“Sounds like you and your robe are a match made in heaven,” said Owyn with a smile.
“I feel like I can take on the world now!”
“Please reel in your enthusiasm just a bit, for today at least,” replied Owyn as he tapped her with his magic staff.
“Oh, Grandfather, you aren’t any fun,” Celeste replied with her bottom lip poking out.
Varnoth thought it looked adorable, and he found himself smiling at her. She saw him, and he promptly stopped his weird cat smile.
Varnoth embarrassingly asked, “Shall we head back now?”
They all stood in agreement and began their trek back to Finnmork. After a couple of hours of slow travel back to town, Owyn said, “Varnoth, you will stay with us above my shop for the night. I insist. Don’t think of declining, or I will put a trapping spell on you.”
Celeste let out a laugh at the old man’s joke and looked over at Varnoth for his confirmation.
“I would like that very much. I am exhausted.”
“Wonderful, I always wanted a house cat. Now that dream has come true! Come here, kitty kitty!” Celeste said facetiously, “Come to mama, and I will give you a snacky snack!”
“Enough, I can see him blushing under all that thick black fur,” Owyn said with a giggle.
The trio approached Finnmork just as the sun moved behind the clouds. They walked through the slowly emptying streets toward Owyn’s shop.
CHAPTER 27
Klotts and his band of goblins reached the abandoned village of Colkirk. Along with the hobgoblin Klotts, were Mung, another hobgoblin and eight goblin grunts. It was rare that hobgoblins asked for the names of the goblins. They served as meat shields for the hobgoblins while providing a small amount of attack damage. Their names meant nothing to them. As Klotts stepped out of the woods, he saw wagons traveling south from the village.
“You see something?” asked Mung.
Mung was a hobgoblin that had not taken care of himself like he should have. He was strong and intelligent, but he was lazy and had grew quite a gut. His obese abdomen hung over his leather belt and plopped up and down when he moved at any faster rate of speed.
“Aye, there are wagons in the distance that left from here. Could be gnomes. Could be thieves,” said Klotts as he pointed his long, green index finger in its direction.
“What do we do?”
Klotts looked toward the mountains and said, “We go on the road above the valley. If we get a move on, we can watch them from above to see where they are going. We aren’t going to attack them. Wrimrung wants answers, not blood right now.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me, lets go!”
Hobgoblins were not only larger, but they moved much quicker than goblins. Klotts and Mung had some catching up to do. The extra weight would prove to be a problem. Klotts directed the eight goblins to search the village for any valuable loot that may have been left behind. He decided that he would go with Mung up the mountain path. The goblins made their way to Colkirk, and the hobgoblins sprinted to catch up with the wagons.
As they made their way up the rough mountain road, it was much more difficult than the hobgoblins had anticipated. The road winded more than Klotts had expected. They had to move fast to keep the wagons in view. Mung’s obese body was beginning to cause a lot of delays for the duo. Eventually, Klotts grew livid and moved on without the pudgy hobgoblin.
********
Back at Colkirk, the goblin grunts were in for a big surprise as they moved through the village. One wagon had stayed behind, and two gnomes were loading boxes completely oblivious to the band of goblins that had entered the village.
“We no kill. We capture for war chief, war chief happy!” said one of the goblins.
The other seven agreed, and they all waddled toward the unsuspecting gnomes with their swords and spears equipped. Four goblins went the other direction to obstruct a retreat.
“Henry, this is the last box?” asked Barth.
“Yep, that’s it. Let’s catch up with the others. We may be back at the castle in a few hours,” replied Henry as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.
“That sounds good to me, my friend.”
Suddenly Henry saw the approaching four goblins and screamed, “Goblins! Run!”
Barth turned and saw them as they approached. They jumped off the trailer and headed in the opposite direction. They quickly stopped in their tracks soon after when they saw the other four goblins charging at them from the other direction. Henry lost his balance and fell on his butt. Barth grabbed Henry by the arm to lift him up.
