The Goblin and the Empire

by JD Cole

  “Ooh, that reminds me, then!” Devon ran back inside to find Kim and Sorvir discussing what might happen at Matari. “Um… Sorvir? I know it’s short notice, but I don’t suppose you guys have some kind of Queen armor already made for Kelli?”

  Sorvir shook his head.”Such things would be commissioned by the Queen herself after her coronation, if she desired anything like armor or weapons. And I fear nothing in the sprite armories would fit her.”

  “What about like, vampyre armor or something, then?”

  Sorvir paused, eyebrows raised. “There is likely something that we could find that could be quickly adapted to her size… yes, I will make sure something suitable is ready-”

  “No, not yet.” Devon looked at Zaiyensa. “I never gave Kelli a wedding gift, I’m gonna give her some badass armor to protect her.” His eyes widened suddenly and he shot a look at Kim, whose eyes were also wide as she stood behind Sorvir, frantically making a cutting motion across her neck with her hand. Devon looked at Sorvir. “Uh, I mean, it’s a early wedding gift, cuz you know, she’s probably gonna get, kinda, married some day… but not yet…”

  Sorvir narrowed his eyes and managed a grin. “Yes, someday she will be married, but I do not see why she could not accept an early gift to celebrate the occasion.”

  Devon leaned in to Zaiyensa. “I know I’ve been a massive nag,” he whispered, “but can you help me enchant some armor?” He quickly pulled away to watch her reaction, seeing her almost roll her eyes. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” He held up his pinky. She looked at his hand quizzically. “Pinky promise!” he said, wiggling his finger. “We lock our fingers together, that makes the promise more solid.”

  “I am not familiar with this spell,” Sorvir said.

  “Let me get this straight,” Zaiyensa mindspoke to Devon. “If I help you enchant an armor for the Queen, you will put yourself in my debt? Do you truly understand what you are offering to an immortal who can already have anything she wants?”

  Devon looked down in thought, then over at Kim and Sorvir. Kelli was in rough shape, but he understood why she felt like she needed to get into the war. And he knew she needed help in a big way. Nodding to himself, he looked at Zaiyensa, his eyes earnest. “Yeah, I guess it’s kind of a big deal. But I trust you.”

  Zaiyensa blinked at his sincerity, and her expression softened. She gently curled her slim pinky finger around his. “Very well.”

  “What’s a big deal?” Kim asked. “Trust her for what?”

  “I’ll tell you later,” Devon replied, “nothing to worry about.” At least I hope it’s not, he thought to himself. He looked at Sorvir again. “Can you get us some armor-”

  “There is no need,” Zaiyensa cut him off. “Sorvir, please inform the mystics that we request an audience with the Queen once she has refreshed and prepared herself. Devon and I will use her room,” she pointed towards the room Kelli had slept in during her ordeal with Ercianodhon, “to craft her wedding gift.”

  “And,” Devon added quickly, “can we meet with her before you guys do that singing thing to help her use the birthright?”

  “Certainly, Master Devon! And many thanks to you, Mistress Zaiyensa! Many thanks to you both!” Sorvir bowed, taking his leave as he mindspoke Zaiyensa’s request to Dufangen.

  “You mind if Kim watches?” Devon asked. The redhead bounced next to him, her eyes bright and wide with excitement.

  Zaiyensa snorted. “That is fine. But I fully expect you to put more effort into this than anything you’ve done before now,” she said sternly. “You are the one who wanted to create a gift for the Queen, I will not be the one who does all of the work.”

  « CHAPTER 28 »

  The Rescue: Part Two

  The entire group rushed back towards the camp, reluctantly stopping only when Taryn warned they could get no closer. Far too distant to reach Graon in time. They watched him stand and surrender to the minotaur.

  “No!” Kassak cried, just barely managing to keep from shouting it. Nim’s finger’s clawed deeply into his shoulder, making sure to keep the younger ranger from charging the minotaur.

  “I know kid,” Nim shook his head, his teary eyes glued to the scene. He had no illusions on the minotaur sparing Graon’s life. “There has to be another way…”

  Graon’s scream burned into his comrades as his leg was violently ripped away.

