by Ivan Kal
Morgan shook his head as the last of his soreness disappeared and he looked at the twins, locking eyes with Vallsorim.
“I assume that they are all dead?” Morgan asked.
“Yes.” Vallsorim nodded gravely. “It is very fortunate that you had noticed them in time. We could’ve all died.”
“Yeah, I saw them with my Life Sight ability,” Morgan said.
“Oh, you managed to make a connection with your alignment?” Vestella asked.
“Yeah, just before they arrived. We were very lucky,” Morgan said.
“You said that you had a Sight ability?” Vallsorim said. “That is very impressive; very few discover it on their own. Both me and Ves managed it, but it took us days of attempting it.”
“Really? And wait, you can see glowing stuff like me?” Morgan asked.
“No, every alignment has a different sight. I have a fire alignment, so I can see heat,” Vallsorim answered.
“That’s so cool, you’re like the Predator!” Morgan said with wide eyes.
Vestella tilted her head and opened her mouth to speak, but then she just shook her head in surrender. I really need to stop speaking with Earth slang and references.
“And I,” Vestella explained, “as a water aligned, can sense moisture and liquids.”
“So every alignment has its own sight abilities?” Morgan asked.
“Yes, each element specializes in its own areas,” Vallsorim said.
“Huh… I did feel a few other things when I was attempting to make a connection to my element. I felt life all around me, but also…death,” Morgan said slowly. He didn’t know much about the customs and beliefs of this world. For all he knew, death was something like dark magic for them.
But the twins just nodded. Vestella put another log to the fire as she spoke. “Every element has sub-elements, but it also has aspects. For water, they are Flow and Change; for fire, Transformation and Destruction. Earth’s aspects are Foundation and Strength, while air’s are Freedom and Spirit. Metal is formed of Gravitation and Power, and nature—your alignment, Morgan—is made of Life and Death. The Domination elements are more aggressive, requiring emotion and drive in order to be utilized. The Discipline elements, however, require calm and willpower.”
“If only some jackass had thought to put all of this in the frickin’ guide…” Morgan mumbled. “So, that means that I can utilize my alignment to get power over life and death.”
“Having any real power over those aspects will take a long time,” Vallsorim said. “I don’t know if even the top ascended have managed to master them.”
Morgan nodded. It wasn’t like he’d really thought that he would get any really overpowered ability right at the start.
“We’ve gathered your part of the loot—a few blue crystals—and we put the goblin hides and weapons in our packs with the rest,” Vestella said, offering him a small bundle.
“Oh, that’s great!” Morgan said. Their agreement was to sell the gear and split the coin evenly later. But he really needed those crystals. He took the bundle she offered, seeing about ten crystals. Another month of life. Morgan released a breath of relief; having a bit of a cushion would be very good. I still can’t believe that I didn’t know about this before I accepted the deal. Goddamn power-tripping asshole…
The sun was slowly rising, and they started packing up their camp and getting on their way. They were still a few days away from the town, and they still had to find the goblin den, since they had all agreed that they needed to level up a bit more. In order to do that, Morgan started following the tracks from the goblins that had tried to ambush them. They should find the den, he reasoned, by following those tracks. He still had 14 arrows left, as he had recovered them from their previous engagement. But now he also had a short stone-tipped spear that he had taken from one of the goblins as well. Hopefully they wouldn’t encounter a really large den.
After that battle, they would finally go to the town and hopefully civilization. Morgan was still on the fence about their plan to join a Guild, and it wasn’t like he had agreed to do that with them. But he really didn’t know how things worked here. Once we get to the town I should have a better understanding of this world. And if the god with the little g allows, there will be baths…I reek! He hadn’t even seen a single house yet, however; nothing to indicate any kind of civilization.
They were all on high alert, as they knew that they were in goblin territory and that they were getting closer to the den—and, sometime in the afternoon, they finally found it.
