by Ben Walsh
Chapter Eighteen
It had been a long, cold night, but the first rays of sunlight were finally breaking through. Stan and Ponch descended quickly, watching their step carefully in order to avoid any unsteady rocks. They reached the correct height and broke off of the track, skirting around several large trees. While Ponch marked the tree, Stan wondered over to the edge of the cliff and gazed down at the hordes of goblins, metres below them.
They had slightly overestimated just how many goblins there were on the cliff, but that didn’t matter; in fact it was a pleasant surprise. A pleasant surprise to what should hopefully be the day that finally ended it all. He thought back briefly to last night. At first, they had panicked, when Worgan and Loose came sprinting towards them with the news they had dreaded. Once they had calmed down, they realised that in fact they had time, as goblins were not fast climbers. They hatched a plan and set to it. When eventually they had settled down to try and get some sleep, Stan had found it impossible, and ended up sharing the watch with Worgan. They had spent the night watching the goblins gradually edge closer, until they were close enough, at which point they awoke the group and set about the final preparations.
It looked like it was going to be a glorious day. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and while it was still dark, visibility was already good. Stan felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, and turned to see that Ponch had finished his work. The two nodded at each other, and back tracked their steps to the rocky path, where they continued their descent.
Meanwhile, some hundred metres above, Roxie too was readying herself. She was sat waiting for the cue, sharpening her arrows as she did so. By her side were Worgan and Loose, who were cracking bad jokes in an attempt to lighten the mood. It didn’t work; the atmosphere was tense and the mood was nervy.
“It’s shaping up to be a glorious day!” Ponch exclaimed, much more loudly than was necessary.
“You’re right, it is!” Stan replied, almost as loudly.
Stan hoped it didn’t take too long. He had been up close with a goblin before and it hadn’t been pleasant. Sure enough though, as they got closer to the packs of goblins, they became noticed. Ears began to stand up on end, and Stan could just about make out teeth being gnawed.
“I reckon this is it mate, this is the day we’re going to find that emerald!” Ponch continued, shouting now, “I mean, we know it’s in the hut, the question is where is the hut, and how do we find it? We’ve been looking up that path for so long, I’m starting to think we’ll never find the hut that way, we should try going through Gordon’s lair!”
“Yeah I think you’re right, if you think about it, the hut wouldn’t be in plain sight, but Maximus is convinced the best way is down the path!”
“True, although the lair is definitely another way to it, he said he was certain of it – we’re wasting our time like this!”
The two slowed, and paused as if they were gazing into the distance.
“Do you think they’ve bought it?” Ponch whispered, facing away from the goblins.
“They’re certainly interested, I think someone’ll be up after us soon,” Stan replied.
They waited a while longer, not daring to get any closer, as the goblins below argued and pointed fingers, unsure as to what to do.
“Gustavo definitely isn’t there, there’s no leadership, they aren’t sure,” Stan commented, watching out the corner of his eye.
Eventually, a pack of approximately fifteen goblins was sent up, armed with axes, hammers and a variety of other weaponry. They scurried, scrambling up as fast as they could. Stan turned to run, but Ponch grabbed his arm and held him back. Stan looked at him in bewilderment, but Ponch shrugged and said, “If we go too early they won’t keep up.”
Seconds later Ponch suddenly burst away, and Stan cursed his naivety. Ponch was teasing him, and now he was playing catch up. He chased after Ponch, but he was chasing shadows, unable to get close to the thief. He tracked back up the path, glancing over his shoulder every so often to check the goblins had stayed with him.
Stan focussed on not tripping, making sure he placed his feet exactly where he had done on the descent earlier. He was way out in front of the goblins, but he didn’t even dare to think about what would happen to him if he was caught. He recognised each step, placing his foot exactly where he had done on his four practise runs that evening. He glanced up, and realised he could no longer see Ponch. Stan tutted and picked up the pace, determined not to show himself up in front of the impressive athlete.
So much so, that he stopped concentrating on his steps, and before he knew it he had ascended beyond the height at which he needed to leave the path at. Panicking, Stan turned and saw the goblins, still some way behind him, but gaining with every second. He quickly calculated the odds, and decided that he should be able to reach the path before the goblins beat him to it. But it’d be close. Stan turned and sprinted without a moment’s hesitation, fully aware of how idiotic his decision looked from the outside. He knew the importance of reaching the path before the goblins though, for his own sake and that of the quest.
