“Confusion? There is a bit of that. I can see the slave’s mark on them clearly. It gleams brightly to my shadowed eyes. It is a powerful mark. Not one easily broken. A being more powerful than you put it upon them. It is equally clear, they were transferred to you. I don't know if it is greed, or pride, that stops you from paying your due. It matters not. This place you stand in is no man's land. Neutral ground. A place where many kingdoms have easy access. One comes here to negotiate, but you don't seem to want to do that. I don't know if it will hold up to my king, but if you encroached, then surely I'm allowed to also,” Neg said. On his last word, he opened his mouth in a snarl, and his fangs elongated.
While Joe and Neg were having a conversation, Bork was not idle. Crouching behind the larger Grork, Bork had pulled out Grork’s copy of their people’s holy book. Only Way Goblins will Thrive by the wise goblin Mawpook of the Brown Drum. Quickly finding the page dealing with vampires, Bork mixed the herbs and potions together. He was creating what was needed as fast as he could.
Grork saw the vampire's fangs elongate and stepped forward through the incorporeal Joe. For the merest fraction of a second, Joe’s spirit and Grork’s body were one. Grork’s focus on defending against the attacking vampire was such, that he didn't even notice the joining. Joe was not so lucky. The vampire strove forward as fast as a shadow, only to be met by Grork’s swinging pickaxe. The pickaxe connected with the dense halfling vampire, changing its angle of attack. This caused the halfling vampire’s extended claws to miss Grork’s throat by inches. Their forward momentum caused both of them to move past each other, exchanging positions. Each pivoted to face the other and Grork stepped back, creating distance. Raising his pickaxe in a defensive posture, Grork growled, slobber driveling down his furious face. Neg took a fake juke step forward, making Grork flinch. Grork held his defensive position, eyes locked on the threat. Another guttural growl escaped his maw.
“I always love how eloquent cave goblins are, especially when you're extracting their intestines,” Neg taunted in goblin. Joe was on his knees holding his head in obvious pain. Neg began to circle, trying to find a better angle of attack on the larger goblin. Grork did not give him an opening. Neg, who was by far faster, swept forward and attempted to cut Grork’s belly with his claws. Grork, though slower than the halfling vampire, used his longer reach and the pickaxe to once again hit the attack away. Though hit with Grork’s pickaxe twice, the small vampire did not have a scratch on him. Joe began to recover himself from his joining with Grork and tried to intervene. Stepping right up to Neg, Joe put his hands in front of Neg’s face.
“Stop this Neg. I promise you, this unprovoked attack will not be forgiven unless you stop right now. Do not do this!” Joe screamed.
“Get out of my way, you inconsequential vapor. You don't have the blood that I want, but your big goblin friend behind you does,” Neg said. Stepping through the translucent Joe, Neg attacked Grork again. For the second time in as many minutes, Joe experienced being one with another creature. Before this point, Joe had not really understood what evil was. He had been around for a long time, had see evil in the news. He had even witnessed a murder when he was younger. And his time in the military gave him the opportunity to see much of it. However, there was a difference between seeing evil and truly knowing it. Being one with Neg was many times worse than being one with Grork.
Joe was out of the fight, having convulsions on the floor. Neg’s next attack against Grork was different. Neg stopped his forward progression just out of reach of Grork’s swing. Grork’s swing missed Neg, but he had not over committed. Neg attempted to get inside Grork’s defenses. With quick footwork, and reversing his pickaxe, Grork once again drove Neg away.
“You are more patient than most goblins I've fought. Not that it matters, time is on my side. You will get tired soon. You're only heating up your blood to prepare my meal. I really should thank you,” Neg said in goblin.
Neg was not unintelligent, as vampires go, but he made a common mistake. He ignored the smaller weaker-looking goblin, to focus his attention on what he considered the larger threat. When fighting multiple opponents, never discount the nerd. Grork had given Bork the time, and the distraction needed to finish his holy potion.
“Grork! Catch!” Bork screamed as he threw the glass vial over the head of the vampire to Grork. Only Grork never got it. The tiny halfling vampire jumped high, easily catching the glass vial out of the air. Speaking in goblin, the vampire taunted Grork.
