The horses whinnied nervously, their breath visible in the moonlight as the temperature plummeted. Keith patted his mare's neck in an attempt to comfort her.
"Easy girl, it's gonna be okay."
The mare looked at her master with wide eyes wondering how he could be so calm when the smell of predators was in the air. But Master knew best. As he continued to run his furless hand down her neck she calmed down. If Master wasn't worried, she shouldn't be worried.
"The girls really don't like this mountain path," Keith said over his shoulder. He heard a grunt from behind.
"None of us do. Why do you think we pay for these damned escorts?" Keith's father asked with disdain. The boy glanced over to where the three hired bodyguards were sitting. Luckily none of them had heard his father. Their relationship was already strained enough as it was.
Efren jabbed at the fire with a stick. "We spend half our damn profits just so those oafs can rattle their shields at passing squirrels and claim they're protecting us."
Keith shook his head and gave his mare one last pat on the neck. He stepped away from the horses and joined his father by their fire. Ever since Efren had picked a fight with their hired help on the way to Slatina, the bodyguards opted to man their own fire every night. That meant Keith was trapped with no buffer between he and his father.
"There ARE wolves and Goblins in these mountains," Keith reasoned for the third time to his father.
Efren spat into the fire. "There are less and less Goblin attacks every year, probably from the bastards dying out. And the wolves are afraid of fire. We don't have to spend three hundred rupees a month on fires." Efren sighed. "I blame your mother for those three."
Keith chuckled despite his father's sour mood. Dawn was always very susceptible to village gossip, and when the Mayor's wife told her that a caravan had just been sacked by an entire tribe of Goblins there was no way Efren and Keith were leaving home without protection.
"It's like she thinks this is my first trip through Carpathian!" Efren fumed.
Keith was about to remind his father that he was the one who'd recommended escorts first, when a branch snapped nearby. Everyone's heads whipped around.
Not a sound. Only the crackling of the fire could be heard in the small clearing.
The body guards glanced at their employer and his son then looked at each other and nodded. Keith looked at his father nervously while the three men grabbed their weapons. Efren's face looked calm but his eyes were bouncing around the tree line fretfully.
The leader of the men they'd hired, a sturdy man named Shane, took point with a torch in one hand and a broadsword in the other. He took short wary steps forward while reaching out with his light source.
"Who's there?" he demanded in his deepest voice.
No response.
Encouraged by the silence Shane took another step forward.
"We're armed to the teeth, you hear?
He waved the torch back and forth with bravado. When there was still no sound he snorted and looked back at his comrades.
"Probably just a –"
A spear ripped through his chest stealing his last words and breath. Before Shane fell to his knees another spear whistled through the night barely missing one of the other guards.
"Goddesses!" the one on the left cried as he ducked behind his shield.
Efren grabbed Keith's shoulder and started shoving him away frantically.
"Get to the horses, son!"
Keith fell backwards in his panic. He could hear creatures hooting and cheering running out of the woods. He tried to look over towards the guards but his father grabbed his face.
"NOW! KEITH!" Efren screamed.
As though his body were moving without him Keith scrambled to his feet. Obediently he dashed towards his horse and quickly untied her from her tree. As he flung himself onto her bare back he caught a glimpse of the two guards. They were swinging their weapons frantically as Goblins poured out of the dark woods and began surround them.
"Father!" Keith called once he was sitting up with the reins in his hand.
"Go!" Efren commanded. He pulled his hatchet from the log he'd been sitting on and brandished it as a weapon, as if he weren't a merchant but secretly a feral barbarian. "I'll be right behind you!"
Part of Keith wanted to believe that.
Keith's mare was done waiting for the command of her master. Once she felt his legs tighten on her side she bolted knowing his and her life depended on her speed. The other horses were still tied up but that was the fault of their masters. She would keep hers safe as he'd kept her.
Keith was relying completely on his mount. Even if he could see the path in what little moonlight made it through the tree branches he couldn't see through the tears that were filling his eyes. All he could keep thinking was: What am I going to tell Mother?
The Goblins quickly overwhelmed the two bodyguards and piled on top of them stabbing and bashing them as they fell. The last Human stepped behind the campfire holding his hatchet in front of him. The Goblins knew right away that this Human wasn't a fighter. Thoroughly delighted by the overwhelming odds in their favor the Goblins fanned out around the poorly equipped Human.
"Who gets the weapon?" one of them asked, a toothy grin spread across his face.
"First cut gets weapon!" one called.
"Last cut gets weapon!" argued another.
"Gnash gets weapon!" came a booming voice.
The Goblins started cheering and jumping up and down.
