by Scott
Scamp turned to see what had happened. He met the serpent’s gaze, shrieked again, panicked, and threw the contents of his hands at its closest eye before turning to run again. One of the flickering crystals caught the serpent’s eye. Its long forked tongue flicked out and grabbed it. A second later, the mana stone disappeared into its mouth.
Blacknail kept running. Behind him, all the slow humans were starting to do the same. Several long seconds went by as everyone fled. The beast had pulled itself up to its maximum height and was hissing in triumph. No one was fighting it anymore.
Mahedium and Red Dog were already sheltering behind a small pile of crates. The mage was peering out around the side to see what was happening. A few more seconds went by. The hobgoblin raced past them without slowing down.
Mahedium looked confused and disappointed when nothing happened. “Huh, I thought that would work.”
“The goblin must have fucked things up. He didn’t even get eaten right,” Red Dog muttered darkly.
Blacknail tentatively slowed down. He was probably safe from any blast at this distance, if there was even going to be one. Blacknail suspected Mahedium wasn’t very good at magic. He was always whining about not hav—
Crack! The air ruptured. Mahedium was thrown against the ground as the world was consumed by violence. Dust and debris rushed in an unstoppable wave from the blast zone.
Blacknail yelled as the wind caught his cloak and threw him into the air. A shocked and flailing Scamp flew past him, swiftly followed by a rain of bloody snake parts.
Several seconds later, the fun abruptly ended and the hobgoblin hit the ground with a heavy thud. Blacknail tucked his head in and rolled to protect himself. He bounced across the ground until he was lucky enough to hit a tent. Unfortunately, it felt as if the tent had been full of frying pans.
The hobgoblin groaned as he slowly disentangled himself from the canvas and rope. His head was ringing like a bell and his ears had popped, but Blacknail got unsteadily to his feet and looked around. No one else was still standing. An eerie silence filled the camp, or the blast had deafened the hobgoblin. He wasn’t sure which.
A crater now dominated the space the mutant serpent had filled. A scattering of scaly meat bits littered the ground around it, and several of the pieces were on fire. The last dozen feet of the snake’s tail lay to one side of the crater. It was a burnt and blasted wreck.
“Did we kill it?” Red Dog asked from behind the barrel. At least, that was what Blacknail read from his lips.
“I think-ss it’s dead,” the hobgoblin yelled as he surveyed the blast zone.
Bandits lay strewn across the ground. Most of them seemed alive though, judging by the feeble movements they were making. The blast had simply knocked them off their feet.
Red Dog peeked out from his hiding spot. A second later, he got to his feet and brushed himself off. Mahedium copied him a few moments later.
“The damned headache is gone, that’s for sure. Where’s Herad?” Red Dog asked cautiously.
“Right here!” The bandit chieftain stalked over to him. She looked mad enough to chew nails, and a little worse for wear. Her armor was scratched and covered in dust and grime.
Red Dog cringed away from her furious expression. Behind her, Scamp picked himself off the ground and madly dashed deeper into camp. Huh, the little thief was tougher than he looked.
“What in the name of all the gods was that?” the bandit chieftain snapped.
“Mahedium came up with a way to kill the beast, and it worked,” her lieutenant answered as the mage gave him an annoyed look.
“The hells! Regardless of whether or not it worked, I dislike it when people start throwing around magical explosives. Especially when all the warning I get is a last second heads-up,” she responded with a snarl.
“We were planning to tell you, boss," Red Dog said hurriedly. “The hobgoblin just sort of ran ahead without asking.”
“Hey, I-ss just did was I was told. They made-ss me do it!” Blacknail told Herad as he pointed toward Red Dog and Mahedium.
The hobgoblin and Red Dog locked hateful stares while the mage tried to distance himself from them. The chieftain scowled at all three of them and gritted her teeth. Blacknail didn’t like where this was going. How dare Mahedium come up with such a terrible plan, and how dare Red Dog order him to do it! Now they had made Herad angry, and they were trying to pin it on him!
