by C S Harrop
“That’s mine human,” replied the not so clever goblin hitting the old goblin’s hand away.
“We will take the human you worm this is my prise,” insisted the one eyed goblin lifting Asha up and barging past the old goblin knocking him off balance. “Send word ahead to the king or I’ll explain to the king how you wanted to keep the prise for yourself.”
Entering the goblins compound of Witherbark a buzz filled the air as hundreds of goblins all shape and sizes crawled out of mud holes, hovels and dead hollow trees to see the prise the two goblins have caught for their king. They jumped and danced around Asha raising their weapons in the air like frenzied animals. Asha closed her eyes submitting to the realisation that this is the end for her and a high possibility she will be a snack for the king.
They dropped her in the dirt of the courtyard of the Great Tree knocking the very wind out of her lungs. She managed to twist her head and body caught in the rope to get a glimpse of the tree. The Great Tree was abnormally wide as it was tall Asha’s eyes widened at the sheer size of the natural wander. It was the largest tree she had ever seen Asha had always kept away from the big cities by Aunt Elora.
Timber windows were in abundance and were still fitted with the original shutters, and a huge carved rounded timber door leading to the outside decking with a moss ridden grand stairway leading down to the courtyard. The courtyard now covered with dirt and weeds, Asha could visualise what this place could of look like, the word beautiful came into her mind.
Its greying roots were as wide as nearby trees and buried deep within the earth like huge tentacles creating mounds within the compound. Asha noted the enormous tree must have been the dwelling of some woodland race before the goblins arrived.
Then a moment of stillness came over Asha noticing the Great Tree shone with a white aura like a light was shining down and a breeze of fresh air touched her face. She slowly rolled over on her back and looked straight up at the night’s sky, the large bright moon shone down at her through the clearing in the trees. For a fragment of a moment, Asha felt an inner calm as it reminded her of Lake Erat with the moon light shining down on the ice.
Her attention snapped back to the flickering of an overlarge shadow resembling the top of the head of something big through the windows of the Great Tree. Two mean looking goblins came out of the large arched doorway wielding their wooden shields and spears guarding the entranceway to either side.
The Goblin King emerged ten times the size of the other goblins wearing different pieces of scavenged armour strapped to his body. Asha’s eyes widened at his menacing size but it was not the thick scar running across the Goblin King’s face but the huge mace he was carrying which caught Asha’s attention. The goblin compound came to an abrupt silence. The two captors dropped to their knees as the Goblin King stomped down the stairway to the courtyard and stood overshadowing Asha with her his two guards following closely behind.
“What would a human female be doing alone in my forest,” asked the Goblin King.
Asha lay fixated on the sparks of blue electrical energy that riddled through the Goblin Kings huge mace. Unable to move and nowhere to run and even if she could Asha admitted to herself there is no escape past all those goblins, then there’s the huge walls that surrounds the compound like a prison. The thought of her own blue energy crept into her mind, if she could create an explosion like the one she did on Lake Erat that would give her the opportunity she needed. Asha concentrated has hard has she could but only a few sparks appeared, then the words from the Goblin King stopped her thoughts in their tracks.
“Release the human,” ordered the Goblin King to the two kneeling captors.
“But if we set the human free she will escape,” stuttered the not so clever goblin in an outburst that sent the whole goblin compound in an uneasy state. The Goblin King gave a loud roaring shout whilst taking a firmer grip of his huge mace with one vertical swing he smashed it down on the head of the not so clever goblin. After the initial shock of seeing his not so clever friend embedded face down in the dirt, the one eyed goblin quickly released Asha from the net.
Asha stood up slowly looking up at the huge bulk of the Goblin King with a spear held by the one-eyed goblin poking her in the back reminding her not to make any sudden movement and especially no thought of escaping. The Goblin King towered over Asha staring down into her green eyes making her feel small and insignificant, he just stared at Asha not saying a single word trying to grasp a thought or memory. Asha remembered Aunt Elora once telling her that Dark Bloods were not the cleverest of creatures especially when it came to goblins. Asha noticed she could actually see the Goblin King struggling to piece his thoughts together. The thought did occurred to her that maybe he couldn’t decide how to eat her and what spices to use and what body part to start mauling on first.
