//------------------------------// // Desolate Rock // Story: A Kingdom of Intrigue and Blood // by Ernest Wood //------------------------------// "You will know our pain, our suffering, and our wrath." Ancient Minotaur Saying Brandt Swift-Axe "Who the fook says we have to answer to the damn horselords!" The hall erupted once more as Jolf spoke in his thick accent. He'd been at this for years. Trying to convince the lords of Desolate Rock to follow him to pillage the horselords land of Equestria. And now it seemed like they were finally listening. "Those puny little cunts mean nohtin to me. They used to be strong until the rebellion happened. Ever since they lost High Hills they've been weak! And now's the time to strike brothers!" He shouted throwing his muscled arms up into the air showing us minotaurs seated and the lords in their chairs. The bastard was crazy to attack Equestria back when they had the Hills, but now not so much. Maybe now would be a good time to strike. "Now. My lords Harrow, Bjorn, Kevan give me 20 good ships and i'll prove to you, to you all, that the horses are fookin weak!" He said climbing off the table his mail shirt clanking as he approached the lords table. "Silence my borthers." Bjorn spoke first standing up out of his blackened wood chair. "Jolf. You know me as well as any of our brothers that stand here today that I would love nothing more than to relieve our golden age and pillage once more upon the Equestria coast as well as their cities. But what you fail to realize is that they have the strongest force in the world at their hooves. Magic. The force that binds the stars and the sun together. They have too much power for us to raid them." Bjorn said adjusting his surcoat which had the banner of a red an black bull on a flaming backround. "Precisely Bjorn. They have too much power! The Griffons know it, the Zebras know it and so do we! If we align ourselfs with them we can enslave the moon and sun princess, and raid freely!" This elicited a few "Yeah's!" from the crowd of Minotaurs surrounding me. Despite the princesses magic I'd still raid. They need us after all. Who else would make their weapons? "Jolf!" Bjorn yelled quieting the room. "You know I value your opinion. You were one of our best raiders during our times raiding the sun sea against the Zebra's. But now those times are over, and we must keep to ourselfs for now. A war this early in the outlying conflict could be disastrous for us." Bjorn said sitting back down. "But Bjor-" Jolf was cutoff. "That is the end of it! I won't hear anymore of this." Jolf was taken aback. "Now brother Bjorn this isn't that bad of a decision." Harrow began "This raid can make all of us very rich." Harrow said stroking his beard. "Or kill us all." Bjorn said his brow furrowing. "Why not ask Lord Kevan what he thinks?" I said adjusting myself in my chair. "He's the eldest and most experienced. He should make the final decision." I heard a few of my brothers agree with me letting out a few yeah's in agreement. Kevan stood up out of his rotting blackwood chair. Kevan was a minotaur nearing 70 and had been on more raids than any minotaur in this room. His hair was short and graying, and his cloak covered his deteriorating form. He looked left to right looking over all of us. Then he was able to rasp out a single word. "Raid." "You can have 10 of my ships, and take any men who will acompany you to this raid. Though by the shouts of glee i'm sure you won't have a problem finding your raiders." "Thank you my Lord Harrow." A smile slid itself on Jolfs face. "Though there is one condition." Lord Harrow began. "This can't make it back to Desolate Rock. The princesses can't know we raided their coastes. Kill everyone of them. The babes, the elderly, and disabled. Leave none standing." Harrow said running his hand through his thick black hair. "You have my word." Jolf said turning back around to face us. "So who's with me!" Jolf shouted making many of my brothers raise their axes in agreement. All but me it appeared. Brother Bjorn did have a point. If the horse sisters found we killed their citizens, and burnt their villages their would be serious ramifications for this. Painful ramifications. Though the raid may be worth it I could use the money as could my family. Years of not raiding have left most of us poor. Trading doesn't exactly cut it, and we aren't traders or craftsmen at heart. I was taken out of my thinking as a grey hand reached out to me. "And what of you brother Brandt? We could use your skill with a blade." Jolf said to me flashing his gray and white teeth. I weighed the decisions in my mind. Be poor, and deal with no consequences if this goes bad or take a chance and be richer than I have been these past 10 years. The choice was clear to me. I grabbed my brothers hand tightly and stood up. "I have your back brother." I said throwing my left arm around his shoulder. He chuckled, and shouted once more. "We raid tomorrow! Sharpen your axes and blades, and bring your shields!" The hall erupted in yells of excitement. I joined the yells, yet in the back of my head I had a bad feeling about all of this.