The Games of Saberhaven
Mack vs. Thurgol Hammerhand
His opponent is a newcomer, but supposedly some kind of half-giant himself.
The names are called, and the doors open. Both competitors step into the ring, and right away it's obvious this is going to be a slugfest. Both fighters are over twelve feet tall, and carry huge weapons.
Mack stands in his gleaming plate mail, and carries the huge Maul of the Titans in both his hands. The emissary of the Lord of Combat grins, eyes gleaming, obviously relishing the combat to come.
Thurgol Hammerhand makes his first appearance in Saberhaven, and makes an impression. Towering 13 feet tall, he sports a shock of red hair and a huge red beard. In each hand, he carries a gigantic hammer, both crackling with lightning.
Thurgol seems to concentrate, staring at his opponent.
Mack grins, and disappears. He reappears right next to Thurgol, and rears back with his mighty maul.
Thurgol sneers, and with quickly flicks out with his crackling hammers, knocking Mack's maul from one of his giant hands. His arms a blur of motion, he follows that strike with two more, and the maul flies away, landing on the ground with a THUD, about ten feet away.
"Damn!" Mack curses, as he immediately lunges for his weapon. Thurgol takes advantage, flailing at Mack with his hammers, eyes frantic, a fierce grin plastered across his face, his red hair and beard flaring about. Hammerhand pounds into Mack five times, and hits solidly four of those times. Oddly, however, the strikes seemed to bounce off, as if hitting solid steel.
Mack recovers his maul, turns, and with one motion brings the massive weapon down at Thurgol. His strike hits the Hammerhand with a resounding BOOM!, but bounces away, seemingly doing no damage. He rears back to swing again, but suddenly he jerks, his eyes widen and he grunts with pain. Mack quickly grabs the back of his thigh, grimacing with pain, then seems to focus through it, grasping his maul once again.
The half-giant roars, and raises his maul. Mack unleashes a flurry of blows that slam into Thurgol, each time bouncing away harmlessly.
Thurgol grins, and unleashes a whirlwind of hammer blows. Two blows clang off Mack, as the earlier attacks did. Two more, however, smash into the half-giant and obviously hurt him, though not terribly badly.
Thurgol senses weakness and dives for the kill. He seems to lose his footing for a second. He recovers nicely, but cannot continue to press the attack.
Having taken each others measure, the two fighters circle each other warily, staring into each others eyes. Occasionally one feints, and the other shifts positions.
Suddenly, Thurgol vaults forward, his hammers whirling and crackling.
Mack meets the charge, deflecting the first hammer with the iron head of the maul, then deftly catching the second hammer with the butt. Thurgol's third blow slips through, however, smashing Mack on the shoulder.
Mack grunts in pain, and his guard drops. Thurgol takes advantage with a mighty blow that cracks Mack right in the jaw. Teeth and spittle fly as Mack's eyes momentarily roll back. The crowd holds its breath.
Suddenly the half-giant growls, narrows his eyes, and pushes Thurgol away with his maul. The fans roar at this display of courage--Mack's jaw is obviously broken, he's bleeding freely from his mouth and nose, he's wobbly and barely able to keep his feet, but he's not out of this yet.
Thurgol is momentarily thrown off balance by the unexpected push, and Mack follows up with a blow that catches Thurgol on the ribs. It bounces off as if it had hit stone, but this seems only to enrage Mack further. Mack swings the butt of his maul high, and Thurgol ducks to avoid it. Unfortunately, the butt swing was a feint, setting up the monstrous overhand blow that smashes right into Thurgol's helm...
...and bounces off, though Thurgol staggers beneath the power of the hit.
Mack's eyes bulge with rage, and he bellows, "By the Lord of Combat, I will batter through your defenses!"
With that, Mack unleashes another mighty blow, swinging up high and bringing his maul crashing down on Thurgol again, this time catching him on the shoulder.
There is a sickening crunch, and Thurgol's eyes widen with pain. Thurgol manages to keep hold of his hammers, and staggers backwards, keeping his weapons in a defensive position. He is obviously hurt very badly.
Mack, too, isn't in good shape--there are bruises and swelling on his shoulders, back, and arms, and blood streams from his nose and ears. He staggers backwards, using this lull in combat to catch his breath.
Thurgol stands his ground, holding his hammers in front of him, his brow furrowed with concentration.
Mack finally growls, and charges forward... only to bounce off of an unseen barrier. He releases one hand's grip from his maul, and reaches forward. There is an invisible wall between Mack and his opponent. Mack attempts to batter through it with his maul, but the huge weapon rebounds harmlessly.
Thurgol smiles. He concentrates, and one of his ioun stones glows as it swirls about his head. In a matter of seconds, all of Thurgol's wounds close, and his bruises disappear.
Mack's face looks angry at this development, and he pounds at the barrier with his maul.
"I had been impressed with you thus far, Hammerhand," Mack growls, his face red. "But now you show your cowardice! Come forth and fight me!"
Thurgol says nothing, only smiles. His cloak billows up behind him in an unseen wind, and Hammerhand rises a few inches off the ground.
Mack spits, disgusted. "You are no warrior! You cannot defeat me with your hammers, now you turn to magic... You are not worthy of the Lord of Combat."
Despite his words, Mack can do nothing.
Thurgol waves his hand at Mack mockingly, then disappears.
"Damn you!" Mack shouts. "Fight me like a man!"
There is no answer, and seconds tick by. Mack growls with disgust, then turns and runs back towards his entrance door. He puts his back to the wall, and stands ready, his maul clutched in both hands.
Over a minute ticks by, and Thurgol does not appear. The crowd, which had been very into the battle, now begins to boo and hiss.
Mack smiles as he realizes the crowd is now on his side, but there is uneasiness in his eyes. He knows he's at a disadvantage here.
Suddenly, a rainbow-colored beam bursts from mid-air, extending about 20 yards and bathing Mack in yellow light. Mack rears back in pain, his eyes widen, and his mouth opens in a silent scream as his flesh sizzles away.
Mack then falls over with a THUMP, raising a small cloud of dust. He doesn't even twitch.
A cheer erupts throughout the crowd. "Damn, that was a hell of a match!" someone shouts.
As the few fans begin to chant Thurgol's name, Hammerhand appears in midair, a broad grin on his face. He raises his hammers, and blue lightning crackles into the air. His billowing cloak erupts into flame.
"Hey Saberhaven!" he shouts out. "I'm Thurgol Hammerhand! Damn glad to meetcha!"
The crowd erupts with cheers again. Thurgol basks in the applause as he healing priests tend to Mack, then flies out of the Arena victoriously.
[ Atlas ][
Mythology ][
Bestiary ][
Faiths ][
Kalimantan ][
Credits ]
[ History ][
Lexicon ][
Artifacts ][
The Games ][
PBeM ][
Other Worlds ]