The Books of Renly.
Chapter 7: A Voice

Our fighter awoke shocked and startled looking round while quickly feeling about his body where the light ball made contact, panic over he thought to himself feeling no obvious injuries, his attention was soon diverted as there was a gathering of keepers stood at the gate to the large creatures cage who had eaten their companion except there was no bars where the cage door once stood, instead there was a large pool of metal upon the floor between them they could only surmise that the pool was the remnants of the bars now fused to the floor. Stranger still it had little bits of unburnt straw sticking out of it impossible by any normal way of heating the bars. “It must have escaped!” the smaller of them was saying, while the others were paying no mind to the obvious still studying the remains of the bars in wonder. Our fighter observed their conversation in an effort to figure out whether what he remembered of the night before actually happened. Listening into their debate all he could figure out was no one had seen the creature leave nor had they seen any one enter or exit the cages, it was an unsettling feeling all round, shaking it off he began to focus his attentions onto the day and the fight ahead.

A meal of oxen lay at the front of the cage’s gate with the hound’s nose but a whisker away sniffing and grunting awaiting its new master to eat his fill first, which could not happen soon enough as it lay there salivating and waiting so it can enjoy its feast laid out before it. Sitting down attempting to put things into perspective of his own mind our fighter began talking to the hound out loud, he began by asking the hound if he had seen the events of the night before and what had happened in that time as he slept. Expecting no answer he approached the feast taking on board the wafting sweet smell and began to take in as much food as he could, if this was to be his last meal he was going to enjoy it at least, smiling and chuckling to himself claiming to his new friend one must never fight a war on an empty stomach. The hound lifted its head braking its attention from the oxen and now tilting his head to one side then the other staring intently at our fighter, although our fighter didn’t fully understand who was talking back to him he could hear a voice in his mind of someone beginning to describe what had happened, paying virtually no mind he continued to listen and dine upon his feast thinking he was hearing a dark part of his mind answering back.

The Nomeys had spent the best part of the night with Fragar and his drinking companions in debate and ramping a potential windfall for the upcoming pit battles. The attendance of some of the strongest warriors who were said to be taking part in the days battles, from what they learned and rumors of the names that were tossed around the table as they played ten, they knew it was not going to be easy to get their new creature back out alive and unscaved but alive would do as long as the fighter was dead, as if the creature was injured it would only serve them as the struggle to control it would only be made easier. The bet was agreed with the Fragar that their creature was indeed strong, killing many creatures in previous battles with many beast and had left unscaved, convincing them that their creature maybe the one to back wagering 50 coin on the fact of the beast winning the day, Fragar agreed to pay out 4 times that amount if it were slayed given such a large beast they could make a coin or two more by slicing up the carcass. Retiring to their rooms to sleep off the nights drinking and the success of the wagers placed on the days fights the next day, their excitement could hardly be contained as they tossed and turned hardly believing their plan was taking shape.

The beams of the morning sun had hardly begun to penetrate the cracks in the wooden doors over the windows when the door to their room was rattled, as it was pounded with all the excitement of the street rats might calling “Mr, Mr, Mr” with every knocking pattern in sync. Opening their eyes the Nomeys matched the excitement of the boy, as one of them almost glided across the floor to answer it sweeping back the door and snapping out, “speak child, speak it true did you see the what we asked to view?”

“I did Mr, I only shut my eyes in the darkest of night awaking as soon as the morning light reached over the mountains I could see the statues tongue dripping with the redist of paint my eyes have seen these days,” with a grin of a hidden evil, reaching into his pocket he took out a coin from his pouch holding it for the boy to take. The boy reached with all the glee of a fool to take it, before he even knew what had happened he found himself now in the grip of the Nomey’s hands as he brought the boy to his eye line, his feet now dangling a few feet from the floor worming and wriggling to break free as he choked gasping for breath. The Nomey began warning the boy with his eyes locked into the boy’s eyes not to speak of what had just taken place and the information he had just spoken of, or he would replace him on these lonely streets and feed him to his beasts before the sun sets on the day his lips would utter the words. The terror of the boy’s eyes could chill the soul as cold as the mountain tops, satisfied with his warning dropping the boy only seconds from death he kicked him from the door, the boy not waiting for anything coughing he stumbled to his feet and began to run. Laughing at the fear of the boy and his hidden delight as he ran the Nomey threw the coin at the boy calling for him not to forget his reward. The boy stopping dead as if shot by a deadly arrow as the coin hit his back turning slowly to see the coin upon the floor he scooped it up and took off.

“So our plan is ready, we have our wager, our assured victory and the chance to breed some creatures that will put us back on top we cannot lose today,” the grimmly evil laugh built into a blood curling one as they chuckled to themselves. Stopped when the door rattled once more with a hand so heavy as to almost push it past the latch and out of its hook, the oak door aching and whining back, as it sank back into position as each punishing wave of knocking began and stopped, placing their hands on their weapons thinking what if that street rat had opened his mouth they beckoned the mystery knocker to enter. With a heavy burst the door swung open finally removed from its hinges slamming to the ground the latch splintered as it ejected from its mount bouncing from the floor impaling the wall not too far from one of the Nomeys heads, with a gulp of the throat they called into the darkened corridor to their mystery guest to reveal himself and why he had called upon them with a quake almost hidden in the false call of strength. With not a word spoken the large figure armored from head to toe revealing no skin armed with a large battle axe stepped into the room and light, ducking to avoid crashing his head on the door arch now sweeping its gaze left and right it signaled behind him with a nod of his helmed head to give the all clear. Two more of them stepped inside either side of the man stood before them and a chuckling Fragar followed not a moment later “do you two street rats intend on watching the fight from this pit you call a room or ring side with the rest of us?” a sigh of relief fell from the Nomeys as they gathered their belongings and headed past Fragar’s guards throwing them a look of disgust and through the open doorway.

The cages by now are a wash of noise of creatures building in tension, lust for blood and excitement as the crowds could be heard gathering above our fighter and his friend who were now laying next to a pile of picked clean bones relaxing and listening to everything, our fighter began to talk his new friend about how he felt nervous before a fight, divulging the discomfort of his memories of the battlefield and the fallen men gathered round him a secret he had told no other, were they friend or foe he could not tell. The voice he had thought as his own began to reply to him once more, “master, it is today we shall fight together win or lose today I know I have met a fighter that was worthy of my trust and the trust of many a creature, you fight harder than most men I have devoured if it is our destiny to die this day then so be it.” the fighter spun himself round to look at the creature with a look curiosity asking a question directly to the creature “do you speak to my mind or am i to become as mad as the wizards?” the creature looked back at him sitting up mocking his movements sitting face to face resting its head on his closing its eyes it replied “it seems you can hear me too and it’s not my imagination talking back to me either, this is an interesting time to replace this out and so close to possible death, few have learned to talk to our race you must have the blood of a druid within you,”

“Our visitor last night may have awoken a skill I never knew I had, if today is to go as you suggest we can never replace out, we have to fight harder than any time in our lives but victory here may see better times for us both.” their conversation was broken by the sound of the gates of the cages being rattled by the keepers to aggravate the creatures still lying in slumber within, one by one they rose as the sound of the clanking grew closer their excitement and nerves began to build.