Commissioner and Writer Information
This story was commissioned by DerMonarch#7127 on Discord, and written by Natalia509 .
Natalia509 can be found and hired on Fiverr!
The Zog tribe settled down. After a long and exhausting journey, they had finally found themselves a spacious cave providing them with the so needed shelter. Finding a place where they could hide from the rain and the cold was the main goal of their travels. They had to move from their previous location as they were met by the hostile tribe of Mugh, who drove them out of their established territory. The Mugh tribe was a larger, more developed tribe which Zog had to respect. It was not their first encounter as the Mugh were always on the move, looking to conquer any tribes they met, stealing their food as well as robbing them of their tools. Zog was the only tribe that the Mugh were unable to defeat, as the Zog were always quick to react and retreat as soon as their guards could spot the invasion of the Mugh tribe.
The Zog tribe was a very simple, small tribe. There were about fifty of them, half men and half women and a couple of children. The Zog tribe hadn’t developed their own spoken language yet, so their only ways of communication were grunts and a simple sign language. Dressed in leather of the animals they had killed, the Zogs led a fairly simple life. They hunted animals, picked fruit and herbs and made tools from the bones of the animals they had killed. The Zog tribe was quite skilled in craftsmanship and arts, creating beautiful cave drawings and figuring out ways to craft simple terracotta jugs and bowls. They even possessed the knowledge of how to summon fire using rocks, which was a secret they guarded like hawks. The Zog was an interesting and inspiring tribe indeed. But they had a few weaknesses too. Unlike the Mugh tribe, Zog weren’t using stone tools and weapons just yet, which was a huge disadvantage when it came to protecting their lands. The Zog had not figured an effective way of building simple shelters or huts either, which forced them to only live in caves and rely on their luck to find adequate mountain structures to stay in when they were on the move. It only made sense for them to not move much, unless they were in direct danger. The Zog liked to slowly build their life around their place of living, but that all changed when the people of Mugh had stepped a foot in their territory.
The Zogs had developed a complex set of signs using mainly their hands. They had their own sign for the Mugh tribe, which was lightly hitting one’s forehead with their right hand, twice.
It was getting dark as one of the members of the tribe rushed into their cave. Hitting his forehead twice, the Zogs immediately knew what was going on and what needed to be done. They packed all of their tools as well as their food as quickly as possible and left the cave right away, with children hanging from their mother’s backs and their belongings wrapped in leather hides. There was never any spare time when the Mugh tribe was attacking. Thankfully, the Zogs were quite bright and what they lacked in strength, they made up in their intelligence and ability to think logically. They figured a way to keep themselves safe and alerted. Always having at least two men about one hundred meters away from their cave, one towards north and one towards south, they had essentially created a very simple, yet effective way to avoid any unpleasant surprises. This time it had saved their lives.
After picking everything up, they ran out from their cave. Fire torches could be seen in the distance as the Mugh tribe was using primitive torches to enlighten their way. They however had not figured a way to summon fire just yet. The Mugh were always on the lookout for any trees stunned by lightning or any forest fires, from which they often took the fire and managed to keep it going for days, ideally weeks.
The Zog tribe was on retreat. Their only hope was that the Mugh tribe hadn’t spotted them running away, as it was difficult for Zogs to run quickly with all of their possessions and kids. They would not stand much chance if the Mugh were to see them. Fortunately for them, the Mughs hadn’t spotted them in the dark of the night. As the Zogs managed to escape in silence,
they could hear the Mughs shouting and turning things upside down as they arrived in their cave. It was that moment that the Zog tribe knew they were without a home again.
The tribe walked for the whole night. There was way too much risk in settling nearby. They did their best to cover their tracks and to stay silent, diminishing their chances of being followed. As the sun began to rise, the tribe finally felt like they were safe from the Mughs. They had found a smaller cave in a nearby mountain which was to serve them as a temporary place of safety. The Zog tribe had a lot to do that day. The tribe needed to find a reliable source of water as well as to get some food. As they had traveled quite a long distance from their old cave, they were in a completely new place which they hadn’t explored before. They expected the Mughs would eventually find them again, but for now, the Zogs were safe.
The knowledge of how to start a fire seemed to almost be a curse for the Zogs. The Mughs eventually figured out that the other tribe had fire even when there were no storms for months. This led them to guess that the Zogs knew the secret of fire summoning, which only further fueled the Mughs’ desire to take out the Zogs and uncover the secret spell.
