Goblin Rogue

by Gerhard Gehrke

  The two pirates and three remaining prisoners stood ready, but all of them looked uncertain of what to do.

  “He’s like a troll,” Spicy said. “We need fire.”

  The son sniffed the air, then crouched over one of the fallen red capes. The man groaned when the son ran his fingers across his face. One of the prisoners grabbed a chair and charged. In one swift move, the son ducked the chair and thrust his sword into the man. The man gasped and fell as the son kicked him and freed his blade.

  “Out the back!” Spicy said.

  The son lunged at them but Spicy flung the tray. The wooden disk struck the son and didn’t slow him. Spicy backpedaled and scrambled to follow the last of the fleeing prisoners. He swung the kitchen door into his pursuer. The son slammed into the door and bashed it back into Spicy, knocking him onto the floor.

  Spicy crawled as the son stepped into the kitchen behind him, sword poised to strike. Spicy had no weapon, and there was nothing in reach. He scrambled under a prep table. The son upturned it and pushed it aside. The son lurched at him in a jerking long step and straddled him. He raised the sword.

  The smiling woman shrieked as she threw a pumpkin-sized iron cauldron at the son. It was empty but heavy. The son staggered back, the sword tumbling from his grip. It was the split second Spicy needed to slip away. He grabbed a broom and thrust it between the son’s legs as he tried to move after him. The son stumbled. Spicy clambered over the upturned table and took an iron pan from a hook and swung it with all his might.

  It caught the son in the face.

  He didn’t fall.

  He grabbed Spicy by the arm. His nose was bent and bloodied. He punched Spicy. The blow jarred him. Pain exploded through his skull and he dropped the pan. He bit the hand that gripped him. The son didn’t let go even as the teeth drew blood across his knuckles. A mug bounced off the son’s head. The smiling woman chucked another, which nailed him on the ear. Through it all, the only sound the son made was a ragged panting.

  The son rose to his full height, dragging Spicy along with him. Another mug hit his shoulder. The woman screamed at him. Spicy thrashed in the son’s grip. He pulled at the black shirt and slapped and kicked as the son moved towards the woman. She stood her ground and growled a curse.

  One of the pirates charged through the door holding a two-pronged pitchfork. The weapon caught the son in the shoulder and the pirate drove him into the wall. The son released Spicy and fought to unpin himself.

  Spicy grabbed a heavy ladle.

  The son was getting the better of the pirate and pushed him a step back. Even with the pitchfork thrust into his shoulder, he bent and picked up his dropped sword.

  An alarmed shout came from the front of the tavern. Not all the red capes had been sitting on the porch and drinking. Either that, or Breaker’s men had responded to the commotion.

  “Run, goblin,” the pirate said.

  With all his might, Spicy swung the ladle. It nailed the son in the wrist and the sword clanged to the floor. The smiling woman rushed to help the pirate push the pitchfork back against the son.

  Hard footsteps were approaching through the tavern’s main room. Spicy found a door wedge and kicked it into place to block the door. Then he wound up a swing and smashed the son in the head with the ladle, repeating the blow over and over until the son went limp.

  The second pirate appeared at the back door. “They’re coming! Why aren’t we leaving?”

  Spicy was panting hard. “Because. We’re going to show Breaker’s men who they’ve made friends with.”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  It took both the Sin Nombre pirates, the smiling woman, and Spicy to wrangle the son out the back as the kitchen door was being smashed in. Despite having been struck repeatedly, the son had recovered and was fighting them hard. They dragged him down next to the firepit.

  Some of the freed prisoners were holding off a handful of Breaker’s men at the alley using oars and pieces of cut lumber. It became clear that Breaker’s better-armed men were exercising caution in not hurting the locals. But the archduke’s red capes would be on them soon, and they had no such reservations.

  “What’s going on here?” Captain Breaker shouted. He was unarmed. He shoved past his own men and stared down the escapees in the alley until they let him through. “Get back in the tavern or there won’t be much I can do for you. What’s this? What are you doing with him?”

