“To me!” shouted Beezle, and Paul felt Flip drag him behind the other Groblettes who were huddling into a large circle in the centre of the room. Weapons were held ready and tension filled the air as from the open door in strode the Groblette Paul had seen before leading the party along the road towards the inn. That he was the leader was without doubt. He was taller than the other Groblette-Ru, but it was his armour that gave him more authority than the other creatures
The other Groblette-Ru all wore what appeared to be black leather armour, long black hooded cloaks covering their faces, from inside which gleamed from their eyes the darkest silver that Paul had ever seen. Yet the leader’s armour was more intricate. Thin silver lines were etched onto the black leather of his jerkin and leggings. His cloak contained several hardly visible silver swirls of thread, like small veins of metal than ran throughout his armour. He strode into the inn as if he owned it and sneered at the Groblettes before him, finally settling his eyes on Paul who found himself shrinking back as the Groblette-Ru leader examined him carefully.
Sousain still stood shaking from in front of the bar but Charles Horse was already as red as a beetroot at the sight of the invasion of his inn, and he rushed to the leader to protest.
“Now then!” shouted the landlord in outrage, placing himself fair and square in front of the leader who was now stood at the front of the vanguard who had forced upon the door, the spears from the Groblettes behind him seeming almost to frame him in metal. “What is the meaning of this outrage?” continued Charles, “You cannot just barge into my inn as if you own the damned place! I will have this taken up with the Majisters: take my word for it, the lord of the Steel Keep himself will hear of this outrage!”
The leader of the Groblette-Ru paid no heed to the landlord at all however for his gaze was focused completely on Paul, much to his discomfort.
“I demand you leave at once!” raged Charles Horse, and he made to push one of the thrust our spears to one side. Paul hardly saw the leader of the Groblettes move at all.
“Kill him.” whispered the leader and there was a flash of black steel and a brief scream and the landlord fell to the floor of the inn, a bright red stain rapidly growing in size in the centre of his chest. The landlord groaned once and the leader grabbed a spear from one of the Groblette-Ru behind him and raising it into the air, thrust it down into the throat of the fallen Innkeeper who gurgled once loudly and then lay still. Sousain screamed and ran over to the body of the inn keeper, throwing herself across him. Already she was stained in dark red blood.
“Make no mistake.” said the leader quietly, “I will not hesitate to kill any other person, Groblette or not who stands in my way.”
“I think not.” snarled Beezle and suddenly the Groblettes advanced, the intruders dropping their spears and drawing short dark swords as the two sets of Groblettes met in the centre of the inn. Paul threw himself back against the wall as he saw Groblettes clashing with swords about the room. Flip was standing on the table swinging what appeared to be a frying pan and as Paul watched he brought it down on one of the silver eyed Groblettes with great effect, the intruder falling to the floor in a heap.
“Woo hoo!” shouted Flip, raising the pan again. Paul looked at the centre of the room where Beezle and the leader were engaged in a fast moving battle, their swords swinging and crashing against each other as first one of them advanced a few paces, then fell back as their opponent advanced. Beezle had a fierce grimace on her face, the cigar butt seeming to be frozen in her mouth. The Groblette-Ru leader however seemed to be smiling, almost as if he was playing with his opponent, and he matched every blow Beezle threw at him with ease, deflecting it seemingly effortlessly before casually thrusting a blow at the captain which she seemed to almost desperately have to reach into herself for hidden resources to block.
All across the inn the Groblettes fought, but Paul knew they were out-numbered and he saw Grun suddenly scream across the room, a short blade rammed into his gut. His opponent withdrew the weapon slowly, grinning as he did so and the Groblette slumped to the floor.
Not only were there numbers fewer, but the Groblette-Ru seemed to fight with a dark efficiency that made their opponents look as if they were hopelessly outclassed. Paul knew it was not just the drink. The silver eyed Groblettes seemed to have a talent for inflicting pain, and Paul’s head spun as he looked over to the other side of the room Where Throg was surrounded by two of the enemy. One of these quickly thrust out, piercing the beleaguered Groblette’s chest. Sensing his pain, the two silver eyed Groblettes fell upon him as he fell to the floor, slashing wildly at him until he was motionless, the inn floor stained dark with his blood.
