The Goblin and the Empire

by JD Cole

  “I’ll go see what I can do for them,” Kelli said. “I probably can’t heal everyone but maybe I can get everyone strong enough so we don’t need a hospital ship.”

  “That would help immensely, Your Highness, thank you.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  “The Master is awake, but he doesn’t reply to my calls,” the necromancer growled.

  “Nor mine,” agreed another. “His defeat was total. He has no strength.”

  “The human woman is a bigger threat than any Sprite Monarch ever was.”

  “Matari cannot recover as long as she lives. But she is probably back in Windham, protected.”

  “Gather what troops remain, and summon the Riders. We will wait for the invaders to reach the border, then massacre half the slaves. That will draw her to us.”

  “All of the Riders?”

  “Yes. The Claws and the Wings.”

  “The Claws cannot be trusted to follow any kind of battle plan! They are little more than animals.”

  “Exactly. They only need to follow one order: wait. If we can keep them on leash long enough to get the Wings in place, the Riders can kill dozens at a time to provide us more goblins; we need numbers to counter the Paladins.”

  “We have more than enough corpses here.”

  “Conserve your strength. Better to use freshly slain sprite-loyalists to demoralize their soldiers.”

  “I see. Still, the solsdren will demand a high price to leave their snowy peaks for us.”

  “The ice elves can have whatever spoils they want from the convoy, as long as the Queen dies. Matari must rise again, quickly.”

  “Our city…” the vampyre necromancer frowned.

  “Our pride,” his companion corrected him.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  The Sprite forces and refugees rested until late evening, when the crippled landship finally arrived. Two of its wheel suspensions had been damaged and hastily repaired, and one of its masts was missing its top half. While mobile, it would not be able to keep up with the convoy, and the decision was made to use it only for carrying non-essential cargo and volunteers.

  The broken down camps came alive with activity. Throughout the evening and deep into the next morning, supplies, refugees, and wounded were loaded into the landships. As Meshra had said, it was an uncomfortable affair for all involved. Sean got permission to load his crippled ValianT on the damaged landship, and it was decided that after picking Bartley and a few other Paladins as relief pilots, the Ripwinger was more than capable of providing security from the air no matter how far behind the landship lagged. The wounded humans also got onboard the damaged landship with dozens of volunteer refugees who wanted to make room on the faster landships for others.

  It was an hour before sunrise when the landships began heading for Jenshire. Kelli and her group were onboard the third ship to depart, the Graceful Heron. Before she knew it, they had already traveled an entire day, the ships moving much quicker than she would have thought. Dressed in her hoodie and leggings, she stood next to where Sorvir sat in the captain’s map room, jostling side to side as the ship lumbered into the woods. The sprite was too tall to stand in this vampyre-sized room while Dufangen, who had plenty of room, slept on a bench against the back wall. Her enchanted bracelet sat in a bowl of fresh spring water, though she had no idea if that would be enough to recharge any of its magic. The front wall of the room was open to let them see outside, and this is where the Royal Guards stood watch. Kelli marveled at how the captains and their crews threaded these massive vehicles around and between any trees they couldn’t just run over.

  “So, how’d you like being my representative?” she asked Sorvir.

  The sprite chuckled. “Considering no one needed anything from me, I have to say I enjoyed it.”

  “Good, I’m thinking that’ll be your job when I’m not around,” the queen smiled. But Sorvir’s face turned serious.

  “I am honored, Highness, but I believe Aunt Brevha is far better suited to the role than I. She has already spoken on your behalf, masterfully coordinating this grand alliance,” he waved his arm around himself. “I am happy to serve in a more humble capacity.”

  “You mean you’re lazy,” she smirked. “Just kidding! I’ll consider what you said. But also, consider what I told you.” She looked out at the forest, dimly lit by the coming sunrise. “Nobody here knows me better than you do.”

