King of the Goblins 2—Chapter 30

The mood was strange as we walked back to the royal palace. Everyone was happy that the troll attack had failed, although I heard snippets of conversation as people passed by; no one expected the trolls to get as far as they did. The smell of the burned troll meat had mostly dissipated thanks to the women working with magic, but the Tunnel District still smelled like they had a barbeque festival.

There was a rush of emotion that seemed to hang over the goblins’ heads. Word of how the trolls had so easily pushed their way into the tunnel had spread like wildfire, so we walked among a people that were experiencing the overwhelming relief from their adrenaline-soaked terror, however brief it had been.

“Soooooo,” Zia asked as she reached out and slipped her hand into mine. “Now that tempers have calmed a bit, are we really going to attack the trolls and kill their king? I was ready to go a few minutes ago, but now that I think about it, it seems kind of crazy.”

“Oh, I am absolutely going there,” I told her. “He sent soldiers to force their way into my city, slaughter my people, and kidnap my women. I won’t rest until he’s dead.”

“So you’re not sleeping tonight?” she asked.

I gave her a look. “Funny.”

Zia blinked innocently at me.

“I really wish we had horses,” I said. “I know the elves don’t have them either, living up in the trees. That would make this whole thing much easier.”

On my other side, Silvy frowned. “Yes, I’m not looking forward to walking that far.”

“Same,” I said. “The orcs probably have horses, but it would take a week just to walk there, if not more. So our only choice is to walk to the troll settlement. It won’t be fun, but we’ll make the best of it. Pack lightly.”

Zia looked down at her dress. “Ugh, I can only bring like two or three of these, right?” She picked at her skirt.

I nodded.

“Well, I would say I could simply have a servant carry more for me, but she would have to carry her own stuff as well. Plus, that would be quite rude of me. And now that I think about it, dresses probably aren’t the best thing for traveling through the woods.”

“Bingo,” I said. “We’ll pack some tonight. I’ll help you. You!” I called out to a young soldier that was walking by in the other direction.

“Yes, Your Majesty?” he asked as he stopped and turned to me.

“Go and get General Rolf. Tell him I need to speak with him in the throne room as soon as I get there.”

He bowed his head. “Yes, Your Majesty.” With that, he turned and ran towards the Royal District.

Zia looked up at me, her eyes inquisitive.

“He’ll have to gather the troops,” I explained. “He knows more about that sort of thing than I do, so I’ll count on him to prepare things for us.”

“Who’s going to run the city while we’re gone?” Zia asked.

“That’s a good question,” I asked. “Silvy?”

She shook her head. “I would, but I’m the only one that knows troll magic. You need me.”

I looked at the other two. Tressi opened her mouth to say something, but it was Zia that spoke up.

“Look, I know I helped out back there, but I was absolutely terrified,” she said, sounding mildly ashamed. “The entire time, I thought my heart was going to beat its way out of my chest. When we started burning the trolls, I wanted to vomit.” She took a deep breath. “I’m not a fighter, Aaron. I simply wasn’t made for it.”

“That’s okay,” Tressi said. She reached out and squeezed Zia’s shoulder. “You stay here with Leena and run the city. Uh, Solace.”

“You’re right,” Zia said. “Plus, Leena can continue communicating with the elves. Both our cities received minimal damage—none for us, beyond the tunnel—but talking with each other can help us be stronger if anything like this comes up again.”

Tressi smiled at her. “You see? You’re a natural. Go be a queen.”

“My name means ‘warrior queen,’” Zia muttered.

“Well, be a warrior in the bedroom when Aaron gets back,” Tressi said. She leaned over and kissed her best friend on the cheek. “There is no shame in not being a fighter. None whatsoever. Silvy and I will go with Aaron, and we’ll take care of this.”

“Thank you,” Zia said, looking grateful.

“Shame I didn’t get to join the fight, Your Majesty!” one of the royal guards said as we entered the tunnel that led to the Royal District.

“You wouldn’t have enjoyed it,” I told him. “And it was the women that did all the real work.”

“So I heard,” he replied, then bowed his head. “All glory to the queens.”

“You see? You’re a war hero now,” Tressi said to Zia, who blushed.

Soldiers were everywhere in the Royal District when we arrived. There were a million things for them to take care of, and they were rushing to get it all finished. I certainly wasn’t a hard king to please, but I was glad to see everyone working so hard to keep the gears of this machine turning.

I hugged each of my wives once we got to the throne room. They left and went into the royal palace to clean up and change, and I sat and waited for the general. I didn’t have to wait long.

“I came as quickly as I could, Your Majesty,” General Rolf said as he climbed the stairs.

I pushed myself up from the throne. “Glad to see you, general. I need your help planning an attack.”

He blinked. “Who are we attacking, Your Majesty?”

“I’m taking Queens Silvy and Tressi as well as Althidon and Taranath and about a dozen of our best soldiers with me and attacking the trolls. They came here to kill us, so I plan on returning the favor.”

“Um. King Aaron, please forgive me for asking, but is that wise?”

I grinned. “Probably not. But it’s what has to be done.”

His frown remained. “Only a dozen soldiers?”

“With three or four powerful mages among us, that’s all we’ll need,” I said. “Plus, I don’t plan on assaulting their forces head on. We’re going to sneak in there and kill their king, then sow some discord in their settlement to teach them a lesson. The trolls are a menace, but it’s this King Jack that’s the real problem.”

