What Once Was One (Book 2)

by Marc Johnson

  The ogres stomped across the ground. They were so many and so heavy that the vibration of their footsteps traveled up my arm. If only I could have accessed more of the land’s magic, then I could have done a devastating spell. As it was, I had to work with my best magic—fire.

  Dozens of creatures ran through the wide circle I had laced with my magic. There seemed to be an endless number of them. Before they reached the border of my giant circle, I ignited my spell.

  A wall of fire erupted from the circle, halting the ogres and entrapping them. The circle of fire bloomed, lighting the night sky until it could be seen for miles around.

  I brought the fire crashing down into the ogres. The fire consumed them, burning away their flesh. They shrieked a chorus of agony as I broiled them. I had killed the ogres before, but never this many at once. I held the fire for as long as could before I let it go, exhaustion almost overwhelming me.

  I opened my eyes and glanced up at Prastian and Demay. Their green eyes were mesmerized, tiny flames dancing inside of them. I stared in horror at the carnage I had caused. The landscape was now illuminated by my dying fire. Small fires fed on the ogres’ dead bodies, some of them twitching involuntarily. Three ogres, their backs on fire, tried to get away, but they collapsed and smashed into the ground.

  My chest heaved and sweat drenched my clothes. I needed to rest, to gather in more magic for the upcoming goblins.

  “It’s over,” Demay said, helping me up. “Let’s go before the goblins arrive. Maybe the fire and the ogres’ corpses will buy us some time. If we’re lucky, they might feast on them.”

  “No,” Jastillian said, peering to the dying fires. “It’s not over yet.”

  We stared into the distance. Looming shapes burst through the ring of fires. I tapped into the earth mana. More ogres were coming.

  “By the gods,” I said. “How many are there?”

  “Positions!” Jastillian said just as the first wave of ogres approached.

  Prastian and Demay loosed their bows as soon as the ogres were a hundred yards away. Because there were so many, their arrows always struck true. Ogres stumbled to the ground. As many ogres as were killed, more took their places.

  As tired as I was, I summoned my inner fire and clapped my hands together. A huge fireball burst from my hands, colliding with a group of ogres. I did it again and three caught on fire and veered away, screaming. Others leapt over fallen bodies. The corpses piled up, but the ogres kept coming. We needed to slow them down.

  My mind strained to conjure all the earth mana in the area. The broken mana was reluctant to heed my call, but I risked permanently damaging the area. When the ogres were fifty yards away from our trenches, I emitted shockwaves through the area. A dozen ogres tripped and fell. Broken rocks flew into the air, one ripping through the mouth of an ogre before landing in another’s eye.

  As the ogres struggled to climb the trenches, Jastillian and Behast struck the ogres down. They moved down the line, guarding each other’s backs as they cut and sliced the monsters.

  The ogres breached the trenches and Jastillian and Behast fell back. The ogres roared when they saw me and sprinted my way. Prastian and Behast continued to shoot their arrows, but their quivers were dangerously low.

  “Kill the wizard!” an ogre shouted.

  A dozen veered away from Jastillian and Behast and stomped towards me. The warriors slashed at them, but they pushed the pain aside. Behast clipped one in the knee. The ogre glared at the elf, but his hatred deepened when he met my eye. He clawed his way toward me before Behast finished him off. Whatever else Premier had taught them, he taught them one important thing—kill the wizard first.

  The ogres were twenty feet away, but my minor spells weren’t slowing them down. I used the air to slice and rip into their heavy flesh. Their dark gray skin peeled away until black blood oozed out. I scrambled backwards, needing time to gather in more mana. I thought I could get some distance from them, but then an ogre leapt out from behind a dead companion, almost on top of me.

  The ogre raised his rusted sword to strike me before I could conjure enough magic for a defense. His dark eyes shone with triumph, knowing that he would be the first of his kind to kill a wizard in a thousand years. Death replaced that look when Jastillian’s axe cleaved through the monster’s chest from behind.

