[ IP ] Giants - The Bull Fight

`` Twenty five bogeys on the black one.'' 
 
 `` Oi!'' Brian slammed his grubby hands on the table. He pointed a finger at Anzar, clenching his sharp teeth as he stared into the startled Giant's eyes. `` You aint got that sorta cash.'' 
 
 Anzar smiled weakly, wiping sweat from his brow. The air was warm and sticky underground and drips of condensation sizzled on the hot ground. In the corner, the fire cast menacing shadows up the walls. 
 
 He stared the elder in the face, avoiding the inevitable stare at the dent in his forehead. 
 
 `` Are you going to bet or should I go someplace else?'' Anzar said again, flicking a beetle that had begun crawling up his chest. 
 
 There was a silence that gripped the room then as the Elder considered the bet. The only sound came from the tiny bulls on the floor, locked in a fierce exchange of territory. Tiny tufts of dust rose up from their hoofs that struggled for dominance. 
 
 `` Yea you got a bet mate. You better deliver.'' He replied eventually and gestured to Anzar with black, beady eyes. He nodded, shoving a finger up his nose and begun scraping out the currency in silence. 
 
 `` Ere Brian, which one did ya bet on?'' One of the giants dribbled and slapped a hand on his back. Brian swallowed hard, clenching his fists under the table. He smiled quickly, not allowing the drunk giant to see his shaking fists. It was common knowledge that the Elders were easily angered and did n't take too kindly to drunks. 
 
 `` The brown one.'' He said quietly, adjusting his gaze from Anzar's growing pile of slimy bogeys to the bulls. 
 
 There was a grunt then, as the brown bull lost its footing. The collective groan was almost comical, as if they had just come from Uncle Mac's Pantomine. Anzar continued to dig as he watched the other giants. 
 
 After several minutes, Brian turned and leaned forward. Anzar ignored his gazing, pretending he could n't see him out the corner of his eye. The pile grew. 
 
 Resting big hands on his knees, the Elder allowed a thin sliver of spit to dribble on the ground before poking Anzar. 
 
 `` Where ya from boy.'' 
 
 One finger wedged up his nostril, Anzar shrugged. His goofy, gap-toothed smile was met with a blank expression. The eyes that stared him down were menacing and judgmental. 
 
 `` I'll ask ya one more time. Where.'' He growled. 
 
 Despite the heat, Anzar shivered. He had made a mistake coming this deep. This Elder was clearly not as dumb as the others and he supposed the title gave that away. Ignoring his heart as it thumped against his rib cage, he steadied his voice and cleared his throat. 
 
 `` The Isle of Caverns of course.'' 
 
 `` The Isle of Caverns. Is that right?'' The Giant folded his arms across his chest, allowing the fat to wobble as he adjusted his posture. 
 
 `` Aint no-one by the name'Anzar'from that Isle.'' 
 
 `` Well, not anymore because I'm here.'' 
 
 The table flipped then and several of the giants grumbled. The shook their head in silence as glass shattered against the wall like a gun shot. Brian grabbed Anzar's snot-covered finger and held it against the wall. He inspected the finger, flicking a spot-covered purple tongue over it. 
 
 He stepped back then and spat on the ground. He smiled a horrifically psychotic grin before nudging at the drunk Giant next to him. Several others lumbered off as Anzar froze against the wall. He had been found out. At the third village, on the third day of Summer-storm he had been discovered. 
 
 `` You aint Anzar. You're the Prince of Lesia.'' 
 
 `` I think you're mistaken.'' 
 
 `` Nah, I aint mistaken boy.'' Brian pointed at the pile of bogeys on the table. `` That stuff is royalty boy. Which means if ya come all the way down to this ere shit-heap then you're in trouble.'' 
 
 The room seemed to shrink then as the Giant stood firm against the wall, clutching the wet rock with his hands, trying to find a loose rock to strike the Elder. He had hoped he'd make it out of there with enough bogeys to escape the grip of Giant Cove. He had badly misjudged this risky venture and would suffer the worst fate a Giant could endure. Especially a Highborn such as himself. 
 
 `` Looks like we're in for a real reward boys.'' He said as the Giants grabbed the Prince and begun dragging him toward the dungeons. The last thing he saw was the black bull winning before Brian crushed it under his boot. The lights faded and he was dragged into a black abyss.
