Zectas Volume III: Malediction of Veneficatl Valley

by John Nest

  The first group of Gobble Goblins numbered one hundred sixty. Ledur created two openings in his earth wall and ten Tikbalangs swiftly entered the enclosure through each of them.

  With their hard black hooves, the Tikbalangs bashed the heads of the thin green monsters as they charged. The goblins fought back and damaged the Tikbalangs for 700 points.

  The Tikbalangs had life bars in the range of 280,000 to 300,000 HP. Minutes after the goblins' retaliation, the Tikbalangs revealed their life bars to be damaged by 5% to 7%, as each of them faced more than ten of the thin green monsters.

  Ledur furled his massive black wings and dove down fast. He crushed two Gobble Goblins on the ground as he landed. In a blur, Ledur bashed the skulls of several green monsters with a single hoof strike.

  Still up in the sky, Smoke observed the situation from above. He watched the Tikbalangs slaughter the goblins. A part of him feared that the killing frenzy might bring out their feral instincts and make them lose control again.

  He looked over to the other side of the firewall and noticed that the other goblins just stood and watched their kin getting ripped apart.

  He surmised that these monsters were afraid of fire, because none even tried to jump across Igniz's firewall in order to help their fellow goblins.

  Not satisfied with the current limit of his earth walls, Smoke took out the Digger's Wand and created trenches inside the enclosure. 'There. That should stop them from escaping.' he thought to himself with a smile.

  As Smoke finished digging the trenches, Ledur and the Tikbalangs were almost done with the first half of the Gobble Goblins. Smoke checked the life bars of his Tikbalang corps.

  Smoke beamed when he saw that they still had around 60% left on their life bars. He ordered Igniz to lower the flames of the firewall and allow more goblins to cross it and fight the Tikbalang corps.

  As Igniz lowered the firewall, Smoke slowly descended. On the way down, something unusual caught his attention.

  The bodies of dead goblins remained on the ground. They did not disappear like the bodies of other killed monsters. Smoke knew that there were certain abilities one could use to make this happen, but neither he nor the Tikbalangs used such abilities.

  He was then surprised by the Gobble Goblins' strange behaviour. As soon as they stepped through the firewall, the green monsters sprinted to the corpses of the defeated goblins and started to cannibalize them.

  Alarmed by this, Smoke took out his weighted chain and sickle in mid-air and used its active ability Cyclone of Slaughter as soon as he landed. The incoming Gobble Goblins ran to their own demise.

  Despite Smoke's efforts, more goblins broke through and ran past the range of the his sickle. The thin green monsters ate with much gusto.

  The Gobble Goblins wolfed down fingers, toes, feet and various other body parts until the whole body was consumed. In a matter of seconds, the goblins devoured corpse after corpse. After eating a certain number of corpses, the monsters would run and hide.

  Seconds later, larger Gobble Goblins emerged. Their skin became darker and their bodies grew in size. A Gobble Goblin finished its transformation, picked up a rusty crude sword and rushed towards a Tikbalang. It was soon joined by three more transformed goblins equipped with similar weapons. These one-and-a-half-meter-tall goblins delivered heavier blows and inflicted 1,000 points of damage on each attack.

  Smoke jumped high in the air towards a spot near Igniz's firewall and used his hooded cloak's active ability Stunning Landing. He stunned three transformed goblins as he crushed the ground he landed on. He threw his sharp sickle at the immobilized dark green monsters and attempted to chop off their heads and limbs.

  Yet he could not do so with only a couple of strikes. These monsters displayed a maximum life of (150,000 HP) instead of only (50,000 HP). Other transformed goblins started to run towards Smoke. Igniz took notice of this and created a fire cage to capture them.

  Smoke shifted his attack pattern and focused on the goblins' shoulders and legs until he successfully severed the targeted body parts. He turned around and looked back at his Tikbalang corps. "Don't let them eat the corpses! They evolve if they do!" shouted Smoke.

  He feared that Ledur and the Tikbalangs hadn't noticed the transformation of the Gobble Goblins. Right after Smoke warned his men, ten dark green goblins rushed to him.

  Igniz tried to force them back with multiple fireballs, but the transformed goblins were resilient against the dark ember sprite's attacks.

  Thanks to his Cunning of the Dire Fox, Smoke sensed the incoming attackers. He tried to jump away, but two transformed goblins grabbed his feet and brought him down to the ground.

  Less than a second later, more Gobble Goblins jumped on him and pinned him down. Some used their crude weapons and slashed his dark purple skin while others clawed, punched and bit him. In a very short time, Smoke received a total damage of 45,200 points.

  Three Tikbalangs came charging towards Smoke and tackled six dark green goblins off his back. Each Tikbalang fought hard against two transformed Gobble Goblins.

  The remaining four goblins looked up to see what happened, which gave Smoke some much-needed space. He switched out the weighted chain and sickle for his white metallic staff.

  He pulled himself up to a kneeling position with the goblins still holding onto him and forcefully created a spherical purple Manatl around him.

  HISSS HISSS HISSS HISSS!