  Soon, the ogres had surrounded us. We five were pressed against each other, fighting back to back in a small circle. Prastian and Demay had long run out of arrows and now wielded their short swords. Together, the brothers struck down an ogre three times their size. All my current spells were weak and easy. The earlier spells had taken their toll on me and I needed more time to gather in energy. Time I wouldn’t have.

  No matter how many died, the ogres kept coming. I flung smaller spells to give us some breathing room, but it wasn’t enough. None of it was enough. I felt that black fire boiling up inside, aching to be released. I knew if I let it take over, the ogres would die, but my friends might as well. I didn’t know if I could control it, as exhausted as I was. And the goblins were still on their way.

  I stood in the middle of a protective circle. The noose around our necks tightened as my friends were pushed back into an ever-smaller circle. I could barely move to change the direction of my spells. I needed more power, more time, more space—anything!

  Jastillian had taken a slash to his right side, and was trying to fight a huge ogre with a club while protecting the wound. Prastian’s left arm bled yet he still tried to take down his ogre with one useless arm. Neither of them could last much longer, and I had nothing more to give. My vision was already blurring—another couple of spells and I would black out.

  High screeches pierced the night air, and the sounds of death surrounded me. The goblins had come. There would be no escape now. The goblins worked their way into a frenzy and rushed into the surrounding melee.

  I had no choice. It was time to unleash that dark and uncontrollable magic.

  I waited until they were in range, until I could see the dark mass of them running at us. Jastillian was on his knees, and Prastian could barely lift his sword arm. But I had to make sure I could hit as many goblins as possible. The front of the horde was almost upon us, backing up the ogres. I readied myself, feeling the black fire build. The goblins shrieked their battle cries...

  And fell upon the ogres.

  The lead goblin leapt unto an ogre’s back, driving his sword into the beast’s neck. The ogre toppled over. The goblin jumped from that ogre and slashed one to his left, distracting him as another goblin ran him through.

  Everywhere I looked, bands of goblins brought down ogres. Those without weapons fought with their sharp teeth and nails, mobbing the ogres and rending them apart.

  The ogres turned from us to fight the goblins. Jastillian leaned against me while Behast held Prastian up. Demay took point, dodging and shoving through the melee, leading us to the rocks, where there was some cover. I leaned against a boulder, fighting the black power that still roared for release. Demay and Behast were busy with field dressings, patching up Prastian and Jastillian, while their own blood ran down from smaller wounds.

  It was all over in a few minutes. When the last ogre fell, one of the goblins raised his sword and snarled in victory, the other goblins echoing his roar. He turned to face us.

  It was Kemek.

  Drenched in black blood, he walked toward us, along with a dozen of his kind. Behast stood at my side while Demay guarded the others. I was wary of what the goblins wanted, even though most of them were finishing off the wounded ogres. They may have killed the ogres, and I may have understood the goblins better because of my earlier disguise, but they were still Wasteland creatures. What did they want and why were they here? Did Kemek and his band want the glory of killing a wizard?

  Kemek’s head came to my chin. He pushed his helm up and stared at me with defiant eyes. I waited for him to make his move while I summoned what little magic I could. However, he bowed, and all the go
blins in the area did the same.

  “Great One,” Kemek said. “We came to warn you of stupid ogres, but we too late.”

  “I see,” I said. “Why did they attack us?”

  “They stupid!” Kemek threw up his hands. “Trolls stupid too, but not attack. Ogres mad they no longer favorites.” He puffed his chest out and said, “We goblins are!” The goblins around him roared in joy.

  I gave a little nod to Kemek and the others around him and said, “Thank you.”

  The goblins stood a little taller and grinned so wide, I saw their rows of pointy teeth.

  “I have a favor to ask you, Kemek,” I said. “I need you and your people to escort us to Alexandria. You must make sure there will be no more attacks from the stupid ogres or trolls.”