Escaping was not always an option for the Zogs. They had fought many battles, in which they defeated countless tribes that tried to take over their territory. The Zogs were intelligent enough to be able to deduct whether fighting was unavoidable. They were a peaceful tribe that preferred avoiding battles at all costs.
The Zogs were luckily able to establish a few friendly relationships as well. Trading their tools for food, the Zogs had encountered about a dozen friendly tribes in the past. Their resources were unfortunately limited and it seemed like new tribes were appearing more and more often, many of which were not friendly, making fighting more important than the Zogs would have liked.
The Zog as a tribe would often find themselves in the dire need of more resources than they could have acquired, as there were always a couple of children around and hunting did not turn out to be that successful for the Zog. The Zogs were quite successful in reproducing after all. They knew to protect their children, to feed them well and to teach them of the dangers of life from an early age. As long as the children weren’t met by a disease, they tended to have a very high survival rate, living long enough to then take care of their parents or the rest of the tribe. The elders were greatly respected in the tribe of Zogs. If one was fortunate enough to reach a high age, they were freed of their responsibility to gather food. Their role was then to stay in the caves, to raise the small ones as well as to work on new tools.
The whole tribe was living as a commune. There were usually no relationships. Monogamous relationships were very rare among the Zogs as mating was more of a tribe ritual than an intimate act. The most promising members of the tribe were selected onto the honorable quest of having offsprings, as the Zog believed it was the best way to strengthen their tribe. More cave women were allowed to mate with one man, resulting in the strong Zog women giving birth to many children during their lives. The tribe was growing slowly but steadily. There were several obstacles in their growth, mainly being the battles where many Zog men died while defending their tribe.
The Zog women were very good herbalists. They knew many herbs and used them to season their food as well as to heal their tribe member’s wounds. The knowledge of an herbalist was passed from one generation to next, widening with each one. The Zogs had found a way to boil all kinds of herbs in water, creating all kinds of teas which they then used for healing. Thanks to their consumption of many herbs as well as a plethora of fruit, the Zogs thrived when it came to their health. Diseases were rarely spreading among them as their immune systems were good.
Zog men were mostly successful hunters. They developed a strategy in which to hunt large animals. The tactic consisted of sneaking on an animal, slowly approaching it from several sides and encircling it, giving the animal no way to escape. This technique however was not perfect, so naturally the Zogs would face rough times as well, slowing the growth of the tribe.
As the tribe settled in the cave, they had to inspect their surroundings thoroughly, making sure they would not be killed in their sleep by bears or any other dangerous animals that could be lurking in the shadows of the cave. Lighting their wooden sticks, the men of Zog started to slowly advance deeper and deeper into the cave. It turned out to be fairly deep, but luckily for Zogs, abandoned. There was not one living soul in the whole cave.
They went to sleep with peace in their minds, although they were far from being comfortable on the bare and cold ground of the cave.
As the Zogs woke up, there were a lot of tasks that needed to be done. The men of Zog went off into the nearby forest to hunt, hoping to find anything they could feed their tribe. Forming three groups of five, each group headed in a different direction. They were soon followed by twelve women looking for water, herbs and any fruits. The women of Zog spread all around the forest in hopes of making their search as effective as possible.
The rest of the Zog tribe stayed in the cave. Elders were taking care of children while the rest of the women began preparing food with what they managed to take with them last night.
The hunters came back with a deer! All the people in the cave cheered as the men dropped it in the middle of the cave, giving all a hope of a better tomorrow. The whole deer could last the tribe for days if they portioned it carefully. Other Zog men arrived soon, with two big rabbits in their hands. It seemed to be a good day for the Zog.
A couple of women had found bushes full of berries as they wandered deeper into the forest. Other women had found a stream of water and one even found a bunch of herbs. The place of the new cave seemed to be very decent. The Zogs had all they needed for a start as the women came back with all of their findings.
The next couple of days were similar. The life of the tribe went on and everything seemed to be perfectly fine. The new area which they had found themselves in seemed to be full of resources. There was one thing that the women had failed to find, however. It was healing herbs. The women of Zog were simply unable to find any, no matter how hard they looked. It was almost like the location lacked them, which was as the Zogs knew, very unlikely but sadly not impossible. They had not needed any so far but that was bound to change soon.
The sun had risen about fourteen times since the Zog tribe had settled down in their new cave. It was a new day and the Zog tribe planned on continuing where they left off yesterday. The men went into the forest to hunt. The women went out too, desperately trying to find any healing herbs. They had no option but to stray further and further from the cave. It was quite dangerous for them to roam the woods by themselves, but they had no other choice. Healing herbs were an essential part of their survival and they did not want to be unprepared when an emergency came. As the sun began to set down, everyone, both men and women, were slowly getting back to the cave. One of the group of hunters was nowhere to be seen even after it got dark. The Zogs were getting worried as something like that would rarely happen and was usually a sign of something going terribly wrong.
