The Goblin and the Empire

by JD Cole

  « CHAPTER 33 »

  Not Out of the Woods Yet

  “So you admit your armor can no longer protect you adequately until you reenergize its enchantments?” Brevha frowned. “That is why we cannot send you back to Matari.”

  “It can protect me from arrows and swords,” Kelli pointed out, “just probably not any full-blown sorcery. But that isn’t common knowledge and even though I’m untrained, the little magic I do know makes me at least as powerful as those necromancers. I’m not going to begin my reign as queen by abandoning the people I just finished inspiring to finish the fight! Besides, I’ll have Petriz and two Paladins coming back with me!” she gestured to Lumina and Julian, who were themselves eager to get back into the action, late though they’d be.

  Brevha shook her head. “You would not be abandoning anyone Highness, you are simply-”

  “Up until a few weeks ago,” Kelli cut her aunt off, “I spent my whole life as what you would consider a commoner. I know exactly how the government people up at the top are viewed by the regular people. The leaders that have our genuine respect are the ones who earn it, and I can’t earn anything by hiding in the castle from the people who just finished sacrificing their lives in a war that started because of me!”

  Grenem Jennir stepped forward. Kelli remembered him from the balcony; after the mosquito incident, he was the one who had convinced the guards to tear her away from her family and tried to get them all thrown in the dungeon. She didn’t know what his standing was, or what kind of authority he held, but she looked up at him now, staring into his bright violet eyes and preparing for the worst. His voice was firm and passionless, like a bureaucrat. “Your words have wisdom… Highness.” Kelli narrowed her eyes. He’d spoken her title not with disrespect, but obvious reluctance. “I believe most of us would prefer if you followed Brevha’s advice, but I must admit your reasoning is valid and we cannot deny it.” He looked at Kelli’s Aunt. “I do not believe arguing the point further is necessary. Let us leave the choice to the queen.”

  Kelli’s surprise was evident. “I- thank you, Grenem. Honestly, I don’t want to cause trouble, but I believe going back to be with the soldiers and the people they rescued is the right thing to do. I need to do this.”

  Brevha waited a few moments before relenting. “As you wish, Highness.” The sprye looked down at an ancient mystic, adorned in a simple gray robe. Unlike Dufangen, her small mane of hair was jet-black. “Shea is The Historian, a member of the council with Dufangen.” The mystic bowed as she was introduced to Kelli. “She can use one of the enchantments from their mage vault to open a small gate momentarily for the four of you to return. But I cannot guarantee another gate could be opened before tomorrow, at least not while you are in Matari.” The elder sprye’s shoulders fell and she sighed heavily. “Please be careful.”

  “I will, I promise.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Petriz and the Paladins all had to stoop low to get through the ethergate, which was barely tall enough for Kelli herself to step through.

  “Highness.” Dufangen walked over after the ethergate closed behind the queen and her company. “The Hood has returned home, then?”

  “Yeah,” Kelli nodded, fully armored though the armor was now mostly for show. “We need to bring him back soon though, if for nothing else than my coronation, whenever that is.”

  “Indeed, it would be inappropriate not to include him.”

  “Hopefully Devon comes back before then, too. That kolohe boy keeps disappearing on me!”

  “Queen Kelli!” One of the Paladins jogged up the hill toward her, slowing and stopping as her guards calmly stepped in his way. Holding his tongue, he bowed and waited.

  “It’s okay,” Kelli said, waving her guards off. “Let him through.”

  Stepping forward, the man introduced himself. “Highness, my name is Bartley Ja’Hellett. I was hoping to speak with the Hood, but I understand you sent him to the Human Realm? Might I ask if he will be returning?”

  Kelli nodded. “My friend was brought here against his will. I took him home so that he fix any personal problems that popped up while he was here helping us. But yes, he’ll be coming back. You and the Paladins helped him and the General to do all this?”

  “Yes, Highness. If you would humor me, I would dearly like to continue my conversations with the Hood when he returns.” Kelli noticed the Paladin didn’t seem to care much about the war or her father’s rescue. “We have invited him to Tirapan to look at the historical records of our peoples’ journey to this planet, would you please send him directly to us on his return?”