“I'm sorry child, did you want this?” Neg said as he smiled with malice in his eyes. Grork began to chuckle. It was a deep resonant chuckle. It started from his belly, and grew deeper as it moved up through the chest, exiting through the mouth.
“ha ha Ha Ha HA HA HAW! I not want it. It for you,” Grork yelled. The eyes of the vampire widened, only too late recognizing the threat. The glass vial exploded in his hands, a red blood mist coating the vampire’s exposed skin. The vampire fell to his knees. His head tilted back high, mouth open wide, screaming at the ceiling. The red mist, though horribly painful, would not kill the vampire. Grork did not need long though. Dropping his pickaxe, Grork reached for his belt, taking another potion Bork had given him. Dropping the vial of acid in the vampire's open mouth, Grork punched it closed with a strong uppercut. Though the mouth was closed, the screaming did not lessen, but rather increased. The vial had been full of a strong acid. Again, though the acid was horribly painful, it also was not enough to kill the vampire.
Jumping on the screaming vampire, Grork pulled out a matching set of pliers. Although the pliers had been originally made for crafting, they would fit for this job as well. Positioning one set of pliers on each of the fangs, Grork tore the acid-weakened fangs out. Brown thick necrotic blood spurted from where the teeth had been extracted. There were few things that smelled worse than necrotic blood freed from the confines of a vampire's body. When blood is allowed to putrefy for years, but never fully decompose, the smell was nearly lethal. Dropping the pliers, Grork hurried back to pick up his pickaxe for the final blow. He needn't have worried, the fangless vampire was not going anywhere. The vampire’s skin appeared almost mummified and broken. The loss of his fangs had taking way more than his ability to drink blood. Grork fought to control his gag reflex and get his business done. Raising his pickaxe over his head, Grork took careful aim, and held his breath. The vampire, delirious with pain, never even saw the pickaxe descend and pierce his weakened skin, penetrating his already still heart. The now twice-dead vampire burst into flames, quickly becoming gray ash. Bork, never one to waste anything, scurried to gather the ash, the fangs, and the necrotic brown blood.
“We kill ‘nother vampire,” Grork stated.
“Yes. Chief be mad again. We start ‘nother war,” Bork said.
“Chief give us to god Rook to die. He our chief no more,” Grork said. Joe was still convulsing on the floor. The two goblins looked at him, unsure what they could do for him. He had tried to intervene and do what he could. Both of them knew it. It had not really even mattered that he was ineffective. Neither Grork nor Bork had experience with authority that was not looking out for their own best interest. Joe was in horrible agony because he had tried to stop Neg.
“Maybe he good?” Bork said.
“He weak,” Grork said.
“I weak,” Bork said.
“No. He just spirit. You more,” Grork said.
“No. He more. He strong. I know. Though… Not know why. He good, Grork. He be good for us, Grork,” Bork said.
“You lead. I follow, Bork. Don't be dead,” Grork said.
“Don’t be dead,” Bork intoned.
Joe sat up and looked at the scorch marks where the vampire had died. Bork held up the fangs for Joe to see. Looking at the dirty fangs, Joe raised his eyebrows.
“You guys killed that thing? Thank the Lord! Never in the near century that I have been alive, have I experienced such pure evil. To be honest, my mind is boggled. How can computer code put t
ogether an experience so vastly different from anything that I have ever known? I get that this experience is supposed to make me feel like my life is longer. But, really? Do they have to pack so much in on the first day? Although there have been good things, much of this experience has been painful. Some of it utterly disgusting, and the mind of that vampire was horrifying. I have to wonder, are all vampires like that? Or did I come across the one vampire with absolutely nothing redeeming in him whatsoever? The scorch marks are going to make it obvious what happened here. And I have a feeling they're going to be able to tell that it was goblins who did it. Apparently, this is neutral ground. I would be surprised if this didn't start a war. We gotta get out of here, and you guys aren't going to like where we're going. Sorry guys, but we are going up,” Joe said to the goblins who didn't understand a word he said.
***
Somewhere not so far away, Rook noticed his debt to Joe tick up significantly. The gains Rook had received by giving Joe the goblins had been completely erased. Fury burst from Rook.
