Greenways Goblins (Resurrection Quest Book 1)

by Daniel Schinhofen

  Tom used one of the goblins still flailing in the spell area as a springboard to jump across, landing in the midst of the five uncertain goblins across from him. His fist broke the jaw of his first target and Tom laughed as the others’ attacks skidded off, thanks to body like iron. “Next,” Tom laughed, crushing the sternum of his next target.

  Dick stepped closer to the tangled goblins trying to get to their feet, the axe he had been carrying since Rand’s coming into play once more. The attack dug deep into the chest of his chosen foe, killing it. Yanking the axe free, he managed to get a second one before the others got to their feet. “Tom, I need some help,” Dick yelled as he took off running toward his friend.

  Looking up from snapping the neck of another goblin, Tom saw Dick running toward him. “Run, elf-boy,” Tom laughed. Two spears dug into him and he used clotting blood to heal the wounds while he bashed another goblin to death. “Little fuckers are feisty.”

  Dick felt a pang of worry for Tom’s sanity until a spear went flying past him, landing between him and Tom. Yelling the words of power, Dick invoked ghost hand as he went past the spear. Glancing back, he used the magic to lift the spear a foot off the ground just before the four goblins chasing him reached it. The goblins failed to see the spear and tripped over it, buying him more time.

  Hearing his friends still fighting outside, Harry pushed himself back to his feet, wobbling as he pulled the crossbow off his back. Using the little strength he had, Harry cocked the crossbow and slapped a bolt into the groove. The fire was burning down, allowing him to see into the yard. Taking a deep breath, Harry almost gagged on the scent of Gruk’s roasted body, but was able to aim well enough to fire the first bolt.

  Dick swore when he heard the twang of a crossbow, but a quick glance showed Harry in the doorway, leaning against the door jamb. Wincing in sympathetic pain at the sight of the burns that covered his friend, Dick skidded to a stop near Tom. Tom had killed all five of the goblins he had been in the middle of, and was just about to start on those still trapped in the slip spell. “I’ll handle these if you get the ones chasing me,” Dick said, sounding just a tiny bit winded.

  “Gladly,” Tom growled, running straight at the three remaining goblins that had just gotten themselves back to their feet.

  Seeing the dwarf charging them, the goblins wailed in fear and pelted away from him. One dropped immediately, cut down by Harry’s crossbow bolt. The goblins that had been the first victims of slip scrambled to their feet. The spell dissipated and they bolted away from Dick, gibbering and howling as they ran into the forest.

  Harry and Dick did their best to cut them down while Tom chased the two in front of him. When Tom returned from the woods, Dick was checking on Harry.

  “Tom, I need that vial on your bag,” Dick shouted at him. “Harry got poisoned. This wound looks bad.”

  “Feels worse,” Harry coughed, his breathing labored.

  Fury faded as Tom ran to his friends. He stumbled, but managed to keep on his feet long enough to get to the cabin’s front door. “Grab it,” Tom said, turning to the side so Dick could reach the container.

  “Does he drink it or do we pour it on the wound?” Dick asked as he uncorked the vial.

  “Don’t know,” Harry said faintly.

  With a shrug, Dick splashed some onto the wound in Harry’s side then shoved the vial into Harry’s mouth. “Come on, asshole, stay with us. Don’t be a Kevin.”

  Gagging on the mint-flavored liquid, Harry did his best to swallow it. The moment the vial was removed, he weakly punched Dick. “Too soon.”

  “Well, make me regret it, then,” Dick said seriously.

  “Maybe when I wak…” Harry mumbled before his eyes rolled up and he passed out.

  “What happened to him?” Tom asked.

  “I think the fire splashed back on him,” Dick said. “I haven’t gone inside the cabin yet.”

  “There’s nothing else we can do for him,” Tom said as he got to his feet. “I’ll go collect the ears and look around the camp. Maybe there’s more anti-venom.”

  Dick ground his teeth but nodded, gently setting Harry’s head back down. “I’ll check the cabin. He better fucking make it. It won’t be the same without him.”

  “I agree,” Tom said somberly.

  A couple of hours later, Harry shuddered and began to cough. Forcing his eyes open, he saw Dick and Tom staring down at him. Turning his head, he hacked up a gob of black phlegm. “Water, please,” he said weakly.

  Tom held a waterskin to his lips, “Slowly, man.”

  Harry sipped at the water, careful not to overdo it, using the first mouthful to rinse away the vile taste. He spit it out and took a careful drink. “How long?”

  “Hours. The goblins are all dead. We moved into the cabin and piled the bodies out back,” Dick answered. “Glad you made it.”

  “Me too. Be glad when the sun comes up,” Harry mumbled, seeing the dark sky above them through the open roof.

  “You look like underdone hamburger,” Tom said, holding out a bit of fruit. “Eat some.”