“Show me your hands - human,” ordered the Goblin King eventually.
Turning her shaking hands over cautiously showing the markings on the palm of her hands the Goblin King showed a sign of satisfaction on his face.
“Priestess Onyxia is calling you the lost soul she believes your soul belongs in the afterlife, not here in the living. She will reward me with whatever I desire for you dead or alive,” the Goblin King said in his deep commanding voice.
“If you kill me Onyxia won’t have the pleasure of killing me herself. She has been searching for me a very long time, and I have become an obsession. Do you really want to deprive her of her kill? She would kill you instead,” Asha bravely replied wiping her dark hair away from her face whilst hearing the energised mumbles of the surrounding goblins discussing her response.
“Kill me,” laughed the Goblin King. “No mere human can kill me - throw her in the cage.”
Taken by the arms and spears at her back Asha forcefully shoved and locked into a sturdy wooden cage with barely enough room to kneel. The cage hoisted high in the air as a group of goblins pulled on the rope that hung over a branch of the only tree in the centre of the courtyard that still clung to life with a sprouting of golden leaves in places.
“You have shown loyalty to your king by bring the lost soul to me instead of taking the prise to Onyxia yourself. Your reward is what all goblins want and that’s to be given a name and to serve by my side,” the Goblin King said looking down at one-eyed goblin. “Your name shall be Relg - Master Trapper and aide to your king.”
“Thank you my king.” A very delighted goblin bowed and took his place just behind the king knowing it wasn’t just the name goblins wanted it was the extra perks that went with it, like who eats first and who get first choice of spoils.
Asha looked down from the wooden cage seeing the fully armoured Goblin King towering over the hundreds of his minions. Shifting her stare Asha was astonished at the size of the goblin compound with watchtowers scattered around in random locations which clear were not to the standards of the previous occupants.
“It would take a large armoured force to fight the goblins and free me from this prison,” Asha thought to herself. Her predicament was daunting as she just sat in the cage swinging lightly from the tree watching the goblins below creeping around. Her heart sank even further at that sudden thought of Aunt Elora. She missed her so much and wished she could be back with her at the log cabin. With a tear running down her cheek she gave into the acceptance there was no chance of escape and she was either going to be eaten or most likely be given to Onyxia for a reward.
Looking down at her tingling hands the strange marks on the palms of her hands began to glow a faint blue. Asha had nothing left to lose knowing what happened at Lake Erat when she lost control of her power, it was the end for her but she would really like to kill as many of these goblins as she possibly could and give the Goblin King a major headache.
With a long deep breath, she exhaled slowly letting the power flow unresisted through her body. Her palms erupted filling the wooded cage with a brilliant pulsating stream of white light. The goblins cowered in a kind of frozen pani
c shielding their eyes from the intense light coming from the cage. Then to Asha and the goblins surprise, she suddenly vanished.
The Goblin King’s jaw dropped and for the first time in his life speechless, until the realisation sunk in that he had already sent word to Onyxia that he had captured the lost soul and now the human female has vanished. His vocal rage echoed throughout Witherbark hitting his mighty mace on the ground in anger and at the goblins themselves, with some actually striking true like a hammer to a nail in his powerful arched swings.
“Find the human,” yelled the Goblin King in sudden desperation. “Find it now. Search every tree, mud hole and hovel and bring it to me.”