Paul looked for a weapon. Anything at all would do even though he knew that he would be worse than useless with one, and soon be put to the sword himself. There was nothing else he could do! The leader of the Groblette-Ru was obviously ready to conclude the battle for he finished playing with the captain and suddenly reached forward, spinning an indignant Beezle face about and thrust a sword beneath her throat.
“Cease now!” shouted the leader, and the inn slowly came to a halt, all eyes on the sword held to the captain’s throat. The inn fell into silence apart from the sobs coming from Sousain who was still lying over the corpse of the landlord. Paul took stock.
One of the Groblette-Ru lay prone on the floor where Flip had hit him with the frying pan, but both Grun and Throg lay dead upon the floor. In addition to this Trip lay slumped against one wall of the inn, his head resting on his chest, a dark blood satin covering his arm and one leg.
“We shall have your weapons.” spat the silver eyed leader, “Or your captain will be next. Then we shall kill you all.”
Paul saw the Groblettes bristle at this, but Flip strode slowly forward and reluctantly cast his frying pan onto the floor before the leader.
“I’ll want that back when you’re done.” snarled the cook, “Had that for years I have.” Reluctantly the other Groblettes relinquished their weapons, the small pile growing quickly at the leader’s feet.
“Excellent.” hissed the leader, “We shall leave you to your ale soon enough. We only want the larger. The Lord of the Steel Keep seems to have an interest in him.”
Paul felt a shiver run down his spine as he realised that the Groblette-Ru leader seemed to referring to him. What on Earth could they want him for? He didn’t know anyone here. In fact, he did not even know where he was!
Quickly the silver eyed Groblettes moved through the Groblettes, tying their hands behind them as they went and moving them to the front of the bar. Sousain was dragged away from the landlord and placed amongst the Groblettes but she was not tied, the intruders seeming to consider her of no threat whatsoever.
“We shall soon be out of your way.” smiled the leader once the Groblettes were secured. The remaining patrons of the inn stood shaking against the wall, the attackers disregarding them altogether. The attackers dragged the prone Groblette-Ru from the floor and dragged him outside. Trip however still lay prone against the wall and the leader casually walked over to him and lifting one of their discarded spears almost casually leaned forward and thrust the spear tip hard into the prone Groblettes heart.
The tied goblins screamed and raged at the leader but he just smiled, dropping the spear and walking across to where Paul stood, a look of disbelief on his face.
“Who are you?” he asked, looking up at Paul, the bright silver eyes seeming to transfix him, “for the lord of The Steel Keep to value you so highly? “The leader did not wait for an answer though, turning to one of the Groblettes behind him. “Summon Daruth.” he said and one of the silver eyed Groblettes by the door of the inn scurried away through the still open door and disappeared into the night.
“Your transportation will soon be with us.” smiled the leader. “You will be in the Steel Keep itself by dawn.”
“As the lord of Sulodien demands.” said one of the silver eyed Groblettes by the leader’s side almost reverenti
ally.
“Indeed.” sighed the large Groblette-Ru, examining Paul carefully.
“I require your name.” said Beezle darkly, addressing the leader from where he was bound and tied; slumped against the bar on the floor with the other Groblettes.
“My name?” smeared the leader, his silver eyes fixed upon Beezle, a mocking smile on his lips, “Why you require that? There is power in a name.”
“I wish to know the name of the person who I intend to kill.” said the captain darkly, “It would ensure I find you more quickly.”
The leader simply laughed aloud, crossing the room until he stood in front of Beezle.
