King of the Goblins 2—Chapter 26

I backed into the mouth of the tunnel with the rest of the soldiers. Silvy followed.

“What are you talking about?” I asked the scout.

“It’s their armor, Your Majesty,” he said between breaths. “They’re just ignoring the elven arrows completely. They’ve set fire to some of the great trees!”

I looked over at Silvy. She looked as shocked as I felt. “Oh, this is bad,” I said. “This is really bad. You! Get Leena,” I said to the nearest soldier. “Tell her what’s getting on. She’ll know what to do.” The soldier took off running down the tunnel.

“What are you going to do?” Silvy asked me.

“You’re looking at me like you expect me to do something stupid,” I said to her.

“Yes, I am,” she replied.

“Well, good. Because I’m going to do something stupid,” I said, giving her my best smile. 

“At least I know what to expect out of you,” she said.

“Can you run or do I need to carry you?” I asked.

She gave me a flat look.

“I’m serious,” I said. “I’m going to go help the elves. You’re the only one that knows troll magic. I need you with me if you can make it.”

Her hand went to her stomach. “I worry about our child, but if the trolls win, there won’t be a city left for him to grow up in. I’m ready.”

We set off at a jog. For being four feet tall with huge tits, Silvy kept a good pace. I knew it couldn’t be comfortable for her with those things bouncing on her chest, so after a few minutes I grabbed her and had her climb onto my back.

“I feel like a child, holding onto you like this,” she said. 

“We’re almost there!” I told her. I was able to run much faster with her on my back. 

It only took me about five minutes to see what the scout meant.

As soon as the nearest troll came into view, I slowed to a crawl and set Silvy down. She gasped and huddled behind the nearest tree. I went with her.

The trolls were big, damn big. They had to have been at least ten or twelve feet tall. What was most disturbing was their armor. Each troll that I could see wore a steel helmet, with only small piercings for the eyes. Their top halves were covered in steel armor as well, with long mail skirts protecting their legs. Arrows rained down upon them, and the trolls simply ignored them. With their heavy armor, the arrows had no effect.

“They have a shaman with them, just as I expected,” Silvy said. Her eyebrows drew down into a tight frown. “We should try to kill him first.”

I watched in horror as a troll walked up to the base of one of the great trees and held a torch to it. Thick, black smoke roiled off the end of the torch as the bark of the great tree began to smolder. Arrows pinged harmlessly off his steel helmet, and I saw his great shoulders move as if he were laughing.

“Over there,” Silvy said quietly as she pointed. 

I followed her finger and saw another troll, this one great and fat, standing a few hundred feet away. His body was covered with strange clothes made of fur and feathers, and another troll warrior held a massive shield above his head. 

The troll shaman held a gnarled staff in hand and tapped it on the ground in a precise rhythm. I noticed as he did so, the torch the troll held against the base of the tree flickered and grew brighter, its fire more intense.

“It’s very hard to set fire to one of the great trees,” Silvy said. She sounded angry. “The wood is very dense. It doesn’t catch easily at all. It looks like that shaman is using magic to drive the torches.”

“Well, let’s kill him, then,” I said.

“The sooner the better,” Silvy said.

We kept low and moved through the underbrush. It wasn’t very dense—honestly not enough to offer us much concealment, if any—but it was better than nothing. I suddenly remembered the shadow stone and pulled it out.

“I’m gonna use this,” I said, showing Silvy the stone. “Can you do something like that with magic?”

“To an extent,” she said. “Leena has taught me some of her magic and I can use it to move from tree to tree.”

“Perfect. I’m heading for that shaman,” I said, and slipped the shadow stone into my mouth.

Curiosity got the better of me and I waited for a moment to see what Silvy was going to do. She closed her eyes and whispered something, her voice oddly echoing and reverberating. I blinked and she was gone.

“What the hell?” I said, looking around. 

I found her twenty feet away, standing behind a tree. She opened her eyes briefly and looked around, then closed them and began whispering again.

I ran through the bushes and tried to avoid stepping on dead branches. A tendril of fear took root in my gut and grew as I drew closer to the shaman and warrior in front of me. I struggled to keep that fear in check as I approached them.

Oh god, they were fucking huge. Trolls had an odd shape—ribcage too big, arms too long, massive shoulders—but I could tell, even through the armor, that the warrior was covered with thick muscle. The shaman had a huge belly, but was no slouch in the shoulder department either. Arrows pinged off the shield that the warrior held above the shaman’s head. I noticed several arrows bounce off the shaman’s stomach, as if striking an invisible barrier a few inches from his skin.

“This won’t be easy,” Silvy said, suddenly appearing right next to me.

I nearly leaped out of my skin when she spoke. “How should we start?” I asked.

“We have to get rid of the warrior first,” she said. “Then, the shaman will have to devote all of his magic towards keeping his fat hide safe.” After pulling a stone dagger from her belt pouch, she looked up at me. Seeing as it was still daylight, she could see a shimmering outline of my form. “Here we go.”

Silvy held the dagger, point-down, and began changing something in a harsh language that seemed at odds with her soft, beautiful face. The words definitely didn’t match her usually gentle voice. She slipped behind the nearest tree and peeked around it.