  “Asshole,” Harry chuckled weakly. “I killed him and his friend.”

  “Which left us with more questions,” Dick said, trying to distract his friend from his pain. “None of these things are female, and yet one of them was really fat, so we wondered. When Tom cut it open, he found a small goblin that began to move.”

  “How?” Harry asked, not sure if this conversation was worse than the pain.

  “I’m thinking they’re asexual,” Dick said.

  “If that was true, then why do they have dicks?” Tom half asked.

  “I need to ask Carl,” Dick shrugged. “He knows a lot of abstract shit.”

  “What loot did we end up with?” Harry asked, moving the conversation to a topic he would rather talk about.

  “The spear that stabbed you is worth a look, and sized to your frame,” Tom said.

  “We also found a couple of rings, some copper, and a couple of silver. There’s some clothing here, too. Some of it might fit you.”

  “Goblin clothing?” Harry shuddered.

  “Kid clothing,” Tom smirked. “It’s your size.”

  “Why would there be—”

  “Don’t ask,” Dick cut him off.

  Harry blanched, “Kids?”

  “I found a body that wasn’t goblin,” Tom answered. “What was left of it.”

  “Fuckers,” Harry hissed, then coughed up another glob of black phlegm.

  “Feel better about killing them all?” Dick asked.

  “Tom can gut another few,” Harry nodded.

  “You two should get some sleep. I’ll stay up on watch until Dick wakes,” Tom said.

  “Why you?” Harry asked.

  “Dick got hurt, too. I’m the only one who made it without injury this time. Now go back to sleep, man. You killed the boss.”

  “Web, or whatever it’s called, sucks,” Harry muttered before he fell asleep.

  “He’ll live,” Dick breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Good,” Tom nodded. “Sleep man, I got this.”

  “Next time, don’t go running off when one of us is injured,” Dick said as he settled down to sleep.

  “Yeah, got it,” Tom said. “Gruk didn’t enjoy the flames, did he?”

  “Slip burns better than I thought,” Dick said. Settling the blanket around himself, Dick sighed, “Night, man.”

  “Night,” Tom replied.

  Both of them were upset about how Harry had almost died. Tom chastised himself for chasing goblins when Harry had needed the anti-venom he carried. Dick had seen the chain of events that had led to Harry getting burnt, and blamed himself for not realizing the goblin leader might have a spell similar to slip that could catch fire, too.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Dick tapped Tom on the shoulder. “I got it from here. Get some sleep, dude.”

  Tom nodded, but did not move, “I almost got him killed.”

  “What?”
>
  “Running off after the goblins to get their ears... that delayed getting him the anti-venom, which almost got him killed.”

  “And slip is what set off the webbing he was caught in and made him look like that,” Dick countered. “We’re new at this. We’re going to fuck up. Let’s just be thankful when our errors don’t end up fatal, and learn from them.”

  “What did he say about me not being here?”

  “Nothing. He knew you went after them while we were killing the others. He had faith you’d be back in time, and you were. So put the Kleenex away, Nancy, and accept that while you aren’t human anymore, you might still make mistakes. Just like I did. This isn’t your cross to carry alone. We’re a team; we’ll sink or swim together.”

  “Got it,” Tom said, moving away from the doorway. “I haven’t heard any goblins come back.” Snagging the blankets, he curled up on the floor of the cabin. “Thanks for putting up with me.”

  “We put up with each other. Besides, who else would?” Dick chuckled softly.

  “Harry,” Tom replied before he closed his eyes.

  “Fair,” Dick agreed, “and Marie.”

  “And Marie.”

  Dick was staring at Harry when the sun broke the horizon. The rush of energy he felt almost distracted him from watching his friend. The burns vanished, leaving no trace that they had even existed. The wound along Harry’s side also faded away, leaving unbroken skin. “This world is fucking amazing.”

  “I agree,” Harry said, opening his eyes. “I knew it was almost daylight, but didn’t want to hope too much. I’m really glad it’s true and we get healed. I was afraid that with my wounds, maybe it wouldn’t work.”

  “Now we know it does,” Tom said, sitting up. “You good?”

  Harry got to his feet, stretching out cautiously, “I feel fine. The wounds are gone. I don’t feel tight or stiff.”

  “Your clothes got destroyed,” Dick said. “Your pillow was the clothing we found. Take a look at them. We’ll head back to Greenways once you’re ready.”

  “Do we want to head back or stay out here for another day, just in case more goblins come back?” Tom asked. “Root and twig, and all that.”

  Harry started looking through the clothes. “If what you said is right and these things can reproduce on their own, it’s not going to matter much. If one of them survives, they’ll rebuild in time. Maybe that’s just the way this world works for monsters.”

  “Gods, I hope not,” Dick shuddered. “What chance would people have of surviving if all monsters did that?”

  “Point,” Harry conceded.