"Gnasher gets weapon! Gnash gets weapon!" they cheered.
The Human, unable to understand anything the evil green creatures were saying, was barking at his attackers, swinging his weapon in the air menacingly. When he saw all the Goblins turn and look and something behind him, he couldn't help but look as well.
"Goddesses," he whispered.
The largest Goblin he'd ever seen, ever heard of, was lumbering towards him with a massive sword that looked like a long giant cleaver. Hopelessness overcame him. His arms fell limp to his sides and the hatchet slipped from his grip. The Goblin stopped in front of the man, its bulging stomach only a few inches from him.
It looked directly into the man's eyes, evil, malice, and violence oozing out of his orbs. The monster let out a snort.
"Human," it said in its deep voice.
The man looked like he was trying to say something, to squeak out one last defiant cry. But nothing came out of his mouth.
Gnasher laughed while raising his sword over his head.
The Human closed his eyes and clenched his teeth in anticipation. The Goblins in the circle around them were going crazy chanting and cheering.
Gnasher held his sword over his head for a moment, then swung downward.
"GNASHER!" The voice erupted louder than the chanting of the entire mob.
Gnasher flinched, halting his weapon just inches from the Human's skull. All the Goblins were instantly silenced.
The Human dared to open an eye to see what had spared him. Surely there couldn't be anything in these mountains bigger than the behemoth in front of him. Surely the Human was wrong. At first he thought he was looking at a bear. A naked bear walking out of the woods on two legs. But it wasn't a bear, he realized when the firelight reached its face. It was a Goblin, or at least a type of Goblin.
Unlike the Goblins surrounding the man this new one had brown skin instead of green. He had no horns coming out of the sides of his head but instead tusks that protruded from his bottom lip. There was no way the brown Goblin was an inch shorter than 7 feet.
The Human looked around and could see that all of the green Goblins were afraid of the brown one. Whether that was good for him or not, he wasn't sure.
"Gnasher," the brown Goblin said again. "This was not a sanctioned attack." The brown Goblin's pierced eyebrows were furrowed and his massive arms were crossed in front of his powerful bare chest.
The fat green Goblin growled. "I allow attack," he replied in their guttural language sticking his thumb to his chest.
The brown Goblin took an assertive step forward. "YOU DON'T ALLOW ATTACKS!" he bellowed.
The Human and the little green Goblins flinched and took a step back. The fat Goblin, Gnasher, glanced around at his posse then growled at the brown Goblin again. He pointed his two handed cleaver.
"Gnasher tired of taking orders from stupid moblin."
Some of the smaller Goblins cheered but most took another step back. The brown Goblin, despite being unarmed, did not seem perturbed by having a weapon pointed at him. He uncrossed his arms allowing them to hang at his sides.
"Gnasher," the brown Goblin said in a deep calm voice. "This is your last warning."
Gnasher spat at the brown Goblin. The saliva projectile landed on the brown Goblin's upper lip.
"You've just murdered yourself, Gnasher," the brown one snarled.
Gnasher lunged forward for the first strike, swinging his blade horizontally to take off the taller Goblin's head. Horrifically fast the brown Goblin ducked under it, lunged forward with one knee on the ground and wrapped his arms around Gnasher's waist while the sword passed harmlessly over his head.
The Human and Goblins watching scrambled backwards as the titanic Goblin lifted the fat Goblin into the air then slammed him down. Cheers exploded from the little Goblins as the brown Goblin mounted their leader and began pummeling him with his fists. The green Goblin tried bringing his hands to protect his face but they couldn't protect him from the meteor shower of fists. In a last ditch effort Gnasher tried tilting his head up to get his horns between him and the brown Goblin.
The brown Goblin ceased his punching only to grab Gnasher's horns, one in each hand. With a roar that echoed through the mountains the brown Goblin yanked horns, twisting Gnasher's head to the side. Everyone was too deafened from the roar to hear the neck snap.
The brown Goblin let go of the horns and rose to his feet, still standing over his broken enemy. The little Goblins were quiet for a moment then went right back to cheering.
"Bordo! Bordo! Bordo!" they cried.
The brown Goblin, Bordo raised a bloody fist in the air eliciting even more frantic cheering.
It occurred to the Human that he should have used the confusion of the fight to escape but he hadn't been able to look away from the brutality.
Two more Goblins, a purple one with white hair and another green, both smaller than Gnasher and Bordo, stepped into the clearing. Neither seemed to be caught up in the excitement.
"Jagged Teeth!" Bordo spread his arms out wide to encompass the Goblins around him. "There will be no more unauthorized attacks!"
The little Goblins calmed down and gave the Goblin that had murdered their leader the utmost respect.