He thought of nothing but putting one foot in front of the other. Then the next, and the next. He paid no attention to where they landed, and stumbled on several occasions. The path was getting closer and closer, but then so were the pack of goblins. They were so close that Stan could make out the saliva flying from their mouths as they lurched towards him. Stan was mere inches from the path, and they were as close on the other side. Stan had the advantage, however, of knowing what he was going to do next. The goblins were braced for an attack, and were slowing to draw weapons. At the last possible second, Stan flung his body to the left, and rolled and rolled as far from the rocky path as he could. Every inch of his body was scratched and bruised by the impact, but it didn’t matter, all that did was that he wasn’t on the path.
For moments later, an enormous BOOOOOOOM burst through the air. Huge flames erupted from the path, and soil and rocks were flung hundreds of yards high from the explosion. The goblins on the path were blown to smithereens instantly, and hadn’t even the time to scream in pain. Stan stopped rolling, and pulled himself to his feet, allowing himself a wry smile. Far below them, he saw the rest of the goblins panicking and grabbing their weapons, readying to attack but unsure as to how to best go about it.
As he watched the chaos unfold beneath him, Ponch meandered over, whistling a cheery tune.
“You’re lucky,” he stated, “another second up the wrong way and I’d have had to have blown you up too,” he said with a playful voice, although Stan knew his word’s to be true.
“I’m an idiot!” He replied, trying to hide his embarrassment.
Ponch laughed, and put his arm around Stan’s shoulder. “It doesn’t matter, the plan still worked. That path will not be usable for years.”
Stan smiled in reply, but inside he felt humiliated. He knew that everyone would have been watching, and he had nearly blown the entire plan. There was no time to waste dwelling on it though, as the goblin army below were finally ready, and restarted their ascent up the mountain.
Stan and Ponch scrambled up a steep, barren hill and within minutes were alongside Roxie, Worgan and Loose. Roxie was biting her hair, trying not to laugh. Stan glared at her, while he begrudgingly accepted the comments of the brothers that he had been unlucky.
“Is everything ready?” He asked.
“Yes, we finished moving the rest of the dynamite from under the hut while you climbed down; there was even more of it than we thought! We were so lucky no one stood on that floorboard, else we’d have all been goners!” Roxie replied, giggling merrily.
“Well then now we wait,” Stan added authoritatively.
“We do, let’s hope the goblins don’t miss the turning!” Roxie retorted, with a smirk and mischievous wink.
The five withdrew from the small opening which allowed passage for anyone small enough to the lair of Gordon the Gruesome. It was a less dangerous route tha
n that which Stan, Marvin and Edgar had tried, but even Stan couldn’t fit through it. They covered their faces in mud and hid in the undergrowth, not daring to move, unable to do anything but pray that the goblins had understood Stan and Ponch’s conversation.
An hour passed, and by the time the first goblin finally crawled over the ridge and onto the platform outside the entrance, the sun was fully up. One at a time, the goblins slowly began to file into position, until there were more goblins occupying the space than there was space. They were pushed right up against the treeline, within touching distance of the humans they so badly wanted to hunt down. They were reluctant to enter the lair, but eventually had no choice but to. Evidently, Stan pondered, goblins feared Gordon the Gruesome as much as he himself. They slowly began to work their way inside, and Stan allowed himself a quick smile to Roxie. It was working.
The lair was huge, and while they assumed Gordon was in there, Stan was confident that the goblins would be able to reach the exit close to the hut before they disturbed him. After nearly an hour, all of the goblins were inside. Stan glanced over to Ponch, but he held his hand out, urging him to wait. This proved to be a wise decision, as just moments later a small group of goblins, all heavily armed, scrambled up the final hill and into the cave. This time Stan knew to wait, but after several minutes, nothing else had clambered up the entrance. Ponch gave an affirmative nod, and the five quietly, but with haste, set about their work, crouching low to the ground as they scurried onto the path, wary of more stragglers.
