by W.O. Cassity
Chapter Six: Soaring Ambition
Adam turned and froze in place as cold steel fell to rest against his exposed neck. His eyes followed the glinting blade to the slender hand holding it by its hilt. Fiery-green eyes pierced right through him as he recognized the girl, Talia from his village. He knew of her father, Gregethor, the old knight of the Order who did business with Othelk.
“If I were your enemy, you would be dead now,” Talia said with a stern look on her face. “What are you doing here?”
Adam swallowed hard as Talia’s eyes studied his face. Her look of bewilderment and perplexity initiated a low grumble of laughter from his belly he quickly suppressed. Suddenly, it dawned on him he was an exposed idiot who had nearly stumbled right into Death’s hands. He knew he had no business being here, since he was no hero. Talia, who he had seen sparring with her father near the river on many occasions, would have to save him from this predicament as well.
“Please help me,” escaped Adam’s lips with a subtle shudder. “Someone is in danger. I heard a scream so I came to help.”
“Who else is with you,” Talia inquired.
“I-I’m here alone. I heard a scream and came to help,” Adam replied. “There are a lot of them, and I don’t know who they have, but it is someone from the village. There may be more of us down there, and I couldn’t just leave them there.”
“Yes, you already said you heard the scream,” Talia sighed. “What were you planning to do, charge in all by yourself?”
“I was trying to sneak around to see if there was a way I could get to them,” Adam said with embarrassment. He was still reeling from shock at how Talia had slipped up on him so quietly. Adam saw in her eyes she thought he was daft.
“You are lucky I recognized you and pulled back my strike,” Talia said matter of factly as she lowered her sword. “I’m grateful to see a familiar face.”
“I’m glad you pulled back,” Adam quickly said. Not to blindly wander into unknown territory alone was a lesson he wouldn’t soon forget. “There’s a lot of goblins running around here.”
“By my count, there could be up to thirty goblins in or around this camp. Luckily for us, we are only facing goblins. There are no other Goblinkin about. They have a fire and spit in the center of their camp, and I only saw one hostage, the baker’s son, Donadeir, being held captive on the northern end.” Talia continued, “There are too many for us to fight our way through if we want to help. We need to find a way to sneak in if we are to do anything.”
That name was not one Adam was fond of hearing. On more than one occasion, Donadeir had gone out of his way to embarrass him in front of others, especially in front of any ladies or young women who had simply stopped to eat and rest. The way the rich baker’s son mocked him as he sneered and called him “River Rat” grated on his nerves. Yet still, as much as he resented Donadeir, he couldn’t sit by and watch him perish.
“I don’t know what I can do,” Adam stated flatly, “but if you have a plan, I want to help.”
“The problem is getting to Dona. My guess is they intend to feast when the moon rises. I’ve heard my father talk about the goblins and how they are mostly active at night because they have infravision allowing them to see in the dark.”
“So that means, we need to do something soon,” Adam deduced. He had no idea what infravision even meant.
“If he is still alive, that is. When I spotted him, they had him tied to post near a large tent. He wasn’t moving, and I couldn’t tell if he was breathing. They still had him bound, so they must have been worried he could get away.”
“We can try to sneak through the camp, “ Adam suggested. “If we did somehow manage to get to him, how could we get him out without being noticed? He’s much bigger than the both of us, and I doubt he could get around very quietly even if he really wanted to.”
“I’ve been assessing the situation to figure out a way around that problem,” Talia said. “I looked for a path I could use to force any pursuers into a funnel point, but the layout below was very wide and spacious. When I found him, I wasn’t able to scale down the face of the cliff to free him, and if I managed to, there was no way Donadeir could scale it back up even if I did set him free.”
“You seem like you know what you are doing, Talia. Do you think we can do it together?”
“First thing’s first,” Talia responded. “Let me show you where he is, and maybe we can come up with something together. At the very least, we need to be sure Dona doesn’t suffer at the hands of these disgusting creatures.”