They hid in the bushes and behind trees and looked ahead to the clearing, finding a cave, in front of which was a small gathering of goblins. A simple and large metal cauldron was placed over a low fire a bit away from the gathering, and goblins were walking from the gathering and to the cauldron before throwing stuff inside. Morgan noticed a pile of meat and blood, and a few paces away one of the goblins was butchering something. Then Morgan took a closer look—and almost threw up. The goblin wasn’t butchering an animal, but rather a human being. He had to look away from the sight.
“They must’ve raided a village, or maybe accosted some poor travelers…” Vallsorim added. His tone was tense and Morgan could see the barely restrained anger in the half-elf’s green eyes.
“We should kill them all now,” Morgan whispered, surprising even himself at intensity of his voice. He had lived a fairly sheltered life on Earth, at least compared to this one. He had seen death, sure, on TV, in video games, movies. In dimly lit kitchens—goddamn drunk step-fathers. But never had he stood in front of people being butchered for a meal.
Vestella put her hand on his forearm compassionately. “We can’t, there are too many of them. And these are not like the scouting parties we have encountered before.”
Morgan frowned at her. He thought that their plan had been to clear out the den, but he could see even Vallsorim hesitate now.
“There are too many of them,” Vallsorim said, agreeing with a grimace. “I had hoped that this was a small den… I guess that now we know why this den is still here. Adventurers are rare in these parts, and the regular folk wouldn’t even stand a chance against them.”
“So what? We just leave?” Morgan asked hotly.
“Look at them, Morgan. These are their warriors. We are not strong enough to take them all on,” Vestella told him.
Morgan turned his sights back to the clearing, making sure that he avoided looking at the butchering of the person. There were eleven goblins in front of the cave, and they seemed to be in the process of celebrating. He couldn’t really tell, but a few of them were waving their weapons in the air and dancing. The goblins looked a bit different than the ones they had encountered before, maybe just a bit taller and more muscular, and these had better weapons. Morgan saw that four goblins had short metal swords, though they appeared rusted, while another two had metal daggers, and another two still had woodcutting axes. The remainder didn’t have any weapons that he could see, but there was a pile of wooden and bone weapons near the entrance of the cave. Most of them wore some kind of armor: it looked like leather coverings that had been crudely cut down to match their sizes. Obviously they had looted them off the corpses of some bigger races.
Morgan remembered how much trouble he had with the other goblins, how he had nearly died. But he still didn’t want to leave them alone. Need to get stronger, and this is a chance. Not to mention that those fuckers are pure evil—my grandma would be furious if I don’t deliver them to their place in Hell. Morgan narrowed his eyes and watched, thinking.
“How smart are these things, really?” Morgan asked.
“How do you mean?” Vestella asked.
“If I start firing arrows from here, will they run into the cave for cover, or would they charge at me?”
The twins looked at each other for a moment, and then Vallsorim answered him. “They are not terribly bright; more primal. They rush headfirst into danger, so they would charge, most likely.”
&nbs
p; Morgan nodded at that, and his tactical mind started assembling a plan. I guess all that time making raiding plans for the Guild are going to be put to the test. He activated his Life Sight and looked at the cave, but he couldn’t see anything inside it, as it was too far away. Dismissing the sight, he debated trying with his Nature Sense, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to sense so far away. “And what about poisons? Do the ones that work on humans work on them?” he asked as another idea came to him.
“They should, but why do you ask?” Vestella asked.
“I have herbs that I gathered earlier that should make them sick if ingested. We can poison their cauldron, then wait and attack when they are weaker.” Morgan knew that it would take more than that to defeat them all—they were outnumbered, and they didn’t even know if there were any more of the goblins in the cave. But he had a semblance of a plan. And so he told the twins what he had in mind.
They were quiet for a while after they heard his plan, but then Vallsorim nodded slowly. “That could work…if we get lucky. But who will poison their cauldron?”
“It will be dark soon. I could sneak over there and drop the herbs inside,” Morgan answered.
