The Goblin and the Empire

by JD Cole

  “No fair, I want a mech,” Derek whined. The Clavedrunes were less sleek in appearance than the ValianTs, but just as intimidating. There was no headpiece, just a box-body with two arms and legs, and a large windshield in front. One arm had a three-fingered hand, with the other arm dedicated to a twin-barreled weapon of some kind.

  Julian and Lumina led everyone to one of the crates, both of them reaching inside to pull out various items and weapons. Lumina was already armed with the hilgrad rifles and mevets he’d carried on the previous quest to rescue the queen, but he removed one of each now, keeping a single rifle and mevet. Then he began quickly loading little white boxes into the many pockets on his belt. “Ammunition,” he explained to the Hood. He didn’t bother explaining any of the other gadgets that got placed into his backpack.

  Julian retrieved a mevet, along with a weapon that was larger than a mevet but smaller than a hilgrad. Derek likened it to a short-barreled rifle or submachine gun. Julian also pulled a scabbarded short sword from another crate, looping its strap across his shoulder and behind his back. The size of a large machete, the sword’s hilt and scabbard had a very hi-tech appearance. He, too loaded as many white boxes into his belt as he could fit, and also grabbed four thick bands that he strapped around each bicep and thigh. The bands bulged with pockets, but what they contained was a mystery.

  Lumina began distributing little black coils. “Loop these about your ear, it will keep us all in contact and allow us to whisper to each other across great distance.” The elves had experience with these earrings, but Jezrimeli turned hers over in her fingers for several moments, studying the odd jewelry. Finally, she placed it around her ear, as did Taryn, allowing a thin tube to reach toward her ear canal. Nim had his back turned to them, and whispered over his radio, “How’s this, can you hear me?”

  The zerivade’s eyes brightened as she and Taryn traded shocked looks. “Fascinating!”

  Samantha already had hers in place, but Derek held his given piece in his fingers, talking at it to trigger the transceiver. His armor’s built-in scanners quickly discovered the frequencies used. He handed the piece back to Lumina, activating his own radio. “Testing one two three. Can you guys hear me okay?”

  Lumina smiled, nodding. “Yes, very clever. I should have known you would possess your own.”

  “Kinda’ weird you wouldn’t encrypt your signals, but I guess you’re the only ones out here with radio, huh?”

  “Standard comms are encrypted,” Julian explained, “but we prefer extending the battery life on these short range communicators as far as we can. Less processing, less energy.” He dropped several small packs at everyone’s feet. “Everyone, please take what you think you need from these stocks.” Several of the items were clearly food rations, but Julian opened one of the less obvious boxes to reveal bandages and salves. “First aid kits,” he said, closing it back up, “for the minor stuff. Lumina and I will also have trauma kits for anything more serious than cuts and sprains.”

  “And if those prove insufficient,” Taryn added, “I am skilled in many healing spells.”

  Julian then lifted one of many bandoleers, this one packed with small throwing blades. He took one blade and handed it to Graon. “Could you make use of these, Master elf?”

  Graon tossed the little blade in his hand several times judging its weight distribution. Julian grabbed a roll of bandages and threw them out high out behind Graon, and the elf shot his arm out, sending the blade directly into the roll. One of the Paladins distant from them saw it, running over to catch it and bring it back. “They have great balance, yes,” the ranger replied.

  “By all means, then, help yourselves,” Julian said, demonstrating how to shorten and tighten the straps to make them easier for elves to carry. “We use them mainly for small game and pest control.” Other bandoleers held stiletto knives and various other throwing weapons, and a few of them held only survivalist-type tools and gear suitable for wilderness living. Lumina chose one of these, as did Jezrimeli and Derek. Julian hefted another bandoleer, the only one that held dozens of vials filled with clear liquids. “Fregrilense, emergency-use only. I’ll be carrying this one.”

  “Fregrilense?” Derek asked.

  Lumina held a hand out and Julian gave him one of the vials. “These vials hold a potent chemical weapon designed to overwhelm most faeries’ senses. They are pretty hard on human senses, too.” He handed the vial to the Hood. “It is very effective for covering a retreat, but once you open one of these, everyone will know where you are, and it is an indiscriminate weapon. Ally and foe alike will be crippled by it.”

