Dominic N. Ashen
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Nylan & Ragnar, Chapter 5
🕑 Added 2024-04-08 13:00:14 +0000 UTCHi everyone. So, I know I said before that I only had those two stories for you but well... Something big just happened. Something so big I have to tell you about it right now!
It started this morning. Well, it started a few days ago (apparently), but I only found out about it this morning. And I wasn’t happy (at first).
“What do you mean you’re going fishing with Arik?” I complained over breakfast. “We’re supposed to go see that play later today!”
“I know, I know,” Ragnar replied guiltily over his own bowl. “I completely forgot that I promised him last week that we’d go out today.”
“So tell him you can't go!” I protested. “I asked your dad for a half-shift at work today and everything!”
“I’m sorry boy, but I can't cancel on him now,” he replied, though he didn’t seem all that sorry.
“But it’s fine to cancel on me instead?” My emotions were starting to bleed into my voice. “This is fucking elk-scat.”
“Enough boy,” Ragnar said in his “we’re done talking about this” voice. “The play is playing for another two weeks. I can take you tomorrow.”
I didn’t respond to that, just sat there pouting over my oatmeal. Ragnar was technically right, we wouldn’t miss out on seeing the play, but that’s not what I was upset about. I was upset because we had plans!
I was still silently stewing when I walked into work about half an hour later. And I must have been doing a terrible job of hiding it, because Lenas gave me a look after he saw me walk in.
“Is everything alright?” my fellow elf asked, concerned.
“No. Your son is a jerk,” I censored my language, feeling uncomfortable cursing out the man's own offspring.
“What did Ragnar do now?” He sounded like a weary parent.
“He blew me off,” I complained. “We were supposed to go see the new play at the arena after work today, but then this morning he suddenly remembered he had plans to go fishing with Arik. But instead of canceling that, he canceled our date.”
“Ah, yes...” Lenas reacted a little oddly. Like he knew something. “He might have mentioned something about that to me yesterday.”
“Yesterday?” My annoyance quickly turned to suspicion. “So he didn’t forget about it until this morning?”
“Uh, I mean...” I could tell Len realized he had just said something he shouldn't have.
“I’m gonna kill that man,” I immediately declared. “Sorry, but I’m gonna need the rest of the morning off.”
“Ah, Nylan, maybe you...” He started to try and stop me but I was already on my way out the door. “Oh dear...”
I fumed all the way to the northern gate house, which is the one closest to the rivers and lakes Ragnar usually fished in. I’d need a badge so I could venture outside the city without setting off any of the ranger’s alarms while I caught up with them. While collecting my badge, I could ask the guards for a more precise location, not wanting to wander from pond to pond trying to find them.
“I need to find the captain,” I started, speaking through clenched teeth. “He left to go fishing about an hour, right?” I asked one of the guards, who hesitantly nodded yes. “Where?”
“Uhhh...” The first guard shared a look with the second, both clearly reluctant to rat out their captain. I’ve never been a quiet or demure avakesh, but the
other rangers still weren’t used to seeing me like this.“I’m going to find him one way or another,” I told them, with a slight glare, before softening my expression and tone. “But if he asks, I promise not to tell him who told me.”
“Lake Ulgan,” guard #2 told me as he handed me my badge.
“Thank you,” I accepted politely. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some yelling to do.”
Lake Ulgan is one of the more frequented local fishing spots, a nice sized lake just along the northeastern border of V’rok’sh Tah’lj’s territory. It’s not too difficult to find either; you just head north until you reach Trou-gah Creek, and then follow that east to the lake. I hadn’t been there a whole lot, but enough that I wouldn’t get lost.
The walk through the forest and along the creek did nothing to calm my anger. Kind of the opposite actually: the longer I walked, the more upset I got. I just kept pictureing Ragnar with Arik, laughing and relaxing around the lake while I sat at home sad and alone. Ragnar probably wouldn’t be happy that I was coming there intent on ruining things, but I didn’t care. Let him spank me or ground me.