Adam flinched at the thought. So many people from the village had died two nights ago, he wasn’t sure he could bear to watch someone he knew be brutalized; no matter how much Donadeir annoyed him.
“You’re right. Show me where Donadeir is, so I can get a better idea of what’s going on.” Adam said.
The valley floor stopped at the edge of a cliff face which loomed roughly forty feet above it. Adam followed Talia over to the edge so he could peer down at the valley below. The canopy of the larger trees above the ridgeline shaded the area, and there were many small campfires as well a much larger one in the center of the goblin camp. He felt his legs get weak as he looked down and saw so many goblins running around, fighting with one another, and singing loudly. The Goblinkin lifestyle was very chaotic and complicated. He was certain if there were one thing they could all agree on; it would have to be how much they enjoyed their feast. From what Talia had told him thus far, he had no doubt if they left Donadeir behind, these beasts would do horrible things to him.
“If we had some rope to get down there,” Talia explained to Adam, “I could scale down the cliff face and cut him free, but even then, Donadeir wouldn’t be able to get back up with me. We would have to find another way to escape the camp unnoticed.”
“The way they are all running about,” Adam observed, “There would be no way to know which way to go. The goblins are roaming about everywhere, and I don’t see a safe place to run to.”
“I thought the same thing,” Talia sighed and lowered her head.
“I think I can make it down without a rope,” Adam stated.
“How?” Talia looked up at him with a hint of confusion.
“Oh, that’s easy. Since I’ve been working the docks, I had to learn to keep my balance in any weather, good or bad, or risk falling into the river,” Adam explained with confidence. He did omit the fact he had fallen into the river more than once because he lost his balance. “And I’m strong enough in my hands to hold onto the thin rock edges. I can make it down, I think.”
Talia looked down once again to where the goblins held Dona hostage. “Yes, but getting to Donadeir is the easy part. If you could get to Dona, then you could at least cut him free, and if he was still alive, you can try to wake him up. You think you can, dock boy?” Talia asked.
“The name’s Adam. And yes, I can get to Donadeir.”
“I’m sorry, Adam. I never knew your real name,” Talia conceded with embarrassment. “I know Donadeir will be grateful for your assistance. You are very brave.”
“Honestly, I don’t like him too much,” Adam answered. “But I can’t sit back and watch him die.”
“Dona is very misunderstood,” Talia explained. “Yes, he can grate on your nerves, but he does it because he thinks if he bullies you, then you won’t have a chance to bully him. His father rarely spent any time with him, so he thinks he has something to prove—not only to himself, but to his father and everyone else as well. Even now, he’s trying to be a better person. The attack on Riverside seems to have given him a new perspective.”
“I didn’t know that about him,” Adam said. He felt bad for the way he felt about Donadeir. Adam had assumed he was a bully because he enjoyed it. “Do you have any ideas on what I should do once I get down there and wake him up?”
“I wonder if there’s enough rope tied around Donadeir you could throw up to me so I can get down to help you. We could work together to sneak Dona
out safely.” Talia pondered aloud. “He won’t be able to get back up the cliff, but if we can get Donadeir on his feet, I have two spears we can use along with my sword if we have to fight. But if we are discovered, the chance of us being able to fight our way out is slim. Of course those odds are much better than what Donadeir faces if we chose to just do nothing at all.”
Adam peered back over to look at Donadeir. It looked like the goblins used two lengths of vine rope and danced opposite circles around him to fasten him securely to the pole. He remembered Othelk had scolded him on several occasions for losing and misplacing several spools of the very same rope. He was certain he properly secured the missing spools, but Othelk was convinced either the winds drove them into the river or late night travelers had stolen them. Adam scanned the area below and was not overly surprised to see four of the stolen spools lying near the larger tent. How proud would Othelk be to know the mystery had been solved?
“I have a plan,” Adam said with a smile on his face.