“Joe! You have been out of my sight for minutes. Minutes! What did you do? Who is the being of contention here?”
***
Viola and Luger walked down the mountain, unseen by any but the spirits. They had completed their task and acquired their cargo. All that was left was for them to make their long trek to the edge of the Wild Mountains. Then, they could use a portal scroll back to Dollomar. Getting the cargo was as lucrative as it was onerous.
“A lot easier than you thought it would be, right?” Viola asked.
“Actually, yes. Most people have at least some ability to sense a Spirit Walker nearby. It is incredible, the yetis didn't notice anything. We walked in and moved within inches of some of them. We easily found the children and just as easily took two of them. The guard saw them disappear before her eyes and, still, she could do nothing. Why couldn't they sense it, when you cast the spell changing the children to spirit essence for us to carry?” Luger asked.
“The same reason they're so valuable,” Viola replied.
“Okay, I'm not following. I get that their bones can be ground down and used as a component in a powerful strength enhancing potion, but what does that have to do with them not being able to see us or affect us in spirit form?” Luger asked.
“It has to do with why their children are such a potent component in the strength enhancing potion. They have a spirit, as all true living beings do. As humans, our spirit is versatile. Throughout our species, the spirit enhances some to have great courage. In others, the spirit enhances their ability to see and affect other spirits. In you and I, our spirit manifests by giving us Spirit Magic. The spirit of the yeti is not versatile. It doesn't do any of those things. It does one thing and one thing only. Now, you're no longer my apprentice, but that doesn't mean I can't force you to use your head. What does the spirit of the yeti do? And based on that answer, why can't they sense Spirit Walkers at all?” Violaasked.
“If it's as you say…” Luger started.
“It is. Now answer the acid blasting question!” Viola interjected.
“Okay, okay. How did I survive as your apprentice?” Luger pushed.
“I don't know. You might not survive long as a journeyman,” Viola said.
“I hear you, though you do need me to help get these yeti cubs to Dollomar. In Spirit Walker form, you can only carry one. But instead of provoking you, I will answer your question. If the spirit of the yeti only enhances one thing, I would have to say it is their physicality. And if the spirit of the yeti is tied to their physicality, then that could mean their spirit does not, indeed, recognize the spiritual realm?” Luger asked.
“That is it in a nutshell. They are monstrously strong and durable, yet completely blind spiritually speaking,” Viola stated.
“Speaking of monstrously strong, look over there,” Luger said as he pointed to a solitary figure climbing up the mountain toward them.
“Well, will you look at that? I wondered where their gigantic yeti chief had gone off to. Let's move in his direction. I'd like to see him one more time, before he up and moves his whole tribe again,” Viola said.
“Is that wise?” Luger asked.
“No harm in it. There are very few things that can truly endanger a Spirit Walker. As we've already established, yetis aren't one of them. As far as I know, in these mountains there isn't anything that can. On the surface, at least,” Viola replied.
They moved in the direction of Bridcha and his long strides covered the distance quickly.
Completely unconcerned about detection, Viola led Luger to sit near where the yeti would pass.
“Look at him walk. He really is incredible, much bigger than most yeti, and smart. It took us a long time to track them after their last move,” Viola said.
“He is getting pretty close. Shouldn't we be quiet now?” Luger asked.
“Why? He's not only blind to us, he's deaf too. Our voices are traveling through the spiritual ether. You know this,” Viola chided.
“Yes, but still,” Luger said, pointing at the huge, fast approaching yeti.
“Yeah, if he could see us, hear us, or touch us he would definitely eat us. Here he comes,” Viola said.
Bridcha walked up the mountain side completely oblivious to the spirit rogues. As he passed by, Viola sniffed.
“You smell that?” Viola asked.
“Yeah. Is he bound?” Luger asked.
“I think so, and with a weak binding at that,” Viola said. Looking down the mountain, she saw the castle belonging to Spooky and Joe.