Relg kept out of sight of the Goblin King knowing his rage would certainly be directed solely at him for bringing the human to Witherbark in the first place. He found a few good hiding places behind a tree and a large rock whilst doing a good job of pretending to look for the Asha. The two personal guards of the Goblin King could see straight through Relg’s pitiful attempt to look busy. They knew it would be the perfect opportunity to get rid of the newly promoted goblin, they were clearly not happy with another goblin been at the king’s side. The two guards moved quickly towards Relg’s position, Relg looked around for a sudden plan of action, he couldn’t just run as that made him look as though he was escaping and in league with the human girl he had trapped. The rusty armoured guards got within ten strides from Relg close enough to see their rotten teeth as they began to scowl with a pronounced grunting noise to accompany. For a moment luck was on Relg’s side, the whole area erupted into a frenzied panic including the attention of the two guards as an unbearably bright light reappeared back in the wooden cage.
Chapter 5
The Hunter's Grudge
Witherbark lingered with a fear in the air from the aftermath of the battle the previous night. Goblin stragglers crept around through the light rain keeping to the shadows, searching debris for anything they thought might be valuable amongst burnt out hovels and demolished watch towers even if the property was theirs or not.
The Goblin King sat slouched on his carved wooden throne bruised, battered and very humiliated. Ripping in anger damaged pieces of his claw marked mangled armour from different parts of his anatomy and throwing them across the solid wooden floor of the throne room, landing in a heap next to a big lump of wood that was the remnants of the throne room’s door. To the Goblin King’s utter displeasure a familiar face stood leaning against the doorframe. A greasy wide-eyed goblin wearing dirty rags stared and smiled maliciously at the Goblin King.
“What are you doing here worm? You were banished from my sight, you were told never to return or I will have your head on a spike,” asked the Goblin King with his eyes widening and his blood boiling as he raised his large bulking body to his feet grasping his huge mace.
“I don’t take orders from you - slave! You have already lost one fight by the looks of things around here, you don’t want to lose another,” smiled Snitch through his facial twitch playing with the point of his rusty dagger.
“Slave! Slave! I am no slave I am your king, you maggot,” shouted the Goblin King in anger as he ran with loud pounding strides towards Snitch lifting his huge mace above his head intent on crushing the five foot high framed goblin into the foundations of the tree.
“I have no king, I obey only my queen, Queen Onyxia, ruler of the dark bloods and you shall bow down before her,” stated Snitch as Onyxia stepped through the archway to the throne room.
The Goblin King slowed and stumbled to a near stop at the sight of Onyxia but his anger for Snitch boiled deep inside, his pace quickened his bulking body towered over Snitch as he got within striking distance. The shadows from the candle light made him look like an enormous giant as he held his huge mace high above his head with ripples of electrical current protruding down the handle, his mace came down with a loud war cry aiming straight down towards Snitch’s twitching face. Just before the Goblin King’s mace made contact Onyxia waved her glowing palm sending the Goblin King crashing through the fragile wall of the Great Tree landing headfirst in the wet dirt of Witherbark’s courtyard.
His armour clinked as the Goblin King shook his large head and finally picked himself up to see Onyxia had followed him outside and stood with an unamused look on her face. The rain worsened which seemed to illuminate the patches of steel armour beneath her dark leather wrapped clothing. The Goblin King sank to his knees as his rage for Snitch suddenly diminished as his attention solely focused on Onyxia and what she has in mind for him when she realises he no longer has human female.
“Where is the lost soul, king of the goblins, A little bird or should I say goblin you sent told me the girl was here?” Onyxia asked in a deathly tone already knowing the answer but wanting to see the Goblin King struggle with what he would regard as a reasonable excuse.
“As you can see the human girl is not here Priestess Onyxia, those trespassers saw to that, they brought an army we were outnumbered.”
“You have made three mistakes goblin slave, your over confidence in your power is your first mistake, your second is losing the lost soul that I have tirelessly searched for and your third and worst possible mistake is lying to me,” stated Onyxia pointing her finger angrily at the Goblin King. “I know there were only three of them and they humiliated you and took your prise. Do you know how that looks to me, it make you look weak and certainly not a mighty king.”
