by Scott
“I'm going to kill you now, you damned pansy,” Dafur growled.
Blacknail froze in panic. His mind raced as he tried to think of a way to save Gerahld, but he couldn’t think of anything. Fighting wouldn’t work. A goblin would be killed if he hurt a human, and death was even worse than losing a good source of treats. Besides, how could a little goblin fight such a giant man?
A new voice spoke up. “How about me, Dafur? Are you afraid of me?” Herad detached herself from the shadows and strode over.
Dafur's lackeys jumped in surprise, but the man himself just scowled. He threw Geralhd an angry look and fingered the knife in his hand before turning back to Herad.
“This goblin attacked me, and when I tried to catch it, Geralhd here tried to stab me while I was distracted. I was just defending myself. These two saw it,” he told her as he indicated his lackeys.
Herad tilted her head slightly to show her skepticism. Her eyes grew colder, and her smile tighter as she looked the big man over. “I have only a few simple rules, as you should all know well. First, you do as I say. Second, you don't lie to me. The third and last is you don't fight or run without permission. You have now broken two of those rules.”
Dafur hesitated, then a defiant look appeared on his face. He gazed down at Herad as if comparing their sizes. The large man was many times Herad's weight. He raised his knife. “Now look here, b—”
However, his speech stopped as Herad pushed the tip of one of her daggers up through the bottom of his jaw and into his brain. He hadn't even seen the blade coming. He just blinked in pained confusion as she pulled it out of his skull.
Herad had moved almost too quickly for Blacknail to see. Her hand and the dagger seemed to just instantly move from one point to another without going through the space between.
Dafur's eyes rolled up into his head, and he made several choking noises as he collapsed into a pool of rapidly spreading blood. Herad calmly wiped her blade clean with a rag and sheathed it.
“So very stupid,” she said to no one in particular as she turned to the lackeys. “Dispose of the body. Now.”
With terrified expressions, they nodded and jumped to obey.
After throwing Dafur's corpse one disgusted look, Herad walked alone toward the center of the camp. The dark aura she exuded discouraged anyone from following her, not that anyone wanted to.
Geralhd got unsteadily to his feet while still holding his bloody nose. He looked worse for wear. His clothes were dirty and ruffled. “I think I could have won that fight myself, but a gentleman never turns down timely aid.” He stared off into the direction Herad had gone.Blacknail gave him a dubious look. He had a very different opinion on the man’s chances of victory. The small man had been seconds away from death.
“I really need another drink. You still want that treat?” Geralhd asked the goblin as he wiped some of the blood from his face.
Chapter 11
After an otherwise uneventful night, Blacknail was woken up early and sent out to check the rabbit snares. He had done it plenty of times now and was no longer afraid of going into the woods alone. His fear had been replaced by familiarity—at least as long as he was only making the short trip to the snares and back.
Blacknail yawned as he wandered through the bushes at the edge of the forest. His memories of his old life in the sewers had begun to fade. As dangerous as it was here, the camp had become his new home. It wasn’t like he had any way to get back there anyway. The sewers were many days away through the forest, and that wasn’t a journey he ever planned on making.
His new life did have perks. For one thing, the forest smelled much better than the sewers. He missed being around other goblins sometimes, especially the females, but in the sewers, he’d mostly just fought the other goblins. They’d fought over hierarchy, food, shiny things, mates, and of course just because they were bored.
Besides, even though humans were so big and scary, they sometimes gave him treats and praised him. No goblin had ever given Blacknail tasty things, unless he’d beaten them up first.
The morning sun shone sedately through the loose roof of leaves. It was a warm clear day without a single cloud in the sky. The morning birds sang joyfully in the trees, either ignoring or ignorant of the goblin strolling beneath them.
Blacknail stopped for a second to listen to the birdsong and scan the grass and tall plants around him. As he stood motionless, his green skin and hide clothes blended into the surrounding, camouflaging him. After listening attentively for a while, Blacknail noticed nothing unusual, so he continued his stroll. There didn’t seem to be anything dangerous around.