  “I’m going to go check the bodies,” Tom said, leaving the cabin through the back window.

  “He okay?” Harry asked.

  “Feels like he almost got you killed. Then again, so do I,” Dick said.

  “We’re adventurers. Death is going to be our constant companion,” Harry said as he pulled on a new tunic. “I don’t blame either of you for the fucked up day yesterday. It could have been worse. Gruk might have known barrier, which would have stopped me from hurting him to start with. Maybe he wouldn’t have slipped, or perhaps he could have charmed me. You’re both good.”

  “Make sure to tell him that in the next day or two. He’s a sociopath on the edge of becoming a psychopath, but he cares for us, at least.”

  “Great. I get to get all warm and fuzzy with the walking hairball.”

  “Fuck you too, shorty,” Tom said, climbing back in through the window. “Bodies have been nibbled at, but they’re still there.”

  “Dude, you’re good,” Harry said bluntly as he switched out pants. “We can all have equal blame if you need to have some. We’ll always be on the edge of death, we need to accept that. Next time it could be you dying, instead. We’ll learn, improve, and adapt, but together I think we’ll survive.”

  “So fucking sappy,” Tom snickered. “Come on short people, let’s roll.”

  Dick and Harry rolled their eyes as Tom headed for the door, back to normal already. “In a minute. Got to put my boots back on,” Harry called after him.

  ~*~*~

  The only thing they found while walking back to the village was a path headed their direction, which they followed to make traveling easier. About midday, they broke out bread and cheese, eating while they walked. Their wariness faded as the hours passed with no attacks, from either goblins or animals. That sense of relief didn’t last long, though, when the sound of yelling reached them.

  “Goblins,” Tom said as he started to jog down the road.

  “And people,” Dick added, keeping pace with him.

  “I hate running,” Harry complained.

  “Short people got no reason,” Tom replied as he focused on the winding path.

  “Should have made an elf,” Dick laughed.

  “Fuck you, pointy,” Harry mumbled, but Dick clearly heard him.

  “My body isn’t ready,” Dick snickered.

  The banter died down as they got closer to the noise. Through the trees ahead, they caught glimpses of goblins attacking a wagon. Harry fumbled the crossbow off his back, holding it out to Tom, “Cock this.”

  Taking the crossbow, he got the string pulled back and handed it back to Harry, then pulled the two hand axes from his belt. Dick sprinted ahead of them, letting his longer legs carry him off the road and through the brush on a beeline for the attack.

  Harry and Tom followed, Harry loading a bolt into the crossbow as he ran. Dick pulled up just inside the tree line, speaking arcane words as he focused on a cluster of three goblins.

  Slip’s area of effect caught all three, making them flail their arms as they started to fall. Two of them grabbed the side of the stopped wagon and stayed on their feet, but the third went down hard, yelling at its allies as it tried to scramble back to its feet.

  Dick had just finished casting unerring orbs when Harry leaned against a tree and fired the bolt he had prepared. One unlucky goblin took the shot to the kidney, screaming and thrashing as it fell to the ground. The largest goblin staggered when the three orbs hit it, but did not die. It spun to face the trees, its eyes widening when it saw a dwarf charging toward it.

  “Adventurers,” the goblin howled. Unintelligible words spilled from its mouth as it cast a spell of its own.

  Tom threw a hand axe, which sank into the carriage just beside the goblin. “Fuck me,” Tom growled and sent the second axe flying.

  The axe hit the goblin shaman between the eyes, killing it, but it had already finished its spell. A shard of ice hit the ground right in front of Tom. Tom dodged to the side to avoid the burst of cold from the spell, but particles of ice dug into his legs, cutting through his pants and into his skin. He used clotting blood, and the wounds vanished.

  Tom’s charge had slowed when the spell hit him, allowing the goblins still on their feet to throw spears at him. Triggering body like iron, Tom was shocked when one of the spears caught him right in the neck and actually wounded him. Staggering, he went to one knee and used clotting blood again. The spear popped out of his neck and the wound was mostly healed.

  Another set of unerring orbs came from the trees alongside another bolt, killing two more goblins. The middle-aged man in the driver’s seat of the wagon, seeing the three friends attacking the goblins, used a club to knock down the two holding his wagon.

  Tom got back to his feet, rushing the three goblins on the ground. They died easily, and the human in the wagon eyed Tom warily.

  “Thank you, stranger,” the man said.

  “Save the thanks. Tell me you have anti-venom,” Tom growled as he felt a tingling itch at his neck.

  Seeing the black substance around the mostly healed wound, the merchant winced, “Of course, one second.” Climbing into the back of the covered wagon, he started to shift things.

  “Dude, you okay?” Dick asked.

  “Poison,” Tom said, resisting the urge to scratch at the wound. “Merchant checking on anti-venom.”

  “Her
e it is,” the merchant said, jumping out of the back. “Err… friends?”