  Jezrimeli’s hand squeezed the hilt of her sword. She glared down at Lumina.

  The Paladin’s face was expressionless steel, but fear and sadness were evident in his eyes as he shook his head. “If that guard makes it into the waygate, this quest is over. Graon knew that.”

  “We should have attacked that first one immediately, like I said!” the zerivade hissed. “We tried to do this the easy way-”

  “That was my call,” Derek stalked like a caged animal, balling his fists, his mind burning with one calculation after another as he watched his comrade being tortured to death. “I’m the one who suggested we should rely on Mae, this is my fault. If anybody has some options to save him, give them to me!”

  Derek felt Mae stirring, and realized he had just slapped her in the face. More surprising, he found he felt remorseful that she might misunderstand.

  “I wasn’t blaming you,” he said inwardly. “Your magic would have worked, I’m the one who gambled that the minotaur would follow our script.”

  “It is all right, I know you do not trust me,” she replied. But that was the rub; more and more, his heart wanted to trust her and the amazing promises of her magic. His head just wouldn’t let him. “Do you want me to save him?” Mae whispered in his mind.

  “Can you do it without triggering those wards?”

  The elemental was silent for a moment. “No.”

  Jezrimeli drew her sword and flipped it in her grip, holding it so the blade rose up behind her.

  “Don’t dishonor him,” Nim said quietly, his blazing eyes locked on the monster holding his friend, swinging Graon from one side to other to goad any hidden allies into revealing themselves. “He knew what he was doing. We all knew the risks.”

  “Do we know for sure my teleporting would trigger those alarms?” Samantha asked. Both VECs were drawn and ready. “I know those mystic creatures were surprised that I could get here without their help, so my power is different from their magic-”

  “They still sensed you teleporting in,” Derek shook his head. “Even if your power is different, it radiates something that might be detected here.”

  “We just need that brute to move away from the cave,” Jezrimeli said.

  “The moment he does,” Kassak raged, “we kill those things!”

  ~

  The minotaur soon grew tired of advertising the elf; either no one was hiding nearby, or they were abandoning their friend. He held Graon limply in his left hand, reaching down to retrieve his hammer. The beast sniffed and wandered in a wide circle, searching before wandering back to camp, tossing Graon to the dirt. Then he walked over to where his partner stood near the cave.

  “The elf claims it is the lone survivor of a wyrm attack,” he said.

  “You think it was telling the truth?”

  “It had no weapons. I smell other elves on its clothes, and strange scents. The odor might belong to a wyrm, who knows?”

  “Do another search. If you can detect no others, we’ll kill it and dump it in the trash.”

  “Agreed.” With that, the minotaur walked back in the direction he’d found Graon.

  The second minotaur watched Graon in the distance struggling to crawl to safety. Blood pumped steadily from where the elf’s leg used to be. The minotaur snorted and started to walk towards him. He was curious about the unknown smell this elf was carrying.

  ~

  “Get ready,” Jezrimeli said, crouched like a panther ready to spring on her prey.

  “Taryn,” Derek said, “wait here with Mae until we can get Graon back here for treatment. Ladies, you and the rangers head straight
for the armored guard. Keep it off Graon, and from heading back toward the cave. We’ll distract the other one.” He pulled several little capsules from one of the pouches on his pants, opening his palm for Lumina and Julian to see. “I use small explosive charges to disorient enemies. Not very powerful, but they generate a bright flash and a deafening noise. I’ll try to get these up its nose and in its ears, if you’ll back me up. As soon as we can cripple it, Lumina stabilizes Graon while Julian and I help the others take down that other cow, then we can circle back and finish the first one.”

  “Try to recover the leg,” Taryn said. “I do not know if it can be saved, but I will do what I can.”

  Everyone was getting their first good look at the minotaur as it drew near. It was easily thirteen feet tall, built wide with what had to be at least two thousand pounds of fat and muscle. A pair of monstrous horns grew out each side of its head above the brow. One of its ears alone looked like it weighed more than an elf. It was a nightmarish creature.

  But fear now was far outpaced by anger. Everyone still knew how deadly this battle would likely be; they just no longer cared.

