Of Beasts and Knights

she continues her attacks, not letting up the pressure

he just grins to himself as he wipes blood from his face, seeming to be enjoying it a bit too much

Thorgar: "You enjoy combat?"

Heigen blocks some, sidesteps others, and lets one or two land, knowing they'll hit armoured plates and do little more than bounce off

"Exhilarating, isn't it?"

she keeps up her assault, not slowing down

Thorgar: "Perfect, you'll be on the front lines then."

Heigen grabs the blade of her sword in his left hand, stopping it dead

"Oh I'll be further forward than that"

she looks up at him

Thorgar: "You'll be exactly where i tell you to be."

Heigen: "You expect slashing to do what? Exactly?"

"As you say" *chuckles*

Rosa:...depends

Thorgar: "Linebreaker, that will be your role."

Heigen: "Against armour like this? Stab lass. Thrust against plate." *he pushes her back a bit with the sword, and then lets go.* "Try again."

"Ah, has been a while since I saw a proper battle"

Rosa pauses, just for a moment, before attacking him again.

Thorgar: "One is coming. The Brettonians will know of us soon."

*Heigen blocks, deflects and dodges some.*

"Small men in tin suits. Not much of a fight."

Heigen notes this time she's only holding the sword in one hand. before long, he feels a stab, as he realises what she's done. while he was focused on his sword, she quickly drew a dagger and shoved it into the joint in his armour, in the armpit

Thorgar: "Plenty of them. Quantity has a quality all of its own."

*Heigen looks at her in slight surprise.* "Not bad."

"Maybe. Usually too much of something easy gets boring."

Rosa: well you said to stab. Daggers stab better than swords.

Thorgar: "A brettonian army, then an empire one. Perhaps some dwarves for variety."

Heigen: "Well, you would have killed a southling knight. Unfortunately for you i am not one of those."

"Now the stunties....they'd be a laugh"

Rosa: well, I wouldn't say unfortunately. If you were dead, then the lesson would be over.

Thorgar: "I've never fought them, its on my to do list."

Heigen: "Yes, but i wouldn't do this if i was dead." *He essentially just lets his sword arm drop. Still in its high guard, the simple weight of his arm, and the blade slams into her shoulder, and bites deep*

"Trust me, in a battle, you'd need more than you've got here. Else you'd be fucked."

she winces with pain for a moment, but not much longer than that

Thorgar: "A fleet is at anchor just beyond the horizon, A skaven army waits beneath our feet. I'm prepared."

Heigen: "Here's the thing. The way you win a fight. Is heavy armour, and a big fucking sword."

"Not for the stunties you aren't. If you haven't fought em before, you'll lose the first battle. Simple as that."

Rosa: I mean.... you're a lot more likely to win if you just shoot your opponent with a black powder weapon....

Thorgar: "If that were true then they would have conquered the continent by now."

Heigen: "I invite you to try."

"Aye, and by all rights they should have. But, grudges, politics, and general slowness to act on anything that isn't urgent."

Rosa: don't have a gun.

Thorgar: "That and of course, the warriors of the gods will grind them into the ground" *he takes a step closer* "And build a mountain of their corpses so high the gods will take notice."

Heigen: *pulls the dagger out of his armpit.* "This plate, will stop any rifle the southlings can forge."

"Oh I don't doubt you want to do that.... but they're pretty experienced at putting our kind in the dirt. They have 'demon slayers' for a reason. They've been killing the gods' followers since before mankind existed"

Rosa: who said anything about a rifle?

Heigen: "Admittedly, cannonballs do hurt."

Thorgar: "I intend to rectify that situation if i ever come across the creatures,"

Rosa: ever seen a hellblaster in use?

"Aye, you can try. Many have tried before you. Not sayin I won't help you try, Just that I don't have high hopes for success"

Heigen: "I have indeed. I cut its crew apart with an axe."

Thorgar: "My target is the empire. I will only fight them if they're in my way."

Rosa: that'd give you a bit of a battering

"Well, you'll have to deal with em eventually. Them and the empire get along pretty well."

Heigen: "It took an arm off."

Thorgar: "If the rat men can be bargained with as i have found here, then perhaps i neednt fight them at all."

Rosa: sounds about right.

"You think the rats can deal with em?" *laughs* "One greenskin almost brought doom to one of their biggest clans"

Thorgar: "That would be the most dangerous greenskin to have ever lived, i do believe."

Heigen: "I picked it up and put it back on."

"I've killed a lot of greenskins, including the really tough ones. Sure, he could probably beat me in a fight, but still shows how big fuckin pansies the rats are"

Rosa: most people can't do that

Thorgar: "Quantity, quantity and more quantity. There are more ratmen than there even are greenskins"

Heigen: "But i can. And so can you. So, how about you shut up, and learn what i teach you?"

"And it hasn't gotten them very far has it?"

Rosa: fair point.

Thorgar: "Same as the dwarves, infighting."

Heigen: "So, we get you a real sword. and some thick fucking armour."

"The dwarves have a lot of big guns and strong fighters. The rats have a lot of meat. They've done so little most people don't think they exist."

Rosa: your boss said I wasn't allowed to take any chaos armour.

Thorgar: "They're usually content to fight themselves. But if you have a big chunk of warpstone, you can get them to do whatever you like."

Heigen: "Did he? well, we'll have to make do with mundane plate."

"You mean die in droves accomplishing fuck all?"

Rosa: 'mundane'

Thorgar: "Very small minded aren't you? Not that it matters. I need you brawn not your brain."

Heigen: *looks at her weird.* "yes. Mundane."

"I kill and I fuck, and I kill and I fuck. 's what I'm good at. Don't need to be a genius to be good at it."

Rosa:... nevermind

Thorgar: "learn to use your brain, and you'll end up in less cells." *Behind him, Zyleena chuckles*

Heigen: "No, do explain lass."

"I was in that cell cause I was using my brain. I wasn't trapped, I was just making sure I had a cosy bed to return to after a night of devouring villagers alive. *looks at zyleena* Until someone came and killed all the food. Unsustainable, that. Now I'm gonna have to find something else to eat."

Rosa: it really don't matter.

Thorgar: "High ambitions indeed."

Heigen: "Well, might be hard this, most southern knights dont have tits, so mail it will be on the front probably."

Rosa:... we can't just have one made that fits?

"Don't try and get into my head, northman. You won't be able to get out again."

Heigen: "by... who, exactly? If you haven't realised i killed the blacksmith and used his blood to make an axe."

Thorgar: "If i want to be in your head, wolf." ~I can be in your head.~

Rosa: Who the fuck makes all the armour and weapons you lot use? Yeah the chaos armour is from the gods, but all the swords, the axes, all the other stuff?

*thorgar finds his attempt to do that blocked somehow. the wolfman just grins at that*

Heigen: "The man who uses it, also the gods, or someone who isn't here."

Thorgar: "Care to explain that?"

Rosa: sod off. No way every fuckin one of you is a damn smith. I aint buying it.

"You're not the only one with blessings, Northman. Now, If I may be excused, I don't feel at home somewhere until I've been balls deep in one of the girls residing there. *winks at zyleena* I'm sure you'll be able to find me"

Heigen: "If you cant sharpen an axe, or replace a haft, you're fucking useless."

Zyleena: *She watches him go. He can't tell if she's interested or not.*

Rosa: maintaining your damn blade, and forging armour and weapons are very bloody different.

*she can tell he doesn't massively care if she does, although not in the good way of that*

heigen: "We have smiths, of course we have smiths. But who marches a smith across half a continent on foot?"

"The same person who plans to make new recruits of enemy citizens, and then needs to arm those citizens?"