  I stared at him as he scrunched up his face in thought. He wiped blood from his face and licked it. “Hmmm...we go, if that what Great One want. But smelly humans may attack us. We want no more goblins to die. Lost many to get here.”

  “They won’t attack you. You have my word.”

  Kemek nodded. “Me believe you.” He lowered his voice and said, “Since you know about secret city.”

  I went back to the others and told them what had transpired. They agreed on traveling with the goblins back to Alexandria.

  ----

  For the next week, we journeyed with the goblins. We still rotated watch throughout the nights in case the goblins tried something.

  As we sat at a campfire one evening, one goblin eyed the elves and asked, “Why you no eat meat? Me not seen you eat meat entire time even when we offer you ogre meat over fire.” The goblin took a bite of leftover raw ogre meat. “You strange.”

  “Boghak!” Kemek said.

  “It’s all right,” Prastian said, putting a hand up. “Not everything in the land eats as you goblins do.”

  “We know,” Boghak said. “Smelly humans and dwarves,” he said, motioning to Jastillian with his head, “like to burn meat before eating. But no eat meat at all? Me no understand that!”

  The goblins around the campfire nodded in agreement.

  “Hellsfire doesn’t eat meat,” Prastian said.

  “But he Great One. He better than us. You elf. You no better than us. Why you not eat meat?”

  “It’s just the way the gods created us.”

  “Me not trust those that don’t eat meat.” Boghak scowled at the elves.

  “Me don’t trust those that don’t cook their meat,” Demay said.

  Boghak snarled and so did the other goblins.

  “Enough!” I said.

  The goblins sat back down and bowed their heads.

  “We are how the gods made us,” I said. “We may have our differences, but we have to learn how to live with each other. If we don’t, many will die.”

  “The Great One is wise,” Kemek said.

  “I wish you’d all stop calling me that. It makes me uncomfortable.” I sighed and rubbed my hands through my dirty hair. “I am just a man, Kemek.”

  Kemek shook his head. “No. You more than that. You magic-man!” The goblin looked sad as he said, “First magic-man in long time to be good to goblins.”

  “I could still be good to you. We could be good to each other.”

  “What you mean?”

  I tapped his dented armor. “What if I could get you and your goblins better weapons and armor? Ones that were in better condition and fit?”

  “You’d do that?”

  I nodded.

  Kemek lifted his helm up. It had slipped again. “Me would love to have better sword to cut down ugly ogres and trolls with.” His beady eyes stared intently at me. “What would me have to do?”

  “As I said before, I don’t want any creatures to go past the mountains, but I want you to give Alexandria information on what is happening in the Wastelands. Show them safe places to travel, where food and water is, be their guide, things like that. It would be an alliance between our two peoples. We both do things for each other.”

  “Me no know about all-i-ance. Me hate smelly humans. Me not trust them.” Kemek sucked the marrow off a bone, then his tongue swirled around his mouth. His eyes wandered to the other goblins, examining their weapons and armor. “If you there, me could do what you want.”

  I nodded. “All right.”

  “Me can’t get all the goblins to agree. Too many tribes. Too many that not as smart as we.” Kemek and the other goblins chuckled.

  “I understand.”

  Later on that night, before I went to sleep, Prastian came over to me. In a hushed tone he asked, “Are you sure what you did was wise, Hellsfire?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You committed resources of a land where you have no say.”

  “But now Alexandria won’t have to worry about things as much, at least when it comes to the goblins.”

  “But what if the princess and her father object to it? If they would prefer to do what they trained a thousand years for and kill them?”

  I opened my mouth, then stopped. Prastian had a point. Both those in Alexandria and the goblins had it ingrained in them to slaughter each other the way they always had. “I thought of an opportunity and seized it,” I said. “I think it would be a waste if they decide not to work with the goblins.”

  “I agree,” Prastian said. “The information Kemek and the others can obtain here will be invaluable, but it will be difficult to convince King Furlong. He won’t want to arm potential enemies. I wouldn’t want to either.”