  The first minotaur was taking its time making its way to the stream, searching the grass and boulders for any evidence of more intruders. The second minotaur was now just a dozen or so steps from reaching Graon. Jezrimeli judged that to be far enough from the cave, and launched out from behind Mae’s watery concealment spell, foregoing her wings in the chance they might set off the wards. The zerivade and the rangers raced like wildcats across the open ground, easily steering clear of the stunned minotaur in their path. Just behind them was Samantha, who was almost able to keep up with their sprint.

  The minotaur managed to roar a warning, but then the humans reached it. It roared again, this time in confusion as it caught the strange scent it had smelled on the elf. The beast hefted its hammer and firmly planted its hooves, realizing it was encountering Paladins for the first time. Derek was the only one running directly at it, as the Paladins spread out to either side, their swords brilliantly reflecting sunlight at its eyes. The minotaur squinted, but the shape and movement of Derek was still clear in its vision. Squeezing the large handle, it swung at its enemy.

  The Hood leapt forward with his legs tucked under him and his left arm stretched out to his side, catching the hammer head as it swung into him. The Hood flipped sideways over the hammer, landing in the grass with two bounding steps before leaping up to grab hold of the minotaur’s enormous arm. The beast was still recovering its swing, and Lumina attacked the minotaur’s ankle, barely scratching the hide but managing to carve a tiny piece of its hoof right off. On the other side, Julian swung his blade into the minotaur’s knee, which was jointed in the manner of bulls in the human world. The blade barely pierced its hide, but the minotaur’s howl indicated it had at least been heavily bruised.

  Derek was fighting to scramble up onto the monster’s shoulder as it tried to shake and swipe him off. He lost his grip and fell backwards onto the ground, immediately rolling to get back on his feet and try again.

  ~

  Jezrimeli did not waste time or breath on a war cry. Such outbursts were for inexperienced soldiers needing emotional boosts in battle. Instead she leapt high in the air as the minotaur drew its cleaver. As she fell towards the beast, she feinted a movement aimed at its face, and it raised its enormous blade to block her. Curling her arms and wrists, she carved into the minotaur’s left horn at a precise angle, managing to cut almost halfway into the horn before the blade lodged into place. Releasing the hilt, the zerivade gymnastically flipped over the minotaur to land on her feet, immediately spinning into a crouch to jam her heel into her opponent’s hoof, momentarily unbalancing the beast. The elves followed up on Jezrimeli’s attack, racing up onto the minotaur’s limbs and body, dragging their trinigar blades in long lines across its armor and exposed face, seeking any weakpoints.

  The minotaur stumbled sideways, screaming unintelligible curses at its attackers. Jezrimeli’s sword was still lodged tightly in its horn as it swung its head to keep track of the enemies surrounding it. Samantha stood by just out of reach, taking a moment to catch her breath and study the monster, looking for openings in its armor. According to the faeries, its skull was not the best of targets. Worse, it was wearing some crazy, thick armor everywhere else, even over its hooves. As the elves and sprye continued their flurry of attacks, Samantha noticed several metal plates that occasionally flipped away to reveal leathery straps and buckles. She began maneuvering to get a shot at a few of those near the monster’s shoulders and neck. “His armor is fastened under those little plates!” she shouted at her teammates.

  Jezrimeli had already noticed, having encountered such armor in past battles. Kassak sheathed his trinigar sword and pulled the hyru off his back. Unlocking its swinging blades, he leapt and focused on one of the plates at the minotaur’s right shoulder, time and again aiming to slide one of the blades under the plate while Nim continued attacking. He succeeded several times but failed to lift the plate open. Some kind of latch held it in place, though similar latches were occasionally sliding enough to allow other plates to flop freely with the minotaur’s movements. Jezrimeli slithered under the minotaur and grabbed at the latch locking a plate near its hoof. The plate slid free, and the zerivade rolled away just in time to avoid being stomped. Kassak rolled in right behind her and slashed at the strap she’d exposed, causing the armor over the front half of its hoof to fall away.

