ah, Galloway. North albovia’s largest and dirtiest city. A retched pool of scum, crime, and corporate lawyers. Lord mayor Làir is not the most trustworthy of clients, but she pays well. Ugh, here comes her ape of a bodyguard. “did you complete the job.”
“check the basket”, it is amusing to see how ponies react to their first severed heads. He looks like he is about to puke.
“aright, I have seen enough. Into the office”
“as blunt as ever, eh Wilbert”, ah Mr. ‘crusher’ how long did you think it would take for me to learn your real name.
though from the look of rage on his face I may be pushing my luck. Lord mayor Làir, a business-like mare in business like dress. Black pantsuit, bun, and iron horseshoes rather than the fashionable silver.
“well Mr. Ross I see that your reputation is well earned.” She picked up rex’s head to examine it, not so much as flinching.
She has obviously done this before. “So many of my caravans were burned by this beast.”
“oh, much more dangerous than any true beast. Beasts don’t get bright ideas of conquest”
She seemed mildly shocked “surely not, there were only 6 at most.”
“I have seen it before in the Jutland. A sled dog alpha was successful at raiding, leading to his pack getting bigger,
leading to bigger raids, until he tried to force out the ponies. Fortunately, the pack collapsed to infighting.” That me and my outfit may have encouraged and exploited.
She does not seem to be interested, large picture thinking rarely does. “regardless, you did a good job. 400 bits as you
requested. However, if you would like, I have a few permanent jobs for ponies of your talent”
“you’re not the first to make that offer, and they had a lot more to give. Just give me the money.”
grand duke nόνυ, imperial prince of martonia, is not happy. when his ancestors were first trusted with this position the land
was the richest of all the princedoms in the old world. it had massive trade cities, great ziggurat palaces, and beautiful temples to the light-givers. those days are long gone, Saddle Arabia bled away much of the eastern trade, many palaces were dismantled to provide stone for the walls to keep out the mongrels. and the temples were stripped of their precious items to fund the ducal hoplites. it is a land on the brink of collapse and ruin. "my lord duke, you can't be serious. you can't go to the crystal empire NOW!"
nόνu speaks "I have no choice, we need the help of the lady day-breaker and the rest of her house. if I do not leave we
will fall."
Lots of ponies don’t really understand the dogs, seeing them as the same everywhere. The snow dogs would laugh at the hill hound’s tartan’s, a hill hound would despise the diamond dogs as soft for not beating their slaves into submission. The mongrels would just kill the slave as an example to the others, after torturing them in front of their families.
the mongrel empire is just that, a mongrel. A confederation of thousands and thousands of packs, hundreds of tribes, and dozens of nations stretching from the Mareterranean Sea to the edges of the dragonstone islands. Founded by a litter of six brothers, the empire is split in six parts. Tugou, combi, afghan, borzoi, saluki, and the closest, kangal. If celestia and the mongrels fought all out, one third of the world would be ash. Fortunately that is unlikely, that does not man there wouldn't be war though.
The great pack is ready, thought alpha khaan Нохоi with satisfaction. All his careful planning is coming to fruition. Thousands of timberwulf raiders, tens of thousands of foot hounds, and his secret weapons. “Great alpha” Üdesh was Hoxoi’s greatest advisor, the hunting hound of kangal, slayer of great beasts. “If I may ask, where are we going.”
Hoxoi smirked “I am going to Saddle Arabia, you are going to maretonia. the last of our rivals in the region, gone in a single season. I can practically taste the olives from the duke’s dangling gardens.”
The dog’s head inn, there's a place like this in every city. The drink is cheap, the room’s filthy, the clientele worse, a mercenary usual home. “Ahh, captain alwin, did it go well?”
“I am not a captain till the company grows, you can’t be a captain without stallions to lead. As it is it is just me. Got the cider I like.”
The innkeeper likes me, I don’t start fights, I keep my room clean (well cleaner) for him, and I always pay for my drinks. “Don’t know why you drink that stuff, it is non-alcoholic.”
“that is why I drink it” the door is kicked open, damn it, it’s wilbert.
“You sanctimonious prick, I should…” I probably shouldn’t wait for him to finish his sentence. My hoof hit his shin, my horseshoe is spiked for this very purpose. He drops like a sack, clutching his injured leg. I quickly put my hoof on his neck and grab a leg.
“I wouldn’t move, I keep those spikes sharp. We wouldn’t want to cut open your jugular. now this is a stiletto that i have in my hand, right here is the achilles tendon. I so much as twitch and you are crippled for life. Leave, this is my only warning.” I have seldom seen anyone run so fast.”innkeep, get a mop”.
“Well, time to go. Here is your rent, innkeep.”
He looked pensive, like he has a question that he wants to ask, but is afraid too. “What will you do now, you could stay. I could use a bouncer.”
“Sorry, I have to go. Prance has a lot of opportunity for a stallion like me, noble bickering and so forth. The train will be leaving soon, I need to get my timberwulf.” ahh timberwulves, or as some of the more civilised places call them dogwoods. A dog carved from the pieces of slain timberwolves, enchanted and ridden like a bicycle. I called it maple “come boy, we have a train to catch."