Lov awoke the next morning, the stone under him hot in the baking sun. His mouth was dry, and he reached for his skin. He swallowed the last of his water. It was warm and stale, but satisfied his thirst. Lov searched the rocky terrain for a game trail, but couldn't find anything. He was heading back to the ridge when a piercing shriek filled the air from above him. Lov looked up in time to see an enormous bird swoop down and nab him with its Talons. Lov reached for the sword at his back, the one he had never used, about to pull it from its sheath. Alarm bells went off in his head, so Lov lowered his hands from it. Instead, he grabbed his belt knife, jamming it into one of the creature's thighs.
The avian let out a shriek, attempting to drop Lov, but the young half-dragon reached up grabbing a handful of feathers. He used them to pull himself up the bird, and worked his way around until he sat between the bird's wings. It turned its head attempting to snap him off of its back.
Lov reached back with his left fist, his right clinging tightly to the feathers for support, and punched the bird square in the beak. The creature's head whipped around, limp in the wind. The wings went slack, and the bird began to plummet to the ground.
Lov panicked, shaking the bird, attempting to bring it back from unconsciousness. But the bird was out cold, limp and lifeless. Lov panicked a little as the ground rushed up towards them, so he reached down, attempting to flap the bird’s wings. Finally, the beast roused, shaking its head and taking in its surroundings. The bird panicked, flapping for everything it was worth, attempting to avoid hitting the ground. Lov pictured a current of wind pushing both of them from below, and the bird felt the wind catch under its wings.
The young half-elf moved forward on the giant beast's back, climbing in front of the wings. He grabbed handfuls of feathers, using them to turn the bird's head and steer its flight. When Lov turned the bird's head to the right, the bird banked to the right. If he pulled back on it, the giant bird would flap its wings, climbing for altitude.
Lov searched around, spotting the camp. He thought how impressive it might seem to ride this horse sized wild avian into their encampment. As he banked for it, he spotted large buildings in the distance. They were a few miles from the camp, and looked as permanent as the mud huts looked temporary. The ground approached quickly though, and Lov had to fight the bird to force it towards the ground. It landed grudgingly, attempting to throw Lov over its head. But he hung on for dear life, maintaining his seat. He punched it in the back of the head, jumping from its back. Lov watched as the bird took off, leaving him standing in the middle of the camp. He watched as the creatures surrounded him, anger clear on their faces. They screamed and roared at him, so Lov pulled his ax from his back, slamming the butt of the handle into the ground. The eye glared from the back of the ax head.
A large male approached him, covered in thick dark fur. A star, like the one that covered the guy staked next to the sea, stood out from the hair on the male's chest. If he didn't look so cut and hard, Lov would have said the green tinge to his skin was sickness. It calmly stepped up to him, pointing to the ax and speaking in a language Lov didn't understand. Lov shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, trying to show he didn't understand.
The large brute repeated himself, a little louder this time. He gestured emphatically at Lov's ax, mimicking surrender. Lov pulled the sword from his back, leaving only his bow, strapped tightly to his quiver unstrung. The sword floated at Lov's shoulder, slowly passing back and forth behind him.
The large male pulled two hammers from his belt, pointing to Lov and shouting incoherently. An old stooped male, patches clear in his fur, stepped forward. His skin was dirt brown where the patches were. He called out in heavily accented, if clear, common. "Tormac here wants your ax. He is convincing people to take it from you for him. He is promising great wealth."
Lov laughed, deep and hearty. "You ask Tormac why he's so afraid to come get it himself."
The old man shook his head. "Another wasted youth." He said mournfully before turning to Tormac and translating. Tormac turned a deep dark green, his face contorted in rage. He pointed to Lov screaming and gesturing aggressively. Three other males charged Lov, weapons drawn. The first swung a sharp cross body swing at Lov, but the nimble half-dragon listened to his hunger. Lov let it guide him, and he jumped, stepping on the cross cutting sword before stomping down viciously on the poor soul who wielded it. He felt the orc's neck snap under his foot as Lov launched himself over the second fighter. He crashed into the third, slamming the hammer side of his ax into the unfortunate face of the attacker. Lov turned to find the last fighting furiously with the disembodied sword.
The sword attacked quickly, catching the survivor in the neck and severing an artery. Lov was reaching out to take the sword from the air, when it swung at him. He barely reacted fast enough to pull back his hand from being cut, then snatched the hilt and slammed the sword into its scabbard.
Lov turned to face the big male. He didn't say a word to him, just stared. Tormac roared and charged the young half-dragon, anger in every step he took. Lov waited patiently for Tormac. Tormac screamed "Fru Gruumnsh" as he rushed towards Lov, swinging one hammer, and rearing back with the other.
Lov swung his ax up, catching the first hammer and ripping it from Tormac's grip. He ducked as the second swung through the empty air his head had just occupied.
"Fru Gruumnsh!" Tormac screamed again, swinging his hammer down with two hands. Lov spun out from under the blow, swinging his ax around and catching the large male in the side of his neck. Lov kicked Tormac in the stomach, ripping his ax free of the big brute. As Lov slammed the butt of the ax into the ground, Tormac's blood dripped down over his fingers. A part of him weeped for the lost life of one even so simple as his victim.
He turned to the old man, tears slowly tracing their way down his face. "Anyone else?" He asked the old man, pain clear on his expression.
The old man shook his head, and looked to the heavens saying, "Well... shit."