  “Bartley, stop pestering the Queen!” Lumina stepped between them. Bartley blinked, and Lumina rolled his eyes. “You didn’t even realize Julian and I arrived with her, did you? You haven’t changed one bit.” He looked at Kelli. “I apologize for my former protege, Your Majesty. He is one of the brightest men you will ever meet, but it comes at the expense of extreme tunnel vision and social abrasiveness.”

  “I see no need for insults,” Bartley objected.

  “I am not insulting you,” Lumina frowned, “I am explaining your lack of decorum so that the Queen doesn’t banish you back to Tirapan.”

  “Why in the world would you stop her,” Julian mumbled.

  “It’s okay, Lumina,” Kelli said, then looked at Bartley. “I’m sure the Hood would find that visit more than valuable, I will definitely make sure he contacts you when he returns.”

  Bartley managed to bow, his expression satisfied. “Thank you, Your Highness!”

  ~

  “Nim! I don’t believe it!” Maxillion laughed and made his way through the crowd toward the elder ranger. He wasn’t surprised to find Kassak nearby, and waved him over to Nim.

  The gruff Nim accepted a warrior’s embrace, patting his captain’s back in congratulations. “I see you all didn’t need my help after all,” Nim said. “Barely left anything for me and the kid to do.”

  “Don’t be so modest, friend, considering the reason you were late to the party!” Maxillion grinned. Then his eyes shined in wonder. “I saw her, you know. Right at the very end when the Goblin King was going to overwhelm us, there she was, protecting us like a goddess of war. Songs about your deed will be sung forever!” He craned his head from one direction to another. “Where’s Graon? And I haven’t seen Gemlorry since we sent you off to quest, I assume she went with you? We need to get some ale so I can hear the tale of your quest!”

  Kassak walked up at that moment. “Graon… he didn’t make it, Captain.” His head dipped defeatedly.

  Maxillion’s grin immediately melted away. For a moment, he could do nothing but plant his hands on their shoulders, and the three elves stood silently remembering their fallen friend. Just then, their fellow ranger from Renna village, Dex, caught sight of them and jogged over. “Nim! Kassak!”

  The three rangers looked up as he called, and Maxillion shook his head clear, standing up straight and tall above them all. “We also lost Padessi,” he told the pair as Dex arrived. Nim and Kassak murmured painfully at the news, as Maxillion filled Dex in on the quest to rescue the queen, and Graon’s death.

  Kassak looked around at his fellow rangers, shaking his head. “Why couldn’t it have been us? None of us have families. And isn’t Amevrah pregnant?” he asked of Padessi’s widow.

  Nim spit. “There ain’t no rhyme or reason for it, kid. War ain’t fair, just like disease ain’t fair. But it works both ways, don’t forget Gemlorry.” He looked at Maxillion. “Yeah, Gemlorry tagged along into the human world. We thought she died during a fierce battle with some golems-”

  “But we just found out she’s alive,” Kassak managed a smile, pointing at the humans in the distance. “They found her and treated her wounds, they say she’s all right and will be coming home.”

  “That is happy news indeed,” Maxillion said. “Something I do know is that those we lost wouldn’t be happy with us moping around on their account. Let’s get some food and drink
and talk about their lives. They were among the best of Renna’s elves, ranger or not.”

  “Aye, I’ll drink to that,” Nim nodded sadly. He looked upward, then, “Jezzy, Taryn, you guys wanna get that drink now?”

  “Aye,” Jezrimeli answered over the radio. “We heard it all, Nim. We’d be honored to raise a mug to your friends’ lives.”

  “As would we,” Lumina added. “The Queen brought Julian and I over from Windham.”

  “Welcome back, Paladin,” Nim replied. He looked at Maxillion and Dex. “The Paladins gave us some magic so our team could keep in contact with each other. I hope you don’t object to them joining us?”

  “Not at all,” the blue-haired ranger said. “We can’t wait to meet your fellow questers and hear your tale.”