After a long time of restlessly waiting, the group finally returned. They were carrying only one rabbit, but that wasn’t the worst part of it. One of the members was seriously injured. The other hunters were carrying him and all showed one simple sign. Wild bear.
The injured hunter was bleeding. Before the group managed to scare the bear away, he mauled the hunter badly. One of the skilled women took all the healing herbs left and took care of the hunter. But the situation was bad. They all knew what they needed. More healing herbs. Without more herbs, the chance of the hunter surviving was grim.
All of the women went out looking for healing herbs as soon as the sun had risen the next day, while the elders were left to care for the injured hunter.
Just as all the women were leaving, one of the elders stopped them.
“Huh!” The elderly woman grunted. All the women turned around.
She started shaking her head, which was a simple sign for “Fast!”. The women grunted back and quickly ran into the woods, all going in a different direction.
One of the women who went out looking was especially worried. The injured hunter was a dear friend of hers who had once saved her life when the tribe accused her of stealing from their food pile. This led them to become closer and to participate in the mating rituals together. She had given birth to a child not long ago, which was most likely the hunters. She wanted to do her best to find the healing herbs so she could help him.
Advancing deeper and deeper into the woods, the woman realized it suddenly got completely silent. It seemed like there was not one soul around. As she progressed even deeper, she noticed the silent rumbling of water. Immediately realizing what it was she was hearing, she carefully listened in and followed the sound. Taking careful steps, she went in the direction of the sound. And it worked! The sound began getting louder and louder and she soon bumped into a small waterfall surrounded by many herbs. The water was oozing out of a small opening in between two big rocks and cascading down onto the rocks underneath, creating the rumbling she had first heard. The Zogs hadn’t found this source of water yet! She bent over, inspecting the herbs. Sure enough, they were all exactly the ones she needed! The woman started collecting them right away, happy about her finding and excited about the incredible luck that had struck her. As she began picking the herbs one by one, she could suddenly hear sounds that were not of the water. She froze. Listening in, she managed to recognize what it was. Footsteps! Sure enough, another woman from her tribe must have heard the water. Turning around with the herbs in her hand, an unpleasant surprise was awaiting her. In front of her stood a Mugh woman! Her face painted red and her hair long and brown. Her body was muscular and she appeared shorter than the Zog woman herself. They both looked at each other and in the split of a second, the Zog woman ran. She jumped over the stream onto the other side, scared. The Zog woman put her blonde hair behind her ears. She was taller, with long arms and overall skinny. They looked at each other again.
It was clear they had both come for the same reason. To collect herbs. The stream of water was the only thing dividing them. But they couldn’t just collect their herbs and leave. The Zog woman knew she couldn’t let the Mugh escape. The Mugh would tell her tribe where the Zogs had gone and they would hunt her tribe down. The Zog woman had to kill the Mugh, even if it was not in her nature. There was no other way.
Trying to find a way to cross the stream, the Mugh woman managed to find a place where the water was shallow. Quickly crossing it, the two women were soon facing each other.
The Mugh tribe, even though it was sharing the same area with the Zog tribe, couldn’t be much more different. The Mugh tribe was one of the biggest tribes on the continent. Boasting around seventy members, Mughs were not only one of the biggest, but one of the most dominant tribes as well.
Fighting was in their nature. They would travel across the continent, conquering everything that stood in their way. Many tribes had fallen due to the Mugh. It was a tradition for Mugh to teach their children the basics of tool making and fighting once they were capable of holding a bone spear.
Mughs were great hunters as well. They used stone spears to hunt down animals and had learned how to track them and recognize each animal’s tracks. Using rope and wood, Mughs had even learned to craft simple traps for catching smaller animals such as rabbits. There was never a shortage of meat in the Mugh tribe.
One could call the Mugh tribe the tribe of thieves. As they would travel, encountering countless other tribes, they would ruthlessly wipe them out and steal their possessions. The Mughs had stolen many tools, which they would then try to replicate themselves. Every tribe that the Mughs had defeated added a small piece to the Mugh tribe puzzle. Thanks to their nature, the Mugh tribe was one of the most developed tribes. Not only were they using stone spears which were much harder and more durable than bone, they had also mastered the art of crafting perfect throwing spears, making their hunts much more likely to be successful. Mughs had even begun building their own small shelters which consisted mainly of wood and leather. The Mugh tribe was very effective at using every last piece of each animal they would hunt down and kill. This allowed the Mugh tribe not to be dependent on caves, which was a huge advantage for them. They could settle wherever they wanted. But the Mugh tribe had always preferred to be on the road. Roaming through the continent, they always sought out new places to explore and make theirs. The natural resources were growing thinner the longer the Mughs had stayed in one place, resulting in them moving so much. The Mugh tribe lived a very eccentric life, celebrating it to the fullest.
