The Roof of the World: A Journey through Mustikk

by Prince_Staghorn

Chapter 5

The author leaves Henosis. She encounters the tribe of Vlad Bludbeak. The members of the tribe described. The saga of the Reindeer Wizard Rasputin in the Valravn's native language. The rage of a Magnataur bull. The author's escape from the tribe.

I left Henosis shortly after the encounter with the nachtkrapp. I had been given medicinal supplies, as well as a shortsword to better protect myself than I could have with my knife. Bidding farewell to the citizens of the town, I continued north.

Night fell upon me, and I stopped to make camp, pitching my tent, gathering supplies to build a fire, and eating some of the local foliage.

It was around the Hour of the Wolf^ that I first heard the noises. At first I took them to be no more than a pack of wolves, but as they got closer, I heard something more avian about their calls. when I heard them circling the camp, I quietly drew my blade and peeked out of the tent.

I was immediately beset upon by a number of dark shapes. I managed to wound or possibly kill one before I was knocked out. As the world faded to black, I heard my attackers cackling and speaking.

When I awoke, it was the same as when I had passed out.

"Hahahahaha! Hun har en god bid af kød på hendes! Jeg siger jeg får en bid af flanken!"

"Luk din næb! Der er ikke nok kød på hende til at brødføde os alle! Vi vil lade Vlad beslutte, hvad de skal gøre, så vil vi spise hestekød i aften."

"Hey, hun er vågen!"

As my vision became clearer, I saw my attackers for the first time.

They were griffins, or close relatives at any rate. While the griffins I knew of mixed feline traits with those of a bird of prey, my captors were a uniform black color, with the hindquarters and ears of wolves combined with the head, talons, and wings of a raven. The one who had last spoken spoke to me in Equestrian.

"Good morning, little pony. Did you enjoy your little nap? "

He cackled before continuing. "We apologize for the roughness, but Valravns aren't exactly patient. We enjoy getting what we want."

I tried to lunge at the valravn, but that was when I discovered my legs had been bound. The wolf-raven smiled.

"Good to see you still have some fight in you. I hate it when the food doesn't struggle when we eat it."

I found the tribe consisted of several Valravns of varying age and genders, as well as a flock of trained Nachtkrapp, no doubt the source of the one I had seen in Henosis.

Their leader, Vlad Bludbeak, was a large male, missing one eye and wearing the pelt of a Lupus Major. He questioned me as to my intentions, and cackled when I told him my quest.

"A pony could never hope to cross those wastes, especially now that winter will be arriving. No, better to die here and fill our stomachs than become a desiccated corpse." Here he turned to two young males. "Hugin, Minen! Binde hende og gag hende, og derefter starte ilden!"

I was bound and gagged, and watched in horror as the valravns began lighting a massive fire. It looked like despite the statement of how they liked their food to struggle, they had decided to cook me instead.

Vlad laughed, and then shouted at a few more scrawny individuals. "Minstrels, noget musik, mens vi venter på flammen at få varmt nok! Fortæl os om den gale rensdyr, Rasputin!"

The valravns produced several stringed instruments and drums, then began singing.

Der boede en vis hjort i Muskow længe siden,
Han var stor og stærk, i hans øjne en flammende glød,
De fleste mennesker så på ham med terror og frygt,
Men til Muskow kyllinger, han var sådan en dejlig kær!

Han kunne prædike hellige ruller som en prædikant,
Fuld af ecstasy og brand!
Men han var også den slags lærer hunner ville ønske!

Ra Ra Rasputin, elsker af rensdyr dronning,
Der var en kat, der virkelig var væk!
Ra Ra Rasputin, Muskow største kærlighed maskine,
det var en skam, hvordan han udøves!

Han regerede rensdyr jord, og pyt zaren,
Men Kasackok, han dansede virkelig wunderbar!
I alle statsanliggender, han var hjorte at behage,
Men han var virkelig stor, når han havde en pige til at presse!

For dronningen var han ikke Wheeler-forhandler,
Troede, hun havde hørt det, han havde gjort.
Hun troede, han var en hellig healer, som ville helbrede hendes søn!

Ra Ra Rasputin, elsker af rensdyr dronning,
Der var en kat, der virkelig var væk!
Ra Ra Rasputin, Muskow største kærlighed maskine,
det var en skam, hvordan han udøves!

Here, while the music went on, the lead singer Valravn stood up and spoke.

"Men da hans drikkeri og lusting og hans sult efter magt blev kendt til flere og flere mennesker, at de krav, gøre noget ved dette uhyrlige hjorte blev højere og højere!"

The music picked up, and the singing began again.

'Dette rådyr lige fået at gå!' erklærede sine fjender,
Men damerne bad 'Har du ikke forsøge at gøre det skal du!'
Ingen tvivl om denne Rasputin havde masser af skjulte charme,
Selvom han var en brutal, de bare faldt i hans arme!

Derefter en nat ypperste i højere stående
sætte en fælde, er de ikke skyld!
'Kom til at besøge os!' de holdt krævende, og han virkelig kom!

Ra Ra Rasputin, elsker af rensdyr dronning,
De sætte nogle gift i hans vin!
Ra Ra Rasputin, Muskow største kærlighed maskine,
Han drak det hele og sagde 'Jeg føler mig fint!'

Ra Ra Rasputin, elsker af rensdyr dronning,
De havde ikke holde op, de ønskede hans hoved!
Ra Ra Rasputin, Muskow største kærlighed maskine,
Og så de stak ham, indtil han var død!

The music died, and the valravns cackled uproariously. Though my situation was dire, I had to admit the song was catchy.

Those who speak Krakish will recognize this song as the now somewhat popular song "Rasputin", hinting that the origins of this song may go back further than previously thought, even given the centuries-old tradition of musical genres created by the Musical Battle of Canterlot that took place between the pod of Adagio Dazzle and Starswirl, which gave birth to most modern musical genres- Treble Clef, Musical historian and [REDACTED]

My bonds were cut, and I was pushed slowly towards the fire. I was surrounded on all sides, with no chance of escape.

However, luck was on my side, as the fire had attracted something else.

The only warning was a loud bellow before a massive, shaggy shape charged into the camp.

It was a Magnataur bull. 18 feet tall, the upper body of an ape combined with the lower body of a mammoth, a pair of long tusks jutting from his face. He had probably seen the fire as a territorial challenge, and was rightfully enraged and spurred into action.

The valravns attacked immediately, swarming the giant, and I used the distraction in order to escape. Chances were that many of them would die.

The Magnataur had been a good omen in two ways, both for allowing me to escape, and for showing that I was truly in Mustikk.

Author's Note:

^ Between 3 and 5 AM