Page 25 - SagaOfBarak1

you must shake your fuzzed up head and come alive. Oh, aye, now my old friend
you must pull yourself together as best you can. ’

Aulric spluttered and cursed himself into some sort of life as next the King
reached out for his sword hilt, this out of the sheer sadness and madness at his
most troubling situation. Sadly this however was to no avail, as in a most pathetic
manner the king fell back against his great carved oak throne in a most untidy
heap. Indeed, it was then the king would have tipped himself up and fallen into
the fire had not Barak with rapid reflexes caught him and held him firm by his
skinny wrists.
Barak scowled then growled as the ogre sighed deeply to himself in concern
for his long-time friend’s sadness. Now Aulric close up, well he indeed looked
an even more beaten, broken down thing the nearer Barak was to him. As already
said the heartbroken king looked a most worn out tired creature who appeared
to look much older even than his years. Aulric was a man who was a little younger
than the giant but despite this he had always looked far older than his overly large
friend. It was obvious to Barak that Aulric was by his shabby appearance alone
a most broken and beaten man. On top of all of that the fallen king stank strongly
of ale vomit aye and even other nasty more odious things.
Of a sudden the good King suddenly drooled as he frothed at the mouth, just
like some sort of demented madman from out of the back streets.
‘Barak, Barak, is it truly you who stands there before me my good and most
faithful of all friends? Is it indeed you Barak? Or perhaps I have indeed gone
totally and hopelessly mad? ’ the king stammered out at length. ‘I had thought
in my dark madness you had forsaken me, deserted me and never again would
you return to this place. Yes, yes in all truth I did think this in my mind’s troubled
darkness big Barak. ’ The good king sobbed this out while hanging onto the giant
like a frightened babe to its mother as he did so.
As for Barak, the giant warrior, well, even the slayer was moved in the very
extreme to see his friend in such a sad pathetic distress. But still and despite all
of this, Barak remained just as stalwart and just as stern as ever he always had
been. So with this being the case, for now at least the giant in front of his weeping
friend showed little or no emotion.
‘You have cried and you have sobbed here in this great Hall of yours these
last days for long enough now’ the ogre declared almost with a fatherly voice.
‘Now Aulric, now you must please believe me in what I say, weeping, well it
achieves nothing. Oh no my friend this achieves nothing at all.’ Barak with these
words said then swallowed down another mouthful of mead and then once again
he spoke. ‘So my man, now of course you must pull yourself together, you must
talk to me now.’ Barak said this a little sternly while the king turned away from
the slayer and cradled his throbbing troubled head in his boney hands as Barak
said on. ‘My friend you must talk to me’ Barak insisted. ‘Aye and talk to me
right now this very minute, this so that I might find a cure. Talk to me Aulric so

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