Ulgarth the great

My first instalment of a hopefully successful short story based adventure. Ulgarth a man of few words, a man of action.

From the Hyborian Age created by Robert.E.Howard
Ulgarth The Great Adventurer Of Asgard
By Michael W Revell

I
Through the valley pass just east of the mountains that divide Nordheim. A Black Forest of high evergreen trees claw for the sun ensuring below is draped in eternal darkness. Shadows lay still as black as the nights sky. Ice crackles and falls from the lowest branches and the grim, grey colour shades ranging in the thousands lay dormant with tinges of icy blue highlights.
The air is cold and tight. “Be the man a fool who would wonder” so the legend says “for this thin air is enough to crush a warrior More thine sword or mace”.
The winters around these parts are known to rest of Hyboria and only the men from birth who dwell and grow fine and strong can withstand the punishment of the gods. As the myth has it, Nordheim, once had lush, green plains that stretched across the whole region and was abundant with game, punished by the gods for not sacrificing any of their game and for that sixty nights and days of darkness followed. The surface was drawn up into mountains of glass and ice and the ground layered with thick snow for eternity. The game had perished the only surviving animals were deer and bears who wander on destined for extinction. One thing that has come from the demise of this land and bitterly harsh lifestyle is the sheer warriors of brutality who fear nothing in Hyboria. Nordheim is well known for producing the greatest of soldiers and adventurer’s, so let me tell you a story of a great adventurer known as Ulgarth.

Ulgarth crouches before an opening in the side of the mountain, an old pre-catalystic burial site for a mythical king who's name long forgotten.
The cold air squeezing its way through his gritted teeth and tight lips as he places his thick fur pelt of a beast long slain up over his dripping nose.
“Be the cold my enforcer” he murmurs as he moves closer to the shrine.
The thick fur just about keeping him warm as the cold batters his body from all directions like daggers.
He edges closer to a stone tooled by the hands of an ancient being and brushes of the snow. He squints and looks harder trying to decipher the literature.
Just as he begins to read the ancient scripture the floor beneath him crumbles dropping him into a chamber beneath. “Arghhh”! He rolls down a small passage. His body taking a battering from the rock edges eventually coming to an abrupt end. Sat in a disadvantaged position he quickly nips up to his feet drawing his sword.
“be it the hard way?” shuddering of snow from his shoulders.

The Icy room opened out into a rectangle and the air was flat.
“Darkness succumbed this tomb of old, I must find light if I'm to continue”.
Reaching into his leather pouch he withdraws flint and a mix of dried hair and plantation, he begins clicking his flint together over the mound and creates a small fire illuminating the area and revealing more.
The room now lit has revealed itself full of flashings of gold trim, walls encrusted with jewels gleaming green and red. Pillars of stone casting shadows towards the far end of the room. Hiding lurking figures.
“Do I interrupt your slumber king? If so I do regret, but I've work to do and your entrance was not so silent maybe a secret door would suffice” he says looking around the room rubbing his hands together over the fire.
“Be it a hardy entrance, king of wealth and fortune. My imagination is running wild with thoughts of what's in the coming rooms”
Ulgarth removes his face covering as steam exhales into the damp, stale air of the tomb. He reaches into his back pouch taking out a piece of Forever Wood, a forever burning branch from the depths of the okhorala jungles south east. Once lit it stays lit until put out by water and once dried out again can be once again relit. Never diminishing but very rare.
Lighting the end he stands up and begins his decent into the unknown. One hand grasping the forever wood and the other steadily wavering a sword as his eyes scout on from left to right.
Ulgarth approaches a stone doorway with symbols of serpent men carved into the pillars. “What be these brutal serpent men, maybe myth, maybe real, better be ready.” He digs his shoulder into the stone door and shunts into it moving the stone backwards ever so slightly until he can squeeze through. The room behind him falls into darkness only the small embers of a flame bare any illumination but not enough as ulgarths torch disappears into the stone tomb. And the shadows follow closely behind.
II