"Bordo is chief," Bordo said hitting himself in the chest. "Only Bordo allows attacks." With a scowl he scanned the Goblins' faces. Only the two that had just arrived were able to meet his gaze.
"Jagged Teeth will be punished for this attack." The Goblins' heads sank even lower. "But," Bordo added with a tusked grin. "Jagged Teeth gets to keep the horse meat."
Triumphant cries and chants for 'Bordo' recommenced as the Goblins celebrated their fate. The creatures wasted no time in butchering the terrified horses and ponies, who were still tied up and couldn't escape. One Goblin stopped next to the Human and pointed a dagger at him while looking at Bordo questioningly.
Bordo shook his head. "Human belongs to Gutrot."
The little green Goblin looked at the purple Goblin then at the Human with a disappointed look on his face. But there was no questioning Bordo, especially not now. The Goblin ran off to secure itself some horse meat.
The Human let out a sigh of relief, thinking its life had been spared. Bordo turned away from the small man.
"A Human escaped on horseback," Bordo said to the green Goblin at his side. The Goblin nodded.
"I'll take care of it. I'll be back in a day or two."
Bordo nodded and the green Goblin took off at a sprint.
"I don't know if you can understand me," the Human said from behind Bordo. "But thank you."
Bordo looked over his shoulder. "I understand you," he replied in the man's tongue. The Human blinked, obviously surprised. Bordo turned to the purple Goblin.
"This was an unscheduled attack. It can't look like the Bulblins did this."
The purple Goblin nodded. "Wolfos it is," he said in his ancient raspy voice. He started reaching into his pocket when Bordo put a massive hand on his tiny shoulder.
"No. Don't waste a crystal. Use the Human."
"Ah," the purple Goblin said pulled his hand out of his pocket. "Very good."
"I don't know how to repay you," the Human said, trying to get Bordo's attention. "I have some rupees here. They're all yours!"
"Keep your rupees Human," Bordo said in the man's language again. He walked back into the woods without giving the man another glance.
"Where. . . where are you going?" the man called after him.
The purple Goblin stepped in front of him smiling devilishly.
"You belong to Gutrot," he said in traditional Bokoblin tongue.
The Human began to realize that his life wasn't being spared.
"No," the Human moaned pathetically as he tried to back up. "No, please!"
Gutrot reached out with his bony hand, light already spilling from his fingertips. "To Gutrot," he cackled.
"Noooo!"
Bordo hiked through the dark woods, not the slightest bit concerned that he was temporarily alone. The Moblin ranked himself in the top five most dangerous creatures in the Carpathian Mountains. The two she-demons, the dire bear, and that giant tunneling reptile were the only individuals Bordo ever needed to worry about. Even then, the she demons had an understanding, the dire bear kept to himself farther south, and the reptile wasn't quite sentient enough to hold grudges or seek individual targets. It only ate whatever unfortunate creature stumbled into its path.
Things were different in Absistus. Bordo would be crawling on his stomach like a Bulblin baby if he were still there. Something he did not miss nor enjoy recollecting.
"Chief!"
Two bulblins snapped to attention. Bordo had reached his party. He nodded to the two well disciplined Bulblins and stepped past them. Ida, and Helcat's Bulblins were waiting for him, Helcat's Bulblins patiently while Ida tapped her foot impatiently.
"What took so long?" she asked, obviously annoyed she'd been left behind.
"I was hardly gone a minute."
"Eight minutes and thirty two seconds," Ida corrected.
Bordo tried to give her a hard look but caught himself smirking when he looked at the Bulblin's frowning face.
There were very few Goblins that were allowed to speak to him so casually, especially in front of his subjects. Ida was definitely on the list of 'allowed'. She had forcibly inserted herself there.
"Was it Jagged Teeth?" she asked to keep from breaking her frown.
Bordo nodded. "Gnasher grew weary of following a 'stupid Moblin's' order."
Ida threw her head back and laughed her high pitch squealing laugh.
"Oh Demise, I hope you ripped his head off," she said wiping a tear from her eye.
Bordo shook his head. "I tried. His neck was too fat."
Even Helcat's most disciplined soldier couldn't help snorting at that. If Helcat had been here his men would have all gotten lashings but Bordo didn't mind. Everyone needed a laugh now and then.
"Where's Helcat?" Ida asked likely thinking the same thing.
When their commander's name was uttered every Bulbin stopped laughing instantly and went straight to attention.
Ida smirked.
"One of the Humans escaped on horseback," Bordo answered. "Helcat went to track him down. Said he'd be back in a day or two."
