None of my kind will.”</p><p></p><p>“You have a great deal of pride for such a small creature,” Carth said. “But if you know anything of dragonkind, you know that we do not back down either.”</p><p></p><p>Kurok nodded. “That I have heard,” he said. “One final thing to consider, then. My orders direct me to leave this place swiftly for the west—assuming I survive this encounter, of course. I intend to take the bulk of the goblin tribe that dwell within this canyon with me, including all of the worg riders and their mounts. As for what happens after I leave… well, as I said, these lands belong to Kavel Murgoth, but his attention is focused elsewhere, for the moment. Should I accomplish my mission, it is doubtful that anyone will care what happens here.”</p><p></p><p>The dragon regarded him for a stretch of time that might have discomfited an average person, but Kurok only stood there waiting. “You disgust me,” Carth finally said.</p><p></p><p>“I am not interested in your regard,” Kurok said. “I will have your decision.” He shifted, only slightly, but there was a clear threat in it.</p><p></p><p>The dragon lifted itself on its hind legs and spread its wings again. “I grow weary of hunting goblinoids. Your flesh is stringy and foul-tasting. It may be a day or two before I return. Pray to your gods that we do not meet again, little hobgoblin, for on that day one of us will meet his end.”</p><p></p><p>Kurok didn’t move as the dragon dove backwards off the cleft, twisting its body around until its wings could spread fully to catch the air. It swept out over the canyon, briefly dropping out of view before it emerged again, rising to the north before it disappeared behind one of the far peaks. Kurok remained where he was until it was fully gone, then he took a deep breath and let it out. But he allowed himself only a moment’s rest before he started back the way he had come. He had a long hike ahead of him, and Usk would need time to make preparations for the clan’s departure.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 7231083, member: 143"] Chapter 87 The copper dragon was a young specimen by its size and the brightness of its scales, but it was no less imposing for that. As the echoes of its roar continued to sound down the length of the ravine it watched Kurok expectantly. No doubt it thought him paralyzed with terror. Kurok had been trained to control his fear, but even Murgoth himself likely would have been impressed by the creature’s sudden appearance and display of power. He drew back his hood and with a flourish of his cloak sketched a deep bow. “I greet you, Mighty One.” The dragon couldn’t express the range of facial expressions of a humanoid, but it seemed taken aback by the gesture. “You speak my language.” “I have only a modest talent in Draconic, Mighty One,” Kurok said. “Your speak better than your filthy kin,” the dragon growled. “What is your name, little hobgoblin?” “I am called Kurok. May I have the honor of knowing who I address, Mighty One?” “You may address me as Carthadantilis,” the dragon said. “Or simply ‘Carth,’ if your small brain cannot encompass the whole.” “You honor me,” Kurok said, with another small flourish. He was careful to keep his arms clear of his body, and his hands open. “I have come seeking parlay.” “What interest could one such as I have in your concerns?” the dragon said. “That is for you to decide, mighty Carth.” “Speak, then, and be done with it. My time is valuable.” “By your command, I will speak plainly. This is not your place. You have come far from the hills that are your home, and the lair you have chosen is already the property of another.” The dragon lashed its tail, its anger obvious. More bits of stone rattled down around Kurok, a few pieces bouncing off his body. “Who are you to tell me where to make my home? I go where I want, hobgoblin!” “You cannot stay here,” Kurok said. For a moment the dragon just stared at him, then its eyes narrowed. “And [i]you[/i] are going to stop me?” “You are powerful, Carthadantilis,” Kurok said. “But young, as age among your kind is reckoned. And I am not as helpless as I may seem.” He didn’t move his arms, spread wide outside his cloak, but a stream of energy flashed from the right, blasting a line from the cliff wall beside him. The suddenness of it drew a reaction from the dragon; a shifting of its clawed limbs that was too significant to be an accident, yet it recovered its equanimity swiftly. “Do you think to frighten me with your paltry powers?” Carth rumbled. The cliff walls seemed to shake with the threat in the dragon’s voice. “Unlike you, I have done nothing to attempt to frighten or intimidate you,” Kurok said. “I am only letting you know that I am prepared for this confrontation. You will find that your acidic breath will not affect me as much as it did your former victims, and in the narrow confines of this cleft you may find it difficult to bring your superior size and speed fully to bear.” The dragon’s eyes flicked to left and right as though considering. “You cannot remain in this place forever,” he said. “I do not intend to,” Kurok said. “It was you who initiated this confrontation. If we do battle, one of us will be destroyed. Perhaps it will be me, perhaps you. I have already acknowledged that you are a mighty foe indeed, perhaps greater than the others I have faced. But know this, dragon. If you defeat me, others will come. They will keep on coming until your corpse is rotting in the floor of one of these canyons. These lands belong to Kavel Murgoth, and he does not suffer trespassers.” “I have heard that name,” Carth said. “I am not impressed. The world is full of hobgoblin warlords, another hardly makes a difference.” “I am not trying to impress you,” Kurok said even before the dragon had fully finished. “Murgoth commands armies, but beyond that, he has the allegiance of a cadre of spellcasters, masters of arcane and divine magics. I am only the first of those you will face, and am not the strongest of those by far. Do you really want to build a lair—to start a life—in a place where every hand is turned against you? A foe that will keep on coming, no matter how many you kill?” The dragon drew up, spreading as wings as far as the narrow confines of the cleft would permit, a barely-visible plume of noxious vapors rising from his nostrils. “I will not take orders from the likes of you,” Carth said. “I am only letting you know what you face,” Kurok said. “You are the intruder here. From my perspective you are a killer, a thief. I have come here openly and I have showed you the respect you deserve. But I will not back down. None of my kind will.” “You have a great deal of pride for such a small creature,” Carth said. “But if you know anything of dragonkind, you know that we do not back down either.” Kurok nodded. “That I have heard,” he said. “One final thing to consider, then. My orders direct me to leave this place swiftly for the west—assuming I survive this encounter, of course. I intend to take the bulk of the goblin tribe that dwell within this canyon with me, including all of the worg riders and their mounts. As for what happens after I leave… well, as I said, these lands belong to Kavel Murgoth, but his attention is focused elsewhere, for the moment. Should I accomplish my mission, it is doubtful that anyone will care what happens here.” The dragon regarded him for a stretch of time that might have discomfited an average person, but Kurok only stood there waiting. “You disgust me,” Carth finally said. “I am not interested in your regard,” Kurok said. “I will have your decision.” He shifted, only slightly, but there was a clear threat in it. The dragon lifted itself on its hind legs and spread its wings again. “I grow weary of hunting goblinoids. Your flesh is stringy and foul-tasting. It may be a day or two before I return. Pray to your gods that we do not meet again, little hobgoblin, for on that day one of us will meet his end.” Kurok didn’t move as the dragon dove backwards off the cleft, twisting its body around until its wings could spread fully to catch the air. It swept out over the canyon, briefly dropping out of view before it emerged again, rising to the north before it disappeared behind one of the far peaks. Kurok remained where he was until it was fully gone, then he took a deep breath and let it out. But he allowed himself only a moment’s rest before he started back the way he had come. He had a long hike ahead of him, and Usk would need time to make preparations for the clan’s departure. [/QUOTE]
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