“Come on, we got to go!”
By the time Henry was back to his feet, the goblins had surrounded them. Those who had spears held them at the throats of the captured gnomes. The two gnomes held their hands up, and the goblins saw that they were unarmed.
“Easy, easy, we don’t have any weapons. No need to do anything stupid,” said a trembling Henry.
“You close mouth gnome! We in charge! Put hand behind back!” yelled a spear wielding goblin.
Another goblin took some rope from his leather belt and proceeded to tie the hands of the two gnomes behind their backs. The gnomes had very short arms so this proved to be rather painful for them. They yelled to their captors that they were hurting them.
“You close mouth!” a goblin said as he hit Barth in the face with the end of the spear that didn’t have a point. The strike dazed Barth, and a stream of blood dripped from his cheek.
“Stop, no, just hold them for Klotts!”
Four of the goblins stayed with the captive gnomes as the other four raided the cottages for anything left of value.
******
Klotts finally reached a long, straight section of the road with the wagons directly below. At first he thought he saw a lone hobgoblin riding on a wagon, but as he looked closer he identified the figure as an orc. Klotts scratched his chin as he contemplated what an orc would be doing traveling with gnomes. He was able to determine that these were not thieves. He felt confident that they were heading to meet up with the others. If Klotts could stay with them, he would have the valuable information that Wrimrung wanted. The hobgoblin was desperate to get back into the good graces of his war chief. After a couple of hours, the gnome caravan stopped for a respite. The gnomes and orc evidently had to relieve themselves in the bushes. Klotts took advantage of this pause as well. He didn’t notice that Mung had caught up with him.
“Are you taking a piss Klotts? This is hardly the time. We need to get them gnomes!” Mung said.
“Will you shhhh? They have stopped for a break down below. Thanks to the gods your fat ass made it up the damned mountain without having a stroke. You are on a diet as soon as we return!” Klotts commanded as he finished up.
“Yeah, I have been drinking too much ale over the past few months and eating too much fried food. I need to do better.”
“Will you shut the hell up, Mung? They are just down below,” Klotts said as he punched Mung right in his nose.
The punch made a crunch and squish noise, and blood began to pour from Mung’s nose. He grabbed his nose as his eyes watered.
“You dumb son of a bitch, you broke my damn nose! What the hell did you do that for?”
“I will break your damn neck if you don’t pipe down!” Klotts exclaimed, “I don’t think you understand that our asses are on the line here. Do you want to get chained up, and Wrimrung drink your blood for months before eating your heart in front of you? Do you?”
Mung shook his head as he held his nose with his eyes closed.
“There they go. Let’s move!” Klotts said as he began walking the road again.
Mung slowly got up. His legs were a bit wobbly from the trauma of the broken nose. Blood seeped through his fingers and dripped to the ground. Mung was still in shock that Klotts had actually punched him. He visualized in his mind picking up a tree branch and striking Klotts in the back of the head as hard as he could. He would be signing
a death warrant if he did that.
******
“Where other gnomes at? Huh? You kill our people!” exclaimed a chubbier than usual goblin as he kicked Barth in the genitalia.
Barth fell on his side and curled into the fetal position with his hands tied behind his back.
“You green bastard, stop it!” Henry exclaimed as he spit at the goblin. He missed but still sent a message that enraged the goblin.
“You spit at me! You spit at me! You want kick! I give you kick!” yelled the goblin as he kicked Henry in the gut. This time the goblin lost his footing and fell off the wagon. The other goblins erupted in laughter.
He got to his feet and brushed the dirt from his pants and stomped into the closest hut in search of ale.