“If they see you…” Vestella started with concern in her eyes. Huh, didn’t know she cared enough for me to be concerned. Then again, I am an extra weapon in a fight; she’s probably more concerned with surviving after I end up in a goblin cauldron. Morgan shivered at the thought. No, I will not end up in a goblin stew.
“They won’t,” Morgan said with what he thought was a confident voice. The look in Vestella’s eyes, however, told him that she had seen right through him.
He was frightened, there was no doubt about that, but Morgan had already spent one life unfulfilled because he was scared of doing something with it—and he sure as hell wasn’t to do the same thing again. He was going to make something of himself. And hell, every hero has to start somewhere, right?
Right?
CHAPTER NINE
The night had almost fallen by the time that they had made all of their preparations. Morgan found himself crouching close to the ground in the amber light of the dusk. The goblins were occupied with their celebrations, so he slowly but surely approached their cauldron. Steam and smoke rose from and around it, obscuring him even more from their eyesight. He was, however, going very slowly as he attempted to not be noticed, which gave him enough time to curse himself for his idiocy.
Really, the hell was I thinking? Playing a hero? I don’t know these poor people, I don’t need to avenge them. Morgan warred with himself; a part of him wanted to abandon this foolish plan, but the other couldn’t wait for it to unfold. He got the same rush he got just before his Guild started a new raid encounter, and the anticipation was addictive. But it was all now real. I can’t waste my life again, Morgan said to himself. The way that he had left his former life bothered him constantly. Oxylus had been right: Morgan had wasted his life, never really deciding on a path. He didn’t regret his time spent playing games, he had made many friends that way, and their times in the game worlds were some of his best and happiest memories. It was the rest that bothered him. The fact that he had wasted years in a field that didn’t interest him in the slightest—I mean seriously, who actually wants to study economics? He just hadn’t had the courage nor the will to find something that interested him. He was scared of growing up, of being responsible. He knew that now. It’s ironic that I only figured that out once I got hit by a car.
Clearing his thoughts, Morgan focused on the task in front of him. The cauldron and the smoke were looming close, and with just a few more steps, he reached it. He made the mistake of taking a deep breath, and the smell of the stew nearly made him retch. He felt bile in his throat and fought to keep it down. Morgan looked inside and immediately regretted it. Pieces of people floated in the brownish water, and he swore that he saw an eyeball before he turned his head away. Quickly, he emptied Vestella’s pouch inside. He had prepared a salve of kind from the herbs he had gathered. His Herbalism skill didn’t exactly teach him much besides the basics, but it should be enough.
Slowly, he turned and started his way back to the tree line and the twins.
“It is done,” Morgan told the twins as they crouched in the tree line and watched the goblins. It took almost an hour for them to start eating, and before they did more goblins joined them from the cave. Three more goblin warriors left the cave and joined in the celebration, and two more scout goblins like the ones they had encountered before. Only these two didn’t eat, but instead kept watch while the others ate and drank. Before they started eating, however, three goblins carried some of the food back inside the cave, coming back out empty handed.
“Damn, that means that there are even more goblins inside,” Vestella said.
“But not more than three, I think,” Vallsorim added. “They didn’t take that much of the food inside.”
Morgan nodded, agreeing with them. Based on what the knowledge his skill provided him, he knew that the poison should start affecting them soon enough. And just a few more minutes after, the first goblin started throwing up, holding his stomach. The poison wasn’t enough to kill them outright, unfortunately; Morgan didn’t have enough of it, nor was the herb all that potent. But it would wreak havoc on their stomachs.
They waited and watched as more and more of goblins started throwing up all the food that they ate. The scouts were distracted as well, looking at the other goblins in confusion.
“It’s time. Go to your positions,” Morgan told the twins. They followed his directions wordlessly and moved deeper into the forest and outside of Morgan’s sight.