The Mugh tribe had several different rituals. As they would wipe out tribes, they spared no one. After every fight, the Mughs would bring every piece of food they found in the caves or shetlers of the tribes, feasting on it for the whole night. The nights after the fights were always full of food, drinks and good moods. They would hum simple melodies as they would be sitting in a circle, inspecting all the tools and weapons they had stolen.
Another important ritual for Mughs was maturing. Once a boy of the Mugh tribe was old enough, he would be given his own spear. He would be sent into the wilderness with a quest to hunt down an animal. Usually, the boys brought rabbits or other small rodents, but from time to time, a boy would manage to hunt down a fox or even a deer. These boys were to become one of the most respected hunters and trackers.
Girls of the Mugh tribe had a similar tradition. Their quest would be to find five different herbs. Two for healing, two for tea making and one for food seasoning. These five herbs were essential in the Mugh culture. The quicker they would return; the more respect the girls would earn.
After passing the maturing ritual, both girls and boys of the Mugh tribe would be allowed to paint their cheeks red. Every member of the Mugh tribe would paint their face as it was their way of recognition in fights and had later become a tradition.
The roles of the Mugh people were set very strictly and simply. The men were fighters and hunters while the women were collectors. The only task the elders had on their shoulders was
to train and teach the younger ones. Once they were not capable of doing their task anymore, the elders would be left behind before the next journey of the tribe. It was in the Mugh nature that once they felt too old and weak, instead of being a burden for the rest of the tribe, they would die by themselves, alone. The Mugh people considered it an honor and a respectful way of passing.
Mughs were too using a simple language of signs and grunts. They would have different grunts for basic words as food, water or enemy. All five of the essential herbs had their own distinctive grunts.
Even though Mugh women were not allowed to fight along the men, they would have their own fighting rituals. As a way of deciding their social position, the Mugh women would wrestle against each other. The woman that would turn out to be the most successful fighter would usually become a leader to other women.
The Mugh tribe was disappointed as they arrived. They managed to find the Zog tribe, which they were trying to seek for a longer time at that point. But somehow, Zogs were always able to flee before the Mughs were able to reach them. Inspecting the empty cave, the only proof of the Zog tribe were the paintings on the walls.
As proficient hunters, the best hunters of the Mugh tribe were able to track animals as well as people. After travelling the whole day in the footsteps of the Zog tribe, they had lost the track and decided to settle down. The whole tribe was traveling together, with men going in front and in the back, while women and children were in the middle. It was their usual time for migrating. Once the weather was starting to get cold, the Mugh tribe would migrate towards the south.
Building their shelters, every member of the Mugh tribe had their own task. Men went looking for animals while women began roaming around, looking for herbs and fruits. The Mugh tribe had no idea that the cave the Zog tribe chose for their new settlement was only a couple of miles to the south from them. It seemed like the two tribes were supposed to cross their ways once more.
After the first day in the new area, as the sun was setting down, a fight among the Mugh women was taking place. As in tradition, after settling in a new area, the women of the Mugh tribe would fight. The ones who would lose the fight would have to go looking for herbs the next day. The women who would win could stay in the settlement, helping with building additional shelters and everything that was needed. This was a way for the men of Mugh to have a bit of fun watching women fight, as well as an opportunity for the Mugh women to establish their place in the tribe itself.
One of the women, a short brunette, was never a good fighter. She would lose almost any fight as fighting was just not in her nature. This fight was no exception. Even though she seemed muscular and strong, the other women still beat her easily. After the brunette lost the fight, her fate for the next few days was sealed. Her task was to roam around the woods and look for herbs, fruit and water.
Day after day, the brunette would go further and further away from the camp, in hopes of finding anything. She would always go south, getting closer and closer to the Zogs without even knowing about it. The Mugh tribe had usually no shortage of anything. As very successful hunters, thieves, and collectors, their stock was always full. But after moving into the new area, they noticed something. It seemed like the new area was lacking one of the healing herbs they needed, and so the brunette’s main goal was to find a growth site of this one specific herb. She
knew well that the herb could most likely be found near water. Naturally, she followed when she discovered the rumbling of water nearby.