  “Fregrilense is banned everywhere else in the kingdoms,” Jezrimeli noted.

  “We have strict laws governing its manufacture and use,” Julian assured her.

  “I’m not judging,” the zerivade replied, “and I don’t really care, but the self-righteous royals won’t be happy when they find out you have a stockpile of this stuff. I bet they don’t like unskilled commoners having the power to stand toe-to-toe with them.”

  “You know that ain’t true, Jezzy,” Nim scolded her.

  “Hrmp,” the sprye turned her nose up.

  “This isn’t glass,” the Hood noted of the vial he was inspecting.

  “Stars, no!” Lumina agreed. “We would not use such a fragile material to store fregrilense. The vials are imber, one of the most versatile compounds in the realm. These have been programmed to shatter via wireless signals at our command.”

  “What does it do, cause pain?” he handed the vial back to Julian.

  Julian nodded. “Muscle pain, blindness, nausea, extreme discomfort, shortness of breath… and overall unpleasantness. It is all temporary, but the sprites consider it torturous. Well, it actually was used quite a bit for torture, which is likely why they banned it. We know irenaks use it against Borderlanders, though. Anything that can be used against us is good enough to be used against our enemies. Our society is practical like that.”

  “If they’re wireless, we should plant them as we move throughout the castle. Can you control which ones detonate, or do they all go off at the same time?”

  “Yes, we can set them at off one at a time,” Julian confirmed.

  “Very handy, then,” the Hood replied. “That gives us an edge when we make our escape.”

  “My thoughts exactly,” Julian nodded in agreement. “They won’t do much good against goblins, but it’ll knock out any irenaks or vampyres that pursue us.”

  “And minotaur?” Graon asked.

  Julian winced. “Mm… maybe? I’m afraid I can’t say for sure there.”

  “Wait,” the Hood said. “Minotaur? Those are real?”

  “Quite,” Jezrimeli said. “Not fun to fight, either. Their hides’ tough as iron, and their strength and endurance rivals any troll or wyrm. I don’t recommend letting one hit you, but luckily they’re slower than turd through a constipated dunghole. Is that your flying carriage?” Jezrimeli pointed at the Ripwinger.

  “Yes,” Lumina replied. “When you’ve gathered the supplies you need, go ahead and get aboard. Up that ramp in the back.”

  “And how long are these batteries good for then?” Samantha asked, touching the earpiece. “Do we switch them off for now?”

  “Roughly ten hours,” Julian said. “And there are no power switches. We’ve got chargers and a bunch of spares if we need them,” he tapped a small pocket on his backpack.

  “Range?” Derek asked.

  “About a hundred meters in the open.” He tapped a thick strap at his left shoulder that ran halfway down his triceps. “Lumina and I also have standard units that can reach almost anywhere in the Realm –encrypted— so if we run into problems we can warn Tirapan and Bartley at Matari.”

  “Not bad at all,” the Hood nodded, using one of the provided packs to begin stocking food and a few first aid kits. They could stand more than a football field apart and still talk to each other. Derek looked up at the sky, wondering if the Paladins had mana
ged to place radio units on the Ythsimerin to enable their long-range radio ability, or if they had some crazy techno-magic solution.

  “Of course, the castle walls might be problematic,” Julian added. “We’ll see what happens to our comms when we get inside.”

  “My apologies if this is out of line, but is there a chance that we could use some of your magic light weapons?” Kassak asked.

  Lumina and Julian paused. Julian began scratching the back of his head, but then Lumina answered, “I suppose under the circum-”

  “No,” Julian interrupted. Everyone turned to him. “Forgive me, proctern,” he bowed his head slightly to Lumina, but then looked at everyone else. “Our ranged weapons are deadlier than anything you’ve ever used. We will not be ‘loaning’ them out, especially to anyone who has not had our extensive training.”

  Lumina was silent for a moment, then nodded. “Apologies, you are, of course, correct.”

