Akakios savored the grinding of his sword against the whetstone. From his seat on the stony hilltop, he watched for the boar.
The barbarian towered over ordinary men. Dressed in a kilt and sandals, his body was a sun drenched mess of muscles and scars. He carried only the sword, a hunting bow, a dagger, and a leather sack.
A long sun painted the Farshahl badlands orange and red. The scorched terrain formed bottlenecks that made the area ideal for hunting. Small, dusty bushes dotted the landscape.
A lone lumbering figure wandered down the valley, black as night and as big as a horse. It bore two long tails, just as described by the terrified villagers
The man sheathed the sword with a bloodthirsty grin. He scaled down the slope, dislodging loose sand as he went.
The creature warily eyed its approaching challenger. Akakios dropped everything but his sword in a pile and drew the weapon. He came within twenty feet of the animal, then stopped.
It stared down Akakios, pawing the ground with a hoof. Two thick tusks curled up from its snout. Its back was plated with a reptilian skin and two snake-like tales flicked the air thoughtfully.
The boar charged with a bellow. Akakios calmly shifted his footing, waited, and jumped to the side. The boar cried out as the blade met its shoulder, sliding to a halt and whipping itself around. Intelligent eyes evaluated the barbarian as the two behemoths slowly circled each other.
Akakios made one step closer. Then another. Then two steps. The beast held its ground. Suddenly, Akakios made a swipe towards its face. It jumped back, moving its massive body just in time. A second lunge bounced off of a tusk. A third cut deeply into the boars thick hide.
The warrior danced back, leering at his opponent. He waved his sword at the ground, spattering the dirt with flecks of blood. The boar glowered, huffing heavy breaths. It trotted forward until it was within reach of the blade, looking down at the man defiantly.
With a cocky flourish, Akakios arched his sword down towards the boar’s head. The boar moved, catching the attack with a tusk. The creature grimaced as the sword cut into its snout, but it yanked away the weapon, tossing it out of reach. Akakios barely dodged the ensuing charge, and was knocked to the ground. He turned the fall into a roll, making it to his feet in time to leap away from the second rush.
The hero braced himself as the boar turned for another volley. He didn’t flinch when the monster fired towards him. As it slammed into Akakios, he caught its tusks with both hands and dug in his feet. They locked together, wrestling for control. Akakios felt himself sliding back. He gritted his teeth and redoubled his efforts, twisting the boar’s head to slowly throw it on its flank.
Akakios stomped down on its leg with a resounding crack. A sharp squeal was cut short when he drove his heel into the beast’s throat, crushing its windpipe. The man walked over to his sword and picked it up. The boar gurgled, desperately scrambling to its feet. It shuddered when the blade was thrown through its eye, then collapsed and fell still.
Akakios ached from his labor. He withdrew the sword and wiped it clean. As he retrieved his items to skin the carcass, he thought of the promised reward.
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