General Rolf nodded slowly. “Well, I can’t tell you no, Your Majesty. I just want to caution you against any behavior that might wind up with your head on a pike.”

“Thanks, general. I’ll try to bring whoever is strongest with fire magic as well. That should round out our party.”

That seemed to make the general happier. “Good. Trolls hate fire, everyone knows that. It shows the kind of tight hold their new king has on them, that they were using fire against the elves. I’ll have my officers select the best men and we’ll start preparing. When do you want to attack?”

“I want to leave tomorrow morning, if possible,” I said. “I hope that’s not asking too much.”

The general frowned again, but shook his head in the affirmative. “We have some men that were already preparing to go to the new city, so they’re mostly ready. I’ll make sure they have our best spears. And one for you as well, Your Majesty.”

“Thanks. We’ll need some food, stuff that can last for several days.” I thought for a moment. “Although I guess if we’re walking through the woods, we can just forage half of our requirements. Taranath will have his bow, so he can get a bird or something and we can make a stew for everyone.”

“The soldiers will have a cookpot, Your Majesty. They are limited in what they can carry on foot, but my officers will ensure they have everything you’ll need.”

“Good,” I said. “Hopefully this is a good example of a situation where horses would be a huge help. Even some pack mules. I want to make sure we have some at the new city. Outside, of course.”

“Of course,” General Rolf said with a slight nod. “I will admit you make a strong point, Your Majesty. We aren’t accustomed to marching for several days to attack someone, though. We have spent the last several thousand years under the ground, minding our business for the most part.”

“Well, once we get some revenge we’ll go right back to doing that,” I told him. “Don’t worry, I don’t want to be the kind of guy that messes with every other nation. I would like to be friends with all the other nations, but I’ll leave it at that.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” he said, then hesitated. “By the way, what is a pack mule?”

I chuckled. “It’s a cross between a horse and a donkey. They’re tough animals and can carry a lot of stuff. Back in my world, militaries used them for centuries to haul supplies and food.”

He pursed his lips. “Aaaand, what exactly is a donkey? My apologies, Your Majesty.”

“None needed,” I told him. “Imagine something like a smaller horse, but with big ears and an attitude. In the world I came from, some farmers would keep donkeys just to scare away predators like wolves and coyotes.”

“Interesting,” he said. “I’m assuming a coyote is something like a wolf?”

“Yeah, close enough for this conversation. Much smaller. Man, I have a lot to teach you guys. Once we get this new city established, we’re going to explore the wilderness some. I wonder how hard it would be to open a zoo.”

“Um, a zoo?”

I laughed. “Ah, forget it. I should probably be focusing on other things. Thanks for all your help, general.”

He bowed. “Honored to serve, Your Majesty.”

With that, I left the throne room and went into the palace proper. Part of me hoped to see Alena, as I figured we could have a conversation about our current arrangement. I accepted that the goblin people, my wives included, wanted me to have a lot of children. I was fine with that. But if I slept with a woman and she became pregnant, I didn’t want her to just go back to her regular life with my bastard son in her belly. I wanted her to have some form of honored position. She would be having the king’s son, after all.

And then there was Coraline. My wives agreed she would be a good woman to have a child with. That magical talent of hers was worth passing down.

When I got to my room, I found Tressi standing in front of her wardrobe, tapping her full lips with a finger as she pondered her outfits.

“Hey, honey,” I said as I walked up behind her. I looked over her head at her clothes for a moment. “A lot of this stuff won’t work. The most important thing you need is comfortable shoes. Bring your best ones, as we’ll be walking a lot. Then, pack a couple dresses or skirts or something that you don’t mind wearing all day. Maybe some spare socks. We won’t really have room for much else.”

“What are you bringing?” she asked.

I walked over to my wardrobe and opened it. “One pair of pants, three shirts, my most comfortable boots, and a half-dozen socks. If I have room for anything else, it’ll probably be food or water.”

“I can pull water out of the air,” she said. “Slowly, but enough to keep us from being thirsty.”

I smiled. “You just get better and better. I had forgotten you could do that. Well, that helps a lot. Water is heavy, so not having to walk with that will be a huge help.” I frowned. “I should send a message to the general that his men won’t have to pack water.”

A knock came at the door. “Come in,” I called out.

The door opened and an older woman entered. Of course she was quite attractive and the neckline of her dress was scandalously low. That, I attributed to Zia. In her hands, she held bundles of cloth and leather. When she came closer, I realized they were packs for us.

“Here you are, Your Majesties,” she said, setting them on the bed near us. “Three packs, as requested. Is there anything else you need from me?”

“Can you tell General Rolf that his soldiers don’t need to pack water?” I said. “Tressi can get water using magic, so it’s not needed.”

She bowed her head. “Yes, Your Majesty. Right away.” And with that, she turned and left.

“Where’s Silvy?” I asked.

“Oh, she wanted to go over the details of the new city with Kord,” Tressi said. “Knowing that she’ll be gone for a week or more, she wanted to get a head start on that. She should be back soon, and we’ll help her pack.”

“Is there anything that helps you regain your magical strength more quickly?” I asked. “Like, if you use too much magic and become tired, something that will help you recover?”

Tressi frowned prettily as she thought. “I think Silvy has a tea. I’ll make sure I ask her about it.”

“Perfect,” I said. “Looks like packing for this trip will be easy. We’ll basically just be camping for a few days. Hmm, guess that means we need tents.”

“We have bedrolls,” Tressi said.

“Alright, let’s just hope it doesn’t rain!” I said.