  “I did not mean to presume-” Kassak said, but Lumina raised his hand to stop him.

  “Considering what we are planning to do, it was a legitimate question, my friend. But Julian is right, we cannot allow it.”

  Julian walked to the crate that he’d taken his sword from, and lifted a hi-tech looking dagger from it. “Feel free to borrow any of our blades, however,” he offered.

  Everyone gathered around to gawk at the unique swords and daggers stored within the crate. A man dressed in rich sci-fi looking robes was walking towards them, and workers paused long enough to bow as he walked past. Lumina and Julian bowed when he reached them. “Doma Foren,” Lumina greeted.

  Foren nodded. “I am pleased I made it before your departure.” He looked at the team. “Fae, and fellow humans, welcome to Tirapan. Forgive the lack of a more proper greeting, but I understand you must be on your way at speed.” He gestured to the crate. “As Fourth-Mark Julian said, please choose any of these that can be of use on your important mission. And consider it a gift from Tirapan.”

  Nim and Kassak stared in shock at the fine swords in their hands. These would be considered short-swords by the humans, but in the rangers’ grip they were full-sized. Jezrimeli stepped up and pulled one of the larger swords from the crate, sliding it from its blue-and white techno-sheath. The blades were all golden trinigar, an alloy in the Faery Realm second only to mythrill. She hefted it in one hand, turning it one way, then another. There were a pair of small diamond-shaped holes near the base of the blade, with etched lines spreading out from them at sharp angles down the length of the blade. Looking at the elves’ chosen swords, she saw the same holes and etches on their trinigar blades, too.

  “This is exceptional quality,” the zerivade said. “One of the best works I’ve ever seen. And rune-ready,” she noted of the diamond-holes, then sheathed the sword. “These are wildly expensive weapons.” She looked inside the crate again. There were three more swords like hers, seven more of the short swords claimed by the elves, and at least two dozen daggers. “You Paladins sure live up to the legends.” She looped the sword-belt over her shoulder, where the sword rested nicely against her back. “Zerivades aren’t known for carrying weapons, but for something as beautiful and rare as this, I have to make an exception.”

  The Doma bowed his head. “We are honored by your approval, zerivade.” He looked at Taryn. “Master vampyre, please.”

  The wizard chose one of the short swords favored by the elves, belting it around his waist. “Thank you.” He drew the blade from its protective sheath and produced a porcelain-like stone from within his robes, tiny vampyric lettering written on one side. He placed it in one of the sword’s diamond openings, and the lines running down the blade from where they touched the rune began to glow blue before he sheathed it. “The sheath disables the enchantment? This was designed with rare skill and knowledge. A most welcome gift, I promise to use it well.”

  “Thank you, Master human,” Graon said, echoed by Nim and Kassak, each of them removing their own swords and strapping the new ones to their backs as Jezrimeli had. “This is most generous.”

  “If you wish, we can store those for you until we return,” Lumina said, pointing to the ranger swords they held. The rangers agreed, as Kassak was also armed with his hyru bow, Nim carried his old but effective folding bow, and both of them had a full quiver of enchanted arrows provided by Fhert. Graon felt invincible, as he now had Paladin-forged trinigar to go with the enchanted mythrill dagger he’d received from Dufangen when they’d crossed the Ythsimerin.

  Samantha chose a dagger from the crate. “Yes, thank you. Very generous.” She pulled the blade free and tested it against one of her talons. She was able shave a sliver of keratin off. Using a clamp on her shoulder strap, she fastened the dagger upside down, high on her chest. She already had a similar-sized knife sheathed at her boot, but she reasoned that it couldn’t hurt to have one more, especially of this quality.

  The Doma bowed again, then looked at the Hood, gesturing at the crate. Derek picked up a dagger, admiring not just the quality of the blade but the sci-fi design of the whole thing. Unlike the swords, the daggers only had one rune acceptor. “I guess I wouldn’t mind a souvenir. This is pretty cool.”

  It isn’t Veylsa, Mae bristled within him.

