Lord: Starting from a Goblin Nest

With the help of the two Priests, Victoria and Buni, the carpenter Sibach had recovered by the third day, just as Ron’s group was preparing to depart. He volunteered to join the search and rescue team.

”Even though I was... controlled by her back then, I was still mostly aware,” said the Shapeshifter. He appeared as a tall, sturdy Half-Elf with messy, flaxen hair and a sparse beard, and he glanced fearfully at the head floating beside Ron. ”I can still remember the locations of some of the traps and mechanisms. Besides, I’m a doppelganger. I can help in a fight.”

The carpenter held out his hands. In his right, he held a Hand Axe, while his left gradually transformed into the claws of his Shapeshifter form. ”See, my Lord? My claws are quite sharp!”

”You call *that* sharp?” A disdainful voice piped up from near Sibach’s feet. The group looked down to see a slender, small Black Dragon stretching like a cat as it showed off its own claws. ”Look at mine. *These* are what you call sharp! And they’re beautiful, too!”

”Aiksuuri?” Ron stared, momentarily stunned, at the young Black Dragon that had seemingly popped out of nowhere. ”What are you doing here?”

”Here to help, of course,” Aiksuuri said, craning its neck as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. ”And it’s not just me; I brought You! Our teacher dropped us from the sky, which is how we got here so fast. Surprised?”

”Uh, hi?” The body of a slave trader who had once fought Ron’s group fell limply to the ground. A faint, ethereal form peeked its head and one arm out of the ”shell” and waved to the others. ”I heard you’re heading underground. I thought I might be able to help.”

”Whoa, that gold dragon is slacking off?!” Delaford exclaimed. ”If he were willing to come, none of the rest of us would even need to be here!”

The Black Dragon blinked and explained in a quiet voice, ”He’s not slacking off. Our teacher went to another sealed location. He’s recently finished scouting out the general situation there.”

”Understood. Give him my regards for me,” Ron said with a nod, then scanned the surroundings. ”So, is everyone here?”

Closest to Ron were Aive’s group of five, along with Aiksuuri strutting cat-like at their feet and the banshee, You. And, of course, the head of Queen Farama. A little further out stood Seymour, now dressed in leather armor with a pair of daggers at his waist; Andre, holding a short spear and shield; and Klade, who carried a halberd.

The Earth Goblin, Klade, had originally planned on bringing his entire army and their chariots, but his proposal was vetoed by the queen—who was now just a head. She argued that Brogmir and Sarisha were extremely cunning demons, and most goblins would be unable to withstand their tricks. If they were to turn traitor in the middle of a fight, things would get... interesting.

Thus, for the outermost ring of the group, Klade had only chosen the two bear goblins who served as his personal guards. Sibach, Carlos, Constance, and Yelena also remained on the periphery. For some reason, the Shadow Spirit seemed to have a particular fondness for blades and had now tucked an exotic Elf Curved Blade into her belt.

”Why aren’t you using your Thorn Chain?” Silvia whispered, glancing over at Ron as he rallied the team. ”Honestly, your skill with a blade is completely unremarkable.”

”What’s it to you?” Yelena tsked. ”Can’t a girl have a hobby? Don’t worry. When a physical blade won’t solve the problem, I’ll naturally break out my real skills.”

There were a few more people gathered here than expected, but that was a good thing. Even if Quest’s entire team was incapacitated, Ron’s group would be able to bring every last one of them back.

”The old man isn’t back yet?” Ron asked, looking at Annie, who had come to see them off. He had deliberately waited an extra day for him, but the Sorcerer simply shook her head. ”Alright then—let’s move out!”

Finding the place where Quest’s team had vanished was simple enough. Ron had a map from the Red Copper Dragon, and Sibach remembered the area as well. After crossing a stream, the group easily located the Owl Bear’s lair.

The carcasses of two enormous adult Owl Bears lay badly decomposed, sprawled in front of their lair. Beneath the massive creatures, Ron could see the remains of several traps that had been smashed by brute force. It seemed Quest had been a cautious hunter, doing his best to avoid any casualties.

”I remember... when I was escaping, I took a couple of bites...” Sibach’s face turned green. Clearly, the two piles of rotting meat were bringing back some unpleasant memories.

”I was the one who made you eat that,” Queen Farama huffed. ”Back then, I was counting on you to lead me to the mastermind behind all this. I just never expected...”

She glanced at Ron with the flames in her eye sockets. ”Never expected we’d be ’family,’ so to speak.”

”Wow, I could do that trick back when I was a Ghost Fire!” Seeing a ”kindred spirit,” You became exceptionally excited. ”Are you a Ghost Fire, too? How come you have a physical form?”

”I’m nothing like you,” the queen’s head said, drifting away from You as she approached. ”Strictly speaking, I am not yet dead. Therefore, I’m not one of the Undead Creatures, nor am I a Ghost Fire.”

”You’re just a head, though,” Sera said cheerfully, sizing up the high-cheekboned skull. ”Which reminds me, I’m curious. Do you have a cork in your neck or something? Why aren’t your brains and stuff leaking out the bottom?”

”I refuse to answer that question,” the queen replied, her expression darkening. ”Barbarian, if you are ignorant of such matters, the wisest course of action is to remain silent.”

”This is the place,” Sibach said, leading the group into the Owl Bear’s lair. ”Before the hunt, Quest used Speak with Animals and overheard the pair of Owl Bears talking. He learned that four of their children had vanished into thin air right here in their own den. So after killing them, he was going to bring us inside to see what was going on.”

”Who knew...”

A magical gleam lit up in Ron’s eyes, allowing him to easily perceive the Magic Radiance in the area. He quickly marked the location of a Teleportation Array.

”It’s a passively triggered Teleportation Array,” the queen’s head stated after floating over to inspect it. ”The craftsmanship of this rabble is inconsistent. I fear this may be their shoddiest work yet.”

”A Teleportation Array leading to my place of confinement, and the trigger mechanism is a pressure plate? If I could get my torso back, I would clutch my sides and roar with laughter!”

”Actually, even if you got your torso back, you couldn’t,” Aive added, delivering a merciless final blow. ”To ’clutch your sides,’ you’d need your hands, too.”