CHAPTER 28
Varnoth was refreshed and fully rested from the fantastic night’s sleep above Owyn’s alchemy shop. Owyn insisted that Varnoth sleep in his bed while Owyn slept on the couch in the living area. Varnoth felt very guilty and uncomfortable taking an old man’s bed, but he did not want to be rude and insult Owyn’s kindness. His guilt was short-lived. He fell asleep very quickly and didn’t stir for the rest of the night. Varnoth had awoken to the smell of delicious food being prepared in the kitchen. He promptly got up to offer any help he could with the cooking. Celeste and Owyn were hard at work cooking meat and eggs.
“Blessed morning to you, my friend!” Owyn exclaimed with a tender smile.
“I hope you slept well,” Celeste said while staring at a frying pan of sizzling meat.
“I did, very well. Thank you again, Owyn, your bed was incredible. I didn’t want to get up.”
Owyn and Celeste glanced at each other and giggled.
“Am I missing something?” asked Varnoth.
“Grandfather has enchanted that bed with special magic that helps you sleep soundly. It is quite effective.”
“Yes it is, your grandfather is an impressive man.”
“I like to think so, but let’s not fill his head up with all this praise,” Celeste said as she winked at Owyn.
“Don’t stop your compliments on my account. An old man does enjoy being praised from time to time,” replied Owyn.
The trio sat down and ravenously devoured their breakfast. Varnoth wondered if the food had been enchanted with amazing flavor. It was the best food he had ever eaten.
“Varnoth, I apologize for not giving you a proper reward last night. I was exhausted, and my mind was selfishly on sleep. We will take care of that this morning,” said Owyn.
“No sir, you don’t have to award me. I was just helping a friend save his granddaughter. I don’t need a repayment.”
“Ah here we go again with your selflessness and chivalry,” Celeste said sarcastically with an eye-roll.
“You will allow me to reward you, or I will turn you into a dog! You will agree!” said Owyn as he slammed a fist playfully on the table.
Varnoth looked at them both and just gave in. He knew that Owyn wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“Alright, I will kindly accept your gift.”
“You may choose any one item in my shop. Look around for what you like, and it is yours!”
“Ok, I have made my choice,” replied Varnoth.
“You haven’t looked at anything yet? How is this possible?” Celeste asked.
“Simple really, when in Drangar recently, I visited an old friend. He advised me to come to see you about a homestone ring.”
“Yes, of course, if that is what you desire, I will gladly help you with that!”
Owyn clapped his hands once and walked to a jewelry case and looked inside. He pulled out something and brought it over to Varnoth with a big smile on his face.
You have received:
1 x Legendary Homestone Ring
Rarity: Legendary
“Gods, Owyn, you didn’t have to give me a legendary ring! I don’t know what it will do, but I know legendary is a very rare item.”
“My friend, you accompanied me on a deadly quest to save my one and only granddaughter, who is the love of my life. You deserve the best, and now you have it!” Owyn replied with a broad grin on his face.
“Wow, I am worth a lot! A legendary homestone ring is a freaking amazing piece of loot!” exclaimed Celeste with her eyes wide.
She grabbed his paw and glared at it like it was a girlfriend's diamond engagement ring. The ring was beautiful. It was gold with designs engraved around its hoop. Varnoth wasn’t sure what they meant, but they were impressive, nonetheless. The stone was a brilliant green emerald. This emerald was very different than the one Flynn had. The stone looked as if there was a green portal constantly turning inside the emerald.
“It is breathtaking. Does it work differently than a regular homestone ring?” asked Varnoth as he gazed at the sparkling ring.
“Yes, very much so. With this legendary homestone ring, the wearer cannot only transport himself, but he can transport four other people at the same time. A regular homestone will only allow you to transport yourself, and an epic homestone will allow you to transport two. It is a lifesaver for dungeon divers. It makes it easier because you can transport your entire party back home. You deserve it, my friend,” replied Owyn.
“I don’t know what to say. It is overwhelming. How does it work?”
“It can’t be used yet. I will need to travel with you to Darthill and finish the ring’s enchantment there. That will set your home point. The point can be changed but will require the same process,” replied Owyn.