Getting closer and closer, she stumbled upon a small waterfall! There were plenty of herbs growing on both sides of the stream. Staying on the shore, she started collecting the herbs right away. She took as much as she could have, rushing back into her camp. As she returned, the tribe welcomed her happily when they saw what she was carrying. The amount of herbs she had brought was more than enough. The brunette, however, planned to return to the waterfall as she knew there were many more herbs to be collected. She liked the attention she was getting from her fellow tribe members. Not being successful in wrestling caused her to be very low on the social ladder, and the brunette knew this could help her to finally be respected and not looked down upon.
The brunette didn’t waste any time the next day. She headed right towards the waterfall, which was about two hours of walking from the camp. As she got there however, she discovered there was an unpleasant surprise awaiting her. A woman from a different tribe. The brunette could only guess it was a woman of the Zog tribe, as that was the only tribe the Mughs knew was somewhere in the area. The brunette didn’t want to lose her valuable source of healing herbs. Upon seeing how everyone was acting better to her after she brought the herbs, she thought she would be even more respected if she brought more. Even though she was never a good fighter, she was ready to fight for this secret spot. The herbs were her way of becoming respected in her tribe and she had enough of feeling like she was not good enough. As the Mugh woman was thinking about what to do, the Zog woman had already crossed the stream. The Mugh woman quickly followed and the two women were facing each other again.
Looking at each other, both of them were waiting. They had no weapons, no tools. They could only fight with their bare hands. Standing next to the stream of water, the only thing that was interrupting their thought process was the rumbling. They slowly moved further away from the water, now standing still. Both of them needed to beat the other one. The Zog woman wanted the herbs for herself, as the time was ticking for the injured hunter. The Mugh woman wanted them for herself, as it was her way to be respected in her tribe. The Zog woman had an advantage. Her height. She was taller and had longer arms. The Mugh woman was shorter, but more muscular. She had already wrestled many women, even though mostly unsuccessfully.
Both women were dressed in simple animal leather clothing. While the Zog woman was barefoot, the Mugh woman had simple leather shoes, which really were just pieces of leather wrapped around her feet. Looking at each other, they started growling, trying to scare the other one in hopes of avoiding the fight. The Mugh woman started stomping the ground, which was something she had seen during the wrestling fights in her tribe. Both women were waiting. They were waiting for each other to do the first move. Looking deeply into each other’s eyes, they were attempting to scare one another. But both women had a reason to not give up the secret spot. Only one could keep the herbs for herself and her tribe.
First to strike was the Zog woman. She dashed forward, shouting while doing so, knocking down the Mugh. Both women began grunting while wrestling on the ground, trying to overpower the other one. The Mugh had an advantage as she was much stronger due to her muscular body. This helped the Mugh to get on top of the Zog after a while. The Mugh hit the Zog woman in her belly as she screamed. Quickly getting on top of her, she sat on her belly.
This was a different fight than the one the Mugh was used to. There was never killing involved in all of the fights she had participated in. She knew she had to do her best if she wanted to succeed.
As the Mugh got on top of the Zog, she knew this time, she had to strike. To strike as hard as possible.
The Mugh didn’t hesitate for a second. Right as she got on top of the Zog, she hit her in the face. Punching the Zog into her nose, she broke it.
“Aaaaaaah!” The Zog woman screamed in horror. She got completely blinded and paralyzed by the terrible pain that spread through her whole head.
A stream of blood rushed out of her nose. The Zog woman screamed again as she felt it touch her lips, realizing it was her own blood. The Mugh kept slapping her face, seeing how unable to fight back the Zog woman was. She stopped moving and the Mugh thought that perhaps this was the end. She stopped. Just when she got off the Zog woman, she realized she was moving. With the thought of the hunter waiting for her to bring him the healing herbs, the Zog woman managed to suppress the pain and started slowly crawling away. The Zog knew she had to fight on if she wanted to win. As the Mugh saw the Zog woman was moving again, she quickly jumped back, sitting on her again. Even though the Mugh was back on top of her, the Zog’s arms remained free. Punching the Mugh into her chest, the Zog woman managed to leave the Mugh surprised.
The Mugh gasped for air as the hit took her breath away. The Zog used this opportunity, pushing the Mugh off her. The Zog jumped up, wiping the blood off her face. The Mugh followed, taking a few steps backwards, still struggling to breathe. Both women were standing in front of each other again after the initial hits. The Zog used her clothes to quickly wipe her face clean from the blood that was still streaming out of her nose. Her nose itself was deformed and broken after the strong punch. The Zog was keeping her distance while she wiped her face again, not wanting to be surprisingly attacked by the Mugh woman again.