I spotted the lake maybe twenty minutes after I left the city, the trees on either side of the creek giving way to its calm blue-green waters. It’s honestly a beautiful site. I came out once when I was younger with my mother and father, though not much since. It doesn't take me long to spot Arik on the shore looking out over the water, though instead of Ragnar, it’s Glasha I see at his side.
“Where is he?” I was surprised when Glasha and Arik both jumped. With those big and almost prehensile ears, it’s not usually easy to sneak up on an orc without intentionally trying. Something had them occupied.
“Nylan?” Arik was shocked to see me. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Looking for your lying jerk of a captain.” I crossed my arms as I tried looking around for him. “So where is he?”
“You shouldn't be here,” Glasha said next, sounding worried. “Come on, we need to get you--”
A sudden splash had all three of us turn towards the lake, where who else but Ragnar surfaced. Which seemed like a weird way to fish. In fact, I didn’t see any rods or nets or fishing equipment anywhere. All I saw was a set of discarded armor - which must have been Ragnar’s, since Glasha and Arik were wearing theirs. What exactly was going on here?
“Alright, I think the bomb your sister made should-- Ny?” Ragnar did a double take as he headed to the shore. “What are you doing here?”
“I should ask you the same thing.” I looked between him and the other two rangers. “Not sure why you’d go fishing without any gear.”
A rumble in water behind Ragnar, followed by a rush of bubbles had him turning around. “Arik, get him out of here, now.”
“What? What are you--”
“Come on, troublemaker.” Arik scooped me up bridal-style, despite my protests.
“What’s going on?!” I asked when I noticed that the two of us, Ragnar, and Glasha were all running in the opposite directions.
Suddenly, a huge beast shot out of the water, landing with a large and loud splash. Water rushed up the shoreline as it swam towards land, eyes locked on Ragnar.
“Utanigator!” I screamed in fear.
If you’re unfamiliar, an utanigator is a relative of the alligator, a really, really big relative. They can grow up to thirty feet in length, and a third of that is just their jaws! On top of all that, their scales are as hard as steel and a tail strong enough to crack a boulder. They normally live further south, though I guess it’s not unheard of for them to move further north as close as we are to the east coast.
This one only seemed to be maybe around twenty feet long, which really wasn't making me feel better. Neither was the way my scream managed to draw the beast's attention, and it turned from Ragnar to me and Arik and started to charge, far faster than you’d think its stubby legs could move. Still looking over Arik’s shoulder, I started patting him on the back, encouraging him to run faster as it gained on us.
“No you don’t!” And that was Ragnar, shouting as he pulled back the string of his bow and fired the first of several arrows at the creature.
Most of them just bounced off of its scales like pebbles, but one managed to land right in its left eye. The gator roared, writing in pain as it circled around towards the direction of its attacker - Ragnar. Meanwhile, Glasha stood further back, her bow in her hands but for some reason making no attempt to attack. No longer interested in us as its snack, it started tumbling towards him.
“No!” I cried out, not liking that turn of events any more than the previous.
When we finally slowed down a moment later, instead of setting me down like I expected, Arik actually lifted me higher, against a tree.
“Climb up,” he told me. “As high as you safely can - and stay there.”
“What!?” I asked, not believing him even as I did as I was told. “What about you!? What about Ragnar and Glasha!?”
“I am going to see if the captain needs any help,” he said as he adjusted his armor and pulled the axe from his back. “You are going to wait here until we’re finished.”
“Finished?!” I screeched as he walked away. “But what if it finishes by eating everyone?!”
“Then I guess it’s having half-elf for dessert!” he joked grimly, already focused on the monster.
I watched, filled with worry as the beast and Ragnar seemed locked in a staring contest. As Arik approached from behind, Ragnar held up his hand to signal for him to stop - why wasn’t he letting Arik and Glasha help him!? At that simple gesture, the utanigator opened its maw and let out a low hiss, right before it rushed at him.