“No, no gramps, you aren’t going without me. I have got to see what Varnoth has done with this castle. A cat that is overseer of a beautiful castle is rather odd. No offense,” said Celeste.
“None taken, it is rather weird,” replied Varnoth with a chuckle.
“When shall we leave?” Owyn asked.
“Can you leave this morning? You have a store to run.”
“That is the advantage of running your own business. I do what I want when I want. I will go freshen up and pack a few things, and we will be on our way.”
Owyn walked toward his bedroom and closed the door.
“Your grandfather is a wonderful man. You are fortunate to have someone like him in your life. Where are your parents?”
“My mother died during childbirth. My father and grandfather raised me. My father died two winters ago. An evil goblin war chief captured him, and he was held prisoner for weeks, and then he was executed.”
“What in the name of gods happened? How did he get into that situation? I am so sorry,” asked Varnoth as he shook his head.
“My father, Alaric, helped grandfather in the shop as a traveling merchant. He went all over Albattara selling wares from the shop here. It wasn’t unusual for him to be gone for weeks at a time. However, he had been gone for two months, and we were understandably concerned. He left here with no itinerary, so we had no clue where to look for him. A customer came by our shop and congratulated us on opening another store. He was shocked that we were able to do business in the goblin town of Slorm. We, of course, had no business in Slorm. We then knew that he must have been kidnapped or worse by goblins, for them to have his wagon in Slorm. My grandfather hired a Black Blade named, Flynn, to investigate what happened. He infiltrated the town and interrogated one of the war chief’s guards, and he told him that, Wrimrung, had captured him and kept him chained up to drink his blood. He grew tired of his whining about his daughter daily, and he killed him. The goblin said that Wrimrung ate his heart and used his skin to decorate his hut,” Celeste said with tears streaming down her cheeks.
“I am so sorry. Did Flynn assassinate him?”
“No, grandfather gave him a quest to get information. Grandfather knew he would end up starting some sort of war if he had Wrimrung killed. Goblins don’t understand diplomacy. They only know violence. One day, this bastard will pay for what he has done. I swear it,” replied Celeste.
“You may get your chance sooner than you think. I liberated a gn
ome town, Colkirk. They were being raided by a goblin outpost on an almost daily basis, an outpost of the town of Slorm. I took all the gnomes back to Darthill. I knew that they would be slaughtered if they stayed behind. If this Wrimrung is as vicious as you say, I am willing to bet he will want to find out who took out his outpost. We need to get back to Darthill at once. We had a small group that went back to Colkirk to gather the remaining items. I hope they returned safely.”
Varnoth
Level 19
Shadow Panther
Black Blade Legendary Class
Attributes:
Strength – 100
Dexterity – 108
Intelligence – 64
Vitality – 115
Night Vision
Detection
Executioner
CHAPTER 29
“Ah, well, what do you know, the gnomes have taken refuge at Darthill Keep,” said Klotts as he watched the wagons go through the gate of the beautiful estate.
“How did this happen? Atlas is supposed to be a bad human,” Mung added.
“I am not seeing anyone in the normal Derelict uniform. I don’t think they stay here anymore. There have been rumors of Derelicts getting killed by some other gang.”
“I don’t think gnome runts took out the Derelicts. Gnomes couldn’t kill a group of bunny rabbits if they tried,” replied Mung.
“Obviously, they have befriended an orc, and you can clearly see humans all over the estate. The Derelicts are not here anymore. We have seen enough. Let’s go back and tell Wrimrung what we have learned. I need to restore my honor.”
The two hobgoblins got as good of a view as they could of the surroundings without being detected. Hobgoblins aren’t known for their stealth abilities, so they needed to be extra cautious. An hour passed, and they made their way back to Colkirk to gather the other goblins to return to Slorm.
******
The goblins found a barrel of ale in a cellar of one of the larger huts and partook. By the time Klotts and Mung returned, five of the eight goblins were terribly drunk.
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