by Pirateaba
The Chieftain grinned as he spotted her. He glanced at the chair Erin was holding and then dismissed it. His eyes lingered on Erin. Her face, her body—she didn’t like the way he was looking at her.
She hesitated. The chair was in her hands.
“I don’t want to hurt—”
The Goblin Chieftain roared and charged Erin. He crashed into her and she smashed through the table behind her. The chair she was holding flew out of her hands. She felt something in her body crack.
The Goblin drew his sword. Erin lay on the ground gaping like a fish. He swung down. She rolled left and the sword splintered the floorboards.
Away. Erin threw herself over another table and felt the sword miss her by centimeters. She picked up a chair and hurled it at the Goblin. He swatted it down with one armored hand contemptuously.
The table was between them. Erin tensed to dodge left or right but the Chieftain grabbed the table and pushed. He rammed the heavy table into Erin’s midsection like a cannonball and then flipped the table.
A wall of wood came up and crashed down on her. Erin lay under the table, stunned, until she felt a thick hand grab her by one ankle and drag her out.
The Goblin pulled Erin from under the table and laughed at her. She lay on her back, eyes unfocused. He pulled aside his loincloth and pulled her towards him. Erin looked up at him and felt horror beating in her chest. He bent down to rip her clothes off—
She kicked up, right at his groin with all her strength.
The Goblin caught her leg easily. He grinned at her again. With his other hand he grabbed her leg—
Erin sat up. Her legs were caught, but her hands weren’t. She punched the dangling target right between the Goblin’s legs.
He roared and threw her away. Erin tumbled over and got to her feet. He was clutching at his private parts. She grabbed a chair and this time she didn’t hesitate.
Erin brought the chair down on the Goblin’s head with a heavy thump. Once. Twice. Then the Goblin punched at her.
She saw the punch coming and tried to block with the chair. The Goblin’s fist smashed through the wood and knocked Erin off her feet again. She got up and felt her mouth filling with blood.
The Chieftain roared and picked up his sword. Erin scrambled away. She was near the kitchen. She dashed inside and slammed the door shut.
There. The pot was sitting over the fire, and black smoke was coming out of the lid. Erin reached for it and felt the burning heat. Gloves. There was a rolling pin on the counter but no gloves or oven mitts. Where were—
The door exploded inwards with a terrific crash. Erin turned and saw the Goblin Chieftain. He charged at her.
She ducked. The sword whistled through the air and struck the wall. The impact jarred the blade out of the Goblin’s hands as he shouted something guttural at Erin. She smashed him in the face with a rolling pin.
His nose broke. Erin felt it break but she lifted the rolling pin and hit him again. Hit him. She had to hit him while he was unarmed. Hit him. Hit—
Shk.
Something heavy hit Erin in the midriff and pushed her back. She stumbled back a bit and regained her footing. Something was weighing her down though. Something was…Erin looked down.
A knife was sticking out of her stomach, just above her waist. It was too far on the left side. It wasn’t symmetrical. And it was in her. In her.
Erin tugged at the knife. It was stuck. She pulled and felt—the skin around her stomach tried to pull itself out with the knife. She clenched her stomach muscles and pulled—
The knife came out with another terrible tearing of flesh. Erin stared at the blood on the blade. She dropped it and the knife fell with a heavy thump on the ground. It should have clattered.
Blood. It was running from her stomach. Erin held her hand over the wound and tried to make it stop. But she was bleeding now, faster and faster. And the Goblin Chief was getting up.
“————!”
Erin wasn’t making any words. It was just a half-choked scream. She stumbled towards the fireplace, pain tearing up her insides with each step.
Smoke billowed from the pot. The contents boiled and spat at her. There was no time for gloves. She grabbed the pot by the handles.
The metal burned her. Erin screamed as her hands blistered and the skin burned away. The pain was unbearable. But she held the pot and turned.