The Mugh began looking around. She managed to find a fallen branch nearby, immediately picking it up. The branch was quite thick and about fifty centimeters long. The Mugh started waving the branch in front of her body. The Zog knew that she wouldn’t stand a chance against the Mugh that was now armed. Getting hit by it would be too painful, besides she had no way in which she could defend herself. The Zog quickly ran away from the Mugh, looking for a branch herself. Wandering a bit deeper into the woods, the Zog managed to pick up a branch herself. It was a little bit longer than the one the Mugh woman picked up as well as thinner. With the combination of the Zog’s long arms, she could easily reach the Mugh who was closely following her behind.
As the Zog woman picked up the branch, she turned around, right in time to block the Mugh’s attack. Their branches collided in the air, causing a loud, dull sound. The Zog’s branch almost gave in under the thicker and stronger branch of the Mugh, but it seemed like only one hit wouldn’t suffice. The Zog tried to surprise her opponent, jumping forwards, trying to hit the Mugh woman into her head with her branch. The Mugh managed to dodge, which she followed by hitting the Zog into her belly with her branch. The Zog screamed out of pain as she jumped backwards. A red stamp of the branch appeared right on her belly.
“Ugh!” The Zog woman grunted angrily. She was mad about the Mugh woman hitting her.
The Zog knew she had to disarm the Mugh. It was giving her an advantage which the Zog didn’t like. Even though she had her own branch, it was much thinner and therefore weaker. Besides, the Mugh seemed to be better at fighting with a branch.
The Zog decided to try and lure the Mugh into a trap. Running back towards the waterfall, the Zog left the Mugh behind. It took the Mugh several seconds to react, which gave the Zog the
much needed time. As the Zog woman reached the stream, she carefully crossed it, being cautious to not slip up on the wet rocks. As she crossed it and stepped on the dry ground, the Mugh had only stepped onto the slippery rocks herself. The Zog woman turned towards the Mugh, grunting at her, trying to taunt her. She didn’t want the Mugh to run away, on contrary, she wanted the Mugh to follow her. The Mugh slowly and carefully placed her foot onto another rock, trying to make her way through. As she was slowly crossing the water, the Zog tried to hit the Mugh with her branch. The Mugh managed to dodge the hit, but at the cost of losing her stability. Trying not to fall, the Mugh started swinging her arms wide. The Zog used this moment to jump forward, snucking the branch out of the Mugh’s hand and throwing it into the stream of water. Even though the Mugh woman managed to regain her stability, she lost her branch while the Zog still had hers. The Zog herself took a few steps back.
The Mugh eventually reached the shore. The Zog was already waiting for her, with her branch in her hand. Even though she managed to take the Mugh’s branch away from her, she didn’t want to continue fighting on the slippery rocks. One bad step and she could crack her head open. The dry ground suited the Zog woman much more. The Zog woman attempted to hit the Mugh again. After several unsuccessful attempts, the Zog finally hit the Mugh in her knee. The Zog’s branch broke in two under the pressure as the Mugh woman screamed, “Gaaaaaah!” It must have hurt so much! Her knees gave in, causing her to fall down. The Zog threw the part of the branch that remained away and jumped right on top of the Mugh.
The Zog pinned the Mugh’s hands down to the ground. The Mugh woman couldn’t move! She tried screaming and frantically moving her legs but it did not help. The Zog woman finally had a great opportunity to hit the Mugh! Using her knee, the Zog kicked the Mugh into her crotch, causing her an immense amount of pain! The Mugh’s scream could be heard miles away as she cried out and tried to curl up. The Zog woman let go of one of the Mugh’s hands and punched the Mugh straight into her throat with her fist without hesitating for a second. The Mugh couldn’t breathe again! She started coughing and her face turned all red as she was almost ready to give up. But not yet. In immense pain, she managed to collect all of her strength and punched the Zog right into the middle of her left breast, right into her nipple through the thin layer of the leather top she was wearing. The Zog, in a pain, jumped straight up, moving away from the Mugh while fondling her own breast. It stung and she could feel the blood rush up into her breast as it was becoming swollen. Both women were in so much pain. The Zog was carefully inspecting her nipple as the Mugh was trying to take a deep breath, which was quite hard after getting punched into her throat and trying to ignore the pain in her crotch. They slowly approached each other again.
