The Carrot and the Stick Part 11

Chapter 10: That Which is Worth Fighting an Army For

From above it looked quite like two seas, one of blue the other of brown. The seas would crash against each other, sending waves through the two opposing bodies. The blue could not overcome the brown. The brown could not overcome the blue.

Gnargs and rhagulars are similar in that strange way. Both favour mob tactics, both attacking with such numbers that the land of Elcon loses track and in that manner of the place, some appear and disappear. Indeed some rhagulars and gnargs were, unknown to anyone, appearing out of nowhere, spontaneously produced by the conflict. Supposedly more gnargs are born this way than from the pods gnargs lay. Rhagulars actually only gain numbers this way. Occasionally if rhagulars feel they don’t have enough numbers, they’ll fight among themselves non-lethally to gain more soldiers.

Swimming through this sea of conflict was of course Spongy Snaps and Duppy behind him. Spongy had long since given up any semblance of technique. He just span his arms like a windmill of doom, there was no shortage of foes, and momentum kept him safe.

Duppy however was having a lot more trouble. Since he was cleaning up after Spongy this meant he was dealing with all the rhagulars that were smart enough to get out of the way of the deadly gingerbread man. A swing of his mace would knock one away, but then two more would jump on him. He only managed to avoid becoming dogmeat by getting dangerously close to Spongy Snaps arms. As he followed after Spongy snaps his heart grew colder than it already was. He knew that if he tried to dive into the ranks of the rhagulars on his own, he would simply get mobbed.

A longing look passed from his eyes towards the gnargs. It was a lot safer there, but he could not separate from Spongy Snaps. He’d get eaten if he did, or at least heavily wounded. His arms were getting tired though.

Their numbers don’t seem to be dropping!”

It fine. It fun” Spongy explained.

In that moment, Duppy knew he had made a terrible choice. He had followed a battle maniac into a fight. If someone loves to fight, you could call them a battle maniac, and indeed they are among the worst of people to follow in a fight, because they will go where it is most dangerous, where the fight will be the best.

Such people ruin tactics and can’t follow tactics. Your only hope of retreating or repositioning a battle maniac is to convince the person that they’d get a better fight if they’d do what you say. Of course, while many battle maniacs are cunning and intelligent combatants, most of them happen to be thicker than treacle when it come to everything else.

We need to do something or the gnargs won’t hold!” Duppy tried.

Spongy Snaps glanced at the gnargs. As it happened the gnargs were filled with fervour and getting replenished by the haphazard nature of Elcon’s flimsy excuses for laws of reality.

Gnargs fine, they having fun too” Spongy Snaps concluded.

Duppy strained his mind.

If this goes on too long, the stew will get cold!” he explained.

There was a notable increase in the speed of Spongy Snaps’ arms.

That bad. Quick, swing more little man” Spongy Snaps chided Duppy.

While Duppy didn’t know whether to laugh or cry he narrowly avoided the six cunning rhagulars that took the moment of his difficulties to attack. He gripped his mace tightly and swept the rhagulars away. They were, after all, only cunning for rhagulars.

Arrrrgggghhh, if it is going to be like this, then we need to find their leader!”

You mean skinny rhagular that not fight?” Spongy Snaps tossed a rhagular in the direction he meant.

There was a yelp as the ghinharhal rolled out of the way.

You mean you knew where the ghinharhal was all this time and you didn’t do anything?” Duppy fumed.

Spongy Snaps shrugged as he swam through the rhagulars.

Fight good for appetite” he explained.

Now Duppy knew that he did not want to cry or laugh, he wanted to scream. So he let out a chilling scream of rage and eyes bloodshot, he charged over to the ghinharhal. Most of the rhagulars that tried to stop him were simply bowled over, a few managed to bite him, but while they clung to him he just used them to bludgeon more rhagulars.

So the ghinharhal yelped in fear at the sight of a mass of rhagulars and a mace rolling towards him. It could not stop Duppy and so the ghinharhal was ended with a single crunch…

The rhagulars however did not stop attacking.

Duppy triumphantly removed the rhagulars that were clinging to him and then noticed this.

No, the stew, they want the stew, so they won’t stop attacking! Nooooooo!!!!!”

In this moment of despair, Eadam moved.

Stew’s done” He simply said.

With that, a chime rang out. Calleydron shined and then to everyone’s shock, the eye opened. The shine of the cauldron exploded outwards into little ethereal eyes. These eyes darted toward the rhagulars and turned into cauldrons enveloping the beasts. The gnargs watched the silent cauldrons nervously.

The cauldrons burned away, and what were once rhagulars were now bowls in the image of rhagulars. Calleydron had turned them all into bowls and their tusks were detachable spoons! A rumble came from Calleydron and the stew exploded forth like one of the tastiest geysers. The stew rained down, meat and vegetable glistening, yet it all landed accurately in the bowls.

Calleydron after emptying its contents, faded away.

Everyone’s eyes were on the bowls of stew. The stew still smelt good.

One adventurous gnarg could resist no longer and grabbed a bowl, the tusk spoons fell out and were quickly grabbed by this gnarg, he was able to do this thanks to the four arms that gnargs have. It was sometimes handy.

He carefully put a spoonful into his mouthparts.

is he going to explode?” Kepo asked.

Wait, what in the world happened here, I was staring into Calleydron and then…” Eadam began.

Will he turn into something ghastly?” a gnarg asked.

Ready lads, this could get ugly”

Place yer bets, place your bets, wings, horns or whatever”

I bet he’ll explode!”

Me too”

Nah, he’ll turn into a big nasty snake!”

No! It’ll be a massive terrifying many faced grape monster!”

The gnargs backed away at the thought of a many headed being. Things with lots of heads are always trouble.

There was a gulp as the gnarg swallowed his mouthful.

Everyone backed further away.

Soooo gooooood”

The gnarg dug in eating as if he had been starving. The floodgates were opened and one after another the gnargs grabbed bowls of stew, each gnarg getting more frantic to grab one before they were all gone.

Duppy in spite of having eaten previously grabbed a bowl.

It was good stew. It didn’t taste too rich or too cheap.

Wholesome.

That was what it was.

That was what it made you feel like.

Satisfying.

It was stew complete. It gave the impression that others stews were just mere echos, shadows of this greater ur-stew with its superior textures and flavours.

Warmth.

For a moment, all the Cinders forgot completely about the Firelord, the cold and the battle they thought. There was just the enjoyment of genuinely good stew. Stew that made one relax, that made one feel at home.

A stew like a loving mother and father’s embrace.

Stew without pretensions. Really really good stew.

A yearning arose in the Cinders. A yearning to come home from good honest work and eat the stew. They knew somehow that such a situation would be the best to have the stew.

It was stew that made their labours worth it. Stew worthy of toil. A humble flavour worthy of fighting an army for.

So absorbed were the Cinders that they didn’t notice Ulex and his fellows sneaking off into the crevice with a few of the bowls.

The crevice where all this time, Gheel had been digging a tunnel.

Author: SnowyMystic