I pulled as much magical power as I could into myself and reached out to the warrior. I avoided doing anything that could announce my presence and instead just felt around, waiting on Silvy to make the first move

Immediately I could sense the troll’s resistance to magic. Trying to feel through his body with blood magic felt like trying to perform surgery with mittens on. Next to me, Silvy continued her chanting, and drew her stone dagger across the bark of the tree in an X. She plunged her arm into the tree and it sank all the way to her shoulder.

The trolls stood next to a tree—not one of the great trees, but a large one—and I grinned as Silvy’s arm suddenly emerged from the bark, right near the roots. Her dagger plunged into the troll’s lower leg, right below his mail skirt. The troll roared and swung his massive shield down, trying to strike Silvy’s arm. She pulled her arm out just in time.

I lashed out with blood magic right as the shaman shouted angrily. I felt through the troll warrior’s body and found his heart. The thing was massive, like a horse’s heart, and I poured all my power into it, slowing it to a crawl. I couldn’t stop it, no matter how hard I tried.

A fresh barrage of arrows rained down on the shaman and he shouted his chants, working overtime to keep himself safe. I glanced over my shoulder at the troll trying to burn the great tree. His torch had gone out, but the bark was black and scorched. 

“Can you do any more?” Silvy asked.

“I’m trying,” I said through clenched teeth. 

Stopping his heart simply wouldn’t work, that much was clear. The troll staggered, but he was still in the fight. He shouted what I assumed were obscenities and looked around, trying to find who was attacking him.

I switched my attack to his brain and cut off as much blood as possible. That was a more difficult target for me to work with, but also more effective. Within seconds his shouting stopped and he shook his head as if trying to clear my presence from his mind. I was relentless and did everything I could. I slowed the blood flow to his brain, I tried to redirect it to random places, I pulled blood from his legs. Everything I did was muted, as if only a small percentage of my power made it through.

“It’s working!” Silvy said, her voice a harsh whisper. She bent down, still chanting, and drew an X in the soil, then rammed her dagger into the ground.

Her arm emerged between the troll’s feet and her dagger plunged into his leg, right above the top of his boot. She twisted her hand and pulled, tearing open a vicious wound.

The troll stomped its massive foot, but Silvy had already pulled her arm away. A steady stream of blood ran down its leg and stained the soil.

I changed my attack. I wasn’t strong enough to stop the blood flow to his heart or brain, so instead I pushed his blood towards the wound in his leg. It sprayed out like a garden hose.

The shaman’s face was dark with anger, but his focus was on keeping the arrows from striking him. Whatever spell he was using that gave him a magical shield, it took all of his concentration. Arrows struck the air inches from his face and shattered.

“Keep doing that!” Silvy said, loudly enough for me to hear her but quietly enough to stay hidden. She went back to her chanting and carved another X onto the tree. This time, her dagger slid up the troll’s leg, pushing his mail skirt up until she sliced his knee open. 

I focused my magical energy on that wound as well, and blood poured in a thick stream down his leg. The ground was soaked, the soil churned into red mud. He thrashed around and slammed his shield against the tree nearby, taking a thick chunk out of it.

After a moment his movement slowed and he fell to his knees. He slammed his shield against the ground and tried to use it to push himself back to his feet, but he was weak from blood loss.

“Yes, that’s it,” Silvy said. 

I watched as she carved another X into the soil and thrust her arm down. The dagger in her hand emerged from the ground between the troll’s legs and I turned my head, unable to watch. Seconds later, the troll howled in pain. I looked back and saw him clutching at his crotch, at his knee, at his leg. Anything to stop the bleeding. His strength gave out and he fell onto his side, his breath coming in rasping wheezes.

“He’s done, focus on the shaman,” Silvy whispered.

I tried to reach out to the shaman but it was like hitting a brick wall. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t break through.

“I can’t do anything,” I said to Silvy.

Silvy squinted at the shaman for a moment, then went back to chanting. Between her chanting and the shaman’s, I felt like I was surrounded by monks, albeit oddly guttural ones.

The shaman looked around, his eyes bulging with rage. He desperately sought whoever was interrupting his magic, his plans. His eyes found Silvy and narrowed.

I looked over and saw Silvy, only the top of her head peeking out from behind the tree. Shit. He had seen her. She dropped down, drawing another X on the ground.

The troll shaman slammed the butt of his staff onto the ground. Shockwaves spread from it, like mini earthquakes centered on his staff. He slammed it down again, and it was nearly enough to knock me off my feet, even twenty feet away.

“Shit!” Silvy said, then went back to her chanting. She drew another X on the ground and drove her dagger into the soil

The troll shaman suddenly roared in pain and raised his bloody foot from the ground. He didn’t wear thick boots like his warrior fellows, and instead wore what looked like wool slippers. Blood ran in a steady stream from the bottom of his right foot.

That was all it took. I lashed out with magic and was able to change his blood flow. His life drained from his foot at a rapid rate, but after a few seconds it slowed and my grasp on his blood slipped away. It was like trying to hold onto a fish covered in vaseline. 