  ~

  “So keep your radios open at all times,” Sean finished briefing his troops. “Make good use of the warfighter systems to keep an eye on each other as we provide ground security for this convoy. I’m told once we’re out of these ‘Badlands’ and inside friendly territory, they’ll be able to open those magic gates more easily to resupply everyone and evac their critically wounded.”

  “Last I saw,” Crash said, “one of those vampyres was casting a bunch of healing magic and getting everybody up outta’ their hospital tents.”

  “Taryn,” Samantha said. “He’s the wizard that helped us rescue Kelli’s father.”

  “How was it in the enemy’s stronghold, Flashback?” one of the soldiers asked.

  “Kinda spooky, I’m not going to lie,” she said. “I think when you see my bodycam footage you’ll agree we picked the right side in this conflict. Unfortunately, one of the elves sacrificed himself to keep the rest of us hidden, so we could continue the mission in concealment. More of us might have died if not for him.”

  “Damn,” the soldier shook his head. “Sounds like he was a gutsy fellow.”

  “He was,” Samantha replied. “I’m told he had a wife and two daughters.” The soldiers all expressed disgust at the loss.

  “Getting back to matters,” Sean said, “as amazing as all this healing magic is, I’ve seen the state of the refugees and I don’t think even the faeries have magic that can treat the amount of malnourishment and abuse I saw.” Everyone nodded in agreement. “Also, even when we make it out of the Badlands, their mages won’t have the strength to open gates large enough for their landships, so we’ll continue on foot with them to make sure they arrive safely. So, time for a no-shit assessment. I know some of you are banged up pretty good, and I am not interested in any macho nonsense. If you aren’t up for a long march, say so now so that I can put you on one of those landships with some heavy weapons.”

  Three of the men raised their hands, having suffered some significant non-fatal wounds from fighting goblins and vampyres at close range. Dufangen had warned Sean against allowing any magical healing of his troops, citing “undesirable side effects because of your human blood”. He had no interest in subjecting anyone to unnecessary magic experimentation.

  “We lost our mule, too,” Greenbay admitted. Sean nodded. The goblins had smashed one of the four-legged drones with endless strikes from their swords and clubs, destroying several boxes of ammunition and other gear in the process, which had resulted in a couple of small explosions that had finished off the mule along with its attackers.

  “General,” Pieman raised his hand, “I don’t think my VT-4 is gonna endure two days of walking. That mad-cow disease mother-heifer did a number on the left leg. Ruptured two of the hydraulic lines, and the number-seven flex bundle is maxxing out its thresholds. I wouldn’t be surprised if the muscle fibers gives out the next time I power it up.”

  “Could it still walk after that happens?”

  “Limp, more like,” Pieman answered. “The muscle integrity is shot after you lose one bundle, meaning the other bundles will all fail pretty quickly. After that, the ValianT can stand up, but not much else.”

  “Let’s hope we can load it on one of those landships, then. How’s fuel for everyone else?”

  The other ValianT operators chimed in. Everyone’s fuel cells and batteries were above fifty percent, more than enough power if all they needed to do was walk for a couple days. They all had solar panels deployed at the moment to get a little juice for their batteries.

  Samantha tapped at her Paladin earpiece, nodding. “Right-O, I’ll be there, too.” She looked over at her brother. “Mind if I continue some team-building? My faery squad mates are getting a pint to celebrate surviving this nightmare.”

  “Go on,” Sean lifted his chin to dismiss her. “And don’t worry,” he raised his hands to his troops, “I’ll see if I can round up some liquid celebration for us, too.”

  Everyone replied with grins and chuckles of gratitude. The food wasn’t too bad here on Mars, so the booze was probably decent, too.

  ~

  Dufangen sat on a stone near General Khun’s body, nursing a goblet of wine. Kelli made her way over, opening her helmet. “Counselor? If you want to be alone, I’ll leave, but…”

  Dufangen looked up and forced a smile. “Not at all, my Queen. What can I do for you?” The mystic placed her goblet down and reached for her staff, but Kelli stopped her.

  “No, no, I was gonna ask you that! Please, sit. I wanted to find out, I mean, if it’s not prying too much. And you can tell me to mind my own business if it is. But, General Khun Rhee. Who was he, really? There’s more to it than just being the army’s commander.”

