The Forsaken Hero

We heard the goblin lair well before we saw it. Loud, harsh clangs and shouts rang through the air, filling the air with the sound of battle. I jumped as a deafening scream cut off in a wet gurgle, sending chills down my spine.

”What’s happening?” Sorrin asked softly, glancing at Rasce.

The ranger shook his head and frowned. ”Not sure, but it sounds like fighting.”

Dyson fingered the hilts of his twin short swords. ”No other adventuring team’s been dispatched to the area, so a raid’s unlikely. Perhaps it’s infighting.”

Following Rasce’s lead, we crept closer. The ground sloped upward at a gentle angle, and the trees parted to reveal a low mountain. A jagged chasm split the cliffs nearly a hundred feet above us, snaking down and widening just enough to reveal the entrance to the cavernous lair—a gaping maw set within the heart of the mountain. Its jagged edges seemed to devour the surrounding landscape, casting a sinister shadow across the area.

Goblins crawled over the mountainside, fighting each other tooth and nail, brawling until blood flowed. The fight escalated closer to the cave, where the monsters fought with bare blades. Several of them lay slumped across the chasm walls, painting the ground with their blood.

Behind the ragged line of defenders, and in the gloom of the darkness, I could just make out the forms of several figures. They lay on the ground, squirming, their limbs tied together. Sorrin’s knuckles whitened on the hilt of his sword.

”Slavers,” he spat.

Dyson nodded grimly. ”At least we know they’re alive. I was worried we’d find them in a cooking pot.”

A particular large goblin, standing nearly five feet tall and rippling with muscle, led the defenders. He swung his heavy mace with such ease the only indication of its immense weight was the screams of his victims as they flew across the cavern. He was shouting something, but even if Fable was near, I wouldn’t be able to understand it. The blessing of Tongues only applied to intelligent, humanoid races, and goblins were classified as monsters.

”Let’s go,” said Sorrin abruptly. ”We won’t get a better opportunity than this. Stay close and we’ll punch right through to the prisoners. Anyone got a reading on their leader’s power level?”

”Third,” I whispered, surprising everyone.

Dyson shrugged. ”Could be, though it’s hard for me to tell at this distance.”

”It is,” I replied firmly.

Sorrin searched my eyes for a second before nodding. ”Then I’ll take him. The rest of you keep the slimy bastards off me. Tana, would you please give us some cover?”

”With pleasure.”

The half-elf started chanting, casting a third-circle spell. Seconds later, she grasped her amulet in one hand and pointed at a particularly thick cluster of brawling goblins. The ground beneath their feet ruptured, belching plumes of smoke and fire into the air. Small gouts of fire crawled around their small, green bodies, and their screams lifted into the air.

The skirmish lulled as smoke spread across the mountain, and goblins looked about in bewilderment. The miniature volcanic crater continued to belch gas into the air, but as only a third-circle spell, its smokescreen wouldn’t last long.

The Glory Seekers weren’t about to lose the opportunity, either. Sorrin and Dyson broke free of the trees, charging into the midst of the goblins. Power suffused the Wolfkin’s sword as he slashed forward, sending an arc of light outward. Blood, limbs, and screams tore free of the green monsters, and what little remained of their battle composure evaporated. Some of them hadn’t even realized a third party had gotten involved and continued to do our work for us.

Dyson crossed through a particularly thick plume of smoke, vanishing. He hadn’t simply moved quickly, but literally disappeared, only reappearing in the chaotic carnage of the battle. His swords flashed in a thousand directions, cleanly executing the goblins wounded by Sorrin’s assault. The two worked in perfect tandem, with the Wolfkin breaking the battle line with overwhelming attack, and Dyson ambushing any survivors.

Low chanting sounded beside me, and I glanced over to find Tana casting another spell. A magic circle materialized around Rasce, who had taken up a position in a tree overlooking the battlefield. His eyes glowed with whatever power the enchantment gifted him, and he raised his bow. As the first arrow left the string, the wind stirred, funneling into a tunnel that guided the shot to its target. Rasce’s arms blurred as arrow after arrow leaped forward, striking down the goblins who tried to reinforce those defending Sorrin and Dyson’s assault.

The momentum of the Glory Chaser’s assault carried them to the mouth of the chasm. Nearly fifty goblins lay dead or dying on the slope of the mountain, their blood forming small, trickling streams that oozed toward us. I gingerly stepped around them, doing my best to keep up with Tana and Rasce, who were advancing to join Sorrin and Dyson.

At long last, the goblins began to rally, grouping up around the large goblin who had been leading the defenders. His heavy, bloodstained mace rested on his shoulder, his green, warty face showing no signs of fear. Confidence oozed from every fiber of his being, bringing Sorrin and Dyson to a halt.

”You finally here,” the goblin said in broken Common, ”You make Drak wait long time.”

