King of the Goblins—Chapter 50

I told them to follow me and I ran towards the dark tunnel, hoping my assumption was right. If I was wrong, we’d all be dead. But then again, without a miracle, we’d be dead anyways.

“Good thinking,” Althidon said. “Their numbers won’t matter as much in the tunnel. We can face them a few at a time.”

“Yeah,” I said, not really hearing him. My mind was elsewhere. 

We entered the tunnel and I struggled to see. There was just enough light that we didn’t bump into anything. We kept running, easily outpacing the heavily armored goblin soldiers, and followed the tunnel as it gently sloped down and to the left. It was longer than I expected, but that made sense.

“Oh wow,” Taranath said when we finally reached the end.

We entered a massive cave, a thousand feet wide and a hundred feet tall. While the others often had smooth walls, this one kept the rough-hewn look, although glowing moss still decorated the ceiling, providing enough light to see.

What was most surprising was the ground. It wasn’t stone, but instead was covered with dirt. I didn’t know how deep, but I assumed at least six or seven feet. 

Small markers dotted the ground, surprisingly close together. Every once in a while, a small stone obelisk rose from the ground, like an important marker.

“Is this a cemetery?” Taranath asked.

“Yes, it is,” I said. 

“I’ve heard they bury their people standing up,” Althidon said. “That would explain why these are so close together. Those must have been someone important,” he said, pointing to several small stone statues. “So the question is, why would you bring us here?”

Now was the real gamble. Because ultimately, I had no clue what I was doing.

I filled myself with as much magical power as I could hold. I didn’t know if that was a part of it, but I figured it couldn’t hurt.

“Why do I feel a breeze when we’re underground?” Taranath asked.

“I hope you’re not doing what I think you are,” Althidon said, his eyebrows drawing down. He looked back over his shoulder to keep an eye on the tunnel.

Silvy had mentioned this a few times, although she didn’t like talking about it. The breeze meant they were nearby, and probably getting ready to attack us.

What were their names? She had mentioned them a few times. Truk! I remembered that one, because while it was a normal name for a goblin boy, it sounded like an automobile in English. Oh, and what was that other woman? Elioz. That had been one of Silvy’s friends.

“Truk!” I shouted. “Elioz! I need you, all of you! The time for vengeance against Ralcor has come!”

“By the gods, Aaron, this is a bad idea,” Althidon said, taking a step back. Taranath also moved back. 

I took a step forward.

“I call upon the spirits of the fallen!” I shouted. “Today is the day for revenge!”

The breeze increased until it ruffled my clothes and blew my hair back. The smell of death and stale air were strong, almost overpowering. I struggled not to choke and continued calling out to the spirits, specifically Truk and Elioz.

“Who are you that calls me by name?” asked the voice of a young goblin man.

“Truk? Your mother needs your help. I am a friend of hers.” I took a deep breath. “I love her.”

“Silvy?” a woman’s voice asked, off to my right.

The breeze died down, although didn’t fully go away. In front of me, a slight fog came out of nowhere and formed into the shapes of people. Of goblins, dozens of them, perhaps even a hundred. They all walked towards me, none of them looking pleased to see me. 

“You are not of us,” one of them said. 

“Invader!” shouted another one, raising his hands.

“Wait!” I called out. To my surprise, some of them stopped. Some of them. “I am here to kill Ralcor. I know what he did to you. Truk, listen to me. Ralcor has kidnapped your mother. He is going to kill her today if I don’t get there. Help me defeat him!”

A young goblin man in front of me held up a hand and the other spirits seemed to obey. Most of them still looked at me like they wanted to kill me, but they didn’t move any closer.

“We’ve got company,” Althidon said. 

I glanced over my shoulder and saw the group of Ralcor’s soldiers, standing in the mouth of the tunnel. They clearly saw the spirits, and refused to come any closer.

I turned back to Truk. “Listen to me, Truk. I’m in love with your mother. I need your help to save her. I need all of your help,” I said, raising my voice so they could all hear me. “Follow me and help me kill Ralcor and put an end to his tyranny! Follow me and taste revenge!”

“Nice speech,” Taranath said.

“Thanks,” I replied.

“You say you love my mother?” Truk said, taking a step closer.

“I do,” I replied. “And when I become king, I will marry her and make her queen.”

“Goblins don’t have queens,” one of the other spirits said.

“They will now,” I replied.

“You’re not even a goblin!”

“What are you?”

“Your skin is the wrong color!”

“Imposter!”

“Listen to me!” I snapped. “Silvy has prayed for more than a hundred years for the gods to deliver revenge to her. They finally answered her prayers and sent me. Yes, I’m different from you. I’m not a goblin. But that doesn’t matter. I am here to put an end to Ralcor’s rule, and bring about peace to the goblin people.” I took a deep breath. “To my people.”