Ragnar let loose several more arrows at its face, dodging to the side at the last minute as the gator continued past him, forcing it to stop and turn around again. He repeated that strategy again, and then again, but after the third time the gator stopped falling for the trick. So with that no longer an option, he tossed his bow to the side and pulled out his sword.
What is he doing? I was terrified, more for him than myself. The utanigator opened its mouth, letting out a loud, rumbling bellow, before it dashed towards Ragnar. Eager to meet it in the middle, Ragnar ran right for it, his figure disappearing behind the utanigator as it lifted its jaw.
As the gator slammed its mouth shut, time seemed to slow down. This is it. Ragnar is going to be eaten by this monster, and the last thing you did was yell at him. You deserve to be this things next me--
The blade of a sword emerged from the top of the gator's upper jaw, slick and red with blood - Ragnar’s sword. As the mouth continued to slide shut, the beast stopped moving entirely. He did it! Ragnar saved us! ...Why can’t I see him?
I dropped from the tree as fast as I could and ran over, though Glasha and Arik both beat me to the creature's head. A still alive and exhausted Ragnar sits half on the ground and half in the things mouth, holding it up with the grip he has on his sword.
“Thanks,” he told the other orcs as they carefully grabbed hold of the creature's snout and lifted it for Ragnar to pull himself out of.
“You’re hurt!” I note the bleeding scratches Ragnar had on his arms and legs from the thing’s teeth.
“I’ll be fine,” he tried to assure me as he gingerly stood.
“You’ll be fine?!” I started yelling, angry again but for an entirely different reason now. “What were you thinking fighting that thing!? You said you were just fishing! You could have been killed!”
“Slow down, Ny,” he said with a grin as he pulled his sword out of the monster before Glasha let its jaw fall closed.
“We came out here specifically to kill this thing,” Glasha explained. “It’s dangerous having a monster like this so close to the city, especially in a place where people regularly visit with their families?”
“So why weren’t you helping to kill it?” I pointed to Glasha and Arik before turning to Ragnar. “And why did you lie instead of just telling me you had to work?” I would have understood something like this.
“Well, I was supposed to be off today,” Ragnar started. “But when someone came in a few days ago and reported seeing the utangator, I volunteered to take care of it.”
“That doesn’t explain why you told me you were fishing,” I crossed my arms.
“Well, you weren't supposed to find out about it yet,” was his answer. “But since you're already here...”
“What?” I’m confused as he turns back to the creature.
Sword in hand, he jams one of it into its lower jaw, using the blade to pry out one of the creature's sharp teeth. Then after wiping the gore off with his still-wet shirt, he tossed the weapon to the side and kneeled at my feet. As he took my hand in his, everything clicked together.
“Nylan, for the last twenty years, you have made me unbelievably happy.” He started, and I could already feel tears welling up in my eyes. “We've been together through so much, first as friends, and then as more and we've always supported each other, and I can still feel us growing closer every day. I was so happy when you became my boyfriend, and then my avakesh. I would be even more honored if you would also become my husband.”
“I... yes. Spirits, Ragnar, of course, yes,” I answered, already crying as I took his face in both my hands and kissed him. “But I am not touching that thing until you’ve washed it at least three times.”
Like every other part of the world, V’rok’sh Tah’lj has its own traditions when it comes to marriage. Historically, someone would prove to their lover that they would make a good spouse by presenting them with a trophy from a hunt - claws, fangs, or hide. The larger and more dangerous the beast, the more capable a provider the person was. But that was a long time ago - most people just buy them these days instead of stupidly risking their lives!
“Shit, you’re still bleeding,” I said after seeing the deep scratches on his arm.
“We’ve got some bandages, I’ll be fine,” he tried to wave off as Arik pulled out a first-aid kit.
“We should still get you back to town so these can be better taken care of,” Glasha said as Arik applied some ointment. “Then we can get a cleanup crew up here to take care of the corpse.”