Chapter 36
Herad scowled at the three minions in front of her. Red Dog and Blacknail were alternating between staring hatefully at each other and looking nervously toward her. Mahedium was trying to stand back and pretend he hadn’t been responsible for the fiery explosion at all.
“Sorry, boss. It won’t happen again,” Red Dog said fervently.
“I believe we were all under the serpent’s influence and its mental attack was impairing our judgment,” Mahedium added respectfully but with a poorly concealed hint of worry.
“It was messing with everyone’s heads, yet they didn’t all go around throwing exploding goblins in my direction,” Herad replied coldly.
The mage’s face was carefully blank and his posture stiff, but the rapid movement of his eyes betrayed his worry. He was obviously trying not to let his fear show. Blacknail could respect that, but he had a different plan.
“Oh-ss merciful chief, spare me please!” Blacknail groveled as he dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead against the ground. “I will-ss kill a hundred of your enemies in thanks and lay their corpses at your feet.”
Herad blinked in surprise. The three humans looked at the hobgoblin for several silent seconds. No one seemed to know how to respond.
Blacknail kept groveling. He didn’t think he’d said too much. The hobgoblin was pretty much planning to do all that stuff anyway. It was what he did for fun. “Also, it was all Red Dog’s fault, not mine.”
“Hey, you little green liar!” exclaimed the bandit lieutenant.
The corner of Herad’s scowl twitched. A second later, an actual smile broke across her face, and she let out a snort-like chuckle. Red Dog shut up. Blacknail peeked up at her. He was fairly sure that meant she wasn’t going to kill him.
“You’re amazingly lucky your stupid plan worked so well and that I can’t afford to be rid all three of you,” Herad announced. “I’ve killed people I liked much more than you for far less.”
“Thank you, boss, I’ll make it up to you,” Red Dog said before anyone else could say anything.
“You’re right about that. You owe me one for this, so how are you going to pay me back?”
“Um, whatever you want…” he said uncertainly.
Herad laughed in his face. “What, you’re not going to promise the same as Blacknail?” Red Dog tried to stutter out an answer, but Herad cut him off again. “How about you and Mahedium just get this mess cleaned up? I need to deal with more pressing matters.”
Mahedium was still standing off to one side and looked satisfied with his decision not to speak up. Blacknail took advantage of the momentary shift in her attention to scuttle backward out of sight. He then got up and slowly backed away. When the boss was mad, begging and sucking up worked, but it was even better if they simply forgot you existed.
As the hobgoblin retreated, Red Dog yelled out orders, trying to get everything organized. The camp was in shambles. Flattened tents and wounded bandits littered the ground. Blacknail’s hearing had fully recovered, so he could hear them moaning and groaning, but that wasn’t all he heard.
The hobgoblin’s ears twitched as he recognized Sir Masnin’s voice. Huh, he hadn’t been sure the man had survived the explosion. Oh, maybe he was wounded and bleeding out somewhere!
The hobgoblin crept over to the remains of the once-tall lumber pile. He crouched behind it and peeked carefully over the top.
Sir Masnin was on the other side. He didn’t seem to be dying or anything, which was a shame. The man had a lot of shiny equipment Blacknail would have loved to rescue from ne
glect. The paladin was, in fact, kneeling over the burnt and horribly mangled remains of the knights Mahedium had killed with his magical fire. The corpses smelled a lot like barbeque pork, and that made Blacknail kind of hungry.
“In life, we all make mistakes, for the gods made us flawed,” Sir Masnin whispered solemnly. “They will forgive you your pride and wrath, young warrior. When I was young, I threw myself foolishly into danger as well. The only difference between us is I didn’t drag others in my wake. May you find solace and belonging in the gods’ embrace, Sir Devos.”
With his prayers complete, the kneeling paladin gave a grunt of effort as he stood. His chain mail shirt shifted over his dirty torn leathers, and he snatched up his helmet from the ground at his side. The still young but weathered-looking man threw a piercing glance toward Blacknail’s hiding spot.