That drew several angry grumbles from them, but at least they didn’t kill me.

“Boy, you had better make this plan work a bit faster,” Althidon said, facing down two dozen armored soldiers. 

“How long has it been?” Truk asked me. “We have no concept of time. Only the torment of being dead, but not allowed to rest. We only experience our anger and our lust for vengeance. It is all-consuming.”

“I think about two hundred years,” I replied. “Why haven’t you just left the cemetery and done this yourself?”

“We can’t,” Truk replied. He pointed and I turned and followed his finger.

Posted ten feet inside the cave, an iron pole had been driven into the ground. At the top was a complex symbol. 

“That prevents us from leaving,” Truk said. “And we would only follow someone we deemed worthy. So far, all have failed. All have died.”

“Would you follow your mother?” I asked.

“Without question,” Truk said. 

“We all would,” another spirit said. Several more agreed.

“Your mother has agreed to marry me,” I said. “Her prayers convinced your gods to bring me to this world. Please, all of you. Help me. Claim your vengeance and experience final peace.”

I walked over to the iron pole and examined it for a moment. It was as thick as my thumb, so not really something I could bend. Fortunately, the symbol on top looked to be made of a different substance. It almost looked as if it had been carved from stone.

“Come with us, traitor,” one of the goblin soldiers said. “Lay down your weapons and come with us, or we’ll cut your legs off and drag you.”

“Oh, go fuck yourself,” I said.

“Step away from that!” another goblin soldier ordered. I ignored him as well.

One of the soldiers changed his grip on his spear so he could throw it. Taranath immediately drew his bowstring back to his cheek.

“Go right ahead, elf,” The goblin soldier growled. He drew his arm back and launched his spear at me.

Even though I knew it was coming, the spear was surprisingly difficult to dodge. It flew through the air, fast as a bullet, narrowly missing my chest.

Taranath released his arrow, which struck that soldier right in the faceguard of his helmet. The goblin staggered back as the arrow lodged in the steel of his helmet. Not far enough to do harm, but now he had an arrow sticking out of it.

“You fucking bastard!” he growled.

Taranath ignored him and launched another arrow.

“Forward!” one of the goblins shouted. 

They all took a step closer to us, shields held in front and spears leveled. Most of them looked ready to run Althidon down. Two columns broke off and faced me.

Some of the spirits moved closer, but they couldn’t move past the symbol. The soldiers knew that, and apparently planned to use the length of their spears to attack us from safety.

I had to act. It was now, or never.

I took my spear and swung it in an overhead arc with all my might. It struck the stone symbol and my hands shook from the impact, but it did no damage. I swung it again, shouting with the effort, and a tiny piece broke off the side.

“Thank you,” Truk said. 

Right as the goblin soldiers got uncomfortably close to me, four spirits rushed them. They ran like regular goblins, but their translucent forms ignored the armor. They reached out and touched the goblins, and where they touched, the goblins froze and died screaming.

That caught the attention of the rest of the soldiers, who immediately stopped their advance on Althidon. They stumbled as they hurriedly backed up, eager to be away from the ghosts. 

One soldier tripped, and a spirit reached out and touched his foot. His leg seemed frozen in place and he screamed, a sound from the depths of his very soul. He beat at the ground, trying to pull away, but the touch of the spirit froze him in place. The rest of his body stiffened and his scream abruptly cut off, and then he was dead.

The rest of the soldiers died only seconds later. Althidon and Taranath looked ready to shit themselves.

“And who are these two?” Truk asked, stepping closer to Taranath. The elf kept his composure, but I saw the tension in his jaw. 

“They are helping me,” I replied. “They are friends. They have helped me from the beginning, and when Silvy and the others were kidnapped, they agreed to come with me. They are risking their lives for the future of the goblin people.”

“Strange, to have two elves and a…whatever you are, conquer my people,” Truk said. “No, I understand your story, but it is still strange.”

“Elioz!” I called out. I had an idea. “Elioz!”

“She is gone,” Truk said. “She now knows peace.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“If we kill someone, it is painful for us as well, but it puts us at rest,” Truk explained. 

“So you can only kill one person each?” I asked.

“That is correct,” Truk said.

I took a deep breath. “Spirits of the fallen, I humbly ask for your help. I have removed the barrier that bound you to this place. Help me kill the man that put you all here, and know peace. Help me become your king, and know that your grandchildren will live better lives.”

“I accept,” said an elderly goblin spirit.

“I accept,” said another.

The same words were uttered dozens of times. I turned to Althidon and Taranath, who watched me with wonder.

“Well, I definitely didn’t expect that,” Althidon said.

I turned and walked towards the tunnel, an army of spirits behind me. 

“Come on, guys,” I said to my elven companions. “Let’s go kill Ralcor.”