  Dufangen’s smile radiated her sadness. “Yes. He was not simply the General. He was a swayeveh. A Dragonhold.”

  “For Kraayek.”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m still not really clear on how that works, but I’m kind of asking more like… who was he to you?”

  Dufangen stared off into the blazing evening sky, swirling her drink in her hand. “Long before Kraayek’s transgression, when I was a young lady,” she chuckled at the thought of being young. “Khun Rhee and I were betrothed. We were very much in love.” She took another sip, despite knowing it was the drink making her so talkative.

  “I’m so sorry,” Kelli said, sitting in the grass.

  “I made my peace with it long ago, Highness. He and I have lived long, prosperous lives.”

  “But not together.”

  “No, not in the way we had planned.” She took another sip. “Forgive me Highness, but I would prefer to revisit this later. Perhaps after your coronation. I am not at my best at the moment.”

  “Of course! I’m sorry for being nosy, I just know you’re hurting right now and… I want you to know I’m here to talk or listen, whatever you need.”

  “That is gracious, Your Majesty,” Dufangen bowed her head. “But as I said, I dealt with the loss long ago.” She looked at where Khun laid peacefully. “Today is just a cruel reminder of the day I actually lost him. Come, now would be a good time to introduce you to your commanders. I have a feeling they will be reporting favorably on you to their kings and queens when they return home. Something, at least, to be thankful for in all of this.”

  ~

  The humans possessed three reconnaissance drones, and provided continuous aerial coverage by sending up one at a time. Another was launched whenever the first needed to recharge. Boss periodically reminded the drone operators to make passes over the surrounding woods; their foes could open magical gateways without warning, after all. It would be easy for the goblin forces to flank them if they let their guard down. After several hours, the Paladins also provided more security and surveillance when their second Ripwinger arrived from Tirapan. Unlike the drones, the Ripwinger was heavily armed with two vissin cannons. The first Ripwinger had delivered Graon’s body to Jenshire then flown home for servicing.

  Based on the continuous surveillance, the goblin forces showed no indication that they wanted to continue fighting. This left the sprite armies free to prepare for their long journey home. The barracks, kitchens, and hospitals began being dismant
led at the first word that the landships were nearing. The first of them breached the treeline an hour after sunset. Kelli stood and marveled at the very fantasy-esque vehicle. It was shaped much like the wooden ships of human history, and even had masts with sails that were currently tied up until needed. The front of the ships were not gently curved like sea ships, however. Instead they were flat in front and angled out sharply; from top to bottom there were various mechanisms for uprooting trees. The ships moved along on large, metal-rimmed wheels, eight in all. Each wheel had twenty curved panels of wood bolted around the rim, forming a kind of tire. The wheels were each mounted to independent shock-absorbing devices inside the belly of the ship, allowing each wheel to roll over obstacles while keeping the vessel mostly stable.

  The landship was impressively large, at least a hundred feet long and twenty feet wide. The first ship was pulled along by gherats, but as more ships arrived Kelli saw that no specific beast was favored. She saw large woolly creatures resembling huge wombats, others that resembled large elk, and still others that resembled bears. Kelli noticed that several of Khun’s command staff were gathered together, speaking to each other irritably. She wandered over to them. “Pembruh Meshra? What’s wrong?”

  The vampyre looked over at her. “Your Majesty. We just received news that two of our ships were attacked and destroyed this past week. All hands were lost. A third ship survived another attack, but it suffered damage that affects its mobility.”

  Kelli’s mind raced to try and prioritize everything she’d heard. More people have died, her mind screamed, but with great reluctance she pushed that aside. “Can we still move everyone with the landships that are left?”

  “Just barely,” Meshra nodded. “We planned against the possibility of losing at least one landship, but losing two puts a squeeze on us, and if the third becomes immobile…”

  “What can we do?”

  “For the moment we don’t need to do anything. It will be a lot more uncomfortable for everyone cramming together on the landships, especially since we need to dedicate one entirely as a medical transport. There are many fae we rescued who are too injured or sick to place with the rest of the refugees.”