Of Beasts and Knights

Zyleena: *walking towards the city, talking to herself* "Oh Thorgar, i love watching you work."

*he just chuckles to himself as he follows*

*the trip to the city is mostly uneventful.*

*Wanna retcon himfea's random single post interuption?*


Heigen: "You managed to shatter both of my axes"

Rosa: "Not through skill"

Heigen: "You're invincible as far as we know, and can shatter warp iron with brute strength. Don't need any help from me." *he pokes the forge with one of the swords he decided was surplus to his requirements*

OOC go for it
IC *yaaay*

Rosa: *sighs* you don't get it. I've got power, but not skill. I want to be able to fight properly WITHOUT the powers.

Heigen: *he turns around, looks at her. His expression is impossible to know behind the skull visage of his helmet. Miraculously undamaged after it was broken in combat that morning.* "Why would you fight without your gifts? The gods have graced you with power."

*They reach the gates, and the warriors disperse, dragging whatever food, valuables, and prisoners they found. other groups are returning as well, similarly burdened.* Zyleena: "To the manor now. Time to meet Thorgar."

Rosa: simple. what happens if you combine power with skill?

"Alright lass, you comin with?"

Heigen: "You sound like Zyleena"

Zyleena: "Of course."

Rosa:...huh?

"lead the way then lassie"

Heigen: "The Slaaneshi bitch. Always prattling about technique and shit."

*she leads through the streets. Any marauder quickly gets the fuck out of her way the moment she comes into sight. The manor looms in front of them*

Rosa: you've got both skill and power, right?

"Fresh meat. lots of it."

Heigen: "Experience, I would call it."

Zyleena: "Not for you."

Rosa: then teach me skill.

"Yet."

Zyleena: "If they die in battle. Perhaps."

Heigen: *he looks at her for a solid few seconds.* "Fine..... But you help me with this first."

rosa: what do you need?

"heh."

heigen: "Go to the butchers, across the road. there's a brass cauldron on the floor in the back room. get it."

*they approach the doors to the manor. Zyleena knocks, once.*

rosa goes over there

the norscan waits

*the door is opened by a heavyset norscan warrior with bone white hair, loose around his face, and a reasonably trim beard. His armour is a patchwork of mail and plate. Some chaos, some imperial. His right shoulder is covered by a jet black plate of chaos iron, and his left, a polished pauldron, taken from an empire knight panther. His eyes are an icy blue, cold.* "Zyleena. Why have you brought me... this." *he gestures dispassionately at the norscan.*

*the door to the back room is of heavy oak, from underneath it, dark, congealing blood seeps.*

he grins at the large man

she looks around

*the butchers corpse is still slumped against the counter. blood has pooled in his face and hanging hands, bruising them purple, while the rest of his skin is pale white. The door is held shut with a iron latch*

Zyleena: "Its a skin wolf. A reasonably capable one." *she seems cowed by the large man*

She opens it and enters

"Pleasure to meet ye. So you're the big shot missy slaaneshi sucks up to then eh?"

*the smell is indescribable. The place is a charnel house. Corpses are hung from meat hooks, head down, with their throats slit. Blood dips from the gaping wounds, and a hundred others carved into the bodies. Every one is a soldier. the guards who attempted to hold the town against the oncoming storm that is chaos. The channels cut into the stone flags, made to carry away animal blood, now flows with the lifeblood of humans. At the end of the channels, where the many tributaries of crimson form one great river of gore... Sits a brass cauldron.*

*the norscan raises an eyebrow.* "I am."

Zyleena: *Is obviously riled by this, but keeps herself composed.*

she coughs, covering her mouth and nose as she approaches it

"Aye, yer more impressive than I were expectin. Certainly more impressive than I've seen in a long time. I don't blame ye lass" *Grins at zyleena*

*Its full of bright crimson blood, which appears as fresh as if it were just spilled. Symbols cover the cauldron, worked in black iron. If she looks at them for too long her vision begins to swim as they twist and writhe before her eyes.*

*The norscan ponders for a moment.* "You'll do."

she gets a hold of herself and grabs the cauldron

"oh will I? aint that gracious"

*Its heavy, and she can feel her palms tingling where the skin touches the bare metal.*

Thorgar: "I can be harsh if you'd prefer."

she grunts as she lifts it

"Oh don't ye worry" *chuckles* "I'm just a snarky fuck is all."