"Chief," one of the nearby Bulbins said. Bordo turned to him and raised an eyebrow.
"Go ahead."
"Request permission to join Captain Helcat in his hunt," the Bulblin said when he had permission to speak.
"Granted. Take another Bloody Spear with you, and find Gutrot. He just summoned a wolfo. See if he won't allow it to accompany you."
The Bulblin bowed, pointed to another Bulblin, and the two took off at a sprint.
Ida shook her head.
"He's far too hard on these guys. These Bloody Spears are alright." She winked at the nearest one who did his best not to blush.
Bordo agreed. They were his most trusted tribe. That was the reason they were here as his escort. There were only five individuals he need worry about, but there were still Goblin tribes and chiefs in the mountain range that refused to fall under his reign. They would much rather see the Moblin dead than give up their position as Chief like Helcat and many others had done.
The Bloody Spears were incredibly disciplined, intelligent, and ferocious as far as Goblins went. The only reason they hadn't commanded more territory before Bordo arrived was because of their own customs and traditions. Within every generation only 300 young Bloody Spear Bulblins were allowed to reach adulthood. The 300 were chosen through a series of tests, many of which were simply fights to the death hosted within a tournament. Since the Bloody Spears were always at war, and only replenishing their numbers with 300 souls every generation, their tribe stayed about the same size, which was smaller than many of the other tribes in the mountains.
To this day Bordo thought the tradition was horrific, but part of his guarantee to the many chiefs he usurped and brought together was that they could continue their own traditions so long as they did not harm the other tribes. In that regard the Bloody Spears were perfectly manageable. They didn't care for the other tribes, and were content being Bordo's favorite.
"Come now," Bordo said to Ida and his escorts. "Let's return home. The Jagged Teeth will behave without Gnasher leading them astray."
"Ugh, finally!" Ida immediately fell in beside Bordo and the dozen Bloody Spears right behind him.
"I wish you'd let me come along," Ida complained while they walked.
"I already told you," he started.
Ida waved her three fingered hand. "I know, I know." In her best 'Bordo' impression, "Ida, we are far too close to the dulcet Humans to risk revealing our coordinates with one of your explosive contraptions." She waved her wrist in the air. "Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera."
"Surely I'm not so longwinded. What will the other Goblins think of me?" Bordo joked.
Ida rested her horns and the side of her head on his shoulder taking extra steps to match his long strides.
"That you're bigger and smarter than all of them," she said with a sigh.
"Not smarter than Ida!"
Ida reached up and pinched him with her three fingers.
"Never smarter than Ida!"
She couldn't run any farther. Not right now. She didn't think Master could hold on for much longer anyway.
"It's okay girl," Keith said when Kona slowed to a walk. "You did real good. You can walk now."
Kona couldn't even walk anymore. She gave her master a warning whinny then lowered herself to her knees. Catching the hint Keith hopped off her side and moved to her head.
"That's right girl just lay down. You did so good last night."
Kona had kept them moving for almost fifteen hours. It was almost noon judging by the sun directly overhead. Keith was terrible at recognizing landmarks or the geography but he suspected they were almost home. After Kona rested he was sure they could escape the mountains and make it home before night fell again.
He collapsed into Kona, almost as exhausted as the mare.
"You did good," he said again. He didn't want to think about his dad, or Shane or the other two. He wanted to sleep and wake up in his bed with his mom and dad arguing about who had raised theirs son to be so lazy.
Yea, Keith thought. I am lazy. So lazy that there's no way I actually travelled to Slatina. I'm going to wake up and this will all just be a bad dream.
The fact that Kona was drenched in sweat didn't bother him in the least. She was the fluffiest, downiest pillow in the world right now. The boy and his horse closed their eyes, sorry they'd lost their father and friends but grateful they had their lives and each other. They were grateful they were almost home. And if they could, they would have been grateful that the Bulblin that had been stalking them for fifteen hours slit their throats while they slept.
Author's Note: A new story! This one isn't going to be a short story, but hopefully an epic like the title says. As you may have guessed the story is going to be from Chief Bordo's perspective so it will really expand on the lore of the "bad guys" from the LoZ universe. With that being said, if you have any lore ideas or head cannons that you want to share and possibly see published in this story let me know! I'm not so arrogant as to think my ideas are the only or best. Just do me a favor and make it clear that you are or are not willing to share the ideas.
Otherwise, thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!
Ooo, also, something I want to start implementing. If you want to see the move described earlier (unless it's against the rules) I'll leave a corresponding link at the bottom of each chapter. This one was pretty simple.
Bordo's takedown vs Gnasher
(Just copy and paste this after youtube) /watch?v=AHcw_SdE08I