The Goblin Horde

by Ivan Kal

  Morgan opened his eyes and stood up. He walked over to the Mayor and looked him in the eyes. “We’ve done what you’ve asked. Now it is time for you to honor the deal.”

  The Mayor looked at Morgan with relief in his eyes. “Of course.” He straightened and began to speak formally. “I, Itos Garrne, swear my services and those of the town of Gebel to Guild Master Morgan and the Skyreach Guild.”

  Morgan felt the same familiar build up in the air and then a twist in his gut, followed by the notifications appearing in front of his eyes.

  Congratulations! The town of Gebel is now under the control of Skyreach Guild.

  Skyreach Guild’s domain has increased! Skyreach Guild has gained influence!

  New options now available!

  Immediately, another notification flashed in front of him. Morgan blinked as he saw a new option flash next to his guild screen. He mentally pressed it and a map appeared over his eyes, the same kind as the one that he could access when near the guild hearthstone. He could see the entire territory that belonged to his Guild, and the resources that it possessed, along with their locations and amounts.

  He dismissed the map but made a mental note to speak with the Mayor of Gebel later, as he could point them into the direction of more ore for them to mine nearby. For now, another notification waited, and he pulled it to the front of his eyes.

  Clear the Mines quest completed — 2500 exp

  Morgan’s eyes widened—he had forgotten about quest exp. He quickly looked at his screen and saw that he had enough exp to ascend. It only took me fighting a horde of goblins, an ogre, and clearing an entire dungeon of skeletons, Morgan thought dryly to himself as he entered his soul space.

  Inside the gray void was the floating form of Sabila, his soul implant type of thingy. He still didn’t know how to feel about her, but he figured that the soul implants were a part of Oxy’s plan. He waved at the animated character wearing dragonscale armor.

  “Heya there, Skynet, how’ve you been doing?” Morgan asked.

  “I’ve been well, master. Observing your life is, at the very least, not boring.”

  Morgan shook his head and pulled up all of his screens.

  Morgan Newton LVL 14 — EXP 6153/6000 (ascension possible)

  Morgan ascended and his screens updated. Level fifteen awarded him three attribute points, two skill points—which, with the three he had left over, made for five—and two ability points. He also gained a new skill: Unyielding Will I. He frowned as he saw it. It didn’t seem to fit with his class, but from what he saw of its description it gave him a resistance to mind effects. It seemed like something that would’ve been the result of him regaining consciousness while fighting the skeleton lord, but he had gained it now instead of once he had finished the encounter, unlike with Touch of Decay. Again Morgan wondered about this leveling system—not only was it not rigid, but it looked like his actions directly influenced the way his class progressed.

  Setting that aside for a moment, he looked through his screens and decided on what he wanted to do. For his attributes, he put one into strength and two into intellect, as he needed to get it to twenty-two in order to use Arcanist’s Dream. He debated about putting one into constitution as he had thought about earlier, but he decided against it. Sure, he’d gotten trashed, but he was not a front-line fighter. Instead, he would train a bit more with his Arcane Shift—which, if he was being honest, he hadn’t really used all that well. He probably could’ve avoided getting stabbed if he’d had the presence of mind to use it, but he had been worried about Clara and in the moment forgotten about the ability.

  The increase from the attributes had a strange effect, as usual. For example, getting more intellect didn’t really make him smarter—it just made him grasp unfamiliar concepts faster. It also did something to the energy he could feel inside of himself, made it stronger. Constitution would make him healthier and help him recover faster, but he was more of a “better not to get hit in the first place” kind of a guy.

  He had realized something after the fight with the skeletons—he was fast, but as he had increased his strength, he got even faster. His new theory was that strength impacted his muscles more, while agility made his reactions faster, how quickly his body reacted to what his mind wanted to do. At times it had seemed to him like his body couldn’t keep up with the speed his mind worked at, and he needed to test his theory out by putting a few more points into strength.

  He really needed to take the time and devise a path that he wanted to take. So far he had stumbled around, but now with the knowledge that it was his actions that shaped his powers he knew that he needed to be a bit more thoughtful about what he did.

  He looked next to his skills. He had five points to spend, and immediately he spent four on upgrading Inspect. It was a lot, but he was getting tired of it not working properly or just giving him little to no information. He left the one point for later. After that, he turned to his abilities screen and immediately upgraded his Arcane Shift to level III. He had enough offensive abilities, and he really needed to start working on his defense. He approved all the changes and felt Sabila change his body. He shook off the feeling, and just as he was about to close the screens he noticed something in the corner. A sort feature? He frowned. Fiddling with it a bit, he realized that he could sort his abilities and skills however he wanted. So far they had been arranged in the order he’d received them, so he took the few minutes to arrange them more appropriately by choosing the “Custom” option. Once he was finished, he took a last look on his screens.