  When he didn’t reply, she turned around to face him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make this awkward…”

  Sorvir waved her off. “No, I just- it’s, now that things have calmed down, I can finally take a moment to think about Trennh. He’s the one who always aspired to serve the throne… I know he would have been thrilled at the chance you offer me.”

  “What… happened to Trennh?”

  Sorvir looked at her and blinked. “Oh. That day Ercianodhon attacked, Highness. Trennh was one of…” he trailed off.

  “Oh, Sorvir,” Kelli dropped to her knee and hugged him. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.”

  Sorvir dropped his face into Kelli’s shoulder and let the tears flow.

  ~

  Almost a half kilometer to the west-south of them, Jezrimeli sat on the edge of another landship’s bow, just above one of the pulley systems for moving stubborn trees. With one foot resting on the pulley and the other dangling freely, she rested an elbow on her knee, holding a bag walnuts. Using her skilled knowledge and physical control, she cracked each walnut open without seeming to do anything beyond picking them out of the bag. She looked behind herself at a shuffling noise on the deck and saw several pashryk and vyzen slave children staring up at her in wonder. They’d probably never seen a sprite before. She reached into the bag and quickly cracked a handful of nuts, then tossed one each into the hands of the gawking children. “Just one for now, kids,” she said. “Your stomachs need to get used to real food, but trust me, there’s some delicious meals waiting for you in Jenshire.” She chuckled at the munching, chipmunk-like cheeks of the children nodding wide-eyed at her.

  ~

  Nearby, Kassak and Nim marched with their fellow rangers from Renna, helping to provide security for another landship.

  “Truly?” Dex asked in amazement. “An entire forest?”

  “Gone before I hit the ground,” Kassak nodded. “They’d summoned a fireball from the sky and defeated the golems by destroying everything around them. That was also when Gemlorry… when I thought she’d died.”

  “You’ll get to see her soon, kid,” Nim said, his eyes scanning the trees around them.

  “You should hurry up and marry her, Kassak,” Dex said. “Start having some babies.”

  “W-what?”

  “Come on, don’t act like you don’t know she wants to pin a ring to your ear. She’s been chasing you since the day you walked into Renna.”

  “I’m- we’re not old enough to get married,” he stuttered.

  “Dex is teasing you, Kassak,” Maxillion said. “But considering the times we live in… one day you might lose each other for real. It’s not a bad thing to think about. I’ve known vyzen who got married in their twenties, so you wouldn’t be the youngest couple ever.”

  “Their twenties?” Dex laughed. “Did they get married in their diapers?”

  “I think she’s a harridan,” Nim offered, “but you could do worse. Dragons know I did. Twice.”

  The older rangers shared a chuckle, but Kassak frowned, unsure what to think.

  ~

  Sean watched his sister walking up ahead in the distance with Taryn and his little daughter, who apparently wasn’t his daughter. The metahuman shook his head and sighed. Beside him, Popper snorted. “I’m gonna start a Martian dating service, sir, it’s gonna be huge. You wanna get in on the ground floor before it explodes into a multi-million dollar enterprise?”

  Sean shook his head, not quite grinning. He lifted his chin at Samantha. “The scary thing is, I believe you could pull it off. I didn’t bring her here to find a boyfrie
nd.”

  “I already have my tagline,” Popper said. “Looking for love? Come fight goblins on Mars! Honestly, if you can get past the size difference, the spryes are pretty dang gorgeous. Have you seen Jezrimeli?” He whistled his appreciation. “Hey, you think Flashback and her suave vampire would do a testimonial for my new venture?”

  “Popper, stop talking.”

  ~

  Taryn sighed. “I do not think your brother appreciates us keeping company with each other.”

  “What makes you say that?” Samantha asked.

  “I can hear them talking behind us.”

  “Oh, really?” she glanced back at Sean and waved. He responded with a curt nod, all business. “Well, lucky for you, luv, he doesn’t get to tell me who I can walk with. Well, technically he can since we’re on mission. But on my personal time I can do whatever I want.”