  Scorch marks appeared on the dark green monsters as soon as they made contact with Smoke's Manatl. He tightened his grip on the staff as the goblins continued their attack on his spherical barrier.

  HISSS HISSS HISSS HISSS!

  The goblins backed away after their second failed attack. They looked around and searched for their weapons.

  Smoke noticed that the three Tikbalangs had difficulty dealing with six transformed Gobble Goblins.

  CLINK CLANG CLINK CLANG!

  Rusty swords and spears bombarded Smoke's purple Manatl as the goblins attacked it with their crude weapons.

  Smoke wanted to wait for one more round of attack, but his Manatl already showed signs of dispersing. He quickly canceled the barrier and focused the gathered energy on the end of his white staff.

  The four Gobble Goblins jumped at him. Smoke dodged their weapons and claws as best as he could. With the aid of his Agility of the Horned Rabbit, he only received two attacks and got damaged for 8,419 points.

  Smoke quickly thrusted the energized end of his staff into the stomach of one of the goblins.

  THUCK SWWISHH!

  The struck goblin's entire body shook as its life bar was quickly being drained to the point where was nothing left of it.

  The remaining three goblins attacked him again after they recovered from the shock of seeing their comrade killed instantly.

  The DarkElf kneeled down once more and created another spherical purple barrier.

  CLINK CLANG CLINK CLANG CLANG CLINK!

  As Smoke waited for his Manatl to absorb enough energy from the goblins' attacks, he looked at the Tikbalangs who had saved him from his pinned-down position before.

  He saw an alarming sight of three Tikbalangs half-dead on the ground. He became even more alarmed when he caught a glimpse of their life bars, which displayed less than 10% left.

  "Ledur, I need your help!" Smoke called out to his Tikbalang captain.

  However, Ledur did not answer him. As Smoke scanned the battlefield, he noticed that most of his Tikbalangs had little HP remaining. Ledur himself only had 50% of his life bar left and was still dealing with three dark green Gobble Goblins.

  Smoke noticed that he had absorbed enough energy and dispersed his Manatl. This time, he evaded all of the goblins' attacks as he leapt away from them. He held the uncharged end of his staff as he stretched it out and stabbed one of the Gobble Goblins.

  The goblin's body shivered as the charged attack went through it. Smoke watched the life bar of the monster drain as he killed it with one hit.

&nb
sp; The two transformed goblins grabbed the remains of their fallen comrade and retreated away from Smoke. They fought over the dead body until it finally split in half. Both goblins hurriedly ate their shares.

  Smoke desperately ran as fast as he could towards the feasting goblins. He switched back to using his chain and sickle as he sprinted.

  With the knowledge that he couldn't slice off their heads in one attack, Smoke used the metal chains to bind the monsters instead.

  He threw the metal chains up and created two loops in the air. His high Dexterity allowed him to wrap both loops around the Gobble Goblins' necks.

  Smoke pulled as hard as he could and brought the two goblins down, preventing them from eating any more Goblin meat.

  As the DarkElf held the two dark green monsters down, he saw several thin green monsters step through the boundary where Igniz's firewall was before.

  "Igniz, re-create your firewall! Don't let any more monsters in." Smoke pointed at the burn marks where the firewall once blazed.

  His symbiote followed his command without delay and re-ignited the firewall. The ordinary Gobble Goblins backed away, frightened by the flames.

  Smoke pulled the two loops into a tight noose and tried to keep the transformed goblins bound together. Moving in closer, he struck the sharp sickle down into their skulls as hard as he could until their life bars were completely depleted.

  The DarkElf looked around and saw that Ledur directed the severely injured Tikbalangs out of the earth wall, while six Tikbalangs with more than 60% of their life bars guarded them as they escaped.

  His Cunning of the Dire Fox indicated that there were still five transformed goblins left. He searched for the monsters on the ground, but could not see any visible life bars.

  'These Gobble Goblins are even clever enough to play possum.' Smoke grinned as he switched weapons.

  Smoke checked up on Ledur and saw him closing up the earth wall. Ledur walked towards him with six of his brethren in tow.

  "Guys, there's still some stragglers left. Follow my markers." He looked at the battlefield again and confirmed the general direction of the hidden monsters.

  He drew his power chainsaw bow back and released three fire arrows. The arrows traveled fast and struck different areas where the goblins hid.

  "Everyone, double team on the monsters near the fire arrows! Leave the remaining two monsters to Ledur and me." yelled Smoke.

  The DarkElf nodded to his dark ember sprite. Igniz understood Smoke's orders and blasted a nearby pile of goblin corpses, which revealed the concealed life bar of a straggler goblin.

  Multiple fire arrows shot out of Smoke's bow as he targeted the lying-down monster. As soon as eight fire arrows pierced the goblin's back, it stood up and made a beeline for Smoke.

  Smoke stood his ground and rapidly released fire arrows at the assailing monster. Igniz followed Smoke's lead and threw fireballs at the goblin.