Thorgar: "I can deal with that. All i need is soldiers who take orders"

*Doop de dooo.*

"and all I need is a good source of meat." *grins* "I'm bettin you can provide that"

rosa drags it back to him

Thorgar: "Fresh, or carrion."

*Heigen has hauled the white hot metal from the forge, and is hammering it with some obvious skill*

"personally I prefer it screaming"

she drags it over to him

Thorgar: "I've given the men the run of the nearby villages. You can do the same."

Heigen: "Perfect... *mumbling to himself* steel from the blades of my fallen enemies, and quenched in their blood... that'll work."

"good 'nuff till they run out" *Grins*

Rosa: *cough* right.

Thorgar: "How much do you eat? Is it worth it for me to keep you around?"

heigen: *he looks up from working the glowing steel* "What?"

"I dunno, ask her two big armoured bastards I tossed around earlier If I'm worth it *grins* I don't need too much."

Rosa: sorry....just that much rotten flesh in one place...

Heigen: "Only been two days. Can't be rottin yet. The smell's the cowards shit em'selves when they died."

Thorgar: *raises an eyebrow and looks at zyleena*

Zyleena: "He beat two of your chosen unconscious to make a point to me."

Rosa:.... still not something I'm quite used to.

"Aye, didn't even put up a propa fight, or get a swing in. I were honestly disappointed."

Heigen: "Get used to it. Thats what death smells like. Shit and cowardice."

"Show me."

Rosa: anyway...

the wolf grins. he enacts his transformation right there in front of thorgar. if thorgar's seen a skin wolf before, he notes this one is larger than a normal one.

Heigen: "aye?" *he goes back to beating shape into the steel*

Thorgar: "Impressive. Down, into the square." *he walks past, down the steps up to the manor, into the stone paved square in front of it.*

Rosa: now what?

the wolf follows, clearly curious where this is going

Heigen: "Now, i forge an axe worthy of khorne." *She can see the weapon beginning to take shape. she can tell its going to be fricking massive.*

*Thorgar draws his sword, and pulls the wooden round shield from his back, where it sat on top of the bearskin cloak.*

Rosa watches

"You want to fight me?"

*He works with practised skill, beating the glowing steel into submission, drawing it out into the shape he desires. A single edged axe, with a spike on the opposing side, three feet from the blades edge to the point of the spike.*

Thorgar: "I haven't drawn my blade to air it out."

she continues to watch

"Deadly force permitted?"

Thorgar: "You can try."

*It takes a few more heatings, but he slowly brings the blade to life. Its gigantic. The front blade is recurved, bulging in the middle, and swooping back at the top and bottom, to form two points, the bottom one is longer, more pronounced. The back spike has been fashioned into a blade, sweeping down, and ending in a point. The haft is solid steel, and ends in a spear tip like blade.*

Heigen: "There... Almost done."

the wolf grins and begins circling thorgar

Rosa: impressive...

Heigen: "I think so." *he heats the thing again, and begins the process of heat treating the blade, dumping it into the cauldron of blood, it hisses, and gives off a stench like burnt flesh, then heaving it out, beating the edges to harden them, and repeating the process, heating it again. After the third time, he inspects the blade, and seems satisfied.* "Perfect.... "*He takes it in both hands, testing the weight. then roars at the top of his lungs.* "KHORNE I DEVOTE THIS BLADE TO YOUR SERVICE! THE BLOOD IT SPILLS WILL FLOW IN YOUR RIVERS, THE SKULLS IT TAKES, MAY THEY BE ADDED TO YOUR THRONE! BLOOD! FOR THE BLOOD GOD!"

Thorgar: *he raises his shield, and keeps his blade pointed at a 45 degree angle from the wolf, and the floor.*

Rosa stands back as he does that

the wolf's eyes glow purple for a moment. before thorgar can react to that, he feels something smack the shield. hard. so hard it sends him sprawling on his arse. an instant later the wolf pounces before he can get up, his first action to pin his sword arm to the floor, before throwing the sword to one side out of reach

*Thorgar strikes the wolf in the throat with the rim of his shield, and follows it by headbutting it in the face, and driving his knee into its stomach*

*He laughs hysterically.* "Oh yes this weapon is destined for great things!" *she sees the runes carved into it ebb and glow with chaotic energies, as the gift bestowed upon it by the god of battle settles.*

the wolf is stunned but for a very short period of time. grinning it begins to rain down heavy blows upon the shield

Rosa: glad to hear it.....