  “There’s something you need to see, Captain,” Spicy said.

  The captain marched towards Spicy as they continued holding the struggling son. “Let him go. Now. You’re only making this worse for the lot of you.”

  “It’s already worse. The Cormorant murdered everyone in the neighboring village. You’ve made the wrong friends.”

  “It’s business, gob. Bird’s Landing gets my protection but that’s it. Last warning. Let him go.”

  A crash came from the kitchen and the door broke. Three red capes came marching outside, swords in hand. They hesitated when they surveyed the scene.

  “You bunch are too much trouble,” the soldier in front said.

  Spicy grabbed a dagger from one of the Sin Nombre pirates. He looked up at the distorted face of the son. With thoughts of Rime, he rammed the dagger into his abdomen.

  The son gasped. Blood flowed freely and spilled onto the ground as Spicy withdrew the blade. The sharp smell of citrus assaulted Spicy’s senses.

  “These are your allies,” Spicy said. “Look!”

  The red capes lowered their swords at the prisoners. The two Sin Nombre pirates let the son go and stepped back even as more of Breaker’s men came from all sides. They were surrounded.

  The son fell on his knees, a hand pressed to the wound.

  “Bastards,” the lead red cape said. “Kill them.”

  “They’re our prisoners,” Breaker said.

  “They’ve escaped and hurt the son of the archduke of Pinnacle. And I have the authority to deal with them as I see fit.”

  Breaker took a step back. Spicy could see it in the man’s eyes. He was going to give them up, leaving the red capes free to slaughter them all. But the son suddenly let his breath out as if he had been holding it. He began to rise. The wound no longer bled.

  Spicy pointed the tip of the dagger at the son. “Captain Breaker, look.”

  “What is this?” Breaker said. It was as if he also finally noticed the son’s appearance. “What is he?”

  He was shoved aside as a red cape with a sword closed in on one of the Sin Nombre sailors. The sailor wielded the meat tenderizer but kept his distance. But there was nowhere to flee to and no room to maneuver.

  Spicy backed away too. But was hemmed in. “They’re not human. The sons, maybe the archduke himself. The archduke is killing everyone who knows his secrets. All the people in the dragon village were murdered. Your crew is going to be next.”

  “Silence that goblin,” the lead red cape said.

  Even as one of the soldiers moved towards Spicy, the son raised a hand and stopped him. His cold eyes showed no emotion as he took the soldier’s sword from him. His finger touched the tip before he looked down at the goblin.

  A lone pig trotted between them and jogged past the soldiers and straight into the kitchen.

  The red cape officer made a face of disgust. “Let’s finish this business, my lord.”

  Captain Breaker whistled. His men sprang into action. They grabbed the three red capes and wrested their swords away. The son’s attention remained fixed on Spicy. He slashed at him as Spicy dove to the ground. The other prisoners pushed to get out of the way as the son stepped over Spicy. The son let out a sigh of pleasure as he prepared to drive the sword down.

  A pirate struck him in the back of the head with the meat tenderizer. As the son reeled from the blow, the pirate hit him again and then kicked him down to the dirt. The second pirate went for his sword hand, but the son spun and delivered a vicious thrust, killing him.

  Spicy scrambled for the near
est object: a wooden stool. He turned and charged at the son, driving the stool into him and shoving him backward. The son stumbled. He fell onto the grill above the firepit, his sword tumbling to the dirt. His hands sizzled but the man didn’t cry out. As calmly as if he were seated on a field of grass, he got himself up. The skin on his hands was peeled and burned. His pants and the sleeves of his black shirt smoldered.

  Spicy swung the stool again. The son caught it and twisted it out of the goblin’s hands and flung it away.

  The remaining pirate had recovered the fallen sword. He stabbed the son in the side. The son gasped and then seized the pirate by the wrists and began to pull him close, causing the blade to impale him further.

  “A little help,” the pirate gasped.

  Spicy grabbed a spit from the grill and began smashing at the son with all his might. The son wasn’t letting the pirate go.