The Goblin King edged backwards on his knees as an uncomfortable tightness surrounded his wide neck. The tightness became like a noose becoming tighter and tighter, the more he moved and wriggled the more he restricted his airways, he dropped to his hands failing to grasp the invisible force around his neck. Snitch could see the pleasure in Onyxia face as the Goblin King’s face turned a pale white, a sight he himself seeing the Goblin King on his knees very satisfying.
“Who do you answer to goblin slave?” Asked Onyxia making the tightness around the Goblin King’s neck unbearable as she closed her glowing palm little further.
“You are,” strained the Goblin King with only bit of breath he could force whilst holding out his hand in a helpless gesture.
Releasing the Goblin King’s throat Onyxia stood looking down at him through the rain with the light wind blowing her long shredded cape. Feeling pleased with herself looking at the Goblin King as he crawled his huge bulking body through the mud stopping short of Onyxia’s feet.
“How are you going to rectify your mistake goblin slave and regain your humility amongst your minions and show me where your loyalties truly lie?”
“I will bring you the lost soul my Queen, I won’t rest until I have hunted the human down and have delivered vengeance on those thieving Guardian scum. My word as king they will not reach the edge of my forest,” the Goblin King replied getting himself all enthused with Adrenalin.
“Then go and earn your name as king of the goblins,” ordered Onyxia.
“Relg! Shouted the Goblin King as he got to his feet. “You will come to me now.” From out of the shadows of a nearby hovel his Servant Relg appeared, cautiously making his way over to the king with his head bowed down like a child waiting for punishment.
“How may I serve you my king,” asked Relg.
“You captured the lost soul once you can help me hunt it down again, grab that group of lazy goblin filth over there we have a prise to catch and be quick about it worm or I will be looking for a new servant.”
“Yes my king you won’t realise I’ve been gone.”
Relg quickly came back with nine not so eager spear wielding goblins close behind which made a standard sized pack. With his huge mace firmly in his hands, the half-armoured Goblin King took one last look at Onyxia half hoping she would offer some kind of assistance to find the girl but her deathly stare stated otherwise. Setting a quickened pace with Relg alongside and the goblins minions trailing behind, the Goblin King let out a huge rallying roar as they passed through the demolished gate of Witherbark into
the vast ancient forest soon picking up the trail of Asha and her kidnappers.
Chapter 6
A Shade Too Far
Asha appeared on a cove of a white sandy shore surrounded by towering dark coloured rocky cliffs. A light breeze swept across her confused face as she looked around in all directions trying find some kind of clue to where this place is and how on earth she got from the wooden cage of Witherbark to here. Asha had seen many twilight’s before but this place looked somehow very different. With a clear night sky and a large bright full moon shining down on a dark calm sea, with the tip of the sun poking up on the horizon with colours of reds and oranges creating a strange timeless effect.
Asha felt the cove was both tranquil and eerily quiet. Picking up the fine sand and letting it fall slowly through her fingers just to confirm in her mind this place was real. However, in the back of her mind, the cove did not feel normal in some way Asha could not put a finger on what it was but it was there all the same.
Fading into view like a mirage a distinctive looking wooden walkway appeared by the water’s edge stretching out into the sea, attached were large black wooden vertical posts evenly spaced along the edges of the decking. Stepping unevenly across the sand Asha noticed the wooden posts completely covered in carved markings and symbols. Unrecognising the markings, she noted they looked very old and possibly carved as some kind of protection. She cautiously stepped closer until she was a step away from the first plank. Just has she was going to put down her first foot on the wood a faint outline of a figure caught Asha’s attention walking slowly across the decking towards her. Asha took a step backwards away from the unknown figure as it stepped closer and closer. Unable to make out any distinct features she stared intensely at the shadowy figure as parts began to appear clear. Slowly the image transfigured into the shape of a woman wearing an elegant white gown that seemed to shimmer in the moonlight as the cloth deformed in the light breeze. The face of an older woman gradually came into focus Asha’s face dropped when she finally realised who the woman was.
