I emerge from the alleyway, looking down the long row that hosts most of the brothels and taverns in the Platinum District. A smiling courtesan shouts to me, a lewd invitation to join her, but I merely tip my hat and smile. There is a well-lit tavern ahead on my left. At night, large lamps illuminate a sign above the door, on it, written in red: The Bloody Princess.
A man crashes through the door in mid-flight and lands in the street in a tumble where he finally comes to rest. Inside I hear shouting and cheering. I enter and am taken by surprise by the loud, deep roar of a man. Like a beast, he is. Enormous, easily over seven feet tall, his short black hair looks as though he trimmed it himself with a knife. He stands on a stage, which usually has erotic dancing, wearing nothing but a loin cloth and holds a man slightly taller than me with only his palm by the dome of his head, dangling him in the air.
"This puny speck of a man dares to challenge Mraundek! Perhaps I shall crush his skull."
A large drunken crowd cheers at this, giving Mraundek a standing ovation and chanting his name in unison over and over again. I notice several dazed men trying to make it back to their feet near the edges of the tavern. I approach the bar and sit on the stool farthest from the crowd. When I take my seat I hear a sharp scream followed by a loud crunch followed by the thump of a body hitting the floor.
Some of the men, struggling to get to their feet on the sides of the room, begin to scream hysterically. One of them shouts with rage and charges the giant. But Mraundek easily lifts him up over his head and then in one swift movement comes to a kneeling position and brings him down to his knee. His torso is nearly folded in half while the sounds of his spine and probably a few ribs breaking bring about a near-sympathetic "oooh" from the crowd. Mraundek slings his lifeless corpse at a cluster of men standing side-by-side, ready to charge, then beats on his chest and howls. He grabs a pint of ale on a nearby table and downs it in one gulp with some of the drink spilling down the rippling muscles on his bare chest and stomach.
A young pretty blond nearby cheers and claps, jumping up and down, allowing her full breasts to bounce along with her, even though the tight leather tunic she wears holds them mostly in check. She shouts in a slur "None of you bastards are a match for Mraundek!" Her laughter is a little louder than seems ladylike. The barkeep approaches me, while the giant backhands another of the men that dare to charge the stage.
"Bertie! Good to see you. Didn't think you'd be back here."
"How could I resist? With your new bouncer and all." I say, and the barkeep laughs at first but then his face turns deadly serious.
"Eh- just an occupant, came in two days ago and hasn't left since. Not that I'm complaining, he draws in a bigger drinking crowd than even my girls do, though most of the lot just have a death wish. Sailed in on a pirate ship from what he says, believe it or not."
"Pirates, in our fine city?" I say.
"Not anymore, Mraundek and the lady are the only ones remaining; the others have already set sail."
"Lady? Do you mean that drunken jiggling blond over there?" I say with a quick smirk in her direction.
"Yes, lovely thing. Name's Alexis I think. Tried to convince her to become one of my dancers but believe it or not when she isn't stone drunk she's a bit stuck up."
"What do you know of these pirates?" I say, and he gives me an almost menacing look.
"And what does a butcher want to know about pirates?" he says.
"Just keeping up on all of the gossip." I shrug and then glare at him.
He leans in closer. "Well, you know I'm not one to gossip, but I heard they left town yesterday on account of the city guard planning a raid on their ship. You see, word is, they had some precious cargo on board that they stole from a very wealthy man. One of the guards says that a very wealthy fellow has offered a hell of a lot of coin for their heads."
"A fascinating tale." I say, though it feels incomplete.
The giant laughs and grabs hold of two men and tosses them up in the air. They hit the ceilings bringing clumps of dust and debris down, and then plummet to the floor groaning in pain where they land on their on their stomachs. The crowd begin cheering and drinking and some are even dancing and Mraundek stands before them with his massive arms held high in a victory stance and he roars, "I cannot be defeated!"
"He certainly enjoys himself." I say to the barkeep.
Then they enter the tavern. A small regiment of the city guard, moving in formation they approach the giant, at least twelve men total. In the front are eight men in rows of four with swords and shields in hand and behind them are four archers with crossbows trained on the giant. The swordsmen move forward as one very tight-knit unit while the archers linger near the door with two men on either side. One of the men, wearing a helmet somewhat fancier than the others steps forward and engages the giant in an unwavering stare.
"This crowd will disperse immediately!" he shouts.
The crowd struggles with the revelation, that the city guard actually decided to do something about a disturbance in the Platinum Quarter. Some of the men have a look of sheer horror, while others are so drunk that though they make an effort to run they merely fall to their faces. The pretty blond makes a dash for a nearby hall that leads to the private quarters. I join Otis and some of the other members of the crowd behind the bar where we duck down and poke our heads up over the counter for a better look.
"I am Captain Roderick and you- giant, are under arrest!"
The giant steps down from the stage and moves closer to the Captain, his cold eyes show no fear.