“Whoever controls that place somehow got him to accept a weak binding. I had planned on traveling past the mesa on our way to Dollomar. In light of this new information, I think we should give that castle a wide berth. Dollomar may be in more trouble than I thought. One yeti tribe is not a threat, but why would the chief join someone else? Maybe they are a serious threat. We will have to back track a little to keep well clear of the castle,” Viola stated.
“I do wish I could see his reaction when he finds out these little ones are gone,” Luger said, as he patted his tummy where the yeti child’s essence was stored.
“Ha! Yeah, he freaks, I have seen it before. Let’s go,” Viola said as she began to lead Luger back up the mountain to take another route.
***
It took some time, but eventually Joe managed to get Grork and Bork to follow him. The cave was tall and wide. Just like the cave Joe had come from, the walls had a glow to them. As much as possible, Joe relied on his companions to get them out. Along the way, Joe noticed Bork kept looking at the walls like he wanted something. Finally, Joe couldn't take it anymore and stopped them.
“We have created a little distance guys. We can stop for a sec. Now, what is it, Bork?” Joe asked, knowing they wouldn't understand him. He held his hands out, waving them in a way that he hoped would convey, ‘what do you want?’ In reality, Joe didn't need to do all that. The moment they stopped, Bork went over to one of the walls and began gathering a gray moss-like plant. Joe watched the way Bork carefully peeled away the gray moss. When Bork was able to gather a large strip, he walked over to Grork and told him to hold out his arm.
Instead of doing so, Grork held his arm closer to his body and said loudly, “Booge Gek.”
“Oog,” Bork said, holding out the moss.
“Gek, Gek Bork!” Grork said, but Bork would not be diverted. Eventually, Grork relented and held out his arm. Bork wrapped the moss around Grork’s arm and the moss clung tightly to Grork’s skin. Grork pursed his lips, showing pain as the moss covered his arm. Bork continued to gather moss as they traveled and applied it to Grork’s, and his own, skin. Joe was curious as to why they needed to be covered in moss, but right now he couldn't speak their language. As long as these two weren't hurting anyone, they could do whatever they wanted. They weren't his slaves, no matter what they thought. As they walked, the two increasingly looked like mummies. Part of Joe wanted to think it was funny, but the fury a
nd agitation of Grork lessened the levity of the situation. It got to the point that Joe felt Grork needed a distraction, and decided to ask him some questions about one of the words he had said. When Bork had originally tried to put the moss on Grork, he had said, ‘Booge Gek.’
Joe knew that ‘Gek’ meant no, so, as they walked, Joe looked at Grork and got his attention. When he caught his eyes, he casually said, “Booge?”
Grork’s eyes widened and he looked back to see if Bork had heard. He had not, as he was applying some moss to his arm. With a conspiratorial air, he leaned over to toward Joe and whispered, “Booge.” Then, with a practiced air, Grork took his finger and stuck it deep in his nose. Carefully, and with reverence, he pulled out a big juicy booger. Grork held the booger up to his eye, assessing it like it was a diamond. When Grork was satisfied, he stopped and carefully aimed at Bork, flinging the booger. In the history of booger flicking, there have been few times when an aim was so true. The perfect ballistic course of the booger froze everyone present with the beauty of its trajectory. Even the intended recipient, Bork, was stunned by the athleticism of Grork’s flick. He was stunned, until the gargantuan booger splattered directly between his eyes. As fast as possible, Bork pulled a cloth from his pack to remove the offending booger. Grork leaned toward Joe once again, and repeated himself, “Booge.”
Joe couldn't help himself. He started laughing. During Joe's revelry, Bork started yelling at Grork, and even though Joe couldn't understand their language, he knew what was being said. Joe assumed the conversation went something like this.
“That that was disgusting. How could you do something like that to me? I'm your only friend!” Bork might say.
“You are my only friend. And I value that friendship, but he's our master. I had no choice. For some reason, he wanted me to flick a booger at you. He used our language and said, ‘booge.’ What was I to do? He is the master. The only way I could truly protect you was with a booge,” Grork may have responded. Eventually, the two calmed down and they continued their trek to the surface. Joe thought it was pretty apropos that there was a verb in the goblin’s language describing picking a booger and flicking it at someone.
You're Not Allowed to Die (The Twenty-Sided Eye Series Book 1) Page 18