The brave Son.

A cimmerian tale

Once upon a time there was a cannibal living within the white hillsides of the Eiglophianian Mountains, called 'Imoko the cruel'. He was wearing a long, black moustache, which he threw about his shoulders like reins and his whisker was so long that it reached his knees. His Eyes were dark with no color in them and spikey teeth were sticking in his chops. The fingers ended up with some sharp claws and his whole body was very hairly. Merciless, wild and bloodthirsty he was, cruel, like his name betrayed. He attacked the rangers in the forests, the women in the villages, he even didn't stop for old people or children. He caught everybody he got and devoured him. And he was that strong and smart, that no one plucked up his courage to fight him.

As soon as people saw him they ran away and hid somewhere. They didn't know how to struggle against him, and always said: "Imoko is much stronger than us, he's smarter than us. No one can dupe him, no one can conquer. We have to accept him, we have to be quiet!" and so they accepted him and hid themselves.

But there was a ranger living in the villige, who was called Sloan. He was strong, brave and clever. While other hunters often came back from the hunt with empty backpacks, he always took home good prey - foxes or wolves, ermines or squirrels. While he roamed all mountains and all forests, he was never attacked by a wild animal, never got whipsawed; because he had an acute mind, was keen-eyed and had strong hands.

One day Imoko came down from his mountains to the village, where Sloan lived. The people ran away feared and scared and didn't know where to hide. The cannibal took a little child and went back up into the mountains. While Imoko was near, the villagers didn't dare to say a word, not even to whisper. But when he got out of seek, a moaning and weeping went through the village. "Which child will be robbed next by this fiend?" the mothers bewailed. The children cried, only the men kept bleakly silent. Then Sloan said: "It won't help to cry and to hide. We have to kill this damned cannibal Imoko, so we all can live without fear of him!" But the people answered: "We could never kill Imoko the cruel, never release from him. We are no birds at all, we can't fly away to the sky. We are no fishes, we can't hide in the water. Obviously it's our destiny to die by Imoko's claws and teeth."

Sloan's heart weighted down with sorrow. He looked to his son and thought: 'He wasn't born to be mangled by Imoko's teeth. None of the childs was. We have to put an end on him and release the mothers from this harm...'

But how?

You couldn't go out there and challenge Imoko for a fight, the cruel one wouldn't kill only one man; he would kill off the whole village. Besides the other men wouldn't fight against him, he awed them all and bereft their boldness. You also couldn't dupe him, he always was on his guard and guessed everything beforehand. So sloan agonized how he could release the villagers from Imoko, all night long. Long time he pondered, many ideas went thorugh his mind, until he finally conceived it. But he didn't tell anybody about it.

He took his best bow and the sharpest arrows and said to his son: "You got bravery in your heart?" - "Yes." - "You got mercy in your heart?" - "Yes." - "Then come with me. The way is long and the task terribly difficult, but we have to do what we have to do. Would you like to ask me anything?" The boy had no questions, he quietly went along with his father.

The ranger and his son wandered into the mountains, from which Imoko usually came down. They went through a sable forest, climbed cliffy rocks and made their way where no ways were until they reached a free area. A high stump was standing there, surrounded by trees and bushes. But they saw no animal, no bird far and wide. Sloan stopped, stripped of his rangerclothes and covered the stump with them. The boy watched his father, but he didn't ask. Then the father inflamed a fire next to the stump. The son watched him and again he didn't ask anything. Then the ranger said to his son: "Sit down here at the fire. Whatever happens, don't run away." - "I will not run away." - "It will be awful for you, very horrible." - "I will not become scared." - "Well, then sit down and wait."

The boy took his place at the fire, the father took his bow and the arrows and hid behind the bushes. So they sat there, the ranger in the copse and the boy at the fire, alone in the dark silence. They sat there for a long time and waited.

Suddenly there raised a loud, blustering noise. Imoko came from behind the trees, his black moustache thrown about the shoulders, with his dark eyes and crunching with his sharp teeth. When he saw the boy at the fire, he roared with joy. "Hoity-toity! There I was making my way to the village for some fresh meat and the meat comes to me!" He looked to the stump, but he considered that it was the ranger and began to fleer at him. "Now, human, see how I devour your son. You won't dare to protect him anyway!" he said and went to the fire.

His beard fluttered in the wind, the long coat were waving. With a big jump he arrived nearside the boy, but that is hidding behind the stump. Imoko hunted for him, followed the boy, which was running around the stomp, again and again. Imoko wasn't able to catch him, he was too slow and stiff for the quick boy. Sloan aimed the cannibal and fired the arrow, which hit Imoko right in the chest. The cannibal screamed and roared, that the trees bent and the stones shivered and rolled down the mountains. Sloan shot one arrow after the other. Angry and full of pain, Imoko began to slash at the stomp in the ranger-clothes, bit it and suddenly dropped dully at the ground. Sloan went to him and saw, that the fiend was dead.

He didn't ask his son if it was bad and awful. He just said: "Come." and they went homewards to the village. When they arrived, Sloan told the people: "Our children will thrive and prosper, the mothers don't have to worry about any more. There is no Imoko any longer, he's dead." - "Who killed him?" the people asked. "Me." - "Why you took your little son with you?" - "He was the sugarplum for Imoko." - "But Imoko could have divoured him!" - "Oh yes." He didn't say a word more and went to his hut, his son right beside him.

This was the story how the people of the Eiglophianian Mountains have been redeemed from their longtime terrible fiend 'Imoko the cruel'.
 

(Geschrieben als inGame-Script für einen englischen Server des Online-Spiels "Age of Conan")