  Not long afterward, the rescue team had their provisions packed, and the boarded the Ripwinger.

  « CHAPTER 23 »

  Da Braddahs Kunali’i

  Devon and Zaiyensa stood atop a ridge overlooking the battle. Two tanks were parked miles away, lobbing occasional shells into what remained of another village, while gunfire and screams could be heard coming from within the village itself.

  “We gotta’ stop ‘um,” Devon said, his fists clenched and shaking.

  “I can sense your brother down there. How do you want to deal with the soldiers?”

  Devon bowed and closed his eyes, taking several deep breaths. “These guys probably all deserve to die…”

  “Well, then, that makes it easy-”

  “No. Even if they deserve it, I don’t have to be the one to kill ‘um. I mean we. You and me don’t have to be the ones. Let’s do this without killing. Okay?”

  “As you wish. Consider this more of your training then. I will guide you, but I will not help you. You want to end this without killing, you figure it out.”

  “Do you know where Chris is at?”

  The Dragon raised her eyebrow at him, and he sighed. “Okay, okay, I’ll figure it out.” He looked out over the village, deciding he first needed to figure out who the bad guys were. Stepping off the ridge and jogging toward the village, he focused his senses, willing himself to feel the presence of humans. The delayed boom of a tank firing its main gun broke his concentration. “Wait, first let me get rid of those.”

  Zaiyensa shielded her eyes from the sand and rocks as Devon disappeared in a huge gust of wind. She smiled at how quickly he’d figured out how to move like ether after she’d explained it to him, though his magic was ungainly and loud. She would not have created a stormy gust like he just did.

  From her vantage point, she could see one tank, then another being casually flipped upside down. The pair of tanks that had been periodically shelling the town were now immobilized and useless. Zaiyensa grimaced as another gust sprayed her with sand and rocks when Devon reappeared. Devon looked at her for approval, but instead she was scowling at him while dusting off her fine clothes with short, exaggerated sweeps. Her red eyes were barely visible behind the dirt-crusted spectacles she wore.

  “Oh. Sorry, Zaiyensa.”

  “Nevermind.” She removed her glasses and blew them clean. “It pleases me that you worked out that bit of spell-casting for yourself. What will you do now?” She followed him as he ether-sped to the edge of the town.

  Resuming his physical form, Devon walked quickly through the ruined streets, trying but failing to ignore the bodies. It almost helped that they were mostly covered in dirt and rubble, but there were still many gory scenes of death, complete with the unmistakabl
e dark colors of blood and guts. He followed the sound of gunfire, figuring it was likely his brother would be with the resistance engaging in firefights.

  The Dragons turned a corner and came face to face with a soldier, who aimed his rifle at them, screaming orders in a foreign language. His uniform was a different color from the ones they’d encountered so far.

  “American!” Devon shouted, patting his chest. “USA!” The soldier’s eyes widened, and he opened fire.

  “Thanks for letting me know what team you stay on, loser,” Devon said angrily. He walked through the hail of bullets unscathed and grabbed the communist by the neck, forcing him to drop his gun. “I know you said you wasn’t going help me,” he turned to Zaiyensa, “but can you just show me how to talk like the sprites, so I can understand everybody?”

  She responded with another raised eyebrow, and he sighed. “Fine, okay.” He looked again at the soldier, who was struggling violently in his iron grip. He lifted the little man off his feet and ripped the pistol, ammunition and grenades from his uniform, dropping them to the ground. “Sucks to be you.” He tossed the man behind him like a discarded beer can. The soldier careened into a broken wall, which crumbled under his weight. He did not rise, and Devon glanced worriedly at Zaiyensa. “Still alive… right?”

  Zaiyensa looked at the man, then nodded affirmatively.

  “Phew, good. Kinda hard to figure out how much power I using sometimes.”

  A set of explosions and screams caught his attention, and he jogged across the street toward the sound. A pair of soldiers dressed in the same uniform as the last one were firing into a shattered doorway. The uniforms were poor quality and not completely identical except for color schemes, but they served well enough to distinguish the bad guys from the good guys, who Devon now recalled had no uniforms.