“I see you there, creature. You can come out of hiding; I won’t attack you. Your mistress wouldn’t like it. Besides, my vows don’t mention hobgoblins any more than they mention rats. They’re more of a job for exterminators than paladins,” Sir Masnin said.
Blacknail glowered at the paladin from behind the log. Their gazes met, and the hobgoblin felt anger tighten his muscles. The man’s gaze and words were clearly a challenge, one Blacknail intended to meet. The hobgoblin got up and walked over to the paladin. This was his territory, and he hadn’t just defended it from a whole bunch of shiny people, horses, and a giant snake to back down now. He wasn’t afraid of the man just because he was a Vessel with a sword sharp enough to cut through flesh like mud… because the paladin was right—Herad wouldn’t like it if the man hurt him. Besides, Blacknail was confident in his ability to run away and yell for help. He was tricky like that.
“I knew there was something wrong about you when I saw you earlier. Did Herad send you to keep a watch on me again?” Sir Masin asked warily as he studied the creature in front of him.
“No, I was just checking to see if-ss you were dying,” Blacknail replied as he came to stop in front of the paladin. The hobgoblin’s green face, long nose, and pointy ears were plainly visible. His hood had come off earlier, and he hadn’t bothered to put it back up.
“So that you could offer your aid?” Sir Masnin asked doubtfully.
“Maybe,” the hobgoblin replied as he gave the man a blank look.
The paladin stared cautiously at the hobgoblin for a few seconds. He seemed at a loss for words. “I’ve never actually talked to a hobgoblin before, or even seen one. You’re not much of a conversationalist, although I suppose that’s to be expected.”
“I talk to human idiots all the time, so I don’t-ss have much to say to you.”
“I take it back; you’re a mouthy creature after all. I’m curious why you hang around with these men and women. I’ve never heard of such a thing before. Your kind is supposed to be violently solitary.”
“The food is good,” Blacknail replied with a shrug.
He wasn’t lying. The grub in Herad’s camp was much better than what he’d eaten in the sewer, and he had to fight less for it. The goblins in the sewer had been mean little scrappers, and the rats had been huge.
The paladin grinned and chuckled quietly. “You seem like an interesting… fellow, so I’ll give you a warning.” Sir Masnin stared coldly into Blacknail’s eyes with sudden intensity. “If you start killing people, then I will hunt you down.”
The hobgoblin didn’t blink as he stared back. The man’s stare was now definitely a challenge. A savage grin broke across Blacknail’s face, revealing the full length of his sharp jagged teeth. He enjoyed a good game of threats.
“You hunt me? How silly. I’ll be right here-ss waiting for you with my tribe at my back. Attacking-ss them didn’t work so well for you today, so save your little threats. I am not-ss afraid. I will kill as I wish and as I am told. Why shouldn’t I slay men when everyone else here-ss does the same, including you? You have to kill to live. It is the only way here,” Blacknail said with a gleeful chuckle.
“You’re smarter than you look, but while Herad and these thieves might seem strong to you, in the grand scheme of things, they are nothing. Their time on this earth is limited, and they can’t protect you forever. Soon enough, someone will bring them down,” Sir Masnin said coldly.
Blacknail’s hackles rose at the other man’s harsh tone, but he didn’t back down. The man’s threats against his tribe angered him. “If-ss you come back here and try to slay my tribe again. I will hunt you and yours through-ss the green and your dirty cities. For every death-ss or injury you deal, I shall kill three people close to you and hang their corpses for all to see.”
“That is a threat you have no chance of ever fulfilling. You are nothing but a weak little green runt,” the paladin replied as his eyes narrowed angrily.
Blacknail’s smile widened. Oh good, now he’d gotten the man really angry. “Do you ever-ss grow tired and sleep, human? I have seen that all men do. I would follow your putrid human stench to your home. Your pathetic human eyes would-ss never see me as I watched and waited.”