Both women were on their feet, facing each other. They were breathing heavily, starting to get exhausted after the hits they had received as well as the hits they had given. It was now clear for both of them that only one of them would leave this waterfall alive. It was a fight to death and this was still only the beginning of it.
They both got more careful as they were trying hard not to make a mistake, not wanting to give the opponent an opportunity to strike. Slowly approaching each other, they were still keeping their distance. The Mugh was trying to not get within the Zog’s reach as the Zog was trying to close the distance in between them in order to gain advantage of having a better reach. Slowly driving the Mugh into the woods, the Zog was taking steps forward while the Mugh was taking steps backward. The Mugh hadn’t noticed that there was a tree behind her, which she hit with her back soon after. A short moment of surprise was all the Zog needed. She burst forward. The Zog hit the Mugh with her own body, squeezing her in between the tree and herself. The Mugh’s face got buried in the Zog woman’s chest. The Zog was squeezing her head as hard as possible, trying to smother the Mugh. The Mugh was getting suffocated in the Zog’s chest as her whole face was buried in it. The Mugh however, was not willing to give up just yet.
Grabbing the Zog’s long blonde hair and pulling on it hard, she found her way out of the tricky situation.
“Aaaaah!” The Zog screamed! Her scalp hurt so much!
She took a few steps back despite being in pain and slapped the Mugh. The Mugh let go off the Zog’s hair immediately. The Mugh woman did not wait one bit and kicked the Zog into her thigh. The Zog managed not to fall down, and quickly ran away from the Mugh.
Both women were hurting too much. They both got hit and their bodies were aching, yet there was still not one winner. They remained in the woods, in the middle of the forest. The Mugh was resting, leaned against the tree she had been pushed onto just moments ago. The Zog was watching her closely after she had distanced herself away from the Mugh. She knew the Mugh was really strong and that she stood no chance in a wrestling match. The Zog had to find another way in which she would beat the Mugh. She needed an object, a trap or anything that would give her an advantage over the sheer power the Mugh possesed. The Zog’s longer reach wasn’t enough of an advantage.
As the Zog was thinking and contemplating her next moves, the Mugh decided to strike. Dashing forward, the Mugh ran towards the Zog woman and hit her body, sending them both down onto the ground. This was a big mistake for the Zog as the Mugh woman had a clear advantage when on ground. Using her strength, the Mugh woman managed to get on top of the Zog, sitting on her chest. The Zog’s already beaten up face was within the Mugh’s reach. Finally.
The Mugh was eager to finally finish the fight. She wanted to inflict as much pain on the Zog as possible to finally prove to one, just one person that she was in fact enough. Using her long, sharp nails, the Mugh started cutting and scratching up the poor Zog woman’s face. Her cheeks were soon all bloody, with deep, painful cuts. She tried to sign a word to the Mugh, but she didn’t listen. It was getting harder and harder for the Zog woman to keep up her hope. The Mugh wasn’t willing to listen despite the Zog so desperately trying to sign “peace”.
The Zog was trying to get loose, shaking her head violently. It was all she had the strength to do. Her whole face felt like it was on fire and she couldn’t breathe. The Mugh began roaring while still furiously cutting up the Zog’s face.
The Zog knew she had to escape. The pain would become even more unbearable sooner or later and might cause the Zog to faint, giving the Mugh prime opportunity to finish the fight. The only way the Zog woman could hit the Mugh was if she used her head. Quickly bashing her head into the Mugh’s crotch, specifically into the pubic bone, she succeeded. It worked. The Mugh curled up with a sad groan, slowly sliding off the Zog. The Zog, barely able to see as the blood was streaming down her whole face, stood up and ran towards the waterfall. The Mugh stayed down on the ground, recovering from the impact.
As the Zog got to the water, she immediately stuck her head into the cascading water, using it to clean her face. Getting rid of the blood, the Zog woman’s priority was trying to suppress the pain. Her whole face was covered in deep cuts, which were all stinging. She screamed as she felt the water touch her cut up face.
The Zog was on the edge. She was so exhausted. Her whole body was aching and she was fed up with the fight. She knew that every second she spent fighting with the Mugh meant that the hunter from her tribe was getting closer and closer to death. The Zog felt the anger filling her body. She was risking the life of the hunter who she liked so much because of a stupid
Mugh! Not only him, but the whole tribe was in danger. The Mugh would surely lead the rest of her tribe to the place where the Zog were staying.
As the Mugh was still nowhere to be seen, the Zog inspected the water closely. She managed to find a couple of small rocks. The Zog picked them up, intedning on using them. She finally saw the Mugh woman approaching her. She too, looked beaten up and fed up with the fight.