The Chieftain was on his feet. He snarled at her through his broken nose and bloody face. He had the kitchen knife in his hands. He lunged at her.
Erin tossed the contents of the pot at the Goblin Chieftain. The boiling oil splashed the Goblin’s face and ran down his chest.
He screamed. The Chieftain dropped the kitchen knife and screamed so loud Erin went deaf. She dropped the cooking pot and stumbled away from him.
She held her shaking hands out. Already her skin was burnt black and white in places. Large blisters were already forming out of her ruined skin. But it was only half. Only half of the pain in the world.
The Goblin Chieftain clawed at his face and sank to the floor. He was screaming still, but the sound he made was so very small. She heard him choking. Screaming quietly in agony. She understood. There wasn’t enough sound in the world to convey it all, and the screaming would make the pain worse. But still he had to scream so he did it quietly.
Erin sat on the ground and stared at him. She was bleeding. The wound in her stomach bled without stopping. But her hands—
They weren’t the same. And the agony of both was too much to bear. So Erin forgot the pain. She stared at the Chieftain as he lay on the floor. He was smoking.
Parts of his face were sloughing off. The boiling oil had…melted him. But he was still alive. But he was dying.
Erin heard him breathing. Short, sharp bursts and whimpered pain. He lay on the ground and did not move. The fight was over. She’d won.
Slowly, Erin began to cry.
—-
The girl sits in the ruined kitchen with the Goblin. Both are silent. One is dying. The other is dead inside.
A haze of burned smoke fills the room. The smell of burnt flesh fills the air. Oil mixes with blood and flesh on the floor.
Eventually, the girl moves. Slowly, so slowly, she stands. Staggering, clutching at the hole in her stomach she walks over to a large cloth bag filled with food. She picks up a kitchen knife lying on the ground.
She takes the knife and slices the bag apart. The pain as she tightens the bandage over her stomach nearly makes her faint. Her fingers and palms bleed clear liquid and the world grows black. But she grips the bandage tightly and ties the knot.
Then she looks behind her.
A dark shape lies on the floor, burning. Steam rises from melted flesh. The odor of cooked meat hangs heavy in the air. A dark shape lies on the floor. It moves slightly as it breathes in and out in labored breaths.
The girl goes to sit down next to it. The oil is still hot, but she doesn’t care. She sits with the Goblin and stares into its ruined face. Does he stare back? Only she knows.
A dark shape lies on the floor. The girl sits with it and waits. In time, the breathing stops.
A warm sun shines down from blue skies through one window in the kitchen. It is not midday yet, and a cool breath comes down from the mountains.
The world is silent.
The girl sits back against one wall and closes her eyes. Her blood drips to the floor.
[Innkeeper Level 9!]
[Skill – Tavern Brawling obtained!]
[Skill – Unerring Throw obtained!]
1.17
His name was Klbkch. It was what other the members of other species called him, at least. Among his kind he had no name that could be expressed in words. So he thought of himself as Klbkch or sometimes ‘Klb’. It was important to have a name.
At the moment Klbkch was off-duty. He had signed out of the roster and added Relc’s name to the log as well. His partner never signed out, or if he did, he did it improperly. It was imp
ortant to do things properly.
Klbkch walked through the dark grassland outside of the city. He was headed to the inn where a young human female currently resided. It was not part of his duties as a guardsman. He was visiting her to improve his relationship with her. It was important to maintain good relationships with other species.
He knew something was wrong when he saw the smoke. Instantly Klbkch drew the two swords at his waist. He had two more hands free, but he left them unarmed for now.
Swords at the ready, Klbkch charged up the slight incline towards the inn. He moved extremely quickly – his long legs combined with his high levels in the [Guardsman] class gave him [Enhanced Movement], which turned the several miles into a blur behind him.
The inn was leaking black smoke out of the back windows. Klbkch knew they were connected to the kitchen. The door was also smashed in, and as Klbkch approached he saw Goblins fleeing into the hills.
Goblins.