"This small group is all you bring to challenge Mraundek?" he says.
"Surrender, or we will be forced-"
Mraundek slings a nearby table at Captain Roderick who barely rolls out of the way in time but the table continues its flight through the ranks of swordsmen knocking most of the men to the floor and causing the others to stagger into a kneel. The giant laughs and one of the crossbow bolts whizzes by his head and breaks a bottle at our position behind the bar, causing mead to flow down onto Otis's head. I chuckle at him.
To our suprise the giant catches the next bolt that comes in his direction with blinding speed then he snaps it with his thumb and tosses another table at the archers on the right side of the door which strikes before they can line up for their shot at him. The table top flies at their heads like a frizbee and shatters when it makes contact with their skulls and the wall. The archers' lifeless bodies collapse to the ground.
Then the Captain recovers to take a swipe at Mraundek's legs, but the giant easily leaps over his blade, which narrowly avoids taking off his toes. When he lands he dodges a quick lunge of the Captain's blade and strikes him hard, though mainly making contact with his helmet. Captain Roderick staggers backwards and then regains his composure when five of his men come to their feet and stand beside him. They become a like a wall and point their blades at the unarmed Mraundek, causing him to step back, closer to our position at the bar.
"Over here!" was the shout of the young blond, Alexis, who had just come running back into the tavern carrying a large weapon. She slides it across the bar-counter toward Mraundek's position causing several glasses to shatter until the giant finally gets his hands on it. Then she scampers back into the hallway. The weapon looks like an enormous two-handed mace which has some kind of animal head at the center with several spikes protruding from it. He holds it up victoriously over his head, while two crossbow bolts whiz by him and break a few more bottles behind us.
Mraundek, wielding his terrifying weapon, moving with a speed and precision, which seems unnatural for a man so large, though it is hauntingly familiar. He parries three blades at once with the shaft of his weapon and kicks another man into a wall at least ten feet away where he collapses to the floor. Then Mraundek unleashes the fury of his wicked mace, which two guards and the Captain manage to duck but the last man takes the brunt of it squarely, and blood and bits of brain fly all over the floor, with a few bits landing behind the bar, causing a nearby drunkard to vomit. We all cringe at the sight and another drunkarkd vomits on the man who just vomited.
With lightning speed Mraundek catches one of the men on the back of the head with the pommel of his mace, which was a large metal ball and then quickly follows up with an upward swing which sends the man flying toward the ceiling, showering everyone around with his blood. One of the men screams and tries to run but the giant brings the mace down on his spine with a loud crack and then grabs the man and slings him into the two remaining archers, which were about to fire another bolt at him. Instead their shots strike the flying body right before it reaches them.
Captain Roderick rises to his feet and lunges wildly at Mraundek, who side-steps his blade at the last moment and holds his sword arm in place and rips his shield from his arm. The giant kicks him firmly in the diaphragm and the Captain collapses onto both knees. Mraundek toys with him, picks him up by the throat and slams him into a nearby table with all of his might. The three remaining guards finally rise to their feet and charge at the giant wildly, connecting only with the bar when he hops over them, leaping high into the air. One of the guards loses his helmet in the charge and Mraundek claps at his head savagely, and the loud crunch of his skull caving in causes the man next to him to run screaming for the door, only to be halted when his own sword lands in his back like a throwing knife.
The final guard drops to his knees and begs and pleads with the giant for mercy. Tears roll down his cheeks and he blubbers about a wife and child, but the giant only laughs at him. Behind him, Captain Roderick begins to stir, and the giant turns ever so slightly, then the guard makes his final desperate lunge and Mraundek steps on his sword, snapping it. Then he takes hold of his arms and puts his foot to the guard's chest. His scream fills the air and quickly after the snap of bone a large spray of blood comes in over our heads, followed by one of the ripped-off arms of the guard, which causes the drunkards to resume their vomiting.
Only Captain Roderick remains, staggering and stumbling around the room, looking for his sword. Mraundek finds it first. With the Captain's throat in hand he stabs him repeatedly, eliciting the final cry of the brave Captain Roderick and then he tosses his lifeless body through the door and out into the street from the other end of the room.
Otis looks over the wreckage and carnage of the tavern from behind the bar. His wide-eyed look of shock is unwavering. We all watch as the giant takes great pleasure in making sure that all of the guards left in the tavern are dead. One of the archers still lives at the back of the room and awakens just in time to experience Mraundek snapping his neck with one hand.
"I- I want you out of my tavern!" Otis shouts, but won't look the giant in the eye.
Mraundek gives him a fearsome glare.
"Now- I- I mean in the morning, I think you should leave. You know for your own good." Otis says.
The giant laughs. Then Alexis peeks out from the hallway, looking a little more sober than she did earlier. She holds a small crossbow in her hands and turns away from the gore and carnage of the tavern. She places a large purse of coin on the counter which Otis grabs quickly, nodding to her in thanks.