Morgan stepped out of the cover, walking into the clearing. The goblins were too busy to notice him, so he drew one of his arrows and aimed. He took his time, making sure that his shot found its target, and then he let loose. The arrow flew true and pierced one of the goblin warriors right through the neck. As the goblin felt to his knees with blood spilling from the wounds and his mouth, Morgan already had the next arrow ready. In the confusion, the goblins had yet to see him, and so his next arrow hit another goblin warrior in his chest, felling him immediately. As the second one fell, one of the scouts noticed Morgan and yelled out. Immediately the entire group turned their eyes on him just as Morgan let loose another arrow, hitting a goblin warrior in the eye. They screamed as one and started running toward him, except for one of the scouts that ran toward the cave. But Morgan could tell that they were slower, and a few even held their stomachs as they ran.
Without waiting, Morgan turned and ran back into the forest. Even poisoned, the goblins were incredibly fast, and Morgan could hear them behind him. A dozen goblins ran into the forest after him and Morgan led them deeper, where the trees obscured the dying light of the day.
He passed the first marker that they had placed earlier, and a few seconds later he reached his destination, marked so by the stones they had placed earlier as well. Morgan jumped forward over the pile of leaves in front of him. As soon as he landed on his feet, he turned around only to see a goblin warrior not five paces behind him. The monster ran forward with his eyes locked on Morgan, and so in the dark he didn’t even notice the pile of leaves. His foot fell through the hole they had dug and he tripped forward, landing on the spikes and impaling himself. The hole was maybe two palms’ deep, not deep at all, but the spikes they had fashioned out of wood were sharp enough that it didn’t matter.
Morgan nocked two arrows as two more goblins ran forward. They’d noticed that their friend had fallen, but they couldn’t really see what had happened to him in the dark. Morgan let his arrows loose, one hitting the goblin on the left in the stomach and the other hitting the one on the right in the shoulder. The goblin on the right staggered backward, but the one on the left bent over his wound and tripped, falling into the small pit beside the already dying goblin.
More goblins had arrived, and just as the last one of their group passed the first marker, Vallsorim and Vestella steppe
d out behind them from their hiding places, swinging their swords and decapitating two of the creatures at the back of the group before anyone even knew that they were there. The goblin that had staggered back from Morgan’s arrow suddenly rushed forward, jumping over the pit—only to be met by another of Morgan’s arrows in the chest. The goblin fell into the pit over his friends, who had just disappeared into dust, making room for him to fall onto the spikes.
The six goblins who had their attention focused on Morgan realized that Vallsorim and Vestella were behind them. Sick and caught off guard, they had little chance. The twins hacked at the weakened goblins, felling another two before they even had a chance to respond. Morgan let another arrow loose, injuring one of the vile creatures. One of the goblins roared and jumped at Morgan before he could get another arrow nocked, so Morgan dropped his bow as he fell back a step and pulled out his short spear.
The goblin landed on the other side of the pit and stumbled, giving Morgan an opening. The spear caught it in the stomach, and Morgan yelled out as he pushed forward, throwing the goblin into the pit.
Morgan raised his eyes, ready to fight, but he saw that the twins had already taken care of the others. He tired to catch his breath as he looked around at the disappearing corpses that left behind their gear and crystals. Morgan moved to recover his arrows and then joined the twins.
“Let’s go,” Morgan said, and they made their way toward the cave.
Slowly they approached it, looking for any signs of more goblins. When there were none, Vestella pulled out a torch from her pack and lit it on the goblins’ fire, and then they entered the cave. Vallsorim and Vestella led the way and Morgan brought up the rear with an arrow nocked and ready. Inside it was dark—so much so that Morgan couldn’t see anything even with the light of the torch. He turned his Life Sight on and the glow appeared around the twins, and another just off to the side. Before he had a chance to yell out a warning, it jumped and Vallsorim turned, placing his sword in its path, impaling it on it. Vestella shifted the torch in her sword hand and illuminated the scout goblin as it died and disappeared into dust.