The four males rushed over to the entrance, and pulled on two ropes, two a side, which were hidden within a bush just outside the entrance. Stan braced himself for the deafening crash that was to come, and prayed the goblins were some way inside the cave. The four men heaved and heaved on the ropes, until eventually an enormous boulder began to give way from just above on the mountain. It came slowly at first, gradually picking up speed, until it began to roll down the hill, bouncing wickedly. The rock was hurtling towards them, but Stan tried to remain calm; they were in no danger, and he had made himself look enough of a fool already that day. The boulder continued to hurtle down the mountain, and it wasn’t until the last moment, when it seemed as though it was upon them, that it suddenly jolted to a stop, caught in a giant net that was discretely hidden above the cave.
Worgan and Loose clambered up the outer wall and started to pull at the net, lowering it towards the ground. The net was bulging under the enormous weight of the boulder, and it dipped even further when the brothers climbed on top. Stan and Ponch gradually increased the laxity of the ropes holding the net up, lowering it further towards the ground.
“Easyyy, that net doesn’t look like it’s going to hold you,” Ponch hissed, as loudly as he dared.
Worgan and Loose nodded and continued at their work, quickly and even more carefully. The netting continued to bulge and Stan noticed that it had begun to fray. He watched nervously as it lowered closer to the ground, finally allowing himself to relax when it was mere metres away from the floor. It was at this point, though, that the netting split, and the boulder fell to the ground with an enormous crashing noise. Stan and Ponch rushed to the boulder and began to heave it towards the cave’s entrance, knowing that the goblins would have heard and come to investigate. Stan tried not to panic and focus only on the task. Push. Push. Worgan and Loose brushed themselves down from the fall and began to help, pushing against the boulder with all of their might.
Only Roxie didn’t help, instead choosing to load an arrow into her bow, and aim it towards the cave entrance, ready to loose it at the first goblin to come charging out.
Stan paused to wipe his brow, as the work was hard and the sun was warm. As he did so, he heard a noise which made his stomach churn. From deep below them came the sound of shouting, and stampeding creatures, getting closer and closer with every second. The other three had also stopped to listen, and exchanged nervous glances with one another.
“HEAVEEEEEE!” Worgan yelled, with all caution regarding noise now unnecessary.
Not for the first time, it was now a race, and Stan had witnessed first-hand the fury and passion that was emitted from a goblin when it was on the trail of human flesh.
With every second that passed, the boulder edged closer towards the cave, but similarly the sound of clinking of swords and shouting of goblins grew nearer. Stan was petrified, but continued to push.
The boulder rolled in front of the first part of the entrance, but it would take one last push to entirely block it. That was when Stan saw them. The first goblin rounded the corner, and was swiftly followed by countless others. But it was that first one that Stan couldn’t take his eyes off. Stan took in the redness of his eyes. The saliva drooling from his mouth, his teeth chomping in anticipation of the first bite. The claws, with razor sharp nails. They were so close that Stan could smell them. This is it, he thought. He drew his eyes back to the goblin’s, whose stare was entirely on Stan. The goblin leapt into the air, flinging himself forwards at Stan.
Whoooooosh.
Blood spurted out of the goblin’s eye as he dropped lifelessly to the floor, an arrow pierced through it. Finally, before Stan could see the goblin’s body hit the floor, the boulder rolled into position, and the entrance was entirely hidden.
The four men sat with their backs to the cave, panting heavily from the exertion. Stan nodded at Roxie, who winked in response. She then turned away and drew another arrow, and struck it against a nearby rock. The arrow’s tip caught alight at once. Roxie took a second to compose herself, and took up a firing stance, facing up the mountain. She locked the arrow into position, and fired it, high up into the sky.
Without need for a second glance, Roxie strolled over to the exhausted men, whistling. She sat next to Stan, back against the rock.
“How do you know that they saw it?” Stan asked, when he could catch his breath.
Roxie smiled, turning to Stan and replying, “Just listen, dear.”
She then put her fingers in her ears, and smiled cheekily. Moments later, another enormous, deafening boom sounded through the air. Stan’s ears were ringing, and he collapsed to the floor in agony.
When he finally managed to sit up, his head still full of ringing, he saw Roxie laughing at him. Loose helped Stan back to his feet, and the five stood at the edge of the cliff, watching the smoke, as they waited for their comrades to re-join them.