  “I like you,” Kirama peeked around from the other side of Taryn. Despite her sharp new fangs, she looked adorable. “Are you going to marry my master?”

  Samantha almost choked, and Taryn patted the elemental’s head. “We are merely getting to know each other, Kirama.”

  “Yeah,” Samantha blurted, pointing at the vampyre. “What he said.”

  On the other side of the landship they guarded, Greenbay’s ValianT stomped along intimidatingly, surrounded by elf and dwarf soldiers. The other ValianTs were spread out to cover every as much of the convoy as possible. Like the rest of the team, he had a constant feed from the drone circling overhead, though the trees made it hard to see anything useful. His radio clicked on, and the name “Boss” popped into the corner of his visor. The warfighter system quickly opened a small map to show Boss’s position a mile behind him.

  “Greenbay, we just had an encounter with a wild bear-looking animal at my position. You guys having any wildlife problems up there?”

  “Negative, Boss, it’s all quiet here. Any casualties?”

  “Nah, they’re pretty easy to scare off, but my elf friends say there’s other critters in these woods that can be aggressive. Keep an eye out, I’ll let the others know.”

  “Roger, thanks for the heads up.”

  ~

  “The implications, if that boy is a Khorev-”

  “He has earned his rest, Bartley,” Lumina cut off the other Paladin over the radio, looking up at the sky where Bartley and the Ripwinger were covering them from above. “I’ve seen strong indications that Derek is what I suspect he is, but we cannot make an ally of him by annoying him. He will return soon enough.”

  “How do you know? Traveling through the Ythsimerin is no casual feat.”

  “He and the Queen are close friends. He will return.”

  “And Sen’giza? Did you get inside the starship?”

  “Unfortunately, no. Krin Ahgl prevented me from returning to inspect it.”

  “Why would the Tinker do that?”

  “Did you read any of the reports I sent back?”

  “Most of them… yes!”

  “Then you know the Tinker is a Dragon?”

  There was silence on the line for a moment. “Dragons don’t exist.”

  Lumina groaned with exasperation.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Despite protests from Dufangen and Sorvir, Kelli spent the fourth day of the journey making quick trips from one landship to another to greet her new subjects. Her armor’s flight was powered by her own wings, making energy drain a non-issue, and keeping the bracelet in bowls of fresh water seemed to have recharged the armor just a little. Together with her guards, she landed on the fourth ship of the afternoon, at the aft deck where the captain and his officers controlled the vessel. The captain, a vyzen dressed in a swarthy earthen ensemble, knelt along with his first mate, removing his broad hat and holding it against his chest. Another elf stood nearby manning the controls to steer the ship; the control deck was designed such that vampyres and elves could both use the controls efficiently despite their significant size difference.

  “Your Highness, welcome aboard the Chasing Starlight. I am Captain Enyonin. This is my first officer,” he gestured to the ellh kneeling beside him, dressed in a similar manner.

  “Subcaptain Liraeni, Your Majesty,” she looked up and smiled. “It is an honor to have you on board!”

  “Thank you!” Kelli replied, her helmet open to let everyone see her. “Please, rise! There’s no reason to be formal right now, we’re still not out of danger.”

  “As you say, Highness,” Captain Enyonin stood and replaced his hat. He looked around briefly at the intimidating sprite guards standing around the edges of the deck. “How may we be of service, My Queen?”

  “Actually, I wanted to ask you that same thing. How are the refugees holding up? And your crew?”

  “As well as could be hoped, Your Majesty. Spirits are actually pretty high despite the cramped quarters. We’re rationing the food and water, but only out of an abundance of caution. We’ve more than enough supplies to make it to the Borderlands tomorrow.”

  “That’s great news!” Kelli smiled. The previous ship had had several belligerent refugees, and she wasn’t sure her talks with them had much effect. She was reluctant to take any kind of hardline action against these people who had already endured so much; it was a relief the Chasing Starlight seemed to be running so smoothly. “Would you mind if I took a little time to greet your crew and passengers?”