  Morgan Newton LVL 15 — EXP 153/7000

  STRENGTH

  15

  AGILITY

  25

  CONSTITUTION

  15

  INTELLECT

  22

  WILL

  23

  WISDOM

  13

  CHARISMA

  10

  LUCK

  10

  SKILLS

  Language-Basic

  Elemental Alignment-Nature V(+one rank Guild buff)

  Hand to Hand Combat II

  Weapons I

  Archery VII

  Hunting II

  Skinning III

  Herbalism I

  Monster Lore III

  Inspect IV

  Enchanting V

  Energy Manipulation III

  Engraving I

  1 skill points available

  ABILITIES

  Nature Sight II

  Nature Sense III

  Power Infusion V

  Power Siphon II

  Ward II

  Arcane Shift III

  Arcane Mark I

  Piercing Shot I

  Scatter Shot II

  Energy Arrow III

  Exploding Arrow II

  Rain of Arrows I

  Touch of Decay I

  “Thanks, Sabila,” Morgan said as he prepared to leave.

  “Of course, master,” Sabila said.

  Then a thought occurred to him. “Did you know? About you-know-who being my father?”

  “I did not, master. In many ways I am your subconscious. I know what you know. The knowledge about abilities, skills, and the World is there…but it is not really known to me. I understand it only once I need to.”

  Morgan nodded—he already had some suspicions that was the case. “See you next time, Sabila. Send me out.”

  A moment later he was outside in the real world and feeling much better, as the ascension had healed the remainder of his injuries.

  “Well, Mayor Garrne,” Morgan said as he looked at the man who had patiently been waiting. “We have a lot to talk about, but that can wait until tomorrow. Now I would much rather we get back to the town so that I can get a bath and a good night’s sleep.”

  “Of course, Guild Master,” the Mayor said.

  His group set off toward the town, escorted by six Gebel Guards through the dark forest, the way being lit by only their torches and Clara’s ball
of light.

  INTERLUDE II

  Korvorok woke up slowly, and found himself in a strange place. He was inside a large, well-lit room. There were three walls surrounding him, and a clear pane of glass in front of him, showing the stars. Korvorok was lying on the floor, but he didn’t move immediately as memories of what had happened before he woke up came back to him. A human with unimaginable power had arrived on his ship, and had done…something…to his people.

  He kept his eyes open, and quickly he scanned the room. There he saw three figures: a human woman with what looked like fire for hair, a human male with pale skin and horns on his head and a strange animal on his shoulder… And the last person was the human man that had captured him. Korvorok was still trying to figure out what exactly had happened. He couldn’t believe that a primitive race such as the humans he had made extinct could have beings as powerful as this one. And if they did, where had he been when Korvorok had killed them all?

  The things that the human had said didn’t make sense either. For now, Korvorok could only stay silent and gather more information. But he knew one thing for sure: he would rip that human’s throat out and drink his blood for daring to do this to him—as soon as he figured out what kind of technology the being possessed that made him so powerful.

  “Are you sure about this, grandfather?” the horned human asked of the other man.

  “Of course. We need diversity, and if they repent for their sins, I see no reason not to give them a chance.”

  The woman floated over to stand next to a large holographic table that showed a planet rotating slowly. “I don’t see a problem with adding them, but I don’t know about actually making them ascended… They are genocidal maniacs. You’ve seen the data from their ships—they have wiped out quite a lot of other races.”

  “A chance to change is all I am giving them,” the human responded.

  “Fine,” the floating woman responded. “But what about their Great Leader? What type of punishment do you think is appropriate?”

  Korvorok felt his heart start beating faster as he tried to focus on what was being said. “Ascend him as well, but I want him in stasis. Let him stay like that for a few centuries, and then let him out when he has been forgotten.”

  The woman tilted her head. “Really? I have better things to do than enact your plans for punishment.”

  The man sighed. “All right, then, stuff him in some dungeon or something like that. Make it so he gets released once a certain action is completed… Make it hard enough that no one will find him in a while,” the human said.

  “Fine, I guess I can do that.”

  The horned man then spoke. “He is awake, you know,” he said with his back turned toward Korvorok.

  Acting on instinct, Korvorok sprang into action, getting to his feet and jumping forward at the closest of his enemies with his claws extended. But just before he could make contact, he was frozen in midair, and then he was floating helplessly backward.

  “Oh,” the human said, “I know he is awake.”

  What kind of technology is this? Korvorok wondered. He had never seen anything like it.

  “Now, go back to sleep. Next time you wake, you will have an entirely new world to explore. And who knows? You might even find redemption and a purpose,” the human said.

  Korvorok felt his eyes close and his mind drift away as sleep took him again. His last thoughts were of getting revenge for the humiliation that the human dared put on one of the Great Leaders of the Wandering Fleets.