  “I can at least try. I believe working together will curb the hostilities more than each staying to their own land.”

  “You may be right, Hellsfire. Good night.”

  “Good night.”

  ----

  By midday, we heard the noise of thunderous hooves. Prastian and I ran to meet Alexandria’s patrol before they attacked the goblins.

  “It’s good to see you both again,” Captain Rebekah said, halting her horse. She and her men eyed the horde behind us, and her hands tightened on her reins. “Sorry to see that the others didn’t make it. Stay back and we’ll fight the creatures.” She turned to two of her men. “You two escort them back to Alexandria.”

  “No!” I said. “Leave the goblins alone. They helped us return. All of us. They’re our...allies.”

  “How can you ally yourself with the Wasteland creatures?” one woman said.

  “You’re no better than Premier,” another rider added.

  “Quiet!” Rebekah said. “King Furlong’s not going to like this. I don’t like this.”

  “Please,” I said. “You must not attack them.”

  Rebekah glared at the goblins. She paused, but then eventually nodded. “All right. As long as they stay there.”

  “But Captain, that’s a huge force threatening Alexandria. We should send for more reinforcements and crush these creatures.”

  “No,” she said. “If what Hellsfire says is true, we’ll let them live for now.”

  “But—”

  “I said no! You, go back and send word that they’ve returned. Hellsfire, I suggest you hurry and get the others, and tell the creatures not to make any sudden movements and to be gone as soon as possible.”

  “I’ll stay here and talk to the good captain,” Prastian said.

  I ran back to the others. Now that it was daylight and I was running towards them, I saw what Rebekah’s people saw. A large dark force of armed goblins looked intimidating to a weakened city and smaller force. It could just be the beginning of another attack.

  “We’ll go back to the city on our own,” I said to Kemek as soon as I arrived. “Thanks again. Thanks to you all.”

  All the goblins bowed to me.

  “Give me one of your rocks to your secret city.”

  Kemek gasped. “You know about rock too?”

  One of the goblins hesitated. She only handed me a rock after looking to Kemek. I closed my hands around it and chanted, imbuing it with power. I cast a one-time notifica
tion spell on it. The smudge-colored rock glowed briefly when I handed it back to Kemek.

  “Don’t lose this,” I said. “When you come back here, I want you to slam this rock down on the ground. It’ll notify me of your location. Don’t come too close to the city.” I remembered both Prastian’s words and Rebekah’s reactions. “And give it some time before you return.”

  “Me will. Bye Great One.” Kemek bowed then barked orders to the goblins.

  I waited, watching the goblins jog back into the Wastelands until they disappeared over the horizon.

  Jastillian clapped me on the back as we walked back to Rebekah and her men. “That was a fine adventure, lad. I expect many songs to be sung about us. When I get back to Erlam, I’ll have plenty of things to write down. I’ll keep the scribes busy for ages.” His brown eyes shone. “But first there’s Southern Shala!”

  I wanted to tell him that we should wait and rest, but he was right. Southern Shala had to be told about Premier, and warned of Renak’s words.

  “We have to tend to our wounds,” Demay said, “And we all need baths. We stink.”

  We all chuckled at that response, glad to finally be out of the Wastelands.

  When we reached the others, we doubled up on horses. I sat behind Rebekah.

  “Prastian told me what you did with the goblins,” Rebekah said. “The king’s not going to like it. The princess might not either.”

  “Did he also tell you that attacks may lessen because of it?” I asked. “Despite what you may think, the creatures in the Wastelands aren’t just monsters. They have their own culture and rules of society.”

  Rebekah snorted.

  “And they also have their faults just like any of us. Sure, they’re more savage than most, but Premier was controlling them.”

  “So you say,” she said. “But you haven’t seen the things we have. In either case, it’s not me who you’re going to have to convince.” Rebekah spurred her horse into trotting faster.