  “Back away,” Breaker said.

  As Spicy moved away, Breaker brought a long saber borrowed from one of his men down in a savage swing that lopped off the son’s right arm. The Sin Nombre pirate released the sword and tore himself free as Spicy rammed the spit into the son, knocking him back onto the grill. The twin gratings folded in under his weight, dropping him on the embers. Still the son made no cry. He began to climb awkwardly off the fire.

  Breaker roared and hacked at the son, driving the saber down again and again. The son finally stopped moving. Breaker was covered in orange-scented blood. He looked at Spicy and his crew around him, then glared at the red capes.

  “What have you brought into my delta?”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Captain Breaker’s crew rounded up the drugged red capes from the front of the tavern and bound them. These were brought into the tavern where they were kept under close guard. He motioned for Spicy to follow. Reluctantly, Spicy did so, even as he wanted to watch the son burn to make sure he didn’t rise from the cooking pit.

  His hands trembled and he felt sick. The son might have been like a troll, but seeing it die told him the sons were something else entirely. Although Hog had been childlike and simple, she still was a feeling creature with sense and emotion, as much as any goblin or human. But the son felt like something new, never spoken of in any of the books he had read. Was it a new creature unheard of or the product of some unknown process, like the bombs?

  The knowledge that there were two more sons frightened him.

  Spicy kept a lookout for Goldbug, but the young man hadn’t shown himself.

  “You know something about this, goblin,” Breaker said once they were out in front of the tavern, alone. He stomped his foot and spooked away a nearby pig.

  “All I know is there’s two more of them, besides the archduke. They’ve tortured and murdered the people in the nearby village. There’s more to this than just a bomb recipe.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “The dragons have other secrets. One dragon is dead. They’ve captured the other.”

  “Dragon, dragons, dragons. The duke’s been hunting them for years. Word has it the one here escaped from where he kept it. He’s been sending out hunters and spies and boats full of soldiers to bring it back. Most have been easy pickings.”

  “You’ve never seen anything like the son?”

  Breaker took a pipe from his shirt pocket and clamped it between his teeth. “I’m not a man of faith. I’ve seen trolls. But I’ve never witnessed anything like that.”

  From the direction of the harbor, a bell began to ring. Breaker strode towards the sound, Spicy hurrying to keep up.

  A pirate came running over. “The Hammertide—she’s leaving. What are your orders?”

  “Get the Bonnet ready.”

  Spicy and Breaker ran to the dock. The Hammertide had pushed off from the harbor and had its oars down. A small group of pirates watched from the Wind Bonnet.

  “How can they leave?” Spicy asked. “We have their crew.”

  “We have the soldiers they kept on board, not the crew. They’ll round the bend and make the village in just a few minutes. We have less time than that to stop them from getting an alarm out.”

  “You have to catch them.”

  “I need to do no such thing. My mistake here was to get roped into something far too knotty for a simple businessman. If you say Middle Finger put you in charge, looks like you have a decision to make. Those red capes you have prisoner are going to be a handful once they sober up. You’ll have another dozen breathing down your neck. Best to take care of them, if you intend to fight.”

  Spicy shook his head. “I’m not going to kill them.”

  “Then they’ll kill you and everyone here,” Breaker snapped. “Not sure you can do anything to prevent that, when you consider the archduke’s other sons.”

  “We stopped one of them. We can stop the others. But we need your help.”

  “There’s no upside to a standing fight against those soldiers. Curse them and let them take the blasted dragon with them. We’re off before they can all come here. You’re welcome to come. I need survivor types, especially lucky ones. Yan, sound the whistle. We’re leaving.”

  The pirate who had summoned Breaker was right next to them watching the departing boat. “Look! They’re stopping.”

  The Hammertide was swinging as it tried to row forward. But something was attached to the stern that ran back to the dock. Some of the crew gathered to peer over the side.

  Spicy grabbed Breaker’s arm. “They’re hung up, but not for long. You’re a pirate. Even if you don’t go up against the Cormorant, that boat there is an easy catch. If you help me free the dragon, the bomb recipe is yours, no strings attached.”