As Ulgarth descends through narrow passages and tightly pressed tunnels he comes to an opening. The bridge stretches thirty to forty feet in length built from lumber as old as the gods, creaking and swaying from the slight side wind and down below was a forever darkness.
Ulgarth steps to the beginning of the bridge and looks around with his Forever Wood Flame.
“Something lurks in the wind, I can feel it and by Croms name I will defeat it” he snarls under his breath, gripping his sword tightly he steps onto the bridge.
Then, like a flash, a dark, winged creature flies past him brushing his side and knocking him to his knee. He keeps low trying to illuminate the Beast for a better look. Then, Swoosh! In for another go at Ulgarth who catches a quick glimpse of feathers as he steadies the bridge with his widened stance and bent knees.
“A giant bird?” He makes his way to the Middle awaiting the feathered beasts return. And right on time it comes again towards Ulgarth who is ready and smashes the Beast across its retched body with the flames of his Forever Wood engulfing the winged brute in flames and lighting up the dark caverns surrounding him.

Meanwhile shadowed figures make their way along the bridge from underneath, like dye in water they flow weightlessly pulling themselves towards Ulgarth.

“Arghh the stench” placing his nose under his pelt. The smell of burnt hair clutching to his face as he tries to make his way to the other side of the bridge cautiously keeping low and balanced.
The creature squealed in pain as it flew around the bridge, still dipping and diving towards Ulgarth who can now get a clear shot with his sword.
As it swoops close to him he arcs his blade upwards slicing the underbelly, spotting his face with droplets of blood as singed feathers dithered into the shadows below. The Beast whales in agony which echoes around the caverns as it swoops for the last time completely missing Ulgarth and clattering onto the ledge on the other side. Still unsure of the creatures identity Ulgarth approaches with caution as it lays before him with juddering breath. It's singed body dimmed and its entrails lay by its belly in a thick pool of blood. Ulgarth moves the fire light from its body to its head revealing serpent features. A reptile. Long lost in these caverns when its brothers were killed by the sweeping tides that ripped through aqualonia and earthquakes clattered the northern parts of hyboria plummeting the world into darkness, this beast had survived inside the grave of a king from ancient times. Lost.
Ulgarth stands over it as it appears on the edge of life and the afterlife, raising his sword above his head. “My god Crom will deal with you now ancient creature, join your ancestors for thee belong with them now”
And with a sweeping slice he decapitates the creature oozing blood from both head and neck.
After ending the life of a giant serpent bird he makes his way up a spiral footway carved into a finger like rock rising from the core of the world heading upwards.
The edges crumbling almost catching him off guard as his foot slips and the loose stones clash and echo down below.

Shadowed figures dance a long the cavern walls and spiral up the rocky path in the direction of Ulgarth.