He moved casually but kept an eye and ear open for anything out of place. If there was one lesson Saeter had made sure he never forgot, it was that no one was ever truly safe in the forest. He would hate to let his master down by dying some horrific death.
The wary goblin soon reached the snares, but just as he was about to get to work, he heard an unexpected noise. What was that? Blacknail twitched in surprise and spun around. Was it a terrible monster about to leap out and eat him?
It probably wasn’t; the grass under one of the triggered snares was rustling. The goblin didn’t think anything really dangerous could hide in so small a patch of grass. It was probably a bird or something.
Blacknail narrowed his eyes and quietly drew his sling anyway. Something might be trying to steal his rabbit! He couldn't see what was making the noise, so he circled around a tree to get a better angle. As Blacknail watched, something started to try to climb the sapling a rabbit hung from. The goblin’s eyes widened as he looked on in surprise. He had no idea what the freakish thing was.
How could it even move? It was just a blob of liquidy stuff! It was like a see-though pile of snot with a bunch of weird shapes floating in it. Yet it was moving and actually managing to slowly work its way up the sapling. It looked really wrong, like water flowing uphill but uglier.
Blacknail hit it with a stone from his sling on general principle. The blob of slime quivered and froze for a second before falling to the ground with a weird muted splashing noise. Had he killed it? He hoped so.
Well, apparently he hadn’t, because as the goblin watched, it reformed itself into a round blob and oozed toward him with surprising speed. Uh oh, it was headed his way! How could such a weird thing move? He hit it with another stone in the hopes that would stop it.
The slime quivered on impact and the stone sank into the blob, but a second later, the stone popped out with a wet slurping noise and fell to the ground. The slime also kept closing the distance between them, so Blacknail swiftly took a nervous step back. He didn't know how dangerous the freaky booger ball was. He was pretty sure Saeter had never mentioned anything like it to him, or at least not when he’d been paying attention.
Blacknail circled his mysterious opponent warily. Every once in a while it would put on a burst of speed and ooze toward him, but the goblin deftly dodged it every time. Ha, he was faster than the stupid thing! Now he just had to find a way to hurt it before it found a way to hurt him.
The blob burst toward him again and he moved to dodge. Or at least he tried. As he went to jump away, something tugged on his neck sharply and choked him. His inconvenient momentum made his feet fly out from under him, and he landed hard on his tailbone. Ow, his poor ass!
He watched in wide-eyed horror as the large blob of slime descended on him. With a wet smack, it enveloped his arm.
“Eeek, off, off,” Blacknail yelled as he flailed and tried to get free, but the transparent blob was stuck fast.
The terrified goblin tried to climb to his feet, but the slime had a grip on his arm and wouldn't let go, no matter how hard he pulled. He yelped in fear as the thing climbed up his arm toward his head. This was not good! Desperately, Blacknail tried to claw at it with his free hand, but it just reformed around the cuts. No, that wasn't fair! He kicked at it but stopped when one foot sank into the thing and became stuck as well. Not his best plan ever… at
least that seemed to confuse the thing, because it stopped climbing his arm—for the moment anyway.
Blacknail whimpered and tried to think. He wasn't just any stupid goblin. He was Blacknail! What would Saeter or another human do? Come on, think! A human would… use a tool. Blacknail felt a flash of hope. That's right! He had a tool.
With his free hand, the goblin drew the knife Saeter had given him. He stabbed the slime several times, but it didn't do any permanent damage. The ooze just flowed back after he cut it.
What next? He looked his opponent over as the slime sucked him in again, this time on both of his caught limbs. With a chill, Blacknail realized he was going to die unless he thought of something. Think! Maybe he should attack the weird things floating in the slime. Frantically, he tried to stab the ones closest to him, but they were too deep and the knife couldn't reach them.
To his horror, he felt the wet edge of the slime climb his neck. He shivered with dread as he squirmed, trapped upon the ground by the slime's weight and sticky hold.