  Breaker clenched his jaw. “Think the dragon will agree to those terms?”

  “He won’t have a choice. But yes, he’ll agree. He listens to me. You’re a businessman, aren’t you? And I believe you don’t want to see everyone here killed by the archduke.”

  Breaker motioned to Yan. The first mate produced a whistle from around his neck and blew three sharp blasts. He repeated this several times as the Wind Bonnet crew came running from Bird’s Landing.

  “Board that boat and stop her,” Breaker ordered. “Be quick. She won’t be stuck for long.”

  The men didn’t hesitate. They began to dive in the water and swim towards the Hammertide.

  At the end of the harbor, Goldbug climbed out of the water. He immediately hid behind a stack of crates. Spicy hurried over to him. Goldbug tugged at Spicy for him to take cover.

  “It’s okay,” Spicy said. “Breaker’s with us. For now.”

  Goldbug rose and looked out at the Hammertide. One of the sailors had jumped overboard and was trying to cut the rope that was fixed to the rudder. Breaker’s pirates were closing in like a gang of otters. The climbed the Hammertide from all sides and quickly began to subdue the crew.

  Goldbug laughed. “Then you better tell Captain Breaker his boat’s got a rope and chain around her too.”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Inside the tavern, two of the Bird’s Landing residents were holding the smiling woman back. Spicy finally caught her name was Juna.

  Juna held a hatchet in her hands and it was clear what she wanted to do to the drugged prisoners.

  Spicy fought through the crowd and got in front of her. “You can’t kill them. Not yet, anyway.”

  She asked a question he didn’t understand, but he could guess the meaning.

  “Because we might be able to send them back home. That’s your only chance for peace.”

  Juna didn’t appear convinced. She calmed down but she refused to put the cleaver away. She followed Spicy when he went outside.

  Breaker had gathered his men across the street. Several held baskets and barrels pilfered from the locals, with one pirate leading a pair of splendid white goats on a rope. The captain spoke in a hushed tone and Spicy couldn’t get close enough to hear before they showed their hands in a group vote.

  Breaker nodded and waved Spicy
over. “We’re taking the Hammertide as a prize. We’re also leaving Bird’s Landing intact. You’ve got more trouble here than we can handle so we think it’s best that we leave. You can keep your bomb recipe. If, by some miracle, you start up production, then I’m sure we can do business.”

  Spicy tried to control the tone of his voice. “You can’t leave yet. What about the archduke? He’ll come back here any moment. When he sees what’s happened, he’ll chase you down.”

  “It’s a chance we take every working day we operate on the delta.”

  “This is different, and you know it. We killed one of his sons.”

  Breaker sneered. “That’s on you.”

  “The archduke won’t see it that way. All I’m asking for is a distraction.”

  “For what? You taking the archduke on alone?”

  “Not alone.” Spicy looked back at the gathered residents of Bird’s Landing. “They know what’s at stake. They saw the archduke’s son and what he was. Some lost loved ones when the archduke murdered the Sin Nombre crew defending the village.”

  Breaker’s jaw tightened. Spicy suspected Breaker’s men might have had a hand in killing some of the defenders of Bird’s Landing. Was it guilt the captain was feeling?

  “The archduke will cut them to pieces,” Breaker said.

  “They’re willing to take the risk if it means a chance at saving their home. Others want payback. But this won’t be a stand-up fight. Like I said, it’s a distraction. All it will cost you is the time it takes to bring your boat out and around the island to make a show. Then, when you get the signal, you leave.”

  Breaker rubbed his stubbled chin. “You really think you can free that dragon?”

  “You think you’ll enjoy free rein here in the delta if the archduke takes him? He’ll have more sons with him next time, or something far worse. Because now he has a dragon in his possession.”

  “Don’t overplay your hand, gob. I get the feeling you know less than you’re letting on. We’ll help. But just a distraction. Then the Wind Bonnet and her crew are getting out of here. What’s the plan?”