Klbkch stopped outside of the inn and flattened himself against one wall next to the entrance. He drew his two daggers in his lower set of hands and braced himself. He did not underestimate or overestimate his chances.
As the fourth-highest leveled [Guardsman] in the city he was more than capable of handling most Goblin varieties. But if he was outnumbered he would retreat. His goal was to assess the whereabouts and well being of Erin Solstice and if possible, retreat with her. If not, his job was to witness her face and the forces currently occupying the inn.
For some reason Erin Solstice mattered to Klbkch more than assessing the threat at the moment. He dismissed that thought instantly and questioned his judgement. His survival outweighed a single human’s.
But. She could be inside, wounded or dying at the hands of the Goblins. Klbkch was well-aware of their tenancy to rape and assault females of any humanoid race.
His instincts told him to wait. Klbkch ignored them. His mind was telling him to act. He charged through the door, ready for anything.
The common room of the inn was a mess of broken tables and chairs. Klbkch swept the room. Empty. The door to the kitchen was broken in. He charged into the kitchen. And stopped.
Two figures lay on the ground. One was a Goblin. Not just any Goblin; a Chieftain. A true danger and threat. The other was a human girl. Both were lying still.
Klbkch assessed the situation. The Goblin Chieftain was a great threat. He could be killed if necessary but—it was already dead. Dead. A threat capable of wiping out low-level parties of adventurers by itself had been killed by…a girl?
How? But that didn’t matter. He looked at Erin Solstice.
The young woman lay against a kitchen counter. She held a bandage to her stomach with her arm. Her hands were blistered and blackened. Tears had painted clear lines through the soot on her face. Red-black blood dried around the bandage on her stomach.
She was barely breathing.
For once in his short life, Klbkch of the Free Antinium had no idea what to say.
“Ah. Miss Solstice?”
—-
The pain had left after a while. Erin floated in a dark, warm sea by herself. She was falling asleep. Or maybe she was asleep and just dreaming.
Erin slowly sank into slumber as the light of the world faded away. It was a wonderful feeling as she gave up her burdens and closed her eyes. Sleep. It had been so long since she’d slept properly.
But there was something bothering her. Something…was making a sound? Yes, a sound. Erin squeezed her eyes shut, but now she was being shaken. She didn’t want to wake up. But maybe if she did, she could go back to sleep. She listened.
“Miss Solstice? Miss Solstice, you must drink.”
She was waking up. And with the waking came pain. Erin groaned, or tried to. Her throat was terribly dry. She hurt. She hurt so much that she couldn’t bear the pain. She didn’t know what to do. She wanted to go back to sleep, but the voice was insistent.
“Drink.”
Something was at her lips. Erin felt cool liquid and licked instinctively.
At once something wonderful began happening. Just as her tongue tasted bitter foulness and she gagged, the pain went away. For a second.
Then it was gone. Desperately Erin opened her mouth and tasted the disgusting, wonderful drink again. The pain vanished, and the burning pain in her stomach ended. The agony of her hands vanished.
Erin opened her eyes and sat up. Energy flooded back into her body and the darkness of death receded. She looked up and saw a giant insectoid face staring down at her.
“Guh.”
Erin choked on the last mouthful of the healing potion. Klbkch held her steady as she choked it down and swallowed.
“Miss Solstice. Are you well?”
“I—I’m alive.”
Erin stammered. She looked at Klbkch. He was holding the empty potion bottle in his hand. He had saved her. Brought her back from death. She wanted to thank him. She didn’t have the words, but she wanted to thank him for saving her. She opened her mouth and then saw the body lying on the floor.
The Goblin Chieftain. Her eyes fell on his ruined face, on his motionless body. Erin paused, and ignored Klbkch’s repeated questions. For a while, she just stared at the body until Klbkch dragged it out of the kitchen. When he returned and she looked back into his face, she’d completely forgotten what she wanted to say.