The Zog was looking at her, holding the two rocks in her hand. They were about the size of her fists. The Zog was hiding her arms behind her back, not wanting to show the Mugh what it was she was hiding.
As the Mugh was getting closer, she started to grunt loudly. It was clear the Mugh was furious. She herself wanted to finally finish the fight and get back to her tribe and earn all the glory for finding so many herbs. It would be a cherry on top to bring a dead Zog, along with the knowledge of where they could be hiding. It would surely make the Mugh very respected among everyone in her tribe.
The Mugh woman began to slowly approach the Zog. The Zog woman threw one of the rocks at the Mugh. The Mugh, surprised, managed to dodge the rock at the least possible second by ducking down as the rock flew right next to her head, missing her only by a few centimeters. If the rock had hit her, it would most probably knock the Mugh out. As the Mugh stood up again, she had no time to react to the second rock the Zog had thrown. It hit her face, breaking her nose.
“Aaaauughhhhh!” The scream that came out of the Mughs mouth made the hair of the Zog stand up.
The Mugh went down to the ground immediately. A stream of blood bursted out of her nose as the Mugh’s body hit the ground.
The Zog was still very careful. Even though the Mugh was on the ground, not moving, the Zog woman wasn’t sure about approaching the Mugh. Instead of approaching her right away, the Zog looked around the water. She managed to find a rock the size of her head. Barely able to pick it up, she grabbed the rock, using all the energy she had left. She slowly approached the Mugh.
The Mugh was on the ground. Her vision was blurry and she felt confused, not knowing what was going on. It felt as if her nose was burning, while the cold stream of blood was slowly covering her whole face in red. Laying down, she could hear the steps of the Zog. After a few minutes, the Zog approached her. The Mugh knew she had to try and run, or she would be dead in under a minute. Turning herself on her belly, the Mugh started crawling away from the Zog as quickly as possible, which was not that quick at all. But she wasn’t able to get far. She felt weak and was barely able to see anything. The Mugh could sense that her life was coming to the end.
The Zog was slowly approaching the Mugh. She wasn’t hurrying as it was clear that the Mugh was desperate to run, but unable to do so. She was crawling really slowly. It made no difficulties for the Zog to keep up. The Mugh’s arms soon gave up. She was laying down on the ground, not moving.
The Mugh couldn’t go any further. Her arms as well as her legs weren’t capable of moving anymore. She was on the verge of fainting. Even though her injuries weren’t fatal, she knew that fainting meant certain death.
The Zog woman finally caught up with the Mugh. She was holding the rock over the Mugh’s head. She was ready to drop the boulder down when the feeling of sympathy filled her. She realized that the Mugh too, was just trying to collect the healing herbs for her tribe, perhaps also for someone she cared about. The Zog wasn’t capable of finishing her when she realized that fact. Perhaps the Mugh was not that different to her at all. Throwing the boulder away, she instead returned to the waterfall and collected all of the precious healing herbs there. As soon as she had enough of the herbs, the Zog headed towards her tribe.
She was welcomed with joy as well as with surprise. Her fellow tribe members were worried about her injuries as she looked very bad. After making sure that the hunter received the herbs, she made two hunters from her tribe follow her back to the waterfall. Sure enough, the Mugh woman was still lying there. After a heated debate, the Zog’s decided to have mercy. They picked up the injured Mugh and carried her into their camp.
As they finally returned to the cave, carrying the injured Mugh, the rest of the tribe was in shock! Their first answer was a clear “No.”. They did not want a Mugh in their tribe. It took the Zog woman a lot of convincing and explaining until they agreed to take care of her.
The Zog woman was healing for the next couple of days. The hunter managed to recover from his injuries thanks to the healing herbs she had brought from him. Other women from the Zog tribe visited the waterfall and it soon became the source of healing herbs for the whole tribe.
The Mugh woman managed to recover as well. After fainting in the woods, she was perplexed when she woke up. It was surprising for her to wake up in the cave, surrounded by people she did not know. The woman she had fought with came to visit her from time to time, checking on her healing progress. Once the Mugh woman was fully recovered, she decided to thank the Zog woman as well as the whole tribe for sparing her life. She started helping the tribe with their chores as a thank you and eventually realized their lifestyle suited her much more. She soon found herself to be a fully fledged member of the tribe. Even though she almost lost her life, she was very thankful she found the waterfall that day. The now Zog woman was forever thankful to the Zog tribe for giving her a chance and sparing her life. She had never thought of returning to the Mugh tribe again.
The End