  CHAPTER NINE

  The next morning, Morgan was lying in bed next to Ves in their room at the town’s single inn. It was a simple room, with a single bed, a small table and one window. The Mayor had wanted to get them set up at his own home, but Morgan refused. He wasn’t keen on invading other people’s homes and privacy.

  “So, you think that your father is…” Ves trailed off.

  Morgan nodded his head. He had planned on telling Ves everything last night, but even though his body had been rejuvenated he had been just too tired mentally. Well, everything aside the talk with the Guiding Force and the fact that they had met her once before. He framed it more as a near death revelation from his talk with Oxylus while unconscious, but he really didn’t want to lie to Ves. Nearly dying and learning the truth about yourself could do that to you.

  “I think so,” Morgan said. “I guess the only way for me to know for sure is to speak with him. I guess that won’t happen until I climb his Tower.”

  Vestella didn’t answer, and Morgan was just a bit worried about that. He had told her everything that he had told Clara in his delirious state. The truth: the way that he had felt for his entire life. When he reached the part about their relationship, Ves had only laughed at it. He supposed that was a fair reaction; she was a half-elf, and the only way of romantic relationships she knew was of her mother’s people. Elves did not get to know each other prior to bonding for life, as ludicrous as that seemed to him. In their culture, love was not as important. Respect and willingness to be team was, as was physical attraction.

  Vestella was a strange woman. She was strong, and driven to find her parents and learn the truth about what had happened to them. In that way, at least now they were the same. Morgan just hadn’t known that there were any mysteries in his past. But he also knew that Ves had only ever had her brother, that she had been isolated and alone like Morgan. But she at least had Vall there to help. The more he thought about the two of them the more he realized how similar they were.

  Ves rolled over so that she was above him, looking down on him. “We are in this together, Morgan. I know that you think that I chose you because you were the first person who showed interest, because you didn’t care that I was half-elf. And I did, but it was also more. I saw you, Morgan. I could tell that you were more than what you showed. I could see it in your eyes when you laughed or joked. You needed someone to reach in and help you—and I decided to be that someone.”

  “Ves…” Morgan started but she put her finger on his lips.

  “I am naive in some of the ways you think I am. I didn’t have any friends other than my brother. I, like you, don’t know how to act. This is what has drawn us together. You think that you had lied to us when you told us that you knew how to lead a Guild? You didn’t. This might not have been your job on your own world, but you had something else: the idea of what a Guild could be. We agreed to have you lead us because of that, because we want the same thing. You have proven yourself to us. You might not think that you know how to lead, but we believe that you do.”

  She lowered her head and kissed him sweetly, then she raised her head again.

  “You are not on your old world anymore, Morgan, and neither you nor I are the same as we used to be. A short time has passed, yes, but we are changed. I have changed—I found you. I made a friend in Lucius, and Clara, my first girl friend. You can be whoever you want to be here and now. The things that happened on your world are in the past. Let them go. They are not worth a single one of your thoughts.”

  Morgan closed his eyes. He knew what she said was true, and he could see her trust for him and belief in him in her eyes. It shone so brightly that it almost hurt him to see. But he was thankful for it, more than he could every let her know. She was the first person in his life to trust him, to encourage him and to believe in him. She was special to him. His whole life he had tried to use humor, or at least attempts at humor, as a shield to prevent anyone from looking too deeply and noticing the scared little boy he was inside. But now, he didn’t feel like he needed to hide. Ves knew who he was, Clara knew, Lucius and Vall knew—in part, at least—and they were still his friends. He doubted that he would stop acting randomly at times, as people didn’t change so quickly, but now he no longer felt the need to.

  Opening his eyes, he reached up to her face and pulled her back down, kissing her again.

  “Thank you, Ves,” Morgan told her softly. He had needed that, and he needed her.

  He t
railed his hand down her sides slowly, while the other he kept buried in her blood-red hair. He left her lips to land kisses on her jaw, and then her neck. She whimpered as his hand reached lower, and she put her arms around him, pulling at him. He obliged and adjusted his position, and then he entered her. She moaned into his neck as Morgan started to move.

  Her voice rose, and she tried to muffle it by biting at his shoulder. Once she reached climax, Morgan followed close behind.

  They lay in each other’s arms for a while later, and both of them were content.

  About an hour later, the two of them were sitting at the table in the inn’s common room eating breakfast. The room had about ten tables, but all aside from theirs were empty. Gebel didn’t get many visitors, mostly on the account of them not having much to trade for other than their ore, which they delivered to the other towns by themselves. The food was passable, but Morgan had yet to eat something that was on the same level as the food from Earth. It was all just so…bland. He guessed that missing food was a small price to pay for not being dead, but… I miss pizza. Morgan’s eyes closed as he imagined eating back home at his favorite pizza place. He could almost taste it. I wonder if I can teach someone here to make a pizza? How hard can it be?

  He was jostled from his fantasy by a sound of a chair scraping on the floor, and he opened his eyes to see Clara and Ereden taking seats across from them.