Finally reaching the top he comes to a stone door covering the way. The stone was too heavy to move but yet had no clear way to open it.
“Crom. Show me the way”. He says trying to shunt the stone door.
He steps backwards looking up and around the edges of the stone for any sign of an opening. Then whilst he stood observing the stone, the shadowed figures ooze over the sides of the walkway and crawl towards Ulgarth. When near him they take the shape of a sorcerer, a wizard of dark magic draped in a black hooded throw with long crooked fingers pointing in the direction of Ulgarth, muttering a spell.
The Sorcerer creates an orb of light from his finger tip alerting Ulgarth to a gem glimmering on the top of the door as it reflects the orb. Ulgarth, quick as a mountain lion, drops to the ground and rolls to the side as the orb crashes into the stone door.
“Crom!” He says pulling out his sword.
“what black magic is this? Il cut you down and send you to hell demon” Ulgarth runs towards the sorcerer and swipes his sword towards the head of the dark figure, only, the figure was in fact now smoke, parting as his sword struck thin air.
“Arghhh! Stop this nonsense and fight!” Ulgarth turns and scouts the area with his eyes pealed.
The shadows once again ooze up from the ledge to form the sorcerer who once again sends an orb through the air towards Ulgarth. Side stepping the orb he spins violently towards the sorcerer swinging his sword through the air and again slashing through nothing but black smog. Only this time he stumbles and crashes his sword onto a shadow cast by his Forever Wood Flame and to his astonishment blood appeared on his sword. Ulgarth turned to see the sorcerer on his knees with blood in his hands.
“Be the shadows your everything, your life and be them your death as I bound you to the depths of hell itself sorcerer” Ulgarth slashes his sword across the shadow that sprawled out on the ground slicing off the head of the sorcerer sending it rolling off the edge like a bloodied Roman candle. Ulgarth approaches the heaped body only to find the robe filled with black snakes. “Crom, black sorcery sends shivers up my spine”.
He climbs the door and places his hand over the dull diamond. The door rumbles and the diamond begins to glow red, but then stops.
“What kind of game is this Crom!” He clambers down and spits on his hands to clean them of dirt and proceeds back up the door to the diamond placing his hand over it. Nothing.
He jumps down and retrieves his Forever Wood only as he grasps it from the ground his fingers pick up a cluster of dirt. Without thinking he grabs a handful and makes his way back up the stone door and whilst sitting on the edge he reaches into his leather pouch and retrieves his flask and adds water to the dirt creating a sloppy mush.
“This ought to work” he says moulding the mush over the diamond.
The stone door shudders and begins to open. Ulgarth swings from it, landing on his feet. He grabs the Forever Wood and continues on.

III

Ulgarth has now entered the throne room. It's walls encrusted with jewels and the floor covered in cracked white marble. A light source crept in just above a huge statue sending a beam of light onto a massive Red gem and scattering the light around the room revealing chests overflowing with gold coins and other gold and silver items. But. Ulgarth was after one thing. Legend has it of a sword enchanted by the kings Mage to turn flesh into grains of sand upon a strike. Although Ulgarth did not believe the sword could do such magic, he wanted this sword as a trophy. As a beginning to a saga in which he is the ultimate adventurer. To start his collection of famous and infamous treasures from around hyboria knowing this was just the start. But a worthy start. One that would propel his name to rulers of the lands surrounding, stretching hundreds of miles around. Ulgarth the great adventurer of Asgard.
The sword lay below the red gem on a golden tomb, the steel tampered by a master craftsman ranked the highest of his trade, no doubt. The hilt, starting from the bottom had a snakes head with its mouth open and its neck spiralling up where the hand grip is. Two wings crossed make up the hand guard which releases a blade so fine it would cut air.
“My god, it is as beautiful as the legend has it be, a fine beginning to my chronology”.
Ulgarth takes a selected amount of gems - including the red gem casting the light �" and then proceeds to put his sword away and grasp the serpent kings sword.
The walls start to rumble and boulders begin to fall.
“I must escape” he says looking up towards the light above the statue. “There!”
He begins to run towards the statue only to be intercepted by what looks like serpent men. “Ahah, fools! Be you human or beast you will feel my wrath” using the serpents kings sword he thrusts it through the stomach of the reptile man, kicking him from the blade then swipes it towards the head of the other turning him into a pile of sand. “Crom! The sword is enchanted” he looks towards the statue then begins to climb it, only halfway up he is once again met with another serpent man who is sliced off the statue in a blink of an eye by Ulgarth. Reaching the top he kicks of the remaining serpent man who falls to a crushing death. Ulgarth can then proceed to climb through the hole just in time as the statue crumbles underneath.

Coming up through a hollowed out tree stump Ulgarth appears. The sounds of crumbling underneath coming to a stop as he lay sprawled out in the snow.
He wraps the sword inside bear pelt and swings it over his shoulder.
“The golden tap has a brew with my name upon it, well deserving as I am celebrating the beginning of my legacy”.
Ulgarth strides the deep snow, weaving in and out of the trees as the sun begins to set on the beginning of a new chapter.