“You do seem to have a gift for amusing me.” smiled the leader before lashing out with his foot and kicking Beezle firmly under her chin. Bound and tied the captain was unable to avoid the blow and she grunted loudly as the force of the blow snapped her head back. As the leader chuckled Beezle’s head slumped forwards as the Groblette fell into unconsciousness. The leader kneeled down as the rest of the Groblettes tied around it growled and mouthed insults. Completely oblivious the creature kneeled down and almost gently reached out and raised the completely oblivious face of Beezle up. Already a dark bruise was forming on the prone captain’s chin. “My name is Othaug.” Smiled the Groblette, “First Steel of the Sulodien High Keep, lord commander of the First Steel.”
Paul heard several of the bound Groblettes gasp in surprise at the Groblettes name followed by a sudden silence that fell about the inn. From outside Paul heard what he thought was the sound of a horn being blown, soft and resonant, yet also it seemed to pierce the night. Othaug smiled again and approached where Sousain still lay covering the landlord’s body, sobbing quietly. He nudged her with his foot.
“Ale, wench!” he shouted, pushing her with his foot, “A good night’s work demands we sample your finest ale!” There was a cheer amongst the silver eyed Groblettes and Sousain turned, snarling at the leader. Nevertheless, she silently rose and disappeared behind the bar as the invaders waited for the ale to appear. There were loud banging sounds coming from the room behind the counter and the leader grinned darkly.
“And service with a smile is what we require!” shouted Othaug and several of the silver eyed Groblettes chuckled.
“Which is what you will get. my lord.” spat Sousain as she emerged from behind the bar, flagons in hand which she unceremoniously dumped on the bar and gestured for the Groblettes to help themselves, which Othaug did first, draining the cup in one gulp and wiping the foam from his mouth.
“A good drop.” he growled, and banged the cup on the bar for refilling which Sousain hastily did, filling the flagon from a pitcher she held, her hands visibly trembling. The other Groblettes approached the bar and began drinking noisily apart from the unconscious Groblette and the member of the group who had disappeared outside to arrange their “transport”. Flagons were replaced on the bar and Sousain was kept busy refilling them, her eyes downcast and Paul saw that her hands were still visibly trembling.
This continued for a good few minutes as the silver eyed Groblettes continued thirstily gulping the ale until at last all of them seemed satisfied, busying themselves with checking their captive’s bonds, and making sure that Paul did not wander away from where he was standing transfixed, almost like a rabbit caught in the light.
“How long until the transport?” called Othaug and from where Paul stood he received a reply that he could not quite hear, a satisfied look settling upon his face as he yawned, rubbing a hand across his mouth before belching loudly. Beside him one of his silver eyed comrades caught the yawn and leaned carefully on the table. The Groblette beside him yawned too before slowly making to take a step forward and then lolling back against the wall where he slowly slid down to the ground fast asleep. Paul saw the bound Groblettes watching their silver eyed nemeses slowly one by one slide to the ground and begin snoring. From the centre of the room Othaug looked about in confusion as his comrades slowly one by one dropped to the ground.
“What the?” hissed Paul as the leader began to take steps across the room to where Sousain stood behind the bar, a wide grin slowly spreading across her face. The commander slowed to a crawl and stumbled to his feet, dragging himself by sheer force of will towards the barmaid.
“You drugged the ale.” spat Othaug and Sousain nodded.
“I did.” she said, “and like a common fool you fell for it!”
“Drugged.” whispered the commander now obviously completely confused but still moving slowly towards the bar.
“Paul!” shouted Flip from where he lay bound hand and foot by the bar, “Paul!”
With no time to think Paul found himself moving to the small pile of weapons discarded by his friends in the centre of the room and lifting up the frying pan he advanced on Othaug and raising the pan high into the air he brought it down on all of his might on the commander’s head. There was a loud noise almost like a bell being rung and Paul was certain that the leader’s eyes crossed but then silently he fell forward and toppled to the ground.
Paul dropped the frying pan as Sousain shot from behind the bar and began to help him to untie the bound Groblettes who by now were cheering wildly and at the same time pleading for him to untie them.
“Give me one good reason not to slip a knife into his heart right now!” shouted Sousain but Paul shook his head.
“That would make you as bad as him.” he said and the barmaid reluctantly nodded in agreement.
