Emergence Read Online Free PDF Page B

adversary but a magnificent repast. Urgon Htoth Ur Hunn had never dined on man meat, although like any warrior of the Horde he had been raised on the legends of the older time when Hunn and Grymm and even Fangr had roamed at will across the surface of the world Above, hunting men for their flesh and for the pure wild joy of it.
    As this new calfling stumbled upon the Hunn and his attendant Fangr, Urgon Htoth Ur Hunn lazily tore away a fresh nut of shoulder meat and chewed it slowly, enjoying the heady pleasure of the bloodwine and the satisfying crunch of bones between his teeth. It was a stirring feast. Truly. The bloodwine had engorged his loins. He was so pleased with how this adventure had gone that he had even been considering tearing off a few pieces of the kill for his Fangr leash. A rare honour to eat from their master’s portion. But in the end he was enjoying the meal too much to share it. And the Fangr were already sated on calfling guts and slow with the scraps of good meat and pooled bloodwine they had scavenged from the fight, anyway.
    In fact, the BattleMaster was so full of hot flesh and the just-spilled blood of his prey that he might not even finish this feast in one sitting. A great pity, because the legends had proved true and the freshest kill was the sweetest. This fine feed put to shame even the offerings of the palace blood pots, which was only to be expected, he supposed. It had been millennia since any had tasted fresh meat from the bones of men or their herds.
    Urgon Htoth Ur Hunn was somewhat surprised that this last man had come to him rather than attempting to flee. The calflings he and his leash had come upon in this strange tower on stilts had made some attempt to resist him. But it was a poor and wretched display, and he knew that what little courage they showed came only from one another. When he found men on their own, or in twos and threes, they invariably fell prey to fear before the first touch of tooth or claw.
    Why, he had not even drawn his blade yet.
    It had not been necessary when the largest of their so-called warriors, the one on whom he was dining at this moment, had come at him with the war hammer. A valiant effort, he supposed, snorting through bubbles of blood and drool, but utterly hopeless. Urgon Htoth Ur Hunn had simply pulled the weapon from the human’s hands before tossing it away and tearing off his head.
    The man standing before him, reeking of fear, did not look like he would put up nearly as much of a fight. He clutched the war hammer to himself almost as a talisman. Urgon Htoth Ur Hunn doubted the calfling could lift the weapon, and almost as though the same thought had occurred to him, the puny creature nearly crushed its own hoof by fumbling the thing and all but dropping it.
    The BattleMaster indulged himself in a rich, generous chuckle. He might not even kill this one. He might return with it to the UnderRealms as an offering for the palace. He had seen chain aplenty lying around this ocean keep for a proper leash. Her Majesty would surely raise him high for the prize, even higher than she would raise him in the Horde for the achievement of having breached the capstone into the Above for the first time in . . .
    Well . . .
    He had no idea.
    The legends spoke only of the older time when the Horde was free to roam Above, defending its subject lands against rival sects, taking what cattle and territory it could from them. Urgon Htoth Ur Hunn grunted instructions to his Fangr around a mouthful of meat and bone. He told them to take the man, but carefully. Slowly. To restrain him and not to harm him too badly. He would make more than a useful prize. There would be many who would not believe that Urgon Htoth Ur Hunn had breached the capstone and walked upon the world of men, raiding one of their fortresses and feasting mightily on the occupants.
    He would have just a few more bites and perhaps another draught of the bloodwine before it cooled and lost its intoxicating