He had an idea, but it was desperate and stupid. He didn't want to do it, but he was running out of time. He was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to breathe through whatever this thing was made of. The thought of the slime encasing his head and flowing down his nose and mouth was horrible.
Taking a deep breath, Blacknail steeled his resolve and pulled back his free arm back. He then stabbed the thing as hard as he could. His arm sank deep into the slime and was caught. He wouldn't be able to get it out or attack the slime again and now he only had a single foot left free, which didn't do him a lot of good.
However, much to his relief, he saw that the blade of the knife had managed to reach its target. The blackish sac-like thing floating in the slime was impaled on the knife, and dark fluid spilled out of it and mixed with the transparent slime. Blacknail watched wide-eyed and desperately hoped that he had actually done something to keep himself from being eaten alive.
The blob rippled with small waves, then convulsed crazily. To his horror, Blacknail was sucked farther in and his face was enveloped. Then just as suddenly, the goblin was spat out in a splash of slime. He gasped for breath and sucked down air joyously. He was free, and not dead!
As the black liquid spread throughout the rest of the blob, it started to dissolve. Blacknail lay on the ground, covered in icky weird-smelling ooze, and watched as the creature expired with a loud gurgling noise. Eventually, only a smelly stain and several weird, twisted organs remained.
Blacknail picked himself off the ground and tried to wipe the slime off his skin and clothes. He grinned in excitement. Wow, was he ever glad to be alive. That had been extremely close!
After the goblin gave up cleaning himself off, he looked at the remains of the creature. It was mostly just smelly gunk, which he’d had more than enough of, but he spotted something shiny among the remains. It was a small crystal!
Blacknail stashed the crystal in one of his pouches and headed back to camp. A few minutes later, he remembered he was supposed to be checking the snares and swiftly turned around again. He collected the rabbit carcasses and hurried back to Saeter. He was already late. His master would be wondering where he’d gone. He scurried down the path as fast as he could while still maintaining a bit of stealth and awareness.
He made it close to the camp without any more trouble, although he startled one of the bandit scouts as he ran past him on the trail. The man gave him a surprised look as he passed. Blacknail ignored him and hurried home. He exited the forest and immediately headed toward Saeter's tent. He really wanted to brag about his victory!
Several people gave him odd glances, probably because he was still covered in quite a bit of slime. It dribbled down him as he ran. They didn’t stop him however, and he soon arrived at the tent.
Luckily for him, Saeter was seated out front on a stump, oiling some of his tools. As Blacknail ran over and threw the rabbit carcasses unceremoniously on the ground, Saeter looked up. He examined the goblin with an exasperated expression. “In the name of all that is holy, what have you been up to now?”
Blacknail was excited to show off, so he pulled the orb from the pouch at his belt and shoved it into Saeter's face. “I take from bad puddle!”
Saeter leaned back, away from the orb that had been shoved in his face, and eyed it carefully. A confused look came over his features. “A bad puddle?” The old scout gave Blacknail a questioning look and took the crystal. He rotated in his hands as he examined it.
“Slimy smelly thing,” Blacknail explained excitedly. He wanted his master to realize how great a hunter and fighter he was.
“Slimy… a slime? You fought a slime, and this is its crystal,” Saeter said with surprise as his brow tightened with concern. “Where exactly did you fight the slime?”
Blacknail was more than happy to answer. “At rabbit traps. Tried to steal, but I stop. It grab, but I stab good.” Blacknail’s back straightened with pride.
While the goblin talked, his master looked vaguely impressed, making Blacknail even happier with himself. Truly, he was a great and mighty goblin.
“You beat a slime yourself, eh? Must have been a small dud, but good work,” Saeter replied as he stood.
“Not small. Huge. Bigger than me,” Blacknail exaggerated as he extended his arms to show how big it had been. He wanted more praise, but Saeter gave him an amused but doubtful look before examining the crystal again. “What's that?”