  Another eight fire arrows then struck the charging Gobble Goblin's chest, but its life bar still indicated (45,600/150,000 HP).

  Smoke aimed higher and focused on the monster's eyes. After one of his arrows pierced the goblin's left eye, it covered its face with its arm and kept on running towards him.

  Smoke and Igniz relentlessly attacked the Gobble Goblin until it dropped down to the ground as its life bar became empty.

  "Aaaahhhhhh!" Ledur shouted as the goblin he was up against grabbed a hold of one of his wings and started chewing on it.

  The winged Tikbalang smashed the monster's head in with his hooves until it released his wing from its jaw. The goblin knelt down after receiving damage straight to the face.

  Smoke and Igniz attacked the goblin's back and turned the monster's backside into a flaming inferno. The goblin turned around to see its new attacker only to feel black hooves come down on its spinal column.

  Ledur killed the monster while pummelling it into the ground. Smoke, Igniz and Ledur then spread out as they helped finish off the remaining three transformed goblins.

  "AYYIIII AYIII AYYIIII YIIII YIII YII YIII!"

  Smoke heard strange noises coming from the other side of Igniz's firewall. He leapt high into the air and glided with his hooded cloak.

  He saw that with only a fifth of their original numbers remaining, the thin green goblins panicked. Some of them had already escaped by positioning in a ladder-like formation and climbing on top of several other goblins in order to reach the top of the wall.

  "Igniz, disperse your current firewall and create a new one over that wall." Smoke pointed at the earth wall which the thin green monsters were trying to climb.

  The DarkElf called out to Ledur and the rest of his Tikbalangs, "Everyone, don't let them escape!" Smoke quickly descended towards the escapees.

  He landed on one of these goblin towers and stunned ten monsters around him. His Cunning of the Dire Fox indicated that only sixty of these weak monsters were left.

  In several fell swoops of his weighted chain and sickle, Smoke decapitated the stunned goblins near him. Ledur and the six remaining Tikbalangs followed Smoke's lead and went after the goblins' critical points.

  As Smoke and his men fought, they made sure none of the goblins get an opportunity to transform. As soon as one of the goblins was killed, the goblin next to it would begin eating the slaughtered monster.

  Smoke, Igniz and the Tikbalangs focused their attacks on those feeding goblins. The thin green monsters with life bars of only (50,000 HP) stood no chance against them.

  The remaining goblins were finished off without any complications. Smoke leapt up and Igniz immediately flew after him. As he glided, he watched the escaped goblins run into the forest.

  "Should we go after them?" asked Ledur as he joined Smoke in the sky.

  "No, let's tend to the wounded first. We don't know if there are any other dangerous monsters nearby." answered Smoke as they descended towards the recovering Tikbalangs.

  * * * * * *

  Smoke applied orange marigold paste on Tikbalangs' wounds. Ledur wanted to help heal his brethren, but his hooves were better suited for crushing the medicinal leaves.

  Igniz flew in front of Smoke in a circular pattern. His dark ember sprite signaled him that the medicinal stew made from lemurcats' kidneys was ready.

  Smoke, Ledur and the Tikbalangs who were not seriously injured fed the critically wounded. It looked like it would take another hour before everyone fully recovered.

  Fighting alongside a large group made him miss his original private army members. Smoke was very proud of all the accomplishments they had made, but he especially remembered a cursed werebear.

  With guilt and a myriad of other feelings swirling inside of him, he decided to call Sierra.

  There was no answer. 'Phew! Sierra must be busy.' Smoke sighed with relief.

  "Yes?" Sierra abruptly answered.

  "Oh, hi." were the only words that came out of Smoke's mouth as his mind went blank.

  "So? Is there something important to tell me? Did you already kill the witches?" Sierra asked in a monotonous tone.

  "No, not yet. I was just calling to check up on you."

  "Huh? But don't you usually call Adder or Thyrsus for that? Or do you call Laernea now?" Sierra asked in the same uninterested voice.

  "Right. Actually, I just wanted to congratulate you on the great job you're doing. I hear the guild's doing great and Verbrannt has really developed." Smoke smiled as he spoke, hoping that his pleasant tone would be reciprocated.

  "Well, I can't take credit for that. Most of the work was done by your private army members and the refugees you sent from Condortl and Pferde." Sierra's voice slightly changed, but quickly returned to its former monotony.

  "Good, good. You and your werewolves are still strengthening the defenses, right?"

  "Yes, and training the militia. I thought Adder already told you about it?"

  "Oh, he did." answered Smoke.

  Sierra spoke before Smoke could drag the awkward conversation on longer.
"Listen, I understand why you decided not to talk to me and I completely agree with you."

  "You do?" replied a surprised Smoke.

  "Thanks to that, we both accomplished a lot of things in the short amount of time we have before facing the Duke. I'm more confident that we can save Centzo city now as well." Sierra's voice changed. Smoke could feel her sincerity.

  "I'm glad you understand. So, I'll let you get back to what you were doing. Good..."

  CLICK

  "...bye, Sierra." Smoke spoke too late as the line had already been cut off.