Chapter 20: Oh, Sure, Blame It On The Dead Guy

I did not ask for this. But, there he was. I was told he'd be heading for uncle, so instead of marching straight through every trap the old man set for him, I thought "I'll cut north,". I thought this, because the old man doesn't care about me at all, according to ma, so I could go wherever I wanted, so long as I found the brat. Why follow Othomo? He almost killed me the last time I saw his ugly helmet. Honestly, it's ugly. It looks like a rhino snout when the horn's just started to grow, with cracks in it that for some reason look like they're on fire. I never could figure out that detail. Well, I might get the chance. I mean, here he is!

I ducked behind a big rock. This part of tartary has large features, fortunately, so I was able to hide. Those slimy little Mortals have places to worm around all over the world. We Mighty have to be choosy. Or lucky. This time, I'm not sure I was either. Especially since my bag of weapons stuck out from the rock, plain to see. I thought then, that I wasn't quite sure if Othomo actually saw per say. I grabbed the bow, just in case. Then I thought about how fast I'd seen him move. They say I move like a storm when I'm chapped, but he came out of the sky like a hurricane. I was truly, honestly frightened of him. I mean, what he did to Kari... And she wasn't here to distract him like last time. The Beast of the Border (I call him Bardo) was there, but Bardo would attack me just as quick. Bardo was there last time, making this almost a proper reunion. Isn't that nice?

Bardo was heading south, but he was looking back over his shoulder and sniffing. He turned at some point, while I was hiding there. Yes, I admit it, freely, I was afraid. I'm the only one of my family that can fight, besides ma, but that doesn't mean I like it. I'll tell you what I do like; living! And Othomo, he didn't come to tartary to let folks live. He was here to snuff out the lights and put us all to sleep. So why was he heading east? I tried to remember if mother told me anything that might give me a clue. I remembering her yelling at me not to hurt Bardo, as if I would. I like Bardo. Hey, Bardo. Oh boy, here he comes.

I had to leave my bag behind when I ran for another rock. And I dropped the damned bow, but picked it back up in time. I couldn't for the life of me remember its name. Something long and foreign. I had the names all written down. Archimonde gave me a scroll with instructions for the whole bundle, including my armor. Ugh, not now, Bardo. He came stomping my way, his tail scrunched up beneath him like a stump. Thrond really did a number on the poor boy. I thought I might have a score to settle with Thrond, but I figured the old man wasn't happy with him either. Best to let him deal with his own scores. That's when I caught sight of one of his mounds when I was looking for another place to hide, and maybe take a shot or two and Othomo. I really didn't want any of this. I just wanted (not really) to find the brat, bring her back, then go back to Syl's castle and take a load off. Oh, and to give Archimonde back his ridiculous menagerie of strange creations.

As long as we're being completely honest, which, well, I'd rather not, but I was one of the few people who saw the truth. Sulphina was to blame for everything. She had no clue what a wonderful gift she had. To leave like she did, and at a time like this, with Othomo wandering the land killing other Mighty... "Who is that?".

I covered my mouth, then cursed toothily when my jaw dropped to the ground. Syl wasn't exaggerating when she said it might be quick. I think she said that. She talked too much, like mother. Now Bardo was coming my way, and there was no way to make it to another hiding spot. So, I called a storm. If I can't hide, I'll make them want to. I remember peeking around the rock and looking again, trying to see who that strange, dirty little Mortal with Othomo was. I could only see the top half of its torso and its legs. Somehow its middle was hidden behind some sort of shadow. I wondered if it was some Fiendspawn, half Mortal perhaps. There was no limit to what those deviants would do to avoid boredom. Whatever the thing was, it was running in circles around Othomo while he blasted a hole in the ground with his ohr. How this being of darkness was creating fire was beyond me. Although... Mother once said he was the thief, not her and uncle. I was putting that together when he saw me. I yelped and hid again, slamming my back against the boulder. It was time for this stupid weird bow to prove its usefullness...

... on Bardo!

I hated to do it, but he was almost at me, so I lifted the bow and suddenly realized I had no quivver. I really, honestly, sincerely do not know why I drew it and aimed anyways, but when I did, Ha!, an arrow formed. Who would have guess?! I loosed it and it hit Bardo in his tail-leg. I felt awful, especially when the arrow kept going after piercing and the thorny rope behind it tore deep into Bardo's skin. I didn't know the feeders could bleed, but he did. Gasses, probably souls, spewed out and he fell over. The shockwave broke my cover, so I pulled down some rain and a few lightning bolts to throw Othomo off while I set up my shot. He was gone. There was a big rock where he was blasting a hole. He probably hid that imp child under it. I pulled some hail down on it, to see if the varmint would scamper away if I broke it to pieces. I gave the hail some more force and YEEEEAAAAHHHH! Something hard, heavy and sharp stuck into... Leothayn, of the Festering Vortex. She protected me, but it still hurt somehow. I stood and grabbed his ugly unvisored face and smashed... Mud Furnace (awful name) into Othomo.

Next thing I knew, we were grappling, something I'm not exactly terrible at. He clearly expected me to go down easy, or he might have tried a bit harder. I don't think it would have done him any good, though. The only reason he got the better of me was my jaw fell off again. Once the fight was over, I would need to reattach the chin strip on... Mud Furnace. Othomo looked at me as if I were a cripple, but before I could break free he struck me on the head and threw me down, then kicked my jaw out of the way. I called more rain, then, and stood as quick as I could, running forward to get some space between us so I could turn and bring him down. But he was hard on my heels, afraid of what I'd do with the space I was trying to put between us. Something hard hit me from behind, not his hand, or even that new poleaxe of his. It was that trick his brother taught him. I'd like to get my hands on Hadeon. With all the fear people had of him, someone needed to put him in his place. His brother would have to do for now. I had a score with him, anyhow.

He was clearly desperate to keep me down. He wouldn't stop hitting me, with his fists, his feet, his new weapon, that trick of his brother's. Then I felt the ground heating up beneath me as I crawled away. The frightened fool was trying to burn me, but my new armor was earning its keep. What I did not expect (who would?), was for a gaping hole to open beneath me. Also what I did not expect (who would?), was for my storm to suddenly be gone. Somehow the Sun was glowing bright (well, bright as it could this far from uncle's castle), and there was no more hail or lightning, just my rain. They couldn't take that from me, no matter what tricks they played. My rain was falling hard as ever, and I caught a glimpse of that weird little scamp running around, shivering and sopping wet. The thing is, it had pretty eyes.

Othomo was about to stab me with his polearm. His helm was glowing red in its cracks. He was angry. I kept hearing how he was this gentle soul, this moral compass for all titany. He seemed to me like a hateful zealot. I honestly thought I was done for, but Bardo came and threw him into the sky. Then two things happened; one I can explain, and one I can't. I'm sure that someone, somewhere down the line, will point at the terrible things that happened after this and blame me. For now, I'll just say that after a few minutes of slugging it out, Othomo pulled a tear in the sky and brought something darker then shadow down from it. Bardo screamed, and I made the rain come down even harder, but it wasn't enough to hurt him. I needed my storm, but someone took it from me. Othomo's little pet was there, suddenly unafraid. Then she came. Terrible timing. I love that woman. I didn't want her to see me like this. I rolled over and got to my hands and knees, then went looking for my jaw.

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