“Bet you could make some good armor from that hide!” Arik suggests.
“You still haven’t answered why you weren’t helping him,” I pointed out as he wrapped Ragnar’s wounds.
“Believe me, we wanted to,” Glasha defended dryly. “But our captain ordered us to stand down.”
“What?” I immediately glared at Ragnar, who at least had the decency to look sheepish.
“Someone had to make sure they got the kill.” Arik stared directly at that someone as he worked. “We weren’t to jump in unless things got really bad.”
“Are you an idiot?!” I slapped Rangar on the shoulder. “‘Got really bad.’ All it would have taken was one bite from that thing and you’d be gone!”
“It wouldn't count if I had help!” Ragnar shared his incredibly stupid logic. “Besides, I wasn’t worried. I knew I could do it. For you.”
“You should have seen how excited he was when he told us his plan,” Glasha explained “And then how Arik and I both told him he was crazy.”
“But you still just let him?” That’s two against one!
“As I said, we were ordered not to.” Glasha was clearly still unhappy about that. I knew I liked Glasha.
“I figured he'd have it handled.” Arik packed away the first aid items. “Now let's get back.”
Thankfully Ragnar was able to walk back unassisted, beaming a proud smile the entire way. He was so proud of himself it actually made it hard to stay angry at him for being so reckless. I also couldn't help but be excited myself - we just got engaged!
Instead of a healer, Ragnar insisted that he was fine enough to go to his parents house. His father had access to some low level healing magic which would do the trick. So somewhat reluctantly, Glasha and Arik left us to get to the station to finish handling the gator cleanup while we returned to his father’s bookstore - his parents home was right above it.
“Hello, welc-- Ragnar!” Lenas’s head went up when he heard the door’s bell, and then rushed from around the counter when he saw the state of his son. “What happened to you? You said this wasn’t going to be dangerous!”
“You knew about the hunt then?” That was why he acted strangely earlier that morning.
“Yes, he told me and his mother about it yesterday.” Lenas sighed as he started to heal Ragnar's wounds. “And he assured us this wouldn’t be unsafe. What did all of this?”
“An utanigator,” I answered before my orc had a chance to downplay anything.
“A what?!” Lenas gave his son’s left ear a sharp tug, making him wince. “What in spirits name were you thinking?!?”
“What is all the yelling about?” Vixra, Ragnar’s mother asked as she came downstairs from their home. She worked in construction, often with fairly late shifts.
“Your son nearly got himself killed is what!” Lenas answered his wife. “Did you know the creature he was hunting was an utanigator?”
“I did not.” Vixra looked at her son, surprised and then thoughtful for a moment, before smiling and taking him by the shoulder. “Great work, son, I’m so proud.”
“Thanks, Vima.” Ragnar’s anxiety softens at his mother’s praise and the two hug.
“Don’t encourage him!” Lenas argued. “He could have been killed!”
“How big was it?” Vixra asked Ragnar.
“About twenty feet,” he responded, a little proud.
“Twenty feet?!” I thought Lenas might have a heart attack then and there.
“Oh come on, Len.” Vixra turned and wrapped her large arms around her husband. “Don’t you remember us at that age?”
“We were never that reckless,” he argued.
“I doubt that.” She laughed. “We were even younger than he was when I proposed.”
“It's not the same thing.” Lenas struggled to stay stern as his wife cuddled him.
“Like you aren’t still wearing the bracelet with that bear claw around your wrist.” She stroked her hand over the item in question, making the man blush. “Now stop being so sour - our son is not just alive, but engaged! We need to celebrate!”
And celebrate we did later that day with a nice big meal, all of our friends invited. Afterwards, I watched Ragnar wash the tooth a few times before I finally accepted it. He’s taking it tomorrow to have it made into a necklace! I’ve already wrote a letter to my dad sharing the good news, and after that is when I started writing this. So, if you’ll excuse me - I need to go have sex with my fiance!