If Sorrin was surprised to hear a goblin speaking the common language, he didn’t show it. ”Release them and I’ll consider letting you live. Otherwise...” he let the sentence trail off, raising his sword threateningly.

The goblin laughed, an awful, crude sound that made my tail twist anxiously. It was the kind of sound one made right before they murdered or raped someone, and the victim was powerless to resist.

”The Master want you,” he snarled, pointing at him, then Tana. My heart pounded as his finger settled on me, and a cruel grin split his ugly face in half. ”He want you bad.”

”Who’s this master you speak of?” Dyson asked, his voice deadly serious.

”Big powerful master. He kill you human. And you human,” the goblin spat, glowering at Dyson and Rasce. ”He no want you. Only slaves.”

The word ripples through me, causing me to tremble uncontrollably. ”No,” I whispered, clutching my staff tightly. ”No...”

Tana shot me a glance, her lips drawing together into a thin, worried line. ”Don’t listen to him, Starlight. He’s just trying to scare us.”

Her words drifted through my ears like vapors, doing little to soothe the rising panic that was tightening in my chest. My breath came in gasps, and I nearly fell to my knees, tears gathering in my eyes.

”Sorrin!” Tana cried, rushing to my side, ”Kill him!”

She quickly chanted a spell, sending a fire bolt toward the Goblin chief. Sorrin and Dyson glanced back, eyes widening as they caught sight of her throwing her arms around me. Magic blazed from their weapons as they threw themselves forward into the horde of goblins blades swinging.

There were a little over thirty monsters left, just half the number the Glory Chasers had already killed. But Tana was distracted, and without the element of surprise, the charge quickly came to a stop. The two still fought bitterly, slaying goblins with every attack, but the sheer numbers pressed in on them from all sides, threatening to bury them in bodies alone. Occasionally, a goblin blade would sneak through their armor, drawing thin lines of blood across their flesh, but the two pressed on determinedly.

An arrow streaked into the back of the horde, burying itself in a goblin’s chest and detonating in a small explosion. The blast created some room, but the ranks quickly closed again as the Goblin chief drove his warriors on.

”Starlight, what’s going on?” Tana cried, shaking me. ”Snap out of it!”

Her words brought some sense to my mind, and I desperately sought my mana. The soothing influence dulled the fear just long enough for me to squeeze a few runes out and hurriedly craft a single magic circle.

”Gentle Song,” I cried, my voice wavering.

A soothing green light sprung out of the circle, settling upon my shaking body. I calmed almost immediately as gentle power soaked into my mind and heart, driving away the irrational terror that had gained control. Gentle Song was a spell taught to me by R’lissia, the Life Hero. It possessed the power to calm strong emotions, making them far more manageable. The spell was intended to deal with magical fear aura and the like, but it proved a powerful tool in suppressing my trauma.

Things weren’t looking good for our party. Sorrin bled profusely from many wounds, and even Dyson’s evasive fighting style bore him injuries. Scores of goblins lay dead at their feet, but the green mass of monsters bristled with killing intent, and more streamed from the chasm. The goblin chief waded through the small army, getting dangerously close to striking range. Although he was a level weaker than Sorrin and Dyson, his presence loomed over them. They were wounded and exhausted, weakened by the long minutes of endless fighting.

”Sorrin!” Tana cried. She chanted a few spells, doing her best to support them, but the tide of goblins ignored those slain by her magic, pressing feverishly forward.

”Die!” the goblin chief shouted, raising his mace.

Sorrin tried to dodge, but the heavy flanged bundle of steel caught him on the shoulder, sending him spinning against the ground. He coughed blood, and staggered to his feet, raising his sword fearlessly as the chief advanced again.

As the goblin brandished his mace again, I pointed my staff at the bloody Wolfkin. ”Aegis!”

Golden streams of light shot out of the star on the tip of my staff, streaming toward the air and engulfing Sorrin. His eyes widened in surprise, but he had no time to question it as the goblin’s mace descended. Gritting his teeth, he raised his sword in an attempt to parry but went slack as the mace slammed into the gold aura. Small cracks spiderwebbed out of the impact, but by the time the goblin struck again, the damage had already regenerated, repaired by the constant stream of mana flowing from my soul.

Before anyone could react, I sent another burst of magic to Dyson, clothing him in another Aegis. He flashed me a tired grin and raised his swords, diving headlong into the band of monsters. Their swords, clubs, and spears glanced off the shield, unable to so much as dent it.

In a single instant, the course of the battle reversed. Arcs of blood rose like ribbons fluttering in the air, buoyed up by the screams of dying goblins. Sorrin charged the chief, driving him back with relentless, two-handed blows. Without the need to defend, both he and Dyson were terrors on the battlefield, wreaking havoc wherever they went.

Before the goblins had a chance to rally, our party pushed them back to the cave entrance. The chief staggered back, blood spurting from a cut that had nearly severed his arm, and his goblin raiders had all but broken. As far as I was concerned, the battle was over.