Finally, the Groblettes were free and gathering up their weapons from the floor of the inn. Flip and Wavebrite were busy binding the silver eyes Groblettes with the bonds they had just been freed from and already Beezle had been doused with water about his face and was groggily coming to.
“Be careful.” shouted Trip from across the room, “There is still one of them outside. Possibly two if the other one has recovered.”
“Busy with transport - whatever that is.” said Paul who was stood stock still by the bar watching Sousain stack many different items onto the bar.
“Fill your packs with these provisions!” she shouted, “it is not much but as better than naught. You must flee - even when they wake they will be sought for. The First Steel is not missed lightly. You must fly!”
Slowly Beezle rubbed her chin and winced, yet at the same time nodding in agreement.
“Fill the packs!” shouted the captain, struggling to her feet, “We must flee - these Groblettes will be sore missed and we must be far away when they come to.” the captain took Sousain’s hand, rubbing it tenderly. “Thank you this night brave woman. We owe you our freedom. You too must make haste from this place. Come with us.” To Paul’s surprise the woman shook her head.
“There are plenty of hiding places hereabouts they will never find me. Do not concern yourself with my well-being. I can assuredly look after myself.”
“I noticed.” laughed Beezle, “Thank you good lady.” With that Sousain ran back behind the bar and moments later there was the sound of a door closing after her at the rear of the inn.
Quickly the Groblettes gathered their packs and shouldered them as Brith moved between the still corpses of Throg, Trip and Grun and mumbled words that Paul could not hear above their bodies. Tears in his eyes Brith joined his comrades as Paul strode towards the still open inn door.
“Careful, Paul!” shouted Flip as Paul squinted in the doorway, looking out into the night. All he could see was a thin blue light shining from the road and as he stared in that direction he saw the shape of a small silver eyed Groblette waiting in the road, staring up at the sky. The rain had thankfully stopped but the courtyard was filled with puddles and dark mud that shone in the starlight.
“One by the road.” whispered Paul as Sparr stuck his head out of the door, and removing a bow from his back strung an arrow and pulled back the string of the bow ready to shoot. There was a bright ping of the string of the bow followed by the sound of a short grunt from the other side of the courtyard and then the sound of a
body falling to the floor.
Paul waited, watching the Groblette string another arrow and as he did so there came a slow, lazy flapping sound. Paul strained his ears. It sounded almost like the beating of a huge roll of cloth, and suddenly the courtyard of the inn filled with a sudden gust of wind that rose from above and set dust flying about the night madly. Then there was a silence and then the beating of what could only be wings and the wind rushed down, battering the inn again. Beside him Sparr lowered his bow, a curse that Paul did not understand and that the mushrooms could not translate forming on his lips. As he did so a huge beast appeared above the inn, its wings beating down slowly but with great power, sending grass flying and tree branches bowed as it finally, almost gracefully descended quickly downward and landed on the road nearby.
Paul gasped as he saw the sheer size of the beast as it stood in the road on four legs like tree trunks, its huge wings rising up high above it. Thick black scales covered its body, from the small serpent like head along the thick yet slender neck and lithe body. The body ended in a long snake like tail that as he watched idly flicked from side to side, effortlessly crushing the fence to one side of the inn almost as if it was not there at all.
The head was the worst of all. Huge yellow eyes sat in a face covered in black scales and a tapered, wide mouth which as Paul watched flicked open, revealing a long snake like forked tongue. The creature gave a small grunt and it was as if the ground itself had shook. Atop its head a small blue triangle shone like a beacon, the bright blue light seeming to fill the night with pure malice. It was not a physical device though he saw, more as if a triangular blue flame flickered above the creature’s head. As Paul stared at it to try and determine what it was he felt drawn to the blue light almost, as if it was mesmerising somehow. Behind him Paul heard several of the Groblettes call out loudly, a mixture of both fear and surprise. With an effort he dragged his attention away from the light on the creature’s head.
Into the Light- Lost in Translation Page 14