  The minotaur, meanwhile, was swinging its cleaver in measured attacks. It knew that actually striking anyone was a longshot, but it also carved at the ground, tossing grassy dirt and rocks into the air around itself and creating ever more rough terrain for its nimble enemies to contend with. Despite their best efforts, the monster was also slowly forcing the battle closer to the cave entrance, and the waygate within. The beast tracked the elves and Jezrimeli, but paid special attention to Samantha. The jimani had not attacked yet, which told the minotaur that she was likely one of the more dangerous of their party.

  Jezrimeli sidestepped a punch, feeling the breeze from an armored fist that weighed more than she did. Her trained eyes studied every groove in the armor, but even its joints were well protected. Twisting with remarkable speed, she kicked at its elbow before it could pull back. The minotaur barely noticed the attack, but she followed up with a roll that brought her next to its exposed hoof. There was enough flesh exposed that she aimed for its ankle, focusing her strength into her fingertips in a difficult technique that would take lesser warriors much more time to prepare. Her arm struck like a viper at the joint above the hoof, all of her considerable force making contact using just three fingertips. As before, the minotaur tried to step on her, but she leapt back several steps.

  The monster crushed its bare hoof into the ground, then raised its sword to attack. But then it felt the effect of her strike, and its ankle grew numb for just a few moments. The beast limped backward in frustration, quickly recovering.

  Nim was trying to keep in the minotaur’s blind spot; poor though its eyesight was, it could still make out shapes and colors. Unfortunately, the minotaur’s sensitive hearing told it roughly where Nim was shuffling behind it, and at an inopportune moment it slammed its hoof down yet again, deforming the weakened ground with a tremor that knocked the elf from his feet. The minotaur’s cleaver was already in motion before Nim fell, but Jezrimeli saw it and leapt up to grab the hilt of her sword, still planted firmly in its horn. Using it to leverage herself onto the minotaur’s shoulder, she pulled with all her might. The minotaur’s neck yielded, followed by its upper body, and the cleaver narrowly missed Nim’s head.

  As it twisted around, the minotaur reached up and backhanded Jezrimeli in the chest with the force of a boulder. She flew off of the minotaur, rolling violently on the ground. She pulled herself up while violently coughing, having had the wind knocked out of her.

  The minotaur stumbled sideways, realizing that something truly damaging had be
en done to its foot. It regained its balance, but its attention was drawn to a loud BANG! followed by a cry of pain from the other minotaur. Kassak took advantage of the opening and attacked again, this time wedging his hyru’s upper blade deep inside the plate. He locked the blade into place and twisted the hyru, where it caught and held tight, the plate refusing to lift any wider. Kassak managed climb fully onto the minotaur’s shoulder, kicking the latch with his heel. It was meant to be held in place by a groove in the plate, and this one was holding firm. Kassak kicked once more and pulled against the hyru with all his might. The latch finally slid free, and the plate flipped open to expose the armor’s shoulder strap. Kassak fell backward off of the minotaur, his hyru no longer having purchase on the armor.

  A series of loud, rapid CRACKS! echoed across the clearing as Flashback fired a burst of eight shots into the strap, shredding it to ribbons and turning the muscle beneath the minotaur’s hide into jelly. Only two of the rounds hit armor, being harmlessly deflected out toward the forest. The front of the minotaur’s armor fell open to expose just a fraction of its upper body, and the monster fell back several steps, grabbing its shoulder in pain. Its bloodshot eyes stared at Samantha, then it dropped forward onto its hands, aiming its horns at her as it scratched once at the dirt, ready to charge.

  “Oh, bloody hell,” Samantha groaned. The opening in its armor was more pronounced now that it was leaning forward, and she squeezed the trigger again as the monster began its charge. The minotaur bellowed in pain and stumbled, but did not fall.

  “Sagoler bachcha!” Samantha screamed in frustration as the raging bull powered through her gunfire. Normally she would simply teleport out of the way, but those wards absolutely could not be allowed to trigger. She had strength and agility surpassing any normal human, but she was also strapped into a bulky chiller uniform with an unwieldy weapon system clamped to her back. She had no other real choice, and tried to leap up and over the charging minotaur.