  “By all means, Highness,” the captain smiled and spread his arm out over the deck.

  Kelli nodded and started for the stairs down to the main deck, but turned back suddenly. “Oh yeah, I forgot to ask the last captain, but I’m curious about these,” she pointed up at the large masts. “If you get to an open area where you can use these, do we have to stop to unhitch the animals?”

  The captain lifted his chin to Liraeni and grinned, giving her the honor of addressing the queen. The subcaptain’s face beamed excitedly. “No, Your Highness. The bow of each ship can can lift open, and the yoke shafts draw the beasts into a holding pen where we can feed and water them. Then the bow closes back up and we can unfurl the sails.”

  “I see. That’s an interesting setup. I grew up taking care of animals, and I’ve hitched more than a few horses to carriages. I’ll be interested to watch how these ships collect the animals when the time comes.” Kelli noted the wide eyes of the two vyzen. “I wasn’t born into royalty or anything. In fact, if it wasn’t for the Birthright, I’d be in school right now, studying to become a medical researcher. I guess I still get to pursue that with magic, which is cool. But I think I’m going to like it here, if the kingdom is made up of people like all of you.” She offered them her dazzling smile and headed downstairs with her guards.

  “She’s not at all what the stories describe humans as,” Liraeni whispered to her captain.

  “From what I heard of the battle,” he replied softly, “the rest of these humans live up to the legend more than enough to make up for that.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Just a few wiks to the north, the necromancer generals perched hidden in the trees, well-concealed. Several groups of armored vampyre knights and mages were also hidden throughout the trees with them. On the ground, almost eight hundred irenaks, bolstered by dozens of trolls and wolves, patiently waited for word to attack. Their job was to drive the landships east-north, where the Claw Riders —barbarian vampyre clans mounted on large warhorses— waited in ambush.

  Two necromancers were with the Riders to guarantee they did not rush off on their own. Uncontrollable as they were, they understood the threat of a necromancer. But more than that, they understood that the moment they were released to attack, they would be free to slaughter and destroy with abandon. The general narrowed his eyes with concern. The Claw Riders’ bloodlust was both the key to succeeding in this retaliation against the queen, as well as the weakness that could doom this attack to failure. The Claw Riders had been lured to this venture by the promise of unrestrained carnage, but the Wing Riders —solsdren mounted on wy
rms— were on their way based on the promise of loot and vyzen slaves. Those competing goals presented the very real possibility of both Rider groups fighting and killing each other as much as the sprite-loyalists.

  They can all burn as long as the queen dies, the general thought.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  “I hope that’s not what I think it is,” the Paladin co-pilot pointed out his window.

  The pilot looked over and squinted, then turned the Ripwinger toward the flocks of creatures above the horizon. The sensors immediately drew rendered images of the wyrms, and the ice elves riding atop them. A moment later the camera zoom came into focus and presented them with a live feed.

  Bartley looked over their shoulders at the displays, frowning. “We can handle them, right?”

  “Not all at once,” the pilot shook his head. “Those wyrms will tear us apart before we can shoot down half of them.”

  “They’re a lot more nimble than we are,” the co-pilot added. “And those claws are no joke.”

  The pilot nodded. “And there’s probably at least a few mages among those riders that could ruin our day, too.”

  Bartley cursed, turning away and opening his radio channel. “Lumina, this is Bartley. We have trouble. A lot of trouble.”

  « CHAPTER 34 »

  The End of the Beginning

  “How close are we to the Borderlands?” Kelli asked her advisors, back on her informal flagship Graceful Heron.

  Pembruh Meshra shook his head. “More than a full day, I’m afraid. Those Wing Riders will be on top of us at any moment.”

  “But if they’re flying, the trees should protect us from any attack… right?”

  Again, Meshra shook his head. “These are very skilled warriors, Highness. They have developed deadly tactics for every kind of terrain. The trees will provide a slight hindrance against them, nothing more.”