The damage was done, though. He was bleeding heavily from his foot, and had to direct most of his attention towards his arrow shield, so he couldn’t really fight back.

I looked over and saw Silvy was gone. Glancing around, it took me a moment to find her. She was ten feet back and to the side, hiding behind another tree. I rushed over towards her but she waved me away. Instead, I ran in the other direction, so as to not draw attention to her. I was the invisible one, after all. She was a target.

The shaman slammed his staff into the ground again, sending another shockwave out. That time, it did knock me off my feet.

I scrambled back into a crouching position and realized I was going to have to do this the hard way. My spear was back at the tunnel, but I had my sword. I glanced over at Silvy and saw her pushing herself to her feet. There was only one way to end this.

I drew my sword and ran in a half circle around the shaman. He continued slamming his staff into the ground, but I managed to jump over the next shockwave and avoided falling on my ass. Soon, I was right behind him, sword in hand. Next to me was the troll warrior, still wheezing. His armor was made to deflect anything coming from above. I slid my sword beneath his helmet and sliced halfway through his neck. He was done.

The sheer size of the shaman was hard to put into words. He was massive, easily ten feet tall. I couldn’t even begin to guess his weight, but a full ton wouldn’t have surprised me. Each time he slammed his staff into the ground I had to jump to avoid being knocked over. This close I could smell him, his sweat, the smell of old armor and his unwashed, fat body. 

Arrows still bounced off that invisible shield around him, so I wasn’t sure I’d even be able to do anything. I looked over to where Silvy was hiding and hoped she had something up her sleeve.

The shaman suddenly roared in pain again as blood poured from his other foot. He took a few stumbling steps back and staggered behind a nearby tree. I noticed an arrow managed to catch him on the chest in that time. It didn’t fully penetrate his skin, but left a bleeding gasp. 

God damn, How thick was this guy’s skin that a razor-sharp arrow didn’t even fully punch through?

But I knew I had my opening. In that split second he hid behind a tree to gather himself, I rushed up behind him and drove my sword into his lower back. I put all of my weight behind it and the sword only punched through a few inches.

The shaman spun, swinging his massive fist, and I yanked my sword out just in time. He would have decapitated me, had that blow landed. I silently thanked Silvy for the shadow stone and rammed my sword into his gut as he turned. Again, it only penetrated a few inches, but it was enough. 

At that same time, Silvy’s arm emerged from the tree he hid behind and her dagger plunged into his hip, all the way to the hilt. She pulled her hand back just in time to avoid it being broken. The dagger remained in place, though.

The shaman struggled to regain his concentration and began roaring a new chant. He swung his staff in my general direction and I dived behind the nearest tree. A wall of flames fanned out, incinerating all the underbrush and singing my clothes. 

Shit. This bastard was tough. Tough and deadly. I had to end this now, or he’d find a way to kill both of us.

I reached down and grabbed an egg-sized rock from near my feet and threw it to the side. It struck a tree and the shaman turned, unleashing another barrage of fire. The tree he stood near shielded him from arrows, although I noticed he stood far enough away that Silvy couldn’t reach him. Plus, he moved around too much for her to attack his feet.

I kept my body low and rushed around the other side of him, although I had to be careful. If one of those arrows hit me, I’d be done for. I had been lucky earlier. I kept myself behind a tree and waited for my opportunity. 

With the shaman behind a tree, the arrows eventually stopped. He let out a triumphant laugh, then looked around himself, scanning for Silvy and me.

I wasn’t entirely sure how Silvy did it, but thin roots sprouted from the ground and wrapped themselves around the shaman’s ankles. He shouted in surprised anger and tried to pull away, but the roots tripped him. He crashed to the ground like a thousand-pound pork roast.

Wasting no time, I rushed in before the arrows started. I used my momentum to ram my sword into his shoulder, right next to his neck. The blade sank in a full foot, and I twisted and yanked it out. There was no recovering from a wound like that.

I backed away as he swung his massive fist around. His staff was next. He swung it around in my general direction and toxic spores fanned out from the tip of his staff like a can of spray paint. I pulled my shirt over my nose and mouth and continued backing away. Where the spores landed, the foliage turned black. 

The shaman tried to push himself to his feet, but he was weak. Internal bleeding would take him any moment, now. A lone arrow flew through the air and struck him in the shoulder, drawing more blood. He snarled in anger, but fell to his knees again, clutching at his chest. It was only a matter of time, and he’d be dead.

I circled around, steering wide of him and avoiding the few arrows that soared in his direction. After a moment I found Silvy and knelt next to her, then spat out my shadow stone.

“What did you do?” she asked, keeping her eyes on the shaman. “The tree was in the way, so I couldn’t see.

I tapped my shoulder, right next to my neck. “I pushed my sword in here. There are some vital arteries in that area, and the top of your lungs as well. Right now he’s bleeding to death and probably drowning in his own blood.”

Silvy winced. “Nasty.”

“Yeah,” I said, peering around the tree. With the shaman lying prone, the arrows had all but stopped. The elves saw the pool of blood. The shaman struck the ground with his staff, but no magic came out. His breath stirred the leaves in front of him for a moment, and then he was dead.