—-
“You are not from here, are you, Miss Solstice?”
That was the first thing Klbkch said to her after he’d made sure she was well.
Erin lay against the kitchen cupboards, her shirt lifted up as she inspected her stomach. It was perfectly healed, although the bandage was still there. She would have felt uneasy about undressing in front of Klbkch but—she wasn’t. It was probably because he was an insect.
She looked up in surprise. Klbkch was staring at her. She didn’t know what to say. He, however, did.
“I do not mean this country or even this continent. You are not from here, are you?”
Klbkch squatted next to her. His large hind legs made it easier than sitting.
“No. I’m not.”
“I thought as much.”
Erin smiled bloodlessly.
“Was it obvious?”
“Say rather that it has become obvious. It is an unbelievable statement, but it is the only one I can come to.”
Erin hesitated, and then nodded. Klbkch nodded in agreement.
“How’d you figure it out?”
“Many clues lead me to this conclusion. Your curiosity about levels and classes, your mysterious arrival and this ‘Michigan’ which is no nation recorded in any book. But most of all it was this last moment. No human would weep for a Goblin.”
Erin brushed at her face. Her tears were long dried but—
“Really? No one? What about Drakes?”
“No human. No Drake or Beastkin or Gnoll or any creature from Liscor would.”
“What about your people?”
Klbkch didn’t blink. He couldn’t. But he did twitch.
“The Antinium? We do not weep.”
“Oh. I see.”
Erin felt Klbkch’s hands moving at her side. He was peeling away the sticky bandage.
“Ow. What was—”
“Worry not. The healing potion worked. The bandage has stuck to your skin.”
“Oh—ow! Good to know.”
“You will be weak for at least a day afterwards. However, you will recover in full.”
Erin yelped as a bit of skin came off with the rest of the bandage.
“Good. Thank you. So. What now? Did you—what did you do with the body?”
“I buried it outside. Far from the inn, to prevent chance reanimation. Worry not.”
“…Thank you. Um. Thank you.”
Kblckh nodded. He quickly and deftly folded the dirty bandage and added it to the fire he’d lit. It burned and smelled terribly, but that was just one burned smell among many in the kitchen at the moment.
The ant man
went to check on the small pot he’d set over the stove. It was filled with boiling water, not oil. After a minute he dipped another piece of cloth into the pot and brought it over to Erin. She accepted it wordlessly and used it to sponge off dried dirt, blood, and other stains from her skin.
“I had made the observation that you were not from this world, Miss Solstice.”
“Yeah. I changed the subject. Humans do that when they don’t want to talk about something at the moment.”
She scrubbed violently at her stomach. The towel was quite hot, but the heat was welcome. She felt cold. Klbkch bowed his head as he watched her.
“My apologies. I should not be asking such questions now. You are still in shock.”
Erin looked up.
“I’m not in shock.”
“You are still suffering from this encounter. Your mental state is unbalanced.”
“I’m not in shock. I’m really not. I’m just—tired.”
“As you saw.”
Klbkch bowed his head again.
“I’m okay. Really. I just—I’m from somewhere else. Another world. This place is different. I just—I just won’t want to talk about it right now. It’s been a bad day.”
“Of course. Forgive my rudeness. But if I may, I would like to suggest a course of action.”
“Um. Okay?”
“I have disposed of the Goblin Chieftain’s body. However, there are many Goblins still hiding nearby. If you feel safe here I will dispose of as many as I can. If not I will escort you to the city and then return with reinforcements to—”
“No.”
Erin cut Klbkch off. She sensed the ant man’s surprise.
“No? If you feel unable to travel I can—”
“No. No killing Goblins.”
He paused. She could sense him looking at her even though his multi-faceted eyes had no pupils.
“May I ask why not?”
“It’s wrong.”
“Many would argue otherwise, Miss Solstice. Goblins are considered monsters and bandits for the purposes of determining crime under Liscorian law. They are killers who prey on the weak.”