The paladin and the hobgoblin stared at each other for several moments, with neither of them yielding. Blacknail was uncomfortably aware of the warrior’s greater strength and skill, but he was also confident the man wouldn’t start a fight here where he was so outnumbered.
“Hmm, I can see you’re not going to back down. Just try not to stick out too much, or you’ll be hammered down,” the paladin warned the hobgoblin before he turned and walked away.
The hobgoblin grinned as the man left. He had totally won the game of threats. The man hadn’t been terrible at it either, so it had been a lot of fun.
When the paladin was out of sight, the hobgoblin went back to his original activity—trying to find stuff to loot. Blacknail wandered around the camp, searching bodies and rubble for anything that caught his interest. He didn’t find much though, because he was soon rudely interrupted.
The sound of familiar voices approaching reached his ears, and he looked up to see Vorscha and Geralhd walking his way. Each seemed more than a little roughed up, especially Vorscha. They were both covered in dirt and sweat, but her left arm was completely bandaged up and pinned to her chest.
“You really shouldn’t be moving around so much,” Geralhd pointed out as he leaned in close to examine her bandages. “Your arm is broken and needs to be kept still. You’re lucky you were only hit by the edge of a shield.”
“It’s fine, you had my back anyway. Now I have stuff to do. Officers have responsibilities, so I can’t afford to slack off right now,” Vorscha replied as she kept walking.
The pair stopped behind the hobgoblin as he was rummaging through a sack that had been dropped. Vorscha coughed to get Blacknail’s attention, so with a heavy sigh, the hobgoblin turned and met her gaze.
“I need you to find Khita. No one has seen her since the fight ended, and I’m worried she got injured,” the woman told him.
“I don’t wanna. I’m busy.”
“You’re the only one who can track her through this mess. Now go find her scent or I’ll beat you black and blue… er, green during your next sword lesson,” she countered.
“Ugh, fine, but you owe-ss me.” Blacknail reluctantly rose to his feet.
“I’ll double the treats I normally give you,” Geralhd offered.
Blacknail grudgingly nodded in acceptance.
“I need to get back to Herad by the front entrance. When you find Khita, meet me over there,” Vorscha added.
“Whatever,” the hobgoblin replied as he sniffed the air for signs of his new quarry. It was best to get this over with as quickly as possible. He would find Khita, then get back to the important things he had been doing before he was interrupted.
Thankfully, it didn’t take him long to track her down. The young woman was seated on a crate in the shadowy space between two buildings. It was an out-of-the-way corner of the base, but she wasn’t all that hard to find since she was making so much noise. The sound of her s
niffling was easy to track down.
With extreme reluctance, Blacknail made his way to the sobbing girl’s side. He stared at her for several long seconds before speaking up. “Vorscha wants-ss you. You’re not dying or anything are you? I’m supposed to check.”
“I almost wish I was dying!” Khita wailed without looking up.
Blacknail eyed the young redhead. That seemed like a stupid thing to wish for. “So you’re perfectly fine-ss and I can leave?”
“I froze—twice!” Khita cried. “When the knights charged, I just stood there, and I almost let that bloody beast eat me! I’m useless.”
Blacknail wasn’t going to argue that; she was totally useless. However, her crying was disturbing him and making it impossible to get the answers he needed out of her.
“There, there,” the hobgoblin told her as he awkwardly patted her shoulder. That was what humans did, right? He’s seen at least one of them do it before…
“This isn’t even the first time. I got my brother killed. I just stood there as he died!” Khita sobbed.
The hobgoblin winced in irritation. This sounded like it was going to be a long and complicated story.
“Back in Riverbend, my big brother was the one who looked after me,” she told the frustrated hobgoblin. “He was the one who brought me into the gang. He taught me how to steal, fight, and look after myself. I was afraid of nothing when he was around. He just had this strong, reassuring presence that attracted people.”
Blacknail looked around for someone who would care, but they were alone. Maybe he could pick her up and carry her to Vorscha? The big woman seemed to be the one who took care of this sort of thing.