“It's the slime's crystal. They all have one. Slimes only grow in crystal caves. Let's hope there isn't one nearby. They're dangerous, the only place more dangerous than the forest in the Iron Teeth,” he explained.
“Badder than spiders?” Blacknail asked doubtfully.
“Yes,” Saeter replied with a grumble of irritation. “I'm going to have to inform Herad.”
With a command to Blacknail to follow, Saeter marched off toward the old farmhouse that Herad had taken over as her command post. Blacknail usually avoided it because Herad was a scary lady.
The thatch on the roof had been replaced and the door had been reattached. The repairs were crude but serviceable. Of course, the crudest thing about the house was the pair of thugs standing guard out front. They were big ugly human brutes who really seemed to be not so much standing guard as hanging out there with bored expressions because they had nowhere better to be. Neither guard bothered to block them as they approached.
Saeter addressed one of them. “Is Herad in?”
“Ya, she's in there,” the guard answered casually.
“I'd like to talk to her,” Saeter told them.
The two guards looked at each other, and with a sigh, the farther one turned to the door of the house and knocked.
“Boss, Saeter's here to see you,” he announced to the closed door.
After a minute, he stepped out of the way and the door opened to reveal Herad glaring at them. She wore her usual leather, but her cloak and most her knives were missing. Candlelight flickered behind her, illuminating the interior of the dark house. At his master's side, Blacknail instinctively slouched to make himself less noticeable.
“Normally I'd ask if this was important, but since it's you, I know you wouldn't show your face without a good reason,” she commented irritably as she stepped out to talk with him.
Saeter watched her descend the short steps in front of the door. She met his eyes and gave him an amused smile.
“My goblin, Blacknail, was out checking the snares this morning,” he told her with a gesture in the goblin’s direction.
“Fascinating, but as much as I love hearing a man brag about his pet, please get to the point,” she replied with a roll of her eyes.
“When he came back, he was covered in slime and had a crystal core. He told me he fought a small slime that was trying to get at the snares. I thought you would want to know,” Saeter told her.
Blacknail huffed in displeasure. It had been a giant monster slime, not a small one! Saeter hadn't even seen it.
H
erad frowned and scowled in annoyance. However, Saeter was clearly not the target of her displeasure. “You think it's a sign there might be a crystal cave around?”
“Yes, there has to be one around somewhere. The question is how close. The slime could have wandered a fair distance. It probably did, since we haven't already seen more crystal beasts or mutants.”
“So then you don't think we have a problem?”
Saeter shook his head and brandished the crystal core he had gotten from Blacknail. “We could just have gotten lucky. The cave could also be mostly sealed so only things like slimes can slip through. Larger slimes can be very dangerous though. Some even have active cores and magical abilities like mutants. Those can rival Drakes in strength.”
Herad gave him a frustrated look. “This is obviously your area of expertise. Why don't you just explain what you want done so I can approve it?”
“It's too dangerous to ignore. Tomorrow, I'd like to send all the scouts to search the perimeter. Then I'd like for as many men as possible to go after them, once it's safer, and do a more thorough search. A small crevice will be hard to find but easy enough to seal.”
“Well, at least you don't want to abandon the camp,” Herad mused aloud as she took a second to think over his request. “Very well. It's not like most of the men are doing anything more than lazing around. This will help keep them out of trouble. I'll inform them tonight.”
Saeter nodded in acceptance. “Then I'll take my leave.”
Herad eyed him as she leisurely drew a dagger and lightly pressed her finger against the tip as if testing the sharpness. She continued stroking it for a few seconds before replying. “What if it's more than a crevice? New types of mana crystals are worth a fortune to the mage guilds, enough to set someone up for life.”
“Dangerous. You could stir up a monster capable of killing half the band. Maybe even something on the level of the City Killer, and then Riverdown would join Coroulis in ruin,” he answered with concern.
Herad gave him a doubtful look. “To the first, I can always get more men, and as for the second, it's not only horribly unlikely but also simply not my problem.”