Mary Score! – Part 1 – In the Thick
Every Saturday, WoWPetBattles.com brings you Mary Score!; a serial fiction by Travis Marcum. Follow goblin adventurer Mary Travelmunch as she and her trusty mechanical chicken Freddie compete against the best pet trainers in Azeroth and beyond for the coveted Critter Cage Battle Networkâs Illustrious Grand Master trophy!
âWhatâs wrong, Travelmunch?â The beefy Grimtotem shaman crowed. Even though sheâd shouted, the taurenâs voice had nearly been lost in the din of the many spectators gathered around the Gadgetzan Cage. At her hooves stood an impossibly large reptile, freshly summoned from the Ethereal care facility in the Nether. It was very nearly as tall as her goblin opponent and bore vivid green scales dappled with golden-blue stripes of leathery flesh. Though obviously still a hatchling, the sheer bulk of the young creature spoke volumes to the threat it posed. âChicken?”
The taunt flung by the tauren had been quite deliberate; the smirk that had washed over the Grimtotemâs rotting, black-toothed maw was all the evidence that Mary needed. The goblin groaned inwardly as she adjusted her Deathblow X11 goggles, but hid the grimace from her emerald features. The only fortunate side-effect of having spent oneâs formative years being the butt of everyoneâs jokes is that one had a tendency to develop a fairly thick skin where such cutting remarks were concerned. She wished the desert heat were as easily brushed off.
âIf you insist,â Mary called back and reached for her tool belt. In one smooth motion she snatched a patchwork, metallic cube from a specially designed holster on her hip, pushed a small crimson button nestled on the objectâs underside and hurled it forward. The small metal box unfolded as it spun through the air and landed in the sand a much larger device with a muffled thud. It stretched its neck and bellowed a hollow, synthesized battle-squawk.
Mary was extraordinarily proud of her clockwork chicken. It was both the legacy of her late father and her most cherished project. It bore polished thorium breastplates that gleamed brilliantly in the Tanaris sun and featured dozens of truesilver feathers that had each been carved and mounted with meticulous care. It was no doubt an engineering marvel and she called him Freddie.
But when paired against a beast looked to be more devilsaur than raptor cub, even Mary had to admit that her beloved Freddie looked a little underwhelming.
The Grimtotem shaman leaned her head back mockingly and laughed heartily. The way her bovine snout opened with the motion made Mary want to wretch. The goblin was almost certain sheâd seen something wriggling between the Grimtotemâs decaying teeth. It was a truly disgusting sight. Mary wondered how such a repulsive woman could raise such a majestic reptile. Something dreadful and slimy seemed much more appropriate.
âMilaâwa! Destroy that toy!â The taurenâs vicious command came unexpectedly, ending the scoffing laughter without pause. The green reptile leapt forward with almost blinding speed and force; a high-pitched roar echoing out from between dozens of short, sharp fangs.
<…to be continued!>
âMary Score!â is © Travis A. Marcum 2011 and published on WoWPetBattles.com with permission; World of Warcraft and all related materials are © Blizzard Entertainment. Travis Marcum can be reached via email, Google+, Facebook or Twitter. His main is a goblin beast mastery Hunter on Earthern Ring-US and spends his time in-game raiding, collecting pets and trying to work the auction house. Heâs owned every handheld PokĂ©mon game. Heâs single and looking, ladies and sirs. Rawr.
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